Chapter 427: 449

449 "Lin Xiuyuan, you're done for." (Seeking subscriptions and monthly votes)

Inside the Apartment.

As that married woman was sent away by her, Li Juli stood at the entryway, staring at the closed The Gate for several seconds.

Only then did she let out a long breath, then turned around with the helplessness of someone cleaning up a mess, and took steps toward the bedroom.

She soon arrived before the bedroom door and had just raised her hand, fingers curled, wanting to knock when...

The room door was opened from the inside.

Lin Xiuyuan stood behind the door, one hand resting on the door frame, his gaze sweeping across the Living Room past Li Juli's shoulder.

After confirming that the married woman was no longer there, he then asked, "She left?"

"Mm." Li Juli gave him an annoyed eye roll.

Immediately following, a delicate little head poked out from behind Lin Xiuyuan.

Park Hyomin was like a hamster poking its head out of a hole, blinking her eyes as she looked at Li Juli, her expression carrying a bit of guilt and a bit of ingratiation, and she called out softly, "Unnie~"

As a result, the moment she poked her head out, that little head of hers was fiercely struck by Li Juli.

With a crisp "pop" sound, the knuckles of her fingers landed precisely on the center of Park Hyomin's head, the force neither light nor heavy, just enough to make her feel the pain.

This strike was fast and accurate, as if it had been practiced countless times, carrying a kind of familiarity and casualness unique to an older sister disciplining a younger one.

And Park Hyomin, having received the flick, immediately hugged her head and shrank back behind Lin Xiuyuan, covering the top of her head with both hands, her mouth slightly agape, letting out a pained cry filled with grievance.

"Ah~ it hurts, why are you doing that, Unnie."

"I told you two to hide inside and be quiet, who told you to scare me?"

Li Juli lowered her hand, her gaze sweeping back and forth between Park Hyomin and Lin Xiuyuan, "Do you know that my heart almost stopped just now from the noise you two were making? Don't you know I was still outside dealing with her?"

The expression on her face as she spoke wasn't truly angry, but rather a kind of sullen chiding.

"It's all Xiuyuan's fault..."

Hearing this, Park Hyomin once again poked half her head out from behind Lin Xiuyuan, pouting her lips, and pointed at Lin Xiuyuan with grievance, "He was the one who provoked me first."

"Then you still have to endure it quietly." Li Juli's reply was crisp and decisive, without any hesitation.

Facing this accusation, Park Hyomin looked at her in complete shock; she had originally thought she could get some comfort from Li Juli.

Unexpectedly, what she got wasn't comfort, but a blow.

Thus, her lips pouted slightly, like a little duck that had been wronged, and she shrank back behind Lin Xiuyuan, burying her face between his shoulder blades, and stopped talking.

However, this was also Li Juli's way of knocking some sense into her younger sister's young soul, to keep her from being too flighty.

Because regarding this super invincible big secret of Lin Xiuyuan's, the more flighty the people around him were, the more dangerous he became; everyone should quietly enjoy this secret, as that was the safest path.

After all, when a person suddenly comes into contact with information beyond their cognitive range, their first reaction is often excitement and curiosity, wanting to explore more and participate more.

So, in order to warn Park Hyomin, she had no choice but to make her tone a bit heavier.

At this moment, Lin Xiuyuan also hurriedly stood out, reaching out to pull Park Hyomin into the crook of his arm, as if giving her a silent comfort.

His body also turned slightly, blocking the space between Li Juli and Park Hyomin, and after cutting off their line of sight, he smiled, "Alright, it's good that everything is fine."

Then he asked a curious question, "Juli, how did you convince Hyomin to go back? I thought she would pursue the matter to the end."

"I didn't convince her." Li Juli's answer was short and powerful, and then she gave Park Hyomin another super shocking answer, "I just threw her out."

So much so that when Park Hyomin heard this sentence, she was stunned for a moment, and once again poked her head out from Lin Xiuyuan's arm to look at Li Juli, her gaze filled with disbelief.

She really hadn't expected that the Juli Unnie of many years later would have improved her physical skills even further compared to back then.

Back in the Dormitory, Li Juli would at most throw pillows at people or scare others with bugs, but she had never reached the point of throwing people out.

Unexpectedly, twelve years later, she had actually evolved to this degree; it really was a bit frightening.

Thinking of this, another thought popped into Park Hyomin's mind.

