Chapter 357: 「Why Isn't It a Matching Set??」（Please Subscribe and Vote for Monthly Tickets）

As Lin Xiuyuan walked into Jin Ruanruan's home, his gaze swept quickly and casually across the cozy yet unostentatious living environment.

The entryway was clean, the Living Room tidy and bright, exuding the atmosphere of a typical family's daily life.

Finding nothing of interest, he did not linger, asking directly, "Taeyeon, which bedroom is yours? I'll go in first to set the coordinates so it's easier to open The Gate later."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the two "Kim Taeyeons" walking in front turned their heads almost simultaneously and answered in unison.

"I live in the one at the very end of the hallway."

"The one at the very end."

After speaking, both were stunned for a moment and instinctively exchanged a glance.

Jin Ruanruan looked at the bundled-up Kim Taeyeon, her expression and tone subtle as she asked, "Have you really not changed rooms in all these years?"

Kim Taeyeon, wrapped in a windbreaker with sunglasses and a mask, sounded muffled through the fabric, "What's there to change? I'm used to living here; who would keep swapping rooms in their own home? Wouldn't that be weird?"

Just as they were replying, Lin Xiuyuan, who had asked the question earlier, had already passed them by and headed straight toward the depths of the hallway.

Goal clear, efficiency paramount.

However, at this moment, Jin Ruanruan seemed to suddenly recall something, her expression shifting slightly.

She hurriedly quickened her pace to catch up, calling out, "Wait a second, Xiuyuan, wait a moment, let me go in first and tidy up a bit."

Hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan's footsteps paused; he looked back at Jin Ruanruan with a playful smile, "Oh? What's the matter, is the room very messy? Is it alright?"

Before Jin Ruanruan could retort, Kim Taeyeon, following behind her, chuckled and teased, "Exactly, what is there to tidy up? You're just wearing sports bras at this time anyway; it's not like they're some shameful lace thongs, what are you afraid of?"

Following Kim Taeyeon's rather bold remark, Lin Xiuyuan could not help but glance at her sideways.

In his mind, the image of this petite woman wearing high-waisted lace thongs and twisting her waist in front of him one night flashed instantly.

How to put it—this seemingly petite body possessed astonishing flexibility and stamina.

Presumably, this was the unique charm brought by her dance foundation.

Especially the sense of rhythm in her movements that had evolved when performing a song like "Why"—it was truly impressive.

Meanwhile, Jin Ruanruan, who had only walked a few steps ahead, was immediately infuriated by this self-exposure; she whipped her head around, her cheeks flushed crimson, and she glared at Kim Taeyeon in shame and annoyance, "Yah!!! Kim Taeyeon, that is enough—seriously, you shameless thing, can you not be so foul-mouthed?"

Jin Ruanruan, who never usually cursed, was truly pushed to her breaking point this time.

"What? I'm just telling the truth." The scolded Kim Taeyeon had already removed her sunglasses, blinking her eyes with an air of complete innocence, before suddenly turning her gaze toward Lin Xiuyuan, casting a hook-like, seductive look at him and arching her brows slightly.

Then, she looked back at the red-faced Jin Ruanruan, her tone carrying a hint of mischievous triumph, "You don't actually think that nothing has happened between me and Xiuyuan yet, do you? No way, no way."

Looking at this older woman before him, seeing that face—which, compared to when they first met, was clearly nourished and glowing, as if collagen had been re-injected to plump up her cheeks, with her skin exuding a healthy luster both inside and out—

And that air of relaxation and allure radiating from within—

Jin Ruanruan pressed her thin lips together, let out an ambiguous huff from her nose, and glared fiercely at the two of them.

She turned and walked quickly toward her bedroom, ignoring the pair of "dogs" behind her.

As this scene fell into Kim Taeyeon's eyes, she couldn't help but chuckle softly and hook her arm back through Lin Xiuyuan's.

Pulling him to follow Jin Ruanruan, her tone was very relaxed, "Let's go, don't mind her, it's fine. She's probably just shy. I know myself; I'm not the type to keep a room messy or throw underwear around. It's probably just that the quilt isn't folded on the bed, or a few pieces of worn clothing haven't been put away, nothing serious."

Lin Xiuyuan smiled and let her lead him into Jin Ruanruan's bedroom, the door of which was still open.

Once inside, Lin Xiuyuan began to survey the boudoir.

The room was indeed not small; one could even say it was quite spacious for a single woman's bedroom.

A comfortable large bed, a vanity by the window, a small single sofa, and next to it, a small walk-in closet built into the wall, as well as an en-suite bathroom.

It could be described as fully functional, a small suite complete with everything one might need.

And just as Kim Taeyeon had said, the room was not very messy.

