Gwangjang Market, Seoul.
As soon as Cheng Che and his group got out of the car, before the mission even started, a term quietly climbed up the Naver real-time search rankings.
Cheng Che, a face genius
The first thing to ignite the controversy was a set of leaked photos from the airport.
A South Korea girl took a picture of Cheng Che's profile in the arrival hall. The image quality wasn't high-definition, but it was enough to make out the outline of his face.
After the photo was uploaded to Naver Cafe, its popularity began to soar.
Comments from South Korea netizens quickly flooded in.
How can a person grow up to look like this? Is this a sculpture or a person?
"Wow... if I were born with that face, there would be nothing to be afraid of in the world."
Is that person an idol? An actor? Which company do they work for?
But South Korea female netizens never just use words to praise people.
"They say they're men from the Xia Country? Ah... men of our country, wake up!"
"Sorry, Korean men, but you can't look like that..."
"Even the fish in the Han River have more defined features than Han Nan."
"Sorry, Korean men, but you can't be born that way. It's like the genetic lottery; some people are born with a winning gene, while others are born with nothing but a mouth."
"Why do the men in our country look like this? I'm really curious. Is it because they eat too much kimchi or drink too much Han River water?"
"With a population of 1.4 billion, it's only natural that a face like that would appear in Xia Country. Our country has 50 million people, and we can't even muster one. That's what's truly disheartening."
One comment was pinned to the top.
" The Han River has excessive levels of Viagra, and the South Korean man's confidence is also excessive. One relies on drugs, the other on words. Both are quite hardworking."
This was followed by a long string of "hahahahaha".
When South Korea netizens insult someone, they never resort to direct insults, but rather use a method that is "polite yet insidious, immoral yet poetic."
They'll praise you while subtly putting down a Chinese man, and when they do, they'll add an "apology," but everyone knows that the apology is entirely sincere.
This post was featured on Naver's trending topics.
Then, comments from Xia Country came in.
A Xia Country student studying at Seoul National University left a comment below the post:
"He's not just any handsome guy. He's the top scorer in the Xia Country college entrance Zhuangyuan, with 732 points, ranking first in the entire province. He's a tennis player, having won the Tokyo Open and the Magic City Masters. He's also the singer of ' Chasing the Wind,' a song he wrote himself."
This comment was like a bomb.
The tone of the Korean comment section changed instantly.
What? 732 points on the college entrance exam? Number one in the country?
Tennis Champion? And he wrote his own songs?
"That song was sung by him? Really??"
"A face genius plus a brain genius plus an athletic genius? That's a foul."
"Oh really... The men in our country are almost done for. Other men are handsome, good at sports, can write songs, and even get first place in the college entrance exam. What about you? No matter how much water you drink from the Han River, you can't make up for it."
The comment section was completely flooded with comments.
From "face genius" to "all-around genius," from praising looks to completely crushing everyone else.
South Korea netizens are notoriously sharp-tongued, but right now they're turning their fire on their own people.
Korea University.
In the vocal music classroom, the professor is explaining the use of resonance cavities on the podium.
Pei Jingshu sat by the window, her notebook filled with dense Korean notes.
She listened attentively, occasionally drawing a small star next to a key point to indicate that it was "especially important."
Her best friend, Jin Zhixiu, sat next to her, secretly scrolling through her phone.
Suddenly, Jin Zhixiu let out a soft gasp.
"Ah--!"
The sound wasn't loud, but it was particularly jarring in the quiet classroom.
The professor stopped lecturing, adjusted his glasses, and looked this way. All thirty-odd students in the class turned their heads in unison.
Pei Jingshu's face instantly turned red.
She wanted to bury her head in her notebook.
"Don't disturb others during class," the professor said calmly, then continued lecturing.
Pei Jingshu lowered her voice, almost squeezing it out between her teeth. "What are you doing, making such a fuss?"
Jin Zhixiu didn't say anything, but simply shoved the phone in front of her.
The screen displays a popular Naver post.
Title: [ Cheng Che, Face Genius]
Below is that leaked photo of the airport.
Pei Jingshu was stunned.
She stared at the profile picture on the screen for a full three seconds, then almost cried out.
This time, she covered her mouth herself.
It's him. It's Cheng Che.
He's in South Korea. He's come to South Korea.
Pei Jingshu's eyes lit up instantly, then dimmed again.
Why didn't he tell her?
She scrolled through the chat history.
Last time in Magic City, he promised to tell her when he came to South Korea.
She waited for almost a month, wondering every day when he would come.
He came, but she found out about him from Naver's trending topics.
Pei Jingshu felt a little wronged.
But this feeling of injustice quickly disappeared.
Because she saw the location information below the post.
Someone posted a Reuters report that Cheng Che and his group have entered Seoul, judging by the direction they're heading...
Gwangjang Market.
Pei Jingshu's eyes lit up.
She looked up and met Jin Zhixiu's gaze.
Jin Zhixiu understands.
Neither of them spoke.
Pei Jingshu closed her notebook, and Jin Zhixiu put her phone in her pocket.
They waited for about five minutes, until the professor turned around to write on the blackboard. Then, the two of them crouched down and slipped out silently through the back door.
There was no one in the hallway.
Pei Jingshu ran to the top of the stairs before stopping to catch her breath.
She glanced down at her clothes.
She was wearing a regular hoodie and jeans, no makeup, and her hair was just casually tied in a ponytail.
She felt a little regretful.
But the regret only lasted a second.
"Let's get a taxi." Jin Zhixiu was already taking out her phone. "Hurry up, or he'll run away."
Pei Jingshu nodded, and as she ran towards the school gate, she opened her phone and went to the chat app.
The last message in the chat box was from her. "I'm waiting for you."
Cheng Che replied, "Next month."
She was happy all day.
Now she's going to ask him why he didn't tell her beforehand.
However, as she ran, she couldn't help but laugh.