When Quentin returned to the filming base, nearly half of the trainees had outside work arrangements just like him, such as recording variety shows, shooting magazines, attending commercial events, etc. The number of trainees remaining at the base was no more than twenty.
Among these ten or so trainees, some, like Yan Qiao and the others, had finished their outside work and returned early, while others didn’t have enough commercial value and temporarily had no suitable work invitations.
But everyone knew better than to bring these matters to the surface. Yan Qiao and the other two didn’t deliberately tell the other trainees about their recording of “Cat and Mouse Game.”
Because once such topics came up, it would inevitably seem like they were showing off. Moreover, the opportunity to record the “Cat and Mouse Game” pilot episode could rank in the top three among all the resources accessible to the trainees.
However, the title of brand ambassador for the Asia-Pacific division’s eyeshadow line of the international top-tier cosmetics brand that Quentin secured was far more valuable and rarer than the “Cat and Mouse Game” recording.
After all, the latter was just one episode of a variety show, while the former was an opportunity for long-term cooperation with a major brand.
Moreover, for the vast majority of stars, the cost-effectiveness and hourly rate of endorsement deals far exceeded that of filming movies or variety shows.
To put it simply, work like filming movies or variety shows is the process of artists “accumulating capital,” while commercial endorsements are the means of “realizing capital.”
So, some celebrities, eager to make quick money, constantly attend commercial events for various brands, even accepting invitations from unknown small brands without refusal.
This approach can indeed amass considerable wealth in a short time, but it also rapidly consumes the celebrity’s “star quality” and foundation, ultimately often leading to the collapse of their public image, a significant reduction in commercial value, and damage to their reputation among the general public.
For artists who want to develop long-term in the entertainment industry and have ambitious goals, endorsements absolutely cannot be accepted casually.
Most artists from major companies do not sign long-term endorsement contracts within their first year of debut because their status at that time prevents them from accessing truly valuable luxury or national brands that can mutually benefit and promote each other. Therefore, their best choice at this stage is short-term, small-scale, cost-effective forms of collaboration.
So what are some good forms of collaboration?
First, try to avoid messy small brands as much as possible. Once you get involved with them, it might affect future cooperation with major brands. To put it simply, major brands might feel that the artist would lower their image.
Second, it’s important to understand that newly debuted artists take on endorsements not to make money, but more importantly to increase exposure and create an illusion of “star power” among people inside and outside the industry.
Finally, it can be summarized that the endorsements artists come into contact with most often in the early stages of their debut mainly include brand promotions/brand ambassadorships, offline event appearances, and social media soft advertising (video/photo ads).
Among these, the most common is brand promotion, which is precisely the role Quentin currently held.
But most brand promotions simply involve having moderately popular stars act as “new product recommenders,” coordinating the shooting of a few posters and posting a few articles for publicity.
Treatment like Quentin’s, which involves an internationally renowned director’s studio custom-creating an advertisement, is already very rare. It shows that the brand values Quentin enough and has a strong intention for long-term cooperation in the future.
Most importantly…Quentin was not a promotion ambassador for just any brand. He was the Asia-Pacific division’s eyeshadow line ambassador for the international top-tier cosmetics brand OPHELIA’S WHISPER (OW for short)!
Ahem, although the prefix qualifiers for “promotion ambassador” are a bit many, considering that Quentin hasn’t even officially debuted yet and is just a talent show trainee, it’s no wonder the “NS” director team mistakenly assumed Quentin had an extraordinary background as he easily secured the opportunity to cooperate with OW with such a semi-amateur person.
Almost all the trainees knew that Quentin had filmed an advertisement. There was nothing strange about that. Given Quentin’s popularity, it would be odd if he didn’t have a commercial to shoot.
However, while they knew, they were unaware that he was filming an ad for OW. Otherwise, after the initial surprise, they would likely have been swallowed by the profound sense of disappointment and melancholy brought on by the huge disparity.
During the two-week “promotion week” deliberately set aside by the production team, every trainee was qualified to work outside. However, there were gaping differences between the jobs.
The popularity vote rankings after each public performance was thus recreated in reality.
