The seven boys of Inferno went door to door to greet the other guests. It was their first time meeting Quentin and the others, but they were old acquaintances with Yan Qiao.
If Yan Qiao had not voluntarily withdrawn from Inferno’s debut competition, he would one hundred percent have become teammates with Ji Xu and the others.
The reunion of old friends was somewhat awkward. Yan Qiao’s withdrawal from the competition had nothing to do with them, but back then, no one had imagined that months later, meeting again would be like this.
At least for now… Yan Qiao had more forum followers than them, higher name recognition than them, and was more popular in the entertainment industry circle than them.
Sigh.
On the way back to their rooms, Ji Xu was silent, listening to his teammates quietly discussing the four trainees sent by “NS”.
“Quentin is really handsome, no wonder Teacher Li and the others all say ‘NS’ stepped in shit and got lucky with a good prospect.”
“Teacher Li has been saying that since the first episode of ‘NS’ aired. Could he be a fan of Quentin? It feels like he praises Quentin every day in class…”
“A fan? Damn, it’s actually possible! Ever since Quentin appeared, his classes have been even fiercer. He has a sour face all day and keeps saying if Quentin had signed with BKL, we would not have had a chance. Tch, just like those brainless fans online.”
“Ha, you guys do not get it. Old Li means that if Quentin were at BKL, our group’s debut plan would be replaced by Quentin solo debuting. But the fact is Quentin is not there, so the company has to strongly support us to compete with Quentin and his team!”
A teammate sighed upon hearing this: “Actually, this is quite good. If ‘NS’ were not popular, it would be hard for us to get this many resources in such a short time.”
Another teammate muttered sourly: “We cannot compare to Yan Qiao. It has only been this long and he already has five million followers. Who knows how much of that is fake.”
Someone beside him chuckled: “Why worry about that? Yan Qiao was always pretty good. It is normal to rise quickly in a short time by riding the popularity of a survival show. Our main comparison is after debut. Anyway, I do not believe Galaxy Entertainment can give him more resources than BKL. I hope he does not regret it later.”
After saying this, the person raised his hand and patted Ji Xu’s shoulder, as if to comfort him: “Back when we were trainees, the best of our generation were Xiao Ji and Yan Qiao. But I say, the one with the best future development will still be our Xiao Ji.”
Ji Xu turned his head to look over, somewhat distracted: “Brother, do not joke. Yan Qiao’s evaluation scores back then were higher than mine.”
“What does that prove? He is good at dancing, so it pulled his total score up.” The boy shook his head. “You are better looking than him, your personality is more likable than his, your audience appeal is definitely better than his. So do not make that worried face. We still have to go record a variety show later.”
Ji Xu laughed out loud: “Who is making a worried face? I am not comparing myself to Yan Qiao. No need. The path I want to take in the future is different from his.”
When he said this, he smiled very openly, his bright eyes and brows full of confidence.
Not just now, even back in his trainee days, he never saw Yan Qiao as an opponent.
Ji Xu understood the development path of domestic boy group idols very thoroughly. Yan Qiao was a main dancer, but just relying on dance, it was hard to make a good living in the entertainment industry. If he wanted to go further, he would eventually face a transformation crisis. In the future, he would inevitably have to choose among three paths: actor, singer, or variety show regular.
However, Yan Qiao’s face did not have the look of a male lead, his acting skills could only be described as having taken some classes, his singing was passable but lacked distinctiveness, and as for variety show sense, Ji Xu had never seen any evidence of it in him.
To sum up, in Ji Xu’s view, Yan Qiao’s path stopped at being a boy group idol. Once he left the group, he would find it difficult to take even a single step.
But Ji Xu was different. He was an ace, with balanced skills in singing, dancing, and rap. He also took his acting classes seriously. He had received an A grade in his performance evaluation at BKL, and his teacher commented that he was best suited for youth campus modern idol dramas.
As for variety show sense, that was more elusive, but he definitely would not be worse than Yan Qiao.
Ji Xu understood perfectly the company’s purpose in arranging for them to participate in “Cat and Mouse Game” alongside the “NS” trainees.
To ride on popularity, create sensational topics, and use fan wars to raise his group’s profile.
It did not matter if they lost the argument. The key was to firmly attach the title of “the number one opponent of the ‘NS’ survival show group” to Inferno’s name.
Individual members could be put forward for 1v1 comparisons with popular “NS” trainees, such as the fellow ace Ji Xu and Quentin.
Losing was not a problem. As long as they could plant a concept in netizens’ minds…that Quentin and Ji Xu were worthy of being discussed together…that was enough.
Ji Xu did not feel insecure. This kind of thing was extremely common in the entertainment industry. It was just that the first time he saw Quentin face to face, his usual confidence somehow diminished a little in front of this person who was two months younger than him.
He was not bad looking, but Quentin was better looking than Inferno’s visual. A good face could play a very big role in the entertainment industry, not to mention that Quentin did not rely on his face to make a living.
Ji Xu compared this and that in his mind and had to somewhat dejectedly admit that in this 1v1 duel, he was destined to lose on all fronts right now.
He decided to stop comparing.
Ji Xu was young and did not take winning or losing too seriously. He quickly let it go. Why add to his own troubles? In socializing within the entertainment industry, the main principle was to make more friends and fewer enemies. As long as it did not reach the point of being locked in irreconcilable conflict, everything could be discussed.
On the other side, Quentin, who was lying on his bed taking a nap, was completely unaware of Ji Xu’s thoughts.
After he finished talking with Inferno, he suddenly remembered something. When he first analyzed the original plot, it seemed he had placed BKL in the position of a rival.
