Peninsula: The Best Actor Starts from an Idol Battleground

Chapter 52 Sika: Li Zhixing, I will definitely kill you!

Apgujeong, Seoul, SM Entertainment building.

In that private practice room with blue skies and white clouds painted on the walls, a few wisps of white feathers were fluttering about.

Nine girls are holding feather fans and rehearsing their newly choreographed dance over and over again.

During this period, the company secured them the endorsement deal for LG Group's new Chocolate phone.

Because the GG merchants were in a hurry to get the dance footage of the GG song, they had to rush to rehearse.

Fortunately, their promotional period is over, and they have plenty of time to spend the whole day in the practice room.

The music from the speakers stopped abruptly, the song was over.

Choi Soo-young slumped onto the floor without any regard for her image, waving her hands repeatedly, "Oh dear, I'm not practicing anymore, I need to rest, I'm exhausted."

The other members, who were already panting from exhaustion, also dispersed, some sitting down and others gathering to rest.

As soon as she stopped, Jessica eagerly pulled out a small round mirror and carefully examined her right forehead.

Actually, the swelling on her forehead had completely subsided long ago, but when Jessica looked at herself in the mirror, she felt that the right side seemed slightly larger.

Especially when she thought of the strange expression on Li Zhixing's face when he stared at her that morning, Jessica couldn't help but feel a chill. She gently poked her forehead with her finger, looking worried.

In another corner of the practice room, Seohyun quietly moved closer to Yoona.

These past two days, she has been following Yoona almost every step of the way.

Ever since that day at the hospital when Li Zhixing scolded her with "Are you sick?", Yoona unnie has returned to the sullen and taciturn state she had been in recently.

She often sits alone in a daze, and the cheerful and optimistic persona she used to put on is no longer visible.

Looking at Yoona's unfocused eyes, Seohyun sighed inwardly.

They say they've let go, but this doesn't look like letting go at all.

Just then, the door to the practice room was pushed open, and their executive manager, who was in charge of their daily schedule, walked in with a beaming smile.

"Taeyeon, the company has secured a new song for you. It's the OST for the 20 billion won production, 'IRIS'."

The girls, who had been lying on the ground pretending to be dead, suddenly perked up.

Kim Hyoyeon's eyes widened: "Wow, even TV dramas are getting this big these days?"

Choi Soo-young jumped up from the ground: "Wow, it's the movie starring Kim Tae-hee, Taeyeon! Please get me her autograph sometime!"

Tiffany happily hugged Taeyeon's arm: "Congratulations, Taegu."

Seeing Taeyeon surrounded by people offering their congratulations, Jessica couldn't help but feel a little envious.

She hasn't received a solo OST yet, while Taeyeon has already sung two hit songs, even though she's the main vocalist.

But then, she suddenly realized what was happening, and her eyes widened slightly.

"IRIS"? Isn't that the new drama starring Li Zhixing?

When he took her home that night, Li Zhixing told her, and even said that she was the first one to know.

Thinking of this, Jessica's slight envy was instantly replaced by a secret joy.

Taeyeon, who was involved, was somewhat bewildered.

Logically speaking, she just sang an OST with Sunkyu, so the company shouldn't be giving her such good resources again in the short term.

She asked doubtfully, "Manager Oppa, are you sure this is for me?"

The agent smiled and nodded: "IRIS took the initiative to contact you, and the composer specifically asked you to sing the song."

"Huh?" Pani asked curiously, "Who's the composer?"

The agent looked thoughtful. "Seems like a newcomer, something like Li Zhixing. Hmm, where have I heard that name before?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the previously noisy practice room fell silent.

The members of Girls' Generation looked at each other, and for a moment no one spoke.

The manager, unable to recall, simply stopped thinking about it and instructed, "Taeyeon, the email containing the demo has been sent to your inbox. I'll also send you the composer's phone number later. You can schedule a time with him, and he'll record the song for you personally."

