101: Chapter 100 Hmm

She froze, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly. She was seriously discussing musical possibilities, so why did the other party suddenly start... empty praise? And such perfunctory, ill-timed praise at that?

"Producer Jiang-min," Kim Taeyeon's tone sharpened slightly, carrying a hint of helplessness and emphasis, "I am very serious about discussing the possibilities of musical styles with you."

"Ah? Ser... serious?" Jiang Zhiyu finally seemed to react a bit. He shook his head, trying to clear the mush out of his brain, then looked at Kim Taeyeon's stern expression and belatedly realized that what he had just said seemed a bit... stupid?

He quickly sat up straight, trying to focus: "Yes, yes! Serious! Very serious! Noona wants to sing songs with depth! I get it!"

To prove that he "got it" and had a "rich inventory," he frantically began rummaging through the scattered papers around him and the open folders on his computer, muttering under his breath:

"Depth... introspection... touching the soul... shadows and light..."

He pulled out a sheet of music, "This one! A dark ballad about a woman who becomes an urban legend ghost after a breakup!"

He clicked open another audio file, "This one! Philosophical reflections, an electronic folk song exploring existence and nothingness!"

He pulled out another notebook, "And this! The style is even stronger, blending Gothic rock with traditional Korean singing, it's about..."

He flipped through them until he was sweating profusely, always feeling like these were missing something or weren't "surprising" enough. In a mixed state of mind between "giving up" due to creative numbness and an eagerness to prove he "had the goods," his gaze suddenly fell on a folder in the corner of his computer that he had previously written for fun, purely as a spoof, named "Experimental Scraps."

As if possessed, he clicked on that folder. Inside was a demo with an exceptionally eye-catching filename: "Happy Little Piggy Jump Jump (Dark Nursery Rhyme Remix)."

Jiang Zhiyu stared blankly at the filename for two seconds. Then, with his brain completely failing to keep up with his mouth, he looked up at Kim Taeyeon, who was waiting for him to produce a more convincing work. In a tone mixed with exhaustion, numbness, and a trace of "mischief" he hadn't even noticed (likely caught from Lee Tima), he asked tentatively and very "seriously":

"Um... Taeyeon Noona..."

"What do you think..."

...about a Children's Song DJ style?"

He even added an explanation, trying to make it sound more "profound":

"It's like... using the most innocent children's song melodies and vocals, paired with the most violent, psychedelic electronic DJ rhythms to create an extreme contrast. The lyrics could describe childhood trauma, the tearing of growth, or simply use a joyful facade to perform ultimate nothingness... Doesn't that sound... quite deep?"

After saying it, even he was stunned, wishing he could take the words back. What did he just recommend to Girls Generation's leader and solo queen, Kim Taeyeon?! Children's Song DJ?! And a Dark Nursery Rhyme Remix?!

Kim Taeyeon fell completely silent. She looked at Jiang Zhiyu's state—exhausted to the point his soul seemed to have left his body yet forcing himself to talk nonsense—and then at the ridiculous filename "Happy Little Piggy Jump Jump (Dark Nursery Rhyme Remix)" on his screen. For a moment, she didn't know whether to be angry, laugh, or worry about this "prodigy PD's" mental state.

The air in the studio froze. Only the faint hum of the computer's cooling fan could be heard.

Jiang Zhiyu shrunk his neck, feeling that he might have, probably, maybe... messed up again. And this time, the person he messed up with was Kim Taeyeon.

Kim Taeyeon's silent gaze seemed to carry physical pressure, finally penetrating Jiang Zhiyu's dull nerves wrapped in creative numbness and exhaustion. He gave a sudden jolt, his chaotic brain feeling as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over it, clearing slightly. He realized how absurd his words were—recommending "Children's Song DJ" to Kim Taeyeon??

He waved his hands hurriedly, trying to compensate: "Ah, no! Taeyeon Noona, I was joking! That file was something Tima wrote randomly! I... I have better ones here..."

However, Kim Taeyeon interrupted him. She didn't get angry; instead, she frowned slightly, her eyes showing a clear professional judgment of her collaborator's state. Her tone was calm but hit the nail on the head:

"Producer Jiang, you..." She paused, choosing her words carefully, but still said it directly, "...aren't in a good state of mind, are you? You look like you haven't rested in a long time."

There was no mockery in her voice, but rather a faint, almost imperceptible trace of concern. After all, to be able to link "Children's Song DJ" with "deep songs" and propose it so "seriously," his state was clearly off.

"State of mind?" Jiang Zhiyu subconsciously repeated the words, his brain still a bit slow to turn. He had indeed slept very little these past few days, his head stuffed with notes and code, feeling like an overheating computer. "State of mind... that's right!"

He seemed to have suddenly caught onto something important. He snapped his head up, his eyes burning as they looked at Kim Taeyeon. His gaze, which had been somewhat scattered due to fatigue, now focused strangely, carrying the fanaticism (or perhaps confusion) of a creator caught in a certain obsessive line of thought.

"Spirit! Emotion! Depth!" His speech speed increased, and he began to mutter to himself, "Noona said she wanted to touch the shadows and light deep in the soul... it needs immersion! It needs extreme emotional experience!"

His gaze swept over Kim Taeyeon's face as if analyzing some precious research specimen.

"Yes! That's it!" He slapped his thigh (slapping it a bit too hard), his eyes shining, "Noona, cry for me!"

Kim Taeyeon: "...!!!"

She suspected she had misheard. Cry... for him??

