Peninsula: From Water Injection to Stardom

After noticing the four people who had stopped to rest, Jiang Yan put his phone away.

He stood up, stretched his neck, and then looked at them, asking, "Are you all finished practicing?"

Yoo Jeongyeon replied, "Yeah, oppa, it's almost time."

"Yeah, it's 11:30, that's about right."

Jiang Yan glanced at the time, then smiled at them and said, "You've been practicing so hard, how about I treat you to something to drink? How about milk tea?"

Upon hearing this, Lim Nayeon's eyes immediately lit up, and she almost instinctively agreed.

"Oppa, coffee is fine."

Yoo Jeong-yeon spoke first, and then immediately added, "We've been strictly controlling our weight lately, so it's best not to drink milk tea."

"So strict?" Jiang Yan asked curiously.

"Yeah, oppa, you don't know, I got scolded even though I was only 0.1 grams over the limit when I weighed myself before." Yoo Jeongyeon said with a helpless expression.

"I understand." Jiang Yan nodded, then looked at Mina and asked, "Is it the same for Mina?"

Mina squinted and smiled, "Yes, just like the unnies."

Having received a reply, Jiang Yan then looked at Li Cailing, who nodded in agreement, saying, "Me too, thank you, senior!"

"Okay, I'll go down and buy it. You guys continue to rest." Jiang Yan made a note of it and turned to walk towards the door of the practice room.

As his footsteps faded into the distance, the practice room fell silent for a few seconds.

But soon, after seeing Kang Yeon leave, Lee Chaeryeong finally couldn't suppress her doubts and leaned close to Lim Nayeon and Yoo Jeongyeon, whispering, "Unnie, you guys... are you really just trying to avoid troubling your seniors?"

Yoo Jeongyeon and Lim Nayeon exchanged a glance, realizing that the way the two of them were trying to conceal their conversation was too deliberate and couldn't fool the other person.

Yoo Jeongyeon hesitated for a moment, but still revealed some of the truth: "Chaeryeong... oppa, if he were to seriously point out your problems, he might not be very nice to you."

Li Cailing blinked: "Doesn't it sound good?"

"Well..." Yu Dingyan paused for a moment, thinking about her words, before continuing to express herself more tactfully, "He's the kind of person who's very direct, so direct that you might not be able to accept it."

However, Li Cailing was still somewhat bewildered after listening.

But Lim Nayeon muttered quietly beside her, "It's more than just direct..."

Yoo Jeongyeon turned to look at Lim Nayeon and suddenly chuckled, "Nayeon unnie should be the most qualified to speak on this matter; she was once made to cry by oppa."

When Lim Nayeon saw Yoo Jeongyeon suddenly reveal her secret, she instantly bristled and said, "Hey! What do you mean I cried?! No! Don't talk nonsense!"

Yu Dingyan suppressed a laugh and said, "Yes, yes, I was just talking nonsense."

I don't know who it was a few years ago who was told by Jiang Yan, who was an education student at the time, "Are your limbs just attached? I can grab anyone off the street and train for a few months and they can jump better than you." After that, they ran to the stairwell and secretly wiped away their tears.

Yoo Jeongyeon still vividly remembers Lim Nayeon's dark past.

Seeing Lim Nayeon's feigned confidence, Mina and Chaeryeong were convinced that what Yoo Jeongyeon said was true.

But at this moment, Li Cailing's mind was flashing back to how Jiang Yan had treated her very kindly when he came in earlier.

She still found it hard to believe that the other person had such a terrifying side; he didn't seem like such a strict person at all.

……

A dozen minutes later, Jiang Yan, who had left the practice room, pushed the door open again and came in. He was carrying a white plastic bag with five cups of coffee neatly placed inside.

After entering, he knelt down in front of Jeongyeon, Nayeon, and Chaeryeong, who were resting on the floor. He then took out three cups from his bag: "Jeongyeon, Nayeon, and Chaeryeong, these are for you."

"Thank you, oppa~" Yoo Jeongyeon smiled and accepted the two cups with both hands, giving one of them to Lim Nayeon.

"Thank you, senior." Li Cailing bowed respectfully as she accepted the coffee.

Jiang Yan waved his hand, stood up, walked around the three people, and headed towards Mingjing Minami.

Mina didn't squeeze close to the others; she sat about a meter away.

