Peninsula: My mentor Kim Tae-yeon

Chapter 82 A Simple Song (9k long chapter)

In a spot out of sight of Su Xia and Liz, by the bedroom doorway, Jin Qiutian leaned against the doorframe, listening to their conversation.

When Jin Qiutian heard Liz say, "Wherever I go in the future, I will bring you delicious food," she sighed silently.

She was truly at her wit's end.

"Child, feeling powerless must be unbearable." In the unseen world of autumn, Kim Tae-yeon shook her head and sighed, arms crossed.

Kim Tae-yeon looked up at Su Xia and Liz and clicked her tongue.

She didn't want to come over either, but squatting there would make her look like a third wheel. Although she could squat there and listen, there was no need for it. This traitor had already gotten involved with Chestnut, so she shouldn't join in the fun.

The student was a jerk; teachers shouldn't learn from such a scoundrel.

There was no other way; Kim Tae-yeon could only come and keep Kim Chu-eul company.

"It's getting late. Shall we call Qiutian and go eat?" Su Xia said, taking out her phone to check the time.

Liz glanced at Su Xia's empty wrist and nodded with a smile.

"I'll go call Qiutian unnie!"

With that, Liz stood up and jogged to the bedroom.

As soon as I reached the bedroom door, I saw Jin Qiutian leaning against the door frame and was momentarily stunned.

"I heard you, let's go." Jin Qiutian sighed as he looked at the astonishment on Liz's face.

Liz blinked, remained silent, and followed Jin Qiutian out.

The three of them packed up quickly and set off.

Su Xia booked a Western restaurant. Having just returned from Jakarta, she wasn't in a rush to take them out for breakfast; they had plenty of time. She wanted to have a Western meal first to transition them through the trip.

It took just over five minutes to drive to the restaurant, and the three of them were led to their seats by a waiter.

As soon as she sat down and dismissed the waiter, Su Xia looked around.

"What are you looking at?" Kim Tae-yeon asked, puzzled.

"Su Xia oppa, what are you looking at?" Liz asked the same question.

"I'm checking to see if anyone is looking this way and recognizes you."

"No, we won't." Liz laughed immediately. "We're rarely recognized abroad."

This is also the reason why she and Jin Qiutian dared to go out without even wearing masks.

They're not international superstars, and their fame abroad isn't at the level of being known to everyone.

"Is that so?" Su Xia nodded.

"You can have them post an update when they get back to prevent fans or reporters from secretly taking pictures and spreading rumors about it," Kim Tae-yeon said from the side.

Su Xia's eyes lit up. Oh right, but besides the situation Kim Tae-yeon mentioned, Su Xia also realized that this way she could reappear on Liz's Instagram.

Would you consider this a form of desensitization training?

He relayed Kim Tae-yeon's idea to the two of them.

"Great idea!" Liz's eyes lit up, and she turned to look at Jin Qiutian.

Jin Qiutian nodded in agreement.

"That way, even if we're photographed, we can quickly clarify the situation."

She glanced at Su Xia, and at the same time, she felt that Su Xia had another meaning behind her words.

Desensitization exercises.

Having been seen with Liz multiple times, even if Su Xia and Liz start dating in the future, their private meetings, even if captured by the media, will only be seen by fans as a gathering of close friends.

emmm**

Fine.

Jin Qiutian glanced helplessly at Liz. If the person involved had no objections, what could she say?

"Come on, use my phone to take a picture." Liz held her phone high, capturing both Su Xia and Jin Qiutian in the frame.

"I'll take a picture too!" Kim Tae-yeon said happily as she came over.

Su Xia was speechless, but she still moved closer to Liz, creating a gap between herself and Kim Tae-yeon.

Click.

The image freezes.

Jin Qiutian watched as Su Xia and Liz were about to get together, while she was a whole person's distance away from them. Her speechlessness was almost overflowing.

This guy—

"Okay." Liz happily put away her phone. "I'll post it now. If I don't specify the location, everyone will just assume it's in China (South Korea)."

"6

"I'm fine with anything," Su Xia said, indicating that she didn't care.

Jin Qiu hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.

Liz immediately clicked send and then ignored the updates on Instagram.

