Chapter 432: 456

Inside the Villa, following the triple-strike from Dalongzai, Li Juli, and Lin Yun'er, the air in the Living Room seemed to have been purified by something.

Those restless voices laden with personal emotions also slowly settled down, revealing the more essential thoughts beneath.

Even someone as demanding and urgent as Kim Taeyeon could not help but face the situation they described, and then realized they were truly not wrong.

She had indeed blurred the boundary between "care" and "control," and had indeed, unknowingly, treated her own anxiety as a responsibility that Lin Xiuyuan must bear.

Thus, her fingers drew circles on the tabletop unconsciously, as if organizing the thoughts she needed to re-sort.

A moment later, having thought a great deal, she asked with some helplessness, "Then, since you put it that way, why did we come here tonight? Just to have this argument? And that guy Xiuyuan, are we just going to let him off so easily?"

Upon hearing this, Dalongzai immediately stretched out her hand and gestured in the air with her finger, as if drawing a line to divide tonight's discussion into two parts.

"Not at all, Unnie, we definitely came here to judge Xiuyuan, it's just that we can't stray too far."

"Just now, Juli Unnie said it too: Xiuyuan's only fault is keeping things from us. He didn't do anything else wrong; it was something he could do and was allowed to do. This is his freedom."

As she continued, becoming more uninhibited, she began to make comparisons: "However, although Xiuyuan playing so dangerously is indeed a bit unfair to us, he has long since put in enough effort elsewhere to make it up to us. Taeyeon Unnie, you should know this."

When she said that last sentence, she even stared specifically at Kim Taeyeon, seemingly intending to deduce when this person's last ML was based on her current state.

And Dalongzai's sudden speeding, dragging everyone onto the German autobahn, made many people at the table burst into laughter.

But the vast majority of them were the older sisters of the '25 generation.

Beyond understanding the subtext, they possessed that calm naturalness, able to find resonance in such slightly risqué jokes while treating them as daily seasoning.

So the laughter fell into a category similar to so-called "old money laughter," a "tacit understanding" unique to mature women.

As for those girls from the '13 generation, even if they all understood, they only went "Ah," with no major change in their expressions.

They still cared about face and were too reserved.

After Dalongzai noticed everyone laughing, she added another sentence, looking somewhat innocent: "What? I'm not wrong, facts are facts, one thing is one thing."

"What we need to discuss tonight is that we cannot let this guy ignore our worries as he pleases, whether it's us or you."

When she said that last part, she first pointed at herself, then pointed at Park Jiyeon.

Then, her finger moved away from her chest, precisely circling everyone, connecting the entirety of both timelines, as if saying, "We are one."

"That works."

A crisp sound came from the other end of the table.

Jessica raised the spoon in her hand and tapped the Glass Cup in front of her; a crisp "ding" echoed in the Living Room, like a clear bell toll, drawing everyone's attention.

"Then let's set the boundaries like that. By the way, let's also discuss later how we should handle it if Xiuyuan still wants to go skiing, or even more terrifying sports like bungee jumping or paragliding."

But just as she finished speaking, Zheng Xiuyan across from her frowned, her gaze landing on Jessica's face with great disdain: "Must you make him play these extreme sports?"

Compared to those two situations, she suddenly felt that skiing seemed quite fine.

At least skiing is on the ground and has a sense of stability; even in the worst avalanche, there is a high probability of being rescued.

Rescue teams, helicopters, positioning systems—the safeguards modern technology can provide are far greater than those sports in the air without any support.

As for the remaining bumps and bruises, it's nothing more than a broken hand or leg; anyway, she can afford to support this man.

Compared to the trouble of broken hands and legs, Zheng Xiuyan was truly afraid of what might follow that "what if"—those were the problems that even money and time couldn't solve.

"I was just giving an example. What if he really goes? It's good to have a psychological buffer in advance," Jessica shrugged.

"Don't talk about 'in advance.' Just thinking about those two sports makes my heart twitch," Kim Taeyeon covered her face with her palm; she really couldn't imagine that scene.

At this moment, Park Hyomin suddenly joined the group chat.

