Peninsula: My cheat code is unscientific

Chapter 103 The Boomerang Returns

Taeyeon is a smart person, and she immediately realized what was going on:

"You suspect that the guy in the baseball cap in the parking lot yesterday was him?"

"Hmm, mainly that figure, it feels... kind of similar."

"I understand." Taeyeon's expression turned serious, and she nodded.

"I'll try to keep an eye on it."

"Let's confirm first." Jiang Che patted her shoulder.

"Go ahead and be careful."

"Okay~" Taeyeon replied, smiled at him, opened the door, and walked out with light steps.

After the door closed, only Jiang Che remained in the apartment, along with the faint scent of fruit lingering in the air. He stroked his chin, his eyes thoughtful.
He then sat back on the sofa, took out his phone and started browsing. The top spot on the trending topics list was still up there, but the trend had completely shifted.

Police have issued an official statement confirming that actress Kim Tae-yeon was indeed surrounded by unidentified individuals in a parking lot. The incident was deemed serious and is currently under further investigation.

We will do everything in our power to investigate those involved and strongly condemn this behavior that threatens the safety of public figures.

The comments section below is finally much more normal than yesterday.

[1L: The police have already issued a statement. Aren't those who said Taeyeon staged it all a slap in the face?]

[2L: I feel so sorry for Taeyeon. She can't believe something like this can happen at a fan meeting. Her company should provide her with more bodyguards for future events.]

[3L: Am I the only one still rewatching that video of him sliding down a lamppost while holding onto it? It was so cool!!!]

[4L: +1 to the comment above, I've already saved the video and am playing it on repeat.]

Jiang Che scrolled through the comments and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

As evening approached, he heard the sound of a key turning at the door. He looked up and saw Taeyeon opening the door and coming in.

Upon seeing Jiang Che, she deflated like a punctured balloon, kicked off her shoes, and pounced on Jiang Che on the sofa.

"Ugh! Jiang Che! I'm exhausted! I'm going crazy at the company today!"

Jiang Che chuckled and ruffled her hair.

"what happened?"

Taeyeon slapped Kang Cheol's hand away, her face scrunched up in a frown:
"The company arranged several press conferences for me, and I'm so tired of answering those questions!"

Even more outrageous—some director who popped up out of nowhere actually wanted to cast me in an action movie, asking if I was interested in becoming an action star! He said that video of me sliding down a streetlight was really cool! Ugh…”

"An action star?" Jiang Che paused for a second, then imagined Taeyeon filming a movie. With her acting skills, wouldn't she become a collection of memes? As he thought about it, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Hey! What are you laughing at!" Taeyeon saw him laughing and immediately punched him in embarrassment and annoyance.
"Do not laugh!"

Jiang Che quickly suppressed his laughter and raised his hands in surrender:

"Okay, okay, I won't laugh. Our Taeyeon is an all-around entertainer, excellent in both singing and dancing, and now she's expanding into the action movie market. Amazing!"

This sounded more like a joke, and Taeyeon was so angry she was about to hit him again, but Kang Cheol quickly changed the subject:

"By the way, how's the thing I asked you to find out? Any news from Byun Baekhyun?"

When the topic turned to business, Taeyeon composed herself and shook her head.

"I've inquired, and he did indeed take leave; he didn't come to the company today. I don't know exactly how many days he took leave. As for the reason for the leave... he only said it was a health issue."

Jiang Che nodded thoughtfully. He took leave? What a coincidence? Although he didn't confirm it directly, the sudden request for leave seemed like an attempt to cover something up.

He instinctively took out his phone and saw that both the fan club and the anti-fan club were buzzing with activity. He ignored it for the moment and instead gave a word of advice:

"Anyway, you should keep an eye on this guy in the future. He seems a bit off his mind."

"Yes, I understand." Taeyeon nodded earnestly, then a hint of reluctance appeared on her face.
"Are you... going back?"

"Well, we can't just stay here forever, can we? Besides, what about Yoona..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Taeyeon understood what he meant. A hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes, but she quickly smiled again, her eyes full of longing, and then gave Kang Cheol a big hug.

Jiang Che smiled and gently patted her back:

"Alright, it's not like we're parting ways forever. Just remember to be careful from now on, and make sure the company provides bodyguards when you go out. I'm off now."

"Hmm... Be careful on the road." Taeyeon let go of her hand, her voice soft.

Back at Yoona's house, as soon as Kang Cheol unlocked the door with his key, he heard lively laughter from a variety show coming from the living room.

He changed his shoes and walked into the living room, where he saw Yoona sitting cross-legged on the sofa, holding a cushion in her arms, watching with great interest, and still smiling.

Hearing the noise, she turned around and saw Jiang Che. A smile involuntarily crept onto her lips, but she deliberately pursed them and said:
"I thought you were having so much fun at Taeyeon unnie's place that you didn't want to leave and wanted to stay another day? You didn't do anything bad, did you?"

Jiang Che felt a little embarrassed recalling what had happened at Taeyeon's house, thinking to himself, 'Something that makes both of us happy shouldn't be a bad thing.'

He then answered without changing his expression:
"of course not."

He walked over, trying to change the subject:

"Aren't you going to give me a welcome-home hug?"

He thought Yoona would laugh and scold him with a "Hey!" or throw a pillow at him.

