DYUTVOBGA Chapter 90

Shen Zhao was a bit disappointed that Quentin did not hug him. But looking at the boy before him, waving and smiling with eyes full of joy, that bit of disappointment soon vanished into thin air. He comforted himself in his heart, ‘Quentin and I aren’t familiar yet, it’ll be fine once we get to know each other better later.’

After all, he was determined to be on the same team as Quentin for the next public performance. He was unlucky with the second performance and didn’t get to choose “Star Fire”, but for the third performance, he wouldn’t rely on luck anymore! How could someone with connections like him not pull some strings behind the scenes? A true man knows when to yield and when to stand firm. At worst, he’d go to the director’s office and cling to his uncle shamelessly!

No matter how the groups for the third performance are formed, with his uncle’s personality, there was definitely room for a “back door” operation. Hmph, my dear team leader~ Here I come!

While Shen Zhao was lost in these fanciful thoughts, on the other side, the emotions of the few who had been hugged by Quentin varied.

Wen Xinyi and Fang Xu were only slightly surprised by Quentin’s sudden, proactive hug, then happily accepted and returned it. But Zhou Zilin and Yan Wenbing… were a bit startled.

In their impressions, Quentin was aloof and distant, always maintaining a faint, intangible barrier with those around him. He never spoke much even when the seven of them from Class A sat together chatting. How could such a person actively come to hug them, and hug them so tightly, with such a sweet smile?!

Zhou Zilin felt overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, and he didn’t know where to place his hands. Yan Wenbing reacted even more strangely; his whole body stiffened on the spot, and his eyes darted around, his mind a jumble thoughts. He himself felt his reaction was strange, like he was guilty of having done something bad, but he hadn’t done anything bad to Quentin.

At most… at most, he had… secretly disliked Quentin.

To speak of Yan Wenbing, Qi Yang’s fans really weren’t wrong about him. He did have quite a few petty thoughts. Outwardly he appeared refined and gentle, but inwardly he loved scheming and comparing, constantly pondering trivial matters all day long.

He looked down on those whose skills were worse than his but achieved higher rankings, like Qi Yang. He was jealous of those far more outstanding and popular than himself, like Quentin. Especially after being defeated by Quentin in the first public performance.

Even though his team was called Team Qi Yang, everyone knew Qi Yang was only the nominal team leader. The true team leader and center position was him, Yan Wenbing, and the one most embarrassed person was also himself.

But this person, he was a bully to the weak and fearful of the strong. Despite being jealous of Quentin to the point of gritting his teeth, he didn’t dare say a single bad word about him. Everyone wanted to be on Quentin’s team for a public performance, but he didn’t. Everyone wanted to build a good relationship with Quentin, he didn’t want that either. If he weren’t a Class A trainee and didn’t want to appear unsociable in front of the cameras, he would definitely avoid Quentin!

‘Today… today, it was definitely Quentin who took the initiative first.’ Yan Wenbing silently took a deep breath and adjusted his expression. He thought to himself, ‘I came to celebrate the birthday only because everyone else did, not for the birthday itself. I feel guilty because Quentin thinks I’m sincere… If he wants to hug, let him hug, whatever, it doesn’t matter.’

Yan Wenbing sat silently to one side, watching Wen Xinyi place candles on the cake, Fang Xu light them with a lighter, Zhou Zilin liven up the atmosphere, Yan Qiao unwrap the package of forks and paper plates, and Xue Mingzhu fumble with the paper crown that came with the cake box…

Meanwhile, the planner of this small birthday gathering…that C-class trainee who had no prior contact with them…was tirelessly blowing rainbow farts, exerting all his energy to talk to Quentin. He was talking so much and so fast that even Zhou Zilin found it hard to get a word in.

Yan Wenbing glanced at Shen Zhao several times. Not just him, the other Class A trainees were also looking at Shen Zhao with increasingly strange expressions. This guy, why does he talk so much? And why does he lick so skillfully!

Fang Xu silently averted his gaze, unable to bear the sight, thinking, ‘If this continues, the licking dogs from ‘NS’ could form a group chat. The group name could be ‘Hand-in-Hand Guide on How to Become Quentin’s Dog’. Hmm…the group admin will be Shen Zhao, and the moderator will be Tang Heng.’

