Chapter 45

*Ding-ling~*

Around four in the afternoon, the door of the small tavern was pushed open. The sky was still bright but there was already a faint light slanting west, and the street looked quiet and gentle in the intersection of sunlight and shadow.

Lin Yun'er, standing at the door, glanced back at this small tavern, complaining to Zheng Xiuyan with some depression, "Unni, I'm a bit unhappy. What do you mean by pleasing to the eye? I'm not even happy to want this membership, humph."

"Alright, don't be angry."

Zheng Xiuyan comforted with a smile, "Didn't he say it? As a member, I can bring you in to play."

"I'm not coming. Although the drinks here are indeed better than other places, it's not to the point where I must come, humph."

Looking at Lin Yun'er, who was full of anger and couldn't get over it, Zheng Xiuyan smiled and didn't say anything more.

According to her understanding of this second maknae, she was just angry for a moment right now, and it would probably be fine by tonight.

So as Lin Yun'er finished venting her frustration, Zheng Xiuyan pulled her back into the car and rushed to the company for temporary overtime.

It seemed there was a dance that needed to be re-choreographed, and it looked like there would be more to be busy with.

And compared to their busyness, the T-ara members in the small tavern seemed much more leisurely.

Rarely finding a comfortable and quiet place, Park Xiaomin simply pestered Lin Xiuyuan to mix several cocktails, intending to take the opportunity to drink to her heart's content.

Xian Enjing on the side sat on the sofa, holding the guitar she had just brought from the stage, plucking the strings, playing happily.

The remaining Park Jiyeon, after Zheng Xiuyan and the other left, walked straight to the bar, leaned close to Lin Xiuyuan, and continued to chat.

"Oppa, you just said we can bring people here. What if there's me, no, what if there's an... old woman here by then, what should we do?"

Old woman?

Lin Xiuyuan, who was washing the cocktail shaker, was slightly stunned, obviously not expecting Park Jiyeon to describe her future self in this way.

So after being stunned for a moment, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Wow, Zhiyan, you are so bold. If that was heard by the other party just now, with your own personality, I'm afraid you'll be beaten."

Facing Lin Xiuyuan's answer, Park Jiyeon still had a look of disgust.

During this period of time, whenever she thought of the information she saw that night, her heart felt blocked, and there was always a knot stuck there.

"She is an old woman, she's already in her 30s, and she's a married and divorced aunt approaching 40, isn't she? I just became an adult, humph humph humph."

Lin Xiuyuan smiled and responded.

"Hahaha, it's fine. I have an operation console here. I previously asked someone to set two programs for the door lock. One is that you can enter and exit freely after verification, and the other is to identify faces through the camera, only allowing single entry. If multiple people are together, it will lock the door directly and refuse entry."

After hearing this paragraph from Lin Xiuyuan, Park Jiyeon, who heard this kind of high-tech in reality for the first time, couldn't help but exclaim.

"Daebak, oppa, your door lock technology gives me the feeling of watching a movie."

"More than that, it's even more sci-fi than a movie, don't you think?"

Lin Xiuyuan blinked at her and asked with a smile.

As smart as the little dragon cub Park Jiyeon, she guessed the meaning of the other party the moment she received the eye hint.

She opened her mouth and said softly, "It really is. That side is even more sci-fi than a movie. I wouldn't dare to dream like this."

Suddenly thinking of something, she looked back at Park Xiaomin, who was enjoying delicious drinks, and quietly leaned over to Lin Xiuyuan and said, "Oppa, do you think her marriage will end up the same as my old woman's?"

"Who knows? Although it is said that certain special hormones of athletes are much stronger than ordinary people, the cheating rate is basically 99.9%, but the financial world is even more chaotic than the sports circle. Anyway, I don't look favorably on it, but if she can endure it, pretend I didn't say it."

Lin Xiuyuan said thoughtfully while wiping the wine glass in his hand.

"Mm, actually, I've wanted to come and find you these days, but work was too busy and I had no time. Now it's good, finally I can go over there and play for a while."

Park Jiyeon's words made Lin Xiuyuan's heart tremble. He looked at her and smiled bitterly, "Jiyeon, your words make me feel panicked. I don't even know if finding you is right or wrong."

"Don't worry, oppa, I'm definitely better than that old woman, I'm very sensible."

After saying this, she blinked her big eyes and looked at Lin Xiuyuan, "So oppa, can I go over in a while?"

"It doesn't matter, anytime is fine. You also know that I'm looking for you actually just to see if you can help yourself, or help your group change your fate."

Lin Xiuyuan stopped for a moment, made a finger gun gesture, and pointed at the two behind her, "Just like I told you that night, just treat it as me liking to watch a play, wanting to see what your future will be like."

Knowing that the general trend couldn't be moved, he wanted to know if the small trend could be changed.

"Oppa, you said I'm bold, but your boldness is even bigger than mine. Anyway, I wouldn't dare to put myself in someone else's hands. If something goes wrong, it's really hard to even want to die."

"I call this spreading risks and opportunities. The premise of everything going wrong is that you are willing to give up everything, but..."

Changing the subject, Lin Xiuyuan looked up at Park Jiyeon in front of him.

She was sitting quietly at the edge of the bar where the light fell, a white fine-striped shirt outlining soft yet upright lines.

Her hair was tied behind her head casually, the ends of her hair hanging by her neck, a few strands of broken hair hanging naturally, brushing past the silver long chain earrings by her ears, swaying slightly in the light and shadow.

Her soft-lined facial features were not lacking in coldness, without artificial charm, nor sweet pretense.

Her temperament and makeup had changed significantly compared to when they first met.

It made Lin Xiuyuan see the style of that Park Jiyeon from 2025 in her.

So he smiled lightly, "But seeing that you've already started imitating the other party, it seems you are also reluctant to give up."

Being looked at by him like this, Park Jiyeon not only didn't feel disgusted, but also felt a little bit of joy.

Who could hate clear eyes?

So she answered softly, "Who is willing to give up? Anyway, I don't want to become that old woman in the future."

"Alright, alright, stop scolding. Restrain yourself a bit. If Krystal comes over and hears you say that, she'll definitely teach you a lesson."

As she heard Lin Xiuyuan mention Krystal, Park Jiyeon also laughed, "I'm looking forward to it. I didn't expect that I would get along so well with Xiujing in the future. When is she coming over, oppa~"

Lin Xiuyuan, who was asked, shook his head lightly, "I don't know. Perhaps if you feel bored recently, you can help me bridge the gap to get to know others."

"Who?"

Park Jiyeon was curious.

"Since we've talked about Krystal, what do you think?"

After a while, Park Jiyeon, who reacted, changed from a happy girl to a melancholy little girl, pursed her thin lips tightly, and after a while, pointed Lin Xiuyuan to look at Park Xiaomin, "If you want to get to know Sulli, Xiaomin unni is more convenient than me."

"Ah, aren't you in the 94line?"

"Oppa, I'm from '93."

"Then Park Xiaomin..."

"She is very familiar with Hara unni. Haven't you watched 'Youth Invincible'?"