Chapter 269

A few nights ago, T-ara dormitory.

Park Hyomin sat cross-legged on the living room sofa, watching Xian Enjing push the door open and enter. She subconsciously glanced at the empty space behind her, then asked casually, "Didn't Jiyeon come back with you?"

Xian Enjing, who was asked, bent down to change her shoes and replied, "No, she went to get busy with that chain store business with Shaoxi. It seems like the branches have been opening very quickly lately, and the two of them have barely had a moment to rest these past few days, even busier than us running schedules."

Hearing this, Park Hyomin nodded along.

Actually, she had also been paying attention to that chain brand invested in by Park Jiyeon's so-called company. It had indeed been booming lately, and there were plenty of news reports, even drifting from Huaxia all the way to Seoul.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "I really didn't expect that the youngest maknae in the group would be the first to start a business, and it looks like it's about to succeed."

After sighing, her gaze fell back onto Xian Enjing, carrying a bit of scrutiny and curiosity.

"Speaking of which, Enjing, what's up with you these past few days? As soon as rehearsals or work end, you disappear. Did you go find that Lin Xiuyuan again?"

Xian Enjing, having finished changing her shoes, straightened up and met Park Hyomin's inquisitive gaze. Not only did she not dodge, but she laughed as if she found it very interesting and asked back, "Why ask like that? Is our Hyomin jealous? No way, you're jealous of a guy?"

For some reason, hearing this, Park Hyomin pouted awkwardly, a hint of imperceptible resentment in her tone, "Who's jealous? I just feel that ever since we met Lin Xiuyuan, it seems like we haven't gone out shopping or eating together for a while. Didn't we do that often before?"

Listening to Park Hyomin's complaint, Xian Enjing immediately smiled and went along with it, "Then how about we go now?"

As a result, Park Hyomin immediately glared at her, "It's already night, why go out? To run into the Black Night Butcher?"

"Hahaha~ It's not that exaggerated."

Xian Enjing smiled, "Then let's wait a few more days. When the time comes, we'll find a time when we're all off and go out for a good meal."

After saying this, she seemed to think of something, nudged Park Hyomin's arm with her shoulder as she walked up to her, and asked in a low voice, "But Hyomin, do you think we should call Xiuyuan along when the time comes? Having a milky little boy as company should make eating and shopping more fun, right?"

Park Hyomin, being teased, rolled her eyes directly, her tone filled with gloom, "If you miss him, just say so. Why drag me along? I'm not really into Lin Xiuyuan."

In her view, although Lin Xiuyuan was young, handsome, and carried a sunny, youthful vitality, he wasn't the type she preferred.

She preferred promising young men who had a slightly mature flavor, kept their bodies in shape, and had some muscle definition.

In the parlance of '25, that would be the "high-ranking official style."

Facing Park Hyomin's clear statement of "not being into him," Xian Enjing just gave her a meaningful look, then didn't say anything more and turned toward the bedroom.

"I'm going to take a shower."

However, just before she grabbed a set of pajamas and was about to walk into the bathroom, her footsteps suddenly stopped at the door. She looked back at Park Hyomin, who was still sitting on the sofa lost in thought, and said it as if mentioning it casually, yet as if deliberately emphasizing it.

"By the way, Hyomin, actually Xiuyuan's physique is also great, one of the best among the guys I've seen, and very standard."

Finally, in the gaze of Park Hyomin, who looked up in astonishment, she clearly added four words, "The top-tier kind."

Then, without waiting for Park Hyomin to react, she slipped into the bathroom and closed the door.

Leaving Park Hyomin alone in the living room, with the phrase "the top-tier kind" echoing repeatedly in her mind.

Her mood was inexplicably confused, and uncontrollably, a trace of...

Damned curiosity began to sprout.

Back to the present, inside the restaurant.

Today was actually the day Park Hyomin and Xian Enjing had arranged to eat together.

It's just that she arrived at the restaurant early. Just as she walked to the reserved table under the waiter's guidance and hadn't had time to sit down, her gaze was attracted by a table of guests not far away.

At that table, Park Hyomin first saw Goo Hara and Sulli, whom she hadn't seen in a long time. This unexpected encounter surprised her a little.

Immediately after, she discovered that sitting opposite the two of them were none other than Lin Xiuyuan and Lin Xiaolu.

How did these people end up together? Park Hyomin drew a big question mark in her heart.

