Chapter 453: The Ultimate Trust (Please Subscribe and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

The year 13, at noon.

Lin Xiuyuan, who had spent the morning sitting on the sofa watching TV for a while with Xueli, had no reason to continue staying in the living room after she left for work.

So he stood up from the sofa, stretched, and then walked back to the bedroom in his slippers with a rhythmic pattering sound, collapsing onto the bed.

Burying his face in the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep within minutes.

This sleep lasted until a phone call came in; the phone's ringtone and vibration buzzed incessantly on the nightstand, rudely interrupting his pleasant dream.

Then, a hand reached out from under the quilt, groping blindly on the nightstand several times before finally grasping the phone.

He barely managed to open one eye to look at the screen; the somewhat blinding light made him squint and focus for two seconds before he could clearly see the selfie avatar and the name on the caller ID.

Lin Xiaolu.

After seeing who it was, Lin Xiuyuan's thumb swiped the answer button, and he pressed the phone to his ear, asking in a daze.

"YoonA, what is it?"

On the other end of the line, Lin Xiaolu's voice was quite energetic, forming a sharp contrast to his half-dead tone, "Xiuyuan, you haven't gotten up yet? What time is it already?"

In the background, there were faint sounds of conversation and the clinking of cups and dishes; it sounded like they were in some café or restaurant.

Hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan took the phone away from his ear and squinted at the time displayed at the top of the screen.

One forty-seven in the afternoon.

After checking, he pressed the phone back to his ear, rolled over to lie on his back, and draped one arm over his forehead to block the piercing afternoon sunlight leaking through the gap in the curtains.

His tone carried a sense of righteous justification, without the slightest shame for being caught sleeping in, "I only went to sleep this morning, so sleeping until the afternoon is normal."

Faced with this excuse from Lin Xiuyuan, Lin Xiaolu on the other end was clearly stunned for a moment, and then her curious voice followed, asking him why he had only gone to sleep in the morning.

"Ah, I just stayed up late." Lin Xiuyuan did not elaborate.

Could he really be expected to recount the whole thing now, saying he had been kicked out of bed by YoonA over in the year 25?

So, after vaguely glossing over the topic, he immediately shifted the conversation, using the question "Why, is something the matter?" to move the focus away from himself.

Hearing this, Lin Xiaolu did not dwell on the issue, stating the true purpose of the call, "Actually, it's nothing much, just wanted to ask if you want to come out for afternoon tea? Everyone is here."

"Everyone is here, who is 'everyone'?" Lin Xiuyuan asked.

"Just the unnies and everyone else." Lin Xiaolu's answer sounded like a riddle, but Lin Xiuyuan understood.

So, after listening, he said "Got it," his voice still carrying that muffled, nasal tone of someone who had just woken up.

Then he indicated that he might need a moment, as he had just been dug out of his blankets by the phone call, and he hadn't changed his clothes, brushed his teeth, or washed his face.

"I need to get up and wash up."

"That's fine, we'll wait for you; our standby time is a bit long anyway." Lin Xiaolu laughed on the other end, her tone light and cheerful, seemingly unconcerned about how long she would have to wait.

After finishing this conversation, the two ended the call.

Lin Xiuyuan, who had put the phone down, stared at the ceiling in a daze for about ten seconds. After a brief and intense internal struggle between "sleep for ten more minutes" and "get up now," he finally threw off the quilt and climbed out of bed.

He then walked to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and splashed his face twice with cold water; the icy stream washed away most of his lingering sleepiness.

A while later, he returned to the bedroom, grabbed a set of clothes from the closet at random and changed into them; looking at the logo, it seemed to be something Xueli had bought for him at Chrome Hearts previously.

After changing, he walked to the living room, picked up the car keys from the shoe cabinet in the entryway, pushed open the Apartment door, and went out.

