Chapter 73

Li Chong wasn't really seeing someone he knew; he just felt that it was definitely not a good thing for Gianna to approach him for no reason. Adhering to the principle of running if he could and definitely not provoking a beautiful woman, Li Chong quickly moved away from her.

Holding the gift box, Li Chong ran to another corner and sat on a sofa. Opposite the sofa sat a little girl, eating without any restraint. "Um, is this seat taken?" Li Chong asked.

"Mm, no, but there's not much food left on this side," the girl said, her mouth full of food, making her words unclear.

"That's fine, I'll get some myself." Li Chong put down the gift box and turned to a nearby table to fetch a large plate of food, including ham, bread, cake, chicken, and juice.

Sitting there, Li Chong started eating heartily, leaving the girl opposite him speechless. How hungry must he be? "Um, Uncle, eat slowly, don't choke. Have some water," the girl got up and quickly handed Li Chong a glass of juice.

Li Chong took a sip of the juice, "Hehe, it's fine. I haven't eaten all day, and I'll definitely have to drink later. I'm just eating something to line my stomach. Otherwise, drinking on an empty stomach is bad for the stomach."

Only then did Li Chong notice the little girl sitting opposite him. She looked to be around middle school age, with a pair of beautiful, slender phoenix eyes. She was wearing light makeup and a light pink dress, exuding a youthful charm.

"Which company's trainee are you? SidusHQ shouldn't have drama trainees, right?" Li Chong guessed she was a trainee from some company brought out to see the world.

"Hey, Uncle, how did you know I'm a trainee? Can't I be an actress?" the girl asked.

"Hehe, look at the actors here, aren't they all in evening gowns? Only trainees who haven't debuted are allowed to dress like this. Otherwise, you might not even be able to get in here," Li Chong explained with a smile.

In Korea, a country that values etiquette, there are specific dress codes for different occasions. If it were just a private party for Seo Yoo-ri, it wouldn't matter, but since it was a company event, formal attire was required.

"Uncle, my name is Park Ji-yeon, and I'm a trainee at CCM Entertainment, the same company as senior Lee Hyori. Impressive, right?" the girl said proudly.

When Li Chong heard CCM Entertainment, he was surprised. "How long have you been training? Why haven't I seen you before?" Li Chong wondered if Kim Chang-soo had ambitions to form a girl group to share in the profits.

Last year, three girl groups debuted: Wonder Girls, Kara, and Girls' Generation. Currently, Wonder Girls and Girls' Generation were the most popular, with Wonder Girls especially famous for their retro dance music. Their song "Tell Me" swept the music charts. They had firmly established themselves in the top-tier groups in Korea. Girls' Generation, after accumulating popularity for over half a year, especially with the success of "Kissing You," was closely following Wonder Girls. Although Kara wasn't as successful yet, they were backed by DSP, the veteran agency that launched Fin.K.L, making them a formidable force.

"Um, not bad. How long have you been training? You don't look very old," Li Chong looked at Park Ji-yeon with interest.

"I've been training for a year now, and I'm starting high school this year, Uncle!" Park Ji-yeon replied.

Li Chong felt a bit embarrassed. How old was she, 14 or 15?

"Smack!" Li Chong's head was hit. "Ouch..." Li Chong turned around and saw Lee Hyori in a bright red dress, and he immediately wilted. "Sister Hyori, what are you doing? You're not giving me any face in public."

"You still have the nerve to say that. It's already this late, and you just show up. And you're dressed like this. Look around, are you even embarrassed to enter this hall?" Lee Hyori looked at Li Chong's gray suit, which looked like a mall attendant's uniform, and started to criticize him.

"Tsk, why should I be embarrassed? I didn't come empty-handed, it was expensive." Li Chong glanced at the gift box on the sofa.

"Wow, you even brought a gift, that's rare. You never bought me a gift for my birthday. What did you buy?" Lee Hyori reached out to open the gift box.

"Stop, this is for Jai. Yours will come on your birthday," Li Chong pushed Lee Hyori's hand away.

"I don't even want to see it. What could you buy that's valuable? Besides, why are you hanging out with a little girl?" Lee Hyori didn't insist on seeing the gift but was curious about why Li Chong was getting along with a young girl, like Sooyoung from Girls' Generation and now Park Ji-yeon from CCM.

"Ah, Sister Hyori, I... I..." Park Ji-yeon had been fidgeting since Lee Hyori approached and started talking to Li Chong. After all, Lee Hyori was the top star at CCM and a top artist in the Korean music industry.

"Are you Park Ji-yeon? Can I call you Ji-yeon?" Lee Hyori turned to Park Ji-yeon and asked.

"Um, um, um," Park Ji-yeon nodded excitedly, like a little chick pecking at food.

"Hehe, what a cute girl. I've heard about you from President Kim. He has high hopes for you!" Lee Hyori patted Park Ji-yeon's head.

"Alright, Li Chong, come with me. Let's take the gift to Jai, and I'll see what expensive thing you bought," Lee Hyori pointed to the side hall.

Li Chong glanced at the entrance, which was full of handsome men and beautiful women, including Lee Jin, Yoo Ju-hyun, and the familiar So Ji-sub, as well as the unfamiliar Song Seung-heon and Kang Ji-hwan. "Forget it, I'll stay here. Why would I go there, surrounded by handsome men and beautiful women, and risk being laughed at by Sister Lee Jin and Sister Yoo Ju-hyun?"

Lee Hyori also chuckled, "You have some self-awareness. Stay here and take care of my little junior."

"Uncle, are you and Sister Hyori very close?" Park Ji-yeon asked in a low voice after Lee Hyori walked away.

"Um, yes, we are very close. We're family, and I'm also familiar with your President Kim. How many of you are in your group, and do you have any plans?" Li Chong seemed very interested in this.

"There are four of us now: me, Hyomin, Eun-jeong, and Bora. Uncle Kim plans to add one more to form a group," Park Ji-yeon said without any reservations.

Li Chong remembered the incident at the CCM Entertainment entrance, realizing they were all young girls.

At this point, the party was about to start. Che Seung-jai went on stage and gave a few words, congratulating Seo Yoo-ri on her birthday and introducing the achievements of SidusHQ, also boasting about the company's strength.

Then the lights went out, and a spotlight shone on the entrance of the side hall.

Che Seung-jai's voice followed, "Welcome the guest of honor, Seo Yoo-ri!"

The door of the side hall opened, and Seo Yoo-ri, dressed in a white evening gown, walked into the spotlight, like an angel, slowly making her way to the front. Everyone was mesmerized.