Chapter 106: It Will Get Better

ther metrics did not meet our requirements. We commissioned a statistics company to analyze public opinion on the album 'MAMA' and provide us with insights...""...This project has taken the problems e...Chi Jingyuan gave up his original plan to just switch off his phone. After sending the text message, he put his phone aside and waited for a while. At the same time, his new phone started ringing non-stop. The text messages he had sent to his family and friends earlier about his new number were now getting replies:

"Why did you suddenly change your number Did the old one stop working"

"Ok, I've saved it. Let's grab some food in two days when you have time."

"Yes, the first one to tell me"

Most of them were asking why Chi Jingyuan suddenly changed his phone number. He didn't elaborate much, just replied to a few casually.

After sending a few messages, his phone vibrated again. He picked it up and saw that the message he had just sent had been replied to.

“So... you really are Yuan Oppa”

"I have a, the number is xxxxxx.... but no one pays attention to it..."

After quickly glancing at the two messages, Chi Jingyuan picked up his phone with a new number and logged into his account. He started searching for the number sent by this fan.

"Are you really Yuan Oppa I can't believe it, please don't joke like that..."

During the operation, another message from the other party immediately followed. It was clear that they were very surprised at this moment, and their tone didn't quite believe what Chi Jingyuan said. However, there was a palpable hint of anticipation hidden within it.

However, Chi Jingyuan didn't continue to reply. He had already searched for the number the other party sent on s and directly clicked to view the information.

"seoyeon"

After silently repeating the name, I realized it was Ruian, a very common female name. It's highly common on the peninsula, and using your own name as a sid isn't quite in line with current young people's trends.

}

And just as ordinary as the name, this s account has been around since the first picture upload almost two years ago, but with less than ten fans, it looks pathetic. In recent months, it hasn't been updated much, seeming to have given up on playing on this photo-based social platform.

In the beginning, this fan also uploaded a few selfies. Although the lighting was dim and the angles and hair style were a bit unconventional, after looking at them several times, Ji Jingyuan thought she didn't look as bad as she said she did.

Her eyes are a little small, and her face is slightly chubby. Her expression doesn't seem very confident.

It's not beautiful, nor ugly, just ordinary.

But where are there so many handsome men and beautiful women, and there aren't so many female fans. This kind of relatively ordinary and ordinary girl is the one who is with him, and in their EXO fan group, she accounts for the absolute majority.

They may not be the most attractive, but their support and love for their idols are no less than anyone else, even surpassing some.

While Chi Jingyuan's eyes were also very clear, there was nothing unusual about them.

"Sent you a private message."

After following, he sent one last message through his phone, then sent a laughing emoji to the other party via private message, and began to wait.

At this time, just after class, Li Ruien was the only one left in the classroom, sitting alone at her desk and scrolling through her phone. She received a text message, and her earlier anxiety instantly froze her. Her heart pounded, racing to an extreme, as if it were about to burst out of her chest. A certain possibility flashed through her mind, and a rush of blood surged through her, causing even her fingers to tremble.

She quickly opened her account, which she hadn't logged into in a long time. Even the short few seconds of loading made her feel somewhat annoyed.

Logged into the account, looking at the newly added private messages made me hesitate to even click on them. After a second of deliberation, I clicked in with force. As soon as I did, I saw the smiling face emoji sent by the other party.

However, that wasn't the point. Lee Ruei-yen instantly saw the other person's large, round face with a Doraemon avatar, and the very famous 'thy.' ID.

But these could all be fake, after all, Chi Jingyuan's s account is very famous.

She only trembled and clicked on the other person's profile picture, and when she saw that the other person had nearly seventeen million fans, Li Ruien froze there. Although it confirmed her thoughts, it didn't disappoint her fantasy, but after really confirming that the one she was talking to was the idol she admired and hoped for most, she didn't know what to say, her whole body felt stiff, as if she were dreaming.

After a while, she felt her heart pounding, but she was also trembling with anxiety as she reopened the private message interface. For a moment, she was speechless and didn't know what to say.

Before she wasn't sure of the other person's identity, although she was a little hesitant, she could still communicate and apologize with a calm mind. However, facing someone who has always been high above her, someone from a completely different world, or 'light', the inferiority complex and timidity she had hidden in her heart seemed to have taken away her ability to communicate.

"Aniu, are you Ruiyan How did you know my previous phone number"

However, the other party seemed to understand and thought about her current emotions. After sending an emoji and waiting for a while, they proactively asked again.

Seeing the newly received message, Lee Ru-yeon forced a deep breath, raised her head and glanced strangely at her classmates who were chatting in groups, then started replying as fast as she could, as if the other person was about to leave the next second.

"Annyeonghaseyo! Yes, yes oppa, my name is Lee Yuri!"

"I saw this on a music forum post, not a very popular platform. A few days ago, someone posted saying they knew your phone number and it was very accurate. After that, although I wasn't very convinced, I tried sending a text message. Unexpectedly, it really was you, Oppa... I'm so sorry for the trouble I've caused you."

