Peninsula: The Deepest Affection in Jiangnan

Gimpo Airport.

"I asked you to come back sooner, but I didn't expect you to come back so quickly."

Shen Yu looked at the car that had come to pick him up, opened the passenger door, and got in.

"Good morning. Since you kindly let me come back so early, I took a red-eye flight back."

Xu Youqing, his agent, was the person who called him last night.

His professional skills are highly reliable; he reportedly spent seven years as a trainee at YG Entertainment.

As for himself?

"Okay, okay, thank you for your hard work. Would you like breakfast?"

Xu Youqing felt that Shen Yu was different after going out, but she didn't think much of it.

There's still a lot to do.

Shen Yu didn't plan to eat a sandwich, so Xu Youqing bought two iced Americanos on the way and immediately drove back to the company.

Jiangnan, near Lunxian Cave and Fengen Temple.

143 Entertainment.

Shen Yu looked at the building. The office building was not large, and many parts of the interior space were shared with other companies. For example, there was a fitness center on the second floor and a studio of another entertainment company on the third floor.

This was his first time here, although he had no idea how many times he had been here before.

"I've parked the car."

Xu Youqing followed and handed the iced Americano to Shen Yu.

"Let's go. Should we head straight to the representative's office?"

"That's right, Representative Li won't be at the company at this time, you know that."

After complaining to Shen Yu about another representative in the company, the two entered the company and took the elevator.

"Ah, Director Xu, Senior Shen!"

Inside the elevator, a girl who had just gotten off greeted two people.

Shen Yu did remember her; the girl was from Tokyo.

And the other one too.

"Hello, room leader. Hello, senior."

Shen Yu and Xu Youqing nodded.

The elevator doors closed, and the two people arrived at the second basement level.

It's clear that this company is indeed quite small.

"I still want to remind you of something."

Xu Youqing called out to Shen Yu in the corridor, "You don't have many choices now, and you know what Representative Li is thinking right now."

"Okay, I understand, Nuna."

"Good to know."

Xu Youqing paused for a second as Shen Yu entered the office.

Normally, this kid has a cold expression and looks at everyone as if they owe him money. He has the mentality of an artist even though he doesn't have the life of an artist. Why does he seem different today?

and……

"Nuna? Hey, Shen Yu, you get back here right now!"

*

Actually, Shen Yu didn't want to shout like that, but this body of Shen Yu didn't have the accumulated experience of someone in their 30s.

Normally, Shen Yu would have to ask Xu Youqing, who was born in 92, to call him "brother," but unfortunately, Shen Yu is only 22 years old now.

The original owner also developed a love for music when she was young because of her father, and she filmed many videos of herself practicing the piano from a young age.

Later, he uploaded many songs to YouTube that transformed popular tracks into jazz and soul music with his own personal touch, which attracted the attention of professionals in the industry.

After reaching adulthood, he spent two and a half years in military service. After that, he signed with the newly founded 143 Entertainment, which can be considered a good path.

Unfortunately, after signing with this fledgling agency, Shen Yu wrote many songs, but none of them became hits.

It's at a level that even the Korean Music Copyright Association can't get into... although the membership requirements for that lousy association are still quite high.

This period has exhausted the fame he has built up over the years, and now he's completely finished.

He debuted less than two and a half years ago, and returned still an unknown.

*

"Oh, Shen Yu is here. Come in quickly. What are you thinking?"

Representative Park was in front of his computer doing something, while Shen Yu walked in and sat down on the sofa in the office without any ceremony.

"You know, the company isn't doing very well right now. Although Wu Bai and Rui Xu are both active, the contracts are leased out, so the company still needs some results."

Representative Park started talking to himself as if he were having a casual chat.

"Furthermore, you know Representative Lee... well, anyway, Representative Lee has already selected the trainees and plans to launch a new girl group, and as for you..."

Representative Park put down his work and looked at Shen Yu, who was sitting very relaxed on the sofa.

"We are aware of your musical talent, and the company happens to be short of vocal coach positions, so this is our first choice."

This was a choice made for him out of respect for Shen Yu's father; it's good enough that he wasn't completely ignored.

"Secondly, YG will hand over the management of iKON to our company at the end of the year. The company plans to take advantage of iKON's popularity to integrate the male trainees and launch a second-generation iKON group..."

"..." Shen Yu almost shouted "666" in his heart.

Based on what he knows about 143 Entertainment's tactics, they're probably planning to revive the iKON boy group by using its corpse, right?

First, add a few members, then replace a few members, and finally make a big profit with the tour, making full use of every minute of the contract signing time.

In fact, many K-pop groups do this. For example, After School is a prime example, with its members changing frequently. It's a group that's entirely producer-driven.

"So, Shen Yu, you..."

"I completely agree with any decision the company makes!"

"Huh?"

Representative Park paused for a second.

To be honest, he was prepared for Shen Yu to slam the door and leave.

This kid is inherently arrogant, a complete idealist, with only his musical dreams and artistic pursuits in his heart. Asking him to give up his musical dreams and work hard to contribute to the company is practically like killing him.

The main problem is that his songs simply didn't resonate with audiences.

A true idealist.

Of course, Shen Yu could understand the original owner. Who doesn't have some ambitions? Especially someone from a musical family.

However, he had his own plans, and the company's requirements just happened to align with his ideas.

"Okay, since you've agreed, I'll have HR adjust your position later. Until you sign the contract with YG, you'll come to work on time every day and take on the role of a trainee mentor."

"Okay, sir. If there's nothing else, I'll head out now."

"Um."

*

Go out.

Shen Yu discovered that Xu Youqing was still there, even holding Shen Yu's iced Americano.

"How are you...?"

Although somewhat surprised that she didn't hear the door slam, Xu Youqing still asked a question.

"I'm waiting for the HR lady to help me transfer my file. Actually, in my opinion, there's no need to sign any new contract."

Taking the coffee back from Xu Youqing, she said, "Anyway, Nuna, I'll have to trouble you to take me with you to work from now on."

"ha?"

Shen Yu rarely clocked in before. When he came to the company, he would go straight into the nearby recording studio and not come out, or he would stay at home to create music. Unexpectedly, after hearing what Xu Youqing said, Shen Yu actually planned to come to work on time every day.

"By the way, I remember your computer at your workstation is really useful, Nuna. Could I borrow it for a bit?"

"What are you doing?"

Xu Youqing was having trouble keeping up with Shen Yu's pace.

"Of course, it's video editing. Okay, let's go."

Shen Yu pushed Xu Youqing towards her office.