Chapter 11 Chapter 11
In addition to training and secretly preparing a birthday gift, Lia has been busy with another headache recently - further studies.
"If you're preparing to debut, you can actually enroll in an art high school. The procedures are simpler and the academic pressure will be much less," suggested Sister Baoheng.
This is also the path that most trainees will choose: leaving time for debut preparation while obtaining basic academic qualifications.
"Well, I know..." Lia was silent for a moment, then replied, "But I still want to complete my high school studies like ordinary students." "If possible, I hope to take the college entrance examination."
This was not only her parents' request, she also didn't want to miss out on basic education. Being confined to the life of a trainee was too desperate, and this single system couldn't support her long-term development.
Giving up this option might make life easier, but she would definitely regret it in the future. Sister Baoheng looked at her and nodded, her eyes showing approval but also a hint of worry: "This will probably be very difficult, Lia."
"Yeah! I know, unnie. But just work harder, I'm very smart!" She said, smiling sweetly at the other person.
She knew very well that Sister Baoheng's care for them, the trainees, went far beyond the scope of work. From their daily lives to their future plans, she spared no effort to look after them. "Thank you, unnie," Lia said earnestly.
... "Ah..." Late at night, Lia lay on the table, holding her head and whimpering over the application form.
Although I boasted to Sister Baoheng at that time that "all you need is hard work", I never expected that I would be defeated by the admission procedures before even entering high school.
She is a foreign student who entered the Korean education system in the third year of junior high school. If she wants to go to a regular high school, she must submit an application as a "special admissions" student.
Although the company helped her coordinate some of the paperwork, the actual preparations she needed were far more complicated than she had imagined. She needed a junior high school graduation certificate, Korean residency permits, residence registration, notarized translations, health certificates, interview materials, and more.
She was training while running back and forth between school and the immigration office, and even had to find time to cram for the TOPIK exam at night. Add to that the mountain of homework from her arranging classes, and she had almost no real rest during this period.
The pace of her training life was already tight, yet she had managed to squeeze herself into the "ordinary student" track during this time. If only she had the time-turner Professor McGonagall had given her.
She could just keep repeating the past and get everything done. She couldn't help but sigh. * Although the admissions process wasn't going smoothly, Lia hadn't forgotten her birthday gift.
Near the end of July, she began to casually ask everyone in the studio about Big Bang's schedule. However, she soon discovered that the friendship between these men was really too rough...
No one cared about Kwon Ji-yong's upcoming schedule! "Anyway, if you want to ask anything, you can always send a message." Kush scratched his head. For some reason, he felt a strange sense of guilt at the look he was getting from the other person.
Lia sighed heavily. Was she really going to text him directly asking, "Will you come to the office on August 18th?" How was that any different from just telling him, "I've got a birthday present for you!"?
In the end, she could only go back to the dormitory to ask Bao En for help. Bao En didn't mind exposing her purpose at all. She planned to give her a trendy hat or something like that anyway - after all, she was not the one who received the copyright signature.
So, she got straight to the point and sent a message: "GDnim, what are your plans for August?" Kwon Ji-yong replied quickly, probably because he was on hold. "I should be releasing an album. I'm already filming the music video, noona."
Seemingly feeling a little strange, he immediately asked another question - "Why do you suddenly care about me? [smiley face.jpg]" Bao En mouthed to Lia: "He's super busy." Then he lowered his head to type.
Lia watched from the side, a little hesitant. Should she remind Eun-ni...she was texting and could speak loudly? Fortunately, Bo-en's inquiries soon paid off.
Because of the plan to release the first mini album, Lia might not be able to see Quan Zhilong at the company throughout August. If she wanted to give this gift in person, she would probably have to do it quite a bit in advance.
But she didn't expect the perfect opportunity to give a gift would arrive soon. One day, she was helping Teddy arrange his tracks in the studio when Quan Zhilong walked in. He seemed to want to copy a file, so he handed over a hard drive and asked Lia to plug it into the computer.
Lia took the hard drive and expertly plugged it into the computer's port. A folder window popped up on the screen. Quan Zhilong lazily leaned back in his chair, clicking his mouse as he casually asked, "What's our Lia been up to lately?"
Lia's heart skipped a beat... Should I give it to him now? "I'm busy with training, and I'm about to start high school in September, so I'm also preparing for the start of school." She answered absentmindedly, her mind still mulling over the gift-giving.
"Oh yes, school is about to start!" Quan Zhilong said excitedly, "You will be a high school student soon!" "Well... Oppa, how about you? Are you busy lately? It seems like I haven't seen you in the company for a long time."
Quan Zhilong nodded and sighed: "Well, I've been really busy lately. I came back today to get a document and I have to leave soon." "Woo woo ┭┮﹏┭┮..." As he said that, he turned his head and made a sad expression to Lia.
"Pfft..." Lia couldn't help but laugh. She subconsciously stroked the corner of her clothes, and quickly weighed the pros and cons in her mind: If I miss today, I don't know when I will be able to personally deliver this gift again.
If it was given half a month in advance...it shouldn't be too strange... She hesitated for a moment, but still reached out to take the gift that she had kept carefully in her bag.
"Oppa." She placed the box in front of him, her tone a bit unnaturally light. "Since we may not see each other in August, I wish you a happy birthday in advance."
