315: Chapter 295 Launch.

Jiang Zhiyu sat in the driver's seat. The moment he closed the door, the world finally quieted down.

The street below the Red Velvet dormitory had already returned to the silence befitting late night, with only the brief engine sounds of taxis occasionally passing in the distance. He started the car but didn't put it in gear immediately; he just leaned back in his seat, gazing at the night scene outside the windshield, dyed a warm yellow by the streetlights.

The scenes from just a moment ago were still playing in his mind—

The radiance Bae Joo-hyun had when she stood in the center of the living room, finishing that last performance. She turned every distraction into part of her performance, turned the chaos into a stage, and turned the combined siege of her four younger sisters into the backdrop for her solo act. She danced, recited lines, ate grapes, and winked; she was in total control the entire time, handling it with ease.

That was a Bae Joo-hyun that Jiang Zhiyu had never seen before.

Not the cold and distant leader Irene, not the idol who enchanted the masses on stage, but a gaming maniac ignited by a desire to win.

What was most terrifying was that, at that moment, she made it impossible for him to look away.

And that phrase, "indefinite"—

Jiang Zhiyu gave a wry smile. How had he managed to say that back then? He clearly knew what it meant, clearly knew that handing the initiative over to Bae Joo-hyun was equivalent to placing himself in her palm, yet the words had just slipped out so naturally.

"Ding—"

The phone vibration interrupted his thoughts.

Jiang Zhiyu looked down at the phone on the center console. The screen lit up; it was a KakaoTalk private chat interface.

In Tima's chat box, a stream of messages was flooding the screen:

Tima: Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa

Tima: Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa

Tima: Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa Oppa

Jiang Zhiyu: "..."

He raised an eyebrow, his finger sliding across the screen. Looking at these three full screens of "Oppa" spam attacks, he suddenly had the urge to just turn off his phone and go home to sleep.

Tima: Why didn't you come to save me?!!!

Tima: Do you know what I suffered at Unnie's place?!!!

Tima: [Image: A hamster pinned under a cat's paw, looking desperate]

Tima: I am that hamster right now! And IU Unnie is that cat! She pins me under her paw, pets me whenever she wants, squeezes me whenever she wants, and bullies me however she wants!

Tima: She made me peel oranges for her! A whole bag! My hands are so sore!

Tima: Then she said I was peeling too slowly and punished me by making me sing "Twenty-three" twenty times as background noise!

Tima: Do you know what it feels like to sing the same song twenty times in a row?! Now when I close my eyes, "Twenty-three, Twenty-three" is playing on a loop in my head!

Tima: That's not even the end of it!

Tima: She made me massage her shoulders! For an hour! My hands aren't even my hands anymore!

Tima: Then she complained that I wasn't professional enough and made me stand in the corner to reflect on my mistakes!

Tima: Reflecting on my mistakes! Me, a proper veteran of TG Entertainment, a future Oscar-winning actress, a genius girl with both beauty and wisdom, being punished by facing the wall!

Tima: When I was facing the wall, she was watching a drama behind me! And she was laughing while watching! Laughing so loudly!

Tima: Do you know that feeling of humiliation?!!!

Jiang Zhiyu watched the screen full of accusations, the corners of his mouth lifting involuntarily.

He could almost imagine the scene—Lee Tima standing timidly in the corner, her little face full of grievance, while IU was curled up comfortably on the sofa, drinking tea and watching a drama, occasionally laughing on purpose to provoke the little one.

This image made his thoughts, originally chaotic because of Bae Joo-hyun, feel a little easier.

But Lee Tima's messages weren't finished yet.

Tima: By the way! Unnie said that in a few days we will officially discuss the investment contract for "the crab"!

Tima: And... the "white horse" script!

Tima: That "white horse" you mentioned to me! The one that was a phenomenal drama where we came from!

Tima: Unnie said she wants it! But she wants an adapted version! She wants it tailored for her! She wants a female-led business drama! The romance needs to be pitifully sparse! It needs to focus on society and business warfare! And it needs a soundtrack, ending theme, insert songs, and character songs!

Tima: You have to write it!

— —

— —

Jiang Zhiyu looked at the screen full of exclamation marks, the curve of his mouth growing wider.

He typed slowly:

Jiang Zhiyu: Got it.

