Peninsula: My cheat code is unscientific

Chapter 36

Jiang Che was startled and looked at her warily: "W-what? Say what you want to say, don't laugh like that, it's weird...it's too creepy!"

Yoona didn't care about his opinion at all. Instead, she waved the invitation in her hand, her smile becoming even more benevolent: "You've had your fun, and you've vented your anger. Now, let's talk about something serious?"

"Serious business?" Jiang Che looked bewildered and wary. "What serious business?"

Yoona walked up to Kang Cheol and slammed the invitation onto the coffee table in front of him.

"Jiang Che-xi~" Yoona's voice was so sweet it could stretch out silk, "Look, you're just sitting at home doing nothing anyway. Perfect timing, I've also taken on a small job, why don't you go? Don't get sick from staying at home all the time." After saying that, she looked at Jiang Che with an expression that seemed to say, "It's for your own good."

Jiang Che's gaze fell on the RM invitation, his pupils dilated instantly, and he looked up sharply, his face filled with disbelief, "Yoona, you want me... to go... to this thing for you?!"

"Bingo!" Yoona snapped her fingers, her smile as bright as the warm spring sun, as if she were a completely different Yoona who had just hit someone.

Seeing Yoona like this, Jiang Che remembered the half-cooked porridge from before, and his face darkened. He decisively refused, "I don't want to. Lee Kwang-soo clearly invited you. Why are you asking me to go? And have you forgotten the lesson from the radio show last time? Aren't you afraid I'll cause you trouble again?"

"Don't be so quick to refuse, Kang Cheol-ssi~" Yoona's smile remained unchanged. "Last time at the radio station, although there were some hiccups, the result was good, right? I became famous in the end, didn't I? I promise you, as long as you don't cause any major trouble this time, I won't beat you up!"
"And..." she paused deliberately, emphasizing her words, "as long as you're willing to go, I'll give you this amount." As she spoke, she slowly extended a finger and waved it in front of Jiang Che.

Jiang Che stared at the dangling finger, paused for a moment, and subconsciously asked, "How...how much? One hundred million won? That much?"
When Yoona heard "one hundred million," the smile on her face froze. She looked at him with a "you're dreaming" expression and slowly said, "ten million."

Jiang Che: Deal.

"..." Seeing how readily Jiang Che agreed, Yoona's smile vanished completely. She realized she had definitely overpaid, sighed helplessly, and decided to pretend to be very generous.

He pulled a bank card out of his bag and slammed it on the coffee table. "Here, take it!"

Jiang Che's eyes lit up as he looked at the bank card, a silly grin spreading across his face: "Yoona, are you finally going to give me start-up capital?"

Yoona rolled her eyes in annoyance: "Empty card! There's not a single penny in it!"

"Huh?" Jiang Che's smile vanished instantly.

“However,” Yoona drawled, a sly smile playing on her lips as she watched Kang Che's ears perk up again, “we’ll have ten million soon, and I’ll transfer the money directly to this card in a bit.”

Jiang Che twitched the corner of his mouth. "Oh well, something's better than nothing. I've already made a profit anyway. I originally thought it was only a million." He grinned foolishly as he thought this, then stuffed the card into his pocket.
When Yoona saw Kang Cheol making such a silly face with Taeyeon's face on his back, she couldn't help but burst out laughing. "I've hit the jackpot! I don't have to go on 'Running Man' anymore!"

However, happy days are fleeting, and the power of money is boundless; Jiang Che now deeply understands this.

To prevent Kang Cheol from causing a major scandal by participating in "Running Man," Yoona decided to give him special training. At this moment, Kang Cheol was pinned to the living room floor, with something Yoona had somehow found spread out in front of him—

The videotape is a compilation of Girls' Generation's early variety show appearances, with a tablet next to it playing a loop of classic, hilarious clips from "Running Man".

Yoona put her hands on her hips, transforming into a devilish instructor: "Since you know the people from 'Running Man,' I won't introduce them further. Just watch my performance on the variety show and don't ruin my image!"

Jiang Che was speechless. "Sis, didn't you say that as long as I don't cause any trouble, it's fine? Why do we need special training?" "Yeah, yeah, that's why we need special training to prevent you from causing trouble! Anyway, you've already taken the money, do you want to quit?" Yoona said, revealing a kind smile.

Seeing this expression, Jiang Che's lips twitched, but he didn't dare to utter a sound.

Over the next few hours, Jiang Che felt like he was about to drown in an ocean of knowledge.

Finally seeing Yoona stop to drink water, I quickly asked, "Besides you, who else is on this episode of 'Running Man'?"

Hearing this, Yoona put down her water glass, her eyes slightly unfocused: "Ahem... and Taeyeon unnie and Sunny unnie..."

Upon hearing those two names, Jiang Che instantly felt that the ten million was burning hot: "Taeyeon? Sunny? They...they're going too?!"

“That’s right,” Yoona said, handing her phone to him. On the screen was a detailed recording notification email sent by her manager not long ago, with the list of participating guests clearly showing: Kim Tae-yeon, Lim Yoona, and Sunny.

Looking at the name and recalling Taeyeon's gaze, Jiang Che felt a wave of dizziness wash over him: "Yoona... this money... I think I might... not be up to it..."

"We have to do it, no matter what!" When Yoona heard that Jiang Che was about to back down, she stopped looking away and pulled him closer. "Listen, Taeyeon unnie is suspicious, but as long as we deny it to the death! Just don't transform in front of her!"

"As for Sunny..." Yoona thought about this and her head started to ache. "Sunny is thoughtful and observant, so I can't be too outgoing or crazy in front of her. I have to maintain the reliable image I usually project in her mind. Understand?!"

"Unconventional?...Too crazy?...Image?...Reliable?" Jiang Che murmured these words repeatedly, feeling that Yoona's perception of him was completely reversed. "This...I feel like maybe I can just play myself?" he muttered to himself.

"Playing yourself?" Yoona didn't understand what this meant at first and was about to ask.

"Ring ring—!!"

Yoona's phone, which was on the coffee table, rang. The screen lit up, and the caller ID read "Taeyeon unnie." Yoona paused, somewhat surprised, as she picked up the phone. "At this hour... what does unnie want?"

Before she could even speak after answering the phone, Taeyeon's urgent questioning came through the receiver:

"Yoona, confess! Did you already know what the content of this episode of 'Running Man' was all along?!"

Upon hearing this, Yoona understood that the other party must also know the details of the project, so she dared not say that she had known it all along.

Her brain raced, instantly switching to "Pseudo-Azure Dragon Actress" mode. Her voice was filled with the shock of being wrongly accused and a perfectly timed look of bewilderment:

"What? How could I possibly know beforehand? Besides, even if I had known then and told you, it wouldn't have mattered, since you already promised Jae-seok oppa!" Then Yoona changed her tone, "And unnie, think about it..."
"If I had known about the project beforehand... would I have agreed to participate? I would have run away as fast as I could! I'm not stupid!" she said, waving her hands wildly at the air as if Taeyeon on the other end of the phone could see her.

Taeyeon didn't speak on the other end of the phone. Yoona didn't dare hang up either; she could imagine that her unnie was squinting, trying to determine the truthfulness of her words.

(End of this chapter)