358: Chapter 334 updated today (1)

Downstairs at the apartment, inside the black sedan hidden deep in the shadows of the landscaping trees, the atmosphere was entirely different. There was no excited gossip, only suppressed excitement and the slight sound of typing on a keyboard.

"Quick! Are all the photos exported?" A young man wearing a baseball cap lowered his voice, his eyes fixed on the laptop screen. On it were continuous shots just transmitted from a telephoto lens—President Jiang Zhiyu carrying Kim Taeyeon into the apartment building in a princess carry. The angles were tricky and the images were clear; although the lighting was insufficient, the identities and intimate posture of the two were beyond doubt.

"Exported! High-definition! I even caught that mark on his neck!" The companion in the passenger seat was equally excited, his fingers sliding rapidly across the touchpad. "And that video the little girl took following behind with her phone... Although I can't hear clearly from that distance, this scene is explosive enough!"

"I've already thought of the headline!" The man in the baseball cap licked his lips, his eyes flashing with a thirst for fame and fortune. "'Shocking! President of TG Carries Drunken Girls Generation Leader Home at Night, Neck Hickeys Clearly Visible! Relationship Already Extraordinary?'... No, that's too ordinary." He shook his head, trying hard to come up with something more explosive. "'Kim Taeyeon Loses Composure While Drunk, Does Jiang Zhiyu Take Advantage? Girls Generation Insider Livestreams the Whole Drama!'... Yes, edit in that clip of the little girl filming, blur it a bit, and say 'Suspected Member Livestreaming On-site.' This level of buzz will definitely explode!"

They weren't some mainstream media outlet, but a small, recently formed team specializing in digging up celebrity privacy to attract attention. They prided themselves on becoming the 'second Dispatch' and were worried about not having a bombshell to break through. Tonight, they were originally just staking out another minor idol, but unexpectedly bumped into President Jiang's car driving into this high-end residential area. Then they saw that the people getting out were actually Kim Taeyeon and Jiang Zhiyu, along with that Tima who has been very active in TG variety shows lately... It was simply an exclusive scoop falling from the sky!

"Quick, compile the manuscript and photos overnight, post them anonymously to several major forums, and then contact a few marketing accounts. By tomorrow morning, I guarantee the whole internet will have it!" The two seemed to already see the vision of traffic, attention, and even money rolling in.

However, they didn't even have time to finish their daydream.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

A clear and rhythmic knocking sound abruptly rang out on the driver's side window glass.

The two were so startled that their whole bodies stiffened, and they snapped their heads around.

Outside the car window, two tall men dressed in black suits had appeared at some unknown time. They weren't wearing sunglasses (that would be too conspicuous), but their expressions were blank, and their eyes were as calm as deep pools of water as they looked at them through the glass. The one who knocked even had a professional, temperatureless 'smile' on his face.

The companion in the passenger seat's hand shook, nearly dropping the laptop. The man in the baseball cap forced himself to stay calm, rolled down the window a crack, and said in a dry voice, "Is, is there something wrong?"

"Good evening." The suit-clad man who knocked nodded slightly, his voice not loud but carrying an unquestionable authority. "We are from TG Entertainment's Logistics Support Department. During a routine security patrol, we noticed your vehicle has been parked here for an extended period and appears to be using professional filming equipment. According to relevant regulations and neighborhood management rules, please cooperate with an inspection and delete any unauthorized filmed materials."

His words were polite, but the term 'Logistics Support Department,' combined with the duo's obviously well-trained aura and the sharp insight of calling out the 'filming equipment,' made the two paparazzi feel a chill in their hearts. TG's Logistics Department... This is the freaking Logistics Department? This is clearly a Special Forces unit!

"We, we were just passing through to rest! We didn't film anything!" The baseball cap man still wanted to struggle.

The 'smile' on the suit-clad man's face didn't change at all, but his outstretched hand stopped steadily by the car window, palm up, making a clear and unmistakable 'hand it over' gesture. His companion, meanwhile, stood seemingly casually in front of the car, perfectly blocking any possible path of escape.

A sense of pressure silently permeated the air.

