Chapter 400: Two Strawberries~ (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets)

The next morning.

The room was very quiet, as if the entire building were still immersed in sleep.

Just then, the bedding on the large bed in the room suddenly rustled for a moment, and then the snow-white down duvet rose slightly, as if someone inside were slowly turning over.

A moment later, a fair, slender arm slowly reached out from under the covers, glowing with a soft luster in the faint morning light.

The slender fingers moved slightly, as if testing the temperature of the air.

Next, the quilt was arched up again, and then it slowly slid down past her shoulders; it was Park Hyomin sitting up.

Her long hair was scattered somewhat messily over her shoulders, with a few strands clinging to her cheeks, still carrying the languor of having just woken up.

Squinting slightly, she reached out to brush the hair from her forehead behind her ears, seemingly not yet fully awake from her sleep; she paused for two seconds to adjust to the dim light in the room before moving to pull back the quilt.

In the morning light, her softly curved body was revealed, carrying a relaxation and softness unique to just waking up, appearing exceptionally charming.

At the same time, a slightly muffled voice suddenly came from behind, "Are you up so early?"

That male voice was noticeably hoarse, as if just dragged out of a deep sleep, carrying a lazy trailing tone.

Hearing the sound, Park Hyomin turned her head to look at him.

Lin Xiuyuan was lying on his side on the bed, one hand resting casually behind his head, the other pressing down on the quilt.

His eyes were half-open and half-closed as he looked at her; he looked lazy, but there was a hint of post-awakening amusement in those eyes, and a faint curve hung at the corners of his mouth.

"I have to go back to my room."

"It won't be good if I'm discovered later."

"..."

Park Hyomin said softly, standing up from the edge of the bed while looking down to find her pajamas.

She had been dazed last night and seemed to have tossed her pajamas onto the floor.

After seeing the clothes on the floor, she first picked up the soft pajamas; as she put them on, her movements paused slightly, as if confirming something, and she subconsciously glanced toward the door.

Watching her appearance, Lin Xiuyuan couldn't help but chuckle.

He propped himself up slightly, leaning against the headboard, watching the figure dressing with her back to him, his eyes filled with a bit of playfulness.

He teased, "Why weren't you worried about this last night? You're only thinking of it now?"

Park Hyomin, who was fastening her pajamas, turned her head directly and glared at him.

In that instant, the expression on her face was a bit unnatural, but she forced a look of righteous indignation, "Last night was last night, now is now. Lin Xiuyuan, I have already repaid your life-saving grace with my body, don't you nag."

Park Hyomin said these words with great self-righteousness, yet only she knew clearly in her heart.

On that snow-capped mountain yesterday, her affection for the man before her had become almost impossible to suppress; otherwise, she wouldn't have offered herself.

It was just that one still had to maintain some face; Park Hyomin was never the type of person to easily discard her pride.

Even the argument last night about "whether to wear it or not" was, in a sense, her inner pride at work.

In her view, she had already been proactive to that extent, yet this man had actually brought up that topic so seriously.

In that moment, she really couldn't hold it together and wanted to curse.

So even though she was actually nervous to death inside, she had to force herself to maintain that bit of self-esteem and stubbornly go against Lin Xiuyuan.

Because in her view, even if Lin Xiuyuan didn't say it, she would have taken the initiative to bring it up at the very last moment; that would have been the most perfect and decent process.

But fortunately.

Although they still didn't "wear it" in the end, Lin Xiuyuan was clearly still keeping his head and pulled out in time.

As for the remaining subtle risk—

It would just have to depend on "pregnancy" luck.

Thinking of this, she felt a little relieved, then tidied her pajamas and tied the belt.

Taking a deep breath, just as she was about to turn and leave, a smiling voice came from behind.

"Xiaomin."

It was Lin Xiuyuan calling her lazily.

"What?" Park Hyomin looked back at him.

She saw Lin Xiuyuan leaning against the headboard, smiling with a meaningful look.

"When you put on makeup in a while, remember to apply some BB cream or concealer to your neck."

Hearing this, Park Hyomin was stunned for a moment, but the next second she immediately reacted.

In her mind, the scene from last night flashed back instantly—

The way someone buried his face in her neck and refused to leave, the warm breath, and that feeling that was a bit itchy and a bit stinging.

She had been pushing his head away while whispering "don't suck," but that guy acted as if he hadn't heard her at all.

As these memories flooded out all at once.

Park Hyomin's cheeks instantly heated up, so she turned her head back in shame and anger, glaring at the man on the bed.

"Are you a dog, Xiuyuan?"

"I told you not to suck, yet you wouldn't let go."

Lin Xiuyuan, being scolded, looked at her shy and angry appearance and couldn't help but laugh, "It was too fragrant, I couldn't bear to stop."

The man's tone was as relaxed as if he were stating the most normal thing in the world.

