Huayu: Traffic is king

Chapter 179 The Harem's Collective Breakdown

"I'm telling you, you two, have some decency."

An hour and a half passed, and Kim Tae-yeon rubbed her numb legs. She started knocking on the door, signaling to Im Yoona to hurry up and finish the fight.

Just today, her team was actually mocked by passersby.

Oh my god, the famous Girls' Generation leader Kim Tae-yeon is diligently squatting at the alley entrance, standing guard for these two guys.

They thought it would be over in about an hour, but little did they know that the two of them were completely oblivious to the world around them.

An hour passed, then ten minutes later, and then another ten minutes.

Kim Tae-yeon's face turned green; she had just changed to a new cushion a few days ago.

The ruined cushion was secondary; the occasional murmurs uttered by the two of them actually aroused Kim Tae-yeon's reaction...

Damn it, she's really lost her mind.

Perhaps she should find a younger boyfriend to comfort her.

The car, which had been dancing, finally came to a stop, and Kim Tae-yeon stood outside the door with her hands on her hips, sighing.

"Oh my god, our Yoona has finally reached the age where she can do such impatient things."

"Oh, Kim Tae-yeon."

Yoona broke down, her face still showing the afterglow of exercise.

"If you're going to make fun of me, could you at least avoid mentioning Gu Jingyi? I'm really fed up... Can't you at least give me some face?"

"What's the big deal? I'm his sister-in-law."

Kim Tae-yeon remained calm and leaned into the car window, asking with a righteous air, "Hey, brother-in-law, you didn't take what I just said to heart, did you?"

Gu Jingyi was putting on a hoodie when Kim Tae-yeon noticed the nail marks on his muscular back.

It's clear that this battle was exceptionally fierce.

"Alright, alright, be good, stop standing on your tiptoes to see."

Im Yoona noticed the gleam in Kim Tae-yeon's eyes and quickly stepped in to block her, pressing her head down.

"Yoona, how could you treat me like this?"

Kim Tae-yeon's head was pressed down, her eyes still filled with disbelief.

Wow, there are so many people!

Gu Jingyi noticed something was wrong and quickly appeared, adopting the same tone as Zhou Xun.

"Taeyeon unnie, do you want me to take you home?"

"You seem to have forgotten that this car doesn't belong to your dear Yoona. It's my car. How did it become your car that you drove me home?"

Kim Tae-yeon's lips twitched, but she got into the car swiftly.

Gu Jingyi didn't argue with her and simply dumped Kim Tae-yeon near SM Entertainment.

"Gu Jingyi, you're so mean, hahaha."

When Lim Yoona recalled Kim Tae-yeon's suddenly widened eyes, she laughed until her stomach hurt.

"You can't blame me for that. Taeyeon was being coy after she got in the car. She wouldn't give me an address, and I've never been to her house. How was I supposed to know where to take her? I just had to floor the gas and drive her to her office building."

Gu Jingyi felt genuinely wronged; he didn't know when he had turned into a bad guy again.

Prejudice in people's heart is a big mountain.

It's unbelievable that such a gentle and polite model student would turn out to be a bad person.

"Do you still remember where my home is?"

Yoona gave him a kind smile, but it contained a hidden sense of oppression.

"Of course, it's not like I haven't been there before."

Gu Jingyi, who was reborn in the Produce 202 timeline, never achieved the "third base" feat with Im Yoona.

However, I had also visited Yoona's home to celebrate her birthday, so I can't say I was unfamiliar with this route.

Gu Jingyi drove into the quiet alley with ease, and not far ahead was the location of Lin Yun'er's large apartment.

Kim Tae-yeon's license plate was of course registered in the community, and Gu Jingyi drove downstairs without any hindrance.

As soon as they entered the door, their love was rekindled.

The night was deep and the dew was heavy; fish and dragons danced all night long.

Lin Yoona had long since fallen into a deep sleep, but Gu Jingyi couldn't fall asleep.

He was in a state of high excitement, so he simply picked up his phone and started looking at it.

As expected, Gu Jingyi's appearance as a guest at Girls' Generation's Tokyo concert once again topped all the trending searches.

On Twitter, Weibo, and Instagram, the hashtag for Gu Jingyi has suddenly appeared at number one.

Gu Jingyi frowned and started by looking at the external websites.

The first site I browsed was Theqoo, the most famous site on the Korean website.

Gu Jingyi's Butter Stage – Is This a Face Humans Should Have? Withdrawing from the Competition is a Lifelong Stain on An Junying!

The original poster wrote: "At Girls' Generation's concert last night, this man took the audience's breath away in 30 seconds!"

