Chapter 291: Student Xiaomin Misses an Opportunity~ (Please subscribe, please give monthly tickets)

Beside a certain road late at night in Tokyo.

Standing in place, Park Hyomin suddenly felt her cheeks burning, and the plastic bag in her hand was unconsciously gripped tight, making a rustling sound.

Her gaze fixed on the man not far away, her heart was a complex mix of emotions, and for a moment, she didn't know how to react.

As for Lin Xiuyuan, upon seeing Park Hyomin walking out from the direction of the convenience store, a flash of surprise first crossed his face, followed immediately by a natural smile as he took the initiative to greet her, "Hi, Xiaomin, long time no see."

While speaking, his gaze also subconsciously and quickly sized up the young woman before him.

Although she had only come out temporarily to buy something, as an idol, she had still chosen a nice-looking dress to wear, fully displaying her superior sense of fashion and figure.

It was a black dress with an irregular cut.

Adorned with patterns of stars and moons, it appeared chic and carried a touch of mystery under the night sky of Tokyo.

Even though she was only wearing simple flat slippers on her feet, thanks to her perfect body proportions, her legs still looked exceptionally long and straight.

Looking at this "Student Xiaomin" in the prime of her bright youth in the year '13, Lin Xiuyuan's mind couldn't help but flash back to the Ms. Park Hyomin he had seen on the golf course in the year '25 that afternoon.

Although they were the same person, time seemed to have carved a different temperament into her.

The married version of her in '25 added a bit of a mature woman's charm and calmness, like a glass of mellow red wine.

While the one before him was more like a passionate and unrestrained champagne, full of youthful sexiness and bright vitality.

The two seemed to be one, yet their charms were actually quite different.

Lin Xiuyuan, having secretly compared them in his heart, sighed with emotion.

And when Park Hyomin heard Lin Xiuyuan's greeting, she quickly recovered from her initial shock, hurried forward a few steps while carrying the bag, her face filled with undisguised surprise and curiosity.

"Long time no see, Xiuyuan, why are you—why did you guys suddenly come to Tokyo? There wasn't a word of news beforehand."

As she spoke, she cast an inquiring look toward Xian Enjing at the side, her tone carrying a hint of reproach, "I was wondering why you were in such a rush to go out just now, Enjing unnie, so it turns out you were coming to pick them up. You didn't even tell me in advance, I would have gone along."

Xian Enjing, being complained about, just smiled without answering directly, her eyes even carrying a hint of watching a show; at this moment, Sulli also obediently stepped forward and smiled as she greeted Park Hyomin, "Xiaomin unnie, good evening."

Hearing this, Park Hyomin immediately reined in her probing of Lin Xiuyuan and politely returned the greeting, "Sulli, good evening."

Watching the two finish their pleasantries, Lin Xiuyuan's gaze fell straight onto the bulging black plastic bag in Park Hyomin's hand, a flash of amusement in his eyes, so he teased her on purpose, "Xiaomin, how did you know I was a bit hungry just after getting off the plane? And you even specially bought snacks for me in advance? I really thank you so much."

As soon as these words were out, Xian Enjing and Sulli at the side couldn't help but burst into laughter with a "pfft."

You really know how to climb up the pole, don't you.

At the same time, Park Hyomin was also amused by his sudden "thick-skinned" remark.

Unable to laugh or cry, she pushed the bag in her hand forward and joked along with his words, "Yes, yes, it was bought for you, I'm giving it to you, happy now?"

Saying this, she had assumed Lin Xiuyuan was just making a joke.

To her surprise, she didn't expect Lin Xiuyuan to actually reach out and take it quite naturally, then proceed to open the bag himself and peek inside.

He didn't forget to comment while doing so, "Hmm, let me see. Potato chips, chocolate, drinks—the variety is quite rich. Thanks, Xiaomin, then I won't stand on ceremony."

"You—" Park Hyomin looked at his unreserved behavior, feeling both annoyed and amused, and waved her hand to indicate it didn't matter.

However, her curiosity about why Lin Xiuyuan had suddenly appeared in Tokyo grew even heavier.

So she pressed him again, "By the way, you still haven't answered me, what on earth are you doing running over to Tokyo?"

"Just for fun." Lin Xiuyuan closed the bag, answering nonchalantly, as if he were truly here for a vacation.

But Park Hyomin rolled her eyes at him halfway; although she didn't speak, those expressive eyes clearly conveyed: Do you think I believe you?

In the middle of the night, dragging Sulli to suddenly drop into Tokyo, and saying it's just for fun?

Who are you trying to fool!!

