Chapter 21

When Jin Taeyeon woke up on the hospital bed and realized where she was, she couldn't help but cry; it was just too unlucky.

Jin Taeyeon was a trainee at S.M. Entertainment, having participated in this year's selection and stood out with a 9,000:1 chance, winning the grand prize and joining S.M. Entertainment.

She came to Seoul alone, with no family around, and the pressure on a 15-year-old girl was immense. Every day, she had to undergo a lot of dance practice and learn various kinds of knowledge, while also taking care of herself.

Although the people at the company were very kind to her, and S.M. Entertainment was known as a star-making factory in all of Korea, there were too many talented people around her, which made her initial sense of superiority gradually fade. Although she hadn't been at the company for long, she had already seen many talented seniors leave the company in disappointment, which made her feel afraid and worried that she might become one of them in the future.

There were many trainees who were much more talented than her, and the uncertainty about her future often made her feel lost and under a lot of pressure. Gradually, she started to like going to the Han River Bridge to shout and cheer herself up, and she would also practice dance moves there on her own.

Today, while shouting "Jin Taeyeon, you can do it, keep going" to encourage herself, she accidentally swung her newly bought bag over the railing and it got caught on a small protruding piece of rebar. She couldn't help but feel relieved but also very frustrated.

Unable to reach the bag, she had to climb over the railing, grab it, and then retrieve the bag.

However, just as she climbed over the railing and put one foot outside, she suddenly heard someone shouting not to jump. Confused, she looked up and saw a young boy riding a bicycle quickly toward her. He then made an emergency stop, jumped off the bike, and kept comforting her, telling her not to jump.

"Jump? Jump what? Jump into the river?" Jin Taeyeon was full of confusion and took a while to react. Jump into the river? Is he talking about me? I didn't want to jump into the river.

She looked at the boy and then at her own body, realizing that her actions had been misunderstood, and people thought she was trying to commit suicide. Jin Taeyeon thought to herself that this boy had a good heart, even though they didn't know each other, and she felt a bit moved by his worried expression.

Jin Taeyeon tilted her head and looked down at her bag hanging outside the railing. Just as she was about to explain to the boy, he suddenly rushed over and pushed her into the Han River. Her body brushed past the bag and fell down with it.

Jin Taeyeon's face turned pale with fear, thinking she was going to die because she couldn't swim. Her mind went blank, and she faintly heard the boy angrily shouting, "Which bastard threw the banana peel? What a lack of public morals."

After Jin Taeyeon struggled in the river for a while, just before she passed out, she seemed to see a figure jumping off the bridge.

I must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes, Jin Taeyeon thought as she remembered what happened before she passed out and couldn't help but cry.

"Are you awake?" Just as Jin Taeyeon was crying, a voice came from beside her, with a sense of relief.

Jin Taeyeon couldn't help but look up at the source of the voice and saw a messy-haired, slightly wet, and wrinkled young boy looking at her and smiling. Just waking up, her brain wasn't functioning properly, and she felt that the boy looked somewhat familiar. After a while, she remembered that this was the boy who had tried to stop her from jumping and then pushed her into the river.

Thinking that all her bad luck was related to this person, she felt a mix of anger and frustration but couldn't vent it. After all, he had good intentions, just not the full picture. This feeling of frustration made Jin Taeyeon bury her head in the pillow and cry again.

"Um, please don't cry, okay?" Xia Hou Zhongying, seeing the girl crying again, felt a headache and tried to comfort her with kind words.

"Sniff, sniff..." Jin Taeyeon continued to cry.

"Although I don't know what happened to you, life is so beautiful, why be so pessimistic?" Xia Hou Zhongying was sweating and babbling.

"Sniff, sniff..." Jin Taeyeon thought about her newly bought bag being lost and being pushed into the river, unable to seek revenge, and cried uncontrollably.

"Think about it, if that person doesn't want you, it's their loss, you should be happy," Xia Hou Zhongying thought, a pretty girl like her must have been trying to commit suicide over a relationship, no doubt about it.

"What are you talking about, sniff, sniff..." Jin Taeyeon didn't understand what Xia Hou Zhongying meant, but the idea that she should be happy made her angry and she couldn't help but retort, "You pushed me into the river, and you want me to be happy?"

"Oh, not a relationship issue, then why did you want to commit suicide?" Xia Hou Zhongying asked, puzzled.

"You're the one who should commit suicide," Jin Taeyeon said angrily, looking up at Xia Hou Zhongying.

"Not suicide?" Xia Hou Zhongying was stunned for a moment, then looked at Jin Taeyeon in confusion and asked, "Then what were you doing just now?"

"My bag accidentally fell outside the railing, and I was trying to climb out to get it back," Jin Taeyeon explained, crying, "It was a new bag, very expensive, sniff, sniff..."