The two inside the car looked at each other, both seeing panic and resignation in the other's eyes. A small team like theirs might be able to maneuver against ordinary celebrities, but facing an emerging power like TG with a mysterious background and a tough style—and being caught red-handed at that—resisting was definitely not a wise move.

The man in the baseball cap's face turned ashen. With trembling hands, he took out the laptop that was still transferring data and the telephoto camera's memory card next to it, and handed them over.

The suit-clad man took them, checked them skillfully to confirm the contents, and then, right in front of them, inserted the memory card into a portable destroyer. With a soft *sizzle*, all data was physically overwritten. Next, he used a handheld tablet to connect to the laptop, operating quickly to empty relevant folders and caches, and formatted the storage area.

The entire process was efficient, professional, and silent.

Having finished all this, the suit-clad man handed the laptop back, still maintaining that standard 'service smile.' "Thank you for your cooperation. It is late; please pay attention to driving safety and leave as soon as possible." After speaking, the two said no more, turned, and quickly vanished into the night as if they had never appeared.

Inside the car, there was dead silence. The two paparazzi looked at their empty storage devices, cold sweat only now soaking their backs in hindsight. They knew that not only had they worked for nothing, but they had also likely been flagged by TG. Their dream of becoming the 'second Dispatch' was like a bubble that burst at the first poke in the face of real capital and power.

Upstairs, in Kim Taeyeon's bedroom.

Jiang Zhiyu's phone screen lit up, and a concise message jumped into view: [Downstairs handled. No visual materials leaked. Target vehicle has been persuaded to leave.]

His gaze swept over it, his face showing no expression of surprise. He simply tapped his finger, replied with a [Received.], and put away his phone. TG's Logistics Department—or rather, the 'Security and Special Affairs Handling Group' that had been reorganized and strengthened by Kim Soo-yeon and himself—was never just for show. From the moment he sensed that trace of being watched, the notification had already been sent. These flies hiding in the dark didn't even have time to buzz before being silently swatted out.

He looked up at Kim Taeyeon, who was still fast asleep on the bed but seemed to be frowning slightly due to the alcohol or a dream. Tima was still professionally holding up the phone, the lens focused on the two of them. On the screen, the sisters seemed to have quieted down for a moment because of the silent confrontation downstairs just now, but soon they were whispering guesses about something again.

Jiang Zhiyu ignored all that. He let out a soft breath, as if he had made a certain decision. He stood up and walked to the bedside.

"Oppa?" Tima asked in a low voice, her camera lens following closely.

Jiang Zhiyu didn't answer; he leaned down slightly beside Kim Taeyeon. Tima immediately pushed the phone lens closer, looking for trouble, giving a close-up while screaming wildly in her heart: Is it coming? Is it coming? What is Oppa going to do? Wipe her face? Cover her with a blanket? Or...

Then, she saw Jiang Zhiyu reach out his right hand. With his index and middle fingers pressed together, the pads of his fingers pressed precisely and with even force onto an acupoint right in the center of Kim Taeyeon's forehead, slightly towards the top (above the Yintang Point, near the Shangxing Point). His movements were steady, carrying a strange rhythm as he massaged it a few times with just the right amount of pressure.

Tima recognized it. This was a minor technique passed down in the Tianxuan Continent to help soothe the nerves, relieve headaches, and guide one into sleep. It wasn't some profound martial art, but it was very effective for relieving fatigue and steadying the mind, especially for people who were hyper-excited or uncomfortable after drinking. Jiang Zhiyu had taught it to her, and she knew how to do it too; she just didn't expect Oppa to use it here.

As Jiang Zhiyu pressed, Kim Taeyeon's brow, which had been unconsciously furrowed in her sleep, slowly smoothed out at a speed visible to the naked eye, and her tense facial muscles relaxed. Her breathing became longer and more stable, and a soft smile even appeared unconsciously at the corners of her lips, as if she had sunk into an incomparably sweet dream.

In fact, that was exactly the case.

Under the guidance and comfort of that gentle power from Jiang Zhiyu's fingertips, Kim Taeyeon's chaotic drunkenness and lingering discomfort were quietly smoothed away, and her consciousness sank into a deeper layer of sleep. And as one thinks by day, so one dreams by night; those intense, shameful thoughts from the day, tinged with dark possessiveness, were now free from the shackles of reason. In the fertile soil of her dreams, they grew wildly, transformed, and played out.

