Chapter 278: 【Double J Talks】

In the living room, the bright lights made every corner clearly visible.

The three people who had been standing earlier were now sitting around the coffee table in a subtle triangular formation.

And Lin Xiuyuan very helplessly took the initiative to sit in the very middle of the long sofa, using himself as a buffer zone.

On his left was Jessica, with a relaxed posture and a smile on her lips.

On his right was Zheng Xiuyan, with a cold expression and sharp eyes.

Whether it was a subconscious action or some kind of coincidence, when Lin Xiuyuan sat down, he happened to have his left hand, which was wearing the Mobius ring, closer to Zheng Xiuyan's side.

Thus, from the moment they sat down, Zheng Xiuyan's gaze fell frequently and scrutinizingly on the uniquely designed silver ring, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, as if studying some tricky code.

In comparison, Jessica on the other side seemed much more at ease.

Eating the soft, chewy grilled rice cakes in small bites, she scanned the apartment, a look of nostalgia appearing on her face as she sighed softly.

"Sigh, ever since I sold this apartment after 2011 and moved to a new place, I've almost forgotten the layout here. I really didn't expect that one day I'd be able to return to this familiar place."

When saying this, Jessica's tone carried a hint of melancholy about how things had changed, and also a faint trace of regret.

Her speaking made Zheng Xiuyan, who was staring at the ring, immediately raise her eyes and deliver a cold, mocking retort.

"Sold the house? I'm afraid it's because your startup failed miserably, and with capital turnover problems, you had to sell the house to save yourself?? Hmph, honestly, if some people aren't cut out for business, don't just 'jump into the sea' casually. Those who don't know might think you're planning to take some crooked path, learning from those Nihon female artists to find some channel."

The highly aggressive words, carrying obvious hostility, were aimed straight at someone.

Lin Xiuyuan, who hadn't expected Zheng Xiuyan's firepower to be so intense, was so scared while sitting in the middle that he quickly took a big bite of a beef skewer and chewed hard.

He let his busy mouth be his best cover, fearing being dragged into this life-or-death storm.

However, as the "same person," and the one with more extensive experience, Jessica was clearly no pushover.

So after hearing these caustic remarks, not only did she not get angry, but she laughed instead, her tone carrying a sense of condescending superiority, "This house has nothing to do with the startup~ Hmm, thinking about it carefully, I can't say it's completely unrelated."

Jessica, who deliberately paused her tone, enjoyed the inquisitive gaze from the other side, "It's mainly because I made money at that time and felt this apartment was too small and didn't match my status. So I changed to a bigger one with a better view, and it was paid in full."

After finishing, her gaze swept lightly over Zheng Xiuyan, continuing to twist the knife.

"If I had just been satisfied with being an idol like some people are now, earning some hard-earned money, I reckon by that time, when housing prices skyrocketed, I would only have been able to afford a down payment."

Hearing this, Zheng Xiuyan raised her delicate brows, calculating quickly in her heart.

In terms of personal savings, even if the 2025 version of herself failed in her startup, relying on so many years of accumulation, it was impossible for her to have less than the current version of herself.

Thinking of this, she immediately grasped another entry point and let out another cold laugh.

"Heh, saying so much, I thought you made a fortune, but in the end, after struggling with a startup for over ten years, all you have left in your hands are a few cold houses."

"What about the brand? It's long gone, right."

"What about the company? I heard you were cheated pretty badly, right."

"The most ridiculous thing is that after reaching such an old age, having been a so-called 'female CEO' for a few years, in the end, you still have to sneak back to the stage, jumping around with juniors, selling smiles to please fans... it looks pathetic!"

These words could be called cutting to the bone, specifically picking Jessica's most obvious pain points to poke.

However, contrary to Zheng Xiuyan's expectations, Jessica not only didn't get angry, but even leaned forward slightly, crossing over Lin Xiuyuan who was trying hard to minimize his presence in the middle, and stared carefully at Zheng Xiuyan's young and vigorous face for a few seconds.

Then she retracted her body and laughed lightly.

"It is quite pathetic~ I heard from Xiujing that someone was the first to become a member, No. 1. But in the end, she was overtaken by one latecomer after another, stepped under their feet, watching others cut in line to get ahead, while she could only mark time. If this were me, tsk tsk~~ I'd somewhat not want to live anymore."