Like that, in most people’s eyes, Inferno, which stood in opposition to the “NS” survival show group, would be the arch rival
Following the tropes of the novels he had skimmed, Inferno would either be small cannon fodder arranged in the early plot for the protagonist group, or the main villain that entangled with the protagonist group until the later stages.
Quentin thought of the boy with very bright eyes who led Inferno when they came to greet him earlier. Among the six members of Inferno he saw, only this boy named Ji Xu gave him the biggest impression.
As for hostility… he did not sense much, more like a quiet rivalry among young people. He wondered if this Ji Xu had any connection to the bad ending plots of the six main characters.
Quentin glanced at the progress bar in the system space, which had not moved.
Forget it. He would not think too much about it. He would see in the afternoon.
*
The opening of the “Cat and Mouse Game” pilot episode was recorded in the central square of the largest commercial district in Nancheng’s safe zone.
The production team’s actions of clearing the square, cordoning off areas, and setting up the set could not be hidden from passersby shopping nearby. Photos spread online, and news traveled fast.
Soon, fans within the three circles of “NS”, Inferno, and ECHO knew the recording location of “Cat and Mouse Game”.
By the time the twelve guest participants arrived, the scene was packed with people. Most were passersby drawn by the commotion, but there were also quite a number of fans who had gotten the news. Even support banners were being held up, which was a spectacular sight.
Unlike other long-running variety shows, “Cat and Mouse Game” did not have a permanent cast of guests, only one host responsible for controlling the pace and moving things forward.
This host was not the biggest name, around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, and had been the fixed MC for “Cat and Mouse Game” for ten years.
Calculating the time, he had started working on “Cat and Mouse Game” before he even graduated from university. Director Chen Hai was undoubtedly his mentor who discovered his talent. Coincidentally, his surname was also Chen, so there were often rumors online that he was Chen Hai’s relative, though no one knew for sure to this day.
After an opening speech to liven up the atmosphere, the twelve guests introduced themselves one by one, and the host announced the game rules, which were the same as Assistant Manager Wu had said on the plane.
“Now, please come forward one by one to receive your identity cards from me…” The host drew out his tone, as if teasingly saying, “Are you a cat, skilled at hunting, or a mouse hiding among the cats? Let me see.”
Under his guidance, the guests stepped forward one by one.
Everyone’s reaction after drawing their card was different. The boys from Inferno were a bit over-the-top, the “NS” side was too calm, and it was ECHO’s Ji Sheng and He Shuyi who, with their rich experience, knew how to strike the right balance for show effect.
“Hey, Quentin, what did you draw?”
The young man standing among his teammates leaned his head to the left, looking over curiously and, with a sincere tone, asked the person wearing a dark green and white baseball cap: “I drew a cat. Are you on my team?”
Without changing his expression, Quentin replied: “I am a cat, but not necessarily on your team.”
Ji Xu’s eyes widened, feeling wronged: “You do not believe me? I really am a cat!”
Quentin remained calm and innocent: “I really am a cat too.”
“You two rookies are quite good at pretending. You’re already starting to test each other?” Ji Sheng grinned and added: “I bet you are both mice. Generally, it is the mice who are most active in the early stage.”
He Shuyi, who had recorded “Cat and Mouse Game” before and had been ruthlessly deceived by other guests, smiled warmly: “No one will admit to being a mouse in the early stage. A mouse has to hide obediently, waiting to be caught and eaten by the cat. Otherwise, why call it a mouse.”
“Hmph, newbies, let me give you some important advice: do not trust Old He no matter what. He was thoroughly played by a mouse before.”
Ji Sheng snorted: “If he is a cat, he is Gin reincarnated. If he is a mouse, he will follow in the footsteps of his mouse senior and play you badly. So when it is time to form teams, you would all better come to me.”
He Shuyi just smiled and said nothing.
Before the final name-tag tearing round, there were two rounds of PK games that required forming teams.
This round of team formation had nothing to do with cats and mice. It simply involved the guests nominating two team leaders, who would then take turns choosing teammates through rock-paper-scissors.
And the choice of team leaders naturally fell upon the two seniors from ECHO.
“Rock, paper, scissors…”
“Ha, I won!”
The man in the black T-shirt smiled arrogantly and raised his hand to point at Quentin without hesitation, crooking his finger: “You are the one, Quentin. Come over. I bet you are a cat.”
He Shuyi sighed helplessly, glanced at Quentin’s back, and said nothing.
Quentin was also wearing the same style of black T-shirt. Except for the host, who wore a white one, all the guests wore identical tops.
“Cat and Mouse Game” had sponsorship from a sportswear brand. These T-shirts were all from that brand, with good quality and cut. On Quentin, who was a natural clothes hanger, they could stimulate consumers’ desire to buy even more than the models in the ads.
Back when he was getting his hair and makeup done in the dressing room, a stylist had joked that once the episode aired, this T-shirt style would sell out.
Quentin did not take it to heart. Wasn’t it normal for things he wore to sell out? His ability to drive sales in his previous life had been terrifying. Drinking a cup of instant coffee in a vlog shot in his studio had been enough to cause the coffee powder to sell out and its price to rise.
Ji Sheng handed Quentin a red ribbon, which was to be tied around the wrist as a marker for the Red Team.
Quentin took it and watched them divide into groups while tying the ribbon around his wrist.
In the end, the people grouped with him were Yan Qiao, Ji Yang, and two members of Inferno.
“Cat and Mouse” game is something like the popular variety show “Running Man China” or you can call it “Keep Running”. You can find episodes on YouTube, it’s quite fun.
Thank you so much for the chapters ❤️<3