Peninsula: I, who was originally a camera, suddenly became an internet sensation.

Chapter 28 Truth and Lies

"Oh my god?" Pei Zhenlu and the other two looked surprised.

Lee Won-do took them to JYP Entertainment, where staff even produced trainee contracts. Now he's telling them he's not a talent scout.

Who is he? Why was he able to bring them in? Why were the staff so respectful to him?

"I only met JYP's CEO Park Jin-young by chance..." Lee Won paused, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, as if he had suddenly become interested, "Back then, he was walking on the street when he encountered some bad guys. I angrily stepped in and took on ten of them single-handedly, beating them to a pulp. To thank me, CEO Park gave me a business card and said that if I needed any help in the future, I could just contact him."

Li Yuan vividly fabricated this melodramatic story, even demonstrating a few "fighting" gestures with his hands. Pei Zhen and the other two listened intently, seemingly starting to believe him.

"Just kidding." Li Yuan couldn't help but laugh when he saw how seriously they believed him. He waved his hand and said, "Actually, it's just because I have some connections with a high-ranking executive at JYP, so..."

Li Yuan gave them a knowing look.

"Oh~" They nodded as if they understood.

They didn't really understand what "having some connections with a high-ranking person" meant, but since they could get the contract directly, it must be something other than a regular "connection".

On the other side, Hwang Yee-ji was trying so hard not to laugh that he was going crazy.

Lee Won's relationship with a high-ranking official wasn't just a matter of having some connection with him; he knew JYP's CEO, Park Jin-young, directly!

Moreover, strictly speaking, Lee Won is also a significant shareholder of JYP. Although he doesn't participate much in decision-making, his shareholding is substantial, and his words carry weight.

When I came out of the JYP building, it was already getting dark.

Li Yuan glanced at the time—it was almost six o'clock, and his stomach began to rumble slightly.

"Let's go, I'll treat you to a meal." Li Yuan turned to look at Pei Zhenshu and her two friends. "You must be hungry after all this commotion this afternoon."

The three girls exchanged glances, did not refuse, and obediently followed behind him.

Li Yuan chose a nearby restaurant that looked decent. The group found a window seat and sat down. The waiter handed them the menu and spun it around on the table.

When ordering, Pei Zhenlu's two friends each ordered what they wanted to eat. Pei Zhenlu flipped through the menu, his eyes scanning over the dishes marked "spicy." He hesitated for a moment, about to order something randomly, when Li Yuan spoke first.

He told the waiter what dishes he wanted for several people, and then added two non-spicy dishes.

After ordering, he looked up and added to the waiter, "None of these dishes should be too spicy."

The waiter nodded, took the menu, and left.

Bae Jin-sol immediately became curious, tilting her head to look at Lee Won: "Oppa, you don't like spicy food either?"

"No." Li Yuan shook his head, picked up the water glass on the table, and took a sip. "It's just that you don't eat spicy food, right?"

Pei Zhenlu was taken aback for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly as he became even more curious.

She thought carefully for a while, searching her memory for a long time, and only after confirming that she had never seen this face before did she cautiously ask, "Have we met before? I don't seem to remember."

How can you understand yourself so well if you've never spent time with yourself?

"I've met you." Li Yuan put down his water glass, a slight smile playing on his lips as he looked at her intently. "In my dream."

There was a moment of silence at the dining table.

Then Pei Zhenlu's two friends burst out laughing at the same time.

"Oppa..." One of the girls with pigtails covered her mouth, her eyes narrowing with laughter, "Your pickup line is so old-fashioned. What era are these lines from? And you're still saying 'in my dreams'."

The other girl nodded in agreement.

But Pei Zhenlu's reaction was quite different from theirs.

She didn't laugh, nor did she show any disgust. Instead, she leaned closer with interest.

"What happened in your dream? What did you dream about? Oppa, tell me quickly."