If Jessica had refuted other aspects, Zheng Xiuyan might have been able to argue her case.

But facing this cold, ruthless fact about member development, Zheng Xiuyan suddenly found herself unable to refute it at all.

So she could only turn all her pent-up frustration and resentment into an even sharper gaze, glaring fiercely at Lin Xiuyuan sitting beside her.

It's all this bastard's fault!!!

She had clearly told him not to "cross-contaminate" before, and now it's all out in the open, all the messy situations have been poked out.

Lin Xiuyuan, who didn't understand mind-reading, couldn't understand the specific meaning in Zheng Xiuyan's gaze, but he could clearly feel the resentment that was almost becoming tangible.

So much so that he buried his head even lower, focusing more intently on dealing with the sausages and drinks in his hands, determined to implement the principle of "don't speak unless necessary."

Speak more, err more; silence is golden—he understood this truth better than anyone now.

But even if he shut his mouth, the clever Zheng Xiuyan quickly found a new breakthrough.

She suddenly reached out, almost grabbing the sausage Lin Xiuyuan had just taken a bite of from his hand, and then raised a faint smile toward Jessica.

"What's pathetic about this? No matter how pathetic, it's still better than some people, right? At most, they're just temporary teachers who 'teach' Xiuyuan. Like those 'nannies' or 'aunts' in the ancient palace responsible for teaching the crown prince's lessons; once the crown prince has learned and grown up, they naturally retire, who would still remember them?"

"The only ones who can grow up with the crown prince and the emperor are peers of the same age."

Originally just a quick-witted thought, the more Zheng Xiuyan said it, the more she felt her analogy was exquisite, and the smile on her face became increasingly brilliant.

"Oh~ I suddenly feel I'm so right; after all, given the age, it really seems about the same, right? Xiuyuan, what do you think?"

She deliberately threw the question to Lin Xiuyuan, forcing him to take a stand.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Lin Xiuyuan was choked by this fatal question and coughed repeatedly, subconsciously muttering, "Not that old, right?"

As soon as these words were out, the smile on Jessica's face vanished instantly, her expression turned completely cold, and her eyes swept over Lin Xiuyuan like ice blades.

And Zheng Xiuyan, as if she had won a great victory, laughed happily, and even didn't forget to kindly correct him, "Oh, of course not as old as Xiuyuan said~ Don't you have a term on your Huaxia side called 'half-old Xu Niang'? That's probably what it means, right? Still charming, hmm, still charming~"

Deliberately using a Chinese term she had recently learned, Zheng Xiuyan emphasized the age gap again in front of Jessica, and then looking at the other person's completely darkened face, she felt as refreshed as drinking a big gulp of soda in midsummer—cool to the heart, spirit soaring!!!

So she happily took a bite of the sausage she had snatched from Lin Xiuyuan.

So satisfying.

However, the gunpowder smell in the living room became even more intense under the silent yet cutting-to-the-bone confrontation between these two women.

Lin Xiuyuan, sitting blankly in the middle, felt like he was sitting on a powder keg that could explode at any moment, caught in a dilemma, his back even feeling a bit cold.

Just as the atmosphere in the living room was tense, and the two "Xiuyans" were engaged in a fierce silent and vocal confrontation with their eyes and words, the phone Zheng Xiuyan had placed on the coffee table happened to "ding-dong," indicating a new message.

It was such an insignificant episode, yet it became the life-saving straw Lin Xiuyuan had been waiting for.

So, almost like a conditioned reflex, he sprang up from the sofa.

Such an abrupt move startled both Jessica and Zheng Xiuyan on his left and right, and they looked at him simultaneously.

"Oh my~"

Lin Xiuyuan wore a very exaggerated, annoyed expression, stepped over in front of Jessica in one stride, and explained at a rapid speed.

"I think I left my phone at the apartment; I originally came over to check messages and report safety to my family, but now I've forgotten to take my phone. Luggage, you two eat first, don't worry about me, I'll go back to get my phone and come back soon."

After finishing, he didn't give Zheng Xiuyan a chance to ask him to stay, or Jessica a chance to raise questions.

