DYUTVOBGA Chapter 74

Only a few people were left in the first-floor practice room. Tang Heng finally heard his name.

He pushed himself up from the floor, stretched his numb legs, nervously let out a long breath, then quickly ran out of the practice room, taking the stairs two at a time and heading straight for the third floor.

“Only seven rooms aren’t full yet?”

Tang Heng heard Yang Xu’s introduction and quickly scanned the seven available rooms. He glanced at the mentor guarding the door, and asked tentatively, “Then, among these seven rooms, is Quentin still in one?”

“…” Yang Xu sighed helplessly. “You’re asking so directly, how should I answer? Just choose randomly. Go with your own thoughts; maybe you’ll get lucky.”

Tang Heng’s eyes lit up. “Teacher, you mean Quentin is still here, right! Okay! I understand. Let me think, let me think… which one to choose…”

‘Deep Sea… definitely sounds like a vocal group. Deep sea mermaid, mermaid’s heavenly voice, that’s probably what it means. Doesn’t seem like Quentin’s style.’

‘Graduation Party… This fits Quentin’s age. He just finished the college entrance exam, graduating high school and going to university; it could indeed be linked to a graduation party.’

‘But Quentin’s aura easily made people forget his age. He didn’t seem like a recent high school graduate at all. No one seemed to have heard him mention high school stuff. When interacting with others, he never deliberately emphasized or revealed his age.

So, pass on this one too.’

Tang Heng looked at the third door: “Adventure Island?”

Hmm… It seemed a bit more like Quentin’s vibe. He felt Quentin quite liked this kind of escapist fantasy style. Let’s keep it for now.

First Love Stories, Rock Youth, Energy Explosion… all pass. The keywords alone didn’t sound “Quentin” at all.

Tang Heng’s gaze fell on the white wooden door in the furthest corner. “Star Fire?”

He frowned in confusion and muttered to himself. “This doesn’t seem like Quentin’s style either… so it should still be Adventure Island…”

But, he also remembered the burst of laughter from Xue Mingzhu on the third floor an hour ago. Even a fool could tell that Xue Mingzhu had definitely chosen Quentin’s room!

Adventure Island, Star Fire… Putting these two words together, forget which one Quentin would write for a moment, just consider which one Xue Mingzhu would choose.

“Star… Fire?” Tang Heng suddenly had a flash of inspiration. “Candle fire (Ming Zhu Huo) is also a type of ‘star fire’, right? Could this word actually refer to Xue Mingzhu?”

Could that be it? Or did he understand it wrong? Was this keyword actually a secret signal Quentin left for Xue Mingzhu, hence using a puzzling word like “star fire”?

But would Quentin really go this far for Xue Mingzhu? That’s too… um, is their relationship that good?

Tang Heng didn’t notice the strange expression Yang Xu made upon hearing his muttering. He pondered over and over, then took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. “I’ll take the gamble! I choose this one!”

Yang Xu: “… Have you decided?”

Tang Heng nodded vigorously. “Yes! I choose Star Fire! Do I go in directly now?”

Yang Xu smiled subtly. “Mhm, go ahead. Good luck.”

“Good luck…I must have good luck. Spirits of heaven and earth, Amitabha Buddha, Tathagata Buddha, heaven bless me, it must be Quentin…” Tang Heng chanted as he grasped the door handle.

He was so nervous his palms were sweaty. This was his only chance. If he missed this chance, he didn’t know when in his life he would ever get close to Quentin again, to chat and laugh face-to-face with that boy destined to be brilliant again.

The situation at breakfast this morning was a matter of right timing, right place, right people…taking advantage while others were still watching, he coincidentally got a chance. It was hard to replicate again.

Click!

Tang Heng pressed the door handle and cautiously pushed the door open, gathering courage to look inside.

A group of boys wearing loose white T-shirts and red, green, yellow, or blue athletic pants were sitting in a circle around a recorder. Hearing the noise, they all looked up at him.

The boy sitting at the center of the crowd made eye contact with him, raising an eyebrow slightly as if quite surprised, but his voice was as calm as ever. “Tang Heng? Welcome. Come sit.”

