Peninsula: My mentor Kim Tae-yeon

Chapter 96 The Preparation of the Gift (7k)

Second Brother wasn't just making empty promises; after seeing Su Xia agree, he called his agent to discuss the collaboration with Lao Jin.

Park Hee-min works as a host in South Korea most of the year. When she is in Korea, her assistant, Lao Jin, who has been in the entertainment industry for most of her life, handles any urgent issues that require her manager's intervention.

Some people can only start as assistants, while others become assistants simply because they want to be assistants.

For example, Lao Jin.

After their first rehearsal, Su Xia happily took a photo with her second brother. Their next meeting would be the second rehearsal on the 23rd.

Looking at the group photo on her phone, Su Xia smiled even more happily, looking every bit the joyful fan.

Kim Tae-yeon took in Su Xia's expression and smiled faintly.

Ultimately, he's just a newcomer who's only been in society for a little over a year, and has only been in the entertainment industry for a full eight months, so it's normal for him to still have such thoughts.

Back in the car, Su Xia asked Xiao Li to help Lao Jin, saying he could drive himself.

After seeing Xiao Li off, Su Xia sat in the driver's seat and sent a photo of herself and her second brother to Liz.

"Why don't you just post it on your WeChat Moments and announce to the world that you've successfully met your idol?" Kim Tae-yeon teased, watching Su Xia's actions.

"That's right!" Her words reminded Su Xia, and she immediately took action, sending the message on both WeChat and QQ, mainly to show off!

Not satisfied with just posting, Su Xia opened the music notes and Bilibili.

"No!" Kim Tae-yeon quickly stopped Su Xia. "Bilibili hasn't officially announced your collaboration stage yet. Posting it now would be like leaking information!"

Upon hearing this, Su Xia immediately stopped what she was doing.

That's true; revealing the information prematurely would violate the breach of contract clause.

Forget it.

Ding.

"Huh? Chestnut has so much time today?" Su Xia's attention was instantly drawn to the message Liz sent, wanting to see what Liz replied.

Kim Tae-yeon also leaned closer; she hadn't seen Su Xia's message earlier, so she was just taking a look.

SuXia: [Photo]

SuXia: After practicing for so long, I finally finished the rehearsal with my second brother. I guess I've succeeded in meeting my idol.

SuXia: My second brother even offered to collaborate with me on a song! He's really talented around here; I'll introduce you to him sometime.

Liz: Are you tired?

Kim Tae-yeon's breath hitched suddenly.

Turning his head to look at Su Xia, he found him staring intently at the screen, seemingly lost in thought.

Kim Tae-yeon smiled silently.

This Liz—

Her gentleness always comes so suddenly, hidden in everyday conversations, unexpectedly striking you during casual chats, leaving you trembling with fear.

Instead of focusing on the possibility of getting to know a senior figure through Su Xia, they were more concerned about whether Su Xia's casual remark about how tiring the practice had been.

Haki, you bastard.

Under Kim Tae-yeon's gaze, Su Xia's lips subtly curled up.

SuXia: Not tired.

Chestnut: Hehe, so what are you doing now?

SuXia: Getting ready to go back to the hotel to continue preparing your birthday present.

Kim Tae-yeon was stunned when she saw this.

A birthday present for Liz?

I've never heard Su Xia mention it, nor have I seen him prepare any gifts.

Chestnut: What a coincidence, I'm preparing too!

SuXia: Haha, then I'll have to look forward to it.

Chestnut: In just half a month, I'll be able to see it soon. It should be a very special gift, right?

SuXia: of or relating to a package.

Chestnut: [Thumbs up.JPG]

SuXia: I'm driving now, we'll talk later.

Chestnut: Okay, drive slowly and be careful.

SuXia: OK.

Su Xia had just put down her phone when Kim Tae-yeon's voice rang out.

"What birthday present did you prepare for Chestnut?"

Meeting Kim Tae-yeon's curious gaze, Su Xia grinned.

"I'll tell you when we get to the hotel."

"So mysterious."

