Chapter 24: The Yandere Ex-Wife

"I’m just teasing you. We’ve only met twice; how could I have possibly studied you?"

"Could it be that you actually have some sort of secret identity?"

Mina Myoui looked at Xia Xing, who seemed to take her seriously, and a faint smile played on her lips.

"To be honest, for a second there, I actually believed you."

Xia Xing swirled the jasmine oolong tea in his hand. "After all, in Korea, there aren’t many people who dislike coffee and have to rely on tea to keep themselves alert."

"That’s just a coincidence. Maybe I just happen to like tea."

As if it were nothing, she crossed her legs, sipped her tea, and looked out at the river view with an air of nonchalance.

The morning sunlight caught her pale, cool skin, making her look like an arctic snow fox—agile and mysterious.

"It’s just an intuition. I always feel like you’re strangely familiar with me."

Xia Xing said this in a joking tone, but Mina responded quite earnestly:

"Actually, I’m a yandere. I’ve been peeking into your life for a long time, just so that one day I could make you my possession."

"Or perhaps, in some other space-time, we had a connection—maybe I was your wife or something."

"Are you satisfied with those explanations?"

Her answer reminded Xia Xing of his own joking response when Mina had asked about his identity during their first meeting.

But the difference was that Xia Xing’s answer had been at least half-true, whereas Mina’s was truly hard to believe.

No matter how he looked at it, she didn’t seem like a yandere. As for having a connection in another space-time... well, that would make for good material for a romance novel.

"Whether I accept it or not is beside the point, but I must say, I’m quite satisfied with the second answer."

Xia Xing decided to respond in kind, mimicking the method Mina had used earlier.

Mina kept her face turned, her bright eyes reflecting the shimmering river water. She continued to sip her tea in silence before finally speaking: "Why? Aren't you going to explain?"

To think there would come a day when she would beg him to keep talking.

In truth, Xia Xing wasn't usually the type to speak in such an unpredictable, playful way, but Mina’s presence... it inexplicably stirred his competitive spirit.

He simply wanted to reclaim the initiative in front of her.

"Well, maybe I’m a shallow person. If I were to wake up and see Mina Myoui, I think that morning would definitely start with a great mood."

***

"I’ve already read your report. I didn't expect you to write such a detailed plan, even for a preliminary marketing proposal."

In the Marketing Department Director’s office, Kim Xun browsed the file on his computer and expressed his appreciation to Xia Xing, who sat opposite him.

"But you mentioned here that we should exploit the competitive psychology of fans to stimulate more consumption?"

"That kind of tactic caused some trouble in other countries a few years ago, though it was in a variety show."

As a veteran with nearly twenty years of experience in the fast-moving consumer goods industry, Kim Xun quickly associated Xia Xing's plan with real-world cases.

Xia Xing had heard of the case Kim Xun was referring to. It was the voting phase of an idol survival show, where the more fans spent, the higher the votes their favorite trainees received to debut.

If they operated like that, they would indeed face legal and moral risks. Even if the authorities didn't investigate, negative public opinion could significantly impact Peninsula Food's stock price.

In truth, Xia Xing had just thought of the idea at the time and jotted it down in the proposal; it was merely one small part of many.

"Director Kim, you’re right. I hadn't considered it that deeply at the time."

"Still, it never hurts for young people to brainstorm more ideas."

Kim Xun didn't dwell on the matter and steered the conversation back to the main topic:

"The idea of using photo cards as giveaways and selecting specific regions for pop-up events is actually a very good suggestion."

"You also considered the aesthetics of the terminal displays. The 245ml size, packed in units of ten, can fit two ITZY members, and the 550ml size, packed in units of twenty-four, can fit four NMIXX members. Your attention to detail is quite impressive."

"These proposals will all require the endorsers to film a large amount of content. The production and distribution costs... those will need to be carefully planned."

"Fortunately, the boss has allocated a sufficient marketing budget this time, so feel free to go ahead with it. For now, prioritize finalizing the contract with JYPE."

It was already past five in the afternoon when he left the director's office.

Xia Xing had originally planned to use his free time in the afternoon to look through the personnel files of executives in various departments, but after seeing his proposal, his manager had kept him in the office for a long discussion.

Rather than a superior directing a subordinate, Kim Xun’s attitude felt more like an experienced senior mentor guiding a junior.

Regardless of the reasons behind the large marketing budget, from Xia Xing's perspective, Kim Xun was a decent department head.

Finishing his work for the afternoon, he looked at the personnel files that Park Se-min had sent via KakaoTalk. After saving them to his phone, he prepared to head home early.

Because Peninsula Food operated on a flexible clock-in system, he could leave early as long as he had fulfilled his required working hours.

Besides... Song Yu-na was at home.

Wondering what state that girl might be in, Xia Xing took the elevator down to the parking lot and found his black BMW X6.

"What’s for dinner? I’ll pick something up."

The moment he sent the text, Xia Xing felt a fleeting, genuine sense of domestic life.

Perhaps Song Yu-na was playing on her phone, because she replied the second she saw the message.

It was just a picture.

"Song Yu-na: (Image)"

"Song Yu-na: Ta-da! I already went out to buy groceries. I’m planning to try and learn some simple Chinese dishes."

This girl really... had an inexplicable ability to recharge his energy.

Even though his sleep-deprived body was drained from a busy day, seeing Song Yu-na’s energetic message made his mood lift instantly.

It was a strange feeling.

However, Xia Xing quickly thought of a problem—his apartment elevator required a key card. How did Song Yu-na... manage to ride the elevator without one?

She couldn't have climbed up, could she?

The black BMW X6 sped back to the apartment, keeping to the speed limit.

As soon as Xia Xing opened the door, a milky scent drifted toward him. Several stir-fried dishes were already laid out on the stone table.

Noticing the movement at the entrance, the tall girl wearing an apron smiled at him:

"Oh, you’re back so soon? The soup will be ready in a few minutes."