Tang Heng closed the door behind him in a daze. He didn’t look back carefully and his fingers almost got caught in the doorframe.

His clumsy appearance made the other team members laugh.

“Tang Heng, that’s enough. Look how happy you are. There’s a whole group of living people sitting here waiting for you. Do your eyes only have Quentin in them?”

Zhuang Nuo propped himself on the floor, teasing without restraint. He and Tang Heng knew each other before joining the survival show. Though not from the same company, they had a great relationship, and were very familiar with each other.

With one glance, he knew this guy was once again completely captivated by Quentin.

If before yesterday, Tang Heng’s feelings towards Quentin were merely respect and admiration, then after the public confession during yesterday’s ranking announcement, his admiration had risen to infatuation and worship.

Rather than treating Quentin as an idol, it was more like he had found the most unattainable white moonlight in his life.

Ultimately, Tang Heng hadn’t spoken more than a few words with Quentin to date. His understanding of Quentin came only from two stunning stages and some hearsay gossip. The rest were perfect labels he had imagined and outlined.

Whether Quentin fit these “labels”, Zhuang Nuo wasn’t sure. But he knew that with Tang Heng’s pitifully low immunity, there was no way he could resist Quentin’s influence and invasion.

Even himself, during the over ten minutes of chatting with the other teammates just now, he also couldn’t help but keep glancing at Quentin’s face.

Even though the other party hardly spoke, and was wearing a hat that covered his face, the small half of his profile revealed was so white it seemed to glow. Looking at his nose bridge, the tip of his nose, his lips… he inexplicably lost focus.

It was truly terrifying.

“…Don’t talk nonsense.” Tang Heng retorted guiltily, pretending to be serious as he sat on the floor, nonchalantly asking, “Is our team now full? What’s our song?”

Sitting next to him was Qiao Xue from Class F. He always had a smile on his face and answered in a gentle, unhurried tone. “There are seven people now. If no one else comes later, our team is set.”

Seven was the normal number; eight was the maximum. This was the standard for the team formation for each performance.

Tang Heng actually knew this, he was just making conversation. “Oh, oh, I see. Were you guys just listening to the song? Is our team’s song in this recorder?”

This time, Zhuang Nuo answered him. “No song, just a demo. The theme for the second performance is original composition. We were just waiting for everyone to be here before starting the discussion.”

“There are only five people left on the first floor. It should be soon…” Before Tang Heng finished speaking, the broadcast announcement came.

“Attention, please. The grouping for the second public performance is now complete. The ten teams have been formed. The room each small team is in will be your rehearsal room for the next five days.”

“Now, you are free to do as you please. Whether it’s meeting to discuss the performance song or practicing dance together, please proceed as you wish. But remember…”

“There are only five days left until the official stage of the second public performance.”

*

Quentin spread out the notebook he had brought from the table, used his right thumb to pry open the pen cap, and lowered his head to make a few notes on the notebook. “Since everyone’s here, let’s first finalize the rehearsal plan.”

“First, I need to confirm: are there people who want to actively participate in arranging the music? Because we only have five days, I plan to finish all lyrics and composition within two days. I don’t require everyone to have experience with original arrangement, but it’s best to have sufficient music theory knowledge.”

The boy sat cross-legged in the corner, not looking up, elbows resting on his knees. The shadow cast by the brim of his hat fell on the paper, and the black hair hanging behind his ears gently swayed with his writing movements.

His tone of voice was flat, but it unconsciously emitted an aura of authoritative suppression, making everyone sitting around instinctively concentrate on his instructions.

Xue Mingzhu raised an arm, waving it a few times in the air. The smile on his face hadn’t faded since he entered the room. “Count me in. I’m fine with arrangement.”

Zhuang Nuo cautiously asked, “If I’m not good at arrangement, can I participate in writing lyrics? I’m a Musicology major at Huayin Conservatory, top three in my year for GPA. I’ve studied what I should. I do some arrangement as a hobby, but my level is average, so I won’t hold everyone back.”

