Chapter 199: Jessica: Thank you!! And

Inside the Apartment's Kitchen.

The sound of a kitchen knife hitting a cutting board rang out; Lin Xiuyuan's hand moved rapidly under the blade, and on the board, tomato after tomato was sliced open, juices splattering everywhere.

Nearby, a bowl of beaten eggs waited quietly, and the hot water in the pot emitted white steam, as if urging something on.

In the sink a little to the side, two boxes of beef were soaking, currently thawing under running tap water.

At the same time, in the master bedroom.

Jessica had just walked into the bathroom, closed The Gate, and stood before the mirror, gazing at her own clear reflection, the sound of her own audible heartbeat in her ears.

That sentence of Lin Xiuyuan's just now was like a gentle blade, lightly slicing open a certain secret corner in her heart, stirring up countless indescribable emotions.

This made her unable to help but be slightly stunned; recalling his casual expression, the restless mood left her not knowing how to react, and the complex emotions in the depths of her heart also made her feel inexplicably annoyed.

Amidst these chaotic thoughts, Jessica sighed deeply, then tried hard to relax her shoulders.

Then she turned on the showerhead, letting the hot water pour down along her hair, taking away the messy disturbances in her mind.

As the time spent bathing passed, she gradually relaxed, and her mood became much clearer.

But Lin Xiuyuan's figure still lingered in her mind; this guy hadn't stirred up enough of her annoyed and angry emotions before, and now he was a bit greedy, as if preparing to plant a seed deep in her heart, intending to let it silently take root and sprout.

A moment later, Jessica shook her head, took a deep breath, and tossed her head, temporarily casting those chaotic thoughts aside.

Soon, after finishing her bath, she changed into a simple set of pajamas.

The blue pajamas were soft in texture, outlining her slender figure.

Then she stood before the mirror to tidy her hair, applied skincare products, and then subconsciously sprayed a little perfume.

In the oncoming fragrance, there was a trace of familiar comfort.

Only then did she finally gently open the room door and walk out of the master bedroom.

The next second, a warm, cozy scent of cooking immediately rushed into the air, carrying the aroma of stir-fried dishes and a certain warmth of life, making her slightly startled.

The lights in the Living Room were soft, and two dishes were quietly placed on the dining table.

A plate of stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, red and yellow intertwined, shone with an oily luster under the light, as if some familiar memory had been stir-fried out by the heat.

The other plate was pan-seared steak, the surface slightly charred and crispy, the aroma rich, the beef fat pulling a warm sensory channel through the air.

However, the man who had been busy in the Kitchen just before was already nowhere to be seen.

Jessica subconsciously looked around, even walking to the bathroom door to take a look; it was empty.

This situation made her frown, a trace of inexplicable nervousness rising in her heart, until she noticed the corner of the dining table.

There, a Sticky Note was quietly stuck, with only two words on it: Left.

Looking at this note before her, Jessica couldn't help but be stunned, an unspeakable emotion slowly rising in her heart.

As a public figure in her daily life, she was too accustomed to being surrounded, arranged for, and watched.

But precisely because of this, she rarely enjoyed such simple yet warm domesticity.

Even just a few hours ago, she was still sitting on the sofa alone eating Pizza, as if filling her stomach, and also as if chewing on a kind of loneliness.

But now, these two dishes before her, this small note, and that Kitchen that had already been tidied up until it was spotlessly clean.

Actually made Jessica feel as if she were in another parallel universe, a place without spotlights, without labels.

A nameless softness welled up in her heart, and she was even somewhat touched.

Although Jessica didn't know when Lin Xiuyuan had left, the atmosphere of the Kitchen still remained here; the lights were soft, the air was filled with the fragrance of food, and all of this was completely different from the life she was accustomed to in her daily life.

Thinking of this, she slowly walked forward, lowered her head to get close to that plate of stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, and sniffed it lightly.

The fragrance was pungent, the sweet and sour just right, and she could even smell the fluffiness of the eggs.

Then her gaze fell once again on that note, a kind of indescribable complexity rising in her heart.

That guy, with a hot meal, seemed to be telling her of a certain unspoken care.

Thinking of this, Jessica sighed softly, raised her head to look at the two dishes on the table, the picture woven by the colors and aromas, ordinary yet warm.

Then she sat down, lightly picked up a piece of stir-fried tomato and egg, and put it into her mouth.

