Chapter 101 "Hoo..."

"call....."

As the sky gradually darkened, Jiang Yalin slowly exhaled. She probably never expected that finding a lover would cause her so much trouble, since she found dating trouble.

Jiang Yalin, who didn't really want to go back and just wanted to wander around outside, started aimlessly strolling through the streets.

Walking among the crowd, her bored expression didn't stand out much, because many others also looked numb. The pressure of society is increasing, and the demands on young people are also rising, which has led to this generation of young people lacking the enthusiasm for life of the previous generation.

Perhaps because she had just ended a relationship, Jiang Yalin had little interest in dating, and even when she saw seemingly loving couples, she showed no interest whatsoever.

Compared to this, street food was more likely to stir her emotions. Looking at the bright red fish cakes and rice cakes being cooked, she could imagine how delicious they would taste.

"Auntie, give me one."

"Auntie, give me one!"

A voice appeared along with hers. Jiang Yalin turned her head and saw a very handsome man. Because of his good looks, she glanced at him a few more times, then looked away and focused her attention back on the spicy rice cakes.

The boy was already quite used to the stares around him, but he was still a little surprised that the other person only glanced at him twice before looking away.

It wasn't that he was narcissistic and thought everyone would be amazed by his appearance; rather, it was because so many people did that that Jiang Yalin's behavior just now seemed a bit unusual.

So he turned his head to look at Jiang Yalin, but the next second he was amazed by her appearance and understood why she had such a reaction. Perhaps she was usually surrounded by many people with extraordinary looks, so naturally she wasn't as amazed by his face.

Perhaps because the other person was too beautiful, she wanted to exchange names and get to know her, but she was afraid that her actions would be too abrupt. So she stood there hesitating for a long time, and even after her aunt had packed both of their spicy rice cakes, she still hadn't made a decision.

"Wait a moment!!"

Jiang Yalin was about to leave with the food when she heard the voice behind her, which she expected. She turned around and looked at the boy whose face showed unease. She tilted her head slightly, as if to ask: What's wrong?

"Um... hello, I'm Ji Chang-wook, born in 1987, can we get to know each other?"

After Ji Chang-wook finished speaking, he awkwardly brushed his hair with his hand, but then felt that this behavior was a bit impolite, so he straightened up, glanced at Kang Ah-rin, and looked away the next second after their eyes met. He then repeated this action several times.

"Hello, I'm Jiang Yalin, born in 1988. It's nice to meet you. Oh, you're Oppa."

Jiang Yalin has dated men her own age, men younger than her, and even kept a young lover who had just come of age, but she has never tried dating an oppa.

However, she's not really interested in dating right now, and the person in front of her isn't someone she needs to save, so naturally, he won't become her lover.

"Could we exchange contact information? I'm not a bad person, I just want to get to know you..."

Asking for contact information on the first meeting is something I would probably refuse if it were me.

Kang Ah-rin would never do anything to hurt a handsome guy, except, of course, the handsome guys from YG Entertainment.

My phone number is....

There was no refusal or forced refusal before finally giving out her number. Jiang Yalin readily gave him her contact information, and Ji Chang-wook quickly dialed his own number before putting his phone away with satisfaction.

"I see you're shopping alone. May I walk with you?"

Jiang Yalin gave a perfunctory answer, and Ji Chang-wook immediately beamed with joy upon seeing this.

The two walked along the road, eating as they went. Since they had just met, they didn't talk much. It wasn't until they were about to part ways that they became slightly more familiar with each other.

Jiang Yalin returned to the home she shared with Bai Zhiyu. She wasn't worried about running into him, because according to the surveillance footage, Bai Zhiyu had already packed his bags and left more than half an hour earlier.

Back home, looking at the furnishings, Jiang Yalin felt a little unaccustomed to the absence of Bai Zhiyu's greeting. She had been very comfortable being taken care of by him lately, practically living a life where everything was done for her.

Now that he's gone, Jiang Yalin feels a sense of déjà vu. It's a terrible thing, but thankfully, she'll get used to life without him soon.

After walking around the house, Jiang Yalin was surprised to find that apart from his personal clothes, he hadn't taken any of the things she had bought for him, and even the money she had transferred to him had all been transferred back to her card.

Jiang Yalin looked at the message from the bank and chuckled softly, but said nothing. She knew what he wanted to say, but so what? Who told him to have a family member who held him back? And such a burden was enough to be a death sentence in her eyes.

She decided to hire someone to clean up the place tomorrow, removing all traces of Bai Zhiyu. As for the house, she would just rent it out; she wouldn't be living there again, and she didn't need another house anyway.

