Chapter 296: Before the Tombstone (Please Subscribe and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

"Click!"

A crisp shutter sound broke the momentary dead silence that followed the screaming.

Inside the door of the camper parked nearby, a large group of people had gathered, some squatting and some standing, though no one knew when they had arrived.

They were diverse in appearance, yet without exception, they all possessed stunningly beautiful faces and outstanding temperaments.

What made one's scalp tingle even more was that the faces of many among them were as identical as if they had been copied from some of the people at the scene, looking exactly like pairs of twins.

And the one who had just pressed the shutter, recording the moment of Goo Hara's hysterical screaming and Li Juli's weak-kneed collapse, was none other than the figure who looked almost exactly like Kim Taeyeon.

At this moment, Jin Ruanruan looked at the photo full of dramatic tension on her camera screen, then tilted her head to glance at another figure beside her who was indistinguishable from Lin Chongji, or rather, looked at the camera in that person's hand which was still in recording mode.

A satisfied smile could not help but appear on her face as she said, "This is great, finally there's a complete video to save as a souvenir. The reactions and opportunities of first realizing this world are too rare; we finally managed to film it this time."

"Taeyeon, YoonA, your dark sense of humor is really quite heavy." Zheng Xiuyan, who was standing behind her, leaned against the tabletop, withdrawing her gaze from the scene outside the camper door, and commented with a smile.

But although she said it that way, there was no real disgust in her eyes.

Otherwise, why would she be smiling?

However, another Jessica, who also wore a similar face, seized the opportunity to immediately express a different opinion.

She brushed her hair back, her tone carrying a hint of provocation, "I think this is quite good, isn't it very commemorative? What a historic moment."

Zheng Xiuyan, having been contradicted by "herself," turned her head to look at Jessica, especially after noticing that face which looked as if it had a soft-focus filter applied and was in an unbelievably good state.

Realizing something, she became even more furious, snorted coldly, and looked away directly.

Noticing the small spark of gunpowder here, Krystal smiled as she stepped forward and affectionately hugged Zheng Xiuyan's arm, attempting to smooth things over while also being genuinely curious.

"Unnie, when did you guys get back? Lin Xiuyuan was worried before that your schedule was too tight and you wouldn't make it in time."

Zheng Xiuyan, being asked, took a deep breath, suppressed that inexplicable irritation, and answered her, "We just got back this morning. Fortunately, it was around noon; if that guy Lin Xiuyuan had arranged it any earlier, we really wouldn't have made it."

"

And the Time Gate behind them, which connected to the Year Apartment, remained in an open state at this moment, like a strange entrance leading to another world.

It turned out that before going to pick up Goo Hara, Lin Xiuyuan had already used the Time Gate to gather this group of people in that apartment from the year 13.

Therefore, when Lin Xiuyuan brought Goo Hara, Xueli, and the others through the gate as if performing magic and finally appeared in this sunny cemetery, Zheng Xiuyan and the others had already been watching the whole process from the Living Room.

After Lin Xiuyuan and the others walked out of the door, everyone followed and walked over.

But they all tacitly chose not to get off the vehicle, instead opting to crowd into the small space at the camper door, either squatting or standing, and witnessed that highly impactful scene with all sorts of complex emotions.

And Goo Hara, who had just screamed in extreme terror, turned her gaze instinctively toward the camper door where the sound came from when she heard some noise.

At the same time, she happened to take in this even more horrifying and unbelievable sight.

That large group of acquaintances, who looked almost exactly the same yet clearly belonged to different individuals, were crowded together, watching her with a gaze mixed with incredibly complex emotions.

This scene, which far exceeded the processing limit of her brain, was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, causing Goo Hara's vision to go black and her brain to suffer from oxygen deprivation.

Then her body went limp, and she almost rolled her eyes back and fainted right then and there.

"Unnie!!"

Fortunately, at that critical moment, Xueli reacted extremely quickly.

Not only did she backhand and grab her slipping arm, but she also used all her strength to support Goo Hara.

At the same time, she turned her own voice into a clear, warm current with a soothing power, urgently drilling into Goo Hara's ears, which were almost filled with fear.

"Unnie! Calm down! Calm down! Look at me! Look at me!! I won't lie to you! I really won't lie to you! Look at me, Unnie!!!"

