Chapter 415: 439 Park Hyomin: Is it that hard? (Seeking subscriptions and monthly tickets)

As Lin Xiuyuan and Li Juli chatted more and more engrossed behind them, their pace unconsciously slowed down.

Meanwhile, the Dalongzai in front had already led Park Hyomin to her car, then stopped, turned around, looked at the two figures still walking slowly with a hint of playfulness in her gaze, and called out loudly.

"Unnie, Xiuyuan, why don't you two just find a place to get a room and keep chatting."

In the empty parking lot, even this light voice sounded exceptionally clear, carrying a touch of teasing and a hint of intentional disruption, echoing softly in the air.

Fortunately, there was no one else around, so such words were not overheard.

Li Juli, who looked up at the sound, glanced at her, a faint smile curling the corners of her lips, and replied with a very composed expression, "Forget it, I'll leave that opportunity to you. Didn't you say you haven't seen Xiuyuan in a long time?"

Upon hearing this, the Dalongzai not only did not retreat in the slightest, but her eyes lit up, as if her interest had been ignited.

She tilted her head to look at Lin Xiuyuan, her eyes filled with a playful glint, "If that's the case, then we don't need to waste time and money getting a room, right? Xiuyuan, what do you think?"

Then, she cast a meaningful glance into the car and added, "I think inside the car is pretty good too."

These words were spoken bluntly and boldly, and paired with her matter-of-fact expression, the atmosphere in the air suddenly turned pink.

As for Lin Xiuyuan, who was being besieged by these two, he couldn't help but sigh helplessly as he looked at the two women deliberately stirring up trouble, and then simply went along with their words.

"How about we do it together?"

As soon as the words fell, Li Juli kicked out almost without any hesitation.

The force was not heavy, but the angle was tricky, landing precisely on his calf.

"Get lost."

The Dalongzai in front also rolled her eyes at Lin Xiuyuan, her lips moving as if she were brewing an even harsher remark to counterattack.

But before her emotions could fully peak, she herself couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing with a "pfft."

The happy Longzai was still very cute, so the bit of feigned ferocity she had just put on instantly dissipated completely.

However, soon after she finished laughing, she seemed to think of something, turned her head to look at Li Juli, and was about to speak...

But Li Juli was quick-witted and immediately stepped forward to cover her mouth with her hand.

She knew her *maknae*'s state after her divorce too well; she was simply letting herself go, daring to say anything and take on any joke, and the so-called sense of propriety was almost non-existent for her.

If she didn't stop her, the next words out of her mouth would likely be something she couldn't handle on the spot.

The Dalongzai was stunned for a moment after being suddenly gagged, but the next second, she laughed even harder.

Laughing while struggling, her voice leaked out intermittently through Li Juli's fingers, muffled and unclear.

"Ah... Unnie... woo woo woo... I haven't even said it yet... woo woo woo..."

Then she reached out to pry Li Juli's hand away, but didn't dare to use real force, afraid of accidentally hurting her.

It was just that as her movements unconsciously softened, her struggle looked even more like she was just playing around.

So the Dalongzai simply turned her head to the side and looked at Lin Xiuyuan, who was standing nearby, "Xiuyuan... help me."

However, as soon as Li Juli heard this, she immediately turned her head to stare at Lin Xiuyuan, her gaze even sharper than hers.

"You are not allowed to move."

Seeing this, Lin Xiuyuan raised his hands cleanly and decisively, standing honestly in place without any intention of intervening.

And so the scene froze just like that.

Beside the car door, the two were tangled together.

One was covering the other's mouth tightly to keep her from speaking, while the other couldn't stop laughing but kept dodging, the two of them going back and forth, having a great time.

Lin Xiuyuan and Park Hyomin stood to the side, watching this scene, and couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

After watching for a while, Park Hyomin suddenly turned her head, "Xiuyuan, why didn't you reply to my message? You must have seen the call I made to you."

Hearing the voice, Lin Xiuyuan shifted his gaze to look at her, then rubbed his temples helplessly, as if organizing his words.

Only then, after a moment of silence, did he choose the most direct answer, "I saw it, but I didn't know how to reply."

In front, Park Hyomin, as the questioner, had actually already preset several possible answers in her mind.

Such as common excuses like "I was too busy and didn't see it," or "my phone was out of battery."

She had even prepared herself to go along with the steps the other party provided.

But she hadn't expected that Lin Xiuyuan would say what was on his mind so cleanly and decisively without any preamble.

This made her freeze for a moment, her brain seeming to lag for a beat, and it took two seconds for her to come back to her senses.

She subconsciously asked back, "Is it that hard?"

"Replying to a message itself isn't hard; what's hard are some of the problems that might arise after replying."

