Peninsula: The sharp-tongued producer is forced to work.

"Children, remember what our representative said. Strength is everything. Don't let his sharp tongue affect you. Let's go in and let our strength speak for itself!" Kwon Eunbi lowered her voice, giving her final pre-battle pep talk.

Kim Minju nodded vigorously, clenching his fists in front of his chest and gesturing: "Yes! I promise I won't cry anymore!"

Ahn Yoo-jin, meanwhile, was rubbing her hands together in anticipation, her eyes gleaming with a fierce determination.

She wanted to see what this man, who was rumored to be so powerful, actually had.

"Click".

The heavy, soundproof door was pushed open.

The twelve girls tiptoed in, then froze on the spot.

The man who had just been so domineering and arrogant, who had humiliated them with a ten-second a cappella performance, was now slumped in a chair.

His hoodie hood had slipped halfway down, his head was tilted to one side, and his black-rimmed glasses were perched crookedly on his nose.

Are you asleep?

He actually fell asleep in those short ten minutes?!

Kwon Eun-bi felt that all the tragic emotions she had built up outside the door were like a balloon that had been punctured by a needle, and they all leaked out in an instant.

"Damn it..." Choi Ye-na covered her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. "Did he go steal a cow last night? How could he fall asleep like that?"

Kim Min-ju stared blankly at the man sleeping so carelessly, and suddenly his fear lessened considerably. It turned out that even the most terrifying devil was just an ordinary snoring uncle when he was asleep.

Just as everyone was looking at each other, unsure whether to wake him up, Ahn Yoo-jin moved.

The vengeful golden retriever tiptoed silently to the control panel.

"Yoojin! What are you doing!" Kwon Eunbi exclaimed in a breathy voice, trying to reach out and pull her, but it was too late.

Ahn Yu-jin pressed the intercom button on the control panel, connecting the inside and outside of the recording studio. She took a deep breath, focused her energy, and then let out a roar into the microphone that seemed to pierce the soul:

"Teacher Liu Yu!!! We're ready!!!"

"Bang!"

The loud bang echoed through the monitoring speakers in the control room.

Liu Yu sprang up from his chair like an electrocuted frog, his knee slamming heavily against the edge of the control panel.

"What the hell is going on?!"

Liu Yu gasped, clutching his knee and bending over in pain, his black-rimmed glasses falling completely onto the carpet.

"Pfft..." Choi Ye-na couldn't help but let out a muffled laugh.

Ahn Yoo-jin stood with her hands behind her back, looking at him innocently, but her eyes were filled with the smug satisfaction of "getting revenge".

"Teacher, you're awake? I'm so sorry, you didn't hear us knocking."

Liu Yu rubbed his knees, bent down to pick up his glasses from the ground, and put them back on his nose.

His eyes were fixed on Ahn Yoo-jin through his glasses. He took two deep breaths, seemingly trying his best to suppress the urge to throw the little brat out the window.

"An Youzhen, if you think your voice is too loud, I suggest you go to the market to sell ribbonfish, that's more suitable for you!" Liu Yu's voice was terribly hoarse, full of morning grumpiness.

Ahn Yu-jin stuck out her tongue, completely unfazed: "The representative said time is money, we can't keep you waiting too long, teacher."

Liu Yu was too lazy to argue with her. He irritably scratched his messy hair and slumped back into his chair. "Kim Minju, go in. Start the third section now."

Kim Minju immediately abandoned her gossip-loving thoughts and jogged into the recording studio behind the glass door.

The accompaniment started again.

This time, Kim Minju was clearly giving it his all. Although his voice was still a little strained, his pitch miraculously stabilized, and he even controlled the breathing sounds that had previously drawn the most criticism very well.

However, the atmosphere in the control room remained strange.

Consort Quan noticed that Liu Yu's condition was not quite right.

Although he was wearing listening headphones and his fingers were skillfully operating the clippers, he exuded an undisguised anxiety and kept glancing at his phone on the edge of the table.

"stop."

Liu Yu pressed the pause button.

Inside, Kim Minju nervously swallowed, bracing himself for another round of fury.

"The pitch is fine, but the emotion is too dry. You're singing a love song, not reciting multiplication tables. Extend the last note slightly by half a beat, and add a bit of breathiness. Let's do it again."

There were no lengthy satires, no biting metaphors. The speech was extremely fast, concise, and even somewhat urgent.

