Chapter 456: 478 White-Haired Enjing

478 White-Haired Enjing's Riven Audience!!! (Seeking subscriptions and monthly votes) This book is first published on Tian Tian Kan Xiao Shuo, super convenient, ᴛᴛᴋ. ᴛᴡ to read at any time, providing you with an error-free and non-disordered reading experience.

Inside the waiting room.

Facing this smile from Lin Xiuyuan, Victoria didn't understand what the other party was laughing at at first, but her professional demeanor prevented her from showing her confusion on her face.

Her brain, however, was already rapidly backtracking through every sentence she had said and every action she had taken since she walked over.

Everything was normal.

Then what was he laughing at?

It wasn't until her peripheral vision caught sight of Xueli, who was standing in front of her, slightly tilting her head and looking at her hairstyle with a gaze that was a bit guilty and a bit wanting to laugh along, that Victoria instantly solved the case.

After the sudden realization, her inner thoughts were actually more complex than what she showed on her face.

As a leader who had been grinding in the Peninsula entertainment industry for several years, she knew all too well the weight of her image management in the eyes of others, but she couldn't win an argument with the stylist, nor could she go against the company's decision, so inside, she could only sigh.

She just didn't expect that this hairstyle, which even she herself disliked, would become the fuse for a loss of composure in the eyes of a young fellow countryman she was meeting for the first time.

But her good upbringing kept her from feeling too angry about it. On one hand, she knew Lin Xiuyuan's laugh wasn't malicious mockery; on the other hand, the face in front of her was indeed quite well-proportioned, clean, and upright in a good-looking way.

Plus, the fact that he was the person Xueli mentioned every day and also her fellow countryman—these factors combined gave her a much higher tolerance for this man who laughed at her hairstyle upon their first meeting than she would have for others.

So Victoria just looked at the figure in front of her with some amusement, then leisurely crossed her arms in front of her chest and spoke slowly in a tone somewhere between tolerance and teasing.

"You've laughed enough, right? It's only because it's me; if it were anyone else on the Peninsula, they would definitely hold a grudge against you."

Regarding this small warning from Victoria, Lin Xiuyuan also quickly closed his mouth, wiped the last bit of the smile he hadn't managed to suppress off his lips with the back of his hand, and nodded in strong agreement.

"Indeed, sorry about that, I just couldn't hold it back for a moment."

Then he took the initiative to extend his right hand, making a standard and friendly invitation for a handshake, "Hello, my name is Lin Xiuyuan, from Guangdong. It's rare to meet a fellow countryman in Seoul, I've heard so much about you."

"Heard so much about me? I'm the one who has heard so much about you." Victoria looked at the right hand Lin Xiuyuan extended, rarely failing to put on the dignified air she usually held as a leader and senior in front of outsiders.

In many people's impressions, Victoria was always proper and steady in public, not showing her teeth when smiling, not crossing her legs when sitting, and speaking without a single slip.

But at this moment, facing Lin Xiuyuan, she finished the second half of that sentence in a very interesting and very approachable voice, "I hear your stories from Xueqiu every day; if I didn't know better, I'd think your relationship was something else."

After giving this lighthearted tease, she then gave a very formal self-introduction, "Song Qian, from Qingdao, Shandong."

"I know, it's just..."

The moment Lin Xiuyuan heard the two words "Shandong," a term almost reflexively popped into his mind: the *Brunswick*.

When he was scrolling through short videos over in the year '25, he had a particularly deep impression of the *Brunswick* shipwreck site in Weihai, having seen countless perspectives of it in short videos.

So he subconsciously wanted to follow the inertia and blurt out that cargo ship's check-in spot.

However, just as the words reached his lips, in a flash of lightning, Lin Xiuyuan suddenly realized one thing.

It was only 2013 now, and that ship didn't run aground until 2022; the timeline didn't match reality at all.

Thus, his brain completed the deletion and replacement in a very short time, and he abruptly changed the subject, using a normal person's response to connect it very smoothly.

"It's the hometown of Qingdao Beer, though it's a pity, I prefer drinking Harbin Beer."

"You really know how to talk; when you have time, I'll treat you to a beer." Victoria was also amused by this description from Lin Xiuyuan; she didn't expect someone born in Guangdong to identify her hometown directly by a beer brand when introducing it.

It was both funny and intimate.

And after saying this, Victoria didn't linger on this light topic, just looked at the two people beside her and smiled slightly.

"Xueqiu, you haven't finished your touch-up yet, go do it quickly. And Xiujing, you too, you need to change your clothes; there's a dress rehearsal later, go quickly."

The two people who were named were a bit hesitant, but facing Victoria's command, they both knew they couldn't say no.

So they could only return to their original spots to continue working, looking back every few steps.

However, while busy, the two of them didn't forget to let their gazes drift toward the door to observe the situation there.

