Chapter 445: 469

469 "Xiuyuan, she has her eyes on you!!!" (Please subscribe, please vote for monthly tickets)

At the restaurant entrance.

The end of a gathering is always like this; everyone stands at the entrance, and since no one feels comfortable being the first to leave, the time spent saying goodbye to one another ends up being significantly longer than expected.

Han So-hee stood beside Lin YoonA. After the last person to say goodbye finished their pleasantries, the bespectacled Screenwriter assistant bowed halfway to her. She also bowed slightly in return, then watched as the other person turned and walked toward a taxi parked on the side of the road.

Once that person turned away, Han So-hee finally let out a breath. The social smile she had maintained all evening finally relaxed, and she returned to a more comfortable state.

Then, she tilted her head, her gaze passing over Lin YoonA's shoulder to look at the familiar vehicle parked on the roadside.

Or more accurately, she was looking at Lin Xiuyuan inside the half-lowered car window.

The corners of her mouth curled up unconsciously, and then she chuckled softly, withdrawing her gaze to look at Lin YoonA beside her, "Unnie, that person of yours seems to have recognized me."

"What 'mine', whose, don't talk nonsense, we are just friends."

Lin YoonA's reaction came quickly, her tone carrying a composure and calmness that had been rehearsed countless times.

She dared not admit to this relationship.

It wasn't that she didn't want to, but that she couldn't.

One must know that in this year of '25, the first person to stand by Lin Xiuyuan's side was not her; in terms of who came first, she didn't rank first.

In terms of being official and legitimate, she didn't rank first either.

Although she never felt that such things required fighting for a title, reality is reality. Some things can be said, and some things cannot be said carelessly, especially in front of an industry insider like Han So-hee, to avoid unnecessary trouble later.

Faced with this denial from Lin YoonA, Han So-hee was long since unfazed.

Having stayed in this circle for so long, she had seen too many things, and the way everyone interacted had always been like this.

Whether it is or isn't, the answer given by mouth is not important at all.

A public denial does not mean coldness in private, and a public admission does not mean it will last forever.

Only the parties involved know what the true relationship is like.

What bystanders can see is merely the tip of the iceberg above the water; as for how deep it goes beneath the surface, no one knows.

So, after hearing the reply, she just smiled and didn't dwell on this topic, instead changing her phrasing, "Then Unnie, why were you so surprised when you heard me mention him at the dinner table earlier?"

"I just didn't expect you two to run into each other," Lin YoonA replied with a smile, her tone very casual.

She paused, then added, "Or rather, I didn't expect you to be so unlucky, it's a good thing you ran into him, otherwise you would have had your hands full."

"That's true." Han So-hee didn't expose her, just nodded with a smile.

"Let's go, let's head over." After saying this, Lin YoonA didn't delay any longer, tilted her chin toward Han So-hee, and then set off walking toward the roadside.

Han So-hee nodded and followed Lin YoonA's footsteps.

When the two arrived at the car, Lin Xiuyuan also took the initiative to open the door and get out, meeting the two graceful figures walking toward him.

However, his gaze first fell on Han So-hee.

"What a coincidence," Lin Xiuyuan said.

"It really is quite a coincidence. I had intended to go back after being dropped off by you, but as soon as I got in the car, I was called over for dinner, and that was that."

Han So-hee was telling the truth; when Lin Xiuyuan dropped her off on the side of the road, she had truly intended to hail a taxi, go home, take a shower, and get some rest.

It turned out that as soon as she got in the car, she received a call from a colleague asking if she wanted to join them for a dinner gathering, and so that was how it happened.

Who could have guessed that she would run into Lin Xiuyuan again while out for a meal.

Regarding this, Lin Xiuyuan remarked, "Then it's fortunate I didn't accept your invitation, otherwise wouldn't it have been my turn to be dropped off?"

"Not necessarily." Han So-hee's reply came quickly, her tone carrying a frankness that wasn't overly tangled, "If you had accepted, I would have just politely declined this one."

Lin Xiuyuan looked at her without immediately responding.