Shen Zhao didn’t care about other people’s gazes. He was getting more and more enthusiastic the more he chattered, and eventually steered the conversation to the topic of the third public performance. “I heard the recording time for the next public performance is later than the first two. It will probably match the date of the finale live broadcast. We’ll record the third performance after the second one airs. Right now, the first performance has just finished airing.”

Yan Wenbing subconsciously asked, “How do you know?”

Shen Zhao obviously wouldn’t admit he secretly kept up with the show every week in the director’s office. He brushed it off casually, “I guessed based on the calendar, it’s easy to guess.”

Wen Xinyi pondered thoughtfully, “I wonder what the theme for the third public performance will be. The first one was grouped by specialized positions like singing, dancing, rap, etc. The second was original creations. The third… Based on last year’s girls survival show, they might invite guest performers?”

Xue Mingzhu placed the folded paper crown on Quentin’s head, adjusted the angle, then withdrew his hand with satisfaction, casually joining the idle chat. “Who were the guest performers last year? I think they invited a bunch of guys.”

“I remember they were members of ECHO, basically the whole group came and served as guests while also promoting their new song.” Yan Wenbing looked at Yan Qiao. “ECHO is a boy group under BKL. Yan Qiao should know them well, right?”

Yan Qiao shook his head. “Not really. I haven’t spoken to them much.”

Yan Wenbing sighed. “My biggest dream before was to become a BKL trainee and debut successfully. ECHO is one of my favorite groups. It’s a pity BKL wants to push their new group, and ECHO hasn’t had new stages in a long time.”

Zhou Zilin smiled. “Hasn’t BKL always been like that? Actually, debuting through an idol show is quite good too. At least it’s backed by Youth TV, so there are many variety show resources. Galaxy Entertainment has a lot of money and few artists, so they’re probably quite willing to invest in the survival show idol group.”

“But you can go further debuting with a BKL boy group, right?” Yan Wenbing asked jokingly, “If you had to choose between a BKL boy group and an idol show group, which would you pick?”

Shen Zhao grumbled, “When I was little, my deskmate also asked me whether I wanted to go to Yanda University or Haida University.”

The others laughed along, none of them giving a serious answer.

Only Quentin glanced up at Yan Wenbing. He sensed that the latter’s question was actually directed at Yan Qiao. This person seemed to have always been curious about why Yan Qiao gave up a BKL debut opportunity to come participate in this survival show.

Most trainees believed it was just a rumor. But it was true Yan Qiao was a super A-grade at BKL, but not every super A-grade could debut smoothly. “Giving up a debut opportunity” sounded very fake, after all, who would do something so foolish after years of hard training?

But Quentin knew it was true, not only because the system had told him, but he had also vaguely dreamt of it when unlocking the original book’s plot before. Unfortunately, any details involving the future beyond the plot became fuzzy memories after he woke up.

He only remembered that BKL’s seventh-generation group were villains in the original plot, and specifically villains targeting Yan Qiao. The reason for the grudge seemed related to Yan Qiao escaping to “NS” to refuse debut.

Shen Zhao noticed Quentin’s thoughtful expression and thought Quentin was interested in the topic of guest performers. After hesitating a few seconds, he quietly revealed, “Actually… I heard our third public performance will invite a senior sister group to assist.”

“?!”

Everyone instantly turned to look at him.

Quentin turned a bit slower, meeting Shen Zhao’s intense gaze just as he looked over. Under Quentin’s encouraging (?) eyes, Shen Zhao spoke even more enthusiastically, his voice turning more self-assured.

“It’s Aurora, who debuted from last year’s survival show. Aren’t they signed under BKL? Our production team has already discussed it with BKL, and they’re all willing to come assist.”

“But I also heard BKL originally wanted their newly debuted seventh-generation group to come…pfft, ridiculous, who couldn’t guess what medicine they’re selling in their gourd.”

Shen Zhao rolled his eyes. “Those black-hearted capitalists keep thinking about how to let that new boy group step on our popularity to rise, preferably by crushing us in the performance, so all the viewers online would know the survival show group is inferior to their seventh-gen newcomers.”