With a "whoosh," he strode to the bathroom door, gripped the handle, and with a flash of his figure, he vanished behind the door instantly.

Leaving only a slight "click" of the door closing, echoing in the suddenly silent living room.

The speed was so fast it was as if there were floodwaters and wild beasts chasing behind him.

And looking at the glass door that had instantly cut off the man's figure, the smile on Zheng Xiuyan's face, which had been raised because she had gained the upper hand in words, instantly cooled and vanished.

Then she slowly turned her head, her gaze shooting toward Jessica beside her like quenched ice, squeezing a sentence through her teeth, "What kind of madness are you having?"

Jessica had been a bit dazed, but being provoked by her accusatory tone, she immediately retorted, "Who's having madness? Don't you go around making false accusations; I'm sitting here perfectly fine, I haven't done anything."

"You're not having madness?"

Zheng Xiuyan's voice rose sharply, carrying suppressed anger, "Then why are you randomly giving a ring? You know how many eyes are watching that guy, what are you trying to do by giving a ring? Is it not messy enough, do you want to explode the volcano yourself?!"

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, especially thinking about that glaring ring being worn on Lin Xiuyuan's hand.

Most importantly, it wasn't given by her!!!!

And after being pointed at and questioned by Zheng Xiuyan, Jessica's temper, which was rarely exposed after years of cultivation, also surged up.

She put down the rice cake in her hand, which was already mostly cold, and sneered.

"What? I just simply give a ring and it can explode your jealousy? Zheng Xiuyan, oh Zheng Xiuyan, it's a pity you're the first person to know Xiuyuan, and also the first to know all the secrets! For such a long time, you can't even integrate the most basic relationships, can't balance them; tell me, what use are you?"

Her words were like knives, merciless, "It's not that I look down on you, you know that guy Xiuyuan is like a greenhorn in terms of feelings, charging around, relying entirely on instinct and feeling. Even if you can't stop him from being a flirt, you should at least find a way to pull Yun'er and Jiyeon and the others together to form a solid 'alliance', right?"

The more Jessica spoke, the more she felt the "self" in front of her was incompetent, and the speechlessness in her eyes was about to overflow.

"Just from what I've learned from Jiyeon recently, even the 2025 timeline has two or three small groups dividing and balancing each other. And here? 2013 is Xiuyuan's base camp. And you? You, as the first to appear, holding the first-mover advantage, what use are you? Besides sitting here sulking and eating dry jealousy, what else can you do? This is purely being a waste."

Scolding herself, Jessica really didn't leave any room, every word piercing the heart.

Likewise, after being struck by this head-on scolding, Zheng Xiuyan only felt her face burning, both ashamed and annoyed.

So she glared at Jessica through gritted teeth, "Don't tell me you don't know how busy my schedule is during this time period, where would I have so much time to do these..."

However, it would have been better if she hadn't explained; explaining only hit Jessica's gun barrel.

"That's why I say you are all high-minded but low-skilled." Jessica interrupted her unceremoniously, her tone carrying thick disdain.

"Leaving such a big 'cheat' of a man by your side and not knowing how to use him well, you have to pretend to be noble, thinking of relying on yourself to fight, to prove, setting up an independent success persona. But in reality? Ask your conscience, every key success you've had so far, after beating around the bush, hasn't it relied on the information and resources Xiuyuan brought back from 2025?"

At this moment, she seemed to be able to see through all of Zheng Xiuyan's thoughts, and pointedly broke it down.

"Don't think I don't know your little schemes; isn't it just wanting to keep your airs, wanting to use your own charm to grasp this little boy, wanting him to be devoted to you, to prove your own value? The result? Now you've played it out of control. Xiuyuan is being 'taught' by Yun'er and Jiyeon on my side, and others, to be more and more slippery, more and more clear about his own 'value.' Think about it, can you still grasp him now? You can't grasp anything."

"I didn't."

"Heh."

To be honest, if Jessica were still in her early 20s, she might be able to understand the pride, struggle, and little thoughts of this "self" in front of her.

But she was in her 30s now, having experienced many ups and downs, and looking back with that perspective of seeing reality and shortcuts, she only felt these operations were stupid to the extreme.