The upper limit “work” for high-popularity contestants was like that of Quentin, Qi Yang, and others, while the lower limit for low-popularity contestants was nowhere to be found. Although it wasn’t to the point of having no work at all, accepting some jobs might be worse than not accepting them.
Although the trainees who stayed at the filming base didn’t talk much about these topics, their absent-minded states and the occasional expressions of worry on their faces were enough to show that these young men were full of anxiety and confusion about their future.
Usually, regardless of popularity rankings, all the trainees ate, slept, and rehearsed in the same place. Even if someone sang better, danced better, or had stronger overall ability than someone else, everyone only felt a momentary envy, never truly feeling inferior to others deep down.
Young people are always full of confidence and have lofty ambitions. But being overtaken by peers who started from the same point within just two months was still a heavy blow.
Prospects, career, the future…why did they seem so clear and bright on others?
“Hey, you know what? When I went out for that poster shoot this time, I heard people discussing our show when I was on a high-speed train!”
The person sitting on the practice room floor drew a playing card from his hand and joked, “Really? We’re that popular now?”
The one who had spoken first, a trainee who usually didn’t have much interaction with the top popular trainees, laughed and said: “The production team arranged a whole carriage for us, but on the way, I went to another carriage to use the bathroom and overheard some girls talking. What they were discussing was all about those guys…Quentin, Qi Yang, and Yan Qiao’s group. I couldn’t tell whose fans they were, probably just fans of the show.”
His companion playing Fight the Landlord with him and another person heard this and snorted: “That’s nothing. When I went out to shoot a magazine, I did an interview. The reporter kept steering the conversation toward Quentin. My manager even hinted that I could talk a bit more about the little anecdotes about interacting with Quentin. I was really bewildered.”
“Hahaha, so did you?”
“Nonsense! I don’t even know Quentin that well. If I run my mouth now, aren’t I afraid of getting slapped in the face later? I still want to save face.”
Someone asked curiously: “By the way, what show did Quentin and Yan Qiao and the others go to record a few days ago? Does anyone know?”
“If you want to know, just ask Yan Qiao. I heard someone in Class B asked, but I didn’t catch what it was. It’s not like they would go on some really obscure variety show, right?”
“Uh, I actually do know about this. It’s ‘Cat and Mouse Game’…”
“…”
The group fell silent for a moment, suddenly feeling that the cards in their hands suddenly weren’t so appealing anymore.
“So intense.” Someone sighed. “I’ve been watching that show since I was a kid, and they just went on it? It’s only been two months.”
“Actually, it’s not that bad. It’s nothing to be surprised about. Think about it, which company are Yan Qiao and the others from? Even if they weren’t participating in this talent show, they would have had the opportunity to be on big variety shows sooner or later.”
“Hey, hey, stop talking. I’m out of cards. The landlord wins. You three, pay up, pay up!”
“Damn it, you bastard, you were making a fortune in silence!”
While they were making a ruckus, they suddenly heard two clear knocks on the front door of the practice room.
Looking up, a young man in an oversized hoodie stood at the door, politely waving at them: “Excuse me, does anyone know where the Class A trainees are? The practice room over there is empty.”
“Class A?”
The trainee who had won the game stopped his shuffling motion, narrowed his eyes, and said: “If Yan Qiao and Wen Xinyi aren’t in the practice room, they’ve probably gone back to the dorm. As for the others… it seems none of them are back? They’re all out working.”
The young man nodded in understanding: “Okay, thanks.”
The trainee naturally waved his hand: “Don’t mention it.”
Only after the young man left did the few companions sitting next to him snap out of their daze and turned to stare at him in disbelief: “Lizi, do you know who that was?!”
“Oh my god… was that Quentin? Am I blind?”
“No, Quentin went out to shoot an ad. He got a haircut? And dyed it blonde? I almost didn’t recognize him!”
The trainee shuffling the cards was confused: “Quentin? You mean that yellow-haired guy at the door just now?”
The person next to him looked pained: “Tsk, I forgot you’re severely nearsighted.”
“Brother, you really should remember to wear your glasses when you go out. What ‘yellow hair’? His hair is golden… cough, saying that doesn’t sound quite right either. Hey, Shen Zhao, what are you spacing out for?”
