Peninsula: From Water Injection to Stardom

Chapter 183: Not as Bitter as Before (4k)

After his trip to the United States ended, Kang Yeon, back in Seoul, certainly didn't have any free time.

After finalizing the choice of the title track, the first thing he did upon returning was to stop recording the half-finished tracks and find the instrumental version of "SEVEN" from his music library to start recording the vocals.

Let's not rush into the rap part. After Cardi B releases her first album in March and officially debuts as a rapper and makes a name for herself, Jiang Yan can then naturally have Epic Records extend an invitation to her.

After returning, Jiang Zhennan, as he had said before, went to the third headquarters of JYP and talked to them about the magazine.

The answer was exactly what Jiang Yan had expected. The operations manager of the third headquarters agreed to the condition that very day and came over to coordinate.

Jiang Yan didn't need to handle this personally; the coordination was handled by Yuehua Entertainment.

Filming for "ELLEMEN" was scheduled for early March, and before that, Jiang Yanjiping spent his days at C...

In UBE's studio.

Of course, I also go on dates with my partner occasionally.

Jiang Zhennan has arranged for him to take his driver's license test next month, at which time Jiang Yan will need to make time to review the test questions.

South Korea's driver's license test is relatively easy, not nearly as difficult as in China, so Jiang Yan only needs to put in a little effort and it won't be a problem.

After passing his driving test, Jiang Yan will buy a car for transportation.

He doesn't seem to be considering moving to a different apartment yet.

Because if he really had to change, he would rather just buy a new set.

Renting an apartment in South Korea is a rip-off. Although the amount of money wasn't much to him, he didn't want to spend extra money unnecessarily.

As for the house he had planned to buy in China, Jiang Yan also asked someone to look for one during his time off.

Ultimately, he chose Lakeside Garden in the QP district of Shanghai.

This is one of the top ten waterfront villas in Shanghai, and many celebrities have purchased and moved in here.

The type of house he was interested in was a detached villa, less than 300 square meters in area, but with a 100-square-meter basement.

Jiang Yan plans to buy two apartments, one for his parents and one for himself.

The price of a single unit is around 2000 million yuan, which is not cheap, but with Jiang Yan's current assets, it is not a problem to buy two units in full.

The story goes like this: After Jiang Yan finally settled his income at the end of the year, he had more than 12 million US dollars in cash on hand.

Converted at the current exchange rate, that's over 8 million Chinese dollars.

Even after buying two villas, he still had more than 30 million yuan in his pocket.

Moreover, soon after the four FMCG endorsement contracts that had been negotiated were signed, he would receive a total of nearly 4 million yuan in pre-tax endorsement fees.

You can't spend it all, you really can't spend it all.

Jiang Yan stayed in South Korea until the 28th when she went to China to shoot the opening issue of GQ China.

At that moment, after finishing mixing a song, he closed the software, turned around, and took out his phone to make a video call to Kim Seolhyun.

He hasn't seen his little black cat for almost two weeks since he started working on his album.

But that's normal; when you're busy with your career, you naturally need to focus on it.

The video call was answered quickly, and Kim Seolhyun's face filled the screen as she exclaimed with delight, "Oppa, why did you call me so suddenly?!"

Jiang Yan looked at his phone and smiled, "I called you because I missed you."

"Hehe, oppa, I miss you too, saranghaeyo~"

After moving slightly away from the screen, Kim Seolhyun gave him a kiss on the lips and raised her hands to make a heart shape with her fingers.

Jiang Yan asked, "Are you free tonight? Let's have dinner together."

"Okay! Where to?"

Kim Seolhyun agreed without hesitation, her eyes curving into crescents.

"It's in Seongsu-dong, I recently saw a German restaurant there. Come to my apartment first, then we'll go together."

"Okay, I'll change my clothes and head out now!"

Jin Xuexuan hung up the phone excitedly. Jiang Yan glanced at the time, turned off his computer, quickly packed up, left the studio, and took a taxi back to his apartment.

After arriving at the apartment, he had only been resting on the sofa for a short while when the doorbell rang.

After Jiang Yan got up and opened the door, Kim Seolhyun, wearing a baseball cap, quickly walked in.

As soon as she entered, she skillfully took off her hat, revealing a head of smooth, long hair.

"Oppa~"

The moment the words left her lips, she had already thrown herself into Jiang Yan's arms.

