Peninsula Cicada Song Diary

As we get closer, we can already see the white dome of Wenhe Stadium bathed in sunlight.

"Finally here." After getting out of the car in the parking lot, Pei Xiyan lazily stretched in the sunlight.

The opening ceremony starts at four o'clock. "There are still two hours." Li Mingzhe glanced at his watch. "We can look around the area near the venue first."

"What's there to see around the venue?" Pei Xiyan shook her head and took out a badge from her pocket. "Why don't we just go backstage?"

"Where did you get this?" Li Mingzhe asked incredulously, taking the ID card with the fist symbol on it and examining it closely.

"My dad," Pei Xiyan shrugged. "After he found out I was coming to watch the game, he got me an access pass from the Riot Games company on the peninsula."

"Wow, Uncle Pei's connections are amazing." Li Mingzhe couldn't help but marvel.

Pei Xiyan's father's connections were something he and Jin Nanxi had experienced firsthand.

He met Jin Nanxi and Pei Xiyan during their sophomore year. That night, Jin Nanxi got into trouble while drinking outside and was ambushed on her way back to school. Pei Xiyan, her roommate, received the news, grabbed a baseball bat, and rushed over to help. Li Mingzhe happened to be passing by and saw that the fight was between fellow Yonsei students, so he called the police.

When the police arrived, everyone involved in the fight was arrested and put in police cars. Surprisingly, even though the other group was more seriously injured, the car that Pei Xiyan and Jin Nanxi were in was diverted to the hospital halfway through the journey. After receiving treatment, they returned to school unharmed, while the other group was arrested and detained for a month.

Kim Nancy thought it was her family's influence that was at play, and even asked her brother, who replied:

"What? You got into a fight again? I'm cutting off your allowance for a month."

Afterwards, the three became friends. One day, when they were chatting, the topic of the fight came up, and they learned that it was because Pei Xiyan had sent a message to his father before helping out, saying that he was going to help fight and might end up in jail.

Pei's father's reply was quite assertive: "Even if you tried to assassinate Shinzo Abe with a homemade shotgun, I could still get you out!"

Regardless of whether this is even possible, this response alone is enough to put one's mind at ease.

"He even sent me a text message saying, 'IG will definitely win today.'" Pei Xiyan didn't understand. "I don't know where he got his confidence from."

"Maybe Uncle Pei is watching the game too." Li Mingzhe put the ID back in his hand. "No wonder you said the score was 3/0."

"My father is definitely a factor," Pei Xiyan nodded.

In his memory, his father's words were usually very accurate. During a trip to Japan in 14, the family spent the day sightseeing, and at night his mother took her beauty sleep, while the father and son curled up on the hotel sofa, eating yakitori ordered from a takeout restaurant and watching the World Cup.

Before the semi-final match between Germany and Brazil, his father confidently predicted that Germany would win by a large margin, and indeed, the score was a massive 7-1.

"If it's 8-1, we're doomed." After the game, her dad was still muttering mysteriously while drinking beer, his tone sounding somewhat wistful, which left Pei Xiyan a little confused.

The path to the venue was filled with male and female students, their youthful energy spreading unchecked like sunshine on the stone-paved road.

"Excuse me." They hadn't walked far when someone called out to them.

"Excuse me, are you perhaps a member of some group? Could you please sign your autograph?"

Two girls who looked to be in their early twenties walked over excitedly, their eyes fixed on Pei Xiyan.

Li Mingzhe had seen this scene many times before; it happened almost every time he went out with Pei Xiyan. He casually stepped aside, and the space he had just left was immediately taken up by the two girls.

He walked a few steps away, took a picture of the scene, and sent it to Kim Nancy.

"[Again?]" came the reply from the other end.

[again.]

[As expected, mosquito-attracting lamps are everywhere.] Someone else commented, [The attraction is comparable to a black hole!]

[Nothing can escape the gravitational pull of a black hole.] Li Mingzhe corrected him very meticulously.

[That Xiyan is a "female black hole."] Jin Nanxi added a qualifier.

That's true.

"Ani." Facing the girl's expectant gaze, Pei Xiyan shook her head slightly, "I'm not an idol... nor a trainee, I'm just an audience member who came to watch the competition today."

"Huh?" The two girls were taken aback at first, then quickly apologized, "We're missing Song Hamida!"

"Kenchana." Pei Xiyan was used to it.

"But can we take a picture together?" One of the girls cautiously took out her phone, and after receiving another negative answer from Pei Xiyan, they left with slight disappointment.

This kind of thing happened quite often along the way. Some people thought Pei Xiyan was an idol, some thought she was an internet celebrity, and some were just there for the fun of it... It wasn't until the two of them entered the backstage area with their IDs that they disappeared.

"It's not much different from when I was in college," Li Mingzhe joked as he walked through the brightly lit backstage corridor.

"That's why I don't like going out much," Pei Xiyan said.

With the competition about to begin, the backstage corridor was filled with staff members rushing around. They strolled leisurely in the middle, looking out of place, but no one cared about them. People without credentials couldn't get into the backstage area.

Pei Xiyan and Li Mingzhe did not go to the rest room to disturb the contestants. After finding the rest room area, they leaned against the wall of the corridor and chatted casually, hoping to run into someone when they came out, and then go up to say hello.

Not long after, a door not far away was opened.

Pei Xiyan looked over, but no one came out. Only a coquettish female voice came from the doorway.

"Xiao Juan, come with me!"

"Why does Unnie need someone to accompany her to the toilet?" Another hoarse female voice came from across the doorway, sounding slightly helpless.

"Shouldn't girls go to the bathroom together? You clearly like to drag Yuqi along too."

Actually, boys are the same. Pei Xiyan and Li Mingzhe exchanged a glance, silently adding to each other's thoughts.

"Nee-nee-nee." After an impatient reply, the owner of the voice stepped across the porch. There was no doubt that they were two girls, neither of them very tall, wearing shoes with thick soles, and they only reached Pei Xiyan's chin.

Upon seeing their clothes and makeup, Pei Xiyan realized that they were celebrities.

The key point is that, apart from celebrities, no one would dress so lightly under a down jacket in this kind of weather.

The restroom was facing them, and when they turned around, Pei Xiyan could see their faces clearly.

One had exquisite features, a high, straight nose—a very rare box-shaped nose—and was very beautiful. The other looked somewhat fierce, perhaps due to makeup, resembling a wild fox.

He knew these two girls; he had heard their songs while browsing the charts.

Cho Mi-yeon and Jeon So-yeon from (G)I-DLE, a rookie group that debuted in May of this year.