The number one playboy on the Peninsula!

Chapter 280, "Produce 48," has premiered!
"what……"

"Gained that many followers?"

TWICE got into their van to go to work, and the group watched the trending topics from this morning. Tzuyu pursed her lips, a hint of smugness in her eyes, and refreshed her Instagram page. Over 300,000 CP fans were shouting "Honey Fish Ice Cheng" in their comments section.

Sana Minato glanced at the maknae's homepage with a sour look. She had gained quite a few fans, but the maknae's height ratio with her boyfriend, as well as their nationality line, made her far ahead in the CP category, and "Sana-chan" was also among the top in popularity.

For a moment, her attention was drawn to the trending topic "[Tarot's rumored girlfriend gains followers overnight]", and she suddenly felt that her boyfriend was like a cute little cabbage in the K-pop world, with everyone wanting to take a bite out of him...

What surprised her most was the existence of strange CP fans who, as if on drugs, shipped their male lead and teammate Park Jihyo's "Qingcheng Yixiao" (a pairing of two people, one male and one female)?
"By the way, Tzuyu, it was your birthday the day before yesterday. What birthday present did oppa give you?"

Kim Da-hyun, sitting in the back seat, sniffed before remembering this. Today was the 16th, and the day before yesterday, the 14th, was Tzuyu's birthday. General was still in Japan, and unusually, he hadn't asked her to help deliver a gift or run errands. She had only just remembered and asked, since the relationship between the two Chinese line members had always been very good.

"...My brother said he'd give May to me..."

When this was brought up, Chou Tzu-yu's face darkened. May, which she was holding, was a birthday gift that she and the other members had pooled their money to buy for their brother. But then she turned around and gave it to herself. Wasn't that just forgetting her birthday and not preparing a gift?

"……real?"

Sana Minatozaki's face twitched, and her bright eyes glanced at the maknae with some suspicion. On one hand, she was amazed by the thick skin of her little cabbage, and on the other hand, she felt that it was a bit inappropriate. The other members all knew about the relationship between the little cabbage and the little black fish. She asked with a smile, "Aren't you angry, Tzuyu?"

"Wait until my brother comes back before I get angry with him."

Chou Tzu-yu smiled generously. She had been a little angry on her birthday, but considering how busy her brother was, it was understandable. So she told him what she wanted for her birthday. It was simple and didn't cost much, but it would take some time. She was secretly pleased with herself as she looked down at the chat box on the screen.

At the time, she told her brother that he would treat her to a movie when they returned to Seoul, which would be a simple birthday present.

"Sigh, he's getting busier and busier..."

Sana Minato sighed with a hint of resentment and looked out the car window. Yesterday's behind-the-scenes video of BLACKPINK's album showed her poor little Baicai (a nickname for a member of BLACKPINK) sick with a fever, which really made her angry and heartbroken.

Little cabbage, my dear husband!
"They should be back soon. Tomorrow they're having their final concert in Japan at the Sapporo Dome in Hokkaido. After that, they'll probably fly straight to Seoul, so they should be able to rest for a couple of days." Mina whispered to her friend, who seemed like an enemy but wasn't really a friend, and her face flushed as she thought about the night she pretended to be drunk.

It's been quite a few days since the two last saw each other. They still chat frequently on Kakao, but the thought of seeing him again when he returns to Seoul always gives her a strange feeling, making her feel ashamed and uneasy when facing Sana-chan.

Especially seeing Sana Minatozaki's outfit today, a bright green baseball cap, quite youthful, but the more I looked at her, the more uneasy I felt. Although she and Sana used to always clash because of Makoto, she was always upright back then, but now, it seems she really has crossed the line...

"How about taking a couple of days off?"

Kim Da-hyun shook her head in denial, saying, "Oppa will probably have to join the movie crew as soon as he gets back. The entire crew has been almost at a standstill because of him, so it probably can't be delayed any longer. Besides, the recording of PRODUCE 48 has reached a crucial point..."

"PRODUCE 48? Wasn't it supposed to start airing tomorrow night?" Chou Tzu-yu quickly said, "Let's watch it together after get off work tomorrow night!"

She was quite curious; her brother often said that some of the trainees looked a lot like her and were very likable. Was it because they looked like her that they were likable?
……

Miyako, who is far away in Sapporo, Hokkaido, has a work schedule today of scouting and rehearsing at the Tokyo Dome in preparation for the final stop of his concert in Japan tomorrow. Around noon, he got his car keys from Kim Dae-woo.

He drove around the nearby neighborhood, returning to a place he remembered. Following his memory, he arrived at a street lined with cherry blossom trees, but at this time of year, the cherry blossoms were long gone, leaving only bare tree trunks. He took out his phone, snapped two photos, and sent them to Zhao Meiyan.

Even though things have been partially exposed, I still want to enjoy some shared memories with this pabo and play the emotional card.

