Peninsula: Starting with a silly childhood friend!

Chapter 102 The padlock belongs to Sharon, not Mina!

Looking at Minami in his arms, Liu Baiyuan's mind went blank for a moment.

He knew that what he was doing seemed a bit inappropriate, because Mina was an idol who was still on the rise, and she was also Hirai Momo's best friend.

But for some reason, he just didn't want to let go of the delicate body he was holding in his arms.

As for Mina, her brain was also completely blank at this moment, and she had no idea what was going on.

I only missed a step, how did it turn out like this?

But... although she was puzzled, based on her assessment of the current situation, she knew that she seemed to have stumbled onto the "right" path by accident.

The streetlights stood directly overhead, casting a dim, yellow light that shone down on them.

Mina and Liu Baiyuan gazed at each other silently. Their embrace, which had initially been held together out of concern for each other's safety, now seemed glued together, showing no sign of breaking apart.

"I don't want this guy..."

The little penguin's mind couldn't stop daydreaming, mainly because of the current environment...

The numerous couples she had seen along the way flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern, leaving Mina momentarily bewildered. She suddenly realized that the couples she was with now were completely different from those she had just seen...

It seems there's not much difference anymore.

The wind died down and all sound ceased. The quiet air seemed to solidify, and there wasn't a sound to be heard; you could practically hear a pin drop.

The two embraced silently, their eyes meeting, their heads drawing ever closer. Though they didn't utter a word, their increasingly intimate gazes spoke volumes...

Under the ambient lighting, Mina gently hugged the cat in her arms with her delicate white hands, as if she had made up her mind.

"Since Nii-chan wants to... what should I do..."

Although she was thinking this, the funny thing was that her eyes were already slightly closed, and it was clear that she had already thought of something...

No one knows what kind of scene the little penguin in his arms was conjuring up for him again, but anyway, as Mina closed her eyes, the mute system in Liu Baiyuan's mind started ringing again.

"Ding! Mina's favorability +1!"

"Ding! Mina's favorability +1!"

"Ding! Minami..."

'

At this moment, Liu Baiyuan heard a series of notification sounds from the mute system in his mind, which seemed to wake him up instantly.

He had been keeping his eyes open the whole time, but only now did it seem like he was truly "opening" them.

"Cough cough...Mina, are you alright?"

Liu Baiyuan, as if holding a hot potato, immediately let go of Mingjing Nan and asked her again, somewhat awkwardly.

But for some reason, as the warm, delicate body in his arms disappeared, he also felt a faint sense of loss...

Upon hearing Liu Baiyuan's words, Mina slowly opened her cat-like eyes, but her gaze was filled with endless disappointment... So, this older brother still doesn't like her...?

She was already all prepared...

"I...I'm fine..."

Mina forced a smile, then lowered her head again and walked ahead of Liu Baiyuan.

Seeing Mina's reaction, Liu Baiyuan's heart skipped a beat for some reason.

For a fleeting moment, he felt as if he had done something wrong...

After leaving Nanshan Tower and returning to the car, the two didn't exchange another word. Only after getting into the car did Liu Baiyuan tentatively ask again, "Where is the containment facility?"

Mina seemed to have regained her composure and said to Liu Baiyuan, "It's not far from the company, let's head towards the company first."

"it is good."

Having received the address from Mina, Liu Baiyuan drove towards the city again.

Before long, the two arrived at an animal shelter.

This store is not big, it could even be described as very small, but as the saying goes, though small, it has all the vital organs, and this store is no exception.

This shop is also very professional in testing kittens and puppies.

"Alright, don't worry, it's all right now. This kitten is indeed very young and is generally healthy, but it's a bit malnourished and looks like it's starving."

"A female nurse said to the two of them while feeding the kitten that Mina had brought, and Mina seemed to breathe a sigh of relief after hearing that the kitten was healthy."

"Kansamida~"

Upon hearing Mina's thanks, the nurse smiled and said, "I should thank you on behalf of the kitten. There aren't many loving couples like you these days."

