star of the peninsula

Ever since LIGHTSUM completed its second comeback led by Cube Entertainment in late November, rumors about Chen Chen's retirement began to spread wildly in every corner of the Korean entertainment industry, and each rumor was very detailed.

C headquarters did not make any clarification on this rumor, and no one in the circle dared to go to Chen Chen in person to seek an answer.

"Are you retiring?"

Asking this kind of question to a 30-year-old boss who is in the prime of his life and whose company is growing at the fastest rate in the industry, no one, no matter how close the person is to him, would dare to do so, and those who are distantly related to him would simply not be able to open their mouths.

The reporters did dare to do so, but unfortunately none of them could interview Chen Chen.

But if we can’t interview Chen Chen, can we interview other people? For example, the recently popular boss Hong of Cube Entertainment is a good breakthrough point.

"Nxde", a song by its artist group (G)I-DLE, topped the music charts from mid-October to late November before LIGHTSUM's return. After taking over, LIGHTSUM demonstrated their own quality and successfully succeeded GIRL DAMN to continue their domination of the girl group market.

Never mind if there is any water in this rule, for example, the Hybe girl group LE SSERAFIM returned some time ago so they didn't return in the same period, and there was no movement from senior sister Integrate, and NMIXX was born with deficiencies.
These can indeed be called moisture, but even if there is no moisture, will LIGHTSUM lose? There is no possibility!
But it has to be said that Chen Chen has indeed messed up the South Korean girl group market, to the point where he himself can't understand it anymore.

The fact that aespa lost its momentum after the personnel changes is no big deal. Not to mention the album "Girls" that was originally planned to be used for the last comeback, there is even less to say.

The title song of the album "Girls" was already used by Chen Chen, and it became another album that might be a little worse than the original. Combined with the worse aespa, the ending was really embarrassing.

There are also some changes in NMIXX. With the drastic changes in Soy Sauce Bottle, the rescue measures given are serious and effective. The progress bar of NMIXX's development in a good direction has been greatly accelerated, and the withdrawal incident seems unlikely to happen.

Of course, these are all small things, the real big thing is on Hybe's side.

The New Jeans that caused a lot of trouble are gone. At least they failed to debut at the time when they should have debuted. I heard that the members encountered trouble.

The label ADOR thought that NewJeans was short of people. They had everything except a little bit of feeling, and this feeling was hard to make up for.

It's not impossible to debut despite gritted teeth, but an ordinary first-tier group has no meaning at all. Even a group of second-rate players can be pushed to the first-tier position with Hybe's resources.

Originally, LE SSERAFIM's youngest member Hong Eun-chae was a good replacement, but she was not perfect yet.

Then, the NewJeans thing dragged on, and ADOR tried to find someone who could perfectly fill the vacancy during this time.

Of course they didn't know that the person had been sent out, and even if they knew it would be useless.

It is true that a debut can be withdrawn, and it is not like no one has withdrawn it before.

But this is, after all, an idol group from the same company. Pulling Kim Min-ji out of LE SSERAFIM and re-debuting as New Jeans would probably make Hybe lose support and be forced to close the next day.

Chen Chen guessed that Hong Encai would take over in the end, because they would definitely not be willing to form a four-member girl group anyway.

A four-member girl group means almost a direct confrontation with BLACKPINK, which is definitely not a good choice. It is no exaggeration to say that the now crazy Waiji is the most difficult opponent.

Waiji is indeed crazy. "Before," Chen Chen didn't quite understand what they were doing, but now as an insider, Chen Chen can tell at a glance that Waiji is buying traffic overseas.

Use data to increase volume, and use data to convert popularity in the hope of gaining the favor of advertisers and thus making a profit.

Judging from the experience of "Future" and the perspective of now, Waiji's trick only fooled the fans but failed to fool the advertisers.

Fans were excited by the exploding statistics and overwhelming momentum, but advertisers saw through the truth and held on to the best endorsements without giving them out.

Waiji has always been an entertainment company that is more like an advertising company, especially after the big tree behind it changed, so it cannot be said that other people’s operational decisions are wrong.

Speaking of operational decisions, a few months ago Chen Chen wanted Starship and Cube Entertainment to participate in the joint project between MODHAUS and KakaoM. There was no follow-up on this matter at that time, and both sides rejected the proposal.

