DYUTVOBGA Chapter 29

The 24-hour assessment and the 48-hour assessment both concluded over the course of two days.

The scores for both assessments were not announced on the spot. After entering room 105, the trainees would only see a camera set up in the center. They had to stand in front of the camera and sing and dance the entire song to the accompaniment of “Next! Next!”.

The four mentors sat in the next room, watching the segments of footage presented on the LCD TV, and gave scores based on multiple comprehensive dimensions.

The final score for a trainee’s theme song assessment was the average of the four scores.

Even though the assessments were over, the daily dance and vocal lessons continued as usual.

On this day, after finishing a full day of training, interviews, and additional recordings, the trainees returned to the dormitory building exhausted. They collapsed onto their beds, bodies aching and weak, but their mouths couldn’t stop wailing and howling.

“Ahhh!! Finally done with the post-recording interview! It went on for almost half an hour! My lips are chapped…..”

“Brother, that’s because you talk too much! Sigh, actually, no matter how much we say in the post-interview, it might not even get aired………… These past couple of days were still okay, but the interviews right after the initial stage performance were the real torture. Does our director spend all day lurking on forums? So many questions.”

“Is that what you all think? I actually find the post-interviews quite fun. It’s just like chatting and gossiping. They ask you who you think performed the best, whose performance you’re most looking forward to, who you most want to be teammates with, what you think about so-and-so’s stage performance, who you hope gets the final center position for the theme song assessment…………”

The boy who spoke smacked his lips. “Hey, how did you all answer?”

The answers from the other people in the dorm room were varied, and they mentioned different names. But once the topic of the final Center position for the theme song assessment came up, they couldn’t help but start guessing excitedly.

“The initial Center should be chosen from the seven in Class A, right?”

“No need for a one out of seven choice. I heard Xue Mingzhu and Wen Xinyi barely managed to memorize all the dance moves the night before the formal assessment. They definitely won’t get high scores from Teacher Yang Xu.”

“So it’s one out of five?” The boy glanced at Zhong Qu lying on the opposite bed and asked curiously, “Brother Zhong, what do you think? Actually, I feel you danced really well and have great potential to be Center. It’s a pity we don’t have classes with Class A, otherwise we could see how they performed.”

Zhong Qu didn’t take his words seriously. He knew his own limits. His ability was definitely in the upper tier among these 101 trainees, but competing for the so-called Center was a bit beyond him. Just Yan Qiao alone made him hesitate.

However, his original plan had nothing to do with the Center position.

“I guess it’s Quentin,” Zhong Qu replied. “But the scores weren’t announced on the spot, so the final ranking is still uncertain. It also depends on the production team…..”

He phrased it tactfully, but everyone else understood his implication… Since the scores weren’t published, the chance of the production team manipulating things behind the scenes was very high. Whoever they wanted to promote would be put in the front, even the Center position could be decided internally early on.

Zhong Qu listened to his roommates’ indignant discussions and chimed in occasionally. This kind of activity, complaining and talking behind others’ backs together, was the fastest way to quickly bring people closer.

But his mind wasn’t really on it right now.

The past few days had not been wasted, Zhong Qu had successfully built good relationships with most people in Class B.

At the beginning of learning the theme song, he used a few words to quickly establish his leadership position in Class B. He proactively led the class trainees in rehearsals together, while subtly forming cliques to isolate the other four competitors who were also rated A by the mentors but lost the battle and fell into Class B.

Actually, he didn’t originally plan to go that far, but the threat those four posed was too great.

— Cheng Shaozhi, Cui Yan, Bi Xiao, Wu Qichang. These four names silently revolved in Zhong Qu’s heart.

Judging from the initial stage performance, Cheng Shaozhi’s dancing ability was on par with Yan Qiao. After all, he had won awards in “Dance World”. His battle failure was only because his freestyle style didn’t match the song’s style well enough.

Cheng Shaozhi had studied modern dance since childhood, so his dance style was vastly different from the average boy group trainee.

