Peninsula: My cheat code is unscientific

Chapter 112 Jessica? (6.8K)

This oath was utterly vicious. Kang Ho-dong suppressed Lee Soo-geun and Eun Ji-won, who still wanted to protest, clinging to their last glimmer of hope:
"Yoona! This is the last time! It's really the last time! If you eat any more, Oppa is really going to throw up right in front of you."

Jiang Che nodded emphatically, pretended to flip through the menu a few times, and finally his finger landed precisely on the braised beef brisket with enoki mushrooms.

Shortly after the waiter left, a steaming bowl of braised beef brisket with enoki mushrooms was brought to the table, its aroma filling the air. "Wow!!!" The three of them were immediately moved to tears.

PD Na stroked his chin, looking at Kang Cheol with a suspicious gaze:

"Yoona-ssi...you don't actually know Chinese characters, do you?"

Jiang Che immediately channeled his inner Oscar-winning actor, waving his hands frantically:
"Anee anee! PD-nim, how could I possibly know Chinese characters? Look how many times I've guessed wrong!"

PD Na was skeptical, but having no evidence, he had no choice but to let him off the hook for the time being.

After successfully obtaining a Dragon Ball as a reward, PD Na announced that he would take a break and start a new mission in the afternoon.

"Inside"

Jiang Che almost couldn't help but laugh when he saw his three older brothers, Jiang Hudong, Li Shougen, and Yin Zhiyuan, slumped in their chairs, rubbing their round bellies and weakly calling out "Hey!"

He was having a good time when he caught a glimpse of Shirley next to him, who was unconsciously pressing her stomach with one hand and looking a little unnatural.

"What's wrong, Shirley? Did you eat too much and feel unwell?"

Shirley nodded a little shyly and whispered:
"Hmm...it feels a little bloated."

"You should have said so earlier, I would have helped you."

"Huh? Unnie, how can I help?" Sherry blinked, her curiosity mixed with a hint of confusion.

Then Jiang Che reached out and gently pressed about four fingers above her navel, rubbing it gently in a clockwise direction.

“Hmm…” Sherry froze for a moment, her eyes widening slightly, seemingly completely taken aback by this unnie’s intimate and sudden action.

She stared blankly at Jiang Che, who was so close to her. His usually clear and bright eyes were now full of focus, as if he was really just trying to help her relieve her discomfort.

Jiang Che didn't think anything of it; in his opinion, it was similar to petting a cat and stroking its fur.
After about a minute or two, Jiang Che stopped what he was doing and asked:
"How are you feeling? Any better?"

"Ah...yes...okay, much better..." Sherry suddenly came to her senses, her words stammering slightly.

Jiang Che found her silly expression rather cute and habitually reached out to ruffle her hair again.

"If you feel comfortable, that's fine. Don't push yourself next time."

Sherry: "..." This unnie is really into patting heads today, isn't she!

After a short break, PD Na picked up a megaphone and announced the afternoon's tasks.

The task itself wasn't complicated; the production team provided the names of several famous shopping malls and subway stations in Beijing, and they were required to complete the task within two hours.
Find and take photos with 10 different K-pop stars—standees, posters, or even life-size billboards—any identifiable K-pop star counts! Successfully taking a photo will earn you a Dragon Ball!

When Jiang Hudong and the other two heard this, they felt that it was neither too difficult nor too easy. It was difficult because they were unfamiliar with the place and did not speak the language, so they estimated that it would take a lot of effort to find it.

It's simple because since the production team provided the location, it should be easy to find it.

"Alright! Mission begins! You can decide for yourselves whether to act as a group or split up..." PD Na hadn't finished speaking.

"Wait a minute!" Jiang Che suddenly raised his hand, interrupting the PD.

All eyes immediately turned to him.

Jiang Che gave an innocent smile:
"PD, the rules are that you need to find 10 K-pop stars and take a photo with them. Any K-pop star will do, right??"

"Yes...yes." PD Na had a bad feeling.

"Then there's no problem!" Jiang Che clapped his hands and turned to the other four members:
"Oppas, Sulli, come on, let's take a picture together!"

As he spoke, he pulled out the task phone provided by the production team, grabbed Shirley who was closest to him without saying a word, and snapped a picture of her in front of the camera.
"OK! First one, photo with Shirley complete!"

Then do the same thing.
"Second, taking a photo with Kang Ho-dong complete!"

"Third, taking a photo with Eun Ji-won complete!"

"Fourth, taking a photo with Lee Soo-geun complete!"

PD Na: "???"