Afterwards, Gong Cheng pulled over and leisurely found a ramen shop with few customers. He ordered a bowl of ramen, sat by the window, and occasionally glanced at the sunlight in the sky. How delightful!

The private room was simply designed, without a door, but with a simple white curtain to block the view from the outside. It was somewhat like a hole-in-the-wall restaurant from the 1990s. However, the environment and the food tasted good. Gong Cheng took a sip of soda, his eyes languidly basking in the sunlight. On the table were bowls and chopsticks, and steaming hot white porcelain ramen bowls were still rising from them...

He decided to take a short break next year, perhaps a few months, perhaps a year. He would spend time with his girlfriends or travel around the world. The non-stop schedule was really taking its toll; he was exhausted...

We need to take some time to recover; after all, even just wanting to be alone and bask in the sun is a luxury these days.

Just as he was imagining the pleasant holidays next year, Miyako heard a chatter from Japanese girls: "Junko, Tarot oppa's variety show starts tomorrow, we definitely have to support it!"

"Don't worry, I'll watch it as soon as I finish my part-time job! PRODUCE 48, I wonder how many AKB48 members will debut in the end? I really like Sakura."

"..."

Listening to the chattering in the next private room, Gong Cheng suddenly remembered that tomorrow night was the scheduled broadcast date for the first episode of "Produce 48" on M-net. It wasn't that he didn't care when the show was scheduled to air.

The main issue is that Lee Hwan-ji, the director of "Produce 48," had previously told me that the show was scheduled to premiere on the 15th, the day of BLACKPINK's comeback. However, after adjustments at the beginning of the month, it was postponed for a few days, and it was finally decided to air on June 17th, which is tomorrow night...

Gong Cheng took a sip of cola through the straw, picked up his phone listlessly, browsed the trending topics, and entered the term "Produce 48" into the search engine.

It's incredibly popular...

Especially in Asia, the official website of "Produce 48" is flooded with promotional materials and posters, which is enough to show the show's popularity in Asia.

On the trending lists of major entertainment sections, "#Produce48Countdown#" is prominently displayed at the top, and the topic's readership is skyrocketing at a rate of thousands per second.

He casually clicked on the entry, and the screen was filled with behind-the-scenes GIFs of the trainees, along with the screams of Japanese girls and densely packed threads on Korean online forums. Switching to the M-net official website, the homepage carousel featured posters of the trainees in their pink uniforms, followed by official photos of the mentors...

#Tarot《Produce 48》#
#Produce 48, featuring Tarot, will officially premiere tomorrow night on M-net. Tarot, a mentor and representative of the national producers, looks incredibly handsome in leaked photos; his unedited pictures are absolutely stunning.#
In a video released by the Produce 48 production team, trainees from Japan, Korea, and South Korea are relaying the news of the show's premiere tomorrow night in different languages...

Full-body photos of 96 trainees, all wearing matching pink trainee uniforms, white knee-high socks, and canvas shoes. The faces of different trainees flashed by in the video; some made heart gestures towards the camera, some smiled, and some made funny faces. Eventually, the fragmented photos slowly shrank into a 96-grid layout, piecing together the pink and purple diamond-shaped logo of "Produce 48," embedded in the white background of the video.

Immediately afterwards, with the special effects of post-production editing, the white background suddenly rippled and distorted, like the crackling of cyberpunk electricity, with red and blue sparks of electricity. The Produce 48 logo was enveloped in flowing electric light, and as if pixelated particles were being reassembled, a giant poster suddenly unfolded...

In the video poster, Gong Cheng is dressed in a well-tailored jet-black suit, his sharp silhouette highlighting his perfect shoulder line. The shirt collar is as black as ink, and he wears a black tie. His tall figure is casually lounging the button on his collar with one hand in his pocket, and his lazy eyes beneath his tousled hair are slightly smiling...

Around his tall figure, the trainees who were originally in the white grid of 96 appeared like stars, radiant and dazzling, beside Gong Cheng's upright figure. With his jet-black, tousled hair and suit, he stood in the center of the 96 trainees, like the bright moon leading the stars. Yet, he also created a strong visual contrast with the girls dressed in uniform white and pink, with their fluffy skirts and bow hair accessories. Coupled with the densely packed, youthful faces of the girls, the visual impact was extremely stunning...

"So handsome?"

Gong Cheng stared at the promotional video that had gone dark on the screen, raising an eyebrow... Not bad.

However, just by looking at the positions of all members in the last still poster, you can probably tell who will make the final debut. He remembered that when they were shooting this poster, Miyawaki Sakura and the others were specially pulled to the side by their senior.

He didn't care about it; it had nothing to do with him...

Besides, Miyawaki Sakura's looks are quite outstanding among the trainees. Lee Soo-man, that old man, is right about one thing: pretty kids should stand in the center...

