Peninsula: Aiming for a Grand Slam

Ningning's fingers clenched tightly in the pocket of her hoodie.

How come there's such a beautiful girl in his house?

And yet, they seemed completely unguarded?

Ningning suppressed the turbulent thoughts in her mind and put on a polite smile.

"I picked up the wrong package last time. Please contact Chen Jixian."

"Chen Jixian is not home."

The girl's voice was clear and pleasant.

But Ningning noticed that the other person's accent was off; it didn't sound like a Korean.

She lived with Chen Jixian; perhaps they were both Chinese?

"Where did he go? When will he be back?" Ningning asked.

"I went out with friends and might not be back until very late."

Ningning nodded, as if she had expected this answer.

Just as she was about to say something, the girl tilted her head slightly, her gaze lingering on her face for a moment before she spoke.

It is written in Chinese.

"Is that Ningning-senpai?"

Ningning was stunned for a moment.

The other person recognized her.

This was not unexpected; she pulled down her mask, revealing her face without a hat or sunglasses, making her almost completely defenseless under the lights.

But the other person's tone lacked the excitement of a fan meeting their idol; it was more like a confirmation, a polite gesture.

Do you know me?

"I'm a trainee," Shen Xiaoting said.

"Trainee." Ningning repeated silently in her mind.

That makes sense.

She took another look at the other person's face; she had never seen him on any music show before.

The trainee community in Seoul is exceptionally large.

Many people train for years but never debut, while new people keep trying to break into the industry.

"I didn't hear him mention anyone else at home..."

Ningning's tone was a little softer than before.

She seemed to be chatting casually, yet also testing the waters.

"I've already been racking my brains for excuses, I really don't know how to explain. Luckily, it's not just someone in the industry, it's also someone from my own country."

When Ningning said this, she seemed much more relaxed—she had found a safer position than questioning.

Shen Xiaoting looked at her and gave a faint smile, which was a response to Ningning's smile.

"I am his cousin. I was arranged by my elders to stay here temporarily."

Ningning breathed a sigh of relief.

cousin.

She's not my girlfriend.

They are not someone I'm romantically interested in.

It wasn't the kind of relationship that made her nervous for half a day.

She even gave herself a mental thumbs up—her comment, "Luckily, he's in the same industry and we're from the same country," was so clever.

Not only did he not reveal his intentions, but he also made the other party reveal their identity in a very natural way.

Ningning,

You've really matured!

Ningning smiled, pulled her mask up again, and nodded to Shen Xiaoting.

"Oh, it's my cousin! By the way, do you have Xiao Chen's contact information?"

……

……

Shen Xiaoting watched her retreating figure, lost in thought.

Senior Ningning, you were clearly very nervous just now, and after you finished speaking you smiled, but your smile seemed a little off.

Towards the end of the conversation, they suddenly relaxed.

Without thinking twice, she closed the door, bent down to pick up the other slipper, and put it on her right foot.

Ningning is waiting for the elevator.

The elevator slowly ascended.

As the numbers jumped to the third floor, a question suddenly popped into my head:

"If she really is my cousin, why doesn't Jimin unnie know?"

The two had known each other for quite some time; in the lead-up to his competition in Daegu, they talked almost every day.

There was a minor disagreement, but after it was discussed, Ji-min unnie was back to chatting on her phone.

In their previous chat, Xiao Chen mentioned whether her cousin was staying at her house.

Ningning had never heard of it.

Perhaps he didn't remember.

Perhaps he felt it was unnecessary.

Perhaps this cousin is a recent arrival and hasn't had a chance to speak yet.

She thought of several reasons for Xiao Chen in her mind, each of which was reasonable, but none of them could reassure her.

"What should we do?"

"Tell Jimin unnie?"

"Maybe Jimin unnie knows, but just doesn't want to tell me?"

Ningning had nothing in her hands, except for the one-sided story of that "cousin".

Earlier, she excitedly shared news about FILA, but ended up making a mess of things.

right now,

She's learned her lesson.

Let's leave it for now and decide after we've confirmed it.

……

……

Chen Jixian is hosting a dinner party.

He is the master.

Ye Haoran is a guest.

Wang Hao was the third person in charge of drinking with the client.

The restaurant was chosen by Schneider; it's a Japanese-style grilled fish restaurant in Gangnam District.

The room is a private room with tatami mats. Once the sliding door is closed, the soft music outside and the conversations next door are completely shut out.

Wang Hao sat cross-legged, flipped through the menu twice, and his eyes widened.

"Wait, what happened to the barbecue? How come it's gotten so high-class? Can your wallet handle it?"

Chen Jixian glanced at the menu.

He also sat cross-legged—he wasn't Japanese, there was no need for him to kneel.

Xiao Chen sighed:

Even if you can't stand it, you still have to go for it.

"Schneider said that professional athletes can't just eat meat outside. If I got doping, my career would be over."

"He used his old connections at IMG to find this store."

Chen Jixian put down his chopsticks and continued:

"Besides, we're inviting Brother Fila today, so we can't be too casual."

"If it weren't for that video of him, I might have been deported."

"I wasted three years of high school in South Korea; when I returned to China, I basically only got a junior college diploma."

When Wang Hao heard the words "junior college", he couldn't help but chuckle.

Chen Jixian's statement was somewhat exaggerated.

If he has to return to China to take the college entrance examination, a top-tier university is out of the question, but he won't end up in a junior college either.

However, some bachelor's degrees are indeed not as good as associate's degrees.

Wang Hao held up a can of Pepsi: "Respect to Brother Fei Le."

Chen Jixian also raised his Coke: "To Brother FILA."

Ye Haoran: "...Don't call me Brother FILA."

Wang Hao directly countered:

"Why can't I call him that? The account you uploaded the video to belongs to FILA, right? And you're wearing FILA today too."

Ye Haoran opened his mouth, then looked down at the Fila hoodie he was wearing.

Why did he choose such a nickname in the first place?

Ye Haoran glanced at Xiao Chen: "Don't call me FILA Bro anymore. Someone's going to be a FILA spokesperson already."

He had been keeping an eye on Chen Jixian's next move, but instead of seeing anything important, he saw a FILA collaboration poster.

When Ye Haoran saw it, he was speechless. He wondered who FILA Bro would be in the future—he bought all those clothes with real money.

Now, instead of giving money to Chen Jixian, they have to do it.

Wang Hao didn't react in time.

He stared at the Coke in Xiao Chen's hand: "Wait a minute, Lao Chen, I don't remember you ordering any drinks. Where did we get this Coke?"

Chen Jixian placed the Coke on the table:

"They came smuggled in; the prices in the store are too high."

"The same Coke is half the price at convenience stores outside. This place is already ridiculously expensive, so I'll save money wherever I can."

His money,

I need to save that money for in-game purchases.

Ye Haoran smiled.

The places where they host banquets are ridiculously expensive, yet they cut corners on every little detail.

He never truly understood Chen Jixian.