Chapter 74: Ziyu

considering the development of the group, we have decided to withdraw you from the EXO project and re-train as a trainee at the company."Kim Young-min announced Wu Saek's death sentence without any em...After the concert ended and the audience began to leave, Zhou Tzuyu walked slowly down the aisle, lagging behind the crowd with no sense of urgency. She occasionally glanced back at the stage and the still-lit screen displaying the exologo, seemingly lingering on the memories of the performance.

But besides that, she occasionally took out her phone to glance at it, wondering what she was looking for.

Suddenly, my cell phone buzzed. I picked it up and was thrilled. My expression immediately became animated.

"Not yet, there are too many people. I was just waiting in line."

Chi Jingyuan just sent it out a few seconds ago, and the reply came back almost immediately. It's estimated that the girl has been looking at her phone all along.

"Want to come backstage and take a look"

Fast typing sending. The reason I suddenly thought of this, besides the fact that all the other members went to meet their friends and family, is also because Ji-seong suddenly remembered that during a previous conversation, Zhou Tzuyu seemed to have mentioned that she was very interested in the backstage of the performance during one tour.

I'm just idle now, thinking that she is still alone.

"Right now Can we" The tone held a playful lilt, clearly indicating excitement.

"Where are you now"

"Preparing to leave from the exit in district D." Zhou Tzuyu glanced at the road sign ahead, then stopped moving. She lowered her head and replied quickly.

"That's not too far, don't go out, just walk back and take the circle outside to the d-zone exit. There's a very obvious sign there, wait at that spot."

"Okay, I understand!"

Having agreed on a location, Ji Jingyuan slipped his phone into his pocket. He took out a mask and hat from his bag, put them on to disguise himself, and quickly walked out the door.

After a period of orderly dispersal, most of the audience in the gymnastics arena had left. The venue, which was crowded just moments ago, now felt much emptier. Only a few scattered fans remained, strolling and chatting, perhaps reluctant to leave or having special reasons for staying until the very end.

This time the venue was planned with areas classified as a, b, c and so on. The area d where Zhou Tzuyu is located is closer to the stage, and the entrance and exit are also nearby, not far away.

He walked briskly all the way to Chijingyuan and didn't encounter a few groups of people, so he arrived at the agreed-upon location soon.

>>>As I turned the corner, I saw a sign reading 'D Area' hanging above, and below it, a familiar figure stood by the left side of the wall.

Even standing by the wall, she didn't lean against it, instead stretching her waist straight and standing tall. From several meters away, you could tell she had excellent posture. At this time, Zhou Tzuyu, carrying a small bag to the side, covered her phone with both hands in front of her, scanning left and right with her big eyes, occasionally raising her phone to take a peek.

She wasn't sure if she heard the footsteps or if it was just a good understanding between them, but as soon as Chi Jingyuan turned around, she happened to look over too. After seeing Chi Jingyuan who was disguised well, she immediately recognized him at first glance and grinned, waving happily.

Taking two steps closer, Chi Jingyuan watched Zhou Tzuyu getting closer and closer. The girl was wearing that very favorite penguin baseball cap, her long brown hair cascading down from both sides. Her black and white striped short sleeve looked quite simple, but the smiling face pattern on the left side of her chest added a touch of childlike feeling. However, the slightly tight fit did outline a hint of the girl's growing curves.

She wore shorts that weren't past her knees, exposing her healthy and slender calves. Standing straight made her legs look even longer. She had a pair of flat shoes with a V-shape on them, revealing the white edge of her boat socks around her ankles. Coupled with her bent big eyes and smiling face, a sense of youthful vivacity came rushing over you.

Overall, his attire was still nothing special. Just glancing at Zhou Tzuyu's black short-sleeved shirt, Ji Jingyuan couldn't help but look down at the suit he was wearing...

It's just the black short-sleeve shirt they specially changed into for the final stage of the previous concert. It's also black with white lettering, and on the chest is 'EXO's several English letters and combination logo. They came back to the present and didn't have time to change clothes.

If you don't look closely at the differences in the patterns, their clothes look just like a couple's outfit of the same style at first glance.

It's just that I find it a little interesting. Ji Jingyuan didn't dwell on this either, quickly walked to Zhou Tzuyu's side, and facing the happy and laughing opponent, he took a look but nodded his chin, frowning slightly and saying with disdain:

"They all told me not to come, who would go to a concert"

"Heh heh..."

