Chapter 154 Chapter 154
By the time Lia woke up, it was already bright daylight. The person sleeping beside her was long gone. She sat up abruptly and grabbed her phone to check—it was ten o'clock. Oh no.
Her parents should have been awake by now. She was so exhausted last night that she hadn't even heard the alarm. Her heart raced, and she didn't even bother changing. She hurried downstairs in her cartoon pajamas. The first thing she saw was...
It was Quan Zhilong who was happily sitting in the living room talking with his father. "Why are you so flustered? You didn't even know your boyfriend was here." Jin Xuanzhen turned around when he heard the voice.
Seeing his daughter's messy hair and disheveled pajamas, and then looking at the well-groomed young man who arrived promptly at nine o'clock, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Quan Zhilong took advantage of his future father-in-law's back to wink quickly at Lia.
He got up early, washed up, and quietly slipped into the car. When the time came, he pretended to knock on the door. Lia's parents naturally thought he had just arrived in the morning and warmly welcomed him into the house.
Before leaving, he dyed his hair back to black. Being on stage is one thing, meeting parents is another. From experience, no parent would want a son-in-law with blond hair, not even G-Dragon.
He prepared three gifts, carefully selected based on his girlfriend and Lee Soo Hyuk's opinions: a Maruzen Centennial Pelikan M800 fountain pen brought back from Tokyo, with a dark green celluloid body and a gold-plated clip and pen ring.
A gift for Kim Hyun-jin, who practices calligraphy. A pair of Bulgari Diva's Dream diamond stud earrings, inspired by fan-shaped petals and paved with fine diamonds, are understated yet dazzling. A gift for my future mother-in-law.
Finally, there's a custom tea set from Kyoto, packaged in a small cherrywood box. Inside are hand-fired Kiyomizu-yaki teacups and kizushi, each with a warm and elegant glaze.
The outer surface of the teacup is also decorated with delicate cherry blossom patterns. Compared with the previous two individual gifts, this one is a gift prepared for two elders together.
Thoughtful gifts, neat appearance, and his usual ability to please the elders - in just one hour, he felt that he had successfully become a part of this family.
Lia quickly returned to her room, changed her clothes, and pretended to show her boyfriend a "tour" of the courtyard. The two of them tacitly put last night's "argument" behind them. "When did you sneak out?" "Six in the morning," Quan Zhilong smiled.
Worried that Lia's parents would wake up early, he barely slept last night. The only rest he got was a short nap in the car. "Why don't you go to your room and get some more sleep?" Lia said, feeling a little guilty.
If she hadn't insisted on arguing, the two wouldn't have stayed up so late. "It's okay, uncle said he wanted to go to the supermarket to buy some things, we can go by ourselves." Quan Zhilong didn't care, busy trying to win the favor of his father-in-law. "I wonder if there are any paparazzi."
"Wouldn't it be better if we could take pictures?" He shrugged. Lia glanced at him and realized he was serious. "We're getting married anyway." "Who promised to marry you?"
"Oh, who agreed last night? Let me think..." "That doesn't count!" Quan Zhilong seemed a little distressed. He reached out and touched the inside pocket of his coat, then glanced at her. Lia was confused.
The next second, he suddenly knelt on one knee. "Hey, stop it." She was so scared that she instinctively tried to pull him back, looking back at the door guiltily. No one came out.
But Quan Zhilong just smiled and slowly pulled out a small velvet box from his pocket. "Didn't you say that last night doesn't count? Then let's do it again today."
On the first day of the new year, the sun was shining brightly, and a gentle breeze blew across the lawn. His eyes were like two pieces of beautiful amber, bright and blazing. "Lia, marry me." She lowered her head and looked at the emerald ring, which sparkled in the sunlight.
The deep dark green shimmered in the light, like a spring deep in the forest, tranquil yet intense. It was clearly not a random, off-the-shelf design. Quan Zhilong's heart was pounding.
He could propose to her anywhere in the world. But here was the place she was most familiar with and most relaxed in. He wanted a future that was closely connected to her life.
