Chapter 3 You're Dead

d nodded, gesturing for him to take it.Chi Jingyuan took it and gave a wry smile.This photo is a group photo of him, his second older brother, and his eldest sister. It was probably taken when they fi..., the Peninsula Asteroid

Through this kind of interaction, the relationship between Ji Jingyuan and Pei Xiuzhi became much closer. When Park Jin-young wasn't around, they would practice singing together and steal glances at each other with smiles. They would also occasionally chat about other things.

Before, when Ji Jingyuan was reading news about Suzy Bae, he thought that even though she was young, she seemed a bit similar to him. She also belonged to the type who had quite some dating experience and was good at getting along with boys. At that time, he also had a feeling of being kept like a goldfish.

Well, if it's fishkeeping, then fishkeeping. It doesn't really matter about the pond scenery anyway. After all, a pretty popular idol isn't being malicious by making a friendly advance, basically, no boy would refuse.

And who raises whom will have to be seen later.

At first, the two of them were sitting quite far apart, but at some point, they gradually moved closer. The atmosphere also became a little bit rosy.

But chat is chat, serious business can't be forgotten either. After practicing for a while, the two of them began to rehearse their duet.

While Ji-yeong himself didn't seem to have any problems, from his perspective, it sounded like Suzy Bae's voice lacked a bit of emotional depth in her singing. It was missing some of the allure and ambiguity.

The melody and rhythm are both on point, but the voice is a bit straightforward, like what people would call a "nasal" voice.

Even though this song has been altered by Chi Jingyuan himself, emphasizing the male vocals and highlighting parts sung by males, if only he were to sing with full emotion while the other lacked expression, it would affect the overall quality of the song. Someone with a discerning ear and experience would immediately notice this dissonance.

However, this is only the first day of practice, and we can't expect too much. Besides, it doesn't really matter if her voice is hoarse or not, as long as the emotions are conveyed well. Maybe Suzy Bae just hasn't gotten into the groove yet.

It wasn't until the sky turned dark that Park Jin-yeong came back and, after guiding them for a while, declared the end of the day.

"Jingyuan, after these few days, you can just come over at the times on the schedule. Just here in this music room, we've also specially cleared out Soo-ji's schedule."

"If I'm not around when you are preparing, the vocal coach will guide you. If there are any disagreements, please defer to Jingyuan's ideas, as she is also a producer."

Let's discuss the bigger issues when I get there.

As the meeting came to an end, Pak Jeung-yeong gave the two people some instructions.

Although he is the producer of this collaborative single, as the company president, he naturally can't spend all his time on this song. Park Jin-young is also very busy, coming once every few days is already considered doing his best.

Just like the producer of EXO's first regular album wrote down Lee Soo Man's name, in reality, Lee Soo Man didn't show up many times throughout the entire process. He was more like a strategist, overlooking the whole situation and occasionally checking in every now and then.

In name only, the producer; in reality, the one who actually does the work is

Park Jin-young can't come to Cheonggye Stream, so he is naturally at ease. This way, he can create this song according to his own wishes and also hone his ability to produce songs.

"Okay, Brother Zhenying, I understand."

Chi Jingyuan nodded, chatted a few more words before getting up and bidding farewell to the two: "Well then, I'll take my leave."

Looking at Bae Suzy facing away from Park Jin-young and winking at him with a "K", Ji Kyeong-won smiled knowingly, gave the two of them a slight bow, and turned to leave.

"Soo-ji, what do you think of Jingyuan"

After Ji Jingyuan left, Park Jin-young looked at his disappearing figure and inexplicably asked Pei Xiuzhi a question.

"Her singing skills are amazing, and she really captured the emotion of this song perfectly. She's way better than me." Bae Suzy thought for a moment before giving her praise.

"I'm not asking about his skill level. I can naturally see Jingyuan's abilities. I'm asking about what others think of him."

Park Jeong-yeong looked at her with a helpless expression. He felt like his talented disciple had become a little foolish.

"He's very handsome and interesting, but..."

Pei Xiuzhi puckered her lips, naturally bringing out her evaluation. At the end, it seemed like she wanted to say something else, but she stopped herself in the end.