Conrad Hangzhou, Executive Suite.

CJ Entertainment has deep partnerships with many international luxury hotel brands, and its employees and artists mostly choose hotel groups such as Hilton and Marriott for their travels.

Back at the hotel, under Kim Tae-yeon's curious gaze, Su Xia took out her tablet for practicing music arrangement.

Upon seeing this scene, Kim Tae-yeon immediately realized something.

"Was that song you tried writing for Chestnut before?"

"Yes." Su Xia nodded with a smile.

"You've only just started writing this song, right? You think you can finish it before the 21st?" Kim Tae-yeon looked unconvinced. "Don't count on me. I'm a complete novice when it comes to songwriting."

"I know, if you were IU, I would still be counting on you." Su Xia poked her teacher in the heart without looking up.

Kim Tae-yeon opened her mouth, but had no room for rebuttal.

whispering sound.

Kim Tae-yeon could only silently purse her lips as she watched Su Xia pull out a draft with only half a melody and five lines of lyrics.

There are only two weeks left. Even if we rush, we might not be able to finish writing it.

"Are you planning to finish writing the song and give it to Chestnut directly, or are you also preparing a music video or something?" Kim Tae-yeon asked.

"I'll write as much as I can, and I won't worry about the rest." Su Xia shook her head and said, "MVs are too time-consuming. You have to cast actors, choose a director, and all that other stuff."

Liz? Casting?

A long-buried memory was quietly awakened by a keyword.

"Chestnut seems to have appeared in my music video?" Kim Tae-yeon said uncertainly.

"Huh?" Su Xia looked up, staring at Kim Tae-yeon in astonishment. "Really? I've never heard you mention it to her?"

"I just remembered, it seems like there's something like that." Kim Tae-yeon pointed to Su Xia's phone, "Search for the keywords 'the two of us' and 'MV'."

Su Xia typed in Liz Taeyeon's MV, and then ————

There really is one?

Looking at Liz's extremely youthful face in the music video for "This Christmas," a song that Su Xia had never heard before, Liz's expression froze.

No, there really is one?

"So our destiny was already established so long ago," Su Xia murmured.

Kim Tae-yeon: "?"

fate?

you?

Kim Tae-yeon glanced at Su Xia, then at the music video on the screen.

"Isn't this my music video?" I couldn't help but ask.

"What's yours is mine, rounded up. I've known Chestnut for a long time, is that alright?"

"You only remembered me now?" Kim Tae-yeon looked at Su Xia speechlessly. "Your rubbing was quite smooth, you jerk."

"It's all covered." Su Xia grinned, then lowered her head again and continued working on her song.

"Let me see the song you wrote." Kim Tae-yeon leaned closer, and Su Xia didn't stop her, letting her take a look.

After a while.

"What kind of crap did you write? It's not even as good as Sooyoung's," Kim Tae-yeon said disdainfully.

"Who is Sooyoung?" Su Xia looked at Kim Tae-yeon blankly.

"Choi Soo-young, she's a member of our group, she wrote the lyrics for one of our songs."

"Oh," Su Xia replied, then went back to writing her song.

"Oh, you're not angry?"

"It's just awful. If it were good, I would have become a singer-songwriter long ago."

, 7

The Chinese music scene is in such a terrible state. If he had any creative ability, he would have already restored the glory of the Chinese music scene. Why would he need to be an internet celebrity here?

He'd already thought of a title.

Born at a time when the Chinese music scene was on the verge of collapse, he is a new generation of Chinese pop king who saved the crumbling edifice and turned the tide!

Hmm, not bad, not bad. Whenever a new system comes along, he'll restart it.

This is what life is all about!

"I don't agree with your theory. Isn't it fine if I can't create anything?"

"So the gap between you and IU is getting bigger and bigger." Su Xia stabbed his teacher in the heart again.

Kim Tae-yeon was speechless; she couldn't refute it!

At her peak, she seemed to have a slight tendency to surpass IU, but it was only a slight tendency, and only for a short period of time.