Jiang Yan took the opportunity to put his arm around her slender waist, looked down at Jin Xuexuan in his arms and couldn't help but laugh, "Does our Xuexuan think this way?"

I?"

"Of course."

Kim Seolhyun buried her face in his chest and rubbed against him, her voice slightly coquettish: "You've been so busy lately, I haven't seen you for almost half a month."

"I can't help it, I've been quite busy lately, and I'll be going back to China in a few days."

"I don't mean to blame oppa, but let's not talk about work-related topics right now, okay?"

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

Jiang Yan looked at her with a somewhat indulgent gaze and nodded in agreement. Upon hearing the reply, Jin Xuexuan also showed a rather satisfied smile.

The two embraced and sat down on the sofa in the living room.

Kim Seolhyun naturally hugged Kang Yeon's arm and leaned on his shoulder, complaining about how their manager had started strictly controlling their diet because the group was about to make a comeback.

Jiang Yan listened quietly to her speak, occasionally echoing her words.

After venting all her pent-up frustrations, Kim Seolhyun finally stopped the conversation, satisfied.

She leaned against Jiang Yan's chest, raising her head to look at the face so close to hers.

After looking at it for a few seconds, as if suddenly remembering something, Kim Seolhyun blinked and asked, "Oppa, you haven't forgotten what I told you before, have you?"

"What is it?"

"Let's eat pineapple."

Kim Seolhyun said in a very serious tone.

Jiang Yan replied with a smile, "I haven't forgotten it since you said it."

"Qinjia?"

"Yes, I eat it several times a week."

Upon hearing this answer, Kim Seolhyun's smile widened even more.

"Oppa, would you like me to check out the results?"

Kim Seolhyun deliberately dragged out the last syllable, her tone carrying a hint of seduction.

When Jiang Yan heard her say that, he didn't reply, but simply reached out and gently pinched the corner of her mouth.

Then he placed his hand on Kim Seolhyun's head and applied slight pressure.

After giving him a fleeting glance, the latter obediently lowered her head and began to drink the Chinese medicine.

About twenty minutes.

She covered her mouth, looked up, swallowed, and then said with a hint of surprise in her eyes, "Oppa, it really isn't as bitter as before!"

Jiang Yan chuckled and replied, "It seems this method is quite effective."

"Hehe, oppa, I wasn't lying to you, was I~"

"Okay, then I'll continue taking it as before. Do you want to rinse your mouth? There's mouthwash in the guest bathroom."

"No need, I've already swallowed it all."

As she spoke, Kim Seolhyun held out a piece of pig liver to show him.

Jiang Yan pinched her cheek and laughed, "Pabo, I'm going to kiss you again later."

"Oh, I'll go now."

Kim Seolhyun nodded obediently, then got up from the floor and went to the guest bathroom to rinse her mouth.

Afterwards, as it grew dark, the two left the apartment together and headed to the German restaurant where they had made a reservation.

The private rooms in this restaurant are decorated with warm yellow lighting, creating a very comfortable atmosphere.

After simply ordering a few of the restaurant's recommended signature dishes, the waiter soon brought out their order.

Sausage platters, roasted pork knuckles, mashed potatoes, and German dark beer were served one after another.

Kim Seolhyun's eyes lit up after taking a bite of the special smoked sausage, and she said, "Hmm, it tastes good."

Jiang Yan also cut a piece with his knife and fork, chewed it, and then smiled as he commented, "It's really good. Looks like I didn't make a mistake."

o

This dinner took more than forty minutes.

By the time we paid the bill and left the restaurant, night had completely fallen.

After they came out, Kim Seol-hyun took Jiang Yan's arm, and the two strolled slowly and aimlessly.

After glancing at the time on his phone, Jiang Yan turned and asked, "Are you going back tonight?"

Upon hearing this, Kim Seolhyun paused slightly, looked up at him, and seemed to have a faint smile in her beautiful eyes.

Instead of answering directly, she asked, "Oppa, do you want me to go back?"

Jiang Yan smiled and said, "Of course I don't want you to go back."

"Then—I won't go back~"

Kim Seolhyun spoke softly, her eyes revealing an undeniable tenderness.

On February 28, the weather gradually began to warm up.

Jiang Yan arrived in Shanghai around 9 a.m. He had two main purposes for coming to China: a photoshoot for GQ magazine and a photoshoot for Cornetto's GG brand, for which he had already signed an endorsement deal.

