Chapter Twenty-Nine: You're Welcome

ponsible for managing online reviews, and if the group wasn't profitable, it was the company that should be worried.He quietly withdrew from the discussion about the bad reviews and took a break on th..."What use are you"

Lying in her bedroom, sitting on the bed with a face mask on, Zhou Tzuyu wasn't letting go of any opportunity to whiten her skin. When she saw a few words displayed on the screen, she paused for a moment, then wrinkled her nose and let out a light snort. The original smooth blue face mask now had some wrinkles, and she glared at her phone with anger, quickly typing on the screen: "How could you be so..."

She was about to type something, but then her hand stopped. She paused for a moment before quickly hitting the backspace key, deleting everything she had just typed. After thinking for a few seconds, she softly pursed her lips and sent back another message: "Should I ask for you"

Although she wasn't entirely sure, Zhou Tzuyu felt her mother probably knew. Having learned that Ji Jingyuan had gone to Wanwan to find a place for late-night snacks, as a half host, she suddenly felt a surge of passionate mission in her heart. She felt that she should play a positive guiding role in Ji Jingyuan's trip to Wanwan.

Unfortunately, a couple of messages that came through just seconds later drained away her excitement like a burst dam.

"Never mind, the members looked it up online and already found a place,"

"

No more for now.

"

"Cut."

Some cold, impersonal words instantly extinguished the enthusiasm in her heart. Even with a face mask on, Tzuyu couldn't help but purse her lips and let out a snort, venting her frustration as she tossed her phone onto the bed. She picked up a plump Pikachu plush toy from beside her bed and started fiddling with it.

In less than two minutes, she kept glancing at the phone not far away from time to time. There was always an urge to pick up her phone and send a message to Chi Jingyuan, asking what he was eating now.

Twenty minutes later, Zhou Tzuyu took her phone to the washroom and removed her face mask. She gently washed her face clean. Just as she was wiping her face with a towel, the phone beside her suddenly rang twice. She hurriedly picked up her phone, and unsurprisingly, it was a message from Ji Kyeongwon.

Upon opening it, there were many pictures of late-night snacks.

Braised pork rice, meatball soup, and oyster omelet, each of them are well-known local delicacies. These are the foods that Zhou Tzuyu used to eat frequently before coming to the Peninsula.

A warm smile gradually appeared on her face, her dimples playfully bouncing out. However, there was a slight haze in her eyes as if she were lost in reminiscence.

A few seconds later, another message came through, this time it was a selfie.

In the photo, Chi Jingyuan is looking at the camera with a smile, happily holding and eating a round ball. His expression looks very enjoyable and delicious, making people drool.

Zhou Ziyu immediately knew he was eating shaobing, a common street food in a very ordinary district.

A smile returned to her face, and she picked up her phone, typing quickly: "It looks so delicious, I want to eat it too (drooling)."

"Then I won't give it to you."

"Cut."

Chi Jingyuan's reply came quickly, still not to her liking. Zhou Tzuyu saw it and let out a light hum again, but this time it was noticeably more cheerful than before.

…………

Early the next morning, a large contingent from Company S arrived at the Hsinchu County Stadium for rehearsals and walkthroughs.

This concert was the first S Family Concert held in 2015, but it's still part of their fourth "TOWN" World Tour which began last year. Both the program and flow were pretty much the same as previous shows, so it's considered part of the same tour cycle.

Ji Jingyuan still has a duet with Sun Shengwan's "allforyou", as well as a collaborative stage performance with Sun Shengwan, na, and henrry.

As one of the mainstays, their stage performance was also similar to last year. Besides the many collaborative performances by members, EXO had a six-song stage as a whole group. The only difference this year is that they replaced "Love Shot" with "Call Baby".

Last year, I've already participated in four performances. The specific stage and process are all quite similar, everyone is actually already very familiar with it. Morning rehearsals were quickly finished, during the break, all the idols gathered in groups of three or two, waiting for lunch and the second rehearsal in the afternoon.

Pool Jingyuan and several members found a random spot on the bleachers to the left of the stage. They sat there, overlooking the busy crew members on stage and the scenery in the venue, while simultaneously fiddling with their phones and texting Zhou Tzuyu.