The reality was, their show was wildly popular across the internet, Quentin exploded out of the circle, and the debut hype of a certain seventh-generation group was forcibly overshadowed, unnoticed by netizens. Everyone just called them the seventh generation, and they didn’t even know their actual group name.

Shen Zhao cursed fiercely: May you flop so hard you fall through the floor!

Zhou Zilin clicked his tongue. “Hah, such wishful thinking. The senior sister group is better.”

But would BKL really agree to let Aurora come…? Weren’t they always suppressing the senior sisters’ popularity, marketing all sorts of true or false scandals, and letting other company artists feed off them?

“Hey, let’s stop the idle chat for now. I’ll go turn off the lights. Quentin, make a wish and blow out the candles.” Xue Mingzhu stood up and casually straightened the crooked crown on Quentin’s head.

“Yes, yes, blow out the candles!” Shen Zhao looked annoyed. “I got caught up talking, and almost forgot the most important thing.”

Wen Xinyi raised his hand to suggest, “We haven’t sung yet. Shouldn’t we sing the birthday song before making a wish?”

“Sing.” Fang Xu was concise. “Everyone will sing together. I brought a Polaroid camera, I’ll take the photo.”

The room suddenly went dark, and only the circle of small candles on the cake emitted a faint, warm glow, illuminating the faces of the boys around the table.

The trainees wearing identical clothes clapped and sang the Happy Birthday song together. The boy sitting in the center clasped his hands into fists, resting them under his chin and closing his eyes silently to make a wish.

The golden cartoon crown reflected star-like light, and 18 year old Quentin was captured in the photo.

Those not-quite-perfect youthful days seemed to have a little bit of their regrets mended at this moment.

….

….

The next afternoon, the recording of the second round of ranking announcements began.

The process was the same as before, only the recording location moved from the square to indoors, probably because the production team was also worried about someone getting heatstroke under the sun.

Out of the 79 trainees in total, the top 36 would advance smoothly.

The rest, if they were from a second performance winning team and also received the team leader’s Save Card, could avoid elimination and remain in the program to participate in the next performance.

Quentin thought today would be the same as last time, starting smoothly and ending peacefully. No matter who got eliminated, he wouldn’t have much emotional fluctuation. He was different from these young people who always wept bitterly over farewells; he was already used to people coming and going around him.

But when he stood before his four teammates who hadn’t made it into the top 36, holding the Save Card…he began to understand why other team leaders shed tears over choosing.

“The voting closed too early.” Quentin looked at his teammates standing before him, his voice low. “If the second public performance had already aired, you definitely wouldn’t have been eliminated.”

Since the “relay princess carry” game on the second performance stage, Sheng Yuanxu and the others seemed to have unlocked some special hobby. They always like to touch and snuggle up to their little team leader. It was a pity the team leader didn’t cooperate, otherwise they could lift him high every time they met.

Now, seeing their team leader’s unhappy expression, they reached out to ruffle his hair, patted his shoulders, carefully observed his expression, and comforted him with a clamor of voices.

“It’s okay, it’s just elimination. I’m already satisfied I could last this long.”

“Don’t be upset. We got eliminated because our previous performances weren’t good enough, not because of you. Look at you…you carried four low-ranked deadweights like us and still made the performance stage so amazing. You’re the most amazing!”

“Quentin, my biggest gain after coming to this program was being assigned to the same team as you and putting on an outstanding stage together. I have no regrets, so don’t feel regretful either, okay?”

“Um, don’t you cry. Compared to elimination, I… I’m more afraid of you crying…”

Quentin frowned. “I won’t cry. I just think, you guys clearly could have stayed, if the performance had aired…”

His voice grew even lower. “This rule isn’t right.”

Their usually strategic, steady, and reliable team leader rarely showed such an age-appropriate side in front of them, muttering in front of everyone that the program’s rule wasn’t right…it was a bit cute.

Even Zhuang Nao couldn’t help reaching out to pinch Quentin’s cheek, smiling with curved eyes. “You can’t say such things recklessly. Hurry up and choose. It doesn’t matter who you pick, go with your own thoughts. We all support you.”