Chou Tzu-yu smiled at him with her front teeth without getting annoyed at all. After being teased twice, she had already figured out that Ji Jingyuan was just joking around.

“Why not get a familiar friend to come over” Chi Jingyuan beckoned her to follow, then turned and walked down the corridor towards the backstage, saying at the same time: “You said you were good friends with Song Minying, and you even lived in the same room as roommates, right”

"Hmm... I don't think this is quite right." She shook her head gently and didn't say more.

Because of her personality and nationality, Tzuyu didn't have many friends at JYP. Plus, she wasn't very attractive a couple years ago when she hadn't grown into herself yet—just a young, innocent little black girl with no charm. Her circle of acquaintances was just a few familiar Chinese trainees, but unfortunately, many of them have already left JYP.

After joining "Sixteen", things were even more so. Before that, they weren't very familiar with each other. For the sake of debuting, everyone was in a competitive relationship, either pushing each other out of their position or being pushed out themselves. It was already quite good to be able to act harmoniously on camera. 池景源 (Park Ji-won) said that they didn't communicate much in private and there weren't many laughing groups. Only after the group formation did they have more conversations with the trainees in their own group, becoming more familiar with each other.

"How come you suddenly want to take me backstage" Zhou Tzuyu followed Ji Jingyuan step by step, not walking side by side but slightly falling half a body length behind. At the same time, she proactively changed the subject, looking up curiously at the other person.

Didn't you say last time that you really wanted to go in and have a look

Chi Jingyuan casually said, turning his head to glance at her for a second. He couldn't bear to see the girl's face brighten up all of a sudden, and then he waved his hand: "But mostly it's because I'm free right now."

"Hehehe..."

Pretending she hadn't heard what came after, Zhou Tzuyu couldn't help but smile and quickened her pace to catch up.

The two of them chatted casually as they walked back along the corridor, their voices deliberately kept low. Occasionally, if they encountered someone passing by who hadn't left the audience area yet, like Jingyuan, they would stop talking and quicken their pace so as not to be recognized by fans.

This disguise might work on ordinary people, but it's not enough for fans. Many fans can recognize their idols just by looking at their backs, even without seeing their faces. For example, there was a time when Kim Taeyeon went out privately, covering herself up completely except for one eye. However, a fan behind her recognized her based on her ankles.

Today, most of the people who came to the concert were EXO fans and they are all very familiar with Ji-sung. Especially when he came out, he forgot to change his clothes, it was a little careless.

> However, luckily by this time most of the people in the whole venue had already dispersed.

"Is that song 'boywithlove' your new release next month"

"Well, that's the main point."

"It sounds so good, I can sing it after just one listen, oh my my my~~"

"Out of tune..."

"Huh"

He dealt a merciless blow to Zhou Tzuyu, who had arrogantly dared to speak up. Seeing the other's astonished and pained expression, Ji Jingyuan couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Just then, from the corner ahead, came a somewhat disarrayed sound of footsteps, along with a few snatches of Korean conversation. Upon hearing this, Zhou Tzuyu immediately shut her mouth and stopped speaking, silently following forward.

Only when Chi Jingyuan heard the voice did a strange expression appear on his face. Although he hadn't seen who it was yet, he already knew.

As expected, a few figures walked out from the corner after two seconds. At a glance, it was clear that they were members of Red Velvet. Bae Joohyun and Kim Yeri were walking at the front, holding hands and talking to Jiang Seulgi and Son Seungwan behind them. Judging by their conversation, they were discussing the stage of their just-finished concert.

"Hmm..."

Both sides exchanged a glance. Pei Zhuxuan saw him at first sight, and the three members beside her also saw Ji Jingyuan's figure and were stunned for a moment.

Even with a mask and hat, this disguise was completely useless against her familiar friends and loved ones. They recognized him at once. Bae Joo-hyun's eyes lit up and a smile appeared as if she wanted to greet him, but immediately afterward they saw Tzuyu trailing behind Ji-won, revealing her fair face and looking over as well.

Seeing this familiar face and that chubby hat, several people's expressions immediately became lively.

Pei Zhuxuan's gaze swept back and forth between Park Ji-won and Zhou Tzuyu's black short sleeves, a smile still remained on her face, but she didn't speak. She blinked and kept looking at him.