Gong Cheng scrolled through the comments on the screen and took a sip of cola.

"Aigoo, oppa is so handsome!"

"Oppa outshines everyone else!"

"They should let Yoona come and form a mentor CP with Oppa." Seeing this comment, Gong Cheng's lips twitched and his brows furrowed... He was furious and felt cold. How could they even try to piggyback on this?
"Are the 0 fans upstairs still trying to ride on his coattails? Are they trying to get Yoona to re-debut? To be a pretty face next to the oppa and work on developing her skills, is that it?"

Gong Cheng stared at the comment, and after reading it, his brows relaxed as he clicked "like." ...

……

The following day, Bombardment Meteor held their final concert at Sapporo Dome...

Meanwhile, the first episode of PRODUCE 48 was officially broadcast in Seoul in the evening.

Li Baona, who lives in the Seocho district, kicked off her brown leather shoes and threw away her crossbody bag as soon as she got home. The carpet fibers instantly covered the soles of her feet. Her school uniform was hanging on the coat rack in the entryway. She rushed to the living room before even untying her schoolbag strap, picked up the remote control, and turned on M-net.

"Baona, you're a college student now, do you still like Tarot so much?" Li Baona's mother came out of the kitchen, carrying a bag of washed fruit, and asked with a smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a printed photo of them together on the TV cabinet.

It's a photo of my darling daughter and her favorite artist. The photo was taken in 16 at a coffee shop downstairs from the JYP building. In the photo, my daughter looked much younger and more innocent than she does now. Now, just looking at her face, she looks much more mature, and her makeup is much prettier.

On the sofa and in her daughter's bedroom, there were Tarot merchandise and posters everywhere. In this entertainment-obsessed country, idol worship is very common, so common that parents encourage their children to follow celebrities. But is her precious daughter being a little too devoted?

After all, she has already been admitted to Ewha Womans University and is now a university student.

Li Baona, sporting a Korean-style makeup look, trembled slightly as her long eyelashes fluttered. Compared to her own photo on the TV stand, her chubby cheeks had shrunk with age. She picked up an apple and took a bite. "Oh my god, so what if I'm a college student? My classmates are way more crazy than me..."

"As long as oppa sings and films dramas for one day, I'll support him forever!" Lee Bona said with a beaming smile, then smugly told her mother, "After all, I was oppa's first fan..."

"Oh my god, do you think I can marry oppa?" she suddenly asked, as if she had lost her mind.

Li Baona's mother glared at her speechlessly, "Not again? What are you thinking..."

"..."

After exchanging a few jokes with her mother, Li Baona picked up a tissue to wipe her mouth. The commercials on the TV screen had already finished. She glanced at the various group chats on her phone. Apart from her classmates' group, the most numerous were group chats related to the word "Tarot".

[Tarot World Tour Ticket Preparation Group]

[Tarot Fans Group 1]

【Tarot Large Fan Group】

【Tarot Support Group 1827】

【Tarot Fan Group 167】

【Tarot Fan Group 666】

Lee Bona casually opened the 【Tarot Support Group 1827】 that she was in charge of. She was the group owner of this fan chat group, which had a full 3000 members and was under her supervision. She glanced at the contents of the chat box. The administrator had posted that the promotional poster of their oppa from the promotional video released yesterday for "Produce 48" had gone viral online, and various behind-the-scenes photos and fan-taken pictures of oppa filming in Gyeonggi Province two months ago were circulating wildly...

"Sisters, tune in to M-net's 'PRODUCE 48' right now and let's boost the ratings!" Lee Bo-na tagged all the members with practiced ease, issuing a unified command. "Let those other bastards see the cohesion of our Arcana..."

"Damn it, someone actually said Oppa's appearance fee is sky-high? Acting like a big shot! Let these bastards see if the appearance fee is worth it, if they're being paid too little! And they still have the nerve to complain!"

She said angrily that with the recent promotion of "PRODUCE 48", rumors have surfaced that Tarot's appearance fee for participating in "PRODUCE 48" is sky-high, almost surpassing all local artists, ranking first and much higher than the second place. However, JYP has not responded and cannot say whether it is true or not...

But Lee Bo-na guessed that Oppa's appearance fee must be expensive, otherwise why would he work so hard? She was a die-hard fan of Gong Cheng even before he debuted...

Oppa has worked his way up step by step to where he is today. No matter how much the appearance fee is, she can proudly say with her increasingly well-developed chest, "Tarot is worth it!"

"Received! Loyalty!"

"Received! Loyalty!"

"Received! Loyalty!"

"..."

99+
Messages flooded the screen, along with responses filled with shared indignation...

Lee Bo-na pulled her feet off the carpet, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and stared intently at the newly premiered "PRODUCE 48" through her bangs...

She absolutely has to watch the premiere of any variety show she hosts.