And Lin Xiuyuan, watching this scene unfold, suddenly realized something was wrong, then raised his sword-like eyebrows and asked Victoria, who was standing opposite him, "I didn't expect you all to be so busy. Is it a bit inappropriate for me to barge in like this? Maybe I should leave first and not disturb you."

Discovering that Lin Xiuyuan had thoughts of running away, Victoria wouldn't let him slip away. Although she didn't reach out to pull him, her reaction was extremely fast, and she quickly spoke to stop him.

"It's fine, the waiting time isn't that busy. Since you're already here, sit down and chat for a while. I really have known you in spirit for a long time."

Listening to these strange-sounding words, Lin Xiuyuan couldn't help but tilt his head, glance at Xueli, who was sitting in the makeup chair with her chin held by the makeup artist and unable to turn her head, and then returned his gaze to Victoria, a curve appearing at the corner of his mouth, "Have you known me in spirit for a long time, or are you worried that I'll deceive Zhenli?"

Calling her Zhenli already??

Regarding this form of address Lin Xiuyuan used for Xueli, Victoria's pupils widened slightly in surprise.

After all, this kind of intimacy of skipping polite codenames and using her real name for daily address—as Xueli's *unnie*, this was the first time she had heard a male address Xueli this way.

But surprise was surprise, and Victoria immediately shook her head, giving her more real and peaceful thoughts.

"It's not that serious; at least from what I see now, your help to Xueqiu is on the beneficial side."

She said it very frankly, continuing with an attitude that didn't beat around the bush, "And I'm not the type to assume guilt, I'm just a bit curious about how you got to know Xueqiu. After all, she rarely mentions people from here in Seoul or friends in the industry, yet she is so close to a fellow countryman of mine, which makes me very curious."

She knew too well what kind of personality Xueli had in the industry; although she seemed approachable on the surface, in reality, she had the kind of personality that kept people at arm's length.

Yet, with such a personality, she actually made an exception for a fellow countryman of her own, and an outsider at that.

Anyone would be curious about that.

"I guess it's because I'm not in the industry," Lin Xiuyuan gave a reasonably plausible explanation.

Even Victoria nodded, expressing a certain degree of approval for this explanation.

As someone who had been grinding in this circle for many years, she certainly knew better than anyone the natural advantage of being an outsider in this regard: there were no direct conflicts of interest.

So this reason could indeed explain most things.

But thinking of the eagerness and intimacy Xueli showed toward Lin Xiuyuan, which far exceeded that of an ordinary friend, Victoria felt this reason wasn't quite enough.

But it wasn't convenient for her to continue digging too deep.

Just like Lin Xiuyuan laughing at her thick bangs earlier, this was only the first time the two of them had officially met. Being able to be so surprisingly peaceful and chatting to this point with an atmosphere of "deep talk despite shallow acquaintance" was already a bit of a stroke of luck.

To continue asking too much would seem a bit anxious, and even a bit bad.

If she wanted to understand, there would be plenty of time and opportunities in the future; she couldn't corner this young fellow countryman on their first meeting.

Thinking of this, a helpless Victoria had no choice but to hold onto her curiosity, which was stuffed to the brim, and sit with Lin Xiuyuan on the small sofa in the corner of the waiting room to chat about daily life.

They talked about some of the currently popular food programs in the country, and those tourist spots she had saved on her phone for many years but had never managed to visit.

Lin Xiuyuan also kept her company, chatting about the old days when he would go back to Guangdong for morning tea and always order an extra basket of chicken feet.

At this moment, the two of them really seemed like friends meeting up, with not a hint of gossip-seeking behavior.

And the most important point was that the language they used for their entire conversation was Chinese.

So much so that, aside from Xueli, whose Chinese proficiency had improved rapidly of late and could catch half and miss half, and Amber, who sat diagonally opposite and whose parents were from Taiwan and could understand every word they said.

The others could basically only receive a string of fluent but completely indecipherable syllables.

Until the door of the waiting room was knocked on from the outside once again.

Just then, a staff member happened to be organizing costumes near the door; being close by, they reached out to turn the door lock, pulled the door open halfway, and poked their head out to see who was knocking.

As the door opened, a slender figure with short white hair entered Lin Xiuyuan's line of sight.

That hair wasn't purely white; it wasn't the silver-white of old age, but a specially formulated milky white with a hint of gray and a linen-like texture, radiating a low-key yet flamboyant sense of conflict against the cold light of the corridor.

The short hairstyle was cut very neatly, with the hair behind the ears clinging to the scalp as it tapered down, and the ends trimmed evenly, revealing a slender nape and a well-defined jawline.

The figure stood at the doorway, wearing a light-colored stage outfit, with shoulder pads creating a sharp, right-angled silhouette; the person's entire aura had undergone a qualitative change because of this hairstyle.

The original gentle and steady "older sister" vibe had been weakened, replaced by a sharp, cool-toned handsomeness.