She sent a long message at once. Lee Rue Yan stared intently at the screen, feeling very nervous. This was her first time truly interacting with her idol outside of a program setting. It was a real private conversation, and she was worried that their interaction would only be this short exchange.

...This time, the man across from her, Ji Jingyuan, seemed to be seriously reading her reply, perhaps considering something. He didn't respond for a minute or two, which made Li Ruoyan increasingly anxious.

After two or three minutes, her phone finally vibrated, as if expecting it. She clicked on it and saw another wall of text. Li Ruien pursed her lips and read it aloud seriously.

"So that's how it is. I was wondering what was going on. It was a bit of a burden, but I've changed my number..."

"I see from your recent messages that things haven't been great for you lately… I understand. This kind of thing is actually quite common. Feeling isolated and ostracized is definitely tough. You probably won't believe this, but I was also bullied in school (wink). They probably thought I wasn't good-looking enough... When Amy went to school, she also encountered some things because of her Asian identity."

"But to be honest, these things haven't really bothered me too much. Maybe it's because I'm a more independent person. There are many reasons for being excluded and isolated. Sometimes it's because the environment around you isn't very good, or the people you meet are too…extreme. But sometimes it could be that you haven't met friends who click with you, or maybe you have, but due to a lack of confidence or some other reason, you haven't taken the initiative to reach out and cultivate those friendships."

"Ruien, you said that many of your classmates and people you've met are fans of Ailee, right... Well, give me your address. We don't have any local concerts recently so I can't send tickets, but in a few days, I can send you a few from the regular second album that will be released next month. You want autographs from whomever, it's okay! I can get them for you, all members together is also fine. You could try sharing them with others and making some friends who have the same interests."

"Or we could wait until our next local show, at the showcase, I'll give you some front-row tickets. You can find your friends who like EXO and tell them 'Want to come see an EXO concert with me'"

Although it might sound a bit shameless to say, XO's popularity right now is still pretty decent. I think it should be able to play a small part at least.

"Oh my, I haven't typed this much in ages. My hands are probably sore from lack of exercise. My agent is calling me, so I might have to go to work soon. Make sure you send me your address, and be as detailed as possible."

"...Finally, don't worry, it will be alright (pat on the head)."

As I kept reading, for some reason, the intense excitement and nervousness I felt before gradually subsided. I no longer felt as awkward and out of place as if I were about to speak with a god.

Just as Lee Rue-yeon was looking, tears welled up in her eyes, flowing down her cheeks at some point. She bit her lip tightly, not making a sound, but the tears flowed like an overflowing river that could not be controlled.

At the end, looking at Chi Jingyuan's last words and his very intimate "head pat" expression, she stayed silent for a while, crying with tears in her eyes that held a smile, unable to control herself.

…………

Hearing the agent's call, Ji Jingyuan put down his phone and moved his fingers.

This kind of fan, whose living conditions are poor and who is ostracized and bullied, was made into a pillar of support without him knowing. Honestly, this feeling didn't bring Ji Jingyuan any sense of accomplishment; instead, it felt like a burden, heavy and uncomfortable.

And this kind of situation happens too often. It's common in the campus of the peninsula, and it's also seen everywhere else. He can't really do anything about it.

However, since he happened to see it, Ji Jingyuan wasn't stingy about helping this fan out in some small ways. Sending albums and tickets are things he could do, and they're also the most appropriate way to go about it.

Whether you pretend not to see anything at all, or intervene too deeply and help too much, neither is really suitable.

I just hope these things will be of some use...

After waiting for a minute and not seeing the other party send an address, Ji Jingyuan put all his cell phones away, slung his bag over his shoulder, and walked out. After greeting his manager and members, he began his work schedule for the day.

But he didn't know that his attention to Lee Ryeon's matter, which was less than a minute, had already been noticed by many fans who paid special attention to him in his.

Park Gyuri himself only has a few followers, and he doesn't follow many people either. He mainly follows fellow celebrities from the same circle. Red Velvet doesn't have individual accounts, and Girls' Generation only follows Taeyeon. Surprisingly, he hasn't even followed all of EXO.

The last new follow was half-island gui, which caused quite a stir at the time. Many people imagined and predicted what kind of cooperation there might be between Ji Jingyuan and gui in the future, which delighted fans for a while.

And today, in Ji Jingyuan's originally not-so-large list of followers, a name that no one had ever heard of suddenly appeared. Some fans clicked on it and discovered that it was completely an ordinary person's account, with absolutely no connection to EXO at all. This left them quite confused for a while.

But when some fans became curious and began to follow this amateur account to see what was so peculiar about it, EXO had already completed two schedules and arrived at the gymnastics stadium.

Today they will be guests at the Seoul concert of their senior group, TVXQ, and there will also be a special collaborative stage.

