Chapter 43 Chapter 43
"Who are you talking to on the phone?" Dasheng leaned over curiously. Bigbang had just finished a local announcement, and the nanny car was heading back to Seoul.
It was a rare night without plans, and the car was filled with a drowsy atmosphere as everyone prepared to return to the dorms for a nap. "Lia," Kwon Ji-yong replied briefly. They had filmed a music video together a while ago, and occasionally ran into each other at Teddy's recording studio.
Several people had some impression of Lia, and their ears pricked up. "Brother, are you going back to the company?" Dasheng asked again. Yongpei quietly opened one eye. "Yeah," Quan Zhilong leaned forward and said to the driver.
"Let's go to the sushi restaurant near the dormitory first, and then go back to the company." The people in the car exchanged glances - the captain was in a bad mood today. They all knew that Quan Zhilong had broken up not long ago.
This was not a secret. He had been dating Shi Jing for many years, and everyone in his circle of friends had heard about it. Although he was the one who was dumped,
Quan Zhilong simply attributed the breakup to the candid filming incident. But everyone around him knew that it was just the last straw that broke the camel's back. The two were already in a cold war period.
That little revelation only brought an already shattered relationship to a premature end. Passionate love is easy, but the true test lies in the dullness of it all. I've said I love you and I miss you countless times, so how can I keep it fresh?
Yongpei knew more than anyone else. He'd occasionally heard Quan Zhilong talk about the troublesome parts of their relationship: that there weren't really any fundamental issues; the only things that hurt their feelings were the most insignificant little things.
As far as he knew, Shi Jing didn't really want to break up this time, but this guy kept delaying the meeting, which led to this result. "Why are you so happy today?" Yong Pei couldn't help but ask. Although it wasn't a dark cloud over his head,
But aside from in front of the camera, Kwon Ji-yong rarely seemed in high spirits during this time. "Oh—that song that kid gave me might be released soon," Kwon Ji-yong said, twirling his phone, a hint of boastfulness in his tone. It was as if he was waiting for someone to ask him.
"A song for you?" Yongpei raised an eyebrow. Giving songs as gifts wasn't uncommon, but it wasn't common either. At least he hadn't received one. "Yeah, it was my birthday gift last year," Quan Zhilong nodded. "You'll hear it when the new girl group comes out."
Yongpei looked at him, frowning. He didn't know if it was his imagination, but he felt the expression on this guy's face was quite cocky. He pulled down his blindfold and simply withdrew from the conversation. — I should have known better than to ask.
Dasheng was listening attentively nearby. Seeing Yongpei stopped asking, he had to take over the conversation: "Brother, can you get the demo? I want to listen to it too."
"Hmm..." Quan Zhilong pretended to think for a moment, "It's possible, but you should wait and listen to the official version." "..." Now, Dasheng also felt the arrogance. He retracted his head.
——If he had known, he wouldn't have asked. * At around six in the evening, Quan Zhilong returned to the company carrying sushi. Lia was at the workstation organizing materials for the hearing.
In the afternoon, the tracklist for the new girl group album was finalized, and the demo files needed to be archived for subsequent arrangement work. Teddy had an appointment that evening, and when Kwon Ji-yong pushed the door open, Lia was the only one in the studio.
"Let's eat in the cafeteria's private room?" He put the paper bag on the table, walked forward and took a look at the screen.
"Okay, I'll fix it right away." Lia kept busy and explained, "I just asked the others, and Teddy Oppa is on a date, and Kush is also busy right now."
"That's perfect, we're going on a date too." Quan Zhilong replied nonchalantly from behind. Lia froze. "Okay." She closed her computer, put away the documents, and turned to look behind her.
The other person didn't seem to realize what she had said. He calmly picked up the paper bag of sushi and waved it at her with a smile: "Let's go." Lia stood up and followed him. It was probably just a meaningless joke.
It was the busiest time of the day in the company cafeteria, but fortunately, most employees were using the open tables in the lobby, so there were still some vacancies in the private rooms. Quan Zhilong chose a small private room in the corner, pushed the door open, and placed the sushi on the table.
The warm yellow light casts a shadow on the tabletop, revealing the wood grain. The moment the lid is opened, a refreshing aroma of soy sauce and mustard fills the air.
Half of the food box is filled with crystal clear sashimi - salmon, sea bream, tuna, with bright colors, like freshly cut fruit flesh; the other half is grilled cooked food - eel, tamagoyaki, teriyaki chicken, with a slightly charred surface and a soft oily sheen, which makes people's appetites grow.
Lia didn't really eat raw food. Perhaps noticing this, Quan Zhilong placed the cooked half on her side.
He slowly poured soy sauce and mustard into separate small dishes, his expression focused, as if he were completing some artistic creation. Perhaps due to their dietary restrictions, neither of them ate quickly.
Lia wasn't paying attention, casually picking up a piece of eel sushi and putting it in her mouth. After she finished swallowing the eel, she started to talk. "That song... the president said it needs some revisions. It doesn't quite fit the overall tone."
