In the end, Xue Mingzhu’s initial stage rating was still set at Class A.
Originally, Yang Xu was still hesitating, and Chen Shiyu and Lin Qifeng hadn’t given their answers, but Vinki convinced them with one sentence.
—”Putting aside what Xue Mingzhu hasn’t yet shown, just looking at this performance he just gave, do you think he deserves to be one-seventh of your ideal boy group?”
Vinki said seriously: “He’s completely qualified, right? If the final boy group loses such a rap position with immense potential, wouldn’t you regret it?”
Yang Xu exchanged glances with the other two mentors and nodded helplessly: “Alright, alright, we’ll listen to you. Let’s give him Class A for now.”
Xue Mingzhu stepped onto the stairs leading to the high platform one by one, and the staircase’s breathing lights lit up with each of his steps.
As he ascended, he kept his head raised, staring at the seven seats at the top.
As the distance got closer, his eyes moved, and his eyes collided with those of Quentin, who was seated on the first throne.
Quentin was watching the third performance of the night, a four-member team from some unknown small company, when he inadvertently lowered his eyes and met the boy’s intense, staring eyes, and a question mark slowly formed in his mind.
‘Am I… being challenged?’
Quentin hesitated for half a second, then quickly dismissed that answer.
‘It was just too much happiness, right?’
He blinked, quietly watching Xue Mingzhu approach closer and closer. As the other party stepped onto the final step, Quentin looked up and said, “Congratulations.”
Xue Mingzhu curled his lip and let out a short laugh: “Wasn’t it within expectations?”
Quentin nodded calmly: “Within expectations.”
“Tch, but you were outside of my expectations.”
Xue Mingzhu walked past Quentin and sat down in the second chair beside him without hesitation, leaning half his body towards Quentin’s direction.
He stared at Quentin thoughtfully, and said with keen interest, “Quentin, you’re really hiding deep. Are you from Yanhai? Which high school did you go to? Are you in your second or third year of high school this year?”
Quentin recalled the profile arranged by the system for a couple of seconds: “Yanhai Deville International High School, I just graduated this year.”
“?!” Xue Mingzhu’s eyes widened, “You just graduated this year? No way….You’re actually in the same year as me?”
He leaned forward so far that almost his entire upper body was out of his seat, bringing his face close to Quentin’s, and rapidly fired questions: “So you also took the National College Entrance Exam? Which university did you apply to? Is it in Yanhai…Wait, Deville International High School, that ‘aristocratic’ school full of young masters and ladies? You didn’t apply to a university abroad, did you?”
“…Sit back first.”
Quentin raised his hand, pressed it against Xue Mingzhu’s forehead, and pushed him back: “Watch the performance properly. There are cameras.”
Xue Mingzhu: “…Oh.”
“Yanhai University, it’s local, but I’ve taken a leave of absence.” Quentin looked down at the stage where the performance was happening, and asked in return, “Are you also in Yanhai?”
The four-member team that had just come on stage brought a singing and dancing performance, a cover of the famous song from Yang Xu’s former boy group. The lyrics and music had been slightly adapted, but the effect of the adaptation… was average.
Their singing and dancing skills were also average, so they were most likely headed for Class F.
Xue Mingzhu glanced at them briefly before looking away: “Yes, but I didn’t get into Yanhai University. I got into Yanhai University of Science and Technology. It’s also in the university town in Jiangshan District, and seems to be about…a ten-minute bus ride from Yanhai University, right?”
He wasn’t very interested in the ongoing performance, but for the sake of the cameras, he forced a serious expression, whispering under his breath.
“So you’re an arts student? What is your major? I haven’t applied for a leave of absence yet, just took a long leave from the academic affairs office for now. I just finished military training a few days ago and came directly to record the show. Tsk, it’s mainly because my parents were afraid I’d make a wasted trip. If I don’t debut successfully, I have to go back and continue my studies.”
Quentin answered according to the information provided by the system: “I’m in an experimental class. We take general courses the first year, then choose a major in the second year.”
His academic journey in his previous life was rather bumpy; he was out of school for nearly four years from the age of 15 to 18.
Later, after earning enough money and fame, he finally broke free from his guardian’s control, successfully transferred his student records to another city, studied while writing songs, and eventually was admitted into the Department Of Philosophy at NYU.
This life was much easier. His transmigration came with an educational background, there was no need to retake the college entrance exam.
Moreover, according to the settings of this book world, Yanhai University is one of the top two universities in China, equivalent to Peking University or Tsinghua University in his previous life.
Quentin strongly suspected that when the system created his file, it simply and crudely filled in all the best options, without considering the absurdity of a Yanhai University student coming to participate in a boy group survival show.
But after hearing that Xue Mingzhu was also putting Yanhai University of Science and Technology on hold to become a rapper…the entertainment industry in this world was really impressive. Yanhai University of Science and Technology is considered among the top 10 in China, and he just dropped it just like that.
Xue Mingzhu was stunned.
‘Experimental class?’ Isn’t that where the provincial top scorers go? That definitely can’t be for an arts student!
He swallowed, raised his hand, and covered his lapel mic: “…Did you get in purely on exam scores, or did you have competition bonuses? I remember this year’s top scorer in Yanhai city was a girl…what was your city ranking?”
Xue Mingzhu was also a local of Yanhai. During junior high, he was in his rebellious phase, and missed three subjects in the high school entrance exam, so he ended up assigned to an ordinary public high school.
But he worked very hard in his second and third years of high school. He buried his head in studying crazily, and even turned material he needed to memorize into rap lyrics which he sang every day. In the end, he maintained a top-three ranking in his grade and was admitted into Yanhai University of Science and Technology.