Although he had temporarily learned hip-hop and jazz for a month before coming to the show, dance style couldn’t be changed that quickly. So he wasn’t as flexible as Yan Qiao in dealing with randomly played pop songs.

But his foundation in dance and his physical condition were there, so mastering hip-hop was just a matter of time.

If they were in BKL’s practice room, Zhong Qu estimated he wouldn’t even qualify to be in the same class as Cheng Shaozhi. The other party would definitely be placed in the devil training debut preparatory class for dance positions where Yan Qiao was.

“One Yan Qiao is enough for a group like this,” Zhong Qu thought.

How many positions could a seven-member group have to allocate? Zhong Qu was also being trained as a dance position in BKL. He could accept Yan Qiao taking a main dancer position in advance, but having another equally strong dancer pop up to compete with him was going too far.

The key point was that this person was in Class B just like him….. Oh, and it wasn’t just one, the other three weren’t easy to deal with either.

But fortunately, none of these four were good at fighting for camera time.

Zhong Qu had paid attention intentionally. During the two days of learning the theme song, Cheng Shaozhi and the others always attended classes and rehearsed dutifully, and rarely initiated social interactions. The phenomenon he feared most where the four of them form their own clique also didn’t appear.

The most outgoing and extroverted among these four was Cui Yan.

But Cui Yan poured all his energy into the “Next! Next!” theme song assessment. He stayed alone in a corner, practicing furiously by himself, practicing until his clothes were wet, then dry, then wet again every day.

He seemed like…a simple-minded, stubborn big fool.

Bi Xiao was a rapper with a buzz cut and extensive tattoos on his arms. Wu Qichang was a veteran singer who had debuted years ago but never became really popular.

The former had a bad temper, was arrogant, and couldn’t be said to focus on practicing dance. Zhong Qu often saw him hiding at the back of the line, slacking off. This kind of person wasn’t a threat.

The latter was dull and taciturn, with a gloomy expression, as if unwilling to mix with their group of youngsters. To put it nicely, there was a generation gap, to put it bluntly, he couldn’t let go of his pride and was pretentious.

And Cheng Shaozhi, the one Zhong Qu was most wary of, had an introverted and low-key personality. He was the one who spoke the least and had the lowest presence among the four.

Ha, it was really great.

Zhong Qu sighed sincerely. He didn’t need to do much; these four were not fitting in naturally. Being excluded and isolated was their destined fate.

He even felt that if he was in Class A, he wouldn’t have such a smooth and favorable start as he did now.

The only regret was that being in Class B made it inconvenient to get close to Quentin.

Over the years, under the influence of the internal environment at BKL Entertainment, the subject Zhong Qu grasped most profoundly was the concept of CPs.

He knew all too well how beneficial the CP bonus was, and he knew how to subtly please and cultivate CP fans.

Zhong Qu had planned from the very beginning to latch onto a top popularity contestant.

Originally, he had his eye on Yan Qiao. Firstly, he had the advantage of proximity. Secondly, he trusted BKL’s judgment.

As an original candidate for BKL’s seventh-generation idol group debut reserve, Yan Qiao was bound to become a top-tier trainee on “NS”. And as everyone knows, forming a CP with a top contestant is the quickest shortcut to boost popularity in the short term.

Zhong Qu was determined to rise by sucking blood.

Based on his understanding of Yan Qiao, he was confident he could become Yan Qiao’s official CP.

But the moment Zhong Qu saw Quentin on the bus, he instantly changed his mind.

—This person will definitely be famous!

This was Zhong Qu’s first reaction upon seeing Quentin.

He could swear on his years of deep experience in CP studies that this black-haired, green-eyed mixed-race boy was absolutely born with the physique of a CP partner!

You have to understand, the thing called “CP chemistry” is very mysterious.

It depends on looks, but not entirely. Double visual CPs are indeed common as everyone likes to put two good-looking faces together.

But the most popular CPs in BKL’s past boy and girl groups weren’t necessarily just the visual members paired up with teammates.

Obviously, appearance is only one of the standards for CP fans’ favor and aesthetic preference. It’s the foundation, but also an additional bonus.