She believed that countless Akana fans were watching the TV screen intently, just like her, because this guy was great in every way—although he had a lot of scandals, it wasn't a big deal—but he was always frequently absent from the public eye. Aside from events and comebacks, you almost never saw his face on variety shows or anything like that…

They're not working very hard...

This has made the fans wait like statues waiting for their husbands. For example, it's been almost half a year this year, and this guy hasn't held a single fan meeting!

A cool, ethereal sound effect rang out—on the TV screen, at the beginning of the first episode of "PRODUCE 48," a similar webpage layout appeared, resembling a trending search page. Large font at the top of the image proclaimed, like a news report, "[M-net PRODUCE 101 & AKB48 combined, a massive global project spanning the Korean Peninsula and Japan]"

After a fleeting news headline, the search engine page slowly appears on the screen.

#Tarot Joins PRODUCE 48#
#Tarot Joins the Globalization Campaign of PRODUCE 48#
#……#
One after another, bright red trending topics appeared, each ending with a small rocket icon indicating its popularity… As Lee Bo-na watched the beginning of "PRODUCE 48," a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips…

So cool!

The production team at least knows who the biggest star is!
A mouse cursor slowly clicks on the trending topic #PRODUCE 48 Globalization Key Step: Tarot Joins#, followed by a crisp click sound and the content of the trending topic unfolding.

The large headline, "[M-net Officially Announces: World Superstar Tarot to Serve as National Producer Representative and Mentor on PRODUCE 48]," is displayed in bold black font, beneath a banner poster...

The poster's image is taken from Gong Cheng's performance at Coachella last year. His tall figure, swept by the night wind, stands amidst the Coachella breeze, his black, tousled hair fluttering wildly. He grips the microphone, raising his arm and shouting. Behind him, on the large screen, his clear, carefree, and genuinely radiant smile appears, while beads of sweat are frozen in time on his face… Around the stage, hundreds of thousands of fans stand on tiptoe, waving light sticks and banners…

Li Baona secretly rejoiced, crossing her legs. If the poster had sound, the cheers in the picture would be deafening!
The beginning of PRODUCE 48 continued playing...

Below, scrolling through popular comments from when the topic was trending: "Help! Oppa finally did a variety show!" "What an epic collaboration!" "So the previous leaks were true!" "Oppa, saranghae!" "Did he really do the variety show for the fans? So touching..." "Tears streaming down my face."

Then, the scene flashed by, and clips of behind-the-scenes footage appeared on the TV screen. The camera panned across the trainees' shocked and adoring expressions during the recording of "PRODUCE 48," with girls covering their mouths and gasping in surprise, their eyes fixed on the screen...

As the camera zoomed in, Gong Cheng, with a smile on his face, stood under the spotlight in the recording studio. Then, the behind-the-scenes footage ended, the television screen went dark, and the program title "PRODUCE 48" appeared...

Li Baona picked up her coffee and took a sip, feeling quite pleased with herself. "I feel like the behind-the-scenes footage we just saw is going to be part of a future broadcast?"

……

"Here are 96 girls who dream of a brighter future..."

The broadcast footage showed a camera shooting from the bottom corner, showing trainees wearing white canvas shoes, pink striped pleated skirts, and white shirts, as they picked up pens and wrote their names and dreams on white black and white paper.

"I asked the girls, 'What does 'practice' mean to you...'" Against a backdrop of ethereal background music, Gong Cheng's gentle voice softly narrated, "One girl said that practice is like a subway loop that never stops, like the never-ending hands of a clock, like a long-distance run with no end in sight, like a maze with no way forward—it's a period of time filled with uncertainty..."

In the synchronized dubbing, the program team revealed the youthful faces, their names, and practice hours in the subtitles... In the immersive narration, in the white room, on the white whiteboard, more and more words appeared.

The girl in the caption, "[Zhang Yuanying, practice time xx]", had slightly chubby cheeks. She picked up a pen, stood in front of the whiteboard, hesitated for a moment, biting her pink lips. Then, standing on tiptoe, she wrote in the blank space: "..."

"In order to overcome those hours... the girls repeated a series of rehearsals called 'practice' every day..."

In the cameras around the ceiling and the VJ's camera, Miyawaki Sakura was wearing a white school shirt, like a uniform, with the pink "school badge" of "Produce 48" embroidered on the chest. Underneath the reddish-brown plaid pleated skirt, her slender legs were covered with white over-the-knee socks and white canvas shoes.

Her medium-length, reddish-brown hair was reflected in the camera lens, highlighting her delicate nose and rosy lips. A slender hand gripped a marker, and she deliberately wrote a phrase in neon language, word by word, at the highest point of the blackboard.

"★To become an artist like Tarot, shining brightly, radiantly, and illuminating others★To reach that most dazzling moment, I will move forward step by step★" At the end of the sentence, she left her name, SAKURA.