Perhaps she was domineeringly pinning that person who smelled so good against the wall, her fingertips tracing his reddened neck; perhaps that person finally stopped dodging and looked at her intently with those clear eyes, calling her 'Noona' in a low voice; perhaps it was something even more absurd, more intimate, and more face-reddening that made her unwilling to wake up...

"Hehe..."

A clear and satisfied, somewhat silly laugh spilled from Kim Taeyeon's throat. She laughed out loud in her sleep, her cheeks flushed and eyelashes trembling, completely immersed in her 'sweet dream,' even unconsciously smacking her lips as if savoring something.

"!!!" On the other end of the phone, things boiled over again. Suppressed exclamations and ambiguous gasps could be heard.

Tima's eyes also widened, and she nearly failed to hold the phone steady. She knew that technique could help with sleep and soothe the mind, but she didn't know it could come with this 'laughing in your sleep' side effect. Or rather... was Taeyeon Unnie's dream just that 'good'?

Jiang Zhiyu's fingers on the acupoint paused for an imperceptible half-second. Kim Taeyeon's 'hehe' giggle and her expression of being clearly immersed in a sweet dream made the temperature that had just dropped at the tips of his ears tend to rise again. He quickly withdrew his hand, as if his fingertips still retained the warmth of her skin and... the cloying sweetness overflowing from her dream.

He straightened up, no longer looking at the woman on the bed who appeared even more charmingly naive because of her dream. He turned to face Tima and the phone lens that was still faithfully recording everything. His voice had returned to its usual coolness, even carrying a hint of relief at having completed a task:

"Alright." He was concise, his gaze sweeping over Tima. "Let's go."

Having said that, he took the lead in walking out of the bedroom, his steps steady and his back straight, as if the person who had just leaned down to gently massage the acupoint wasn't him at all.

He left behind only Kim Taeyeon, drunk in her dreamland with a sweet smile, Tima, who was holding her phone with her inner monologue already exploding, and the Girls Generation 'Supervisory Committee' on the other side of the screen, who were now completely unable to sleep and destined to chat all night long.

Tonight's drama was big and sweet, also featuring a mysterious technique assist and a frightening paparazzi interlude—it was enough for them to digest for a long time. Meanwhile, one of the protagonists had already decisively pulled away, preparing to evacuate the battlefield. As for what would happen upon waking tomorrow... that would be another magnificent story.

—

The early morning sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, stingily spilling into the bedroom and falling on Kim Taeyeon's tightly closed eyelids. She frowned, her eyelashes fluttered, and she struggled to slowly surface from a grotesque and variegated abyss of dreams.

Her head ached, as if countless small hammers were gently tapping her temples, but it wasn't sharp; it was more like the heavy, dull pain customary after a hangover. Her body was also lazy, unable to muster a shred of strength, as if the bones and muscles had been hollowed out.

She first smelled the familiar scent of her own bedroom, mixed with... an extremely faint, almost uncatchable fresh scent like grass after rain or some kind of clean soap? It was so light that she thought it was an illusion.

Then, her senses gradually returned. She found herself wearing comfortable, soft cotton pajamas instead of the stiff little dress from the last of her memories last night. The clothes were fitted properly on her body, carrying the fluffiness of having just been washed and dried. Who changed her clothes? Her memory was a blur.

She slowly and tentatively opened her eyes, staring at the familiar patterns on the ceiling, her gaze somewhat vacant.

Last night... she seemed to have had a very long, very chaotic, but also... very beautiful dream.

The details of the dream were like a beach after the tide recedes, leaving behind colorful, shining fragments that were hard to piece together fully. She only remembered a scalding body temperature, a unique scent that made her feel at ease, a blurred but profound touch, bold and burning emotions she had never had before, and... some even more private and entangled images that made her unable to help her face turning red and her heart accelerating now that she thought of them. That feeling was too real, too... satisfying, even carrying a bit of forbidden sweetness, like an absurd yet wonderful erotic dream.