(Image 1): Wet hair, gold-rimmed glasses, lemon yellow GoodGu sweatshirt
OP: This man has 'welded together a sense of asceticism and youthful charm' on his body.

Once the post was published, comments flooded in like a tidal wave.

[West 8, Gu Jingyi's jawline is sharper than a group of knives dancing]
[Gu Jingyi Xi, he has dominated the aesthetic standards of China and South Korea with his looks!]
[Damn, I can't believe I saw news about Gu Jingyi after all this time. I almost thought I was hallucinating. He's still so handsome. Since Gu Jingyi withdrew from the competition, South Korea's average attractiveness has plummeted—it's heartbreaking!]
[SM Entertainment's inherited stylist, come out and take your punishment! The face you couldn't create in ten years has been delivered to you by China!]
[SM Entertainment scouts are getting their comeuppance too! This is the face of Sunwon that your director Lee Soo-man has been dreaming of day and night!]
[Ah, we can't entirely blame SM Entertainment. When Gu Jingyi was at YG Entertainment, SM scouts tried to poach him. (Attached photo) This is a picture I took while waiting outside GD Xi's place.]
Although the photo is somewhat blurry and the boy is wearing a hood, his build and jawline bear a striking resemblance to Gu Jingyi's sharp, razor-sharp jawline, which was highly praised on the "Butter" stage.

[Oh my god, I'm about to faint from his handsomeness.]
[His beauty is unparalleled, making him the absolute visual center of attention. His looks could easily outshine 101 handsome men (see attached photo: Gu Jingyi's official group photo from the 202 competition). A face genius.]
[Gu Jingyi is more than just a "face genius"; he's a "face nuclear weapon." When Girls' Generation members give close-ups of their performances, Kim Tae-yeon's eyes on stage don't lie.]
[kkk, this younger handsome guy's looks are an insult to Gu Jingyi compared to Baekhyun.]
[Although I really dislike that side of the world, seeing Gu Jingyi really gives me a sense of disorientation. That upright and honest aura he possesses is probably something only someone from a great nation like that could have.]
The situation on the PANN forum was quite different from the high praise received on Theqoo.

PANN is an anonymous fan forum where comments are both positive and negative.

1. "When he loosened his tie and belted out a high note, my phone screen got soaked from being licked... His looks are the only reasonable excuse for Ahn Joon-young rigging the votes—he was afraid other contestants would feel inferior and withdraw from the competition!" (9.3K likes)

2. "When Gu Jingyi's gold-rimmed glasses reflected the night sky of Tokyo, the stars of the Republic of Korea went out in shame—Ahn Joon-young didn't just steal his debut spot, he stole the last fig leaf of K-pop! Since Gu Jingyi, there will never be another visual kei vocalist or main dancer!" (8.7K likes)

3. "To those who criticize him for running away, if Gu Jingyi really wanted to run away, he would have done so when YG deliberately sidelined him. He went on Produce 202 to pursue his dream one last time, but that despicable Ahn Joon-young didn't give him that chance. Butter's debut performance immediately topped the trending searches. South Korea's tiny island can't hold onto a true dragon!" (7.6K likes)

Gu Jingyi's lips curled into a wide smile as he read the comment, only to be met with a negative one shortly after.

"A runaway dares to come back and freeload? Who is Gu Jingyi? All I know is that someone was afraid of losing halfway through the 202 competition and slunk back."

This has made many domestic fans restless. They've stopped going to school, stayed up all night, and used VPNs to fight back against the negative publicity surrounding their idols!

"Hilarious! This guy debuted as the undisputed center of the idol drama, with TV ratings exceeding 5% and movie box office reaching 10 billion RMB (approximately 1700 billion KRW). Gu Jingyi can't beat him? An Junying would be begging him to stay on his knees, wouldn't he? (17k likes)"

"Ahn Joon-young's vote rigging is undeniable, okay? Don't you South Korean netizens know how popular Gu Jingyi was back then? You're the ones who gave him the title 'Face Genius,' aren't you? Gu Jingyi's withdrawal from the competition wasn't running away; it was a champion refusing to beg with a beggar!" (13K likes)

"Abused in Korea → Returning to China and reaching the top → Dominating Korean online forums... Emperor Jingyi is just a genius who excels at turning the tide in unfavorable situations. Gu Jingyi's life is even more exciting than 'The Making of a Powerful Male Lead'! Sour grapes and rivals, hurry up and copy his homework!" (12K likes)

Just as Gu Jingyi was about to put down his phone and continue sleeping while holding the sweet and soft Lin Yun'er.

