Peninsula's Life Begins in 2016

Chapter 60 Pre-arranged Alliance

Ignoring Lin Xiaolu's gesticulating protests behind him, Jiang Yan carried two large bags of groceries out of the supermarket.

As evening fell, a fiery orange-red sunset painted the streets in a gentle, warm hue.

As Jiang Yan walked back to his rented room, the heavy weight in his hands kept him from thinking about those messy things for the time being.

Lin Xiaolu floated beside him, still muttering to herself, but he let it go in one ear and out the other, his mind already planning what to do tonight.

If Ahn Jung-hwan hadn't come looking for him, he would have been more at ease and would have gained more leverage. It's a real pity now, but he doesn't regret it at all, since he only has one Choi Jin-ri.

Back home, Jiang Yan first sorted the ingredients and put them in the refrigerator, then tied on an apron and began preparing the dishes.

Lin Xiaolu floated in from behind him, stopping in mid-air in the living room without following him into the kitchen.

She rested her chin on her hand, watching Jiang Yan's busy figure in the kitchen.

The warm yellow light fell on his shoulders, and his apron was tied in a loose bow at the back of his waist.

Lin Xiaolu suddenly felt that the scene was a bit unreal.

A man, just home from get off work, is chopping vegetables and making soup in the kitchen, wearing an apron, while she waits in the living room.

The feeling was strange, like something she had never experienced before and didn't know how to name.

"Hey, Jiang Yan."

"Um?"

Have you ever cooked for anyone?

Kang Yeon put the marinated Korean beef into the refrigerator without turning his head: "I've made it for Minjung and Jinri."

"Besides them?"

"That's all."

Upon hearing this answer, Lin Xiaolu's lips inexplicably curved slightly, but she quickly suppressed it again.

She changed her position, lying prone in mid-air, her chin resting on her crossed arms, and continued watching him busy in the kitchen.

Are you nervous?

Jiang Yan paused for a second while chopping the scallions, then continued, "What's the rush?"

"Confront her directly." Lin Xiaolu counted on her fingers, "You need to talk to her about cooperation, get information about her future, and take the initiative. None of these things are easy. She's the future Yoona of Girls' Generation. She's seen more big scenes than you've eaten ramen."

Jiang Yan sprinkled the chopped scallions into the soybean paste soup, covered the pot with the lid, turned around and leaned against the stove, looking at the figure hanging in mid-air in the living room.

"And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"What's your stance now? She's your future self. Are you going to help her or me?"

Lin Xiaolu was stunned by the question.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say, "Of course I'll help you," but swallowed the words back.

Because she suddenly realized that once she said those words, it meant that she had chosen a stranger she had only known for less than two days over herself and her future self.

But she knew very well that the future Yoona was no longer her.

That Yoona experienced things that I never experienced, made choices that I never made, and became someone I may never become.

Lin Xiaolu's expression suddenly became very firm. "I won't help her, I'll help you."

Jiang Yan looked at her for two seconds, then turned around, lifted the lid of the pot, and stirred the soup. "Why?"

Lin Xiaolu landed from mid-air and clung to the kitchen doorway, saying, "Because you don't owe me anything, yet you brought me home from the streets of Jiangnan. Because you said you disliked me, yet you left me a blanket and a Coke."

She paused, a look of grievance on her face. "She's occupied my body for so many years and hasn't consulted me once. Why should I help her?"

Jiang Yan put down the soup spoon and turned around.

Lin Xiaolu stood at the kitchen doorway, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers. If this action were performed on a physical body, the hem of her clothes would probably be crumpled.

Jiang Yan shook his head and chuckled, "Alright, I believe you."

Lin Xiaolu looked up, slightly surprised. "That's it? Aren't you going to ask a few more questions? What if I'm lying to you? What if I change my mind at the last minute?"

Jiang Yan chuckled, then said mockingly, "Lin Xiaolu, you can't even lie anymore. Besides, even if you don't help me, you can't help her either. So it's still fair to me."

Lin Xiaolu's cheeks puffed up at these words, and she bared her teeth, saying resentfully, "Jiang Yan, you'll never get a girlfriend in the future!"

Jiang Yan didn't want to listen to her nagging, so he turned around and continued stirring his pot of soybean paste soup, but his shoulders were still twitching slightly, and you could tell without looking that he was secretly laughing.

"You're still laughing!"

"I didn't laugh."

Your shoulders are shaking!

"The soup was too hot, and the steam made it scald."

Lin Xiaolu felt that if she stayed with this person for a few more days, she would eventually be driven mad with anger.

She angrily drifted back to the living room and plopped down on the sofa.

Jiang Yan glanced back, turned down the heat, wiped his hands, and walked to the living room to sit on the single sofa opposite Lin Xiaolu.

"Let's get down to business, I'm not teasing you anymore."

Lin Xiaolu turned her head away and snorted, deliberately avoiding looking at him.

"I need your help with the negotiations later."

Lin Xiaolu's ears twitched, but she still didn't turn around.

"You two share the same origin, so you can sense her emotional fluctuations and thoughts, right?"

Lin Xiaolu finally turned her head, looking at him warily: "What do you want?"

Jiang Yan rested his fingers on his knees, interlaced. "Nothing. I don't need you to tell me what she's thinking. Just tell me if she's lying when I ask her questions."

Lin Xiaolu blinked, and the anger on her face was slowly replaced by a complex expression.

She landed opposite Jiang Yan, looking him in the eye.

"I can help you, but on one condition."

"explain."

"No matter what information she tells you about the future, you have to share half of the money you earn with me."

Jiang Yan looked at her silently for a while, and then, unusually, he didn't retort. Instead, he nodded gently and said, "Okay, I'll keep it for you. I'll give it to you when you go back later."

Hearing this, Lin Xiaolu felt a lump in her throat again. She quickly put on her little finger and said, "Pinky promise, no lying."

Jiang Yan looked down at the translucent finger, and without hesitation extended his little finger, passing it through the area where the finger had been.

"I've gone through the formalities, but I keep my word."

Lin Xiaolu looked down at the physical little finger that had passed through her fingers, pursed her lips, and then nodded vigorously.

"Okay, sure."

Just then, Jiang Yan's phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out, glanced at it, then stood up, took off his apron, and walked towards the entrance.

"She's here, let's go pick her up, Little Deer."

"……Inside."

The hallway lights in the old residential building are voice-activated; each time Jiang Yan goes down a floor, the light turns on for that floor.

When he reached the corner on the third floor, Jiang Yan paused, took a deep breath, and continued walking down.

Lin Xiaolu remained quietly floating behind him.

In the courtyard downstairs, the landlady was sitting on her usual little stool, fingering prayer beads in her hand. Seeing Jiang Yan come down, she greeted him with a smile, "Young man, going out so late?"

Jiang Yan bowed slightly and replied, "Oh, Grandma, I'm coming down to pick someone up."

As soon as he finished speaking, a black sedan slowly pulled up outside the yard.

The car door opened, and first stepped out a foot wearing a white canvas shoe, then a slender leg encased in light blue jeans, followed by a loose-fitting beige top, and finally a small face wearing a mask.

Yoona wasn't wearing a baseball cap today; her long hair was casually draped over her shoulders. She didn't look like a top girl group member who had been in the entertainment industry for so many years; she looked more like a beautiful senior you might bump into in a university town.

She was carrying a white paper bag. When she saw Jiang Yan standing in the yard, she tilted her head and smiled slightly.

"Jiang Yanxi, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."