Why would Peninsula want to date a lazy dog ​​like me?

It's 1:30 a.m.

The entire building had fallen asleep, with only a few blue ambient lights still on in the control room. Wei Wu leaned back in his chair, his eyes bloodshot, staring blankly at the dense audio tracks on the screen.

The recording of "Violeta" is nearing completion, and the next step is the tedious post-production mixing and mastering. This is an extremely demanding and meticulous task, where every fine-tuning of every frequency band and every increase or decrease in reverb determines whether the song will ultimately dominate the music charts.

Wei Wu rubbed his sore neck, and his stomach let out an untimely, muffled protest.

"Damn it, I was so busy scolding those girls with bad pitch last night that I forgot to eat," Wei Wu muttered, reaching for the cigarette pack on the table, only to find nothing.

Just then, a slight "click" came from the doorknob of the control room.

Wei Wu frowned and turned his head away.

The door was carefully pushed open, and a head wearing a black baseball cap and sportswear peeked in. Cui Ruina looked around furtively like a thief, and only after confirming that Wei Wu was alone did she let out a long sigh of relief and slip inside.

"PDnim, I knew you hadn't left yet!"

Choi Ye-na lowered her voice and proudly brought her hands out from behind her back. In her left hand she carried a plastic bag with the logo of a well-known fried chicken brand, and in her right hand she carried four cans of ice-cold beer.

"Why aren't you back in your dorm to sleep in the middle of the night? What are you doing here?" Although Wei Wu's tone was still as indifferent as ever, his body betrayed him by sitting up straight and staring intently at the plastic bag.

"Hehe, Huiyuan said she was so scolded by you today that she had nightmares about the same thing. As her older sister, of course I have to come and spy on the enemy's situation." Cui Yena unceremoniously pulled over a folding chair and sat down next to Wei Wu, skillfully opening a box of fried chicken.

"Actually, it's because my manager found out I secretly ordered takeout, so I can't stay in the dorm anymore and have to take refuge here. PDnim, can you let me stay for one night? I'll pay with half a fried chicken!"

"You think you can bribe me with half a fried chicken?" Wei Wu sneered, but his hand had already reached out and accurately picked up a chicken leg covered in sweet and spicy sauce.

"Oh no! That's mine!" Choi Ye-na cried out anxiously, quickly protecting the remaining fried chicken. "PDnim, how could you take food from a child?!"

"I'm the producer, this is called an unspoken rule, understand?" Wei Wu took a bite of the crispy chicken, the rich juices bursting in his mouth, and he squinted his eyes comfortably.

"Tch, there's no such unspoken rule as fighting over fried chicken..." Choi Ye-na muttered under her breath, but she generously opened a can of beer for Wei Wu and handed it to him, "Here, it's ice cold, perfect with fried chicken."

Wei Wu took the beer, his fingertips inadvertently brushing against Cui Ruina's slightly cool fingers.

He didn't have the same horrifying reaction he had when Zhang Yuanying touched him last time. Instead, he found the casual touch natural and... normal.

The two of them ate fried chicken and drank beer in the dimly lit control room, listening to the audio tracks flashing on the screen.

After a few cans of beer, the alcohol began to ferment in our blood, and the atmosphere became more harmonious than ever before.

Choi Ye-na was a natural mood-maker. She gesticulated wildly as she complained to Wei Wu about the funny things that happened in the dormitory: for example, Miyawaki Sakura would make strange screams when playing games, Kang Hye-won would stuff cookies into a shoebox to hide snacks, and Ahn Yu-jin was like a large dog, so energetic that it was a headache every day.

Wei Wu listened quietly, occasionally interjecting with a sarcastic remark that made Cui Ruina laugh heartily.

"Actually..." Choi Ye-na finished laughing, her expression suddenly becoming serious. She held the slightly warm beer can in both hands, looking down at the foam inside, "Actually, everyone is very grateful to you, PDnim."

"Thank me for scolding you every day?" Wei Wu raised an eyebrow.

"No." Choi Ye-na shook her head, looked up at Wei Wu's eyes with sincerity, and said, "We are a limited-time group. When the time comes, we will disband and go our separate ways. Everyone knows that 'Violeta' is a really good song. You are so strict with us because you want to leave us with the best work so that we can still have a place in this cruel industry after we disband."

Wei Wu was taken aback.