"This restaurant has great online reviews. Order one tomahawk steak and one Wellington steak, and you can take a look at the other dishes." Su Xia handed the iPad for ordering to the two of them.

The two ordered a few more snacks and then stopped, without ordering anything else like steak or pasta.

"I'll take you to Confucius Temple for a stroll and some food tonight, and we'll have a nice meal for lunch first," Su Xia said cheerfully.

"What does 'pretty rice' mean?" Liz asked curiously.

"It's food that looks really good and is easy to take pictures of," Jin Qiutian said casually from the side. Isn't that self-explanatory?

Then she saw Liz's resentful look.

A thunderclap struck the heart of golden autumn.

broken.

She seems to think Liz is an idiot. So Liz did it on purpose?

Ah!

Tsk.

Kim Tae-yeon took it all in and marveled at it.

I thought Liz was a cute little silly girl, but it turns out she did it all on purpose.

So this is what they mean by high-level hunters always appearing as prey?

"Yes." Su Xia was oblivious to the eye contact between the three women and remained engrossed in the previous topic. "My sister told me that girls who are on a diet like pretty food. They can't eat much, so they prefer pretty food that can be shown in pictures."

"I've got that word in mind, it's so fitting," Liz said with a smile.

Jin Qiutian's eyelids twitched, but she remained silent.

"Did you learn the song I taught you in the last live stream?" Su Xia asked.

"I'm not very fluent in Chinese yet, but I'm already familiar with the songs," Liz said with a smile.

"Uh, me too," Jin Qiutian said, her face slightly flushed.

This is a lie.

Liz really practiced, while she really didn't.

I can only vaguely remember some of what Su Xia taught me during her live stream last month, as for Chinese—

I didn't even touch it.

"That's great." Su Xia nodded with a smile. "Once you've practiced enough, we'll do a live stream together and show the fans what you've accomplished."

"This way, even if you can't hold concerts in mainland China, your Chinese fans will become more loyal and devoted."

Upon hearing this, Liz and Jin Qiutian didn't react much, but Su Xia offered many insightful observations on operations and marketing.

However, the person involved, Mr. Jin, had a different opinion.

"So you know how?" Kim Tae-yeon's eyes widened as she looked at Su Xia as if she were meeting him for the first time.

"Do you know why I still need to come up with a solution?" Kim Tae-yeon questioned Su Xia, even though she thought Su Xia was incompetent and always considered things for him, and he had "copied" her ideas so many times.

Su Xia raised the corner of her mouth and glanced at Kim Tae-yeon.

Although she didn't say anything, Kim Tae-yeon understood.

"Why should I use my brain if you can help me?"

Damn it!!

She even worried that Su Xia would have to deal with the complex popularity fluctuations and real-time operations in the entertainment industry after she left.

Holy crap!!

The clown is actually myself?

Su Xia ignored the berserk Kim Tae-yeon.

In reality, he was an Ascended being disguised as a Sand Soldier. With the Tsar around, he was just a mindless Sand Soldier connected to the Shurima network.

But with the Tsar gone, he is the invincible Ascended King!

The waiter pushed the table over and served the three of them complimentary bread and tea.

"Hello, is the piano in your store usable?" Su Xia asked the salesperson, pointing to the piano not far away.

He noticed the piano placed in the middle of the restaurant when he was looking around earlier.

"Yes, we regularly tune and maintain this piano to ensure that interested guests can enjoy a perfect instrument." The waiter was clearly professionally trained and answered Su Xia's question fluently.

"Okay." Su Xia nodded.

"Please call us anytime if you need anything."

"Um."

After the waiter left, Liz couldn't wait to speak.

"Su Xia oppa, are you going to perform?"

"Want to see?"

Liz immediately nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"A simple song for you."

Su Xia smiled, stood up, and walked towards the piano.

"You're really showing your support." Jin Qiutian looked at Su Xia's back and whispered to Liz, who was searching for this song.

"That's called providing emotional value," Liz said with a smile. "Unnie, don't always interrupt."

"You really are—" Jin Qiutian barely suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, "If Attorney Su does this, we'll be noticed online."

"Then follow me," Liz said without looking up, as she was browsing the Korean translation of the song. "We don't have any special relationship, just friends."

