Chapter 21 Did I make you angry? Nick is your boyfriend, right? ...
G-Dragon, who pretends to be innocent during the day and is wild at night, has earned a new nickname: "Nick Fox Nick".
After she gave only a polite, formulaic reply, the man learned a trick from the traditional Chinese intangible cultural heritage "face-changing" and a classic magic trick "the disappearing act," and his chatting style underwent a complete 180-degree change.
It's obvious that the previous strategy of playing hard to get didn't work, so he immediately changed to a new way of getting along. This clingy way of getting along, where he sends photos every now and then, is not entirely Kwon Ji-yong's private personality. It may be half genuine feelings and half acting.
Jiang Tinghan felt that his coquettishness was just a way to make others mistakenly believe that they were close to him. Once they were really attracted to him and had the illusion that "I have a good relationship with GD", he could control them and push them away at any time, making them feel anxious and insecure.
This suggests he both craves intimacy and may fear the vulnerability, dependence, and potential abandonment that true intimacy might bring. He finds intermittent, sporadic, and unpredictable kindness more addictive than consistent affection. His "cuddling" and "closeness" are random rewards, and to obtain them again, you'll continuously invest more emotion and attention, much like a gambler addicted to slot machines.
It's either avoidant personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, or just plain bad.
This is truly an excellent example for studying psychology!
Jiang Tinghan hadn't seen such standard classroom teaching materials in a long time. Analyzing them would make for another good paper. Chatting with Quan Zhilong would not only allow her to learn some new music knowledge, but also help her with her graduation thesis.
That's killing two birds with one stone.
Jiang Tinghan couldn't help but give himself a thumbs up for his cleverness and resourcefulness.
That like did express Kwon Ji-yong's support for her, but it was also full of scheming. Jiang Tinghan didn't believe that the "CL" tag was pushing the like to him at that critical moment. The video's traffic wasn't high, so it shouldn't have reached the level of being captured by big data. It was more like Kwon Ji-yong carefully selected it to like.
Quan Zhilong's move was intended to make Jiang Tinghan realize his intentions, so that she would care more about him and be more grateful. His calculations were mixed with good intentions, and the good intentions were genuine. He hadn't lived in the spotlight for thirty years for nothing.
In return, Jiang Tinghan was willing to chat with this lonely man.
Jiang Tinghan originally wanted to call him "Old Fox," but this senior seemed to care a lot about his age, so he kept the fox's characteristics and changed it to "Nick Fox Nick," a name that many young people like now and that makes them look younger.
She only needs to type a few words, "Training, we'll talk later, senior," to easily make the other person toss and turn in bed in frustration.
Adding a harsh, breathy "Ash—"
Try to control her? Impossible.
She's juggling three jobs: practicing for group performances, practicing for solo performances, and dealing with Kwon Ji-yong.
“Yuqi,” Jiang Tinghan put down his phone and moved closer to Song Yuqi, “Babye back to me~”
"Is this how you sing the vibrato?"
This older woman, who is two years older than her, comes from the same country and is basically her age, so she doesn't care much about the senior-junior title and calls her by her affectionate name.
However, in order not to increase the workload of the production team, they still communicated in Korean, showing that working people don't make things difficult for each other.
Song Yuqi: "Hmm... I feel like it could go a little higher?"
“Babye back to m～e～” She circled her fingers in the air. Although she had a deep voice, she could sing high notes with ease, and she extended the last note and vibrated it twice.
Jiang Tinghan repeated: "Babye back to me~~!"
He sang the same high key as the original singer, and it even seemed to be trending higher.
Jiang Tinghan sang it again, this time in the original key, without pushing the limits.
Song Yuqi thought for a few seconds, then put down the lyrics paper: "Coldy, I feel the first time was better."
Jiang Tinghan: "Won't it sound too shrill? And the singing isn't very steady either."
Song Yuqi: "No, being unstable makes me seem more emotional, even hysterical, which fits the character of desperately begging my lover to come back."
Jiang Tinghan's eyes lit up: "That makes sense!"
