Chapter Fifty-Nine: Three People

the morning. However, all of them are absent today. Since he practiced dancing for several hours and is quite tired, he decided to go back now and take advantage of this time to review his schoolwork..."Do you think this song choice works With my singing abilities, it's not a good performance, is it"

Ji Jingyuan sat in the waiting room at Incheon Airport with the rest of EXO, chatting casually about gossip with the members beside him while glancing at his phone where he had just received a text message.

It is 5 p.m. on May 2nd, just after they finished broadcasting MBC's "Music Center". They went straight back to the company after the broadcast, grabbed their suitcases that they had already picked up earlier, tidied up a little, and then followed their manager and staff members to the airport lounge.

Tomorrow, there will be a shooting for an iced black tea advertisement in Xia Guo. It's a pretty big case with a considerable fee. After negotiating for a long time, it's finally confirmed. Besides this, there are also a few magazine covers and interview activities. If everything goes smoothly, it is estimated that it will take one or two days.

Although M Team's activities as a unit have ceased to exist, ** Entertainment still prioritizes domestic schedules in China. Even though the departure of all members from the Chinese subgroup led to the collapse of the joint activity model between the two teams and countries, EXO still enjoys significant popularity and a large fanbase in China. Among them, Ji-seong's popularity has surged even higher after facing setbacks.

And after last year's turmoil, Ai Li, who persevered, became even stronger and more fervent after being severely abused. Some minor scandals and rumors could no longer faze them.

According to Chi Jingyuan's understanding, Ai Li is still the largest and most influential fan group in Xia Guo's fandom circle. She remains a dominant force within the community and seemingly unstoppable. The only group that could challenge them appears to be the fanbase of an idol group that gained popularity last year.

Back then, he would occasionally drop by this forum and discover that these two fan groups were constantly bickering and fighting each other every day, creating quite a stir.

Although there is a music show performance on SBS's "Inkigayo" tomorrow, the 3rd, endorsements that bring in real money and schedules that increase popularity among fans are more important than performing. Therefore, EXO will be absent from tomorrow's music show performance and related promotional activities.

...The comeback stage for BIGBANG happens to be tomorrow's Inkigayo. The two male groups, who were originally supposed to clash on the same stage, missed the opportunity for a direct confrontation. Many people are expecting BIGBANG and EXO to both appear together on stage next week instead.

"As long as we don't sing 'Beauty's Strategy,' there shouldn't be any problems."

Chi Jingyuan glanced at the contents of the text message and leaned back in his chair, lazily replying.

Tzuyu sent this. It seems that after finishing the third episode of

《SIXTEEN》 last month, they stopped filming. Apparently, they want to see the reaction after the broadcast before making adjustments. After so long, in the past few days close to the premiere, Tzuyu and the others seem to have started preparing tasks and practicing again.

According to what she said before, this time it is dividing the remaining fourteen people into four groups to compete. They just finished dividing them not long ago and are currently selecting songs.

"Big Bang seems like they won't be performing many songs, and several TV stations won't go."

"Did what YG's Yang Hyun-suk CEO said in the interview the other day really happen"

Putting down his phone, Chi Jingyuan's attention was drawn to the conversation of a few guys beside him. They were discussing why bigbang and even YG artists had a sense of mystery when they made comebacks, participating in very few music shows, especially rarely appearing on KBS and MBC programs.

And YG's president Yang Hyun Suk gave an explanation after the Big Bang concert ended a few days ago during an interview. He said, "I just want to create a better stage... Kpop is now being widely watched overseas in America and Europe, the quality of the stage is very important, performing once a week can show the best stage effect."

When Chi Jingyuan saw the report, he believed it whether others did or not, because he actually wanted to only sing once a week himself.

Let's just go with then.

"How is that possible I wouldn't tell the outside world."