Through witnessing Choi Jung-won's assault these past few days and spending most of today with him, Bae Suzy naturally realized that Choi Jung-won wasn't as simple as he appeared on the surface. In fact, he was a person with a big contrast between his personality and inner self, someone very mysterious.

And it was very obvious that the other person had a lot of experience in interacting with the opposite sex. They were definitely not the type to be completely smitten by a beautiful woman and lose their composure.

However, these discoveries made Bae Suzy even more interested, not to mention the fact that the other person's appearance was exactly her favorite type.

"Alright, just keep that in mind..."

Park Jin-young sighed and didn't say much: "This collaboration is still very important. Both I and the company are optimistic about this song. With your two popularity, there's a high probability that it will be a hit. You have to work hard..."

…………

Just yesterday, after revealing the dating news of Yoona, it was predicted that there would be more. As expected, today, January 3rd, another piece of news about a love affair surfaced: Girls' Generation's Choi Sooyoung and actor Jung Kyung Ho.

This time the picture is much clearer, Cui Xiuying and Zheng Jinghao are kissing on it, looking inseparable. Their faces are clearly captured, there's no denying it.

However, looking at the situation, company S didn't seem to have any intention of refuting it. They directly and immediately admitted the relationship between the two people, and even added a blessing.

Although both are members of Girls' Generation, in terms of popularity, national recognition, and influence, Choi Sooyoung is definitely not comparable to Lim Yoona. Therefore, this incident caused far less of a stir than the news explosion from the day before.

But watching the commotion and gossip about it is one thing, today's exposure really made the fans of Girls' Generation, the Sones, truly start to panic.

> Because if there's only news about Lim Yoona and no follow-up, it proves this is an isolated incident. Apart from Yoona, the other members are still considered safe in the eyes of fans.

But as soon as Cui Xiuying appeared, it meant this wasn't a one-off isolated incident at all. A continuous and escalating collapse was right before our eyes.

Many people are panicked, and fans' communities have seen daily exits. Discussions inside are filled with worry and fear.

"Haji, don't come here, please."

"I can still accept if Yoona and Sooyoung are dating, but if Taeyeon gets involved too, I might seriously have to stop being a fan..."

"It's not really like what those black fans say, that Girls' Generation has become a love generation…"

"Don't be so extreme, the sisters have debuted for 7 years, they are totally at the age to start dating, and it's good that Yoona and Sooyoung's partners are also actors. Can't you be more open-minded"

"What the person above said makes a lot of sense, and I know you're right, but sorry, as a sone, I can't stand on an objective standpoint. Go die, Lee Seung Gi!"

Although there are "rational fans," they are few and far between. Most of the fans are not very old, and after investing a lot of emotion and money, many people couldn't accept this situation suddenly, causing widespread panic.

Meanwhile, Chi Jingyuan had just finished reading online news and fans' discussions. He was sitting in the practice room, concerned enough to call Sunny specially.

The Gatekeeper Stands Here

"Nuna, what's going on Are you guys alright Why do you all look like you're about to disband"

Although Chi Jingyuan was indeed quite worried, he always habitually made a few sarcastic remarks to familiar people.

And Sunny, who initially felt warm and comforted by the previous words of concern, couldn't help but retort when she heard the last sentence: "Hey, what are you saying Even if EXO disbanded, Girls’ Generation would never disband!"

"I might be exaggerating a little... but have you not seen how many fan clubs disbanded these past two days"

Indeed, Ji-yeong wasn't lying. Starting from number one, many fan clubs of Girls' Generation have successively shut down, and the phenomenon of fans leaving the fandom is very serious.

Unless your image in the eyes of fans is that of a love expert, and they're used to hearing about your relationships, most idols will experience a huge impact once their love life is exposed.

That is, Girls' Generation has enough blood to hold on for now.

"Well, what can I do The company... sigh..."

Sunny's voice sounded a bit tired, clearly affected by the past couple of days.

It can be heard that in his youth, Sunny was exposed to some unknown secrets. It seems that Sunny is also somewhat dissatisfied with the company.

However, the other party didn't explicitly say anything, and Chi Jingyuan had no intention of probing further. He was just concerned about his friend.

