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

Chapter 42 Peking Duck

"Xiao Yuan's cooking is so delicious." Zhao Meiyan leaned back in her chair, looking at Li Yuan with a silly smile on her lips. "Then I'll stick with you from now on."

Her face was flushed, whether from drinking or something else, it was hard to tell.

"Ugh~ Zhao Meiyan, what you said is so ambiguous!" Song Yuqi pretended to be disgusted, shuddered, and exaggeratedly rubbed her arms. "You think you can just stay here and not come over for dinner after only your first time?"

"Can't you be a little more reserved?!"

"So what!" Zhao Meiyan said stubbornly, her neck stiff.

Zhao Meiyan hadn't originally intended this, but after hearing Song Yuqi say that, her face grew increasingly red.

She wanted to argue, to say "that's not what I meant," but when the words came out, she felt that explaining would only make her seem more guilty, so she simply didn't explain.

"Alright, stop joking around." Li Yuan waved his hand, pulling the topic back from the brink of danger. "Xiao Juan, keep a close eye on them. If Yuqi misbehaves, just tell me, and I'll call Uncle Song directly."

"Okay." Tian Xiaojuan nodded as if she had received some winning formula.

"Aren't you ashamed? How old are you? Still resorting to tattling on your parents!" Song Yuqi started to get anxious.

"It doesn't matter how big it is, as long as it works." Li Yuan ignored her words.

Then Song Yuqi's voice began to echo in the living room, saying things like "can't take a joke" and "kid".

The other members were clearly used to Song Yuqi's behavior, and none of them paid any attention to her constant muttering.

"Your comeback was quite successful this time, keep up the good work!" Li Yuan said to Tian Xiaojuan. "Being a self-composed girl group is a very lucrative label. But if you fail, you'll be in a worse situation than other groups. The higher the public's expectations of you, the more disappointed they will be when you fall."

Tian Xiaojuan is talented, a fact Li Yuan never denies, but her songs often incorporate too much of his own thoughts.

This is both an advantage and a hidden danger—if it is positive and can be understood and accepted by the public, that's fine, but once the idea goes astray or the way it is expressed is problematic, it can easily cause controversy.

Although many people called her the "female version of GD" when she debuted, Lee Won knew that there was still a big difference between the two.

"Okay, I understand." Tian Xiaojuan sat up straight, her expression becoming serious. "I've been researching Latin elements lately, and I've already got some inspiration. Once the framework is complete, I'll send it to Oppa for a look."

"I'll talk to you when you have time." Li Yuan said, glancing at the others. "You guys need to study hard too. The group can't be built up by Xiao Juan alone. You guys need to step up in crucial moments."

"We're trying our best," Song Yuqi wailed as she lay down on the sofa. "But creating music is so difficult, and it's so dependent on talent. I've tried writing lyrics, and the things I wrote were so bad that even I couldn't stand them."

"Why don't I have your talent?!"

"You need talent, but you can't stop learning," Li Yuan said. "You'll be even busier after you debut, so you can only try to find time for it."

"How about this!" Song Yuqi suddenly sat up. "Brother, you write me two songs, and I'll say I wrote them myself, how about that?"

"It doesn't have to be something like 'What is Love?', anything like 'Dumb Dumb' will do."

Xu Suizhen, who was holding a cup, paused for a moment after hearing Song Yuqi's words.

She had heard that Li Yuan was a producer before she came, but she didn't expect that these two popular songs were produced by him.

How many of his songs did she hear but not know?

Xu Suizhen silently counted the popular songs of TWICE and Red Velvet in her mind, and the more she counted, the more her scalp tingled.

"You really know how to come up with ideas, and you even came up with something random." Li Yuan's lips twitched. "You don't understand anything. You'll be exposed as soon as someone asks you a couple of questions."

"Ugh! So annoying!" Song Yuqi fell straight backward, crashing onto the sofa cushion with a thud.

"And your dancing skills..." Li Yuan sighed, "I didn't want to say this, but apart from... Susu and Xiaojuan, the others are just too casual, aren't they?"

"Thank you," Xu Suizhen said softly.

Looking at Xu Suizhen so cautiously, Li Yuan suddenly felt a sense of pity.

Her controversial case is, in essence, a Rashomon-like affair. It eventually fizzled out, with the court closing the case with a "no referral" decision, but the online trial has never stopped.

The company didn't seem to want to protect her, so in the end, the only option left was to terminate the contract.

Where can a dancer go after leaving the stage and the spotlight?

After Xu Suizhen left, (G)i-dle's dance performances declined further and further.

A girl group that sings and dances will always be flawed if it lacks dancing.

"Okay." Li Yuan made up his mind, nodded at her, and said, "Just because you thanked me, I'll help you if you ever need anything in the future."

In reality, a simple thank you could not have such an effect. Li Yuan just felt a little sorry for her—a person who clearly had the ability, but disappeared from the industry because of an inexplicable incident.

"Um... thank you." Xu Suizhen was still unaware of what had happened, only noticing a change in Li Yuan's expression and a certain... look in his eyes as he looked at her.

Pitiful? But she quickly dismissed that thought.

How could he pity himself? They had only met for the first time today.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Song Yuqi exclaimed repeatedly upon hearing Li Yuan's words. "Brother, you have to help me too! I want some too! If you don't help me, you're being unfair!"

"Are you ever going to stop?" Li Yuan said irritably. "Look at you and Ya Ya, can you really be friends? You two are always arguing."

"Ya Ya, is that Choi Ye-na?" Song Yuqi asked curiously.

"Produce 48" has been airing for more than two months, and Choi Ye-na from Yuehua Entertainment is still quite popular because of her strong skills, outgoing personality, and likable character.

"Yeah, you two really do look alike." Li Yuan smiled, his gaze sweeping over Song Yuqi's face. "You both have puppy eyes, similar features, and you were both born in 99. You're about the same height and your voices are similar too."

The two are quite popular as a "Peking Duck Couple" in the fandom, and they also have a good relationship in private.

The main problem is that it's very noisy.

I'm going to see Ahn Yoo-jin in a couple of days, and she'll definitely be bothering me again.

"So she's pretty impressive!" Song Yuqi said smugly. "She's bound to achieve great things in the future!"

"I will convey this message to her," Li Yuan said as he got up and began clearing the table of dishes.

"What is Oppa doing?" Tian Xiaojuan quickly snatched the bowl from his hand. "I can do these. You cooked, so of course we'll wash the dishes."

"I'll do it, I'll do it!" Zhao Meiyan ran over, rolled up her sleeves to reveal her two fair forearms. "I wasn't much help, but I can still wash the dishes!"

The two carried the plates and bowls to the kitchen, and in the end, Xu Suizhen, who worked silently, wiped the table clean.

"Thank you for your hard work."