Similarly, CP chemistry has no direct relation to skill or popularity either, there are countless top and lowest ranked CP couples.

It also doesn’t have much to do with the amount of time spent together or the level of intimacy. Some CPs, no matter how physically close, are just seen as good friends by fans. But other CPs, even just making eye contact across a crowded room, are hailed by fans as heavenly.

Simply put, the most important thing about CP chemistry is the compatibility between the two parties in the CP, the sexual tension and chemical reaction they create when together.

Under normal circumstances, a boy group member would have at most 1-2 viral, popular CPs within the group.

As for how to judge if a certain CP is popular?

It’s simple: the more fierce the respective solo fans fight, the more popular the CP is.

If the company steps in to make the idols avoid each other, CP fans become enemies of the public, and the CP pair become each other’s unmentionable “taboo”……

Then congratulations, you’ve hit the jackpot (not really).

And the so-called “all-pairings” CPs are specially created for fans, mainly stemming from solo fans’ desire for their bias to be “loved” by everyone.

**”All pairings” means a type of CP in fandoms where one person is shipped with everyone in the group.

Zhong Qu had never seen anyone’s “all-pairings” CPs become popular in the fandom circle, but he sensed this potential in Quentin.

Or rather, this attraction.

Zhong Qu had an intuition that Quentin’s CP chemistry wasn’t about compatibility, but that his personal attraction alone was enough to conquer CP fans.

The key was that this attraction seemed to be a passive skill!

Before the initial stage performances began, Zhong Qu sincerely hoped that Quentin was a pretty vase who was completely useless at singing and dancing.

That way, his motive and intention for approaching Quentin wouldn’t be too obvious. Moreover, he could use the excuse of “teaching Quentin singing and dancing” to make the other party owe him a favor, while also occupying the moral high ground within the fandom.

Unfortunately, Quentin is very strong.

But on second thought, if a trainee possessed looks, skill, and star quality, it meant he would be popular for a long time and have a solid fan base.

If he could successfully get close to such a person, build a good relationship with him, become his closest friend on “NS”……

Zhong Qu thought, then his debut position would be one hundred percent secure.

Just as Zhong Qu was secretly planning to find time to get close to Quentin as soon as possible, a soothing emotional and physical exchange was taking place in dorm room 303 upstairs.

“Hmm…”

The shirtless black-haired boy was lying chest and stomach down in the middle of the bed. His head and arms were pressed into the pillow, his shoulders unconsciously tense. Occasionally, pained gasps escaped his lips.

The boy kneeling on one knee beside the bed was wearing a black sleeveless sweatshirt, which made his skin appear even paler.

His expression was serious, and his lips were pressed tightly together. He raised his arm methodically, pressed his elbow against a certain acupoint on the boy’s back, and said in a low voice, “Relax. This spot will probably hurt. If it hurts too much, tell me and I’ll adjust the pressure.”

Quentin buried his face in the crook of his arm, his voice muffled through the pillow: “Mm… go ahead.”

“Humph!”

He suddenly frowned. The muscles in his back were being vigorously kneaded. A dull, aching pain that made one’s teeth sour spread out, stimulating his entire upper body to arch forward, and his fingers gripped the sheets.

From the nape of his neck, down his spine, to his tailbone, it formed a mountain-range-like arc. Transparent, slippery massage oil flowed along the rising and falling ridges, the surface glistened with an oily sheen, and his skin was as fine as satin.

The arching posture opened up his shoulders, but his waist tightened downward, and the dimples on either side of his waist deepened due to the position. His pajama pants hung loosely on his hips.

The boy’s frown of endurance was full of defiance.

Like a black panther with glossy fur, held down threateningly by a hunter with a gun.

The wild, untamable panther barely suppressed its restless ferocity, but it instinctively arched its back and hissed, its body full of a sense of pent-up power, as if it might leap up the next second, twist around, and bite back hard at the hunter trying to tame it.

This wave of pain lasted for five seconds and still hadn’t stopped.

