"Oba, are you coming back today?"

"When will XO's predecessors return?"

Not long after leaving JYP, Ji Jingyuan received a text message from several members of TWICE, and after exchanging numbers, it was obvious that they did not mean to lie in the address book, and they would occasionally contact each other, among which Kim Da-hyun was a little bit more talkative, and then Yu Ding-yeon and Sasha Minato-saki.

Ji Jingyuan has a good impression of Kim Daxian, a very quiet and cute girl, and she is very good at making sycophants to please people, Yu Dingyan has known each other before, and Sasha Minato Saki is more cheerful, likes and is good at socializing.

In the face of Kim Daxian's inquiry, Ji Jingyuan did not hide it, but said the truth: "I don't know." ”

He really doesn't know, so far SM is only tentatively scheduling EXO's return time in June, which will be adjusted according to the progress of the album's preparation, and it has not yet been clarified which day it will return.

However, judging from the progress of the regular three series now, the company should already have a schedule.

"Are you free on the 22nd?"

The text message sent by Zhou Ziyu did not talk about what happened just now, but asked about Chi Jingyuan's time.

"There should be, what's wrong?"

Recently, Chi Jingyuan has been relatively idle, or it can't be said that they are idle, but their time is relatively free during the preparation period of the album.

"We had a half-day off that day...... Didn't I say I was going to invite you to dinner last time? ”

"I thought you forgot, what, saved enough money?"

"Who forgot, it's just that I was too busy some time ago...... You're not here or not. ”

"I said I had time."

"Okay, then I'll call you then...... By the way, can you also wear today's makeup that day? ”

"Goodbye."

……

I guessed that the company should make moves in the next few days, and as expected, as Chi Jingyuan expected, within two days, the EXO group was gathered in the company's conference room for a meeting, and the exact time of the return of the three episodes was officially announced.

"The official release date of EXO's regular third album "EX'ACT" is set for June 9th, and the concept photos will be released a week in advance for the first wave of promotion, the teaser video will be released on the 6th, the sound source and MV of "Lucky One" will be released at 11 o'clock on the 8th, and the return chowcase will be held on the 5th of the day, and the MV and full music source of the two title songs will be released at 0:00 on the 9th."

"All the publicity plans will be held at the same time, and we will also record some programs at the same time to accompany the return, so you can prepare yourself when the time comes." As he spoke, Lee Seung-hwan glanced at the EXO members who were listening attentively next to him.

"Got it." Everyone nodded in response,

At the same time, three weeks in advance, the first song "Fire" will be released on May 12 for a preliminary warm-up, and the first song is expected to be active for a week, and some adjustments will be made according to the market reaction and fan response.

""Fire" will not participate in too many singing activities, and will not play songs in the first week except for the first stage during the event period, and will only arrange about three stage performances in total, mainly to warm up the regular album, and at the same time keep fans passionate and eager to buy...... If the response is too good, adjust it then. ”

"The pre-sale channel for the regular third album "EX'ACT" will officially open after the end of the precursor event, and we will ...... it"

The agent and the director of the company were babbling on it one after another, but in fact, the information on the schedule had already been sent, and Chi Jingyuan sat in his position and listened carefully while looking at the timetable in his hand.

The release plan of the previous regular album was actually okay, it was relatively conventional, and when he heard the company's arrangement for the precursor song, he couldn't help but smack his lips in his heart.

Gee.

Listen to what it means to "not participate in too many singing activities", "not to sing in the first week outside the first stage", and "a total of three performances".

It's arrogant.

However, Chi Jingyuan thinks it's normal, they are EXO, and they are the TOP combination of today's Peninsula Broken Level, as long as the popularity and purpose are achieved, there is really no need to fight with newcomers for one shot and exposure.

And the first song in front of it is too hyped, which wears out the feelings of fans and the market, but will make the regular albums in the back lose some freshness.

It's just that on May 12th......

Looking at the time of the release of the precursor song, Ji Jingyuan suddenly remembered the upcoming return of twice.

Such a coincidence?

No......

But they're April 25, and although they are returning at the same time, it's been nearly three weeks after all, so it's okay, and the general song is about to end by this time.

It's good, he doesn't have to feel too guilty.

……

Although the specific time for the return has been confirmed, and the prelude song will be released in about three weeks, the work related to "fire" has actually been completed, and the remaining EXO only needs to prepare the remaining songs of the album step by step, so there is still plenty of time.

