Chapter 327

After a long while, Zheng Xiujing stood where she was, motionless, and came back to her senses.

That pair of eyes, which were always cold and calm, were now churning with stormy waves, causing her pupils to shrink slightly, and her breathing also became a bit more rapid unconsciously.

Then she slowly moved her gaze away from Zheng Xiuyan's stunningly beautiful face.

Finally, it landed on the man standing to the side with a gentle smile on his face.

Although her feelings for this man were indeed quite complex, this time, her gaze when looking at him again had become much stranger.

It was mixed with unbelievable shock, plus the bewilderment of having her cognition subverted again, and a strong curiosity to explore the truth—

And, a spark called "desire" that had been quietly ignited, which perhaps even she herself had not yet fully realized.

However, the atmosphere in the tavern did not fall into silence because of Zheng Xiujing's gaze and silence that lasted for several seconds.

Because it seemed that everyone hadn't noticed her reaction, only the person involved, Zheng Xiuyan, glanced at her and noticed something.

But as Lin Xiuyuan spoke, Zheng Xiuyan shifted her gaze over.

"How is it, you're all hungry, right? Do you want to go eat now?"

Zheng Xiuyan nodded immediately upon hearing this, because her stomach was truly growling with hunger, and those few biscuits just now didn't help at all.

So she replied with an undisguisedly urgent tone, "Hungry, really hungry, let's go quickly."

As for Sunny, although she wasn't too hungry, she also clearly stated that she could eat a little, "Sure, but if we eat this early, I feel like I'll still be hungry after the rehearsal tonight, I'll probably have to add a late-night snack."

It can be seen that while answering Lin Xiuyuan, she had already started calculating the fried chicken and beer for tonight.

"That's all for later, let's look at the present first." Lin Xiuyuan responded with a smile, then turned his gaze to Zheng Xiuyan to continue discussing the location, "By the way, Xiujing has an interview schedule to run later, so we won't go too far to eat, how about that barbecue restaurant at the entrance of the alley across the street? The taste is good, and the food is served quickly."

Zheng Xiuyan, who knew the shop Lin Xiuyuan mentioned, nodded in agreement, "Sure, I've eaten at that shop twice before, the bibimbap and grilled pork belly inside are quite delicious."

And so, led by Lin Xiuyuan, this dining squad, composed of core members of several girl groups, left the quiet tavern in a grand manner.

Stepping on the last ray of orange-red sunset scattered on the wall, they easily crossed the not-so-busy alley road and walked into the brightly signed barbecue restaurant.

At this time, because it was indeed still early, office workers had not yet finished work, and night owls had not yet gone out, so there were basically no customers inside the shop.

Only two middle-aged couples who looked like nearby residents, wearing home clothes, were sitting at a position near the door, with several takeout boxes in front of them, seemingly waiting for takeout snacks.

This kind of quiet environment was exactly what everyone wanted, avoiding the possibility of being overly noticed or disturbed.

After coming in, Lin Xiuyuan led everyone to a booth area in the innermost and relatively hidden part of the shop with ease.

That was a semi-circular sofa booth, enough to accommodate five or six people to sit together, and the privacy was quite good.

Having arrived here, he first signaled for the ladies to take their seats, and then sat in the outer position very naturally.

Then he picked up a plastic-sealed menu on the table and handed it to Zheng Xiuyan, who was sitting on the inside, and at the same time took another menu from the empty booth next to it and handed it to Kim Ruanruan across the table.

"You guys take a look, order whatever you want to eat, my treat today." Lin Xiuyuan stated generously.

Zheng Xiuyan, upon hearing this, while flipping through the menu, smiled and dismantled him, "Xiuyuan, your treat, it won't be the kind of card-swiping we think, right."

This sentence, which carried a "secret key," was understood by everyone present except Sunny and Zheng Xiujing, so Kim Ruanruan and Lin Xiaolu laughed out loud.

This made Sunny very dissatisfied, but after seeing that Zheng Xiujing was also confused, she felt a bit more comfortable.

So while the few people next to her were ordering food, Sunny's gossip antenna quietly stood up again, and her gaze fell on Zheng Xiujing.

She asked with concern and curiosity, "Xiujing-ah, speaking of which, what has Sulli been doing lately? I haven't seen her for quite a while, didn't she often participate in activities and shows with you before?"

Zheng Xiuyan, who was asked, almost subconsciously threw her gaze at Lin Xiuyuan when she heard the name Sulli.

After all, Lin Xiuyuan was one of the people who knew Sulli's whereabouts and recent situation best.

And this fell even better into Sunny's trap.

Because she had already learned through communication with Park Hyomin that Sulli was in Tokyo, and had gone there with Lin Xiuyuan.

If she didn't interrogate someone, how could she be worthy of her position as the leader of the Gossip Sect.

