I desperately want to win on the peninsula

On her return trip to the peninsula, Lin Qianqiao became increasingly busy, with the company arranging numerous personal schedules for her immediately.

They wanted to take advantage of the recent popularity of SMTM to promote themselves more, but the show's popularity was also largely taken over by Lim Chien-Chiao and Joo Hyun, plus the appearance of two hit songs and two amazing performances.

The debut song "Arbitrary Invasion," which had caused MONSTAX to fall out of the top 1,000, has actually made a comeback. Its current digital music chart performance is even better than its debut... and even album sales have increased, with thousands of copies shipped every week. The total sales have unknowingly reached more than 70,000 copies, and it seems to be heading towards 100,000 copies.

This shouldn't be a problem, mainly because SMTM hasn't finished airing yet. Once the semifinals and finals go live, it will probably be achieved.

Many people are very optimistic about the two of them and are sending them cases to Starship like snowflakes. As a result, Zhou Xian is extremely busy and has been accepting commercial performances non-stop. He is now the last one to return to the dormitory every day.

Zhou Xian has been quite popular lately. Besides the reason that he became an overnight sensation after participating in SMTM and his popularity has risen rapidly, there is another rather special factor.

A die-hard female fan of Zhou Xian edited a video about his participation in SMTM, and the video inexplicably went viral.

According to the publicity department, the reason for the popularity was the stark contrast between Zhou Xian's rustic and poor image during the preliminary rounds and his crazy performance in the top six competition.

For example, Zhou Xian lacked confidence during the primary election, and his face was often wrinkled like a bitter gourd, making him look poor at first glance.

But after winning the 1v1 Battle, he regained some of his strength and energy, and his spirit returned to normal.

After the surprise performance, which was part of the all-out assault on the underground rapper scene and the AOMG group's performance, he seemed to have changed completely. He straightened his back and his voice gradually became louder.

During the top six competition, he seemed to be possessed by the god of rappers. The whole performance had a sense of going all out, and his eyes were filled with bloodlust. His crazy image, as if he would die on the spot if he lost the competition, was truly astonishing.

This process was edited quite brilliantly by Zhou Xian's fans, showing his growth from a hunched-over roadside figure to standing on stage and dying, his eyes changing from empty and blank to firm and then desperate, and his clenched teeth facial expression being deeply engraved in the minds of every viewer who watched the video.

Therefore, everyone loves stories of comebacks and reversals, especially since such stories happen in real life, which is why Zhou Xian is so popular lately.

Even the song "Red Sun" from the top six competition has climbed to the top of Melon's daily chart, and Lin Qianqiao's "Shut Up" has also been brought into the spotlight, going from gradually falling out of the competition to directly rising to Melon's top 2.

But the good times only lasted a day; the next day, the price plummeted and returned to its original position.

Then Zhou Xian's YouTube performance skyrocketed, with impressive data that surpassed the individual performance data of Lin Qianqiao and Song Minhao.

Now he has gradually become the favorite to win the championship, and the voting data on various forums is quite exaggerated... it can be said that it has skyrocketed, and his votes are directly overwhelming Lin Qianqiao and Song Minhao.

It gives one a strange sense of instant fame.

Unfortunately, this surge in popularity came too late.

But the company wouldn't let this popularity go to waste. They quickly seized the opportunity and remarketed the similarities between Joo Heon and Zico, just like they did before their debut.

That's the truth. Starship initially wanted to use Joo Heon to tie himself to Zico, and they bought marketing press releases... They were even specifically brought up on this topic by the host during "Weekly Idol".

Then, during his debut live stream, he was attacked by Zico's fans, which prompted Lee Minhyuk to stand up for Jooheon on the spot. Afterwards, he was caught by management and taken to the office for a reprimand.

It's hard to say whether it's good or bad; it could be a case of good intentions gone wrong. It all depends on individual interpretation.

Therefore, Lin Qianqiao didn't have any grudge against Zico, and the opposition he created in SMTM was largely a matter of going with the flow.

After all, compared to the petty grudges caused by open provocation, the confrontation with long-hidden grudges is far more satisfying.

The online discussion proved it was quite effective, but because Zico was the mentor, it wasn't possible to truly match up.

However, this is exactly the effect and this buff that is desired, which also causes Lin Qianqiao and Zhou Xian's fans to have deep resentment towards the contestants under this person.

Now, they'll charge in with all their might whenever they get the chance... Song Minho was the first one to be targeted, and it was two against one.