Soon it was time to make an appointment with Zhou Ziyu for dinner, Chi Jingyuan drove the car and parked near the JYP building, where he and Zhou Ziyu often met, and waited for a while with his mobile phone, and saw a tall figure appear in the rearview mirror from the rearview mirror.

Chi Jingyuan saw the very familiar fat hat on the man's head at a glance, but even if he didn't see this iconic dress, he could recognize this person as Zhou Ziyu at a glance from his figure and the way he walked.

Zhou Ziyu wore a mask and a hat, and walked quickly with a brown casual cloth bag on her back, she suddenly stopped after seeing a black car parked in a familiar location that she had never seen before, the abrupt stop and the look of probing her brain to see Chi Jingyuan in the car almost laughed, under his gaze, Zhou Ziyu wandered around the car several times and rechecked the license plate number before finally determined, and came over and knocked on the door.

As the car door opened and closed, with the obvious change in temperature, it was a fresh and soft fragrance that poured in with her body, a combination of shampoo, clothes and perfume, because Zhou Ziyu's preference for every smell is light, but at this time, it is extremely refreshing to smell it in the small space in the car.

"Why did you change cars again?"

As soon as she came in, she looked at Chi Jingyuan at the first glance to confirm that it was that person, then looked left and right at the interior of the car, and finally looked at the person next to her, with a little complaint, and asked with some curiosity.

Hearing the voice and asking, Chi Jingyuan turned his head to look over, and what caught his eye was a pair of big eyes with gods, and a slightly different dress than before.

The light-colored line shirt is a little slim, and the waist is specially designed to make the waistline and the ups and downs of the chest outline a little obvious, with a pair of casual black trousers and white sneakers underneath.

Because this album is dyed in the primary color of black hair slightly curly draped over her shoulders, and her head is still wearing the blue headband that Ji Jingyuan gave her before.

Chi Jingyuan's gaze stopped for a second on the women's cloth bag that Zhou Ziyu placed on his lap.

remembers that she used to carry a schoolbag, but half a year after her debut, she actually had a little bit of femininity.

It's just that although Zhou Ziyu has made a lot of progress in dressing up, under the stereotype of Chi Jingyuan, she feels that her face is full of innocence, and her big eyes blink very much, which makes people want to bully.

"Because the space was too small before, you were too strong to sit down." Chi Jingyuan replied casually, and at the same time specially swept Zhou Ziyu's round thighs together.

"You ......"

Sure enough, his movements were very lethal, the girl reflexively slammed her legs together, and at the same time tried to cover it with her bag, and Chi Jingyuan looked at her frowning brows and laughed in his heart, without waiting for her to complain, he started the car directly, and at the same time explained simply: "The previous one was sent for maintenance, and it seemed to be recognized by fans last time, so it was changed to this one recently...... Safety belt. ”

"Oh."

The dissatisfaction just now came and went quickly, Zhou Ziyu had long been accustomed to Chi Jingyuan's annoyance, and after hearing his prompt, Zhou Ziyu hurriedly responded crisply, pulled out the seat belt sideways and fastened it obediently and sat in the co-pilot, with a straight waist and a very upright sitting posture, but the brown bag that was originally placed next to her was directly placed on her lap.

"Where are you going?" After the car started slowly, Chi Jingyuan took the initiative to ask, this girl remembered the last agreement, and instead of saying that she wanted to invite him to dinner, the location was also privately chosen by herself.

"I've found a good place, it's not far from Sinsha Cave, you see, it's right here. ...... "As soon as he heard this, Zhou Ziyu became interested, took out his mobile phone and quickly clicked on it and then gave Chi Jingyuan a look, obviously he had prepared before.

The two of them are used to speaking Chinese when they get along in private, and her unique taste of curved accents sounds soft.

"Hot pot? You're going to invite me to eat this, huh? ”

Glancing at the location and the name of the hotel, Chi Jingyuan nodded and accelerated, shaking his head while driving, pretending to be disappointed.

"I remember you saying it before...... Don't you like to eat this? ”

Hearing that Zhou Ziyu was actually a little anxious, he glanced at Chi Jingyuan with his mouth open and hurriedly took out his mobile phone, as if he wanted to change the place temporarily.