Thinking about it, Ji Jingyuan cautiously asked, "Nu Na, are you currently dating anyone If you're not comfortable with being exposed, I can let the company know..."

"No, I'm not interested in dating right now. I haven't had the mood to find a boyfriend lately." Sunny firmly rejected Ji Jingyuan's proposal, but after hesitating for a second, she softly said, "Thank you."

After hesitating for a moment, Sunny's voice became slightly louder and she continued, "Don't worry, I won't hesitate to ask for your help when I need it, Jingyuan."

"I'm helping out, but I'm not doing this for free. Don't forget to treat me to a meal," Ji Jingyuan reminded the other person righteously.

"Cut it out, you're killing me." Sunny said with a smile, sounding a bit better.

"By the way, Nana, how many members of Girls' Generation are actually dating I'm a die-hard SONE, so let me mentally prepare myself."

Chi Jingyuan asked curiously, he only knew that the majority of his time was spent socializing, but he wasn't quite sure who with.

"Are you our fan Don't be ridiculous..."

Sunny let out a chuckle, but she didn't treat him as an outsider. After thinking for a moment, she said, "As far as I know, besides me and Taeyeon, everyone else probably has a boyfriend. But I'm not really sure about maknae. She usually doesn't tell us about this kind of thing."

"Oh my, it seems the internet was right. Girls' Generation has officially become a 'Love Era'…"

Upon hearing this, Chi Jingyuan couldn't help but sigh.

"Die! You have the audacity to talk about us I won't even mention the other EXO members, but you, how many relationships have you had You know deep down. I may not know the specifics, but I understand your personality. It's just that none of it has been exposed yet…"

Sunny clearly wasn't happy with the name 'Love Era'. She grumbled angrily.

After chatting for a while, they hung up the phone. Later in their conversation, it was revealed that Sunny and Taeyeon were doing fine recently, but she mentioned that this sister, Lim Yoona, seemed to be in a rather gloomy mood.

This sister's career ambition has always been very strong, this time the loss of fans has already impacted her base.

After hanging up the phone, Chi Jingyuan glanced at the people beside him and played with his phone for a while.

At this moment, all twelve members of the group are in the practice room. Everyone is wearing matching orange windproof jackets, preparing for the upcoming reality show filming.

After waiting for a while, the staff members from the program that they had been eagerly anticipating finally arrived. After a brief greeting about the general flow of things, they were ready to begin filming.

EXO's variety show "Exosshowti" has been broadcast until January 2nd yesterday, reaching its sixth episode. Both in terms of viewership and topics discussed, it has greatly satisfied ** Entertainment, the television station, and the program team.

According to viewership survey agencies, the first episode of the variety show achieved a 1.8% rating, and each subsequent episode has been steadily increasing. By yesterday, the sixth episode, the rating had risen to 2.2%, which is already a very good result.

You have to remember that this is just an idol group variety show, both in terms of production and plot, it's nowhere near as good as real television variety shows.

Besides a few memorable and interesting shots, each episode has a significant amount of time spent on awkward conversations among the members. Some members lack in variety show skills, resulting in a mediocre overall program effect.

Moreover, the time slot and TV channel are not ideal either. "" airs on BC's every1-tv channel every Thursday at 6:00 PM, a rather obscure time slot.

But even so, the show's ratings still surpassed those of ordinary variety shows, and after each episode aired, there was a high level of discussion online. It is a level of popularity that variety shows with higher ratings than idol groups cannot match. It can be said that EXO's heat is truly amazing and enviable.

The most interesting thing is that according to authoritative investigations, the variety show 《exosshowti》 has a dominant share of viewers, especially among female audiences, particularly Generation Z.

A survey shows that 58% of Gen Z female viewers watched EXO's variety show, meaning that out of every two Gen Z females on the peninsula, one has seen EXO's variety show.

The title of "ruler" for high school and college students is truly not undeserved. EXO now basically dominates most of the fan market for female teenagers, leaving other boy groups to fight over the rest.

Both viewership and buzz are great, so the company and the TV station are naturally even more supportive, and the members are really into filming as a result.

In the past few periods, Chi Jingyuan wasn't present for several episodes, which has caused dissatisfaction among many viewers. Therefore, this time he will be participating in the entire shoot to ensure sufficient footage.