The Han So-hee before him stood under the streetlamp, the light shining down from above, casting a small shadow beneath her eyelashes.

Her features were very clear under the cold white light, and that mature yet charming allure was made even more prominent by the lighting.

However, looking at such a mature and charming woman, the image in Lin Xiuyuan's mind was of another version of Han So-hee—that is, the Li Shaoxi of '13.

That young girl who hadn't changed her name yet, hadn't debuted yet, and was still struggling for her dreams, with a look on her face that was a mix of greenness and stubbornness.

There was light in her eyes, but that light was still very immature.

Then the image flashed, and the memories in his mind began to replay the first time he met Han So-hee in '25; the stubbornness and resentment she showed when facing Song Hye-kyo at that time had also stayed in his heart.

From '13 to now, the same person, different points in time, different appearances.

This feeling was very strange, like watching a flower in different seasons.

The recollection ended there; Lin Xiuyuan's mouth twitched, revealing a very faint smile, and he didn't continue this topic.

Instead, he shifted his gaze away from Han So-hee and turned to look at Lin YoonA, who had been watching the two of them all along.

Lin YoonA stood there, her gaze shifting back and forth between him and Han So-hee, as if watching an interesting conversation, or perhaps waiting for them to finish chatting.

"What do you say?" Lin Xiuyuan looked at her, pointing his chin toward the car, "If you take my car, what about your car?"

However, when Lin YoonA heard this question, she was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "What is it, did you forget? My car is still over at your place. I haven't used it since I drove it over last time, so I didn't drive it here, otherwise I wouldn't have called you to come pick me up."

After hearing this explanation from Lin YoonA, Lin Xiuyuan suddenly realized, "Oh," he said, tapping his forehead with his finger as if blaming himself for how he could have forgotten this.

"You haven't driven in so many days?"

"I've been working the whole time, taking the company car, where would I find time to rest?" Lin YoonA muttered.

Faced with this complaint, Lin Xiuyuan didn't say any words of comfort, just smiled, then reached out again to open the back door and looked at the two of them.

"Alright then, get in the car, I'll take you two back first."

Lin YoonA and Han So-hee both nodded, climbed into the back seat, and closed the door.

Once both were seated, Lin Xiuyuan waved to the designated driver, gave him a few instructions, and then opened the front passenger door and sat in.

After sitting down, he pulled the seatbelt to buckle it, then turned his head to look at the back seat.

"Who should I drop off first?"

Lin Xiuyuan asked, his gaze sweeping between Lin YoonA and Han So-hee, waiting for them to decide for themselves.

"Let's drop off Han So-hee first, I'm not in a rush," Lin YoonA spoke up first.

When she said this, her tone was very natural; she leaned back into the seat, changed to a more comfortable position, and then tilted her head back slightly, resting it against the headrest.

And this sentence made Han So-hee, who had originally wanted to say the same thing, turn her head to look at her.

A moment later, she turned toward Lin Xiuyuan in the front and smiled slightly, "Mm, drop me off first."

Then she leaned forward slightly to tell Lin Xiuyuan the address, watching as he entered the address into the car's navigation system, and a blue route immediately appeared on the navigation screen.

The estimated travel time was about twenty-some minutes.

For the rest of the journey, no one spoke.

The interior of the car was very quiet; the designated driver was driving very steadily, pressing the accelerator and brake very gently.

Lin Xiuyuan leaned in the front passenger seat, his elbow resting on the door handle, his palm supporting his face, his head tilted as he looked out the window.

His fingers were unconsciously tapping lightly on his cheek, the rhythm very slow, forming a subtle contrast with the city night scenery rapidly receding outside the car window.

In the back seat, Lin YoonA—whether she was truly a bit too drunk or not—had her head resting lightly against the car window glass, her breathing steady, the whole person quietly falling into a state of dozing.

On the contrary, Han So-hee, who had been very quiet all along, was looking ahead with bright eyes.

Her gaze passed through the gap between the front seats, landed on the back of Lin Xiuyuan's head in the front passenger seat, then shifted to his side profile, and finally looked at Lin YoonA beside her.