That was, since the Li Juli here was already involved with Lin Xiuyuan—after all, judging from the interaction between the two just now, that kind of tacit intimacy was definitely not something ordinary friends could have.

Since that was the case, then what about the one from 2013?

Just as she was letting her imagination run wild, Li Juli's gaze fell on the spot on Lin Xiuyuan's neck that had just been bitten.

That ring of tooth marks was on the side of his neck, the tooth impressions clearly visible, the upper and lower rows like a seal branded there, looking exceptionally conspicuous.

Staring at those tooth marks for two seconds, Li Juli met Lin Xiuyuan's gaze, gave him a chiding eye roll, and then said something that was very much in sync with Park Hyomin.

"Xiuyuan, you really deserve it."

"Stop scolding, stop scolding."

Lin Xiuyuan reached out to touch his neck, then looked at Li Juli to change the subject, "Let's not talk about me anymore, what about you now? Are you preparing to go out? Even though she was thrown out by you, the appointment still has to be kept, right?"

As he spoke, he pulled Park Hyomin to clear the way, turning his body to the side to let Li Juli walk into the bedroom.

However, after coming in, Li Juli shook her head, then walked to the bedside, sat down at the foot of the bed, and looked at the two people in front of her with her hands resting on either side of her body.

"The question of going out can be put aside for later; for now, let's talk about the previous issue."

"What previous issue could there be?" Lin Xiuyuan feigned ignorance.

It was just that his gaze shifted slightly to the side, not daring to make contact with Li Juli, while at the same time he was filled with regret.

If he had known, he would have retreated with Park Hyomin just now; to actually dare to stay behind was simply courting death.

Facing this appearance of his, Li Juli, who knew this was Lin Xiuyuan's habitual trick, couldn't be bothered to pay him any mind, because at a time like this, entangling with him would only waste time.

Thus, she looked directly at Park Hyomin beside him, "Hyomin, tell me about that life-and-death encounter you mentioned earlier; what exactly is going on?"

Park Hyomin was also smart; when she had mentioned this matter earlier and Li Juli had shown a worried look, she had already guessed something.

So, at this moment, when being pressed for the situation, her gaze also glanced toward Lin Xiuyuan's side, as if seeking some kind of permission.

As a result, just from this one look, she received another opening from Li Juli, carrying an indescribable sternness, "Park Hyomin, don't look at this guy; tell it yourself, don't even think about protecting him."

As she spoke, her gaze was fixed tightly on Park Hyomin's face, "Let me tell you, this matter can be big or small, you cannot make things up."

Intimidated by Li Juli like this, how could Park Hyomin dare to let her eyes wander anymore.

Her whole body tensed slightly, her hands hanging at her sides, her fingers unconsciously tugging at the hem of her sweater, looking exactly like a student who had been called to the office by a teacher after making a mistake, standing there in punishment, not even daring to breathe loudly.

Her voice carried a hint of nervousness and hesitation, "Then what should I say, and where should I start?"

"Start from the beginning." Li Juli's voice was very soft, but her tone was heavy.

Seeing that she could no longer be stopped, Lin Xiuyuan spoke up, "Then you two chat, I'm going out to get a bottle of water to drink."

He certainly didn't want to wait here and become the unlucky soul directly scorched by the flames of anger; being able to delay it for a while was better than nothing.

Watching Lin Xiuyuan's back disappear at The Gate, Park Hyomin's gaze lingered for a few seconds, as if she hadn't yet fully detached from the atmosphere just now.

Then she gently pursed her lips, withdrew her gaze, turned toward Li Juli, and spoke softly.

However, Park Hyomin was in no rush to get to the main point, instead starting bit by bit from that recent experience of skiing in Niseko, Nihon.

At first, her tone was very ordinary, as if she were telling a daily story.

Later, when she reached the part about getting lost, describing how the group skied further and further off-course in the snowfield and ended up very far astray, her tone even carried a hint of helpless amusement.

After all, that was just a mess, not a danger.

And Li Juli listened quietly, her expression still carrying a trace of dismissive ease.

She had the same thought as Park Hyomin; it was just getting lost, not a primeval forest, and a helicopter would come as soon as it was called.

Problems that could be solved with money were not problems at all.

When Park Hyomin heard Li Juli say this, she nodded along, "Mm, Xiuyuan said the same thing back then."