Li Yuan looked into her pure eyes and suddenly felt a little dazed.

He said it.

He spoke of Bae Jinsol from NMIXX, the future, yet-to-be-realized experience of Bae Jinsol:

From the ridicule and criticism she faced when she debuted with "OO"; to her tearful performance when "Love Me Like This" won her first number one spot; from her steady progress with "KNOW ABOUT ME" to her stunning ten-time consecutive win with "Blue Valentine".

Finally, she talked about her two collaborations with Brazilian artists, the fire in Latin America, and the stages and applause she had never imagined.

He didn't look into Bae Jin-sul's eyes when he spoke, but instead looked at the streetlights outside the window, as if he were recalling something distant.

"Hmm..." Pei Zhenlu nodded thoughtfully after listening, looking quite serious. "I seemed to be doing pretty well in my dream?"

"But it's been more than three years since we got here," Li Yuan said, turning his head to look into her eyes.

This is JYP.

"But many people never reach that point in their entire lives." Pei Zhenlu blinked, her tone much more relaxed than Li Yuan's. "Even if I could achieve that level in my dreams, it would still be amazing, wouldn't it?"

Clearly, Pei Zhenlu did not believe in this so-called "dream".

Who in their right mind would believe that?

But she listened to the whole story with great empathy and even gave a serious evaluation.

This attitude surprised Li Yuan and left him with some indescribable feelings.

"Since Oppa went to so much trouble to make up this story, I'll treat you to this meal," Bae Jinsol said with a wink.

"Don't you believe me?" Li Yuan couldn't help but laugh when he saw her expression.

"Oppa, from the moment you met me until now..." Bae Jin-sol frowned, tilted his head, and thought for a moment, "It seems like he hasn't said many truthful things, has he?"

She looked quite cute when she was thinking seriously.

"Uh..." Li Yuan was speechless for a moment. He opened his mouth but found that he couldn't refute it.

Now that you mention it, it seems to make sense.

Pei Zhenshu believed most of the lies he told, but not a single truth.

The key is that his lies sound so real, so detailed and logical, while the truth is so absurd that hardly anyone would believe it. It's so outrageous that it sounds like he's making up a story.

Li Yuan smiled bitterly to himself, picked up his water glass and took another sip, offering no further explanation.

By the time the meal was finished, it was completely dark.

"Are you planning to go back, or are you going to stay in Seoul for the night?" Lee Won checked the time and then looked at Bae Jin-sol.

He was actually a little worried about her, after all, Pei Zhenlu was still a junior high school student, kind-hearted, and even a little naive.

"We need to go back," Pei Zhenlu said. "We have class tomorrow."

"So you guys skipped class to get here?" Huang Lizhi asked curiously.

She was a good student who never skipped class, even though she wasn't a good student.

The reason I didn't go to school today but practiced at the company is because the company said they were going to announce the debut lineup today, but Somi's incident delayed it.

"No, we took leave." One of the girls shook her head.

"That's good." Li Yuan nodded, and habitually added, "Children should study hard."

"Oppa isn't that old..." Bae Jin-sol pouted.

She's clearly older than me... only six or seven years!

It's already an illegal age gap.

What am I thinking?! Pei Zhenlu shook her head vigorously, trying to shake off the inexplicable thought that had popped up.

Finally, Li Yuan escorted them all the way to the subway.

"Let's go." Li Yuan withdrew his gaze, turned to look at Huang Lizhi, and the two walked out of the subway station side by side.

"Oppa, I've already tidied up the master bedroom for you, and the sheets and duvet covers have all been aired out."

On the road, Huang Lizhi walked towards the moonlight.

"Our Lizhi is so well-behaved."

"Hehe." Huang Lizhi tilted his head back and chuckled foolishly, then lowered his head and followed Li Yuan with small steps.

Li Yuan took a step, she took a step, her shadow overlapped with Li Yuan's shadow, then separated, then overlapped again...