Her gaze swept back and forth between him and Lin YoonA like this, once, twice, three times.

Each time she swept over Lin YoonA resting quietly against the window, her eyes would gain an extra layer of thoughtfulness.

Images automatically surfaced in her mind.

The first time she saw Lin Xiuyuan at the baseball stadium, the way he stood with Song Hye-kyo and Pei Xiuzhi, and his appearance tonight outside the restaurant when he got out of the car with Pei Zhuxuan.

Following that was the slight surprise Lin YoonA showed at the dinner table just now upon learning that she knew Lin Xiuyuan; although it vanished quickly, she had caught it.

Putting all these images together, she suddenly felt that there was something about this man named Lin Xiuyuan that was hard to summarize.

Although he wasn't a person in this circle, he had dealings with many great beauties in this circle, and it wasn't the kind of nodding acquaintance, but a somewhat intimate network of relationships.

Added to that was the calm aura he possessed, which was rare for men on the Peninsula, lacking that restless feeling of showing off and being extroverted everywhere.

Et cetera, et cetera.

Having drunk a bit of alcohol, Han So-hee's imagination ran wilder, and she was lost in thought.

So much so that she didn't even notice when the car drove across the Han River or when it turned into the alley near her apartment complex.

It wasn't until the car slowly pulled over and stopped that Lin Xiuyuan turned his head and called out to her.

"We're here."

Only then did Han So-hee come back to her senses; she blinked, saw the familiar street tree and the flickering street lamp at the entrance of her complex outside the window, and then reached out to touch the door handle.

But her movement to open the door was very slow.

She had already pulled the handle and the door lock clicked open, yet she didn't push the door open and get out immediately, as if she were considering something.

After another few seconds, Han So-hee stood outside the car and closed the door, but she didn't turn around to leave immediately.

Instead, she came to the front passenger door and tapped lightly on the window glass with her knuckles.

Inside the car, Lin Xiuyuan saw this, so he slowly lowered the window and asked, "What's wrong?"

Han So-hee, standing outside, looked at him, pursed her lips slightly, and then said something, her voice sounding exceptionally clear on the quiet night street.

"Xiuyuan, let's add each other as friends. You've helped me so much, I definitely have to treat you to a meal next time I have the chance."

However, Lin Xiuyuan waved his hand, the expression on his face very relaxed, his tone also very casual.

"It was just a small matter, you don't need to take it to heart, go back and get some rest early."

He truly felt that the incident was no big deal; seeing someone he knew with a broken-down car on the highway and stopping to help, wasn't that a normal thing to do?

But as soon as he finished speaking, Han So-hee's reaction exceeded his expectations, and she said this with a suddenly emerging tone of self-mockery.

"Do you look down on my favor that much?"

This sentence stunned Lin Xiuyuan; his body, which had been relaxed against the seat back, sat up straight, and after being dazed for a second or two, he smiled speechlessly.

Then he took his phone out of his jacket pocket and unlocked the screen, "It's not like that, I just thought it was a small favor."

Then the two of them exchanged Kakao contacts and phone numbers just like that.

After finishing all this, Han So-hee looked at the newly added contact on her phone, and only then did the corners of her mouth curve up, revealing a satisfied smile.

Her voice was much lighter than before as she replied, "That's what you think, but I still want to acknowledge this help."

Lin Xiuyuan watched the figure outside the window quietly for a few moments, didn't decline anything further, and just casually added a word of concern.

"Alright then, take care on your way back."

Han So-hee nodded, waved goodbye, and turned to walk along the sidewalk toward the gate of the complex.

Lin Xiuyuan, sitting in the front passenger seat, watched her back through the rearview mirror, his eyes carrying a hint of something strange that was hard to describe.

Until the voice of the designated driver reached his ears, "Sir, where are we going next?"

Hearing the voice, Lin Xiuyuan hurriedly withdrew his gaze, turned his head, found Lin YoonA's address on the navigation, and set it as the destination.