So, taking advantage of the fact that Xian Enjing hadn't arrived yet, she couldn't suppress her curiosity, adjusted her expression, and walked over with a smile.

"Yo, what a coincidence?"

After greeting them, Park Hyomin sat down in the empty seat next to her, following Lin Xiaolu's enthusiastic invitation.

Her gaze circled the faces of the few people and finally landed on Lin Xiuyuan, who seemed to be the core figure, "How did you guys end up together? A chance encounter?"

"What chance encounter, Unnie," Sulli pursed her lips and smiled, explaining, "We arranged this."

At this time, Lin Xiuyuan also greeted her with a smile, then looked at a figure and asked, "Is it just you, Hyomin?"

"No." Park Hyomin shook her head, "Enjing is coming too, but she hasn't arrived yet."

"Enjing is coming too," Lin Xiuyuan was a bit surprised, then naturally followed up about another figure, "Then what about Jiyeon?"

"Jiyeon doesn't have time, she went to get busy with those things of yours."

Park Hyomin looked at Lin Xiuyuan. Although she didn't say it explicitly, both of them knew it was about the chain store business.

Hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan smiled knowingly, his gaze turning to Goo Hara, who had been slightly quiet since Park Hyomin arrived.

The moment their eyes met, he naturally gave a suggestion, "Hela, since Enjing and Hyomin happened to run into us, why don't we join together? It's more lively with more people."

Goo Hara was stunned by this sudden suggestion, then looked at Park Hyomin and instinctively nodded slightly, "I'm okay with that."

Sulli, sitting next to her, looked at the table, which wasn't very big to begin with, "But oppa, our table doesn't seem to have enough space."

Then Lin YoonA followed up, "I think I just heard that the restaurant has private rooms. Should we ask?"

Park Hyomin, who had been quiet, saw that the few of them were really going to merge their groups together in just a few words, so she waved her hands repeatedly, "No need, no need, you guys eat your meal, we won't disturb..."

But before she could even finish her sentence, Lin Xiuyuan had already raised his hand to summon the waiter.

After confirming there was an empty private room, he said directly to the waiter, "Then please help us move to the private room."

After finishing, he looked at everyone, stood up first, and waved his hand with an unquestionable decisiveness, "Let's go, gogogo~ time to change venues."

Sulli, Lin YoonA, and Goo Hara all stood up with smiles upon seeing this.

Goo Hara even grabbed Park Hyomin, who was still out of the loop and had a confused expression.

The group followed the waiter and moved to a more private and spacious room.

And inside this spacious room, the group sat down again.

But before the chairs were even warm, the door to the room was pushed open again, and Xian Enjing walked in wearing a pair of small boots.

When she saw the large circle of acquaintances in the room clearly, those beautiful eyes first widened in surprise, then narrowed slightly, scanning the whole room with a bit of playfulness and scrutiny, and finally landed on a certain boy who was surrounded by flowers, laughing with an exaggerated tone.

"Wow, what's the situation today? Everyone is here? Xiuyuan, did you organize this?"

While speaking, Xian Enjing naturally walked around half the table and went straight behind Lin Xiuyuan.

Then, under the slightly strange gaze of Park Hyomin and the curious gaze of Goo Hara, she very familiarly placed her hands on Lin Xiuyuan's shoulders and squeezed them not too lightly or too heavily.

Then she leaned over slightly, lowered her head, and asked with a smile, "Really, what's the situation today, Xiuyuan? It's very rare to see you take the initiative to come out to eat. I haven't seen it many times since I've known you."

As soon as she finished speaking, Sulli and Lin Xiaolu beside them laughed. Both of them knew what Xian Enjing meant by this.

It was nothing more than complaining that Lin Xiuyuan didn't often exist in this space-time of 2013.

As for Lin Xiuyuan, when he felt the force on his shoulders and the warm breath by his ear, he naturally looked back at Xian Enjing subconsciously.

At this very moment, his memory flashed back uncontrollably to the scene from yesterday afternoon.

The sultry scene of entanglement and fooling around with the more mature and bold "Sweet Enjing" in that apartment in '25.

So his eyes couldn't help but flicker slightly, but he quickly covered it up, then raised a natural smile and replied, "You say that, but I do come out to bask in the sun occasionally. Staying cooped up at home all day will make me moldy."

However, Xian Enjing seemed not to have heard his answer at this moment.

Because her entire attention was pulled together by the look Lin Xiuyuan gave her when he turned his head just now.

