Chapter Sixteen: Declining Grades and Tara

ds, so basically all award ceremonies or large-scale performances where many artists attend will do this tirelessly.At this time, you must not make a cold face or have any bad expressions, as this can...Peninsula asteroid

"Taeyeon, huh"

Chi Jingyuan looked at the arrival, smiling and calling out.

"Oh, junior, you've been here for so long and didn't even come to visit your seniors Don't you know we have a stage today too"

"Oh my goodness, as expected of Yuanxi, who broke the record for sound source! You're truly amazing. It seems even seniors need to come visit you now."

After seeing Ji Kyeong-won, Kim Tae-yeon first showed a smile in her eyes, but quickly retracted it. She mercilessly criticized him with a harsh tone, and then her voice took on a strange and ambiguous quality.

"Oh, I'm just getting ready to go."

Ji Jingyuan got up and walked over, with a genuine smile on his face.

"Hmph." Kim Taeyeon gave him a disdainful glance, then brushed past Ji-sung and greeted Bae Suzy with a smile and a bow. They chatted warmly for a few moments.

Although they don't seem to have much interaction, the way they look at each other makes it seem like they are very close.

After a brief chat, Ji-yeong gave Suzy and Jae-hyun a nod before following Taeyeon away from their waiting room and towards Girls' Generation's resting space.

"Taeyeon, what about you What about the other seniors"

Ji Chang Wook and Kim Tae Yeon were walking side by side backstage. Their pace wasn't particularly fast, and they occasionally greeted passing acquaintances with bows and a hello. When she had a moment free, she casually asked...

"Well, the frame is big enough, I'm not even enough for one person, am I"

Kim Taeyeon looked at Ji Kyeongwon, feigning displeasure and saying something, but seeing his grinning expression, she couldn't hold it in anymore, the corner of her mouth curled up following a smile. After glaring at him, she said with a huff: "Sooyoung went to find some friends she knows, Yuri is still doing makeup, and the others are just playing around by themselves."

“…………”

Chi Jingyuan nodded nonchalantly. He was just looking for a topic to talk about.

"By the way, there's a private dinner on the 8th night. Jingyuan, remember to come then."

At that moment, Taeyeon suddenly remembered something. She turned her head and gave him a reminder.

"What is the 8th... And I don't even know if I have time..."

"Pool View Source blinked and looked at the puzzled expression, before Kim Tae-yeon could change her face, he smiled and shook his head: "Number 8 is Tae-yeon's birthday, right Of course I remember how could I forget The gift has already been bought in advance, don't worry."

"Humph…"

Just as Taeyeon was about to change color, she couldn't help but curl her lips up in a knowing smile. She looked at him with a mix of annoyance and amusement, and said, "Last year you said you didn't have time. If you say the same thing this year, then maybe we won't see each other ever again."

"Definitely, definitely, I'll go for sure."

Chi Jingyuan nodded sincerely, his face filled with genuine joy and happiness. However, a tinge of bitterness lurked in his heart.

I have to work overtime again today...

The Girls' Generation and EXO practice rooms were very close, just a few steps around the corner. They hadn’t even spoken two sentences before reaching the door. Taeyeon almost didn’t even bother knocking, but remembering that Ji-young was behind her, she gave it a perfunctory tap and pushed the door open without waiting for a response, leading him inside.

"Senior, Anihasaiyou..."

As soon as Ji-yeong entered, he first glanced around and saw that there were six members here, including Jin Tae-yeon. Then, he smiled and greeted them.

"Jingyuan is here..."

"Oh my, Jingyuan, it's been so long since I've seen you."

"Come over here, Jingyuan, sit here!"

When a few older sisters saw him, they all enthusiastically waved at him. They greeted him in a chorus of voices. Even the two who were putting on makeup paused slightly, tilting their heads to smile and wave at Ji Jingyuan.

After greeting everyone, Chi Jingyuan walked over under Huang Meiying's playful wave and sat down with them on two adjacent sofas.

On the right sits Hwang Mi-young and also Taeyeon, sitting down with her. On the left is Sunny, who looks lazy leaning on the sofa playing her phone. Seeing Ji Kyungwon coming over, she kicked him a couple of times with her short legs as if to greet him.

Ji Jingyuan looked at Sunny silently, and suddenly felt that this sister's appearance in the lounge was a bit like him.