Clearly, she could have used Lin Xiuyuan's ability to walk on the widest, fastest road to success, but she had to open up that thorny, winding path herself.

It seemed as if success obtained this way had more "honor," but in the end, after struggling to death, what she got might not even be as high as someone else's starting point; what was the point of this?

Zheng Xiuyan's face turned red and white from the scolding, her eyes glaring fixedly at Jessica, and she wanted to argue a few more sentences to win back some face, but found that all reasons were so pale and powerless in the face of the other person's insightful and merciless criticism.

Finally, as if drained of all strength, she leaned back against the sofa, and could only take out the words she had said to Zheng Xiujing, barely pushing back, "What do you know, at least my design path now has the momentum of cooperating with CJ..."

But before she could finish, she was interrupted by Jessica's light counter-question, "So? Who did you rely on? You don't want to say it was yourself, do you?"

"..." Zheng Xiuyan was suddenly speechless.

Jessica pressed on, her tone carrying sarcasm, "Isn't it still relying on the design and the potential attractiveness of the design from the future brought by Xiuyuan that caught CJ's attention? Then why didn't you be more direct at the beginning, like Park Jiyeon on this side, and just cleanly partner with him to open a company, tying him firmly to your chariot? Why did you have to go around such a big circle?"

Zheng Xiuyan opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but Jessica seemed to know what she wanted to say, and directly interrupted with a cold laugh.

"Don't give me that crap about Girls' Generation, the team responsibility; in the face of the huge secret of the Time Gate, as long as you make up your mind to jump out, relying on Xiuyuan's power, you only need a few years to quickly accumulate capital and become one of the rule-makers."

"Instead of being trapped in this small place of Seoul like now, playing idol games with the company and those so-called peers. You not only trapped yourself, but indirectly dragged Xiuyuan here, accompanying you to play house... Zheng Xiuyan, you really have the nerve."

Facing Jessica's such naked, cold, and even cruel straightforward speech, all of Zheng Xiuyan's strength to refute vanished.

After a deep, weary sigh, the anger that had been surging in her chest strangely subsided, replaced by a sense of powerlessness and confusion.

Then she raised her eyes, looking at the "self" who represented the "future," her eyes complex, and finally just replied softly, "I haven't experienced the part of your life where you left the group yet, I haven't walked the path you walked. So these thoughts you're telling me, I reckon I can't relate to them for now."

The meaning of this sentence was very clear: she respected Jessica's experience and views as someone who had "been there," but being in a different stage and state of mind, she couldn't understand.

Simply put, it was respect, but not understanding.

This was a kind of stubborn persistence, and also a limitation of the era and personal cognition.

And just after Zheng Xiuyan finished that sentence about "respect but not understanding," the living room fell into a brief silence.

She looked at this "self" from the future with sharp words, took a deep breath, and spoke again, her tone calm but carrying unquestionable certainty, "I roughly understand your thoughts, but Jessica, is there one point you've also completely ignored?"

"What?" Jessica raised her brows, waiting for her follow-up.

"Xiuyuan's own thoughts."

Zheng Xiuyan said clearly, "Some of the things you accused me of just now, I admit I might not have done well enough, but there is one point I think I did right, and that is I have never forced Xiuyuan to do anything."

Meeting Jessica's inquisitive gaze, she continued, "Whatever he wants, as long as it's not murder or arson, I mostly let him be. And your thoughts sound more like pushing him, or even forcing him to go in a direction you think is 'correct'."

Speaking to this point, Zheng Xiuyan's tone carried a kind of insight.

"Your suggestion isn't bad, but everyone has their own personality and choices. You might not have been in deep contact with Xiuyuan for long enough; his personality is simply not the type willing to be pushed forward by others. He carries a kind of laziness and spontaneity in his bones; I don't know if you understand this?"

Then she began to summarize, "In general, from what you just said, the person who really wants to 'grasp' Xiuyuan seems to be you, not me. I just chose to let him return to freedom, because I think this is his life; I have no right, and shouldn't be too manipulative of him."