Holy crap! You can do that?!

This must be straight from Running Man, right? Their ability to exploit loopholes is practically inherited! What did Yoo Jae-suk teach Yoona?!

Kang Ho-dong, Lee Soo-geun, and Eun Ji-won were stunned at first, then burst into huge cheers!

Wow! Yoona! A genius!

"Wow! As expected of our maknae! So smart!"

"How did they even develop that brain?"

Shirley looked at the team that had almost completed half of the task in an instant, and then at Jiang Che, who was praising her, and couldn't help but laugh again.

PD Na clutched his chest, feeling a bit like he was about to have a heart attack. He opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but after carefully reviewing the rules he had just announced… it seemed there really wasn't a rule against taking photos with teammates! He was really stuck with this unpleasant situation!

He could only grit his teeth and glare at Jiang Che, then wave his hand, signaling him to disappear from his sight as soon as possible.

With these four guaranteed photos, the remaining six group photos were a piece of cake, and before long, the task of taking ten group photos was easily completed.

PD Na looked at the group, especially the smug-looking Kang Cheol, and shoved a Dragon Ball into their hands, saying menacingly:
"Alright! This afternoon's mission is over! Free time! Do whatever you want! Just remember to go back to the hotel tonight, there's another mission tomorrow!"

"Yay!" the three older brothers cheered, and Kang Ho-dong warmly invited Kang Cheol:
"Yoona, how about you go shopping with the oppas? I heard there are lots of fun places in Beijing!"

Jiang Che was initially tempted, since he was already there.

At that moment, Shirley gently tugged at his sleeve and whispered:
"Unnie, Krystal just messaged me, asking me to have dinner with her tonight. Jiyeon is there too, will you come with me?"

Jiang Che paused for a moment, instinctively wanting to shake his head. He knew that he, this imposter, should never eat with acquaintances unless absolutely necessary. Who knew if the things they talked about at the dinner table were things that Yoona knew but he didn't?

He was just about to find an excuse to decline when Shirley gently shook his arm and sweetly begged him:

"Unnie...please come with me...okay? It'll just be a few of us, it'll be casual...please, please!"

Who can stand this?

Looking at Shirley's expectant eyes and recalling her smiling face today, Jiang Che's heart softened. In the end, he sighed and smiled helplessly:
"Okay, okay, I really can't do anything to you."

He turned to Kang Ho-dong and the other two and apologized, saying:
"Oppas, I'm sorry, I have a party with Sulli and her friends tonight, so I can't go shopping with you guys."

The three men expressed their understanding, but simply reminded them to be careful.

That evening, Shirley took Jiang Che to a private room in a restaurant with good privacy.

As soon as the door was pushed open... Under the warm yellow light, two girls with very different styles but equally eye-catching were looking at their phones together. Hearing the noise, they both looked up at the same time.

The woman on the left has long, dark brown hair that is casually draped over her shoulders. She has striking and elegant features, but she is not wearing eyeliner, making her look like a miniature version of Park Ji-yeon.

The one on the right, with long, straight black hair and a cool demeanor, now has a smile in her eyes, losing some of the aloofness she exudes on stage and gaining a more approachable, girl-next-door vibe—that's Krystal.

"Unnie!" The two of them smiled with surprise when they saw Jiang Che and immediately stood up to greet him.

"Hi~" Jiang Che mimicked Yoona's usual cheerful tone, waving and responding with a smile, but inwardly he couldn't help but mutter to himself:
'Goodness, Sulli, Krystal, Jiyeon, and me, that's an average height... If Taeyeon unnie and Sunny unnie came in, the scene would be too beautiful.'
A comical scene instantly flashed through his mind: two short, burly men jumping up and hitting their knees. A slight smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

"Unnie, what are you laughing at?" Soojung noticed the suspicious curve at the corner of his mouth and asked curiously.

"Ah? It's nothing, it's nothing," Jiang Che quickly composed himself, feigning seriousness.

"I'm just really happy to be able to have dinner with everyone today."

The lively Park Jiyeon has already started chattering away:
"Yoona unnie, we just saw some behind-the-scenes photos from your show! Unnie is so popular in Beijing! And in Peninsula too, she was dominating the trending topics."

Jiang Che felt he had heard the voice somewhere before, but didn't think much of it and quickly waved his hand modestly:

"Ani, Ani, you guys are really popular in China too!"

Park Jiyeon smiled happily when she thought of her fans in China, and then quickly started chatting away with Sulli and Krystal.
They shared recent interesting stories and gossip they had heard, and the happy atmosphere was infectious, making even Jiang Che relax unconsciously.

