I desperately want to win on the peninsula

The two men's drastically different statements left Lin Qianqiao somewhat amused and exasperated. Personality does indeed play a significant role, and the two were quite complementary.

Just then, eel noodles and oyster omelets were served, steaming hot and fragrant, looking quite appetizing.

Because the price was relatively affordable, Lin Qianqiao certainly wouldn't ask whether the eel was farmed or wild; she would just break it open with disposable chopsticks and eat it.

Lin Qianqiao thought it was alright, mainly because the soup was quite sweet and savory. She also picked up a piece of oyster omelet to try, which was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, smooth and delicious.

Halfway through the meal, Wu Xiuzhen suddenly remembered something as if struck by lightning. She slurped down the noodles on her spoon and said, "You guys keep eating. There's something really delicious nearby that I forgot to buy. I'll be right back!" With that, the girl put down her spoon and chopsticks, got up, and swiftly walked several meters away.

Seeing this, Lin Qianqiao paused for a moment, looked at Ye Shuhua who was eating noodles in small bites across from her, and asked curiously, "Is she usually this motivated?"

"Xiuzhen sometimes...sometimes she does this." Yeh Shu-hua paused for a second, then tried to salvage her friend's image, "She's usually very quiet at school."

After recalling the girl's personality for a couple of seconds, Lin Qianqiao wasn't sure whether to believe her or not. In any case, she nodded to indicate that she understood, and then buried her head in her noodles and continued eating.

About three or four minutes later, Wu Xiuzhen returned, carrying a small bag. As soon as she sat down, she said impatiently, "Luckily, the peanut roll ice cream shop is still there, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get any." She was a little out of breath as she spoke, probably because she had run too fast.

Just then, Lin Qianqiao finished eating his noodles and asked the owner for two drinks. He and Gray had winter melon tea, but he forgot to buy drinks for the two tour guides. Besides, he wasn't the one who ordered earlier, so he didn't remember.

Once her breathing had calmed down, she took out a plastic box from the bag, untied the yellow spring strap, and inside were eight neatly arranged ball-shaped pastries, which actually looked a bit like wontons... But Ye Shuhua, who was standing next to her, seemed to have a special fondness for them, and a glint of light flashed in her eyes.

Wu Xiuzhen said as if listing her treasures: "Don't underestimate it~ This is a classic, one of the top three must-eat foods in Taiwan."

Despite her explanation, Lin Qianqiao couldn't figure it out and asked, "How do you eat this?"

"Shuhua, can you answer this? My noodles are getting soggy." Wu Xiuzhen noticed out of the corner of her eye that the noodles in her bowl were about to burst and she desperately needed to eat them. She quickly pulled her friend next to her to act as her informant.

"The outer layer is a snow skin, inside there are crushed peanuts and cilantro, and in the middle is taro ice cream, which makes up a very delicious snack." As she spoke, Ye Shuhua casually picked one up and put it in her mouth, chewed, chewed... and then showed a satisfied smile, "Then pick it up... and eat it directly."

The more he listened, the stranger it seemed. Lin Qian, who wasn't particularly knowledgeable, saw Ye Shuhua eating with great relish and became somewhat curious, so he picked up a piece and took a bite.

The first bite was quite subtle; it had a chewy, glutinous texture that melted in your mouth.

However, the crunchy peanuts and the fresh aroma of cilantro lingering in your mouth are irresistible. Paired with the rich and delicious taro ice cream, you'll want to have another bite after just one.

"Aside from the different taste, I feel like I'm eating mochi..." Lin Qianqiao ate the rest of the food in one bite, and then gestured for Gray to try this strange local delicacy as well.

"It really is!" Wu Xiuzhen chimed in while eating noodles. Ye Shuhua gradually fell silent, only chewing noisily until her cheeks bulged out.

Gray didn't like the taste; he forced himself to eat one piece and never touched it again, adding that he didn't like cilantro...

This is a bit difficult to please everyone. Lin Qianqiao thought it was alright, so she ate another one.

Seeing that he was very satisfied with his meal, Wu Xiuzhen felt relieved. She took the lemon tea from the owner, inserted the straw, and took a sip with relish. "Phew~ Satisfying!" she exhaled, put her hands together, and thanked Lin Qianqiao.

"Thank you for the treat!"

"No need, didn't you treat us to ice cream?"

Lin Qianqiao smiled upon hearing this, knowing that it was all Gray's money, and he was just freeloading.

"No, that's not right~" Wu Xiuzhen shook her head, "The ice cream is a thank-you gift for the intelligence."

"..." Lin Qianqiao tilted her head and suddenly fell silent.

……

"Hehe... I want to ask what I should pay attention to if I go to Peninsula to become a trainee like Shuhua..." Wu Xiuzhen asked.