Park Chan-wook let out a scoff, chewing on his gum nonchalantly and waving his hand dismissively. "It's not a secret in the industry, you know YG just doesn't get along with some of the TV stations. They had a falling out privately over some things before, so that's why they haven't been going there..."

"Just like our ** artists didn't go on M a few years ago... However, since Big Bang's comeback this time is so big, I estimate they will do some exchange. At least they should appear on one episode, right"

He nodded, knowing that many things differed between what was publicly announced and what circulated privately. He actually knew this news himself. Just as Chi Jingyuan was about to interject, his phone buzzed, with Zhou Tzuyu's reply arriving.

"It's been so long, why are you still doing this I should have never told you in the first place (angry)…. This song selection is really important, please stop messing around."

Apparently, Zhou Tzuyu was annoyed by Ji Jingyuan bringing up her previous choice to sing a Chinese song again. Since she told Ji Jingyuan about it, the other party has brought it up repeatedly for teasing, almost becoming a black history.

Seeing the message's tone and expressions, Chi Jingyuan couldn't help but chuckle. He could also sense a hint of anxiety and nervousness in the girl's heart. Apparently, she was deeply affected by her performance in the last round due to her lack of strength. And since it was the bottom group last time, if she performed similarly this time, it would be very easy for her to be eliminated.

He watched Zhou Tzuyu still struggling to choose a song, shook his head and frowned, quickly tapping his phone screen with both hands.

"Zhou Tzuyu, saying you're dumb isn't wrong (disdain), you still don't know your strengths. What you need to do now isn't getting stuck on song choices and skills. Your singing... I'm embarrassed to even say it, it can't be improved in the short term. What you need to do is show your traits and strengths on the program. What are your strengths Excellent looks, a sunny smile, good dancing, and a good personality. These are your biggest advantages on this show. You need to consider how to naturally express them on camera instead of thinking about singing skills. Do you even have those"

Chi Jingyuan was really speechless about this girl. He still didn't understand that idols and singers are different. The "Sixteen" program is what JYP used to select idols, not singers.

I've told her several times already, but this time I finally couldn't hold back and said a few things to her.

After a while, Zhou Tzuyu didn't react. Ji Jingyuan thought that maybe what he said was too straightforward and the girl couldn't accept it, perhaps even feeling hurt. Just as he was about to send some random emoji to probe her feelings, a reply came back.

"I got it (smiling face)."

There was no anger or sadness in the words and emojis, instead there was unexpectedly a hint of docility, like a well-behaved little rabbit who had been scolded by its teacher, sitting obediently on a small chair with hands clasped, constantly nodding and smiling sheepishly.

For some reason, Ji Jingyuan seemed to still feel a hint of happiness from the text, or perhaps it was just an illusion.

A little girl's train of thought is just abnormal.

Chi Jingyuan silently curled his lips, swiped his finger across the screen to the message page, flipped through it casually up and down for a few times out of boredom. He then stopped and saw the name "Nan Ming", paused for a moment before clicking on it.

There were no text messages, just a row of smiling faces. Besides the ones sent by the other party, there were also a few that Chi Jingyuan had replied with.

After exchanging contact information, this girl, Nan, was very measured. She didn't often text meaningless things, she just sent a smiling face emoji every one or two days, a small greeting while subtly showing her presence.

Even though she officially returned yesterday, Tzuyu shared her thoughts on two new songs. Nana still just sent a smiling face with a thumbs up emoji.

At that time, behind the scenes, facing each other, Chi Jingyuan could clearly see that Nami seemed to want to talk to him. Even though they had each other's numbers and weren't very familiar, she still maintained her composure. Over the past few days, he felt that this girl was quite good, and his perception of her improved a lot.

So every time, he would also return a smiling face to indicate that he saw it. Until now, it's become like clocking in, interacting like this almost every other day.

It's actually quite interesting whether to say it or not.

"He's gone."