Sometimes imperfection is also a kind of perfection.
She had a new idea: "This whole section is just repeating 'babye back to me,' I can gradually climb up like a musical scale, and push the emotion to its climax with the last sentence?"
Song Yuqi nodded, revealing a bright smile: "Let's give it a try!"
The two turned and sat facing each other. Jiang Tinghan lowered her voice, singing with a tremor and a hint of tears, "Baby, take it easy on me—"
Darling, could you please be a little kinder to me?
Song Yuqi's eyes widened slightly. Even though she had seen it many times before, she was still amazed by Coldy's ability to get into character in a second. Starting from zero frames, he already looked like a professional singer.
Song Yuqi replied in a slightly hoarse voice, her voice weary, yet seemingly tinged with a sigh: "Baby, take it easy on me."
“Baby, come back to me!”
“Baby, come back to me!”
Jiang Tinghan's voice grew louder with each breath. The first breath was a weary sigh that connected with Song Yuqi's emotions, like a stubborn ember that refused to be extinguished in the darkness. The second breath burst forth from his chest, his call carrying a scorching heat.
“e back——” Song Yuqi whispered in response.
“Babye back to me!” The clearest voice seemed to illuminate the entire silent night, full of skill and emotion, sharp and piercing, filled with the belief that “you must come back to me,” as if the soul was burning.
Song Yuqi's harmonies also gained a powerful edge: "e back!"
The two voices blended together, a perfect match of bright and deep tones, creating a soothing and pleasant listening experience.
Song Yuqi fell silent, but instead of returning to her normal voice, she raised her arms and exclaimed excitedly, "Encore! Encore! Encore! One more time!"
Jiang Tinghan looked at the lively Song Yuqi and couldn't help but smile: "Let's leave the encore for three days later."
“That’s right! Wow…” Song Yuqi rolled up her sleeves, “I really got goosebumps.”
Jiang Tinghan also revealed her smooth arms: "What a coincidence, me too."
Song Yuqi then noticed a small scar on her elbow and asked curiously, "Was this an injury from before?"
Jiang Tinghan nodded slightly: "Yes, I fell off my bicycle when I was little."
This seemed to open up Song Yuqi's floodgates, and she slapped her palm: "I used to fall a lot too. I feel like everyone bumps and bruises when they're learning to ride a bike."
Jiang Tinghan: "Yes, I've fallen after hitting rocks, trees, and water tanks... But this scar is from when a small dog suddenly darted out from the road, and I fell while trying to avoid it."
"I see..." Song Yuqi asked again, "What happened to that dog afterwards?"
Jiang Tinghan: "He was adopted by our family. His name is Wangcai. He is a pine tree, but he is very special because he is black."
Song Yuqi couldn't help but laugh and said, "Haha, what a classic name. It feels like there are the most dogs named Wangcai in all of China."
"After all, it was Geely, but it passed away last year."
Song Yuqi's smile vanished instantly: "..."
Should she not have brought it up?
Did you just happen to touch on someone's painful past?
I feel like slapping myself when I wake up in the middle of the night.
Jiang Tinghan could tell what she was thinking from her expression and comforted her, "It's okay. Wangcai was abandoned and has always been in poor health, but it has lived to be almost 13 years old. Yuqi, would you like to see its picture?"
Song Yuqi breathed a sigh of relief and became enthusiastic again: "Ah... okay, okay!"
I'm glad you don't mind!
"Wait a minute, I have too many photos, let me find one first."
Jiang Tinghan opened her phone, quickly scrolled past the new message from Quan Zhilong in the notification bar, and then blocked Quan Zhilong as quickly as possible.
Then, she found a photo of Wangcai and, pretending nothing had happened, held it up in front of Song Yuqi: "This should be when he was three years old."
Reading the news every day feels like watching a spy movie.
Looking at the little girl in the picture whose face was being licked by the enthusiastic black bread, yet who still maintained a cool and aloof expression, Song Yuqi exclaimed, "Then this means that photos from eleven years ago have been preserved?"