Kim Taeyeon's cheeks quietly flushed crimson. Subconsciously, with a hint of anticipation and trepidation she hadn't even noticed herself, she slightly turned her head to look beside her—

No one was there.

There was only the shallow depression pressed out by a pillow and the messy sheets that belonged only to her.

As expected... it was a dream.

A surge of emotion—it was hard to say if it was disappointment or relief—welled up in her heart, and she let out a soft, hungover, raspy sigh. As expected, alcohol is harmful; as one thinks by day, so one dreams by night. She actually had such a... shameless dream. Fortunately, it was just a dream.

Just as she was preparing to empty her mind and stay in bed a little longer, waiting for the headache to subside before facing reality, the phone screen on the nightstand lit up urgently, accompanied by the vibration of a special ringtone she had set for a certain special person (which sounded exceptionally piercing at this moment).

It was Sunny.

Kim Taeyeon closed her eyes, fumbled to grab the phone, weakly swiped to answer, and pressed the receiver to her ear.

"Yeoboseyo~" Her voice carried the lethargy and raspiness of having just woken up, along with the lingering sleepiness.

From the other end of the phone, Sunny's voice immediately came through, full of energy but clearly suppressing a huge fire of excitement and gossip: "Taeyeon-ah! Are you awake? How do you feel? Does your head still hurt?"

"...Yeah," Kim Taeyeon hummed vaguely, eyes closed, too lazy to say more. The fatigue of the hangover made her not want to think.

"Let me tell you," Sunny's voice lowered, carrying the excitement of sharing a shocking secret, "Yesterday... you were super fierce!"

Kim Taeyeon didn't pay much attention, thinking it was just Sunny teasing her about being late for the dinner last night or her embarrassing state after drinking too much. She still kept her eyes closed and perfunctorily gave another "Yeah?"

Then, she heard Sunny's next sentence, earth-shattering words that directly blasted her soul out of her hungover chaos:

"Is Jiang Zhiyu's neck... very sweet?"

"..."

Kim Taeyeon snapped her eyes open.

The heaviness brought by the hangover was instantly washed clean by a cold torrent named 'absurdity' and 'horror.' She even doubted if she was still in that ridiculous dream and hadn't woken up, or if she was experiencing severe auditory hallucinations after drinking.

"Mworago?!" Her voice rose, carrying an unbelievable sharpness and a hint of panic she hadn't realized herself. "Sunny, what are you talking about?! Have you gone crazy?!" In her extreme shock, she even subconsciously used informal language.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

"Oh, stop pretending!" Sunny laughed even harder on the other end of the line, her tone one hundred percent certain and full of mischievous delight. "We all saw it! High-definition, uncensored, live broadcast! You, Kim Taeyeon, the leader of Girls Generation, last night at the barbecue restaurant, in front of everyone, wrapped your arms around Jiang Zhiyu's neck and gave it a forceful 'smooch'! And you even loudly declared, 'So sweet!' That red mark, tsk tsk, I doubt it will fade by today!"

"..." Kim Taeyeon opened her mouth, but couldn't make a sound. Her throat felt as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, and even her breathing had stalled.

Neck? A smooch? A red mark? So sweet? These words were like red-hot branding irons, searing into her nerves one by one, violently overlapping with those fragmented, scorching, and soft-touched "dream" shards in her mind!

That wasn't a dream?! Those scorching body temperatures, the comforting scent, the blurry touches... they weren't just some absurd, alcohol-induced erotic dream?! She... really did that to Jiang Zhiyu...? In front of everyone?!

"So, tell me quickly," Sunny's voice continued, filled with naked curiosity and teasing, "When you were sucking on his neck so hard, what did it actually taste like? Was it really as sweet as you said? Is President Jiang made of sugar?"

"..." Kim Taeyeon remained with her mouth open, her eyes wide, but the pupils staring at the ceiling had lost their focus. The phone slipped from her suddenly limp hand, landing with a 'thud' on the soft pillow, and Sunny's subsequent excited questions turned into a blurry buzzing sound.