Everything was placed in an orderly fashion; the desk was tidy, and cosmetics were arranged neatly on the shelves.

The only things slightly disheveled were the unfolded quilt on the bed and a set of light-colored plaid pajamas tossed casually at the foot of the bed.

Additionally, a few items of clothing waiting to be washed sat in a rattan laundry basket at the entrance of the bathroom.

Everything else was quite normal.

As Lin Xiuyuan's gaze swept quickly over these things, he neither saw the small sports garments Kim Taeyeon had just mentioned, nor did he find any of the private items that some single women might possess, jokingly referred to as New Energy toys.

So, out of a certain subtle curiosity, he leaned his head slowly toward Kim Taeyeon's ear and asked in a breathy voice that only the two of them could hear, "Taeyeon, have you ever used New Energy before?"

"???"

At first, Kim Taeyeon didn't react, a look of confusion appearing on her face.

After all, the term New Energy was not commonly used on the Peninsula.

But a few seconds later, combining the context with the man's incredibly playful gaze, she understood immediately.

"Pfft—hahaha!"

She couldn't help but burst into laughter, first glancing playfully at Jin Ruanruan, who was standing with her back to them, huffily tidying up the pajamas on the bed.

Then, she turned her head and answered Lin Xiuyuan's question in a volume that was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for everyone in the room to hear clearly.

"If you want to know the answer, it's actually quite simple."

Drawing out her tone deliberately, she used her past memories to point toward that small walk-in closet, "Go into the closet, open the bottom drawer, and inside there's a small, retractable box. The key is in a small jewelry box on the vanity; find it and open it, and you'll see the answer."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Jin Ruanruan, who was bending over to fold her pajamas, froze as if she had been hit with a pause button.

Immediately afterward, she turned around with lightning speed, her cheeks exploding into a deep red, even the tips of her ears stained pink; her eyes were wide with shame and fury as she shouted at the still-giggling Kim Taeyeon.

Her voice was slightly distorted by extreme shame, "Yah!!! Kim Taeyeon! What are you spouting nonsense for!!!"

"

The called-out Kim Taeyeon, however, still maintained an expression of extreme innocence, even shrugging her shoulders, "What? I didn't say anything wrong. Xiuyuan asked me, and I was just answering honestly."

At this moment, Lin Xiuyuan also understood what the answer was from Kim Taeyeon's suggestive and mischievous reply, as well as Jin Ruanruan's overly intense reaction.

So, a somewhat awkward yet amused expression appeared on his face; he hurriedly averted his gaze, pretending to look for a place to do his work, and laughed it off, attempting to change the subject.

"Ha, haha, well, let me first test if the Time Gate can be opened stably here, let me try—"

As he spoke, Lin Xiuyuan habitually walked toward the bathroom, which looked the most like a door and was relatively private, then reached out and gripped the doorknob, preparing to push it open.

"Wait a second!!!"

Jin Ruanruan, who was already so shy and annoyed that she was about to smoke, was scared out of her wits upon seeing his action and shrieked to stop him again.

As a result, this sudden high-decibel shout did indeed interrupt Lin Xiuyuan's actions and train of thought, so he subconsciously twisted and pushed the door handle—

With his thoughts not keeping up, it resulted in the bathroom door simply being opened physically.

The Time Gate was not activated.

Moreover, the scene behind the door was displayed before the three of them without any concealment.

In the bright bathroom, toiletries were neatly arranged.

Among them, the most conspicuous items were two pieces of clothing hanging on the hooks.

A light gray thin-strapped sports bra and a pair of pure black tight sports panties—the kind that were turned inside out; the sharp-eyed Lin Xiuyuan even saw certain traces.

As his gaze was involuntarily drawn over, Lin Xiuyuan, whose brain was still in a state of crashing, had a mouth that was already one step faster than his thoughts.

He subconsciously muttered, "Ah, why aren't they a set?"

"Pfft, hahahahaha!!! Hahaha, I can't take it anymore!!!!"

Accompanying this sentence was the emotion that Kim Taeyeon behind him could no longer hold back, directly erupting into earth-shattering laughter.

It was the kind where she even laughed so hard she clutched her stomach, bent over, and her whole body trembled incessantly.

And Jin Ruanruan, standing by the bed, had a face now so red it was almost dripping blood.

She rushed forward quickly and slammed the bathroom door shut with a "bang," cutting off the view of those two pieces of clothing.

Then she raised her head, glared fiercely at Lin Xiuyuan, and said almost through gritted teeth, "You! Mind!

Your! Own! Business!"

Every word sounded like it was squeezed out from between her teeth.

Then she took a deep breath, trying hard to calm her emotions that were about to explode, and pointed behind Lin Xiuyuan.