But Jiang Zhiyu was completely immersed in his own "creative logic," not noticing Kim Taeyeon's instantly frozen expression and the suddenly dangerous look in her eyes. He stroked his chin, continuing his high-speed analysis:

"To sing that kind of flavor—heart-wrenching yet with a sense of relief, bitterness buried in sweetness, light and shadow intertwined... skill alone won't do; it needs a foundation of true emotion! Noona's acting is good, too, but songs need a more direct emotional projection..."

His thoughts began to diverge dangerously, jumping from "emotional experience" to the topic most likely to trigger strong feelings.

"Speaking of which, besides the part with... uh, Byun Baekhyun-xi, Noona doesn't seem to have any other public, particularly unforgettable scandals?" He scratched his head, trying to recall memory fragments from his past life and the bits of gossip he'd heard in this one, speaking with an air of certainty, "Could it be... you loved too deeply, so the wound was deeper, and you hid it deeper? Internalizing all those emotions as nourishment for your singing?"

The more he spoke, the more he felt his reasoning was logical, even admiring his own "insight." The mixture of fatigue and excitement made him speak without restraint, and a punchable, "I get it" smirk appeared on his face:

"Hehe~ It seems our Taeyeon Noona, on the surface, is the simple daughter of Jeonju, a steady leader, and a talented solo singer..."

He leaned in a bit closer, lowering his voice to tease in a "discovering a secret" tone:

"But at your core, you're also a 'love brain,' right? You've written all the romance and pain into your songs, haven't you?"

He was completely unaware that his words were no longer about music, but were openly teasing and even borderline offensively speculating about a top female artist's private emotional life, using an extremely flippant and unprofessional tone.

Kim Taeyeon's expression shifted from initial bewilderment to disbelief, then to offended anger, and finally settled into a cold calm. Only those eyes, usually clear or smiling, were now as sharp as knives, locked onto Jiang Zhiyu, who was still talking to himself and giggling foolishly.

The air in the room felt as if it had dropped to the freezing point.

Jiang Zhiyu finally felt a chill rise up his spine. His dull senses finally captured the low pressure emanating from across the table, which had almost become physical. The smile on his face froze, and he looked at Kim Taeyeon blankly.

He saw Kim Taeyeon slowly, extremely slowly, stand up. She wasn't tall, but her current aura made Jiang Zhiyu, slumped on the sofa, feel an immense sense of pressure. She leaned forward slightly, her hands braced on the coffee table in front of Jiang Zhiyu. That face, praised as being as beautiful as an "elf," drew close. There was no smile on her face, her eyes were icy, and she spoke word by word, her voice not loud but carrying startling penetration and anger:

"Jiang. Zhi. Yu."

She even dropped the honorifics.

"Those words you just said..."

"...did you think I wasn't here, or did you think I was already dead and couldn't hear you?"

"Hmm?"

The final "Hmm" rose at the end, carrying the dangerous scent of an impending storm.

Jiang Zhiyu: "!!!"

He was completely awake now! Cold sweat broke out instantly, switching from a numb state to an "extreme danger alert" state!

He was finished! What stupid things had he just said?! Telling Kim Taeyeon to "cry for me"? Mentioning Byun Baekhyun? And calling her a "love brain"?!!!

"Ta... Taeyeon Noona! A misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding!" Jiang Zhiyu scrambled off the sofa, nearly tripping over his own legs, explaining incoherently, "I... I... I was just obsessed with creation! My brain wasn't clear! I was talking nonsense! I was just saying random things! Please don't take it to heart! I absolutely didn't mean it that way! My admiration for Noona is as endless as the waters of the Han River..."

He wished he could turn back time and seal his own big mouth.

Kim Taeyeon stood up straight, arms crossed, looking coldly at his panicked state. Her anger hadn't dissipated, but seeing him so scared out of his wits—a complete contrast to the person talking nonsense just moments ago—she also found it somewhat absurd and laughable.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her emotions. Getting angry with a guy whose brain seemed to have stopped working and could only spout nonsense seemed a bit beneath her.

"Producer Jiang," she spoke again, her tone returning to calm but more distant than before, "it seems today is not a good time to discuss music. You clearly need a good rest."

She turned, preparing to leave this place that was making her blood pressure soar. At the door, she stopped, not looking back, but simply dropping a sentence:

"Regarding the song... we'll talk again once you've 'returned to normal.' Or, we don't have to talk at all."

With that, she pulled open the door and walked out without looking back, leaving behind a silhouette that radiated an aura of "stay away."

*Thud.* The door closed gently.

In the studio, only Jiang Zhiyu remained, standing there as if he'd been struck by lightning, charred inside and out.

He slowly slid back onto the sofa, holding his head in his hands.

"It's over... I've... completely offended Kim Taeyeon..."

"Children's Song DJ... cry for me... love brain..."

"Jiang Zhiyu, you really are a genius... a genius at seeking death!"

He could already foresee his "infamy" for "harassing (verbally) Kim Taeyeon" and "mocking the Queen's love life" spreading through the industry (if Taeyeon were willing to talk), and the good relationship TG Entertainment had just established with SM and even the Girls Generation members might be cast in shadow because of it...

And all of this stemmed from the nonsense he'd spouted after his brain crashed from songwriting.

"Rest... yes, I must rest..." Jiang Zhiyu muttered to himself, his eyes hollow. "If I don't rest, next time I might tell Chairman Lee Soo-man, 'Why don't you dance a girl group dance for me'..."

This day's "Studio Horror" was destined to become an extremely absurd and awkward footnote in Jiang Zhiyu's career (and perhaps in Kim Taeyeon's memory). And TG Entertainment's musical path seemed to have encountered its first unexpected... "interpersonal crisis" after a hot start.