The next morning, dawn broke.
In dormitory 303, a smooth arm stretched out from the window-side bed, reaching outwards in a lazy stretch with the fingers spread wide, like a white crane arching its neck.
The boy lying on the bed was bare-chested and his fluffy black hair was a mess, but his light green eyes showed no trace of drowsiness or sleepiness.
‘So that’s how it was,’ he thought.
Quentin had a dream last night.
The dream was rather long; he saw a tumultuous and absurd story as an observer.
By the time he woke up, most of the details in the dream had become blurry, leaving only the key plot points lingering in his memory.
Unfortunately, Quentin vaguely remembered that he had also attended the live finale of “NS” as an audience member, witnessing the top seven trainees step onto the highly anticipated stage.
If he hadn’t lost that part of his memory, wouldn’t he be able to identify the other five main characters as soon as he woke up?
However, the amount of information he gained from this dream was still substantial.
First of all, he had guessed correctly before: in the original storyline, Zhong Qu indeed formed a popular cp with Yan Qiao in “NS”.
Moreover, his methods were very sophisticated; his so-called BL-selling tactics weren’t deliberate sweet talk or physical intimacy, but rather a steady stream of thoughtful care.
In the initial stage performance, Yan Qiao and Zhong Qu were the leader and vice leader of the BKL five-member group respectively, and both advanced to Class A.
During the dormitory selection segment, they both chose the color green, and when facing the camera, their reasons were “hoping their journey in ‘NS’ would have a green light all the way to the end.”
For the first public performance, Yan Qiao and Zhong Qu were assigned to the same group again. The group members were unfamiliar with each other, and their skills were uneven, which inevitably led to friction and conflict.
Yan Qiao was the leader and center, so he naturally took on the role of leader within the team, but he wasn’t good at handling social relationships.
When teaching others to dance, he spoke very bluntly, but his tone and demeanor gave off a casual, nonchalant vibe, leading other group members to think he was deliberately mocking and nitpicking.
Whenever this happened, Zhong Qu would naturally act as the understanding mediator, comforting Yan Qiao and the other teammates separately, seamlessly becoming the link for group collaboration.
In the first public performance PK match, Yan Qiao’s group lost to the opponent group performing the same song by a few dozen votes.
During the post-performance interview, when group members were asked questions like “who performed the best in the group” and “who do you feel most sorry for after this loss,” everyone except Yan Qiao and Zhong Qu chose Zhong Qu.
Zhong Qu gave balanced answers, he praised everyone’s strengths and said they would strive for victory next time.
Yan Qiao remained silent for a few seconds and didn’t give an answer, only saying he wasn’t sorry for anyone.
For the second public performance, Yan Qiao and Zhong Qu became opponents, and both were chosen as leaders of their respective groups.
During the initial team formation stage, most trainees who chose to join Yan Qiao’s group were from Class F, while those who chose Zhong Qu were almost all his teammates from the first public performance, mainly from Class B and C.
Judging by the skill distribution, Yan Qiao’s group seemed destined to lose.
But Yan Qiao’s individual ability was too outstanding. Moreover, he had rich teaching experience and enough patience to correct his teammates’ mistakes. He taught them one-on-one day and night without rest and ultimately led his teammates to successfully win the second public performance PK match.
This PK match was hailed by Yan Qiao’s fans as “the top 2025 drag-an-aircraft-carrier face-slapping satisfying story.”
On the public performance stage, when the host announced Yan Qiao’s group’s victory, the entire audience erupted in thunderous applause.
His teammates cried tears of joy, holding the microphones with trembling hands as they gave their speeches, and two and a half out of every three sentences thanked Yan Qiao.
When it was Zhong Qu’s turn to speak, he didn’t say any words of congratulations. Instead, he stepped forward, proactively opened his arms, and looked at Yan Qiao.
“Captain Yan, can we have a hug?”
Yan Qiao wouldn’t make someone lose face in such a situation.
The two hugged briefly. Zhong Qu’s eyes were red, his face wore a smile but his voice was choked, and he whispered, “…….Thank you, you’ve worked hard, Yan Qiao.”
His teammates didn’t hear what he said clearly, only thinking he was deeply affected by the loss, and gathered around to comfort him, and the audience below the stage shouted in unison, “Zhong Qu, don’t cry.” Perhaps the only unhappy ones in the entire venue were Yan Qiao’s fans.