Quentin gritted his teeth: “Fang… Xu.”

Fang Xu’s hand trembled at the call, and the pressure instantly loosened. After stiffening for two seconds, his palm came down, pressing and rubbing the reddened muscle.

He asked softly, “It really hurts, right? Does it feel better now?”

After the sharp soreness passed, the muscle that had been stiff and tight from overexertion gradually softened, and the warm, melting heat made one unable to resist sighing.

Wen Xinyi, who was holding up a bedsheet nearby, got goosebumps all over when he heard Quentin’s long sigh.

He glanced at the normally operating camera behind him with a headache.

Because their dorm room had covered the camera with a towel for too long a few days ago, the director had specifically sent someone to warn them not to block it arbitrarily. The assistant director sister had secretly comforted them, saying the professional editors would strictly pay attention to the artists’ privacy, and things that shouldn’t be aired would definitely not be cut into the main show.

Wen Xinyi didn’t understand what “things that shouldn’t be aired” meant.

But according to his understanding, every second after Quentin stepped out of the shower was somewhat unairable.

And the entire massage scene tonight was even more unairable!

But the director didn’t allow them to cover the camera anymore, so Wen Xinyi could only take manual measures and hang up a bedsheet by himself to block the person lying on the bed.

He was initially a bit worried that Quentin would mind him taking such initiative, but the boy’s gaze only held some confusion, without any other negative emotions.

On the contrary, Fang Xu’s expression was somewhat strange, containing both approval and seemingly mixed with some other emotion.

So Wen Xinyi silently hung the bedsheet even higher.

After interacting with these two roommates, Quentin gradually figured out the reason for their easily startled reactions. It seemed that they were rather conservative and couldn’t accept any revealing attire in front of the camera.

But…..Was it necessary?

Quentin was somewhat puzzled.

It was just taking off his shirt. They were all men; what was there that couldn’t be seen?

Moreover, he wore clothes at all times except when sleeping. He wasn’t an exhibitionist and had no strange fetishes. He found these actions perfectly normal because he acted the same way at home.

Quentin didn’t understand Fang Xu and Wen Xinyi’s reactions as if they were facing a great enemy. He considered himself neither gentle nor considerate, and would never inconvenience himself to accommodate others.

So, he could only trouble his two roommates to interact with him more. He believed that with time, they would naturally become desensitized.

He had been practicing dance too intensely these past few days, and his body couldn’t adapt immediately. The soreness and numbness in his muscles had already started to affect his dance movements.

Practicing in the real practice room was different from the data space in his dreams. No matter how exhausted he was in the data space, he would wake up fully recovered. But the muscle soreness from the real practice room accumulated day by day. If he didn’t massage and relieve it in time, he would eventually end up full of ailments like in his previous life.

However, the data space could only improve proficiency; only real-world exercise could effectively enhance physical fitness.

Quentin really couldn’t stand this silver-like gun body of his that looks strong but isn’t sharp; it was good for nothing except looking good.

In his previous life, he could sing at high intensity for nearly three hours straight and still have energy to spare. He could return to a state where his face wasn’t red and his breath wasn’t panting after just a drink of water.

Unlike now, where even casually dancing for ten minutes would leave him exhausted and limp like a little flattened vegetable….a complete disgrace to Class A!

Quentin was eager to return to his previous life’s condition as soon as possible, but he inadvertently overexerted himself and ended up in current state.

Half an hour ago, Fang Xu noticed his discomfort from his frequent shoulder-rubbing movements and proactively offered to give him a massage, leading to the current scene.

As for Wen Xinyi’s actions……To be honest, Quentin was already used to it.

He could see that Wen Xinyi meant no harm; on the contrary, his every word and action was filled with goodwill.

Quentin always responded to softness rather than hardness.

Since Wen Xinyi was the one who took the initiative to approach him, just let him be. It wasn’t a big deal.

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I’ve uploaded only one chapter today because I went to attend a wedding function last week. After the chaos, and the back and forth traveling, I didn’t get to do much. Let’s see how to catch up tomorrow 🧡