Peninsula: My cheat code is unscientific

Chapter 74 Agreement
"Oh, this." Jiang Che swallowed the food in his mouth and rubbed his sore eyes.
“Taeyeon unnie said that texting feels dry, but by adding KakaoTalk, she can send a lot of cute emojis and even video chat—that’s it.”

Yoona: "..."

She instantly pictured it in her mind—Taeyeon unnie holding her phone, her eyes sparkling, exchanging emojis with Kang Cheol on Kakao Talk, and having a video call.

She gave a muffled "oh" and didn't say anything more, just kept her head down and ate her food in silence.

Jiang Che was so sleepy that his eyelids were drooping, and he didn't notice her unusual behavior. After finishing his meal, he stood up unsteadily.
"Yoona, take your time eating, I'm leaving now..."

After saying that, she floated back to her room.

Yoona watched his retreating figure, then looked at the delicious breakfast in front of her, and suddenly felt a little lost in her appetite.

The atmosphere became even more strange when they arrived at the company's practice room.

Taeyeon had arrived long ago and was stretching her legs in front of the mirror, but the smile on her lips that she couldn't suppress, and the few light tunes she hummed from time to time, were simply dazzling.

He looked radiant, as if he had been thoroughly nourished by something wonderful.

When Taeyeon saw Yoona come in, she immediately flew over like a cheerful little bird, lowering her voice:

"Yoona, thank you for yesterday!"

Yoona forced a smile:
"Don't mention it, Unnie."

Taeyeon carefully observed her expression, immediately suppressed her smile, and asked worriedly:

"Yoona, you don't look very energetic... Did she go out last night and disturb your rest?" Her tone was full of guilt.

"Ani ani! Not at all! Unnie, don't overthink it, I slept perfectly!"

Taeyeon looked at her face carefully again, not quite believing it. She secretly made up her mind that she must strictly control the time when chatting with Kang Cheol in the future, and absolutely not affect Yoona's rest!
Just then, Sunny came in yawning. She immediately noticed Taeyeon's energetic appearance, and then glanced at Yoona's slightly listless look. A ridiculous thought popped into her head:

What's going on? Are they... practicing dual cultivation? Absorbing yin to replenish yang?

"Slap—" Sunny mentally slapped herself, quickly interrupting this absurd thought:

'You watch too many TV dramas!'

The camera cuts back to the apartment.

Jiang Che slept until the sun was high in the sky before waking up. He yawned and reached for his phone. After unlocking the screen, the interface was still on the KaKao Talk chat page with Taeyeon from the previous night.

Looking at the chat window with Taeyeon's selfie as the profile picture, memories of last night flooded back...

At first, it was indeed text. Taeyeon excitedly shared the trivial things that happened during the day, asking all sorts of questions, typing as fast as she was playing the piano.

Then there's the last piece of information:
"Hey~ Yoona! Let's stop typing, it's too much trouble! Just download KakaoTalk! Hurry up!"

The notification sounds were almost nonstop from the moment I added Kakao Talk as a friend.

Taeyeon: Yay! It's finally added! (≧≦)

[Taeyeon: A puppy spinning wildly.jpg]

[Taeyeon: Wait! Let me check first!]

The next second, a video call request popped up, startling Jiang Che so much that he almost threw his phone away.

He hurriedly ran back to his room before pressing the answer button.

The screen lit up, and Kim Tae-yeon's face instantly filled the entire frame. She seemed to have just taken a shower, wearing a hooded pajama with bunny ears, her hair casually draped over her shoulders, and her face still flushed from the steam.

She leaned very close, looking at him through the screen for a long while, before finally stepping back a little, a particularly happy smile spreading across her face: "Wow...it really came out!"

Jiang Che laughed:

"Otherwise what? Do you think Yoona would split her personality and cosplay with you?"

"Hey! Don't talk nonsense!" Taeyeon glared at him reproachfully, but her eyes and brows still held a smile.

Then she really started talking non-stop, chatting about everything under the sun, from how nice the weather was today to a very fierce Chihuahua she encountered a long time ago while on a trip.

Until one moment, her topic suddenly changed without warning, and her tone lowered slightly, as if she were asking casually:

"You said... what should someone do if they often feel lonely?"

Jiang Che's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.

Seriously? This woman is showing signs of having a child so early? No way, could it be that the butterfly effect really exists?
While his mind wandered, he quickly tried to figure out how to respond to Taeyeon.

After a moment of silence, he walked to the window with his phone in hand and looked out at the deep night sky over Seoul.

"Can you... get to the window now?"

Taeyeon on the other end of the video paused for a moment, but still obediently did as instructed:

"Yes, we're here. What's up?"

"Look outside."

Taeyeon looked out the window as instructed, and the camera followed, capturing only scattered city lights in the distance and a blurry night scene:

"There doesn't seem to be anything outside?"

"Look up at the sky."

Taeyeon looked up in confusion, straining to see for a long time:
"The nights in Seoul... it seems like you can't see many stars. Oh, you're not trying to lecture me with this 'looking up at the stars and feeling insignificant,' are you?" She couldn't help but laugh.

"No." Jiang Che looked out the window, his voice soft, yet carrying a strange, comforting power:

"I just want to tell you that although there may only be a few stars in the sky over Seoul right now, or even none at all most of the time, there is a place called Lake Tekapo in New Zealand."

"That place is a gold-level protected area certified by the International Dark-Sky Association. There, there is no light pollution, and if you look up, you can see the entire Milky Way with the naked eye, as dazzling as a handful of diamonds sprinkled by God."

His words were slow and clear, as if he were painting a tranquil and magnificent picture.

"The reason why the starry sky is beautiful is that in this infinitely vast universe, no matter how dark it is, there will always be starlight to illuminate it."

He paused, his tone softening slightly:
So don't be afraid of being alone. Because there are definitely people in this world who are working hard to reach you. Starlight will eventually reach you, and so will people.

A long silence fell on the other end of the screen.

So long that Jiang Che thought the signal had been lost and subconsciously glanced at the screen.

In the scene, Taeyeon has turned her head back and is looking at Kang Cheol on the screen with a complicated expression, as if a strong emotion is about to break out of its cocoon.

Her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something.

But in the end, she didn't say it. All the surging emotions were suppressed, and when she spoke again, her voice had a slight nasal tone:
"Since...since I already agreed to make the Bit Rabbit promise with you before, then this time...would you agree to make a promise with me too?"

　Oops, everyone, you really need to keep reading! There's a chance some chapters might be censored; 500 words are already missing from chapter 68.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)