Chapter 105: How Did You Meet?

friends, Sooyoung went home, Yuri is unknown, I guess she went home too."Sunny casually mentioned the whereabouts of several other members, and then added: "Actually, we had already celebrated yesterd...Encountering such a sudden event, my phone shut down just now, and the chat with Zhou Tzuyu also came to an abrupt end. After finishing my late-night snack and strolling around the streets, the good mood I had felt vanished in an instant.

Chi Jingyuan leaned against the bed and, after some thought, turned his head to ask, "Are there any hot threads on the forum over at Peninsula about my phone number"

He couldn't figure out how his phone number was leaked. If it was a guess, it was too accurate.

It feels like the possibility of being a sasaeng fan is higher.

Wu Shih-Hsun used his phone to search for a few minutes, shaking his head: "I didn't find it, there was nothing about it on the hot posts."

After a moment, he looked over with a concerned expression and said in a matter-of-fact tone: "Although having your phone number exposed is indeed quite burdensome, I feel it's quite normal for you. You would think that given your popularity, wouldn't there be any sasaeng fans"

It's only a matter of time.

"

Oh.

"

Upon hearing this, Wen Yan sighed and lay restlessly on the bed.

It's really not used to using a mobile phone. He only brought this one phone when he came to Wanyany, and another three phones dedicated to voting were left with Park Jae-hyun.

He looked up at the ceiling for a while, then rubbed his temples: "Forget it, sleep!"

"So early It's not even eleven yet, is it"

What to do if you don't sleep

"Your phone's not working, so you can't play your games... and weren't you just chatting with your girlfriend a moment ago Want me to lend you my phone so you can finish talking"

"Well, thanks a lot...and by the way, not my girlfriend!"

Don't worry, I understand.

……

The next morning, the other members all found out, and Ji Kyeong-won also called his agency to let them know. Although Lee Seung-hwan was also very troubled, honestly speaking, the company didn't really have any good solutions for this kind of thing.

Of course, Ji Jingyuan also knew that he was just reporting it, and he planned to change his phone number directly after returning to Seoul.

Before this, I knew that many of my fans were very enthusiastic, but this time Chi Jingyuan truly learned a lesson again. Especially the woman who directly posted revealing photos, I don't know if it was really Ai Li. Such self-destructive and crazy behavior is truly a bit disappointing.

As for those messages that harshly criticized him, he didn't take them to heart, especially those from a few who seemed like BIGBANG fans and the crazy male fans of Irene. He could understand their state and atmosphere very well, and with a magnanimous heart, he expressed his understanding.

Especially the latter, I really understand.

Although this was indeed a heavy burden, since it had already happened he wouldn't dwell on it and let it disrupt his mood. After breakfast, he quickly put it aside temporarily and threw himself into work.

After waiting for a long time, even causing a wave of ticket-sharing on the internet, EXO's second tour "The ElyXiOn" in Taipei finally kicked off on the afternoon of December 12th at the Taipei Arena. The concert spanned two days, on December 12th and 13th, with nearly 30,000 fans attending each day, making every performance a sold-out show.

Among the audience were also many celebrities who came with their children and friends. According to their agents, quite a few of them were popular hosts and actors in the local area, having gotten their tickets through channels provided by local partners.

I don't know if they really like EXO, or if they just want to follow the trend that's popular these days.

It's a pity that Chi Jingyuan has never really paid attention to the entertainment industry here. He doesn't know these people very well.

His impression of Wanyan artists, besides being a pillar of the Chinese music scene and several veteran idol drama actors from the previous generation, was only knowing a star in the making, Zhou Tzuyu, who was still very young and had not yet debuted.

After two days of concerts, on the 14th he ran a few errands for upcoming schedules. After finishing everything and returning to the hotel, Ji-sung, who was preparing to fly back to Seoul early the next day, remembered the little girl whose birthday was today.

I wonder if Tzuyu, who suddenly went silent during our conversation the other day and hasn't sent a birthday message today, might be a little disappointed.

However, given Chi Jingyuan's understanding of her...

It should be getting used to it by now, right

……

"Happy birthday, baby."

Mama Zhou placed a small crown on Tzuyu's head and watched as she shyly blew out the candles on the cake. Mama Zhou clapped excitedly, celebrating her daughter's birthday.

Born in 1999, she is seventeen years old after passing her birthday. She can be considered a young woman.

After arriving in Seoul, Mama Zhou brought all the things she had prepared to Tzuyu's dormitory. After taking a look at her living environment, she chatted with JYP's head manager and learned about her daughter's recent situation. Tonight, on the 14th, she first took Tzuyu to the shopping mall to buy some things, and then came to a high-end private room in a restaurant near the company that they had booked in advance to celebrate her birthday.