The girl was about eleven or twelve years old at the time, and she was already a beauty in the making. She had big, dark eyes, a small and delicate nose, and chubby cheeks that made her look cute and innocent. She was beautiful from childhood to adulthood.
Jiang Tinghan lowered her eyes slightly, her fingertips touching the puppy in the photo, as if she still remembered how it wagged its tail so wildly: "After all, it's a photo of a very important family dog."
When Song Yuqi heard "very important", she was a little touched. When she heard the fabricated, serious yet humorous "domestic dog", the corners of her mouth immediately turned up: "But Coldy, were you already this aloof when you were a child? You really don't smile at all."
Jiang Tinghan: "Because it just peed on me."
"Pfft—" Song Yuqi suppressed an unethical laugh, but her voice still carried a strong sense of amusement, "I really can't laugh."
After finishing their final practice of "E Back to Me," Jiang Tinghan said goodbye to Song Yuqi. Knowing that Song Yuqi had other engagements to attend, she said, "Yuqi, have a good day at work."
Song Yuqi clenched her fist and raised it to her chest: "You too, good luck with your training, Coldy! I'm looking forward to our second performance blowing up the whole audience."
Jiang Tinghan: "This doesn't seem to be a very energetic song?"
Song Yuqi smiled brightly: "Who says ballads can't rock the whole place? See you tomorrow!"
Jiang Tinghan: "Okay, see you tomorrow."
She watched Song Yuqi's figure disappear from sight, then turned and walked towards the practice room where Group One was.
As soon as the door was opened, Lin Zhixia's deathly pale face was seen, and the others remained silent.
It's clear that everyone has seen the comments online.
Song Yamin originally thought that once this episode aired, the audience would see it as a normal argument and the public opinion would calm down. Unexpectedly, the audience all turned against her, and the target of their attacks changed from Coldy to Lin Zhixia.
After Lin Zhixia ran out crying that day, she actually came back to apologize to them not long after, admitting that she had acted too impulsively.
However, this segment was not included in the final cut. The production team still excels at using editing to create buzz, only this time the victim changed from Jiang Tinghan to Lin Zhixia.
Although Lin Zhixia's behavior of running away that day puzzled the other teammates, they didn't say anything because they still had to perform together. Now, Song Yamin is very worried that Lin Zhixia's condition will be affected by public opinion, which will affect their performance.
Pei Xiumin wasn't as tactful as Song Yamin. This time, the competition format wasn't about winning battles to stay; it was purely based on popularity votes. If Lin Zhixia felt that her popularity with the audience had plummeted to this point, and she wouldn't be able to advance to the next round no matter what, she might intentionally become a bad apple and spoil the whole bunch.
Lena waited quietly, rehearsing her part in her mind, waiting for Coldy to return. She believed that Coldy would definitely have a way to solve this problem.
Lin Zhixia herself didn't expect the production team to be so vicious. Her fists clenched tightly, her mind a complete mess, with only one thought remaining clear: "After all this, is there any point in her enduring humiliation and making any effort?"
The sound of Jiang Tinghan opening the door startled everyone present. Everyone except Lin Zhixia immediately swarmed towards Jiang Tinghan, as if they had found someone to rely on. Even Lin Zhixia couldn't help but take a step towards Jiang Tinghan.
Jiang Tinghan suddenly received four pairs of gazes from all directions: "Are you all waiting for me? How honored I am."
Song Yamin: "Coldy..."
Jiang Tinghan: "I know, there's no point in saying more. Just practice. This is a survival elimination show. If you're strong enough to be impeccable, you'll stay."
Her words always have a power to convince people, as if they have suddenly found their pillar of support.
So another day of training ended. Jiang Tinghan had just taken a shower to wash away her fatigue, and hadn't even dried her hair yet, when Lin Zhixia knocked on their dormitory door with a deathly pale face. Her hair was jet black and messy, making her look like a female ghost.
"Excuse me... is Coldy there? I need to talk to her."
