1RomanceEB Chapter 3 Li Yuan, the Master of Balance
Chapter 3 Li Yuan, the Master of Balance
Li Yuan clicked on each person one by one and found that there were just too many people to prepare for—he swiped his finger across the screen several times, and the list grew longer and longer until he could hardly count them all.
"Won't this get through customs?" he muttered to himself. "Maybe I should just send it to a few key people instead."
Li Yuan browsed through the chat list on his phone screen, which displayed a string of strange nicknames that glowed faintly in the night: Sister Qian, Cabbage, Wash the Dishes, Silly Chai, Actress Lin, Jin Tairuan...
"Luckily, I used Chinese notes, otherwise I probably would have gotten beaten up." Li Yuan couldn't help but laugh as he looked at the notes.
He collected these people's Kakao accounts one by one during his activities in South Korea a few years ago.
Some were requested voluntarily, while others were added passively.
Even the Kakao account itself was created with Song Qian's help, and the password is still the initial password that Song Qian casually set when she applied for it - "Sq198722".
"Never mind, let's talk about it when we get there," Li Yuan said to himself, putting his phone back in his pocket.
Meanwhile, Victoria Song had already dialed Irene Bae's number.
Bae Joo-hyun, who had just returned to her hotel after finishing rehearsals, was slightly taken aback when she saw the "Victoria unnie" caller ID pop up on her screen.
To be honest, she's not particularly close to the members of f(x).
The main reason is that Red Velvet had only been debuting for a short time when f(x) was essentially sidelined, which resulted in them having far fewer interactions.
Although Victoria Song and the others were trying their best to find schedules, they spent most of their time at home doing nothing. Bae Joo-hyun was not an enthusiastic person and would not take the initiative to talk to people. So apart from the interpersonal relationships between colleagues, there was actually no story between them.
However, Bae Joo-hyun and Victoria Song are quite familiar with each other.
This is all because of Li Yuan.
During the time Lee Won was in South Korea, the three of them often went out to eat together.
"Yo-bo-se-yo, Victoria unnie..."
"Eileen..." Song Qian's loud voice burst out from the receiver, startling Bae Joo-hyun so much that she instinctively moved the phone away a little.
"Um, is there something you need, unnie?" Bae Joo-hyun, unaware of Song Qian's purpose for calling, chose to ask directly.
"About that kid Li Yuan."
Bae Joo-hyun sat up straight almost instinctively.
She held the phone to her ear, and the relaxed posture she had been leaning against the headboard vanished instantly.
"What's wrong with Xiao Yuan?"
If nothing had happened, Victoria Song wouldn't have called me, right?
The undisguised concern in her tone made Krystal Jung, who was eavesdropping nearby, purse her lips.
Why is she so concerned about Li Yuan? I've never seen this junior of hers show this much concern for her senior before.
"It's nothing, it's nothing." Song Qian noticed the tension in Bae Joo-hyun's voice and quickly smiled to reassure her, "But... do you know where Xiao Yuan is right now?"
What does that mean? Song Qian's words left Bae Joo-hyun completely confused.
"Isn't Xiaoyuan in the capital?" Bae Joo-hyun hesitated for a moment. "Could she have gone to Korea?"
When she said the second half of the sentence, her heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.
If Lee Won really went to South Korea, then she wants to finish her performance here as soon as possible and fly back.
The two are several years apart in age. Logically speaking, they shouldn't have any special thoughts about each other.
But when she was with Lee Won, Bae Joo-hyun always felt a sense of relaxation that was hard to explain.
Especially in the Korean entertainment industry, where even breathing has to be carefully timed, that sense of ease is all the more precious.
"Neither..." Victoria Song quickly gave her answer, "Actually, Xiao Yuan went to Taiwan."
"Taiwan?" Bae Joo-hyun was taken aback at first, then realized, "Are they here to see our performance?"
"Bingo!" Victoria Song snapped her fingers softly. "He's shopping at XXX right now, do you want to come?"
Victoria Song had always known about Bae Joo-hyun's special feelings for Lee Won.