If we were just friends, I wouldn't care so much.

Liz's eyes sparkled as she looked at Su Xia. She leaned on the edge of the table, looking up at him with her eyes full of excitement and anticipation. Even her fingertips curled up unconsciously, and the corners of her mouth were upturned with undisguised joy.

Jin Qiutian sat next to Liz, her gaze falling on Liz's bright eyes and brows. Her fingertips lightly touched the rim of the cup in front of her, her brows furrowed slightly, her eyes filled with unyielding worry and concern. But what could she say?

Jin Qiutian sighed helplessly, her gaze falling on Su Xia, who was already sitting down at the piano.

Instead of playing immediately, Su Xia first casually played a few notes on the piano to test the sound.

Behind Su Xia, Kim Tae-yeon stood calmly, her arms crossed as she watched Su Xia audition.

Su Xia's piano skills aren't great, but she mainly practices piano when she's practicing singing. She's taught Su Xia how to play the piano quite a bit, so although her skill level isn't high, it's not much worse than hers.

Professional matches are naturally free, but for casual entertainment, it's perfectly adequate.

This simple sound test stood out in the restaurant, where soft music was the main melody, attracting curious glances from many diners.

Upon seeing Su Xia sitting at the piano, many people took out their phones to record the moment.

The restaurant has a piano; I've seen many videos of it online, but I rarely see such a scene in real life.

The warm yellow lights of the restaurant illuminated the keys of the grand piano. Su Xia's fingertips gently touched the keys, and the prelude to "A Simple Song" flowed gently, instantly dissolving the restaurant's hustle and bustle into the melody.

"This world is so complicated that it confuses what I want to say."

Su Xia has a warm and unique voice.

This song is Wang Leehom's light Chinese R&B. There is no complicated arrangement, and the vocal range is only C4-G5. He just wanted to sing this simple song to you.

The moment Su Xia opened her mouth, the surrounding chaos seemed to be shut out. Liz quietly watched the person singing and playing the guitar in front of her, and a sweet smile silently appeared on her lips.

As autumn's golden autumn fingers paused on the glass, her gaze swept over Liz's joyful expression, and she sighed softly in her heart.

"I don't understand very complex grammar."

What kind of gift can be remembered forever?

"Don't let happiness leave too hastily."

Liz recalled their conversation at the hotel.

He received the gift he had carefully prepared.

He received her feelings.

The gift itself is never the point; what truly matters is the sentiment behind it.

Gifts may expire, but sentiments will not; they will remain in your heart and become an eternal memory.

"Singing love songs and whispering sweet nothings, I just want you to hear them clearly."

"I love you" is the only expression I can give.

Su Xia excels at light narrative singing, a style that is in line with Kim Tae-yeon's. She never tries to be sentimental, but she can still convey the core message of the song, "The world is complicated, but I just want to sing a simple song for you," with pure sincerity.

Compared to the carefree and relaxed tone of the original version by the second brother, Su Xia's performance this time conveyed a more tender sense of cherishing, making the delicate and careful interpretation of "simple love" even more touching.

Songs are a continuation of a singer's emotions.

Su Xia is telling the story of a simple love.

As the piano melody softened, Su Xia looked up, her gaze sweeping over the two of them. When it landed on Liz's bright eyes, a smile crept onto her face.

Meeting Su Xia's gaze, Liz clenched her clothes tightly, a faint blush creeping onto her face.

At that moment, the girl's blush was more powerful than any sweet words.

"Write a simple song to make you happy."

Love is like a river; it's inevitable that it will encounter twists and turns.

Su Xia lightly pressed the piano keys with her fingertips, her singing carrying a touch of sincerity. The chorus melody was extremely gentle, and Su Xia's voice, wrapped in warmth, filled the entire restaurant.

Liz gazed at him, her eyes sparkling with tiny stars, even the smile in them radiating an indescribable sweetness. He was playing and singing, and she was listening and thinking.

"This simple song isn't anything special."

"I seem so ordinary, yet so profound."

As the last line of the lyrics fell, Su Xia lightly lifted her fingertips, the final note dissipating into the air, leaving a lingering resonance on the piano keys.