Couple?

Upon hearing the nurse's words, both Liu Baiyuan and Mina were taken aback. Mina's face flushed instantly, while Liu Baiyuan felt somewhat embarrassed, but he did not offer any explanation.

Liu Baiyuan's silence naturally caught the attention of Mina, who glanced at the man beside her without making a sound, a hint of joy secretly appearing in her heart.

Clearly, Liu Baiyuan's tacit approval once again ignited a spark of hope in Mina's heart.

"Perhaps... Nii-chan just doesn't want our relationship to develop too quickly..."

Mina smiled and quickly convinced herself.

After putting the kitten down, the two left.

This is a shelter, not a hospital, so there's no need to pay any money or go through any complicated procedures.

After the two left the shelter, Mina, in high spirits, stretched as she looked at the city night. Mina's figure was already quite slender, and the stretching revealed her exquisite curves.

She has a slim waist, legs, and arms, and her height isn't particularly short either. Although she can't compare to Zhou Tzuyu, who is almost 170cm tall, her height of 163cm isn't considered short among the TWICE members.

It's fair to say that her figure is almost perfect for her height.

Of course, this perfection excludes the slight flatness, after all, her nickname "Flat-faced Man" wasn't given for nothing.

However, this minor flaw didn't seem to matter much to Liu Baiyuan, as his attention was entirely focused on Mina.

For him, Mina's quiet personality and the charm she exudes in every gesture are what attract him the most.

"Ni-chan".

"Um?"

Hearing Minami call his name again, Liu Baiyuan turned his head in confusion.

"How about you think of a nickname for me?"

Mina's beautiful eyes narrowed into slits, and her mask covered most of her expression, but that didn't stop the joy in her eyes from showing.

However, her request surprised Liu Baiyuan, who was puzzled as to what this little penguin was up to.

"Why did you suddenly decide to change your nickname?"

"I was thinking that since we're so close, it feels a bit distant to keep calling you 'MinaMina,' so how about we change how we address each other? That would make us seem closer."

Liu Baiyuan nodded upon hearing this, but then he ran into a problem. To be honest, the suggestion was indeed a good one, but he wasn't very good at coming up with names. Asking him to come up with a nickname on the spot was really a bit of a challenge for him...

Liu Baiyuan thought for a moment, "Nai Minami... Nai Minami is a bit difficult to deal with... but Minami seems like a good starting point..."

South...because?

His eyes lit up; he thought he'd come up with a pretty good nickname. The only downside was that it seemed a little too intimate...

Thinking this way, he decided it would be better to go back to the way he originally wanted to address her, but he never said it to her.

"Mina, what do you think of the nickname 'Little Penguin'?"

"Ni-chan~! I asked you to choose a nickname, not to use a pet name..."

"Ming Mina felt a little helpless and a little aggrieved." She had been called this nickname since her trainee days, and Liu Baiyuan was actually quite familiar with that person.

It's that lively little dog, Sana Minatozaki.

However, because they also had some unique nicknames among themselves, this nickname remained just a nickname and did not develop into a proper nickname.

"Isn't it nice? I think it's cute..."

Liu Baiyuan didn't quite understand; the nickname "little penguin" was so cute.

Seeing Liu Baiyuan's attitude, Mina didn't insist any further. Although it wasn't original, not many people had used it before, so it barely met her concept of a close and intimate term of address.

As for her?

She thought that calling Liu Baiyuan "Ni Jiang" was pretty good, and of course it wasn't anything too cheesy that she couldn't bring herself to say!

"If you like it, then call me that..."

Seeing that Mina had agreed, Liu Baiyuan chuckled and called out her new nickname twice: "Little Penguin."

"Inside..."

Hearing this address, Mina's face flushed slightly. She suddenly realized that this address seemed more cheesy than she had imagined.

"Ding! Mina's favorability +1!"

Progress bar: 10%.