"Stop making a scene." Wei Wu looked away, took a sip of beer, and said stiffly to hide his inner turmoil. "I'm just doing my job well because I got paid. Where you guys go to beg for food after you're disbanded is none of my business."

"Hehe, PDnim, you're just all bark and no bite." Choi Ye-na wasn't annoyed. Instead, she leaned closer and gently nudged Wei Wu's arm with her shoulder. "No matter what, you're the most amazing and genuine producer I've ever met. If you ever have any troubles in the future, feel free to call me for a drink! I, Choi Ye-na, am always here for you!"

"Alright, now that you're full, hurry back to sleep. We have rehearsal tomorrow." Wei Wu waved his hand dismissively.

"No! It's so dark outside, I'm scared. I'll take a nap here for a while, and leave when it gets light."

Choi Ye-na yawned and lay down on the sofa at the back of the control room, curling up like a cat. In less than three minutes, she was breathing evenly.

Wei Wu shook his head helplessly.

He stood up, walked to the storage cabinet in the corner, took out a spare blanket, and gently covered Choi Ye-na with it.

Looking at the girl's unguarded sleeping face, Wei Wu let out a long sigh.

"This is what normal life should be like..."

He turned around, sat back down in front of the computer, put on his headphones, and continued his tedious mixing work.

But he didn't realize that a faint smile, one that he himself was unaware of, was always playing on the corners of his mouth.

What Wei Wu didn't notice was that outside the soundproof door, a pair of eyes were staring intently through the glass crack in the door at everything that was happening inside.

Zhang Yuanying stood in a dark corner of the corridor.

She had originally planned to sneak into the control room late at night, even if it was just to smell Wei Wu's lingering scent or touch the chair he had sat in. These past few days, she had been suppressing her feelings to the point of near madness in order to maintain her "normal" facade.

But she never expected to see such a scene.

She watched as Wei Wu accepted the fried chicken from Cui Yena.

She watched as Wei Wu and Cui Yena clinked glasses.

She watched as Wei Wu smiled with his own eyes, a genuine, relaxed smile she had never seen before, because of Cui Ye Na's joke.

Finally, she watched as Wei Wu walked to the sofa and gently covered that fool with a blanket.

"Click."

Zhang Yuanying's fingernail, due to excessive force, scratched a deep crack in the soundproofing material of the wall. The excruciating pain of her splitting fingernail was almost imperceptible to her.

Her eyes were bloodshot and red in the dim light, her pupils shrank to the extreme, and black karmic fire raged within them, enough to burn the entire world to ashes.

He smiled...

"He actually smiled at another woman..."

"He even covered her with a blanket..."

Zhang Yuanying's chest heaved violently, and her breathing became as heavy as a broken bellows.

She bit her lower lip hard until she tasted the strong metallic taste of blood, barely suppressing the urge to rush in, drag Choi Ye-na off the sofa, and slash her smiling face with scissors.

Jealousy was like a venomous snake covered in barbs, tearing and writhing wildly inside her, causing her so much pain that she almost convulsed.

"Kill them..."

"Push her off the building..."

"Or put something in her water glass..."

Countless bloody or cruel thoughts flashed wildly through Zhang Yuanying's mind. Her morbid possessiveness was completely ignited at this moment, almost breaking through the cage of her reason.

But when her gaze fell once again on Wei Wu's relaxed profile, she abruptly stopped in her tracks.

She remembered the cold, disgusted look in Wei Wu's eyes when he overturned the table in the Starship Recording Studio.

"no."

Zhang Yuanying closed her eyes, trembling all over, frantically warning herself in her heart.

"Don't get angry..."

"He likes normal girls, he likes well-behaved idols. So I'll show him."

When Zhang Yuanying opened her eyes again, the madness and murderous intent in them had been replaced by a chillingly calm demeanor.

She gave Choi Ye-na a long look, a cruel yet sweet smile playing on her lips.

"Choi Ye-na, do you think you've won?"

"You're just a toy for him to relax. But I want all of him."

"Since you like dancing so much, then you can dance to your heart's content."

Zhang Yuanying silently retreated into the darkness, as if she had never appeared.

······

The heavy subwoofer made the floor shake. The choreography for "Violeta" has entered the final stage of refining the choreography.

The twelve girls were sweating profusely in the practice room.

"Wait a minute."

Choreography teacher Pei Yunzhen clapped her hands, her brows slightly furrowed.

