Chapter 339: Hey, you guys are really isolating me!!!

In the blink of an eye, a few more days had passed.

Ever since that day in the Apartment when Zheng Xiujing nearly set the Kitchen on fire and triggered a small fireworks alarm, she had not had the courage to face Lin Xiuyuan directly.

Especially since such an embarrassing incident had been caught by Xueli and Krystal, that sense of shame had reached its peak.

Of course, what made her feel even more mortified than that was Krystal's uncontrollable smile and those playful eyes.

This led Zheng Xiujing to simply switch to ostrich mode after that day, hiding away entirely.

Even though she really had no work scheduled these past few days and was quite free, she was determined not to come over to the Apartment, fearing she might run into Lin Xiuyuan or that annoying future self of hers.

Unless Xueli secretly told her that Lin Xiuyuan had already gone to the 25 Year Villa to busy himself with other matters, she would then, like a cautious little cat, sneak over to briefly cuddle and chat with Xueli.

And then, she would slip away quickly before Lin Xiuyuan could possibly return.

When Xueli was currently in the Living Room of the 25 Year Villa, recounting Zheng Xiujing's cute hide-and-seek behavior as a funny story to Lin Xiuyuan and Krystal,

both of them couldn't help but laugh.

However, another person was left completely bewildered; she opened her beautiful, slightly dazed eyes, looking at the group laughing heartily, and completely failed to understand why Zheng Xiujing would want to hide from Lin Xiuyuan and the others.

And this person was none other than Goo Hara.

Following the thorough inspection and housewarming celebration of that property in Tokyo two days ago, this new secret base for the Anywhere Door in Tokyo was finally officially established and put into use.

This also meant that Goo Hara could finally, like Xueli and the others, enjoy the convenience of near-instant teleportation brought by the Anywhere Door.

She could step from her residence in Tokyo to the Apartment in Seoul at any time, or even travel through time to the 25 Year Villa here.

Watching Goo Hara's ignorant and curious expression, Xueli smiled, leaned over to hook her arm, and then vividly described to her the funny incident where Zheng Xiujing showed off her skills but nearly burned down the Kitchen.

From her confidently turning on the stove, to the oil pan catching fire, and then the scene of Lin Xiuyuan rushing in like a firefighter—

Even though Xueli wasn't there at the time, she still told it so vividly that Goo Hara was left stunned, her eyes growing wider and wider.

Finally, Goo Hara turned to look at Lin Xiuyuan with a lingering fear, concerned, "Wow, Xiuyuan, it's a good thing you noticed it back then, otherwise it would have been really dangerous. A kitchen fire is no joke."

To this, Lin Xiuyuan waved his hand, his tone relaxed as he began to save face for Zheng Xiujing.

"It's alright, actually it wasn't that exaggerated. That burst of fire was only for a split second. Xiujing could have handled it herself; even if she hadn't touched it, it would have gone out on its own. She was just a bit panicked at the time."

The next second, Krystal, sitting next to him, drew out her tone and added a remark in a joking manner.

"Xiuyuan, do you think we were worried about you?" She blinked, deliberately putting on a serious, thoughtful look. "We were worried about that precious Anywhere Door. What if it had really caught fire and the flames spread to that door? Right?"

She was, of course, joking, just teasing Lin Xiuyuan, but at the same time, she was expressing how much she cherished the secret of the Anywhere Door.

But Goo Hara, who had just joined this circle and didn't quite understand the boundaries of these sisters in the 25 Year Villa, was startled by Krystal's slightly intimidating words.

So she hurriedly waved her hands to deny it, "No, no, it's not like that. Xiujing definitely didn't mean it, and Xiuyuan was very careful too. Krystal—I didn't mean it like that—"

Goo Hara looked at Krystal a bit nervously, then at Lin Xiuyuan, fearing that her unintentional words had caused trouble for Zheng Xiujing or made Lin Xiuyuan unhappy.

Seeing this, Xueli immediately put her arm around Goo Hara's shoulder and explained with a smile, "Unnie, don't be nervous. Xiujing is just joking. Who would really blame Xiujing for such a small accident? She just likes to tease people."

Receiving Xueli's gaze, Krystal first shrugged, then returned a bright, soothing smile to Goo Hara. "That's right, Hela Unnie, relax. I'm just joking. Actually, in this world, aside from those complicated interpersonal relationships that require caution, we should just be comfortable among ourselves. Being happy is what matters most; there's no need to be so tense."

However, facing Krystal—who looked about the same age as her, and even appeared younger and more beautiful due to excellent maintenance, but whose actual age and psychological maturity far exceeded her own—Goo Hara felt a bit at a loss for a moment.

