Chapter 465: 487 The First Tara [Self-Redemption] Meeting—Failure

487 The First Tara 【Self-Redemption】 Meeting—Failure! (Seeking subscriptions and monthly votes)

After a brief moment of commotion in the guest rooms, the three of them returned to their respective rooms to change clothes and head out for a meal.

Lin Xiuyuan was the fastest to change; a pair of cargo shorts and a T-shirt, topped off with a shirt thrown over the outside, and he was done. He stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in the Living Room, drinking water while waiting for them.

After waiting for about ten minutes or so, Xueli and Goo Hara finally came out dressed.

Both of them had coincidentally chosen a light vacation style; one wore a floral camisole dress with a loose knit cardigan over it, while the other wore denim shorts paired with a white short-sleeved shirt, their hair both tied up casually.

They looked fresh and crisp, complementing the California sunshine outside the window perfectly.

After getting ready, the three of them went downstairs together to the restaurant inside the Jiudian and had a simple meal.

After eating, they took their bags straight downstairs, walked out of the Jiudian entrance, and sat inside the dark gray SUV that had been rented in advance.

Lin Xiuyuan was the one driving. As the back doors slammed shut, he adjusted the navigation and drove the car steadily out of the Jiudian's circular driveway, merging into the not-too-congested afternoon traffic of Los Angeles.

They headed straight in the direction of Malibu.

Although they had discussed accommodation arrangements last night and mentioned that renting a place to stay in Malibu would be a bit troublesome.

But if one thought about it from a different angle, as long as they didn't live there, but simply rented a house as a temporary base to use as a daytime resting area, then it wouldn't be troublesome at all.

This way, they could enjoy the beautiful scenery and convenience of a seaside Villa while avoiding unnecessary risks; it was simply killing two birds with one stone.

However, the only downside to doing this was that it cost money.

And as it happened, those two in the back seat were both bona fide little rich girls.

So, while Lin Xiuyuan was still fast asleep in the morning, Xueli and Goo Hara had already put their heads together and, using the access to Lin Xiuyuan's black card, neatly resolved the matter.

The butler was very efficient; after just a few simple phone calls, he had contacted a house with a great location and good conditions.

The rent was calculated by the day, and although the price wasn't cheap, it was absolutely no problem in the eyes of those two.

So, by the time Lin Xiuyuan woke up, the house was already rented and everything was prepared; he only needed to be responsible for being the driver.

So much so that when Lin Xiuyuan parked the car in the house's parking space and walked inside carrying the bags.

Looking at the exquisite and spacious little Villa before him, he couldn't help but sigh at the two's initiative.

Then he turned his head to look at Goo Hara, who was taking off her shoes beside him, his expression somewhat amused, "Hela, we come here to play during the day and drive back to the Jiudian to rest at night. Going back and forth like this, just using the rented house as a place to rest during the day, isn't that a bit too wasteful?"

"It's not like you're paying for it," Goo Hara retorted directly, her tone carrying the self-righteousness unique to a little rich girl.

At the same time, she kicked off her sandals, stepping barefoot onto the cool, light-colored wooden floor of the Living Room, her rounded toes curling comfortably.

Then she turned and pulled along Xueli, who was giggling beside her.

Hand in hand, like two elementary school students on holiday, they excitedly crossed the passage between the Living Room and the open-plan dining area, heading straight for the swimming pool in the backyard.

The moment they pushed open the glass sliding door to the backyard, a warm breeze carrying the slightly salty scent of the sea surged in, blowing the sheer curtains of the Living Room to flutter gently.

In an environment right next to the seaside beach, having a swimming pool in the backyard seemed to have become the standard configuration for vacation Villas in the Malibu area.

It was as if not having such a setup would be a disservice to this coastline.

Watching the backs of those two running away, Lin Xiuyuan smiled helplessly.

It wasn't that he really cared about whether it was a waste of money; it was just that he felt these two did things in such a whirlwind, and he had been so muddled while everything was arranged, the efficiency left him feeling a mix of laughter and tears.

Amidst his sigh, Lin Xiuyuan didn't forget to turn around and close The Gate properly, then took several paper bags out of the car's trunk.

Inside the bags were the swimsuits for everyone.

Carrying those bags into the Living Room, he placed them on the sofa and walked a few steps toward the backyard, standing at the entrance of the sliding door and calling out, "I say, we're already at the seaside, aren't you going down to play?"