The familiar face left Lin Xiuyuan somewhat surprised, and at the same time, genuinely stunned.

So he subconsciously leaned his head back, straightened his upper body from the sofa, and then very obviously let out an appreciative "Wow" from his throat.

While calling out, he swept his gaze from head to toe and back to the head again, finally fixing it on that short white hair.

"Enjing, this look of yours..."

The second half of the sentence remained caught in the flow of speech, unfinished, but it didn't need to be finished; the expression on his face had already automatically filled in the rest.

A completely positive surprise.

At this time, Victoria, Xueli, and the others, realizing that the person knocking was Xian Enjing, also stood up from their respective positions one after another like a conditioned reflex to offer their greetings.

Victoria stood up from the sofa next to Lin Xiuyuan with particular speed.

It couldn't be helped; although the entire group of Tara had only debuted a few months earlier than fx.

But in this backstage of the Peninsula entertainment industry, which is extremely particular about seniority etiquette—to the point of being pathological—even being a day earlier counts as a senior.

And when a senior walks into your waiting room and you don't stand up to greet them, that is a great sign of disrespect.

So even Xueli and Zheng Xiujing, who were friends in private, followed suit and stood up from their makeup chairs, bowing slightly at the waist.

Xian Enjing stood at the door, first very politely greeting the fx members present, including Victoria, one by one.

After the process was finished, she then looked at Lin Xiuyuan, who had stood up from the sofa; the moment her gaze landed on his face, that distant, official smile immediately retreated and was replaced by a very gentle expression, her mouth pursed into a smile that was not too flamboyant but had a very beautiful curve.

"Xiuyuan, I heard from YoonA that you were here backstage; why didn't you tell us?"

After saying this, without waiting for Lin Xiuyuan to respond, she turned her face and, with her gaze accurately finding Xueli, discussed, "Xueli, I'm borrowing Xiuyuan for a moment, is that alright?"

"Ah, sure." Xueli, who had just been sitting on the Apartment sofa with Lin Xiuyuan watching TV and eating fruit that morning, naturally had no reluctance.

And so, Lin Xiuyuan, who had originally planned to stroll around and then go back to catch up on sleep, was thus whisked away by Xian Enjing from this fx waiting room where he had already started to feel comfortable, toward the Tara side.

On the way over, the corridor was still a typical scene of chaotic battle.

Xian Enjing led Lin Xiuyuan along the wall, walking very quickly, her short white hair fluttering with a few stray strands during this brisk pace.

And Lin Xiuyuan, while dodging staff members pushing clothing racks, tilted his head to chat with her about her current look.

Because in the 25th year, this short white-haired version of Xian Enjing should have appeared around the middle of the year.

But in this current 13th-year space-time, Tara's styling team had only recently, under Xian Enjing's own repeated suggestions and insistence, reluctantly agreed to the appearance of this short white-haired look.

One can only say that the butterfly effect had arrived just like that.

Chatting as they went, the two soon arrived at the location of Tara and the others.

During this time, Xian Enjing led Lin Xiuyuan around several prop boxes piled in the corner of the corridor, passed through lighting rigs temporarily placed there, and after walking out of a very narrow passageway, she finally stopped.

"We're here."

Hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan looked up at the scene before him, and when he clearly saw Tara's current location, his expression darkened almost immediately.

He had originally thought that what he would see would be a place similar in size to other waiting rooms, at least with an independent entrance and a few makeup chairs.

But the fact was, the entire group of Tara had no waiting room, not even the smallest cubicle that could barely fit two or three chairs.

They had been directly arranged by the television station in an open space in a remote corner backstage.

Strictly speaking, that place was not a waiting area at all; it was more like the end of an equipment passage that had been abandoned due to the temporary relocation of stage machinery. On the ground, there were thin dark blue mats of the kind only used in school gymnasiums, and on top were a few folding chairs that looked like they had been dragged over temporarily from outside, and an old table full of pressure marks.

Even the makeup table was temporarily built using their own small light boxes.

The costumes were hung on a horizontal bar casually set up from the equipment pipes nearby, without even a partition.

The lighting was dim and skewed; only the row of fluorescent tubes temporarily installed overhead emitted a cold white light, which was still continuously flickering slightly.

Several members plus the work team were just squeezed into that narrow, pale-lit corner, each dealing with the current waiting, makeup, and even changing clothes in the least obstructive way they could think of.

Seeing this scene, the relaxed expression Lin Xiuyuan had on the way here vanished completely from his face.

Then he turned his head sharply, looked sideways at Xian Enjing standing next to him, the layer of displeasure in his eyes was solid, and his voice was also lower because his emotions were tightened from within.

"No, Enjing, it's one thing for your company to have lost its mind, but why didn't you refuse? Knowing it's like this, why let you come over to participate in this gala anyway?"