That is, the real bedroom door leading to the hallway, and she retorted to the other party with annoyance, "Xiuyuan, why do you have to insist on opening the bathroom door to test it? Isn't there a ready-made, more suitable door right behind you?"

"Ah, I'm used to it, I'm used to it." Knowing he was in the wrong, Lin Xiuyuan rubbed his nose and gave another sheepish laugh.

Because when setting coordinates to open doors in a Jiudian or other places, he was indeed more accustomed to choosing private spaces like bathrooms; he didn't expect to bump into this head-on.

After speaking, he hurriedly took two steps back, widening the distance between himself and Jin Ruanruan.

Lin Xiuyuan was truly a little afraid that this petite girl would get so angry she would pounce on him and bite him.

After all, Kim Taeyeon had this hobby, and she bit with such viciousness that several times it made him self-soothe and wonder if he should go get a tetanus shot.

After retreating to a safe distance, Lin Xiuyuan turned around and this time honestly gripped the handle of the door leading from the bedroom to the hallway.

He focused his mind and gently turned the door handle.

Open the door.

This time, the scene behind the door was not the familiar hallway of the home in Jeonju, but instantly switched to the entrance of a suite at a Luosang Lake hotel in the year '25, with bright and soft light.

Lin YoonA, who was sitting cross-legged on the suite's large bed playing with her phone, heard the familiar sound of the door hinge turning from the direction of the bathroom and Kim Taeyeon's laughter, and she immediately bounced off the bed.

Barefoot, she trotted over with a "da-da-da" sound.

Upon arriving at the entrance, she instantly locked eyes with Lin Xiuyuan behind the door, as well as Jin Ruanruan and Kim Taeyeon in the room behind him, looking at each other across the door.

"Oh, Xiuyuan, Unnie." Lin YoonA's eyes lit up, and a relaxed smile appeared on her face, "You guys are done."

"Mm, done." Lin Xiuyuan smiled and let go of the door handle, while turning his head to look at the two in the room, "What do you say? Do you plan to stay here now, or come over to Luosang to rest first? Ruanruan, didn't you say you were sleepy?"

"I want to sleep—" Jin Ruanruan muttered weakly; clearly, the series of mental shocks just now had made her even more exhausted.

However, her body was more honest than her words.

Because before her voice had even faded, she had already taken steps, crossing that door without hesitation, stepping from the bedroom in Jeonju at dawn in the year '13

into the hotel suite in Luosang at midnight in the year '25.

The suddenly changed time, space, and light made her squint slightly.

First, she subconsciously nodded to Lin YoonA who was coming up to greet her, then walked a few steps to the window at the side of the room, staring blankly out the window.

Outside the window was a deep and quiet night.

The lights of the distant Lake Geneva area were like scattered stars, reflecting on the black velvet-like lake surface, forming an extremely strong, almost magical contrast with the dim dawn light about to break in Jeonju.

The shock brought by this instant switch between day and night, past and future, East and West, just like it had impacted Kim Taeyeon not long ago, was now also impacting Jin Ruanruan's cognition and senses with extreme clarity.

Causing her to stand by the window, momentarily lost in thought.

Following Jin Ruanruan's arrival, Kim Taeyeon, who had laughed enough, also returned to the Luosang hotel room after taking off the hats and clothes she was wearing.

"I'll rest here for a while too." She looked at Lin Xiuyuan after coming over, "After I wake up and have enough energy, can I go back to Jeonju again, Xiuyuan?"

"I'm fine with whatever, it depends on what's convenient for you." Lin Xiuyuan shrugged indifferently, then calculated the time, "It's just that if you wake up, it will be morning here, which means it will be afternoon in Seoul."

Lin YoonA next to them nodded, "Mm, about that, there will be a few hours of time difference."

Jin Ruanruan, standing by the window, turned back at this time, having slightly recovered from the shock of the space-time shift, and suggested, "At that time, Dad should not have finished work and come home yet. Kim Taeyeon, you can eat lunch first, then walk around before coming over; it will be just right for when he gets off work in the evening."

Hearing this, Kim Taeyeon was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded, "Got it."

Then, after Jin Ruanruan chatted with the others for a bit, she returned to her own bedroom in Jeonju in the year '13 to catch up on sleep.

At this moment, she urgently needed some space to herself to digest the stimulating experience brought about by this rascal Lin Xiuyuan this morning.

As for the Luosang side, after Lin Xiuyuan chatted briefly with Kim Taeyeon and Lin YoonA, he also said goodbye and left.

The path of the trio still needed to be slowly smoothed out.

However, Lin Xiuyuan did not favor the three-lane troop line in Europe this time; after a few days, he had to go back to the fountain area at least once.

After all, the big sister Tian Enjing was still waiting for him to treat her illness.

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