Facing Park Hyomin's suspicious gaze, Lin Xiuyuan remained calm and added with a straight face, "It's true, really here for fun. It's just that I'm not familiar with the place and lack a tour guide who knows the area. Xiaomin, if you have time these few days, how about taking on a part-time job?"

"If you're really too busy, then I'll just have to let Zhenli pull Hela along."

Sulli very sensibly filled in the loophole for Lin Xiuyuan, "I'll ask unnie in a bit, but I can't guarantee it, oppa."

Seeing the two of them acting so serious, Park Hyomin was truly a bit confused and couldn't help but look at Xian Enjing again, wanting to get a hint from her.

Seeing that Xian Enjing was still smiling without speaking, neither confirming nor denying, she inexplicably believed it half a percent.

"Are you really here to play?" Her tone softened.

"If that's the case, you'll probably have to wait a day or two for a tour guide. We're a bit busy these two days, running around for performance promotions, right, Enjing unnie?"

Xian Enjing didn't remain silent this time; she nodded slightly and took over the conversation to explain the situation specifically to Lin Xiuyuan, "Yes, that's right. The schedule for these two days is quite full, all for promoting the upcoming performances. Because in a while, we have to hold another concert at the Budokan."

"Wow!" Upon hearing this, Sulli opened her eyes wide in surprise, "Unnie, haven't you already held two shows at the Budokan? How come there's a third one? That's too amazing."

This time, before Xian Enjing could answer, Park Hyomin explained with a tone of emotion.

"It's very simple, this is all thanks to that chain restaurant Zhiyan started; it has recently expanded to Tokyo, which has driven quite a bit of popularity. Plus, hasn't our popularity in Huaxia been rising very significantly lately? The company here saw money to be made, so naturally, they struck while the iron was hot and added the shows."

Regarding this, Sulli was sincerely happy for them and looked at Park Hyomin with a smile, "Congratulations, unnie! I hope you guys get better and better, and more and more popular."

And Lin Xiuyuan was the same, "Impressive, you're speaking more and more like our side."

"Thanks~" Park Hyomin nodded slightly, accepting this blessing and praise.

After saying all this, she realized that the few of them had been standing at the entrance of the Jiudian chatting for quite a while, and the night wind was a bit chilly.

She couldn't help but cast her gaze toward Xian Enjing again, her eyes carrying a hint of suggestion, hoping that she would help open the conversation and push the relationship forward.

For example, inviting Lin Xiuyuan and Sulli to sit in the Dormitory, or perhaps going into the Jiudian to sit, helping her create more opportunities; she was a bit at a loss for words.

However, Xian Enjing still wore a "none of my business" spectator smile.

She had no intention of opening her mouth to help at all, as if saying: Xiaomin, you handle it yourself.

This made Park Hyomin clench her little fist in anger.

And Lin Xiuyuan, after glancing at his watch and seeing that it was already past midnight, took the initiative to end this chance encounter.

"Well, it's getting late, don't you guys have a schedule to attend to tomorrow? We can handle the check-in ourselves, Enjing, you and Xiaomin should go back and rest early."

Upon hearing this, Park Hyomin felt anxious, opened her mouth, and instinctively wanted to say something to make them stay, or at least arrange to meet again tomorrow.

But with the words on the tip of her tongue, looking at Lin Xiuyuan's calm and natural expression, she eventually swallowed them back, turning them into a slightly disappointed reply.

"Alright then, you two should get some rest early as well."

To the side, Xian Enjing, who had seen Park Hyomin's subtle struggle and ultimate surrender, finally couldn't help but let out a low laugh.

After watching Lin Xiuyuan and Xueli walk into the Jiudian lobby, she let go completely, smiling as she raised her hand to pat Park Hyomin on the shoulder, her tone filled with teasing.

"What is this, Xiaomin~ Is this that 'determined, burning desire to win' you were swearing by earlier? I served the opportunity right to you, and you just let it go with such a light remark?"

Park Hyomin: "!!!"

Having her cheeks turn bright red instantly from Xian Enjing's words, she was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on—both shy and annoyed, yet unable to refute it.

In the end, she could only glare indignantly at the teasing Xian Enjing, feeling absolutely frantic inside.

Finally, she could only squeeze out, "You can't expect me to just pounce on him, right?"

That would be far too unreserved~

She didn't have the nerve to say this last part out loud.

However—

"Why not?"

Xian Enjing smiled very happily, her eyes full of encouragement.

Because she knew that on the 2025 side, "Dalongzai" Zhiyan took exactly that route.

Simple, direct, and straightforward; once she set her sights on Xiuyuan, she pounced without hesitation, without the slightest bit of dragging her feet.

The result was obvious.