"What a coincidence"

I could feel a strange atmosphere, but Ji Jingyuan seemed very natural. He looked at the faces of his several friends, then glanced around to make sure there were no other ordinary spectators. Then he simply took off his mask and proactively greeted everyone.

He switched from Chinese to Korean just now, and also slowed down his speech a bit.

"Oh, Jingyuan! We were just talking about you guys…"

It seems that with the previous strange atmosphere broken, Jiang Shubi let out a sigh of relief and walked over with a bright smile: "Because there were too many people just now, we specifically waited until the end, after most people left their seats, before leaving. I didn't expect to meet you here, it's really a coincidence."

"Who is this relative" Jiang Shubei looked at Zhou Tzuyu, smiling and nodding curiously.

She didn't have a deep impression of Zhou Tzuyu, she just felt slightly familiar, but couldn't remember where she had seen her.

But Pei Zhuhyun felt that the scene suddenly had a sense of déjà vu. She looked up and glanced at the pattern on Zhou Tzuyu's hat, before Ji-yeong could introduce them, she smoothed her hair and looked at Zhou Tzuyu, smiling proactively: "Is... Tzuyu xi"

"Oh, oh" Chou Tzu-yu, startled by being called her name, quickly responded and politely bowed.

She knows Red Velvet and has a pretty good impression of the members, including Irene.

"Her Korean isn't very good..." Ji Kyeong-won turned his head to glance back, then looked at Bae Joo-hyeon with a hint of surprise. "You actually remember her"

“Of course, we saw it at the showcase before, and you even introduced it. ” Although she didn't take the initiative to greet Tzuyu when they first met because of the sudden appearance of Tzuyu, her expression throughout the process was very natural, with a beautiful smile on her face. When she heard this, she glanced at Ji-won playfully, then winked at Tzuyu and smiled, while also thoughtfully slowing down her speaking speed.

"Ji-yu Xi, JYP's trainee, we saw each other at the showcase back in 2013, didn't we You guys forgot" She turned around and whispered to the two members behind her, then leaned into Kim Ye Rin's ear and introduced in a low voice: "A relative of Kyung Won..."

"Oh, I remember now." Upon hearing this, Jiang Sheqi and Sun Shengwan looked at each other, reminiscing for a moment before quickly remembering.

Although the impression wasn't deep, and they were just trainees from other companies whom she didn't know, because of Park Jinyoung's close relationship with them, they weren't putting on airs at all. They warmly smiled and waved to Tzuyu.

"Annyeonghaseyo..."

"Annyeonghaseyo..."

They greeted each other, but Ji-yeong could clearly feel that Zhou Tzuyu, despite being a trainee, seemed a little uncomfortable facing the senior sisters who had already debuted and exuded a star quality. Even though they smiled warmly, she was still fidgety and kept bowing when greeting them.

"Jing Yuan, your first performance was amazing! The lighting and stage design were so unique, the atmosphere was really great. Out of all the concerts I've seen, this one definitely takes the cake for both atmosphere and stage effects..."

"This is the first time I've heard the studio version of 《boywithlove》, it's amazing..."

"You said this song sounds good, or does the feat sound better"

"Aha ha ha, they're all so good! So good!"

We happened to bump into each other, so we chatted for a while. Sun Sheng and a few others looked very satisfied after the concert, expressing many thoughts and feelings. As soon as they talked about it, they got excited, admiring and praising the previous opening performance with a hint of envy.

After a few words, most of the audience in the venue had also dispersed. Pei Zhuxuan looked around at the already quiet hall, turned her head and glanced at Zhou Tzuyu behind Ji Jingyuan with the corner of her eye. She shook her fringe, as if she had just remembered, and asked with curious eyes: "By the way, what are you..."

She tilted her chin up, meaning was very clear.

"Oh, this is a break time, Tzuyu just happened to be alone, let's take her backstage for a little tour, the trainees haven't seen it yet..."

It seemed like Ji Changwook sensed something and followed Pyo Ji-hye's gaze, glancing back involuntarily. His eyes finally landed on Zhou Ziyu's hat, a knowing smile playing on his lips. However, he didn't elaborate further, only offering a simple explanation.

"Oh, like that..." Jeon Hae-in nodded in understanding, not feeling anything out of place at all. She seemed to sense Tzuyu behind Ji Kyung-won was secretly watching her, and even raised her head to give the other a gentle smile.