What's most outrageous about IU is her enduring popularity; she's always been at the top, while everyone else comes and goes at the summit, but she's always been standing at the very top.

After years of subtly competing with each other, Kim Tae-yeon is truly impressed.

I'm really out of ideas, bro.

If you can't beat them, you can't beat them. What can you do if you're not convinced?

Shaking her head helplessly, Kim Tae-yeon disappeared, no longer wanting to disturb Su Xia's songwriting.

Only the sounds of electronic analog musical instruments could be heard intermittently in the room.

Time passed by little by little, and before we knew it, it was past seven o'clock in the evening.

Su Xia rubbed her sore eyes and sat up from the chair.

Looking at the short piece of lyrics and music that he had spent several hours working on, he nodded with considerable satisfaction.

"Old Deng."

"What?" Kim Tae-yeon's yawning figure suddenly appeared beside me.

"Give me your feedback?" He held up the tablet for Kim Tae-yeon to see.

"It's alright, nothing special. Anyway, I wouldn't want it if you gave it to me," Kim Tae-yeon commented.

Calling it trash is a bit of an exaggeration, but calling it a good song is even more of an exaggeration.

Judging from the content produced so far, it's decent but nothing special, neither amazing nor bad.

"That's fine then." Su Xia breathed a sigh of relief; his goal was to do things in a conventional way.

He doesn't have any talent for writing, so he's already quite satisfied with how well he's written.

I rubbed my lower back, which was a little sore from sitting for so long.

My back is killing me!

Kim Tae-yeon rolled her eyes.

If this is what "old waist" means, then what is it? Is it a "grave waist"?

wrong!

Why are you questioning your age again?

Damn it!

"Opening up a corner of memories~"

Su Xia took her phone out of her pocket.

Caller: Haiyuan Street.

Su Xia was stunned when she saw the caller ID. She exchanged a glance with Kim Tae-yeon next to her and saw the same bewildered look in Kim Tae-yeon's eyes.

Why would Wu Haiyuan call Su Xia?

This is the first time ever.

She always sends messages to communicate with others.

If you can't figure it out, stop thinking about it and answer the phone.

"Hey, Hae-won."

"Good evening, Attorney Su!" Wu Haiyuan's strong voice came through the receiver.

"What do you want?"

"We're starting our first world tour since our debut at the end of this month! The first show is on the 29th, do you have time to come?" Wu Haiyuan told Su Xia about her call.

"A world tour?" Su Xia raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You're only starting a world tour now, after your debut?"

Kim Tae-yeon sighed and facepalmed. "Why are you talking so much?"

However, Wu Haiyuan had known Su Xia for a while and knew he didn't mean to mock her.

"Hehe, our world tour started rather late, the company probably has its own reasons."

"The 29th—let me think about it." Su Xia recalled her schedule. She did have plans for the 29th, but if it was just to see a concert, she should be able to make it?

What time is your concert?

"The event will be held at 5 PM on the 29th at the Inspire Arena in Incheon. The theme is 'episode 1:'"

Zero Frontier.

Whatever your theme is called won't affect whether I go or not.

"Five o'clock—okay, I'll be there then." Su Xia thought for a moment. There should be enough time. If they couldn't finish filming, they could postpone it to the 30th. It was a minor issue.

"Okay!" Wu Haiyuan's voice immediately became more cheerful. Su Xia could also hear the voices of the other girls on the other end of the phone, so there were probably other people around.

"Where would you like to sit? In the front row? In the stands?"

"It's up to you. If there aren't enough seats, I can look backstage," Su Xia said with a smile.

"No way, you're our VIP! How can you not have a seat?" Wu Haiyuan's exaggerated expression seemed to appear right before my eyes.

This comedy queen has a high degree of control over her facial features, and her facial expressions are quite rich.

She's a real talent for mime.

"Okay, you decide, as long as it's not a seat on the stage," Su Xia said cheerfully. "I don't want to be dragged into working just to go to a concert."

"Oh my, your little scheme has been discovered."