It seems like it was Pool Jingyuan's arrival that made Wanwan more lively and enthusiastic. After Zhou Tzuyu found out, she became quite active and passionate. Last night, after Tzuyu left her both angry and craving food, this morning she took the initiative to message him. However, just now EXO has been rehearsing and didn't have a chance to reply. It's only now that they finally had some free time.

Chi Jingyuan glanced at the text message she had sent him before, and casually replied: "Have you started recording"

Just now Tzuyu brought up their survival show program. After preparing for so long, it finally started official filming.

"Yeah, for a while before they chose the contestants, the company started special training. We've been practicing the opening dance the whole time. Yesterday, we finally started filming makeup and recording the opening dance. After the opening dance is finished, we'll start officially recording the show and forming groups."

"The director said it should be officially broadcast in May, and there might be one or two episodes recorded before the premiere."

It seemed like Tzuyu was under a lot of pressure, and she clearly wanted to talk. Jiyeong happened to be free and bored, glancing at Park Chan-ryeol and Beon Baekhyun who were arguing beside him because someone had played League of Legends badly last time. He scoffed and muttered two words of contempt, then propped his legs up and tapped the screen: "Group"

“Well, the rules of the program have been released…”

"This survival audition show will divide all the trainees participating into two groups, A-major and O-major. Each episode will have a mission for us to complete, and Park Jin-young PD will regroup us based on everyone's performance. Those who perform well will go to A-major, and those who perform poorly will go to O-major."

And each period will eliminate one person, only those who survive to the end can debut, it's super cruel!

Major, professional

'Or, a few minor ones'

池景源 silently repeated the names of the two groups, savoring the rules of this survival program. He nodded in agreement with Zhou Tzuyu's statement, acknowledging that every episode involved sending people to the "bottom tier group" and eliminating one person. It was indeed quite ruthless.

Especially the participants are all teenagers, like Zhou Tzuyu born in 1999 is only sixteen or seventeen years old this year. It's said that there are even some who were born after 2000, a few years younger than her. These little kids suddenly got chosen to compete with each other and then ruthlessly eliminated one by one.

Almost every performance in this program relates to years of hard work and sweat. Once eliminated, the chance to debut will disappear instantly. Just thinking about it feels quite torturous.

But speaking of which, the K-Pop music industry on the peninsula is indeed merciless. It's rare for ordinary people to enter major companies as trainees, and even rarer to persevere through years of training and successfully debut. Even if they succeed in their debut, achieving fame and recognition, becoming a top-tier group or an idol with widespread popularity is incredibly difficult, heavily reliant on both the company's management and luck.

The competition is really fierce.

exo was selected from among the many young male trainees at s company. Although池景源 did not experience the torment and hardship of that time, he occasionally hears members reminiscing and complaining about the selection competition. From their tone, one can imagine how cruel it must have been.

This is also because Chi Jingyuan just joined the company, and because he was an "airdropped" soldier, he wasn't well-received by some people. The more he experienced this, the more he disliked these kinds of relationship holders.

Honestly, it's also quite good to let these female trainees get in touch with the reality of the industry early on. Being eliminated, or realizing that they are not suitable for this line of work, is an opportunity to switch companies and seek other opportunities for debuting earlier, or simply leave the industry to pursue other careers or go back to school. This can be considered as taking losses ahead of time.

But if it were Tzuyu Zhou...

Thinking of this 'young' friend of his, Chi Jingyuan's previous nonchalance felt a little dry. He stared at the phone screen for a few seconds, fell silent.

"...As for my A-Mu Mu, she's totally fine. Your Yin Ze Rui just hides in the back and doesn't even try to get involved. Why blame me"

Park Chan-wook's somewhat excited voice reached Park Kyung-won's ears, bringing him back to his senses. He turned his head to glance at the two people who were arguing more and more fiercely, seeming about to fight, as well as Woo Se-hoon standing beside them, constantly adding fuel to the fire, and Do Kyungsoo watching the commotion with a smirk.

