Peninsula: My cheat code is unscientific

Chapter 157 Sunny's New Variety Show
A nameless anger flared up instantly. She strode over, grabbed a sofa cushion from nearby, and lashed out at Krystal Jung:
"Hey! Krystal Jung! You're hiding here in the dark watching this kind of thing?! Who are you trying to scare?!"

"Unnie! Don't hit me!" Krystal Jung cried out, trying to block the attack with her arm while pleading in a wronged tone.
"I...I'm studying acting! The male lead is Nicolas Cage! I want to learn from him!"

"Acting skills?" Jessica Jung stopped what she was doing, furious.
"What kind of decent person would watch horror movies to learn acting skills?! You're kidding me?!"

"Really!" Krystal rubbed her arm, which didn't hurt, and muttered softly:
"This movie was only released last month, I was just taking a look..."

Jessica Jung, too lazy to listen to her continue rambling, threw the cushion back in its place, patted her back, and asked irritably, "Is it pretty? What was it about?"

"It's alright..." Krystal Jung pouted.
"It's a very old-fashioned ghost revenge story, nothing new."

"Why are you scaring yourself like this when there's nothing new to it?" Jessica Jung rolled her eyes at her speechlessly, turned to leave, but then stopped as if suddenly remembering something, turned back, and asked casually:
"By the way, Krystal, have you noticed anything strange about Taeyeon lately?"

Krystal Jung was taken aback by the question and blinked blankly:

"Taeyeon unnie? I haven't seen her recently either. And..." She paused, her voice lowering.
"Unnie, you know that I don't go to their place much anymore."

Jessica Jung froze, stung by Krystal's unintentional remark.

Krystal immediately realized she had misspoke, carefully observing her unnie's expression, and quickly tried to make amends, asking in return:

"Unnie, why are you asking all of this now? Did you... run into Taeyeon unnie today?"

"...Nothing, just asking." Jessica Jung quickly regained her composure and waved her hand.
"Go back to your 'acting textbook,' stop watching those ghost screams, they're terrifying."

After saying that, she didn't give Krystal Jung a chance to ask any further questions and went straight back to her bedroom.

After closing the door and collapsing onto the soft bed, Jessica Jung finally let out a long sigh of relief.

What happened tonight was really strange. Kim Tae-yeon's completely different behavior and her rambling words made her feel uneasy.

She took out her phone, unlocked the screen, and unconsciously swiped through her contacts.

Kim Tae-yeon's name lies there quietly.

Yoona's name is also listed below.

Her thumb hovered over the name "Kim Tae-yeon" for a few seconds, but in the end she didn't press it. Instead, she opened the KaKao Talk chat interface with "Lim Yoon-a".

'Should we... ask Yoona? Has Taeyeon been going through something lately? Or... am I just overthinking it?'

My fingers traced patterns on the screen, typing and deleting words repeatedly in the chat box.

Finally, she sighed softly, pressed the back button, and exited the chat interface.

The light from her phone screen illuminated her slightly tired and confused face.

"never mind."

She threw her phone onto the bedside table and pulled the blanket over herself.

'Maybe I'm just overthinking it. It was just an unexpected encounter; it doesn't change anything and is completely meaningless. Maybe Kim Tae-yeon was just having a momentary lapse, or maybe she was triggered by something, and tomorrow everything will be back to square one.'

On the other side, Jiang Che drove Taeyeon's car back to Sunny's apartment. When he opened the door, Sunny was sitting cross-legged in the center of the sofa, holding a cushion in her arms, her eyes burning, as if she had been waiting for him.

Jiang Che felt uncomfortable under her gaze, and even slowed down his shoe-changing movements. He couldn't help but speak up:
"Sunny, why aren't you sleeping at night? Why are you sitting here cosplaying as The Thinker? Or is there something on my face?"

Sunny didn't reply, but scanned him several times from top to bottom and then from bottom to top with the look of someone looking at an alien, making an ambiguous "tsk tsk" sound.

Jiang Che changed his shoes, walked to the other side of the sofa, sat down, picked up the water glass on the table, took a sip, and tried to ignore the unsettling gaze:

"Hey, cousin, just say what you want to say. The way you're looking at me makes me look like a pervert."