As someone who's been through it all, she sees it very clearly.
But she was also well aware that the idol's travel schedule and the age gap between the two made this story, which hadn't even started yet, seem "bleak."
Fortunately, Bae Joo-hyun's feelings for Lee Won hadn't progressed to romantic love; at most, she had a considerable fondness for him. So Victoria Song didn't take it too seriously, occasionally teasing her about it as a way to lighten the mood.
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.
"I think it's better not to..." Bae Joo-hyun hesitated for a moment but then shook her head. "Xiao Yuan probably doesn't want anyone to disturb him at this time."
Most importantly, she had already removed her makeup, and she really didn't want to face Li Yuan in her current state.
If he puts on makeup, Li Yuan might disappear somewhere else entirely.
"Alright then, anyway, I've already told you the news. I took a huge risk to tell you." Victoria Song turned around and slapped away Krystal Jung's mischievous hand. "Remember to treat me to dinner when you come back."
"Yes, thank you, Victoria unnie." After hanging up the phone, Bae Joo-hyun leaned against the headboard, a smile unconsciously curving her lips.
Despite being exhausted after a long day, with every muscle in her body aching, hearing this news made her feel alive again.
Meanwhile, Li Yuan was still agonizing over the gift.
"Wouldn't it be a bit too perfunctory to buy something as a gift at Seoul Airport?"
Li Yuan spent a long time picking and choosing, but found it difficult to select a suitable candidate.
The main problem is that there are too many people. If one person buys this item but another doesn't, it can easily create a sense of imbalance.
And Li Yuan happens to be a well-known "master of balancing things," which makes the matter seem even more complicated.
"I've got it! Just buy some trinkets!" Li Yuan suddenly had a great idea.
Buying gifts like earrings or bracelets would save you a lot of trouble, and you could just buy a whole bunch. If they ask, you can just say you can't show favoritism, so all the gifts you buy are the same.
"I can prove that I treat everyone equally. I'm a genius," Li Yuan thought with a smile.
That rabbit-toothed guy always says he's biased towards Sana, but now he has no reason to back up his claim, right?
With that in mind, Li Yuan immediately opened Baidu and began searching for small, unique souvenirs from Taiwan.
"A vintage-style handmade glass box with window decorations... Is this an ashtray?" Li Yuan looked at the first recommendation. "This thing is easy to break, and it could easily hurt someone. Forget it."
"I could buy some handmade postcards printed with lead type. Even if each person gets ten, they won't take up much space." Li Yuan wrote the name of the item and where to buy it in his memo.
"The handmade gourd-carved LED night light looks pretty nice..." Li Yuan looked at the pictures of the night light and was somewhat tempted. "Why don't I buy some of these? I can put them at home or in my dorm room every day."
"But the price is so expensive..." Li Yuan looked at the suggested price on the back, "This thing costs five or six hundred NT dollars each?"
Li Yuan was silent for two seconds, then pursed his lips, as if trying to convince himself: "Forget it, I've made a lot of money from them over the years, so I'll just consider it a way of giving back to my 'fans'."
There are very few people like me who think so much about others these days.
"Lukang Gourd Craft Workshop... I'll have to ask them for a nice return gift later."
Just as Li Yuan was thinking about a gift, his phone beeped with Kakao notifications again. This time, the message wasn't from Song Qian, but from someone else.
"Sister Pei?" Li Yuan looked at the note above with some confusion.
This woman is the kind of person who wouldn't message him for ten days or half a month. Li Yuan checked and the last time she messaged him was more than a month ago when she told him she was coming to Taiwan for a promotional event and asked if he wanted to come.
Li Yuan refused at the time.
Beijing is so far from Taiwan, I'm not going to make a special trip just for a platter.
As for why it came back later...
It was just a sudden whim; even he himself couldn't pinpoint the exact moment he changed his mind.
"Are you there, Xiaoyuan?"
If you're in the starting hand, it's definitely the Joker.
Unfortunately, Bae Joo-hyun, who sent the message, was destined not to be the clown's person.
"I'm shopping."