Especially since the other party was still calling her Unnie, she always felt something was strange about it.

So after struggling for a long while, Goo Hara said, "Um, Xiujing, why don't you just call me by my name? When you call me Unnie like that, I always feel it's strange and I'm not used to it."

As a result, Krystal didn't even think about it and shook her head in refusal, "No! I definitely have to call you Unnie!"

With a well-reasoned argument, she added, "Think about it, if I call you Unnie, doesn't that make me seem younger? Why would I change how I address you when it's such a good thing?"

This unique and righteous logic made Goo Hara fall into a state of brief bewilderment once again.

Looking at Krystal's matter-of-fact demeanor, the only thought in her mind was: Are all the other people in 2025 this crazy and unconventional?

After her brain lagged for a few seconds, Goo Hara, in order to alleviate the impact of this subtle generation gap, subconsciously turned her gaze to the spacious yard outside the Villa's Living Room.

The yard was filled with lush greenery, but the sky was somewhat gloomy, with low-hanging clouds, looking like a storm was brewing.

Yet, just over half an hour ago, in her house in Tokyo, she had seen the bright and brilliant afternoon sun.

This experience of feeling completely different weather and space in an instant just by passing through a door, even though she had experienced it a few times, still made her feel a near-magical shock.

Thinking of this, Goo Hara couldn't help but voice this feeling, "This feeling of the weather changing completely in an instant is truly shocking no matter how many times you experience it."

To this, Lin Xiuyuan expressed his agreement and proposed a more extreme hypothesis, "Then Hela, what if it's not just a change in weather, but a reversal of day and night? For example, if it's afternoon here, but it's already late at night when you cross over, wouldn't that sense of spatial-temporal displacement be even more exaggerated?"

"It definitely would." Goo Hara nodded vigorously; just imagining it made her feel that the experience would be very strange.

Listening to Goo Hara's answer, Lin Xiuyuan turned to look at Krystal, "So, Xiujing, we need to quickly finalize the plans for the Europe trip and set off. Didn't we discuss this before? Can you ask Jessica if she has finalized the itinerary? I don't want us to be ready here only for her to have a last-minute change."

Krystal picked up her phone, shook it, and replied, "It's already done. Jessica has a direct flight from Seoul the day after tomorrow at noon. As for us, we can just leave after we wake up; there's plenty of time."

"What about YoonA and Taeyeon? How are they arranging things?" Lin Xiuyuan asked again.

According to the previous concept of "splitting into two groups," Lin Chong'er and Kim Taeyeon were the other group.

"YoonA Unnie and Taeyeon Unnie are the same, leaving the day after tomorrow, but their destination is different from ours," Krystal explained. "They want to go to Switzerland to take a look, so they booked tickets to Geneva. Now, there's a problem in front of us."

She looked at Lin Xiuyuan, her eyes carrying a hint of wanting to see how things would play out, "That is, what about you? Before, we only thought about splitting up and letting you work hard running back and forth, but we forgot the most critical premise."

"What is it?"

"That is, you need to have a stable coordinate at the location where we are, at the very least. But now we are heading to two different cities, and possibly even different countries. You can't open a door out of thin air, so—"

This problem was very realistic. Lin Xiuyuan stroked his chin and thought, "So I have to go over with you guys first to settle things, then run over to meet up with YoonA and the others, and set a coordinate there to run back and forth, right?"

"For now, that's the only solution I can think of." Krystal nodded, but immediately pointed out another trouble, "So you'll have to be one trip more tired than originally planned; you'll have to make a round trip first before you can conveniently move around."

"Hmm, there's also a follow-up problem with this." Lin Xiuyuan frowned.

"What?"

"That is, if you guys change locations, for example, from Paris to South France or Italy, what will happen to my coordinate? Similarly, YoonA and the others might see that the place in Switzerland isn't suitable and will definitely want to change locations, so my coordinate will have to change again."

Once these words were out, Krystal was also at a loss for a moment and leaned back on the sofa to ponder.

Indeed, although the Anywhere Door is convenient, its door-to-door nature requires that both ends must have a relatively fixed coordinate point that Lin Xiuyuan can clearly perceive or record, which is quite troublesome.

On the side, Goo Hara, while listening to the conversation between the two, learned roughly about Lin Xiuyuan and the others going to Europe to open a new base from Xueli's whispered additions.

So, after fully understanding the situation, she blinked and suddenly spoke up, "Xiuyuan, I thought of a way, I don't know if it will work."

