I'm reborn and I'm an international student again?

Jeju Island Art Museum.

The museum was almost empty, with only a few staff members leaning against the entrance, lazily yawning.

The melodious sound of a piano echoed in the spacious art gallery.

Chen Xi leaned against the wall, looking at Cui Mizhen, who was sitting on the piano bench in a long dress that trailed on the ground, her mind full of questions.

Don't women feel cold?

The temperature here is similar to that of the three provinces. It's the dead of winter, yet she's dressed as if it were the height of summer.

If you go outside like that, you'll catch a cold.

As the piece ended, the music gradually faded away.

Cui Mizhen turned her head and looked at the man by the wall: "This missile crisis has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Most of the projects on the island are finally less commercialized."

“If there are no tourists, then naturally no one will come to the art museum. Your idea… is a bit strange, isn’t it?” Chen Xi couldn’t help but say. He really couldn’t figure out what this woman was thinking.

"It's good to have some peace and quiet. Art isn't created to please others. By the way, about that thing you asked me to inquire about before... is that Kim Nana... the girl you like?" Cui Mizhen's elegant expression suddenly changed, replaced by a hint of mischief.

"Uh..." Upon hearing this, Chen Xi scratched his face awkwardly, speechless for a moment, unsure how to respond.

"That's just how you Chinese men are. You clearly like someone, but you're too shy to say it. You're always so hesitant and awkward, and in the end, you miss out on them." Cui Mizhen chuckled.

"She...she...isn't married yet?" Chen Xi hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking.

"You still say you don't like her? If you don't like her, why ask this?" Cui Mizhen raised an eyebrow with a mischievous smile, her eyes gleaming.

"..."

"Okay, okay, I'm just kidding. Actually, there's no definite news yet. I'll let you know as soon as there's any progress."

"Then why did you ask so many questions just now?"

"I just wanted to see how important this matter was to you. If it wasn't important, I wouldn't have bothered to go through all that trouble to look it up."

"..."

Don't underestimate South Korea just because it's a small country; finding someone like Kim Na-na is no easy feat.

There are many people with the surname Kim in the chaebols. At least five large groups have Kim as a shareholder, and three chaebols have Kim as the actual controller.

This is similar to how people with the surnames Zhang, Wang, and Liu in China are quite difficult to find.

Korea. EnCar headquarters conference room.

EnCar, a platform formerly owned by the SK Group and holding a 32% share of the South Korean used car market, has now been acquired by Norbert for 1350 billion South Korean dollars (approximately US$1.2 million).

However, SK Holdings retains a 19.9% ​​stake.

Norbert sat arrogantly in the main seat, looking around: "Where's Kim Junsu?"

One of the main purposes of his trip was to humiliate the person who had once bossed him around.

“President Kim… he’s no longer with the company,” an EnCar executive replied cautiously.

"What? Gone?" Norbert frowned, then burst into exaggerated laughter. "Hahaha! Did he go off to mess with his crappy rocket again? He can't even handle cars on the ground, yet he dares to dream of going to space? What a joke!" Not being able to see Kim Junsu made him feel a surge of displeasure.

The reason he was able to spend money to acquire EnCar was because SK Group had financial problems, which stemmed from the aerospace project that Choi Jong-saeng and Kim Jun-su had previously undertaken.

Hanwha Group and SK Group jointly invested nearly one trillion Korean won in rocket development and satellite deployment. Three rocket engine test explosions failed, resulting in massive losses. To raise funds for continued research, Choi Jong-saeng had no choice but to sell EnCar.

"Hmph, it's better that you're not here! People with such limited abilities are superfluous to keep in the company. I'm here this time to completely reorganize the company! From now on, EnCar will be renamed Carsales Korea. It will be integrated into our Carsales Asian strategic map, working in tandem with Mobil123 in Indonesia, One2Car in Thailand, and Carlist in Malaysia, with the ultimate goal of targeting the huge Chinese used car market!" Norbert waved his hand as if shooing away a fly, then announced with great enthusiasm.

He had originally planned to fly directly from South Africa to the country of pickles, but changed his plans at the last minute.

For nearly a year, he has been traveling non-stop to various countries, acquiring local used car platforms, all in order to build this network covering Asia.

Norbert had also tried to penetrate the island nation's market, but it was already mature and stable, making it impossible for him to gain a foothold. Helpless, he turned to South Korea, hoping to take the opportunity to humiliate Kim Junsu, but he ended up empty-handed.