Just as Ji-yeong was about to flip through other chat records, Wu Shi-xun patted him on the shoulder beside him. He looked up, put away his phone and stood up with the other members, grabbed his suitcase and followed along.

After several hours of flying, the plane landed in Shenzhen. EXO first took a pre-booked bus back to the hotel to freshen up, then went out together to find a nearby restaurant for a late-night snack. When they returned to their hotel rooms again, it was almost midnight.

Although it was close to midnight, it wasn't really early for idols. After returning, the EXO members didn't immediately rest. A few people gathered in the room chatting and gossiping, while others went out to make phone calls.

Chi Jingyuan was in his room, leaning against the headboard and scrolling through his phone, ready to check out some messages from forums and fan clubs.

As soon as I entered a forum I often browse, the first thing that caught my eye was a distorted picture of Jennie. Her mouth was stretched wide, her frown lines deepened, and she even had wrinkles drawn on her face and around her eyes. She looked just like a toad.

At first glance at the picture, Ji-yeong couldn't help but laugh. This P picture is really very realistic. Even though it has done a lot of distortion and ugliness processing, the most obvious feature of the person hasn't changed. Although the finished product is exaggerated and ugly, familiar people can tell at a glance that it is Jennie, not someone else.

Black fans can be quite talented when it comes to attacking people, they're very skilled in various methods.

He just kept scrolling down, but as he looked, his smile gradually faded. The corners of his mouth twitched, unable to quite reach a genuine smile.

The past two days, besides the boy groups EXO and Big Bang, the most popular in the music industry has naturally been AI because of the MC's relationship, he crazily attacked (or "went after" ) Park Soo-hyun.

This K-pop discussion forum, once a place for normal conversation, is now dominated by hate towards Irene. All sorts of ugly images are everywhere, and some posts even use offensive language in their titles. When you click on them, you're either met with unprovoked insults or fabricated malicious rumors. The entire forum is filled with attacks and insults directed at Irene. Red Velvet fans' attempts to fight back are feeble, and even objective discussions and pleas for reason are drowned out by the hate.

At first glance, it really makes you think that Bae Joo-hyeon must have done something terrible to be hated this much. Looking at the situation, Ki Jung-won estimates that if Bae Joo-hyun actually appeared in front of these extreme Alice fans, a real fight would break out.

But with her short stature and legs, she probably wouldn't be their opponent.

From the top, seeing the exception, in just over a day, Pei Zhuxuan has already replaced Pei Suzy, becoming the most disliked person by Ae-ri and Yuan fans. And looking at the momentum of this attack, it's nothing like the period of "so" last year, even surpassing it.

Thanks to the fact that Red Velvet only has one official social media account operated by the company, and the members don't have personal SNS accounts, otherwise, I estimate we wouldn't be able to see it now.

"Ugly girl", "Under-the-table rules", "Die!", "Auntie", "Middle-aged woman", "Hit on higher-ups", "Shameless."

All that meets his eyes are these words that would produce negative emotions when seen.

Although Ai Li are all fans of EXO and support and like Park Kyung Won, seeing those rampant ugly pictures and obscene language, even Park Kyung Won himself feels it's excessive.

He saw that everything was like this, and he didn't know what kind of mood the older sister would be in after seeing it.

His gaze was fixed on the screen, as if he had thought of something and was lost in thought for a long time. After a while, Chi Jingyuan shook his head to clear his mind and took one last look at the fan club that was still constantly refreshing. He let out a soft sigh.

He took a moment to check the time, then got out of bed after some thought. As he walked to the window of the hotel room, he clicked on a name in his phone book and dialed it.

In the same room, Wu Shixun went to Park Chan-hyeok's place to play cards and happened to have no one bothering them.

It was just the phone ringing for a long time before finally being picked up.

……

Today Red Velvet came back earlier than usual. They have already finished washing up and are chatting in their respective rooms, getting ready to rest.

