"It's 2014, Girls' Generation is the end of the contract this year, right?"

"Yes, the company has been talking to them about renewing their contracts since last year. ”

"Are there so many people who are hesitating?"

"How do you know?"

"Did one of them want to start a side hustle, and then the company didn't agree?"

"You know that, too?"

"Hehe..."

Date: January 1, 2014 at Stanford University, Auditorium, Country M

The black pressed a crowd, and the middle-aged man on the stage was explaining something to the students below in high spirits.

From the big screen next to the middle-aged man, you can clearly see that a group of videos are slowly playing, there are men and women, they are all doing the same thing - acting.

Thick English with an H-accent, and then look at the top of the auditorium, there is a red banner, the most conspicuous is the English characters "K-POP".

"The last time I came here, I introduced you that our company was preparing to prepare a large boy group with 7 members from country H and 5 members from country Z. (Later, one of them quit, and that person was Song Bingyang)

It is a team that intends to form a team with the same team name. In addition, they are in country H and country Z, the members of country H are active in country H, and the members of country Z are active in country Z, and the two teams debut in two countries at the same time with the same song, and they are active at the same time. The combination of the two teams is 12 members. In May, he will make his debut in country Z and country H.

This time I came here again to meet you, and it also brought you good news worth looking forward to.

We plan to launch a girl group in the summer of this year, in August, this is another girl group launched after the launch of F(x) in 2009, this plan has just been put on the agenda, how many members are there? What kind of route and style, are still in the plan, about the selection of the new girl group, will be launched after I return to China, please look forward to it. ”

The middle-aged man on the stage who was giving a speech was just a lot older than three years ago, and the eyes of the lenses still shone with wisdom. In the crowd, there was a boy who looked a little similar to a middle-aged man, holding the phone and whispering something.

"Father would be very happy if he knew that you were discharged from the army. ”

"Really?"

"Aren't you going to come for a moment?"

"No, I'm on my mother's side. ”

Hearing this, the two fell silent at the same time, which seemed incompatible with the auditorium where applause appeared from time to time.

After about a minute of silence, the man slowly spoke, "Do you want me to convey it to my father, just ask?" ”

"Well, it's nothing, but you can help me tell my father, and when I officially retire, I will return to China. ”

"Really, haven't you always rejected the entertainment industry?"

"Before, now..."

Outside Stanford University, on a hillside in the distance, a tough man in a military uniform looked in the direction of the school and hung up the phone.

In front of him, there was an incense table with a bowl of steaming rice, a bowl of broth, a stack of wormwood cakes, and a yellowed photograph.

The person he was talking to on the phone just now was named Lee Hyun-kyu, his own brother, who was born a few months before me.

And the person who gave a speech at Stanford University at this time was his father, and this was the second time he was invited.

In the eyes of the people of country H, I am afraid that there are few people who don't know him, everyone calls him "tyrant" in private, he single-handedly created the first star factory in country H, fans call it a stupid hat, and affectionately call that person "Uncle Man" in private.

In Li Xianzhe's impression, his father is a very serious person, and because the outside world calls him a "tyrant", there have been a lot of black materials about his father, but this kind of thing is not very credible, and the artists who debuted from the company will bring the sentence "Thank you to the company's family, thank you to Mr. Li Xiuman" in many public occasions, you can see that they respect their father, of course, there is also a trace of fear.

Even though it is President Kim who is now in charge of the company, the first person who is talked about and thinks of when he mentions this company is his father.

Ahem, it's a bit far.

But in fact, at home, Lee Hyun-chul's father is like many traditional men, but he loves their brothers and mother very much. It's a pity that this kind of life left them in 2012.

That year, his mother was diagnosed with small bowel cancer, and surgery began in January 2013, unlike the mother who died on September 30, 14, which was later recorded, but in this world, it was a whole year early.

Sitting cross-legged on the grass, Li Xianzhe looked at the yellowed photo, the happy family, and always felt that the mood was very complicated,

After Lee Hyun-cheol was born, unlike his brother Lee Hyun-kyu, who was sent by his father to study in country M, he was sent by his father to live alone in country Z, not to mention that he developed an authentic Jingpu accent.

But when he was in middle school, he went to country M, and studied with his brother Li Xiankui in the most famous middle school in California, Westlake High School, which is known as the "Little Ivy League" and "California Haval".

Although the brothers were well protected by their father and were not disturbed by the outside world, the media never exposed the photos of the brothers. But perhaps it was the unique Oriental concept of "the son inherits the father's business" that drove him to have great expectations for the two brothers.

Finance, business management, film and television music creation, real estate investment planning, etc., as long as they can learn, Li Xiuman "forced" the two brothers to accept these, so that in the future, one of the two of them can enter the company to help him manage the daily operations of the company and carry forward the glory of the family.

Every day of life was spent in this arranged full study, until 2012, the brothers' mother, Kim Eun-jin, was diagnosed with a terminal illness, which changed the relationship between the father and son overnight.

Although his father lost his job in the company during that time and stayed in the hospital all night, because of the lack of communication between father and son, along with his mother's deterioration of health, Lee Hyun-chul chose a path that men in country H feared the most - military service, but not in country H, but in country M.

"In 2014, according to what my brother said, I'm afraid that after my father returns to the company, he will probably start the selection of new girl group members, ah~~ It should be said that before that, there is no Red Velet in the name of their group candidates, forget it, as long as it's not lavender and White Fox (white fox). ”

Kowtowed three times to the middle-aged woman in the photo, Li Xianzhe got up, patted the dust on his body and muttered, "Four generations of girl groups, I'm really looking forward to meeting you for the first time." ”

Two months ago, Lee Hyun-chul officially retired from a unit in country M, and because of his good performance, he was awarded the "Medal of Honor" by the unit to which he belonged and was recorded in history (the Medal of Honor is the highest honor for soldiers in country M in the army, and as of 2005, the Medal of Honor has been awarded a total of 3,460 times, of which 615 times were posthumously awarded after the death of the recipient). Nineteen were awarded two Medals of Honour, 14 of which were awarded twice, and five were awarded both Army and Navy Medals of Honour in one session.

Mary Hawke, the only female recipient of the Medal of Honor, was a Civil War-era surgeon. Her medals, along with other non-combatant recipients, were abolished in 1917 and were re-recognized in 1977 during President Carter's presidency.

Eligibility for the Medal of Honor is not limited to citizens of country M. Sixty-one Canadians who served in the M Army received this honor, most of them during the M Civil War. During this time, Lee Hyun-cheol's application for early graduation was also approved by his university, Stanford University.

Compared with the many gifted students at Stanford University, Lee Hyun-cheol, who obtained a master's degree during his military service, is not special, but such an example is destined to be difficult not to be noticed in country H.

One day in March, Lee Hyun-chul, still wearing a military uniform, boarded a plane from San Francisco International Airport in California to his hometown.

On the same day, Lee Hyun-cheol's father's company announced the much-anticipated selection plan for a new girl group.