Quan Zhilong was slightly startled, his eyes fell on the gray box in her hand, and then he showed an exaggerated and happy expression, reaching out to excitedly take the gift: "I am so happy, thank you our Lia~~"
Seeing that he was about to tear it down, Lia quickly reached out to stop him: "Wait!! Let's take a look after we go back!" Her tone was a little hurried, and her eyes couldn't help but evasive.
Quan Zhilong couldn't bear to tease her anymore, so he smiled and nodded, gently shook the gift box in his hand, and then put it on the table: "Thank you to our lovely Lia first, I will open it when I get back." "Okay!" Lia nodded obediently.
However, Kush pushed the door open at this moment. He caught a glimpse of the box on the table and his eyes widened immediately. "??? What is this! Why don't I have it?"
He looked shocked, as if he had discovered some secret deal, and stared at Lia accusingly.
Lia was already feeling guilty, and now she was even more flustered. She stammered, "Because... because Oppa signed my name, so..." "Signed? What name?"
Kush's voice rose an octave in shock. Lia felt her face had never been redder. If she had superpowers, Kush's mouth would be the first thing she'd seal.
Seeing this, Quan Zhilong shook his head helplessly and came to her rescue: "Lia helped me adjust the arrangement of "Fool", so she was listed as the producer." Lia stammered and added: "Yes... because I wanted to thank Oppa for his kindness..."
"I don't mean it out of kindness." Quan Zhilong turned to look at her, his tone surprisingly serious, as if he was afraid she would misunderstand. He took out a lighter from his pocket and played with it with one hand: "Don't you think your changes are important?"
Lia was stunned. "...But it's not something that needs to be added." "But it makes the song better." He said slowly, "Even if it's only a 0.01% change, it's still a part."
He snapped the lighter shut. He paused, then added, "Besides, this wasn't my decision alone. Teddy also thought your arrangement was valuable, so he submitted it."
Lia pinched her fingers, unsure what to say. She'd clearly meant to give him a gift, but now, she felt like she was the one being given it. ... Kush felt like the sky was falling.
He was the last person to know about this! We were all in the same group, so how could he be the only one left in the dark?! Even Teddy was involved...
He sat aside, angrily, and began to examine the gift. "Mr. GD, come on, open the gift!" He looked at the two of them pitifully, as if to say, "It's too much to not let me participate in this."
Lia looked at his gossipy eyes and couldn't help but hold her forehead. She was just shy, but if she tried to stop him now, it would only make things weirder. So, she could only nod, indicating that she was fine.
Quan Zhilong was curious at first, but when he saw the gift giver's approval, he smiled and opened the gift box. A...? He paused, then gently picked up the unknown object and pinched its furry head.
Lia stared at him, nervously awaiting his reaction. Kush burst out laughing first. "Wow, what is this? A little felt monster?" Lia: ...
I don't know how many times today I've wanted him to shut up. Quan Zhilong chuckled softly and noticed the "G" sewn into the hat. He picked up the doll and shook it in his palm. "Is it the NeonL brand GD figurine?"
Lia felt guilty: "...I guess so? You can still tell it's a little doll..."
Kush immediately fell on the sofa laughing. Quan Zhilong was about to burst out laughing, but considering the pride of the gift giver, he stopped himself. "Did you do this?" he asked.
Kush couldn't help but complain in his heart: If this thing was bought, then we really should call the police. "Hmm..." Lia nodded, glaring at Kush. "How long have you been doing this?"
"...a week." She shrank back guiltily. Quan Zhilong smiled: "It's cute, I like it very much, thank you Lia." Lia was stunned for a moment. She had already prepared herself for him to dislike it, but...
He actually said "cute"? "I'm going to hang this on my car keys!" Quan Zhilong said, happily fiddling with the little figure in his hand.
Kush looked at what he had in his hand, and unwilling to be lonely, he came over and picked up the instructions at the bottom of the box and took a look - "Wow! There are songs!!!" He was completely exhausted now.
The apprentice he had worked so hard to train was actually taken away by someone else... Even though he was originally Teddy's apprentice... But no matter! He trained him anyway! Quan Zhilong was stunned for a moment and took the card from Kush.
DiDi's reading instructions were written solemnly on the paper. He chuckled, seeming to enjoy them. He flipped to the back and saw Lia's neatly copied lyrics. In the lower right corner was a hand-drawn chibi figure.
The little man was adorable, smiling broadly at him. His eyelashes trembled slightly, and he stared silently at the paper in his hand. "Knock knock... knock knock..."
Lia could hear her own heartbeat, booming in the quiet recording studio. "Is this...giving me your work, Lia?" Quan Zhilong raised his head and asked her softly.
His voice ended with a slight upward timbre, revealing no emotion, yet somehow endearing. Lia nodded obediently, looking at him anxiously. Somehow, Bao En's words, "It's easy to overthink things," came back to her mind.
Quan Zhilong stared at her for a few seconds, a smile flashing in his eyes. "So, can I publish it for free?" Lia nodded again. ... Quan Zhilong put down the cardboard, picked up a pen from the side, and added a line of words at the bottom of the lyrics -
“G-DRAGON, owns NeonL’s music.”
Then, he drew a similar Q version of Lia next to the GD figure. The Lia figure was holding a keyboard and had messy hair.
He deliberately imitated Lia's drawing style, with the two figures standing side by side, as if they had been like this from the beginning. Lia stared blankly at him writing and drawing, as if there was a bulging balloon in her chest, ready to burst at any moment.
Quan Zhilong chuckled, closed the card, and looked up at her: "Thank you, NeonL."
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