Chapter Fifty-two Chocolate and Good News

  Uh, I fell asleep during the second update last night...

  Thanks for the reward from Jianmieshenfeng and Royyi! Thanks for the rating vote from Jianmieshenfeng!

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  February 14th.

  Just a few days after the Spring Festival in Seoul, the atmosphere on the streets is as usual. This festival, which has only been restored for five years, cannot penetrate deep into the hearts of Koreans like other traditional festivals. During the Spring Festival, China and Japan are extremely lively and festive, but here the enthusiasm for it is not too high. With its unique sacrificial customs, the Spring Festival is more like a ritual ceremony, quiet and peaceful. The lively atmosphere can only be felt on New Year's Day when all members of a family gather together to worship their ancestors.

  There's nothing much to say about Ahn Jun-hee and Ahn Ji-soo, who don't really have a family to speak of. For them, Seollal was just another day, and they spent it eating ordinary meals on the eve of the holiday. As an artist, Ahn Jun-hee still had work to do every day until mid-month, and after visiting his fans on Valentine's Day, he finished all his tasks.

  Korea has 12 Valentine's Days, one on the 14th of every month, but only two are important to young people: February and March. On February 14th, girls give chocolates to their crushes or close seniors, colleagues, bosses, teachers, or idols. By March 14th, men who received chocolates must reciprocate with candies as a return gift - of course, if they didn't receive any chocolates, giving flowers or candies to female friends is also acceptable; without confessing one's feelings, it's just a simple social exchange that isn't so particular.

  As soon as he got up in the morning, Zhixiu went downstairs to the candy store in the neighborhood and personally bought a box of packaged chocolates, put them on his bedside table, and then fluttered around him like a small butterfly, shaking his wheelchair and curiously asking with a hint of teasing whether there would be any girls sending him gifts today and how many he could receive.

  "Have you forgotten? Since your brother started junior high school, every year he received so much chocolate that it would take him several weeks to finish! After washing up and getting ready for work, An Junhe affectionately rubbed her head, "Today's haul will probably last you a whole year, just wait till you get fat!"

  Zhī xiù jiǎo jiǎo xiù qì de bí jiān, kǎo kǎo xiào zhe: "chuī niú!"

  Translation:

  Zhi Xiu's nose tip wrinkled with a smile, chuckling: "Braggart!"

  Then he saw his brother off at the door, gave him a hug as a farewell, and hummed a tune with a pleasant mood back to his own room.

  Her mood became clearer and An Junhe naturally became more cheerful. He went downstairs, sat in the car driven by Yuan Cheng to pick him up, and still had a smile on his face.

  "Your brother seems to be in high spirits today!" Mu Jong asked, glancing at him through the rearview mirror.

  "Yes, Zhīxiù is slowly becoming lively like before, and even sent me a box of chocolates this morning!"

  As they spoke, Yuan Cheng started the car and slowly drove out of the residential area towards the company.

  "Speaking of chocolate, bro, someone from the company notified me yesterday and asked me to send over all the chocolates you received today for sorting."

  An Junhe nodded: "Yeah, mainly to prevent anti-fans. You can just take it over there in a bit!" On this point, Quan Baogen had reminded him long ago that no matter what gifts he received from fans, he should not open them directly. Instead, the company's staff would inspect them first before accepting them, especially drinks and food, which some anti-fans liked to tamper with.

  Because of the previous rumors with Ha Ji-won and Bae Suzy, although there were no follow-up news afterwards, and recently "X File" unexpectedly helped to clarify things, making a large part of their fans change their views on him. However, his anti-fans still have a strong presence online, and even if the company hasn't made an official count, just looking at the scale of several active anti-fan clubs can tell you that there are at least tens of thousands of people.

  In such a large group, it's inevitable that there are some who have lost their minds and may send strange or even malicious things. In recent years, the entertainment industry has not been lacking in similar incidents. Now all talent agencies no longer dare to let artists directly receive gifts, instead checking them first before handing them over. According to Ahn Jun-hee, most companies even directly destroy gifts sent by fans, which is an unavoidable measure. Many companies don't have enough manpower to invest in checking gifts, and they don't want the artist to encounter any accidents, so it's more convenient to just throw them away.

  An Junhe would never joke about his own safety and had always adhered to this principle.

  All the way to the company, I saw that there were already many fans gathered outside the main gate of the building, mostly teenage girls, occasionally also seeing one or two boys' lonely figures. When the car slowly drove closer, some girls who recognized the license plate rushed towards the car while screaming and swarming over, soon the crowd surrounded the car.

  "Uncle, uncle, take my chocolate, I made it myself!"

  "Uncle, mine is too..."

  "Brother Junhe..."

  He rolled down the window, and a burst of shrill screams pierced An Junhe's eardrums. A pair of hands, either wearing gloves or bright red and purple from the cold, thrust packaged chocolates into the car while trying to shake his hand. Despite the chill in the air, the faces outside were flushed with excitement. The scene was chaotic and intense. He had no choice but to lean out halfway, shaking hands with fans and thanking them while cautioning them not to push and shove, reminding them to be mindful of their safety.

