The Maserati weaved through the streets of Seoul. Tyler kept glancing at the rearview mirror, finally unable to hold back: “Young master, I’ve followed you for eight years and never seen this woman before. How come it really seems like you have something going on with her? Did you meet her eight years ago? My god, she would have been at most ten years old back then!”

“Shut up, Pig!”

“My name is Tyler, young master.”

Brian Bennett rubbed his head wearily. “This woman will be famous in the future. I just paid attention to her a few times when I had the chance, that’s all.”

Tyler straightened up solemnly. Having witnessed countless unbelievable predictions come true, his reverence for his young master’s abilities had reached the level of worship. If the young master said this woman would be famous, then she definitely would be, no explanation needed.

Chapter Two: If Only Life Were Like the First Meeting

Ashley Carter dragged her tired feet back to the dorm. She was later than usual today; by rights, the members should have already been asleep. But when she opened the door, she found everyone gathered in the lounge, chattering excitedly about something.

In fact, Ashley Carter didn’t know whether she should hate the Black Ocean incident or be grateful for it. Before the Black Ocean, she had never seen the members so harmonious, so close and happy together.

A shared disaster had shattered the ice of conflict between people, giving everyone in Girls’ Generation an unprecedented sense of belonging and dependence. Even Jessica Reed would hug her, the two of them apologizing to each other and crying their eyes out.

“Unnie, you’re so late today! You missed the big news!” Emma Clark jumped up and waved at her.

Ashley Carter smiled. “Emma, you filmed a drama all day and you’re not tired? What news has you so excited?”

“It’s huge!” Sunny clenched her fists. “A real Korean! A Korean!”

Ashley Carter pressed her forehead speechlessly. “Have you all been brainwashed by online experts? What Korean? Is it Qu Yuan or Confucius this time, or maybe Li Bai?”

Hannah Carter shouted, “What are you talking about! It’s Ann! TerryAnn!”

Ashley Carter was taken aback. “The Grammy one or the Oscar one?”

Julia Grant jumped up. “The same person, they’re the same! The creator and performer of the Grammy Song of the Year ‘Viva La Vida,’ and the author of the Oscar Best Original Screenplay ‘Juno’!”

Ashley Carter said in disbelief, “The same person? Korean?”

Jessica Reed sighed and brought her laptop over. “See for yourself.”

Ashley Carter looked at the screen and saw a huge headline: “Media’s Half-Year Search Comes to an End, Mysterious Ann’s Identity Revealed!”

Looking at the content, the gist was that when American reporters were invited to attend this year’s Harvard doctoral graduation ceremony, they unexpectedly found the name TerryAnn on the list of composition graduates. The sharp reporters immediately recalled that this was the same name as the mysterious figure who had won both the Grammy Song of the Year and the Oscar Best Original Screenplay this year, and who had missed both award ceremonies. Energized, the reporters interviewed Harvard professors and finally got confirmation: this new PhD was indeed the mysterious Ann whom the world’s media had been searching for over the past six months.

“So it really is the same person.” Ashley Carter exclaimed in admiration. “What an amazing senior—such high achievements in both music and screenwriting, and even a Harvard PhD… a PhD! What the… TerryAnn, real name Brian Bennett, from Seoul, Korea…”

“An An An An Brian Bennett?!” Ashley Carter’s hand shook, nearly dropping the laptop.

“Unnie!” Grace Howard rushed over and hugged the laptop tightly, saving it from a tragic end.

“A coincidence, it must be a coincidence. How could that pervert possibly be Senior Ann?” Ashley Carter took a deep breath and scrolled down, her eyes rolling back as she nearly fainted.

On the screen, Brian Bennett was beaming with a sunny smile, looking dazzlingly bright.

Below the photo was this line: “…Ann told reporters that the reason for not attending the award ceremonies was because he did not plan to develop his career in the US long-term, but intended to return to his home country after earning his doctorate, to contribute to the development of Hallyu culture…”

Ashley Carter flexed and unflexed her fingers, barely restraining herself from smashing that shameless face.

Hannah Carter blinked. “So? Isn’t he handsome? And so patriotic!”

“Handsome! Very handsome! Patriotic! Very patriotic!” Ashley Carter looked around at the eight faces swooning with infatuation, gritting her teeth as she spoke.

“Right! We searched online and there’s already a fan club for Senior Ann. We all joined… Ashley, you should join too! Don’t you really like that song ‘Vida’?”

“I… I…” Ashley Carter touched her still-bruised neck, feeling a wave of sorrow.

…

Brian Bennett and Tyler walked into the bar. The lighting was dim, soft piano music filled the air, and the scent of fresh perfume made the atmosphere very pleasant. Looking around, they were surprised to see many familiar faces from TV.

“Tyler, how did you know about this place? It’s full of celebrities.” Brian Bennett said in surprise. “And it’s your first day back, just like me, yet you already have a membership card here. Looks like you’ve been hiding a lot from me…”