"Hey, you're the pervert!" Sunny was taken aback by those words, but immediately leaned closer out of curiosity.
"I just wanted to see... what's so special about you... that you could make that awkward Jessica not only agree to have dinner with you, but also personally drive you home?!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Che immediately breathed a sigh of relief, thinking something serious had happened. He casually slumped onto the sofa, waved his hand, and said in a relaxed tone:

"It's not because I'm charming; I was wearing Taeyeon's face back then! It just means Taeyeon is more charming, what does it have to do with me, Kang Cheol?"

Sunny rolled her eyes at him, as if she had heard a joke:
"If Kim Tae-yeon really had that much charm, the two of them wouldn't have ended up like this."

As she spoke, she became interested and began counting on her fingers:

"Look at Yoona, she's so infatuated with you, how is she treating you now? And Taeyeon, she practically wants to put you in her pocket and carry you around, to play with you anytime, anywhere..."

"Playing with..." Upon hearing this word, Jiang Che's lips twitched violently, and some unpleasant images involuntarily surfaced in his mind, which he quickly tried to dispel:

"What kind of indecent words are these..."

Sunny ignored his protests, her gaze becoming even more probing:
"So, the problem must be with you! I'm wondering if I'd become a heartthrob if I learned this skill."

Jiang Che was both amused and exasperated by her reasoning. After thinking carefully, he replied:

"Maybe I'm just shameless."

"Pfft—" Sunny was amused and grabbed a cushion, gently hitting him with it.
"Hey! I'm seriously analyzing the problem, who wants to listen to your nonsense!"

"I'm not kidding, I'm serious." Jiang Che caught the pillow, his expression becoming slightly more serious.

"Perhaps it's precisely because I'm not Kim Tae-yeon, and I don't have those heavy pasts and burdens like they do, that I dare to say anything without worrying about the consequences, and I might accidentally stumble upon something."

He paused, then concluded:
"Anyway, if I say something wrong, it's Taeyeon who will lose face and take the blame, so what am I afraid of?"

Sunny listened to his twisted logic and initially wanted to refute it, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed... there was actually some truth to it.
She nodded thoughtfully, and was about to say something when she heard Jiang Che's final declaration of "passing the buck." Her lips twitched instantly, and the little bit of thought that had just arisen vanished.

'So this is what he thinks every time he substitutes for someone else? Should I let him fill in for this variety show again?'

She looked up and couldn't help but glance at Jiang Che again, then decided to let him go. After all, it seemed that this guy was like a chosen one, and good things always happened every time he filled in for someone else.

Thinking of this, she got down to business: "I have something to tell you. I'm in talks for a variety show. If it's finalized, remember to cover for me."

"Huh???" Jiang Che was stunned, not reacting for a moment:

"You? Why did you suddenly decide to actively promote yourself and get on variety shows? This isn't like you at all."

Sunny gave him a look that said, "You just don't understand," and said matter-of-factly:
"I can't just watch you sit around doing nothing. With your transformation ability, if you don't use it to work... no, I mean, if you don't use it to create value, wouldn't that be a complete waste of resources?"

Jiang Che was completely stunned. So this woman had specifically found him work just to get him a job? He asked again in disbelief:
"So you... specifically took on this job for me?"

"And what do you think?" Sunny spread her hands, smiling like a sly fox.

"You've filled in for Yoona and Taeyeon so many times, I can't fall behind, right? Otherwise, when will I ever break even on my 100 million investment?"
Okay, just know that this is something. I'll tell you the details later. Go on, Pikachu, you can go to sleep now.

She waved her hand, starting to shoo people away, but then, as if remembering something, added:
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. That variety show... if it goes through, Yoona will probably participate too." She winked, her smile meaningful.
"And, as far as I know, it will be super interesting."

Jiang Che reluctantly got up, preparing to return to his room, but upon hearing this, his curiosity was piqued, and he couldn't help but turn back and ask:
"What variety show is it? Yoona is going to be on it? Is it 'Running Man' again?"

Sunny gave a mysterious smile and shook her head:

"No, I'll tell you after it's confirmed that I'll be participating. For now, it's a secret."

Jiang Che hated riddle tellers the most. Seeing her smug look, he rolled his eyes and decided to retaliate.

He immediately adopted a hesitant expression and said:

"Sunny, now that you mention it... I think I also have something to tell you?"

Sunny's interest was piqued, and she asked in confusion:
"Hmm? What is it? Go ahead and say it."