Yan Qiao fans: So annoying and always selling misery. It’s really too much drama every single day [middle finger]
Later, Zhong Qu explained the reason for his crying in an interview.
“Everyone might not know this, but Yan Qiao has been really, really busy during this time……..He sacrificed a lot for his group. Every night before I returned to the dorm, as I passed by their group’s practice room, I could hear Yan Qiao counting the beats, 1,2,3,4. He stayed up late every night………He never had enough sleep, even though he’s such a sleepy person…..”
Zhong Qu sighed lightly and said with a wry smile, “I’ve never seen Yan Qiao like that before. It was too taxing. I…. felt a bit sorry for him.”
In short, aside from fans who thought from Yan Qiao’s perspective, most casual viewers wouldn’t ponder deeply and simply think Zhong Qu was a good, loyal person who genuinely considered Yan Qiao a close friend.
Actually, Zhong Qu’s scheming and tactics on the show weren’t that bad or extreme.
After all, survival shows are essentially a battle for resources; his actions were merely to showcase a storyline that would attract camera attention.
Judging by actions, not intentions, he did indeed help some people and added a lot of the dramatic effects the production team loved.
This kind of person is common everywhere in the entertainment industry, nothing unusual.
But the problem was, by leveraging the popularity gained from cp-baiting with Yan Qiao, Zhong Qu accumulated enough popularity to actually debut, barely scraping by in seventh place!
And this guy’s private black material(scandals) were absolutely devastating to their group!
Half a year after the “NS” debut, the group’s popularity skyrocketed and they dominated the hot searches daily.
The sales of their first album actually broke the daily sales record for idol group albums held by BKL for five years, achieving the feat of selling out instantly upon release and making them unrivaled for a time.
However, late one night, a hot search topic titled “#ZhongQuMysteryManBarNightMeet#” suddenly climbed to the top spot.
The whistleblower was a notoriously infamous paparazzo in the fan circle. The video he released was blurry, and the content he described was ambiguous.
Group fans and solo fans alike thought someone was throwing dirt on Zhong Qu. After all, it was well-known that Zhong Qu had a character and temper comparable to a saint.
Many cp fans joked in the comments section of the expose post.
[Oh? Could this mystery man be surnamed Yan? [snicker]]
[Calling on Brother Qiao, your LP is straying, come quickly and catch your LP back, or you’ll be sleeping alone tonight!!!]
**LP means significant other
[Hehehehe, imagining a 10,000-word steamy story about a dissolute rich young master buying drinks in a bar late at night, getting caught by his gentle, refined wife who frowns and drags him back for ooxx~~]
After public opinion fermented for two days, this matter had already become a meme among the cp fanbase and should have passed lightly just like that.
But, suddenly and unexpectedly, a series of shocking and sensational hot search topics parachuted in and slaughtered the charts.
#MultipleHighSchoolStudentsRevealTheyAreDatingPopularBoyGroupMember#
#ZhongQuGay#
#ZhongQuUnderageRelationship#
#PaparazziRevealsZhongQuMaintainsOpenRelationshipsWithMultipleMinorsSimultaneously#
#ZhongQuIn-groupRomance#
This time, it wasn’t just low-resolution blurry short videos; a large number of high-definition videos, intimate photos, phone recordings, and chat screenshots were all publicly released.
The fan circle was shaken, the police launched an investigation, entertainment reporters swarmed in, and marketing accounts were as lively as during a festival.
And the high school student who actively contacted the paparazzi to give information actually started a live stream on a forum to talk about his love story with Zhong Qu. Melon-eating netizens from inside and outside the circle and fans of various groups rushed in eagerly.
The real-time number of online viewers was so high it almost crashed the forum’s traffic, and the barrage became a chaotic mess of melon fields.
[OMG [sweat] Kids these days really play wild.]
[Help……..Where are the parents? If I were this brat’s parent, I’d be so angry I’d have a stroke.]
[So disgusting……. Isn’t this live stream getting banned? Enticing minors means jail time. Hah, so this is the jail-bound idol you like.]
[Come on, there’s only a two-year age difference between Zhong Qu and the streamer, okay? Is our Xiao Zhong committing a cardinal sin by dating? How he dates is his business. Did you spend money? Buy albums? Do data? Who are you to talk about his free love when even the fans aren’t speaking up?]
[You Zhong fans……]
[Uh, I saw an expose saying zq is a 0. He had a group orgy with five male high school 1s (tops), and then attended a brand event stage at 9 am the next day, no wonder people criticized zq for slacking, how could he not slack off…It would be impressive if he wasn’t… you know.]