There was a two-second silence in the restaurant, followed by enthusiastic applause, with diners nodding in approval.

Liz smiled and clapped, her joy and excitement overflowing and directly hitting Kim Qiutian and Kim Tae-yeon's eyes.

Jin Qiutian clapped along, a faint smile curving her lips. Her gaze fell on Liz's joyful back, the worry in her eyes not fading, but a hint of understanding quietly creeping in.

At least, Liz is happy now.

Su Xia looked at the two of them, a faint smile appearing on her lips. She stood up, nodded in thanks, and then looked at Kim Tae-yeon beside her.

Kim Tae-yeon didn't say anything, but silently gave a thumbs up.

This gesture speaks louder than a thousand words of praise.

With an even wider smile, Su Xia returned to her seat opposite Liz and Jin Qiutian amidst the applause of the diners.

"Does it sound good?"

"Absolutely amazing!" Liz clapped her hands lightly. "The performance was perfect. As expected of Su Xia oppa, you're incredible!"

"Attorney Su's vocal skills are more than enough to make her a vocal coach at our company," Jin Qiutian praised with a smile. But after a pause, she added with another smile, "Let's not bother. Our company probably can't hire Attorney Su."

Upon hearing this, both Su Xia and Liz laughed.

Jin Qiutian's words implied that Starship was unwilling to spend money on a vocal coach, and Su Xia and Liz both understood what he meant.

"Autumn i—well, I'll just use plain language. Autumn, where are you planning to go this afternoon?" Su Xia asked Jin Qiutian.

They came with Liz, so we can't just ignore them.

Jin Qiutian was somewhat surprised that Su Xia would talk to her, but she still gave a reply.

"We'll climb Niushou Mountain together this afternoon, and then—"

As the three of them discussed their afternoon plans and where to go in the evening, videos recorded by the restaurant and other diners began to appear online.

Among them, the video posted by the restaurant itself is the clearest. It just so happens that Liz updated her Instagram with a post about a dinner party for three people. As a marketing account that has been revived by Su Xia and is now doing very well, Li Yuan's favorite thing to do every day is to search for videos related to Su Xia in her spare time.

Some bloggers who rely on reposting celebrities' Instagram updates were also within her search scope. She had just seen Liz's Instagram post when she was immediately shown a video of her restaurant.

The power of big data, kid!

The video showed Liz and Jin Qiutian, and Li Yuan immediately sensed the trending topic. She contacted a music critic she had met at the music blogger gathering she attended last time and sent him the video.

"Make a video quickly, I feel this is a hot topic!"

More than three minutes later.

"I'll do it right away!"

Around 12 o'clock, the three of them had almost finished their lunch.

Su Xia had class in the afternoon, and Liz and Jin Qiutian were also going to Niushou Mountain to play. After downloading Didi and Gaode for them, Su Xia drove back to the station.

"Wake up, it's time for class."

Kim Tae-yeon woke up Su Xia from her afternoon nap.

I arrived at the classroom in a daze at exactly 1:50.

Before Su Xia could even sit down, the student number 2 next to her turned to look at her.

"Su Lu, have you seen the message in the group chat?"

Su Xia, who was still in a daze, was taken aback when she heard this.

"What news?"

You're trending on social media.

"7

-

"what?"

Su Xia was dumbfounded.

But after a moment of confusion, he immediately pulled out his phone and quickly browsed the group messages, which were all discussing him and Liz.

Discussions about having lunch together in the golden autumn.

Dude, isn't this a lawyers' group?

Why are so many people discussing K-pop artists?

But soon, Su Xia discovered the key point.

So it turns out the video posted by the restaurant went viral.

The third trending topic in the entertainment section, when you click on the hashtag #SuXiaASimpleSong#, is not the original video posted by the restaurant, but a music analysis blogger.

He glanced at the fans.

Wow, over three million!

Video title: "Write a simple song", the latest covr of Su Xia, the "protégé" of a famous female singer in the Korean entertainment industry, with full compatibility.

"Write a simple song"

"Make you happy"

Love is like a river.

"Setbacks are inevitable."

The video begins with Su Xia sitting at the piano, singing the chorus. It must be said that the audio recording in the restaurant video is really good, and even the shooting angle is amazing.