Once in the car, Lin Xiuyuan glanced at the address Xiaolu Bambi had sent him and found that the destination seemed very close to the TV station, but he didn't think much of it, placed the phone on the phone mount, shifted gears, released the handbrake, and drove out of the residential complex.

After he drove to the vicinity of that address, Lin Xiuyuan discovered that the place was indeed very close to the TV station, right next door.

At this moment, in the plaza at the entrance of the TV station, a group of fans wrapped in thick down jackets were already gathered, chatting and waiting for their respective Idols to arrive for work.

Glancing over there, although he was curious why Lin Xiaolu and the others would choose to gather in a place so close to the TV station, his primary task now was to park.

After finding a spot on the side of the road to park, Lin Xiuyuan got out, looked at the plaza again, and then followed the walking route shown on the navigation along the sidewalk.

Turning the corner of the TV station building, the navigation prompted that he had arrived at his destination; looking up, he realized it was actually a very small café.

The storefront was not large, and a small, dark wooden sign hung above the entrance, with the shop name written in gold-leaf font; the font was very thin and delicate, and if one didn't look closely, it was not easy to even notice there was a shop here.

Looking from the outside, one could barely see what it was like inside because the glass windows used that kind of dark, reflective glass that couldn't be seen through from the outside, only reflecting the passersby and the shadows of the buildings across the street.

There were no menu stands or promotional posters placed at the entrance, and the entire storefront exuded a temperament even more aloof than his Small Tavern.

Lin Xiuyuan, who had stood at the entrance for a while, had just tried to push open the heavy-looking wooden glass door to walk in when he was politely stopped by a waiter standing inside the door after taking only one step.

The waiter was a young man wearing a clean, sharp white shirt and black dress pants, his hair combed very neatly, and the smile on his face was even a bit impatient.

The other party bowed slightly and stated in a very clear tone that this was a Membership System establishment and non-members were not allowed to enter.

Lin Xiuyuan, who had encountered this situation before, directly stated Lin Xiaolu's name.

However, he did not use Korean, but instead said in English, "YoonA and her friends introduced me," because he knew very well what the hierarchy of contempt for these people was like.

After speaking, he even tucked his hands back into his pants pockets, calmly waiting for the waiter to verify.

Sure enough, upon hearing Lin Xiuyuan's fluent English, the waiter immediately looked at him with respect, and his attitude instantly switched from cold interception to a very respectful welcome mode.

He stepped slightly to the side, extended his arm to make a "please" gesture, "Very well, sir, please follow me; Miss YoonA and the others are already inside."

Walking half a step ahead of Lin Xiuyuan, his pace was not fast, and he would turn his head from time to time to confirm if Lin Xiuyuan was keeping up.

The lighting in the hallway was dimmer than outside, and several black-and-white photographs were hung on the walls, all of street scenes in the Old Town of Seoul, which were quite tasteful.

The air was filled with a high-end aroma of roasted coffee beans.

After turning a corner, Lin Xiuyuan finally saw the environment of the café.

Actually, there was no special decoration; it was just a normal, high-end café style.

Dark wooden tables and chairs, several rows of booths placed against the wall, with enough distance between each table to ensure the privacy of the guests, not making one feel crowded or disturbed by conversations nearby.

However, looking around, the few tables of guests scattered throughout the café were basically familiar faces from TV programs, or some Idols and actors.

In the corner by the window over there sat a male actor who had recently become very popular due to a weekend drama, whispering something to a person who looked like his manager.

Beside the center island sat a girl group lead singer and her stylist, with an open magazine and two almost untouched fruit juices spread on the table in front of them.

There were basically very few outsider faces like himself who did not belong to any corner of this circle.

So much so that when Lin Xiuyuan followed the waiter in from the entrance, many people's gazes fell upon him in unison, with different types of looks.

Some were purely curious, some were instinctively alert, and some were simply drawn to a young stranger with a decent appearance and temperament.

Furthermore, everyone's first reaction was to assume he was some newly debuted rookie actor or model.