After saying that, he looked at the nine people who had suddenly fallen silent, somewhat puzzled, shook his head, and pushed open the door to leave.

The moment the door closed, the practice room erupted in chaos.

"Li Zhixing?"

"Is it just a coincidence of names? It must be, right?"

Tiffany looked at Jessica in shock: "Jessica, Zhixing oppa can write songs too?"

Jessica was also confused at this point, and replied blankly, "I don't know."

In the corner, Yoona and Seohyun exchanged a glance.

Yoona muttered softly, "It must be him."

Seohyun nodded firmly: "With such great talent, and having learned music from Aunt Huixin since childhood, it's normal for you to be able to write songs."

Seeing Taeyeon still standing there blankly, Choi Sooyoung grew anxious and shoved her shoulder towards the computer: "Hey, Taeyeon, what are you standing there for? Go check your email!"

"oh oh."

Taeyeon then realized what was happening and quickly ran to the public computer in the practice room to log into her email.

Sure enough, there was an email with an audio attachment in my inbox.

Taeyeon pressed play, and a soothing yet deeply sorrowful melody flowed from the speakers around the practice room, followed by a warm and mellow male voice.

Jessica was stunned.

This is Li Zhixing's voice.

Immediately, Jessica pouted and her eyes became angry.

The song written by Lee Ji-hsing was actually sung for Taeyeon!

Taeyeon's eyes lit up after hearing just a short snippet of the melody.

As the lead singer, she knew immediately how well the song suited her voice.

Tiffany cupped her hands to her chest and exclaimed, "It sounds so good! Was the demo recorded by Zhixing Oppa too?"

After watching it once, Taeyeon was still not satisfied and couldn't help but want to play it again.

But then she suddenly remembered something and quickly ran to get her phone.

Sure enough, there was a text message with a phone number on it.

Jessica leaned closer for a look, her eyebrows shot up, and she muttered through gritted teeth, "It really is that bastard."

Taeyeon calmed herself down and dialed the number.

Suddenly, Jessica, who was next to her, reached out and pressed the speakerphone button.

After ringing three times, the call was answered.

"Hello there."

"Hello, Zhixing-xi, is it really you? Did you really write that song?" Taeyeon asked eagerly.

A soft chuckle came from the other end: "Looks like Taeyeon-ssi received the notification. How is it? Do you like it?"

Taeyeon nodded emphatically: "Yes, I love it! This is exactly the kind of ballad I've always dreamed of singing!"

Just as she was about to excitedly ask a few more questions about the song's details, Jessica interrupted, her tone tinged with grievance and dissatisfaction: "Hey, Li Zhixing, when did you learn to write songs?"

There was a noticeable pause on the other end of the phone, followed by Li Zhixing's annoyed voice: "Hey, Jessica, what are you doing everywhere? Get out of here, I'm talking to Taeyeon right now, what are you doing causing trouble!"

Jessica bit her lip and stubbornly pressed on, "Li Zhixing, you're hiding this from me again. When did you learn to write songs?"

On the other end of the phone, Li Zhixing's matter-of-fact voice came through: "You must have learned it when you were trainees. Is that so hard to guess? You've been trainees for so many years, don't you even know how to write songs?"

The practice room fell silent again.

The expressions on the faces of all the Girls' Generation members froze.

Hearing no response, Li Zhixing continued, puzzled, on the other end of the phone: "I only trained for a few months and I already learned it. You guys really don't know how?"

"Wow!" came a gasp from the other end of the phone. "Unbelievable!"

Jessica was furious and yelled into the phone, "Hey, just shut up!"

The other members also showed unfriendly expressions.

Tiffany muttered to herself, "Is Zhixing oppa a bit sarcastic?"

Kim Hyoyeon crossed her arms and sneered, "Is that just a little bit?"

Choi Soo-young gritted her teeth and clenched her fists: "Can I hit him?"