His phone rang, and the caller was Lin Ze.

Under normal circumstances, Lin Ze would never call him in the early hours of the morning.

Unless, things get out of control...

Gu Jingyi frowned and quickly answered the phone.

"Hey, Ze-ge, is something up?"

Gu Jingyi's voice was slightly hoarse as he got straight to the point.

"Yes, your appearance at Girls' Generation's concert tonight has caused a sensation on Asian trending topics."

"That's for sure, my popularity speaks for itself," Gu Jingyi chuckled.

"Jingyi, did you and Lin Yoona have a relationship? Your relationship with her has become a trending topic in China."

"what?"

Gu Jingyi's expression changed, and his voice suddenly rose a few decibels.

"It was your fans who revealed this. South Korean fans are saying that the song 'Nuna' was a gift you wrote for them. Domestic fans are saying that the Korean girl is shameless, even stealing a Chinese song."

"Both sides were arguing, and in the end, some people said, 'What's there to argue about? Gu Jingyi wrote this song for Koreans who understand Chinese, isn't that enough?' Soon, people started to connect it to Lim Yoona, after all, you sang this song at a Girls' Generation concert, the timing is too sensitive."

Lin Ze's voice was filled with exhaustion, and it was clear that he hadn't slept well tonight.

"Actually, it was just speculation at first, and no one took the initiative to stir up trouble. It wasn't until three or four in the morning, when everyone was asleep, that the trending topic skyrocketed like a rocket. It caught our PR department completely off guard, and now it's a complete mess."

Gu Jingyi rubbed his temples. "It's probably not that simple. Someone with ulterior motives is stirring things up."

"Yes, we investigated the marketing companies that initially broke the news about your relationship with Im Yoona. It was Chris's team, and then Lu Han's team also got involved."

Lin Ze smiled sarcastically, "Jingyi, your Vogue double issue is coming out soon. You broke Chris's record and are the fastest male artist in China to achieve a 'ten-issue grand slam.' You're also the youngest male artist to achieve this. All Chris can boast about now is his fashion status and prestige. He doesn't have any new work, so how could he not make a move on you?"

“Lu Han’s words make it even more obvious…”

Before Lin Ze could finish speaking, Gu Jingyi interrupted him.

"Because of 'Better Days'"

Gu Jingyi's tone was very confident; he knew that Lu Han couldn't possibly remain completely silent.

The main cast of "Better Days" has been announced, with Gu Jingyi replacing Lu Han, who was originally slated to play the male lead, as "Xiao Bei".

The lead actress, "Chen Nian," is Zhou Dongyu, the youngest post-90s actress to win the Best Actress award. She won the 53rd Golden Horse Award for Best Actress in 2016 for her role in "Soul Mate" (a tie).

With the box office success of "Us and Them" (13.6 billion yuan) preceding it, and the fact that "Better Days" was directed by Derek Tsang, who had previously collaborated with Zhou Dongyu on "Soul Mate," it was clear to everyone that "Better Days" was aiming for awards.

The male lead might be replaced, but if the female lead is changed from Zhou Dongyu to Liu Haojian, who is still a newcomer, the film's quality drops several levels.

The original film, *Better Days*, was released in China in October 2019, with filming beginning in the latter half of 2018. From filming to completion, it only took two months.

At that time, the filming of "One Minute" by Ayako was not completed until September, and it was released on November 27, 2020.

She doesn't yet have the title of "Zhang Yimou's Girl," and the difference between her and Zhou Dongyu is not just between a "former Zhang Yimou's Girl" and a "current Zhang Yimou's Girl."

If Gu Jingyi dares to challenge the production team, he must bring Liu Haojian as the female lead to the production.

The first person the production team replaced was Gu Jingyi!
Even though Gu Jingyi is "the youngest actor to reach 10 billion yuan in box office revenue," "breaking records for domestic youth films (Us and Them doesn't belong to the category of youth campus films)," "a grand slam winner of ten magazine covers," "a spokesperson for five luxury brands and soon to be a spokesperson for seven," "a top-tier celebrity with an unparalleled lead," and "the best-selling album artist," he still holds his own.

Furthermore, given their close ties with both Taobao and Tencent, it's impossible for them to bypass the realm of artists and engage in direct clashes with capital.

The movie "Better Days" was made to promote the male lead and elevate his status; anyone would be envious of such a resource.

It would be strange if Lu Han didn't hold a grudge against Gu Jingyi; his previous movie role was the third male lead in "Back to 20".