Yang Siyi nodded with a grin. “Choose boldly, Team Leader. Let’s not make this so sentimental. It’s not like we won’t see each other after the program ends. Let’s make a group chat then, and find time to meet up for meals. Anyway, I’m still studying at Yanhai University, I’ll be there for the next four years!”

Sheng Yuanxu added, “I only have one request, Team Leader. You can’t forget us. Don’t forget our names when we meet next time. If that happens, I really will cry, you know.”

Qiao Xue smiled faintly, lowering his gaze to hide the regret in his eyes. “Make your decision, Team Leader.”

Emotionally, they were hard to distinguish. But rationally… Quentin should choose the teammate who could stay longer, and who could make it to the finals. The one with a higher ranking and stronger skills…

“Yang Siyi.”

Quentin made his choice, looking at his four teammates. “I choose Yang Siyi.”

The boy who was chosen stared blankly, then his eyes widened in ecstasy. But the next second, seeing his other teammates beside him, he quickly wilted, looking left and right, at a loss for what to say.

As for the teammates who weren’t chosen, they looked relieved one by one. Their mindset seemed more optimistic than the one making the choice and the one chosen. Or perhaps they hid their regrets deeply, unwilling to let the team leader who had helped them so much feel sad.

Sheng Yuanxu gritted his teeth and slapped Yang Siyi’s back hard. “Congratulations! You brat! You actually got chosen by Quentin!”

“Easy, easy there, brother.”

Yang Siyi stammered and babbled. “Ah, I… I actually got chosen by Quentin, I’m quite surprised too. Actually, you’re not worse than me. Maybe I’m just a bit luckier, and a bit younger. Maybe Quentin likes them young.”

Qiao Xue sighed helplessly, holding his forehead. “If you don’t know how to talk, you don’t have to, Siyi.”

Zhuang Nao couldn’t be bothered to join their nonsense. He spread his arms openly toward Quentin. “One last hug, Team Leader.”

“Wait for me, I want a hug too!”

“Damn it, what are you hugging for when you’re the chosen one? Get lost.”

“Ah… Yuanxu, Siyi, a lot of people are watching.”

In the end, Quentin, who had been hugged in turn by four people like they were petting a cat, returned to his seat under the sympathetic yet envious gazes of all the trainees watching in the audience, his face expressionless, his fluffy hair sticking up with tousled tufts.

Hmph, what was there to feel sad about? (x_x)

*

That evening, all the surviving trainees gathered together in the practice room.

“Tomorrow is the day when all of you will go out to participate in the random dance challenge.”

The stern-looking middle-aged man held a microphone in his right hand and a script in his left, looking at the 41 trainees who had survived the two rounds of elimination below. He said, “Now I will introduce to everyone the specific arrangements and precautions for this random dance challenge.”

“Firstly, this random dance challenge will be held at Lulin Ancient Town, a five-star scenic area in Yanhai City, in conjunction with the Halloween carnival within the scenic area, and open to all tourists.”

“One point that requires special warning is: we are organizing this random dance challenge under the name of an entertainment media team from Youth TV, not officially under ‘Next Stage.’ Therefore, please do not reveal your identities to the tourists during the activity.”

Although Lin Qifeng, who was responsible for explaining the rules, was stricter than the other three mentors, after this period of interaction, the trainees had already figured out Teacher Lin’s personality.

He was more straightforward than the smiling tiger Teacher Yang Xu, more steady than Vinki who could be happily laughing one second and losing his temper the next, and more soft hearted than Chen Shiyu who appeared gentle and loving but was actually sharp and strict.

He was actually the easiest mentor to get along with on “NS”! Even if they whispered below the stage, Teacher Lin wouldn’t stop or criticize them!

“Lulin Ancient Town? We’re going to Lulin Ancient Town?! That place is so fun! Whether it’s the shop owners, street vendors, or cleaners on the road, they’re all dressed in ancient costumes!”

“I’ve heard of it. It’s a well-run imitation of an ancient-style cultural town. There are lots of fun stuff, it seems there’s even a temple.”

“Halloween carnival? Isn’t Halloween still at the end of the month? They’re starting to celebrate already?”

