Peninsula: My e-sports dream shattered, I chose to become an actor.

Los Angeles International Airport, December 1.

Li Mingye pushed his luggage cart and followed the rest of the "The Heirs" crew out of the arrival gate.

The scene before his departure yesterday was still replaying in his mind. In JYP's dressing room, Lim Nayeon clung to him like a koala, her words filled with an unyielding sweetness and reluctance to part. Lee Myungyeop had to put in a lot of "effort" to finally calm this restless little rabbit down.

Although they haven't crossed the final line yet, the intimate moments that have already made their emotions burn, and all they need is the perfect opportunity to take that final step.

Li Mingye planned to do something after returning to China.

"Nuna, let me carry it for you."

Bringing his thoughts back to reality, Li Mingye noticed that Kim Ji-won, walking beside him, was carrying her small bag and seemed to be having some trouble, so he took the initiative to speak to her.

Upon hearing the voice, Kim Ji-won was about to wave her hand in her habitual refusal when she looked up and met Lee Myung-yeop's eyes, which appeared exceptionally warm and clear in the sunlight.

Her heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason. She subconsciously raised her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, revealing her fair neck, and said with a smile, "Then I'll trouble you."

"No trouble at all," Li Mingye replied casually, taking the bag from Jin Zhiyuan's hand.

Just then, a small, slender, white hand holding a bag strap reached out in front of him.

It was Krystal Jung. She tilted her head slightly, her signature cool eyes now filled with unspoken implications, her gaze darting back and forth between him and the bag, as if to say, "Can't you see me? Can't you see the bag?"

Li Mingye pretended not to understand and tilted his head to look at her with a puzzled expression.

Krystal's lips twitched slightly, and she lifted her bag up a little more, but Li Mingye still didn't react.

Just as Jung Soo-jung was about to give up, Lee Myung-yeop slowly reached out and took the bag from her hand, feigning ignorance as he said, "Why are you carrying it so high? Aren't you tired?"

"Hmph!" Jung Soo-jung gritted her teeth, let out a dissatisfied snort from her nose, and quickly took a few steps to grab Kim Ji-won's arm.

"Unnie, don't be fooled by his well-behaved appearance, he always..."

Kim Ji-won listened silently, covering her mouth and chuckling softly, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

Among the current cast and crew, these three have the best relationship. Kim Ji-won and Jung Soo-jung also get along very well thanks to Lee Myung-yeop, who acts as a "bridge," and they have become like best friends.

Lee Mingye casually carried the two girls' bags and followed behind, occasionally interjecting to refute Jung Soo-jung's slander against him, making the atmosphere quite lively.

Kim Ji-won is actually quite introverted and prefers to be alone, but at this moment, listening to the noisy sounds of her friends around her, she actually felt quite enjoying the tranquility of being surrounded by the hustle and bustle.

"If you say that again, I'm not giving your bag back!"

"Are you some kindergarten kid from somewhere?!"

Kim Ji-won listened quietly, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons with laughter.

……

September 9th, the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The morning air in Los Angeles was slightly chilly, and Li Mingye got up very early.

Mid-Autumn Festival is a very important festival on the peninsula, almost equivalent to Chinese New Year.

JYP gave all the trainees a break. Except for a very few local trainees who couldn't go home and were still working hard at the company, the vast majority of the trainees from the peninsula went home to reunite with their families.

Lim Nayeon is the same; she went home for the Mid-Autumn Festival and plans to rest for three days. This morning, she made a special video call to Lee Myung-yeop to express her longing for him through the screen.

Moreover, Lim Nayeon even wore a fluffy rabbit ear headband for him, pretending to be a jade rabbit to send him blessings. Her deliberately soft and sweet voice and cute actions directly melted Lee Myung-yeop's heart.

Just imagining Nayeon putting her hands to her mouth like a rabbit and saying "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival" in her sweet, childlike voice makes Lee Myung-yeop feel wonderful.

Although the Mid-Autumn Festival is a statutory holiday on the peninsula, for those filming abroad, there is no such thing as a holiday. After all, every day the crew is delayed means a significant loss of money.

However, the main focus in the US is filming the storylines of the male and female leads, along with some scenes of Kim Ji-won throwing a tantrum. Therefore, Lee Myung-yeop's filming schedule in the US is not very heavy, and he won't be able to film at all today.

"What's wrong? Are you homesick?"

Seeing Chou Tzu-yu looking dejected in the video call, Lee Ming-ye gently comforted her.

