369: Chapter 434 was written while I was on the night shift, so it's only one chapter. (4)

The night breeze of Jeju Island blew from the sea, carrying a salty, damp scent as it gently brushed past the balcony on the second floor of the guesthouse.

Lee Tima crouched by the door, her ear pressed against the wooden panel, looking like a frozen hamster. Her eyes were wide and round, and she even lightened her breathing, for fear of missing even the slightest sound inside.

It's over, it's over, it's over.

IU Unnie went in.

She really went in.

And she was smiling so beautifully—

The more beautiful she looks, the scarier it is!!!

Inside the room, however, the atmosphere was much calmer than she had imagined.

IU was wearing a milk-white knitted cardigan today with a pale pink camisole underneath. Her long hair was draped over her shoulders, and her makeup was so exquisite she looked like she had just stepped out of a pictorial. She stood in the center of the room with a standard sweet smile on her face, looking at the man sitting on the sofa opposite her.

"Long time no see, President Jiang~"

Her voice was soft and sweet, with a rising inflection at the end that sounded like she was acting cute.

Jiang Zhiyu stood up and bowed slightly, his movements as standard as if he were treating any other business partner.

"IU-xi, hello."

IU's eyes narrowed slightly.

IU-xi?

Not "Jieun-xi"? Not "Jieun Noona"? Not even "IU Sunbae"?

IU-xi.

This form of address was perfectly distant and impeccably polite.

Interesting.

She silently labeled this address in her heart, but the smile on her face didn't change at all.

"The drama's progress is going quite well," she said, naturally walking over to another sofa and sitting down, crossing her legs with an elegance that made it seem like she was in her own home. "Yoona-xi's performance has truly broken the boundaries of idol dramas. It seems President Jiang's eye for talent is quite good."

Jiang Zhiyu sat back down, his expression remaining calm.

"Yoona Noona's acting skills and hard work are the greatest features of this drama."

Yoona... Noona?

IU's nails dug slightly into her palm.

He calls Im Yoona "Noona"?

Calling her that so naturally, so smoothly?

She had known him for so long and collaborated on so many projects, but when had he ever called her "Jieun Noona"?

Never.

It was always "IU-xi." Always polite, distant, and beyond reproach, but never closing the distance.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the surge of bitterness, and continued to maintain her sweet smile.

"It seems my investment is guaranteed then?"

Jiang Zhiyu nodded slightly, a formulaic smile on his lips.

"As for investors, TG only reaches out when we are certain. We don't do business that loses money."

IU covered her mouth and chuckled, her movements as elegant as if she were filming a commercial.

"Of course, I hope to make a big profit~" She paused, her eyes curving slightly as something more appeared in her gaze toward Jiang Zhiyu. "I just wonder if TG has any projects in other industries recently that I could invest in?"

She leaned forward slightly, her tone becoming more casual.

"I happen to have some spare cash, and it's a waste to just let it sit. I wonder if President Jiang would be willing to let me have a piece of the pie?"

She spoke lightly, like an ordinary investor casually asking about new opportunities.

But only she knew what lay behind those words.

Emotional bonding?

She had tried that. During that eye contact at the training ground, she thought she had grasped something, but everything that followed proved that this man simply didn't fall for that.

He could look at her with those bewitching eyes, making her whole body tremble, and then in the next second, revert to being the polite and distant President Jiang, as if nothing had happened.

Before him, she was like a toyed-with prey.

Fine.

If the path of emotions didn't work, then she would take the path of career.

Invest in TG, bind herself to TG, go deep into TG—and finally, master TG.

Once she became his largest investor, his indispensable partner, and an unavoidable presence in his business empire—

Could he still run away?

She imagined that scene, and the morbid sense of satisfaction in her heart grew wildly like vines.

Jiang Zhiyu looked at her, his gaze as calm as a pool of deep water.

"TG has quite a few projects right now," he began slowly, his tone still gentle. "However, our capital chain is very stable. If IU-xi has an interest in investing, you can follow TG's official website. Any investment projects will be announced there."

The website.

Announced on the website.

Is he treating her like an ordinary investor?

IU's smile didn't change, but the light in her eyes deepened.

She licked her lips, an action that, when done by her, carried a faint sense of ambiguity. She looked directly into Jiang Zhiyu's eyes and said word by word:

"For example—can I invest in the development of the AI Virtual Engine System?"

In that instant, Jiang Zhiyu's expression changed.

It wasn't anger or shock, but a more subtle shift—his gaze turned from calm to sharp, and his aura seemed to be weighed down by something invisible, causing the temperature in the room to drop a few degrees.

The way he looked at her carried a sense of scrutiny, a sense of wariness, and a hint of—

Danger.

IU clearly felt that pressure.

Her heart rate suddenly accelerated, not out of fear, but because of—

Excitement.

He's finally looking at me with that kind of gaze.

Not polite distance, not a formulaic smile, but a genuine gaze that treats me as an 'important person'.

She was screaming frantically in her heart, but on the surface, she maintained her elegant posture and even slightly raised her chin, as if to say:

Yes, it's me.

I know your secret.

What do you plan to do?