In the backyard, Xueli was already squatting by the pool playing with the water. Hearing Lin Xiuyuan's voice, she turned her head back, the bangs on her forehead slightly disheveled by the wind.

She brushed them aside with her hand and replied to him, "Oppa, the sun is too strong right now. Let's wait until the afternoon. We'll play in the water here first, and go out to step on the sand later. Anyway, we can see the sea from here too."

Lin Xiuyuan thought that made a lot of sense.

After all, the midday California sun was truly no joke; the UV index was terrifyingly high. Going to the beach to bake at this time, one would peel a layer of skin within half an hour.

Thinking of this, he pushed the sliding door open a bit wider and walked from the Living Room into the backyard.

He intended to see what kind of scenery the backyard of this Villa, which the two of them had rented without a second thought, actually had.

One look, and it was truly worth the price of admission.

This Villa was situated on a small hillside in Malibu, and the terrain of the backyard was a level higher than the road in front, so the view was very open.

The yard was planted with a circle of neatly trimmed greenery as a substitute for a wall, but the height was kept very low, probably only reaching an adult's waist; rather than a wall, it was more of a decorative boundary.

As for the side facing the sea, there wasn't even any greenery at all; it was completely open, allowing one's line of sight to see the distant, layered blue sea and that long, golden beach from the edge of the pool without any obstruction.

The sea surface shimmered with sparkling light under the afternoon sun, and the distant horizon merged with the pale blue sky; the entire scene was so expansive that it made one's breathing feel a bit smoother.

The scenery was quite "wow."

"The scenery is indeed quite good."

Lin Xiuyuan, having nodded in approval of the scenery, simply sat down on the beach chair with a parasol beside the pool, found a comfortable semi-reclining position, rested his hands behind his head, and let the sea breeze blow over his body.

His eyes narrowed slightly; how comfortable.

At this time, Xueli and Goo Hara, who had been splashing water and playing by the pool for a while, exchanged a look and then stood up from the edge of the pool together.

Xueli spoke first, "Oppa, we're going to change into our swimsuits to play; do you want to come along?"

This sentence startled Lin Xiuyuan, who hadn't closed his eyes for long, and he immediately opened them wide.

He looked at Xueli with a hint of laziness that hadn't yet dissipated, and a sound came from his throat, "Ah, together?"

"Hahaha, Xiuyuan, you're thinking quite beautifully; it's going together to change clothes, not changing clothes together."

Goo Hara, seeing the expression on Lin Xiuyuan's face that clearly showed he had misunderstood, laughed until her shoulders were shaking, teasing him with schadenfreude.

Only then did Lin Xiuyuan react, realizing he had misinterpreted the direction, but he didn't feel it was embarrassing at all; there was no sense of awkwardness on his face from being caught.

He just naturally said "Oh," then waved his hand, "Never mind then, you guys go play first, I'll rest for a bit."

After saying that, he lay back down, resting his head on his interlaced hands in the exact same posture as before, as if that little interlude had never happened at all.

Xueli and Goo Hara looked at each other, both with smiles on their lips, and then giggled as they turned and walked into the house.

Lin Xiuyuan continued to lie on the beach chair, closing his eyes to rest.

The rhythmic sound of distant ocean waves lapping against the sand was in his ears, one after another, like white noise from nature, which was particularly conducive to sleep.

However, he was not asleep, just in a very comfortable state between dreaming and waking.

His mind was blank, thinking of nothing, simply enjoying this rare leisure.

After about ten minutes or so, the sound of the glass sliding door's track rang out again, followed by the sound of slippers stepping on the non-slip floor tiles, moving from far to near, and soon appearing on the backyard side again.

Then, Xueli's laughter rose, "Oppa, stop sleeping, look at our swimwear, does it look good?"

Hearing the voice, Lin Xiuyuan did not pretend to be a gentleman like Liu Xiahui; instead, he opened his eyes quite readily and immediately turned his head to look in the direction the voice came from.

As a result, the first thing that caught his eyes was not the owner of the voice, Xueli, but Goo Hara standing in front.

Perhaps because she was not yet used to the outfit she was wearing today, the style was not as bold and direct as that of the Dalongzai and the others from the year '25.

Over there, the way of wearing spaghetti straps and bikinis was as if they wanted to save on fabric as much as possible.

But the set Goo Hara was wearing could strictly speaking not even be fully considered swimwear.

On her lower body, she wore a pair of dark athletic shorts with a small brand logo on the waistband, looking more like the style one would wear to the Gym.