"Ugh, this background music and narration are giving me goosebumps." Kim Tae-yeon, with unwashed hair and makeup, nestled on the sofa with Im Yoon-ah, watching Produce 48 on air...

After learning about the identity of this guy, Lim Yoona couldn't help but purse her lips as she listened to his narration. "Does this guy even have a day as a trainee? He's just making assumptions..."

"You know what, a lot of trainees who come to the company now are choosing to become entertainers because of that kid. To reach this level as an entertainer is truly remarkable." Kim Tae-yeon chuckled twice, then said with a touch of melancholy, a hint of wistfulness in her voice...

Many years ago, she also started as a trainee and even reached her peak, but now, in someone's words, she's been relegated to the "old woman" era...

It's kind of tragic to think about, but that kid deserved it!
Beside him, Makoto Rimiya's warm voice rose slightly, "The 96 promising young talents who have strived to sprout and grow, and the national producers who will soon become their source of warmth and sunshine, it's time to walk into the future together..."

"Produce 48 - Let's begin."

Immediately afterward, a rapid alarm rang, and Gong Cheng appeared on the screen in a smart suit. "I am Tarot, the representative of the national producers. Do you know why..." His tall figure walked down the dark corridor, explaining to the audience the reason for the name change of "Produce 48".

The corridors on both sides were illuminated by flashing purple Produce 48 logo lights, and girls in pink training uniforms stood on either side of him. "On my left are trainees from Peninsula Entertainment, and on my right..."

"And ultimately, only the 12 members selected by the national producers will be able to participate in activities as part of the new girl group project..."

After a brief explanation of the show's rules, the screen switched to an introduction about voting for the girls. Then, the scene shifted to a huge recording venue with 96 pink and white chairs, symbolizing the order of the trainees. One by one, the trainees began to appear, represented by their respective management companies...

"What about people?"

"That's all the screen time this kid gets?"

Kim Tae-yeon raised an eyebrow, glanced at the trainees' performative faces on the screen, and didn't really want to watch anymore; it was pointless. It was just them trying to get in front of the camera and stuff… "A few of them are actually quite good-looking…"

Yoona pointed to one of the trainees and said, "I think she'll debut, right? She looks pretty good."

"Jiang Huiyuan?"

She stared at the name tag on the girl's chest and read out the name of the trainee she favored.

"..."

After more than half an hour, Kim Tae-yeon was speechless. What kind of editing was this? The trainees spent half an hour looking for their seats, without any progress bar. The only reason she watched this show was to see which trainee was younger. Who would pay attention to that?
Fortunately, after the commercial break, the editor inserted several behind-the-scenes interview clips of the trainees and footage of Gong Cheng filming backstage.

In the cramped and somewhat shabby-looking interview room, the staff looked at the three trainees from STARSHIP Entertainment and asked, "Is there any senior you really like?"

“Tarot!” The girl named Zhang Yuanying smiled gently and cheerfully, saying the name of her favorite senior.

Her two friends beside her nodded earnestly, "Tarot-senpai!"

The staff member, wearing a black baseball cap, smiled and said, "Aigoo, out of 96 trainees, we've interviewed 17 so far, and 90% of them like Tarot. Could it be that everyone only likes him because he's going to be on our show?"

"Ani, I still have Tarot oppa's concert ticket stub, album, and photocards. My unnie likes him a lot too." Zhang Yuanying explained earnestly, her chubby little face beaming, her lips glistening with moisture...

"So innocent, huh?" Kim Tae-yeon looked at the young girl on the screen. "She seems to be only 14? I remember there was a description earlier..."

"She looks quite innocent, but that's all she looks like..." Im Yoona first agreed with her unnie's words, then added, "She's very good at finding the camera."

The interview has ended...

The scene shifts to the beginning of the "Produce 48" program. In the white room, Gong Cheng stands lazily in front of a white easel, where dense black text is pieced together to form the "Produce 48" logo...

The camera captured his sharply defined, handsome profile. His long eyelashes fluttered, and following his gaze, the camera focused on a line of neon text on the whiteboard: "★To become an artist like Tarot-senpai, shining brightly, radiantly, illuminating others★For that most dazzling moment, step by step forward★—SAKURA."

Gong Cheng glanced casually at the whiteboard, which displayed his dream declaration written in Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. Then, he reached into his pocket, picked up a pen, and wrote "fighting!" at the end of the "SAKURA" dream.

Wow! So warm, Oppa!

Just as the program reached this point, Kim Tae-yeon heard a sharp, loud bang coming from outside her window, like the sound of fans downstairs... She quickly got up from the sofa, shook her head, closed the window, and then drew the curtains...

Yoona picked up a slice of pizza and watched the show intently. "SAKURA, isn't that Miyawaki Sakura from AKB48? She seems to be quite famous in Japan?"