Quentin looked up at him and nodded slightly. “Of course. I originally planned for everyone to participate in writing lyrics. After we decide on the theme later, each person will be responsible for writing their own part, then we’ll unify and refine them. If anyone isn’t good at writing lyrics, they can come to me.”

Xue Mingzhu, who hadn’t lowered his hand, waved it again, looking very enthusiastic. “And me too. I live in Room 301. You’re welcome to come find me on the third floor for help.”

Qiao Xue smiled and chimed in. “Okay, thank you, team leader and Xiao Xue. I’ll do my best to write first. If there are places not done well, I’ll have to trouble you for guidance.”

Xue Mingzhu waved his hand. “Alright, no need to be so polite. We’re all on the same team; it’s what we should do.”

Quentin twirled his pen, looking around the circle. “So, that’s decided for now? Xue Mingzhu and I will handle the arrangement and composition, and everyone will write the lyrics together. If there are no objections, let’s move to the next part.”

Everyone nodded in unison, saying, “No problem, continue.”

“Good. Next, regarding why I chose this demo and my conception for this song, I’ll share my thoughts first. You can all voice your opinions afterwards.”

Quentin paused for two seconds, then continued speaking, his tone still unchanged. “When I chose the demo, I planned to do a rap performance. This demo has a strong sense of rhythm, and a good groove too. The first ten seconds or so, with slight modifications, would be very suitable for a hook.”

“Based on our team’s current situation, I envision Xue Mingzhu and I doing the rap parts. The song structure would be simple: Verse 1, Chorus 1, Verse 2, Chorus 2, Verse 3. The two chorus sections will be sung alternately by all seven of us. The rap goes in Verse 2. Verse 1 and 3 are purely singing, left to the five of you.”

“Also, I’ll write the intro at the beginning and the bridge in the middle. Later, we’ll take turns trying them out in the recording studio. Whoever sounds better will handle those parts.”

At this point, he suddenly remembered something and added, “As for the center position, let’s rotate. When we combine the parts with choreography, whoever’s part it is will stand in the center.”

Quentin stopped twirling his pen and raised his eyes to look at the boys around him…

He was waiting, waiting for someone to voice an opinion.

His attitude towards this second public performance team collaboration was clearly different from last time. Last time, he took charge of everything from start to finish. From the initial meeting discussion, he never asked for other people’s thoughts…it was not that he didn’t care, but he simply didn’t realize he needed to proactively ask.

If there were opinions, just voice them. Wasn’t that the purpose of a discussion meeting? He presented his conceived plan, and everyone nodded in agreement…didn’t that mean everyone had no objections?

Quentin thought so, but subsequent developments told him the reality wasn’t like that.

Perhaps it was his tone of speech or some of his behavioral habits that made it hard for people to hear he was soliciting opinions. The combination of flat declarative sentences didn’t sound like a “discussion”, but more like an announcement.

The authoritative air from his past life as a decision-maker, placed on this not-yet-adult teenage body, didn’t seem out of place. Instead, it made him seem more like a hegemonist with strong autocratic tendencies.

If their first performance stage had failed, if the last-minute overhaul before the performance hadn’t achieved the expected effect, all subsequent faults would have been borne by him alone.

This was the responsibility a decision-maker needed to bear, and Quentin had never thought of avoiding it.

However, a boy band and a company were not the same thing. The cooperation of a trainee team was also quite different from a department’s superior-subordinate collaboration on a project.

His relationship with these teammates brought together by chance wasn’t a cold, hard exchange of interests. There was no buying time with money, nor promises of promotions and salary increases in the future.

They were bound together only by something more ethereal, like dreams, the stage, and a glittering tomorrow.

Facing a group of young, inexperienced boys, if he used the methods of leaders in meetings to collaborate with them, it would be too overbearing.

So Quentin decided to “soften” a bit, talk more, ask what needed asking, say what needed saying, break down lyrics, composition, and choreography and discuss clearly.

Would this kind of cooperation be a bit more progressive than last time?

“…”

After a few seconds of silence, several pairs of eyes stared intently at Quentin.

The first to break the silence was the oldest present, Qiao Xue. He was already 27 this year, but he had a delicate, somewhat youthful-looking face, so his real age wasn’t apparent from his appearance.

