of trainees. There were five of them, all girls. They saw Park Jin-young and his companion, and their eyes widened in surprise. They hurriedly bowed 90 degrees, repeatedly bowing as if to show utmost..."I see the expression on your face, you must have calmed down a bit. You've already torn things apart like this, it's so ugly. Even if your unnie comes back, there's no point anymore. Besides, the internal conflicts between members aren't something that can be resolved just by you finding me or anyone else."

"It's a simple matter, you should understand."

Ji Jingyuan stood in the corridor behind the stage by the window, looking out at the torrential rain. He said to Zheng Xiujing who was standing beside him calmly.

Today is October 4th. Chikusei and the others are currently at Ajinomoto Stadium in Neon Tokyo, where they will be holding two consecutive ** Town family concerts today and tomorrow.

It's been four days since Jung Soo-yeon left the group. Since that night, when they finished their phone call, Ji-sung had no contact with Jeong Seong-kyung. Today, after rehearsal, he took the initiative to give her a look and called her out.

Jung So-jung leaned against the white wall beside her at a slight angle, pursed her lips in silence, her hands clasped together in front of her, and stared at the ground with her head bowed.

He didn't care if she was listening or not. After glancing in her direction, Ji Jingyuan looked out the window and continued, "Because of the contract, and under **'s blockade, Zheng Xiuyan senior's artist career is probably going to be difficult to maintain here on the peninsula. But I guess that's probably not the most important thing for her anymore..."

"About that fashion brand your unnie has, I had someone look into it. It only started in August, right ...I won't comment on how it's doing. I did help her connect with some pretty good partners and manufacturers, which should make her launch smoother. But ultimately, how she does depends on her business skills."

Feeling Jeong Se-jeong's gaze, Ji-seong spread his hands and said to her: "But Jessa senior, based on what she did before, making several other members jealous and resentful, she should have some experience, right"

Looking at Jung Se-jeong's eyes, they flickered a little, biting her lip as if she wanted to say something. But Ji-seong didn't give her the chance and let out a breath before continuing, "As for you, Se-jeong, after Senior Jung Soo-yeon leaves the company, your treatment will definitely be better than before, that's only natural... but don't worry about someone intentionally picking on you or anything like that, I'll ask Director In-hyun to keep an eye on things..."

“Alright, that’s it for now. Go back first. The show is about to start.”

After finishing, Ji Jingyuan took out his phone to check the time, smacked his lips and glanced at Zheng Xiujing, then beckoned with his hand and strode towards the backstage lounge.

Although Zheng Xiujing hasn't said anything, Ji Jingyuan probably knows what she's thinking.

"You..."

Jung Seong-jing opened her mouth as if to say something, but the moment she began to speak, she saw Ji Kyeong-won raise his right hand casually behind him. Her complex emotions could only be held back in her chest, wanting to speak but unable to.

There was a touch of emotion in her heart, but also a sense of emptiness. After a moment's hesitation, she quickly hurried after him.

Pushing open the door, the two of them returned to the large break room, where almost half of the ** artists participating in this performance were present. Apart from them, there were also their respective assistants and managers, gathered together whispering amongst themselves.

After a quick glance, Ji Jingyuan walked straight towards EXO's direction.

He didn't notice that as soon as he pushed the door open and walked in, sitting at the red velvet side near the edge was indeed Pei Zhuxuan who seemed to have been waiting specifically for him. As soon as she saw him come in, her gaze immediately shifted over, staring at him and Jung Soo-jung as they entered the resting room one after the other, her eyes following until Park Kyung-won sat down. There was a mixture of inexplicable emotions and meaning in her pupils.

After seeing Ji Changwook return, Do Kyungsoo and Woo Shi-ho moved over to make space for him. Ji Changwook plopped down on the sofa, comfortably leaning against the soft backrest with a long sigh of relief.

A few members are complaining about the weather over there.

"With this heavy rain, the view outside the window is all blurry. How can we even perform in this weather" Park Chan-lyeol looked out the window for a moment and said with some dissatisfaction.

"I don't know why it's raining so heavily today."

What is this, it's fine even if it rains

"You know, back in late 2012, there were those outdoor stages, right It was several degrees below zero and we were dancing outside in just one thin layer of clothing. It wasn't much more uncomfortable than today, you know"

That's right.

"I remembered, I almost froze to death back then.

What Bian Berhyen said resonated with several members, and Ji Kyeong-won's impression was also very deep.

That was at the end of the year when they first debuted. It was a bitterly cold winter day, so cold that the white breath you exhale from your mouth is very visible. Even wearing a thick cotton coat outside, everyone felt the chill.

But because EXO could only wear thin leather jackets and casual pants on stage, Ji Kyoung-won remembered that he was almost freezing. Even though they were dancing intensely, his hands and feet were so cold he couldn't feel them. When he finally finished dancing and rushed back to change clothes and warm up, the host kept chatting with them endlessly. At that time, he was so angry that he really wanted to kick that clueless MC.

But thinking back on the hardships we experienced then, it's actually quite interesting. When talking about some of EXO's past struggles, several members seemed to reminisce for a moment.

"Although the rain isn't a big deal, the main concern is that the stage floor will be very slippery. Tao shouldn't attempt any flips today, it's too dangerous." Kim Jun-myeon thought for a moment and then offered Tao a suggestion.

"It's nothing," Tao smiled and waved his hand, patting his chest with a tough and confident look. "Don't worry, I'm a professional when it comes to backflips."

A few people were chatting quietly, their spirits were still high, and they weren't affected by the overall bad atmosphere backstage.

Today **ton's atmosphere isn't very good because of the Girls' Generation situation. The company has been quite stressed these past two days, and as a result, other groups haven't benefited either. Many people, including EXO, have been camped out by reporters trying to interview them and dig deeper into the reasons behind Jung Soo Yeon's departure from the group.

After 9:30, ** Company's stock price plummeted immediately. It fell nearly 5% in the first few hours of trading and has been fluctuating erratically these days, with a small amplitude but still trending downwards.

Although the stock price drop wasn't as severe as Han's, EXO has already replaced Girls' Generation as the latest money-making tree. However, the previous major drop hasn't fully recovered yet. This time being hit hard is truly unbearable for ** shareholders who are facing these losses.

After several days of fermentation, the public opinion on this event has basically taken a clear direction. Zheng Xiuyan, who withdrew from the group, has borne the main responsibility to some extent.

Specific right and wrong, and the process are not understood by ordinary people, but as **'s base camp, the peninsula is certainly adept at controlling public opinion direction. An idol is certainly no match for **.

Besides various statements and materials guiding the narrative, these two days other media outlets have also produced a lot of special reports on this highly-watched event. For example, some media outlets revealed many alleged relationships within Girls' Generation, and even the notorious Dispatch conducted an "Dispatch 18 Questions" interview.

They interviewed several anonymous people who claimed to be close to Jessica Jung, as well as sources connected to Girls' Generation. The interviews revealed that Jung had expressed a desire to leave the group twice before and was in a relationship with plans to get married.

For most KPOP fans, the worst thing is idol relationships. This kind of thing is so serious that some fans quit supporting their idols and even attack them online. Girl groups are sometimes affected more than boy groups.

Influenced by the interview with D agency, Jung Soo Yeon, who "was already planning to quit the group because she was self-centeredly focusing on her own career and wanted to get married without considering the group's development," immediately became a public enemy.

However, regardless of public opinion, the biggest victims are still Girls' Generation fans. Over the past two days, all sone have been clamoring online, frantically leaving messages and posts demanding the truth. They desperately need the other members of Girls' Generation to step forward and explain what really happened.

Ji Jingyuan had also seen a lot of these discussions online. The anger, despair, sadness, and heartbreak they contained were even more intense than the emotions Alices had felt when Han left the group not long ago.

and.

Actually, as a loyal Yoon fan, he also wanted to post a question.

But after thinking about it, he decided to be more rational and not cause any trouble.

This left many fans from the past feeling disappointed. Whether it was due to strict company requirements or simply a lack of anything to say, besides **'s official statement, none of the other eight members of Girls' Generation have released any messages to the public up until today, maintaining an unnerving silence.

Of course, Chi Jingyuan could understand them. At this time, no matter what they said as their identities and positions, it would be wrong. The more they said, the more mistakes they made. The less they said, the fewer mistakes they made. It's best to say nothing at all.

And just like with EXO back then, the company definitely also had a gag order on them during their younger years.

Today, when I saw Girls' Generation again backstage, their atmosphere was quite ordinary. Everyone was doing their own thing and no one was talking much. Taeyeon didn't seem like her usual self, waving to and chatting with Jiyoung as before. Today, she just waved and smiled at him from a few meters away.

It can be seen that these sisters' moods are not good, and their complexions are not very good either. There is little communication between some of them.

The whole backstage became a bit deserted because of all this. The more experienced groups were fine, but newer groups like Red Velvet and those ** Rookies trainees who just came in, they were all jumpy and nervous, not daring to breathe a word.

Under this somewhat stiff atmosphere, today's **ton Family concert began.

The music and cheers from outside reached a fever pitch, and as the rain outside intensified and finally peaked, it was EXO's turn to take the stage.

"XO is ready!"

First published on the Traditional Chinese Novel Network They watched as Ji-yeong walked onto the stage, a mix of curiosity and admiration in their eyes.The poolside was the center of attention, but Qi Jingyuan ignored the curious stares. He saw the member...