At the beginning of 2015, D agency released the "first couple of the year" as usual. The title read: "2015's first couple: G-Dragon & Lia
Kim, sweet daily life in a Los Angeles supermarket. In the photo, the two appeared in a large supermarket in Los Angeles. They were low-key and wore baseball caps, but their unique aura could not be concealed.
In addition, D agency even released a one-minute video recording the two of them selecting snacks and drinks in a supermarket and pushing a cart to check out. As soon as the news was released, the entire Republic of Korea was shocked:
YG's public relations department was bombarded with criticism from all major media outlets, and finally, in a rare display of swiftness, released a statement that afternoon, saying, "It is difficult for the company to confirm the artist's private life."
For a time, this explosive news dominated Naver's top ten trending searches. Over the past few years, speculation about the two's relationships combined would have been enough to fill at least ten headlines, but there was one thing: few people connected them together.
Xiao Cui was smugly browsing the comments on the D agency's homepage, feeling very satisfied. He first went to New York and waited outside Lia Kim's studio for two whole days before receiving news that she had returned to Los Angeles.
So he booked a flight to Los Angeles overnight and went to great lengths to find the address of Lia Kim's parents. But upon arriving nearby, he ran into something big—Kwon Ji-yong was there too.
At that moment, he felt like he'd just found out he was expecting twins during a pregnancy test. One pregnancy, what a blessing! He felt like his career luck was truly off the charts. He followed the two to the supermarket.
They walked hand in hand in the supermarket like any ordinary couple, and he, like any newspaper editor-in-chief, secretly took a large number of photos - with this set of achievements, how far is the position of editor-in-chief?
Sure enough, the original "New Year's Couple" report was urgently replaced with his article. It garnered over 10 million views in just one day, equivalent to nearly one-fifth of the country's population having seen it.
No matter how much YG claims to be "unable to confirm," the video shows the two of them as a couple, which is undeniable. Netizens' reactions were more surprised than positive or negative.
These two have been involved in numerous scandals, and over time, everyone has assumed they must be in a relationship; they're just not sure who it is. "Wow... How come they've never been photographed before? They're so well hidden, aren't they?"
"The two of them are really compatible, surprisingly natural." "Did they meet her parents? They appeared together in LA, and near her house??" "It's okay as long as GD's girlfriend is not Japanese, kkkk"
"Taking secret photos is too much. Even if they are celebrities, they should have their own private space." "It reminds me of the previous scandals. No one took them seriously at the time, but now it seems to be true." "As a fan, I feel a little disappointed."
"GD's relationships never last, so this time will be no different." "But she's American... that's a bit surprising." "How long have they been together? I really want to know."
"kkk you're the only ones who believe that, GD never fails to show off his love life on social media" "The supermarket video is so sweet, they look more like a couple than in idol dramas woooooooooo" "Oh my god, it's really happening"
"It feels like hype. Wasn't there a scandal involving a certain political party recently?" "I can't accept it. I'm going to stop being a fan." "Didn't they say there's also Komatsu Nana? The behind-the-scenes footage from the magazine shoot was also very sweet TT"
"It feels like it was staged or arranged by the company, it's totally unlike GD's usual style" "Those who said they had no interaction before obviously haven't dug up their CP building" "I have to do some archaeology hhh there must have been hints before"
"Wasn't the last time they were together on Winner's debut show? There was no interaction at all at that time" "Which CP building?" "No...I'm the only one who noticed, Lia
Is Kim wearing a huge emerald ring on her hand? ! ! ! ! " ... As soon as this comment came out, everyone noticed the green light that flashed across Lia Kim's hand in the blurry video.
Someone quickly enlarged the video clip and took a screenshot, specifically noting the position of the hand. Although the image quality was blurry, the dark green reflection was particularly eye-catching under the supermarket lights.
The comments section immediately went off the rails, and soon a professional dug out the ring's identity: "This isn't just any jewelry; it's almost certainly a custom-made piece from Graff."
Someone posted a comparison chart: Graff's similar rings have similar center stone cuts and setting proportions. A professional jewelry blogger also posted an explanation:
This top-grade emerald is even more scarce than diamonds of similar size. In the market at the time, the price of a single stone exceeded 1 billion won. Adding Graff's high-end custom craftsmanship and brand premium, the overall value is at least 1.5-2 billion won.