Jin Ruixi glanced at Lin Zhixia and frowned immediately. She had seen the comments from Lin Zhixia's fans and mindless passersby criticizing Coldy, and as Coldy herself, she was certain that she had no good impression of this person at all.
But she still raised her voice and shouted towards the balcony, "Coldy, Lin Zhixia is looking for you."
A cold voice drifted over leisurely: "Oh."
In less than a minute, Jiang Tinghan emerged with her long hair, which was still damp but had been mostly wiped dry, and she exuded a light peach scent from her shower gel.
It was cold outside, so Jiang Tinghan was wearing a fluffy pajama coat. It was a New Year's gift that her single father, her boss, had bought for her. Although she was already twenty years old at the time, her boss still resolutely bought her a set of rabbit pajamas, with two long, white rabbit ears drooping on the hood.
Jiang Tinghan had never worn this hat before, but now, to avoid catching a cold, she finally had to wear it. She could only play with the two rabbit ears and pretend that she didn't care at all.
She and Lin Zhixia walked outside to a secluded corner, where the other person stopped.
Lin Zhixia's lips trembled several times as she stammered, "Coldy, please help me."
She came out wearing only a thin long-sleeved shirt, shivering in the cold wind, looking pitiful.
Jiang Tinghan frowned slightly and crossed his arms: "How can I help you?"
Lin Zhixia: "Go talk to the PD and ask him to release the part where I apologize as a member's content. The PD will definitely listen to your opinion. Please help me, okay? I'm begging you."
Her current submissive attitude is a far cry from the arrogant demeanor she displayed that night when she was badmouthing Jiang Tinghan behind her boyfriend's back.
Jiang Tinghan: "You can handle this yourself, there's no need to trouble me."
Sometimes, it's okay to give up some insignificant resources, but Jiang Tinghan isn't a true saint. Lin Zhixia caused this mess herself, and now Jiang Tinghan has to clean it up. Doesn't Lin Zhixia understand the meaning of self-reliance and self-improvement?
Public opinion can reverse in an instant. Lin Zhixia clearly had many ways to overcome the difficulties on her own, such as asking Yoon Shin-hye for help or making a deal. Anyone with eyes could see that the production team was obsessed with generating viewership, which was Lin Zhixia's asset, but unfortunately, she didn't realize it.
It's okay. She can also show off her good relationship with Jiang Tinghan during the live performance, express more gratitude to everyone, be more sincere, and perform exceptionally well on stage... Since there has been no precedent for malicious editing before, viewers will also suspect that Lin Zhixia was also maliciously edited when they see these things. But Lin Zhixia doesn't use her brain at all and instead asks her, the victim, for help.
Lin Zhixia was on the verge of collapse: "You can't do this!"
Jiang Tinghan: "Why?"
Lin Zhixia pleaded, "Can't you help me out of the fact that we're from the same country and in the same group? I don't want to train at all anymore, it will definitely affect the performance. You definitely want a perfect performance, don't you?"
Her second half of the sentence already carried a hint of threat.
“Indeed—” Jiang Tinghan glanced at her up and down, his gaze turning icy. “We’ve already been merciful by not cutting your part. What’s the point of you causing trouble on stage? It will only make your reputation worse, and the audience will only pity us more.”
She leaned close to Lin Zhixia's ear, and the peach scent seemed to transform into a more aggressive, chilling aroma, making Lin Zhixia's breath feel cold. The next second, she heard a cold, emotionless voice in her ear:
"Maybe because of you, the number of votes for the four of us will actually increase."
Are you willing to accept this?
In that instant, Lin Zhixia seemed to be bewitched as well. Yes, why should she perform poorly on stage and drag the whole team down? She should be stealing the spotlight!
But soon, Lin Zhixia came to her senses. What kind of highlight could a single verse have? If she sang someone else's part, the audience would still attack her.
"I..." Lin Zhixia bit her lip hard, leaving a tooth mark. Her face was as pale as paper, as if it could break at any moment if the wind blew. "Coldy, is Nick your boyfriend?"