"The formation in the chorus's climax isn't tense enough. We need a visual focal point to ignite the emotions."

The girls stopped what they were doing, panting, and waited for the teacher's instructions.

Just then, Zhang Yuanying, who was standing in the center, raised her hand, her face still bearing that signature innocent smile.

"Teacher, I have an idea." Zhang Yuanying's voice was sweet and respectful. "The rhythm of the chorus is very strong, and relying solely on hand movements might not be powerful enough. Yena unnie is our lead dancer."

Zhang Yuanying turned to look at Cui Yena, who was covered in sweat, her eyes filled with "admiration" and "trust".

"Wouldn't it be more visually appealing if Yena unnie did a high-intensity low-slide followed by a mid-air jump from the back of the formation at the start of the chorus, and then cut in next to the center to lead the dance?"

Pei Yunzhen paused for a moment, then mentally simulated the scene before her eyes lit up.

"That's a great idea! The visual impact is definitely there! But..." Bae Yoon-jung looked at Choi Ye-na with some hesitation, "Ye-na, this move is very taxing on your stamina and knees, and it needs to be done continuously. Can you handle it?"

Before Choi Ye-na could speak, Jang Won-young immediately went over and affectionately took Choi Ye-na's arm.

"Don't worry, teacher, Yena unnie is the stamina powerhouse of our team! She told me last night that she's willing to give everything for this comeback. Right, unnie?"

Jang Won-young smiled like an innocent little angel, but her fingers tightened their grip on Choi Ye-na's arm, and she added softly in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Unnie, PD-nim is really looking forward to your performance, you won't disappoint him, will you?"

These words struck Choi Ye-na like a precise bullet to her weak spot. She gritted her teeth and shouted, "No problem, teacher! I can do it!"

"Okay! Let's rehearse according to this plan! Ruina, you practice this movement ten times on your own first, get a feel for it!"

The next two hours were hell for Choi Ye-na.

A series of knee strikes followed by landings, leaps, and more landings. Each time her knees slammed onto the wooden floor, a dull thud resounded. Sweat streamed down her face like a waterfall, her legs began to tremble uncontrollably, and her face turned ashen.

Zhang Yuanying stood to the side, holding a bottle of ice water, watching everything with the most obedient demeanor.

Her eyes were clear, and a sweet smile played on her lips. But beneath that perfect exterior, her soul was laughing madly, greedily consuming Choi Ye-na's pain.

"Jump, you idiot. Jump hard."

"Squeeze every last drop of your strength, your energy, and that disgusting smile of yours."

"That way, you won't have the energy to flirt with him anymore."

Just then, the door to the practice room was pushed open.

Wei Wu walked in carrying a folder. He was there to confirm whether the rhythm of the dance moves perfectly matched the final arrangement.

"PDnim!"

The girls bowed and greeted them.

Wei Wu nodded, his gaze sweeping across the crowd before landing on Cui Ruina, who was slumped on the ground, panting heavily and too weak to even stand up.

"What's wrong with her?" Wei Wu frowned.

"Ah, PDnim."

Before anyone could speak, Zhang Yuanying had already walked lightly to Wei Wu's side like a gentle breeze.

"Ye Na unnie volunteered to add more difficult moves to make the dance even better. She's working so hard; the teacher just praised her."

Zhang Yuanying's voice was soft and natural, full of care and respect for her teammates. Her position was very clever, perfectly blocking Wei Wu's view of Cui Ruina.

He glanced at Zhang Yuanying's flawless face, then at Cui Yena in the distance, who looked as exhausted as a dead dog, and his brows relaxed slightly.

"Yes. It's good to work hard, but be careful not to get injured."

"It seems she's finally learned how to be a normal idol." Wei Wu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He even developed a slightly, almost imperceptible, change in his opinion of Zhang Yuanying.

As long as she doesn't go crazy, she's actually a very smart girl.

"You should also take care of yourself and get some rest. I don't want to see the center position get injured." Wei Wu said something unusually gentle to Zhang Yuanying.

"Yes! Thank you for your concern, PDnim!"

Zhang Yuanying immediately flashed a radiant smile, bowed obediently, and then returned to the group.

No one saw the chilling, crimson fervor that flashed in Zhang Yuanying's eyes the instant she turned away.

She won.

She used Cui Yena's suffering to make Wei Wu lower his guard.