Then she led the topic to Lin Yun'er and Park Jiyeon, "And also, the 'teaching' of Xiuyuan by Yun'er and Jiyeon on the 2025 side is completely different from what you said. They mostly teach him how to recognize his own heart, how to be responsible for the choices he makes; it's guiding him on 'how to make choices,' not like you, trying to tell him 'what he should do'."

At this time, Zheng Xiuyan's gaze when looking at Jessica already carried a trace of pity and warning.

"Jessica, although I don't know exactly what you've experienced over these years to form such a strong, controlling personality, I must make one point clear to you: your personality really needs to change. The main reason we were hesitant and reluctant to pull you in immediately back then was your personality... it accounted for 99 percent."

Jessica, who had been scolding quite heartily and felt she occupied absolute truth, was suddenly stunned by Zheng Xiuyan's logical and core-pointing rebuttal.

She opened her mouth, but found she couldn't find suitable words to fight back for a moment.

The whole living room suddenly fell into another deeper silence.

Two women with similar appearances and the same soul but at different space-time stages looked at each other across the air, their eyes complex.

The air that had been full of gunpowder just now seemed to have solidified, leaving only a silent deliberation flowing.

After a long while, Jessica finally seemed to find her voice, slightly averting her gaze with some guilt, her tone no longer as overbearing as before, carrying a hint of imperceptible concession.

"You might be right; I have indeed become accustomed to interfering too much in recent years, wanting to bring everything under control."

She admitted this fault of hers, but immediately found a bit of a stance again, "But you can let Xiuyuan be, but you shouldn't let the others around him be ignored; this is also a serious dereliction of duty."

Hearing this, Zheng Xiuyan also nodded, not refuting anything.

"You're right about this too; in terms of balancing the relationships of others, I really didn't handle it well, or rather, I didn't really handle it at all."

Then she sighed, "But things have reached this point, it's useless for you to say more. Xiuyuan doesn't have a second Time Gate to start over; in the words he often hangs on his lips, it's 'let nature take its course.' And looking at it now, although there are some small frictions, I don't think the situation has reached an unmanageable point."

"Small frictions?" Jessica seemed to have heard some joke, "Jiyeon has already started fighting with herself, and you call this no problem?"

To this, Zheng Xiuyan seemed very calm, "Isn't it normal for ideological conflicts standing at different eras and different cognitive levels to erupt? Think about it from another perspective: a girl who has just become an adult and is full of longing for the future, seeing herself from another space-time become a divorced 'young woman' in the blink of an eye—how big would the psychological gap be? If it were me, I reckon I'd want to have a fight to vent too."

As soon as Jessica heard this, she immediately replied, "Zheng Xiuyan, who are you subtly talking about with these words?!"

Keen as she was, she seemed to have captured some targeting.

However, Zheng Xiuyan didn't dodge, meeting her gaze head-on, not forgetting to bring a little provocation.

"I'm talking about you, so what? Stupid people can't be cured. You could fall headfirst into such an obvious commercial trap; you wasted that brilliant brain. Hmm~ answering you with the words Xiuyuan used to mock me, that is, what the hell is a face-con, falling for a shoe-horn face."

Unexpectedly, this time Jessica not only didn't get angry, but hooked the corners of her mouth and asked back, "I know Xiuyuan only officially sought you out at the beginning of this year, so guess who met someone first at the end of last year."

Jessica, bringing up old matters, had a certain tone, "Still the same sentence, Zheng Xiuyan, if it weren't for Xiuyuan and the variables he brought, you... (ˉ▽￣～) cut~~"

Zheng Xiuyan knew clearly that she had almost been fooled by the identity of that "shoe-horn face" back then, but it was absolutely impossible to admit this matter at this moment.

So she straightened her face directly and responded coldly, "Do you have evidence? If you don't have evidence, I'll sue you for slander!"

This response, which was almost like playing the rogue, directly stunned Jessica, who subconsciously let out a "wow," and sighed in disbelief, "I really didn't expect you to be so rogue, Zheng Xiuyan; I have always been a good loser."

Anyway, she was already playing the rogue, so Zheng Xiuyan continued to sneer and attack, "So? After being fucked by Xiuyuan once, you completely surrendered and were tamed by him, right?"

Now it was good; it was fine not to talk about this topic, but as soon as it was mentioned, it entered Jessica's comfort zone.