Thank you, Mom.

Looking at the cake and her mother in front of her, Zhou Tzuyu shook her head with a princess crown on top, grinning widely with happiness. She was moved and relaxed.

Being with family is just different.

After taking several selfies together as a memento, the mother and daughter began to eat. They chatted while they ate, with Zhou's mother showing great curiosity and concern about her daughter's recent life and career development.

And Tzuyu also enjoys her mother's attention, answering questions openly and enthusiastically. She talks about recent happy and burdensome things.

"Your dormitory is quite spacious and the interior decoration is pretty good, but the location doesn't seem great. It's not very prosperous around here and it looks a bit messy."

"It's already pretty good, it's very close to the company... or rather, the dormitory of the group is actually a bit worse. I lived there for a while before, and the dorms for ordinary trainees are even worse..."

"Isn't JYP supposed to be a big entertainment company on the peninsula Why are the accommodations so average"

"All the companies around here are like this... Mom, you know that, right..."

"…… I watched the show "Sixteen," it's also airing on WanWan now and it has caused quite a stir. Where are you guys in the recording process How is it going lately"

"I recorded a guerrilla performance stage...My votes were the highest, but..."

Speaking of this, Zhou Tzuyu seemed to be a bit tongue-tied.

"Baby," the mother and daughter practiced, and immediately felt the hard work and pressure Tzuyu had been bearing recently in preparation for her debut. Zhou's mother couldn't help but hold her hand, feeling some worry and earnestly advising, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. It's actually okay if you don't debut."

"Uh-huh."

Zhou Tzu-yu took her mother's hand, pursed her lips and nodded.

A few seconds later, she was still looking at the other person. Although her voice was soft, her expression was serious and her eyes were determined: “I… I want to debut. I will definitely work hard.”

Although her mother's concern and comfort touched her deeply, Zhou Tzuyu who had come to Seoul alone at the age of thirteen, lived in a place where she didn't speak the language, faced exclusion, and was unfamiliar with everything, for several years. Her inner strength must be far greater than what her face suggests.

Although she may sometimes seem a little immature in certain situations, she knows exactly what she wants.

Zhou Mom also smiled and encouraged her without hesitation: "We will all cheer you on. Speaking of which, your father and brother actually want to come see you this time too..."

When the conversation turned emotional, the mother and daughter even wiped away tears. However, a warm atmosphere also lingered in the private room.

After the melancholy mood subsided and a smile returned, Zhou Mama naturally brought up Chi Jingyuan: "It's a pity that I didn't meet your friend this time. Have you been following the news about his family recently He and his group are really on fire in Wanwan. Many celebrities are their fans, and several news reports have even covered how they compete for tickets to their concerts."

Thinking back to the news articles she had specifically looked up, she couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental: "Come to think of it, Mom has never actually met a celebrity as popular as this in real life."

It’s not that he doesn’t want to come.

Seemingly worried about her mother misunderstanding something, Zhou Tzuyu quickly chewed and swallowed what was in her mouth, then put down the chopsticks and tried to explain to Ji Jingyuan: “It’s because…

Of course I know.

Seeing her daughter's expression, she interrupted Zhou Tzuyu's words and then chuckled lightly, waving her hand: "They just happened to have a concert in our town these past few days, right I even saw the news this morning."

"It's just unfortunate, let's do it next time. I definitely want to express my gratitude." She looked at Zhou Tzuyu with some affection: "Do you think Mom is like you, clueless and accepting other people's care for no reason"

"It's not for nothing, I've helped him too..." Zhou Tzuyu tried to defend herself with a slight air of resentment. But she didn't even believe her own words, so her voice was barely audible.

"By the way, baby, you never mentioned how you met Chi Jingyuan before. He's so popular now, EXO is the most popular group on the whole peninsula right I checked and he's still the most popular one in EXO. How did you meet him You're not even from the same company."

Speaking of this, Zhou's mother also became interested, looking at her daughter with great curiosity. Although she knew that Zhou Tzu-yu and Ji Kyeong-won were very good friends, based on what she understood, the two people were not from the same world in a certain way.

She is a pan-Asian idol, and her daughter is just an unconfirmed ordinary foreign trainee. It's really hard to connect the two.

"When I met him, EXO wasn't popular yet. I couldn't even remember his name…"

It seemed that Tzuyu felt a hint of disapproval in her mother's tone, and she mumbled in protest.

After that, followed by her mother's questions, she couldn't help but start remembering.