Just then, the door to the private room clicked open again.

Jiang Che subconsciously turned his head to look—

Upon seeing this, he almost choked on his own saliva.

The woman wore a simple white shirt and slim-fitting blue jeans that accentuated her beautiful figure. Her long, golden hair was casually tied up, revealing her slender neck and delicate profile.

Jessica Jung?!

Jessica?!
Shirley never said this woman was coming too!
Jiang Che quickly glanced at her and had to admit that Jessica Jung's current appearance was indeed stunning. She had fair skin, a beautiful face, and a cool and aloof demeanor with a touch of arrogance, which was quite different from her appearance in the later period.

"Slap!" He immediately slapped himself in the heart, 'What am I thinking? Is this the time to focus on looks?'

The key question now is how should Yoona treat her former teammate when they meet in private?

By normal standards, their situation has escalated to this point... they're probably not teammates anymore, right? At most, they're familiar strangers, right? And the kind of strangers with a bit of awkwardness and distance at that.

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but give himself a thumbs up; he was indeed clever.

So, the moment Jessica Jung turned her gaze and their eyes met, Kang Cheol forced a reasonably polite smile, waved, and said:
"Hi, unnie," was how she greeted him.

Jessica seemed taken aback for a moment, not expecting to run into Yoona here, and even more surprised that Yoona would greet her and then remain silent. Her eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly.
A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes, but he didn't say anything more, only nodding slightly in response.

"Unnie, over here!" Krystal called out, pointing to the empty seat next to her.

After Soo-yeon sat down, she couldn't help but glance at Kang Cheol across from her. She felt that Yoona was acting a little... strange today, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Was she being too quiet?

Seeing that Jiang Che still showed no intention of taking the initiative to communicate with her, Zheng Xiuyan's curiosity was piqued. She was not the kind of person who would keep her questions to herself.

She picked up her water glass, took a sip, and casually remarked, "Yoona's been really impressive lately, trending on social media so many times."

Jiang Che thought to himself, 'Sis, we don't necessarily have to chat if we don't have anything to talk about.'

He dared not show it on his face, and could only maintain a stiff smile, replying dryly, "Well, it's alright, it's all luck."

This reaction... is too cold, isn't it? Jessica Jung's doubts deepened.

She put down her cup and asked more directly:
"Yoona, are you feeling unwell? You seem different than usual."

Jiang Che's heart almost stopped when he heard that question! He wanted to ask back, "How is it different from usual?", but he immediately suppressed the impulse and had a flash of inspiration. He thought of a good excuse and took the opportunity to back down.

He immediately clutched his abdomen, his brow furrowed slightly, and his voice became weak:
"Nei ne...maybe it's...that...coming soon, I'm a little listless, I'm sorry, unnie."

This set of movements was fluid and graceful, the expressions were spot-on, and the tone was realistic, truly a display of exceptional acting skills!
However, when Jessica Jung saw Kang Cheol's almost instantaneous and precise action of clutching his stomach, her eyes twitched slightly.

She opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to ask, "Are you serious?" That excuse was far too perfunctory. We're all women; everyone knows each other, right? Why did she have to do it right after she asked if she felt unwell?

But seeing Jiang Che's obvious reluctance to talk and his almost avoidance of her gaze, she understood—he simply didn't want to talk to her.

Jessica Jung's initial inquisitive and casual mood instantly cooled. A thin layer of frost seemed to cover her delicate face as she leaned back in her chair, her tone devoid of any emotion:

"Oh, I see. Then drink more hot water."

After saying that, she stopped looking at Jiang Che and started playing with her phone.

The topic seemed to have come to an end there.

Jiang Che secretly breathed a sigh of relief, finally managing to get away with it, but at the same time felt a little embarrassed. It seemed the relationship between these former teammates was indeed a bit complicated.

He secretly glanced at Jessica Jung's profile; well, her expression had turned a bit cold.

However… safety first! Jiang Che mentally gave himself a thumbs up. As long as he didn't expose himself, he could keep his cold face!

Sulli, Krystal, and Jiyeon seemed to sense something as well, exchanging glances and unconsciously lowering their voices.

Fortunately, the food was served shortly afterward. The exquisite dishes were laid out one by one, seemingly radiating a healing aura that slightly dispelled the subtle awkwardness in the private room.

Jiang Che secretly breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the serving chopsticks and put a piece of sweet and sour pork on Shirley's plate, then smoothly steered the conversation to a relatively safer area:

"Ji-yeon, how are you feeling in China? Are you settling in well?"

