Hancheng: There is a door between me and the future

Chapter 289 Park Hyo-min Overhears a Big Secret (Please Subscribe and Vote)
At the dining table in the private room.

When Lin Xiuyuan was caught off guard by Xian Enjing's soul-searching question, his body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment.

Then she quickly adjusted her expression, feigning confusion and innocence, and raised her eyebrows slightly as she asked, "What do you mean? Eun-jung, I don't quite understand what you're saying. What do you mean by 'bad thing'? I haven't done anything bad."

Despite the alarm bells ringing in his mind, he was shocked by Ham Eun-jung's almost intuitive guess.

But Lin Xiuyuan had only one firm belief in his heart at this moment: that is... he would rather die than admit it!

This absurd situation of "I had a negative interaction with your future self" is something that Ham Eun-jung absolutely cannot confirm from his own words, even if it was just a one-night stand.

The water is too deep for him to handle; he should let Tian Enjing explore it instead.

As for whether Sweet Eun-jung will give herself away...

Thinking of this, Lin Xiuyuan coughed twice in his mind. That was their own internal problem, and there was nothing he could do to help.

If they start fighting, I'll just stand by and watch.

They were responsible for mediating the conflict, just like they had done with Park Ji-yeon and Dae-ryong before.

Yes, remember to bring a camera this time.

Ham Eun-jung, who had been keeping a close eye on Lin Xiuyuan, naturally did not miss the fleeting look of uncertainty and guilt in his eyes.

It was this reaction that made her even more certain of her suspicions.

However, faced with his vehement denial, Ham Eun-jung was unable to press him further.

Are we really going to make her ask directly, "Did you sleep with me from the future?"
Ham Eun-jung in 2013 was ultimately not as bold and uninhibited as she would be in 2025; she was still a bit too shy.

However, giving up at this point is not her style.

So, with a flicker of her eye, she changed her approach and prepared to continue digging a pit for Lin Xiuyuan.

So the next second Ham Eun-jung spoke, her tone casual but with a hint of probing.

"It's nothing special, it's just that I haven't seen myself over there for a while, and I'm a little curious about what the other person is doing. Xiuyuan, when are you free to take me over? The three of us can sit down and have a good chat then?"

After hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan understood perfectly and guessed what Ham Eun-jung was thinking.

However, after pondering for a moment, he felt that there was no need to hide the fact about Sweet Eun-jung's health condition; on the contrary, it could be used to divert attention.

“Of course you can go and take a look if you want, but…” Lin Xiuyuan deliberately dragged out his words, his gaze quickly falling on Xian Enjing, “It seems that your situation over there makes it inconvenient for you to move around freely.”

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ham Eun-jung was taken aback, not understanding what she meant.

Seeing that she had taken the bait, Lin Xiuyuan slowly raised his finger and pointed to her left knee. "It's your old injury that's flared up again. I heard it's because of rehearsals for the upcoming concert. You haven't done any high-intensity activities for a long time, and you trained too hard all of a sudden, and the old injury... tore open again."

These words struck Ham Eun-jung like a thunderclap.

As someone who knew her own leg injury all too well, she immediately grasped the key information in Lin Xiuyuan's words and blurted out in surprise, "You mean she's lame?!"

"Tsk, temporary, temporary, Eun-jung, you're being a bit too blunt," Lin Xiuyuan quickly corrected, but the hint of tacit agreement in his tone was quite obvious.

But right now, Ham Eun-jung's expression had become incredibly complicated.

The suspicion that had been almost certain in his mind was now shaken by the sudden news of the injury.

Because if my leg injury from 25 years ago recurs, the resulting mobility issues are real.

Then Lin Xiuyuan's strange look just now seems to have another more reasonable explanation.

That might just be an insider who, upon seeing their own "healthy" version, subconsciously revealed a sense of comparison, inquiry, or simply concern and curiosity about the injury, which is why their gaze seemed so focused and...piercing?

After imagining so much of Ham Eun-jung in her mind, and realizing that she had actually guessed such an absurd plot just now, and even almost asked it out loud, she immediately felt a strange sense of embarrassment.

The sense of relief from "thinking you'd guessed the right result but then realizing you might be wrong" made her words, which she had previously dared not utter, come out as if released from their seal, carrying a hint of self-deprecation and吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or critical remarks), and she muttered them in a low voice.

"Honestly, the way you looked at me just now, I thought you had slept with her."

After saying that, Ham Eun-jung found herself somewhat amused and shook her head.

