“The above are all the songs to be performed for the first public performance.”
Yang Xu paced on the stage and looked around: “I believe everyone is impatient to make their own choices. So next up is the long-awaited team grouping session!”
As he spoke, he pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and waved it at the trainees below, gesturing: “This paper records the names of the 14 team leaders for this public performance, including the small teams for the 1v1 duel matchups, which have already been arranged.”
“As for how these 14 team leaders stood out from among the 100 trainees present…”
Yang Xu drew out his voice: “Of course it wasn’t due to our program team’s behind-the-scenes manipulation. Every team leader was chosen by your votes.”
The trainees realized belatedly, and whispered among themselves.
“Voting? When did we vote?”
“Wait… could it be the post-interviews last night? Do you remember? I felt something was off when I went to the interview room last night. Those seven questions had nothing to do with the theme song MV shoot…things like team leader, main dancer, main vocal, visual…it all sounded suspicious right away!”
“Pfft, then why didn’t you say so when you came back to the dorm last night?”
“Ahem… I didn’t react in time, haha.”
Yang Xu waited for the discussion below to die down before slowly unfolding the paper in his hand: “Well, some students guessed correctly. These 14 team leaders are precisely the list compiled by the program team based on your answers to the seven questions last night. The top two trainees with the most votes for each question automatically become the two team leaders for the opposing groups in the first public performance.”
“And each pair of small teams has already been automatically assigned the corresponding song. That is to say, for this public performance, these 14 team leaders will not be able to freely choose their songs.”
The audience erupted in an uproar.
The seven trainees from Class A all looked bewildered. After all, if the voting was based on skill, their chances of being selected were much higher than those of trainees from other classes.
“Wow, then those who were voted as team leaders are really unlucky.”
Lu Kui, sitting in the Class F group, crossed his legs and shook his head with a sigh: “Being team leader isn’t some great prize. I wouldn’t take it even if it was given to me.”
Some people from Classes B and C also joined in the fun.
“Sigh, the capable should do more work. Let’s leave the team leader positions to the big bosses in Class A.”
“So when we choose songs later, can we also choose the team leader by the way?”
“It’s probably not that we can just choose freely. I guess the team leader and members need to mutually agree to form a team.”
Someone’s eyes lit up, and he immediately turned and waved towards the Class A area: “Hey, Quentin! Can I choose you? Do you think I’m suitable?”
He asked casually, just aiming for show effect, but he saw the boy sitting cross-legged on the floor in the front row turn his head at the sound. His gaze lightly swept over the crowd and accurately landed on his face within a second.
This moment of eye contact came unexpectedly.
They were clearly separated by two or three rows, with boys of similar age sitting shoulder to shoulder.
But even with so many distractions in the line of sight, none could distract him from the color from those eyes even a bit.
His voice caught in his throat, his playful expression froze, and he stared blankly back at Quentin, as if plunging headfirst into a green sea.
The deep emerald sea formed a vortex in the hurricane, sweeping towards him alone.
He saw the black-haired, green-eyed boy lift his chin, and his lips opened and parted twice. His lip bead protruded slightly, like in a kiss, as he languidly uttered a few words in reply.
But his ears were filled with the sound of seawater, and he didn’t hear clearly.
“…”
“…”
“Hey, Yuanxu, why are you in a daze? Are you stunned?”
His companion beside him pushed his shoulder in amusement: “You’re such a loser, are you so happy you’ve gone dumb?”
Sheng Yuanxu snapped back to his senses, his vision refocusing. He looked at Quentin’s back, his gaze pausing on the hand Xue Mingzhu had hooked over the boy’s shoulder, then drifting to the small patch of fair nape covered by black hair.
“Hmm…”
He responded absentmindedly and asked: “What did Quentin just say?”
“You didn’t hear clearly?” His companion raised his eyebrows in surprise. “What’s wrong with you? You can zone out even when Quentin is talking to you.”