She successfully took the top spot and sat firmly in the driver's seat.

But faced with this overly advanced suggestion from Xian Enjing, the currently green and inexperienced 2013 Park Hyomin was once again at a loss for words, her cheeks flushed crimson, "Ah~ Unnie!!"

As she was now, she was ultimately still a girl who would feel shy about a direct approach.

Fortunately, after teasing her quick-witted but thin-skinned younger sister a little, Xian Enjing was finally satisfied and stopped bothering her.

Then, she affectionately linked arms with Park Hyomin, pulling the still-pouting girl toward the detached Dormitory next door.

Humming a light tune, she was clearly in a very happy mood.

On the other side, inside the Jiudian.

Lin Xiuyuan and Xueli had successfully completed the check-in process.

Don't let the small scale of this Jiudian fool you; the environment was quiet, security was strict, and it even had a rare two-bedroom executive suite, which was just right for the two of them.

It avoided the need to share a room while being more convenient for looking after each other and ensuring safety than staying in separate rooms.

However, after entering the suite, Lin Xiuyuan did not immediately insert the room card, instead signaling for Xueli to wait at the entrance for a moment.

He then took out his phone, turned on the camera function, and carefully checked the Living Room, bedroom, bathroom, and even the corners of the suite, focusing on whether there were any suspicious infrared light spots or unnatural decorations.

After confirming that there were no abnormalities to the naked eye or through the phone's preliminary detection, Lin Xiuyuan returned to the entrance and inserted the room card into the power slot, and the lights in the room turned on with a soft glow.

But that wasn't enough.

A few minutes later, Lin Xiuyuan returned from the bathroom entrance to the Villa to fetch a pricey signal jammer.

According to the seller, if even this professional equipment couldn't block it, it basically meant the opponent was at a military level, which ordinary people wouldn't encounter.

They would definitely be "biubiubiu-ed" too.

After turning on the jammer and placing it in the center of the Living Room, Lin Xiuyuan watched the indicator light blink normally and finally relaxed completely.

After all, in his situation, safety was always the top priority.

"Zhenli, you go back and take a shower and rest first. I'll keep watch here, and you can come replace me in a while."

Having finished everything, Lin Xiuyuan turned to look at Xueli behind him and said.

Xueli nodded very obediently, asked no further questions, and walked straight into the bathroom, her figure disappearing from the Jiudian.

After she went in, Lin Xiuyuan immediately closed the door, then walked to the window and pondered for a moment while looking at the brilliant night view outside.

He took out his phone and pulled up Goo Hara's phone number, staring at it for a while.

His finger hovered over the dial button, but in the end, he chose to exit the contact list.

About half an hour later, Lin Xiuyuan opened the Time Gate again to bring back Xueli, who had finished washing up and changed into comfortable loungewear.

"Alright, Zhenli, you contact Hela and see about meeting up tomorrow, how about that?"

Xueli understood immediately upon hearing this and excitedly took out her phone, found Goo Hara's number, and dialed it.

Watching this scene, Lin Xiuyuan smiled, waved at her, and walked into the Time Gate to return to the Villa to shower.

Meanwhile, inside the guest room.

The call Xueli made was answered after a few rings, and Goo Hara's slightly tired but still gentle voice came from the other end, "Hello~ Zhenli, why are you calling me so late?"

Without waiting for the other party to ask more, Xueli immediately spoke in a cheerful tone, "Unnie~ are you free tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Goo Hara was a bit surprised, "Why the sudden question? I have a recording session to finish tomorrow morning, and I'll be free after noon. Why?"

Upon hearing that Goo Hara would be free after noon, Xueli felt even happier, and her tone became increasingly jubilant, "That's great, Unnie, let's eat together tomorrow."

"Together?"

Hearing this word, Goo Hara was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "Zhenli~ did you forget? I'm in Tokyo right now, not Seoul. How are we supposed to eat together? Don't tell me you're going to fly over?"

Goo Hara on the other end of the phone just assumed Xueli was confused from being busy and didn't take it seriously.

However, Xueli's next words made her freeze instantly.

"Unnie~ who said I'm still in Seoul?" Xueli's voice carried a hint of smugness and mystery, "I'm in Tokyo too, I just arrived."

"What?!!"

Goo Hara's surprised voice came clearly through the receiver, "You're in Tokyo too?? Really?

Why did you suddenly come over? Where are you staying?"

This sudden surprise made the somewhat tired Goo Hara instantly much more alert.

Her best friend's sudden visit left her surprised, but also filled her with the joy of reuniting with a close friend.

But Goo Hara was completely unaware that the joy she believed herself to be feeling was about to become an incomparably grand "surprise"!!!