"Who knows? Even if they're famous, they'll never be as famous as Tarot." Kim Tae-yeon pouted...

……

After the more than one-hour program aired, and the 96 trainees officially chose their seats, the mentors came out one by one. The MCs were Jeon Mi-so and Kang Daniel, who were the most popular contestants in the previous two seasons!

"Kang Daniel? Isn't he dating Park Jihyo?" Kim Tae-yeon said with a gossipy look.

Yoona, who was also finding the show a bit boring, perked up immediately upon hearing this, "Is it confirmed?"

"Well, it's probably more or less true. I heard JYP suppressed it, but the two are indeed dating. Kang Daniel's teammates aren't tight-lipped, and he's always bragging about it. A lot of people in the industry know about it." Kim Tae-yeon explained. She didn't know what Kang Daniel was thinking, having to show off his relationship like that.

This almost got exposed. Based on her experience, even if JYP paid to suppress the matter, as long as they didn't break up, it would be exposed sooner or later. It was just a matter of time. After all, there are more than one paparazzi company in Peninsula. No agency would pay each one to suppress it for you...

Unless you've already broken up... if you're really in love, there's nothing you can do...

"So, who exactly is Gong Cheng's girlfriend?" Lin Yoona tore off a slice of pizza. She was really curious about this. As she got older, she couldn't resist the push and pull. What thirty-year-old, beautiful, and rich woman would still act like an eighteen-year-old?

"Now, everyone I see looks like his daughter..."

She shrugged, wrinkled her nose, and said, "This kid has an outrageous number of scandals, and he's got great relationships with all the major female celebrities in the industry. It feels like he's having an affair with every single one of them..."

"I can't figure it out..." Kim Taeyeon shrugged, then suddenly asked, "Yoona, do you think unnie and him are a good match?"

"Cough cough..."

Im Yoona coughed twice, covering her mouth. Hearing this, she almost choked on her pizza. She picked up her water glass, took a sip, and then said in a sinister tone, "Unnie really likes younger men, huh..."

On the TV screen, it was finally Makoto Miyamoto's turn to appear on "Produce 48"...

On the large screen in the recording studio, a video clip about Gong Cheng was playing. The moment Gong Cheng stepped out of the waiting area, the post-production editing instantly filled the screen with tags, almost overflowing it. Next to his tall figure appeared tags: singer, actor, achievements: [3 Grammy Award Winner], [6 Number One Singles], [Billboard Chart King], [Single-Song Production Machine], [Fashion King], [Globally Renowned Producer], [Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actor], [Streaming King], [Top 1 Most Handsome Face in the World], [Award Collector], [Pop Superstar], [...]

Singer's representative works: "Rockstar", "Shape of You", "Peaches"...

Representative works of the actor: "Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo", "Goblin: The Lonely and Great God".

"..."

Im Yoona and Kim Tae-yeon stared at the various titles on the screen with twitching lips. Nearby, over ninety trainees instantly transformed into die-hard fans, excitedly screaming, "Tarot oppa..."

"Ahhhh!"

It's like a massive fan meeting...

"Yoona, you should get a bigger TV screen." Kim Taeyeon teased, speechless, but deep down she was still shocked and conflicted. Less than three years had passed; today was only the third year since the boy on the screen debuted...

The titles and achievements that fill the entire large television screen are all genuine honors, without any exaggeration.

With countless titles such as "Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actor," "Fashion King," "Billboard Music King," and so on, any one of them, placed in the K-pop scene, could transform an unknown artist into a top-tier celebrity.

Not to mention the Grammys, with six number-one singles. Any K-pop artist with even one number-one single, or an actor of the same age who wins the Baeksang Arts Awards for Best Actor at this age, has a limitless future and is enough to propel them to new heights in the industry...

"It's so intuitive..." Lim Yoona took a sip of water, and for a moment she was actually a little excited.

what happened!

Wow, her little hater is really something! She clenched her fist and smiled...

Outside the closed windows of the balcony, a series of sharp, explosive sounds seemed to echo again, "Ahhhhhh!" Well, another climax!

On TV, "Produce 48" began its next stage, with ninety-six trainees, organized by their respective agencies, performing in front of the mentors, who then ranked them...

The two glanced at it and felt that the quality was average.

Yoona glanced at her feet, which were set on a slender white arch on the cashmere carpet. The contrast between her black manicure and her pale ankles was striking. The manicure wasn't just plain black; it had subtle details, like sparkling rhinestones on a glossy, inky surface.

It was very expensive, this manicure, but she still got it done.

"By the way, why haven't you been filming lately, Yoona?" Kim Taeyeon turned to Yoona and asked. She opened her mouth, but didn't finish her sentence. There were rumors circulating in the industry that Yoona had broken up with that guy Gong Cheng, and then her film and television resources were cut off...