"Is it a concept?" Quan Zhilong put down his chopsticks. Lia nodded.
"No rush, let's wait until the other songs are finalized before we see." He said calmly, "Since it's already been confirmed for inclusion, it means the song itself is fine. If it's drastically changed to fit the concept, it will lose its original meaning."
"Hmm." Lia slowly picked up a piece of tamagoyaki. Teddy had said something similar. She wasn't really asking whether the song would stay or go—Teddy was the producer, so the decision was naturally his.
Just looking for a topic. "Have you been busy lately?" she asked again. "Same old," Kwon Ji-yong nodded. "Releasing an album, promoting, preparing for the year-end awards ceremony and concert." It was the same schedule. The two of them fell silent again.
Lia chewed her sushi dryly, her food tasteless. She knew she wasn't feeling well, but she couldn't think of a better topic to distract herself. Suddenly, her phone on the table rang.
She quickly picked up her phone, as if grasping something. "Let me check, maybe it's news from school," she muttered to herself. It was a reply from Yu Seungho.
Perhaps filming had wrapped, he replied to her previous message asking if she wanted to sign up for the school trip. "I'm not sure yet. It depends on the crew's schedule. I'll try my best to go," Lia said, putting her phone down awkwardly.
She picked up her chopsticks, fidgeting a bit. "Xia Qing?" Quan Zhilong slowly picked up a piece of salmon and dipped it lightly in the soy sauce, but he was in no hurry to eat. Lia was a little surprised. She didn't expect him to still remember Xia Qing.
"No," she shook her head, "it's another classmate." He nodded, as if interested, and motioned for her to continue. "He's also an entertainer... Oppa, do you know Yoo Seung-ho? He was in 'A Dog's Tale'."
According to Xia Qing, there's no one in Korea who doesn't know about this movie. "...Yeah, it's famous," he said, as if reminiscing. "Aren't you in a regular high school? How come there's an actor here?"
"He lives nearby, so it might be convenient for him." "Are they close?" He even knew where he lived. Lia paused, lowered her head, and put the tamagoyaki she had just picked up back on the plate: "Yeah, they're good friends."
"Oh," he said calmly, his tone devoid of emotion. The table remained silent for a few seconds. "I also acted in movies when I was a kid," he suddenly said.
"What movie?" Lia agreed, even though she didn't understand why the topic had turned to that. "It's not a famous movie." His tone faded, as if he had lost interest in the topic again.
He dipped the sashimi on his chopsticks into the wasabi again and again, but refused to put it in his mouth. "Don't you need to reply to the message?" He looked up and glanced at his phone again. "I already replied," Lia answered honestly.
She replied "Okay," but perhaps too quickly for him to notice. Quan Zhilong looked at her, as if waiting for her to continue. "I asked him if he wanted to go on the school trip, and he said he wasn't sure..." Lia added in a low voice.
“…” “—What school trip?” Before Quan Zhilong could say anything, Kush pushed the door open and walked in. He sat down next to Quan Zhilong and took the sashimi from his chopsticks without any hesitation— “!!!!!”
So much mustard!!! His face flushed crimson, tears welling up in his eyes. Lia quickly poured him a cup of tea and handed it to him. "—Murdering a close colleague!"
Finally recovering, Kush panted and glared accusingly at the instigator. "I like spicy food," Kwon Ji-yong said innocently. "You're the best!" Kush raged.
"By the way, where were we just now?" He seemed to have not forgotten the previous topic. "What school trip?" Lia took out another pair of chopsticks from her food bag and handed them to him. "It's a school-organized event. We'll go after the final exams."
Kush picked up a piece of tuna and stuffed it into his mouth. "Are there any male classmates?" Lia held her forehead. She knew he had no good words to say.
"If there's something you like, grab it quickly." Kush swallowed the tuna in a few gulps and winked at Lia, "This kind of group activity is the easiest to lead to something." "Really?" Kwon Ji-yong raised his eyebrows.
"Of course!" Kus vowed, "Just think about it, seventeen or eighteen-year-old kids go out together for two days and one night, relax at the beach, play games..." Kush said with a meaningful smile.
Lia was just about to drink from a cup of water when she choked. "Ahem—that's not true..." she whispered, coughing and covering her mouth.
"Really." Kush said seriously, "If you observe carefully, when you come back, there will probably be several more couples." Quan Zhilong lowered his head and drank tea without saying a word.
"Anyway, if you find something you like, bring it back for us to check." Kush kept talking while eating. "We should check people... umm..."
"Study hard first." Quan Zhilong said, and stuffed a piece of tamagoyaki into Kush's mouth. Kush's mouth was full of food, and he mumbled an incoherent response: "Yeah, yeah, I don't object..."
Lia sighed. The conversation across from her was like a skit, and she couldn't get a word in. She silently picked up another piece of sushi. She hadn't eaten much, but she felt like she was having indigestion. It was an hour later when she finished.
When she returned to the dormitory, she remembered that she had agreed to treat everyone today. In the end, Quan Zhilong still paid the bill from beginning to end.
----------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com