He had already practiced with the company before, so this rehearsal was just to familiarize himself with the flow and positions. There wasn't much of a problem with that. After exchanging greetings and smiles with TVXQ and their manager, Ji Kyeong-won sat down in the audience with some members to watch these two senior artists rehearse.

It has to be said, seniors are seniors. TVXQ debuted over a decade ago and their popularity remains high today. Although their momentum in the Korean market may not be as strong as the recent surge of new artists, they are still one of the top groups in Japan. Their annual tours are always incredibly popular, with tickets selling out quickly.

Even if only two people remain, it doesn't affect the group's vibrancy and heat, especially when the stage design is more carefully considered.

Looking at the two seniors who were rehearsing very seriously, Ji Jingyuan felt a little sentimental. Exo was now considered to have no shortcomings in all aspects. With four main vocalists in the male group, their configuration was luxurious. The level of the main dancers was also excellent, and for idols, the most important part of their appearance was even more outstanding. Many fans and netizens commented online that Exo had been rated as the male group with the highest average appearance value in history, none of them were comparable.

It's not just fans who say this, many passersby also agree with this conclusion, and even some black fans can't refute it.

Everything was great, but I felt like the live stage effects were a bit lacking. It seemed like they were just missing something to make it truly amazing.

Compared to the performance of Dong Bang Shin Gi on stage, there is still some gap.

Speaking of which, the other three members who left JYJ have also been doing well individually. The original lineup of TVXQ was truly impressive.

During the dress rehearsal, he had his phone on silent but it kept vibrating. Knowing that he had changed his number, many of his friends who knew about it sent him messages one after another. It seemed like Zhou Tzuyu also knew the reason why he suddenly disappeared two days ago.

After learning that her number had been exposed, she first expressed concern and inquired about the situation. She learned that nothing serious had happened and that after changing her number, she immediately revealed her true nature, uttering a few gleeful remarks about misfortune befalling others.

And Pei Zhuxuan specifically asked about the situation and secretly told Ji Kyeong-won that when he sent out the text messages, all five members of Red Velvet were having breakfast together, but only three people received the new number. The other two members' expressions became a bit unpleasant after they found out.

>>>

Along the way, he also received an address sent by Li Ruien, as well as a long string of thank-you and moving replies. The sentences were somewhat disjointed and the wording a bit fragmented, which seemed a little awkward at first glance. However, in a way, it highlighted the sincerity and intensity of her feelings.

After carefully reading through it, Chi Jingyuan didn't say anything, he just said 'Fightg (Go for it).'

He saved the other person's address and since EXO's second regular album won't be released for almost half a month, he was worried that he might forget it later so he specially wrote it down in his memo.

He's not prepared to have Park Bo Gum take over at this time, and if he has time then, he plans to personally mail the albums or tickets himself.

It could have solved the trouble of number exposure, or it might be a small help that he himself gave to his fans who support him unconditionally. From morning till night, Park Kyung-won had a great mood all day long. After the performance on the special stage in the evening, EXO left the venue and after running two more schedules, they all returned to the company.

"As I told you before, tomorrow is a holiday, right"

"Wow wow wow wow!"

In the practice room, after manager Lee Seung-hwan's announcement, everyone immediately excitedly howled and screamed, as if Bian Bai Xian even began to act like a gorilla, repeatedly hitting his mouth with his hands and making howling sounds, his excitement overflowing.

No matter how short the holiday, being able to have a break is always a happy thing.

"Do whatever you want, just remember not to do anything you shouldn't. You have to be back in the dormitory before midnight and tomorrow morning we still have a commercial shoot…"

exo is no longer a group that needs strict management and has to report wherever they go. Nowadays, their company basically doesn't interfere much with their private lives, as long as they don't break any laws or do anything bad, and even if they get caught, it's okay.

Many artists on the peninsula have developed eccentric behaviors and hobbies due to immense pressure from survival and work, as well as an inflated sense of self-importance stemming from unconditional adoration by fans. This distorted perception of themselves often leads to actions that are more unconventional than those of ordinary people in private.

Both artists and companies are already used to it.

"Do you all remember" Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

OK!

"Ok, that's enough for today..." Lee Seung-hwan looked at the playful children with a knowing smile and clapped his hands. Then, he called out to Jiyeongwon, "Jiyeongwon, come with me for a moment."

"Okay," Chi Jingyuan replied, getting up and following behind. At the same time, he shrugged at Wu Shixun, who had just called him back, preparing to ask what was up, and followed Li Cheng Huan out.

As the two chatted casually, they walked all the way to Lee Seung-hwan's office. After Lee Seung-hwan took two drinks, he took out a document and handed it to Ji Kyeong-won.

Qi Jingyuan glanced at the title and gist, and casually asked:

"Variety show"

First published on the Traditional Chinese Novel Networkembers pointed at him with exaggerated expressions and teased him.The camera gave Ji Jingyuan a close-up shot. He was dressed normally, in sports shorts and sneakers, but when viewers saw his shirt, t...