More importantly, emeralds symbolize hope and everlasting love and are often chosen as engagement or anniversary rings.
"If it's really Graff, then the proposal is confirmed." "GD is indeed GD, even the ring must be world-class." "First of all, he is also a human being, why would he criticize humans for having love?"
"Are you really getting married? It feels so sudden." "I wear an apartment in Gangnam on my wrist." "If GD gets married, YG will go bankrupt, right?" "I can't accept it. I declare that 2015 is the year I hate the most."
Soon, the hashtag #emeraldring# topped the trending searches, and a mix of gossip and jewelry research further fueled the controversy. That afternoon, YG's stock price plummeted 7-8%, prompting extensive media coverage:
"Investors are concerned about the impact of G-Dragon's marriage rumors on YG's future earnings." "GD's dating rumors have wiped out tens of billions of won from YG's market value." "D agency's early-year revelations triggered a chain reaction, causing YG's trading volume to plummet throughout the day."
"From trending searches to stock prices: How does GD's scandal boost YG's valuation?" In fact, idol romances do have an impact on entertainment companies' stock prices, but usually not to such a serious extent.
However, YG's current pillar artist is Bigbang, with Kwon Ji-yong as the core. Although there has been no closure of fan sites or large-scale withdrawal from membership for the time being, investors can't help but worry that once the marriage rumors are confirmed, YG's revenue will be significantly impacted.
The news from China quickly reached the people involved in Los Angeles. They had no choice but to spread it. Lia's phone kept vibrating.
First came a missed call from Zhihui, followed by messages from Baoheng, Teddy, Kush, Xia Qing... The screen was practically flooded with notifications. She looked up at Quan Zhilong and couldn't help but sigh.
"So I'm saying... I shouldn't have worn that ring yesterday." Quan Zhilong spread his hands, his face full of innocence. It hadn't been photographed in such a long time, who would have thought it would be such a coincidence yesterday.
Kush has been jumping around in the group for a while now, and the latest news is that he will fly to Los Angeles to witness their love. Lia is very upset.
He had to spend some time explaining to everyone one by one that the ring was given, but there were no plans to get married immediately. Even Yang Hyun-seok couldn't sit still.
Perhaps fearing that Quan Zhilong would quietly get married, he couldn't help but send a text message, half-heartedly probing the situation. In the end, he received the reply that they hadn't obtained the marriage certificate yet. So, he felt relieved.
Marriage and the exposure of a relationship are clearly not the same level of crisis. For YG, as long as they don't acknowledge Kwon Ji-yong's relationship, even if it causes short-term fluctuations in stock prices, it will soon pass.
After all, he hasn't been a pure love persona since his debut, and his fans' psychological threshold for him to be in a relationship can be said to have reached the highest level among all idols. Of course, Quan Zhilong is also aware of this.
The impact of his decision goes far beyond himself. Even if he appears in the paparazzi's camera, it is not the same as actually getting married to him.
YG then quickly updated its official statement, saying that "the marriage rumors are not true", which stopped the stock price from falling.
The flight from Seoul to Los Angeles that day was filled with paparazzi who had come from afar. Everyone in the cabin looked at each other and smiled awkwardly - the headlines were picked up by Dispatch, so they should at least have some of the leftovers, right?
The result, of course, was—no food. Quan Zhilong, anticipating this, took the VIP channel, avoiding the throng of cameras and guns blocking the airport entrance. As the plane took off, a fiery golden streak tore through the clouds.
He leaned back in his chair, gazing at the clear blue California sky. Someone had once asked him: What is love? Countless images emerged in his mind.
Love is neon, it's noise, it's the haze of alcohol, it's the blackness of the bright blocks of color in a crayon drawing. It's damp, psychedelic, chaotic, a deadly poison with a fresh aroma. Love is everything that's fleeting.
He gave love the most dreamy appearance, but he never believed that its heart beat for eternity.But at this moment, the clouds rolled below, and the sky was like a burning canvas, dazzlingly blue and as deep as the sea.
He finally found someone who was willing to fall in love with him.
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