It just goes to show that people's minds are sometimes unpredictable, even to the people themselves; they change their minds every now and then.

But when Lin Xiuyuan truly heard Xian Enjing whisper, "I thought you slept with her," his heart nearly skipped a beat, and an even stronger sense of guilt surged up inside him.

He couldn't help but grin: This woman's intuition is just too accurate.

She had even foreseen that if the truth came out one day, and Ham Eun-jung discovered that she had guessed correctly but had been misled by her own words, her resentment would probably be enough to lift the roof off.

Even if he foresaw the "danger" in the future, if given the chance to do it all over again, Lin Xiuyuan would still choose the same answer.

After all... every day they can keep it a secret is a day in the future.

This complicated situation of "two people having romantic entanglements but having to consider the feelings of three people" is really too difficult to handle.

Even if he were to confront them, he would at least have to wait for Eun-jung herself to be present. He didn't want to face this storm of two "Eun-jungs" alone.

After muttering to herself, Ham Eun-jung seemed to have temporarily put aside her worries. She then tugged at Lin Xiuyuan's arm and said in a more serious tone, "Xiuyuan, when is a convenient time for you? I still need to go and check on her. I'm a little worried about the situation."

"Let's talk about that later. Let's eat properly first, okay?" Lin Xiuyuan steadied himself, gave the other person a look, and offered a vague response.

However, Ham Eun-jung nodded, understanding that now was not the time to discuss this.

Thus, the awkward atmosphere between the two ended, and things returned to normal for the time being.

Afterwards, Ham Eun-jung and Lim So-lu switched places and sat back down next to Park Hyo-min.

As soon as Lin Xiaolu sat back down, she couldn't help but lean closer to Lin Xiuyuan and whisper, "What happened?"

Lin Xiuyuan then succinctly explained to Tian Enjing that her leg injury had relapsed.

This caused Lin Xiaolu to exclaim "Ah!" several times in surprise after hearing this, but after glancing at the surrounding environment and Ham Eun-jung who was talking to Park Hyo-min, she wisely shut her mouth, though a hint of surprise and worry remained in her eyes.

Unlike Lin Xiaolu, who is very sensible, Park Hyomin on the other side has no intention of letting Ham Eunjung off so easily.

As soon as she saw Ham Eun-jung sit back down, she quickly nudged her with her elbow and asked in a low voice, "Hey, Eun-jung, what was wrong with you just now? You came in and immediately went to whisper to Lin Xiuyuan. What's so mysterious about that? You didn't even tell me."

Despite this, Ham Eun-jung remained unfazed, picked up her water glass and took a sip, saying, "It's nothing, I just greeted Xiu Yuan simply."

"Guess if I believe it or not~"

Park Hyomin rolled her eyes. "Do you need to stand that close to greet someone, making eye contact like that? You're kidding me!"

But right now, Ham Eun-jung is adamant about not giving in, and there's nothing she can do about it.

The feeling of being excluded from the secret quietly crept into Park Hyomin's heart again, tinged with bitterness and depression.

Then, a few nights ago, Ham Eun-jung's seductive suggestion echoed in her mind, completely out of place. And then there was that line from just now: "Actually, Soo-won has a great physique, the really amazing kind..."

Could it be... that I really am going to be with this Lin Xiuyuan...?
Park Hyomin pursed her lips, her gaze involuntarily drifting once again to Lin Xiuyuan, who was whispering and laughing with Sulli.

Is this guy's physique really that good?
Just as Park Hyo-min was feeling uneasy and lost in thought.

The lunch proceeded slowly in this seemingly relaxed atmosphere, yet with undercurrents of tension.

Everyone enjoyed the dishes in front of them, occasionally turning the turntable in the center of the table to share their food.

Although it was not advisable to drink alcohol during the day, we still symbolically opened a bottle of wine, one small glass for each person, to enjoy a little and add to the merriment.

During the meal, Goo Hara, one of the original initiators of today's gathering, kept glancing at Lin Xiuyuan.

According to her original plan, she intended to take advantage of this meal to find an opportunity to ask Lin Xiuyuan alone how he viewed Shirley's situation.

What were his true intentions in living with Shirley? Was he trying to have his cake and eat it too, or even more?

If Sulli had been replaced by someone else, Goo Hara would probably have just treated it as casual conversation, laughed it off, and wouldn't have bothered with any further gossip.

But this is Sulli.

She's her younger sister, who shares a similar background and has walked a similar thorny path with her.

She cherished and loved her little snowball from the bottom of her heart.