In reality, the relationship between the two sides wasn't as bad as outsiders imagined. At least they could greet each other with a smile when they met. But Zico was a bit inexplicable. It felt like he was getting too caught up in the drama, his hatred level was too high, and his attitude was getting worse and worse.

According to the original plan, after the show ended, Jay Park would act as a go-between, and everyone would pool their connections to create a top-tier lineup, find a producer, and create a collaboration to feature on a song.

After all, the hype is obvious. Just remix a popular beat, release a song, and regardless of anything else, the discussion will definitely be great, because the hip-hop scene will absolutely explode.

Not to mention that the hip-hop scene this year is absolutely fantastic, with a ton of hit songs coming out. When a big case and a big lineup come out at this time, it's just incredibly exciting.

Then we'll find a university stadium and hold a few mixed concerts for four or five thousand people, and everyone can make a fortune for several days.

After sharing with the organizers, the rest can be divided among everyone. As long as everyone's pockets are full, all grudges will be forgotten.

Afterwards, everyone sat down somewhere and talked about Love & Peach... but no one understood where Zico got his hatred from.

He even forgot the "business is business" that rappers always say. That's the original intention of every rapper... If every rapper could have a personality like President Park, that would be great. The essence of a businessman is the characteristic that a rapper should have. Otherwise, it's all just empty talk, and he's destined to be just an employee.

Now that's great, AOMG can legitimately monopolize everything. The team has two rising stars and a top-tier producer. With the connections between the two sides, they have no trouble getting collaborations. Plus, Zhou Xian has become popular recently, which makes things even better.

Since returning to Taiwan, President Park has been incredibly enthusiastic in the AOMG group chat, frequently inviting everyone out for a fun-filled event, promising all sorts of exciting activities and drinks, with his own pay.

The main reason is that Zhou Xian's incident happened during the few days that AOMG was active in Taiwan. President Park was slow to respond, probably because he wanted to fill the gap.

Even this was only told to Lin Qianqiao by Li Rongzhen after he returned to the company and handed over the reins; otherwise, he really wouldn't have known about this.

He then casually glanced at the video and, after watching it, it did seem plausible. In fact, he had already noticed the changes in Zhou Xian's state.

But it's not as visually striking as the close-up shots in the video; perhaps that's just what growing up is all about.

The other members didn't notice, because the familiarity of eating and sleeping together day and night made it difficult for them to intuitively perceive the evolution of the process, or perhaps they simply overlooked it.

It's not intentional or deliberate; it's just the nervous system's self-protection mechanism. After all, it's difficult for people to accept rapid changes in their surroundings.

For example, when you hear that a relative or neighbor has won the lottery, your first reaction is, "Why wasn't I the winner?" This intuitive feeling makes you overlook the fact that the other person buys lottery tickets day after day. But even if you do remember it, you might secretly berate yourself for not buying them too...

This is latent jealousy in the mind, a self-healing psychological suggestion after the nerves are stimulated. It is a fairly common human emotion, so it takes time to adapt to accept this change.

This is one of the factors that made Zhou Xian so popular. If you shift your perspective to the average fan, he's like a brand new "useless protagonist" novel with layers of satisfying moments.

The reason for this is simple. Zhou Xian is like an old wallet that you suddenly find in your closet in your ordinary life. You casually flip through it without any expectations, but you never expected to find several neatly arranged 10,000 yuan bills inside. This unexpected surprise will make you feel an indescribable joy. At this moment, you will naturally be overjoyed.

Holding your unexpected windfall, you begin to recall the circumstances surrounding its arrival, unconsciously drifting from its initial purpose to the reasons for placing it in this garment...

This memory can indirectly create a sense of identification, which is the effect of Zhou Xian's viral video. The edited footage is like a memory, unconsciously making people who know him or don't know him start to think about it, understand it, and empathize with it.

This is the sensory experience brought about by a perspective bias; emotions are like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, the ripples gradually spreading towards you...

During this process, some members of MONXTAX inevitably experienced some mental imbalance, but the facts were undeniable, and those who couldn't accept them could only suffer.

Lin Qianqiao and Zhou Xian even received the most and most important parts in the group, and some even had their own designed content.

But everyone knows that the two of them are so busy that they can't be there all the time to participate in dance practice. They either have to ask the dance teacher to fill in for them or stay up all night to help them practice. Because of this, the atmosphere in the practice room is sometimes quite dull.

However, this is also a good thing, because MONSTAX is about to make a comeback, and there are still half a month before the stage. The members can finally let out all the pent-up frustration during this comeback.

To borrow a phrase, morale is high. As long as the team wins, it's a victory for everyone, and winning all the time means the team is always victorious.