"Now that we've been found out, let's not arrange it like this. I was planning your concert as a relaxing activity."

"No problem," Oh Hae-won replied. "I'll talk to my manager about it later and have the company send you an invitation."

"There's no need to be so formal. Just send me a ticket directly," Su Xia refused. "It's too much trouble to make it seem like a trip. Just treat it as if I'm coming to the concert on my own."

"Inside!"

"Okay, that's settled for now. I'm going to find something to eat."

"Yes! Goodbye, Attorney Su!"

beep.

Hearing the busy tone on the phone, Su Xia couldn't help but yawn.

"If I remember correctly, there's an event in the city on the 29th, right?" Kim Tae-yeon said at the right moment.

"No problem." Su Xia waved her hand. "It'll only take a morning at most. I'll check the flight tickets for the same day. If it's early, I can even leave beforehand."

These cultural and tourism meetings are held two or three times a month, and Su Xia tries to attend as much as possible. It doesn't matter if she doesn't attend, but it's not very respectable, so she still goes if she can.

"Okay," Kim Tae-yeon nodded. "Let's go eat!"

"You can't even get any, why are you so eager?"

"I'm full just looking at it."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Beef soup, please."

"But I want to eat hot pot."

"What kind of hot pot do you eat by yourself?"

"Isn't it you I'm here for?"

Kim Tae-yeon glanced at Su Xia and rolled her eyes.

"Alright, let's have hot pot then."

OK!

'

November 11th is Singles' Day.

This Singles' Day isn't unique to China; South Korea has a similar tradition.

Since returning from Hangzhou, Su Xia has devoted herself to songwriting whenever she has free time.

Time is too tight. Liz's birthday is getting closer every day, but the song is still far from being a half-finished product. We have to squeeze out time to prepare.

The key is that Su Xia has no experience in songwriting, and she can't rush it. The more she rushes, the worse the songs she writes become.

There's no time, and there's no rush. Isn't this just awkward?

Despite her busy schedule, Su Xia still managed to find time to receive a package.

In the practice room.

Su Xia looked at the square international email in her hand, shook it, and heard a lot of sounds coming from inside.

"What did Chestnut send?" Su Xia asked, puzzled.

If the sender wasn't Liz, Su Xia wouldn't have gone to pick up the package herself; she would have just handed it to Xiao Li to open.

But since it was sent by our beloved Chestnut, I still have to open it myself.

Su Xia turned on the camera and placed it aside to record the unboxing process.

"What's in here? Did you peek?" Su Xia asked Kim Tae-yeon.

"No, you opened it right away, what would I look inside for?" Although Kim Tae-yeon was in a spirit state, she didn't just go into any box.

What if there's a living creature inside that scares her?

"What use are you?" Su Xia muttered, then quickly opened the package, revealing what was inside—

Two boxes of chocolates?

Su Xia picked up the chocolates with a puzzled look. Each chocolate was marked with "11," and below it was written in Korean: ————

Happy Singles' Day!

Su Xia's lips twitched.

"Hahahahaha!!!" Kim Tae-yeon burst out laughing as soon as she saw the words on the two boxes of chocolates.

Liz sent two boxes of "11.11" Singles' Day chocolates as a gift. She's really something else, hahaha.

After taking out the chocolate, Su Xia noticed that there was another card underneath.

It says "Happy Singles' Day" on it.

"You're happy too." Su Xia waved the card at the camera and said, then looked at the bursting-out Kim Tae-yeon, "What are you laughing at? Aren't you single too?"

"Hahahaha?"

Kim Tae-yeon's laughter stopped abruptly.

Oh right, I think I'm single too?

#!

"Laugh, laugh, all you do is laugh." Su Xia opened a box of chocolates and took out one from among the neatly packaged small pieces of chocolate.

Here you go, everyone who sees this gets a share. Happy Singles' Day!

Just as Kim Tae-yeon reached out to catch it, Su Xia threw the chocolate on the ground, then clasped her hands together and bowed towards Kim Tae-yeon and the chocolate on the ground.

