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

Chapter 14: Whoever dares to touch my trees, I'll raze their entire forest.

"Unnie, are you serious?" Song Yuqi swallowed, her voice trembling slightly. "That guy Liu Yu, who's only good at adjusting pitch and his sarcastic remarks, you actually want to become a killing tree for him? Are all the good men in the world dead? Or is there some kind of hallucinogen added to CUBE's food?"

Zhao Meiyan, unusually, also put away her amused expression. She reached out and gently touched Tian Xiaojuan's forehead, then compared it to her own temperature, muttering in confusion, "No fever. Xiaojuan, although Liu Yu did look quite presentable after getting ready today, you have to understand, looks are worthless compared to personality flaws. His mouth is so venomous it could kill the fish in the Han River. What do you see in him? His fast auto-tuning? Or his ability to verbally abuse you until you question your existence?"

Tian Xiaojuan didn't speak, but simply pressed her forehead against the cold glass window, watching the neon lights recede outside. After a long while, she chuckled softly. That chuckle lacked her usual domineering air, instead carrying a hint of coquettishness and softness that she only showed in front of Liu Yu.

"You think he's a jerk, right?" Tian Xiaojuan turned her face, her eyes shining brightly. "He's foul-mouthed, selfish, stingy, and has no ambition. He spends all his time hiding in that dark recording studio as a 'vocal thief'."

"Isn't that right?" Song Yuqi added.

"That's his current shell," Tian Xiaojuan said softly. "I've liked him for almost three years. Since 16, so long that I've almost forgotten it myself. Before I became the leader of (G)I-DLE, when I was still that 'ugly duckling' who was rejected by everyone because of my appearance and cried in the practice room every day, he was already there."

The car fell completely silent, and even the agent in the front seat quietly turned down the volume of the car stereo.

"Back in 16, before I participated in Produce 101, I had actually already planned to give up." Jeon So-yeon's voice was very calm. "Everyone said I didn't have the look of a girl group member, and that I could only write songs in a basement for the rest of my life. At that time, Liu Yu had just come to Korea and his Korean was even worse than Yuqi's is now, but he listened to me rap for a whole afternoon in that leaky basement."

"What did he say?" Zhao Meiyan asked curiously.

"He took off my headphones, shoved a cold seaweed rice roll into my mouth, and then said to me in his broken Korean, 'Hey, Jeon So-yeon, you're not exactly pretty, but your voice has fire. If you don't go and show those idiots what real talent is, you'll just be an ugly basement potato.'"

Tian Xiaojuan imitated Liu Yu's irritating tone, but her eyes glistened with tears. "That was the first time someone told me that there was fire in my voice. Later, when I went on a show, I was cyberbullied and called ugly. Every time I felt like I couldn't take it anymore, he would send me a text message. There were no long words of comfort, just threats like, 'If you dare to come back crying, I'll delete all the demos you wrote.'"

Song Yuqi opened her mouth, and after a long while, she finally blurted out, "This does look quite like him."

"So, without him, there would be no Tian Xiaojuan today." Tian Xiaojuan leaned back in her chair, her tone becoming firm. "He gave me all the light, while hiding in the shadows himself. He's not a bad person, he just... locked himself away. Since he doesn't want to come out, then I'll go in and keep him company. If he wants to find the forest, I'll become the biggest, the most lush one, so that even with his eyes closed, he can run into my arms."

Zhao Meiyan sighed and shook her head helplessly: "This isn't just being love-struck anymore, this is playing the soulmate game. Yuqi, let's try to persuade her less in the future. I'm afraid that one day Liu Yu will actually be strangled to death by her and we'll have to deliver his prison food."

Song Yuqi nodded vigorously in agreement, then picked up the duck neck again: "Alright, since he's both my savior and my mentor, I can only wish you success soon. But seriously, if those IZ*ONE kids really get lured away by Liu Yu's 'good-looking' appearance tomorrow, don't turn into a fox and bite them in the recording studio."

"They dare!" Tian Xiaojuan's eyes sharpened instantly. "I'm going to the scene tomorrow too... If anyone dares to touch my trees, I'll raze their entire forest to the ground."

……

Liu Yu was facing the mirror, clumsily trying to untie that damned tie. After struggling for a while, he finally pulled it down violently, which caused him to roll his eyes back and almost die on the spot.

"Damn it, Tian Xiaojuan is definitely trying to assassinate me." Liu Yu gave the middle finger to the elite man in the mirror.

The phone on the table vibrated; it was a message from Representative Cui:

"Liu Yu, I've sent you the shooting schedule for tomorrow. Remember, you can wear a mask, but your eyes need to be sharp, giving off that 'even though I'm wearing a mask, you can still sense that I'm a master' victor. Also, IZ*ONE's manager said to be gentle during the recording, and don't keep making people cry, it affects the aesthetics of the footage."

Liu Yu replied with a single word, "Get lost," and then lay down on the sofa.

……

the next day.

The members of IZ*ONE arrived one after another. The group of girls gathered together, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of perfume and their cheerful laughter.

"Unnie, did you hear? Teacher Liu Yu is going to be filming behind-the-scenes footage today!" Ahn Yoo-jin excitedly grabbed Kwon Eun-bi's hand, her eyes sparkling.

Kwon Eunbi, who was busy adjusting Kim Minju's collar, gave a wry smile upon hearing this: "Who knows? But since we're filming behind-the-scenes footage, he'll probably tidy himself up a bit, right? Minju, don't be nervous during the recording today. Even if he yells at you, just pretend you didn't hear it, okay?"

Kim Minju nodded obediently, clutching the notebook filled with notes tightly in her hand, but her eyes revealed curiosity.

Zhang Yuanying walked at the back of the group, casually touching up her lipstick with a small mirror in her hand.

Zhang Yuanying chuckled and closed the mirror. "I think that uncle might give us a surprise."

When the members pushed open the door to the recording studio, they were all instantly petrified.

In front of the control panel, a man wearing a black trench coat, thin gold-rimmed glasses, and a black mask sat with his back to them. His posture was no longer as slumped as before; his back was straight, and his slender fingers danced nimbly on the mixing console.

Hearing the door open, the man slowly turned his head.

Although the mask covered most of his face, his deep and indifferent eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses, combined with his meticulously styled layered hair, instantly exuded a breathtaking aura of a professional elite.

"They're here?" Liu Yu's voice was still nonchalant, but it sounded strangely sexy and magnetic to the girls. "Don't just stand there, the cameras are set up. Kwon Eun-bi, lead the team to get ready. Ahn Yoo-jin, stop looking at me like I'm an alien and get to work."

Ahn Yu-jin subconsciously swallowed and muttered softly, "Daiba...is he really that handsome?!"

Zhang Yuanying stood in the crowd, staring intently at Liu Yu's eyes that were visible through his mask, her fingernails unconsciously digging into her palms.

"What a surprise...it's really big," she murmured, a hint of excitement flashing in her eyes.