DYUTVOBGA Chapter 53

“No… no one told me that Quentin was like this on the official stage…”

The trainees sitting in the backstage lounge of the public performance looked at each other, their moods growing increasingly complex.

Recalling their own undignified reactions just moments ago while watching the live stage performance on the LCD TV…some hugging sofa cushions tightly and curling into balls, others covering their mouths tightly to restrain their excitement…they felt a mix of emotions.

They were practically ready to roll off their seats and crawl up to the TV to get a closer look at Quentin’s stunning, breathtaking beauty.

Quentin’s stage presence was too powerful. The overwhelming aura emanating from the large screen forced everyone to fix their attention solely on him.

It felt as if a rope was tightening around their necks, their brains completely losing the ability to command their bodies.

Their eyes could only follow the guidance of the stage lights.

Following the handsome clown casting a spell.

Going from stunned silence to complete fascination took only three short minutes.

If even they, who were watching from backstage, had such reactions, then Qi Yang, Yan Wenbing, and the others waiting by the side of the stage right now must feel like the sky was falling.

The difference! What was the difference between this and being forced to fight the final boss right after leaving the novice village?

Putting themselves in the shoes of the other team also performing “Black Umbrella,” the trainees felt a profound sense of despair.

But once they stepped outside the competitor mindset, they couldn’t help but be increasingly captivated by Quentin’s talent and charisma.

Leaving aside how difficult this clown makeup was to pull off; just look at Quentin’s teammates. They weren’t particularly unattractive, but they certainly couldn’t be called good-looking either.

Fortunately, the strategic stage lighting, with its interplay of light and shadow, acted like a perfect filter and beauty app, preventing a disastrous scene on the big screen.

Moreover, combined with the live music and atmosphere, as the audience’s immersion increased, they naturally overlooked the specific facial features of the performers.

But, the moment the camera cut to Quentin’s face, the instantly clear disparity was comparable to a dimensionality reduction attack.

Aside from Quentin, the only one whose face could withstand the clown makeup was Cui Yan, but his tall stature made the intricate court jester costume look overly bulky.

Fortunately, the personality Cui Yan portrayed was that of a wandering butcher who had endured hardships after his family was ruined.

Sitting beside the noble young master from a prestigious family, a character who held a high status before the family’s bankruptcy and was even dressed lavishly, Cui Yan seemed like a silent, honest servant. His large, sturdy build actually fit the character setting better.

As for Fang Xu, while his features were somewhat plain, he had a tall, slender build, which suited the costume better than Cui Yan.

Coupled with his gloomy, decadent makeup, it also fit well with the personality of the down-and-out doctor who, just after bankruptcy, couldn’t let go of his pride and used a mask of sharp, sarcastic remarks to defend against outsiders’ attacks.

As for the others, if you were to take their individual focus cams and scrutinize them closely, you could only say they were rather mediocre, neither particularly good nor bad.

Thankfully, the center position stabilized and controlled the stage, and the added benefit of the stage’s atmosphere elevated their charm to a level only slightly inferior to Quentin’s.

The key point was, a day before the public performance, a piece of gossip had circulated…Quentin was very dissatisfied with his team’s rehearsal results and had decided to rearrange the music and rewrite the lyrics last minute, making major changes overall.

Looking at the stage performance they had just witnessed, apart from the final dance segment, almost all the rest of the arrangements came from Quentin alone.

Even elements like the stage lighting, the suspended black umbrellas, the long table, chairs, and props were all designed by Quentin beforehand. He wrote the proposals and went back and forth with the program team before rehearsals until they were finally confirmed and implemented.

The trainees hadn’t even finished expressing their amazement before they saw the live event move into the vote-soliciting segment.

Thanks to his physical training, Quentin wasn’t very out of breath. It also helped that the choreography for “Black Umbrella” was short and simple. He stood calmly in the center of the team, not flushed or panting, quietly listening to his teammates speak one by one.

In public performances for survival shows, each group would design a “special” team name and nicknames for self-introduction and vote-soliciting after their performance.

To be honest, if this method of introduction wasn’t handled well, it could easily become awkward. There had already been several groups that served as negative examples, saved only by the host’s quick-wittedness in steering the conversation back on track.

Quentin’s team had only finalized their self-introduction method yesterday before the rehearsal.

Their group of seven corresponded to seven clown personalities, which also coincidentally corresponded to the seven dwarfs from the fairy tale Snow White.

So they simply combined their personal characteristics and each chose one dwarf to embody.

Cui Yan was Happy, Fang Xu was Grumpy, Liao Fei was Bashful…

And when it was Quentin’s turn, he closed his eyes for a moment, as if mentally preparing himself, then lifted his gaze to look at the camera.