In the days that followed, Jiang Yalin immersed herself completely in her work. Apart from occasionally accepting Ji Changxu's invitations, she did not have any close contact with any other men.

2012 was destined to be a breakout year for BigBang, as their name suggests, they firmly established themselves as the top second-generation boy group.

In the same year, 2NE1 also performed brilliantly, fighting tooth and nail against the strong comeback of Girls' Generation. Everyone was waiting to see whether Girls' Generation would take the top spot first, or whether 2NE1 would be the first to reach the top.

The preparations for the new boy group are almost complete. Just like the previous plan, they are going to do a reality show, dividing the group into two groups, A and B. The winners can debut first, while the losers will need to continue practicing.

This news attracted attention from many people as soon as it was released. The most excited fans were YG's family fans. Jiang Yalin knew that becoming a family fan was not because of how much they liked the company, but because they liked all the groups in the company.

Jiang Yalin learned a profound lesson from her good friend: how to make fans willingly become "leeks" (a metaphor for exploiting fans). The key is to treat the artists under your management well. The better you treat the artists, the more willingly fans will spend money when you release merchandise or sell other items.

Therefore, while maintaining a pace of one comeback per year, YG has truly gone to the extreme in terms of the benefits for its artists. At this point, SM becomes a negative example. The better YG treats its company, the more SM exploits its artists.

I've seen several people who couldn't stand the company's harsh terms and filed lawsuits to terminate their contracts.

In Jiang Yalin's view, you can leave because your contract expires, or you can leave because you don't want to stay in the entertainment industry anymore, but you must never leave because you can't stand the exploitation. Jiang Yalin, who has not yet become a seasoned capitalist, cannot do such a short-sighted thing.

At the end of 2012, Kang Ah-rin and Ji Chang-wook got together. In the same year, G-Dragon also broke up with Kim Dora. This time, it was another tragic ending. G-Dragon, who had just broken up with his girlfriend, looked at the radiant Kang Ah-rin and felt a mix of emotions. Then he turned around and went clubbing with his friend Lee Soo-hyuk, who is still single.

"What are you waiting for?"

Watching his friend sit silently drinking, he suddenly felt a sense of shared misfortune; it was hard to say who was more pitiful.

If you think he's pitiful, at least I can still contact her and be friends with her now, unlike Lee Soo-hyuk, who can only find out about Kang Ah-rin from the news or by subtly trying to get information from me. It's been a long, long time since I've seen her openly.

But if you're going to say he's pitiful, then he was her first love, the first person to truly possess her. Compared to her own brand name and the fact that she was rejected and unaccepted even after expressing her feelings, he doesn't seem so pitiful after all.

"No, I just don't want to be in a relationship."

Over the years, he has learned to be stubborn and refuse to admit it, because the waiting time has been so long that he has forgotten the initial excitement he felt when he was with her. However, he still regrets why he played that damned game. If he hadn't played that game, would they still be happily together now?

Although such a guess was invalid, he wanted to satisfy himself with the possibility because it was just a possibility. But because he thought too much, he regretted it even more.

"I can't be bothered to talk to you... I've met quite a few people recently, and some of them have shown interest in you. Would you like to get to know them?"

It wasn't that he wanted to introduce him to a girlfriend, but rather that he simply didn't want to see him in this half-dead state. How much better he was; knowing it was impossible, he wouldn't force it.

"I'm not like you, so don't get cocky. You should spend your time writing more songs instead."

Lee Soo-hyuk rolled his eyes at him, then downed the drink in his glass in one gulp.

While they were drinking and chatting, they were also busy online. Regarding G-Dragon and Kim Dora's breakup, everyone had only one thought: "They finally broke up!"

It's not that they dislike Kim Dora so much. Everyone has witnessed Kim Dora's growth during this period, and VIPs admire her very much. The reason they have such thoughts is entirely based on G-Dragon's previous relationship, so it is actually normal to have such thoughts when the news of their breakup came out.

—They finally broke up... So, will there be even more amazing songs to come?

—Yeah, I'm already looking forward to it. I really can't wait for Oppa to write a song that will touch my heart.

—Actually, looking back at Oppa's ex-girlfriends, can I say that I like the CEO the most? Seriously, whether it's his ability, personality, or looks, he's completely captured my heart.

—Do you need to tell me? If I were Oppa, I would definitely pursue him relentlessly. I really don't understand why he doesn't pursue such a beautiful woman when she's right next to him. His taste isn't exactly good, but it's not bad either.

G-Dragon: Was it because I didn't want to pursue him?!