The world seemed to go completely quiet at that moment, and then, in the next second, with the force of a landslide, all the fragmented yet real scenes and sensations from last night—which she had mistaken for a dream—along with Sunny's cruel "live broadcast," were shoved back into her mind all at once!

It wasn't a dream.

That sh*t wasn't me dreaming, was it?!

A massive, overwhelming sense of shame and social death, like the coldest tsunami, completely swallowed her. The flush on her cheeks faded instantly, turning deathly pale, only to burn into an even hotter flame of embarrassment and shock a moment later.

She yanked the blanket up, covering herself completely, from head to toe, and let out a long, desperate moan muffled by the cotton.

"Ahhhhhhh—!!!"

— —

After a series of actions—screaming into her blanket, rolling around on the bed in a frenzy, and rushing into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face in an attempt to "sober up" or "get amnesia"—Kim Taeyeon finally collapsed on the living room sofa, like a salted fish that had lost its dreams, her complexion flickering repeatedly between deathly pale and burning red.

The doorbell rang.

Kim Taeyeon jolted up like a startled rabbit, staring vigilantly at the door. Could it be... has he arrived? No, no, no, impossible, he should be at the company... So who could it be? The Manager? Other members?

She shuffled slowly to the door and peered through the peephole — — it was indeed that familiar face, filled with gossip and mockery, which she least wanted to see right now (but also, inexplicably, wanted to see a little bit?).

Lee Soon-kyu (Sunny).

Kim Taeyeon took a deep breath and resignedly opened the door.

Sunny slipped in as if it were her own home, carrying a hangover drink bought from a convenience store and a bowl of hot porridge, but her eyes, from the moment she entered, scanned back and forth like a searchlight across Kim Taeyeon's face and... neck.

"Yo, still alive?" Sunny placed the items on the table, sat down across from Kim Taeyeon with a casual air, crossed her legs, and said, "Your complexion is quite impressive, looks like a color palette."

Kim Taeyeon gave her a weak glare, didn't respond, and silently picked up the hangover drink to take a sip.

"Don't play dead, come on, let's review it with me!" Sunny took out her phone and excitedly scrolled across the screen. "Although the internet is calm and there's nothing—I have to say, that logistics department at TG is truly god-tier, even more ruthless than Dispatch, they didn't leak a single whisper—but we have a high-definition 'documentary' internally! Come, come, starting from when you heroically walked toward Jiang Zhiyu..."

"Yah! Lee Soon-kyu!" Kim Taeyeon, filled with shame and anger, grabbed a throw pillow and threw it at her, but Sunny nimbly dodged it.

"Oh my, why are you so shy!" Sunny dodged with a grin. "But seriously, look at this first." She turned the phone screen toward Kim Taeyeon.

The screen didn't show any shameful candid shots, but rather a few "commute photos" clearly taken this morning near the TG Entertainment building. The man in the photos was wearing a simple yet sharply tailored black windbreaker, with the zipper pulled tightly all the way to the top, almost covering the lower half of his face, revealing only a high, straight bridge of his nose and a pair of clear, calm eyes. His pace was fast, his posture upright; despite being dressed in casual attire ready for outdoor hiking and enjoying youth, he somehow wore it with the cold, dashing aura of a model.

"Tsk tsk, look at this crisis management awareness from your President Jiang." Sunny pointed at the photo and commented, "Zipper pulled to the top, perfectly hiding the 'evidence of the crime.' This little trick, it's amazing."

Kim Taeyeon looked at the photo, her gaze involuntarily landing on the neck area hidden by the zipper, and the heat that had just faded from her face began to rise again. She forced herself to look away and read the comments below.

As expected, as Sunny said, the internet was calm, and there wasn't a single word mentioned about any "accidents" after last night's dinner. On the trending topics, there was only a harmless topic like #Girls Generation Private Dinner#. And the comments under these few commute photos of Jiang Zhiyu had completely veered in another direction:

[Holy cow! Is this Jiang Zhiyu? I always knew he was handsome, but I didn't know he was this handsome?! This height, these proportions, this cold face... he's even more stunning than the visual members of boy groups during promotion periods!]

[Help, he's actually only 20? A 20-year-old entertainment company President? And he looks this enchanting? Which window did God close for him?]