"No, it's good......"

Of course, Chi Jingyuan was not dissatisfied, he just said it casually, seeing that she was a little serious, he quickly changed his words, and explained by the way: "Actually, I like to eat, even XO often eats hot pot at dinners, and I have eaten a lot recently." ”

As he spoke, he wordlessly glanced at the girl next to him.

You usually sneak around and observe other people's cleverness as spies, why do you feel silly every time you're around him?

"Then I'll change places next time." Obviously, Zhou Ziyu listened to it, looked at the phone and nodded solemnly while making a solemn promise.

Chi Jingyuan exhaled, took out a drink he had bought in advance and handed it over, watched her take it with a smile and then took out his own cup, bit the straw and snorted, then put it aside, holding the steering wheel and saying as if it didn't matter:

"Whatever you want."

……

Zhou Ziyu chose a Chinese-style hot pot restaurant, not far from Apguting and soon arrived, after parking the car, the two of them walked in in disguise, one after the other, there were not many people, but the decoration was quite classical and looked very stylish.

After ordering food in the box, Chi Jingyuan took out his mobile phone to see if there was a text message or something, and after a few seconds of casual swiping, he suddenly found that there was a feeling of being watched, he looked up and found that Zhou Ziyu on the opposite side put his mobile phone next to him and didn't play, his two arms were folded on the table, in the same posture as a primary school student in class, his head was slightly forward, and he kept looking at him.

"What do you see? Haven't seen it? Feeling that this girl was a little weird, Ji Jingyuan frowned and looked over.

"I think ......"

Zhou Ziyu also frowned slightly, looked at Chi Jingyuan and said with a serious face: "You don't look as good today as you did last time in the company." ”

She looked at Chi Jingyuan's expression with an extremely sincere expression, as if she was still a little worried.

“……”

Hearing her words, especially feeling her eyes, Chi Jingyuan was choked enough, opened his mouth, and couldn't say a word.

Do I look good and need you to question it?

And what are you worried about?

"You ......"

"Hahaha......"

Seeing the other party's face and the way he wanted to speak, Zhou Ziyu's expression changed and he laughed instantly, his mouth was grinning, his smiling eyes narrowed proudly, and his feet kicked twice on the ground, full of the pleasure of revenge, and his performance was extremely presumptuous.

"Heh......"

Looking at her sassy little appearance, Chi Jingyuan smiled angrily, shook his head speechlessly, and didn't bother to pay attention to her.

"Don't be angry, because your look was really good-looking that day......" picked up the drink and took a sip, Zhou Ziyu made a cute expression as if flattering, and then took the initiative to jump the topic with a smile: "You have changed several cars in more than a year, is XO so profitable, I feel that you are divided into a lot." ”

"If EXO can't make money, then there will be no idol group on the peninsula to make money, don't you use your share to compare with us......" Chi Jingyuan glanced at her squintedly, looked at her little round face and sneered, then recalled, and said seriously: "At the beginning, the income was actually very small, that is, it only began to increase in the past two years...... I'm not talking about me personally, I'm talking about team averages. ”

As he spoke, he glanced at Zhou Ziyu: "Your family's conditions are not very good, you still got a share before, and you still care about this so much?"

"Of course, the money I earn is not the same as what my mother gives, right? And although we are divided, we don't have much money......" Zhou Ziyu pouted, and then looked at Chi Jingyuan curiously: "If you increase the share, what more activities should you take?" ”

"It's the company's business to take over the trip, and you can't interfere......" Ji Jingyuan shook his head and laughed, but thinking of the experience after Twice's debut, his gaze changed when he looked at Zhou Ziyu.

Most idol groups actually don't get paid after their debut, because according to the rules of Peninsula Brokerage, they will not share the profits of idols until the company recovers the cost of cultivating idol groups.

And this so-called 'cost recovery' can operate too much space, and it also has a lot to do with the popularity of idols, some pasty groups have not received a share for several years since their debut, and even work hard for a long time but still owe money to the company.

But twice is not one of them, they are very smooth and lucky, they basically recovered the cost within a few days of their debut, and at the same time, they paid their first salary in less than three months, which is simply the envy of other girl groups, I heard that it has been more than a year since their debut, and Gfriend, who has just exploded, has not yet been divided for the first time.