"Taeyeon waited for ages but didn't see you come over, so she got angry and slammed the door out. Jyeongwon, did she give you any trouble"

Huang Meiying looked at Ji Chang Wook, her eyes crinkling with a smile, and teased Kim Tae Yeon while hugging her.

"Of course not, Taeyeon unnie praised me for being popular," Chik Gyeong-won shook his head, watching the other party also smile with narrowed eyes.

"Haha, I don't believe it, just Taeyeon that...."

Huang Meiying let out a snort of laughter, waving her hand dismissively with an expression that clearly said it was impossible. Before she could finish, she was elbowed by Kim Taeyeon, who then stared her down with an intimidating gaze.

The song is well-written, "so" is really good. The full version of the arrangement is much better than the demo I heard when we were recording it, and the vocals are also great.

At this moment, Sunny put down her phone, stretched lazily and sat up. She scanned Qi Jingyuan from head to toe and praised him proactively, ending with a playful remark: "The lyrics are good too. No wonder they were written by you. Someone without enough experience couldn't write that kind of flavor."

"Hee hee..." Chi Jingyuan didn't argue, winked at Sunny and showed a smile.

"Yeah, Jingyuan, you don't know, Taeyeon really loves the song "so," she's been listening to it non-stop these days and keeps saying..."

Huang Meiying was about to speak halfway when her mouth was covered by Kim Taeyeon. She quickly bent her smiling eyes and raised her hands in surrender.

These two people do seem very close, and their way of interacting is quite interesting. The roles of the attacker and the receiver are not fixed, but rather constantly shifting with the situation.

"Hee hee..."

Ji-yeong and Sunny exchanged glances and laughed. Then, looking at the two playfully bickering, Ji-yeong pondered for a moment before saying: “If there’s an opportunity, I definitely want to collaborate with Taeyeon unnie sometime in the future.”

"Humph, now you know Nuna's singing is good"

Kim Taeyeon's eyes lit up at once, a smile breaking across her face before she quickly composed herself. She pretended to look down at something, glancing at Ji Kyungwon with a smug expression and saying something arrogant.

"Ani, how come You found out on your first day"

Ji Jingyuan made a fan-like shape with his hands, adoringly looking at Kim Taeyeon. The look made Taeyeon couldn't help but burst into laughter. Her bright laughter immediately spread throughout the entire dressing room.

Ji-yeong was sitting there chatting with Sunny and a few others. They didn't talk about anything related to his return performance, but shared some interesting personal stories and funny anecdotes. The entire resting room was filled with smiles for a moment, causing Yoona and Yuri who were making up nearby to keep glancing over.

After a while, Jung Soo Yeon and a few others came back. As soon as they entered, they saw Ji-seong Won and greeted him warmly, chatting excitedly.

Jeong Seo-yeon had a good feeling about Ji Seong-won from the beginning because of Jeong Seo-jing's role. Although she witnessed Ji Seong-won and Kim Ah-yeong having a date in the parking lot, she didn't bother with personal matters and it wasn't really her concern.

After a while, TVXQ from the resting room next door also came over. Today, all the s company artists participating in this episode of “c!” gathered together, laughing and chatting, the atmosphere was pretty good.

TVXQ is considered a senior group in the company, having been the pillar in the past. After the split, the remaining two members, Jung Yunho and Shim Changmin, along with Park Kyung, although not very close, have known each other for a long time and participated in multiple town family concerts together, making them quite familiar.

Both of them have pretty good personalities. Jung Yunho is more outgoing and likes to make jokes, while Seungchan has a very different style from his on-stage persona. He's kind of an academic overachiever, getting into Kyung Hee University through recommendation. Privately, he's a very disciplined person and when he smiles, it's easy to feel good about him.

Of course, these are just superficial impressions that Chi Jingyuan and they had when they first met. He didn't know, nor did he need to know, about their deeper, true personalities and private habits.

TVXQ also released the follow-up track "Intoxication" to their 7th regular album on February 27th and are currently promoting it on music shows.

Speaking of which, it's quite interesting. S company doesn't seem to know how they arranged it, but they really like arranging for their artists under the same umbrella to make a comeback within the same time frame and then compete against each other.

Last year, the plan was for fx and exo to make comebacks consecutively. Fx was doing well and could have had more title songs directly, but they were ended by "Roar." This year, several groups are also making a comeback together.

However, TVXQ's current focus is no longer on the peninsula but has shifted to Japan. They don't seem to care much about being number one anymore, and their promotions have been shortened considerably. It is estimated that after finishing these two weeks of promotional activities, they will head to Japan to continue their work there.