That look... was very strange.

It didn't contain much naked lust, but it carried a kind of... a kind of insight that seemed to pierce through the skin and reach the depths of the soul.

It was as if at that moment, all her disguises, all her secrets, and even the most subtle curves of her body were seen through by him.

A sense of shame and palpitation, as if she had been stripped of all her clothes and exposed naked to the other person's gaze for no reason, suddenly rushed up Xian Enjing's spine when that look touched her, making her heart tremble.

Almost instinctively, her brain nerves immediately connected this look to another figure.

The one that existed in 2025, the more mature, more languid, and more dangerous... herself.

Could it be...

A thought that Xian Enjing had been deliberately avoiding and didn't want to think deeply about exploded in her mind like a thunderclap at this moment.

Over there in '25, didn't something... terrible happen with Xiuyuan?

Otherwise, Xian Enjing really couldn't understand why Lin Xiuyuan, whose look at her was normal before, would suddenly reveal this kind of familiarity with everything, even knowing the secrets in her bones, today...

Strange look.

Thinking of this, Xian Enjing's gaze toward Lin Xiuyuan instantly became complex and subtle.

She even subconsciously lowered her head and took a quick glance at her outfit today. It was the most ordinary layered T-shirt and hoodie, so conservative that not even her collarbones were showing much.

But even with this outfit, it could make that guy Lin Xiuyuan have that kind of look?!

It's confirmed!

Xian Enjing almost wanted to scream in her heart.

Over there in '25, something improper must have happened with this kid, otherwise, it's impossible!

Following this series of brainstorming and deduction, in reality, only a few short seconds had passed.

So after guessing roughly, Xian Enjing quickly restrained the stormy waves in her eyes, but a thought of "verification" had already taken shape.

Before that, she still had to "revenge" someone a little bit.

So the hand resting on Lin Xiuyuan's shoulder suddenly squeezed hard!

"Ah~"

This move caught Lin Xiuyuan off guard, and he cried out in pain, turning his head to look at Xian Enjing, "What are you doing."

But Xian Enjing, who was asked, just gave a light hum, as if nothing had happened, let go of her hand, and walked around to the opposite side with elegant posture, sitting in the empty seat next to Park Hyomin.

Leaving Lin Xiuyuan alone rubbing his shoulder, looking at her figure, his face full of confusion.

Soon, the food they had ordered was brought in by the waiter, plate by plate.

Exquisite Spanish dishes filled the table, and the fragrance was overflowing.

After the waiter exited the room and closed the door, the atmosphere became active again.

For example, Park Hyomin took the lead in chatting enthusiastically with Goo Hara. As G7 members of "Invincible Youth," they had endless topics, from recent updates to memories of embarrassing incidents from back then, and laughter was constant.

Xian Enjing, who arrived last, also adjusted her mood and chatted easily with Lin Xiaolu, asking about her recent drama filming and group activities.

Soon, the atmosphere of the entire room became harmonious and lively.

However, just when Lin Xiuyuan thought this was just a pleasant dinner, Xian Enjing, who had been chatting with Lin Xiaolu for a while, suddenly smiled and patted the other person's arm, saying something in a low voice.

Then the two exchanged a look of tacit understanding, and Lin Xiaolu was seen smiling as she stood up and swapped seats with Xian Enjing.

At this time, Lin Xiuyuan was tilting his head, chatting in a low voice with Sulli on the other side about some things regarding Zheng Xiujing's recent schedule, completely unaware of the situation on the side.

And after sitting down, Xian Enjing didn't immediately disturb Lin Xiuyuan, just quietly looking at his profile, a relatively complex look flashing in her eyes.

A few seconds later, she suddenly reached out and patted Lin Xiuyuan's arm lightly.

"Xiuyuan~"

Lin Xiuyuan subconsciously stopped his conversation with Sulli and turned his head, "Mm?"

The moment he turned his head, Xian Enjing leaned forward abruptly.

The faces of the two instantly closed to an extremely ambiguous distance, and those bright eyes, carrying a cross-examination, tightly and unavoidably locked onto Lin Xiuyuan's pupils.

Her red lips parted slightly, her breath like an orchid, and she whispered in a tone that only the two of them could hear, carrying certainty.

"Xiuyuan, I have a question."

"What is it? You're a bit too close."

"Close?? Then tell me, did you do something bad to me over there in '25?"

(End of chapter)