Upon hearing this, Jiyeon's eyes lit up immediately, as if she had endless things to say:

"Yes! Unnie, China is really amazing! The fans are so enthusiastic, the food is super delicious, and there are so many kinds that it's dazzling. I feel like I could eat there for a month!"
And... I feel more comfortable here, less stressed. Sometimes I even want to stay here and never go back.

As she finished speaking, a faint sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep emotion or even a hint of weariness) crept into her voice.

Jiang Che glanced at the complex expression that flashed across her face, his heart stirred slightly, and he subconsciously glanced at the girls around the table—Shirley, who was in the eye of the storm due to the controversy over leaving the team.

As a member of f(x), Krystal must be under a lot of pressure, with her sister's situation preceding hers and Sulli's situation following; and then there's Jiyeon, whose reputation on the Korean Peninsula is now comparable to Sulli's. As for the future... let's not even mention it.
And then there's this silly old lady next to him. She looks glamorous now, but if we push the timeline back a few years, her life won't be much different... Oops! He suddenly realized:
Aside from her own "Lim Yoona" persona, which is going relatively smoothly, the four people next to her... goodness, is this some kind of offline gathering of "unfortunate people"?
A strange feeling welled up inside him, so he quickly stopped his wandering thoughts and gave a dry laugh.
"Wow, it seems our Jiyeon really likes China! Then study Chinese well, so if unnie is here later, we can even mooch a meal from you!"

"No problem, unnie!" Park Jiyeon immediately cheered up and nodded vigorously.

At this moment, Soo-jung put down her chopsticks and said very seriously to Kang Cheol:
"Yoona unnie, thank you so much for today."

Jiang Che was taken aback: "Huh? Thank me for what?"

"I heard it all from Snowball," Soojung gestured towards Shirley beside her.

"Thank you for bringing her on the show and spending the whole day with her. I was worried about her while I was working, but thankfully you were here." Sulli smiled shyly to herself.

Jiang Che quickly waved his hand, giving him a "no big deal" look:

"Hey, don't thank me! It just so happens that we met. I have a mission tomorrow, so I probably won't be able to hang out with you. Don't be upset. Besides, Sherry is so cute, it'll definitely make for a good show! Right, Sherry?"

As he spoke, he instinctively reached out to ruffle Shirley's hair, but Shirley laughed and dodged him.

"Unnie! Your hair is going to get messed up!"

"Unnie, unnie, how could I blame unnie?" Krystal quickly waved her hand.
Across the table, Xiuyan, who was sipping her soup with a spoon, paused. She looked up, her gaze shifting between Jiang Cheol and Xue Li, as if she wanted to ask something.
But as soon as his eyes met Jiang Che's face, he immediately remembered Jiang Che's dismissive attitude of "I have a stomachache, don't mind me" from earlier.

Her temper, which had just been calmed down by the delicious food, flared up again—why should she try to win someone's favor with a cold shoulder? Didn't she, Xiuyan, have any pride?
She immediately pursed her lips, swallowing back the question that was on the tip of her tongue. Not only did she not ask, she also stared directly at Jiang Che without any attempt to hide her gaze, as if trying to see a flower bloom on his face.

Jiang Che was chatting and laughing with Xiujing and Shirley when he soon felt the icy gaze from across the room, which was almost tangible.

This feeling... is like going back to the moment when I was about to be exposed, when Taeyeon gave me that death stare.

He felt his smile stiffen slightly, but he forced himself to ignore it, burying his head in his food while mentally ranting:
"What's wrong with this woman again? I didn't do anything to her, did I? Why is she even more difficult to deal with than Taeyeon?! At least Taeyeon looked at me like that because of my initial curiosity and my sharp tongue, but I haven't even exchanged more than three sentences with this woman. What's going on?!"

Fortunately, the awkward surveillance didn't last long. A cell phone rang, breaking the silence—it was Xiuyan calling.

She took out her phone and glanced at the caller ID. Her already cold expression instantly turned even colder, even more so than when Jiang Che had brushed her off earlier.

As if covered by a thick layer of frost, she coldly said, "I'll take this call," and then got up and left the private room.

Jiang Che secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the air in the private room had circulated much better.

Xiuyan's phone call lasted quite a while. When she returned, if her face was merely covered with frost before, now she looked as if she had just been pulled out of an ice cellar, radiating an aura of "keep away."