It is understandable that the two companies, backed by C headquarters, are capable of independently producing first-line idol groups, so there is no need for them to join MODHAUS and KakaoM.

Regardless of whether they can achieve better results than their own independent production, if there is any friction in the future, these two will definitely not be able to win over KakaoM.

Furthermore, Starship has Integrate as a backup, and Cube Entertainment has the current (G)I-DLE and LIGHTSUM. The hard cap can also support them to create a new high-quality idol group that belongs only to them to support the company.

……

"Hey, who's a good person who can take three months for a honeymoon? Why don't you come back after the New Year?!"

Shirley was immediately furious when she saw Chen Chen suddenly appearing in the president's office.

After getting the certificate, this man took his wife out to play without saying a word, leaving all the affairs of the huge C headquarters to Shirley alone, making her very busy for a while.

"But you've done a great job. There hasn't been any trouble for such a long time, and the entire company is still moving forward steadily. It seems that the C headquarters can really be handed over to you." Chen Chen pointed to the pile of things on her workstation and said, "I brought you a gift. See if you like it."

"Of course I don't like it. I've already bought myself the things I like." Shirley was still dissatisfied. "Where did you go with all these things?"

"I went to Europe for a while, and then stayed in China after the domestic epidemic was relaxed in December." Chen Chen was very satisfied with his trip to China. "It happened to be winter and the epidemic had just been relaxed. We were fully armed and no one even looked at us. The process was very pleasant."

"You got married without saying a word and then ran away without saying a word, leaving all the company affairs to me. You are a bit too willful, Chen Chen!" Shirley complained.

"I worked so hard before just so I could be willful now." Chen Chen replied with a smile, then his face became a little more serious. "When I left, I saved a lot of useful things for C headquarters. I can't use them all in two or three months, even in half a year. What about you? Have you saved anything for your future self during this time?"

"I haven't saved anything. I'm exhausted just taking over the things you left behind. I don't have time to make any more considerations." Shirley answered truthfully, "No wonder TV dramas always show companies collapsing instantly after the founder leaves. It's really easy to collapse. There are so many complicated things to deal with. If the heir is not particularly capable, there will definitely be big problems!"

"As for me, I don't seem to be particularly capable." Shirley sighed slightly, "With all the arrangements you made in advance, I'm almost overwhelmed. I can't even imagine what I would have done to C headquarters if you hadn't prepared anything for me!"

"It doesn't matter what happens. I can handle it as long as I'm here." Chen Chen paused and said, "The main thing is whether you encounter any difficulties in the process of taking over."

"Cheating and concealing information, pretending to obey but secretly disobeying, and deliberately causing trouble." Chen Chen asked: "Are there any of these?"

"Don't make it sound like I was parachuted in. I've been a leader for many years, how could such an obvious bullying happen to me?!" Shirley said unhappily, "This is just the first time I've taken over full power, not the first time I've come into contact with power." "It seems my worries are a bit unnecessary. You've established enough prestige within the company in the past two years." Chen Chen asked, "What about outside? Are there any problems with external contacts?"

"Of course there are some here. After all, people's recognition of you is completely different from their recognition of me." Shirley replied: "Especially on Netflix and Tik Tok, they only recognize you."

"Hiss~ Netflix is ​​understandable, but why Tik Tok?" Chen Chen was a little puzzled. "Not to mention erasing all my relationships, the long-term and in-depth cooperation between C headquarters and Tik Tok is enough for them to treat you as a guest of honor. How could they only recognize me?"

"Maybe I went there on my own because I didn't mention the name of C headquarters?" Shirley said, trying not to laugh: "They probably didn't know me."

"Get lost." Chen Chen glanced at her speechlessly. "Why did you say something when you already knew where the problem was? You made me nervous!"

Tik Tok can be said to be the lifeblood of C Headquarters. Even if there is no deeper relationship, C Headquarters still relies on this platform to complete many entertainment-related operations and must never lose contact with it!

"It's just a joke. You can go out and play without telling me. I work so hard, so I can't tease you?" Shirley glanced at him. "How can this be justified?"

"But I really didn't expect that she would be willing to marry you at this time." Shirley drank the water slowly, "I thought it would be later."