[Streamer, please tell me, is Zhong Qu’s in-group romance true or false?]
[QiaoZhong is real!!]
[I really can’t, I don’t care about the rest, I’m just curious about what the relationship between Zhong Qu and Yan Qiao is, this is the cp I’m most hooked on [tears]]
[wc, Zhong Qu’s in-group romance has become a hot search topic, can someone give me a real melon? I’m really curious about this pair.]
The high school boy sitting in front of the live stream camera saw the chat full of Yan Qiao’s name and looked down with disappointment: “They…….I don’t know either, I’ve never seen Brother Zhong be so proactive with anyone else…….”
“And…. Brother Zhong often talked about breaking up with us after debuting. Luckily, Brother Zhong is soft-hearted; we just acted cute and he gave up.”
The boy, who was about to enter his third year of high school, showed a sweet smile: “Brother Zhong is very good and gentle, he’s especially generous to us and always treats us to meals. After debuting and earning money, he buys us expensive sneakers and watches every month, and often sends snacks to our school!”
He would even refute unhappily when he saw comments criticizing Zhong Qu: “…….What nonsense, Brother Zhong never lied to us. So what if we’re underage? I’ll be 18 next year, and Brother Zhong just became an adult not long ago too, he’s only 20.”
Zhong Qu was detained by the police for seven days for investigation and questioning. The five involved high school students jointly demanded the police release Zhong Qu. The boy whose love stream got banned even posted on the forum in a panic, explaining they were in consensual relationships and there was no coercion involved.
Since these boys were all over 14 years old when they had sex with Zhong Qu, and the investigation indeed found no evidence of verbal or drug-induced coercion, legally speaking, Zhong Qu’s actions did not constitute a crime.
In the end, the high school students were forcibly taken away by their parents. Zhong Qu, as a public figure, was released only after half a month of ideological education classes at the police station.
At that time, Yan Qiao, who was innocently implicated, wanted to post a clarification, but was advised by Galaxy Entertainment to stay silent and lay low, because such matters are difficult to prove.
There was indeed no concrete evidence online about any suspicious relationship between Zhong Qu and Yan Qiao, but they couldn’t stop rival companies from deploying water armies to smear them.
Everyone knows the story of “three people spreading a rumor makes it a tiger”. Some things become true just by being repeated.
If you try to refute it or want to send lawyer letters to sue, they just immediately kneel and say ‘oh sorry, I was just guessing, I didn’t mean it, everyone is saying it.’ What can you do? If you continue to pursue it, netizens will think you’re being aggressive because you’re guilty.
Of course, the necessary clarification announcements still had to be issued, the PR procedures still had to be followed, but whether the general netizens were willing to believe it or not was not something they could control.
The final outcome of this matter was Zhong Qu withdrawing from the group and being banned, Yan Qiao being softly blacklisted for half a year, and group activities suspended for three months.
Quentin’s dream ended abruptly here, but the ominous premonition of impending storm did not dissipate.
If Zhong Qu got what he deserved, then Yan Qiao was targeted and maliciously slandered.
After all, according to the original storyline, comparing the popularity of group members, Yan Qiao was a strong contender for the group’s top spot, while Zhong Qu was firmly at the bottom. Compared to just taking down Zhong Qu, rival companies would definitely prefer to drag Yan Qiao down with him.
But, was Yan Qiao really the only one targeted?
Quentin thought of the bad ending for all members that the system had mentioned to him before, and his feelings towards the six main characters became complex for a moment.
Six unlucky people actually ended up in the same group….no, rather, did the original author want to take revenge on society? Really not letting a single one off the hook?
After waking from the dream, he didn’t rush to get out of bed. Instead, he sat on the edge of the bed, trying hard to recall the details of the dream.
A few minutes later, Wen Xinyi, who was sleeping on the opposite bunk, was awakened by his biological clock. He opened his eyes drowsily and turned his head to see a beautifully cold, white back.
The spine indented in the center was straight and slender. The shoulders and back tapered down into tight latissimus dorsi muscles, and further down were the left and right dimples of the lower back. The waist and hips were so narrow it seemed one hand could hold them.
Wen Xinyi’s mind buzzed, and he abruptly became fully awake.
His gaze subconsciously drifted towards the camera on the wall covered by a towel, then moved to the pajama pants Quentin was wearing, and he relaxed slightly.
