The production team of “Next Stage” worked with high efficiency. They revised the random dance challenge plan overnight and gathered the trainees the next morning to arrange and implement it.
Since the recording of the second elimination had not yet begun, the staff were not in a hurry to announce the location and time of the event. They only added the 5 popular songs they had discussed and filtered into the resource library and instructed the trainees to make good use of these few days to learn them well.
That morning happened to be a dance class. The dance teacher, who had learned in advance from the director team about the newly added songs, hummed a tune as she walked into the practice room.
Inside the practice room, the trainees from the four classes had just learned about the additional songs for the random dance challenge and were sitting together discussing in hushed tones.
“Wow, so many people are here.”
The dance teacher put down her phone and calmly sat in front of the computer: “A few hand gesture dances shouldn’t be difficult for you, right? You’ve been recording the program for over a month now. The popularity of short video bgms comes and goes quickly; these 5 songs have only become popular recently, so I assume you haven’t heard many of them.”
The people below thought to themselves: ‘Of course we haven’t heard of them. We haven’t been online for over a month, and haven’t even touched a phone; how could we know what songs are popular on short videos now?’
“Perfect, since you’re all here, let’s take a look at the dances for these 5 songs together. Consider it our pre-class warm-up today.”
The dance teacher looked at the unusually large gathering of people in the practice room. Fortunately, this room was big enough, otherwise it really couldn’t accommodate over seventy boys dancing.
She joked with a smile: “I think you’ll have pretty much learned them after the warm-up. You should be able to learn this kind of hand gesture dance after watching it once, right?”
A group of young people also laughed out loud, their expressions full of unconcern. Clearly, none of them took the newly added songs seriously.
It’s just a bunch of hand gesture dances that are popular in the short video section. Even internet celebrities without a dance foundation can learn them decently. Isn’t it normal for us to learn them after watching once?
Those trainees who were neither popular nor talented were already eliminated when the first-round ranking was announced. Most of those who have remained have a foundation in singing and dancing, and quite a few have studied vocal music or dance since childhood.
Even Xue Mingzhu, who had zero foundation in dance, had gained some confidence after attending dance classes for over a month and learning some boy and girl group dances by imitation.
A mere hand gesture dance? A piece of cake!
The dance teacher looked around the room, her smile deepening. “The training clothes issued by our program team are all quite loose and easy to move around in, which is perfect for these dances. Okay, no more talking, let’s first watch a few videos at full speed.”
Her words were a bit strange, but the next second, the large screen displayed a scene, and unfamiliar music began to play. A husky young male voice sang English lyrics that were hard to make out.
The voice was very pleasant… and the tune was… strangely suggestive.
But the trainees no longer had the mind to carefully listen to the background music. Their attention was completely captured by the protagonist in the video.
A young man wearing a mask and hat, dressed in a light gray knit sweater, was swaying his hips and thrusting his pelvis to the beat of the music.
His fingers casually slid past his neck, tracing from his Adam’s apple down to his chest, down his abdomen, then slipped under the hem of his sweater. He swayed and thrust as he lifted his clothes.
Clearly defined, fair -skinned abdominal muscles were presented before the camera, occupying almost one-third of the screen.
The young man’s waist was also very narrow, with faint blue veins visible on his lower abdomen. Paired with the very suggestive music, a hip thrust, a chest wave…
It looked… a bit provocative.
The trainees sitting on the floor were all stunned, and their eyes widened unconsciously, clearly not expecting the teacher to openly show such a video.
Someone blurted out instinctively: “Isn’t this borderline content?!”
The dance teacher was very calm. “What’s wrong with borderline content? If boy group trainees can’t even do borderline content, how can they expect to debut? Haven’t you practiced boy group dances that show abdominal muscles?”
No, this, this is different!
The trainee’s face turned red with frustration. The dances they did before were all very cool, okay? Even if they were a bit borderline, they weren’t this blatant.
Wait, no, theirs couldn’t be called borderline; it was clearly sexy, it was explosive sexual tension.
This guy in the video turned a perfectly good sweater into an off-the-shoulder style, and swayed his waist like a snake. His pants are also pulled so low! The dance had no technical content whatsoever; it was purely borderline vulgarity!
“Don’t put on that face. I’m not scaring you. If you plan to develop in the idol industry in the future, you’ll have to learn to dance to this kind of music sooner or later. Take Yan Qiao, for example.”
The dance teacher suddenly called out a name, her gaze falling on the boy sitting lazily in the corner of the front row. “Have you danced to this kind of music in BKL?”
Yan Qiao raised an eyebrow, as if not feeling the gazes fixed on him from all directions, and calmly curved the corner of his mouth: “I have.”