After quietly watching them for a few seconds, Ji Jingyuan lowered his head and typed: "How many people are participating in your program How many can debut in the end"

"Sixteen, I never told you that, did I"

Hearing this question, Zhou Tzuyu seemed to be stunned for a moment, and then hurriedly followed up with a message: "There are sixteen people in total. The name of our program is called , and I think the final debut group will be seven people. That's what the room manager told me."

"Wow, the others are really amazing. Some girls seem to be very favored by the company and teachers, and some have already been practicing for ten years! Ten years... However, there's also someone who has only been practicing for a year. I guess my level is average."

"By the way, my makeup photos are done. Want to see them"

When Chi Jingyuan was looking at the two text messages in front of him, he was still thinking that the name "sixteen" was too casual to be named directly after the number of people. At the same time, he was also thinking about the mechanism of selecting seven out of sixteen, which seemed to have a relatively high chance of winning. Then, Zhou Tzuyu sent the last message.

He smiled after seeing it, didn't think twice and sent a "no look" back. Unexpectedly, just one second after he sent it, the other party sent the photo over right away.

Just send it if you want to, why bother asking It's really unnecessary.

As expected, when Zhou Tzuyu saw “don't look,” she wasn't happy and sent an emoji:

“(Eyes widen).”

Chi Jingyuan ignored her and took a look at the selfie she had sent, which showed her makeup.

The lighting when the picture was taken was a little distorted, and he couldn't quite tell if Zhou Tzuyu's hair color was red or brown. She was wearing a black crop top and had two metal chains hanging around her neck; it wasn't clear what style or intention they served.

In the photo, she had made up her face and was staring intensely at the camera with slightly tilted head and a slight smile as if trying hard to make herself look prettier and showing off an idol vibe. But for some reason, Ji Jingyuan always felt a hint of silliness on her face.

"Is this the hairstyle JYP's DY did for you"

"Right What do you think (smiling face)"

"How does this feel so rustic, is JYP's aesthetic like this"

“...”

"(Angry)."

Pool scenery Yuan's real sensory input didn't satisfy Zhou Tzuyu, and it might even have annoyed her. After returning an expression, she couldn't say a word for half a day.

"Goodness me, how did you end up here It took us ages to climb up..."

Just as he was complaining that this little brat couldn't handle the truth, several familiar yet slightly breathless voices, along with some heavy footsteps, came from afar, interrupting Park Chan-yeol and Beon Baekhyun who were still arguing endlessly about facts and figures. They also caught Ji Chang-wook's attention.

Looking up, I saw several members of the senior group SJ: Donghae, Eunhyuk, Shin Dong and Taeyong were all there. Other EXO members like Kim Junmyeon also followed behind. The group chatted and laughed as they walked towards us.

And among them, the child prodigy was still carrying a camera, dressed like a VJ.

"This scenery is nice, and it's really comfortable to be able to enjoy the breeze." Chi Jingyuan and a few others stood up, greeted these guys with smiles, then glanced at the fully armed Shentong, curiously saying, "Brother, are we going to film right here"

"Location doesn't matter, anywhere will do, as long as people come."

The child prodigy waved his hand to indicate that these were secondary matters, and then looked at the several members of EXO with some exaggeration: "Wuli EXO is really on fire now, we couldn't even find time before. Today's town is a little empty because of this."

"Indeed, it's a trend." Li Donghai also somewhat agreed and praised with a slight complaint: "So we haven't recruited anyone yet."

"Hahaha…"

"Ani oh, ani oh, that's exaggerating so much, bro." Exo burst into laughter and quickly shook his head to deny it. Kim Jun-myeon couldn't bear the weight anymore and lowered his arm from Sehun's shoulder, hastily explaining a few things.

A few people from sj came to ask exo for help taking a picture of v.

The sub-unit composed of SJ's Sea and Eunhyuk, 'de', released their first mini album on March 9th, coinciding with EXO's comeback. However, the response was lukewarm at best, essentially overshadowed by EXO's 'Call Baby'.

These two might be doing this because they like it, or maybe to give back to their fans. They want to film some music videos for a few of the tracks on the album and put them online to promote the re-released version of the album which comes out on the 24th.