"It shouldn't come to that. Although Xiuyuan likes skiing, it's only because he hadn't played it before, and it's the controllable kind, which is why he likes it more and more."

Recalling the situation, she continued, "I remember him telling me back then that he doesn't really like sports where he can't be in control. Bungee jumping and skydiving should both count as that; he prefers sports he can master himself."

Hearing this, many people felt a sense of relief, a relief that carried a sentiment called "thankfully."

However, a few people's gazes fell on Park Hyomin's glowing little face, which was white with a rosy tint, smooth and delicate.

Knowing the premise of such therapeutic effects, some pouted, some looked away in annoyance, and some lowered their heads pretending to look at their phones, but their fingers swiped across the screen for a long time without clicking anything.

"Then we can call him in now," Tian Enjing, who hadn't spoken much, suggested at this moment.

Her gaze had been fixed outside the floor-to-ceiling window, and she was smiling very gently, seemingly not intending to participate in the discussion inside the room.

"Call him. That guy was watching the show so happily just now, now it's his turn."

Dalongzai crossed her arms over her chest and pretentiously twisted her neck a few times, as if doing warm-up exercises before a fight.

Upon hearing this, the others also smiled one after another.

The atmosphere in the room slowly changed from the previous seriousness and tension to a relaxed, playful, and cheerful vibe.

A few minutes later.

Lin Xiuyuan and the other two finally returned to the room.

As he walked in, he found everyone's eyes fixed on him, so he said somewhat sheepishly.

"So, are you done talking?"

"We're done talking about our business, now it's time to talk about yours, Xiuyuan." Li Juli was still the same, looking at him with smiling eyes, her whole person radiating the composure of someone watching a show.

However, this look of hers made the corner of Lin Xiuyuan's mouth twitch.

Her current state showed absolutely no sign of the intention to protect him that she had mentioned earlier.

What happened to the "I'll help you block it" that was agreed upon?

What happened to the "Don't worry"?

Sure enough, what Zhang Wuji's mother said was too right: the more beautiful a woman is, the less you can believe what she says.

Thinking of this, Lin Xiuyuan sat back in the main seat with some helplessness.

Then, facing everyone's gaze, he half-raised his hands, his expression changing from the previous sheepish smile to one of earnest self-reflection.

"Alright, I thought about it outside just now. I really shouldn't have kept this from everyone, and I shouldn't have been so headstrong about going skiing in such dangerous conditions."

"I know I was wrong this time, I'll definitely be careful next time, or maybe I'll just play within the trails next time."

Xueli and Goo Hara, who followed him in, smiled at each other upon hearing his words.

He hadn't been thinking about any of these things outside just now.

He had clearly been dragging the two of them along to discuss where the food was good, where the scenery was beautiful, and even suggesting that they could try making vlogs after they returned to gain some followers on social media platforms, preparing early for a future transition to the internet.

At that time, there was absolutely no sign of any reflection on his part.

"Xiuyuan, we didn't say we wouldn't let you go play what you want to play." Lin Yun'er glanced at him and said in a very gentle tone.

"It's just that there's nothing you can hide from us. You were the one who said before that we are already a community of shared destiny; how could you forget that now regarding this matter?"

To the side, watching the heartfelt gentleness of Lin Yun'er and listening to her soft voice, young Lin Xiaolu appeared very surprised.

She even reached out to touch her own throat, then touched her dantian, as if confirming whether her own vocal organs could also produce such a sound.

Could she really produce such a gentle and pleasant sound? How amazing.

However, just as she was thinking about these things, Zheng Xiuyan to the side suddenly interrupted Lin Yun'er's gentleness loudly, her expression and tone both relatively forceful and serious.

"YoonA, if you speak to him so softly, can he even understand?"

Then she looked toward Lin Xiuyuan, "Xiuyuan, we just discussed it; you can play in the future, but there is a prerequisite."

"What prerequisite?" Lin Xiuyuan asked in surprise.

He hadn't expected that this group of beauties would still allow him to go play; he had thought that after tonight's discussion, they would list a long string of "prohibited items," require him to sign a "guarantee," and use various methods to lock him in a safe cage.