—Fortunately, Quentin had given up on the idea of sleeping naked last night after he and Fang Xu persuaded him.
Thinking of this, Wen Xinyi couldn’t help but sigh inwardly about how contrasting Quentin’s appearance and reality were.
He never expected the cold and aloof-looking mixed-race boy to have such a “wild” style in private.
Whether it was the open chest silk robe or the frank and open habit of sleeping naked, it gave Wen Xinyi a strange feeling of peeking at an undisclosed secret.
It was mostly surprise, but upon closer thought, he didn’t know why he was so surprised. Clearly, “wearing an open chest robe” and “sleeping naked” separately were common personal habits, but when placed on Quentin, they had a peculiar sense of conflict.
How to describe it…….It was like the taboo feeling of the flower on a high mountain going to sea.
**Going to sea implies entering a shady or promiscuous line of work.
“Pa!”
Wen Xinyi suddenly raised his hand and slapped his forehead, thinking to himself: “What nonsense am I thinking? Quentin is definitely not that kind of person.”
Compared to examining others based on details reflected in their appearance, speech, behavior, and daily life, he was more adept at sketching the essence of a person’s heart from their stage presence.
Timid, flamboyant, meticulous, exaggerated… Different people standing on stage always naturally exuded different auras.
Wen Xinyi could tell that Quentin was a very opinionated person, with a faint air of an authoritarian about him.
He controlled the stage casually and effortlessly; his impeccable command had already become his instinct.
Such people were often strong-willed and self-consistent internally, doing things their own way and pressing forward unwaveringly, never caring about other people’s opinions.
Even though Fang Xu said the production team might suddenly enter to wake them up (many variety shows have similar tactics), and that he probably wouldn’t have time to put on clothes if he slept naked, Quentin didn’t seem to mind at all.
In the end, it was he who successfully persuaded Quentin.
“The bed sheets provided by the production team might not be as clean as those from your own home” – this was the reason he came up with after racking his brains.
It sounded far-fetched, but Quentin actually believed it.
Of course, he might have just not wanted to let down their good intentions, since he still didn’t wear a shirt in the end.
After lights out last night, Wen Xinyi lay in bed meditating. Half-asleep, he suddenly realized belatedly that he seemed to have been a bit meddlesome.
This was an old habit of his.
Wen Xinyi had many younger brothers and sisters. He was the eldest brother at home, matured early, and had always been worrying about all sorts of chores, big and small, in the family since childhood.
Later, when he signed with Xinda Media and performed on the Spring Festival Gala stage at the tender age of seven, his parents quit their jobs, and the whole large family relied on him to support them.
Wen Xinyi’s parents weren’t highly educated, and their personalities weren’t great either; they only knew how to order him around. He didn’t feel assured leaving his younger siblings’ education to his parents, so he was forced to play both father and mother at a young age.
Over time, he developed his current personality.
But he usually intentionally restrained himself outwardly. He didn’t know why, when facing Quentin, he couldn’t help but say a few extra words…
He felt a bit melancholy inside, wondering if Quentin would find him annoying. Maybe he should be more careful in the future and say less.
Just like now, he saw Quentin sitting on the bed shirtless early in the morning, lost in thought. His mouth subconsciously opened, wanting to say something, but he held back and slowly closed it.
He thought anxiously: “We’re in a 23°C air-conditioned room… the blanket is so thin, and he’s still not wearing clothes, won’t he catch a cold?”
Quentin noticed the gaze from behind and turned to look.
“Good morning.”
He raised his hand in greeting and glanced at the time shown on the wall clock: “It’s only a little past six, won’t you sleep a bit more?”
Wen Xinyi sat up and shook his head: “No, my biological clock is usually like this, and it’s almost time to get up anyway…”
He hadn’t finished speaking when loud and passionate primary and secondary school student radio gymnastics background music suddenly blared from the broadcast, startling their ears.
“The third set of national primary school student radio gymnastics, Colorful Sunshine, now begins….”
“Preparation section, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight; two, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight….”
***Link to Colorful Sunshine radio gymnastics https://youtu.be/d45yMlMZFkc?si=8QSI3SNpw83ykeny
Wen Xinyi widened his eyes and looked at Quentin, who had messy bed hair, at a loss for words.
“Bang!”
Fang Xu from the next bed rolled off the bed with his blanket and his forehead hit the floor with a bang.
He struggled to lift his head from the floor, sporting a pair of dark circles under his eyes. He looked towards the broadcast speaker in the corner of the ceiling with gloomy eyes.