The upper body was a halter-style black swimsuit; although the cut of the swimsuit was quite revealing, she had layered a white sheer garment over it.

The outline of the black swimsuit underneath was revealed, appearing and disappearing, to the point where it could completely be worn out on the street.

But to be honest, such a figure and way of dressing were indeed not in the same coordinate system of comparison when compared to mature women like Li Juli and Park Hyomin whom Lin Xiuyuan had seen before.

Plus, Goo Hara's physique was naturally petite and slender, and her frame was small, so in the "swimwear" category, she could only be considered the "childlike figure" type.

Of course, cuteness is also an aesthetic direction, it just doesn't really have much to do with the word "sexy."

So, Lin Xiuyuan's gaze lingered on Goo Hara for about two seconds, and after a polite nod, he naturally bypassed her and looked at the person behind her.

Xueli, standing behind Goo Hara, had a rather large gap in style and approach compared to the former.

Compared to Goo Hara's layered and conservative way of dressing, Xueli was much more uninhibited.

She was also wearing a halter-style swimsuit on her upper body, but that was it; she didn't layer any sheer garment or cover-up over it, and the fabric of the swimsuit clung to her body, outlining clear and sharp lines.

Her lower body was also the matching small bikini bottoms, likewise clean and neat without any extra covering.

Then, her long hair was tied into a fluffy bun on top of her head, revealing her entire face and the lines of her slender neck, with a few stray hairs falling from the edge of the bun, swaying gently by her ears in the sea breeze.

The most eye-catching thing was her cold, fair skin tone.

Under the almost unreasonably intense sunshine of California, that skin was simply glowing white, and it wasn't the sickly pale kind, but the healthy kind.

It was like white made translucent by the sunlight, with a very strong visual impact.

Both pure and seductive, making one both love and pity her.

Xueli had a very unique temperament; despite having a sweet and cute-looking face, her figure and aura carried a kind of unpretentious generosity and openness, and this contrast was magnified several times at this moment as she stood in the sunlight wearing a swimsuit.

But as the saying goes, it depends on who you compare with.

Lin Xiuyuan was, after all, a man who had seen the world; although the scene before him was indeed very impactful, it was not enough to make him stare blankly or lose his composure.

So, his gaze swept over them steadily, taking in the overall look of both of them, and then he naturally withdrew his eyes and gave a brief evaluation.

Very good-looking.

As soon as he finished speaking, Goo Hara caught the flaw in his tone and laughed, scolding him, "What a perfunctory tone, Xiuyuan, you're looking down on our figures, aren't you."

To this, Lin Xiuyuan hurriedly denied it, putting on a posture of total surrender, "I didn't say that."

And Goo Hara didn't really dwell on this sentence; she was just having a bit of fun.

After finishing, she turned around, faced the pool again, and reached out to grab the hand of Xueli beside her, "Let's go, Zhenli, ignore him, let's go down and play in the water."

Having said that, the two of them, hand in hand, jumped together into the crystal-clear pool.

Their entry into the water wasn't standard, but they were full of uninhibited joy.

The huge splash they made exploded into countless sparkling water droplets under the sunlight, then fell down in a flurry, and even Lin Xiuyuan, who was lying on the beach chair by the shore, was affected by this artificial rainfall.

A few warm water droplets landed on his arm, and he couldn't help but smile and reach out to wipe them off, cleaning the droplets away.

As soon as he finished wiping his arm and before he could pull his hand back, several more handfuls of water were splashed directly onto his face.

The scale of this was much larger than the few drops from before; it was clearly someone intentionally cupping water to pour on him.

Looking over, he saw Goo Hara and Xueli in the pool, both happily floating on the surface, their bodies submerged from the chin down, with only their two wet heads visible.

They looked at him, their faces full of smiles reflecting the light after being splashed with water, their arms happily splashing in the water, continuing to forcefully splash handful after handful of the somewhat warm water toward him.

"That's going too far."

"Come on, are we afraid of you? It's 2-on-1."

This time, Lin Xiuyuan finally didn't remain silent; he stood up from the beach chair with a smile and walked two steps.

Remembering something, he turned around, placed his phone on the small round table nearby, then cleanly took off his top and lunged toward the pool.

The splash upon his entry was even bigger than the two of them combined, and the height of the spray almost exceeded the edge of the parasol.

He was still shouting, "Come, come, let's see who admits defeat first."