It's a pity that s company doesn't seem to be very optimistic about this small team. They haven't invested much in resources, and even the application for reshooting v wasn't approved.

But SJ, after all these years as a senior idol, is no longer a rookie who does whatever the company says. When the company doesn't give them resources, they take matters into their own hands. They mobilized many friends they knew within the company to act, and Shin Dong, who has always been interested in photography and has been learning, took on the role of director. With a makeshift crew, they started filming.

They asked EXO to shoot a music video for a song called "YouFeelIt (觸)". They already told Ji-sung and the others a few days ago, but EXO was too busy at the time and couldn't make it.

It's said they didn't just look for EXO, they practically contacted every single group in the company. Even senior artists like Boa and newly debuted Red Velvet weren't spared.

No one would refuse this small favor from a senior colleague in the same company, it's just one or two shots anyway.

"It's very simple, just ChanYeol, the four of you stand right here and dance, just like I demonstrated to you before..." A few people went to an empty space next to the stands and started filming. PD Chindong explained the process while putting his hands on his head, sticking out his index fingers and shaking them constantly, and doing a couple of jumps in place to demonstrate for them.

He was slightly overweight, and when he jumped up in place, the fat on his body and face wobbled. His index finger twitched above his head like rabbit ears, but his expression remained very serious and solemn. It was all incredibly awkward to watch.

"That's right, we practiced this privately," the child prodigy said. It was really comical seeing him like that, and a few people burst out laughing.

"Ok!" The child prodigy gave a nonchalant thumbs-up and looked at Ji Jingyuan, continuing, "Then Jingyuan, you appear from the left side of the camera and cross horizontally. You don't need to jump, just wave your hands over your head."

"I got it." Chi Jingyuan smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

It's really simple, just one shot, no difficulty requirements and the standard is very low, the only requirement is that you need to look like you're having a lot of fun, the more crazy the better.

Every take only took a couple of minutes, and after just two or three takes, the director Shin Dong Pyo called it. He and some people, including Choi Tae Joon, watched the footage and smiled with satisfaction. Then he started thanking them by clapping on their shoulders and showering them with oily compliments about their acting.

"Don't just talk big, brother. When you have time, let's grab a meal together." Kim Jun-myeon wouldn't fall for that, he laughed and made a request instead.

"No problem, just pick a place to eat whatever you want, and after you're done, have Eun-Hye pay the bill." Lee Dong-hae gave a thumbs up, casually taking care of everything without even asking Silver.

A few people in the stands laughed and chatted for a while. After a few minutes, there was another crisp sound of footsteps. Ji Jingyuan turned his head to look, only to see the five members of Red Velvet walking over in a line, their five shining golden hair seemed to be shining in the sun.

But after only a few steps, it seemed that Pei Zhuhyun, who was originally in second place, had noticed something. She noticeably slowed her pace and quickly fell to last place.

She followed Park Soo-ryeon, who was in front, being blocked tightly. She lowered her head and quickly fiddled with her hair in front of her face. She smoothed the thick golden bangs that had gathered on her forehead to the sides of her cheeks. After rubbing her forehead vigorously, she raised her head again and quickened her pace.

Today's red velvet stage outfit is the same one from the "icecreacake" music video. The prepared clothes on Irene, with her blonde ponytail swinging back and forth as she walked, looked very stylish. Her plain blue sweater had yellow and blue striped sleeves, white shorts showed off her smooth legs, and blue and white striped long waist socks were paired with white sneakers. She looked fresh and clean, radiating a youthful and lively feeling.

To be honest, in the v of 《icecreacake》, Ji Changwook thought that Park Soo-ah looked best in this outfit.

"Were you guys also called to shoot a video"

After greeting and chatting with the seniors, Park Soo-hyun took the initiative to walk a few steps and sat next to Ji Kyeong-won. Ji Kyeong-won glanced at her because her bangs were pushed aside, revealing only a few tufts of fluffy hair on her forehead, and casually asked.

"Yeah, I definitely had to come if a senior asked for help." Pei Zhuxuan nodded, then looked at Jiang Seqi and the others who were already jumping around, she also pointed her index finger on her head and drew two circles, giggling: "The choreography for this song is really interesting."