“Scenic areas have to start their events early. Otherwise, the tourists would be so many they’d crush you to death.”

“So we’re going to dance with tourists? And we can’t reveal our identities… How do we hide? By wearing masks?”

Lin Qifeng continued calmly, “This random dance challenge lasts two days. The production team has already booked a hotel for everyone, it’s the Four Seasons Hotel. It’s about 1.5 kilometers from Lulin Ancient Town.”

“Due to the large number of participants, we will divide the 41 trainees present into multiple groups. It will be 3-4 people per group, participating in the on-site random dance at different time slots.”

“The grouping is based on the short dance videos everyone submitted over the past two days. The grouping criteria are not related to skill level, it’s mainly to select suitable makeup and styling for each of you.”

Someone vaguely guessed something and raised a hand to ask, “Teacher, will the production team do special cosplay makeup for us? I’ve participated in Halloween carnivals in other areas before. Everyone cosplays as various ghosts and monsters. Will it be the same for our random dance this time?”

Lin Qifeng nodded. “Yes.”

The trainees immediately got excited. Originally, going out to a scenic area was exciting enough, but now with Halloween cosplay added…this was practically a team-building vacation!

“Can we cosplay as mummy-like monsters? That doesn’t show the face, and when wrapped from head to toe, it definitely won’t reveal the identity.”

“How about vampires? Wear scary fake teeth, put some fake blood on the face…”

“Our database has many girl group dances, so can we wear female clothing? I can cosplay a little witch.”

“…You have issues.”

Lin Qifeng raised his hand to stop them. “Not all ghosts and monsters are allowed. Costumes are limited to ancient ones more fitting for the ancient town street scenery, and various demon/ghost masks like the green-faced demon with fangs. Other makeup and styling details will depend on your short video performances.”

Many people said disappointedly, “So we can’t choose ourselves…”

“What kind of styling will I get from twisting like a pretzel in my short video? Help!”

“I have a bad feeling. Won’t I have to cosplay a zombie?”

“Zombies aren’t bad. Wear a Taoist robe and stick a yellow talisman on your face. That would be awesome, okay?”

“It probably won’t be very complicated cosplay, it might just be ancient costumes and masks. And we have to dance, it would be inconvenient for movement if it’s too complicated.”

“Let’s leave the styling aside for now, the styling teachers will communicate with you when the time comes.” Lin Qifeng said, “Now let’s announce the group list. Everyone, remember your teammates. Hotel rooms are also divided according to groups.”

This time, he didn’t give the trainees time to discuss, directly reading the list. “Group One: Xue Mingzhu, Wen Xinyi, Qi Yang. Group Two…”

The people whose names were called in Group One suddenly looked up, glanced at each other, then their expressions gradually froze.

Really? Putting the three of them together… Was it to embarrass themselves on stage?

Lin Qifeng: “…Group Five: Quentin, Yan Qiao, Cheng Shaozhi. Group Six…”

“Holy crap, this group is insane.” Someone couldn’t hold back, exclaiming in a low voice. “The three best dancers were put together?! Are you sure it’s not grouped by skill?!”

“Actually, that’s good too. Let the big shots compete internally. Those of us with similar skill can stay together. After practicing so many days in advance, we should still dance better than the tourists, right?”

“Oh, that’s true too. The random dance challenge isn’t a public performance. There’s no need for balanced strength in each team. Just dance your own parts.”

There were 12 groups in total: 5 groups of four, 7 groups of three. The list was quickly finished.

Lin Qifeng turned to the last page of the script, and his stern, serious expression made the trainees whispering below unconsciously close their mouths.

“Everyone, pay attention. This random dance challenge is not scored nor assessed, but there will be cameramen following the entire process, and the on-site director will evaluate everyone’s performance. There are no strict standards. The only thing you all must remember is…”

“You are trainees who want to debut as idol group members. Your goal is to attract the attention of the audience present as much as possible and become the most dazzling center in the crowd.”

“Note that ‘center’ here does not mean snatching the center position from tourists. It’s a test of your appeal to the surrounding crowd.”

“Therefore, please seize this opportunity. Stand from another perspective, experience the stage up close, and let the audience applaud and scream for you!”