The taste was different from any meal in her memory, simple yet warm, like the simplest domesticity in this city; every bite made her feel the warmth of life.

Although Jessica was still sitting at the dining table alone eating at this moment, her heart was already different.

The food slowly decreased with every bite she took, and her mood also softened bit by bit.

She thought of the loneliness she felt when she was just eating Pizza alone; at that time, she only felt lonely, as if she were the only person in this world, while these two plates of food before her made her feel a warmth she had never experienced before.

Although it wasn't as if no one had ever cooked a meal for her before.

But no one had ever cooked a meal for her like tonight.

The starting point of the emotion was different, so the mood it brought out was naturally different as well.

Thus, Jessica's gaze subconsciously lingered on the empty space in the Kitchen, her mind imagining the scene of Lin Xiuyuan cooking for her.

After thinking for a while, she couldn't help but smile; it seemed that the image was suddenly a bit beautiful.

Having finished the last bite of steak, Jessica put down her chopsticks and reached for her phone.

She didn't immediately call Lin Xiuyuan's number, nor did she think about the reasons too much in her mind, but instead chose to click on that number that had pulled her out of the blacklist.

Her finger tapped lightly, and the familiar contact name appeared on the screen.

Then she paused for a moment, her heart suddenly feeling somewhat complex.

She hesitated slightly again, but it was only for a moment, and then she decisively typed two words: Thank you.

After sending the message, Jessica put down her phone, took a deep breath, and looked up at the dining table and the Kitchen, suddenly feeling that she seemed to have found a kind of long-lost peace.

In any case, tonight's meal, this silent care, had come a bit too suddenly.

The fragrance in the air gradually dissipated, and the Kitchen still maintained that lingering sense of warmth, as if silently telling of words left unsaid.

Jessica smiled lightly; although she was eating alone, her mood was not as lonely as before.

……

……

On the other side.

After simply stir-frying two dishes earlier, Lin Xiuyuan had no intention of staying longer and left Jessica's Apartment directly.

Although the Elevator in that building required a key card to go up, the stairs were not locked yet, so he slipped away quite cleanly.

After returning to Krystal's Apartment, he then returned to the Year Apartment from there, and then went back to the Villa in the year 25.

He wouldn't dare to try this kind of "supernatural" thing casually in public.

And when Lin Xiuyuan stepped into the Living Room of the Villa again, the few people on the sofa immediately looked at him, among whom Zheng Xiuyan spoke first, "What help did Xiujing need from you, taking so long?"

"Just photographing a contract."

As Lin Xiuyuan spoke, he lazily sat back on the sofa and casually forked a piece of fruit to pop into his mouth.

As soon as his voice fell, Kim Taeyeon laughed, "Photographing a contract, and it took nearly an hour? This contract of Xiujing's couldn't be hundreds of pages long, could it?"

Lin Yun'er smiled and added, "I don't know, one might think Xiujing was also over there, and you two were being lovey-dovey putting on a good show."

Facing these few pairs of malicious eyes, Lin Xiuyuan shrugged while chewing the fruit, "Krystal isn't there, but her sister is."

"Hmm?"

Zheng Xiuyan, who had just put down her snacks, became instantly alert.

Lin Xiuyuan curled his lips, "I was just photographing the contract when Jessica suddenly came down from upstairs, scaring me so much I almost ran for it. It turned out she had run out of hot water upstairs and came down to take a shower."

"Hmm? And then? Xiuyuan, tell me a bit more, why does this plot feel so familiar?" Kim Taeyeon laughed and patted Lin Yun'er's thigh beside her.

"And then there was nothing else."

Facing Kim Taeyeon's teasing, Lin Xiuyuan remained calm, "I went up to take a look; that idiot hadn't paid her bills, so they cut off her gas. I helped her sort it out and then I came back."

He omitted the fact that he had stir-fried two dishes, to avoid being surrounded by this group for gossip; it wasn't worth it.

And after Zheng Xiuyan heard this, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, then unceremoniously raised her hand and slapped him on the arm.

"Hey, you can scold, but can you not keep 'that idiot Jessica' on your lips every time? It sounds really annoying, I always feel like you're scolding me along with her."

Lin Xiuyuan, having been hit, felt a bit aggrieved, "I specifically didn't call your name Zheng Xiuyan, I said Jessica."

"That's also me." Zheng Xiuyan was unreasonably self-righteous.