As soon as she finished speaking, Ye Shuhua's gaze also fell on Lin Qianqiao's face. Only when she focused her attention did she realize that this guy's looks were unexpectedly top-notch. It wasn't the kind of look that made you fall in love at first sight. His soft-lined face and bright features gave him a kind of captivating charm that made you want to look at him more and more.

After watching for an unknown amount of time, Ye Shuhua heard him answering Wu Xiuzhen's question, and her consciousness returned to her brain.

"The most important thing to pay attention to is the food options near the company. Don't get your hopes up too high about the dorms. If you're a bit of a bed freak, remember to bring a pillow. After that, just practice when you need to. If you can't practice anymore, or if you feel uncomfortable or tired, just go home," Lin Qianqiao replied.

"No, not this one~ Is there an advanced tutorial?" Wu Xiuzhen asked awkwardly.

"Yes, besides Korean, you should also learn another foreign language. If you were at SM, I would recommend learning English, because many of their soundtrack demos are in English, so learning English can improve your conversion rate and give you an edge..." Lin Qianqiao took a sip of winter melon tea to moisten her throat. "If you were at Cube, I would recommend learning Japanese, because the company is currently expanding into Japan, and having a language advantage can also make you stand out."

"Why learn a foreign language? Wouldn't it be terrible if we didn't keep up with the local trainees...?" Wu Xiuzhen didn't understand, and Ye Shuhua felt the same way.

"It's very simple. The local trainees already had a foundation, and after going through screening and elimination, the remaining ones are basically very capable or outstanding in some aspect..." As he said this, Lin Qianqiao glanced at Ye Shuhua. He could see that she was without makeup, her clean face was very radiant, her features were delicate and clean, and her skin was so white that it could be said to be glowing. Overall, her appearance was quite good.

"If you want to compete with these trainees in terms of basic skills, you will be at a disadvantage, plus the difficulty of the language... If you want to stand out among the trainees, you have to learn other aspects. You should have noticed that many groups are equipped with a bilingual member, which proves that the agency has a demand for this."

"Oh, I see... But our Shuhua sings really well!" Wu Xiuzhen still wanted to advocate for Ye Shuhua, "She passed the audition by singing."

"Impressive." Lin Qianqiao nodded slightly.

If you've won a lot of singing championships, maybe you'll have a chance, but if it's just an audition, there's no need to go to all that trouble.

Because most interviewers judge a person by their appearance first, and once you're in the company, there are naturally dedicated teachers to assess and select candidates.

This lukewarm response left the two girls on the other side somewhat disappointed.

Even so, Ye Shuhua mustered her courage and cautiously asked, "Are foreign languages ​​really that important?"

"It's not that foreign languages ​​are important, but rather that they're important to you," Lin Qianqiao replied. "It's not about exclusion or discrimination; music has regional characteristics, and native language pronunciation and enunciation play a significant role. YG is a good example. This company largely retains the characteristics of K-pop, what you'd call 'YG flavor.' That's why they're not very open to recruiting foreign trainees..."

"Let me put it this way, take this guy next to me as an example. He doesn't understand Chinese at all, but if he sings a Hokkien song, you can imagine the scene..." Lin Qianqiao pointed his thumb at Gray, and the guy thought he was being introduced, so he smiled and nodded slightly.

Seeing this, Ye Shuhua and Wu Xiuzhen nodded quickly, whether in response or agreement with Lin Qianqiao's statement, they soon turned their attention back to the original spot, looking like curious children.

Lin Qianqiao never expected that eating ice cream would lead to such a trap. After thinking for a moment, she continued talking, still using the taxi driver next to her as an example, since he couldn't understand anyway.

"He wants to advance from learning Chinese to singing. Let's assess how much time that will take. If he's going to debut and perform on stage, he'll need to put in two or three times the time and effort of a local trainee, and the performance quality is still uncertain... Wouldn't it be better to use that time to train a local trainee with good talent, and then have time to learn other skills?"

"Since you're going to be crippled anyway, you might as well spend time working on your good leg, like Ghost Foot Seven in kung fu movies, whose leg skills are so good that he can fight Wong Fei-hung..." Lin Qianqiao felt that she had explained it quite clearly, and the examples she gave were almost ready to be revealed.

"Hahaha! Is Shuhua Ghost Foot Seven?"

"Nonsense! It's a metaphor, even elementary school students understand it."

Ye Shuhua glared at Wu Xiuzhen, who was suppressing a smile. The two exchanged a few glances before Ye Shuhua looked at Lin Qianqiao again, having already regained her ladylike demeanor. She then gave a slight bow.

"I understand, thank you."