So when Lin Xiuyuan received Zheng Xiuyan's gaze, he also naturally took over the conversation and answered this question for her, "Zhenli, she is in Tokyo, she is currently on vacation and resting, Sunkyu, why are you asking this."

"Hmm?"

Sunny, pretending to be puzzled, looked at Lin Xiuyuan and asked suspiciously, "Xiuyuan, how do you know? Did Sulli tell you?"

""

Lin Xiuyuan met Sunny's gaze, his expression didn't change much, and he answered in a very honest tone, "Because I went there with her."

, "Hiss—"

Although she already knew the answer, Sunny really didn't expect Lin Xiuyuan to be so brave as to tell the truth, knowing that there were Zheng Xiuyan and Lin Xiaolu, two people who were involved with him, in this space.

So this reply, which was full of information and had an extremely complex relationship orientation, made Sunny instantly gasp, and her eyes couldn't help but widen a bit.

First, she looked at Lin Xiuyuan in shock, and then quickly shifted her gaze back and forth between Zheng Xiuyan, who had a calm expression, and him several times.

Finally, her gaze landed on Lin Xiaolu, who was sitting right next to her.

The meaning in that look couldn't be more obvious, she was just short of asking Lin Xiaolu what she thought.

At this time, Lin Xiaolu, who was holding her phone and lowering her head to reply to a message, looked up and saw the other's expression when she suddenly felt the heavy gaze cast from the side.

Then she instantly understood the meaning in the other's eyes.

A bright yet slightly helpless smile appeared on her face, and she stretched out her slender fingers to gently push Sunny's head, which was almost stuck to her face, back.

She responded in a joking tone, "Unnie~ don't look at me, this has nothing to do with me."

But Sunny, who had clearly noticed the special feelings and tacit understanding between the few people that transcended friends, how could she be fooled so easily?

So she directly slapped away Lin Xiaolu's small hand that was pushing her face, and complained directly with a bad attitude.

"Yoona-ah, do I look like a fool to you?"

While saying this, she rolled her eyes slightly, but soon sighed again, putting on a powerless expression, "Forget it, forget it, handle your own business yourselves. As long as you don't get caught by the media and fans and cause an unmanageable mess, I'm too lazy to care about you guys, anyway, you guys are all mysterious."

As one of the recognized "networking kings" in the circle, although Sunny had a strong gossip heart and curiosity, she knew better what was called knowing when to stop and the safe distance of interpersonal relationships.

When she keenly noticed that Lin Xiuyuan and the other few people seemed to exist in a small circle that she couldn't fully understand for the time being, but was clearly closely related and involved some secrets.

Before, there was no important content, so she could pretend to be confused and ask a few questions.

But now that she seemed to have explored some abnormal situations, seeing that some things were not easy to be clearly investigated, she quickly restrained her overly exposed curiosity.

And took the initiative to change the topic and attention, and started to enthusiastically discuss the dishes in the shop.

This control of interpersonal distance and emotional switching, which was as precise as a scalpel, made Lin Xiuyuan, who was observing her from the side, couldn't help but marvel.

He couldn't help but praise Sunny, "Wow~ Sunkyu-ah, no wonder others say you are the 'lubricant' and 'key gear' of Girls' Generation. When will you open a class for this emotional intelligence and atmosphere adjustment ability, I'll be the first to sign up."

Regarding this description by Lin Xiuyuan, Sunny was truly speechless.

The corners of her mouth twitched, and she was very disgusted, "No, what kind of adjectives are these? So disgusting."

"That's because you're overthinking it, right?" Lin Xiuyuan retorted with a smile.

"Hmph, I don't want to talk to you."

Seeing this, Sunny simply gave him a big eye roll, turned her head, and went to chat with Lin Xiaolu and the others.

Actually, if it were someone else describing her like this, Sunny probably wouldn't just give an eye roll, she would have already put on a straight face and prepared a round of friendly greetings.

But for Lin Xiuyuan, a man whom she hadn't met many times, but felt exceptionally relaxed and harmonious every time they were together, she always had a special favor and tolerance in her heart.

This feeling, I don't know if it was built on the foundation of close friends like Zheng Xiuyan and Lin Xiaolu, and loving the house and its crow.

Or the unique personality charm of Lin Xiuyuan himself, which was steady but with a hint of humor, mysterious but reassuring.

Anyway, in general: Sunny didn't dislike him, and even felt that being with him was quite fun and relaxing.

Similarly, the psychological state of complex favor and resentment intertwined for Lin Xiuyuan was also clearly appearing at this time on Park Hyomin, a member of Tara who had just finished a fan meeting far away in Shancheng.

At this time, in an executive suite of a high-end hotel in Shancheng.