She first smiled lightly, that smile carrying a sense of superiority of someone who had been there and a hint of ambiguity.

"As an outsider, where do you get the courage to say this? You don't know that everyone who has 'used' Xiuyuan says it's good~"

First deliberately emphasizing the pronunciation of the two words "used," Jessica then said meaningfully, "Ah~ that's right, someone seems to have never really gotten their hands on Xiuyuan, let alone their mouth, so of course they don't understand the wonders of it."

Facing Jessica's such erotic speech, Zheng Xiuyan was stunned for a moment, then reacted to the deep meaning in her words, her cheeks instantly flushed, and she roared in shame and anger, "Ya! Jessica!!!"

Jessica, who was named, laughed, "What? Do you want me to describe the feeling to you in detail? Anyway, our body structures are roughly the same, and the sensitive points shouldn't be far off; if I tell you, you should be able to imagine some similar 'experiences', right?"

"I don't need it." Zheng Xiuyan refused through gritted teeth, "If I want it, I can have it anytime."

Now Jessica laughed even more happily, throwing down a sentence in a light tone, "I've heard this a lot; it's always just the incompetent rage of an outsider~ You're only left with being stubborn."

"Crap!" Zheng Xiuyan was so angry she cursed directly.

Just as Jessica wanted to continue using more explicit language to stimulate this "young" and stubborn self...

"Click."

In the corner of the living room, the glass door of the bathroom was opened from the inside.

Holding his phone, pretending he had just found something, Lin Xiuyuan walked out "naturally" and returned to this "battlefield" that had just experienced a war without smoke but with swords and shadows.

And his return also interrupted the conversation between the two that was about to escalate again and slide in a dangerous direction.

Jessica restrained the overly exposed emotions on her face, and Zheng Xiuyan also quickly adjusted her expression, only the red flush on her earlobes that hadn't faded and her slightly rapid breathing exposed her excitement just now.

Earlier.

When Lin Xiuyuan returned to the bistro apartment from the bathroom's Time Gate, the first thing he did was rub his temples.

Just sitting and eating something, it felt more mentally exhausting than flying from Seoul to Shanghai today.

Then he paced twice on the spot, finally sighed, walked to the coffee table, picked up his phone, found Xueli's number, and dialed it.

The phone on the other end was answered in seconds.

"Hello, oppa~ you're back?" Xueli's light, smiling voice came from the receiver.

However, before Xueli could say anything else, Lin Xiuyuan interrupted her in a hurried tone, "Zhenli, emergency rescue, I can only rely on you now!"

"Hmm?" Xueli was stunned by Lin Xiuyuan's mindless "cry for help," but still instinctively cared, "What's the situation, oppa? How can I help you?"

Then Lin Xiuyuan began to explain at a rapid speed, "I'm at Xiuyan's place now, but the atmosphere is a bit wrong; wait a moment, in about ten minutes... no, five minutes, after five minutes, call Xiuyan or me, find any excuse, just say you have something urgent to find me or her, just find a way to fish me out of this 'game'."

As soon as Xueli heard Lin Xiuyuan's words, and that the atmosphere with Zheng Xiuyan was wrong, the reminder call from Zheng Xiujing not long ago flashed through her mind like lightning.

No way... did I accidentally pit oppa?

But as soon as this thought flashed, and thinking of the scene that might be happening, the corners of her mouth rose uncontrollably, and she couldn't help but let out a short, light laugh.

Lin Xiuyuan on the other end of the phone was having a terrible time, and hearing this laugh made him even more headache-ridden, "You're still laughing, Zhenli. I don't know what's wrong with Xiuyan tonight, her temper is especially explosive, like she ate gunpowder; I feel like I can't hold on anymore, and I even brought another one over."

"Wow... no wonder."

Xueli on the other end of the phone stuck out her tongue a bit embarrassedly, suppressing her laughter and confessing, "That, oppa, it seems~ maybe~ probably I did something counterproductive."

"Hmm? What do you mean?" A bad premonition rose in Lin Xiuyuan's heart.

Then he heard Xueli explain simply in an apologetic tone how Zheng Xiujing had called Zheng Xiuyan just now, roughly relaying the intelligence about her relationship with Lin Yun'er and Xian Enjing getting closer.

