Peninsula: From Water Injection to Stardom

Chapter 139 I'll Treat You to Cake (Thanks for the donation and monthly tickets~)

For the first time, Hirai Momoto experienced what it's like to feel like a rollercoaster.

From a moment of nervous anticipation to the shock and disappointment of realizing that I had misunderstood.

His pupils began to lose focus, and he didn't respond to what Jiang Yan said next.

Jiang Yan, of course, had no way of knowing what Hirai Momo had gone through in those few seconds. He only noticed that she suddenly stopped replying, and when he looked over, he found that she seemed to be daydreaming.

"Momo? What are you thinking about?" Jiang Yan raised his voice slightly to Hirai Momo.

"Ah! W-what's wrong? What did you just say, Hikaru-san? I didn't hear you clearly?" Hirai Momo was jolted back to her senses by the shout and became somewhat incoherent.

"So, what do you think of the gift I chose?" Jiang Yan repeated.

"That's great. They'll definitely like the gift Hikaru chose." Hirai Momo nodded somewhat mechanically, forcing a smile as she tried to appear no different from before.

Does "them" include you?

"Of course I like it too."

"That's good. Then Momo, help me choose one. You should know better than me what style they like."

"Sure, no problem."

Hirai Momo didn't even know what she was feeling as she helped Jiang Yan choose a gift.

At any other time, she would have been very happy to receive such a gift.

But at this moment, she couldn't feel happy at all.

After about half an hour of careful selection, Jiang Yan chose a total of nine Olivia tote bags in different colors.

A single bag costs around 13,000 yuan, so nine bags would cost less than 120,000 yuan.

Without even blinking, he swiped his card to pay, and then he and Momo Hirai left the counter.

They didn't take the bags they bought with them; instead, they had the store deliver them.

Almost all luxury brands offer this service, provided that the corresponding delivery conditions are met.

Giving gifts to all the TWICE employees was something he had considered before, but it hadn't been implemented due to various factors. Today, the time was right.

The two then continued to stroll around the department store. When they passed a cake shop, Jiang Yan stopped and glanced at the shop's display case.

Then, he pointed to one of the cakes and asked Hirai Momo, "Is this the low-calorie cake that's been trending lately?"

Hirai Momo, who has an exceptionally keen eye for food, immediately said, "Hmm, it's called Greek Yogurt Basque Cake, right? Sana and the others mentioned it before, and they said it tastes pretty good."

"As a reward for helping me earlier, let me treat you to cake."

"Hey, red bean paste?!"

Hirai Momo, who was initially feeling a bit down, brightened up immediately after hearing that Jiang Yan was going to treat her to cake.

"Wait for me a moment." After saying this, Jiang Yan walked into the store.

A few minutes later, he walked back to Hirai Momo with a paper bag in his hand and handed it to her.

"You can choose to eat your cake now at a nearby seat, or take it back to your dorm later."

After Jiang Yan finished speaking, he thought Hirai Momo would choose the second option.

But to his surprise, Hirai Momo said without any hesitation, "Let's eat it now."

Among the options for Hirai Momo, there was no option to take her home to eat.

Because taking it back means that you might have to share it with other people.

If it were a cake she bought herself, she would be happy to share a bite with the members.

But this time, absolutely not.

After finding a public seat nearby, Hirai Momo carefully opened the sealed bag, made a small opening in the cake box, and gently took it out, placing it between her knees.

Then, she took out the included plastic spoon, scooped out a spoonful, and put it in her mouth.

After taking the first bite, Hirai Momo's expression was filled with satisfaction, as if she had eaten something incredibly delicious.

This made Jiang Yan, who was watching from the side, secretly complain, "What kind of Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma facial expression is this?"

It's just a cake, why are you making it taste like the finest delicacies?

It's a shame that she doesn't use that expression to film a mukbang (eating broadcast).

Then he watched as Hirai Momo eagerly took her second, third, and fourth bites—

During this time, Hirai Momo did ask him if he wanted to try some, but Jiang Yan didn't plan to take off his mask, so he didn't eat any.

There were many pedestrians in the department store. If someone happened to be photographed during the few seconds he took off his mask, JYP would probably receive a photo from some media outlet showing the two of them eating a cake together, even before the next day.

Jiang Yan may not care, but JYP will probably have to pay this hush money.

Otherwise, if a girl group that has been around for less than three months is exposed to news that a member is suspected of being in a relationship, it would be a fatal blow to the entire group.

Moreover, it's a picture of them eating cake together, so even if they clarify that they're not related, probably no one will believe them.

After finishing their cake, Hirai Momo and the other person strolled around the department store for a while.

After they had finished shopping, Jiang Yan escorted the other person back to their dormitory.

Perhaps it was because her undisguised good mood was too obvious that the other members sitting on the sofa noticed her unusual behavior as soon as Hirai Momo entered the dormitory and passed through the living room.

At this moment, all the other members of TWICE were present in the living room, except for Mina and Tzuyu.

Sana Minatozaki, quite curious, spoke first: "Momoring, did something happy happen? You seem so happy?"

When asked this question, Hirai Momo paused in her tracks, realizing that she hadn't been able to hide her expression.

But in a moment of quick thinking, she immediately recounted how she had run into Jiang Yan at the gym that day, been invited to go shopping together, and how he had ended up buying gifts for all of them.

Of course, Hirai Momo didn't mention the cake at all.

When the others also learned about the gift, the living room erupted in gasps of surprise.

Kim Da-hyun exclaimed, "Oppa, you didn't need to give such an expensive gift!"

Son Chaeyoung nodded in agreement: "Vest, you've already helped us so much—"

Park Jihyo and Lim Nayeon exchanged a glance, their eyes reflecting equally surprise and astonishment.

While everyone was marveling at the situation, Yoo Jeong-yeon, Hirai Momo's roommate, discovered a blind spot.

"Momo, didn't you bring a set of clothes to the gym? Why did you come back empty-handed?" Yoo Jeong-yeon noticed that Hirai Momo's hands were empty, and she hadn't brought anything.

Only after being reminded of this did Hirai Momo belatedly realize what was happening.

She was so engrossed in chatting with Jiang Yan on her way back that she forgot to ask for the bag of clothes she had left in his backpack.

"Yan-sang probably won't open it to look, right?"

The thought of her discarded panties in that bag made Hirai Momo's cheeks flush and her thoughts race.

At the same time, Jiang Yan, who had just returned to his apartment, took his backpack and went straight to the balcony.

He unzipped his backpack, intending to take out his sweat-soaked clothes and put them in the washing machine, but the next second, his hand, which was reaching into his backpack, hesitated and stopped in mid-air.

Oh no, how did I accidentally bring this back?