Although he was only a supporting actor, he still managed to generate a huge wave of commercial buzz with the film's box office success, which reached 3.7 million yuan.

The reason Gu Jingyi won the role was simply because his popularity had plummeted and his acting skills were not good enough, which led the production team to recast.

Gu Jingyi didn't initially plan to participate in this movie. Even with his roles in "Ashes of Love," "Go Go Squid!", and a movie that grossed over 10 billion yuan, he could still firmly hold the title of "top-tier celebrity."

However, the production team was determined to negotiate with Gu Jingyi to secure his availability.

Oh dear, Gu Jingyi has really suffered!
He didn't want to do anything, but was forced to "don the imperial robe".

Oh no, Gu Jingyi is going to offend someone again.

It's all the fault of the "Better Days" production team, who insisted on giving Gu Jingyi several "Best Actor" nominations.

He had no choice but to accept the offer and see if he could arrange for a Best Actor award to be produced.

If all else fails, then try again for Best Actor in "Little Red Flower," a film he co-starred in with Ayako.

"There should be more than just these two. Yang Yang and Cai Xukun must have been involved as well."

Gu Jingyi said confidently, "The script for my 'Like the Wind' music video was written by Gu Man. Anyone with eyes can see that's a signal. What will Teacher Yang Yang do without Gu Man...?"

"Your silver tongue is as sharp as ever."

Lin Ze laughed and smiled too.

"As for Cai Xukun, your main conflict with him lies in music. His album has been released, and although it's done well, it's far inferior to yours."

"You're way off. Are you referring to reputation, the quality of the work, or sales?"

Gu Jingyi raised an eyebrow, his expression suggestive.

"Everything," Lin Ze laughed heartily. He continued to chatter on with Gu Jingyi, "You and Cai Xukun were teammates, and you were both born in '98. Before, in 'Idol Producer,' you were even edited into a duel between two kings, plus his acting skills are not on the same level as singers and fashion. But you crush him in every field."

"His only bragging rights are next year's Prada global brand ambassadorship. Cai Xukun's fashion resources are still limited to second-rate magazines like Grazia. Only Emperor Jing is the one true god, the answer to everything."

Gu Jingyi was amused by Lin Ze's words.

"Whatever, just ignore him and don't give Cai Xukun a second glance. He might buy smear articles, but we can't, can we? Let's wait until he becomes the NBA Chinese New Year Basketball Ambassador..."

Gu Jingyi's smile grew even brighter, but his eyes held a chilling edge.

"Well, that's why I called you to talk about these things. Don't worry about the public opinion in China. If you're dating Yoona, then you're dating. At worst, you can film the 'Nuna' music video abroad. Then, everyone will just think you're doing this for publicity."

Lin Ze tried to calm Gu Jingyi down, even though he knew Gu Jingyi didn't need any comforting at all.

"Has someone leaked solid evidence of my relationship with Im Yoona?"

Gu Jingyi's voice was cold and imposing.

"No, it's just that someone has been matching the lyrics of your song 'Nuna' with Yoona. They're scrutinizing every detail, searching for traces of love."

"It's not a big problem, don't worry about it. Just do our own thing and don't need to respond."

Gu Jingyi remained calm; he was used to rumors all along.

"Okay, so let's shoot a music video first and then come back. It's not too difficult. The filming team is already on their way to Japan, and Huace has also coordinated with SM Entertainment."

"never mind"

Gu Jingyi was initially somewhat interested, but he declined when he heard that Lin Yoona would be the female lead in the music video.

"Yoona and I...we've been in a relationship before, she was my first love. I don't want to be too calculating."

Seeing that Lin Ze remained silent, Gu Jingyi offered a gentle explanation.

"Fine, I'm glad you have your reasons. But Jingyi, if we don't respond, the company is fine, but can your girlfriends stand it?"

Upon hearing Lin Ze's words, Gu Jingyi realized the seriousness of the situation.

"My sister's LINE connection is definitely fine, I'll try to appease Xiaotian."

"You need to coax him a bit, wait for him to go back."

After hanging up the phone, Gu Jingyi was wide awake.

He checked the trending posts and, sure enough, the tide had turned.

Suspected Relationship with Im Yoona Exposed; Girls' Generation Has Another Boyfriend Under One Year Old?