But after whispering to confirm with a few people, everyone felt they weren't very familiar with this person.

No one could call out his name, and no one could accurately say which drama he had appeared in.

Thus, most gazes were politely withdrawn after a second or two; only one or two people were still secretly taking a few more looks from behind their coffee cups.

Just at this moment, Lin Xiaolu's voice came from a corner not far away.

The voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet cafe, quite a few people could hear it clearly.

Lin Xiuyuan, who was being called, didn't respond verbally; he just raised his hand toward the direction of the voice and waved it twice as a response, then bypassed several rows of semi-enclosed booths and walked into the corner at the very back.

Well, that spot was truly secluded, located in a recessed little space in the deepest part of the cafe near the back door; if one didn't look carefully, one wouldn't even notice that a fairly large round table was hidden there.

There was hardly anyone sitting around it either, making it a great place for whispering without being discovered.

Lin Xiuyuan walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down. While placing his car keys on the tabletop, he asked with some curiosity, "Why did you choose this spot?"

"This spot is secluded, so no one will notice if we whisper." Jin Ruanruan sat in the seat against the wall, holding a steaming cup of hot cocoa in both hands.

At this time, Zheng Xiuyan, who was sitting beside her, also glanced at Lin Xiuyuan.

She was wearing a black turtleneck sweater today, with her hair draped over her shoulders, looking cold and distant overall.

But when she spoke, she didn't sound cold at all; instead, she was gentle and caring, "What would you like to drink? Do you want to eat something?"

Lin Xiuyuan, already seated, took the menu the waiter handed over at the right moment. After lowering his head and flipping through it a few times, he casually ordered some Sandwich snacks and a glass of freshly squeezed juice, treating it as lunch.

The waiter bowed slightly to take the menu, whispered to confirm the order, and then retreated quietly.

After Lin Xiuyuan finished ordering, Lin Xiaolu, who was sitting opposite him, leaned forward slightly, rested her elbows on the table, and asked curiously, "Xiuyuan, why did you only get to sleep this morning?"

Lin Xiuyuan, being asked, glanced at her with a slightly depressed expression, the corner of his mouth twitching to one side involuntarily, "It's because I was kicked back by you."

Lin Xiaolu, who didn't catch on for a moment, froze, blinked twice, and then pointed at her own nose.

Her fingertip poked at the tip of her nose, her mouth opened slightly, and her eyebrows were raised high.

"Me??"

Her tone was filled with genuine confusion.

Lin Xiuyuan nodded, his movements very calm, "Yes, that's right, it was you."

"What does that have to do with me?" Lin Xiaolu was even more curious and leaned forward a bit more.

At this moment, Zheng Xiuyan, who was sitting next to her, suddenly raised her hand, slapped Lin Xiaolu, and teased her with a half-smile, "You're so silly."

Then Lin Xiaolu suddenly realized, "Oh, it's that person..."

Thinking of this scene, a flash of gloating amusement couldn't help but rise on Lin Xiaolu's face for an instant, but it was quickly covered by another thought in her mind.

So she continued to ask, "Then why did she kick you?"

Lin Xiuyuan, being asked, stated very simply and straightforwardly, "She said she was too tired and didn't want me to bother her."

Once this answer came out, everyone laughed.

Jin Ruanruan was the first to lose her composure; she put down the hot cocoa cup, covered her mouth with the back of her hand, and her shoulders shook as she laughed with restraint but clearly couldn't suppress it.

As for Zheng Xiuyan, she turned her head directly to look at Lin Xiaolu, her eyes filled with an extra layer of obvious mockery.

As for Lin Xiaolu's reaction, it went from a bit shy to ashamed, and then to angry from embarrassment.

Finally, she quickly shot a roll of the eyes at Lin Xiuyuan, and with a mix of coquettishness and softness, she scolded the group in a low voice, "Why are you looking at me? It wasn't me."

