star of the peninsula

Regardless of the album's sound performance, NMIXX chose a good time for the showcase on March 1st, which is a period of time when the epidemic is relatively stable.

There is no need to delve into how stable it is. The number of confirmed cases has remained at over 100,000 with no increase or decrease in the past few days, which can be considered stable.

By mid-March when (G)I-DLE returned, the number of daily confirmed cases had reached 400,000. The situation was completely different!
“The data on the day of the release of “TOMBOY” was not particularly explosive. It took about ten days after the release to achieve the feat of being sold across all sources.”

Chen Chen looked at the information in his hand, constantly confirming the memories in his head.

It is now the tenth day since (G)I-DLE released their song, and they have indeed accomplished the feat of PAK.

Are you happy? Chen Chen was not happy at all. These were all expected things. They were even "new" to Chen Chen, as if they happened not long ago.

It was indeed not long ago. The time when (G)I-DLE was reborn from the ashes and when Chen Chen traveled through time was only a few hundred days away. It happened very quickly.

"What a beautiful curve. It's similar to the data curve in 'Twenty-Five, Twenty-One'. It gets better and better until it reaches the top."

It was rare for Bae Joo-hyun to be interested in watching these things with Chen Chen, so Chen Chen took them to the living room and they sat on the sofa and watched them together.

"It has reached the top." Chen Chen pointed to the last part of the curve and said, "And look at its current situation. It's definitely not exhaustion, it's just that the ceiling has sealed it here. The actual performance of "TOMBOY" is better than this."

“Hopefully, this time we come back the same way.”

Bae Joo-hyun was truly envious. She leaned her head forward to look, and her body completely pressed on Chen Chen's back.

"What's the title song for your comeback?"

Chen Chen thought about it in his head, but couldn't remember it for a moment, so he asked.

"'Feel My Rhythm' is a song that samples a famous work by Bach." Bae Joo-hyun was a little excited, "We all like it very much, and we were quite unanimous when choosing the title song!"

"Oh, it's this time."

Chen Chen felt a lot more relaxed.

Mainly, he remembered that Red Velvet seemed to have made a miraculous comeback in that year.

The album that he brought to everyone during that comeback was too much. It was very nice, but it was nice in the sense that all the songs were nice except the main song, which was really bad.

Chen Chen didn't want to whip the corpse of that comeback and that hit song, but the impression it left on people was indeed a bit too deep.

"What do you mean this time? You seem to be saying something I don't understand!"

Bae Joo-hyun caught the loophole in Chen Chen's words and questioned him with wide eyes.

"Because we have prepared at least two comebacks for the team this year." Chen Chen blinked and pretended to be innocent. "I only know the general plan, but not the specific content, so I need you to complete the information."

"Two official comebacks? Without releasing an album in the country next door?" Bae Joo Hyun was a little incredulous. "Are we going to be so busy this year?"

"I wasn't very busy last year, so I made up for it this year." Chen Chen joked, "SMART is also very anxious. Your fans should have saved a lot of money to give to you. You have to get it to the company as soon as possible!"

"Now that you mention it, it seems like this is really possible." Bae Joo-hyun smiled bitterly and said, "Two harvests in South Korea and one big harvest in the neighboring country of Sakura. It feels like something our company would do."

"..."

Chen Chen didn't respond, just looked at Pei Zhuxuan in a daze.

"What's wrong? I just followed your instructions, but you're still not satisfied?" Pei Zhuxuan pouted in anger, "You're too hard to please!"

"No, no, no, I was surprised that you would actually continue what I said." Chen Chen explained: "In fact, this is a common option for every entertainment company. I deliberately said that the fool was a little bad. I was surprised that you would agree with me."

"Really? Then I guess you fooled me a little." Pei Zhuxuan just lifted her hair and didn't care at all. "Also, the company has been in a mess recently. I don't have the heart to say good things for it anymore."

"I'm afraid it's not just me." Pei Zhuxuan added, "Many people are feeling uncomfortable right now."

"I haven't been to SMART recently, but people are still so uneasy." Chen Chen felt a little cheated. "I should have gone there more often. Even if I don't do anything, I can still be a chicken soup for the soul! If I can feed some to everyone, it will definitely make everyone happier, and it will also allow me to gain a little bit of goodwill."