1. ["Mixing soju and beer into two glasses" corresponds to the 1:3 golden ratio demonstrated by Yoona in "Hyori's Bed and Breakfast".]
2. [“Eyes under the rain”, corresponding to a classic scene from Yoona’s representative work, “Love Rain” (with picture)]
3. [“The wind chimes are blowing,” Gu Jingyi was once a “face of the stars” when he was a trainee. His photos at the “Wind Chime House” guesthouse in Jeju Island are shown below (attached). Yoona (Lim Yoon-a) once liked a post about the place on her private account.]
After the original poster pointed out the suspicious points one by one, the post's popularity soared.

"When Gu Jingyi said 'nuna,' the last syllable trembled like the sea breeze of Jeju Island! This man turned the Korean alphabet into a poem of repentance! Yoona, just forgive this kind of younger man."

"Chinese fans, stop trying to defend him! Your idol changing the lyrics is a confession! 'All the time is wasted' corresponds to Yoona's 'Waiting is the punishment of time' in Deoksugung Stone Wall Road. I suggest we jointly apply for intangible cultural heritage status for 'Breakup Aesthetics'!"

"Stop arguing! 'Nuna' is a love letter Gu Jingyi wrote to Lin Yoona—after all, she's the only one in all of Korea who understands that 'waste' is breakup literature! (Yoona, who has a TOPIK Level 6 certificate in Chinese, throws a tantrum)"

Bystanders, solo fans, and CP fans all got involved, and the situation definitely got more and more out of control.

He opened Weibo with a sense of guilt, and sure enough, the fans had started a war.

Ikun (a popular online personality) posted a close-up, "Hilarious! The top idol's first love was a Korean woman? The 'gentle kiss' in 'The Lover' actually tasted like kimchi!"

Meigeni also mocked, "The reason for Gu Jingyi's withdrawal from the competition has come out: her contract with Girls' Generation expired in 2017. In order to ensure a stable contract renewal, SM and Ahn Joon-young set up Gu Jingyi. A master of fancams was actually set up because of a relationship."

"Consort Jing" collectively broke down in defenses.

"My brother is single, okay? Single!"

"What 'Nuna'? It's clearly 'Never you never around.' You've never left, okay? Isn't this written for the fans?"

"Nuna also means older sister in Korean, so Gu Jingyi and Lin Yoona are siblings!"

"My brother was clearly set up because of his green card status!"

"@Gu Jingyi's Donut, Sweetie, say something! Tell them that Gu Jingyi was single during his time in South Korea."

Seeing this fool's tag, Gu Jingyi's heart sank completely.

Tian Xiwei, who is a regular 5G surfer, waited for ten minutes before replying with "Gu Jingyi is single".

Who knows what Tian Xiwei thought after seeing this? She had already recalled Gu Jingyi's experiences. It seems that Lin Yun'er had indeed been seen by Gu Jingyi several times.

Even she didn't know just how close the two of them were.

Gu Jingyi had a terrible headache; he had already anticipated Tian Xiwei's wrath upon returning to China.

"Drip drip"

Just then, Gu Jingyi received a WeChat notification and swiped to open it.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on the addition of another beautiful woman to your household."

It was sent by Li Yitong; this woman always knows her place.

Tian Xiwei's message to Gu Jingyi was a series of angry emojis, expressing her dissatisfaction.

Dilraba was unusually silent, which made Gu Jingyi sense something was wrong.

Zhou Ye and Liu Haojian were both very peaceful. Zhou Ye and Gu Jingyi angrily denounced the Korean netizens for making unfounded accusations.

Liu Haojian posted a photo on her WeChat Moments, in which she looked up at the sky with her eyes slightly red and on the verge of tears.

The caption reads, "My heart aches so much. Is it only by pretending to be magnanimous that I can embrace you?"

Gu Jingyi made a voice call to Lin Ze, asking him to screenshot Liu Haojian's first post on WeChat Moments.

Sure enough, her first post on WeChat Moments was about celebrating the wrap-up of her movie with the crew.

Gu Jingyi suddenly wanted to laugh, but then held it back.

The tea has a slight tea flavor, but it's not very sophisticated.

Gu Jingyi retorted, "Remember to include Lin Ze in the group next time (smiley face)."

Liu Haojian reacted as if he'd been burned, sending in one short essay after another.

Gu Jingyi watched with amusement, probably because the light from the phone screen was making Lin Yun'er restless.

"What are you doing?"

Her long, black hair was scattered on the bed, and her cheeks were flushed slightly from exercise. Her thin lips were slightly parted, and the top button of her pajamas was undone, revealing a beautiful view. She was looking up at Gu Jingyi with doe-like eyes.

Okay, let's do it now.

Gu Jingyi's eyes darkened. He put down his phone and leaned in again.

With her mouth covered, Yoona's consciousness gradually sank into the act.

(End of this chapter)