Afterward, the group chatted in low voices about Lin Yun'er's situation for a while, with Lin Xiuyuan answering intermittently.

By the time the waiter brought the food Lin Xiuyuan ordered, he started eating while chatting.

While Lin Xiuyuan was eating, Jin Ruanruan suddenly thought of something and abruptly changed the subject, "By the way, Xiuyuan, why have you been over here lately? Why don't you go over there? We are all busy now, wouldn't it be freer over there?"

As Jin Ruanruan said this, Zheng Xiuyan and Lin Xiaolu, who had been scrolling through their phones or drinking, almost simultaneously looked up and focused their gazes on Lin Xiuyuan, waiting for his answer.

Three people, six gazes, like six spotlights, hit Lin Xiuyuan, who was buried in cutting his Sandwich, all at once.

Lin Xiuyuan, being asked, looked back at them, then let out a short, cold snort, "Hmph hmph hmph~ You called me out like this today; I don't believe you don't know what happened over there. Aren't you just wanting to watch the drama?"

When he said this, he used a fork to spear a potato wedge, his expression depressed and resigned.

"Hee hee hee, as long as you know. Tell us, what exactly happened? Is she still blocking The Gate?" Since Lin Xiuyuan had brought the topic out into the open, Jin Ruanruan simply stopped pretending and asked eagerly and excitedly in a hushed voice.

"If she wasn't blocking The Gate, do you think I would still be over here?" Lin Xiuyuan, being asked, also teased her a little.

However, Jin Ruanruan didn't take it to heart; her focus at this moment was entirely on another key point of the whole matter, "I'm very curious, Xiuyuan, why is Xiaomin blocking The Gate?"

They knew about the situation of blocking The Gate because Sulli mentioned it in the group chat, but she couldn't explain the reason in detail, and everyone was busy and didn't have time to gather, so until now, Jin Ruanruan and the others didn't know what the origin was.

As a result, just as she asked, before Lin Xiuyuan could answer, Zheng Xiuyan, who was sitting next to him, had already spoken up for him, "What do you think? It's because this guy is acting like a rutting animal everywhere."

The jealousy was very strong.

"Nah nah nah, you can't slander people like that, I didn't." As soon as Lin Xiuyuan heard these four words, he immediately refused to accept it and started shouting.

Just as Zheng Xiuyan opened her mouth, clearly wanting to add another jab and continue saying something, her gaze suddenly saw a figure winding in from the corner.

The person arriving was not tall, wearing a shiny short down jacket as an outer layer, which was unzipped due to the indoor heating, revealing the cheerful bright yellow sweater underneath.

The moment she saw the other person, Zheng Xiuyan's eyes changed slightly, and then she almost immediately shut her mouth.

Lin Xiuyuan, seeing Zheng Xiuyan's sudden act of stopping, also turned his head to take a look.

It was Sunny.

And the moment Sunny saw Lin Xiuyuan, she also revealed a bit of surprise without any concealment, then walked over with her steps.

After walking closer, she let out a light exclamation that was clearly surprised but very pleasant, "Oh, Xiuyuan, why are you here too?"

Then Lin Xiaolu, who was sitting next to her, quickly took over the conversation, "I asked Xiuyuan to come over and sit for a while. Anyway, the program has to wait until the evening to start, so we're just chatting; it's been a long time since we've met."

Sunny didn't think much of it after hearing this, just gave a natural "Mm," and then sat down next to Lin Xiuyuan with a natural smile.

At the same time, she didn't forget to pat Lin Xiuyuan on the shoulder and said in a very familiar tone, "Yeah, it really has been a long time, hasn't it? It's been a while."

Afterward, because Sunny was present, the collective interrogation atmosphere at the table, which had already been about to reach a climax, collapsed silently just like that.

And that guy Lin Xiuyuan once again luckily escaped a disaster.

The five people, now joined by one more, turned to chatting idly.