[This windbreaker! Sisters, look at this windbreaker! It looks so good on him! It's cool and dashing, and it even has a bit of youthful vibe!]

[Requesting the same model! I want to know all the information about this piece of clothing within three minutes!]

[TG employee passing by, the President's outfit today is really killing me... even though he's covered up tightly, why does it feel even more erotic? (covering face)]

[To the person above, it's because you're imagining what might be under his zipper (doge)]

[Don't change the subject! So where can I buy it?! I've been searching for half an hour!]

The comments went all the way from marveling at his looks and age, to drooling over his physique, and finally completely sinking into an ocean of requests for the same windbreaker. Some quick-handed fashion bloggers had even started digging up the brand and model, and the heat for the related topic #Jiang Zhiyu Same Style Windbreaker# was also quietly climbing.

Kim Taeyeon looked at these completely off-track comments, and half of her hanging heart finally fell back into her stomach. Fortunately, the worst-case scenario didn't happen; she didn't suffer social death in front of the whole internet. But the other half of her heart was raised even higher — — precisely because Jiang Zhiyu handled it so promptly and cleverly, even going so far as to use this "fashion statement" to divert attention, it made her feel even more ashamed.

He had to do this to protect her.

This realization made Kim Taeyeon's heart feel sour and astringent; the sense of shame coiled around her like vines, choking her until she could barely breathe. She was genuinely considering whether there were still noodles in the fridge to end her life, or if the tofu at the supermarket downstairs was hard enough...

"Hey, snap out of it!" Sunny waved her hand in front of her eyes, interrupting her "suicide" plan. "Look, because of that bite of yours, Jiang Zhiyu has inexplicably become a fashion influencer. Sales for this clothing are likely going to explode." She smacked her lips, her tone filled with emotion, "This man, being handsome is an innate advantage, having a brain is acquired cultivation, and he can even use his own advantages to resolve crises while creating commercial value... Taeyeon, what you 'gnawed' on last night wasn't just an ordinary neck, it was a diamond-encrusted PR textbook!"

"Stop talking!" Kim Taeyeon wailed, burying her face into the throw pillow again, her voice muffled and tinged with a crying tone, "I just want to immigrate to Mars right now..."

Sunny laughed out loud and patted her shoulder: "Alright, alright, the best thing is that there's nothing on the internet. As for how you two 'settle' it in private... that's up to you. However," she changed the subject, her eyes flashing with a cunning light, "as a witness to the whole thing and a good sister, I suggest that next time you 'taste,' you could try a different spot? Like the wrist? It's said that the skin over the artery is thinner, and the taste might be more..."

"Lee Soon-kyu! I'll fight you to the death!!!"

The living room immediately erupted with flying pillows and laughter. The shame-filled leader and the member who loved chaos were using their way to digest the aftermath of this destined-to-be-unforgettable night. And the other protagonist of the storm had already used a windbreaker to calmly stir up new waves on another battlefield.

— —

Sunny finally left, satisfied with a full load of "spoils" (including the freshest gossip and Kim Taeyeon's shame-filled memes), leaving Kim Taeyeon alone to continue struggling in the abyss called "social death."

The apartment returned to silence, but this silence felt more like a silent interrogation. Kim Taeyeon curled herself up in a corner of the living room sofa, like a snail trying to escape reality by shutting itself in. The throw pillow she held tightly in her arms was almost deformed, as if it were the only piece of driftwood she could grasp at this moment.

The phone screen glowed dimly, tightly gripped in her hand, but her fingertips were trembling frantically against the cold glass, hovering a few millimeters above the screen, unable to press down. On the screen was her private chat interface with Jiang Zhiyu.

The chat history was still stuck from over a month ago, two simple and direct messages that made her heart ache as she looked at them now: Jiang Zhiyu: [Open the door, Noona] Jiang Zhiyu: [Noona?]

That was the day he suddenly visited in the early morning, bringing white porridge and sleep-inducing aromatherapy. The panic and heart-fluttering from that time were still as clear as yesterday, but following that was a long, anxious blank of over a month. The flashing and disappearing of that "the other party is typing..." became a thorn in her heart that she couldn't pull out.