Today, we will be filming several consecutive episodes focusing on a storyline where all members of EXO go on a trip.

"Actually, this part of the story should have been filmed in the previous two episodes, but the production team specially adjusted the shooting plan for this all-member gathering. They postponed the travel plot, which reflects the group's camaraderie and humor, until today after Ji Kyeongwon joined the shoot."

Today's general plan is for members to gather and prepare for the trip. Then, we'll discuss where to go and have fun. After that, we'll take a car to our destination. First, we'll head to the beach for some games and activities. Then, we'll return to the hostel to rest. Everyone can buy groceries, cook dinner, and chat.

It took a full day and a half to shoot from beginning to end, about the length of two or three episodes. To participate in this variety show, the company specially allocated a day and a half for Park Ji-won, who was originally preparing for a collaboration single with some tension.

After all, as a member of a group, he just appeared in the first two episodes and didn't show his face. It's really hard to explain.

Soon, the camera's operation indicator light flickered on, and under the watchful eyes of the surrounding VJs, P Ds, writers, agents, and assistants, filming officially began.

Twelve members were gathered on a large sofa, some sitting and some lying, their matching wetsuits being quite conspicuous.

Why are we all wearing the same clothes today, and the colors are the same too

He glanced around, pretending to be confused even though he knew what was going on.

Because today we're going to do something we've never done since our debut.

"I've been really looking forward to this, and I'm so glad the opportunity has finally arrived."

"What day is it today"

"3, 2, 1."

"Today is the day we go on a trip, we exo are going on vacation!"

Several members took turns voicing their thoughts on today's topic. In the end, Kim Junmyeon even went so far as to ask and answer himself in an exaggerated manner, which made Ji Changwook couldn't help but burst into laughter.

He's really quite talented at entertainment, he doesn't feel awkward at all.

"When you're going on a trip, you have to choose a destination, right Where are we going" Park Chan-hyeok, as the temporary MC, took the initiative to guide the flow of the conversation.

"Let's go to the snowy mountains. I want to go to the Alps," y said, staring at the camera with a cute and dazed expression.

"Have a warm journey!" This is.

"I want to go to the beach, I've always wanted to," Xiu's eyes lit up, full of anticipation.

"Let's go to Nanshan Tower, I hear it's famous." Han's suggestion made the other members glance at him with strange looks.

Although Nanshan Tower is indeed quite famous, it's actually not very suitable for a group of guys to go together.

“I want to go to grandma’s house.” Bian Bianxian thought for a moment, then winked at the camera.

"Jingyuan, where do you want to go" Park Chan-wook proactively called out to Ji Jingyuan, who was slumped on the very edge of the half-paralyzed sofa.

"Well, can't we just stay put" Chi Jingyuan pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked.

Of course not, this is a journey! A journey!

"Well, haven't you spent enough time in the practice room yet" Several of them immediately shouted at him.

Seeing that there was no way out, Chi Jingyuan looked at them helplessly and said with resignation: "Then I'll go to Brother Berhyen's grandmother's house."

When Bian Boyan heard this, he had a look of agreement on his face. He poked his head out and smiled at Ji Jingyuan, giving him a big thumbs up.

"Then you two should take the opportunity to go together on your vacation, Grandma Park will be so happy..."

Park Chan-wook gave the two people a disdainful look, then clapped his hands and said in a loud voice according to the process: "Okay, each of us writes down the place we want to travel to on a piece of paper. Don't write your name, just the place. After we finish writing, we open them together and guess which member wrote it based on the location. Finally, we combine everyone's opinions."

"Oh no!"

"ok"

The members responded with a sound and then began to write on the prepared slips of paper.

In less than two minutes, he was done. Park Chan-lyeok gathered everyone's slips of paper and placed them on the table, shuffling them randomly. He pulled out one at random, looked at it seriously, and then read it out in a speechless tone: "uhesea, the sea"

"Who is this Going straight into the sea in the middle of winter, are they crazy Who is this person" Park Chan-wook immediately began to complain after reading it, his expression full of disdain. The other members around him also laughed along.

"Who's going out to sea I'll help them." With that, he stood up and looked around with an air of confidence.