Everyone: “?!”
Wow, you with your thick eyebrows and big eyes… Wait, no, with Yan Qiao’s looks, dancing to this kind of music is normal, right? He looks quite suggestive anyway, so a little borderline fits his persona perfectly.
The teacher then said: “Not just Yan Qiao, I remember Zhou Zilin has also filmed this kind of video, right?”
Zhou Zilin smiled helplessly: “Yeah, filmed some before.”
The boys’ eyes immediately had strange looks.
Brother Zhou, oh Brother Zhou, we never expected it. You, with your honest, righteous image as a senior, actually developed this side business in private.
Zhou Zilin: “…Ahem, what’s with those expressions? The cameras are still rolling, this is very offensive, you know.”
Besides, what’s wrong with dancing to this? Popularity means money to be earned. It’s all for a living. What a bunch of young guys who haven’t been beaten down by society, they’re so ignorant of the ways of the world.
The dance teacher couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “You all really shouldn’t put on airs. This dance is easy to learn, but wanting to capture this kind of feel isn’t simple. I can see that many of you lack the proper skill level.”
“To put it bluntly, do you have abdominal muscles like the handsome guy in the video? Can your figure surpass his?”
As soon as these words were spoken, many people’s expressions changed, glancing guiltily at the paused picture on the screen, then feeling their own stomachs.
Hmm… flat, not fat, but definitely not that defined.
Meanwhile, the trainees who often went to the gym were full of confidence, even feeling a bit disdainful towards the abdominal muscles of the protagonist in the video.
Hmph, it’s obvious at first glance that he’s just a fitness newbie. He must have spent a lot of time contouring his stomach a bit. Not like them; a few sets of Russian twists can make their abs engorged and harden, even more prominently than this kid’s.
The dance teacher looked at them and added another jab: “Even if your abs are well-trained, your waist might not be as soft as his. It won’t do if it’s too bulky or too thick; dancing to this kind of music won’t look good.”
“Teacher Li, you can say what you want, but don’t attack us personally,” someone complained aggrievedly.
Teacher Li laughed heartily. “Just kidding, I’m just giving you a heads-up. The dances corresponding to these 5 songs are all of this type. You should all study seriously. During the random dance challenge, the clothes you’ll wear will be very proper, unlike these internet celebrities who can use clothing to create an atmosphere. You have to rely on yourselves to dance with a feel that matches the music, understand?”
After hearing her say this, the trainees actually breathed a sigh of relief.
There are proper clothes to wear… That’s good. They thought they’d have to dance like that in public.
Ahem, it’s not a question of losing face; it’s mainly about corrupting public morals and having a bad influence on social morals!
“But…”
Teacher Li’s tone changed: “Don’t hide and cover up the practice room, flirt when you have to, and flirt when you don’t have to.”
“Your director has a task: each of you has to choose one of the 5 songs to record a video segment. It will be posted on the program’s official account in a few days. Whether you dance well or not, your fans will all be able to see.”
“Ah!!”
A chorus of wails filled the practice room.
No way! This will definitely become their black history!
Can’t you mention such an important matter earlier? At least give us some time to work on our muscles! Who flirts without abs; we’ll definitely get laughed at by our fans!!
While other trainees were either discussing animatedly or in a daze, Quentin was staring at the large screen, lost in thought.
Hmm… No wonder the playback count for “Lust” has been rising so fiercely recently. So it’s become popular on short videos.
What a coincidence; isn’t this just like in his previous life? It had become popular even faster than in his past life.
Xue Mingzhu, who was sitting next to him, had no dissatisfaction with this video. Instead, his eyes were full of curiosity.
He stayed in the school dormitory during high school and couldn’t bring his phone, and there weren’t many days off in a month either. Right after the college entrance exam ended, he started preparing for the survival show.
In other words, Xue Mingzhu had never really browsed through the short video section these past years. He simply didn’t know men could dance like this. It was truly an eye-opener.
“Hey, Quentin, this dance is actually quite suitable for you. Your abs are better looking than his, you’ll definitely be more exciting when you dance.”
Xue Mingzhu clicked his tongue in admiration. “This song is also very interesting, even more interesting than the dance. Could it be a dirty song? City people really know how to have fun.”
Quentin glanced at him and denied it. “It’s not a dirty song.”
Xue Mingzhu: “Huh? It’s not? Have you heard it before?”
“…I haven’t heard it.” This song was only released last week, how could Quentin admit it? “I understand the lyrics.”
