Hancheng: There is a door between me and the future

Chapter 163 Lee Qri and Kim Tae-yeon's 'Invisible Battle' (Please subscribe and vote)

The next day.

Lin Xiuyuan slept until he naturally woke up, then yawned and slowly walked out of the room.

In the living room outside the door, Shirley, who had no schedule or rehearsal today, was sitting on the sofa chatting and laughing with a figure. When they saw Lin Xiuyuan come out, they both immediately looked at him.

Good morning, oppa~

“If you sleep a little longer, it will be noon soon, Lin Xiuyuan.”

Looking at Lin Xiaolu sitting cross-legged on the sofa, Lin Xiuyuan stretched lazily, "It's not even 11 o'clock yet, it's not noon at all."

Sulli asked with concern, "Oppa, do you want something to eat? I'll heat up some buns for you?"

"No, I'll just make myself a cup of oatmeal later. Lin Xiaolu, when did you get here? Don't you have work today?"

After politely declining Sherry's offer, Lin Xiuyuan looked at Lin Xiaolu and asked.

Last night, when he was chatting with Kim Tae-yeon, he knew how busy Girls' Generation's schedule was right now, and it was impossible for them to have so much free time.

"Haha, it's all thanks to the drama 'The Heirs'. After the company found out that I had actually landed the female lead role in the drama, they seemed to understand that as long as nothing went wrong, there would definitely be a surge in viewership. So they made sure to give me a lot of time to study the script."

Lin Xiaolu was genuinely happy when she said these words. After all, being able to have time to rest properly while also knowing clearly that her future path would not be bumpy, and was even quite clear, would excite anyone.

At the same time, Lin Xiuyuan was also a little shocked. "That idiot company is actually willing to do this? Have they lost their minds? You're a cash cow now."

"I guess they think that once this show airs, I, their cash cow, will make even more money," Lin Xiaolu replied with a smile.

Faced with her explanation, Lin Xiuyuan's increasingly sharp mind almost instinctively came up with an idea: "A contract? They approached you to discuss a contract?"

Lin Xiaolu looked at Lin Xiuyuan with a surprised expression after hearing this, and asked, "How did you guess that?"

Lin Xiuyuan didn't answer, he just shrugged.

Then Lin Xiaolu pouted and replied, "Well, we chatted about it yesterday. Basically, the company worked hard to arrange my upcoming schedule and hoped that I could 'live up to the company's expectations.' Although it wasn't explicitly stated, you know what it meant."

"One TV series shouldn't cause your company to go to such lengths. Are there other problems?"

Lin Xiuyuan frowned as soon as he finished speaking, when Shirley, who had been listening nearby, raised her hand and said, "Oppa, I've thought of a possibility."

"What?"*2
Lin Xiuyuan and Lin Xiaolu immediately turned their attention to her and spoke up.

"Is it possible that the company wants to push Yoona unnie down the same path as Bae Suzy?" Sulli analyzed seriously. "You know, for an agency, an actor with idol popularity is really more valuable than a pure singer or pure actor."

As Sulli said this, Lin Xiuyuan thought of the TV station reform he had discussed with Park Jiyeon last time, and nodded with a slight smile, then shared his thoughts with Lin Xiaolu and the other person.

Then he clicked his tongue in admiration and said, "Although I don't know if my guess is right, the line of thinking is quite clear. However, we can only see these things from the perspective of the future, while those people rely on speculation. I have to say, they have some skill."

"Otherwise, how could they manage such a large company?" Lin Xiaolu said with a smile.

“But we’re even better now,” Shirley said, tilting her head back.

Looking at the two of them, Lin Xiuyuan smiled and walked towards the time portal. "Let's go, let's go sit down. I'll go see if there's any information that needs to be processed."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaolu and Shirley also stood up and stepped through the door to the future, arriving at the villa in 2025.

As soon as they settled in, the two walked familiarly to the newly installed storage rack, each took a spare phone, and then nestled into the sofa to watch videos.

These phones were specially purchased by Lin Xiuyuan some time ago.

After listening to everyone's suggestions, he simply bought four or five units and placed them in the villa's spare area.

Although you can't make phone calls or send text messages, as long as you're connected to Wi-Fi, you can enjoy apps like Kakao and TikTok, and chatting and sending video messages are no problem at all.

So when Sulli got her own phone, she immediately sent a message to Krystal through her TikTok friends list.

Krystal replied quickly, and the two chatted happily. However, Krystal never called Shirley by name in the messages, nor did they video or voice chat.

The same thing happened to Lin Xiaolu and Lin Yoona.

However, Lin Xiaolu did not receive a reply from Lin Yoona in time this time, because Yoona was busy promoting her new drama.

Upon hearing this news from Lin Xiuyuan, Lin Xiaolu immediately became interested. "Xiuyuan, let's watch Lin Yoona's new drama."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan immediately understood her thoughts and laughed, "You're trying to outsmart the other person, aren't you?"

