Peninsula Platinum Era

Chapter 273 Starship Queen
"Oppa! I really like it, this necklace is so pretty."

She slammed the box shut and stuffed the contents into her bag. A slight awkwardness spread between them, but Yoojin reacted quickly.

"Hehe! I'm glad you like it!"

Chen Shijun was somewhat helpless. This was not easy to explain. He couldn't very well say that his secretary had used his own card to buy some strange trinkets.

But it doesn't seem right to let this guy continue to misunderstand, since he just said with certainty that this was a gift he personally picked out.

The thought that An'an thought he had chosen this kind of thing made Chen Shijun, even though he was a seasoned veteran, feel a little embarrassed. He cursed the strategist in his heart many times, wondering if she was deliberately retaliating against him.

Actually, this is absolutely a case of wronging an innocent person. If Eunhye knew, she would definitely say it was like snow in June. It was just that this man was too excited and accidentally took the wrong box from the drawer.

Just as Chen Shijun was thinking about how to salvage the situation, the big dog seemed to want to quickly move on from the topic, so he didn't want to bring it up again.

In reality, the girl opposite was far from calm on the surface. She was wondering what Chen Shijun's mindset was in when he bought the necklace. Could it be that he was being direct with her?
"Oppa! I'll wear it for you when we get back, okay? I'll take pictures for you then."

The girl's shy tone left Chen Shijun speechless. In fact, this was the last chance to explain, but An'an's attitude made the man choose to wait and see.

"Okay! Okay!"

Perhaps the style of this necklace isn't a big deal to girls, but the fact that Chanel openly sells it and that it's a best-selling item speaks volumes. Maybe I'm just too conservative.

"Does oppa know about the puppy trope and want me to be his puppy? That's too much..."

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. On one hand, she believed that her charm had attracted Chen Shijun, but on the other hand, she felt uneasy about this man's directness.

"What would you like to eat, Yoojin? Oppa doesn't know what you like, so you can order!"

Having the girl sit next to me, her light perfume was very soothing, and her sleeveless dress revealed her two fair arms, giving off a strong impression of healthy beauty.

"I don't care what you say! You absolutely have to let me treat oppa to dinner today."

Although IZ*ONE's initial split was somewhat disappointing, they received a lot of money in their first division. Although Yujin gave most of it to her mother for safekeeping, she was still quite wealthy.

"I'm so happy to be having dinner with our future girl group leader, I can't possibly let Yu-jin treat me."

Chen Shijun was quite experienced in having dinner with the leader of the girl group who was about to debut, but An An seemed much more reliable than Zhi Min.

"No way! I've always been taken care of by oppa, and I've wanted to treat oppa to a meal for a long time."

Having received gifts from Chen Shijun repeatedly, An'an, who was already full of anticipation, felt somewhat undeserving of them. Today, she had invited him, yet Chen Shijun was still paying the bill, which felt rather inappropriate.

"Youzhen has really helped us a lot this time. We will investigate the clues you provided carefully."

I don't know what serious crime Jin Jialan, who is quite pretty, committed, but Chen Shijun estimates it must be something serious. Maybe we should really thank this big dog.

"I heard it from a former trainee. I hope it's not a big deal and that it won't affect the debut opportunities of the group in oppa's company." After all, many of the people in this group are old acquaintances of Yujin. Not to mention Kim Chaewon and Sakura, Kim Minju is her best friend who slept in the same bunk bed for two and a half years. I sincerely hope that everyone can have a bright future.

Moreover, she's always the one bullying that soft girl. What if there are bad guys in the new group? An An still misses Min Zhou a lot and is thinking about making time to hang out with her these next couple of days.

"Thank you for your kind words, haha. These trainees are really troublesome. If they were all like Youzhen, what would we managers need to worry about?"

Once again, I marvel at this girl's talent. No wonder Starship has even higher expectations for her than for Yuan Ying. When she first joined the company at the age of 13, she had already received Starship's promise of her debut.

Although the idol career is like a thousand troops crossing a single-plank bridge, it basically only involves the interview stage. Once you become a trainee in a company, the probability of debuting is still very high.

For example, during the Source Music era, the N team project had only about eight or nine girls in the trainee pool. With the addition of two more later, the debut probability reached 50%.

Even large companies like JYP only have around 20 single-gender long-term trainees, and those who have trained for a long time have generally received some hints about their debut.

It's rare to find someone so single-minded as to keep practicing when all hope is slim. Companies wouldn't just sit idly by and watch these costs go unrecovered. The failures of SM's trainees over the years were entirely due to the neglect of planning; otherwise, they would at least have secured a future for them.

An An received more than one MV opportunity at the age of thirteen, and filmed an advertisement with a well-known artist at the age of fourteen. This is the treatment that a promising newcomer should receive.

Of course, small companies have even less resources to support a large number of trainees. If their financial situation doesn't allow it, they generally don't support idle people. They treat the scraps eliminated from large companies as treasures, even to the point of having one person in one position.

Only large companies have the capital to phase out trainees in batches, dismissing those who failed to debut with the group and allowing them to seek development opportunities in smaller companies.

In reality, most of the girls in Itaewon who claim to have trainee experience are either boasting or simply claiming to have gone through the process of submitting resumes and going to interviews.

"If oppa were a senior executive in our company, Wonyoung would be swaggering. She gets furious whenever I mention oppa's name in front of her. If she knew we had dinner together, she'd probably kill me."

Thinking about how her mother teased her today, An'an felt like she was on a date. But Chen Shijun's sudden outburst really made her feel flustered.

Normally, she should have felt offended, but An An didn't feel any resistance. Like Chen Shijun, she tried to whitewash the design of the necklace.

Perhaps this style is currently in fashion, and indeed quite a few people wear choker-style jewelry. It's just an ordinary accessory, and that's how An An comforts herself.

"Xiao Yuan! She actually likes you, her older sister, very much. If Starship tries to sow discord between you two, I'll be the first to object."

Chen Shijun immediately portrayed Starship as the common enemy of himself and An An. His righteous words made Big Dog nod in agreement. In fact, neither of them expected that Chen Shijun himself might be one of the main reasons for the estrangement between the Twin Towers.
Even if they realized it, the two would probably never admit to these things. Starship would be perfect as a scapegoat, since the company isn't exactly known for its good deeds.

“Oppa is right. Xiaoyuan must be a little unhappy because the company arranged for me to be the MC of Music Core. But I heard that the company is also contacting her for the MC of Music Bank, but it may have to wait until the second half of the year.”

Chen Shijun knew that Yuan Ying wasn't jealous of this unnie, but rather because he, who had made greater contributions, hadn't received the corresponding rewards. Logically speaking, Yuan Ying was more popular and should have priority in receiving any resources.

If the company in Aespa treated Jimin like that, Xiao She would probably be furious, and the group might not have any peace either.

(End of this chapter)