Chapter 417: 441

"It's fine, there's plenty of wine."

When Lin Xiuyuan heard this, he couldn't help but chuckle softly.

However, he didn't follow up on that remark, instead picking up his wine glass again to take a sip, then placing it back on the coffee table as he began to talk about the situation with Kim Taeyeon over there.

Lin Xiuyuan was very frank about this, with almost no reservations.

From the initial relationship between the two, to how they got along after they started interacting, and the general events that had occurred during this time, he recounted it all slowly.

However, Jin Ruanruan actually already knew most of the content.

For instance, that the two had long since slept together;

Or that Kim Taeyeon would still often fall into low spirits, slipping into that kind of brief emo state.

These were nothing new to her, but while listening, she would still occasionally glance down at her own body, her fingertips slowly tracing circles along the rim of the glass, her expression looking very calm.

It wasn't until Lin Xiuyuan brought up the conversation he had with Kim Taeyeon today and relayed the gist of its content that Jin Ruanruan showed a clear reaction.

She raised her head, her eyebrows arching slightly, and a hint of genuine surprise appeared in her eyes. "She really said that? That doesn't sound much like her usual personality."

"Yeah, I was quite surprised too." Lin Xiuyuan nodded, and as he spoke, he reached out to pick up the wine bottle, topping off both their glasses.

As the bubbles surged again at the bottom of the glasses, dense and continuous, they emitted a faint hissing sound.

Watching this scene, Jin Ruanruan frowned slightly, as if she were seriously analyzing something.

Then she picked up her wine glass, but instead of drinking, she voiced a thought: "Xiuyuan, do you think she might be playing hard to get?"

Hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"I don't think it's that."

Regarding Kim Taeyeon, he was more inclined to believe it was a concession born out of concern, rather than calculation.

Otherwise, if everyone were constantly scheming against each other, life would be far too exhausting.

"It's hard to say." Jin Ruanruan tapped the side of her glass with her fingertip, producing a crisp, delicate "ding" sound, as if setting a rhythm for her own train of thought. "Anyway, someone like me has plenty of little schemes."

When she said this, her tone was very natural, even somewhat candid, as if she were stating a perfectly ordinary fact, completely unconcerned about including herself in that assessment.

After hearing this self-exposure, Lin Xiuyuan couldn't help but laugh and teased,

"Are you using your current self to infer the version of you over there? That's probably not very accurate, because it's usually more reasonable to look at the past from the future, not to mention that in those ten years over there, there have been too many changes and too many things that happened."

This answer made Jin Ruanruan pause her movements, and after a long while, she slowly raised her hand, gently extending her wine glass forward.

It clinked against Lin Xiuyuan's glass with a soft, crisp sound.

"What you said makes sense, so let's just assume that's the case. At the very least, it shows that her current mood and overall state have stabilized."

Lin Xiuyuan took a sip of wine and replied, "It's been over half a year; it's about time it stabilized. If her mood swings were still as intense as before, both you and I would be worn out."

"Mm." Jin Ruanruan responded softly.

Afterward, the Living Room was quiet for a short while.

In that silence, Jin Ruanruan suddenly moved.

Under Lin Xiuyuan's gaze, she tilted her head back slightly and downed the remaining half-glass of champagne in one go.

As her throat moved slightly, she placed the glass back on the coffee table and looked up at Lin Xiuyuan, her eyes carrying a faint, elusive smile. "Aren't we supposed to toast?"

"What are you doing?" Lin Xiuyuan raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you say we should drink slowly?"

Jin Ruanruan didn't answer, just looked at him quietly, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly, as if waiting to see his reaction.

Seeing this, Lin Xiuyuan looked down at the wine remaining in his own glass, smiled, and without saying anything more, tilted his head back to finish it, then placed the empty glass on the coffee table.

"No, we agreed to chat and drink slowly; why do I feel like you're trying to get me drunk?"

"I wish I could." Jin Ruanruan reached out to take the wine bottle and refilled both their glasses. "But with my alcohol tolerance, I definitely couldn't get you drunk. Plus, it's a good thing it's champagne; if it were whiskey, I'd probably be out after one glass."

Afterward, the two continued to chat while drinking.

The alcohol content of the champagne wasn't high, but after drinking so much, the after-effect was slowly creeping up.

Before long, the whole bottle was nearly empty, the bubbles in the glasses were noticeably sparse, and the icy chill of the wine was gradually fading.

Looking at the wine bottle once more, Lin Xiuyuan let out a soft breath. "Taeyeon, aren't we drinking a bit too fast? We could slow down."

Jin Ruanruan smiled after hearing this. "I'm just trying to see if I can get you to speak the truth after drinking."