Kim Tae-yeon: "?"

"Damn it! Where are your offerings?"

Kim Tae-yeon was furious at the way Su Xia "gave" her chocolate. Was this a method a normal person could come up with? You bastard!

Su Xia chuckled.

"How honored you are! You're the first to eat the chocolate Chestnut gave me. See how much I value you?"

"Is this something you take seriously?"

They've even started paying attention to the underworld!

"Never mind that, just tell me if you care or not." Su Xia said, taking the camera over and transferring the video to her phone, then sending it to Liz.

"Eat that piece of chocolate on the ground for me," Kim Tae-yeon said, her eyes darting around as she pointed at the chocolate.

"I won't eat it." Su Xia shook her head decisively. "It's all yours, how can I eat it?"

"When you plagiarized my ideas, why didn't you distinguish between 'yours' and 'mine'?" Kim Tae-yeon questioned.

"How can that be the same?"

"How are they different?"

"We need to analyze each situation specifically."

"That's quite specific. Eat quickly, don't waste food!"

"I won't eat it!"

Amidst the noise, Su Xia didn't notice that the video had already been transmitted.

Meanwhile, in the practice room.

This year's MAMA is a three-day event, and IVE will be participating in the Tokyo Dome event on the second day, the 22nd. So, on the 21st, Liz's birthday, she will have to rush to Japan for rehearsals.

Now, with only ten days left, the time left for them to practice is very short. Whenever they have time, the members rush to the practice room to prepare for Mama.

Ding dong.

Liz's phone, which was on the table, rang. Li Rui, who was standing next to the table drinking water, glanced at the phone and immediately perked up when he saw that the sender's name was "Su Xia oppa".

"Liz unnie! Attorney Su Xia messaged you!"

Li Rui had a loud voice, and everyone in the practice room could hear him.

Everyone in IVE turned to look at Liz, who was stunned by Li Rui's loud voice.

Thankfully, there were no staff members here, only the six members of IVE, otherwise there would have been some minor trouble.

Under the teasing gazes of her fellow members, Liz slowly came to her senses, and two blushes crept onto her cheeks.

She earned the nickname "Little Tomato" because she often blushed during her early period when her figure was out of shape. As she lost weight, this nickname was rarely mentioned, but the physiological reaction of blushing easily still exists.

He walked over quickly and took his phone into his hand.

Just as I was about to open the unboxing video sent by Su Xia, I paused and turned around to see five curious faces.

Liz: "(°—°)"

The group of five: "————"

"Don't be stingy with the videos you post, let everyone see them," Ahn Yoo-jin said with a smile after a dry cough.

"No!" Liz hid her phone in her pocket. "Why should I show it to you?"

"If you don't watch it, it's a private video, like an 18+ video?" Zhang Yuanying tilted her head and said with a mischievous smile.

"Ani!" Liz exclaimed in surprise, waving her hands frantically, but she forgot that she was still holding the phone in her hand.

Jin Qiutian silently grabbed Liz's wrist and easily took the phone from her hand.

"Did we see it?" Jin Qiutian knew Liz's phone password, but instead of unlocking it, she waved the phone and asked.

"Here you go," Liz sighed, reaching out to ask for the phone.

Jin Qiu smiled slightly and returned the phone to Liz.

Liz sat on the floor of the practice room. The air conditioning made the whole practice room warm and cozy, so she didn't feel cold sitting on the floor.

The other five people sat, knelt, or squatted behind and to either side of Liz, but all their eyes were fixed on the screen.

Click to watch the video.

You can clearly see the entire process of Su Xia opening the package, as well as his conversation with someone off-screen.

But the two were speaking Chinese, which none of the IVE members could understand.

"What? I thought there would be something good." Li Rui pouted and said with some disappointment.

"Huh? Does the maknae want to watch Attorney Su's 18+ videos?" Ahn Yu-jin teased the maknae as usual.

"Ani!" Li Rui waved his hands repeatedly, "I just wanted to see Liz unnie's reaction."

