Hancheng: There is a door between me and the future

Chapter 325 Dragon Cub: "I'm even jealous of myself!!" (Please subscribe and vote!)

Inside a yakitori restaurant.

Looking at Lin Xiuyuan's profile as he focused on eating under the warm yellow light, Jeon Boram instinctively swallowed.

This little gesture wasn't because she was lusting after the other person's body; it was just that something about the answer she received earlier regarding the relationship between Park Jiyeon and Ham Eunjung felt off.

There's a feeling that it makes logical sense, but intuitively it shouldn't be like this.

After quietly eating a few skewers of yakitori to fill her stomach, Jeon Boram put down the bamboo skewers in her hand and turned her gaze to the calm and composed man next to her once again.

Just then, Lin Xiuyuan picked up his water glass to drink, and when he looked up, he met her big, inquisitive eyes.

The next second, she couldn't help but laugh, put down her water glass, and said with a hint of teasing, "What? Your curiosity is practically overflowing, Baolan. Was it the question from earlier? I don't remember you being that gossipy."

Jeon Boram slightly furrowed her delicate eyebrows, her expression stubborn, and said bluntly, "I just feel like your previous answer was a lie to me."

Lin Xiuyuan was both amused and exasperated by her blunt statement, but he also gained a new appreciation for her keen intuition.

Seriously? You can vaguely sense that?
Is it open?

Although he was surprised, Lin Xiuyuan maintained a serious demeanor on the surface and firmly shook his head in denial, "How could I lie to you? I've already sworn an oath, I'm honest with everyone, Baolan-xi."

Upon hearing this, Jeon Boram also took a sip of the slightly cool tea and muttered softly, "It feels like you didn't say everything."

This statement piqued Lin Xiuyuan's interest, and he asked her in return, "So, based on your feeling, you have some other ideas now?"

Jeon Boram, after putting down her water glass, blurted out almost without thinking, "Hmm, how about we chat some more?"

"What do you want to talk about?" Lin Xiuyuan readily agreed.

"You ask, I answer?" Jeon Boram proposed a classic interactive format, and immediately added the rules, "One question per person, no lying allowed."

After hearing the suggestion, Lin Xiuyuan chuckled twice, then raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this just turning into 'Truth or Dare'? What, are you planning to turn this place into a karaoke room?"

"Let's skip the dare and play truth instead," Jeon Boram said, her eyes fixed intently on Lin Xiuyuan's face.

It seemed as if they were trying to catch any possible flaw or true emotion from the most subtle changes in his expression.

However, Lin Xiuyuan calmly took the last bite of chicken, then put down the bamboo skewer and wiped his mouth with a tissue.

Then, he asked leisurely, "Okay, come on, what do you want to ask? Is it the same question as before?"

Jeon Boram was taken aback by the question, her mind racing as she searched for a single, particularly accurate, answer to a question she desperately wanted answered.

Finally, feeling a little embarrassed, he replied, "Ah, I don't know, I haven't decided yet."

Lin Xiuyuan was stunned by the unexpected answer and chuckled, "Wait, Baolan, you haven't thought of a question yet? Why are you playing truth or dare with me?"

Jeon Boram blushed slightly and looked away, her fingers unconsciously rubbing against the teacup.

Actually, deep down she didn't necessarily have to dwell on the relationship between Lin Xiuyuan and Park Jiyeon, or have any specific list of questions.

She simply wanted to learn more about Lin Xiuyuan for no apparent reason.

That's why I thought of using this question-and-answer game to more clearly outline the man's profile.

But Jeon Boram would definitely be too embarrassed to say this true thought directly.

After some hesitation, I chose a more casual approach: "Just treat it as a pastime. Ask whatever comes to mind, how about that? Fair enough?"

Faced with this somewhat clumsy yet adorable answer, Lin Xiuyuan looked deeply at Quan Baolan, as if trying to see into her heart.

Then she gently shook her head, her tone carrying a barely perceptible gentleness, "Honestly, this isn't like your usual self, Baolan."

"So what kind of personality do you see me as, Xiuyuan?" Quan Baolan asked subconsciously, not even noticing that she had naturally omitted the formal honorific suffix when addressing him.

"What kind of personality?"

Lin Xiuyuan pretended to be deep in thought, tapping the table lightly with his fingertips, and then counting on his fingers, "Hmm, let me see. A bit introverted and a bit of a homebody, not very willing to have in-depth conversations with people he doesn't know well, and often prefers to be alone rather than take the initiative to talk or chat, that's probably it."