Park Hyomin, who had finally finished a full day of high-intensity fan meetings and autograph sessions, threw her delicate body, which was exhausted from long-term standing, smiling, and interacting, onto the soft and large double bed the moment she returned to the hotel room.

Immediately after, she let out a sigh of relief, "Ah, finally finished, I'm exhausted."

That appearance of being spread out like a lazy cat without any idol image made Li Juli, who followed her in, feel a bit funny, and she shook her head helplessly.

"By the way, Unnie, we're just shooting GG and have a few scattered interviews left, right?"

After two long sighs, Park Hyomin turned over, lay on the bed, and counted the remaining schedule on her fingers.

Li Juli, who was on the side, walked to the small sofa by the bed, took off her high heels, and gently rubbed her slightly sore calves, "Mm, the GG shooting is arranged in Shanghai. So the remaining work here is the few video interviews arranged for tomorrow."

"So there's really no work tonight?!" Park Hyomin, upon hearing this, felt as if a burst of energy had suddenly been injected into her limp body.

She bounced up from the bed, and her eyes looked at Li Juli brightly.

Li Juli nodded, and a hint of a relaxed smile appeared on her face, "Mm, there's no arrangement tonight, you can have a good rest, or walk around near the hotel."

Knowing that Park Hyomin couldn't stay idle, she gave a suggestion.

However, Park Hyomin, upon hearing that she could rest, couldn't sit still.

For her, who liked to explore, rest didn't mean staying in the hotel and being in a daze, so she immediately shouted excitedly, "Then Unnie, let's go out to eat hot pot, I heard that the 'old hot pot' here is very, very famous, and it's especially fragrant and delicious! Coming to Shancheng without eating a meal of authentic old hot pot, according to what those people on the internet say, wouldn't it be a wasted trip!"

Regarding this, Li Juli didn't refuse either.

Because she herself was a bit interested in food, and after a busy day, going out for a walk and feeling the night view and fireworks of this magical Shancheng seemed to be a good choice.

So she nodded and agreed very readily, "Sure, then let's go out for a walk, but we have to ask if others are going."

"Yay!" Park Hyomin cheered, immediately jumped off the bed, and pulled Li Juli to pick out private clothes to go out.

Ten minutes later.

"Knock knock knock!" Park Hyomin knocked on Xian Enjing's guest room.

Soon the door opened, revealing Xian Enjing's face with a gentle smile, "Hyomin? Juli Unnie? What's wrong with you guys?"

"Enjing-ah, where is Zhiyan? Let's go out to eat hot pot, authentic old hot pot."

Park Hyomin couldn't wait to send an invitation, her small face full of anticipation.

However, the moment Xian Enjing heard the three words "old hot pot," her originally gentle smile stiffened for a moment.

The corners of her mouth twitched unconsciously, and a subtle and slightly resistant expression appeared on her face.

After hesitating for a moment, she still spoke to explain, "Hyomin-ah, the so-called old hot pot here, actually, it has a craft that is not widely publicized."

"What?"

"It's that many of its pot bases use the soup base left by predecessors, filter out the residue, and then take out the old oil that has repeatedly boiled the essence of various ingredients. Then re-boil and season it, although many people say that the more it boils, the more fragrant it becomes, and the taste is indeed unique and rich, but—"

Xian Enjing paused, looked at the slightly pale complexion between Park Hyomin and Li Juli, shook her head, and gave a safer suggestion.

"I personally still find it a bit difficult to accept this concept, if you want to eat, why don't we go find a normal hot pot restaurant?"

"Ah, I, I didn't know—"

After listening to Xian Enjing's detailed explanation, Park Hyomin and Li Juli instantly felt their stomachs churning, and their cheeks turned pale with surprise.

Although they loved food, this kind of cooking tradition, for female idols who paid attention to hygiene, the psychological discomfort was still quite strong.

After calming down, Park Hyomin patted her chest and changed her mind.

"Then let's listen to you, Enjing, let's eat normal new pot base hot pot."

But she then asked curiously, "But Enjing, how do you know this inside story? Have you been here before? Or have you done your homework?"

Xian Enjing, upon hearing this, smiled and shook the phone she had been holding in her hand, "It was Xiuyuan who told me, I was just texting and chatting with him. After he heard I was in Shancheng, he reminded me to pay attention to this, and also said that if I want to eat authentic but not so traditional hot pot, he can recommend a few shops he knows."

"Lin Xiuyuan?!"

As this name appeared, Park Hyomin's charming and moving small face almost instantly sank.

A pair of beautiful fox eyes flashed with dissatisfaction, and there was also a hint of grievance.

"It's Xiuyuan again, Xiuyuan again, Enjing, do you know, that guy hasn't replied to my messages since we separated after the hot spring trip last time!! Not even one!!!!"