"I didn't, don't talk nonsense."

Lin Xiaolu looked away, unable to suppress a laugh as she replied, not daring to actually say such a thing, for fear that this guy would turn around and tease her to Lin Yoona.

Although she doesn't surpass Im Yoona, there are still some experiences and skills she can learn from her.

Then Lin Xiuyuan said, "It's just a promotional period, it hasn't aired yet. If you want to watch it, you can only watch the previous episodes."

"Never mind then." Lin Xiaolu shook her head, rubbing her nose.

The group sat in different corners of the sofa, each immersed in the world of short videos.

When we come across something funny or interesting, we share it with each other, and laughter often drifts out from the living room.

Lin Xiuyuan found many excerpts from "Infinite Beyond Class" for Lin Xiaolu to watch and learn from, as they contained genuine content.

Lin Xiaolu glanced at him furtively, as if Lin Xiuyuan was more helpful to her in terms of these videos.

Time slipped by unnoticed, and around noon, Shirley rubbed her neck, put down her phone, and asked, "Oppa, should we eat here or go back to eat?"

"You want to cook?" Lin Xiuyuan asked, looking at the other person.

"Let's cook dinner later. If we cook it now, who knows how long we'll have to wait."

After a moment's hesitation, Shirley answered.

So Lin Xiuyuan opened the food delivery app and said, "Let's order some takeout and see what we like to eat."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a call notification popped up on his phone screen.

The familiar selfie flashed by, immediately catching the attention of Lin Xiaolu and Shirley.

"Qri unnie?"

"Tara's Lee Qri".

Lin Xiuyuan met their curious gazes and gestured for them to be quiet before answering the call, "Hello, Juli, good morning."

"It's getting late, it's noon. Xiuyuan, did you just get up?"

On the other end of the phone, Lee Juri was sitting in the beauty salon, looking at herself with full makeup and a new hairstyle, and smiled slightly.

"Uh, right."

Lin Xiuyuan slightly raised his eyes to look at Lin Xiaolu, whose smile had faded, and couldn't help but grin at her to try and please her. Sure enough, he made her laugh out loud, which made her laugh out of her little annoyance.

"Let's have lunch together then. I recently found a really good bibimbap restaurant, and the taste is a bit like the ones from your area."

"Ah." Just as Lin Xiuyuan was about to politely decline, another voice interrupted, "Yeah, Xiuyuan, come over here quickly, Qri unnie has been nagging you all morning. If I wasn't afraid of disturbing your rest, I would have called you this morning."

The moment Ham Eun-jung's familiar voice rang out, Lin Xiuyuan, who was still trying to find the right words to politely decline, immediately fell silent.

Seeing this, Lin Xiaolu and Shirley realized that he couldn't refuse the meal. So Lin Xiaolu waved her hand first, indicating that he should go and entertain the guests without worrying about them.

Seeing this, Lin Xiuyuan frowned and asked about the time. After hearing that the two of them would be busy for a while, he arranged to meet at around 1 o'clock.

After hanging up the phone, he immediately said, "What do you want to eat? I'll go out and get some to go. After we eat together, I'll come over."

This thoughtful little plan made Lin Xiaolu and Shirley smile.

"Oppa, stop messing around. Can you even finish two meals?" Sulli teased with a smile.

Lin Xiaolu chimed in, "We're not unreasonable people. You go ahead and do your thing. Anyway, I have to go to writer Kim Eun-sook's place this afternoon. Sulli will come with me."

Lin Xiuyuan insisted, and the two of them eventually got dragged to look through nearby food apps and finally settled on a noodle shop with good reviews.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Xiuyuan stepped on the gas and quickly drove to the store to pack three servings of noodles. He then drove the two back to the villa, where they ate and chatted, making lunch a relaxed and enjoyable experience.

After the meal, he sent Lin Xiaolu and Shirley back to the timeline of 2013.

Before leaving, I took one last look at my pajamas.

Then he went upstairs to change into a clean set of casual clothes, put on his watch, and then got back into the car, speeding towards the restaurant where he had arranged to meet Lee Qri and Ham Eunjung.

Meanwhile, Lee Qri and Ham Eunjung were also on their way to the restaurant.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Ham Eun-jung couldn't help but laugh out loud while looking at the navigation. "Unnie, you said you wanted to meet up with Soo-won, why didn't you just go to him alone? Why did you drag me along? Do you have to make me a third wheel?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she changed her tone, lowered her voice, and gave Li Juli a somewhat ambiguous sidelong glance.

"And also, does Jiyeon know you're like this? I don't want to see you two arguing over a little boy. Just thinking about it is hilarious."

Lee Juri simply smiled upon hearing this, a subtle curve forming at the corners of her lips. "Eunjung, you don't understand."