She sat down without saying a word, staring blankly at the cup in front of her. Clearly, her mind was not on the dinner party at all, and she naturally didn't have time to "hunt" Jiang Che with her eyes anymore.

The meal drew to a close in this slightly eerie atmosphere.

Since the restaurant wasn't far from their hotel, they decided to walk back together after leaving the restaurant.

Walking along the road, the three little ones quickly huddled together again, laughing and joking, whispering secrets only they understood, their clear laughter carrying far away.

Jiang Che followed them leisurely, watching their energetic backs, and couldn't help but smile – this kind of pure joy was indeed very infectious.

Then, her gaze inadvertently drifted to the side. Xiuyan was slightly behind the three little ones who were playing around in front of her, and she also kept a distance from Jiang Che.

Her walking posture was distinctive, inexplicably giving off a somewhat domineering aura. As Jiang Che watched, a thought suddenly popped into his mind:
'This woman walks a bit like a penguin...'

As he was muttering to himself, Xiuyan, walking beside him, seemed to sense something, and her tone was clearly displeased:

"Hey, Yoona, what are you looking at?"

Jiang Che was startled and hurriedly waved his hands:
"Ani, ani, it's nothing! I just suddenly thought...unnie is so pretty!"

Xiuyan clearly didn't believe a word he said, but she was too lazy to argue with him anymore. She just rolled her eyes at him and coldly said, "Nonsense."

Jiang Che gave an awkward laugh, wishing he could teleport back to the hotel immediately.

Having finally made it to the hotel entrance, Jiang Che was incredibly grateful and was about to sneak back to his room when he heard Xiujing affectionately put her arm around Shirley's and enthusiastically suggest:
"Snowball, I want to sleep in your room tonight!"

Shirley was about to nod with a smile when a clear, cold, and unquestionable voice interrupted from the side:

"No, you don't want to."

Xiuyan had somehow appeared beside the two of them, looking at her younger sister with a blank expression:

"You sleep with me tonight."

"What?!" Krystal's face instantly fell, and she muttered in dissatisfaction:

"Unnie! We've been sleeping together since we were little, haven't you had enough sleep yet?"

Soo-yeon remained unmoved, completely ignoring her sister's protests, and simply grabbed Soo-jung's arm and pulled her away.

"Enough with the nonsense, let's go."

After saying that, he gave a barely perceptible nod to Sulli and Jiyeon as a farewell, and then pulled Soojung, who kept turning back to look at him, toward the elevator.

"Aigoo, unnie, let go! I'm leaving! If it weren't for all these people giving you face, how could you possibly pull me away?"

While struggling, Krystal didn't forget to turn back and shout to Sulli:

"Snowball! Unnie is only staying here for five days, and today is already the second day! Three more days! Leave the door open for me tonight after three days! You must!"

Sulli stood there, watching this hilarious scene, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and could only wave at Krystal's back.

Jiang Che watched in stunned silence, inwardly cursing:

'Good heavens, so this is my former teammate after all. He didn't even say goodbye... And this sister-obsessed attitude is off the charts! Is he unable to walk independently without his sister? He even wants to monopolize her for one night? That's terrifying...'

The three then said their goodbyes and returned to their respective rooms.

Back in his room, Jiang Che collapsed onto the soft bed and let out a long sigh of relief.

He took out his phone and habitually opened the chat group for "Girls' Generation and Temporary Workers"—although he had changed the name countless times, the capitalist, Li, had always firmly opposed it, so in the end, he had no choice but to give up.

Sure enough, there were already quite a few unread messages in the group.

[Sunny: @JiangChe, don't forget my gift!]

[Jiang Che: A gift? What gift? Do you want some Beijing wind? I'll pack you a bottle to take back.]

Sunny: @Taeyeon @Yoona, please manage this person in your family.

[Taeyeon: Hey! Lee Soon-kyu!]

[Yoona: Unnie, what nonsense are you talking about!]

Jiang Che looked at the screen, a smile unconsciously spreading across his face as he typed rapidly, sharing his observations of the day.

[Jiang Che: Guess who I ran into today?]

[Sunny, Taeyeon, and Yoona: ?]

Jiang Che hesitated for a moment, his finger hovering over the screen, wondering whether he should mention Xiuyan. After thinking it over, he decided it was better to avoid trouble.

[Kang Cheol: I met Park Jiyeon, Krystal, and Sulli, and even brought Sulli onto a show.]

Taeyeon: Sulli? I haven't seen her lately. Please take good care of her.

Sunny: ? Jiang Che, so you can turn into 3 people again?

(End of this chapter)