"This song was recorded at noon today. I heard it was a live cover by Lawyer Su, who brought his good friend Liz from IVE and Qiutian to lunch. They got into the mood for it."

"We've reviewed several of Lawyer Su's cover works before, and it's clear that his singing skills have been improving with each new video, especially his Iive vocals, which are rapidly climbing to an astonishing level."

"How will he interpret 'A Simple Song,' which sounds simple but is actually quite difficult to sing? Let's take a look."

Video playback.

Su Xia fast-forwarded through the singing part of the video and jumped directly to the analysis section.

"After listening to the whole song, it is quite obvious that Lawyer Su's cover of Second Brother's 'A Simple Song' is a perfect match, and it has a subtlety that far surpasses the original singer."

Let's discuss this separately.

"First of all, it's the timbre matching, which is Lawyer Su's natural advantage. His timbre has a cool mixed voice and a light breathy voice, which perfectly matches the gentle, straightforward, and unburdened romantic core of this song."

"Perhaps because of Taeyeon's past life as a nun, in the interpretation of this song, Lawyer Su has a more unique delicacy than the second brother's performance of nonchalance. The velvety texture in the mid-range makes the simple love sound softer, and the soft singing in the chorus hits people's hearts directly, doubling the tenderness."

"As for singing skills, this song has a very narrow vocal range, only from C4 to G5. We have previously analyzed Lawyer Su's preferred vocal range, which is almost a replica of Taeyeon's. C4 to G5 is exactly his best golden middle range."

"This song doesn't require any fancy techniques. It relies on stable breath control, smooth vocal transitions, and subtle mixing to bring out the layers in a simple melody."

"Instead of piling up high notes, he uses light vibrato and breathy pauses to express the core of a simple song perfectly. This seems simple, but it is actually quite difficult. Most singers cannot do this."

"Finally, there's Attorney Su's true specialty, which is also the biggest reason why viewers familiar with Taeyeon like Attorney Su's singing so much: empathy! It's similar to Taeyeon's singing intelligence."

"Attorney Su used his highly skilled light narrative singing style to fully express the purity and sincerity conveyed in the lyrics."

"Compared to the second brother's carefree and detached style, Lawyer Su's version sings out a tender sense of cherishing, interpreting the simple love delicately and carefully, which is more touching and makes the audience feel the empathy to the maximum."

"A song is an extension of the singer's emotions. This song must have some special meaning for Lawyer Su. The emotions conveyed in this live performance are very strong. A simple, casual playing cannot reach this level."

Su Xia's eye twitched as she watched the comment "This is what a man who has been divorced eight times is like" scroll across the screen.

After Kim Tae-yeon, who has been divorced eight times, has he also been divorced eight times?

"Another interesting point is that, because of his high degree of imitation of Taeyeon, Lawyer Su still tends to sing in the style of Korean ballads, which is Taeyeon's forte, and Lawyer Su has also learned it."

"This song is Second Brother's light Chinese R&B. There is no complicated arrangement. Lawyer Su uses Korean-style lyrical and delicate singing to blend it in, weakening the original jazz casualness and strengthening the healing feeling. It retains the simplicity of the song itself, while giving it his unique timbre. The cover is not out of place, but instead creates a great live performance."

Now that we've discussed the advantages, let's talk about the disadvantages.

"Attorney Su's vocal range is too high. His key can reach the level of a female voice, which means that when he sings songs by male singers, he will lack a sense of weight in the low register."

"The second brother's original male voice is deep and steady, which can support the background of the song. Lawyer Su's low range is softer, and after making up for it with breathy voice, it loses some of the original version's steady and down-to-earth feeling, but gains more softness. As a result, it loses a bit of the earthiness and carries a bit of etherealness and refinement."

"However, this minor flaw is not a big problem; both versions have their own merits."

"My second brother's singing is casual and straightforward, like a song he casually sang to his lover, with a sense of freedom and simplicity after experiencing many things."

"Attorney Su is only twenty-four years old. His youth makes the song less carefree and mature, and more full of the perfect yearning for love that belongs to young people. While extremely beautiful, it lacks a bit of the relaxed feeling of the original version."