So, how did you two meet

That was quite a few years ago, wasn't it

Actually, there's no need to overthink it. Even though several years have passed, the scene back then left a deep impression on Zhou Tzuyu's heart. And privately, when she's alone, she often subconsciously recalls that scene.

“That time…” Her eyes shimmered with a distant light, as if she had been transported back to that moment again:

“The company has two buildings, right The trainee building was too old and needed renovation, so all the trainees were temporarily moved to the left building. But I didn't really understand what the teacher said at the time... Also, no one told me... When I came to practice that day, I saw the right building was blocked off and I was dumbfounded. I didn't know what to do or where to go next, so I just stood there blankly at the entrance of the building. At that moment, I really wanted to go home..."

Coming to the peninsula, life with a language barrier wasn't easy. Coupled with some trainees' innate exclusion and belittlement, that period of memory for Zhou Tzuyu is mostly sad and gloomy when she thinks back on it. For the first few months, she called her mother every other day, almost crying heartbreakingly each time.

Although Tzuyu was speaking about memories and telling stories with a lighthearted tone, Mama Zhou still clearly felt the confusion and loneliness in her daughter's heart at that time. She couldn't help but hold her hand with tenderness.

She also has experience and understanding of the hard work that people from other places, even foreign nationals, have to put in to survive locally.

Then he suddenly called out my name, asking me what I was doing standing there.

In the gray memories, that glimmer shone brightly. The scene that was most deeply etched in Zhou Tzuyu's memory finally arrived. The corner of her mouth unconsciously curled up, a beautiful smile spreading across her face as she recounted the story: "I remember it clearly. He started speaking Korean, then switched to Japanese when he saw I didn't understand. He kept switching languages until he finally used Chinese. That expression back then is especially amusing when I think about it now..."

"At the time, I didn't know why I would encounter him at the door. Later, after reading the news, I realized that he was probably here to discuss a collaboration with our company. As it turned out, it was the same day, and we just happened to bump into each other. It was too coincidental..."

“...After I told him why I was standing there, he seemed to immediately understand what had happened and directly told me to change the practice location...I don't know how this s-ranked artist knew, he knew that I didn't even know... Then he took me upstairs and told me about the practice room…”

“…In the end, he had already left, but maybe seeing that I was pitiful, he turned back and proactively gave me his phone number, saying that if I encountered something I couldn't solve, I could ask him for help. As a result, he didn't even tell me his real name, claiming to be called 'Motorcycle', hehe. It wasn't until later when I specifically searched EXO that I found out his real name...”

"Isn't it incredibly coincidental"

Looking at the innocent and heartwarming smile on her daughter's face, and the sparkling light in her eyes, Zhou Ma nodded in agreement and listened with great interest as she happily recounted what happened next.

It's just that I can't help but feel a sense of fate, but at the same time, I can't help but sigh softly.

But it's also too much of a coincidence, meeting such an outstanding person at this small and lonely time... Actually, it's not really a good thing.

The mother-daughter birthday dinner was pleasant and warm. After a good meal and drinks, Zhou's mother called the waiter to prepare the bill.

Zhou Tzuyu was idly sitting there, in a very pleasant mood, lightly swaying her legs while taking out her phone to scroll through it. Seeing that there was still no reply from Pool Jingyuan's profile picture, she gave an unhappy pout.

I clicked into a webpage news article at random, and my eyes immediately caught a headline about EXO. It wasn't about their recent concerts, though, but rather a press release announcing an upcoming program.

On the evening of the 10th, EXO collectively participated in the recording of the variety show "I'm a Peninsula," showcasing the charm of the current top group. Yuan was absent from the recording due to personal schedules.

Seeing this title, along with the date and time inside, Zhou Tzuyu couldn't help but hesitate. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her whole person became quiet.

……

On the morning of August 15th, EXO boarded a plane back to Seoul. They had informed Park Jae-hyun, who didn't travel with them, through Oh Se-hun's phone beforehand. After returning to the company, Ji Chang-wook's first task was to switch out Park Jae-hyun's prepared new phone and number.

Who knows if the previous phone number was guessed by chance by fans, obtained through connections by sasaengs, or deliberately leaked by some insiders who disliked him. Chi Jingyuan didn't bother to think about the specific reasons. Changing his phone number was a hassle, so this time he simply got two numbers.

This can be used to exchange contact information with colleagues, industry professionals you're not familiar with, artists, and even business partners. Even if it's accidentally exposed, the impact won't be significant.

The other is private, and only shared with close friends, trusted acquaintances, members of the group, and family.

Let me know if you have anything else you'd like translated!