"It's alright, it's just that I ate the intelligence reward pastries in advance."

Lin Qianqiao glanced at the empty box and was slightly speechless. Sure enough, the outside world was full of tricks.

He didn't care whether the girl on the other side listened or not. If you want to stand out, you have to make yourself uncomfortable, both psychologically and physically, and then constantly suppress and overcome it.

Just like going to school, you know that the daily persistence is painful, but if you put the pressure of competition on a classmate, such as wanting to surpass that classmate in a certain grade.

There are also game records that are easy to understand. To catch up with the previous player's score, you have to repeatedly run the map and do reading comprehension exercises. This is the effect of having an imaginary rival, and the motivation comes from there, except for those who are just casually playing games...

If you don't want physical pain, then take another approach, like Lin Qianqiao suggested, and learn a foreign language.

The reason I was able to think of this path was because of Bigbang and Jang Hyunseung when I debuted. My teammates explained the grudges and entanglements between them. Why did the YG CEO choose Lee Seungri and give up the more capable Jang Hyunseung?

Later, Lin Qianqiao looked through Bigbang's interviews outside of Japan and understood. Lee Seungri was essentially a diplomatic figurehead, responsible for interviews and negotiations. He wielded power roughly equivalent to the leader, and his popularity in the small group of Bigbang was at least in the top three.

Another representative example is Jessica from Girls' Generation. Her interviews on foreign affairs dominated a large portion of overseas media articles, and her popularity remained consistently high, but unfortunately...

Assuming Yeh Shuhua can master the languages ​​of Japan and Tokyo, the two regions that K-pop primarily targets, and her looks and skills are only passable, her personal competitiveness would be comparable to the company's top trainees.

The reason why local trainees don't study is quite simple. In psychological terms, it's called learned helplessness. Just like a dog locked in a cage, after being whipped and shocked countless times, even if someone rescues it and opens the cage door, it will voluntarily give up the opportunity to choose other paths.

Not to mention the infighting among local students, which is also related to the repressive education that the management companies have been implementing from the beginning. Local students have been subjected to whipping and training from a young age, constantly moving towards their goals. They have long since developed path dependence, and their deeply ingrained ideas are difficult to change.

Currently, only companies outside of the top three can benefit from this foreign language advantage, and Cube's strength is just right.

Because the three major companies have long been searching for young overseas Korean trainees, such as Lim Gin-chiao and Im Chang-kyun, who have lived overseas since childhood but still speak their native language, the future recruitment trend will probably be the same.

Ye Shuhua has only about a year to develop an advantage, because she will be assimilated sooner or later, and her goals will quickly become the same as others, which is an unchangeable fact.

Sana Minatozaki and Momo Hirai were among the trainees who were heavily assimilated, and Takumi Hayashi knew at the time that his puppy friend wouldn't listen.

But there's a concept called sleep memory. After a period of intense work following her debut, her body will inevitably start to react, and those words will come to mind. You understand some things once you've experienced them.

After finishing their meal and asking questions, the group got up and strolled around the neighborhood. There were many different kinds of vendors at the stalls, and Gray collected quite a few spoils. Lin Qianqiao, on the other hand, had no desires after eating and was not interested in anything else, becoming nothing more than a companion.

Considering that the two tour guides were young and it wasn't too late, the group returned to the entrance.

Lin Qianqiao asked the two tour guides how they got home... and was told they were taking the last bus.

He thought for a moment and decided it wasn't appropriate for him to wander around outside so late at night. He helped him call a taxi and paid the fare.

As soon as the two tour guides got on the bus, the window rolled down quickly, and Wu Xiuzhen poked half her head out. "We'll be here to support your offline event tomorrow!"

"No need, skipping class isn't a good habit," Lin Qianqiao shook her head.

"No way~ Tomorrow is Saturday, a holiday." Wu Xiuzhen stuck out her tongue. Ye Shuhua behind her seemed embarrassed by being exposed and quickly turned her head away, not daring to look.

"So today is Friday, so I'm skipping class..."

Lin Qianqiao didn't delve too deeply into it, and waved her hand, "Go back and rest early."

"Bye~ See you tomorrow!"

"..."

Watching the car lights gradually disappear into the distance, Lin Qianqiao hailed another taxi to return to the hotel.

I went back to my room to wash up, and then I heard Gray say that President Park was still out having a good time.

Upon hearing this, Lin Qianqiao immediately felt like going to sleep.

My main concern was that if it got late, strange noises would come from the next room, and then I wouldn't be able to sleep.

While Gray was still inspecting his spoils, Lin Qianqiao lay on her side on the bed scrolling through her phone.

After walking around all night, I'm a bit tired.

My eyes felt sore, I yawned again, and drifted off to sleep.

……