“Oh, right, your English is good.” Xue Mingzhu didn’t doubt it, casually draping an arm over Quentin’s shoulder. “Where are you planning to practice later, let’s do it together…wait, don’t tell me you’ve already learned it?”
Quentin nodded: “Almost. The moves are very simple, it’s just repeated hip sways, then chest waves and pelvis thrusts. You should be able to learn it quickly too.”
“Didn’t the teacher say? Learning it is simple, but capturing that kind of feeling is hard.”
Xue Mingzhu’s confidence had crumbled after watching the video. He didn’t think he could sway that seductively at all, like a male demon, and a fox spirit with a thousand years of cultivation at that.
Only Quentin…maybe plus Yan Qiao, could pull off this style easily.
“And we have to film a video… My fans are definitely going to criticize me for not focusing on my main duties again,” he sighed gloomily.
Yesterday after the second public performance ended, he was lectured while chatting with the fans waiting at the entrance.
Young women, not much older than him, earnestly advised him to focus his mind on rap, not just on practicing dancing and neglecting the most important thing. Their words were so well-intentioned and earnest.
Why is it that even though he’s already an adult and over 180 cm tall, he still has so many mom fans? Sigh.
Quentin had never done this kind of dancing in his past life, and he didn’t know how his fans would react after seeing him dance to it.
As for whether it’s borderline or not… he didn’t really care. This level of explicitness is really nothing to make a fuss about.
*
The time for the random dance challenge was after the second round of elimination. As the elimination date approached, the atmosphere in the base became tense again.
Unlike the first round of elimination, the trainees’ moods were polarized this time.
A small number of people couldn’t hold on anymore, completely defeated by the two public performances and the outstanding performances of their peers around them. They only felt that being eliminated early meant freedom sooner.
But most people still wanted to keep hanging on. Over a month of recording was enough for them to see the gap between themselves and the “top students.” The initial dreams of debuting had already been shattered. Now they didn’t dare to think about staying until the finals; just making it past the third public performance was a victory!
And the top twenty trainees didn’t need to worry about this. The only thing that would affect their mood was the elimination crisis their former teammates might face.
Collaborating as a team can quickly foster camaraderie among young people. Very few would hold grudges or even become enemies due to team collaboration.
The day before the elimination recording was October 21st, which was both the release date of Cupid’s new album and Quentin’s eighteenth birthday in this world.
Originally, only Xue Mingzhu, Liao Fei, and Yang Siyi knew about this, and it was due to their casual chat on the first day of recording during the preliminary class assignment.
Thinking back now, that was over a month ago. At the time, they joked that Quentin was the only minor in the program, but in the blink of an eye, the only minor was about to become an adult.
Quentin hadn’t thought about doing anything special on his birthday. He actually didn’t have the habit of celebrating birthdays. Maybe he would celebrate when he was young and living with his mother, but after he went to the U.S. at ten to join his biological father, no one remembered his birthday anymore.
It wasn’t until he made a name for himself and attracted more and more fans that his birthday became increasingly high-profile year by year.
Dates he didn’t remember, his fans would remember for him. October 21st eventually became special and lively.
However, that was all in his past life.
At six in the morning, Quentin opened his eyes on time, slowly turned over in bed, propped himself up on the sheets, and sat up.
The sunlight coming through the gap in the curtains made him squint. He lazily stretched his body in bed, moved his joints, and put on his clothes by the way.
His movements getting out of bed and going to wash up were very light, not making much sound. By the time he came out of the bathroom, his two roommates were still sleeping soundly under the covers.
Quentin opened the dormitory door and set off for the cafeteria as usual.
The first person he met in the dormitory building was a trainee from Class C. The other party was wearing a Class C uniform and looked somewhat familiar, but Quentin couldn’t recall his name.
Quentin noticed him first and was trying to remember what his name was when, the next second, the other looked up.
The moment their eyes met, the boy’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly exclaimed: “Good morning, Quentin, happy birthday!”
Quentin was stunned and subconsciously replied: “…Thank you.”
How did he know his birthday was today? Um, who is he again? Had they spoken before?
The boy didn’t expect any further response from Quentin, he just smiled very happily and asked: “Am I among the first five people to wish you a happy birthday today?”
Quentin told the truth: “Yes, you’re number one.”
“Really?!”
The boy’s eyes brightened even more. His smile was exceptionally bright, as if he had won the lottery, “Am I so lucky? You’re not fooling me, are you?”
Quentin felt like this person was a bit overly excited and couldn’t help but take half a step back, his expression unchanged: “Really.”
“Hmm… then your roommates probably aren’t up yet.” The boy looked reluctant to part. “Are you planning to go to the cafeteria to eat? You go ahead, I won’t take up your time.”