At this moment, she was holding her wine glass with both hands, curled up on the carpet, her posture much more casual than at the start, as if she had relaxed.

Then she tilted her head to look at Lin Xiuyuan, her tone filled with anticipation. "So, Xiuyuan, hurry up and get a little tipsy; I'm actually quite curious to know just how many women you have over there."

"And what if you knew?" Lin Xiuyuan leaned back on the sofa, his voice lazy. "And honestly, I don't believe you haven't guessed."

He glanced at her, a faint, elusive smile at the corners of his mouth.

Regarding the almost transparent barrier between the "members," he never felt that Jin Ruanruan couldn't see through it.

What's more, it wasn't hard to judge what the changes he brought meant to a woman; it was basically clear at a glance.

Yet Jin Ruanruan shook her head gently, then placed the wine glass on her knees, her fingers interlaced on the rim. "Guessing is one thing, but how you all ended up together, and what happened because of this space-time

The Gate, is actually quite curious."

Right now, her tone carried undisguised interest, and the corners of her mouth were curled into a smile.

"Also, while you're over there, did you go and provoke any girls who aren't members? I'm curious about that too."

"Outside?" Lin Xiuyuan repeated subconsciously. "You mean... those of the new generation?"

"Mm." Jin Ruanruan nodded.

Lin Xiuyuan looked at her serious expression and couldn't help but laugh. "Taeyeon, how is your curiosity even more exaggerated than Lee Sunkyu's? Anyway, the Taeyeon over there isn't as intense as you."

"Can't help it, old women definitely aren't as curious as the young ones."

Lin Xiuyuan didn't dare respond to that; the people here had all been corrupted by that Little Dragon Cub Park Jiyeon, completely and utterly.

Afterward, Kim Taeyeon tilted her head to look at him, her eyes sparkling. "And there's also your constitution; if you get involved and sleep with those girls outside, will they become especially attached to you, even to the point where they can't let go? YoonA and the others and I are all very curious about this."

Lin Xiuyuan clearly hadn't expected her to be so blunt, so he was stunned for a moment, looking at her in surprise.

He truly hadn't expected that the singer Kim, who was usually a bit eccentric but always very proper in her words and actions, would be asking such a question with such a candid expression right now; honestly, the contrast was quite strong.

Jin Ruanruan, who had met Lin Xiuyuan's gaze, smiled even more noticeably instead, her eyes curving into a beautiful arc, with no intention at all of taking back what she had just said.

"What's wrong? Can't I be a little curious?"

"You can, why wouldn't you be able to."

Lin Xiuyuan came back to his senses and laughed along with her.

He then raised a hand to press his temples; the alcohol made his head feel a bit swollen, but his train of thought was still clear, "But I might have to disappoint you; the safety measures I control here are quite strict, so that kind of situation you mentioned hasn't happened yet."

To this, Jin Ruanruan said "Oh," her tone devoid of much emotion, as if she had simply noted the answer.

Then, after a few seconds of silence, she suddenly shifted forward, bringing her whole person closer to Lin Xiuyuan.

"Then have you discovered other situations? For example, even if you didn't do anything, is there a situation where one can still receive a bit of change under the influence of your constitution?"

Lin Xiuyuan looked at her suddenly close face, stunned for a moment, not quite understanding the sentence, "What do you mean?"

Then Jin Ruanruan directly raised her hand and pointed to her own crimson little mouth.

Those cherry lips shimmered with a fine, moist luster under the light, likely because she had just been drinking, appearing exceptionally soft.

"I mean saliva."

Lin Xiuyuan opened his mouth; the alcohol going to his head prevented him from reacting in time, and he blurted out subconsciously, "Ah, I really haven't compared that."

Almost as soon as his voice fell, Jin Ruanruan followed up, her tone as light as if she were suggesting something perfectly ordinary.

"Then how about we try?"

"Hm??" Lin Xiuyuan's expression instantly became quite colorful; he raised an eyebrow, and his eyes widened a fraction involuntarily.

He then stared at Jin Ruanruan for two seconds, trying to find a trace of a joke on her face.

But there was none.

The other party smiled instead.

That smile was not the kind that was deliberately flirtatious; it was more like a natural reaction of relaxing, even carrying a bit of natural frankness.

At the same time, she opened her mouth to explain, "Although I can't accept going any further for now, a kiss is still fine."

Afterward, her gaze crossed Lin Xiuyuan's shoulder and fell toward the floor-to-ceiling window of the Living Room.

Outside the window, the night was deep, and a full moon hung high in the sky.

After withdrawing her gaze, she looked at Lin Xiuyuan again, "Besides, the moon is quite round tonight."

When this last sentence fell, Jin Ruanruan had already risen.