“…”
Shen Zhao turned his head blankly, barely managing to pull his gaze away from the front door, his expression gradually deepening: “You guys… is Quentin’s blonde hair natural, or dyed?”
The people around him found it strange: “Why are you asking that? It’s probably dyed.”
“I think it might be natural. Didn’t you guys notice Quentin’s been wearing a cap these past few days? I’m guessing it was to cover the newly grown blonde hair.”
“True. Black hair and green eyes are really rare in reality. The key point is the black is so pure, and the green is so light. Even mixed-race people don’t have that combination, right?”
“Seriously, does it matter whether the blonde hair is natural or dyed? Isn’t the main point supposed to be that the guy is even more handsome with blonde hair than with black hair?! That’s too much! Doesn’t his face have an upper limit? Who would dare stand in the same frame with him after this?”
“As if you were confident standing in the same frame with him when he had black hair…”
“…Get lost!”
A group of people were joking around absent-mindedly, seemingly happy on the outside, but feeling a mix of emotions inside.
Sigh… sigh!
Quentin, who had merely stopped by the Class C practice room to ask a question, naturally didn’t know what kind of emotional turmoil his appearance had caused for those few Class C trainees.
Actually, he wasn’t looking for his Class A classmates for any other reason. It was just that after returning to the filming base, he subconsciously walked towards the building where the practice rooms were located, only to find both the Class A and Class B classrooms empty, which he found a bit strange.
Because in his memory, these trainees were all quite hardworking and resilient. Normally at this time, most people would choose to stay in the practice rooms. The sight of both classes completely deserted was really odd.
But judging by what that Class C classmate meant… It seemed everyone was really busy.
For artists in the entertainment industry, being busy is certainly better than idling around doing nothing. Quentin also hoped that these young and energetic trainees could gain opportunities for upward development through this show.
He carried his light luggage and slowly strolled back to the dorm building, planning to take a hot shower after putting down his things and then take a comfortable afternoon nap in bed.
However, as soon as he reached the third floor, Quentin saw three familiar people standing in the corridor.
Three pairs of eyes all looked towards him in unison, as if they had been waiting for a long time.
“Why are all of you standing here instead of enjoying the air conditioning?” Quentin looked over suspiciously and said casually, “You wouldn’t be waiting for me, would you?”
Xue Mingzhu raised his hand and gave a thumbs up: “Congratulations, you guessed right.”
Quentin: “…What is it that you can’t say inside? Why the rush?”
“He just went out to take out the trash and happened to see you coming from the practice room.” Xue Mingzhu gestured towards Yan Qiao beside him, grinning. “And since you were already here, what’s wrong with us three waiting outside? We were even thinking of going downstairs to greet you…”
“No need to greet me. It’s too enthusiastic, it feels like there’s a conspiracy.”
“Wow, what conspiracy could we have… Wait, never mind that. What’s up with your hair?”
Xue Mingzhu belatedly focused his attention on Quentin’s dazzling light golden hair. The tips sticking up from the top of his head almost melted into the sunlight, as if coated with a brilliant halo, as if a beauty filter had been applied on him.
Besides him, Wen Xinyi and Yan Qiao were also staring at Quentin, their gazes moving back and forth between the latter’s hair and face.
Quentin couldn’t take their staring any longer and couldn’t help but reach up to touch his hair, which had been cut short by the stylist. At this point, the length of his hair was far from a buzz cut; it looked more like lamb’s wool.
Soft and fluffy, like floating clouds in the breeze, colored with the gold of a mountain from a Japanese anime.
He explained concisely: “During the commercial shoot, the director arranged to have it cut short.”
Xue Mingzhu clicked his tongue in amazement: “That director has pretty good taste. I’ve been saying you should have come to this talent show with this hairstyle ages ago. It’s way too cool.”
Wen Xinyi also praised from the bottom of his heart: “Blonde hair looks really good. It suits you very well.”
Yan Qiao nodded and added: “Like an angel.”
Xue Mingzhu: “Ugh, that’s so cheesy.”