After all, the group of fellow apprentices behind Gong Cheng are currently the most powerful production team on the peninsula, Netflix, and Chungmuro. It sounds logical, but in reality, Yoona and Gong Cheng have no connection whatsoever, yet Yoona's resources have indeed started to decline this year...

Perhaps after enduring the test of the market for so long, the directors and screenwriters finally gave up; it just couldn't be made into a ratings hit—the reputation of being a "ratings poison" was too strong! Or perhaps there were deeper reasons, she didn't know...

So, I just asked.

"Still in talks..." Lim Yoona said somewhat helplessly, then stared at her black manicured nails. She also wanted to be a Blue Dragon Best Actress. With the start of filming for "Parasite," she had heard many senior figures in the entertainment industry talking about next year's Blue Dragon Awards...

Kim Tae-yeon sighed, then suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, I just remembered, I heard Lee Soo-man mention something before, that Gong Cheng might be planning a project next year, with one spot each from SM and YG, possibly forming a limited-time group, with the spots coming from Girls' Generation or Ryder Baby..."

"But then we didn't hear from JYP anymore. I guess he's probably too busy, so it's hard to say whether this will work out..."

"Really?" This was the first time Lim Yoona had heard about this. For the past two months, she had been busy with filming and hadn't been at the company much.

"It's true, but I don't know what happened afterward. It might have been shelved. I heard from that guy the other day that he was busy with his world tour and comeback in the second half of the year. I didn't see Taylor Swift coming to Seoul again at the end of last month. The two of them are working on a collaboration song."

Yoona listened attentively, "Has the music video been filmed yet?"

"How could it be that fast?" Kim Taeyeon pouted, then came to her senses and stared at the maknae, asking, "Yoona, you wouldn't be thinking of... becoming the female lead in that kid's music video, would you?"

"Oh, I was just asking..."

"However, now that you mention it, it's not entirely impossible. After all, we're such good friends. You even starred in his music video, and I haven't even appeared in one yet. It really feels like I'm letting him down..."

Yoona smiled somewhat guiltily, and with a gentle smile, she raised her slender wrist to smooth a strand of hair behind her ear.

How about shooting a music video?
Just some rumors can gain her over 200,000 followers in one night. To be honest, she was really tempted. She couldn't just get her nails done for free, could she?

Kim Tae-yeon inwardly scolded herself for being so talkative. "Hehe...who knows? You can talk to him. Anyway, you two have never worked together before. If you did, it would be a good publicity stunt..." She forced a smile...

"Let's chat when he goes back to Seoul in a few days, over drinks. It's on me!" Yoona said with a cheerful smile, readily offering her services. But then she noticed her unnie's strange expression...

Could it be that you really want the love triangle in "Daily Gossip" to become a reality? Unnie!
Is her defining characteristic "innocence"?

On the TV screen, Gong Cheng, who had been slacking off for a long time, raised his eyelids to look at the trainee information in his hand and asked with a faint smile.

Im Yoona and Kim Tae-yeon immediately turned their attention to that direction...

The pretty trainee had a good face and looked like she had potential. Lim Yoona raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this the trainee I mentioned earlier who looked very talented? Kang Hye-won!"

Watching Gong Cheng's expression as he sat in the mentor's seat, she smiled and said, "It seems that Gong Cheng also thinks she is very capable, just like me."

"..."

Three minutes later, Kim Tae-yeon burst out laughing, and Lim Yoona also looked at the screen with a bit of a laugh, wondering how this person was even more of a pretty face than herself.
Gong Cheng sat in the mentor's seat with an expression that was somewhat helpless and unnatural, his facial expressions seeming a bit forced. He pursed his lips, faced Jiang Huiyuan's somewhat bewildered and nervous gaze, swallowed hard, and asked,
"Is your only asset your innocence?"

The trainee named Jiang Huiyuan froze on the spot, her face contorted in embarrassment as she clutched the hem of her clothes.

"hhhhhh~" Kim Tae-yeon!

"Hh!" Yoona...

……

In the neon-lit night, Gong Cheng finished his concert, took a shower at his hotel, and lay down in bed when he saw the overwhelming trending topics on social media...

#Is your only asset your innocence?#
#Tarot's debut on Produce 48#
#Pure and innocent idols have appeared#
"This even went viral?" Gong Cheng glanced at the trending topics, guessing it must be related to Jiang Huiyuan, and couldn't help but chuckle. Is this some kind of fool's luck? The virality is inexplicable…

But actually, for celebrities, how popular they are doesn't matter, as long as they become popular, that's all that matters!
Perhaps, someone with exceptional purity could actually debut as a celebrity!

“Little girl, I miss you…” Gong Cheng curled up in bed, wriggling like a maggot, and sent a message to [Guoguoxia]. That little penguin who pretended to be drunk that night was so cute; it always made people feel closer to Mina-chan…

The soul-to-soul union of the past is now quickly followed by physical intimacy. However, compared to the sublime union of the soul, he feels it's not suitable for his mundane nature; he prefers a dual experience of physical climax and spiritual resonance.