At this moment, Lin Xiuyuan looked at the people on the sofa and found that no one intended to speak up for him; everyone was holding back laughter, as if watching a good show.

Helplessly, he had to shrug, "Fine, whatever you say then."

"So you're calling me stupid?" Zheng Xiuyan was relentless, her eyes rounded.

Lin Xiuyuan was forced into a helpless state by her and simply stretched out his hand, "Forget it, forget it, let's skip the process, just hit me directly, save some time."

Now everyone on the sofa couldn't help but laugh out loud; Kim Taeyeon laughed until she was rolling on the sofa, and even Lin Yun'er covered her mouth, "This is too proactive in asking for a beating."

When the laughter subsided a little, it was already late, and everyone prepared to rest.

Because the map for Tian Enjing's Apartment hadn't been opened yet, Lin Xiuyuan couldn't send her home in one step, so he called a designated driver and went along to escort her.

The rest of them were simple; Xueli went back to the Year Apartment, which was an Anchor Point.

Zheng Xiuyan also returned to her own Apartment in the year 13; it had already been located, so she could open The Gate and go straight there.

Next were Lin Yun'er and Kim Taeyeon, both of whom could open The Gate and go straight there from the Year Apartment.

So after sending those few back, Lin Xiuyuan waited with Tian Enjing at the Villa for the designated driver to arrive, then got into her car and headed toward the destination.

After the car stopped in the parking lot downstairs at Tian Enjing's home, the designated driver said goodnight and left, leaving only Lin Xiuyuan alone to walk with Tian Enjing toward her Apartment.

While waiting in front of the Elevator, Lin Xiuyuan suddenly sighed with a smile, "Tsk tsk, I suddenly feel that my situation is quite good too; at least I have a reason to come and visit the places where you live, instead of waiting at the Villa for you to come over."

Tian Enjing beside him also smiled lightly, her tone gentle, "If you want to visit, I don't think anyone would refuse. Besides, the way Taeyeon looked at you just now, I find it very familiar."

"Familiar?" Lin Xiuyuan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, it's exactly the same as the look in Juli unnie's eyes when she looks at you."

Tian Enjing blinked, her smile carrying a hint of teasing, "Xiuyuan, you are really too attractive to girls; remember to nourish yourself more in your daily life. I don't want to come back to see others and find you've already been drained dry."

Facing Tian Enjing's such blunt remark, Lin Xiuyuan frowned while laughing, "The way you say that, I'm really starting to panic."

Afterwards, the two talked and laughed as they took the Elevator up to the Apartment. Tian Enjing's place was the same as Jessica's, one household per elevator, with a spacious and quiet space.

So as soon as they reached the door, Lin Xiuyuan suddenly became interested and blocked her from unlocking it.

He wanted to try a new function, but he couldn't pull that door open at all.

"OK, I understand. I originally wanted to see if this Time Gate was a master key, but now it seems it can only be used on doors that can be opened freely."

"It's already very impressive, what more do you want." Tian Enjing smiled and opened the Apartment door, welcoming Lin Xiuyuan inside.

Then she asked, "Do you want to sit for a while?"

"No, it's too late, I won't disturb your rest."

Lin Xiuyuan shook his head, then chose the door to a guest bedroom and opened it, preparing to return to the Year Apartment.

But just before he was about to step in, he suddenly stopped, turned his head, and looked at Tian Enjing behind him with a hint of a smile in his eyes.

"Enjing, you just said Taeyeon looked at me like she wanted to eat me, what about you?"

Tian Enjing didn't expect Lin Xiuyuan to ask this, and was slightly stunned. Her gaze met his briefly, and she was just about to say something.

But she saw the other party had already turned around with a smile, stepped through the door, and left cleanly and decisively.

Leaving her standing there alone, stunned for a moment, before finally lowering her head and smiling helplessly and gently.

Then she looked up at the door that had just closed, her thoughts drifting to that moment in the evening.

That was the scene where Xueli had come from the past to the future and stood before her.

That indescribable impact made her heart tremble slightly, and also stirred up some of her longing for a certain relative.

A moment later, she whispered softly to herself, "Compared to that, I prefer the past, Xiuyuan~"

Unfortunately, Lin Xiuyuan could no longer hear this sentence.

Just like that, today's story finally came to an end in the quiet.