"Why are you trying to gain everyone's favor?" Pei Zhuxuan was completely confused. "With your status, wouldn't it be possible to attract a lot of people by giving some benefits or saying hello?"

"Of course you can, but if you can get true love, you still want to get it." Chen Chen said with a wicked smile: "A forced melon is still a melon, it is still sweet, but doesn't a melon that is willing to cooperate and take the initiative taste better?"

"What is that? Why do I feel like a wheel is flying over there?" Pei Zhuxuan was too lazy to think about it. "Forget it, do whatever you want. I will pass on this kind of news to you as soon as possible in the future."

"Wow~ You've changed. You weren't like this before." Chen Chen happily held his girlfriend's face and kissed her. "No matter who you are, don't get off her now!"

"Get lost, get lost. I'm so happy with you, but you're so proud of me, right?!" Bae Joo Hyun sighed. "Actually, the recent incident with Stupid Company has made me start to feel that being controlled by you is not a bad thing. At least under your management, such bad things won't happen. The overall environment is always good."

"In fact, SMART was like this 20 years ago. At that time, everyone listened to Chairman Lee Soo Man." Chen Chen stared at Bae Joo Hyun for a while and decided to analyze the problem for her. "C Headquarters is like this now because my leadership is at its peak, with outstanding ability, the right direction, and great prestige."

"The current situation of SMART is actually caused by the decline of the leader's leadership, but he is unwilling to give up his position. If he gives up his position, Chairman Lee Soo Man will lose a lot of personal interests, but he is unwilling to do so."

"He is actually willing to give up power. The fact that Kim Young-min has been able to take on so many responsibilities over the years is proof of that."

"But the position itself is a kind of power. If the new generation of leaders want to become true leaders, they must take over the position as well."

"If the old leader won't let me, then I can only find a way to fight for it myself. It is foreseeable that the company will be in turmoil."

In fact, Chen Chen really wanted to tell her that this was just the beginning. When Kakao, Hybe and others were fighting each other, the situation inside S.H.I.E. was in chaos. It was no exaggeration to say that people were in a panic.

"It means that we are unlucky and happened to encounter this chaotic node. It is safe to go forward or backward." Pei Zhuxuan's thoughts are strange but the direction is correct. "You play an accelerating role here and push the progress bar forward as much as possible?"

"That's about right. As long as you agree that the new generation of leadership will replace the old generation, then that's my role." Chen Chen smacked his lips. "If you don't agree, then I'm the culprit who pushed the internal strife of the Sham Group to break out completely."

"These are just two sides of the evaluation of you. You did the same thing." Pei Zhuxuan complained: "But it's okay to regard you as the culprit. I have seen your shadow in many things." "Okay, let's not talk about this. It's still a long way from the real war within SM." Chen Chen changed the subject, "Are you confident in your new drama that will be aired soon?"

"It's just average." Pei Zhuxuan's attitude became much colder when talking about this. "Didn't you say that the script is just average? Then no matter how hard it struggles, it should only get an average evaluation."

"Don't tell me what I think, tell me what you think." Chen Chen pinched her in dissatisfaction, "You've been filming in seclusion for more than two months, and you're still using my feelings when I read the script as your speech. It's too much of a prevarication."

"I was just trying to arouse your interest and get you to watch TV. I didn't expect you wouldn't fall for it." Pei Zhuxuan's attitude changed rapidly. "No, no, no, I didn't think you would fall for it. I just tried it on purpose because I didn't want to give up!"

"From my own perspective, the tone is very high, and the roles of the main actors are also very high, but they deal with trivial matters that are too trivial compared to their high roles, and the cases and stories are relatively old-fashioned."

"It's hard to evaluate this TV series as a whole. If a sensitive audience is watching it, they will probably feel uncomfortable. A more relaxed audience may like it more."

"But this TV series has a high purpose and good ideas, and it deserves praise for focusing on social pain points." Bae Joo-hyun gave the final score, "If I had to give a score, I would probably give it a seven."