"Mina, this is for you." Jiang Yan bent down and handed her the coffee.

"Thank you." Mina took the coffee and gave him a slight smile.

Jiang Yan hummed in agreement, then sat down next to her, took a sip from his drink with a straw, and turned to Mina, switching to Japanese as he asked, "Mina, what games have you been playing lately?"

This is the kind of opening line the two of them usually use when chatting. Whenever Mina takes the initiative to chat with him on Kakao, the first thing she says is something like, "Hiko-san, have you been playing any interesting games lately www".

However, Mina shook her head upon hearing this: "I haven't had time to touch game consoles lately."

"Is it because of the show?"

"Yes, aside from recording the show, I spend most of my time practicing. There are one competition after another, and I won't be able to keep up if I don't practice."

After listening to Mina's words, Jiang Yan nodded in understanding.

"SIXTEEN" was indeed quite grueling for the selected trainees. After watching it, several TWICE members said they didn't want to watch the full episodes at all.

"Keep it up, I believe in you, you'll definitely make it into the debut group." Jiang Yan thought for a moment and still offered a word of encouragement.

Even though he knew the final outcome, he still wanted to express his support.

However, after saying this, Jiang Yan felt as if he had said it more than once.

After hearing what Jiang Yan said to her, Mina smiled and said, "Thank you, Yan-san. I will do my best."

However, Jiang Yan seemed to have thought of something else and suddenly lowered his voice, saying, "There's something I need to tell you secretly."

Mina's curiosity was piqued by his tone, so she turned slightly to the side and leaned her ear closer to him.

"Don't tell Jeongyeon about this. Actually, I cast my vote for you in every episode's poll."

Although he hadn't watched "SIXTEEN," he still voted for it without hesitation.

Each South Korean number could only cast one ballot, so Kang Yeon cast his ballot for Mina.

When Mina learned that Jiang Yan had cast all his votes for her, her eyelashes trembled slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and tried her best to keep her expression completely unchanged.

Then she asked softly, "Why did you vote for me? Is it okay if I didn't vote for Sister Dingyan?"

Jiang Yan smiled and looked at the other person's face: "It's okay. You need this vote more than you need to vote for Ding Yan."

His reason for voting for Mina was simple: he simply cast his vote for the foreign trainee with whom he had the best relationship.

As for the other two Sakura Line numbers, Jiang Yan could only apologize, as he didn't have any extra numbers. Otherwise, he would definitely have sent one to each of them.

However, when these words reached Mina's ears, they felt as if something had gently touched her heart, leaving her with an indescribable feeling.

Mina lowered her eyes quietly, but a smile unconsciously curved her lips.

After that, the two continued chatting.

However, Mina seemed to remember something and interrupted Jiang Yan, who was speaking, saying, "Yan-san, do you know—"

"Um?"

"This month, I think it's the end of the month, the new Fire Emblem game IF is going to be released," Mina said after thinking about the date.

"Really? I didn't know that."

Jiang Yan showed an expectant expression, but quickly sighed regretfully: "It's a pity I haven't bought a 3DS yet, and the payment hasn't arrived yet. If I want to play it, I'll have to wait a little longer."

That's what they say, but actually, Jiang Yan had already played through the game that Mina mentioned several times in his previous life.

Moreover, he doesn't actually plan to buy a 3DS, because in less than two years it will be replaced by the NS.

However, Mina looked at him and said, "It's okay, I can lend you my game console."

Jiang Yan was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then turned his head and gave her a deep look.

He truly didn't expect that Mina would offer to lend him her game console.

Although a 3DS isn't a particularly valuable item, it must have a special meaning to the other person, and it's not something that can be easily lent to someone else.

"Are you really going to lend it to me?" Jiang Yan asked again to confirm.

"Well, I don't have time to play right now, so I might as well lend it to Yan-sang for now."

"I'll ask you for it back when I have time later."

Mina spoke in a calm and indifferent tone, as if she were talking about something completely ordinary.

"Thank you, Mina," Jiang Yan said with a smile.

Mina was willing to lend him her game console, which means that he is now considered a trustworthy person in her eyes.

To be honest, Jiang Yan felt that the favorability rating was rising a bit too fast.

They've only known each other for a total of three or four months, I think.

And it seems he didn't deliberately do anything to get closer to him.