Hearing that Mina's favorability rating had increased a little, Liu Baiyuan knew that although the little penguin in front of him was a bit arrogant, she seemed to be quite satisfied with the nickname.

Thinking this, Liu Baiyuan's gaze towards the little penguin in front of him softened with affection. After all... who doesn't like a proud and aloof little kitten?

After agreeing on a nickname, Liu Baiyuan chuckled and drove back to the dormitory building with Mina. Looking at the three-story apartment building in front of her, Mina in the passenger seat couldn't help but show a hint of disappointment.

Although there were some minor unpleasant moments with Liu Baiyuan in those few short hours, she was generally very happy.

Especially today's experience at Nanshan Pagoda where I almost... with Liu Baiyuan.

"Nii-chan, I'll head back now."

Outside the car, Mina said to Liu Baiyuan with some reluctance, while the latter stood in front of the car, nodded with a light smile, and watched her walk into the dormitory building.

"Okay, go back and get some rest, it's getting late."

Hearing Liu Baiyuan's concern, Mina, who had just turned her head away, felt a ripple in her heart again, and paused in her steps toward the building.

For a moment, the atmosphere fell silent for a second or two. Just as Liu Baiyuan was about to ask a question, Mina suddenly turned her head and stretched out her arms to hug Liu Baiyuan tightly from behind.

Mina didn't say a word. After hugging Liu Baiyuan, she didn't make any extra movements. She just held him quietly, feeling the warmth emanating from his body.

"Nii-chan, thank you, I had a lot of fun today." The hug didn't last long; Mina just said this in a nonsensical way.

Upon hearing this, Liu Baiyuan was slightly taken aback, because the voice of the mute system echoed in his mind once again: "Ding! Mina's favorability +5!"

Progress bar: 15 percent.

Hearing the two notification sounds, Liu Baiyuan seemed to come back to his senses.

Mina's progress bar... has reached number fifteen...

When the progress bar for Mina was checked in the recording studio during the day, it was only at five percent. And it's only been a little over...

It jumped ten points in one go.

So it seems that Mina wasn't lying; she... was genuinely happy.

Thinking of this, he glanced down at the little penguin in his arms, slowly raised his arms to embrace her slender waist, and said, "I'm very happy too."

The two didn't hug for long, just a few seconds. Mina took the initiative to break free from Liu Baiyuan's embrace, smiled at him again, waved goodbye, and ran into the apartment building.

"Bye Bye-ni-chan~!"

Liu Baiyuan watched Ming Jingnan until her figure disappeared from sight.

Just as the two parted, on the Namsan Tower, far from the city center, an entire wall of locks gleamed under the moonlight.

The giant padlock hanging on TWICE's head was undoubtedly the best among them, but for some reason, a small padlock next to it shone with a light no less dazzling than its own.

If Liu Baiyuan were here, he would definitely recognize that this is the lock that Mina just went to buy.

Bathed in moonlight, the words on the lock seemed to be coated with moonlight as well. Among the various languages ​​spoken on the peninsula, the neon words on the lock stood out: "I hope to be with Ni-chan forever and never be separated again~".

July 15, 2016 — Sharon

"~

Mina used her English name very carefully. As for why she used an English name, it was naturally for the sake of secrecy. After all, she is an artist. Whether she uses Japanese or Korean, once she writes the name Mina, many fans will make connections.

However, using an English name eliminates such concerns. Many fans, and even her teammates, are unaware that she has an English name. Even if they did, they would likely assume that Mina is her English name.

Chou Tzu-yu: Hmm? Isn't that right?

Secondly, there was her own selfish motive. In her subconscious, Mina and Mina were two different people.

This name belongs to the fans, it belongs to TWICE.

However, if she were to hang something that carries her feelings in a place like Namsan Tower, she would like to write her own name on it, because at this moment, she is Mina, not Mina.

Even if there's no way to openly write her own name, she can use English instead, because Sharon represents her name, Jingnan.

Perhaps, at that moment, she also had her own little stubbornness; the padlock belonged to Sharon, not Mina.