Jiang Che pretended to ponder for a moment, then waved his hand, making a move to walk towards the room:
"Sigh, never mind, let's talk about it tomorrow. It's too late tonight, and I'm afraid it will disturb your sleep. Goodnight!"

After saying that, before Sunny could react, he slipped into the room and quickly closed the door.

In the living room, Sunny stared at the door that slammed shut with a "bang," and it took her two seconds to react.

"What?! Jiang Che!! Are you out of your mind?!"

Her roar pierced through the door and echoed throughout the entire apartment. She grabbed a cushion and slammed it angrily against the guest room door.

"I'm not sick! Okay, I'm really going to sleep now. Cousin, you should rest early too. Staying up late is bad for your health, especially it can stunt your growth..."

Jiang Che suppressed a laugh in the room and replied loudly.

"Jiang Che!!!" Sunny's roar escalated again, she felt like her lungs were about to explode with anger.

Inside the room, Jiang Che smiled and ignored Sunny, who was about to explode outside.

He remembered his important business of sounding out Jessica Jung, so he picked up his phone and scrolled through the fan group, trying to see if there were any clues that her schedule might overlap with Yoona's, but he couldn't find any.

"This is too inefficient," he muttered, leaving the fan group and simply sending a message to Yoona directly.

[Yoona, are you asleep yet?]

A reply came shortly after the message was sent.

Not yet. What's wrong?

Jiang Che stated his intention directly: "[Yoona, I need to discuss something with you. Could you help me arrange a time to meet with Jessica? I'll use your face to have a meal with her, how about that?]"

Yoona on the other end of the phone was clearly taken aback by the suggestion, replying with a series of question marks:

【What?! What do you want to do?!】

Jiang Che explained:
[For the sake of world peace, isn't this about mending Taeyeon's relationship with her? So I wanted to use you as a front to sound her out and see what her current attitude is. Knowing your enemy is half the battle, and I don't want to see you stuck in the middle suffering.]

On the other end of the screen, Yoona, lying in bed, saw the message and pursed her lips. Although she knew this guy was mostly trying to help Taeyeon unnie,

But the words "I don't want you to be caught in the middle and feel uncomfortable" still stirred something in her heart.

She hesitated for a moment, but finally replied:
Okay, I'll go tell them. But be careful, don't use my face to spout nonsense, and definitely don't ruin my image! Otherwise... you know the consequences. (Kitchen knife.jpg)

[Jiang Che: Don't worry! I'm a professional!]

[Yoona: That would be best. Wait for my message.]

[Jiang Che: Okay!]

After ending her conversation with Kang Cheol, Yoona let out a soft breath. She opened her chat with Jessica Jung, paused her fingertip on the screen for a moment, and then typed and sent:
[Unnie, are you asleep? Are you free tomorrow night? Let's have dinner together.]

After sending the message, a reply was slow to arrive. Yoona assumed the other person was already asleep, so she put her phone back on the bedside table, planning to reply the next day.

Meanwhile, Jessica Jung was tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep. Taeyeon's unusual behavior and rambling words from the previous night were replaying in her mind like a tangled mess, making her restless and unable to fall asleep.

"Damn it, this is really weird..." she muttered under her breath, turned over, and prepared to continue forcing herself to sleep. Just then, the screen of her phone on the bedside table lit up with a "buzz" and a slight vibration.

She reached for her phone, unlocked the screen, and her pupils contracted slightly the moment she saw the sender's name.

Lim Yoon-a?
Jessica Jung frowned immediately. She'd just met the strangely behaving Tae-yeon today, and now she was receiving an invitation from Yoona? Wasn't that a bit too much of a coincidence?
Taeyeon... what exactly are you trying to do? Are you trying to send a message through Yoona? Or is it... just a coincidence?
A flood of guesses rushed through her mind, making her already chaotic thoughts even more complicated. Her fingertips unconsciously traced the edge of her phone for a moment, hesitated, and then quickly replied:
[I'm still awake. Okay, please let me know the specific time and place once you've decided.]

The message was sent successfully. She put down her phone, feeling a strange sense of relief. It was good that Yoona had contacted her first; it saved her the trouble of agonizing over whether or not to try and find out.

Yoona was a little surprised to receive Jessica's reply—why is this unnie still awake so late?

(End of this chapter)