If that were really the case, he would certainly have been submissive and admitted his mistake at first, but no one could predict what would happen later.

"We can't tell you 'safety first' anymore; you wouldn't listen anyway."

Facing Lin Xiuyuan's joy, although Zheng Xiuyan was somewhat helpless, thinking of the argument just now, she could only compromise and state.

"So we thought about it: in the future, if you want to play these things, you can. But you must ensure that any one of us is by your side; you cannot act alone. You say you get carried away, fine, then we will be the ones to remind you and ensure your safety."

"Is that okay?"

Facing Zheng Xiuyan's suggestion, while nodding, Lin Xiuyuan was also a bit puzzled.

"Ah, I have no problem with that, but is it really that simple? Besides, you all shouldn't have the time."

After speaking, his gaze swept around the Living Room, as if confirming these people's schedules.

To this, Zheng Xiuyan directly fired a map-wide attack, "With so many people, we don't have time, but don't those semi-retired elders have any?"

This immediately drew responses from quite a few people.

"Unnie, if you want to talk about him, just talk about him; why bring us into it?" Lin Yun'er was the first to fail to hold back a laugh, then said back with some feigned annoyance.

Then it was Dalongzai, "Exactly, exactly, Unnie, strictly speaking, you were born even earlier than us; you should count as even older than us."

As soon as she finished, Li Juli pushed her with some speechlessness, "Hey, Park Jiyeon, are you standing on our side or on Xiuyan's side?"

Finally, Jessica simply stood up, pressed her hands on the tabletop, and her gaze fell straight onto Zheng Xiuyan opposite her.

Enduring once is called being rational, enduring twice is called being prudent, enduring three times...

That's being a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

She didn't want to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

"Hey, Zheng Xiuyan, don't point at the mulberry tree to curse the locust tree; are you talking about me?"

"I am talking about you, so what? You clearly have no work, so why are you running around outside? Can you even make money?" Zheng Xiuyan didn't show weakness and retorted.

"You..."

"You what you."

"..."

Following the start of the interaction between these two, everyone quickly lowered their voices, their gazes moving back and forth between the two.

But soon, Park Jiyeon also kicked off, hitting Dalongzai's weak spot directly, "Why are you looking at others? Xiuyan Unnie isn't wrong; why count birth years? If you want to count, count age, count skin elasticity and collagen retention."

"Park Jiyeon, do you really want to be beaten by me?"

"Come on, who's afraid of whom? I've been working out for so long recently, it's not like it hasn't had any effect."

"Hahaha."

Watching Kim Taeyeon laughing happily opposite, Jin Ruanruan couldn't help but retort, "Kim Taeyeon, don't laugh; you know you were wrong just now, right? If it weren't for Xiuyuan feeling bad for you earlier, according to those messy ideas of yours, you would have been kicked out of the group long ago."

"Jin Ruanruan!!!"

"Hmph."

Seeing the scene turn into a mess again, Lin Xiuyuan sat in the main seat and shrank his head, pulling his neck into his shoulders.

His gaze moved from Jessica to Zheng Xiuyan, then from Zheng Xiuyan to Lin Yun'er, and finally landed on Krystal, who had been smiling and looking at him from the side.

Then he leaned forward slightly, moved close to her side, sniffed that familiar fragrance, and asked, "Xiujing, what do you say now? Is it over? No more judgment?"

Krystal looked at this beloved man, his hair a bit messy from the evening breeze outside, his T-shirt collar slightly crooked to one side, revealing a small patch of skin below his collarbone; she really wanted to take a bite.

However, thinking of what this guy had done, she was suddenly both angry and amused, finally turning into a helpless sigh as she leaned over and moved close to his ear.

Brushing her warm breath across his earlobe, she asked softly.

"Are you wrong?"

"Mm, I'm wrong." Lin Xiuyuan nodded.

"Then I forgive you."

Along with this voice drifting in, there were also the intimate bickering sounds of the others at the table.

Beside them, some were laughing, some were persuading, but some were also adding fuel to the fire, so that at this moment the entire Living Room was like a bustling market, noisy and warm.

The night outside the window grew deeper, and under the patio umbrella in the courtyard, that pot of tea had already gone cold.