South Korea, SK Telecom headquarters conference room.

"In the future, we will deploy 300 low-orbit IoT satellites! Neighboring countries have already launched 5G trials. As the country with the fastest network speed in the world, we absolutely cannot fall behind! This project will be named the Space 5G Communication Constellation..." Cui Zhongsheng announced with a serious expression.

South Korea has held the title of the world's fastest internet speed for several consecutive years. With hardware capabilities no longer capable of significant leaps forward, maintaining this nominal world-leading status has become their primary objective, requiring them to rack their brains to achieve it.

This so-called "space 5G communication constellation" is essentially Tesla's "Starlink" project, which was proposed two years ago.

Back then, Cui Zhongsheng was deeply impressed by Musk's ideas. Young and ambitious, he secretly resolved to replicate this space dream. So he changed the name and created a low-orbit Internet of Things satellite project.

If you're going to plagiarize, you have to plagiarize thoroughly.

Cui Zhongsheng quickly contacted the government and successfully obtained the subsidy.

However, reality dealt him a heavy blow.

The project cost more than three times that of SpaceX, and its commercial prospects were bleak, scaring investors away as many withdrew their funding midway.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was oppressive.

Choi Jong-saeng tried to boost morale: "The reason for the three failed engine test explosions has been identified: it was a material defect! Without overcoming this hurdle, going to space is just empty talk! But don't be discouraged! Hanwha Group is already developing its own carbon-silicon ceramic composite material, which can replace the existing nickel-based alloy. Once successful, it can reduce weight by 30% and reduce costs by 50%..."

At this moment, a senior executive cautiously spoke up: "But... regarding funding... what about the head office..." He hesitated, but his meaning was clear.

"Don't worry about funding!"

Choi Jong-sung waved his hand and unveiled an even grander blueprint: "Now all countries are engaged in a space race, and the North is already far ahead of us. Therefore, I have proposed the 'Korean Manned Lunar Landing Plan' to the government and successfully applied for a special fund of 2 trillion Korean won from the Ministry of Science and Technology."

After he finished speaking, the conference room fell into a deathly silence.

The crowd looked at each other, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Manned lunar landing program?

A special fund for 2 trillion kimchi coins?

This script feels even more fantastical than the most outrageous Korean dramas!
After the meeting, Cui Zhongsheng returned to his office and breathed a long sigh of relief.

For him, making empty promises in front of others was no easy task.

Born into a noble family, he always felt that exaggerating would damage his own image.

"Dong dong."

"Enter!"

The office door was pushed open, and a woman in business attire walked in.

Unlike the others who treated Cui Zhongsheng with utmost respect, she casually sat down in the chair opposite him, leaning back comfortably with her arms crossed, a half-smile playing on her lips as she looked at him. Silence filled the office.

After a long while, Cui Zhongsheng finally couldn't hold back any longer, his tone tinged with resentment: "Just now at the meeting, you didn't say a word to help me, you just wanted to see me make a fool of myself on stage by myself?"

"How could that be? The future successor of the prestigious SK Group, do you need a woman like me to speak up for you and support you?" Kim Nana smiled.

“You did this on purpose, you’re getting revenge on me,” Cui Zhongsheng said with certainty.

"Oh? Why do you say that?" Jin Nana raised an eyebrow.
“When we first met, you were always so carefree and did whatever you wanted. Now that I'm asking you to tone it down and follow the rules, do you feel really uncomfortable? Are you secretly resenting me and Kim Junsu?”

"So what if it is?" Jin Nana admitted frankly, even with a hint of provocation.

“You are my future wife. Your current state wouldn’t work in our circle.” Cui Zhongsheng emphasized.

"What? You want me to be like those socialites and ladies, all dignified and virtuous? Do you men all like those puppets? Can't I just be myself?" Jin Nana scoffed.

“It’s not that we can’t,” Cui Zhongsheng tried to reason, “but people like us don’t have a choice from birth. Our every move represents not just ourselves, but the families and corporations behind us!”

"Hmph," Jin Nana retorted without backing down, "Why should I become what you like?"

"Am I not good enough to you?" Cui Zhongsheng asked, somewhat frustrated.

"It's alright," Jin Nana replied casually, then realized what she meant and immediately emphasized, "Wait! We're not in that kind of relationship yet! We're just playing along with our families, don't get too caught up in it."