After chatting for a while, Ji Jingyuan bid farewell. He waved goodbye to several older sisters and returned to his own resting room. While playing video games, he chatted with Suzy Bae in an on-and-off manner.

After half an hour, after finishing the interview with C, Ji Jingyuan heard his assistant say that Girls' Generation was about to record a stage performance. He was very interested and put down his game console to prepare to watch it. Before leaving, he asked his partner: "I'm going to take a look at several Nuna's recordings, are you coming"

Today is Girls' Generation's comeback stage, and with their status, they definitely used the company's pre-set stage and prerecorded format.

"I'm not going." Bae Suzy looked at herself in the mirror, without turning back to answer.

Ji Jingyuan nodded slightly, closed the door and left the dressing room. He walked to the side of the stage. At this time, Girls' Generation had already posed on stage, and the prelude had begun.

He found a secluded spot, leaned against the wall, and watched.

The outfits worn during their performances are definitely unique. They all wear white shirts, red ties, and dark blue suits paired with skinny jeans - it's very cool and stylish, totally boy band vibes.

In recent years, sexy concepts have dominated the K-pop scene. Among them, Girls' Generation stands out with their diverse styles that often blend purity and edginess. Every comeback of theirs is a completely new experience.

Unlike some girl groups who, after changing their familiar song and styling, often appear to be struggling to adapt or control the change.

From last year's hip-hop track "IGOTABOY" to today's "...", every style Girls' Generation has tried seems to have been digested quite well.

This is also one of their strengths.

Today's stage makeup is pretty good, especially Taeyeon's styling is really eye-catching. With black hair tied together, a hat, and a suit, she looks both cool and cute. Ji-Sung thinks she's the most outstanding member in this comeback styling, not even one bit.

The music is also okay, with a good sense of rhythm and addictiveness. The choreography isn't holding them back either, several parts make you feel their charm on stage.

However, that's about it. If I were to ask Ji-seong to evaluate, this comeback title track is a song that meets the standard of Girls' Generation. It has some bright spots, but it's not particularly outstanding and feels somewhat ordinary.

After watching them record twice, Ji Jingyuan nodded at the several sisters who had been glancing over at him since he appeared, then left the stage and returned to the resting room. Afterwards, he waited for the program to officially begin recording.

……

"Who will be the first place winner for week one of March!"

"

Girls' Generation to yuanap;ap; Suzy, please look at the screen for the results!

"

An Jae-hyun and Jung Jun-young stood in the center of the first row on stage, enthusiastically hosting the last award ceremony segment.

Two prospective members stood on the left side of the stage, while Ji-sung and Suzy were on the right.

Chi Jingyuan stood there with a smile, his gaze occasionally scanning the bright eyes. After a ranked name was about to be announced, he clearly saw that several sisters were getting nervous, constantly staring at the screen displaying the scores beside them.

He also seemed relaxed, with a smile on his face, seemingly unconcerned. But in reality, his attention was still focused on the top of the screen.

Whether they are colleagues from the same company, senior or junior, or whether their relationship is good or not, at this time, everyone's heart must be unwilling to lose.

...And losing to a junior colleague from the same company is actually harder to accept.

“Audio Source Sales Score…”

"Girls' Generation 2500 points, yuanap;ap; suzy 5000 points."

"Record sales score..."

“ 《.》 1000 points, 《so》 0 points.”

“Social media score…”

“Program Score…”

The final score is………….

"Girls' Generation 9363 points, Suzy 9850 points."

"Yuanap;ap; Suzy, Kachamaida!"

As Jung Joon-young's loud announcement reverberated, the dynamic bg music and cheers from fans below surged up simultaneously. Silver streamers shot out from the sides, gently falling onto the performers on stage.

At the moment the results were announced, a few of the younger members' faces darkened slightly, but they quickly regained their composure, turning to look at Ji Jingyuan beside them with smiles on their faces as they clapped lightly in congratulations.

Chi Jingyuan, with a serene demeanor, received a trophy. A bright smile adorned his face as he politely bowed slightly to the several seniors beside him. Then, holding the microphone, he began his acceptance speech.

After the speech, it was time to enter the encore stage. All the artists bowed to each other and prepared to leave the stage. In her younger years, under Taeyeon's lead, she walked towards Ji-young's side.

