I desperately want to win on the peninsula

Once everything was cleared up, Zhou Xian finally felt relieved and his spirits lifted considerably. He then resumed his rambling: "To be honest, I made quite a few friends while participating in this program."

"Isn't this what you're good at?" Lin Qianqiao wasn't surprised to hear this.

Zhou Xian likes to make friends with people his own age. He becomes bolder when he hears that someone is the same age as him or younger than him, but he becomes timid when he is around adults.

Lee Minhyuk and Yoo Kihyun are the best at making adults happy. These two members are also better at social interactions, which is just their personality.

The captain is a complete shut-in; he wouldn't take the initiative to communicate with others unless his position required it.

The remaining three, Tsai Heng-yuan and Jen Chang-chun, along with Lin Chien-chiao, are indifferent to the outside world, entertain themselves, and just follow the group around.

"Hey, you know Andub, right...?"

"Stop saying only half of what you mean, or I'll punch you."

"Don't be so disrespectful, I'm the one who's a 'hiong,' you know?" Zhou Xian glared at Lin Qianqiao and said angrily, though he was a bit blustering.

After a moment, he dropped his pretense, which was useless against him, and then stammered, "Okay, this guy asked me to apologize to you."

"So... he was already eliminated."

If Zhou Xian hadn't reminded her, Lin Qianqiao would have almost forgotten who this person was. She shook her head and said, "It's nothing. He's quite bold to jump onto my face."

"Yeah, he told me that his face turned black after hearing your audition, and after the fire pit challenge, he thought he was doomed. He didn't expect you to let him go."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xian chuckled, recalling their conversation, and said with a smile, "But his former teammate Black Nut is still around, so they're still in touch."

"So the female rapper he chose last time was one of his own, it turns out it was all just for his own amusement."

Lin Qianqiao pursed her lips, glanced at Zhou Xian, and asked, "You don't actually know Black Nut, do you?"

Female rapper Ahn Soo-min and Andub are a team, which is known to viewers of SMTM, including all the contestants.

Black Nut is talked about largely because of his controversy with Song Min-ho, as well as his own controversial nature, which has created a villainous character.

Sometimes you really have to admire this person's cleverness; classic egoism, always moving in a direction that maximizes their own interests in any situation.

Now that the truth has been revealed, all of this controversy was caused by him. The production team had no choice but to step in to save him from elimination.

She is truly a remarkable person; her mind is incredibly clever and clear, which is completely undetectable from her appearance.

"We just met a few days ago. Black Nut had just been eliminated, and Andub organized a gathering and invited me along, calling it some kind of losers' alliance..." Zhou Xian pursed his lips as he said this, "I happened to be free, so we got to know each other just like that. Isn't that how interpersonal relationships work? You just introduce yourself and that's it."

"What happened next..." Having heard all this, Lin Qianqiao still became curious.

Zhou Xian finally revealed the truth, laughing as he said, "Later, Brand New brought him back, and we even made a promise to meet on stage and have a battle. So it would be awesome if we could face off in this performance; I'll definitely give him a good punch."

"Not bad, not bad, quite exciting." Lin Qianqiao nodded in agreement, finding it very interesting.

He felt that if it really came down to a battle, ten Zhou Xians combined wouldn't be enough to beat this guy, but the stage performance was another story.

Unaware of the situation, Zhou Xianzhi was smug and probably already imagining the scene of humiliating Black Nut after his victory.

Seeing this, Lin Qianqiao shook her head slightly, picked up the Switch, and started hacking and slashing again.

At this stage, Starship is actually reluctant to give up "SMTM," given that the company has invested a considerable amount of resources in the Ment television network this year.

For example, Monstax's survival show was broadcast on this TV station, and later, Zhou Xian and Lin Qianqiao participated in "SMTM".

Other talent shows have also included a lot of people, such as the upcoming second season of "UNPRETTYRAPSTAR", which features Hyorin and EXY.

There's also a large-scale talent show that Ment is currently preparing for, and I've heard that a bunch of entertainment companies will be involved; it's generating a lot of buzz.

Specific details have not yet been revealed. Lin Qianqiao only heard from Esbee that the company had trainees participating. All other bits and pieces added together are enough to show that Starship has high expectations for the Ment TV talent show and what they want to obtain is obvious.

Currently, only Lin Qianqiao and Zhou Xianneng have stood out and gained effective traffic, attracting a group of fans to pay attention to Monstax.