"Yeah?"

"Inside!"

Jin Qiutian looked at the video with a puzzled expression, recalling Su Xia's expression when she turned around to speak and the way she handed over the chocolate.

It looks like she's talking to thin air. If it were a staff member, there should be some sound coming from them. It's not like the staff member is mute and is communicating with Su Xia in sign language off-screen the whole time, right?

"Why can't I hear anyone else's voice?" Zhang Yuanying also noticed something was wrong. "It's just Attorney Su's voice."

"Maybe the staff's voices were muted?" Liz said nonchalantly.

"Speaking of which, shouldn't we singles go out for a 'singles' meal' on Singles' Day?" Ahn Yoo-jin suggested.

"Okay!" Naoi Rei, who hadn't said a word until now, suddenly became interested when she heard about eating.

"Liz isn't necessarily a bachelor, you know?" Zhang Yuanying said with a grin.

"Cough, still now," Liz said, her face flushed and her cough dry.

"Maybe this is the last meal," Li Rui said with a grin, hugging Zhang Yuanying's arm.

The well-known impersonator is still cosplaying her sister.

"Then we should eat something good." Ahn Yu-jin pulled her phone out of her back pocket. "How about Haidilao? Liz's treating!"

"Yay!"

Liz rubbed her cheeks.

Something feels off.

Why did the captain suggest having dinner and ask her to treat?

Forget it.

Liz shook her head.

"OK."

Please, please!

"Liz, what birthday present did Attorney Su give you?" Jin Qiutian asked.

"I don't know." Liz shook her head honestly. "He said it was a very special gift."

"When is Attorney Su's birthday?" Ahn Yoo-jin interjected.

January 1st.

"Shall we give him a birthday present too?" Ahn Yoo-jin suggested, snapping her fingers.

"Isn't that inappropriate?" Zhang Yuanying thought for a moment. "We're not at the point where we'd exchange birthday gifts, are we?"

"Oh dear, Attorney Su, Liz, and Qiu Tian unnie are such good friends, as friends and teammates, it's alright for us to send some gifts, right?" Ahn Yu-jin waved her hand and said, "Won-young, you're not just reluctant to send gifts, are you?"

Zhang Yuanying rolled her eyes at An Youzhen.

"I was just worried it wouldn't be appropriate, but what unnie said—I'm fine with it."

"What about Liz? We can't send a gift if you don't agree," Ahn Yoo-jin chuckled, teasingly.

"Anything is fine with me," Liz said, blinking.

"How about we prepare a gift box, put all the gifts inside, and then have Liz give it to Attorney Su?" Jin Qiutian suggested.

Upon hearing this suggestion, everyone's eyes lit up. What a great idea!

"But there's a problem with that," Jin Qiutian added. "If we're giving gifts together, we need to make sure Liz's gift is the most special, otherwise it wouldn't be good if someone else stole the spotlight."

The group nodded in deep agreement.

"Liz, what gift did you prepare?" Naoi Rei turned to look at Liz and asked.

Liz hesitated for a moment.

"A letter."

"Oh~~"

Several people started shouting at the same time.

Liz's face turned bright red, but she was helpless.

She knew that if she spoke out, she would definitely be incited to make trouble.

"Now we can prepare the gifts with peace of mind," Jin Qiutian said with a smile.

"Yeah, no matter how expensive the gift is, it can't compare to a handwritten letter~" Ahn Yu-jin said with a mischievous smile.

"Liz, how about preparing another gift? A handwritten letter and a present, and we'll each prepare the rest ourselves," Zhang Yuanying added.

Liz nodded.

"I have prepared two gifts."

"What's the other one?" Ahn Yu-jin asked curiously.

Liz revealed the contents of the second gift.

"Ah—I was going to give this," Li Rui wailed. "Now I have to choose again."

"I haven't decided yet."

The group fell silent, pondering what gift to prepare.

They weren't very familiar with Su Xia, but given his relationship with Liz, they still needed to carefully prepare a birthday gift. What should they prepare?