"Huh?" Jiang Tinghan subconsciously let out a sound of doubt.
She glanced at Lin Zhixia's pocket and saw a thin, rectangular shape bulging out, which looked like a cell phone.
Jiang Tinghan lowered his eyes and said calmly, "Who is Nick?"
"I saw it all!" Lin Zhixia shouted loudly, unable to control her voice. She then looked around warily and lowered her voice, saying, "I didn't mean to, but during training earlier, I saw... that Nick sent you a message."
"What he said... just pay more attention to him."
If he weren't her boyfriend, would their tone be so sweet and intimate?
If he weren't her boyfriend, why would he use a nickname like "Nick Fox Nick" in his contact information?
Nick and Judy, Judy is dy, and Coldy is also dy, they are clearly a couple's names.
Jiang Tinghan had a terrible headache. It seemed she would have to block Kwon Ji-yong in the morning and unblock him when she got back to her dorm late at night.
She said coldly, "I don't know who this Nick you're talking about is, and I have no interest in standing in the cold wind outside. If you've come to me just to talk about this, then I'm sorry, I won't keep you company."
She turned to leave, but Lin Zhixia immediately ran up and grabbed Jiang Tinghan's hand: "You're not allowed to leave unless you help me. I won't tell anyone, but can't I even tell the director? It won't affect you."
But didn't you already say it?!
Jiang Tinghan was speechless.
She was haunted by a female ghost in the middle of the night and really wanted to call the police.
She shook off Lin Zhixia's hand and walked away quickly, but Lin Zhixia relentlessly chased after her: "If you don't agree, I'll tell the director!"
Lin Zhixia's voice trembled as she swallowed hard: "You know, if you're caught dating, you'll be kicked off the show immediately."
"Deleting your contact information won't help; I've already taken a picture of that message." Lin Zhixia held up her phone, trembling.
The person threatening him didn't look intimidating at all.
Hey, what a mess this is, making it seem like everyone has a cell phone.
Jiang Tinghan took out her phone, counted 3, 2, 1, and within three seconds opened the latest recording file and started playing it.
"A kiss? No way, didn't we just kiss?"
"Sigh, I really think it's so unfair. I don't know why Coldy from the mainland is so popular..."
Hearing her own voice, Lin Zhixia's pupils contracted sharply in fear, and the last trace of color drained from her: "You were eavesdropping? You even recorded it? How could you be so vicious?!"
"Who's really the vicious one?" Jiang Tinghan almost laughed as he listened to Lin Zhixia's counterattack. "When I was being criticized before, your boyfriend probably fueled it, right? Many of the private messages I received were from anonymous accounts, obviously paid trolls. A few accounts, however, showed a lot of activity; when I clicked on them, they were all posting pictures of Taiwanese scenery."
Lin Zhixia weakly retorted, "I'm Taiwanese, isn't it normal for me to have Taiwanese fans?"
Jiang Tinghan: "That's perfectly normal, so normal that the landscape photos were all taken in your hometown."
"Want to seize the high ground in public opinion in advance? But unfortunately, by 2022, the audience has become more discerning."
Lin Zhixia's heart was trembling. How could Jiang Tinghan, who trained so late every day, have time to investigate all this? How could she still click into her homepage to read through all those disgusting comments? Lin Zhixia couldn't take it anymore after just one day of being scolded. She couldn't understand how anyone could have such a strong will.
Jiang Tinghan raised his hand and lifted Lin Zhixia's chin with an undeniable force. The coldness of his fingertips made her shiver. "Don't you love to make the audience think that others are bullying you? Take a picture of this scene and have your boyfriend post it online. Let's see if you win or I win this time."
Her deep eyes were like a frozen lake, her gaze icy and chilling. Lin Zhixia could almost see her own disheveled state reflected in her eyes.
"Don't even think about going to the director and taking me down with you. You said I have more influence with her. Guess whether she'll protect me or you."
Lin Zhixia didn't even know if the other party was male or female, so what could she use to threaten Jiang Tinghan?