And Zhou Ziyu has a lot of credit for being so smooth twice, she is very popular after her debut and is also favored by the brand, and one person has recovered most of the cost of JYP by receiving advertising endorsements, to put it more practically, the other members did get her light, a bit similar to the plot of Chi Kyung-won when EXO debuted.

Seeing that she asked so seriously, Chi Jingyuan also gave a more serious answer after thinking about it: "There is really not much money for local activities on the peninsula, whether it is a music source or an album, it is not much for idols, not to mention variety shows, sometimes even the money for drivers and hotels is not enough, that is, commercial performances earn a little more." ”

As he spoke, the ordered dish was pushed up, and after everything was ready, Chi Jingyuan used chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat and put it in and plug it:

"But these local activities can't be less, because these are actually used to increase popularity and exposure, if you really want to increase the share...... When you become popular, let JYP give you a tour, that one will make a lot of money, and if the box office is high enough, you can buy a house after opening a circle. ”

"Touring Ah......"

Hearing this, Zhou Ziyu pursed her mouth unconsciously, her eyes flashed and she looked ahead with some expectation, as if she remembered when she once watched Chi Jingyuan's concert, and it seemed that she was fantasizing about her future tour.

The hot pot kept steaming, and the two people who were very familiar with it didn't have any scruples, Si Ha Si Ha kept picking up dishes, but Zhou Ziyu, who was about to return, obviously wanted to pay attention to body management, most of the dishes she sandwiched were vegetarian dishes, and she ate very slowly, and sometimes she was very ladylike when she lowered her head to eat.

"I don't know if we'll be able to get the first one this time."

Suddenly, she didn't know what she remembered, and sighed and opened her mouth with some longing.

"Hopeful ......"

Seeing her like this, Chi Jingyuan's paused chopsticks thought for a while: "The quality of your album this time is quite high, although I think the songs are average...... However, the company has invested more resources, but there are many competitors in the same period, and it depends on how well your company advertises. ”

"You listened to our album, who do you think sings the best?" Talking about the return, Zhou Ziyu suddenly became interested, and the chopsticks poked his head and looked over, with a little reserved expectation on his face, as if he wrote the words 'Praise me for making great progress'.

Chi Jingyuan glanced at her, swallowed the food in his mouth very calmly, and said the two names very calmly after drinking the saliva; "You Hirai Momo."

"I'm not kidding you, I'm serious." The mean little girl who was obviously a little unhappy with Chi Jingyuan, frowned and became disgusted.

So you know you two can't sing well, huh? So what are you looking forward to?

He shook his head in his heart, and he didn't have to hide anything from his private chat with Zhou Ziyu, and directly said his true feelings: "Sing? You twice, the whole group, only Lin Nalian can sing. ”

Zhou Ziyu immediately asked: "What about Zhixiao Oni?" ”

"Zhixiao's singing skills are actually OK, but her voice is a little ......" Ji Jingyuan pursed his lips and shook his head, without elaborating.

"Are you so optimistic about Nalianoni? You're not ......."

Hearing Chi Jingyuan's evaluation of Lin Nalian, Zhou Ziyu looked at Chi Jingyuan a little strangely, in her impression, Chi Jingyuan should not like Lin Nalian, she scolded Lin Nalian so badly when she recorded before, and she persuaded her for a long time.

"The little girl has a very good personality."

Chi Jingyuan shrugged his shoulders and commented casually.

In fact, he has never been too prejudiced against Lin Nalian, he didn't pay attention to this kind of thing at all, although he hasn't given the other party a good face a few times so far, but after getting along for a few months, he actually thinks that this rabbit tooth character is quite good.

"Sister Na Lian is ninety-five years old, only one year younger than you......" Zhou Ziyu's expression changed, and he reminded in a faint tone.

"Hmm...... That's the big girl. ”

Glancing at Zhou Ziyu, who was a little strange, Chi Jingyuan smiled and changed his words indifferently: "Her personality is rare and rare, and she can develop this kind of character...... The family conditions should be good. ”

"I don't know, although I've seen Sister Nalian's mother, she doesn't come to our dormitory very often, and Sister Nalian rarely talks to us about her family."

"Your mother is the most popular." Chi Jingyuan glanced at her with a smile and shook his head: "I told you before, let Auntie stop bringing me things, but I took a bunch of them last time." ”

"Actually, Mina Oni's mother also came quite diligently."

