Peninsula: The sharp-tongued producer is forced to work.

Chapter 12 You're Not Allowed to Go Like This Tomorrow!

"Representative, I think the overseas allowance is worth discussing further. After all, every second my face appears on camera is a blow to the average appearance of the Korean entertainment industry... Feed? Representative? You damn Choi the Skinflint..."

Liu Yu rolled his eyes at the busy signal from his phone and was about to throw the junk in the trash when the recording studio door was suddenly pushed open with great force.

Tian Xiaojuan rushed in with great enthusiasm, followed by Zhao Meiyan, who looked on with great interest, as if she had already brought out a small stool and was ready to watch the show.

"Liu Yu! Stand up!" Tian Xiaojuan slammed her hand on the control panel, making the expensive monitor speakers tremble three times.

Liu Yu didn't even lift his eyelids, continuing to stare at the project documents: "Producer Tian, ​​what brings you here? If it's to apologize for what happened last night, I'll accept your bank transfer; if it's to revise the song, please wait until next Wednesday."

"Change the song my ass!" Tian Xiaojuan grabbed Liu Yu's hoodie. "I heard from Representative Cui that you're going to film behind-the-scenes footage of IZ*ONE tomorrow?"

Liu Yu sighed, leaning back in his chair with a look of utter despair: "Yeah, for that damn money, I sold my soul and my image rights. What, you're planning to collect royalties?"

Zhao Meiyan leaned closer, her beautiful eyes scanning Liu Yu up and down before she shook her head in disdain: "Liu Yu, is this all you're planning to wear? You don't look like a producer, you look like a suspect who just got arrested by the police after spending the night at an internet cafe."

"So what if he's a suspect? Suspects have to work too," Liu Yu argued. "Besides, shooting behind-the-scenes footage is about realism. That's how I usually do it; it's called an immersive experience."

"Get ready, my foot!" Tian Xiaojuan grabbed Liu Yu's arm and dragged him outside without a word. "Come with me. Mei Yan's sister has already booked appointments at the beauty salon and stylist. If you don't look presentable today, don't even think about getting into this recording studio tomorrow!"

"Hey! Hey! Tian Xiaojuan, let go! I haven't finished post-production yet! I need to fix An Youzhen's vibrato for three hours! That's a work injury! That's a matter of life and death!"

Liu Yu's protest was as weak as a stray cat being held by the scruff of its neck by Tian Xiaojuan, a female team leader with amazing core strength from years of dance training.

Half an hour later, at a high-end styling salon in Gangnam District, Seoul.

Liu Yu was pressed into a chair like a corpse, letting the stylist do all sorts of things to his head and face.

With his eyes closed, he kept muttering to himself, "How much does it cost to cut this? How many bowls of pork rib soup could that buy me? Tian Xiaojuan, I'm warning you, you have to pay for this. If you dare to swipe my card, I'll change all your demos to the style of a children's song channel."

"Shut up!" Tian Xiaojuan sat on the sofa next to him, holding a fashion magazine, but her eyes kept glancing at Liu Yu. "Unnie, what hairstyle do you think we should give him?"

Zhao Meiyan stroked her chin, scrutinizing him with a professional expression: "He actually has a very good foundation, it's just that he always hunches his neck and wears those lousy glasses to cover it up. If you pull his bangs back, reveal his forehead, and give him a clean and neat slicked-back hairstyle, and replace those black-rimmed glasses with thin gold-rimmed ones, he'll definitely have that 'ascetic, strict producer' vibe."

"Abstinent type? He's just the type nobody wants," Tian Xiaojuan retorted, but her eyes shone with an alarming light.

Two hours later.

When Liu Yu walked out of the dressing room wearing a fitted dark gray shirt and a high-quality black long trench coat, Tian Xiaojuan was almost speechless.

Her originally messy black hair was trimmed into a very layered style, revealing her forehead and making her eyes appear deep and sharp.

Those thin gold-rimmed glasses perched on his straight nose not only concealed the dark circles under his eyes from years of staying up late, but also added to his refined yet roguish elite air.