And that so-called "sense of crisis"...

So when Lin Xiuyuan finished listening to Xueli's explanation, his whole person holding the phone was stunned, as if struck by an invisible lightning bolt.

So that's it!

No wonder it felt murderous the moment I walked in!

I ran into the gun barrel myself after all that.

Thinking of this, Lin Xiuyuan wished time could flow backward, and he could slap himself from a few minutes ago hard.

If I had known, I would have just stayed in Shanghai drinking with Jessica until I lost my memory tonight; why did I have to run back to wade through this muddy water? It's simply walking into a trap.

On the other end of the phone, Xueli was still apologizing cautiously, "I'm sorry, oppa, I really didn't expect it to be like this..."

Then Lin Xiuyuan quickly took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, "It's okay, it's okay, it's not your fault, Zhenli. This situation had to be faced sooner or later, just didn't expect it to come so 'enthusiastically'."

Then he clicked his tongue and continued, "So the rescue plan in a moment remains unchanged, remember to call in a while, be sure to break this 'high-risk heart-to-heart game' in front of me first."

Lin Xiuyuan felt it wasn't that they couldn't have a heart-to-heart, but they absolutely couldn't let the current Zheng Xiuyan and Jessica get together for an "in-depth exchange."

This was simply Mars hitting Earth!

On the other end of the phone, Xueli seemed to understand only half of it, but still obediently replied, "OK, oppa, I understand. Leave it to me."

However, she soon curiously asked one more question, "But oppa, how did you run out to call me when facing that situation? Aren't you going to watch from the scene?"

Immediately after, when Xueli heard Lin Xiuyuan answer "I found an excuse to slip back to the bistro apartment, leaving them both in the living room for now," she was so shocked on the other end of the phone she almost jumped up.

"Daebak!!! Oppa, you~ are you sure that if you're not at the scene, Xiuyan unnie and the others won't fight?! Did you forget about Jiyeon unnie and 'that person' having a full-blown brawl the first time they met??"

Lin Xiuyuan felt guilty being asked by Xueli, and answered with insufficient confidence, "Sh~shouldn't they? After all, they are both adults, and in a sense, their personalities are quite similar, so they should reason, right?"

It's just that saying this, even he himself didn't quite believe it.

"Personalities like needles against wheat, oppa~"

Xueli on the other end of the phone was simply crying and laughing, "Oh my~ stop talking, hurry back. I'll time it, and call exactly five minutes later; you must be there, at least~ at least you can break up the fight."

"Got it, got it, I'm going back now, call in ten minutes, otherwise five minutes is too deliberate." Lin Xiuyuan also realized his behavior of slipping away was a bit bad, so he quickly agreed.

"Got it, oppa~"

After hanging up the phone, he didn't dare to delay any longer and immediately prepared to return to Zheng Xiuyan's apartment.

However, before going over, Lin Xiuyuan paused, turned around, and first turned into the bathroom on the side.

No way, the tense scene before was too stimulating, causing him to need to pee a bit now, so he had to solve his personal problem first.

Returning to Zheng Xiuyan's apartment.

Lin Xiuyuan keenly sensed that the atmosphere seemed to have undergone some subtle changes.

Although a silent tension still permeated between Zheng Xiuyan and Jessica, compared to the previous feeling of swords drawn and bows bent, as if they would flip the table at any moment, it seemed to have faded a lot.

The two sat at each end of the sofa, and although there was no communication, it seemed there was no longer the mode of continuing the dangerous mutual "stabbing."

This made Lin Xiuyuan feel slightly relieved, then he piled a smile on his face, shook the phone in his hand, and walked back to the buffer zone between the two with a relaxed tone.

"Haha, finally got the phone back." He said while sitting down, trying to break the silence with a relaxed tone, "Don't just sit there, eat barbecue, eat quickly."

Zheng Xiuyan and Jessica on the side looked at each other, their eyes still not very friendly, but at least there was no murderous intent, and they really each picked up skewers and started eating.

Perhaps it was because the "scolding" that hit the soul just now consumed too much energy, or perhaps Zheng Xiuyan was very interested in the unique flavor of Shanghai barbecue, she ate much more attentively than at the beginning, one skewer after another.