After setting it, he didn't let the driver leave, but opened the door, got out, climbed into the back seat, and sat in the spot next to Lin YoonA.

After sitting in, he said to the designated driver, "Driver, we can go now."

The designated driver acknowledged, started the car, slowly drove away from the roadside, and headed toward the new destination.

And as the driver started the vehicle again, not long after the car had driven off, a weight landed on Lin Xiuyuan's shoulder.

A pretty little head leaned over, soft hair brushing against his neck, and the faint scent of shampoo wafted over.

Immediately after, his arm was also held, not tightly, but held firmly.

Then a fragrant and charming body leaned directly against him.

Carrying a hint of alcohol, mixed with the scent on her body, it gave her whole aura a sense of tipsy laziness.

Finally, there was a soft, laughing voice, "Xiuyuan, So-hee seems to have taken a liking to you."

"Don't mess around, she probably only noticed me because of you," Lin Xiuyuan replied simply.

After saying this, he lowered his head to glance at the small hands Lin YoonA had wrapped around his arm, then reached out his right hand and gently covered the back of her hand.

He stroked it back and forth gently, his movements very slow and light, as if he were caressing something very precious.

At the same time, he added another question, "Why aren't you sleeping? Weren't you quite tired?"

"I just dozed off for a while." Lin YoonA leaned on his shoulder; although her eyes were still closed, a look of peace had already appeared on her face.

That little head rubbed against his shoulder, found a more comfortable angle, and then continued to lean there.

"Mm." Lin Xiuyuan nodded slightly.

Afterward, the air fell silent again; the car interior was very quiet, and his hand gently stroked the back of Lin YoonA's hand at a very slow rhythm, as if he were counting something.

It wasn't until the car passed through another traffic light that he spoke again to explain.

"There's nothing between me and Pei Zhuxuan; she was just curious about my relationship with Liu Zhimin, so she asked me out for a meal, that's all."

Hearing this explanation by her ear, Lin YoonA was somewhat surprised, yet also very happy.

What surprised her was that Lin Xiuyuan would actually take the initiative to explain this matter to her.

She hadn't actually thought about questioning him, because she believed Lin Xiuyuan had his own sense of propriety.

She just hadn't expected Lin Xiuyuan to take the initiative to explain it to her.

This initiative made her very happy.

This feeling of being cared about was more reassuring than any explanation.

So Lin YoonA smiled, her voice carrying a relaxed joy, "I didn't say anything about you, Xiuyuan."

After saying this, she hugged Lin Xiuyuan's arm even tighter, and at the same time, her tone became even gentler, her voice softer than before, as if she were saying something she had thought about for a long time but never had the chance to say.

"Actually, I think you really should get to know more people, Xiuyuan; you don't have to just stay with us, your life should have its own ideas."

When she said this, her eyes were already open, her gaze fixed on the night view outside the windshield, but her focus was no longer on the scenery outside, but on somewhere much further away.

Immediately, she continued with a sincere, heartfelt concern, "And there are many more fun things in this world, much more fun than before, so you can go out and see more, Xiuyuan; we shouldn't be the shackles that trap you."

"Mm." Lin Xiuyuan responded with this sound.

Just at this moment, a message notification suddenly rang out from Lin Xiuyuan's phone.

It was a very crisp alert sound that stood out prominently in the quiet car, so Lin Xiuyuan moved his hand away from Lin YoonA's, took his phone out of his pocket, unlocked the screen, and took a look.

As a result, a Kakao message notification immediately popped up on the lock screen, and the sender's name was Han So-hee, whom he had just added.

Seeing this, he tapped in to open the chat box.

He saw that a line of content had just appeared on the screen, with only one sentence inside the white bubble.

【Xiuyuan-xi, are you some kind of chaebol prince???】

This sentence was sent very abruptly, without any context or polite greetings, just thrown over like that.

Before Lin Xiuyuan could even react to seeing it, Lin YoonA's laughter reached his ears.

"Hahaha, I guessed it; Xiuyuan, she's got her eyes on you."