Chapter 216: Yuan Shen? Genshin!
Looking at the classic "Gee" outfits on stage, consisting solely of jeans paired with high heels, the stage costumes for this performance appeared quite plain compared to the various novel stage outfits of the previous groups.
But that's precisely the feeling they were aiming for!
The moment the intro to "Gee" began, the girls on stage started to move.
As Jiang Shu watched Nako standing at the forefront, another figure appeared in his mind's eye.
Thinking of this, Jiang Shu suddenly stood up.
Although everyone was watching TV, since Jiang Shu was still in the lounge, they were mostly observing him out of the corner of their eyes.
Upon seeing Jiang Shu suddenly stand up, the others also rose in unison.
Jiang Shu ignored them, pushed open the door, and walked out, with Song Yuqi quickly following, holding up the camera.
Jiang Shu went straight to the next room and pushed the door open.
Hearing the commotion, Kim Tae-yeon turned her head, and upon seeing that it was Jiang Shu, she immediately stood up.
"President nim!"
Looking at Kim Tae-yeon in her blue and white zip-up jacket paired with denim shorts stage outfit, a hint of nostalgia appeared in Jiang Shu's eyes.
"Have a seat, I just came to take a look." Jiang Shu waved his hand and then sat down on the sofa.
Kim Tae-yeon blinked in confusion but obediently sat back down.
"What do you think of this song?" Jiang Shu's voice rang in Kim Tae-yeon's ears.
"Hmm…"
"Tell me honestly, I can tell if you're lying," Jiang Shu added.
Kim Tae-yeon, who was about to praise the song, paused with the words on the tip of her tongue, glanced hesitantly at the camera, organized her thoughts internally, and then spoke.
"This song is very catchy and easy to learn, it's just that the melody is a bit monotonous… Personally, I don't really like it." Kim Tae-yeon hesitated for a long time but still decided to tell the truth; she was more afraid of President nim having an opinion of her than being criticized by netizens.
Jiang Shu smiled upon hearing this.
"As always, you really don't like it," Jiang Shu murmured.
"Huh?" Kim Tae-yeon didn't hear clearly and looked at Jiang Shu blankly.
But Jiang Shu merely smiled and did not tell Kim Tae-yeon his self-talk.
Watching "Gee," which looked even more powerful after the re-choreography on stage, Jiang Shu felt it lacked the charm it once had.
Was it the nostalgia adding to the past, or did it truly lack its former essence?
Jiang Shu wasn't sure; he only knew that Girls' Generation would no longer exist in this world.
Perhaps when he left this world, K-pop history would only record IZONE as the original singers?
Jiang Shu shook his head slightly.
What's happening? Why am I becoming more and more sentimental recently?
Jiang Shu frowned; he wasn't a sentimental person, but why had he been falling into an emotional state so often lately?
This wasn't right.
Jiang Shu glanced at Kim Tae-yeon beside him.
"Taeyeon."
"Yes?" Kim Tae-yeon quickly responded.
"After the recording, cover this song with IZONE."
Kim Tae-yeon was stunned but simply took it as a normal collaboration and didn't think much of it.
"Yes."
Jiang Shu retracted his gaze and looked at the performance, which was nearing its end; the cheers from the audience could be clearly heard even from here.
"President nim, I need to go now," Kim Tae-yeon stood up and said to Jiang Shu.
It was almost over; all artists participating in the music show for first place had to go.
"Go ahead," Jiang Shu replied without turning his head.
"Yes." Kim Tae-yeon nodded and quickly walked towards the stage.
Before long, Kim Tae-yeon and other artists who had come to perform appeared on the television screen.
Under the host's data tally, IZONE secured their first win for "Gee" with a significant lead in all metrics, simultaneously declaring the "Five Factions Besieging IZONE" attempt a failure.
Well, it was as expected.
Jiang Shu stood up from his spot; he would leave the space to them now.
"You stay and record some more footage; I'm leaving first."
"Huh?"
Leaving a bewildered Song Yuqi behind, Jiang Shu strode away.
In the car on the way back to the company.
Jiang Shu looked at the road ahead and dialed Ji Lei's number with one hand.
"Director Jiang!" Ji Lei's voice came through the receiver.
"Have you come to Seoul yet?"
"Not yet, Cube's board meeting is at the end of January, so I haven't left yet," Ji Lei replied. "If needed, I can come over now."
"No need," Jiang Shu said calmly. "Just attend the board meeting as usual, and after the meeting, summarize and tell me what was discussed."
"Understood!"
"Okay, that's all." The call ended, and he casually tossed his phone onto the passenger seat.
Looking at the somewhat congested road ahead, Jiang Shu fell into deep thought.
The intro to "Lanting Xu" suddenly played; this was Jiang Shu's newly changed phone ringtone.
He reached out and picked up the phone he had just tossed.
Caller: Choi Ji-yeon.
"Hello."
"President nim, we received an invitation from miHoYo. They want to invite Won-young xi to be the Genshin Impact spokesperson for the Korean region."
Jiang Shu: "?"
What the heck?
More than twenty minutes later, at DM Entertainment's President's office.
Jiang Shu held a tablet, silently watching the video on it.
"Genshin Impact, activate!!!" A catchy sound echoed in the office, and the next second, Won-young xi's part in IZONE began.
"Because the nickname 'Yuan Shen' you gave Zhang Yuanying became very popular, and due to video edits on Douyin, Zhang Yuanying and the game Genshin Impact became linked. miHoYo saw this and wants to invite Won-young xi to be the spokesperson for the Korean region," Choi Ji-yeon explained, standing in front of the desk.
This was originally a good thing, but Jiang Shu considered more.
Won-young xi and Liu Zhimin's popularity was already imbalanced; if she were given an endorsement for Genshin Impact, a holy land of the ACG world, this imbalance in popularity would become even greater.
He was all too aware of how wide the audience for this game was, with an annual revenue even more exaggerated than K-pop's; even if she wasn't a global spokesperson but just for the Korean region, it would be enough.
Jiang Shu was already worried about how to keep Liu Zhimin from falling behind during IZONE's three years; giving Zhang Yuanying such a top-tier endorsement made him even more clueless.
Choi Ji-yeon had followed Jiang Shu for so long that she could somewhat discern his emotional changes.
It seemed her President nim… wasn't very willing to give Zhang Yuanying this variety show?
"President nim, you don't seem very willing to accept this endorsement?" Choi Ji-yeon asked.
"Of course, I'm willing, but what about the imbalance in Liu Yuan's popularity?" Jiang Shu sighed and said.
Choi Ji-yeon was stunned.
"If it's imbalanced, then it's imbalanced. No matter how much Karina falls behind Won-young xi, she's still a top-tier artist. She just can't surpass Won-young xi, but who else can catch up to her?"
Jiang Shu was also taken aback by Choi Ji-yeon's words.
That's right, if Liu Zhimin and Zhang Yuanying's popularity is imbalanced, then so be it. It's not like not being able to surpass Zhang Yuanying means she can't surpass anyone else.
Are you kidding? Who can beat Zhang Yuanying now?
It's true that IZONE has four centers, but Kim Minju, Sakura, and Ahn Yujin combined aren't enough to beat Liu Yuan.
The popularity legacy of the former IVE was far greater than Jiang Shu had anticipated.
He had unknowingly fallen into a misconception.