"It's me, what's up" Big brother Xiu sat there with his head tilted back, laughing very confidently and looking at Park Chan-wook.

"Kangsan Mida, of course, Xiu Ge is fine." Facing the oldest Xiu, Park Chan-lye immediately wilted and apologized, sitting down hurriedly. He opened the second chapter note and read it aloud while laughing and crying:

Grandma Bo Xian's house is next to the sea.

"Haha…"

"My grandmother's house is in Yangjusan, Gangwon-do. It's surrounded by mountains; there's no sea." Beomgyu stepped forward to dispel the rumors with a helpless tone.

"I can't guess who wrote this!" Everyone was stumped, looking at each other. Finally, tao raised his hand a little awkwardly.

"Why are you writing about this place" Park Chan-wook mimed a microphone and pretended to be interviewing Tao.

"Um, because Brother Bo Hyun and Jing Yuan both want to go to grandma's house, and Xiu ge wants to go to the sea, so I just compromised..." Tao replied in a daze, facing the camera.

"Haha, you're so kind, Kansa Midata." Several people who were called all laughed and thanked him.

"Next is the third one, the Milky Way... who is this messing around Exclude it, fourth one."

He took out another one, scanned it and couldn't help but frown. He read it out word by word: "Seoul Special City Gangnam-gu Cheongdam-dong Seollyeong-ro 190 street 114... a304 room... Where is this"

He couldn't help but murmur to himself.

"This address sounds so familiar..." Kim Jun-myeon took the note and looked at it, feeling a sense of familiarity.

"I also find it very familiar...."

"Cheongdam-dong Seonnyeung-ro 190...Isn't this the address of our company" Doyoung murmured, reflexively voicing it out. His big eyes looked at everyone with a slightly dazed and cute expression.

“Oh, right. This is the address of our company building, Room A304… Hey, isn't this our xo practice room Who wrote this Our travel destination is in the practice room” Han and a few others also reacted, looking around with surprise and disgust.

"No need to ask, I know this for sure, it's definitely written by Jingyuan. Only he would treat the practice room as a travel destination, he must be thinking about playing video games in there."

After hearing this, Park Chan-wook didn't think at all and immediately and decisively selected the culprit.

"Jingyuan, you're usually so lazy, but even on a rare group trip, you have to stay in the practice room"

"You're Jin Tan, aren't you Can you act a little more dashing"

"If you always play games when you have free time, your fans will be disappointed in you..."

Pool Kyung-won, who was attacked with looks and words by eleven other members and the camera, looked quite innocent. It was true that he wrote it, but didn't he have to write down the place he wanted to go He just wanted to stay in the practice room, after all.

"This opinion is void and not taken into account for the final reference. Those in agreement, please raise your hand." Pak Chan-rye directly initiated a vote, with an overwhelming 11 votes effectively eliminating Keonghyeo's suggestion.

"You guys will get what's coming to you." Looking at the eleven men who raised their hands, Ji Jingyuan expressionlessly muttered.

After reading the notes from other members, they combined everyone's opinions and finally chose Gangwon-do East Sea as their travel destination.

Of course, this destination was actually arranged by the program team long ago.

In the final scene, the twelve members stood in two rows, striking a pose unique to this season's variety show. They tilted their bodies while giving a thumbs-up to the right side, and facing the camera they all laughed loudly together as they shouted:

"1, 2, 3."

"Exo's showtime!"

This segment was shot to the max, after they were done posing and hitting their marks, the camera stopped. After PD gave them some pointers on what to watch out for during the next shoot, they got down and hopped into the van, heading straight towards Gangwon-do. Back in the van, the members took control of their own cameras and began the next stage of filming.

This morning, rain began in Seoul and it's only getting heavier. Looking out the window, my vision is blocked by the heavy downpour. The driver has also had to slow down.

However, the bad weather didn't spoil their mood.

"k and both teams took two vans. The other team didn't know what was going on, anyway, the atmosphere on k-team side where Chi Jingyuan was was very good all the way, everyone was in high spirits and sang non-stop."

It can be seen that the mood of each member of this travel group is very good and relaxed this time. Although it is a filming itinerary, it is also considered a relaxing break amidst busyness. At least the trip is not fake.