And Lin Xiuyuan, watching this scene, hesitated, feeling he should still care about the original intention of Zheng Xiuyan calling him over, so he cautiously asked, "That, Xiuyan~ you sent a message earlier calling me over, is there anything urgent you want to tell me?"

When asking this question, he tried his best to make his tone sound natural, without any probing.

Zheng Xiuyan, who was biting a piece of grilled shiitake mushroom, paused in her movements and looked up at him.

A pair of beautiful eyes were filled with complex emotions, with lingering anger, helplessness, and a hint of amusement at Lin Xiuyuan's caution.

Then she swallowed the food, picked up a tissue to wipe the corners of her mouth, and replied, "Nothing particularly urgent, it's just..."

Then she told Lin Xiuyuan concisely about her recent contact with the CJ Group and the other party's intention to cooperate with her to create a high-end fashion brand.

Jessica on the side listened, habitually wanting to open her mouth to comment a few words and complain.

But just as her lips moved, Lin Xiuyuan on the side turned his head immediately, as if he had eyes on his back, and gave her a faint look.

No meaning, just looked at her faintly.

Jessica, being looked at by his gaze, swallowed the words that were on her lips.

She curled her lips somewhat unwillingly, lowered her head, and bit hard on the grilled chicken wing in her hand, as if treating it as some annoying person.

After successfully "suppressing" Jessica's possible sabotage, Lin Xiuyuan turned to Zheng Xiuyan again, a smile on his face.

"Is this a good thing, Xiuyan~"

"Don't know, let's see how it goes."

Lin Xiuyuan nodded, then carefully asked about some specific details of the cooperation.

Such as brand dominance, design copyright, profit sharing ratio, etc.

When hearing Zheng Xiuyan say that the CJ side was relatively harsh on initial copyright sharing, but would give strong support in brand operation and resource investment, he nodded with satisfaction.

Because his thoughts and Zheng Xiuyan's basically coincided.

With the huge advantage of having access to the future space-time, these initial design copyrights indeed seemed less important.

What's important is to use CJ's platform and resources to quickly establish the brand and make it famous.

By the time the contract expires, Zheng Xiuyan will really be soaring.

Just as they were discussing almost enough, a crisp phone ringtone rang at the right time.

Xueli's call arrived as promised.

Finally looking at the two words "Xueli" jumping on the screen, he didn't answer immediately, but stared at the screen for a full two seconds.

Then he suddenly turned his head, his gaze falling on Lin Xiuyuan, the corners of his mouth hooking into a knowing and slightly teasing arc, and he handed the phone directly to him, saying in a light tone.

"You answer it."

These three words carried a flavor of seeing through everything.

To this, Lin Xiuyuan's heart skipped a beat, a flash of embarrassment at being exposed on his face, but he quickly regained his composure.

He raised his hand to rub his nose, gave a dry laugh, took the phone, pressed the answer button, and at the same time deliberately raised his volume, saying in a very normal tone, "Hello? Zhenli? What's wrong?"

Xueli on the other end of the phone was clearly prepared, although she didn't know why Lin Xiuyuan answered the phone, she still cooperated and started acting.

The voice came out vaguely through the receiver, seemingly talking about some trivial matter that needed Lin Xiuyuan or Zheng Xiuyan to "help make a decision."

On the side, Zheng Xiuyan leaned on the back of the sofa and picked up a skewer of grilled corn, eating it in small bites, her eyes scanning back and forth between Lin Xiuyuan and Jessica, who was listening with her ears pricked up, and the smile on her face became more and more obvious.

And Jessica, after the initial daze, also quickly understood, couldn't help but roll her eyes at Lin Xiuyuan, and muttered in Chinese in a low voice.

"Childish!"

It's just that the smile that flashed across the corners of her mouth exposed that she actually thought this play was a bit funny too.

Thus, this "Double J Talk" triggered by a tip-off call and almost out of control, finally ended with Lin Xiuyuan's clumsy but timely rescue, and Xueli's tacit off-field assistance.

In a somewhat comical way, it temporarily came to an end.

At least the peace on the surface was maintained.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 279 =====