Unexpectedly, Yoona only paused for a moment, then actually put down the cushion, stood up, and gently hugged him:
"Welcome home~" This time, it was Jiang Che's turn to be stunned. The girl's fresh and soft scent was fleeting, and he subconsciously hugged her back, his arms tightening slightly.

"Ok!"

After they parted, the two sat on the sofa, and the atmosphere became subtly quiet.

Jiang Cheol's gaze drifted to the TV screen, where he saw Jiang Hudong shouting and laughing exaggeratedly on the show.

That glance suddenly reminded him of something.

"By the way, Yoona," he said casually.
"I saw a rumor while surfing the internet today."

"Hmm? What's the news?"

"I heard there's a new variety show in development, it sounds really interesting, do you want to sign up and give it a try?"

"A new variety show? No interest," Yoona shook her head.
"Hey! Don't rush me," Jiang Che began his sales pitch.

"I did some digging and heard that the PD of this variety show is Na Young-seok!"

"PD Na Young-seok?" Yoona became interested.

"The one that lasts two days and one night?"

"Yes, yes, yes! It's him, the top PD! How could his new project be a bad one?" Jiang Che slapped his thigh and resumed his old tricks of hype:

"And I heard the model is really novel. It's basically a group trip abroad, playing games, eating and drinking! To put it bluntly, it's a publicly funded overseas trip! It's relaxing, fun, and you can even boost your popularity overseas!"

Yoona seemed somewhat persuaded as she listened, but immediately became suspicious:

"Really? That sounds interesting, but where did you get this information from, a complete novice? I have no idea..."

"Oh dear, that's why it's just a rumor. Better safe than sorry!" Jiang Che felt like his ability to make up lies was almost maxed out.
"Anyway, asking around doesn't cost anything. Why don't we have our agent go to the TV station and inquire? What if there really is such a project? We'll make money!"

His mind was racing with calculations:

'Before Lee Seung-gi enlisted in the military, I think she only had one variety show and one drama. With Yoona's acting skills, she probably can't handle dramas right now, so she'll start by focusing on variety shows. This is a small step forward for Yoona, but a giant step backward for Lee Seung-gi.'

Thinking of this, Jiang Che couldn't help but reveal a slightly wicked smile.

Yoona shuddered at his villainous smile and slapped him dismissively.
"Hey! Jiang Che! Stop making that face! It's creepy! You look like a villain!"

"Ahem! This is a smile of happiness for you! How could it be creepy!"

Yoona looked at him suspiciously for a few moments, but was ultimately drawn to PD Na Young-seok and the company-funded trip abroad.

"Okay, I'll have my manager, Unnie, look into it. If this project really exists, I'll give it a try."

Plan worked! Jiang Che mentally gave a thumbs-up.

We chatted and watched TV for a while, complaining about the guests on the show. Before we knew it, it was getting late.

They said goodnight to each other and went back to their rooms.

The next morning, Yoona ate the breakfast that Kang Cheol had made and nodded contentedly.
"Hmm, it still tastes familiar."

Jiang Che couldn't help but chuckle.

After seeing Yoona off, the apartment fell completely silent. Kang Cheol finished cleaning up the dishes, sat back on the sofa, and resignedly took out paper and pen to continue working on the song "I" for Taeyeon.
He glanced at the musical notes, and a sudden wave of despair washed over him:
Now that Taeyeon has returned to normal, he really wanted to quit immediately. But then he thought, his cover has been blown. If he can't finish writing the song, then his previous threats—like killing or torturing—will really come back to haunt him.

Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and began to transform into Jiang Nuli again.

That evening, as Jiang Che was still scratching his head over the book "I", he heard the sound of the door opening from the entrance hall.

Yoona changed her shoes and walked quietly into the living room. When she saw Kang Cheol, her eyes unconsciously darted away for a moment.
"You're back?" Jiang Che didn't even look up.

"Yes, yes!" Yoona responded quickly, then hurried to her room, grabbed a few changes of clothes, and headed straight for the bathroom.
"I'm so tired today, I'm going to take a shower!"

Hearing the tone of the voice, Jiang Che vaguely sensed that something was wrong. He looked up at Yoona, who had already disappeared, frowned and thought for a moment. Then he picked up his phone and opened the group called "Girls' Generation and Temporary Workers".

[Jiang Cheol: @Taeyeon @SunnyYoona, did something happen at the company today? You seem strange since you came back.]

Taeyeon replied shortly after the message was sent.

[Taeyeon: Huh? Nothing special? Today was just a regular schedule. We even recorded "Weekly Idol" this afternoon. Everything went pretty smoothly.]

When Jiang Che saw the name of the program, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

[Jiang Che: ...Weekly Idol? Was she... being cute?]

This sentence seemed to instantly ignite someone's吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or critical comments) spirit.

[sunny: Vomiting.jpg]

[Sunny: How can there be such disgustingly cutesy behavior!]

[Sunny: Ugh! I, Lee Soon-kyu, have reigned supreme in the world of aegyo (cuteness/charm) for so many years, and today I actually feel like I've lost! That sticky, cloying tone... Ugh! Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps! Frustrated.jpg]

Jiang Che finally understood why Yoona was acting so strangely today. He imagined the scene and couldn't help but burst into laughter, collapsing onto the sofa. It took him a while to recover.

A little while later, Yoona came out of the bathroom drying her hair and immediately noticed Jiang Che's gaze. She felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, and couldn't help but frown.

"Hey, what are you looking at?"

(End of this chapter)