Xueli's earnest and gentle voice, carrying the years of friendship and trust between the two, pierced through Goo Hara's heavy panic like the only piece of driftwood one could grab while drowning, giving her a faint but vital support.

It was precisely because of this that Goo Hara struggled to focus her eyes and looked instinctively and pleadingly at Xueli, who was close at hand.

The gazes of the two little best friends, in this timeline of the year 25 where their traces had long since vanished, crossed the fog of life and death and intersected tightly once again.

And the determination, calmness, and deep understanding in Xueli's eyes were like a shot of adrenaline, slowly injected into Goo Hara's soul, which was on the verge of collapse.

Ten-plus minutes later.

While the others were still beside the camper comforting Goo Hara and explaining everything to Li Juli.

Lin Xiuyuan, as the culprit, had already taken the first step and found the tombstone belonging to Goo Hara.

Standing quietly in front of the tombstone, his gaze fell upon the engraved words, his eyes somewhat complex.

However, having already experienced it once with Xueli, he wasn't that shocked.

So after a while, he turned his head and looked toward the camper down the hillside.

He saw that the crowd beside the camper had already split into two relatively independent small circles, each surrounding a core figure.

One was Li Juli, who was still pale and needed someone to support her.

The other was Goo Hara, whose emotions had stabilized slightly, but whose eyes were still filled with confusion and shock.

Xueli, Xian Enjing, and the others were surrounding them, whispering something.

At this moment, a smiling inquiry came from beside him, "What's wrong? Is this lively scene even more spectacular than you originally anticipated, Xiuyuan?"

Lin Xiuyuan followed the sound and looked over, seeing that Dalongzai had arrived at his side at some point.

This time, she had tied her hair into a neat high ponytail, making her neck look slender, and she was currently tilting her head as she looked at him.

Then she continued, "I previously thought that you wouldn't specifically pull Juli Unnie into this, Xiuyuan. After all, she doesn't seem to fit the prerequisites for your membership at all, and she has always longed for freedom and hated being restricted."

But then she showed an "I understand" expression on her face, "It wasn't until Taeyeon Unnie briefly told me the situation last night that I understood a little."

This piqued Lin Xiuyuan's curiosity, "Oh? What did you understand?"

Dalongzai stretched out her finger, playfully pointing at herself, and then at Li Juli, who was surrounded below, "I understand now; it turns out you disliked that I lack a 'married woman' vibe and am not mature and charming enough, so you specifically found Juli Unnie, who fits your taste better, to fill this vacancy."

This earth-shattering interpretation made Lin Xiuyuan completely unable to hold it together; he burst out laughing and hurriedly waved his hands.

"Don't listen to Taeyeon's nonsense. I just felt that you all intentionally or unintentionally isolating Juli like this, making her always feel like an outsider, was a bit unfriendly. Since it's decided, then we face it together."

But Dalongzai clearly didn't believe this explanation and continued to ask with a smile, her eyes becoming even more playful.

"Then what about Xiaomin Unnie in the year 13? I heard from Enjing Unnie that she is going crazy; why didn't you 'be friendly' with her too?"

This remark hit Lin Xiuyuan's sore spot, causing him to cough awkwardly twice; he really didn't know how to explain this question for the time being, as some thoughts were indeed not easy to put out in the open.

"Hehehe~" Seeing this, Dalongzai laughed triumphantly, as if she had caught him in a compromising position, "I knew it, Lin Xiuyuan, your aesthetic preferences are a little bit, special~ a little perverted, oh~"

At this, Lin Xiuyuan's old face flushed, and he hurriedly changed the subject.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this. Give Taeyeon a call and tell them we've found the specific location of the tombstone. Let the people who should come up come up, but don't have too many come, so as not to attract unnecessary attention."

Hearing this, Dalongzai also knew when to stop, realizing that the serious business was what mattered.

Thus, she nodded and took out her phone to call Kim Taeyeon down at the hillside.

Before long, a small commotion arose near the camper van below.

Then the crowd parted, and three or four people broke away from those two small circles and slowly walked up along the stone steps Lin Xiuyuan had just traversed.

Watching the departing backs of Goo Hara, Xueli, Xian Enjing, and Lin Yun'er who was accompanying them, Kim Taeyeon, who had remained behind, looked at Zheng Xiuyan, who had also not followed, and asked softly, "Xiuyan, don't you want to go up and see?"