Seeing Lin Xiuyuan and Krystal both looking at her, she continued somewhat uncertainly, "When you brought me here last time, didn't you use the door of a camper van? If that's the case, why don't you let Xiujing or the others rent one as a mobile base? That way, you wouldn't have to go through so much trouble."

"Good idea!" Xueli's eyes lit up after hearing this, and she immediately expressed her agreement.

In this way, it could ensure flexibility and privacy for accommodation while providing a stable, mobile coordinate for Lin Xiuyuan; it was indeed a win-win solution.

But after hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan exchanged a look with Krystal, then looked at Goo Hara and slowly shook his head.

"Hela, this method is theoretically feasible, but it might be a bit troublesome in practice. The most important thing is the safety issue; it's very dangerous outside now. Letting them live in a camper van by themselves or driving one to the next location isn't a good idea."

Having said that, he proposed another more direct plan, "Forget it, I'd rather be the one to get tired. If we really need to change locations, I'll move with Xiujing and you all first, then go back to move with YoonA and the others to the next place. As long as we communicate well in between, it's nothing more than being a bit more tired, but it's much safer."

"That works too," Xueli immediately turned into a yes-woman and nodded again, "But it just means you, oppa, will be more tired."

"It's fine, safety first."

After confirming this basic idea, the group began to offer various supplementary suggestions around this plan, trying to make it more perfect and avoid any oversights.

And just as the discussion was becoming increasingly heated and the plan clearer, the phone Lin Xiuyuan had placed on the coffee table suddenly rang with a cheerful ringtone.

Lin Xiuyuan picked up the phone and glanced at the name flashing on the caller ID: Li Juli.

Seeing this, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but lift into a pleasant smile.

He immediately swiped to answer, held the phone to his ear, and said in a relaxed, smiling tone, "Hey, Juli, are you all done with your work?"

From the other end of the line came Li Juli's voice, clearly filled with excitement and joy; the background was somewhat noisy, as if she were still at the airport or in a car.

"Mm, just got back to Seoul. Xiuyuan, where are you?" Her voice carried an urgency of wanting to see him immediately.

As for why she was so excited? The reason was simple.

Because their group's overseas performance this time was a huge success, and one of the most eye-catching highlights was the excellent state and appearance of Li Juli, Tian Enjing, and Dalongzai, who seemed to have reversed their aging and were completely refreshed.

Standing on stage, they were radiant, their skin firm and translucent, their eyes sparkling, as if they had returned to their peak beauty, even adding a touch of mature charm.

This astonishing Rejuvenation phenomenon drew gasps and admiration from countless fans and media, with all sorts of praise pouring in.

And Li Juli knew very well who the source of this series of honors and attention was.

So during the time they were active overseas, every night when she was alone, the deep-seated longing awakened within her body, along with the sense of emptiness after being extremely satisfied, would quietly emerge.

More than once during her sleep, she would clutch her quilt tightly, while Lin Xiuyuan's figure and the pleasure he brought—both shuddering and intoxicating—would repeatedly surface in her mind.

Therefore, the moment the plane landed, that long-accumulated longing and desire broke through her restraint, making her unable to wait to dial this number.

She wanted to see him, right now, immediately.

Hearing Li Juli's undisguised excitement, the smile at the corners of Lin Xiuyuan's mouth deepened, and he then raised his eyes to scan the people in the Living Room.

He then asked one more thing into the phone, "Since you just landed, Juli, are you still with Zhiyan, Enjing, and Xiaomin?"

"Mm-hmm~" Li Juli replied.

Having received an affirmative answer, Lin Xiuyuan smiled again, his voice carrying a hint of teasing, "If that's the case, you'll have to find a way to appease Xiaomin first. I'm at the Villa, see you in a bit."

A moment later, after hanging up the phone, Li Juli looked at Dalongzai beside her for the first time.

Their gazes met in the air, and they instantly exchanged a look of mutual understanding.

There was tacit agreement, and also a little bit of helplessness.

Then, both of their gazes turned simultaneously toward Park Hyomin, whose expression had quickly shifted from anticipation to vigilance and depression.

The next second, Li Juli cleared her throat, trying to make her tone sound normal and full of concern. "Xiaomin, look, you're quite tired after just getting off the plane. Let's take you home to rest first, and you can adjust your jet lag properly."

However, to Park Hyomin, these words became a blatant declaration of isolation.

That pretty face immediately fell, her eyebrows knit together, and she opened her mouth with a complaint full of grievance and annoyance.

"Yah!!! Li Juli! Park Zhiyeon! Are you really trying to isolate me?"