And now? What should she say now?

"Sorry, I drank too much last night and sucked on your neck like a pervert, and said weird things"? Or "Thanks for the princess carry and the calming technique, I had an erotic dream about you"? Ah, sh*t!!!

Kim Taeyeon let out a low, frustrated growl, and suddenly raised her hand to mess up her already messy hair from the hangover and rolling around, wishing she could pull out all those memories that made her explode with shame and throw them away.

It was useless. Completely useless.

Because those scenes had already been forced upon her by that devil Sunny, who held her head down and made her "review" them from start to finish, frame by frame, in the form of a "high-definition documentary"!

She saw herself at that moment — — her eyes fixed, her steps unsteady but carrying a bizarre, go-for-broke momentum, exactly like those shuffling zombies in "Plants vs. Zombies" that only knew how to move toward their target (Jiang Zhiyu)!

She saw herself walking up to Jiang Zhiyu, tilting her head, staring at his neck as if studying some rare specimen, and then... and then, just like the strongest vacuum cleaner at home suddenly turning on, she lunged forward, and with precision, force, and zero aesthetic sense, sucked a perfectly clear, purple-red "hickey" onto the side of his neck!

She also heard herself, after letting go, announcing to the air (actually to everyone's ears) in that confused and serious tone: "Why... is it so sweet?"

Finally, there was Jiang Zhiyu, with a look of astonishment (seemingly tinged with helplessness?), picking her up horizontally like a pile of mud, that standard princess carry pose that made her toes curl in embarrassment just thinking about it...

Every detail was like a slow-motion shot, with high-saturation colors and surround sound, playing on a loop in her mind, lashing at what little reason and dignity she had left.

And that wasn't even all. Because following that, during the time after she blacked out and was settled on the bed by Jiang Zhiyu, her "dream"... that "erotic dream" that was so real it made her whole body go weak, her cheeks burn, and she couldn't help but reminisce after waking up (even though she tried hard to deny it)...

The Jiang Zhiyu in that dream was completely different from the calm, self-restrained, and occasionally gentle junior in reality. In the dream, his eyes carried an aggressiveness and heat she had never seen before, his scent was scorching, and the touches... (Kim Taeyeon shook her head violently, trying to dispel those overly specific images).

Now, connecting "reality" and the "dream"... In reality, she forcibly kissed (?) his neck and left evidence of the crime. In the dream, she... she dreamed of him doing even more excessive (and even more leg-weakening) things to her. What is this?! Exposing her true nature after drinking?! The ultimate desire of her subconscious?!

"Ahhhhhhh—!!!" Kim Taeyeon couldn't hold it back anymore. She suddenly tilted her head back toward the ceiling, and from the depths of her throat, let out a breakdown-induced scream, mixed with extreme shame, self-loathing, and the frantic, unvented frustration: "Sh*t—!!!!!!!"

The sound echoed in the empty living room, even carrying a bit of an echo, but it couldn't alleviate even a shred of the torment in her heart. She slammed the phone screen down onto the sofa, as if it were a hot potato. Her body curled up again, burying her burning face deep into her knees.

It's over. It's all over. Image, dignity, the dignity of a senior... after that bite last night, it was shattered into nothing. And her chaotic thoughts about Jiang Zhiyu, which she had desperately suppressed, were now revealed through the alcohol and the dream. Now, how is she supposed to face him? How to explain? How to... continue?

The phone lay quietly in the sofa crevice, screen facing down. That blank chat interface was like an unsolvable puzzle, stretching between her and Jiang Zhiyu, and also between her and her own heart.

And meanwhile, President Jiang Zhiyu, wearing the windbreaker with the zipper pulled to the top, having successfully ignited a wave of fashion topics, was in the top-floor office of TG Entertainment, listening to a subordinate report on the "unexpected surprise" cooperation proposal from the windbreaker brand. His fingertips unconsciously brushed again, lightly, over the mark on his neck that had turned dark red but still had a vivid presence. His expression was calm and waveless, but his eyes were bottomless. The aftermath of the storm was far from over. The real "settlement" had perhaps only just begun.