Meanwhile, Bae Ju-hyeon was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed, seemingly listening to the chatter of Kang Se-bi and Son Seung-wan beside her about some trivial matters. In reality, she stared blankly at her locked phone screen.

She was originally browsing the internet, but seeing those words attacking her everywhere made her increasingly angry. She eventually couldn't take it anymore and logged out.

She's not masochistic and knows that the internet is full of negativity towards her, so she doesn't look at it. Besides, when she first debuted, she was heavily criticized, so she has quite a bit of experience dealing with it.

However, due to some psychological reasons, he didn't want to take the initiative to message that person. He could only fiddle with his phone for a long time, not knowing what to do. Unknowingly, he started daydreaming.

Suddenly, a jolt ran through her, making her jump and nearly cry out. She looked back at the silent phone in front of her. A number was calling, and when she saw the name on the caller ID, Bae Joohyun's eyes lit up instantly. She seemed to perk right up, as if all her fatigue and anger had vanished.

This is from Chi Jingyuan.

Normally, the two of them mainly communicate through text messages. A phone call directly means there's something up... maybe it's something she thought about when she was daydreaming before.

After a two-second pause, she grabbed her phone, but instead of looking flustered, she calmly and naturally slipped on her slippers, smiled at the two people watching from beside her, and sauntered towards the bathroom.

"Yo bu se yo..."

What are you calling me for this late

After the connection, a low, soft and lively voice came from the other end. The tone was somewhat weary but tinged with a hint of joy and coquettishness. Listening to it, Chi Jingyuan actually felt that this sister seemed to be in a good mood.

“Because I just discovered something.” Chi Jingyuan cleared his throat, his tone very formal and somewhat serious as he began.

"What's wrong" Hearing the other person's serious tone, Bae Joo-hyun's just-risen cheerful mood immediately subsided, and she asked seriously.

"Ji-hyun xi."

"Huh"

Shouldn't you apologize to me

"Huh Apologize, why" Her voice was a little confused, she didn't seem to understand at all.

"When he got to this point, Chi Jingyuan paused, gazing at the night view in the distance. His voice was heavy with resentment and obvious displeasure, sounding quite angry: "Have you checked online There are tons of posts on forums now from your Red Velvet fans bashing me. They're saying awful things, calling me 'uglies,' all because I collaborated with you as a fixed MC..."

"Hee hee... Ah, Chi Jingyuan!"

Before he could finish, his words were cut short by a furious roar. Bae Joohyun first let out two laughs of amusement before immediately feeling her blood rise. The anger and grievance she had endured from being attacked by Alice all day, which she had been suppressing with all her might, finally erupted at this moment. Even her carefully lowered voice rose noticeably: “You have the nerve to say that Your fans are acting like lunatics, hounding me with insults non-stop, and even creating those hideous images and nicknames…”

"What kind of ugly dwarf, even my aunt came out Am I that old And even our Red Velvet fans were scolded so badly, anyone who speaks up for me will be attacked..."

"Are you still saying this You really are out of touch, aren't you"

The comfort she had expected didn't come, instead this happened. Pei Zhuxuan was clearly quite angry, constantly and repeatedly saying a lot, as if she wanted to vent all her resentment on this man who was provoking her.

"I wouldn't have said anything if you hadn't accused me..."

...and more.

">...

"

Remembering those disgusting rumors and obscene pictures, remembering how she forced herself to act normal in front of the members and others, Park Soo-Hyun rambled on for a while. Just as her emotions calmed down and she had nothing more to say, a soft, smiling voice suddenly came from beside her, making her freeze.

How are you doing

He said that on purpose...

In an instant, she reacted. She knew Pool Jingyuan was doing it on purpose, deliberately provoking her anger to make her lose control and vent the pent-up emotions in her heart.

Chi Jingyuan seems to understand very well that she doesn't like to show her emotions in public, but prefers to keep things and feelings bottled up inside.

Not only does he understand her habits, but he also understands her personality.