Quentin nodded faintly, then walked down the stairs. Feeling the distinct gaze behind him, he quickened his pace to leave.
When he entered the cafeteria, there were only a few people in the hall.
The several trainees sitting at their seats eating breakfast looked over at him one after another. Each person’s reaction was almost the same as the Class C boy in the dormitory building, vying to be the first to smile and say loudly.
“Happy birthday, Quentin!”
“Happy eighteenth birthday! You’re officially an adult today!”
“Happy birthday! Once you’re an adult, you can get a driver’s license, and there won’t be any anti-addiction limits for gaming anymore, congratulations!”
“What’s so good about a driver’s license,” someone muttered, then also turned and smiled, saying, “Good morning, Quentin, happy birthday!”
Quentin’s mood at this moment was very strange. To say he was happy…he definitely was. This feeling of his heart being stuffed full was not unfamiliar to him; in fact, it was quite familiar.
For example, when tens of thousands of audience members shouted his name together at a concert, for example, when seeing netizens’ love and praise for his songs, for example, the pleasant conversations when running into fans on the street…
But rarely had so many people wished him a happy birthday face-to-face like today.
After all, his company’s employees wouldn’t say these things in front of him. Maybe it was because his reputation in the industry in his past life wasn’t good, and he was too serious, cold, decisive, and businesslike at work, no employee would dare get close to such a boss.
Most people chose to send emails or text messages. Occasionally, someone might run into him in the elevator, and after hesitating for several seconds, whispers, “Boss, happy birthday.”
As for friends in his private life… there was no such thing.
The person who was closest to him was his agent, but this agent was a classic white man who lingered among flowers and indulged in wine and women. They got along very well at work, but their private interests, hobbies, or social circles had no overlap.
The agent would send long-winded birthday blessings and affectionate confessions at midnight, and would also meticulously prepare various gifts.
However, Quentin knew this was the agent’s usual social maneuvering. Sincerity definitely existed, but not much. After all, anyone would be extremely attentive to their cash cow.
Quentin was stunned for a moment: “How did all of you know today is my birthday?”
The boys answered with a smile.
“Everyone knows, isn’t it common knowledge?”
“Who said it first…it seems like it was Liao Fei…”
“I’m from Class F, I heard it from Liao Fei. It seems Yang Siyi was first to spread the news in Class B.”
“Class C… I’m in Class C, but I don’t remember who told me either.”
Quentin looked at them and said seriously: “Thank you.”
Even though he only said two words, his eyes looking over were so beautiful, and his tone was too sincere that the boys who were originally joking around suddenly felt a little flustered under his gaze, subconsciously sitting up straight and shaking their heads repeatedly.
“No problem, no problem, everyone remembers, it’s nothing.”
“Quentin, hurry and go get your food. There’s egg noodles this morning, the taste… the taste is okay.”
Quentin smiled and nodded: “Okay, you all eat slowly.”
“…”
“…Ahem ahem ahem!”
“Oh my God, did he just smile?”
Several people stared longingly at Quentin’s retreating back, sighing from the bottom of their hearts: “Can I experience what it feels like to be this handsome in my next life… I don’t even need to be as handsome as Quentin, half as handsome would be enough.”
“Stop dreaming. Hurry up and eat. We still have to go practice after eating. I haven’t filmed a video yet, and you haven’t either, right?”
“Will the production team dare to post it if I dare to record…” The boy paused and sighed deeply. “Well, they might indeed dare to post it. After all, they’re not the ones getting embarrassed.”
The boy sitting opposite him said with a melancholic tone: “The big shots in Class A learn so fast. I heard Quentin and Yan Qiao danced particularly well. Apparently they stunned everyone when they recorded their videos. The others in Class A were all dumbfounded!”
“I wonder if the production team has posted them yet. I really want to see…”
“We don’t have phones, how can we see?”
A Class B trainee stroked his chin and said: “Actually, someone also danced well in our class, it’s Cheng Shaozhi. He was so good. The key is that the sense of contrast between his face and his movements is huge. Even the camera teacher was shocked at the time.”
“That’s normal. Cheng Shaozhi is a really good dancer. His previous rating was A too.”
“Did all three of them choose ‘Lust’? That’s the most suggestive among the 5 songs, and the one you have to sway the most to.”
“The song’s name is Lust, how could it not be suggestive?”
The boy sighed with regret: “If you practice this dance too much, you’ll unconsciously start swaying whenever you hear this song in the future. Sigh, would that count as a work injury?”
The people around stared at him with dumbfounded expressions: “Maybe, but for the people who see you swaying around, it counts as accidental injury.”