Then she continued, but when the topic turned to the blizzard on the second day, the rhythm in the air changed significantly.

Even Park Hyomin's own tone slowed down unconsciously, and her description became much more concrete, perhaps because she was an eyewitness.

So she recounted how the wind blew, how the snow slapped horizontally against her face, how her vision was compressed to only a few meters in front of her, and how even breathing carried a stinging sensation.

When she spoke of the state of "not even being able to stand steady, having to squat down and just hold on," her voice was also noticeably lower.

At the same time, Li Juli's previously relaxed expression tightened bit by bit at this moment.

Her brows were no longer in that casual arc from before, but slightly furrowed, and her gaze became focused.

The hands that had been resting on her legs slowly clenched, her knuckles turning faintly white.

This subconscious reaction was not deliberately performed, but an instinctive response of the body preceding emotion.

However, she did not interrupt Park Hyomin's account, just listened quietly.

And Park Hyomin continued to speak.

When she reached the part where she and Lin Xiuyuan had separated from the crowd again and completely lost their way, her tone no longer had any element of ease; there was already a little lingering fear.

Especially the moment she mentioned nearly missing her footing and sliding toward a snow hole.

The air in the bedroom seemed to freeze for a moment.

Li Juli's gaze also seemed to be fiercely struck at that point, her pupils trembling, her breathing stopping abruptly.

It wasn't until Park Hyomin said that Lin Xiuyuan had crawled over and risked his life to save her that her breathing recovered from its previous stagnation, but it was heavier than usual, and the rise and fall of her chest was greater.

Then she suddenly let out a long, stifled breath.

Her entire shoulders began to relax from their tense state, like a piece of crumpled cloth slowly being smoothed out.

Then Li Juli looked at Park Hyomin, her tone no longer the casual teasing from before, but carrying a confirmation after suppressing her emotions.

"So in the end, you were fine, right."

"Mm, after he saved me, we skied down, and there were no other problems afterward."

Park Hyomin nodded very obediently, not daring to be the least bit long-winded.

Because she, who knew the Li Juli of 2013, could already see that the unnie in front of her was near the critical point of an outburst; don't let her calm expression and steady tone fool you.

But that calmness was only on the surface.

"Mm, I understand." Li Juli's voice was a bit tight, then she lowered her head to look at her hands resting on her knees, silent for a few seconds.

A moment later, she slowly raised her head to look at Park Hyomin, revealing a smile of relief and understanding, "No wonder someone with your mental cleanliness, even after seeing the situation between Xiuyuan and Zhiyan and the others, was still willing to get together with him. So it was a life-saving grace, repaying it with your body."

Park Hyomin did not answer, just smiled slightly.

And after saying this, Li Juli slowly stood up under Park Hyomin's gaze.

She took steps without haste, walking toward The Gate one step at a time, her slippers making a slight sound on the floor.

Behind her, Park Hyomin watched her back, a bit unsure if she should follow.

Her gaze followed Li Juli's back, lost in thought.

But just as she hesitated for a moment, a voice came from the Living Room outside.

It was Li Juli's, but that voice did not have the outburst Park Hyomin had imagined earlier, nor was there any shouting or questioning.

Instead, it was extremely gentle—so gentle it was like saying goodnight, so gentle it was as if she were afraid of startling something, so gentle it made the hair on Park Hyomin's arms stand up.

"Xiuyuan, you're done for."

On the other side.

The married woman Park Hyomin, who had come down from upstairs, quickly returned to her car, then took out her phone again to call a certain friend.

Only this time, the international call took a long time before it was answered in the final two seconds, and a surprised voice came through.

"Wow, Xiaomin, what a big surprise, you actually took the initiative to call me."

"Shun Gui, you say that, but it hasn't been that long since we last connected, didn't we just chat on INS yesterday, and we even met in Dubai before."

Facing the married woman Park Hyomin's accusation, Sunny laughed and said, "I'm just surprised, what's wrong, calling me so rarely today."

In the driver's seat, the married woman's small hand gently flicked the ornament in front, her mind seemingly brewing a question.

So as Sunny asked this, she also spoke up, "Actually, it's nothing, I just wanted to ask you about something."

"What is it, your tone is so heavy." Sunny was a bit curious.

"Do you remember when you mentioned to Xiuyuan that I went drinking and got trapped? Or rather, did I ever tell you about this?"