Lee Soon-kyu narrowed his eyes: "Let him deliver the food, and beat him up while he's at it!"

Kwon Yuri scratched her head and said weakly, "But we really can't write songs."

"Hey, it's Kwon Yuri!" Several people immediately turned their attention to her.

In the corner, Seohyun sighed softly, revealing an expression that said, "I knew it."

"Yoona unnie, why is your senior still so sharp-tongued?"

Hearing that familiar tone of disdain, Yoona couldn't help but smile slightly, and countless scenes from her childhood flashed through her mind.

At that moment, Seohyun stared intently at Yoona and said seriously, "Unnie, senior hasn't changed."

Yoona looked at her blankly: "Seohyun, what did you say?"

"I said, he hasn't changed at all."

Seohyun said with certainty, "After you met your senior again, didn't you notice that your personality is actually the same as when you were a child? It hasn't changed at all."

"And the only thing that's changed about him is his attitude towards the two of us. Unnie, don't you find that strange?"

Yoona's expression changed.

Seohyun wasn't going to let her off the hook, and continued:

"The way the senior and Aunt Huixin left was already very strange."

"He even attended the university's opening ceremony and bought an apartment near the university. How could he suddenly leave?"

"What exactly happened next?"

"Why did he come back at the end of the year, run into Jessica and IUxi, and even inexplicably become siblings with IUxi?"

Noticing Yoona's silence, Seohyun's tone became unusually serious: "Yoona unnie clearly felt something was wrong a long time ago, so why didn't she dare to ask her senior directly? She even forbade me to ask."

"Unnie, you care too much about your senior, that's why you're afraid to confront these truths, right?"

"How long are you going to keep playing the ostrich?"

Yoona suddenly raised her head, her expression shifting between light and dark.

After a long pause, she finally managed to mumble, "He actually cursed at me that day."

Seohyun asked in a serious tone:

"What kind of insult is that? Didn't our senior often say that to you when you were a kid?"

"Lim Yoona, stay away from me!"

"Lim Yoona, aren't you annoying?!"

"Lim Yoona, are you sick in the head?!"

"Isn't that what he used to say all the time?"

"Ah!" Yoona instantly broke down, pinching Seohyun's chubby cheeks in annoyance and embarrassment. "Seohyun, you've really inherited his sharp tongue, haven't you!"

On the other side, Li Zhixing was giving Taeyeon instructions on the follow-up work over the phone.

"Taeyeon-ssi, take these next few days to familiarize yourself with the song. We'll find a time around the beginning of next month, and I'll record it for you personally."

Taeyeon was overjoyed and quickly agreed, "Okay, I will definitely familiarize myself with the song as soon as possible, and I also want to thank Zhixing... thank you to composer Zhixing for your trust in me."

Li Zhixing chuckled lightly: "Alright, that's settled then."

Taeyeon suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked, "Zhixing-xi, what's the name of this song? I don't think I saw the name in the email you sent."

On the other end of the phone, Li Zhixing casually said, "Ah, I forgot to come up with one. Taeyeon-ssi, could you help me come up with one while you're at it? I'm too lazy to think of one."

Taeyeon, holding her phone in astonishment, asked incredulously, "Huh? Me?"

"Alright, it's settled then!"

After saying that, Li Zhixing hung up the phone.

The practice room fell silent again.

Taeyeon ran back to her computer with a smug look on her face, put on her headphones, and started listening to that song on repeat, a smile playing on her lips.

Jessica sat alone on the floor, watching Taeyeon's happy expression, and couldn't help but pout.

That guy didn't even give himself the first song he wrote.

Sika couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

Just then, my phone rang; it was a text message.

Sika opened her phone and looked at it.

The next second, a high-decibel scream suddenly erupted in the practice room.

"Ah! Li Zhixing, I will definitely kill you!"

On the phone screen was a close-up photo of Jessica's swollen forehead, which looked like it had grown horns.

......