"Seven point five, the actors' pretty faces and the production team's hard work deserve 0.5 points." Chen Chen touched his chin. "Seven point five is actually a pretty good score. Saying it's average is a bit unfair."

"It's up to you." Bae Joo Hyun shrugged proudly, "It's your personal evaluation anyway, you have the final say."

"Then change it to not bad." Chen Chen frowned, "I have the responsibility to give a relatively fair judgment!"

"Not bad, not bad, I recognize you!" Pei Zhuxuan was very satisfied, "As a reward, you must watch my TV series from beginning to end. I am very confident in my performance, and I can play the role of a bitter and vengeful person accurately!"

"Oh, are you also a female classmate with a story?"

Chen Chen raised his eyebrows.

Bae Joo-hyun looked back unwillingly.

"Humph! Isn't my story already written on my face? If I put on makeup, it will be even more of a story!"

……

Shortly after the filming of "There's Tomorrow" ended, "My Runaway Diary" also ended, and Lee Ji-eun was liberated.

“Do you feel like singing, IU-sama?”

Shirley and Chen Chen went to welcome her, and Chen asked casually.

"I do want to, but I don't want to release an album." Lee Ji-eun replied: "It's too tiring to release an album, and I just released a very heavyweight album not long ago, I don't want to do it again."

"I see. I want to sing an OST or collaborate with others to release a song or something." Chen Chen nodded. "Now the follow-up work is arranged."

"Please give me some time to rest before arranging work." Li Zhien rolled her eyes and complained: "No matter how much I like working, I have to take a break. Without sufficient rest, there will be no sufficient output!"

"I know, I was just talking nonsense to you." Chen Chen laughed, "EDAM is in charge of your area, so what I say doesn't count!"

"I really forgot this point because you arrange all kinds of things for me every day." Lee Ji-eun was speechless to herself and felt that she was too stupid.

"Hey, what is Jiyeon doing recently? Why didn't you invite her?" Lee Ji-eun showed concern for her friend.

"Ji-yeon is doing very well, very well, and has become a very busy actress." Chen Chen replied.

"Really?" Li Zhien looked at Shirley in surprise, "He didn't lie to me?!"

"It's not a lie. Jiyeon is indeed an actress now and is very busy." Sulli said with a smile.

"It's not a lie." Li Zhien realized something was wrong, "Then there must be something hidden. What's wrong with Jiyeon now?"

"She was taken away by Netflix to work as a laborer." Chen Chen confessed the truth. "Ji Yan's temporary assistant reward is some film and television resources. C headquarters arranged her to work at Netflix."

"After using it twice, Netflix found that Jiyeon is quite useful. She can play the roles of a vicious female supporting role or a domineering young lady, and she can come out with just one look without having to act!"

"You all know how much Netflix has arranged in South Korea, so Jiyeon's career has been very smooth since she got this connection."

"As for life." Chen Chen scratched his head, "I don't know."

"You don't have to worry about it. Jiyeon has us." Li Zhien turned to the other side and said, "What about you, Shirley? Have you been in trouble under this man's hands during this period of time?"

"..."

Chen Chen did not participate in the conversation between best friends. Friends with experience know that whoever interrupts at this time will easily be targeted, which is very miserable.

We chatted from the afternoon to the evening. The three of us changed places three times and tried the specialties of three different restaurants.

Chen Chen was listening with great interest at first, but he was too lazy to listen later. On the one hand, he was tired of listening, and on the other hand, he didn't understand the topic.

It was very strange. They were clearly speaking human language, and Korean was clearly within Chen Chen's ability, but he just couldn't understand what they were saying.

"How are you two going to get back later? I'm definitely going to drive the car away."

Chen Chen wanted to run away.

"Don't worry about us, we can just take a taxi." Shirley waved at Chen Chen, "We're going to sleep together tonight and talk about all the things we've accumulated over the past few months!"

"Oh, by the way, I will probably get up very late tomorrow, so I will also be late for work. I'm asking for leave first~" Shirley stuck out her tongue cutely, "Our beloved and dear leader will definitely agree, right?"

"Ah, it doesn't matter." Chen Chen nodded, "I won't be working tomorrow either."

...(End of chapter)