However, as they chatted, it was unclear who first steered the topic, but it suddenly shifted from a bickering segment on a Variety Show to those boring, fun psychological tests everyone had been taking online recently.

It drifted to the slightly more serious topic of "trust value."

Among them, Little Sun was clearly very interested in this topic, so she excitedly clapped her hands and took turns asking each person present who they trusted the most.

Those chubby, short fingers traced a circle on the tabletop, from Lin Xiaolu to Jin Ruanruan, then to Zheng Xiuyan, not even leaving out Lin Xiuyuan.

To this, Lin Xiaolu stated quite simply that the people she trusted most were her family, and Jin Ruanruan gave the same answer, also choosing her family.

Little Sun nodded in approval, then shifted her gaze to Zheng Xiuyan.

As it turned out, Zheng Xiuyan's answer made everyone present lose their facial composure at the same time.

"Oh, the person I trust most? This person beside me, I suppose."

As she spoke, she gestured with her chin toward the side, then pointed her index finger lightly at Lin Xiuyuan, who was sitting to her right.

When that index finger pointed at him, there was no hesitation, no trembling; it was just very direct, as accurate as pointing out a specific date.

So Little Sun, Lin Xiaolu, and Jin Ruanruan were all stunned.

And the uncomprehending Little Sun opened her mouth and closed it again, confirming in a tone that suggested she doubted she had heard correctly, "Xiuyan, are you sure that out of so many people in the world, you trust Lin Xiuyuan the most?"

At this moment, Lin Xiaolu gently tugged at Zheng Xiuyan's sleeve from the side, presumably to remind the other person.

As it turned out, Zheng Xiuyan didn't react much, just gave a hum, turned her head to look directly at Little Sun for a moment, and then went back to playing with the cup in front of her as if nothing had happened.

Instead, Lin Xiuyuan thought Zheng Xiuyan was joking, so he laughed and added, "Don't mess around. If you really trust me the most, then look at the fork..."

As the young man spoke, he immediately extended his right hand and picked up the fork he had just used to cut his Sandwich from the edge of his plate, the four tines facing forward at a slightly upward angle.

Then, with almost no pause, he thrust his arm forward.

That fork moved swiftly and straight toward Zheng Xiuyan's eyes.

The movement was so sudden and the speed so fierce that it shocked even Little Sun.

In that instant, her whole body seemed to have been hit by static electricity; she jolted from her seat, her back slammed into the sofa backrest, and a short, sharp exclamation escaped her throat.

"Ah!"

She even subconsciously reached out to grab Lin Xiuyuan's wrist, but her movement couldn't keep up with the speed of the fork's thrust; by the time her hand reached mid-air, the fork was already close to Zheng Xiuyan's face.

Yet Zheng Xiuyan truly just sat there; her body had an extremely slight tension when the fork thrust over, but she used a willpower incomprehensible to others to steadily suppress that instinctive flinching and backing away.

She did not retreat, she didn't even tilt her head back; she just looked at Lin Xiuyuan, tense like that.

There was only a calm that neither dodged nor avoided, as if she were certain that the other person would never actually strike.

Most special of all, she really didn't even blink.

When that toothed fork tip stopped abruptly less than a few centimeters in front of her eyeball, her eyelids had not closed from start to finish.

She just kept her eyes open like that to accept a trust test that only she herself knew she was willing to bear.

And Lin Xiuyuan's fork did indeed stop in front of her eyes.

After the fork stopped, the entire dining table fell into a few seconds of stillness.

The air seemed to have frozen, and the breath everyone was holding had not yet dared to be exhaled.

Lin Xiuyuan, who was behind that fork, also had an expression of shock and disbelief.

He looked at Zheng Xiuyan's face, which remained calm, though her apple cheeks were slightly tense.

He looked at those eyes that were looking straight back at his own.

The fingers gripping the fork handle tightened until they turned white, and a vein bulged faintly on the back of his hand.

He was completely stunned by the woman in front of him.