With a playful smirk, Kim Taeyeon glanced at Ji Kyung-won, her lips twitching before bursting into a wide smile, flashing her pearly whites. She waved her hands excitedly while cheering:

Congratulations, you're really impressive, junior.

"Kang Sang-mi Da." Ji-seong beamed and clapped his hands forcefully with Taeyeon.

It can be seen that Taeyeon wasn't in a great mood because Girls' Generation didn't win first place, but since she and Ji Kyeong are close friends, she didn't take it too seriously.

Anyway, before returning, because of the amazing momentum of 《so》, she had already expected it, and now there is nothing unexpected.

It's just that she had boasted at the beginning that Park Jeong-won couldn't get even one spot, now looking back it was a bit embarrassing. Fortunately, Park Jeong-won is very considerate and didn't mention it at all, preserving Taeyeon's face.

After Taeyeon, it was Sunny's turn. She also smiled and gave a clap of congratulations.

Her attitude seemed quite calm, one wouldn't even tell she was affected at all.

Originally, Girls' Generation was supposed to just wave and leave the stage. However, Taeyeon and Sunny took the lead and greeted Ji Sung with a handshake, and the rest of the members followed suit, all smiling as they shook hands with him one by one. This showed off their close family-like bond very well and eased the frustration felt by fans who were disappointed they didn't win first place.

After all, he's my younger brother. Giving him the top spot this week doesn't really matter that much. Besides, "" is really popular.

Ji Jingyuan smiled under the sunshine, and after every round of applause from the younger sisters, he took the microphone and started calling for an encore. This episode of singing ended with fans' neat chorus.

After the comeback, there were some negative voices online. Many people believe that Girls' Generation had a significant decline this time and their status as the top female group is obviously starting to fade.

"Laughing to death, so much promotion was done before the comeback, everywhere there are drafts blowing, but in the end, the first singing performance was beaten by the junior brother. Is this the first girl group"

"Not just for the first week, with this momentum of "so", before three consecutive crowns graduation, don't even think about taking away a spot from Girls' Generation."

"The last time he returned was with 'igotaboy' in January of last year, and this time it's been a year and two months since then, which has undoubtedly made countless fans eagerly await his comeback. However, the result is that this achievement is indeed a bit disappointing."

"Before this year, I was a sone. But after Yuri's relationship was exposed on January 1st this year, I unstaned... To be honest, there are too many people like me. Many old fans have left because of this, and many were very powerful hardcore fans. You can see it clearly from the sales figures of this comeback."

"Can you stop complaining just because of one song performance Don't you know how popular EXO is right now Yuao, he alone makes up more than a third of the entire fandom. Plus, he has IU, such a famous idol as his partner. 'So' is also a rare hit song with amazing sound source scores. It's not that abnormal for them to not top the charts during their first week back, right If it were your main group, I bet they wouldn't even come close... Oh no, wait. Your main group can't even make it to the first place candidate list, no one even bothers to count their scores. That's truly pitiful."

"Yuan is also an artist from our agency, a junior colleague of ours. He’s considered family, not an outsider. All this backtalk from other agencies can just stay there."

When he debuted and failed to impress, many black fans came out to make a lot of noise.

The result of a comeback naturally cannot be determined by the outcome of one stage performance, but some people are right that there was a very noticeable drop in Girls' Generation's sales this time around. This is something everyone has seen.

After the release of Girls' Generation's "I Got a Boy," sales quickly surpassed 300,000 copies, leaving other girl groups far behind with a huge gap between them and the second-highest selling group.

But this time, the sales of "X" have only just broken 130,000 copies since its release. Previously, it had distanced itself from other girl groups, surpassing even male groups, and the pride that s one felt about the sales gap is slowly starting to disappear.

Although the album is still selling every day, judging by this trend, it would be very good if it could break 200,000 copies.

It can only be said that the impact of rumored relationships on a girl group is truly immense. After seven years since their debut, they've reached the twilight of their prime, and even Girls' Generation couldn't escape this fate.

On the March 7th episode of Music Bank, yuanap;ap;suzy once again defeated Girls' Generation, who was also a candidate for first place. They achieved a record-breaking score of 11,150 points this year and took home the trophy with a significant lead.

To know this was under their sales being divided by 0, getting the highest score on Music Bank this year, it's impossible not to let idols and passersby be astonished.

March 8th is the 400th episode special of , with several artist groups appearing, including TVXQ, Girls' Generation, and EXO.

They were already so familiar with "Roaring" and "sorrysorry" that they performed smoothly without any problems.

