Peninsula: My cheat code is unscientific

Chapter 142 Zhou Ziyu's Misunderstanding (4K continues for another day, 10,000 words a day tomorrow)
After the performance, Taeyeon straightened up and immediately looked eagerly at her sisters in the audience. When she saw that all the members were standing there (Sunny shouted at home: Who fed me peanuts?), she was surprised.

When people applauded and cheered for her, her eyes almost instantly welled up with tears. The pressure and tension of the past few days, as well as the joy and emotion of this moment of success, all turned into a surge of sourness that rushed straight to her eyes.

Her gaze quickly swept over the crowd, finally lingering a second longer on Jiang Che and Yoon-ah. When she saw the two standing side by side,
And as Yoona clapped for herself, the huge weight that had been hanging over her finally lifted, and she revealed a smile with tears in her eyes.

As Taeyeon prepared to leave the stage, Nayeon finally snapped out of her excitement and tugged at Tzuyu, who was still in a daze beside her.

"Tzuyu, what are you daydreaming about?"

Chou Tzu-yu snapped back to reality, as if startled, and quickly waved her hand, saying:
"Huh? No, no, unnie. I... I was thinking about something."

Nayeon had no suspicions; her mind was now completely occupied with getting Taeyeon's autograph, so she urged her quickly:
"Oh, stop thinking about it! Come on, follow me, let's try to find a chance to get Taeyeon's autograph!"

As he spoke, he pulled Tzuyu along and carefully moved in the direction where the Girls' Generation members were.

Tzuyu was half-pulled, half-dragged along by Nayeon, but her mind wasn't on getting an autograph at all. It's normal for girls to give each other flowers, right? And hugging is normal too, right? But Yoona's response was a bit flirtatious…

Also, isn't this Taeyeon's solo stage? Normally, flowers would be given to Taeyeon, so why are flowers being given to Yoona?
So what's the deal with "Sunny sunbaenim" and Yoona sunbaenim?
Nayeon's endeavor also ended abruptly before it was even halfway through – just as she was pulling Tzuyu along, only a few meters from the side of the stage, a male staff member reached out and stopped them:

"Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with? This is the staff area; fans are not allowed to enter."

"Annyeonghyun!" Lim Na-yeon quickly waved her hand to explain:

"We're not fans... oh no, we are fans, but we'd like to ask Taeyeon for an autograph, just for a moment, and we'll leave right away!"

She clasped her hands together, her big eyes blinking, radiating cuteness.

Upon hearing the title "senior," the staff member thoughtfully sized up the two of them.
"You...are trainees?"

Lim Nayeon seemed to see a glimmer of hope and immediately nodded:
"Inside, we are trainees."

The staff immediately became enthusiastic:

Which company?

JYP

Upon hearing "JYP," the staff's smiles widened even further.
"Wow! I'm a Suzy fan! Um... do you guys know her?"

Lim Nayeon's eyes lit up instantly; she sensed her chance had come.

"Get to know her! Oppa, do you want Suzy's autograph?!"

The staff member asked excitedly, "Is that okay?"

"Of course!" Lim Nayeon patted her chest and assured her, as if to say, "Leave it to me." "As long as you let us go and find Taeyeon sunbaenim, I'll definitely find a way to get Suzy sunbaenim's autograph and deliver it to you personally!"

She thought she had found the perfect bargaining chip and felt confident that she had secured her position.

To everyone's surprise, after hearing this, the staff member maintained their smile but shook their head firmly.

"No."

"What? Why...why?" Lim Nayeon almost choked on her breath. Why wasn't this oppa playing by the rules?!
The staff member maintained their smile, their tone leaving no room for negotiation:
"Suzy is valuable, but her contract with To is even more valuable; if it's for work, I can give up both."

Lim Na-yeon was so angry she almost stomped her feet on the spot, but she didn't dare to really lash out, her cheeks puffed up like steamed buns.

Seeing this, Chou Tzu-yu gently tugged at Lim Na-yeon's sleeve and whispered, "..."

"Unnie, how about we do it another day? We'll definitely have a chance to see Taeyeon sunbaenim again after we debut..."

"Oh dear! How can that be the same!" Lim Nayeon muttered unwillingly.

"This is Taeyeon's first solo stage performance! It's so memorable! Today's autograph and future autographs have completely different meanings, okay!"

She craned her neck, anxiously looking at Taeyeon, who had already reunited with the other members, her mind racing, trying to think of another way.

