Peninsula: My cheat code is unscientific

Chapter 42 Zhou Ziyu?
Jiang Che felt like his brain wasn't working properly. Taeyeon, who was standing next to him, saw that he seemed to be in a daze and quickly nudged him gently with her elbow.

Jiang Che was speechless: I want to say something, but I don't know what to say right now...

The girl became increasingly nervous when she saw Jiang Che staring at her without saying a word.

He quickly took out a delicate notebook and a pen from his backpack, handed them over with both hands, and said in broken Korean:
"Senior, could you... sign it?"

Seeing this, Jiang Che was immediately relieved; acquaintances wouldn't act this way. He took the notebook and casually asked:
"What's your name?"

The other person replied in broken Korean, "My name is... Chou Tzu-yu."

Chou Tzu-yu?
Jiang Che's mind clicked, and he suddenly realized, "Oh, it's her! I knew she looked familiar, but this girl... come to think of it, her story is pretty tragic..."

But the thought quickly passed. He decided to deal with the future later. After all, no one was as miserable as him now. Not only had he lost his abs, but he was also working hard as a laborer for ten million.

Then he opened the notebook, the pen tip just touching the paper.

After seeing this, Chou Tzu-yu hesitated for a moment, then asked softly in Korean:
"Um... senior... can I... speak Chinese?"

"Sure!" Jiang Che said without even looking up.

Upon hearing the familiar language, Chou Tzu-yu visibly relaxed, spoke faster, and her eyes conveyed sincerity:

"Yoona sunbaenim, could...could you please write 'Happy Birthday Kim Dahyun' for me?"

Kim Da-hyun? Jiang Che glanced at the page where Zhou Tzuyu's name had just been written, his mind going blank for a moment—so this girl was here to ask for blessings on behalf of someone else? He thought for a moment, then turned to a new page.

After finishing writing, he handed the notebook to Taeyeon and Sunny, who were curiously watching from the side:

"Unnies, please sign one too, and write a birthday wish."

"Huh? Do I have to write too?" Taeyeon was a little confused, but she still took the notebook and pen, wrote "Happy Birthday" and signed her name.

Sunny also signed one with a smile, and drew a little sun next to it.

Jiang Che took back the notebook, thought about the girl's future, and then turned back to the page where he had written Zhou Ziyu's name, adding in Chinese, "I hope you are safe and sound and have a smooth life."

After finishing writing, he closed the notebook and handed it back to Chou Tzu-yu:

"Okay, all done. I also got Taeyeon unnie and Sunny unnie to sign one too."

Chou Tzu-yu took the notebook, opened it, and when she saw the Chinese blessing that Kang Cheol had written specifically for her, she was visibly stunned and looked up at Kang Cheol:

"Thank you, Yoona senior... Your Chinese characters are so well written."

Jiang Che was secretly pleased, but pretended not to care: "It's alright, it's just that I practiced a lot."

Then, remembering the group of enthusiastic fans who had scattered earlier, he asked:

"By the way, if you have any new notebooks, could you lend them to me? I just signed some for other fans as well."

After hearing this, Chou Tzu-yu took out a notebook from her bag and handed it over.

Jiang Che took the new notebook and then handed it to Taeyeon and Sunny:

"Unnies, please sign it again. Just write some simple blessings. It's for other fans, not a birthday greeting."

Taeyeon and Sunny exchanged a glance, feeling like they were heartless autograph machines, assembly line workers, and that the maknae (youngest member) was addicted to ordering people around. But they didn't object, picked up their pens and started signing autographs in the notebook.

After the two finished signing, Jiang Che took the notebook, quickly signed his name and added a blessing, and then handed it to Zhou Tzuyu:
"Could you help me distribute these to those fans from earlier? And tell them the boxes have been found, so they don't need to bother anymore." Chou Tzu-yu took the notebook and nodded in agreement, but then said somewhat shyly, "But I might not be able to wait too long, because I have to go back to the peninsula soon."

Jiang Che expressed his understanding: "It's okay, give us as many as you can find, and it's fine if you don't find any."

Chou Tzu-yu seemed to suddenly remember something and hurriedly said:

"Yoo Jae-suk asked me for the box on the street, but I didn't give it to him. Yoona, watch out for him sneaking up on you."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Che immediately pictured Yoo Jae-suk wanting the box but unable to snatch it, his comical expression of frustration flashing before his eyes. He couldn't help but laugh and continued:

"It's okay with Jae-suk oppa, he's not Kim Jong-kook. But you, you didn't give him the box, aren't you afraid of feeling awkward meeting Jae-suk oppa after you debut?"

"Ah, how did you know I was a trainee, senior..." Zhou Ziyu said in surprise, but then became disappointed: "I might not even debut yet."

Jiang Che's heart tightened, and he quickly tried to cover it up:

"Anyone who calls me 'senior' is either an entertainer or a trainee. Seeing how inexperienced you are, you're definitely not an entertainer, so you must be a trainee."

He paused, his tone becoming exceptionally firm:
"I can read faces. Believe me, you will definitely debut. You have the potential to be a star."

Although Chou Tzu-yu was a little puzzled as to how this senior knew such obscure things, she still spoke sincerely:
"Thank you so much, senior! I'll definitely treat you to a meal when I debut."

Then he said:
"Because it was Yoona sunbaenim who asked me to find the box, not Jae-seok sunbaenim, of course I have to hand it over to Yoona sunbaenim."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Che couldn't help but mentally give Zhou Ziyu a thousand thumbs up: "Great job, perfect logic!"

Having received the box and finished signing, he carried it in one hand and waved confidently at her with the other, his smile radiant and his tone light:

"We'll head out now! Take care on the road, and see you again someday!"

Chou Tzu-yu quickly waved in response, "Yes! Goodbye, senior!"

Watching Jiang Che's receding figure, Zhou Ziyu slowly lowered her head.

She opened the notebook, which contained birthday wishes for Kim Da-hyun from Taeyeon, Sunny, and Yoona—she had only wanted one, but Kang Cheol had managed to get three.

She gently turned the page, and a line of clear and neat Chinese characters came into view:

I hope you are safe and sound, and that your life is smooth sailing.

Not the usual cheers or successes, but... peace... and smooth sailing.

She read it aloud again in a low voice, feeling that this senior seemed different from the others.

Next, she took out her phone, carefully photographed the page with autographs from Taeyeon, Sunny, and Yoona, quickly opened her chat app, found the familiar profile picture, sent the photo she had just taken, and added a smug emoji.

Only then did he put the notebook into the innermost part of his backpack, pull his mask up again, and stand still, ready to listen to his seniors and see if he could wait for those fans.

As I waited, a thought suddenly popped into my head:
Ah! I forgot to ask Yoona for her contact information... Will we ever run into each other again?
But just as this feeling of frustration crept in, her phone started buzzing, and Dahyun unnie's name appeared on the screen.

As soon as Chou Tzu-yu pressed the answer button, a suppressed, excited exclamation, almost bursting out of the microphone, came from the other end:
"Tzuyu! Where did this come from?! Taeyeon sunbaenim! Sunny sunbaenim! And Yoona sunbaenim?! Birthday wishes for me?! Really?!"

　Read on, read on everything...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)