On the other side of the screen, Chou Tzu-yu was curled up in a chair in her dorm room, with an empty background.

"...Hmm." Chou Tzuyu didn't deny it when she realized she'd been found out. She looked at him pitifully, "There's no one in the dorm anymore, oppa, and you're not here either..."

After saying that, she seemed to want to keep Li Mingye from worrying, so she perked up a bit and said with a hint of anticipation, "But I should go back home for the New Year. My mom also said she'll be much freer next year, so she might be able to come see me more often."

Although his words were spoken with expectation, Li Mingye felt even more heartache upon hearing them. Through the screen, he reached out and lightly touched Zhou Ziyu's head.

Chou Tzu-yu also lowered her head and squinted her eyes, as if she were really being stroked by that warm, large hand, and a relieved smile appeared on her lips.

Seeing Chou Tzu-yu's amusing reaction, Lee Ming-ye couldn't help but smile.

When Chou Tzu-yu saw him smile, she also gave a silly smile.

They chatted for another ten minutes or so before ending the call, with Chou Tzu-yu looking a little reluctant.

Li Mingye was also going to visit his younger sister who was studying in the United States in the afternoon, which would be a Mid-Autumn Festival reunion.

After hanging up the phone, Li Mingye thought about Zhou Ziyu's pitiful appearance and fell into deep thought.

"By the way, Sana and Momo should be free, so perhaps..."

He opened Hirai Momo's chat interface and started typing.

……

"Oppa, long time no see!"

At the entrance of a restaurant in Los Angeles, Li Du'en, like a puppy seeing its owner, jumped into Li Mingye's arms with great force.

If it were the old Li Mingye, he might have stumbled at this moment, but now he remained motionless, steadily catching his sister's impact.

Feeling his younger sister holding him tightly in his arms, looking excited, Li Mingye didn't put her down immediately, but just held her in one arm and chatted with her.

"How's Dorn's studying lately?"

The atmosphere froze for a second.

"...Why did you ask that, oppa?" Lee Da-eun lifted her head from Lee Myung-yeop's shoulder, staring at him with a displeased expression, her cheeks puffed out.

"Who asks this the first thing we do after not seeing each other for so long!"

"Then what should I ask?" Li Mingye asked honestly, blinking.

Lee Du-eun spoke rapidly with a matter-of-fact expression:

"You should have cared about my health first! Then look at me with a pained expression and say, 'Oh dear, how come our Dorn has lost so much weight? Did she suffer in America?'"

Li Mingye glanced at her noticeably rounder chin, his mouth slightly open, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Forget it, I won't talk about it anymore.

If I told you, this little sister would go berserk.

"How are things at school, Dorn?" Li Mingye quickly changed the subject, his survival instincts kicking in.

"Hehe," Li Du'en revealed a smug little expression, "I'm the big sister at school! Nobody bullies me, don't worry."

She then added, "Oppa, let's not talk about me anymore. Are you still a professional gamer?"

Li Mingye's lips twitched, feeling slightly embarrassed.

It seems my sister doesn't use the Peninsula forum in the US and is completely unaware of his online activities.

"I'm no longer a candidate," Li Mingye replied.

"I knew it." Lee Da-eun gave him a knowing look, then patted his head and said earnestly, "It's okay, oppa, I don't blame you. Failure is the mother of success, after all."

Li Mingye almost rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"So oppa, what are you doing right now?" Lee Da-eun asked curiously.

Li Mingye originally wanted to tell her the truth that he was filming, but looking at her smug little face that seemed to know everything, he hesitated for a moment, and a playful look flashed in his eyes.

"Now that I have some free time, I finally have the opportunity to come to the United States to see you."

Li Duen wasn't surprised when she heard this, and quickly put the matter aside, then went on to talk about interesting things at school.

They talked for over twenty minutes straight, with Li Du'en doing most of the talking while Li Mingye listened quietly, occasionally offering his opinions.

"Alright, I'm a little hungry, let's go eat!" Li Duen rubbed her stomach and looked at him as she spoke.

Li Mingye nodded.

Then, as if sensing something was amiss, Li Du'en looked down and then tilted her head to look at him with a puzzled expression:

"Oppa, when did you get so healthy?"

Li Mingye then realized that he had been holding his nearly 100-pound sister with one hand for about half an hour, and he was still not out of breath or red in the face.

"...Because Dorn has lost a lot of weight."

"Huh! Really?"