……

……

While the three of them, Lin Xiuyuan, were enjoying the sunshine, sea breeze, and pool in Los Angeles.

Far away in Seoul, the members of Tara, after a short two-day break, gathered again in the company's practice room.

It was still the same old place they had used for many years; the floor was light-colored wood-grain vinyl, and one wall was a full row of floor-to-ceiling mirrors, with some small chips on the corners of the mirrors.

A few half-drunk mineral water bottles and some empty sports drink bottles were piled in the corner, and the air had a faint smell of detergent, mixed with the stuffy feeling left by a lack of ventilation for a long time.

They were just gathering here today to simply practice their dance; there was nothing else to do.

However, before officially starting the rehearsal, the group seemed to have other things to talk about first.

The topic was initiated by Li Juli, who had met Lin Xiuyuan that day.

Or rather, this was a reopening of an old topic.

Because after chatting with Lin Xiuyuan in the restaurant that day, she had been thinking about the things he mentioned, and after thinking it over, she still felt that she should lay it all out and talk it through with everyone.

Consequently, after she beckoned everyone to sit down in the center of the practice room, she got straight to the point and asked.

"Soyeon, Zhiyan, what have you two been thinking these past few days?"

"What do you mean what, thinking about what?" Park Soyeon was caught off guard by Li Juli's blunt question, her expression looking a bit dazed, clearly not having reacted to what Li Juli was talking about.

Seeing her like this, Li Juli couldn't help but glare at her, that look filled with helplessness and reproach.

She had no choice but to cross her arms over her chest, looking at Park Soyeon with a tone that carried a hint of frustration at her lack of ambition.

"It's about what Lin Xiuyuan said before regarding buying out our contracts, and that idea of cooperation; have you two not thought about this issue at all these past few days, or have only Enjing and I been talking about it?"

"Ah, wasn't that just joking around? Are you taking it seriously?"

This time, it was Park Soyeon who was a bit confused; she hurriedly retracted the pose she had just taken to stretch her legs and sat cross-legged to look at Li Juli.

She had truly thought that day backstage, everyone was just chatting casually, a topic brought up in a moment of anger.

It was of the same nature as "once I have money, I'll buy an island."

She really hadn't expected Li Juli to be bringing this up now to discuss it as something serious.

In Park Soyeon's view, the kind of words Lin Xiuyuan said, the content he spoke of, and the ideas he considered, didn't look like any proper or good path no matter how she looked at it.

Buying out a contract sounds easy, but the actual operation involves money, contracts, legal affairs, and subsequent management; every single link is so complex it makes one's scalp tingle.

So she hadn't taken it to heart at all; after finishing that meal and going back, she just did what she usually did, which was better than spending more time on long phone calls.

Though, it couldn't be said she didn't take it to heart at all.

It should be said that she thought about it a little, but quickly made a judgment in her heart, feeling that the so-called path of "buying out and standing on our own" was not as clear and certain as the path they were currently walking.

Although the path under their feet was indeed rugged and bumpy, having stepped into countless pits of all sizes over the past few years, and having accumulated a basket full of various unpleasantries with the company.

But at the very least, they had already walked more than half of this path.

How much time was left on the contract, what the profit-sharing ratio was, whether the company's attitude toward them was good or bad—these were all known quantities.

Whether good or bad, they could basically see the end of it.

To have her go and explore a brand new and completely unfamiliar path now.

Honestly, if it were her younger self, perhaps she would feel that it was worth a gamble, and if she lost, she would just treat it as a lesson learned.

But now she was nearly thirty years old, and her energy and spirit were truly different from when she was in her early twenties.

What she thought about more in her mind now was not how to take risks or how to make a breakthrough, but simply wanting to earn money steadily for a few more years, save enough to retire, find someone she liked to have a down-to-earth relationship with, and live life comfortably.

At this moment, Park Hyomin spoke softly, "I think we can take it seriously; the company really cares less and less about us now. Didn't you see the ceremony a few days ago? I don't believe the company didn't know the situation, but they never told us."

As someone who knew the future, she was very clear that if things continued like this, staying in this company was actually just a waste of time.

There would be no better resources, no fairer treatment, and no surprising turning point.

It would be better to really jump out; by that time, it might truly be a vast world.

It was just that she couldn't speak of future events, so she only used the fact that "the company doesn't care about us," which was completely true at the moment, to support her point of view.

But this point alone was actually persuasive enough.

At the very least, Quan Baolan, this legal little loli, was hooked.

She rested her hands on her knees, frowned slightly, and gave her suggestion, "I agree with Hyomin's view. Why don't we do this: let's break it down first to see how many problems there are, and then discuss them one by one."

Don't look at her as the most petite one in the group, looking even smaller when sitting on the floor.

But sometimes, she was still very rational.

This sense of calm and clear logic when analyzing problems always made people ignore her loli posture.

"Can do."

"I also think it's OK."

After receiving two affirmative responses, everyone seriously began to dismantle the suggestions Lin Xiuyuan had given that day, and then everyone discussed them item by item.

First was the first point: borrowing money to buy out the contract.

Regarding this point, Park Soyeon was the first to feel it was a bit improper.

She organized her thoughts, then looked at Park Jiyeon very seriously and said, "Although according to the other party, that company is a company you and that Xiuyuan-xi are cooperating to run, once it involves money, I am very worried that you will have a falling out."

Park Soyeon spoke very slowly, organizing her wording as she spoke, not wanting her words to sound like she was questioning Lin Xiuyuan's character.

"Because if we really have to go to this step, we have no idea what kind of development there will be in the future. Perhaps not being able to pay back the money is one thing, but it's even possible to step into a trap and be cheated out of even more money."

Borrowing money, no matter who you borrow from, as long as the amount is large enough, the relationship will become very subtle.

And what will happen later, whether it can be paid back, no one dares to guarantee.

Facing Park Soyeon's worry, Park Jiyeon appeared very calm and answered with a smile, "Don't worry, Unnie. Even if we really don't have the money to pay it back, Oppa won't have a falling out with me over such a small matter."

As one of the founding members of the Church, Park Jiyeon's importance was self-evident; at the very least, there was still an old woman next door to use as collateral.

Thinking of this, she added another sentence, "Besides, if we can't pay it back for a while, it doesn't mean we won't be able to pay it back for a lifetime. Unnie, you are being a bit too cautious."

By the end, Park Jiyeon noticed that Park Soyeon and Quan Baolan's eyes were still full of worry, so she simply stopped arguing logic and blurted out a sentence.

"If we really fall to that point, if it really doesn't work out, I'll just compensate myself to Oppa. I'll marry him and have his children; that should be enough to pay off the debt, right?"

As soon as these words fell, Xian Enjing and Park Hyomin next to her turned their heads almost at the same time, looking at Park Jiyeon with a very strange gaze.

The content contained in that gaze was very complex.

There was surprise, there was a mix of laughter and tears, and there was also a sense of hardship from wanting to retort on the spot but forcibly holding it back because the occasion was inappropriate.

A thought popped into both their minds at the same time: Jiyeon, are you sure you are talking about paying off a debt, and not openly robbing him? No, that's robbing a person.

Equally surprised were Park Soyeon and Li Juli and the others.

The three looked at Park Jiyeon with burning gazes, the shock in their eyes completely undisguisable. They had known before that Park Jiyeon's feelings for Lin Xiuyuan were very special.

But they really dared not imagine that this maknae's feelings for that man had actually deepened to this extent.

Being able to say words like marriage, even if said in a joking tone, meant that this option had truly existed in her heart, had been seriously thought about, and was not just casual nonsense.

After a long while, Li Juli was the first to withdraw her gaze and shook her head.

She used a relatively calm tone to step on the brakes for this topic, "It definitely won't come to you having to do that, Jiyeon. We are just chatting, thinking about the worst-case scenario."

"Yes, no matter what, if we give it a try, we can pay it back." Park Soyeon also nodded gently, echoing the sentiment.

Her expression shifted from shock back to calm, though there was an added layer of complexity in her gaze toward Park Jiyeon that hadn't been there before, as if she were re-evaluating this younger sister she had known for many years.

After this topic temporarily came to a close, the next thing was the second question.

That was, after buying out their contracts, how their subsequent activities, team operations, and resource connections should be arranged.

Although this question had a certain degree of similarity to the one above, it was also quite different, because Quan Baolan, who raised the question, did not discuss whether the matter itself was good or bad, or whether it was achievable.

Her perspective was to assume that the previous matter was truly accomplished, and then how to resolve the subsequent issues.

How to let an independent team without a management agency background survive in this industry and continue to operate to make money.

This was a technical discussion, not a discussion of stances.