After all, leaving some traces on the new territory he had just "conquered"—this kind of slightly childish possessiveness was probably an instinct every man had.

As a young man, Lin Xiuyuan was naturally no exception.

So after hearing the explanation, Park Hyomin just gave a muffled snort, too lazy to argue with him anymore, and turned to walk to the door, reaching out to pull it open.

Before leaving, she looked back at him one last time.

The man on the bed had already laid back down, leaning against the pillows, watching her with a leisurely expression.

At this, Park Hyomin gave a light "hmph," then closed the door and left the room.

At this moment, the time had just passed seven in the morning.

The Apartment's Living Room was very quiet; outside the floor-to-ceiling window where the curtains hadn't been fully drawn, a bit of gray morning light was filtering in, the light faint, making the floor look slightly pale.

Accompanied by a "click" sound from The Gate lock, very soft.

Park Hyomin, having closed The Gate well, stood in place for a moment, subconsciously taking a deep breath, as if letting herself wake up completely.

Only then did she straighten the collar of her pajamas, preparing to walk toward the stairs.

However, just as she had taken two steps, she bumped right into someone who had just come out of the room next door.

Li Shaoxi, that little girl, was standing at the door of her own room, one hand still resting on the doorknob, evidently also having just opened The Gate to come out.

Her hair was a bit messy, a few stray strands hanging in front of her forehead, with faint dark circles under her eyes, looking as if she hadn't slept well last night.

Seeing the other person, both of them stopped in their tracks at almost the same time.

The air suddenly became a bit subtle, and the gazes of both sides met in mid-air.

At this time, Park Hyomin's hair was slightly messy, and her cheeks still carried that faint flush from just waking up.

Although her pajamas were already on, the lines of the collar were a bit loose, and most importantly, she felt she had vaguely seen that faint, elusive mark on the other person's neck.

So Li Shaoxi opened her mouth, and for a moment, she actually didn't know what to say.

The atmosphere paused briefly for a second.

Fortunately, Park Hyomin's reaction was faster than hers, "Oh, Shaoxi."

Speaking subconsciously, she tried hard to make her tone sound very natural, even carrying a bit of deliberate ease, "Good morning."

While speaking, she also smoothed her hair with her hand, finally letting it rest on her neck, as if there were absolutely nothing unusual, "I'm coming down to drink some water, why are you up so early?"

Her tone was as calm as if she were stating the most ordinary little matter.

This made Li Shaoxi, after hearing it, freeze for a moment, then she hurriedly nodded, "Oh, good morning, Unnie, I—I came out to use the restroom."

After finishing, as if she suddenly remembered something, she added a sentence, "Unnie, do you want to eat any Breakfast later? I'll go out and buy some in a while."

Park Hyomin thought for a moment and gently shook her head, "Nothing I particularly want to eat, just bread will do, or you can see about cooking some instant noodles, you can also drink some soup to warm your stomach."

While speaking, she used the palm covering her neck to press down with a little force, taking the opportunity to shake her head gently.

As if she had just woken up with a stiff neck and it was a bit uncomfortable.

The whole set of movements was very natural; not a single flaw could be seen.

However, she was completely unaware that the little sister opposite who looked a bit dazed had actually already seen her little secret.

It wasn't just because of the situation she stumbled upon last night; mainly, Li Shaoxi's gaze had already landed on the other side of her neck that wasn't covered, and the mark there wasn't light either.

Looking again at the side Park Hyomin was covering, her mind automatically filled in quite a few images, but she didn't say anything.

She just nodded, trying hard to make her expression look a bit more normal, "Got it, Unnie, I'll look for where the instant noodles are in a while."

"Mm, go ahead." Park Hyomin smiled.

Having chatted up to this point, Li Shaoxi had originally intended to rush to the restroom immediately.

Her bladder was already reaching its limit; having held it for an entire night, from that time last night until now, she really couldn't take it anymore.

But before turning around, she still paused slightly and turned back to give Park Hyomin a little warning.

"By the way, Unnie."

"Your neck seems to have been bitten by a mosquito."

"Take a look when you go back to your room later, and apply some medicine."

After saying this, she immediately walked quickly toward the restroom.

Park Hyomin was left standing in place, stunned for a second.

Neck?

Mosquito?

Then she subconsciously touched the spot she had just been covering again.

Her fingers paused on her skin.

The next instant, as if she suddenly realized something, her eyes widened slightly, and she rushed toward the corner of the Living Room, almost at a jog.

A full-length mirror was placed there.

Standing in front of the mirror, Park Hyomin reached out to pull her collar down a bit, tensed her neck, and tilted her head to look into the mirror.

Then she saw two small marks.

One on each side.

The positions were almost perfectly symmetrical.

Those two striking and ambiguous hickeys were just so brightly imprinted on her fair neck.