[Guoguoxia]: "Watch your mouth, Cheng-chan..."

"...Goodnight, hehe..." Gong Cheng was both embarrassed and angry!
No emotional intelligence, a complete novice, knows nothing!

……

June 20th...

#Danger! Female idols and actresses, beware! The "playboy" is back in Seoul#
#Tarot Airport Unedited Photos#
Gong Cheng sat in the nanny van back to the company, staring at the trending topics on his phone. Damn it, the media outlets that came up with the trending topic #Danger! Female Idols and Actresses Avoid This, The King of Guns Returns to Seoul are geniuses!
What about the actresses and idols scandal from a while back? Seriously, who's the real womanizer?
!

This is truly a hard-hitting attack!

"Brother, doesn't the company care about the nickname 'Cannon King'?" Gong Cheng helplessly turned off his phone screen, his slender fingers tapping on the edge of the car window, looking somewhat melancholy.

What would the women think if they saw this?
He was very considerate of his female relatives' feelings...

Kim Daewoo chuckled, "Ani, you can't control these kinds of derogatory nicknames. Besides, it fits my persona! It's nothing to worry about..."

"..."

Gong Cheng's face twitched upon hearing this. "Look at what you're saying, how despicable do I really seem..."

"No, what the company means is that you don't really have a persona, and there's nothing to go wrong with. These negative nicknames and rumors won't bother your fans. On the contrary, if one day you start dating and go public with it, it won't affect your core fanbase much. Although most fans don't really care whether you're dating or not, it's undeniable that there will still be some female fans. Subtly influencing them, when you really want to date someday, your female fans will accept it more naturally..."

Kim Daewoo analyzed seriously. In short, few fans would believe these rumors. Everyone just wanted to have some fun. Plus, with all the hype, there was no point in managing it. And to be honest, those CP fans, like the CP between this guy and TWICE, also had the shadow of company manipulation.

It's all for the sake of generating buzz, leveraging the popularity of top celebrities to boost TWICE's image.

Gong Cheng was well aware of this, but he didn't care. Just like those rumors about Lin Yoona and Kim Tae-yeon, they were 100% marketing ploys by SM Entertainment. He didn't care, but he didn't want to end up with those two "older sisters" one day!

He doesn't like to be taken advantage of, so even if he slept with her, it would be a fair deal...

Taeyeon and Yoona have been rubbing against each other for so long, he has to rub back and try to win them over, right?

"Let's have a good drink tonight, it's a company dinner..." Kim Daewoo fiddled with the steering wheel, turned around, and drove towards Jiangdong District, talking about the plans for the evening.

Gong Cheng snapped out of his thoughts, smiled and nodded, "Okay, let's go straight to the company then."

He glanced at his watch; it was 7 p.m. He'd already arrived at the restaurant, and going back to his dorm would mean making a round trip.

"Okay, you can go to TWICE's practice room for a while. I'm going to my office to hand over some work. TWICE's practice should end around 8 PM, and the CEO has scheduled it for 9 PM. We'll go together then," Kim Daewoo said with a smile...

Gong Cheng nodded. The company dinner was probably just a gathering of its artists and some key staff members.

Why is it that once you finally get a day or two of peace and quiet, you can't wait to rush off to another event?
He felt a little uneasy and didn't dare to stay in Seoul for long. Sigh!

"I'm a little cabbage, so little, so adorable~ Don't hit me with the hoe~" Gong Cheng looked out the window at the night sky and hummed a couple of lines...

Kim Dayu found it quite appealing and initially thought it was the kid's new song, but upon closer listening, it didn't seem so. Instead, it was catchy and easy to sing along to. "A nursery rhyme?"

"..." Gong Cheng pursed his lips in frustration and continued to hum along blindly based on his feelings.

"Standing tall in the morning sun, smiling broadly at my mother~"

"Little bok choy, my heart is pounding as I sprout~"

"Peeking over the fence...my wife is coming with a bamboo basket!"

"Waiting for my wife to come and pick them~ Have mercy on me~ Laugh out loud~"

"The cleaver gleams like silver moonlight~ So gently~ Cutting the edges~ Sesame oil kisses my shoulder~ Soy sauce dyes my sunset red!"

"Ouch~ It hurts! My girlfriend tasted it and smiled with narrowed eyes~ I twirled it on the tip of my chopsticks~ secretly tasting her red lips, haha~"

Jin Dayu felt a chill run down his spine as he listened. "This nursery rhyme is creepy!"

"Rebirth Song!" Gong Cheng hummed casually, unable to come up with anything else... He glanced sideways at the neon-lit orange night scene of Jiangdong District... I'm so melancholy!

Who understands?

(End of this chapter)