Having said this, although Lin Xiuyuan frowned, he still had no intention of avoiding the topic.

"I'll just say it straight: as a normal man, when facing the beautiful women coming and going around me, it's really hard for me to completely control anything. And honestly, I'm not lacking in women, so to avoid unnecessary trouble, the simplest way is to keep some distance."

These words were not heavy, and could even be called casual, but every word landed clearly, without a hint of ambiguity or embellishment.

Just like Lin Xiuyuan himself, he couldn't be bothered to beat around the bush, nor did he intend to cover anything up.

Still as direct as ever.

It was just that this way of expressing himself, which could almost be called cutting to the bone, left Park Hyomin unable to respond for a moment.

She had seen too many men in the industry over the years; some feigned deep affection, some

feigned thoughtfulness, some feigned restraint, and some deliberately cultivated a pure persona.

But someone like him, who spoke of his lust so candidly, even with a sense of it being a matter of course, was rare.

Of course, it wasn't entirely non-existent.

It was just that those people mostly followed a different routine, claiming to be mere mortals with their mouths, while their actual goals were very clear, with all their rhetoric revolving around women.

But Lin Xiuyuan was a bit different; this guy really wasn't just saying it, he truly never lacked women around him.

And not one of them was of an ordinary level of beauty.

After all, the two in front of her were already entangled with him, and it was said there were those from Girls' Generation, and even some popular young starlets among the new generation...

Thinking of these existences, and then looking at the other's composure, it was truly hard to refute.

So much so that Park Hyomin stood where she was, letting these thoughts slowly swirl in her mind, and for a moment, she actually didn't respond.

However, just as she was still dazed, Lin Xiuyuan, having just finished speaking, suddenly took a step forward, catching Li Juli just as she was about to be brought down by an instinctive shoulder throw from Longzai, in what was almost a hair's breadth moment.

With one hand supporting Li Juli's arm and the other steadying her shoulder, he pulled her back, helping her regain her footing.

After steadying her, Lin Xiuyuan then took a step back, his tone carrying a hint of helpless amusement, "Alright, alright, if you're just playing around, that's enough."

Then, looking at the group, he took the opportunity to steer the conversation back, "Now that you've finished eating, where do you plan to go next?"

Beside them, after regaining her balance, Li Juli first looked down at the floor, then a second later, she suddenly looked up, pointing at Longzai with a face full of shock and a hint of incredulous accusation.

"Wow, Park Jiyeon!"

To this, Longzai spread her hands with an innocent face, her expression even carrying a hint of being in the right, "It's instinct, unnie, I really didn't mean it."

At this moment, Park Hyomin, who had already come back to her senses, also walked over.

This time, she didn't look at Lin Xiuyuan again, but instead fixed her gaze on Li Juli and Longzai, her tone as natural as if that previous conversation had never happened.

"How about we go sit over by the golf course?"

Upon hearing this, Longzai looked at her, somewhat speechless, "Unnie, it's raining outside."

"We can just go to the practice range; we don't necessarily have to go on the grass," Park Hyomin said with a bit more persistence in her tone, "Hit some balls, get some activity."

She really did want to move around now, but she didn't really want to go to a relatively enclosed space like a gym.

The golf practice range on a rainy day was empty, quiet, and the air was fresh; it was just right for catching one's breath and sorting out one's thoughts in the process.

Meanwhile, Li Juli, who had been watching the atmosphere between Lin Xiuyuan and Park Hyomin while trying to smooth things over, had already guessed the situation somewhat after glancing at Park Hyomin.

However, she didn't ask anything more, just walked up, reached out to take the arm of Longzai, who still wanted to keep complaining, and nodded slightly.

"Fine, then let's go over and play for a while."

Seeing that Li Juli had agreed, Longzai turned to look at Lin Xiuyuan, "Then Xiuyuan, are you coming too?"

"I won't go," Lin Xiuyuan shook his head, "I still have some things to take care of this afternoon, next time."

This wasn't an excuse this time; he really did need to go back and finalize the matter regarding Kim Taeyeon as soon as possible. Although she said it wasn't urgent, since he had already promised, he couldn't keep dragging it out.

Seeing him say this, Li Juli waved at him, and Longzai also casually dropped a "See you another day," then pulled Park Hyomin along to get into the car.

The car door closed, the sound of the engine soon rang out in the parking lot, and then it slowly pulled out of the Parking Space, merging toward the exit.

Lin Xiuyuan stood where he was, watching the car disappear from his field of vision, only then slowly withdrawing his gaze, turning to walk toward his own car, pulling the door open, and sitting inside.

He started the engine and drove all the way back to the Villa.

Once the car was parked steadily in the garage, he didn't linger, walking straight to the familiar Time Gate in the corner of the Living Room.