After they left the Jiangyuan Road entrance, the heavy rain gradually subsided. They found a place to stop and bought some food. The group of people enjoyed their meal of bread, hot dogs, French fries, etc., at the restaurant. Their enjoyment attracted many onlookers who kept taking pictures with their phones.

"Oh my gosh, it's EXO!"

"It's yuan, my gosh..."

Chi Jingyuan had long since mastered the skill of eating in public, unaffected by onlookers or cameras. He filled his stomach without any fuss and let out a satisfied sigh.

After that, they got back in the car and drove for another half hour before finally arriving at their destination this time: the East Coast of Gangwon-do.

While they were eating, the program crew had already arrived. By this time, the cameras had been set up, and filming began as soon as the nanny car stopped.

"Oooo!"

After getting off the bus, the few members who had eaten and drank their fill excitedly howled and ran quickly towards the beach. They reached the waves in one breath, stood there gazing, their faces full of excitement.

As busy as they are every day, the EXO members who are always on the go in big cities, seeing this vast and boundless ocean, and that streak of azure blue where the sky meets the sea, can only feel incredibly relaxed and want to shout out their feelings freely.

While Chi Jingyuan trailed behind slowly, his hands in his pockets and an expression of resignation and indifference on his face, like a spectator who felt nothing for the joy of others.

He wasn't very interested in traveling to begin with, but after a good meal and drink, the sea breeze blowing on him made him feel sleepy.

At this moment, a wave came crashing in. Several people by the beach were shouting and quickly running back. After the wave receded, they chased after it again, playing back and forth with great joy. The entire beach was filled with their excited shouts.

While playing, Park Chan-leek and Xiu looked at each other. During a wave, the two simultaneously grabbed Jin Jun-myeon who was standing nearby, pushing him forward several steps and placing themselves in the middle of the incoming wave. Their lower bodies and shoes were instantly soaked.

"Ugh, ugh, it's so cold." Kim Junmyeon exclaimed in surprise after being pranked, but quickly composed himself. He pretended not to care, frowning and slowly walking up, appearing magnanimous and unbothered by the members' prank.

Then, he saw that the two weren't paying attention and rushed over immediately to seek revenge, but Park Chan-wook and Xiu had anticipated this. They pushed him down again, causing everyone to burst into laughter. This captain was completely stripped of his authority.

Besides, Han, Tao and Bo Xian were also playing together, pushing and shoving each other, trying to tip each other into the water. The atmosphere was very lively.

Ji Jingyuan stood beside, watching the playful members. His originally calm and composed mood was involuntarily infected by the joyful atmosphere. Looking at Kim Jun-Myeon and Tao who were being relentlessly teased, he felt a sense of happiness in his heart as well.

All the boys who are ten years old, when they play with unrestrained joy, it's really quite crazy. That genuine happiness also easily influences others.

At this moment, both Wu Shixun and Do Kyung Soo noticed Park Jiung standing at the back, not participating in the fun, wearing a languid and arrogant expression. The two men exchanged glances, their eyes meeting with a knowing spark.

They casually, slowly walked up to Chi Jingyuan's side. Taking advantage of his inattention, as a wave crashed down, the two of them exerted force together, laughing and pushing Chi Jingyuan directly into the water.

"Hiss..."

The icy seawater instantly soaked his shoes, and his feet were immediately met with a bone-chilling cold that made him gasp in surprise.

He stood in the shallow waves, watching a few people laughing and waving at him from afar without a hint of fear. He couldn't help but lower his head, shaking it gently, then suddenly let out a wry smile.

Then, Ji Jingyuan raised his head, his eyes sharp and fierce. He didn't care about his wet shoes and socks anymore, and he charged straight towards Wu Shixun and Do Kyungsoo. Facing the two who immediately scattered and ran away, he ran while shouting angrily:

"Don't run! Don't run!"

You're all going to die! No one is leaving here with dry shoes today!

This novel is first published on Traditional Chinese Novels Website.lls.He doesn't believe that after over a year, he's still lost near the company.If Tzuyu gets lost again, then either she's doing it on purpose, or she really isn't very bright.Ji Jingyuan naturally w...