Recalling the vague anticipation I'd had before, suddenly and inexplicably, the anger I'd just felt seemed to dissipate like a tide. My heart was jolted with an electric shock, a surge of intense numbness flooding through me, spreading rapidly throughout my entire body.

For a moment, neither of them spoke, falling into a brief silence. All that could be heard through the phone receiver were faint breaths.

Chi Jingyuan also didn't say anything more, although he did feel that Ai Li had done something excessive, but from his standpoint, it was definitely impossible to scold or blame his own fans.

Even their apologies might seem out of place because these are people who truly like and unconditionally support him. Doing this makes him feel inadequate.

"How did you know..." Pei Zhuhyun spoke softly, her voice dropping all of a sudden. The fury that had just been raging inside her, threatening to kick Ji Jingyuan away, vanished instantly, leaving behind a fragile vulnerability like a breeze could blow her over.

She wanted to ask Chi Jingyuan how he knew she had been holding back, a fire and grievance brewing inside her.

"Whoever gets scolded like that would have a bad mood. You didn't show any abnormalities at all when MBC recorded Music Center today...and I don't even know you Your mind is so small, you care about everything people say. You just keep pretending to be so open-minded and cheerful"

Ji-yeong leaned against the window, looking outside. He remembered meeting with Bae Joo-hyun at MBC earlier that day and lazily muttered to himself.

Even though it was a sarcastic remark, Park Soo-ah didn't get angry at all. Instead, she bit her lip with a hint of a smile.

She had several emotional breakdowns in front of Chi Jingyuan, making it really hard to refute his words.

But in fact, Pei Joo-hyuk didn't mean to refute anything. Instead, a happy mood rippled across her brow.

It feels really good to be understood by someone, especially when that person is him.

Just as her thoughts were swirling with emotion, poised to pour out some heartfelt and tender words, she was interrupted by a casual "How was dinner" from beside her.

Peijoo-Hyun couldn't help but be amused by this evasive topic change. She let out a light hum, her tone laced with displeasure as she retorted, "What do you think"

"If I were you, I definitely wouldn't be able to eat." Ji Jingyuan walked back from the window and sat on the bed, watching the TV drama playing on the TV in his room, and said with a smack of his lips: "Actually, I originally thought you wouldn't be this sad. After all, some fans' black comments look like jokes. What 'ugly woman', etc., don't you know yourself whether you're ugly or not You clearly look so good, shouldn't you just laugh it off at such ridiculous attacks"

"That's true, but…"

Pei Zhuxuan smiled and readily acknowledged the compliment of "pretty," but her tone afterward noticeably hesitated, as if finding it difficult to speak. Finally, in a small voice, she muttered: "The rest is okay, just that...that 'auntie' is really a bit..."

"Aha ha ha..."

Ji Jingyuan couldn't help but burst into laughter at this. He wasn't sure if he was laughing at Ai Li's talent or Pei Zhuhyun's shyness.

Alice really hit the nail on the head. How did they know that her most important thing would be her own age

"Oh, stop laughing. Please don't say that word in front of me again..." It was clear she was unhappy with his laughter, as Bae Joo-hyun mumbled a warning.

"I see," Chi Jingyuan nodded while watching TV, his tone relaxed yet serious.

After that, there was silence on both sides, as if they were savoring the experience and emotions of the phone call. For a moment, only the dialogue from the television could be heard.

After a moment of silence, Bae Joo-hyun suddenly spoke: “Next time on Music Bank, you should let your bangs down.”

Hearing her voice and the strange request, Chi Jingyuan didn't ask why she said so. He seemed to understand and smiled softly:

"I understand."

(End of Chapter)

First Release by Traditional Novel Networkause, comparatively speaking, 《!》 is more valued, so many popular artists like to choose 《!》 for their comeback stage. EXO has done this several times before, but unfortunately, this week's 《!c》has al...