Her knees pressed shallow marks into the carpet; she stopped in front of Lin Xiuyuan, turned around, and sat into his arms in one fluid motion.

The entire set of movements was very light, and when she sat down, she maintained a rhythm that was deliberately slowed, as if giving each other a process to adapt.

The light shone from the side, outlining a soft contour on her profile.

The next second, Jin Ruanruan leaned down, pressing those soft, glutinous lips gently against his.

In that instant, Lin Xiuyuan felt only a touch of warmth and softness. The faint taste of champagne still lingered on her lips, carrying a bit of sweetness and a slight effervescence, spreading between their lips and teeth, present yet elusive.

The initial contact carried a bit of probing, light, as if confirming the other's reaction.

But soon, that probing gained a bit of force.

And at this moment, Lin Xiuyuan was still searching his mind for the last sentence she had just said...

Huh, it seems a bit familiar.

The next day at noon.

Inside the Villa in 2025.

Seoul, which had been raining for several days, finally cleared up today; the sunlight spilled in through the floor-to-ceiling window, quiet and bright.

Lin Xiuyuan, who had long since woken up, was currently sitting on the sofa in the Living Room playing with his phone.

At this time, an electronic sound came from The Gate outside the courtyard, followed by it being pushed open, and Krystal walked in, carrying several bags in her hands.

She was wearing a loose sweatshirt today, her hair simply tied into a low ponytail, and there was almost no makeup on her face, but her complexion was very good, and she looked fresh and natural.

Walking through the courtyard into the Living Room, the first thing she saw was Lin Xiuyuan on the sofa.

She had originally wanted to say "What are you doing," but the words stopped as they reached her lips.

Her gaze stared at the other's face from the side for two seconds.

The next moment, her eyes widened slightly, her expression changing from simple confusion to obvious surprise, and then bit by

bit turning into a smile she couldn't help but suppress.

Then she put the bags in her hand on the coffee table, rested her hands on her knees, bent down slightly, and leaned in closer, as if confirming something.

A moment later, she spoke slowly, her tone carrying an irrepressible smile, "Xiuyuan, what's going on with the corner of your mouth?"

Asked by her like this, Lin Xiuyuan subconsciously raised his hand to touch the side of his lip.

When his fingertips touched the corner of his mouth, he could clearly feel a small patch of broken skin, slightly swollen, and it stung a little when pressed.

The scene from last night flashed through his mind all at once.

Afterward, he withdrew his hand with a helpless expression, also carrying a bit of indescribable depression, "Nothing, just bitten by a silly girl who was drunk; I really won't dare to kiss someone who is drunk next time, she's crazy."

After hearing this, Krystal not only didn't have any reaction of jealousy, but instead let out a "pfft" of laughter.

And the more she laughed, the more exaggerated it became.

She laughed until her shoulders shook, her body becoming a bit unsteady, as if she would laugh and fall onto Lin Xiuyuan in the next second.

"Xiujing, you are laughing a bit too wildly, aren't you." Lin Xiuyuan looked at her speechlessly.

"Nothing..." Krystal finally managed to hold it back a little, raising her hand to wipe the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, "It's just that I think your current situation is really too funny."

As she spoke, she sat down next to him, reached out to pull the bags from the coffee table, and began taking things out.

She was still muttering to herself, "A silly girl who was drunk... how drunk must she have been to bite the corner of your mouth..."

Lin Xiuyuan did not take up her words, but simply leaned back, his whole body sinking into the sofa, his gaze resting on the sunlight streaming in from outside the window.

In his mind, however, the scene from last night surfaced once again involuntarily...

Under the moonlight, that face that had suddenly drawn near, and the touch that carried a hint of sweetness when it pressed against him.

Then he sighed softly; it really was quite foolish.

……

……

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Inside the 2013 SM Company practice room.

Sunny was leaning against the mirror doing stretches, her arms extending upward, naturally causing her shoulders and back to slowly open up.

At the moment she looked up, she happened to see The Gate being pushed open, and then Jin Ruanruan walked in from outside.

Her gaze, which had originally just swept over casually, stopped on the other person's face.

She stared for two seconds, raised an eyebrow slightly, and then jumped up abruptly, trotting over to the side of Jin Ruanruan, who was sitting on a chair.

"Taeyeon-ah, are your lips a bit swollen today?"

This sentence caused Jin Ruanruan's movements to pause slightly.

That moment was very brief, almost imperceptible, and in the blink of an eye, she returned to her original rhythm, as if nothing had happened.

It was just that she turned around, took a mask out of the bag that had already been closed, and put it on with natural, deft movements, covering most of her face, leaving only a pair of moist eyes exposed.

Then she dropped a sentence, "No, you saw wrong."

She got up and went to do stretches.

……

……