Chapter 77

Evening.

After dinner, none of them had any intention of leaving, so Lin Xiuyuan simply took out the small charcoal stove he had bought a while ago, intending to have a round-the-stove tea-boiling session for them.

He brought out the small charcoal stove he had purchased not long ago, followed by the teapot, tea leaves, fresh milk, and then took out some chestnuts, sweet potatoes, and honey tangerines.

Finally, he lit the charcoal stove, placed it in the middle of the coffee table, and began the first round-the-stove tea-boiling session in the 2025 tavern.

As the firelight danced, the eyes of the group were attracted, full of novelty and anticipation.

"Tea can be boiled like this too? It looks quite fun, I'll take a photo."

Little Dragon Cub, who had always liked sharing her life on social media, immediately became interested, "Xiuyuan, don't move yet, I'll take a photo."

These few meetings, plus the meal tonight, had rapidly brought her relationship with Lin Xiuyuan closer.

Now, calling his name didn't feel awkward anymore.

"The short videos you see here are all from overseas; actually, this has been played for a long time back in our country. To be honest, although it's a bit pretentious, it really does have quite the atmosphere."

Lin Xiuyuan said while operating according to the steps in his memory.

First, warm the teapot, then put in the tea leaves and roast them lightly, then sprinkle a few rose petals, pour in water to boil until concentrated, add rock sugar after the water boils, and finally pour in the fresh milk.

As the milk tea gradually boiled, a rich tea fragrance spread throughout the small tavern.

Even Lin Yun'er, who usually barely touched milk tea to maintain her figure, couldn't help but sigh softly, "So fragrant."

At the same time, the sweet potatoes, chestnuts, and honey tangerines were also placed on the charcoal stove to heat up slowly.

By the time the milk tea was boiled, those snacks were also just right to eat.

Soon, as the milk tea was boiled, when Lin Xiuyuan poured half a cup for each of the three, Lin Yun'er joked again, "Lin Xiuyuan, is this a tavern or a teahouse? It's so changeable."

"It doesn't matter. This is just a place for friends and members to gather; drink alcohol if you want to drink alcohol, boil tea if you want to boil tea, as long as you don't burn the house down."

He said, pouring himself a cup and taking a small sip.

Hmm, the taste was quite good.

Although he had tried it a few times before, being able to stably boil out this texture made Lin Xiuyuan feel like he was pretty awesome.

Beside him, Little Dragon Cub, who also felt it was quite amazing after taking a sip, felt even more regretful after hearing his answer, "So when are you going to open up this membership system for us?"

Lin Xiuyuan gestured around the tavern and laughed, "Didn't you guys get in without it being opened? What does that have to do with anything?"

Then Lin Yun'er pointed out the truth, "It's different. As a member, Xiujing can open the door and invite us in even when you're not in the shop. But if we come by ourselves, if no one opens the door, we can only stand there and be punished."

"So didn't we just add each other as friends and exchange phone numbers? Whenever you want to come over, I'll be there whenever you call."

Just as Lin Xiuyuan threw out this big talk, Krystal laughed first, "Lin Xiuyuan, are you sure? Then I'm going to be unhappy. When I looked for you before, the phone wouldn't connect no matter how many times I called. Now that Unnie and Jiyeon are looking for you, you're available whenever they call, right?"

Little Dragon Cub and Lin Yun'er immediately entered spectator mode, staring at him with smiles.

But Lin Xiuyuan had learned a thing or two recently, and dealing with it wasn't too difficult, "No, that was an accident. Besides, I'm just responding first; I can't say I'm unreachable in front of you guys, can I?"

"Oh, so you're brushing us off." Little Dragon Cub laughed.

"How can this be considered brushing off? This is called narration."

At this time, Lin Yun'er suddenly said in Chinese, "As expected of a Huaxia university student, being pedantic is truly impressive."

"Just average, just average."

Lin Xiuyuan looked at her in surprise and then laughed out loud.

Seeing that the two were chatting enthusiastically, Little Dragon Cub looked down at her own thighs and then raised her eyes again to say, "By the way, Xiuyuan, is that photo album of yours still there? I didn't have an impression of several photos I saw last time, I want to take a picture and put it on the platform as a souvenir."

"Ah, it is there, but..."

At this moment, Lin Xiuyuan hesitated slightly, worried that if it were photographed and posted, others might discover some loopholes.

But thinking carefully, there were no loopholes to speak of; the person in the photo was indeed Park Jiyeon, and outsiders didn't know what photos she had taken in private.

Thinking of this, Lin Xiuyuan had no more concerns, "But I put it at home. Do you need it now? If you do, I'll go back and get it for you."

"No need, just take a picture and send it to me later." Little Dragon Cub shook her head with a smile.

And Lin Yun'er looked at the two in confusion, "What photos? You two were in contact before?"

Seeing the bait taken, Little Dragon Cub smiled brightly and very happily explained the shock she felt when she first met Lin Xiuyuan, and formally introduced Lin Xiuyuan to Lin Yun'er as her 'true fan' who had liked her for over a decade.

Lin Yun'er listened, stunned, and looked at Lin Xiuyuan, "Daebak, you started chasing stars since elementary school."

*Cough cough*~

Although many days had passed, Lin Xiuyuan still hadn't developed a thick skin, so he coughed lightly with some guilt and looked at Krystal again, just like that day, wanting her to save him.

And the result was the same as that day; Krystal stood up directly and laughed, "I'll go get some melon seeds and snacks for you guys. It'll be more interesting to chat while cracking them."

However, Krystal made a slight miscalculation.

Because when she left for a while and returned to her seat, she saw the two men and women chatting happily.

"Really? Can I really go over?"

"You can come if you want. I'll tell Unnie and the others, it shouldn't be a problem."

"But I don't know how to play golf. I can play a little bit of basketball."

"It's okay, I'll teach you."

Krystal, who understood most of it, looked at Lin Yun'er beside her, and the other party looked at her with a meaningful smile, "Why? The two of them have agreed to go play golf together in a couple of days, didn't you understand?"

Krystal turned her head to look at Lin Xiuyuan, "Golf?"

"Yeah, Jiyeon said she'd take me to broaden my horizons and experience it when the weather clears up." Lin Xiuyuan nodded.

At this, Krystal suddenly felt energized again; the last time she had this feeling was when this guy met Liu Zhimin.

But now, in front of Lin Yun'er and Little Dragon Cub, it wasn't good to say anything, so she could only echo a few times.

The round-the-stove tea-boiling continued, the flames reflecting on their faces, and the atmosphere of their chat became increasingly relaxed.

Suddenly, Little Dragon Cub didn't notice the tea seeping out from her lips, and Lin Xiuyuan, sitting on the side, hurriedly pulled out a tissue and sent it to her.

Seeing that she hadn't wiped it accurately after several attempts, he subconsciously reached out and gave a light wipe at her Adam's apple.

Just like that.

Little Dragon Cub shuddered slightly, her whole body subconsciously straightened, and her eyes changed instantly.

The stove burned quietly, the tea fragrance was misty, and everything seemed to have slowed down by half a beat.

(End of chapter)