Chapter 356: Kim Taeyeon, you open this door~

Inside the hotel guest room.

When Jin Ruanruan saw Lin Xiuyuan and Taeyeon finally appear in the hotel room, her tightly wound nerves finally relaxed a little, but she still couldn't help but complain a bit, stepping forward quickly and whispering.

"If you two had been any slower, I really would have just gone home to sleep; do you have any idea how long I've been waiting!"

Although the other party kept her voice low, the anxiety in her tone was obvious.

So, after looking around the room, Lin Xiuyuan followed up, "What's the matter, how long have you been waiting?"

"Over ten minutes, but it felt like hours." Jin Ruanruan glanced at the time on her phone and emphasized in her tone.

For her, who had been worried the whole time, this kind of waiting was indeed exceptionally agonizing.

At this moment, Taeyeon did not immediately pay attention to their conversation; standing where she was, her gaze looked out the window in a daze.

The sky outside was that dim light just before dawn, carrying the unique morning scent of Jeonju that she remembered.

It formed a stark contrast to the deep, dark night by Luosang Lake just a few minutes ago.

This sensory shock of crossing space and reversing time zones was something Taeyeon was experiencing for the first time, so she couldn't help but feel a sense of unreal shock and awe.

However, she quickly forced herself to pull away from this trance.

Knowing that now was not the time for sentimentality, Taeyeon took a deep breath, turned her gaze to Jin Ruanruan, and asked the most crucial question, "Have Dad and the others left?"

"They've already left for the glasses shop, which is why I was urging you to hurry." Jin Ruanruan couldn't help but complain again, pointing in a certain direction outside the window.

"If you dawdle any longer, once Mom gets back from the glasses shop and there's someone at home, you really won't have a chance to sneak in. At that point, I'm not getting involved; I'm going home to finish my sleep."

Facing Jin Ruanruan's repeated complaints, Lin Xiuyuan just smiled and didn't say much, because he could understand the pressure she was under at the moment.

When Taeyeon heard the news that her father had already left and her mother was also temporarily out of the house, her eyes lit up, and she immediately grabbed Jin Ruanruan's arm, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go over quickly."

"Go where?"

"Go home."

"Go home to what?" Jin Ruanruan brushed her hand away in annoyance and pointed at her current state, "Taeyeon, look at yourself right now, how are you going to go out?"

Hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan also turned his gaze back to Taeyeon.

Because they had just been inside the Lausanne Hotel, they were wearing comfortable loungewear.

A loose beige knit sweater and a pair of dark casual pants, and her face was completely bare, without any cover.

Especially that face, which was too similar to Jin Ruanruan's, was exposed without any protection; if someone saw it, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Uh—" Taeyeon looked down at her attire and also realized the problem, "Then what should we do? Xiuyuan, let's hurry back and change clothes."

"I knew it would be like this, no need to go back." Jin Ruanruan sighed helplessly and walked to a chair in the corner of the room, where a bag she had prepared in advance was placed.

After bringing the bag over, she took out a few items from it and handed them to Taeyeon, "Cover your face. Put on the mask, hat, and sunglasses, all of them. Then put on this jacket and zip it to the top; you can't let this face of yours be seen. Otherwise, if you're recognized or photographed, we're all finished."

Regarding Jin Ruanruan's arrangements, Taeyeon did not hesitate at all this time; she immediately took the items and quickly put them on.

The black mask covered most of her face, the baseball cap brim was pulled low, and then she put on the sunglasses that could cover half her face.

Finally, she put on the slightly oversized dark blue windbreaker and zipped it up to her chin.

In the blink of an eye, a figure who looked like they were about to go hiking or do outdoor exercise in the early morning, wrapped up tightly, appeared before Lin Xiuyuan and Jin Ruanruan.

At this moment, Taeyeon only needed a large hiking backpack to perfectly blend into the ranks of early-rising outdoor enthusiasts.

So Lin Xiuyuan looked up and down at the fully armed Taeyeon, then looked at Jin Ruanruan, who was standing next to her wearing only a simple baseball cap but could still be clearly recognized as Taeyeon, and couldn't help but laugh.

"This will do, it'll definitely be fine. Even if an acquaintance thinks Taeyeon's figure looks familiar, as long as they see you standing there in the flesh, any suspicion will immediately vanish. I guess no one would imagine that there could actually be two Taeyeons appearing at the same time."

"So, I'm the most eye-catching shield and verification label, right?"

Regarding Lin Xiuyuan's words, Jin Ruanruan rolled her eyes at him in annoyance, her tone filled with speechlessness.