Zhou Ziyu first made a small excuse, and then looked at Chi Jingyuan with some embarrassment and laughed: "I told her, but she has to bring it, what to say...... Why don't you waste it with the members ......of XO?"

"Hmm." Chi Jingyuan nodded after taking a bite of food, suddenly remembered something, and asked casually: "By the way, does she still speak ill of me in private every day?" ”

Zhou Ziyu knew that Chi Jingyuan was talking about Lin Nalian as soon as she heard it, and when she heard this, she suddenly put down her chopsticks, recalled it, and her expression became a little strange: "Although I sometimes complain a few words, there are a lot less and it is not a bad word...... And I find that she is sometimes a little strange now, such as the fact that she likes that pillow very much, and often hugs it when chatting on the sofa or watching TV...... It's the one you gave her in last year's variety show, with dinosaurs painted on it. ”

"I'm not giving it to her, I'm giving it to the winner of the game, and that's called Bangira."

Chi Jingyuan corrected Zhou Ziyu's title, turned down the fire of the hot pot a little, and said casually: "Changed?" Wasn't it so aggrieved when I was recording...... She's not going to like me, is she? ”

"Why don't you feel weird?" Zhou Ziyu blinked.

"It's just boring and random guessing, and it's not really confessing......" Chi Jingyuan looked at the dishes in the pot in front of him, tilted his head and began to stir with chopsticks, and said very naturally: "What's so strange about this, there are too many people who like me...... And you have people who like it, didn't you tell me last time that there are several groups of idols who have asked you to call, I heard that there are people who want to introduce you to you? ”

Chi Jingyuan, who is usually very modest, looked a little narcissistic in front of Zhou Ziyu, and blinked his eyes as a matter of course.

But he just said it casually, in fact, he didn't think Lin Nalian meant anything to him, how could there be a sunspot that changed so quickly, if it was him, he would be chased and scolded by other people's fans every day, and he almost couldn't come out, I really wanted to be a black person for a lifetime.

However, Zhou Ziyu's attention seemed to be all focused on Chi Jingyuan's previous sentence, she pursed her lips when she heard it, and suddenly looked at him and asked, "Is it really a lot?" I often listen to seniors and assistant sisters talk about gossip, a lot of talk about you, what is a lot, is it true or false? ”

"I don't know what they're saying, but there's a lot of different versions of the gossip I've heard about myself." Ji Jingyuan didn't hide it, and after glancing at her, he chuckled: "But if you say 'what'...... After their debut, there were indeed quite a few. ”

“……”

Originally, it was just a tentative question, but I didn't expect to get the answer.

Zhou Ziyu glanced at him, lowered his head and looked at the oily small bowl in front of him, his lips pursed slightly, and he snorted twice as if he was muttering something, but he didn't make a sound.

It was quite lively just now, but suddenly there was some silence.

Who wants you to be so honest......

Chi Jingyuan could see that this girl was a little emotional, and he almost knew the reason, although he didn't feel that he had said anything wrong, but seeing her appearance, he didn't know why the desire to tease had disappeared a lot.

The dinner came to an end in a somewhat unusual atmosphere.

"That's right......"

When he was almost finished, Chi Jingyuan put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and looked at Zhou Ziyu, who suddenly became a little quieter, and suddenly laughed when he looked at it, and when the other party heard the movement and looked over, he shook his head and explained seriously: "Popular idols, especially beautiful idols, will actually encounter a lot of trouble, there are peers in the circle, seniors, and many are outside the circle, some are seeking to communicate, and some are directly harassing, I haven't heard you say anything before...... But if you do well this time, you may not be able to avoid it, just forget about it, but if you are bullied by something, remember to tell me. ”

Chi Jingyuan laughed, stood up and carried the shoulder bag, turned sideways and squinted with a smile in his eyes, and naturally pouted at Zhou Ziyu:

"Help you get ahead!"

Looking at Chi Jingyuan's smiling appearance, Zhou Ziyu, who had been a little quiet just now, suddenly froze, she stared at the man in front of her who was full of her pupils, and suddenly felt extremely handsome, and then looked elsewhere with some embarrassment, sniffed, and responded softly:"

"Well, I see...... Thank you. ”

"Okay, let's go, come back and try to get one."

"Good!"