Offstage and away from his stage persona, Quentin’s eyes were no longer arrogant and domineering. He calmly met the gaze of the countless audience members below.

His face, with its exquisitely handsome features everywhere you looked, resembled a painting from the Victorian era under the carving of the exaggerated makeup.

Brightly colored, with delicate brushstrokes, it possessed an irresistible visual dominance on the large screen.

Yet, the calm and composed handsome boy, who seemed to take nothing to heart, tilted his head, closed one eye as if winking, raised his hand, made a fist, and mimed rubbing his eye.

Quentin tried hard to pretend he was sleepy, simultaneously mimicking a hoarse voice as if he had just woken up, and said slowly, “Hello everyone, I am Sleepy. My usual hobbies are sleeping, sleeping, and sleeping…”

Before he could finish what he was saying, his words were drowned out by the deafening cheers and screams from the audience.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!!!”

“So cute, he winked at me, ahhh!”

“Oh my god, is this guy the same green-eyed clown from the stage just now? The contrast is too big!”

“He looked at me again, he definitely likes me!”

“This nasal, mumbling voice is so exciting… it’s really like he just woke up and is talking by my ear…”

“Hehe, is Quentin not very good at winking? His other eye is squinting too.”

“Seeing it up close, the makeup on his face is really exquisite. I watched the large screen focus cams of the others, and theirs weren’t this refined. Did the makeup artist simply use his face as a canvas?”

“Hmm, is it possible that it’s because Quentin’s face is just exquisite? If I were the makeup artist, I wouldn’t have the heart to be heavy-handed with this face either.”

The seven on stage were all startled by the huge noise. Who would have thought a venue of 500 people could create such a commotion?

It felt like the roof beams of the venue were vibrating…

The sound was so loud that even the trainees sitting in the rest lounge could hear it.

They reached out and touched the floor, their expressions exaggerated, like country bumpkins seeing the world for the first time. “Oh my god, the floor seems to be shaking!”

“Quentin’s popularity is terrifying… Did he really just rub his eyes just now? He didn’t lift his clothes to show his abs or something on stage, right?”

“Get out of here, what wishful thinking are you doing? Are Quentin’s abs something that can be seen so easily?”

“But Quentin is really so calm. His teammates were all scared by the noise, but he’s still finishing his lines unhurriedly…By the way, did anyone hear clearly what he said after that?”

“Didn’t hear…”

“Didn’t hear +1”

Quentin didn’t find the loud shouts from the audience strange at all. After all, in his previous life, the screams from the audience never stopped during concert intermissions when he was chatting with fans.

And they were even louder than this, to the point where, even wearing an earpiece, he often wondered if he might go deaf.

Screams and cheers were the audience’s way of releasing their emotions, and Quentin was happy to be the source of that emotional fluctuation.

After finishing his vote-soliciting lines, he bowed to the audience and then passed the microphone to a teammate on the other side.

The audience below was still squealing and shouting. They wished the camera would stick to Quentin’s face and never move away, but unfortunately, that was impossible.

If such noise continued for too long, it would also affect the other teammates’ speeches. So Quentin quickly raised his hand, placed an index finger against the middle of his lips, and made a “shush” gesture.

“Shh…shh… Stop shouting! Quentin noticed!”

“Hey, hey, I got it, I got it, I just lost control for a moment.”

“Wipe your drool first before you talk…”

With such a drastically different and enthusiastic response from the live audience, the final voting result was without any suspense. Quentin’s team won with an overwhelming advantage over the other group.

Then, amidst the entire audience’s shouts of “don’t go”, they left the stage.

Following closely behind his teammates, Quentin returned to the backstage lounge. The moment he pushed the door open, he was met with countless pairs of brightly shining eyes.

Although these trainees’ butts were still honestly glued to their seats, judging by their expressions, it felt like they might pounce on Quentin like wolves and tigers any second.

The scene was just like Tang Seng falling into the lair of the spider demons, and the male spider demons were gradually becoming unable to restrain themselves, itching to take action…

Quentin’s teammates immediately formed a human wall in front of him.

“Hey, hey, hey, what are you all doing? Be careful, don’t get handsy.”

“Don’t block the way! Can’t you see our team leader is tired? Hurry, hurry, move aside, move aside, let him sit down and rest for a while…”

“Everyone, stop messing around. Quentin is really tired. Didn’t you see him rubbing his eyes on stage just now?”

The trainees reluctantly withdrew their hands. Originally, they wanted to take the opportunity of offering congratulations to rush up and give him a bear hug.
Sigh…Why was there always a group of people around Quentin watching him like he was the apple of their eye, completely denying others any chance to get close?

But while they could control their hands and feet, they couldn’t control their eyes.

