ago was already eerily quiet. Only the sound of Ji Jingyuan's voice and the band's performance echoed around them, complementing each other.The band's accompaniment melody seemed to carry a touch of..."....."

Ji Jingyuan and Pei Zhuxuan looked at each other, one lying on the railing and the other standing beside.

One had bloodshot eyes and a grim face, radiating sadness, while the other offered a faint smile and a gentle nod in greeting.

Chi Jingyuan has a rather unique impression of Bae Joo-hyun. It's not particularly good, but it's not bad either.

However, the two didn't interact much, and Ki Kyung-won was well aware that the other person disliked him quite a bit.

It's quite a coincidence to meet here at this time. The other person doesn't seem quite right, they look very unhappy and their emotions are out of control, almost like they're about to cry.

However, from the other person's point of view, it was definitely not necessary for him, this unpleasant person, to comfort them. Ji Jingyuan didn't intend to strike up a conversation either. After just glancing at each other, he retracted his gaze, nodded towards the other person, and didn't look to see if they returned the nod. He then took a step and prepared to walk around Bae Joo-hyun and leave.

Unlike previous times where she would always avert her gaze and look down whenever their eyes met, this time was different. Pei Joo-hyeon stared at Ji Kyeong-won with red eyes.

Unlike the slightly bland feeling Ji Jingyuan had towards her, Pei Zhuxuan held great admiration for the other party.

Given Park Ji-hyun's (裴珠泫) experience and history within the company, Yi Jingyuan (池景源) was naturally well aware of everything.

This also caused her to have a natural aversion to Ji Jingyuan. For someone like her who had been practicing for several years, getting older every day and living under immense pressure to debut, this kind of relationship-based newcomer debut was simply too hateful.

And in fact, both Bae Joo-hyeon and Park Ji-hoon also have a few similar points.

She was somewhat similar to Ji-sung. When Bae Joo-hyun joined ** Entertainment, the company was coincidentally in the midst of an F(x) debut project. The member selection had already been completed, and they were recording their debut album.

At that time, Pei Zhuhyun had also fantasized about whether she would have a chance to join them too.

Of course, the result was that she spent a few days daydreaming. This past event later became a memory used to ridicule herself.

Unexpectedly, what Pyo Ju-hyeon imagined as a daydream came true. Pool Geon-won's sudden appearance resulted in EXO directly debuting after finishing recording and filming the music video, replacing one of the members who had already been confirmed for their debut.

While Bae Suzy once had such beautiful and naive dreams, she is still waiting for her opportunity. She watches as she gets older day by day with no sign of debuting.

She watched as the person who was rumored to never practice and got promoted through nepotism became increasingly popular, even starring in a TV drama that made them famous throughout the peninsula.

In comparison, Bae Joo-hyeon developed a significant amount of aversion towards Ji-yeong. Besides that, there were some feelings she couldn't quite define or explain about him.

Of course, it's mainly boredom. It's even gotten to the point where seeing him involuntarily makes me think of my own situation and I can't help but frown.

And this time, just when she was at her lowest and her emotions were about to spiral out of control, she unexpectedly had a face-to-face encounter with Ji Jingyuan. An indescribable feeling of grievance and dissatisfaction, along with a hint of faint inferiority, welled up in her heart.

All kinds of complicated and intense feelings are converging together, plus the emotions that have been suppressed and unable to be vented for a while.

The pressure of her own age, the ridicule and sarcasm from her peers, the lingering anxiety and unease, and the sudden appearance of Ji Jingyuan, whom she secretly envied, all added up, causing her emotions to spiral out of control.

"Why... You... me..."

Pei Zhuhyun could only say a few broken words in a choked voice, and then the tears that had been building up all along suddenly surged forth.

"Crying…………"

Her uncontrollable emotions boiled over in this moment, transforming into tears that left her sobbing uncontrollably for just a few seconds, her voice hoarse from screaming.

She did not look at Chi Jingyuan again, but turned her face away, lowering her head, covering her face with her hands, tears streaming from between her fingers, drop by drop onto the floor.

Originally, Chi Jingyuan was going to walk around the other party and leave directly. Unexpectedly, before he had taken two steps, Pei Zhuxuan suddenly burst into tears, and she looked very sad. In less than two seconds, it escalated into sobbing, as if she was going to cry all the tears she had shed in the past few years.

Thanks to the late hour, there weren't many people around. Otherwise, it might have caused some misunderstandings that would be hard to explain.

Even though he wasn't familiar with this girl, he could keenly tell from her crying how upset she was and how much pressure she was under.

"…"

Ji Jingyuan stopped in his tracks, watching Bae Joo-hyun weeping before him. The smile on his face gradually faded, replaced by a thoughtful silence as he stood beside her, lips pursed, observing her with an unreadable expression in his dark eyes, which reflected the light and her figure within their depths.

Bae Joo-hyun cried until she couldn't catch her breath, her waist bent down, and her whole body arched. Suddenly, she lost her balance and fell to the ground with a thud.

She didn't seem to mind, as if she couldn't feel the pain. She just sat down naturally, her legs together and curled up in front of her, her hands wrapped around her legs tightly, burying her head deep in her lap, shielding her face so that those beside her wouldn't see her tears.

She was crying very loudly, tears streaming down her face non-stop. Occasionally, there were sobs and sniffles mixed in.

Standing beside him, Chi Jingyuan looked down at Pei Zhuxuan from above, lost in thought.

A few seconds later, he let out a soft breath and walked slowly to beside Park Soo-hyuk. He didn't care about the dirt on the ground, just like her, he sat down heavily beside her.

The distance wasn't very close, not intimate. But it wasn't far either, just enough to feel the warmth of someone sitting beside you.

Pei Zhuhyun felt someone sitting beside her, but she ignored it. She was still caught up in her overwhelming emotions and couldn't pull herself out.

Chi Jingyuan did not talk to Pei Zhuxuan, nor did he make any other movements. He just sat quietly beside her, his hands clasped in his lap, silently listening to the sobs coming from beside him, watching the distant bridge and river view illuminated by lights.

Across the water, the lights form a continuous ribbon, the red and prominent cityscape lamps forming a whole. They appear full of mystery and beauty, especially under the glow of surrounding brilliant lights. At a glance, it seems to emit colors that are like a dream.

The distant Holy Water Bridge, reflected in the river water, is a blend of reality and fantasy. Built entirely of steel, it stands tall and magnificent amidst the clear green waters, adorned with countless lights.

But the excitement and glory are far away; here there is only weeping and silence.

A gust of cold wind swept across the river, creating black ripples. It felt especially chilly on my skin.

The two of them sat together like that, feeling the cool breeze. One person cried uncontrollably, while the other listened silently.

For some reason, it looks quite harmonious.

After an unknown amount of time, Bae Joo-hyun's sobs gradually subsided, slowly becoming so faint that they were barely audible. Only occasional sniffles remained.

The overwhelming emotions were released through intense crying, and Pei Zhuhyun's feelings gradually returned to normal. Her mind became clearer.

She seemed to remember that Chi Jingyuan had been sitting beside her the whole time, her body trembling slightly. She wasn't sure whether she should move away or stand up directly.

However, it only trembled briefly and then subsided. Pei Zhuxuan remained curled up in the same spot, burying her head in her arms and refusing to come out.

Chi Jingyuan retracted his gaze from the view and turned to Pei Zhuxuan beside him. Seeing that she was no longer as out of control as before, her state had improved significantly. Even when a cold wind blew past, she shivered slightly. He couldn't help but chuckle softly, as if chatting with a friend: "Did you encounter some pressure or difficulties Or perhaps you should find a way to vent it out. Keeping it all bottled up inside might cause a lot of problems."

Neither Ji-yeong nor Joo-hyeon called each other's names, but both understood they were communicating.

This can also be considered the first conversation between the two people.

"Well, it's getting late."

Ji Chang-wook clapped his hands and stood up, stretching his body before looking at Bae Joo-hyun who was still buried in her thoughts, motionless beside him. "I didn't bring any tissues, I don't know if you brought any yourself. If not, use your clothes to wipe it..."

"Nevermind."

Ji Jingyuan stopped himself mid-sentence, then thought for a moment before taking off his QuackDuck baseball cap and placing it on Pei Zhuxuan's head. "I guess you don't want others to see your tear-stained face and snot all over your face, especially someone as annoying as me."

"Here, take my hat. Use it to cover yourself for now so that no one will see you when you go back. Remember to return it to me later."

When Ji Jingyuan spoke, Pei Zhuxuan remained unchanged, offering no response and sat there hugging her legs.

Only the occasional sniff indicated she was listening.

"Someone this big should not get lost... Well, I'm leaving now. If I feel better, I'll go back quickly."

Ji Jingyuan shrugged, then lightly patted the head of Bae Joo-hyun who was wearing his hat, didn't say anything more, and turned to leave.

After his footsteps gradually faded away, Bae Joo-hyun finally lifted her head from her arms and looked in the direction where Ji-won had left. There was still a faint silhouette there.

At this time, the face of Pei Zhuxuan, which was praised by many people in the company for its beauty, was quite abstract. The light makeup she had drawn before was long gone and smeared together on her face, coupled with tears and snot that had rubbed against her cheeks, making her look very disheveled.

Although her expression was still unpleasant at this time, her complexion had improved significantly. The gloom and dejection that had previously clung to her aura had lessened considerably.

She looked in the direction of Chi Jingyuan, and her expression was not as furrowed as before. She seemed a little absentminded.

Only after the other person's figure had completely disappeared did she stand up, pushing her hat down over her head. She then walked quickly toward the dormitory, her head bowed.

This novel is first published on the Traditional Chinese Novel Network.ng EXO. Even without any profit motive, you can often see them actively promoting and recommending EXO on their Twitter or other social media accounts, and they frequently organize offline activities...