Peninsula: Aiming for a Grand Slam

Chen Jixian's life seemed to have returned to normal.

I get up at six o'clock every morning, run five kilometers first, and then go to class.

After school in the afternoon, I would go to Uncle Cui's gym to practice basketball until the streetlights came on before going home.

I don't need to think about Bae Joo-hyun, nor do I need to think about Yoo Ji-min.

He did develop a new hobby: watching Akka's matches.

then,

Midterm exams.

The last subject is Korean history.

With 40 minutes left before the exam ended, Xiao Chen had already finished filling in the multiple-choice questions and filled the answer box for the essay questions.

A month ago, Chen Jixian would have looked irritable and wouldn't have been able to write a single word.

But today is different.

This is not just the effect of the learning package.

Chen Jixian finally understood a principle: some things don't need to be genuinely agreed with.

It doesn't matter where you put it.

You always have to write down answers you don't agree with at all, even if you don't want to.

The exam is over.

Wang Hao rushed over from the back row, his face looking as if he had been humiliated by a dozen burly men.

He grabbed Chen Jixian's arm:

"Question 10, the one about 'Which of the following did not belong to the land system of the Goryeo Dynasty,' what did you choose?"

Chen Jixian zipped up his pencil case: "Choose 3."

Wang Hao was dumbfounded: "Three? Not one? Isn't the Koda method from Korea?"

"You're mistaken. Ke Tianfa was from the Joseon Dynasty, while Tian Chai Ke was from the Goryeo Dynasty."

Wang Hao stood there, stunned.

In the corridor, students squeezed past in twos and threes.

Some people were discussing what to have for lunch, while others were complaining that the last essay question was too obscure.

Wang Hao was still holding onto his arm, forgetting to let go.

He seemed to see through Lü Bu like Dong Zhuo did:

"Isn't your history the worst?"

"At the end of last semester, your history score was about the same as mine. You even told me that Korean history was easy to learn, but you can't fool yourself..."

Xiao Chen gave a perfunctory reply: "That was last semester."

"So what if this semester is okay?"

Of course, it's all thanks to the "Boys' Tennis Master Learning System".

Xiao Chen stuffed his pencil case into his schoolbag and casually said:

"I was too lazy to learn before, but it's different now. I want to live up to the Korean ladies' love for me."

finished,

He even patted Wang Hao on the shoulder with a serious expression, as if to say, "You still have to work harder."

Wang Hao was so angry he wanted to grind his teeth.

He covered his mouth, lowered his voice, and leaned closer: "You used to call Koreans 'sticks'."

When he said "Korean," he almost spoke in a breathy voice, subconsciously glancing around to see if there were any Korean classmates.

Chen Jixian straightened his posture, puffed out his chest, and said in a serious, broadcasting tone:

"In the past, the Chinese and South Korean people did not understand each other well enough."

"Through the Daegu stop, both sides enhanced mutual trust and deepened friendship. As a frontline participant in people-to-people diplomacy..."

Wang Hao roared, "Get out! I've already fled to South Korea, and the evening news is still chasing me? Are we going to have to extend the broadcast by another 30 minutes?!"

Chen Jixian chuckled, hooked his backpack strap over his shoulder, and walked towards the stairwell.

Wang Hao followed behind, muttering to himself, roughly meaning: someone has betrayed the friendship of Revolution.

Chen Jixian didn't say anything, but simply raised the milk carton in his hand and shook it, meaning "It's on me."

Wang Hao followed.

The two walked out of the school gate, and the ginkgo trees on both sides of the slope had just sprouted new leaves.

Chen Jixian suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, I'm inviting Ye Haoran to dinner in a couple of days, you can join me."

Wang Hao was taken aback, then something occurred to him:

"Ye Haoran? You mean that guy who filmed your video, 'Brother Fila who doesn't wear FILA'? What would I do there if you two were having a romantic time together?"