"Think what you want. But your words and actions will directly affect my family's opinion and attitude towards you, and you should understand that." Cui Zhongsheng rubbed his temples wearily.

"Hmph, I can do whatever I want. What I hate most is being told what to do!" Jin Nana stood up, her posture arrogant.

Looking at this stubborn woman in front of him, Cui Zhongsheng felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

To be honest, he did hope to mold Jin Nana into his ideal partner, someone who could be his capable assistant in business and a gentle and virtuous wife and mother in the family.

Unfortunately, this was ultimately just wishful thinking on his part.

The two of them are not even officially a couple yet.

The so-called relationship was nothing more than a tacit performance by both parties to cope with the pressure from their families to get married.

In the Choi family, apart from Choi Jong-saeng's parents, none of the other relatives even knew of Kim Na-na's existence.

Because Kim Nana's previous impression on Choi's parents was far from satisfactory, they were even embarrassed to mention this "future daughter-in-law" to other members of the family.

Let's talk about Kim Na-na's opinion of Choi Jong-saeng.

To be fair, Cui Zhongsheng was indeed quite good to her.

Even when she deliberately acted unreasonably, the other party never lost their temper with her.

In her memory, Choi Jong-saeng was an extremely rational and practical person. He had clear plans, and practicality lay in the fact that family, money, and the company always weighed far more heavily on him than women. Kim Nana disliked this overly rational man from the bottom of her heart.

What she hates most is having someone try to control or change her. She just wants to live the way she wants to live.

Gradually, she realized that not only Choi Jong-saeng, but also her brother Kim Jun-su, were subtly trying to change her in their daily lives.

This completely ignited her stubborn temper.

Just like in the meeting just now, Choi Jong-saeng deliberately brought up the news that Hanwha Group had developed a new material, just waiting for her, an insider, to respond and prove that what he said was true.

The results of it?
She didn't respond at all, leaving Cui Zhongsheng with no choice but to awkwardly change the subject.

Jin Nana tilted her head, blinked, and asked, "At first, I thought you were just a typical chaebol who only cared about money. But after getting to know you, I feel like that's not the case. This aerospace project is clearly a bottomless pit of money, so why are you still pushing it to the limit? There are already many people within both groups complaining that it's a money-losing project, so why are you still going to push it despite the pressure?"

Cui Zhongsheng was silent for a moment: "Every man has his own dream when he grows up. Some want to be doctors, some want to be soldiers. As for me? I was molded in the family's precise mold from childhood. I learned everything I was supposed to learn, including art, academic subjects, sports, etc. But I have never accomplished anything that I really wanted to do."

He paused, seemingly feeling that the other person couldn't empathize: "You women probably have a hard time understanding things like dreams."

"Hmph! Male chauvinist!"

These words instantly ignited Jin Nana's anger.

To be honest, men from South Korea and Japan are practically identical in this respect.

"Isn't that right? And what about you, Kim Nana? Do you have any dreams of your own?" Choi Jong-saeng countered.

This question completely baffled Jin Nana.

She opened her mouth, but was momentarily speechless.

dream?

If you were to ask her what her absolute must-achieve life dream is... she doesn't seem to be able to answer.

At most, one could say that his hobbies are practicing martial arts and boxing.

"Hmph, I can't argue with you!" Jin Nana pouted and turned her head away in annoyance.

She realized that every time she argued with Cui Zhongsheng, he always managed to entangle her in those high-sounding rational principles, leaving her speechless in the end.

"hehe."

Looking at Kim Na-na, who was acting like a sulking child, Choi Jong-saeng couldn't help but chuckle.

The women he had encountered in the past were all carefully molded socialites within their families' standard molds, each one dignified, proper, and well-behaved. But Jin Nana, who had grown up freely overseas, was completely different from them.

Although he had always tried to mold her into his ideal image, he had to admit that it was precisely this unconventional wildness and frankness that made Jin Nana stand out in his eyes.

"I heard from Junsu that you've never been in a relationship. Is that true?" Choi Jong-saeng changed the subject.

"Fake!"

"Ok?"

"I've dated so many people I can't count them on two hands."

"How many are there?"

"108! How about that, scared now? Still dare to marry one?"

Jin Nana raised an eyebrow with a mischievous grin.

"..."

"Hahaha!"

Seeing her opponent's discomfiture, Jin Nana laughed unrestrainedly. (End of Chapter)