"What do you mean?" Chen Chen said dissatisfiedly: "I admit that it takes a lot of courage for a female artist to get married at this time, but she is marrying me, Chen Chen, after all, it's different! And why do you only consider her position and not mine? Isn't it also very courageous for me to get married at this stage?"

"Why should I consider you? The fact that you haven't changed your girlfriend since you started working at C Headquarters confirms that you won't change." Shirley said casually, "It can also be seen from the fact that you haven't seduced new girls to bed in these few years, but it's really meaningless to say such things from my point of view."

"Me?" Chen Chen chuckled and made a joke, "I'm old and ugly and I don't have the ability to seduce new girls anymore."

"If you don't want to do it, then you don't want to do it. There's no need to say something fancy to deceive others and yourself." Shirley suddenly said a name that she hadn't seen for a long time, "Jisu, isn't that right?"

"She's just a stupid little girl who likes the wrong person." Chen Chen had a blank expression on his face. "You should be glad that I didn't try to deceive her, otherwise many things would have gone drastically wrong."

"You're right. She shouldn't like you when you already like Irene." Shirley understood what Chen Chen was talking about in an instant. "They are incompatible. They are both women of the highest class."

Chen Chen can say with certainty that Jisoo likes him, and it’s not just a sense of self-satisfaction or unfounded confidence, but a kind of love that he can really feel.

But at that time he chose Bae Joo-hyun.

It is impossible for Chen Chen, as a bugged man who was reborn and traveled through time, to have never thought about having women and building a harem like in novels. If there really is such a person, Chen Chen would doubt whether there is something wrong with his brain or penis.

But as a rational person, Chen Chen knew very well that loving each other equally and having a harem could not coexist.

Yes, Chen Chen has other women, but neither Sulli nor Lee Ji-eun has the status to have an equal dialogue and equal life with Chen Chen.

But if Suzy were to intervene, she would have no chance unless she was willing to be demoted.

She refused to downgrade herself, and Chen Chen did not try to trick her into downgrading herself, that was all.

Everyone assumes that this society allows the strong to have better treatment. Chen Chen feels that the preferential treatment he has received has been materialized, and I think the same is true for Bae Joo-hyun.

"When did you confront Joohyun?"

Chen Chen asked what he had always wanted to ask. He was very sure that the two of them had already had a deep communication.

"I forgot. It was quite early anyway." Shirley replied nonchalantly, "I chose the time when she was probably the most desperate to communicate with her. This is what you call a showdown."

"The most desperate moment?" Chen Chen asked doubtfully, "When was it?"

"It was a painful moment when she realized that she could never catch up with you even if she tried her best." Shirley pursed her lips, and the expression on her face began to turn cold without her knowing when. "At that time, her heart was the most vulnerable and her defenses were the weakest, so it was easy for her to make extreme judgments."

"When I confront her, I'm risking my life as well as hers."

"If she can't bear the reality and is broken-hearted and chooses to leave you, then I win. If she can bear and accept everything, then she is awesome. I just give up."

"She was already in an absolute leading position. If I failed to defeat her, there would be no chance for me to turn the tables."

"Don't look at me like that." Shirley squinted at Chen Chen, "Do you think I am willing to be a woman who can't be the man at the top? Don't look down on me!"

"No, no, no, I don't doubt that." Chen Chen waved his hand, "I'm just surprised by the danger and your ruthlessness."

"You think that in a place like South Korea, it's normal for a strong man to have multiple women, right?" Shirley put the reality on the table in plain words, "Yes and no, what you easily have are toys, not women."

"So how did your relationship with Zhu Xuan end?" Chen Chen asked curiously, "How did you two gradually develop into the relationship you have now?"

"We are both smart women. We just need to put the cruel reality in front of us and use the love in our hearts to weigh various emotions." Shirley replied: "After the weighing results, we can accept them. The only difference is that my result is completely controlled by her."

"But I will never forget her final performance."

"Your dear wife sighed quietly, blinked her eyes and looked at me, and said..."

"I can't really kill you, can I?"

"I know she was talking about my situation at the time. I extended my lifeline to you and used you as the pillar of my life. If she tried her best to drive me away, it would be a bad outcome for me."

"But I still felt scared at that time, just, an inexplicable feeling."

"There's no need to continue here. The end result is exactly what you're going through now. You understand it better than I do."

...(End of chapter)