Not only was Kim Minju stunned, but the IZ*ONE members outside also looked at each other in bewilderment.

"What's wrong with him? Did Yoojin's shout just now scare him into a change of heart?" Choi Ye-na whispered in Kwon Eun-bi's ear.

"I don't know, but he seems... in a hurry?" Quan Enbi frowned as she watched Liu Yu raise his wrist to check his watch for the nth time.

"One more time. Hurry up, don't dawdle," Liu Yu urged into the microphone, a fine layer of cold sweat even seeping from his forehead.

Just as Kim Minju was about to speak again, a series of hurried and heavy footsteps suddenly came from the corridor outside the control room.

The sound didn't sound like walking; it sounded more like a charge.

Liu Yu's movements suddenly froze, and his trembling left leg stopped instantly. He turned his head and stared intently at the soundproof door like a death row inmate awaiting sentencing.

"Bang!"

The door wasn't pushed open; it was kicked open.

A petite figure, exuding murderous intent, stormed into the control room.

"Liu Yu, you son of a bitch!!!"

A powerful, piercing roar echoed through the control room.

The twelve girls of IZ*ONE were completely caught off guard. But due to the deep-rooted DNA of the Korean entertainment industry, their bodies reacted before their brains could process the sudden intrusion of their seemingly aggressive senior.

Kwon Eun-bi instinctively shouted, "2, 3!"

"Eyes On Me! Annyeonghaseyo! We are IZ*ONE!"

The twelve girls stood in a neat row, bowing deeply at a ninety-degree angle to the petite figure who rushed in, their voices so loud they sounded like they were in military training.

This sudden and overwhelming display completely stunned the usually aggressive Tian Xiaojuan.

She abruptly stopped her forward momentum, staggering half a step forward due to inertia. Her previously murderous expression shrank back in fear.

"Ah... Annyeonghaseyo! I'm Tian Xiaojuan... Hello everyone, thank you for your hard work..."

While stammering back the greeting, Tian Xiaojuan awkwardly pushed up the brim of her hat, which had slipped down to the edge of her eyes.

Ahn Yoo-jin secretly raised her head, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Wow! It's (G)I-DLE's Soyeon! That all-around producer who's so cool on stage!

After exchanging greetings, the atmosphere became strangely awkward.

Liu Yu sat in the chair, one hand covering his face, and let out a desperate sigh.

After a brief period of social stagnation, Tian Xiaojuan looked past the girls of IZ*ONE and locked her gaze back onto Liu Yu, who was sitting in front of the control panel.

"Excuse me, could you please make way?"

Tian Xiaojuan pushed aside Cui Ruina and Jin Caiyuan who were blocking her way and rushed aggressively towards Liu Yu.

Amidst everyone's shocked gazes, Tian Xiaojuan unceremoniously reached out and grabbed Liu Yu's left ear, pulling it upwards forcefully.

"Hey! Liu Yu! Are you looking for trouble?!" Tian Xiaojuan cursed through gritted teeth. "Two o'clock! You promised to come help me rearrange the music! I waited for you like an idiot in the studio for an hour! You didn't answer my calls, you didn't reply to my messages! Did you think I couldn't lift a knife anymore?!"

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Tian Xiaojuan, let go!"

Liu Yu tilted his head, covered his ears with both hands, and let out a series of unseemly screams.

"Hey! I'm your oppa! Is this how you treat your oppa?!" Liu Yu shouted as he struggled.

"Oppa my ass! When you stood me up, didn't you ever think of yourself as my oppa?!" Tian Xiaojuan not only didn't let go, but increased her grip, even slapping Liu Yu on the back of the head with her other hand. "Do you know how many all-nighters I stayed up? And you dared to sleep?!"

"I wasn't sleeping! I was working! Can't you see there's a group of people here?!" Liu Yu winced in pain, quickly shifting the blame to IZ*ONE beside him, "It was Cui the Skinflint who made me work overtime! Go find him and settle the score! Let go!! There are outsiders here! Give me some face!"

"Do you even have any sense of self-respect?" Tian Xiaojuan scolded, but still let go of her hand.

Liu Yu felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He quickly rubbed his bright red ears, shrinking deeper into the chair with lingering fear, muttering under his breath, "Damn, how come this woman's grip is getting stronger and stronger..."

Where is the sharp-tongued person from just now?

The entire IZ*ONE group standing nearby was completely dumbfounded.

It's true that everything has its counter.