Quentin said helplessly: “Didn’t you have something to say? Let’s talk about the important stuff first.”
“Actually, we’re not too sure about this either. We just heard…” Wen Xinyi hesitated. “The third public performance might be in a free team formation.”
Quentin didn’t react: “What do you mean?”
Xue Mingzhu: “Pfft, it means we can form teams however we want, we can be in a team with anyone… that’s what I’m guessing. Otherwise, why call it a free team formation?”
Wen Xinyi expressed his agreement and smiled: “So I want to try to see if we can form a team together. We haven’t had the chance before. If it’s possible this time, I don’t want to miss it.”
In the first two public performances, he had always been automatically elected as the leader. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be the leader, but compared to the position of leader, he was more interested in a collaboration of the strong.
But according to the production team’s rules for selecting leaders, the trainees with strong abilities and high popularity were often forced to become leaders, leaving almost no opportunity for cooperation among them.
Yan Qiao felt the same way. He had wanted to team up with Quentin for a long time. He had expressed this intention from the first day of the initial evaluation stage, but it still hadn’t happened yet.
Facing the three’s invitation, Quentin said without any hesitation: “Of course, as long as the rules allow it, we’ll team up.”
Yan Qiao curved his lips and proposed: “Besides the four of us, we can also call three more who are ranked high and always end up being leaders.”
Perhaps this could be considered a trial run for the talent show boy group before debut?
After the four of them discussed it back and forth, Xue Mingzhu suddenly thought of something and asked: “If we team up like this, the leader is still Quentin, right?”
Wen Xinyi said sincerely: “If Quentin is willing, I raise both hands in support.”
Yan Qiao shook his head: “I have no objections.”
Quentin looked indifferent: “I’m fine with anything.”
“Alright, then Quentin will be the leader!” Xue Mingzhu joked casually, “If you are not the leader, I would not be convinced if it were someone else.”
Wen Xinyi followed up with a smile: “Same here.”
Yan Qiao raised an eyebrow: “Plus one.”
Quentin thought for a moment and said: “Indeed. If it were one of you as the leader, I’d be quite worried.”
“Hahahaha Quentin, you went out to record a variety show and came back knowing how to joke…”
Xue Mingzhu laughed halfway, saw Quentin’s expressionless face, and his voice faltered. He muttered quietly: “Damn, you’re not serious, are you?”
Wen Xinyi clutched his chest, pretending to be hurt, and weakly coughed up blood: “Pfft, that’s a really sharp thing to say…”
Quentin caught sight of Yan Qiao’s eager expression: “You feel hurt too?”
Yan Qiao silently took a step forward, stood behind Quentin, and said seriously: “No, I support you.”
*
Quentin and the others didn’t openly declare that they had agreed to form a team. To put it bluntly, they couldn’t be a hundred percent sure that the production team would implement the free team formation arrangement. But the discussion had at least given them some anticipation.
Fortunately, the production team did not disappoint this anticipation.
A few days later, the trainees who had been working outside gradually returned, and the recording for the team formation of the third public performance was put on the schedule.
All 40 trainees gathered in the large practice room. This time, it was mentor Chen Shiyu standing on stage to announce the team formation rules.
After a brief greeting, she got straight to the point: “I know that for this last public performance, some of you trainees would rather try collaborating with other leaders than be the leader yourselves. And some of you might want to try being a leader for once but haven’t had the chance due to the rules.”
“So, for the team formation of this round of performances, after discussion between us mentors and the production team, we have decided on an open-style free grouping.”
She paused, smiled, and looked around, then said: “So, the rule for this team formation is…no-rule!”
There was an uproar below the stage, but Chen Shiyu didn’t stop and continued: “What does ‘no rule’ mean? Let me explain.”
“If any of you want to be the leader for the third public performance, please come forward and write your name on the whiteboard here. Then, as the leader, you can find your own teammates and form a seven-person team. In the subsequent voting session, have your teammates all vote for you, and your position as the leader is secured.”
“Of course, this is only one way. If seven trainees who are very close to each other gather and form a team naturally, you seven can also internally elect one leader to write their name on the whiteboard and wait for the subsequent vote.”