Making Park Hyomin freeze completely.

Recalling her own incredibly pathetic acting just now, her face flushed red in a "whoosh."

Two seconds later, she lowered her voice and let out a shy, annoyed exclamation, "Lin Xiuyuan! You idiot!"

She looked at herself in the mirror, feeling both ashamed and angry, "Who sucks like that!"

Those two marks seemed to be deliberately declaring their presence, making her feel more absurd the more she looked at them.

However, after complaining, Park Hyomin couldn't spare the time to look anymore and hurriedly turned to run toward the stairs.

Her footsteps were fast, almost taking the stairs two at a time as she rushed to the second floor, not daring to delay for even a second, fearing she might run into other members waking up.

If that happened, it would really be impossible to explain.

A few minutes later.

Following that accidental encounter with Park Hyomin just now, Li Shaoxi, who had come out after using the restroom, had completely lost all sleepiness.

Originally, she had already suffered from insomnia for most of the night, tossing and turning in bed, her mind unable to quiet down as she thought about various images.

Now that she had experienced that scene just now, it was even more impossible for her to go back to sleep.

So she simply walked to the Living Room and sat down on the sofa.

In the quiet Living Room, the morning light slowly filtered in from outside the window, dyeing the entire space in a faint grayish-blue.

Li Shaoxi sat there just like that, but her gaze involuntarily fell upon the door nearby.

That was Lin Xiuyuan's room.

And that door was currently closed quietly, looking no different than usual.

It was just that Li Shaoxi's gaze seemed as if it wanted to pierce through that door.

As if by looking a little longer, she could see everything that had happened in that room last night.

In her mind, she couldn't help but start replaying the sounds she had heard last night.

The rustling sound of the quilt rubbing.

The vaguely transmitted sound of voices.

And those two sentences of dialogue that had kept her awake for most of the night——————

"Put it on."

"No."

These two sentences echoed repeatedly in her mind all night long.

And now, piecing in the scene she had just seen.

Park Hyomin's slightly messy hair.

The flush on her cheeks from just waking up.

And that mark on her neck that couldn't be more obvious.

When these details were pieced together bit by bit by her, the image in her mind became clearer and clearer.

Then Li Shaoxi just leaned against the back of the sofa like that, looking somewhat distracted, and sat there quietly for a long time.

Until footsteps came from the stairs on the second floor.

"Tap, tap."

The sound of slippers stepping on the wooden stairs was light, but also very distinct.

So Li Shaoxi slowly came back to her senses and cast her gaze toward the stairwell.

Thereby discovering that the person walking down was not the Park Hyomin she had thought of, but Li Juli.

This unni was wearing a loose, soft pajama set, her hair draped casually behind her shoulders, the whole person carrying that lazy and composed temperament of someone who had just woken up.

While walking downstairs, she gently stretched.

When she walked to the Living Room and happened to see Li Shaoxi sitting on the sofa, she was also slightly stunned.

Then she smiled with a gentle tone and greeted her, "Morning, Shaoxi."

As she walked over, her gaze paused on Li Shaoxi's face, and she couldn't help but slightly frown with concern, "Eh, Shaoxi, what's going on with you? Your complexion doesn't look too good."

Li Shaoxi shook her head gently, "It's nothing, unni, I just couldn't sleep well last night, my head has been buzzing."

Then Li Juli walked a little closer and looked at her face carefully again.

She discovered a faint circle of dark blue under Li Shaoxi's eyes, which indeed looked like she hadn't rested well.

So her tone became even softer, "Insomnia? Then you should go back to your room and sleep a little longer."

She waved her hand gently, "We'll handle Breakfast ourselves in a bit, you don't need to busy yourself."

However, Li Shaoxi shook her head, "It's fine, I'm not sleepy now, and Xiaomin unni just said she wanted to eat instant noodles, so cooking instant noodles for Breakfast won't take much time."

"Is Hyomin up this early too?" Li Juli was slightly surprised to hear this.

Li Shaoxi, who had almost made a mistake, felt her heart tighten instantly.

But the expression on her face remained very natural, "She came down to drink water just now, she must have been thirsty."

After saying this, Li Shaoxi, realizing she seemed to have said a bit too much, hurriedly stood up and said, "Unni, you sit for a while, I'll tidy up and go cook the instant noodles."

However, Li Juli waved her hand, "It's fine, you tidy up first, I'm already mostly awake, it's just cooking noodles, I can do it too."

As she spoke, she even casually rolled up the cuffs of her pajamas, and without giving Li Shaoxi a chance to continue refusing, she had already turned and walked toward the Kitchen.

How could Li Shaoxi dare to really let Li Juli busy herself alone, so she hurriedly followed.

Afterwards.

While they were making Breakfast, Xian Enjing and Park Jiyeon also woke up one after another and slowly walked down from upstairs.