Zheng Xiuyan looked at the few figures ascending the steps over there and slowly shook her head; the sunlight cast faint shadows on her delicate profile, and her tone was calm and clear.

"I won't look. The good, the bad, the glorious, the fallen. At this point, it doesn't matter anymore.

Cherishing what one has in the present is what is most important."

On the stone steps ahead.

Goo Hara, whose state of mind had already been soothed by Xueli, Xian Enjing, and the others through coaxing, persuasion, and various explanations that defied common sense.

Although half-doubting, she still stepped upward, step by step, with unsteady feet.

Her eyes, meanwhile, uncontrollably scanned the cold tombstones neatly arranged on both sides of the stairs with a gaze filled with fear and curiosity.

Overhead was a scorching, almost vicious sun; underfoot were shadows that stretched and moved clearly in the sunlight.

All of this gave her a feeling of extreme unreality, as if she were in an absurd dream.

So she couldn't help but turn her head again to look at Xueli, who was holding her tightly, her voice dry and hoarse, carrying a final shred of hope for verification.

"Zhenli————is this, is this really 5 years? Twelve years later————today?"

Hearing these words, Xueli nodded affirmatively, her eyes clear and sincere.

She then raised a finger to point at the sky, then gestured to Goo Hara's clothes, which were almost dried by the sun, and asked back with the most intuitive facts, "Unnie, what was the weather like in Tokyo just now, and what are you feeling now? Over there, the wind and rain almost swept us away, but here? How is it here?"

How is it here???

This question made Goo Hara subconsciously look down at her own outfit.

The clothes that had been soaked through by the typhoon and rain, clinging coldly and uncomfortably to her skin, had actually dried almost completely after experiencing these ten-plus minutes of bright, even somewhat scorching sunlight, leaving only a hint of dampness and salt stains.

This completely different physical environment was so real, so————irrefutable.

Just as she was struggling internally, wanting to grasp that last glimmer of hope, Xian Enjing, who was walking in front, reminded her softly, "We're here, it's right beside us."

It turned out that the group had already arrived at the stepped platform where Lin Xiuyuan was.

Lin Chongji, who was walking in front, turned around and signaled for them to walk toward the front right.

And as they turned, as they took those steps toward Lin Xiuyuan, who was standing not far away in front of a tombstone, Goo Hara's footsteps became increasingly unsteady.

It was as if she were stepping on cotton, or as if she might fall into the void at any moment.

If not for Xueli and Xian Enjing firmly supporting her on the left and right, giving her solid support, she might have truly had her legs go weak and collapsed directly to the ground.

Her gaze began to involuntarily drift toward the stone tablet in front of Lin Xiuyuan.

The distance was shortening bit by bit.

The outline of the tombstone also began to become increasingly clear.

The characters carved on it were like a lens gradually coming into focus, cruelly imprinted bit by bit into her violently constricting pupils.

By the time Goo Hara stood completely before that tombstone.

Her gaze first swept over the few photos on the tombstone frozen in years past, then slowly moved to the withered bouquets around it—which seemed to have been left by fans and passersby and had long gone unreplaced—as well as some yellowed cards and small gifts.

All of this was like a cold chisel, completely shattering her last shred of wishful thinking.

Her soul seemed to be pulled from her body at this moment, floating lightly in the air, looking down at this absurd and cruel scene.

At this time, let alone screaming, she had almost forgotten how to breathe; the only thing left in the entire world was the sound of her heart beating heavily in her empty chest.

"Woo————"

Beside her.

Xueli, who was also seeing her best friend's tombstone with her own eyes for the first time, could no longer suppress her emotions; she covered her cheeks with both hands, suppressed sobs leaking from between her fingers, and tears quickly wetted the backs of her hands.

Only Lin Xiuyuan stood silently to the side, like a statue of understanding.

He did not rush to disturb them, but let this heavy and necessary emotion flow wantonly between the two.

Just then, another cool hand grabbed his arm.

Lin Xiuyuan turned his head to meet Li Juli's burning gaze, which was intertwined with shock, realization, and a trace of a small, long-hidden resentment.

"Xiuyuan~" Her voice was very low, yet every word was clear, "You hid this from me quite well."

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