"In summary, this song perfectly captures Lawyer Su's timbre, singing skills, and emotional comfort zone. Its strengths are overwhelming, and its weaknesses are merely minor stylistic choices. It is very suitable for the quiet atmosphere of a Western restaurant."

"I have to say, Attorney Su's singing skills have improved to a whole new level. Now the only problem she has is her low register. If she can improve that, her future is limitless."

After the video ended, Su Xia glanced at the comments section. There were thousands of comments on Weibo; no wonder it was trending.

But soon, Su Xia saw a new entry below the trending search terms.

#SuXiaLiz'sRelationship#

His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly clicked on it, then breathed a sigh of relief.

Some people are speculating that Su Xia and Liz might not be dating.

Then fans posted photos of the golden autumn season below, and also criticized the blogger for taking things out of context.

Their main selling point is lightning-fast clarification.

However, the news that Su Xia, Liz, and Jin Qiutian traveled to Nanjing together could no longer be kept secret, and many fans in and around Nanjing were wondering whether they should come to various tourist attractions in Nanjing to wait for Su Xia.

Su Xia even found photos of herself being secretly taken, taken from a classroom, by another intern lawyer who was also there for training.

There's a mole!

It's like we're keeping a ghost in our house!

but----

Su Xia clicked on the video, this time watching the original video posted by the restaurant.

In the video, he saw some details that he hadn't noticed while playing.

Liz looked into her bright, sparkling eyes—

Jin Qiutian turned his head to look at Liz —

The astonished expressions of the surrounding diners —

Finally, Su Xia fixed the image on Liz's gaze as she looked at herself in the screen.

Su Xia silently typed a line on her phone, then looked up at Kim Tae-yeon, who had remained silent beside her.

[You saw it already, didn't you?]

Kim Tae-yeon raised an eyebrow when she saw this line, but did not deny it.

"Um."

Why didn't you tell me?

"It's not like I'm the one dating," Kim Tae-yeon said irritably.

"It's one thing for you to plagiarize my ideas all the time, but now you expect me to spot the details in your relationship? I might as well just date Chestnut instead."

[It's a major taboo for idols to interact with fans; this is immoral and unethical!]

The three exclamation marks in a row expressed Su Xia's strong dissatisfaction.

"Tch." Kim Tae-yeon rolled her eyes. "It's only because I'm next to you that you're already choosing your concubine from among your millions of fans."

[Me, that kind of person? You're talking nonsense!]

"If you're not, then am I?"

[I am a good person.]

"Who's a decent guy who stares at married women while watching porn?"

Su Xia's face flushed red with anger.

As a man who inherited the prime minister's will, what's wrong with liking mature women and enjoying looking at married women? Does that make him a scumbag?

[Hobbies and actions are two different things; I'm a good person!]

"Bad people never claim to be good people, and scumbags never claim to be scumbags." Kim Tae-yeon snorted coldly. "Enough nonsense. Now that you've also discovered Liz's situation, I'm going to analyze the pros and cons for you."

"Do you know why I'm so worried in the golden autumn?"

Su Xia glanced at the bankruptcy law professor who had just arrived and silently shook her head.

"Because although it seems like this is just between you and Chestnut, it's actually about the entire IVE."

"When an artist in a group is in a relationship, it may seem to only affect the artist himself, but it can also have a very significant hidden impact on others."

""

"If you were a brand, and someone in your chosen group got into a relationship, would you withdraw your brand and replace the group, or would you replace one member within the group?"

Su Xia remained silent.

"This is still an individual endorsement, but what if it's an endorsement for a group?"

"This is just an endorsement; what about other commercial activities? It's the same."

"What Jin Qiutian is resisting is not you, nor Chestnut, but the potential for your relationship to develop further."

"Even the best relationships become complicated when interests are involved. If Jin Qiutian is worried that Li Zi is simply afraid that she has entrusted herself to the wrong person, as the person involved, you should also consider this point."

"Don't let your affairs affect the interests of others, even if they don't care. This is a basic principle of being a person and doing things."

Su Xia remained silent, but Kim Tae-yeon knew he was listening.