Even after Quentin found a sofa in the corner and sat down, many people were still openly craning their necks to look at him.

But seeing the boy leaning sideways against a sofa cushion with his eyes closed as if taking a light nap, they felt too embarrassed to go over and make a fool of themselves.

In fact, Quentin was just resting with his eyes closed; his mind was still clear.

He didn’t feel particularly tired. It was just that he rarely wore makeup as heavy as today’s.

Although the eyeshadow and pigments applied to his face were from healthy, non-toxic brands, his eyes were sensitive, and he felt somewhat uncomfortable. Because of the makeup, he couldn’t rub them, afraid of affecting the stage appearance.

Initially, Quentin thought about going straight to the makeup room to remove his makeup after the performance, but as he passed by earlier, he saw that the makeup artists were all busy organizing things, seemingly in a hurry to get off work after the public performance.

So he borrowed a bottle of specialized makeup remover oil from a makeup artist, who offered to help him remove it.

However, Quentin glanced at the half-eaten boxed meal on their desk and shook his head to decline. He would do it himself.

“Thump.”

A light sound rang out as someone plopped down unabashedly in the spot next to him. The voice that came next was expected.

“Hey, Quentin, are you okay?”

Quentin opened his eyes and met a face with flame patterns painted at the corners of the eyes. He slowly asked, “What’s up?”

Xue Mingzhu stared intently at Quentin’s eyes, his brow furrowing. “Wait, don’t move. You… Are your eyes uncomfortable?”

Based on his understanding of Quentin over this period, a stage with average difficulty in both singing and dancing shouldn’t have left Quentin so tired that he needed to find a corner and fall asleep.

If it was because he had been too busy lately and, now that the public performance was finally over, wanted to seize every opportunity to catch up on sleep…it sounded quite reasonable, but Xue Mingzhu felt something was off.

Before Quentin could answer, he saw Fang Xu walk in through the doorway carrying a basin of hot water.

The pale, thin boy stopped in front of Quentin, placed the basin on the floor, then took out makeup remover oil, alcohol, and facial cleanser from the mini pouch attached to his clown costume.

He glanced at Xue Mingzhu. “Quentin… Should I start now? I asked the makeup artist. This pigment is best removed by first applying an alcohol-soaked cotton pad for a few minutes, then using the makeup remover oil for the other eyeshadow and foundation, and finally washing it all clean with facial cleanser.”

Fang Xu ignored the curious glances from those around him and said frankly, “So I went to the restroom to fetch water. I also borrowed a towel for you. They’re both newly unpacked, and I’ve already washed them.”

Quentin looked down at the water basin, then raised his head to look at Fang Xu, unusually caught off guard.

Because of the irritation from the pigment, his lower eyelids were slightly red, and under the direct light, it was as if he was about to cry.

He said blankly, “It hasn’t even been five minutes… and you’ve already done so many things?”

Fang Xu said succinctly, “It was just on the way.”

Under the clear hint in Fang Xu’s gaze, Xue Mingzhu silently got up and yielded his seat, muttering under his breath, “So it really wasn’t because you were tired, but because your eyes are uncomfortable? Is it because of this makeup? I found your makeup a bit too heavy back in the makeup room earlier, all those colors. Who knows if it could cause an allergy.”

Quentin made an affirmative sound, then, following Fang Xu’s instructions, closed his eyes. Feeling the cool touch on his face, he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Fang Xu’s touch was gentle, and he wiped meticulously. He had borrowed cotton pads from somewhere, soaking them one by one in alcohol and pressing them unhurriedly against the boys cheeks.

With his elbows propped on the back of the sofa, Xue Mingzhu stood behind the two-seater, staring intently at Fang Xu’s actions.

His eyes were wide open, his relatively small pupils fixed in a position close to his upper eyelids, looking somewhat like the vertical pupils of a wolf at first glance.

This scene lasted for about five or six minutes, and Fang Xu had already started pouring makeup remover oil onto the cotton pads.

He finally couldn’t help but glance at Xue Mingzhu and said coldly, “How long are you planning to watch?”

Xue Mingzhu, who was watching with great interest, didn’t mind: “What’s wrong with watching? It’s a good opportunity to learn something, it might come in handy later.”

Fang Xu: “…Your eyes are disturbing me.”

“Then could you trouble yourself to bear with it? Or shall I take over?” Xue Mingzhu was eager to try, “I know the next steps too!”

With his eyes still closed, Quentin raised his hand and patted Fang Xu, urging him, “Ignore him. Hurry up. It’ll be time to disperse soon.”

Fang Xu gave a low “mm” of acknowledgment and continued with his task.

Xue Mingzhu finally caught on, and after looking back and forth between the two of them for a moment, he asked in surprise. “I didn’t realize…you two get along quite well?”