Therefore, Goo Hara truly did not want the innocent and kind Sulli to suffer any harm from other scumbags; she just wanted to do everything she could to protect her.

However, with so many people talking at the moment, it is clearly not a good time to ask questions.

So much so that Goo Hara, though anxious, could only suppress her anxiety and wait for an opportunity.

Then the opportunity came quickly.

After eating for a while, Lin Xiuyuan felt that there wasn't enough food, so he got up and went out to ask the waiter to add a few more dishes.

Upon seeing this, Goo Hara almost immediately stood up and said naturally, "I'll go with you and see what else is good to eat."

No one suspected anything and continued eating and chatting.

After a while, Park Hyo-min felt some discomfort in her eyes, which seemed to be due to her contact lenses shifting.

He got up, greeted everyone, picked up his small bag, and left the private room, intending to go to the restroom to take care of himself.

But as soon as she stepped out of the private room, her gaze swept across the room and she was surprised to see Goo Hara gently holding Lin Xiuyuan's arm at the end of the corridor.

Instead of heading towards the waiter's location, the two turned and walked towards another direction leading to the observation deck.

Huh?
This discovery instantly piqued Park Hyo-min's curiosity.

But she didn't follow them. Instead, she went to the restroom as planned, carefully removed her slipped contact lenses, and cleaned her eyes and hands.

After doing all this, she closed her bag and prepared to return to the private room.

Just as Park Hyomin passed a fork in the corridor, she caught a glimpse of two figures by the observation deck ahead: Lin Xiuyuan and Goo Hara.

They were leaning against the railing of the observation deck with their backs to the corridor, seemingly talking about something.

What woman isn't curious?!
I already missed it once, this time...

After struggling internally for a fraction of a second, Park Hyo-min was ultimately overcome by her strong gossip urge and shifted her toes toward Lin Xiuyuan and the others.

I moved quietly, like an elegant cat, to the entrance of the observation deck, hiding myself in the shadows of the corner.

After that, Park Hyomin didn't even need to go inside. Just standing at the entrance, a few wisps of breeze carried Goo Hara's clear and straightforward question to her ears without missing a single word.

"So, Xiuyuan, what are your thoughts on living with Zhenli?"

!!!

These words were like a TNT bomb, exploding instantly in Park Hyo-min's mind and shocking her for a whole year.

She even instinctively covered her mouth to prevent herself from exclaiming.

My heart was pounding wildly because of this incredibly exciting news.

Living together...? Lin Xiuyuan and Shirley? What's going on?

Just as Park Hyomin held her breath, strained her ears, and was hoping to hear more secrets that would overturn her understanding, she caught a glimpse of several guests chatting and laughing as they walked toward the observation deck from the corner of the corridor not far away.

bad~
At that moment, Park Hyo-min was torn between her inner thoughts and her own.

On one hand, there's the option of continuing to hide and eavesdrop to satisfy curiosity, and on the other hand, there's the option of immediately showing up to warn the two to prevent outsiders from overhearing their conversation, but at the same time, one also discovers that they are acting suspiciously.

Ultimately, after a moment, reason prevailed.

Almost without hesitation, Park Hyo-min immediately straightened up from the shadows in the corner and walked briskly to the entrance of the observation deck.

Then, she raised her hand and gently knocked on the glass door frame next to her, a perfectly timed smile of curiosity and innocence on her face, and said in a loud voice, "Xiuyuan, Hera, so you two were hiding here? What are you talking about, so engrossed?"

The sudden sound was like a pebble thrown into a calm pond, startling Goo Hara and Lin Xiuyuan, who were focused on their conversation.

The two of them turned around abruptly almost simultaneously.

When Goo Hara saw Park Hyomin standing smiling at the entrance, and the several unfamiliar guests approaching from not far behind her, a hint of panic flashed across her face, and she immediately shut her mouth tightly.

A wave of fear and regret washed over me.

I was so focused on questioning Lin Xiuyuan that I didn't pay any attention to my surroundings...

That was so careless. What if someone else overheard...

However, compared to Goo Hara, Lin Xiuyuan's reaction was much calmer.

His gaze swept quickly over the passing customers before settling back on Park Hyo-min's face.

His eyes lingered on her delicate face for two seconds, as if he could see through her little trick of "timekeeping" just now.

However, he didn't point it out to Park Hyomin. Instead, a meaningful smile slowly curved his lips.

There was no panic or blame in that smile, as Park Hyo-min had imagined.

Instead, it carried a knowing, playful tone, as if to say: Oh, you've figured it out.

(End of this chapter)