20: Fake University

The waiter's attitude was incredibly good, so much so that if Xu Zhiyou hadn't been sure her family had never been in business, she would have thought this restaurant was theirs.

Though curious, she didn't dwell on it; her attention was immediately drawn to the meat dishes on the menu. These past few days had truly been tough on her.

She quickly ordered a lot of meat; she wanted to eat her fill all at once.

"Can you finish all that?"

Kim Ji-soo found her actions absurd. They couldn't eat much; they had to weigh themselves every day. Eating so much meat would inevitably lead to punishment.

"It's fine! I eat a lot."

Park Chaeyoung poured a glass of juice and said while drinking, "Zoe, the person who was harassing you earlier, he ran away!"

"That's good then, saves me the trouble."

Xu Zhiyou didn't care. Reporting him or not had no impact on her; having strength made her this willful.

Coming to Peninsula was also due to a regret from her past life. After all, she had spent ten years practicing, only to encounter that incident and never debut before she died.

She came to make up for regrets, not to suffer. If anyone dared to make her suffer, she'd beat them to death.

"We still don't know what university you attended?"

"Juilliard School, Vocal Performance major. Why are you asking?"

"Aren't you a dance major?"

"Park Chaeyoung, who's been spreading rumors about me again? I'm a legitimate music student."

In her previous life, her trainee position was lead dancer. With both lives combined, she had practiced for twenty years, so being good was to be expected.

However, it was a bit of a shame that the four of them didn't even know about the Juilliard School; she failed to show off successfully.

"That name sounds like it's from Europe or America. You didn't fail to get into a university in your own country and then go to some 'pheasant university' abroad, did you?"

This kind of thing was common: families with some assets whose children weren't good at studying would send them abroad. Very few truly got into prestigious schools on their own merits.

But hearing Park Chaeyoung say that about her, she really wanted to say 'thank you.' Did she really seem like a bad student? This was outrageous! She couldn't be friends with her anymore.

"Why are you too embarrassed to say? We won't laugh at you."

"I'm too lazy to bother with you."

It was so speechless. The Harvard of the music world, the QS World Number One school for performing arts, was actually called a 'pheasant university.'

If the principal knew, would he spend more money on building its reputation? It was too low-key; it made showing off difficult!

Kim Ji-soo and the other two didn't care about schools anyway. They had already given up on the college entrance exam, so why would they care about this? It had nothing to do with them.

"Chaeyoung! At least Zoe has a 'pheasant university' to attend; you haven't even graduated high school yet. How can you have the nerve to talk about her?"

Another blow. It would have been better if she hadn't said anything. "Thank you, Jisoo!"

"You're welcome, it's nothing."

"Sigh!"

"Then why doesn't the CEO arrange vocal lessons for you? As a music student, shouldn't you have more vocal lessons?"

Kim Jennie was somewhat confused by her class schedule. It was all acting, acting, and more acting, with no music-related arrangements at all.

"Speaking of this, I'm not bragging, but those vocal teachers might not even be as good as me."

"Just keep bragging! Bragging isn't illegal. It must be that your musical talent is even worse than your acting, otherwise, the school wouldn't have kicked you out."

"Chaeyoung! Who told you I was kicked out of school?"

"The internet said so. It said applying for off-campus practice was because your talent wasn't good, so they rushed you out to adapt to society and change careers."

That 'I understand you' expression made her want to slap her. It was too obnoxious.

"I think it's better if you look up the Juilliard School before speaking, otherwise, you'll easily be proven wrong."

"What's there to look up? I don't have the chance to go to university anymore, so seeing it would just make me unhappy."

A search would only show the happy, innocent lives of university students, making her incredibly envious. It was better to not see it at all.

"Then, what's the most awesome music school you know of? You must have heard of this one!"

"Berkeley! So many Grammy winners came from that school." Speaking of this, she felt a little envious; if only she could have gotten in.

Xu Zhiyou saw her longing expression and pouted, thinking, 'My three mentors are even on the selection committee, what's there to envy?'

"Eat!"

"So, were you kicked out of school or not?"

"Damn you, Park Chaeyoung! One more word and I'll punch you. Can't you look it up yourself?"

"Hmph! Seeing you like this, I don't even need to check. It must be true, otherwise, you wouldn't be so flustered."

She really wanted to kill this girl. "If you don't eat, then don't!" She picked up a perilla leaf, wrapped some beef in it, and started eating heartily.

The four of them just assumed she was angry out of embarrassment. Xu Zhiyou's unreliable image was deeply ingrained, so they couldn't be blamed for thinking that.

If she were really such an incredibly amazing big shot, her acting wouldn't be so bad, and given how good she was at dancing, everyone just assumed she was a dance recruit.

"Give me the chuck roll, short ribs, and wagyu tongue. How can you not eat such delicious things? You don't know how to enjoy yourselves."

"We're afraid of gaining weight; we don't dare to eat too much."

"Beef is a high-quality source of protein, very beneficial for maintaining and increasing muscle mass, so it's perfectly fine."

She even considerately gave each of them a large piece, then started eating heartily herself. She didn't have to worry about gaining weight; she had a naturally thin physique and could eat whatever she wanted.

"Aren't you afraid of gaining weight eating like that? You're even eating pork belly, and you have to weigh yourself tomorrow!"

"It's okay, my study assignment is to watch movies, and it's the same no matter where I watch them."

"Uh???"

Suddenly, they were all envious of her curriculum, especially Kim Ji-soo, who loved acting. The others were simply envious that she could watch movies.

"What are you thinking? After watching each film, you have to write a tens of thousands of character viewing report. Are you still interested?"

She felt like they were getting a huge bargain, not seeing any of her effort. Annoying!

It seemed true; she had indeed been writing at her desk every day during this time, and also drawing various analysis diagrams of filming techniques.

"I remember you four also have acting classes. I'll mention it to the teacher and say you also like this way of learning."

"Eww~" Watching movies was good, but analyzing them would be a killer.

"No! Absolutely not."

"Weren't you very envious? Why don't you want it now? It's so good for everyone to watch movies together."

"We were wrong, we were wrong! From now on, the four of us will take turns getting your food. How about it?"

"Remember, I don't eat bean sprouts! If anyone dares to bring me bean sprouts, I'll apply to the acting teacher for everyone to study together. Did you hear me clearly?"

"Arasso, honestly!" Park Chaeyoung and Lisa were still a bit intimidated. This girl completely exploited their weaknesses.

"Unnie, I want to punch her, she's too smug."

"Jennie, forget it! Can you beat her? Be careful, she might tickle you back. Think about Chaeyoung's experience this morning."

"Sigh!" That was true; the tickle maniac. Her helplessness ultimately turned into a sigh.

It was already midday when they finished eating and came out. The weather was humid and hot. The company was near the Han River, so they planned to go for a stroll there.