Therefore, dance practice and many group activities are also being planned, and Lin Qianqiao is actively participating in them.

……

Time flew by amidst practice and travel, and the two busy days passed quietly, bringing us to August 20th.

A van was driving across the Han River Bridge. Inside, Lin Qianqiao was eating a sandwich while chatting with Gray on the phone. After a few words, she heard Gray make some strange, sarcastic remarks, and then he asked in confusion, "What do you mean, 'What did I do in Taiwan'?"

"Otherwise, my girlfriends over there added me on Line and asked about you. I asked them where they heard about you, and they said they saw your performances online...and that you're really popular."

Gray's sourness was palpable even over the phone. Lin Qianqiao didn't reply immediately; instead, she chewed and swallowed her food before slowly and deliberately answering.

"But we ate, lived, slept, went to the night market and went on stage together on that island for two days. We even swapped jackets. You know what happened. What else could I do?" He finished speaking and continued to bite into his sandwich, while also taking a sip of the iced Americano that was placed in the cup sleeve. He looked extremely relaxed.

"Damn it! I mean, we're both performing on the same stage, so why is it that only you became famous? It makes me so angry!" Gray's tone on the other end of the phone gradually broke down, and you could tell he was extremely frustrated and a little irritable.

Both of them simultaneously forgot that Lin Qianqiao had gone out to run an event the next day at noon, but who would have thought that she would suddenly become famous for singing Chinese songs in a place where hardly anyone knew her.

Even if you rack your brains, you can't imagine how much influence those two girls you met by chance at the night market had. Even if you told everyone the truth, they would still think it's a dream...

"Maybe I have this potential... it's all fate~"

Lin Qianqiao could imagine that this guy was probably so angry that he was scratching his head in frustration, but he didn't hold back and just laughed. Anyway, everyone in the car was an acquaintance.

The fact that Gray told him this proves it wasn't a big deal; he probably called to vent his anger on someone.

"Holy crap! There's such a saying?" Gray exclaimed in surprise.

"No way... I was just kidding." Lin Qianqiao didn't expect this guy to take it seriously.

"Impossible! You're like this, and so is Zhou Xian! These past few days have been so strange, I really need to go find a temple to pray." Gray's tone gradually became firm.

You'd be better off chatting with a pretty female friend; that would probably make the treatment more effective.

Lin Qianqiao was too lazy to complain and didn't want to continue the conversation, so she changed the subject.

"By the way, how are those two demos doing?"

"Meteor is all set up. Also, VVS only had time today to let those bastards come over to record. I'll tell you the results later." Gray was getting a little impatient when talking about work, and his tone became much more perfunctory.

"OK, then I'm relieved." Lin Qianqiao didn't mind, since he wasn't the one doing the work anyway.

"Relax... By the way, SMTM has already started its promotion. The semi-finals are tomorrow. I bet the production team will regret it as soon as the show airs, hahaha!" Gray was initially quite perfunctory, but he suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but burst out laughing, his words filled with amusement.

"There's nothing we can do. We've bet so heavily, and we've done everything we can to flex our muscles. The outcome is already decided, so what can we do?" Lin Qianqiao pursed his lips, actually quite speechless as well.

"So these people have no vision, huh? They pull one stunt after another, but when the traffic actually comes, they can't hold onto it. The world of smart people is really hard to fathom," Gray replied sarcastically.

"..."

The two chatted on the phone for a while, then Gray suddenly had something to do and had to go ahead with it.

After chatting, Lin Qianqiao finished her lunch, barely managing to fill herself up.

The reason for preparing to return is that my recent diet has been quite light, and the portions are small, so it's unlikely I'll be able to eat my fill.

Lin Qianqiao closed the insulated box and put it back in the bag, then slowly scrolled through her phone while holding her iced Americano.

"Qian Qiao, there's a Seoul SSG Fashion Week event on the 6th of next month that has invited you and Zhou Xian... The organizers would like to invite one of you to perform on stage. Are you interested?"

Li Rongzhen's words reached her ears without missing a single one. Lin Qianqiao looked up at her brother and refused without hesitation: "I'm not very interested. Let Zhou Xian do what he needs to do!"

He recently shared his schedule with Zhou Xian. Whenever one of them couldn't make it, they would basically promote each other's schedules, and the manufacturers generally wouldn't refuse.

Even their quotes were very close, with endorsements ranging from 80 million to 120 million, commercial performances at 20% off, and opening ceremonies at 40% off. The faster the service, the lower the price. Today, he was going to a new store in Longshan District for an opening event, so he wanted to push out any work he could get.