"Chestnut isn't an innocent little rabbit, and she probably knows that too, but I've been through things like feelings before, and they're not something I can control."

A hint of reminiscence flashed in Kim Tae-yeon's eyes.

"When it comes to feelings, even after weighing the pros and cons and knowing it's impossible, we still can't help but do it."

"I'm not trying to stop you from getting together with Chestnut, I just want you to be mentally prepared to accept all of this before you actually make a decision."

After a long while, Su Xia typed a line of text.

Do I need to keep my distance from Chestnut?

"It's up to you. If you feel you can accept it, then continue. If you feel you can't accept it, then stop and maintain the current friendship. That's enough."

Should I stop?

A look of confusion appeared in Su Xia's eyes.

Kim Tae-yeon's words were like a precise scalpel, cutting open the intricate network of interests behind their escalating relationship.

A profession where profits come from fame will naturally be subject to the constraints of fame in every aspect.

This is the logical conclusion.

Just as Su Xia was feeling lost, Liz and Jin Qiutian were having the same conversation.

Niushou Mountain Scenic Area, on the mountain climbing route.

"Are you really planning to date Attorney Su?" Jin Qiutian lowered her voice and suddenly asked Liz beside her.

Liz wasn't surprised; in fact, she was a little puzzled as to why Qiu Tian unnie had held back for so long before speaking.

"No, it won't happen." Liz smiled and gave a definite answer.

"I've developed a bit of a crush on Su Xia oppa, but I won't date him." After saying that, Liz paused, "At least not now."

"Why?" Jin Qiutian frowned. Why was she trying to get closer to him like this? This wasn't—uh—

Do you raise fish?

"If I'm dating Su Xia oppa, everything will be fine as long as it's not exposed. But if it is exposed, it will affect you two, and I'm very clear about that."

"That's not what I meant," Jin Qiutian said, shaking her head as if Liz had misunderstood.

"I know that's not what you meant, but I can't do something like that just because you guys don't mind. That would be too selfish." Liz laughed, her smile very open and honest.

"Without Wonyoung unnie and Yujin unnie, even if I debuted now, I'd probably just be a nobody idol, right? I'm very grateful to them, and also to the other members. It's because of each of us coming together that we have IVE today."

"I will not harm IVE's interests."

Liz glanced at the mountain road ahead.

"Our journey with IVE is still long, and we need to keep moving forward. This time, I'm going to say a proper goodbye to Su Xia oppa." Liz's big eyes sparkled, as if she was thinking of Su Xia, and her tone became cheerful.

"Isn't that unnecessary?" Jin Qiutian looked at Liz. "Your relationship is already pretty good. Besides, if you want to give it a try, the other members should support you."

Liz shook her head again.

"No need, unnie. I've made my choice. Let's continue climbing."

Seeing Liz's smiling face, Jin Qiutian chose not to continue the topic and instead accompanied her on her journey upwards.

However, Jin Qiutian was silently pondering something in her heart.

What she was worried about was not that Liz's relationship with Su Xia would be exposed and affect her interests.

She didn't value money much.

Compared to her own interests, she was more concerned that the time was too short.

Liz and Su Xia have only known each other for a short time. Does she really understand this person?

In the autumn of 2018, I witnessed too many fast-paced relationships within the entertainment industry. These interactions were less about dating and more about physical attraction between men and women.

If Liz and Su Xia were really like that, she wouldn't care so much, but it's obvious that Liz doesn't have that inclination.

She genuinely treated Su Xia as a potential partner, which made Jin Qiutian worried.

The psychological experience of failing in a relationship based on genuine feelings is completely different from that of failing in a casual, superficial relationship; the damage from the former takes a lifetime to heal.

But now, in the autumn of the day, Jin Qiutian saw Liz's feigned nonchalance, and also the loneliness and determination in her eyes.

She suddenly realized something.

Liz is no longer a child; she is an adult with her own thoughts and understanding.

Does she really need to act like a patriarch and consider Liz's romantic relationships?

As a teammate and friend, shouldn't she support Liz's decision from the bottom of her heart?

Thinking of this, Jin Qiutian looked up at Liz beside her, who was obviously pretending to be happy, and silently took out her phone and opened the group chat that only had the five of them and no Liz.

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