Chen Jixian replied without hesitation: "A world for two is no fun; we need someone to keep us company."

Holy crap!

Xiao Chen smiled and said, "He's not that familiar with me. At least you'll have someone to talk to. If you don't go, are we just going to sit here and chat about tennis?"

There's not much to talk about with someone like Filippo.

Xiao Chen suddenly realized: Could it be that Aka also sees him that way?

Wang Hao sighed, "Alright, I'll give you face. What are you treating us to?"

"You decide."

"Barbecue!"

Wang Hao didn't even think about it.

There's not much good food left in South Korea.

Chen Jixian was slightly taken aback.

Then, he laughed and said, "Okay, let's grill meat it is. Anyway, I'm pretty good at it."

Wang Hao was taken aback.

Good technique?

Who drew a cross-section of pork belly in their notebook last time? Anyone who didn't know better would think they were dissecting a pig.

Old Wang looked at him with skepticism: "Are you sure you can do it? When did you learn how to grill meat?"

"I learned it from an older sister."

"Which sister?" Wang Hao's eyes lit up immediately.

Chen Jixian didn't answer and had already walked forward.

Wang Hao chased after her, still asking, "What sister?", "How old is she?", "Is she Korean?", and "You fucking explain yourself!"

Chen Jixian simply raised the milk carton in his hand, as if toasting with him.

……

……

Seoul,

SM Entertainment.

Since the last fan war, Liu Zhimin's phone has been confiscated.

Today she received a notification that Director Lee of the Artist Management Department wants to see her.

When Liu Zhimin entered the office, Director Li was flipping through a document.

She looked up, took off her glasses, and pointed to the chair opposite her.

"Karina, have a seat. How's your practice going lately?"

"It's alright." Liu Zhimin sat down and placed her hands on her knees.

Her phone had been confiscated almost two weeks ago, so she's no longer nervous about these kinds of conversations.

The agent said, "Manager Lee wants to know some things," in a non-stern tone.

Unlike last time, when fans on both sides were arguing, the manager's face practically screamed "You're finished."

Director Li put down his pen: "Last time in the live broadcast, you spoke up for a foreign tennis player... Are you two quite familiar?"

Liu Zhimin, looking like a well-behaved child, said, "We're not very close. I just didn't like Kim Sung-joon's comments and couldn't help myself. I'll definitely be more careful in the future."

Chief Li nodded, as if confirming something she already knew.

She then asked, "The company has recently been looking into a brokerage firm called ASA, the one J.Chen works for. Do you know anything about this company?"

ASA?

Liu Zhimin searched the word in her mind, but found nothing.

"have no idea."

Director Li closed the folder.

Her tone softened, as if she were sharing some trivial gossip.

"By the way, FILA is currently promoting a duo project, and the partner is Chen Jixian."

"I heard they're in contact with Jang Won-young, are you aware of this?"

What was originally just a collaboration with a model was deliberately misrepresented as a "dual project".

What does "two-person project" mean?

FILA not only hired Jang Won-young as a model, but also packaged the two as a couple.

The two will appear together in GG magazine, shoot pictorials together, and attend press conferences together.

Social media will feature posters of the two people, synchronized official announcements, and deliberately ambiguous spaces left for fans to fill in the blanks.

This,

That was Director Li's objective.

Liu Zhimin's eyelashes twitched.

It was like a calm surface of water that had been gently touched by something.

However, before the ripples could spread, she suppressed them herself.

She looked up at Chief Li, her gaze steady and her tone calm.

"I have no idea."

Director Li observed for a while.

However, there is no definitive conclusion.

It's normal for Liu Zhimin to be a little sensitive while she's still under punishment.

in addition,

It's not surprising that she overreacted when she heard the name "Zhang Yuanying".

It's impossible for two female idols of the same generation to not care about each other when they're competing for the same position in the same industry.

Director Li concluded the conversation by saying, "You can go back now and practice hard."