Xia Hou Zhongying almost fell over, tears streaming down his face. So that's what happened. It was all a misunderstanding, and he had pushed her into the river. He was so embarrassed, he didn't know what to say.

Feeling too ashamed to face her, Xia Hou Zhongying had a strong urge to bash his head against the wall. After a while, he weakly said, "Um, I'll buy you a new bag, okay? Please don't cry anymore."

"Forget it, you don't have to buy me a new one. After all, you had good intentions," Jin Taeyeon, though heartbroken about the bag, was a reasonable person. She felt frustrated but had no one to vent to.

"Absolutely, I must buy you a new one," Xia Hou Zhongying breathed a sigh of relief when Jin Taeyeon agreed to talk. Whether to ease his guilt or to avoid the awkward situation, he didn't care about the cost.

Jin Taeyeon declined a few times, but seeing that Xia Hou Zhongying was determined to compensate her for the lost bag, she developed a slight liking for him, thinking he was quite decent. Although she felt embarrassed, she was also heartbroken about the lost bag, so she quietly agreed to let Xia Hou Zhongying buy her a new one.

After the doctor checked her again and gave her some medicine, Xia Hou Zhongying saw that she was fine and went to settle the hospital bill. Fortunately, his wallet was in his pocket, not in his outer coat, or he would have had trouble paying.

However, after struggling in the water for a long time to pull the unconscious Jin Taeyeon to the shore, the paper money in his wallet was soaked, but his credit card still worked.

After settling the bill, the two left the hospital. Thinking their bicycles and Jin Taeyeon's belongings were still at the Han River Bridge, they decided to check. Since the situation was urgent, Xia Hou Zhongying had chosen the nearest hospital, which wasn't far from the bridge. They hailed a taxi and arrived quickly. As expected, their belongings, including Xia Hou Zhongying's outer coat, were gone, probably taken by someone.

However, the person who took the belongings had some conscience and didn't take or throw away Jin Taeyeon's ID and bank card. They had placed them in a visible spot, which was a stroke of luck.

The weather in Seoul in October was already cool, and after being in the water, they were still wet. The cold wind made Xia Hou Zhongying shiver. Jin Taeyeon wasn't much better; to climb the railing, she had taken off her outer coat and was only wearing a thin sweater.

After Jin Taeyeon retrieved her ID, they quickly got into the taxi and instructed the driver to head to Myeongdong, the commercial district of Seoul. In Myeongdong, they stopped at an ATM, where Xia Hou Zhongying withdrew some cash, paid the taxi fare, and then took Jin Taeyeon shopping.

Xia Hou Zhongying had never bought clothes alone before; his father used to take him, and he only needed to try them on. His father decided if they were good or not. Not knowing how to judge quality, he took Jin Taeyeon to a brand store his father used to take him to, at least ensuring no quality issues.

However, choosing clothes was difficult, and in the end, he had to ask the salesperson for recommendations. The salesperson, seeing a young couple, naturally assumed they were a couple and recommended a matching set. Xia Hou Zhongying, not understanding, thought it looked nice and agreed.

Jin Taeyeon felt it was wrong and opened her mouth several times but didn't have the courage to say anything, so they ended up buying the matching set.

They say clothes make the person. After buying new clothes for both of them, they looked like a perfect couple, making the salespeople in the store look at them with admiration.

Xia Hou Zhongying asked the store for a bag to carry the old clothes and continued shopping with Jin Taeyeon, heading to a handbag store.

"Um, Zhongying, maybe we don't need to buy a bag," they had already exchanged names, as Xia Hou Zhongying's surname was hard to call, so they agreed to use first names. After buying clothes, seeing Xia Hou Zhongying insist on buying her a bag, Jin Taeyeon felt embarrassed. He wasn't at fault, yet he was spending so much money on her, making her blush and say, "The clothes you bought are already much more expensive than my bag, so don't spend more money."

"No, I promised to buy you a new bag. A man must keep his word, and I can't go back on it," Xia Hou Zhongying was still embarrassed about his rash actions and wanted to buy more things to compensate Jin Taeyeon and make amends, not caring about the cost. The clothes were from high-end brands, and the money was nothing to him, less than a month's living expenses.

"Besides, if you don't let me compensate you, I'll feel guilty," Xia Hou Zhongying continued.

With that said, Jin Taeyeon couldn't refuse Xia Hou Zhongying's kindness and followed him. She reluctantly chose a new, expensive designer bag, which was several times more expensive than her original one, making her face burn. Although today was unlucky, the compensation was a huge gain.

After leaving the handbag store, it was dinner time, and Xia Hou Zhongying suggested they eat first.

"Xia Hou Zhongying, what are you doing here?" Just as Xia Hou Zhongying and Jin Taeyeon were discussing what to eat, a loud voice startled him, making his legs weak and almost falling over.