Both were wearing the same loose loungewear, their faces carrying that lazy expression of having just woken up, looking very comfortable.

Xian Enjing, who had come down to the Living Room, also noticed the situation in the Kitchen instantly, so she greeted them, "Morning, unni, Shaoxi."

Park Jiyeon also waved her hand along with her.

Li Juli in the Kitchen looked back and responded with a smile, "You're awake? Wait a moment, the noodles will be ready soon."

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The two nodded and didn't say much else, walking directly to the sofa in the Living Room to sit down.

Among them, Park Jiyeon even leaned her whole body against the sofa and stretched gently.

"It smells so good————"

She sniffed, her eyes brightening a little, "Suddenly feeling so hungry."

Xian Enjing was amused by her reaction and tilted her head to look at her, "Which day are you not hungry?"

Just as the two were chatting back and forth, Lin Xiuyuan's room door was also opened.

He walked out of the room, and unlike the lazy state he was in just after waking up, he had clearly tidied himself up.

His hair was simply styled, and he had changed into a set of clean clothes, looking much more refreshed.

Seeing Xian Enjing and Park Jiyeon on the sofa as he opened the door, he called out in a very casual tone.

"Morning, what's going on today, everyone getting up so early."

Hearing the sound, Park Jiyeon immediately looked up at him and replied with a smile, "Morning, oppa."

Xian Enjing also nodded.

"Morning."

Lin Xiuyuan walked out of the room, stood to the side for a moment, and swept his gaze toward the Kitchen.

The instant noodles in the pot over there should be just about ready, as heat was slowly rising from the rim of the pot, carrying a very alluring fragrance.

Not long after.

Footsteps were heard coming from the stairs again.

The last person had come down as well.

Park Hyomin, having tidied up simply, had her hair restyled and hanging smoothly over her shoulders.

Her face was also lightly made up, and she looked to be in very good spirits, with no sign at all that she had just woken up.

As soon as she came down, she greeted everyone.

Lin Xiuyuan's gaze lingered for a moment on the area of her neck.

He discovered that it had clearly been treated; the concealer was applied very evenly, leaving no traces, and the skin tone was the same as the rest, not looking particularly abrupt.

Park Hyomin seemed to sense his gaze, and her eyelashes fluttered slightly.

But her expression remained calm; she just moved her gaze away as if nothing had happened, picked up the water glass on the table to take a sip, and acted completely normal.

The subsequent Breakfast was simple; everyone sitting around the dining table had a bowl of steaming instant noodles, and the soup in the bowls was still emitting a faint heat.

On this winter morning, such a bowl of hot noodle soup seemed exceptionally tempting.

Everyone chatted casually about today's plans while eating.

Li Juli picked up a chopstick-full of noodles, blew on them slightly, and then looked up at everyone, "We've been skiing for two days, should we take a break today?"

She thought for a moment, "Like going out to look around or something."

Upon hearing this, Park Hyomin nodded almost immediately, "I agree."

Thinking of the snow mountain that had already frightened her yesterday, she needed to take a breather.

So, she tapped the edge of her bowl lightly with her chopsticks and gave her reason, "It really is a bit tiring to ski for two days in a row; going out for a walk is quite nice too."

"Sure, we still have a few days anyway, no rush." Xian Enjing was never one to spoil the fun, so she agreed quite simply.

As for Park Jiyeon, upon hearing the words "go shopping," she was instantly energized, "Okay, okay! I've been wanting to check out those little boutique shops for a long time, and I can buy some souvenirs to take back."

Thus, the group quickly reached a consensus.

Then, everyone's gaze naturally fell upon the last person.

At this moment, Lin Xiuyuan had only just learned to ski not long ago, and his enthusiasm was at its peak.

To be honest, his craving for skiing hadn't fully passed yet.

But now that everyone had chosen "shopping," if he went skiing alone, it would be a bit antisocial.

What's more.

Although Park Hyomin was looking down at her noodles, she still occasionally glanced at him.

That look seemed very ordinary, but it vaguely held a meaning that only the two of them understood.

So, Lin Xiuyuan couldn't help but sigh softly in his heart.

Having just been wined and dined by her, he felt indebted and unable to refuse.

Helpless, he could only nod, "What else can I say? Let's go."

And so, the itinerary for today was completely arranged.

Eat Breakfast in the morning and rest a while, go out at noon to find a restaurant for a good meal, go shopping in the afternoon, and go to a bar to have fun in the evening.

Finally, come back to rest, and continue to conquer the snow mountain tomorrow.

They only had two more days to play before they had to return to Seoul.

However, back in Seoul at this time, Zheng Xiuyan looked at Zheng Xiujing sitting in front of her, her expression appearing a bit troubled.

She spoke softly, "Xiujing, I can't help you with this!!!"

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