Sheng Yuanxu: “…Get to the point.”
“Actually, it was nothing. He just said ‘come on’ to you.”
His companion shrugged: “Just two words and everyone started cheering, they were whooping and hollering like we were in a monkey enclosure.”
‘Come… on?’
Sheng Yuanxu’s gaze drifted towards the front row again. His teeth clenched as he thought: ‘Choose him, I must choose him. If I don’t choose him after he said that, I’m simply not a man!’
This small interlude below the stage did not affect Yang Xu’s announcement of the 14 team leaders’ identities.
He called the names in order according to the seven questions. The top two for each question held up red and blue cards respectively.
After the 14 team leaders lined up amidst the cheers of the crowd, he began to reveal the performance songs assigned to each team leader.
He stopped in front of Yan Qiao and Cheng Shaozhi from the dance group and said loudly: “This pair shouldn’t raise any objections, right? For our dance representative group, it’s ‘Goldfish in the Bowl’!”
Yan Qiao looked calm, his face not revealing whether he was happy or not.
Cheng Shaozhi beside him was even more composed. His phoenix eyes, like something from an ink wash painting, lowered imperceptibly, his gaze falling on the blue card in his hand.
Afterwards, Yang Xu followed the order the songs were announced, successively announcing the songs assigned to the main vocal group, the most popular group, and the rap group.
Only the visual group’s Quentin and Qi Yang were left all alone holding their cards, waiting for Yang Xu to announce they had obtained the performance rights to “Black Umbrella”.
“It’s over, singing this song is really asking for it…”
“But Quentin should be able to handle it… His singing is so good, and he’s mixed-race, so his English must be great.”
“How is that possible?! Bel canto and pop singing have a barrier between them! Their vocal production systems are different. Those who can cross genres must be national-level masters…”
“Ugh, why did Quentin specifically get this song… I still wanted to join his team, but I don’t have the guts to sing that musical thing!”
“Hello? Excuse me? Does anyone care about Qi Yang? At least Quentin’s skills might allow him to struggle through it. What about Qi Yang? Asking a serious actor to learn to sing a musical in 5 days? Wow…”
“I originally thought ‘Black Umbrella’ would go to Wen Xinyi and the others, especially since Wen Xinyi is good at singing high notes. A professional music student like him could definitely hold a musical aria. Quentin’s style doesn’t match this song at all.”
“Uh, I feel like only we are the ones worrying. Look at Quentin and Qi Yang… they’re both so calm…”
Yang Xu did not explain why the program team assigned the songs this way. Holding the microphone, he smoothly advanced the process: “OK, everyone keep your voices down. Next up is the mutual selection session between team leaders and members. Everyone, prick up your ears and listen carefully to the rules!”
“Please come forward in order according to your theme song assessment scores to choose the team you most want to join.”
“Note: The number of people in each team must be controlled between 7 and 8. If a team exceeds the number of members, the team leader will choose which member to give up.”
“At the same time, when trainees come forward to make their choices, the 14 team leaders can also take the initiative to recruit members.”
He added: “After receiving their songs, each team leader can carefully think what kind of stage they want to present and what kind of teammates they need… So next, let’s enter the mutual selection session with these thoughts in mind.”
The first to choose a team was Cui Yan from Class B.
He had been sitting in the corner of Class B before, not participating in the other students’ discussions, only silently and attentively listening to the songs and rules.
When the mentor called him out to choose a team, most trainees showed surprised and bewildered expressions.
Huh? Was Cui Yan this good?
Trainees from the other three classes only knew that Class B had a tall, sturdy, handsome tanned boy. Members within Class B itself had hardly paid much attention to Cui Yan, rarely even exchanging words with him.
They knew Cui Yan’s singing and dancing were good, after all, he had received an A from the four mentors during the initial stage assessment…but there were five such people in Class B alone!