Qiao Xue nodded seriously. “Double rap sounds great. I also felt the demo was suitable for an explosive rap. Unfortunately, I can’t rap at all; singing and dancing are enough for me to learn.”

Zhuang Nuo propped his chin, pondering. “…Double rap is definitely no problem. Probably only Quentin and Xue Mingzhu in our team can rap. Anyway, Tang Heng and I can’t… Yang Siyi, Sheng Yuanxu, can you two?”

Yang Siyi quickly shook his head. “No, no, no! I can’t do it! I only crammed a bit for company internal assessments. My rap sounds like chanting scriptures, I won’t torture the audience’s ears.”

Sheng Yuanxu glanced at him speechlessly. “Brother, I used to do group live-streaming. I learned dancing for a year or two, but my singing is at KTV level. Rap? If I could do that, I would’ve gone solo long ago.”

Everyone else accepted it naturally, showing not a hint of reluctance. Xue Mingzhu, who was observing this scene, took a moment to come back to his senses, and looked at them with shock.

“Wait…none of you have any opinions? No desire to challenge rap from zero experience?”

Yang Siyi: “…Who would challenge rap from zero experience? Isn’t that asking to lose face?”

Xue Mingzhu,who was being looked at strangely by the group, was very doubtful about life. He felt targeted in his last performance. So teammates could actually be this agreeable?

Then what was the deal with those hot heads last time who desperately wanted to rap? Could it be that he seemed easy to bully when he was team leader!

Qiao Xue understood Xue Mingzhu’s meaning and couldn’t help but laugh. “We really have no objections. Having two members skilled in rap in the team makes us happy, why would we want to fight you for parts.”

Nowadays, boy and girl group songs more or less include a few rap lines. Groups also have fixed rap positions. But in survival shows, trainees who can actually rap and do it well are few and far between.

Look at their first public performance…14 stages in total, yet only Xue Mingzhu and Bi Xiao’s groups properly included rap sections following conventional boy group songs. The other 10 groups sang from start to finish, including two poor souls “sabotaged” by the production team with all-English classical singing.

Although in the vast Chinese music market, many listeners still can’t appreciate rap, it was an indispensable element within the niche entertainment circle of idols.

How could trainees coming to a survival show not understand this?

Xue Mingzhu wiped his face and clasped his hands towards his teammates. “I’m touched! Great kindness needs no thanks!”

Sheng Yuanxu: “Pfft!”

Yang Siyi: “You… are you doing this for the show effect?” Should he laugh?

While they settled the double rap matter with a few laughs and words, Quentin, who was sitting in the center, was still somewhat surprised.

He thought for a moment and still asked, “None of you have heard me rap. Don’t you doubt whether I can do it well?”

“Team leader, what’s up with you and Xue Mingzhu today? You two Class A big shots are less confident than us.”

As expected of a streamer, Sheng Yuanxu spoke with great emotion, smiling eyes, and a humorous tone and demeanor, easily relaxing the atmosphere.

He secretly moved a bit closer to Quentin. “Why would we doubt your ability? With that drive of yours to make major changes the day before a performance, who would doubt your attitude towards the stage? If something isn’t qualified, you simply wouldn’t give it a chance to be shown, right!”

The teammates all echoed in agreement. Xue Mingzhu also raised a hand to pat Quentin’s knee reassuringly, joking, “I, the legit rapper, haven’t said anything. How dare they bring it up?”

Yang Siyi saw his action and muttered a complaint. “Xue Mingzhu, if you want to brag, just brag. Why put others down while praising yourself?”

“Yeah, no putting others down. You’re still stepping on us in front of the team leader? Watch out, we’ll meet you on the rooftop after the meeting.”

“So Xiao Xue hasn’t heard the team leader rap either? So mysterious…”

“Indeed, I didn’t dare say anything earlier. The team leader is so good at hiding things. He can actually rap too? He can sing, dance, and do original compositions, so amazing. Is this the legendary all-round ACE?”

Facing the sparkling curiosity in his teammates’ eyes, Quentin closed his pen cap and shrugged lightly. “So, do you want to hear it?”