"Hey, Tian Xiaojuan, your collar is too tight, I feel like I'm suffocating." Liu Yu said, tugging at his tie and frowning as he looked towards the sofa.

Tian Xiaojuan froze, her lips slightly parted, as if she had been frozen in time. She had always known that Liu Yu was good-looking, but she had never imagined that this slovenly, expressionless man who argued with her endlessly could be so aggressively handsome.

My heart was pounding wildly in my ears, and the bittersweet emotions that had been buried deep in my heart for years erupted like a tsunami.

"Liu Yu..."

Tian Xiaojuan stood up subconsciously, her throat dry, and the words "I like you" that she had kept hidden in her heart almost came out between her teeth.

Liu Yu felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at Tian Xiaojuan, who had been silent for a long time with a strange expression. He subconsciously took a step back and said, "What's wrong with you? Are you possessed? Or is this outfit too expensive and you regret it? Let me tell you, you've already bought it, it's embarrassing to return it."

Zhao Meiyan sat to the side, holding a juice provided by the stylist shop, her eyes wide open, watching the scene with great interest.

She even wanted to mentally encourage Tian Xiaojuan: Go for it! Xiaojuan! Now's your chance! Confess your feelings! The atmosphere is electric!

Tian Xiaojuan suddenly came to her senses, and she covered her mouth tightly, forcibly silencing her confession.

No, I can't say.

What if he rejects me after I tell him? What if we lose even this daily routine of mutual dislike?

more importantly--

Tian Xiaojuan's gaze swept over Liu Yu's refreshed face, and suddenly the image of the twelve little fairies of IZ*ONE surrounding him tomorrow flashed through her mind.

A sense of crisis, an unprecedented sense of crisis.

If Liu Yu were to appear before that group of teenage girls looking like this tomorrow...

"You're not allowed to go like this tomorrow!" Tian Xiaojuan suddenly roared, pointing at Liu Yu's face with a fierce look in her eyes, as if she wanted to devour him.

Liu Yu was stunned by the shout, spreading his hands in a bewildered expression: "What's wrong with you?! Who was it that insisted on dragging me here to get ready? Now that it's all done, you won't let me wear it? Tian Xiaojuan, are you going through early menopause?"

"You're the one going through menopause!" Tian Xiaojuan stormed over, trying to ruffle his freshly styled hair. "Anyway, you're not allowed to go out like this tomorrow! You...you put that hoodie back on! And change back to those black-rimmed glasses! No, you'd better wear a mask and cover your whole face!"

"I don't care! You're not allowed to go like this tomorrow!" Tian Xiaojuan shouted arrogantly, her face flushed red.

Liu Yu looked at her like she was crazy: "Tian Xiaojuan, are you out of your mind? Representative Cui told me to tidy myself up, and now you want me to wear that suspect's outfit you mentioned? Do you want me to get my overtime pay docked?"

"I'll make it up to you! I'll give you double!" Tian Xiaojuan shouted angrily.

Zhao Meiyan was laughing so hard she was almost out of breath. She put down her juice, wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, and exclaimed with satisfaction, "Wow, isn't this much more interesting than TV dramas? Xiao Juan, your possessiveness is practically tearing the roof off this shop."

"Shut up, Unnie!" Tian Xiaojuan shouted as she turned around, then turned back to glare at Liu Yu.

Liu Yu sighed, shook his head helplessly, and turned to straighten his tie in front of the mirror.

"Incomprehensible."

He looked at the unfamiliar reflection in the mirror, then glanced at the ferocious little fox behind him, its eyes darting around nervously.

"I don't know what's wrong with you, but since the money's already spent, I have to go tomorrow. That's called professionalism, understand? Producer Tian."

Liu Yu gave Tian Xiaojuan a faint but extremely arrogant smile.

Looking at that smile, Tian Xiaojuan felt her mind go completely blank and turn into a jumbled mess.

It's over, we really can't hold on anymore.

Drink it while it's hot!