Xian Enjing and Park Hyomin looked at each other, and after exchanging a knowing glance, Xian Enjing took it upon herself to answer Quan Baolan's doubts.

"Unnie, if it's this situation, Juli Unnie and I have discussed it in detail over the past two days."

"A company definitely needs to be established, and then it's about the same as what Lin Xiuyuan said before: find a partner company in Huaxia and sign all the content over to them. We just need to hold onto our bottom line; as for how much money we can make, as long as it's more than here, that's fine."

Just as Xian Enjing finished speaking, Li Juli nodded, filling in the parts she hadn't elaborated on.

"That's right. As for how much that company makes, that's their ability; we'll just earn what we can earn. Anyway, the two of us have calculated it, and it will definitely be more than what we earn now."

When she said this, she used her finger to draw a circle in the air on the floor in front of her, as if tracing the boundary line of a scope of cooperation.

She continued, "And when we negotiate, the contract duration can be shorter, just cooperate and see first. When we really feel we get along, some overseas activities can also be directly entrusted to that company."

This was a logic the two of them had groped for in their private discussions.

Not seeking to become a "fat man" in one bite, but testing the waters with a "small steps, fast running" approach.

Establishing their own small company, then handing the main content and activity contracts to a partner with resources and experience to manage.

Not being greedy, maintaining the initiative, renewing if the cooperation goes well, and making it easy to cut losses in time if it doesn't.

"So according to what you're saying, we're just equivalent to self-employed individuals, then going to work for others to get some wages and bonuses." After listening, Park Soyeon gave a summary based on her own understanding.

The reality was about the same.

In essence, it was the few of them establishing an individual company that had nothing, and then using the "group" identity to cooperate with larger platforms or companies, settling the money earned through profit-sharing.

The lion's share might be taken by the partner company, but as long as the portion they received themselves was more than the current situation, then it was a gain.

"Mm, that's right, but there is one point that is very good, and that is that for some cooperation aspects, we can have the right to negotiate or refuse."

Li Juli pointed out the biggest advantage of this model.

The transparency was higher, and the initiative was greater.

"It is indeed an advantage, but the danger is not low either," Park Soyeon muttered.

She admitted that the advantage Li Juli mentioned about negotiating contracts directly did exist, but overall, she felt the risk of this plan was still quite significant.

Leaving the management agency to work on their own sounded free and dignified, but she had no idea what the success rate was when actually doing it.

After saying this, Park Soyeon suddenly remembered another thing Lin Xiuyuan had mentioned in the restaurant that day, so she lifted her gaze again and looked at the others present, "Then that talk about the Jiudian or something..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Park Jiyeon interrupted her directly, as if wanting to save some time on unrealistic fantasies.

"Unnie, look at which of us has this ability, who can shoulder that kind of company and team. Oppa was probably just joking with us; the first two points are what's most suitable for us."

After hearing Park Jiyeon's words, Park Soyeon lowered her head and thought for a moment, then sighed softly.

"Yeah,"

Then she spoke her most honest inner thoughts.

"But after talking it through, I still feel a bit scared; it's not as good as being in the company. Although the company is indeed a bit bad, at least the profit-sharing is there and the payments are fast; at least I feel I can still endure it."

It wasn't that she didn't know about the various problems and dissatisfactions of the company, nor was it that she hadn't had the thought of wanting to change the status quo, but when change really had to be put on the table for discussion, she found that her first reaction was not excitement, but fear.

Staying in the company now, although there was all kinds of frustration and unhappiness, at least the monthly income was stable, the speed of settlement was also quite fast, and life could be expected and planned.

Once they jumped out, this stability would be broken, replaced by a large number of uncertain factors.

She felt she could still endure it a bit longer, endure until the contract expired, endure until she had saved enough money for retirement, endure until the day she no longer needed to make these headache-inducing multiple-choice questions.

Seeing that Park Soyeon was feeling a bit off, Quan Baolan stood up from the floor, "It's just a discussion, no one said we have to decide all at once, let's take it slow."

Then she patted the dust off her bottom with her hand and said in a tone of reminder, "Alright, we've chatted enough, let's move a bit; at least we still need to perform well on the activity stage."

How to walk in the future could be discussed slowly, but the work that needed to be done right now still had to be done well.

The remaining Xian Enjing, Li Juli, and the others looked at each other, and after seeing the expressions in each other's eyes, they also stood up from the floor one after another, preparing to start today's rehearsal.

Tara's first "self-redemption" meeting.

Failed.