She knew what had happened yesterday; it must have scared Lin Xiuyuan to some extent. If she hadn't been worried that continuing to be alone with him would make him even more awkward, she would have invited him out alone today. Why would she need to bring in a wingman to distract him?

"I don't understand?"

Ham Eun-jung found this answer somewhat amusing, but no matter how much she pressed Lee Qri for an answer, the latter refused to respond.

Soon, the two arrived at the restaurant.

The hall wasn't crowded; most of the diners were older. It was quiet and comfortable, making it a good place to chat.

After entering the restaurant, the two chose a booth on the second floor by the window and sat down, chatting while flipping through the menu.

A while after they arrived, Lin Xiuyuan finally arrived at the restaurant.

Unable to find a suitable parking space, he simply parked his car in front of a real estate agency that was not yet open, turned off the engine, got out of the car, and rushed into the store.

As soon as he stepped into the restaurant, Lin Xiuyuan's gaze swept past the first-floor lobby and headed straight for the second floor.

As soon as he went up the stairs, he spotted Lee Qri and Ham Eunjung by the window from afar.

Upon seeing Li Juli, Lin Xiuyuan's previously hurried steps seemed to be instantly paused.

Because Lee Juri was clearly dressed up more carefully today than she was yesterday.

She wore a colorful striped fitted vest that hugged her figure, highlighting her smooth shoulder and neck lines and delicate collarbones.

The hem was slightly tucked into a pair of light-colored, high-waisted ripped denim shorts, revealing her straight and long legs, with almost nowhere to hide them.

She casually draped a white sheer cardigan over her outermost layer, which swayed gently in the breeze from the air conditioner, creating a hazy yet alluring visual effect.

This is an outfit with a strong summer vibe, but her temperament adds a touch of maturity. It's not just refreshing, but sexy in just the right way, like a "vacation goddess" walking straight from the poolside into the restaurant.

Lin Xiuyuan stood there stunned for a few seconds before slowly walking over.

After exchanging greetings and sitting down, his gaze fell unabashedly on Li Juli, a smile playing on his lips as he half-jokingly teased her.

"Wow, Lee Qri sunbaenim, are you planning to go to the pool for a photoshoot right after dinner with this outfit?"

Lee Juri gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, causing her gauze dress to slip down slightly, revealing her slender white shoulders and a small silver earring.

She seemed not to hear Lin Xiuyuan's question, only chuckled lightly, her eyes carrying a hint of meaning, "It's hot today, and I was afraid that wearing something too formal would put too much pressure on you, so I changed into something more relaxed."

Upon hearing this, Ham Eun-jung, who was sitting to the side, was speechless with a subtle expression.

Is this what you call relaxing? Unnie, this is clearly... seduction and teasing.

She was actually dressed quite well today, with a crisp shirt and long skirt, plus her short hair, giving off a youthful vibe reminiscent of her college days.

However, compared to the charm and aura that Lee Juri deliberately created, this sense of youth seemed a bit bland.

With Lin Xiuyuan's arrival, the long-awaited lunch finally began.

After the food was served, Li Juli waited until Lin Xiuyuan had just taken a bite of the bibimbap before asking, "How is it, Xiuyuan? The food at this restaurant is pretty good, isn't it?"

As Lin Xiuyuan ate, he looked around at the somewhat vintage decor and said with a smile, "To be honest, I really didn't expect you, Juli, to like this kind of restaurant. In my memory, you're the kind of person who likes to go to bright and clean Western restaurants or trendy little shops."

Sensing the surprise in his tone, Lee Juri raised an eyebrow and smiled, "It's not that I don't like the smell here, it's just that the places you mentioned have better privacy. There are fewer young people here, so I won't be recognized."

"There's really no way around it. Small restaurants usually don't have private rooms, so it's hard to guarantee privacy." Lin Xiuyuan nodded in understanding.

The three chatted casually while eating. Li Juli subtly steered the conversation, constantly asking Lin Xiuyuan what he had been busy with lately.

Lin Xiuyuan spoke vaguely, but he talked about the progress of the tavern's renovation and some troubles brought about by the membership system.

Ham Eun-jung sat to the side, watching the scene unfold as if it were a show.

Watching Li Juli patiently coax and press forward step by step, while Lin Xiuyuan's defense was a complete mess, with almost no resistance.

Until a phone call came in, unexpectedly rescuing Lin Xiuyuan from his predicament.

All three of them simultaneously focused their gaze on the phone screen on the table, where Kim Tae-yeon's profile picture was slowly scrolling.

Upon seeing this name, Li Juli's brows furrowed slightly, and a barely perceptible glint of something unusual flashed in her eyes.

Yesterday, Lin Xiuyuan had dinner with Kim Tae-yeon, and she called him.

Today, it was her turn to have dinner with Lin Xiuyuan, but he called again.

It's like some kind of invisible contest, silent and unassuming, yet it stirs up a strange desire to win in people's hearts.

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(End of this chapter)