The results can be described as perfect, exceeding the management's initial expectations, and the company hopes they can continue to maintain this level.

Lin Qianqiao currently has a large repertoire of music and doesn't need to worry about beats. She has such a large repertoire of beats, thanks to Song Minhao's... fans.

It has to be said that inspiration for hip-hop creation really does require a battle like this.

Lin Qianqiao browsed the forum and his inspiration was unstoppable. He could write beats and create music on the spot.

Unfortunately, while the fans were still fighting, the idol himself fell first.

If there are a few more rounds like this, I won't even need to think of any words; I can just use excerpts from the comments section.

Next, he only needs to figure out the performance style on stage.

After an unknown amount of time, the door to the practice room was opened.

Walking into a brightly lit Loco, the guy immediately said, "Your beat is done. Come to the production room and listen to it. Everyone's waiting for you."

"Oh, here we come." Zhou Xian scrambled to his feet and followed Loco. Lin Qianqiao got up and casually patted the corner of her clothes. Her gaze immediately fell on Loco's buzz cut, which was actually reflecting light under the lamp. It was really impressive!

The reason this guy likes to wear hats is quite ordinary: he once went bald... similar to how FGO players grind for resources like crazy, sacrificing all their hair.

Loco overworked his brain during the college entrance exam period, which caused him to go bald in large patches and almost ruined his looks. Although he's not exactly good-looking now, he has a kind of middle-aged composure, or in short, a kind of class vibe.

Fortunately, after this guy was admitted to the Department of Economics at Hongik University, he took a break and recovered about 70-80% of his original condition.

That's right, Loco is one of the few college students among rappers, and he's even a college graduate.

Furthermore, Gray, whom I met during my university years, learned rap and participated in the first season of SMTM, where he won his first championship.

After signing with a new company and releasing a few albums, unsurprisingly, the album flopped.

He was also held back by his original agency, which demanded a 200 million yuan termination fee before he could leave.

Not being able to leave means not being able to earn money. Loco, a single parent, had just gotten married and desperately needed money to cover expenses... He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

She was subsequently rescued a second time by senior student Gray, who introduced her to the discerning President Park, and the contract dispute was resolved immediately.

It's worth mentioning that LOCO once participated in the BTS auditions... At that time, Big Hit wanted to create a hip-hop group, which can be compared to YG, which was at its peak at the time, as well as Block B, who rose to prominence immediately upon debut. Considering the context of the era, this decision was not biased, so it attracted a group of underground rappers.

On this point, it can be said that around 2011, Cho PD of DissYG family spent $140 to start a company called Stardom Entertainment with three producers, which is the main company of Block B.

Sometimes you really have to marvel at the diversity and changes in the K-pop industry. After disappearing for two years, you can still start a company with millions of dollars and even launch a boy band.

Getting back to the main point, BTS's reserve leader is Iron, the runner-up of SMTM Season 3, who is also the rapper who collaborated with Shin Jimin on "Puss".

However, after CEO Bang Si-hyuk changed the plan and completely sided with idol hip-hop groups, he dismissed a group of underground rappers, which led to the existence of BTS today.

When Zhou Xian first heard it, he was almost shocked. He never expected that there was such an outrageous past.

Finally, LCOO, who chose AOMG, experienced a second spring in his life and career. However, due to his diligence and late nights, his hair was completely ruined, and his wardrobe was overflowing with all kinds of hats...

Trendy guy Gray even had to ask him about the latest hat styles.

These things came up during a drinking session at AOMG. Mainly, Loco didn't seem to care much about these experiences, probably...

"By the way, Takumi Inui, do you know why the auto-tune in the 'Red Sun' verse is so heavy?"

"Is that even a question? Isn't that how all rages are?"

"rage?"

"Don't tell me that after all this time in hip-hop you only know boombap and trap."

"Is that not allowed?"

"It'll definitely work. Just be quiet when you're in the production room later, because he thinks you can bring out the crazy vibe of Rage better if you sing this part. If you say you're not familiar with Rage, he might give you a punch."

"ah……?"

Lin Qianqiao and Zhou Xian walked along the corridor of the AOMG building, chatting all the way.

……

Before they knew it, it was nearly 10 p.m. Two young men walked out of the AOMG gate and headed to a nearby convenience store.

The natural reason for leaving at this time is to find food. There are quite a few shops on Daoshan Avenue, but the restaurants nearby are generally mediocre, so it's better to go to a convenience store for fast food.

