Chapter 31

At the villa entrance.

A Mercedes-Benz GLS slowly pulled to a stop, and the owner, Lin Xiuyuan, opened the door and stepped out from the passenger seat.

He then walked around to the front of the car and stood still, looking at Krystal in the driver's seat. "I said, if you're in a rush to get back to the company, just drive the car away. I'll just take a taxi back myself. Anyway, your car is with me, and having a means of transport is enough for me."

"Heh, and then you can get to know some Jin Zhimin or Quan Zhimin, right?"

Listening to Krystal's cold snort, Lin Xiuyuan gave a faint smile. He didn't argue with her, nor did he provoke her further. "Alright, alright, you're right. Do you want to switch cars? Just drive it away; didn't you say there's a meeting waiting for you tonight?"

"Let's switch back. I don't want your car to be recorded again and have you end up in the news every time you go out."

Although Krystal really wanted to mark it that way, the thought of dragging Lin Xiuyuan into the spotlight made that little thought vanish into thin air.

A few minutes later, Lin Xiuyuan watched Krystal drive his car away and returned to the villa. This book is first published on TianTianKan, 🆃🆃🅺. 🆃🆆, super convenient, providing you with an error-free and non-disordered reading experience.

After cutting himself a plate of fruit in the kitchen, he returned to the gaming room and continued his intense gaming session.

And every time he sat in this room, he felt very fortunate that his 'deceased' predecessor had made everything in 2025 so good and perfect, saving him from having to start from scratch.

Of course, he couldn't help but be a little curious: how exactly did that guy suddenly 'die'?

This point remains a mystery to this day; I wonder if it will become an unsolved one.

After shaking off this thought, Lin Xiuyuan fought his way through the night until dawn.

Until the stroke of midnight.

The set alarm went off. Lin Xiuyuan checked the time, stretched, and got up to wash up.

After another half hour or so, he sat back down at the computer to watch some videos, and finally, when he felt a bit sleepy, he went to the first-floor living room and opened the Time Gate to return to 2013.

Although he mainly lives in 2025 now, he had long set a rule for himself.

That is, he must go back regularly to check in; he couldn't just suddenly "disappear" in 2013.

The timing of his return this time was just right.

Because the moment he stepped into the room in 2013, the phone in the room started ringing.

Hearing the sound, Lin Xiuyuan walked over quickly. As soon as he picked it up and saw the caller ID, he raised the corner of his mouth and answered, "Hello."

On the other end of the line came a sharp complaint, "Yah, you really are stuck over there, aren't you? I've called you several times."

"Who would have thought you'd call in the middle of the night? I checked in the afternoon and there were no messages."

Zheng Xiuyan was in no mood to bicker with him and continued to urge, "Come pick me up quickly. My plane just landed. If you don't answer the phone again, you'll be in for it tomorrow."

"Hm? Didn't you say tomorrow?" Lin Xiuyuan was slightly surprised.

"Isn't it tomorrow now?"

"..."

Past 1:00 AM.

In the Incheon Airport parking lot, Zheng Xiuyan, wearing a hat and pushing a suitcase with one hand, followed the location sent in the text message and found the car parked in a rather remote spot.

At the same time, she saw the boy in the driver's seat, lost in thought.

Their eyes met, and Lin Xiuyuan immediately got out of the car and stepped forward to take her luggage. "Were you in such a hurry to come over?"

"Then don't go over there to live." Zheng Xiuyan didn't say anything else, just asked him back.

"Alright, I'll stop talking. Get in the car, beauty."

Lin Xiuyuan gave a bitter smile, put the luggage in the trunk, sat back in the driver's seat, and drove her straight to the apartment.

On the way, Lin Xiuyuan glanced at her from time to time, so frequently that it made Zheng Xiuyan laugh.

"If you have something to say, say it, don't stutter. Can you have some masculinity, Lin Xiuyuan?"

"I was just wondering what your reaction will be after you see that information in a while," Lin Xiuyuan asked curiously.

And this sentence made Zheng Xiuyan fall silent.

After a long while, she asked, "Then what do you think my reaction will be?"

"That's impossible to guess. Even with mind-reading, you'd have to wait for that moment to know. But I think you should already be mentally prepared."

Facing Lin Xiuyuan's statement, Zheng Xiuyan didn't deny it and nodded gently, "Mm, I hope half a month of mental preparation will keep me from losing face in front of you. Will there be a lot of explosive information?"

The latter part of that sentence made Lin Xiuyuan grin uncontrollably.

Finally, he let out a deep sigh, "Forget it, it's already come to this, I won't say anything more. How about you see for yourself in a moment?"

"Mm, drive faster."

Zheng Xiuyan looked at him, nodded, and urged him.

As soon as she said this, the accelerator was pressed, and the car, under Lin Xiuyuan's driving, accelerated a bit more and sped toward the apartment.

Just past 2:00 AM, the car parked steadily in the previously rented parking space.

Lin Xiuyuan took down the luggage and looked at Zheng Xiuyan, who was standing by the car door in a daze, "Let's go."

"Mm."

Zheng Xiuyan responded and followed Lin Xiuyuan into the apartment. After entering the elevator, she said, "Your reaction in the car just now made me actually feel a bit hesitant. I have a feeling there will be earth-shattering changes."

"Not much difference. We're here."

After exiting the elevator, Zheng Xiuyan followed Lin Xiuyuan into the apartment again and saw that magical Time Gate.

And Lin Xiuyuan, without the slightest hesitation, led her straight to that door, gripped the old brass handle, and opened it.

Zheng Xiuyan, standing to the side, took a deep breath, took a step, and walked in.

More than ten minutes later.

In the villa's gaming room in 2025.

Zheng Xiuyan, who had been calm just a moment ago, now had a completely different expression.

She clenched one fist, controlled the mouse with the other, and stared at the screen filled with dense news data, her brows tightly furrowed, never relaxing.

She whispered intermittently:

"Jonghyun is dead, Sulli is dead, and Hela is gone too."

"Xiujing's friends are gone, the group is gone, the stage is gone, the first concert was the last one... later even work stopped... and I was running around a man like a fool."

"After I left the group, everyone fell in love, disbanded, the company really turned upside down. Founder Director Li Xiuman even quit the company."

"And this, what kind of themes is the maknae filming? What's wrong with Shun Gui's face? And Taeyeon too."

"Pani~ah, I told her not to associate with people over there."

"Ah, what is this, no. Yah, Lin Xiuyuan, are you sure this is really our future?"

Finally, she couldn't hold it in anymore, turned her head sharply to stare at Lin Xiuyuan, who was leaning against the doorway, and questioned him loudly, "Is this computer connected to the internet or not? Is this real, or is this a trap you set for me over the past half month?"

She really didn't want to believe that the friends she had spent so many years with, sharing her youth, had encountered such huge changes in just ten short years in the future.

If everyone had just experienced some life embarrassments or work changes, that would be one thing.

She was mentally prepared for that.

But what she found hardest to accept were those few instances of life and death.

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(End of chapter)