He placed his hand on the door handle and gave it a gentle push.

The Time Gate opened silently, and he stepped across.

In an instant, the world seemed to have switched channels.

Compared to the continuous drizzle on the '25 side, this '13 side was bright and sunny.

Bright sunlight poured in from outside the window, spreading a large patch of warm light spots on the floor; the air was dry and crisp, carrying a faint warmth, forming a sharp contrast with the damp and cold rainy atmosphere from just a moment ago, as if they were two completely different seasons.

Returning to the Apartment, Lin Xiuyuan glanced casually at the empty Living Room; it was very quiet inside.

There were still a few used cups on the coffee table, and the cushions on the sofa were slightly crooked, likely tossed there by someone who had sat there in the morning and hadn't had time to tidy up.

However, he didn't pay any mind to these things, instead walking straight to the sofa to sit down, fishing his phone out from the coffee table in front, and dialing Jin Ruanruan's number directly.

The phone didn't ring many times before it was answered.

"Hello." Jin Ruanruan's voice came from the other end of the receiver.

"Are you busy?" Lin Xiuyuan asked.

At this moment, Jin Ruanruan was sitting in the Nanny Car.

Upon hearing this, she subconsciously turned her head to look at her side.

Sunny, who was beside her, had already leaned in, her ear almost pressed against the phone, her face full of gossip.

Then she glanced toward the back; although Xu Zhuxian and Kwon Yuri in the back row hadn't leaned in, their gazes were also unintentionally fixed on her, carrying a hint of undisguisable curiosity.

After looking around, Jin Ruanruan withdrew her gaze, her tone returning to normal, "It's alright, I'm on the road, what's up?"

Upon hearing this answer, Lin Xiuyuan understood that it wasn't convenient for her to talk much, so he simply got straight to the point, "What time do you get off work tonight?"

"Tonight, huh..."

Hearing Lin Xiuyuan ask this, Jin Ruanruan immediately understood that it was mostly likely still about Kim Taeyeon.

So she paused slightly, quickly running through today's schedule in her mind; there were still a few shoots to rush to tonight, and after that, she had to have a meeting to review, so the time would indeed drag on quite a bit.

Then, without hiding anything, she said truthfully, "It might be a bit late, it should be until the early morning."

"Is that so..." There was a silence on the other end of the phone, and then Lin Xiuyuan's voice came through, "Then never mind, you guys get some good rest first, I'll have her wait a bit longer."

Hearing this caring remark, the corners of Jin Ruanruan's mouth lifted into a faint arc involuntarily, and then she leaned back slightly against the seat, her tone also softening a bit compared to before.

"It's fine, see you tonight; it's not like this little bit of time matters. I'll call you after I get off work, just don't go running around everywhere."

Being a daughter herself, she could actually understand the other person's feelings—that feeling of having waited a long time and finally seeing hope.

That excitement of seeing the sunlight again after staying in the dark for too long is something anyone would try their best to grasp, unwilling to lose it again.

If it were her, she would probably make the same choice.

So, being a little tired is fine; it's not like there's absolutely no time to rest, and she could even let that old woman owe her more favors; this calculation is never a loss.

"Alright then, see you tonight."

Seeing that Jin Ruanruan had said so, Lin Xiuyuan didn't try to persuade her further, and once the time was set, he ended the call decisively.

On this end of the phone, Jin Ruanruan had just taken the phone away from her ear, the screen was still lit, and she hadn't even had time to turn it off when Sunny beside her had already leaned in impatiently.

Her eyes were shining, her face full of curiosity, and her tone carried undisguised teasing.

"Yo, Taeyeon, meeting Xiuyuan so late? What are you two planning to do?"

"I have something to do." Jin Ruanruan smiled, casually putting her phone into her pocket, clearly not feeling that there was any problem with this.

But how could Sunny let her off so easily? She immediately pressed, "What is it? Why must you meet in the middle of the night? Is there something so important that it couldn't be said during the day?"

At this moment, Xu Zhuxian in the back row couldn't help but interject, her tone sounding as if she were analyzing a logic puzzle.

"Unnie, what could you possibly do meeting at dawn? Everyone should be asleep at that hour."

As soon as these words were spoken, Jin Ruanruan was slightly taken aback.

She blinked, her brain feeling as if it had been poked, and she suddenly realized a problem she hadn't considered at all just a moment ago.

That's right, meeting in the middle of the night really didn't seem necessary.

Everyone was asleep, and her own father must be asleep too; if that were the case, what was the point of Kim Taeyeon coming over?

This point, she hadn't thought of just now.

And Lin Xiuyuan, on his end, had clearly overlooked it for a moment as well.