His series of stereotypical descriptions made Jeon Boram point at herself with some indignation, her eyes widening slightly, "Are you sure you're talking about me? I'm not that exaggerated."

She admitted that she is indeed introverted, but since she is not the one who is mainly responsible for speaking in the group, it is not to the extent that she is "unwilling to communicate" or "unwilling to speak".

There's no need to say more.

In response, Lin Xiuyuan immediately presented irrefutable evidence, his tone tinged with grievance.

"Look, not long ago when we were fighting the final boss in that dungeon, I asked you to heal me because my health was almost at zero. And what did you do? You turned around and gave your big heal to the warrior tanking the mob. I asked you why in the team chat, but you just ignored me. Isn't that the best proof that you're 'unwilling to communicate'?"

Now it was Jeon Boram's turn to be both amused and exasperated. Recalling the scenes in the game, her tone became unusually serious, carrying a mix of exasperation and amusement.

"Hey, Xiuyuan, you're an archer hiding in the back. You were only lightly grazed by the boss's area-of-effect attack, barely losing a sliver of health, how did you become almost dead? Meanwhile, the main tank is tanking the boss's frontal attacks, and their health is practically nonexistent, they're about to fall. In this situation, who should I give my instant-cast big heal to? Just to tickle you?"

Lin Xiuyuan, who was deliberately trying to cheat and argue his way out of trouble, was rendered speechless for half a second.

But then they found new evidence and continued their accusation, "Last time when we got that two-person flying mount, I invited you to ride it for sightseeing. Why didn't you agree? It wasn't an emergency during the battle, was it?"

As Lin Xiuyuan spoke, Quan Baolan recalled that experience and couldn't help but smile, her eyes filled with a hint of teasing.

"I don't even want to talk to you. If you hadn't deliberately manipulated the mount to frantically rotate through the air and created all sorts of messy perspectives, and then frantically taken screenshots and sent them to me, trying to see perspectives that the game character couldn't see, do you think I would have refused you, Mr. Lin Xiuyuan?"

Just as the two were chatting away, seemingly back in the atmosphere of their online gaming days, playfully teasing and bickering...

The dark blue curtain that served as a partition between the bar and the side aisle on the left front was suddenly pulled open with a "whoosh." Immediately afterwards, several voices that were extremely familiar to Lin Xiuyuan and Quan Baolan came over, accompanied by footsteps and laughter.

"Unnie, the food at this restaurant is really delicious!"

"It's really nice. Do you guys often come here to eat, Jiyeon?"

"No, it's just occasionally. We only came from Seoul not long ago, but Qri unnie and Hyomin unnie come here often."

"Yes, that's right, last time..."

As these voices appeared, Sulli, Goo Hara, Ham Eunjung, and Park Jiyeon, who had previously left messages for Lin Xiuyuan saying they were going out to eat, also came out of the private room area behind the curtain one after another.

Sulli, who was walking in front, was chatting with Park Jiyeon behind her, so she didn't notice the scenery in the corner of the bar immediately.

On the contrary, Goo Hara, who was half a step behind her, immediately spotted that familiar figure when her gaze swept across the bar, as well as her petite but eye-catching companion next to him: Jeon Boram.

Upon seeing this, Goo Hara's face first showed a hint of surprise, but it quickly turned into an understanding smile. She took the initiative to raise her hand and greeted them, her voice gentle, "Hi, Xiuyuan, when did you get up? You were still sleeping when we came out."

Upon hearing Goo Hara's words, Sulli, Ham Eunjung, and Park Jiyeon, who were chatting enthusiastically, all stopped talking and followed her gaze to the relatively secluded corner of the bar.

Seeing this, Lin Xiuyuan and Quan Baolan had no choice but to temporarily stop their heated exchange and raised their hands in unison, gesturing towards the group over there.

Upon seeing this, Sulli immediately walked over to them, saying in a slightly coquettish tone, "Ah~ oppa, why didn't you tell us you were getting up? We thought you were going to sleep until dawn, so we didn't call you to eat together."

Just then, a light laugh, clearly mocking and eager for a good laugh, came from behind Sulli. Park Jiyeon was walking behind her, her eyes scanning back and forth between Lin Xiuyuan and Jeon Boram, her tone drawn out and full of meaning.