Zhong Qu, who had been friendly with them before, also got an A and had even sat in the Class A seat, though he was later bumped down by a battle…
So, excluding those team leaders, was Cui Yan actually the strongest in terms of overall strength among all the trainees present?
Quentin stood in a side position, tilting his head to size up the tall boy walking out from the crowd.
He had some impression of Cui Yan, having listed him as one of the 11 suspects for the male characters, and also because he was from the same company as his roommate.
However, they hadn’t formally spoken yet, at most exchanging greetings during the theme song MV rehearsals. As for first impression…
He seemed like a cheerful and straightforward young man?
Actually, Cui Yan would be quite suitable for Quentin’s small team. His skills and appearance both met Quentin’s requirements.
But Quentin could see that most trainees here held a respectful yet distant attitude towards “Black Umbrella”. He estimated not many would be willing to join his team, and he wasn’t sure if Cui Yan felt the same.
While he was silently observing and pondering, Yan Qiao on the other side spoke up first.
“Cui Yan, are you coming or not?”
Yan Qiao flicked the red card in front of him with his finger and raised an eyebrow: “Your dancing skills are more than enough for ‘Goldfish in the Bowl’. Come give it a try?”
After he opened his mouth, He Quan, also a Class B trainee like Cui Yan, immediately followed with an active invitation: “Cui Yan, we’re in the same class. Come to our group. I plan to form a Class B team. It’s easier to cooperate with familiar people. We’re just missing you!”
Zhou Zilin next to him smiled modestly and raised his hand: “Count me in. We’re all here recording the show together, no need for this class or that class distinction. We’ll get to know each other after chatting more.”
Wen Xinyi from the vocal group also waved the card in his hand slightly: “Cui Yan, my small team welcomes you too. You sing very well. We could try collaborating.”
Cui Yan was stunned by the warm invitations from the team leaders. He raised his hand to scratch the back of his head, grinning with a mouthful of white teeth: “So I’m this popular? Thanks.”
He looked at each one in turn, finally stopping on the right side and tilting his head: “…Quentin, aren’t you going to consider me?”
“….?!”
Everyone’s eyes suddenly focused on Quentin, their gazes shifting back and forth between the two of them.
“??? Fuc…”
Someone barely swallowed the curse in his throat, lowered his voice, and said in a shocked tone: “No, what is he thinking! Quentin’s team has ‘Black Umbrella’!”
“What do you think? Hmph, just another loser obsessed with Quentin’s beauty and lost his mind…”
“Hey, don’t exaggerate, keep it down, there are cameras, brother.”
“Four team leaders invited him simultaneously… Can this treatment be copied and pasted onto me… I also want to experience the feeling of being invited by the big bosses together but turning around to choose Quentin… Ugh! So satisfying.”
The buzzing discussions of the trainees below the stage were very soft, and the team leaders on stage couldn’t hear clearly.
Cui Yan could hear a little, but he didn’t care. Instead, he looked at Quentin even more confidently, his bright black eyes filled with shining expectation.
Like a big dog wagging its tail, his smile was so radiant that anyone meeting his gaze couldn’t help but smile back.
Quentin felt quite surprised, not entirely because Cui Yan chose “Black Umbrella”, but more because the other party would set aside the invitations from the other four team leaders and instead bluntly ask him.
He looked at Cui Yan seriously for two seconds and suddenly realized this person wasn’t interested in “Black Umbrella” at all, but in him.
Perhaps he believed in his strength, and felt that he could lead the small team to deliver a performance of “Black Umbrella” that would satisfy the audience, which was why he looked towards him so resolutely in front of everyone.
Quentin had even less reason to hesitate. A promising talent with comprehensive and balanced abilities came to him of their own accord, only a fool would pretentiously push them away.
“Come on.”
The black-haired, green-eyed boy curled the corner of his lips slightly, his tone relaxed, his voice full of calm, open confidence: “Don’t worry, I won’t let you regret it. I’ll give you an excellent stage.”