Jiang Zhiyu was silent for a few seconds.

In those few seconds, his brain was working at high speed.

AI Virtual Engine System.

This was TG's core technology, the foundation of TG's standing in the world. The research and development of this technology were inseparable from the support of the Chinese department—the strategic pivot he and Kim Soo-yeon had laid out before they transmigrated.

The conditions provided by China were excellent, giving TG absolute autonomy. Without the support of the Chinese department, this technology would sooner or later be acquired by Samsung, which was controlled by American capital—at that point, TG would just be a company being continuously bled dry, never able to truly rise.

The existence of this technology was only known to TG's core circle. Even in the collaborative projects with SM and JYP, no details had ever been revealed.

How did IU know?

He looked at the woman opposite him who still maintained her sweet smile, and countless possibilities flashed through his mind.

She had investigated TG.

She had someone behind her.

She had just accidentally heard some rumors.

She...

No, that's not right.

He carefully observed her expression—in those eyes, besides triumph, there was something purer, almost morbid...

Possessiveness?

It wasn't the cold calculation of a corporate spy, nor the insidious probing of a competitor.

It was a gaze that wanted him.

He had seen that kind of gaze in the eyes of too many people—fans, partners, even some overconfident pursuers. But IU's was more intense, more obsessive than anyone else's, more like she was looking at something that belonged to her.

She doesn't know what this means.

This thought suddenly popped up.

She only knew the name AI Virtual Engine, knew it was TG's core technology, and knew it was very valuable.

But she didn't know the strategic significance behind this technology, didn't know the layout of the Chinese department, didn't know Samsung's covetousness, and even more, didn't know what kind of crisis TG would face if this news leaked out.

Her intentions were very pure.

Or rather—she had a business mind, but not much of one.

Jiang Zhiyu's eyes slowly returned to calm.

He leaned back on the sofa, and that familiar, formulaic smile reappeared on his lips.

"AI Virtual Engine System?" he repeated softly, his tone as if he were discussing today's weather. "IU-xi is very well-informed."

Looking at that smile of his, IU suddenly felt a bit uneasy.

How did he change back again?

Where was that dangerous look from just now? Where was that suffocating pressure?

How did he become this calm and composed again in the blink of an eye?

She bit her lip and continued to probe:

"What? Can't I invest? Or is it—President Jiang doesn't trust me?"

Jiang Zhiyu laughed, his smile so gentle that one couldn't find any fault with it.

"It's not a lack of trust. It's just that the AI Virtual Engine project is currently in the research and development stage, and there are no plans to open it up for outside investment. When there's a suitable opportunity in the future, I will definitely give IU-xi priority consideration."

He spoke flawlessly.

He neither admitted nor denied anything.

He didn't reveal any information, nor did he make her feel rejected.

IU stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.

In that smile, there was appreciation, curiosity, and a deeper, stronger—

Desire.

"Alright then," she stood up and smoothed her skirt. "Then I'll be waiting for President Jiang's 'priority consideration'~"

She walked to the door and suddenly turned back to look at him.

Moonlight spilled in from the window, spreading a layer of silvery-white halo over him. He sat there, as quiet as a painting.

"By the way," she suddenly spoke, her tone as gentle as if she were mentioning something trivial. "President Jiang, when you call me IU-xi, I always feel like a stranger."

She paused, her smile deepening.

"Next time, call me Jieun."

After saying that, she pushed open the door and walked out.

Outside the door, Lee Tima almost fell in headfirst.

She steadied herself and smiled awkwardly at IU. "Unnie... that... I..."

IU glanced at her and said nothing, only reaching out to ruffle her hair before walking away elegantly in her high heels.

Lee Tima stood in place, dazed for a few seconds, and then rushed into the room.

"Oppa!!!"

Jiang Zhiyu was still sitting in his original spot, his expression as calm as if nothing had happened.

"She... she... she just now..." Lee Tima was incoherent. "AI Virtual Engine?! How could she know about that?!"

Jiang Zhiyu glanced at her and said slowly:

"I don't know. But what's certain is that she doesn't know much."

"Then why are you still so calm?!"

"Otherwise?" Jiang Zhiyu stood up and walked to the window, looking at the moonlight outside. "What's the use of panicking?"

Lee Tima opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, she closed it.

She knew Oppa was right.

Panicking was useless.

But—

She remembered IU's smile when she left, that look, and that sentence "Call me Jieun."

Those were definitely not words an ordinary investor would say.

That was...

She didn't dare think further.

Moonlight quietly spilled over the sea.

In the distance, the sound of waves was faint.

Jiang Zhiyu looked at that patch of sea, his gaze as deep as bottomless pool water.

IU.

Just what kind of person... are you?

He didn't know.

But he knew that from today on, he had to re-evaluate this woman.

Not because of her investment, not because of her fame.

It was because—she knew too much.

Or rather, what she wanted to obtain was too much.

He turned around, picked up his phone, and sent a message to Kim Soo-yeon:

[Jiang Zhiyu]: Check the people IU has been in contact with recently. Especially those related to tech investment.

Sent.

He put away his phone and continued to gaze at the moonlight outside the window.

The storm seemed to have only just begun.