Ji Jingyuan glanced at the several friends of Lai Debebe, especially Jin Yilin who had been unusually quiet since they met. He sensed that she wasn't as lively as before. Noticing the flicker of interest in her eyes when she heard "visit tomorrow," he paused for two seconds before taking the initiative to ask: "Are you guys going"

“

I…” Kim Yeoreum, who had always been a bit quiet, seemed genuinely interested. Before she could even speak, however, Rosé winked at her with a smile and waved her hand dismissively in a captain-like manner: “Let it be, I won’t disturb you two. You don’t get many chances like this, so take Tzuyu for a walk.”

"

"Most of the audience has already left, so let's go too. See you later." As she said this, she turned back to greet her younger sisters, and after bidding farewell to Jiang Sike and the others, she turned around and took the lead, stepping forward. At the same time, with her back facing her sisters, she gently tucked a strand of hair from her temples behind her ear in front of Zhou Tzuyu, lightly wrinkled her nose towards Ji Kyeong-won, glanced at him, flicked her hair, and passed by him.

"How come, you don't know them"

After Red Velvet left, Ji-sung took Tzuyu a few steps into the backstage area. Seeing that she seemed to be still thinking about what just happened, he spoke up and asked her.

“No, of course I know them, they’re Red Velvet members! They were really popular recently. We even learned the dance to ‘Ice Cream Cake’.” Zhou Tzuyu shook her head in denial and then curiously asked, “I’m just curious if some seniors came to watch the concert too”

“Yeah, they’ve been pretty free lately too, except for Park Soo-young who has some personal schedule… Oh right, their tickets were also from me.” Ji Kyeong nodded without thinking much, the two had already walked into the backstage. He explained briefly then pointed towards a few rooms ahead and said, “Those are our dressing rooms, just wait there until the show starts.”

"Do you change clothes there too" After receiving the answer, she didn't pay any more attention to their previous encounter. Zhou Tzuyu blinked her eyes and looked in the direction pointed by Chi Jingyuan ahead of her, asking a rather childish and silly question.

Chi Jingyuan couldn't help but glance at her: "She usually stays there, but during performances, because time is tight, the assistant will take the clothes out in advance and change them directly near the lift platform. After changing, she'll go straight to the backstage."

"Oh, is that so!" she nodded obediently. Many things around her were quite novel to Zhou Tzuyu.

On stage, he is a dazzling and dashing idol. But behind the scenes, it's a completely different story.

“This way…” After a while, Ji Jingyuan led the way to the entrance behind the big screen. On the way, they also met Kim Jun-myeon and his parents’ family, took the initiative to greet them politely, and after a brief exchange, they said goodbye.

"The links for all the equipment used are basically all placed here. The parts of the large screen and speakers can be directly taken to the stage from here… However, things here are a bit messy. It's okay with the lights on now, but during the performance the lighting is very dark, so we have to arrange staff here to guide people, otherwise it's easy to get lost."

Chi Jingyuan led the way while pointing out the equipment spread all over the place, along with thick and thin wires tangled everywhere.

“...”

Zhou Tzuyu's eyes widened, she looked around like a curious baby. When she passed a unique-looking speaker, she even squatted down to take a closer look. She carefully extended her index finger and gently tapped the thick wires twice, her expression seemed to fear that something might suddenly short circuit or explode.

"Let me take you to see the elevator..." Chí Jǐngyuān was also playing there, and after he had enough of this place, he led the way to another area.

"How are you going back alone By subway"

"Well, take the number five line and transfer, it's very convenient, it will be there in a while."

It took about twenty minutes to take Zhou Tzuyu for a tour of the backstage area. Zhou Tzuyu, who had fulfilled a long-held wish, seemed very bright and happy. When they went out, her steps were light and bouncy, like someone who was well-fed and content.

"Okay, see you next time."

Bye bye!

Ji Jingyuan walked her to the backstage exit, watching Zhou Tzuyu wave and say goodbye with a smile. He smiled back and waved before turning and walking in.

First released on the Traditional Chinese Novel Network.ry 2012…”"Late January 2012 Exo debuted on April 8th, meaning…" Key reacted instantly, counting with his fingers and then suddenly stood up, pointing at him in disbelief. "You debuted after only two m...