"Aigoo~ Our Sulli, didn't you see? Xiuyuan oppa obviously has a date, right? Our Boram unnie~"

The last "Boram unnie" was pronounced with a strong upward inflection.

With a hint of mockery, the moment the conversation turned, everyone's attention to Jeon Boram, who was sitting next to Lin Xiuyuan and looked flustered and slightly flushed after being caught red-handed.

Noticing Jeon Boram's embarrassed reaction—frozen instantly and blushing red after Park Jiyeon's teasing remark—Lin Xiuyuan's eyes flashed with a hint of a smile.

However, he still raised his hand at the right moment and gently waved it along the path of Park Jiyeon's teasing gaze, successfully drawing her attention to himself.

Then, in the most natural tone, she said, "Ji-yeon, stop shouting and yelling."

Then, she cleverly glossed over the sensitive word "about" and instead asked, "But why are you eating so fast? I remember that just half an hour ago, Truth sent me a message saying that you had just left."

After saying that, his gaze immediately turned to Goo Hara, his eyes softening slightly, and he asked with clear concern, "What's wrong? Is your appetite still not good? You didn't eat much again?"

Noticing this concern, Goo Hara felt a warmth in her heart and smiled happily, shaking her head to explain, "No, it's just that I've already eaten quite a bit. We're not like you, with a black hole stomach that can eat so much. Girls should just eat a little, about 50-60% full is enough."

"You have to limit how much you eat?" Lin Xiuyuan raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a hint of disapproval and a typical straight man's confusion. "Isn't that tiring? Shouldn't we eat until we're completely satisfied and happy?"

As he spoke, he casually patted the empty chair on the other side of him, "Come on, sit down and have some more food, it's on me."

"That's enough, Xiuyuan." Goo Hara chuckled and brought up her go-to excuse, "The doctor also said that it's not good for your health to eat too much for dinner."

But Lin Xiuyuan seemed not to hear her refusal and still gestured for her to sit down with his eyes, with an undeniable insistence.

This somewhat domineering way of showing concern made Goo Hara both amused and helpless.

So he turned around and looked at Sulli, Ham Eunjung and the others behind him.

After exchanging glances, the girls smiled and sat down one by one at the long, narrow bar.

As the group sat down, the originally spacious area was quickly filled by the group of young and beautiful girls, creating a lively atmosphere.

At this moment, Park Jiyeon rested her hands on the smooth bar counter, tilted her head, and looked at Lin Xiuyuan like a curious kitten, bringing up the old topic again, her tone carrying a hint of coquettish questioning.

"Oppa~ You still haven't answered me. Why didn't you come looking for us right away after you woke up? Did you forget about us?"

When asked again, Lin Xiuyuan deliberately turned his head away, his gaze lingering for a moment on Quan Baolan's face, which had become silent due to the large number of people, trying to minimize her presence.

He immediately felt playful.

He turned back to look at Park Jiyeon, a roguish grin on his face, and said something that was sure to shock everyone, "What? You're even jealous of your Boram unnie, Jiyeon?"

This shocking remark completely stunned Jeon Boram, who was sitting next to him.

Her already large eyes widened instantly, and the blush that had just faded from her face turned bright red again, even her small earlobes were tinged with crimson.

He then frantically waved his hands toward Park Jiyeon, his voice trembling with anxiety, "Ah, no, Jiyeon! Don't listen to Xiuyuan's nonsense, it's not true at all, we just happened to run into each other, yes, we just happened to run into each other."

Meanwhile, Ham Eun-jung, Sulli, and the others, who had already seen through the situation, couldn't help but cover their mouths and let out soft chuckles, enjoying watching the show from the sidelines.

Park Jiyeon was also caught off guard by Lin Xiuyuan's direct question. She puffed out her cheeks in frustration and let out a dissatisfied snort, "Hmph, you stinky oppa, you know I'm jealous of even myself, let alone Boram unnie's."

This seemingly spiteful remark was actually a double entendre, which brought laughter to everyone's ears again for a moment.

Because everyone involved knew the truth, they were well aware of who the "self" Park Jiyeon was referring to was.

Jeon Boram, one of the key figures in the incident, whose mind was filled with embarrassment at the moment, was completely oblivious to this complex meaning.

I even felt that Park Jiyeon was using self-deprecation to defuse the awkwardness she had just experienced.

So he quickly cast an apologetic, reassuring look at his adorable maknae, completely unaware that he was the one being teased and attacked.

(End of this chapter)