Two simple words.

Lee Tima's reply arrived almost instantly:

Tima: Got it?! That's it?!

Tima: What does "Got it" mean?!

Tima: Do you mean you know you need to save me, or you know you need to write the script, or you know I'm going to be executed and you'll save on the cost of raising a younger sister?!

Jiang Zhiyu chuckled and continued typing:

Jiang Zhiyu: What? You're with your dear Unnie IU, and you're actually saying things like this?

He paused on purpose, then delivered the fatal blow:

Jiang Zhiyu: If I were to send these chat logs to IU...

This time it was the other side's turn to be silent.

A full five seconds without a reply.

Then—

Tima: I was wrong.

Tima: Oppa saranghaeyo ♦︎ ' ֊ '

Tima: [Image: A kitten with paws pressed together in prayer, looking sincere]

Tima: [Image: The same kitten kowtowing frantically]

Tima: [Image: The same kitten hugging a human's thigh]

Tima: Oppa, you are the best Oppa in the world! You are my only dear Oppa! You are the person I love most in this world! More than I love IU Unnie! More than I love Kim Taeyeon Unnie! More than I love fried chicken!

Tima: You won't actually send the chat logs to IU Unnie, right?

Tima: Right???

Tima: [Location: XXX-dong, XXX-ho, Gangnam District, Seoul] ← This is IU Unnie's house. Look how honest I am!

Tima: If you send the logs over, I'll really be executed! And it'll be carried out immediately! No need to wait a few days!

Jiang Zhiyu watched the performance of that timid yet arrogant little kid on the screen and finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He shook his head and didn't reply again.

That little one, clearly scared to death, yet insisting on acting tough and sending a bunch of nonsense. But this also showed that she wasn't actually suffering at IU's place—if she had really been bullied badly, she wouldn't have the energy to send so much nonsense; she would have just called him directly, crying, "Oppa, help!"

Peeling oranges, singing songs twenty times, massages, facing the wall... these were less "abuse" and more IU using her own way to "pamper" the little one.

After all, there weren't many people in all of Korea whom IU would personally take home and personally "torture."

Jiang Zhiyu put his phone on the passenger seat and restarted the car.

He checked the time; it was almost midnight. Tomorrow, he still had to finalize the specific details of "the crab" investment with IU's side, and start working on adapting the "white horse" script—that was something he had promised Lee Tima, and also a favor he owed IU.

"white horse".

In the original world of his and Lee Tima's, it was a phenomenal drama. It told the story of a young man named Luo An, who went from being a confused youth at the bottom of society to finding his life's purpose and struggling to become a business legend, relying on his own resilience, wisdom, and keen grasp of the times, after experiencing many hardships.

The plot was solid, the character portrayals were profound; it was both passionate and realistic, truly a classic among classics.

And now, he had to adapt this story into a female-led business drama suitable for IU—the romance had to be pitifully sparse, it had to focus on the interplay of society and human nature, and it needed a soundtrack, ending theme, insert songs, and character songs.

The workload was not small.

But Jiang Zhiyu didn't feel tired; instead, he had a long-lost sense of excitement. That was the pleasure brought by creation itself, the sense of mission in recreating a classic in another world, and also—

It was also a way for him to temporarily not have to think about that person.

He took a deep breath and started the car.

The black sedan drove steadily forward into the night. When passing a traffic light, he subconsciously glanced at the rearview mirror.

The Red Velvet dormitory building had long since disappeared into the city lights, leaving only a hazy halo.

Jiang Zhiyu withdrew his gaze, gripped the steering wheel, and stepped on the gas.

The car accelerated, driving into the deeper night.

And on the phone screen, Lee Tima's last message was still lit up; that kitten with paws pressed together in prayer was still in a praying posture, its eyes full of the complex emotions of "I was wrong" and "please let me off."

Tima: Oppa saranghaeyo ♦︎ ' ֊ '

The corners of Jiang Zhiyu's mouth curled up again.

That little one.

She was indeed the best at pulling people's thoughts out of chaos—even if it was by using weird images like "human fuse" and "fat kid waving a flag."

He chuckled, stepped on the gas, and drove in the direction of TG Entertainment.

There were scripts waiting for him to handle, music waiting for him to finish, and a long night called the future waiting for him to face.