Just then, Jiang Che, on the other side, caught a glimpse of the two figures being stopped by the staff out of the corner of his eye. Upon closer inspection, he recognized one of them as Chou Tzu-yu, whom he had seen at the Macau airport.

The girl standing next to her was initially blocked by the staff and was not recognized until the staff anxiously looked in their direction—her round apple cheeks were flushed, her eyes were wide open, and two cute rabbit teeth were showing through her slightly parted lips.

It was only when Jiang Che saw those distinctive rabbit teeth that he recognized who it was.

Jiang Che's heart skipped a beat. He gently nudged Yoona beside him with his elbow and gestured towards Lim Nayeon and Zhou Tzuyu with his lips:
"Yoona, look over there."

Yoona looked in the direction he indicated and saw two beautiful but completely unfamiliar girls, a puzzled expression on her face:
"What's wrong? Do you know him?"

Jiang Che, from "Macau RM," leaned close to her ear and whispered a reminder:

"The time I filled in for you, I asked a fan at the airport to help me find my suitcase. I signed autographs for them, and the girl who found the suitcase was the very tall one. Didn't you watch that episode of the variety show?"

Yoona tried hard to search her memory, but unfortunately, she hadn't personally experienced the incident, and several months had passed, making her recollection too vague. She could only shake her head blankly.
"Can not remember."

She then turned her head and glanced at Jiang Che with a somewhat enigmatic look, her tone subtle:

"You remember it quite clearly? So you're saying this so you want me to come over?"

Seeing Yoona's look, Jiang Che stopped talking and simply continued to give her a Rocky smile.

Yoona rolled her eyes at him, then turned her gaze back to the two girls. She saw one of the girls peeking at her, while the taller girl was tugging at the other's sleeve, whispering something to persuade her.

After thinking about what Jiang Che had just said, he pondered for a moment and then said to Jiang Che:

"Let's go and take a look."

The two walked over. Upon seeing that they were members of Girls' Generation, the staff immediately became much more respectful.

"What happened?" Yoona asked gently. The staff quickly explained:

"Yoona-ssi, these two girls said they wanted to get Taeyeon-ssi's autograph, but fans aren't allowed in this area, so it's not convenient for me to let them in..."

Yoona glanced at the girl with the prominent buck teeth whose face seemed to say "Please," then at the tall, somewhat shy girl beside her, and her heart softened. She nodded to the staff member:

"It's alright, leave it to me. I'll take them to our lounge."

Seeing that Yoona had spoken, the staff naturally stopped trying to stop her.

Lim Nayeon was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly:

"Kamsahamnida, Yoona sunbaenim and Sunny sunbaenim, you are such kind people!"

Chou Tzu-yu quickly bowed and thanked them, whispering:

"Thank you, Yoona sunbaenim."

Jiang Che nodded slightly beside her, and Yoona also said it was okay. Then she led the way back. After returning to the main group with the two "little tails", the other members all looked at her with curiosity.

Being watched by so many seniors, the two of them unconsciously became nervous, unsure of what to do with their hands and feet, and could only keep bowing and greeting each other.

Although the manager was unsure of the purpose of the two people Yoona brought, she still spoke up at the opportune moment:
"There are too many people and too many eyes around here, let's go back to the lounge first."

So everyone headed towards the lounge, with Nayeon and Tzuyu obediently following at the back of the group, like two little quails that had wandered into a flock of cranes.

Taeyeon deliberately slowed down and moved closer to Kang Cheol and Yoona. The joy of the successful performance made her want to share it with someone, but looking at Yoona, she didn't know how to start a conversation for a moment, and the atmosphere became somewhat silent and awkward.

Jiang Che glanced at Yoona on his left, then at Taeyeon on his right, and chuckled inwardly. Sure enough, this family would fall apart sooner or later without him. He very naturally reached out and put his arm around Taeyeon's shoulder.

"Wow! Our singer Kim, you looked absolutely amazing today! I think you're definitely going to be the number one solo artist on the peninsula in the future, and maybe you'll even win a Grammy after releasing a few more albums!"

Taeyeon burst out laughing at his sudden hug and exaggerated praise. Her initial awkwardness at not knowing how to speak vanished instantly, and she lightly punched him.
"Hey! What nonsense are you talking about!"

Hearing what Jiang Che said, Yoona couldn't help but smile slightly, but she quickly pursed her lips and turned her head away, pretending to be indifferent.

Jiang Che, with his keen eyes, noticed Yoona's softening expression and immediately seized the opportunity. He naturally reached out with his other hand, grabbed Yoona's wrist, and gently shook it.