This time's program recording, besides c one's Kim So-hyun proactively running to the resting room to exchange contact information with Ji Chang-wook, what impressed him the most was seeing the stage of girl group T-ara again after a long time.

This time on the show, besides performing a stage exchange of "doyouknow" with Gao Ya Tai, they also performed their 2011 year-end song "rolypoly," which ranked first on the lon year-end chart.

Achieving the number one spot on a year-end chart isn't something just anyone can do. This song also holds the title of Tara's best digital performance to date. While its physical sales figures fall short compared to Girls' Generation, it still signifies their dazzling peak period.

It's a pity that after the incident in 2012, the group's situation took a sharp turn for the worse. Their public image plummeted, and within just half a year, they went from being beloved by everyone to being completely forgotten.

After that, Tara continued to work hard amidst the turmoil. There were subunit releases, collaborations, and solo tracks from each member, but unfortunately, the online hate they faced made it difficult for them to gain public favor again. Even though their comebacks featured some well-crafted title tracks, none of them made a splash. Only their fans remained steadfast in their support.

This time during the recording, he suddenly saw these few girls again. 池景源 couldn't help but think back to when exo had just debuted and participated in . At that time, they were enthusiastically discussed by members like 樸燦烈, and the spirited tara was truly impressive. He couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic.

In the evening, Ji Jingyuan attended Taeyeon's birthday party.

Before Taeyeon's departure for the pool party, as it happened to be her comeback period, ** Entertainment prepared a public birthday party for her as a way to give back to fans and promote her. They rented a small exhibition hall and held a birthday party there.

Some pre-selected fans were present at the scene. With all members of Girls' Generation participating, they sang birthday songs and blew candles, making it a warm and lively celebration for Taeyeon's birthday.

After the birthday party ended, some of the younger members left with the fans. Taeyeon took a few close friends to a restaurant and booked a private room for another intimate birthday dinner among friends, which was attended by Ji-seung.

When Ji-young arrived, it was already late, almost midnight. He gave Taeyeon a present he had prepared – a high-end, custom-made microphone with silver trim.

This gift truly surprised Kim Taeyeon, she felt it was very much in line with her "Kim Singer" style and taste.

Upon getting it, I immediately tore open the box and held it in my hand, unable to let go. When I got excited, I excitedly grabbed the unplugged microphone and sang a few lines, causing the crowd around me to swarm before I triumphantly put it away. At the same time, I gave Chi Jingyuan a flamboyant wink and a passionate flying kiss.

At this point, the ladies were getting tired and full, but when he arrived, their spirits lifted. They ordered some dishes and then everyone started drinking and chatting.

Although everyone was happy to receive gifts, Ji-seong could tell that several people, including Taeyeon who was celebrating her birthday today, weren't in high spirits. There was a lot of emotion in their eyes and expressions. In this kind of atmosphere, words inevitably drifted back to past events.

Chi Jingyuan didn't say much, just occasionally taking a sip of wine. He sat there quietly as an observer.

The seven years of Girls' Generation's idol experience, coupled with their several years as trainees, have led them to where they are today. They must have gone through countless sunny days and stormy nights. The slightly tipsy members seem to have returned to the past once again. Happy and excited moments spent together, as well as some disputes and contradictions, all resurface from memory in this exchange of glasses.

Other sisters drinking could liven up the conversation and make things more lively, but Taeyeon after a few sips turned quite flushed, looking dazed as if she might fall over the table at any moment.

Huang Meiying started giggling the moment she saw it. She took out her phone and snapped several pictures of Tae Yeon who was swaying around, then saved them triumphantly, saying she'd show Tae Yeon tomorrow just how funny she looked when drunk.

Chi Jingyuan thought about it, and he could imagine Huang Meiying's fate tomorrow would definitely be surrendering under Taeyeon's glaring eyes and fists. He estimated that she knew this herself, but she was still having fun doing it every time.

It's definitely a feeling that has been cultivated over time, it's really good.

After staying for a while, Ji Jingyuan bid farewell and left. He got into Park Jae-hyun's car, which had been waiting nearby, and instead of going back to the dormitory to rest, he drove straight back to S Building.

I still have to work overtime today, the other members are still practicing there.

First published on Chinese Novel Networkuiet."He looked a bit worried, anxious."It shouldn't be, the company said they were going to invest a lot of resources in promoting it, I feel like this comeback is pretty good on all sides, much stro...