And Lin Xiuyuan, who had returned to his Year Apartment on the other side, said goodnight after greeting Xueli, and then went into the bedroom.

Wash up, turn off the lights, and have a good night's sleep.

……

……

The next morning, 2013, inside a Beauty Salon in Seoul.

As time passed, the members of Girls' Generation, who arrived for makeup according to the drawing order, entered The Gate one after another.

In the blink of an eye, the nine of them had each sat in different corners of the Beauty Salon; in front of the mirrors, hair dryers and combs moved busily, quiet yet orderly.

Zheng Xiuyan, who was originally scheduled later, took the initiative to swap seats with Quan Youli today and quietly sat down beside Lin Xiaolu.

Lin Xiaolu, who was looking down at her phone, noticed the change beside her and tilted her head curiously to ask, "Unnie, what do you want to ask?"

"Did you know about Lin Xiuyuan's situation a long time ago?"

Zheng Xiuyan said in a low voice while tidying her hair, not revealing too much in her words, as there were many ears around.

Lin Yun'er clearly hadn't reacted yet and looked up in confusion, "What situation? What's wrong with Lin Xiuyuan again?"

Zheng Xiuyan didn't speak further and simply patted her face.

Watching this scene, Lin Xiaolu blinked her eyes and still shook her head, "I don't understand."

"When you were eating last time, didn't you see that you looked much better, right here?" This time Zheng Xiuyan added a sentence, only patting her face at the very end.

Now Lin Xiaolu understood, her eyes widening, "Unnie, did you go to the Villa last night?"

"Mm, I know everything now." Zheng Xiuyan nodded, then added with emphasis, "I heard you knew about it even earlier, is that right, YoonA~"

Lin Xiaolu, who was being "called to account," could only laugh dryly and shrug helplessly, "Knowing is one thing, but I didn't dare to try it; it always felt a bit strange."

Hearing this, Zheng Xiuyan sighed lightly as well, then expressed.

"We are still too thin-skinned, or perhaps we don't value this point enough. From what I learned last night, that guy is already being treated as an Experience Bean over there; everyone is eager to turn into a Juice Extractor and find him to squeeze some Soy Milk."

"Hiss~"

Faced with this answer, Lin Xiaolu immediately thought of something and gasped with a bit of worry, "Then wouldn't Lin Xiuyuan be..."

"I don't know. My brain is a bit fried right now; I took in too much information during my rest yesterday and need to sort it out properly."

Zheng Xiuyan shook her head, her expression somewhat weary.

Because besides this, the matter regarding Jessica also made her feel a bit melancholy.

At this moment, after the initial surprise, Lin Xiaolu quickly regained her composure because she had been mentally prepared, and immediately returned to thinking mode.

"So Unnie, there's a reason why he doesn't return to the Apartment. With so many beauties at the Villa and us all working, if it were you, would you be willing to come back here and space out?"

"YoonA, do you think that's the issue?" Zheng Xiuyan looked at her.

"I think even if there are other reasons, this issue accounts for the vast majority. That guy is very young."

After listening, Zheng Xiuyan stared at her for a while, suddenly sighed, and fell into a brief contemplation.

But before she could think too much this time, the makeup artist had already pushed open the door, and the two had to temporarily interrupt the topic.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Nihon.

The six members of T-ara finally finished their rehearsals and schedule, and having rare free time, they went out together to walk around and relax.

Before leaving, Quan Baolan, who was standing at the entryway changing her shoes, suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Park Jiyeon, "By the way, Jiyeon, how did you guys get to know that guy who bought my Apartment?"

"Hm?" Park Jiyeon was a bit surprised, "Unnie, why are you suddenly asking this?"

Even Xian Enjing, who was nearby, cast a curious look over.

"Because he's been pushing games to me lately, three messages a day, all different, and asking this and that."

Quan Baolan's tone carried a hint of distress, "I was just wondering... what kind of relationship do you guys actually have with him? Or should I..."

Quan Baolan, who wanted to say she would block and delete him, suddenly hesitated for a moment.

Although Lin Xiuyuan was a little bit annoying, some of the small games he pushed were very fun, just enough to fill her boring time while on standby.

It's just that it would be better if he weren't so proactive; she had social anxiety.

At this very moment, Lin Xiuyuan, who was sleeping soundly in the Apartment while hugging his quilt, had no idea that his persona was about to collapse.

(End of this chapter)