But at the same time, she understood very well that this was the most reasonable arrangement for now.

So she looked at the tightly wrapped Taeyeon again, nodded, and added with a complex tone, "But indeed, with me standing next to you, no one would ever think that this person wrapped up like a rice dumpling is the future me."

After speaking, she didn't delay any longer, turned, and walked toward the door, her tone becoming crisp and decisive again.

"Alright, enough talk, let's go. While the sky isn't fully bright yet, there are few people on the road, and Mom hasn't come back yet, let's get this done quickly. I'm really exhausted; I didn't sleep soundly at all last night."

Seeing this, Lin Xiuyuan also pulled the hand of the somewhat stiff Taeyeon and followed Jin Ruanruan's footsteps.

"At least you got a night's sleep; we were waiting in Lausanne until after one in the morning. By my count, I've been awake for nearly 24 hours. If we're talking about being tired, I should be the one in worse shape."

Jin Ruanruan, walking in front and heading downstairs, didn't look back, her tone carrying a hint of undisguised envy and resentment.

"Shall we switch? You come and handle my schedule, go on stage to perform, and deal with the media, while I go out for a vacation, how about that?"

For Jin Ruanruan, who hadn't enjoyed a long leisure vacation in years and whose schedule was filled with all kinds of work, Lin Xiuyuan and the others' leisurely trip to Europe had made her heart itch from the moment she heard about it.

After all, no one doesn't crave a trip where they can just leave and go without any pressure.

But thinking of her schedule for the next year or even longer, that possibility became infinitely slim, and Jin Ruanruan could only turn it into a sigh.

As these messy thoughts flashed through her mind, the three of them had already walked out of the hotel and stepped onto the cool morning street.

Accompanied by the cool breeze blowing over, all the complex thoughts in Jin Ruanruan's mind were forcibly cleared, replaced by a suddenly soaring sense of nervousness and trepidation.

Because the fact that a future version of herself was standing beside her was like a bomb that could detonate at any moment.

Once discovered, not only her, but also Lin Xiaolu, Zheng Xiuyan,

Park Jiyeon, Xian Enjing, and others who knew the inside story and were involved would likely face unimaginable trouble.

Even with the 2025 space-time as a final fallback, who would want to be forced to leave the world they were familiar with and become a lonely ghost?

Thinking of this, Jin Ruanruan took a deep breath of the air carrying the scent of morning dew, trying hard to calm herself down.

Then she quickly led Lin Xiuyuan and the other person across the road and into the residential complex.

When Taeyeon stepped into this residential complex, which was both infinitely familiar to her and yet covered in a slight sense of strangeness due to environmental changes.

That complex emotion, mixed with the nostalgia of returning home and the feeling that things were no longer the same, surged into her heart like a tide, making her whole body tremble uncontrollably.

In this situation, all she could do was hold Lin Xiuyuan's arm tightly, letting him be her only support and Anchor Point at this moment.

And the pace of the three of them was involuntarily quickening.

If they weren't afraid that running would attract unnecessary attention, they would have loved to sprint.

Very quickly, under the lead of Jin Ruanruan, Lin Xiuyuan followed her into the lobby on the first floor of a residential building.

Lin Xiuyuan, having come here for the first time, curiously looked over the environment of the lobby.

The decoration was not luxurious, but it was clean and tidy; one could tell it was a residential building of decent quality.

After looking around, he asked in a low voice, "Taeyeon, this shouldn't be the home you grew up in as a child, right?"

This question did not even require an answer from Jin Ruanruan; Jin Taeyeon, who was clinging tightly to him, had already given the answer he wanted to know with her slightly trembling voice.

"Mm, it's not. If I remember correctly, I bought this apartment in 2012, but I have been living here ever since."

Before the words had even faded, Jin Ruanruan, who was walking in front, turned her head abruptly, "Hey~ shut up, don't make a sound!"

Although there seemed to be no one in the lobby at this moment, what if there was?

Just as Jin Ruanruan's warning fell, with a light "ding" sound, the Elevator doors slowly opened.

Standing in the elevator were two people, a middle-aged couple who looked to be around fifty years old and were dressed appropriately.

The two, who seemed to be preparing to go out for morning exercise or to buy groceries, immediately revealed surprised and friendly smiles when their gazes landed on Jin Ruanruan outside the elevator.

"Oh! Taeyeon-ah!" that auntie spoke first, her tone enthusiastic, "Long time no see! Are you back home to rest for a few days?"

Jin Ruanruan's internal alarm bells rang loudly, but on the surface, she immediately switched to her perfect Idol mode, revealing a well-behaved and polite smile, and bowed slightly in greeting, "Nae~ hello, I just happen to be on vacation, so I'm back to rest for two days."

The couple smiled and nodded, their gazes then naturally sweeping over Lin Xiuyuan behind Jin Ruanruan, as well as the Jin Taeyeon who was wrapped up tightly, keeping her head down, and whose posture was slightly stiff.

Seeing that there were outsiders present, they were clearly very tactful and did not ask too many questions or engage in small talk.

They just said "rest well, take care of your health" kindly to Jin Ruanruan, then said goodbye and walked toward the lobby exit.

Not until the figures of the couple disappeared outside the glass door did Jin Ruanruan feel a layer of cold sweat break out on her back, and then, almost half-pushing Lin Xiuyuan and Jin Taeyeon, she quickly flashed into the elevator car that had just closed and opened again.

The elevator doors closed, and it began to rise slowly.

In the enclosed space, the atmosphere was stagnant for a moment.

Jin Taeyeon, who had made the mistake earlier, kept her mouth tightly shut, even breathing very lightly; that scene just now had truly scared her quite a bit.

And Jin Ruanruan also had lingering fears, leaning against the cold elevator wall, calming her racing heartbeat.

If that sentence from Jin Taeyeon had been heard by those familiar neighbor couple just now, even if it were only a vague tone, it would have been enough to trigger countless speculations and associations.

Only Lin Xiuyuan, this guy, seemed to have felt absolutely none of the danger just now, still looking up with a curious expression at the changing floor numbers at the top of the elevator, as well as the various community notices and advertisements posted inside the car, as if he were truly an ordinary guest visiting for the first time.

"Ding."

The elevator reached the target floor.

As soon as the door opened, Jin Ruanruan and Jin Taeyeon stepped out almost simultaneously, their movements as synchronized as if they were one person.

The two turned left, familiar with the path, and arrived in front of a dark brown entrance door.

And Lin Xiuyuan followed behind, watching the two stand at the door without opening it immediately, and couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled, "What are you two doing? Open the door."

Hearing this, Jin Ruanruan, who had some thoughts, stepped aside and looked at the tightly wrapped Jin Taeyeon beside her, saying in a low but clear voice, "You open this door."

This sentence made Jin Taeyeon's body tremble imperceptibly.

However, without the slightest hesitation, she took a step forward and extended her slightly trembling right index finger, gently pressing it onto the fingerprint recognition area of the door lock.

"Beep————"

A crisp electronic prompt sound rang out.

Immediately followed by a continuous "beep-beep-beep" error sound.

How could a mismatched fingerprint possibly open the door? So, after Jin Taeyeon was stunned for half a second, she switched to entering the password from her memory.

Only then did the "click" sound of the lock tongue turning smoothly follow.

This home door, which carried countless memories for Jin Taeyeon and separated the past from the future, was thus easily opened by the Jin Taeyeon from 25 years later.

As the door was slowly pushed open a crack, and the scene of the entryway—familiar yet with subtle differences—came into view behind the door, Jin Taeyeon's heart felt as if it were being fiercely gripped by an invisible hand, suddenly contracting.

She held her breath, her whole body frozen at the doorway.

Yes, the general layout inside the house was not much different from the home she had returned to not long ago.

Only the small decorations placed on the entryway cabinet were different, and the painting on the wall did not seem to be the one from 25 years later either.

The scent permeating the air also lacked the stillness accumulated over time, having a bit more of the youthful atmosphere of a new home.

These tiny differences pricked at Jin Taeyeon's sealed memories like fine needles, while also reminding her with absolute clarity that this was 2013, the time when the whole family was happiest.

Countless complex emotions, like a bursting flood, instantly overwhelmed her mental defenses.

However, before she could even immerse herself in these surging emotions and prepare to lament a bit, her back was suddenly pushed by Jin Ruanruan.

"What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and go in!"

The anxious tone came out of Jin Ruanruan's mouth; time was precious and could not tolerate the slightest delay from this old woman.

After pushing the other person in, Jin Ruanruan also followed closely and flashed into the house.

Lin Xiuyuan was the last one to walk in.

Standing at the entryway, he reached back to gently close the door first, locking it and engaging the deadbolt.

Only then, with that curious gaze, did he begin to look over this holy land that was full of mystery and longing for countless Sone—that is, Jin Taeyeon's home.

Light filtered in from the windows of the Living Room, illuminating the tidy Living Room.

The furniture was arranged in a warm and simple way, exuding the atmosphere of domestic life.

A faint aroma of Breakfast seemed to still linger in the air.

Everything looked calm and ordinary.

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