Today we'll shoot for the magazine, and tomorrow we'll shoot for the cute little guy.

After settling into the hotel, the group arrived at the pre-booked photography studio half an hour later, where Jiang Yan met with the magazine's editor-in-chief, Wang Feng, and the photography team.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Jiang Yan went to the changing room to change his clothes after a few minutes of pleasant conversation.

Since this magazine features Valentino on the cover, the clothes Jiang Yan wore on the cover were naturally provided by the brand.

All of them were the latest seasonal outfits, but Jiang Yan wore them with ease.

A sense of style is truly innate; even the most unfashionable celebrities can't hide their inherent lack of style no matter how they dress.

Rustic.

The shoot took longer than usual, perhaps because it's rare for a photographer to encounter a male celebrity like Jiang Yan who is naturally handsome and exudes a sophisticated aura.

The other party was extremely meticulous, and the time spent on the same outfit far exceeded that of Jiang Yan's previous shoots.

By the time the entire series of outfits had been photographed, it was already two or three in the afternoon.

Jiang Yan didn't even eat lunch.

After finishing work, he declined the magazine's dinner invitation, changed his clothes, and left with his team by car.

The group stopped at a nearby commercial street. After getting out of the car, Jiang Yan planned to grab a quick bite.

And coincidentally, there was a KFC not far from the parking spot.

Without any hesitation, they decided to have it for lunch that day. After getting off the bus, they went straight into the restaurant to order.

There weren't many people in the store at that time. Jiang Yan casually found a seat and sat down, while Jiang Zhennan went to order food.

After waiting for about ten minutes, the other person sat down with a plate containing hamburgers and other snacks.

Jiang Yan quickly tore open a cod burger and started eating. After finishing, he suddenly remembered that Jiang Zhennan had mentioned KFC to him before.

The endorsement deal.

"Hey, how's the deal with that KFC endorsement going?"

"We're still in talks, but it should be a sure thing. The other party has already agreed to match our quote, and now we're discussing the specific business activities we need to cooperate with."

"Okay, I understand."

Hearing that the discussion had almost concluded, Jiang Yan stopped asking questions.

After a quick meal, the group returned to their hotel to rest. In the evening, they took a stroll along the Bund.

The next day, in the morning as usual, the group took a van to the photo studio of the cute guy to take pictures.

The process went smoothly and took less time than yesterday.

The entire photo shoot and image magazine shoot was completed in just one morning.

After filming, on the way back by car, Jiang Zhennan received a phone call.

After receiving the call, the other party relayed the message they had just received with a surprised expression: "Epic Records has arranged for you to be a performing guest at the Billboard Music Awards in May."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan's expression was not as surprised as Jiang Zhennan's.

This is a fairly common facial recognition resource, nothing to be particularly excited about.

It's not like we won an award.

However, that's true, there are definitely benefits to using facial recognition.

Of the three major music awards in the United States, the Billboard Music Awards receive more attention than the American Music Awards, second only to the Grammys.

Performing on stage was a small way to enhance one's image.

Speaking of winning awards, Jiang Yan recalled the "olive branch" that the scooter had previously offered him.

While the other party wasn't powerful enough to secure the three major music awards for him, securing other non-three major awards wouldn't be difficult.

Jiang Yan also intends to try his luck with smaller, more prestigious awards like the VMAs and People's Choice Awards.

Furthermore, if he wants to climb the rankings on Billboard later, the scooter rider's "Sound Breaking" channel will be a huge help.

The reason BTS was able to rack up chart-topping singles is because HYBE had access to these channels and connections.

As I said before, there's nothing shameful about adding water.

Water and red do not conflict.

Even top-tier singers like Justin Bieber, who are considered "Martians," tend to pad their releases with filler material.

In Western terms, this is called "pay".

However, he is quite cautious about collaborating with scooters and will not make a decision easily.

He still needs to discuss this with Du Hua to explore the feasibility and potential risks.

In situations like this, it's still necessary to trust Yuehua's legal team.

Jiang Yan has always believed in leaving professional matters to professionals.

After returning from the studio, Jiang Yan had lunch at the hotel's restaurant at noon, and in the afternoon, the group boarded a plane to Seoul.

I didn't stay in Shanghai for another night.

After returning to South Korea, Kang Yeon was able to see all the members of TWICE again after a long time, just two days later.