Peninsula: I'm being supported by a top idol.

After getting off work, Li Rui naturally bragged to his teammates about Liu Zhimin asking him for an autographed album, making it a huge topic of conversation.

That overwhelming sense of accomplishment was impossible to hide.

Keep in mind, this is Karina! She actually asked her for an autographed album all by herself!

"Hehe, you're lying." Ahn Yu-jin, who was doing Pilates, didn't even look up as she laughed and exposed her lie.

"Have you finished your homework? You're already daydreaming?" Jin Qiutian, who was sitting next to her with a face mask on, slowly added insult to injury.

"You didn't offer it to them willingly, and they just accepted it because they felt bad refusing, did you?" REI also joined the "questioning" camp.

"No! She really contacted me first!" Li Rui stamped her feet anxiously, her face flushed red, trying her best to defend herself.

"Is it possible," Ahn Yoo-jin stopped what she was doing, picked up a towel to wipe her sweat, and rationally analyzed, "that she was just being polite and saying it casually? And you actually took it seriously?"

"Unnie!"

"Well, it would be understandable if she wanted Yuan Ying's."

Upon hearing this, the long-legged girl, who was originally leaning against the beanbag chair in the corner, stretching while listening to music, immediately turned her gaze towards him.

It was Zhang Yuanying.

She blinked her naturally alluring eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, her clear gaze carrying just the right amount of curiosity, like an elegant cat startled by an unexpected event, quietly waiting for what was to come.

“That’s not the case!”

Li Rui felt her fragile dignity was being challenged. To prove the truth of her words, she lowered her voice and dropped an even more explosive piece of gossip:

"When I delivered the album, I overheard them making fun of Karina unnie right at the door!"

She mimicked Gisele's tone perfectly: "Oh, you're not going to send an album to that guy named Cui Shi'an again, are you?"

"Cui Shian?"

The name was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly creating ripples in IV's dormitory.

The members who had been nonchalant just moments before immediately perked up and gathered around to become onlookers.

"Who is Choi Si-an?" Ahn Yoo-jin stroked her chin, her mind racing.

"I've never heard of this person among my idols. Do you guys know them?"

"Or maybe he's an actor?"

"I don't think there's any actor named Choi Si-an, is there?"

"Is this person her boyfriend?"

"But someone Karina would take a liking to... must be extraordinary, right?" The women chattered amongst themselves.

Sitting in the corner, Zhang Yuanying gently removed one earphone, her full lips silently repeating the name—"Cui...Shi...An..."

Immediately, a slight smile appeared on her lips:

"interesting."

On the other side, Liu Zhimin, who had successfully secured first place, returned to his dormitory.

Just as the members guessed, this autographed album was prepared for Choi Si-an.

Of course, giving him an autographed album wasn't her goal; she just wanted to take the opportunity to meet him and subtly try to get some more information about his "past life" from him.

She usually enjoys reading action-packed comics, so she has almost no resistance to this kind of princess and general storyline.

"Just listen to it as a story, yes, that's it." She successfully convinced herself.

While the other members were busy with their own things, she slipped back to her room, locked the door, and dialed Choi Si-an's number like a thief.

The phone rang a few times before being answered, and Cui Shi'an's slightly surprised voice came from the other end: "Feed?"

"It's me." Liu Zhimin tried his best to make his tone sound the same as usual, with a hint of unintentional distance.

"Ah...yes." Cui Shi'an's tone immediately took on a barely perceptible urgency: "You called...did you remember something?"

"No..." Liu Zhimin immediately denied, even deliberately adding a touch of mockery to his tone:

Why are you still clinging to those strange and bizarre ideas? Instead of wasting time thinking such nonsense, you should live your life to the fullest.

She paused slightly as she said these words, as if she were speaking to herself as well.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a hint of disappointment: "...So why did you call?"

Liu Zhimin looked down at the brand-new autographed album in his hand, his fingertips unconsciously tracing his name on it, his tone feigning nonchalance:

"It's nothing, it's just that... I happen to have a signed album by Li Rui on hand, and I remembered you mentioned it, so I was just asking if you still want it."

"Of course I want to," Cui Shi'an replied without hesitation, as his friends back home had been urging him to do so just yesterday.

A smug smile unconsciously crept onto Liu Zhimin's lips, but his voice remained calm:

"Okay then... see you at the usual place tomorrow night, I'll give you the album."

However, just when she thought there wouldn't be any surprises, Choi Si-an hesitated for a moment on the other end of the phone:

"Tomorrow night? Sorry, I might not have time tomorrow night. How about tomorrow morning?"

Mo?

Liu Zhimin was taken aback, and a strange feeling suddenly welled up inside him.

Hey, wasn't it you who was so eager to see me a while ago, begging me to believe those ridiculous things? Now you're putting on airs?

Besides, what important matters could a student like you possibly have to attend to at night?

She suppressed her inexplicable annoyance and her mind raced, filtering through tomorrow's schedule like checking a timetable—a magazine photoshoot in the morning, a brief lunch meeting with the brand at noon, and in the afternoon…

"In the morning..." she hesitated, but ultimately, driven by a powerful curiosity and a little bit of anticipation that she herself was unwilling to admit, she reluctantly agreed:

"...Okay, morning it is. I'll send you the specific time later."

After hanging up the phone, she tossed it onto the bed and flopped down, staring at the ceiling and muttering to herself:

"...Seriously, it's not like I'm the one who's so eager to see you. What's wrong? Are you in such a rush to go on a date with a woman tonight?"

"Unnie—"

Jin Dongtian's voice came from outside the door: "I've picked up your package!"

A package delivery? Liu Zhimin paused for a moment before remembering that he had inexplicably bought a book called "Ancient History of the Korean Peninsula" online a couple of days ago.

I don't know what I was thinking at the time, but subconsciously, I probably hoped to find some clues in those dry words that corresponded to my bizarre dreams.

At least... figure out roughly which era those palaces and costumes belong to.

She walked out of the room barefoot and, under the curious gazes of the members, opened the package.

When the book with its antique cover and brick-like thickness was exposed to the air, the members immediately gathered around, and were all shocked.

"What?!" Kim Dong-won exclaimed first, picking up the book and flipping through it over and over, as if trying to find a hidden comic book page: "When did you become interested in history, Unnie?"

Ningning also came over, blinking her big eyes, and said in an exaggerated tone, "Oh my! Is Unnie afraid of making a fool of herself again next time?"

Liu Zhimin was getting a headache from their noise, so she snatched the book back and glared at them irritably.

"Mind your own business! Can't I... can't I occasionally try to improve my inner qualities?"

Clutching the book as if it were a precious treasure, she turned and disappeared into her bedroom without looking back, slamming the door shut behind her.

In the living room, the remaining three people looked at each other in bewilderment.

Gisele stroked her chin, a knowing look on her face:

"I bet she'll fall asleep in ten minutes at most. Anyone want to bet with me?"

Jin Dongtian suppressed a laugh: "But I also wanted to bet ten minutes, didn't I?"

"Hey, you guys!" Ningning's voice came from the side, "Don't think so badly of Jimin unnie, okay?"

Just as Jin Dongtian and Gisele thought she was about to say something encouraging, Ningning suddenly changed the subject and slyly held up five fingers:

"Five minutes at most!"

"Pfft—" Kim Dong-won and Gisele almost burst out laughing.

"Ah!" came a furious and embarrassed roar from behind the bedroom door.

"I heard everything, okay??"