However, Jiang Yan didn't think too much about it at the moment. Instead, he continued to chat with Mina about the previous Fire Emblem games and mentioned a few of his favorite games that he used to play on the GBA.

Mina listened to him, occasionally interjecting with her own words.

……

Meanwhile, Yu Dingyan, who was sitting not far away, had already secretly glanced at Jiang Yan for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

What drew her attention was that the two people over there seemed to be having a very engaging conversation.

Jiang Yan was talking to Mina, while Mina sat there with her arms wrapped around her knees, looking at him with a smile and occasionally replying.

Sometimes, when something funny comes up, Mina will reach out and gently pat Kang Yan's arm.

"What are they talking about... that makes them so happy?"

Yoo Jeong-yeon couldn't understand because the two were speaking Japanese, which sounded like an encrypted conversation to her.

However, in her eyes, although Jiang Yan and Mina were not very close, they were definitely not far apart either.

Moreover, from Yu Dingyan's perspective, when Jiang Yan occasionally lowers his voice, he will lean his body slightly to the side, and when Ming Jingnan listens, she will also tilt her head slightly in response, which results in the two of their profiles sometimes almost touching.

However, neither of them seemed to care much about this seemingly intimate gesture.

This made Yoo Jeong-yeon feel that something was wrong. But they had only filmed a music video together once. Could their relationship be that good?

Why does it feel like she's watching a Korean drama and having a sweet, bubbly conversation with a couple?

But Yoo Jeongyeon didn't say anything. Instead, after Lee Chaeryeong temporarily left the practice room, she quietly tugged at Lim Nayeon's sleeve and whispered, "Unnie, don't you think there's something off about those two?"

"Something's not right. Didn't he get along well with a lot of female trainees before?"

Nayeon followed her gaze, blinked, but didn't find anything particularly special about it.

"But unnie, don't you think they're getting too close?" Yoo Jeongyeon reminded her.

"Really? Sometimes when you talk to him, you get even closer." Lim Nayeon looked again, but still felt there was nothing wrong with it. It wasn't like she hadn't seen how Yoo Jeongyeon and Kang Yeon used to chat close together.

"Unnie! This is different! Don't you think about how long I've known oppa before this happened!"

"Oh... if that's what you're saying, then something does seem a bit off."

After being guided by Yoo Jeongyeon, Lim Nayeon also realized the problem. She quickly hid behind Yoo Jeongyeon, peeking out furtively towards Kang Yeon with a gossipy look in her eyes.

"You mean those two, could it be that they're...?" Lim Nayeon boldly guessed.

"Because no way, after all, oppa has a girlfriend now." Yoo Jeongyeon looked startled, her tone very hesitant.

"What?! He has a girlfriend? Who is she?" Lim Nayeon's eyes widened upon hearing this; she had no idea about this.

"Unnie, you don't know?"

"How would I know? You never told me."

"But even if I hadn't said it, you should have been able to guess, right? It was even on the news back then."

"News? He's not just—you don't mean the AOA thing, do you?!" Lim Nayeon recalled for a moment, then suddenly realized.

"Yes, that's the one." Yu Dingyan nodded.

How did she know? Of course, Jiang Yan told her directly.

"So what are they doing now...?"

Lim Nayeon spoke softly, then turned her gaze back to Kang Yeon and Mina.

After what Yu Dingyan said, she now felt that the two of them were acting strangely.

"I think... it's probably not as exaggerated as we imagine, and besides, this isn't the right time."

Yu Dingyan suddenly realized she was overthinking things, and her thoughts began to contradict themselves.

Although she and Mina only started communicating after the show began, after getting to know each other better, Yoo Jeongyeon realized that although Mina was not very talkative, she was a person with her own ideas and persistence.

Now, as a member of the program's planning team, I shouldn't have any messy thoughts during such a crucial survival battle.

Or should we sound him out when we get back to the dorm?

"But how should I ask? Should I ask her what she thinks of oppa, or...?"

Some thoughts flashed through Yu Dingyan's mind, but she quickly suppressed them one by one.

No matter how she asked, it was all too obvious; she couldn't guarantee that Mina wouldn't understand the true intention behind her words.

But Yu Dingyan quickly changed her approach.

In contrast, she could simply find some time to ask Jiang Yan directly.