He turned on his old phone again. As soon as it powered up, it started buzzing incessantly with notifications. Ignoring the countless texts and calls he'd received over the past two days, he went straight to the messages app, drafted a text saying "New number: xxxx. Please save this one, the old number is no longer in use," and then began selecting recipients from his contacts list, ready to send it out to everyone.

Kim Jun Myeon, Wu Shixun, Doh Kyungsoo...

'Jennie, Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Sunny...'

IU, Jung Eun Ji, Choi Sooyoung...

Chou Tzu-yu.

Pull down from the top.

He lingered on the name 'Minami Nan', tapping lightly.

I was originally going to skip it because the two of us weren't really that close, we just occasionally texted each other.

He suddenly didn't know why, but he hesitated. For some reason, he immediately thought of what Zhou Tzuyu had said to him the day before yesterday.

She doesn't communicate with anyone except for specific people... and she doesn't have many friends... I think she's actually very lonely.

After a two-second pause, Chi Jingyuan still input the name "Minami Namii" into the frame.

Anyway, I might as well.

After spending quite a while, he sent text messages to everyone in his contact list informing them of his new number. Once everything was done, he prepared to close his phone, bidding farewell to this phone that had served him well for several years. As if remembering something, he suddenly paused and stopped closing the phone. He thought back to the numerous text messages he had received recently, but two in particular stood out. After a moment of contemplation, he opened the messaging interface.

"Figure."

Please don't do that.

"Picture."

"Picture."

That fan who directly sent him exposed pictures, after he specifically expressed his refusal, not only didn't change at all but became more and more excited. These days, when his phone was turned off, he would receive many selfies every day, and they were even more unrestrained than the first time, increasingly exposed, some even without clothes on.

These photos that would probably excite a lot of women, Ji Jingyuan glanced at them and felt nothing but helplessness and annoyance.

This kind of behavior feels like it has gone beyond a fan's love for an idol. Either there has been a pathological change in their feelings, or she is not a fan of him or EXO at all, but rather sending these pictures with other motives.

If it's the latter, then any screenshots of Chi Jingyuan's replies might appear online within a few days and be circulated widely. They could become a source of bragging rights for the other party.

Before, he might have persuaded him because he thought the other party was his fan. Seeing that the other party was becoming more and more relentless, Chi Jingyuan was too lazy to say anything more now, so he directly blocked this person. Out of sight, out of mind.

After that, he scrolled through his messages for a while before finding the message from the fan who had felt ostracized and isolated a few days ago, the last one he saw before turning off his phone.

"...I feel really miserable being isolated by everyone around me, Oppa is the only light in my dark life..."

"...I didn't sleep well last night, and I fell asleep in class today. The teacher criticized me harshly, and the people next to me were laughing happily..."

"...Actually, there are quite a few people in my class who like XO just like me. We often talk to each other after class, but I'm afraid of being rejected and dare not join them, so I can only secretly watch them every time... Sure enough, the most popular person is still Yuan Oppa..."

This female fan's life probably isn't going smoothly. She seems to be treating this phone number, which she's not sure if it belongs to Ji Jingyuan, as a trash can and a confessional booth. Every day these past two days, she posts something like this, even when she's talking, it's just venting.

Maybe this number really belongs to Ji Jingyuan, and he can see it himself!

Having read through it all again from start to finish, Chi Jingyuan also deeply felt the other person's repression and loneliness in those words and tone, as well as their insane love and support for EXO.

But when these two feelings are mixed together, they inevitably evoke a feeling of profound and obscure silence.

Especially in the situation where he was completely unaware and became someone's mental pillar, Ji Jingyuan felt an indescribable heaviness.

After a moment of silence, Chi Jingyuan thought for a while, picked up his phone, typed a few words and sent them: "Please don't do this."

"The same words and tone as the person who exposed the photos." Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

But the answer I received was completely different.

Possibly the other party was just using their phone, as Chi Jingyuan quickly received a reply. Unlike the previous person who became more and more reckless after being rejected and sending photos, this female fan's apology came very quickly, her words and tone revealing a feeling of discomfort, anxiety, and panic.

"I'm really sorry for bothering you. I won't do it again."

Upon seeing this reply, Qi Jingyuan fell silent once more.

After considering it seriously for a while, he sighed and quickly tapped the screen, sending a message to the other party:

"I don't need this number anymore, do you have an s"

First published on the Traditional Chinese Novel Networkocial issues to light, prompting the government to revise laws or regulations and ultimately benefitting vulnerable groups. Fans excitedly dubbed this phenomenon the "Unborn" effect, reigniting online...