Upon entering the convenience store, you'll see a cashier at the counter checking out customers, with a wide variety of goods displayed on the shelves opposite.

Lin Qianqiao had been here several times before. Upon entering, she walked to the right of a shelf and picked out a bento box. She picked up a grilled meat bibimbap that looked good, then got up and went to the iced drink section to open the refrigerator and take out a glass of ice, a sugar-free oolong tea and an energy drink. Finally, she went to the counter to pay.

The price is reasonable, not expensive.

Carrying the groceries I bought, I walked to the dining area provided by the convenience store. It was a rather cornered spot, but the layout was alright. The water heater and microwave were placed on a cabinet, making it look like a small kitchen.

While Lin Qianqiao put the barbecue rice into the microwave to heat it up, he didn't forget to fiddle with the ice cup he had just bought. He opened the lid and poured in one-third of the oolong tea, then opened the small bottle of energy drink and poured it all into the cup to fill it up, then closed the lid and shook it.

The colors created by the clash of the two different drinks were surprisingly beautiful, comparable to the colorful sheen of a cocktail. As for the taste, it was probably sweet and astringent... Lin Qianqiao had tried it several times already. He tore off the thin film at the cross-shaped opening of the lid, inserted a straw, and started drinking. The taste he discovered by chance was quite to his liking.

It wasn't that his taste was unusual; it's just that the convenience store had a lot of recipe diagrams for mixing drinks displayed next to the refrigerator, similar to cocktail mixing methods... I guess that's a marketing tactic of convenience stores... to get customers to buy more drinks and pretend to be bartenders. Lin Qianqiao was just mixing drinks according to his own preferences, and he was quite satisfied with the taste.

Lin Qianqiao took out the already heated bento box, carried the food to the table and sat down. She glanced at the view outside the glass window; apart from the occasional passerby, there was nothing to see.

Zhou Xian's food-hunting area is different from his, so their paths are naturally different. At this moment, Zhou Xian is probably still struggling with the choice of what kind of instant noodles to eat, whether to add cheese and seaweed, and how many packs of instant noodles he should eat to feel full.

Feeling bored, Lin Qianqiao opened his lunchbox, broke apart the disposable chopsticks, and buried himself in eating.

I forgot to mention that there was also a cooked food vendor next to the counter. He added a plate of stir-fried rice cakes and a few grilled sausages, which were now packed into a full box. Otherwise, a bento box wouldn't be enough to fill him up.

While eating, Lin Qianqiao suddenly felt someone watching him. He looked up at the window and saw a chubby little face with a bit of collagen.

At this moment, she seemed to be leaning over and looking at Lin Qianqiao through the glass window. Her eyes were wide and round like purple grapes, and her mouth was slightly open, as if she was very puzzled as to why she could see him here.

Through the glass window, their eyes met, and they looked at each other in surprise.

A moment later, the girl outside the window stood up, pulled the girl next to her, and walked into the convenience store. She was obviously very familiar with the store. She walked to the seat next to Lin Qianqiao with ease and sat down. Before the two girls had even caught their breath, the girl who had just made eye contact with Lin Qianqiao asked a question.

"Qianqiao, what are you doing eating here?" After she finished speaking, she looked Lin Qianqiao up and down, as if to make sure she hadn't mistaken her for someone else.

Seeing this, Lin Qianqiao put down his chopsticks, turned his head to look at the girl, and said, "I've been eating here all this time, and I've never seen you before. I only saw you today. Shouldn't I be asking Sana why she's here?"

That's right, sitting across from me is Sana Minatozaki, whom I met a while ago, and next to her is Momo Hirai, who looks listless and exhausted.

"All the time?" Sana Minatozaki hesitated for a moment. "But I've been buying food here for the past few days and haven't seen you at all."

"The timing must be off. Zhou Xian and I usually come here to find something to eat after practice. Today must have been a coincidence."

"That must be it. Momo and I just finished practicing and came to the convenience store to buy food." Hearing Lin Qianqiao's explanation, Minatozaki Sana suddenly realized, and then remembered something, "Isn't the Starship address in Nonhyeon-dong? Why would Qianqiao be practicing here?"

"AOMG's company is located nearby, and our SMTM stage rehearsals are held here, so we've been operating around here lately." Lin Qianqiao took a sip of her drink. "And your company, is it also located nearby?"

"It's not nearby. JYP is at the intersection of Doyama Boulevard. It's not far from here, but it'll still take a while to walk there," Minatozaki Sana replied.