The boy’s voice was hoarse, and he looked dazed: “What’s going on… do we have to run morning exercises?”
Wen Xinyi & Quentin: “……”
Quentin faintly heard panicked shouts outside the dorm room door and downstairs and felt a subtle sense of relief.
Fortunately, he had woken up naturally after the dream ended; otherwise, he would have had morning grumpiness.
He could accept being woken by an alarm clock, or being called by his roommate, but he absolutely could not accept being startled awake by broadcast music that was as noisy as an earthquake!
“The girl group survivor show had them wake up at 7:00 a.m., but now it’s 6:30, half an hour earlier.”
Wen Xinyi sighed as he swiftly pulled out the clothes Xu Mingzhu had sent them last night.
The black packaging box contained a custom-made British-style aristocratic academy uniform. It wouldn’t be used for the next two days as they would wear it later when filming the theme song MV.
The red packaging box contained three sets of Class A uniforms, all identical in style, serving as their daily training clothes to be worn every day during the show recording.
The broadcast was already playing Qin Miao’s gentle urging voice, accompanied by Yang Xu and Vinki’s back-and-forth banter.
“Hurry up, everyone, get moving. Breakfast is ready, varieties are limited, first come first served~”
“Get up quickly, students! You can’t arrive later than us, right? We all left together last night. The other three mentors and I will be in the classroom in twenty minutes. Any trainee who isn’t there should reflect on themselves properly.”
“Hello, hello, hello? Students, don’t linger in bed. Whether you’re from Class A, B, C, or F, if you’re late, you’ll face punishment…you won’t be allowed to add salad dressing or black pepper to your weight-loss salad for lunch!”
……….
The sound of a whistle in the background pierced the clouds, making people’s scalps tingle.
The trainees’ tense and excited emotions were instantly stirred up, and the daze and sleepiness from being forcibly awakened was forced to vanish.
The three people in room 303 took turns washing up and changing clothes, quickly getting themselves ready.
When they stepped out of the dorm room, the third-floor corridor was empty except for cameramen lying in ambush in the corners.
The doors to rooms 301 and 302 were tightly closed.
As Wen Xinyi passed by, he knocked on each one, saying kindly: “Good luck, you two in 301/302! It’s 6:40 now, only ten minutes until you’re late. We from 303 will go to the classroom first and wait for you. See you later!”
Quentin faintly heard a short curse from behind the door of 301. Hmm, it was Xue Mingzhu’s voice, sounding very lively.
Fang Xu glanced at the smiling Wen Xinyi: “You… did you do that on purpose?”
Wen Xinyi looked puzzled: “Huh?”
Fang Xu: “…… Never mind.”
……..
Ten minutes later.
Seven energetic boys stood neatly in a row in the spacious Class A practice room.
They wore pure white T-shirts on top, with a red ribbed crew neckline, and oversized, extra-long wide-leg sweatpants on the bottom, also in a fiery bright red, with crossed white double stripes along the side seams.
The cut of the entire training outfit was excellent, the colors were bright, and the workmanship was exquisite. Worn on a group of tall, long-legged boys, it seemed like they were about to step into a hot-blooded sports anime to play volleyball.
Sure enough, red is the most rousing color [thumbs up]!
The neighboring Class B had dark green, Class C had bright yellow, and Class F had Klein blue, each having their own appeal.
Lin Qifeng faced the seven boys, and without much small talk, he got straight to the point, announcing the next task content concisely.
“The initial stage rating has ended. The challenge you will face next is….”
“The Theme Song Assessment.”
He added: “The time limit is 48 hours.”
The author has something to say;
I’m seeing some babies in the comments asking if Quentin will keep black hair most of the time, and wanting to see Quentin with blonde hair…Of course he will [stars in eyes][stars in eyes] Dyeing his hair black is just the setup for his blonde hair to amaze everyone later [let me see]
Moreover, Quentin’s blonde hair is a pure, bright gold, very light in sunlight, almost platinum blonde. This color paired with his cool fair skin and green eyes is simply explosive [heart eyes][heart eyes]
However, the official debut of the blonde look will probably have to wait until the third performance. After officially debuting in the group, blonde Q will be the permanent look, but those who have dyed their hair before should know, light blonde hair doesn’t need bleaching to dye any other color [dog head]
So blonde QT is actually versatile QT, the visual member who can perfectly pull off any style [come on][come on]