Most people might find it hard to imagine someone simultaneously balancing academic studies and an artistic specialty, and excelling in both fields.
But Xue Mingzhu had personal experience, so he was very accepting of the fact that “Quentin is not only an all-rounder in singing and dancing, but also a hidden academic genius”.
He could also accept the fact that he “put a good university on hold to participate in a survival show”.
In his view, life is an experience composed of a series of choices.
“…”
Quentin was silent for several seconds.
In his previous life, he took exams in the US. The US doesn’t have a unified “college entrance exam.” Applying to university requires preparing your own application materials, and standardized tests like the SAT or ACT don’t have ranking systems.
Fortunately, in his childhood, he had a mother who valued her children’s education greatly. This gave him a deep understanding of China’s basic education system, so he wasn’t completely confused by the question.
He had the system list out the detailed file information in his mind, then also covering his mic, replied: “I had competition bonuses. The city ranking is 87.”
Xue Mingzhu clicked his tongue: “A city ranking of 87 with raw scores? With that result, you wouldn’t even need the competition bonuses to get into Yanhai University, you…… got into the experimental class based on your competition results? That’s very perverted.”
Quentin vaguely brushed it off: “It’s alright.”
Xue Mingzhu was just about to tease him a bit more when he suddenly remembered that they hadn’t covered their mics when they first started talking about their educational backgrounds, and he immediately fell silent.
A few seconds later, he pointed back and forth between himself and Quentin, saying gloomily, “Yanhai University of Science and Technology, Yanhai University. The two of us are probably going to end up on the hot search together.”
The production team would definitely not let go of this perfect opportunity for hype…Shocking! Two top-school academic tyrants simultaneously give up university admission to participate in a boy group survival show! Is it the collapse of morality or the distortion of human nature? Stay tuned for weekly updates of [Next Stage]……
Although Quentin only had a partial understanding of the Chinese culture of “one-exam-determines-your-destiny” and the associated rat-race culture, he had also experienced the anxiety and struggle to apply to his ideal university. Academic performance is always a significant and unforgettable part of one’s youth.
However, he didn’t have much of an opinion about trending on the hot search; after all, he was used to trending on US Trends and Worldwide Trends in his previous life.
He said casually, “It’s a small matter. Anyway, we don’t have our phones. If we don’t see it, it’s like it didn’t happen.”
Xue Mingzhu chuckled and gave a thumbs-up: “Not bad, you have a steady mindset.”
For the next hour or so, the two boys sitting on the top thrones barely stopped talking. They watched performances, applauded, chatted, and listened to the mentors’ evaluations, doing all four things simultaneously.
They had also become smarter; most of the time they chatted, they used their clothes to cover their mics. As long as the production team couldn’t pick up the audio, it wouldn’t be edited into the main episodes or bonus clips.
Neither Quentin nor Xue Mingzhu were the type to willingly use their personal affairs to attract attention, especially in a competitive performance variety show centered on singing, dancing, and rap. Serious trainees should let their skills do the talking, not engage in crooked paths or underhanded methods.
An hour passed, and the third A still hadn’t appeared.
Xue Mingzhu shook his head and sighed: “Class F is almost full. It was a big mistake for the production team to let the two of us go on stage so early.”
Quentin nodded in agreement: “Indeed.”
The two big demons who had shown their fangs said these arrogant words without changing their expressions, neither feeling there was anything wrong with what the other said.
Finally, it was the turn of the five trainees from BKL Entertainment.
Surprisingly, these five were also going to perform a cover of the famous song from Yang Xu’s boy group!
In survival show variety programs, covering a mentor’s work is not a good choice.
Objectively speaking, it’s almost impossible for a trainee to perform the song better than the original.
Subjectively speaking, the psychological pressure of performing the mentor’s famous song right in front of the original author is great, and it’s difficult to receive a very good evaluation because the original author undoubtedly understands the creative process of the song better than the cover performer and is more familiar with the various details that are prone to error.
One misstep and it could lead to the outcome of being seen as a clumsy imitator or a laughingstock.
Moreover, the act of “choosing the mentor’s famous song” itself carries a strong sense of purpose:
—This is clearly aimed at trending on the hot search!
Xue Mingzhu muttered under his breath: “Tsk, BKL always loves pulling these kinds of flashy operations.”
The mentor seats were turned away from the many trainees below, so they couldn’t see Yang Xu’s expression at that moment.
But it was easy to imagine that Teacher Yang’s mood probably wasn’t great.
His shady old company sent a group of young juniors to perform his song…wasn’t this basically slapping him in the face?
Back then, the members of BKL’s second-generation boy group had disbanded. Whether they terminated their contracts or not, they had all suffered various physical or psychological issues due to pressure from BKL. The copyrights to over a hundred songs were all tightly controlled by the company.
Up to now, they couldn’t even freely sing or dance their old songs on shows.
Yang Xu knew the show’s cameras would definitely give him a close-up, so his expression didn’t change at all. He still looked calmly at the five trainees on stage. In contrast, Vinki beside him snorted coldly.
“Well then, please begin your performance.”
He picked up the microphone, looked at the five young trainees on stage, and said flatly, “Good luck.”
The leader standing in the center, Yan Qiao, bowed politely: “Thank you, Teacher Yang. We will do our best.”
Yang Xu put down the microphone and took an imperceptible deep breath.
Daring to perform this song in front of him… Forget it, it must be BKL’s request. Even if the production team had conflicts with BKL, they wouldn’t refuse the hype that comes their way.
These kids……were just like he used to be, with no choice.
But he wouldn’t lower his standards because of this trivial sense of shared hardship. If they wanted to ride this popularity, they had to bear the corresponding consequences.
Let him see, just what level were the five trainees BKL sent.