Lin Zhixia's eyes reddened again; this time it wasn't acting, she was genuinely terrified and cried.
"I don't know what to do!"
Jiang Tinghan released her, a cold smile still tugging at the corners of his mouth: "I told you long ago, be a good girl and listen to me."
"Complete this stage, do your best, and leave the rest to fate."
She turned around and finally managed to leave.
Jiang Tinghan hated being threatened the most. On the way back, he frowned the whole time, and the irritation in his heart even dispelled the coldness on his face.
My phone suddenly vibrated. It was an unfamiliar number, and the code 82 for South Korea was displayed.
Jiang Tinghan answered: "I won't buy a house, my child won't attend tutoring classes, and I won't take out a loan. Don't scam me, I have no money. Get lost, you illegitimate child."
The other party was silent for a second, and then a voice, which had an added static but still carried a strong personal style and imprint, rang out:
Did I make you angry?
Jiang Tinghan hung up the phone immediately and recognized Quan Zhilong on the other end in a second.
Damn, she said she seemed to have forgotten something.
I forgot to remove Kwon Ji-yong from the blacklist.
Kwon Ji-yong, heartbroken all day, stared blankly at the disconnected call log.
Thanks for the invitation. I just got off the plane, and my heart is even more broken.
He repeatedly looked at the messages he had sent to Jiang Tinghan, only sending the two: "Does 'not familiar' include me?" and "I thought we were friends." After much deliberation, he solemnly replied to Jiang Tinghan's "Let's chat later" with "Waiting for you," only to find that he had been blocked.
—Why is that?!
Kwon Ji-yong has lost count of how many times he has suffered a crushing defeat.
Waaah.
[Sorry, senior, something happened today. I needed to show my phone to someone to prevent you from finding out, so in a hurry I had to block them first, and then I forgot to show it again TT TT]
Kwon Ji-yong's broken heart has been pieced back together again. So that's how it is!
Jiang Tinghan's life is filled with cameras everywhere, which is indeed difficult, and he should be understanding.
Before he could even send his "It's okay, I understand" message, Jiang Tinghan had already sent another message.
[Senior, after thinking about it, I realize that chatting like this carries too much risk of exposure. Perhaps I'm overthinking it. I'm very grateful for your likes on my video, which has given me more attention, and I will do my best to repay you. However, I only consider you a respected senior and have no other intentions that could be inappropriate. Please don't send any more messages that could cause misunderstandings in the future, otherwise we should stop contacting each other.]
Kwon Ji-yong's heart shattered, broke, and died with a "snap."
I finally felt like my progress in the strategy guide had increased a little, but can someone tell me why it all went back to zero after only half a day?
That night, Kwon Ji-yong, who had just returned from Paris, did not rest. Inspired, he wrote a heartbreak song in just one hour.
"7 Hours" refers to the time difference between Paris and Seoul during winter time.
Jiang Tinghan was also troubled about how to repay Quan Zhilong. After thinking it over, it seemed that the only way was to write a song. She would use all her talent to write a new song for Quan Zhilong. As for whether he would accept it or not, that was his own business.
It's a pity that we lost a very good research sample.
But... how come the call from Kwon Ji-yong in Paris showed up as a Korean number?
Have they already returned?
It takes more than ten hours to get from Paris to Seoul, which seems to be about... the time it took her to block Kwon Ji-yong?
Jiang Tinghan was deeply shocked.
No way?! GD flew all the way back from Paris just because she blocked him?!
ha? ? ?
Jiang Tinghan immediately overturned all her previous analyses and speculations about Kwon Ji-yong, such as him being a master of push-pull tactics and someone who craved love yet lacked it.
Isn't this the epitome of someone completely obsessed with love?!
Jiang Tinghan clutched his chest, feeling his heart pounding faster and faster, each beat seeming deafening.
Although it was all Kwon Ji-yong's own choice, she still felt a strong sense of guilt.
What to do... what to do? What to do!
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Author's Note: Xia Jie, you're better at shipping than I am at it!
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