It's worth mentioning that MONSTAX's group tour price is similar to the one above, so the company split the trip into smaller segments without any hesitation.

However, when it comes to endorsements, they basically consider bringing in the whole group. For example, Puma is quite optimistic about Lin Qianqiao recently and originally wanted to sign her as the GG spokesperson for the fall and winter seasons, but the company ended up having the whole group participate in the negotiations.

Don't even think about money for big events like Fashion Week. The significance of getting exposure outweighs the financial gain. At most, they'll give you a travel allowance, maybe a million or two, and that's considered good. The really lucrative ones will probably charge you more...

"OK, then you can just go and show up at the show by showing your face."

Lee Young-jin nodded in understanding and continued, "There's one more thing. The organizers of the Dream Concert have also invited one of you two to be the MC. If Joo-heon is preparing for his performance, he won't have time to organize this event, so you'll have to take over his schedule. Is that alright?"

"So, whichever I choose, I'll have to work..."

Lin Qianqiao was speechless at Li Rongzhen's ingenious idea. Seeing that the man casually turned his head to look at the scenery on the street, she knew that he was waiting for her. In the end, Lin Qianqiao nodded helplessly, "Then let's arrange it like this."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lee Yong-jin turned around with a smile and replied, "Okay, your MC partner is Choi Yoo-jin from CLC, and the other group is Son Na-eun from APINK and two members from B1A4. Make a note of it and remember to say hello when you meet them."

"Yes," Lin Qianqiao replied.

He didn't expect his partner to be Choi Yoo-jin. The last time they met was at the Idol Star Athletics Championships. This event left a deep impression on Lim Gin-chiao, who realized that the event was not only a platform for male and female idols to find love.

I remember Choi Yoo-jin shot a bullseye in an archery competition, which was pretty impressive. You could tell she had practiced a lot.

After a moment's recollection, Lin Qianqiao took out her phone and checked Naver for CLC's recent activities. She remembered that CLC's last comeback was around the same time, but a quick search revealed surprisingly little new information...

I thought there was a chance I'd run into MONSTAX this time, but there's not a single sign of a comeback, let alone any big event. There's only a tiny bit of behind-the-scenes footage of their offline commercial performances... I can only say that Cube is a really good company, and that girl from Taiwan really found the right place.

Lin Qian scrolled down, finally finding something worth reading: CLC member Choi Yoo-jin had joined the female soldier special of "Go Fighting! Men." He didn't recognize any of the other nine female celebrities who joined at the same time; they were practically unknown.

Upon seeing this, Lin Qianqiao instantly recalled Cui Youzhen's innocent bunny face and her stick figure with thin arms and legs. If she were to do a few push-ups and squat jumps on the show, she wondered if she would fall apart on the spot... That's not an easy task.

Lin Qianqiao thought to herself, "Why don't I have Gray pray for her safety when he goes to the temple?" But out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed that she had joined the crew on the 19th, and today was the 20th, which meant that Cui Youzhen had already started training.

This… He paused for a moment, suddenly realizing that whether or not he could see this girl at his dream performance was another matter entirely.

"Amen~"

Immediately, he subconsciously prayed for Choi Yoo-jin for a second...

Meanwhile, the teaser poster for SMTM was released at noon, instantly igniting the entire internet. Discussion and buzz skyrocketed, and it immediately and firmly occupied the top spot on Naver's trending search list.

Posts on Naver, The qoo, and Pann are all hotly debating the outcome of the semi-finals, with each post reflecting a strong subjective opinion on the result.

"Hahaha! Finally, the semi-finals are here!"

"Zhou Xian must win! Song Minhao is no match for you. Take that damn championship!"

"I agree with the comment above. It's disgusting to think about how Song Min-ho acted like he was pretending when choosing his opponent. He stared at Kyo's name, too afraid to pick, and then deliberately slipped his fingers and chose Joo-heon, right? They're in the semifinals and he still has Rookie? It's laughable!"

"kkkkk~ Upstairs, you're right, Zhou Xian really is the weakest rapper among the top four. He can't even compare to Song Minhao's one finger."

"Come on... I'm just a casual observer who enjoys listening to a bit of hip-hop. Zhou Xian and Song Minhao are about evenly matched, so stop hyping them up. You'd be better off watching the other match, Kyo and Basic, a pure skill-based duel. It's practically a pre-final, and whoever wins will be the champion."

"Indeed, it's obvious that casual fans are just following whoever is popular. Anyone who actually watches the show would want to hear the champion team's rap."

"..."