“I have never seen you two talk to each other before…” The boy muttered, “Oh, I almost forgot, you’re Quentin’s roommate, right? Are all you roommates this close? It’s only been a few days.”

Look at him and Yan Qiao; even if they shared a room for three months, they’d probably still be at each other’s throats like now.

While the three of them were focused on removing makeup, the other trainees, seeing they couldn’t get close to Quentin to chat, changed their target and actively started chatting with Quentin’s teammates.

“That full English musical was so difficult, how did you all memorize the lyrics? I listened carefully just now, and it seemed like none of you made a mistake?”

Liao Fei laughed awkwardly: “It just sounds like a lot to you. Split between everyone, each person only had a few lines. And thanks to Quentin writing the lyrics so well, this kind of dialogue is easy to remember, so there’s no need for rote memorization.”

Faced with so many people watching, Liang Yao couldn’t help feeling a bit smug: “My memory’s good enough, it’s just a few English lyrics, easy to handle.”

He couldn’t resist saying a bit more: “You probably don’t know this yet, but our team only finalized the lyrics and choreography yesterday morning! The stage you saw today was rehearsed by the seven of us in just one day! The difficulty was even greater than the 24-hour theme song assessment back then! I’m shocked I managed to do it!”

The trainees present were very enthusiastic in their responses.

“Wow, that’s amazing?”

“I heard about it yesterday at noon. I was thinking, how brave of you guys to make major changes the day before the public performance, true warriors…”

“I heard Quentin rearranged the music and lyrics overnight, and Cui Yan and Fang Xu helped choreograph from scratch. Did those three not sleep at all last night?”

Liang Yao nodded vigorously: “Yes! Their energy is truly boundless! I woke up at 5 AM the next day and went to the practice room, and when I pushed the door open, they were still in the same clothes from last night, sitting in the exact same spots. They were so excited from staying up all night they looked more alert than me who had just woken up!”

Hearing this, the trainees couldn’t hold back.

“Wow, that’s so awesome.”

“They’re way too responsible, right? The three of them just quietly solved such a difficult task?”

“But Liang Yao and Liao Fei, you were great too… Liao Fei, don’t you have zero dance foundation? To be honest, I couldn’t tell at all that you only started learning to dance a few days ago when I watched the stage just now.”

Liao Fei smiled shyly: “It’s alright. Everyone was working so hard, how could I hold everyone back alone…”

He stole a glance at Quentin, and seeing that the other party was completely unconcerned with their discussion, said in a somewhat disappointed whisper, “Actually, the night before last, I also wanted to stay and stay up all night with Quentin working on the music…… But after talking with him for a while, I realized the gap between us was too big. I couldn’t really help with anything, and if I forced my way in, I’d just be burdening him…”

As he spoke, his face was filled with undisguised envy and admiration: “Quentin’s original composition skills are really strong. The more I talked with him, the more I felt he knows so much. I even felt he was like my teacher; every time it was me asking questions and him answering… How can he be so amazing?”

The trainees surrounding them were practically glaring with green-eyed envy, gritting their back teeth.

Yeah… How can Quentin be so amazing?

—How can you guys be so lucky!

Especially Liang Yao, who luckily managed to get the last spot in Quentin’s team. He didn’t need to use his brain during the entire rehearsal process, he just had to single-mindedly follow Quentin’s arrangements. He didn’t lift a finger and enjoyed the fruits of others’ labor!

In contrast, their own groups always had disagreements and arguments, and there were many times when everyone ran around like headless flies when encountering difficulties.

They felt their stage rehearsals weren’t good enough, but they couldn’t find corresponding solutions and could only make do with mistakes, tearing down the east wall to repair the west wall, and trying to compensate as much as possible on the original foundation.

How many people had the courage and ability like Quentin to overturn everything and start over?

Really, it’s so enviable!

If they were Quentin’s teammates, even if their skills were limited and they couldn’t help much with composing, writing lyrics, or choreography, they could at least stay up with Quentin!

Even if it was just fetching tea, pouring water, massaging his shoulders, they wouldn’t just let Quentin, Cui Yan, and Fang Xu work overtime all night while they went back to the dorm to sleep with a clear conscience.

Even if they really couldn’t stay awake, they could still sleep on the floor in the practice room, at least providing some faint companionship and emotional support…

Liang Yao was completely unable to read the room. He took everyone’s polite words to heart and even happily patted his chest: “Having a team leader like Quentin is really great. Our team performed so well in this public performance, I should be able to make it to the second round, right? If I get the chance, I definitely want to be on Quentin’s team again next time!”

Everyone: “…”

Bah! In your dreams! Get to the back of the line!

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Only did one chapter today cause I woke up with a cold and feel so uncomfortable. (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠)