Peninsula Platinum Era

Chapter 159 On the Eve of Debut (Please Subscribe)

"Oppa, you should try it. I've lost so much weight, I feel like I'm going to flatten out."

The pitiful girl pouted, looking quite heartbreaking. Chen Shijun also tried it out with concern, and thankfully, she wasn't obviously thin; she still had a conscience.

"Oppa, you're so lewd, I can't stand you anymore."

She blushed and sat down to the side, but Chen Shijun didn't let her go. He hugged her tightly from behind, because this girl needed more tenderness than lust.

"It's so tough to debut, but the manager said the real hardship is yet to come, and I can't even imagine it."

The schedule for newcomers is undoubtedly extremely tough. The first 3-6 months after debut are a critical period that determines their fate, and they must seize recognition through intensive exposure.

Market competition is that ruthless. If you can't attract public attention during your debut period, you can't make up for it even if you pay double the price later.

"When I debut, I'll make sure to catch up on sleep in the car whenever possible, and I won't be playing video games anymore."

Xiao Yuan complained constantly when she debuted; during her debut and comeback periods, she only got to sleep for three or four hours a day.

Fortunately, even if you fall asleep three or four hours after your head hits the pillow, it doesn't mean you've actually slept for three or four hours. Often, most of the time during a recording session is spent waiting, so the comfort of the company-provided van is often crucial.

In addition, one must also consider one's self-control. Little Snake's self-control is the kind that needs improvement. This girl loves playing on her phone, and if that interferes with her rest, it will be a serious matter.

"A successful idol must have the ability to fall asleep instantly."

However, even so, it's good enough if prolonged fatigue doesn't lead to neurasthenia, let alone a strong ability to sleep.

However, being busy doesn't affect her love life. Xiao She feels that she can balance her work and relationship well, and Chen Shijun is very good at helping her relieve mental and physical stress.

"I was already mentally prepared, oppa, just trust me. I'm the woman who's going to reach the pinnacle of idol life."

For some reason, I developed a competitive mentality towards Zhang Yuanying. That girl debuted at such a young age and became so famous.

I can't understand why Chen Shijun dotes on that little girl so much. It's really puzzling. Maybe it's because she's from an only-child family and lacked the care of siblings growing up.

Normally, shouldn't he have gradually become less attentive to his sister-in-law because of women? Regardless of how she acts in front of Zhang Yuanying, he should have shown more preference for Zhimin in front of him.

Today is a very bad day. On October 26th, a sun fell in South Korea, but that dead thing doesn't matter. A new sun seems to be rising.

Just now, SM Entertainment released the group's logo video for the first time, officially announcing the group name "aespa".

The name is derived from the initials of "Avatar" and "Experience", combined with "aspect", meaning "to meet another self (AI member) and experience a new world".

Chen Shijun felt that these messy concepts and virtual images were redundant and the concepts were difficult to understand. He pioneered the concept of virtual and real interaction, where real members and their corresponding 4 AI members coexist in the metaverse, breaking the boundaries of traditional idol groups.

Although Dunamu is considered one of the pioneers who has invested the most in the metaverse, Chen Shijun felt that he came to see his idols singing and dancing in little skirts, and that all this messy stuff didn't make much sense.

"Tomorrow we'll announce the first member, WINTER; the day after tomorrow, mine; the day after that, NINGNING; and finally, the Japanese member with connections."

The obscure concept did indeed make Xiao She realize that market skepticism was inevitable, not to mention the significant impact of the chat log controversy.

Some say this group is SM Entertainment's pioneering experiment with metaverse idols, and the multinational composition clearly reflects greater expectations for the global market.

"Why not release Jimin first! I think Jimin should be the first to be released." Actually, if Chen Shijun hadn't mentioned Jimin, he wouldn't have thought about it. But now that he has, it seems to make sense. Moreover, some netizens have criticized the members for being faceless and lacking star quality, even ruining SM's flower field.

“I also think that if it were just Kim Minjung, it would be fine, but netizens are really going too far to say such things about us.”

But Little Snake felt that he was definitely fine; the problem was that his teammates were dragging him down. Some were short, some were flat, and some hadn't even grown up yet, so he couldn't carry them at all.

"It's one thing to say this to me, but the matter of your senior has already caused a huge uproar. If you were to criticize your teammates as well, wouldn't that cause an uproar?"

Although Chen Shijun was quite tolerant of her, he didn't want to see her ruin herself like that. Within the group, no matter how much people fight each other, even if you're having a full-blown brawl in the dorm every day, at least you have to maintain appearances.

Many people still enjoy shipping couples within the group. Even though the relationship between these two members could never be good, these shipping fans are still willing to believe that their coldness is just to avoid suspicion.

"Of course, I only say it in front of oppa. I don't gossip with other people much anymore."

After experiencing a period without a cell phone, Xiao She experienced a series of physical and psychological discomforts, especially the inability to discuss gossip with her friends, which made her most upset.

After regaining her phone, a strong urge made her happily cling to the addictive device, unwilling to let go, and she never wanted to go back to those days of being unable to contact the outside world.

"It's right for you to talk less, girl. Even if you do talk, you should be careful about the occasion and make sure you're not recorded or anything. Also, try to minimize any written traces."

This girl has already been betrayed once, so she should be able to improve in this area, but sometimes details can ruin many of her efforts.

Including interactions with fans, idols often do live streams these days. Any small mistake during a live stream can be magnified and become a topic of public discussion, even affecting their image and career.

The risks of such content retention and secondary dissemination are also enormous. Chen Shijun knows that the company provides relevant training to its artists, but incidents of mishaps still occur frequently.

"I understand, oppa! I'll listen to you, but after I debut, I won't be able to go out with you openly anymore. Will oppa go find other trainees?"

Zhimin had clearly heard enough lessons, so she quickly changed the subject, saying that once she debuted, many people would be watching her, and it wouldn't be easy for her to go out and have fun with men anymore.

"When are you going to get your driver's license? I'll give you a car then, and you can drive to see me."

Chen Shijun didn't want to argue with her. Whether she debuted or not wouldn't affect his entertainment, but saying that would hurt her too much.

Generally speaking, buying a car is not a necessity for newly debuted artists, partly due to economic reasons and partly because their schedules are usually covered by company transportation.

“And when I go there, my dad will drive me there, and I don’t want to take away his happiness.”

But Zhimin also slapped her forehead. Her father couldn't possibly send her on a date with Chen Shijun! Wouldn't that ruin her?

Actually, girls tend to be averse to driving, but having a car is indeed very convenient for dating, especially since Chen Shijun is quite busy.

In the end, he reluctantly prepared to learn to drive, but his excuse was that he would wait until after he debuted and had more free time before he could learn, and that he could give the car to him then.

"Won't oppa think I'm a gold digger, or that I'm always asking oppa for gifts?"

Suddenly I remembered my sister's teachings and instantly reflected on whether my behavior was inappropriate.

(End of this chapter)