Chapter Thirty-Seven: A Visit to SM, and Hongzi's Daily Life

Chen Zhe’s gaze continued to sweep around the room, hoping to find a savior who could deliver him from the sea of suffering brought on by being surrounded by the Girls’ Generation members. Suddenly, he noticed that, aside from his own sister and Choi Sooyoung, there was one of the three people in the room who hadn’t come over to bombard him with questions—the very first one who’d spoken to him earlier, Girls’ Generation’s youngest, Seohyun.

Though he had no idea how much Seohyun had already been assimilated by the Girls’ Generation collective, or whether she had evolved into a full-fledged member, looking at the others still crowding around him with all sorts of strange questions, Chen Zhe could only treat a dead horse as if it were alive and hope for the best. Resolving himself, he cast a pleading look at Seohyun, who stood at the edge of the group.

“Unnie, it’s quite rude of you all to keep A-Zhe and Yuqi standing here like this!” Receiving Chen Zhe’s silent call for help, Seohyun narrowed her eyes, nodded reassuringly at him, and made a don’t-worry-everything’s-on-me gesture before pretending to cough and moving over to the group encircling Chen Zhe.

Though the Girls’ Generation members didn’t care much about such things, being admonished by their youngest did cause them to calm down a little. They stepped back a few paces, no longer completely hemming Chen Zhe in.

This was the chance Seohyun had been waiting for. She quickly stepped forward, grabbed Chen Zhe’s hand, and pulled him out of the encirclement, running with him toward the sofa.

As Seohyun led Chen Zhe by the hand to the sofa, the others looked on in surprise. The Girls’ Generation members’ expressions shifted swiftly from astonishment to satisfaction, as if in that instant they had cast Chen Zhe as the male lead and Seohyun as the heroine in some television drama, completing an entire storyline in their minds.

“Seohyun-unnie, is there anything to eat? I’m a bit hungry.” Once safely seated on the sofa with Seohyun, and seeing the others still lost in their daydreams and unlikely to bother him for the moment, Chen Zhe rubbed his stomach and glanced at Seohyun, whose gentle smile lingered on her face, and directly asked if she had any snacks to fill his belly.

Hearing his question, Seohyun glanced at her unnies and saw that they were still lost in their imagined world. She got up quietly, wandered around the room, and soon returned with an armful of assorted snacks.

“A-Zhe, see if any of these flavors appeal to you? Oh, and this one—I’ve tried it and it’s quite good, you should give it a shot.” After placing the snacks on the table, Seohyun surveyed them for a moment, then picked out a particular snack she’d tried before and found delicious, handing it to Chen Zhe with a gaze full of anticipation.

“If you say so, Seohyun-unnie, I have to give it a proper try!” Unable to resist the expectant look in Seohyun’s eyes, Chen Zhe felt a slight tingle at his scalp and had no choice but to accept the snack she offered.

“Wow, Seohyun-unnie, these lime-flavored chips are really good! They’re just to my taste!” Tearing open the package, Chen Zhe caught a pleasant whiff of lime, took a chip and crunched it, the crisp sound ringing out. The dual flavors of lime and potato exploded on his palate, jolting his taste buds.

The unique freshness of lime carried a hint of sweet and sour, perfectly offsetting the greasiness typical of fried snacks. It was as if a shot of vitality had been injected into his stomach, instantly whetting his appetite. After a few more chips, Chen Zhe looked up at Seohyun, nodding with a joyful and satisfied expression.

“As long as you like it, A-Zhe, eat slowly, don’t rush!” Seeing Chen Zhe’s delighted face, Seohyun’s expression grew even gentler, as if she were caring for her own younger brother. She even picked up a napkin to gently wipe the crumbs from the corner of his mouth.

The rest of the Girls’ Generation members, snapped out of their reverie by the continuous crunching sounds, turned to look and were shocked to find Seohyun tenderly wiping Chen Zhe’s mouth.

“Maknae, you’re secretly feeding A-Zhe snacks behind our backs! And when did you hide these snacks without sharing them with your beloved unnies? Turns out our love for you was all for nothing!” Sooyoung, who had been standing aside watching the scene unfold, immediately jumped in and feigned indignation, pointing at Seohyun.

“Seohyun, as your childhood friend, how could you hide snacks from me? Wait, this is actually my favorite flavor!” Yoona ran over, tore open a bag of chips and started munching happily. After a few bites, she realized the flavor seemed familiar. She glanced at the packaging and realized it was indeed her favorite.

“Well… Yoona-unnie! I actually found most of these snacks in your secret stash!” Hearing Yoona’s mutterings, Seohyun paused her crumb-wiping and, with a serious look, delivered her counterattack.

“Ah! Seohyun, you secretly took my snacks! Wait, how did you know where I hid them?” At Seohyun’s words, Yoona was momentarily stunned and then looked at her in disbelief.

“Yoona-unnie, we’ve grown up together—I know all your hiding habits. I’ve caught you stashing snacks several times!” Seohyun maintained her serious expression, unfazed by Yoona’s incredulity.

Seeing Seohyun’s earnest face, Yoona muttered inwardly, This little schemer! She secretly used my snacks to win over A-Zhe and even exposed my hiding spot. Luckily, I’m cautious and kept some hidden in Heechul oppa’s and Minho’s rooms—otherwise, she would’ve cleaned me out completely.

“Yoona! I treat you so well, and you dare to hide snacks from me? Didn’t you swear we’d share everything?” While Yoona was still congratulating herself, a scorching gaze burned into her back, accompanied by a low voice and the sound of teeth grinding, as if she were about to be devoured.

Sooyoung, who had been nodding in approval as Seohyun gently wiped Chen Zhe’s mouth, suddenly turned sharply to Yoona at the revelation about the snacks. Her expression grew menacing, and Yoona instantly froze in place.