"Yoona, let's have dinner together tonight? Just the few of us."

Yoona was surprised that he would suddenly extend an invitation, especially since their relationship had just improved, and her eyes showed hesitation.

Seeing that things were going wrong, Jiang Che quickly and gently pinched Taeyeon's shoulder.

Taeyeon received the signal and immediately understood. She also looked at Yoona, her eyes filled with sincere pleading:
"Yoona, please... just consider it a celebration of my successful solo debut... We... we haven't had a proper meal together in so long."

Yoona looked at Taeyeon's exceptionally bright eyes, then at Kang Cheol's shameless expression. She sighed inwardly, remained silent for a few seconds, and finally nodded, letting out a soft "hmm" through her nose.

"Yes!" Jiang Che cheered inwardly, his smile widening. Taeyeon happily moved closer to Jiang Che, wishing she could hang on him.

This scene was witnessed by Chou Tzu-yu, who was following at the very back.

She felt that her worldview at sixteen had been hit by the biggest shock before her debut. Her mind went blank, as if countless little question marks were dancing wildly.

What?! What... what's going on?!

This "Sunny senior's" actions are a bit like those of a scumbag in a TV drama... no, I mean a scumbag woman?

Wasn't she just backstage giving Yoona flowers and hugging her? How come in the blink of an eye, she's so naturally putting her arm around Taeyeon's shoulder? And her other hand... is even holding Yoona's wrist?!

The key point is that the two seniors who were contacted actually seemed to tacitly agree or even subtly cooperate.

Chou Tzu-yu's little mind hadn't quite grasped the situation yet. An absurd thought popped into her head uncontrollably:
'If...if "Sunny sunbaenim" had seven hands, would all the Girls' Generation sunbaenims present today be being pulled or hugged by her like this?'

Thinking of this, she finally decided to ask for help from outside the venue, so she leaned close to Nayeon and whispered:
"Unnie... have the relationships with your Girls' Generation seniors always been this... close?"

Nayeon, still basking in the joy of receiving an autograph, paused for a moment upon hearing this, then followed Tzuyu's subtle gaze to the trio in front of her, their arms around each other's shoulders. A mysterious smile then appeared on her face:
"Tzuyu, you don't understand, do you? This shows that the seniors have a really good relationship! Maybe we'll have to be like that when we debut!"

"What?!" Zhou Ziyu's pupils dilated in shock. 'Being close... means hugging and cuddling like Sunny sunbaenim, and... hugging one after another?'

Seeing her shocked expression, Lim Nayeon found it extremely amusing and concluded in a mature and sophisticated manner:
"Aigu, you're still young. You'll understand when you experience more in life."

After saying that, she ignored Chou Tzu-yu, who was deep in thought, and instead looked at the interaction of the three seniors in front of her with a "shipping" gaze, thinking that Girls' Generation's seniors were indeed worthy of their reputation.

Hearing even Nayeon, who seemed to have the most experience in the group, say this, Chou Tzuyu had no choice but to suppress her doubts for the time being, deciding to observe more in the future. Perhaps... she really was just too inexperienced?

The group returned to Girls' Generation's designated waiting room in a large procession. The members each found a place to sit and rest.
While everyone's attention was drawn to Nayeon and Tzuyu, Yoona quietly slipped the rose into her bag.

Seeing that everyone's attention was focused on the two younger colleagues, the agent broke the silence first, clapping enthusiastically, his face full of barely suppressed excitement and admiration:

"Wow! Taeyeon! Today's performance was absolutely amazing! I got goosebumps watching it from the audience—the power of this song was incredible!"

Taeyeon was a little embarrassed by the compliments, but the upturned corners of her mouth revealed her inner joy. The other members echoed her sentiments.
"That's right! Our Golden Singer slayed the entire audience today!"

"Taigoo, you really shine on stage!"

The lounge was filled with a joyful and proud atmosphere.

As the youngest member of the group, Seohyun is very perceptive. Noticing that the two little ones were standing awkwardly to the side, she looked at Yoona and asked gently:
"Yoona unnie, who are these two...?"

At this moment, Taeyeon also came to her senses, remembering that there were still two little ones. Hearing Seohyun's question, she also curiously looked at Tzuyu, feeling that this pretty face seemed somewhat familiar, and began to try hard to remember:
"You seem to be that...that..." But she kept stammering "that" for a long time without coming up with anything.

(End of this chapter)