  Fortunately, the fans were very disciplined. Although they showed enthusiasm, after handing over things and shaking hands, they would consciously retreat and no longer block the car. So, after a while, when more than 20 girls finished giving their gifts, the car was finally able to move forward again. Just as it had driven out not far away, a boy from behind chased up, taking advantage of Ahn Jun-hee's momentary distraction before closing the window, quickly handing in a box with a pink bow tie and panting softly said: "I also made this chocolate by myself! Uncle, I will love you forever!"

  "Uh..." He stared blankly at the boy who was secretly making a heart shape with his hands, his figure constantly retreating as the car moved forward, still waving goodbye with a reluctant expression. Ahn Jun-heo's mouth was slightly agape, looking dazed.

  Yuancheng was silent for a moment, his shoulders suddenly shook, and after a few breaths, he seemed to be unable to hold back, "Hahaha" burst out laughing.

  "Ah!" An Junhe came to his senses, raised his hand and gave a virtual slap on the back of his head, scolding, "Had enough fun? Pay attention to driving!"

  "Yes, yes!" Yuan Cheng hurriedly closed his mouth and held his breath, nodding repeatedly, but after a while, he couldn't help but burst out laughing and asked: "Brother, how do you feel now?"

  "Ah..."

  ……

  To be honest, An Junhe was really startled just now. For those who have not experienced it, it's hard to imagine the impact of a confession from someone of the same sex on one's worldview and outlook on life. He didn't even know when his popularity had spread to the gay community, although he wanted to say that he wasn't prejudiced against that group, but in reality...

  Until he entered the company, Won-seong sent all the gift boxes to the management office for inspection, and he still felt a bit awkward. Fortunately, just as he arrived at his own workshop, Yoon-ah and Tae-hyun's arrival temporarily eliminated the psychological shadow.

  Girls with backpacks sneaked in from the door, glanced around his empty studio, and Yun'er pouted: "Ah, didn't brother receive any chocolates? I thought there would be a lot!"

  Wearing a snow-white sweater, and hugging a white backpack, Taeyeon came rolling over with a giggle like a small snowball. She ran to the office desk and eagerly opened her backpack, pulling out boxes of beautifully packaged chocolates. "Brother, look! This is Sooyoung's, this is Sohyun's, this is Yuri's, this is..." On the other side, YoonA, who had just complained a moment ago, also hurried over and started pulling things out of her backpack.

  Looking at the pile of boxes on the table getting higher and higher, An Junhe helplessly rubbed his forehead. After a few minutes, seeing them still enthusiastically counting whose box was whose, with an attitude of wanting to explain clearly, he had no choice but to repeatedly call out: "Alright alright, leave them here, you all hurry up and go to the practice room for class, soon the head of the dorm will come over, be careful or he'll scold you!"

  "Uh..." Yun-ah responded dully, and Taeyeon took out a few more boxes, pointing to two of them that were decorated very cutely and said: "These are mine and Yun-ah's, you have to eat them all up, got it?"

  "Ah, speaking of which, Yun'er got excited again: 'Mmm, next month on the 14th, you must return the gift to us, I want white roses.'"

  Taeyeon also didn't back down, "I want pink!"

  It was the first time he had seen someone order gifts back with such confidence, An Junhe couldn't help but laugh and cry as he chased them out. He stared blankly at the pile of chocolates on his desk, brought by the two girls, all of which were gifts from female trainees in the same company, so there was no need to check them, which also meant that they couldn't be given to colleagues under the pretext of checking, and he could only take them home himself, which was a bit worrying.

  He stared blankly for a moment, then picked out a handmade package from the pile of gift boxes, but the box looked unfamiliar and rough. The elegant characters "Xiuyan" on the box caught his eye, and the sorrow in his eyes deepened.

  Opening the box, a pile of dark and messy chocolate with a hint of burnt smell on top, there was a note placed neatly, briefly written "I made it myself, might not taste good...". Just by looking at the shy handwriting, I could almost see her blushing face. But An Junhe didn't feel any joy, his heart filled with complicated emotions, unsure if it was because the dark chocolate looked too lethal or the meaning behind the girl's action.

  She is not his fan, they are friends, and in a normal friendship relationship, it's unlikely to give handmade chocolates... This is usually the choice of girls to confess their feelings to boys!

  "Ah......" He let out a soft sigh and leaned heavily back in his chair.

  In order to maintain the friendship, he has been trying to pretend to be stupid, but at this point, pretending to be stupid seems no longer workable, it's time to show his cards, and his thoughts can't help but get tangled.

  At this time, the office door was pushed open and Quan Baogen came in with a spring in his step. An Junhe covered the box with his hand to prevent him from seeing the note inside, so as not to cause trouble for Xiuyan. He smiled calmly and said: "Uncle Baogen, you're in such high spirits today, how much chocolate did you get?"

  "Go, I'm an old man now." Quan Baogen glared at the pile of gift boxes on his desk, probably guessing that they were sent by the company's female trainees, and didn't bother to ask more questions. He smiled and continued to build suspense: "There are two good news, guess what they are?"