"Indeed." Chi Jingyuan, seeing this, also mimicked the surrounding environment with a few gestures. He placed his hands on his head and looked at the two people who were staring at each other like rabbits, giving a gentle smile.

A family concert by the S Family kicked off at 4:00 PM on at Hsinchu County Stadium.

As the hottest group under the company's wing right now, EXO performed a total of five songs: "EedYou", "AA", "Growl", "Wolf & Beauty", and "Call Baby". They had the most stage performances out of all the groups today, not including their individual collaborations.

To be honest, Exo's solo showcase stages are about this long. A normal performance, whether it's Park Chanyeol or any other member, is tiring enough. After "Call Baby" ended, they seemed relieved and were drinking water and catching their breath backstage.

After more than an hour of performances, the concert was nearing its end. The final act was TVXQ's performance of "catch," which marked the conclusion of the main setlist. The concert ended with "hope," a closing song performed by all members.

This iconic h.o.t. classic track has become a staple for S-family concerts, a moment that will always be remembered. Every concert ends with all the idols appearing together on stage to sing this song, dispersing around and interacting with the audience. It's both a farewell and a thank you.

At this time, everyone also changed into the same style of family short sleeves. The white mirror-faced short sleeve printed a pink bear pattern, with '2015stownlive' written on the bear's belly.

This is also the uniform that gets changed every time it ends. Chi Jingyuan remembers when he last wore this outfit, there was a ‘2014’ written on it.

As the music swelled, EXO made their entrance onto the main stage in groups. They moved to the center as they sang, waving and interacting with the audience. Everywhere Sehun went, screams erupted, countless fans reaching over the barriers with outstretched hands, shaking them excitedly, hoping for a high five.

And Chi Jingyuan did not disappoint his fans. He squinted with a smile, reaching out and quickly running past the railing in front of him, touching most fans' hands as if to shake them. For a moment, the fans were satisfied, and their cheers erupted even louder.

"It was always by my side, without realizing how important it was."

“Those precious people who are always by my side.”

"..."

As the music faded and the song came to an end, the idols returned to the stage to prepare for their curtain call. All of them gathered in several directions, forming lines and holding hands as they bowed and greeted the audience.

The EXO members weren't all together yet. Pool Kyung-won and four other members stood at the front of the left side of the main stage, waving to the crowd below while waiting for the other idols to come over and prepare for the final farewell. At this moment, Park Chan-yeol, who was originally standing to Pool Kyung-won's right, seemed to have seen something. He proactively gave up his position and kept grinning as he waved towards the side, as if beckoning someone to come over and stand there.

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Ji Jingyuan had been interacting with the audience below and hadn't noticed anything. A few seconds later, a faint scent wafted over, and he realized that someone had replaced the person beside him at some point. Pei Zhuxuan with golden pigtails stood beside him looking fresh and lively, seemingly ignoring him as she waved to the audience below nonstop.

Ji Jingyuan's gaze swept past, discovering the three members of Red Velvet who had walked over to his side under Park Chan-nyeol's call. They stood in a line beside him. After noticing Ji Jingyuan's eyes, Park Chan-nyeol gave him a "no need to thank me" expression and raised an eyebrow at him. His sunny smile contained a clear hint of provocation. After a glance, he took the initiative to stand on the edge of the line, to Park Soo-young's right, and started waving.

Chi Jingyuan knew what he meant and smiled inwardly.

As the last music faded, countless silver sparkles began to drift from the ceiling of the venue, like snowflakes and moonlight merging together, bathing the glittering stage in a touch of ethereal beauty. At the same time, all the idols from S family on stage, along with those beside them, held hands and bowed deeply to the audience in gratitude.

Ji Jingyuan and (redacted) held hands very naturally, but just looking at the wrinkles of their fingerprints and how tightly they fit together, it seemed like they were holding on a little tighter than others.

With a graceful bow, Bae Suzy appeared composed on the surface but her heart pounded with an unexpected surge. She couldn't help but feel a sudden, strange mix of shyness and warmth creeping up to her cheeks as some rather intimate thoughts and assessments flitted across her mind:

"Warm… and a little sweaty…"

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