“In short, our only requirement is that the number of people in each team is within the range of 6-7 people, and in the end, six leaders will be elected through voting. That is to say, there will be a total of six small teams.”
“So who will compete against whom? We will leave that decision to fate.”
Chen Shiyu pointed to a cardboard box on the floor: “There are six small balls in the box, in three colors: red, yellow, and blue. There are two balls of each color. The leaders who draw the same color ball will be each other’s opposing teams for this public performance.”
She clapped her hands, raised her voice with a smile, and said as if hawking: “The rules are very simple. So, without further ado, everyone, please start forming your teams freely!”
The fact that Mentor Chen introduced the rules quickly did not mean the trainees absorbed them quickly. Most people still hadn’t processed it yet.
Free team formations?
They could be in a team with anyone they wanted?
If they wanted to be the leader, they could be the leader?
How…how were they supposed to choose!
Before they could sort out their thoughts, the next second, they saw Quentin, sitting in the corner of the first row, stand up. Without any hesitation, he walked onto the stage, took the marker from Chen Shiyu, and stroke by stroke, wrote his name on the whiteboard.
This…
Everyone blankly watched his actions, their gazes following him as he put down the marker and turned back to walk into the group of Class A people.
Very quickly, the trainees noticed that those Class A big shots had spontaneously gathered together, not participating in the other trainees’ discussions, and didn’t seem to be worried about forming a team at all. It was as if…
They had already finished forming their team.
The fact that Quentin took the initiative to be the leader surprised no one. It would have been strange if he hadn’t been the leader.
But what is happening now? Didn’t these people need to discuss it at all? Was their team already formed?
‘This is just bullying…’
Someone thought gloomily: “The Class A big shots form one team. What do we have to compete with them?”
Such words couldn’t be said out loud in front of the cameras, but it was indeed a discouraging fact.
“Wait, it doesn’t seem to be all Class A? Look…”
Someone stared towards the corner of the first row and silently recited one by one: “Quentin, Wen Xinyi, Xue Mingzhu, Yan Qiao, Qi Yang, Cui Yan, Fang Xu… exactly seven people. The seven of them are one team.”
The trainee beside him quietly complained: “You’re right, it’s not all Class A. They just plowed through the top seven.”
“What can we do about it? The seven of them have always had a good relationship… But I remember last time the seventh place was Cheng Shaozi, right? Fang Xu seems to be eighth place. Why did they skip him?”
“Are you stupid? Fang Xu is Quentin’s roommate. How could they not take him!”
“Sigh, stop talking. Whether it’s Class A or the top seven or eight, the world of the big shots has nothing to do with us. Let’s hurry up and form our teams…”
“Damn it! When I first heard about free team formation, I thought the production team had finally grown a conscience. But it’s still not as good as the random grouping before! This is the last public performance, and I’ve never been on the same team as Quentin!”
“I want to try being on the same team as Xue Mingzhu and rap…”
“For this round, I planned to go to Wen Xinyi’s side to form a vocal team…”
“I don’t care about that. I wanted to be in a team with Qi Yang, to show my presence. My sister is his fan, so it would be convenient to ask for a photo and autograph later.”
Ruined, completely ruined!
A group of people looked up at the ceiling at a 45-degree angle, feeling completely miserable. Especially a certain someone who had originally planned to use connections to get into Quentin’s team… Shen Zhao gritted his teeth, silently annoyed that his director uncle hadn’t told him the third public performance grouping rules in advance and had spoken vaguely, causing him to wait in vain for so long!
The most relaxed people in the room were undoubtedly Quentin and the others. Only Wen Xinyi, seeing the depressed looks of the other trainees, couldn’t help but look at Xue Mingzhu curiously and ask in a low voice: “Xiao Xue, how did you know the third public performance would involve free team formations?”
Xue Mingzhu’s expression was also a bit strange. He had thought this news had already spread, but the others didn’t seem to know?
He scratched his head: “The day I came back from working, I passed by the director’s office and overheard the assistant director and them talking about it…”
Wen Xinyi was silent for a few seconds: “…The production team couldn’t have done that on purpose, right?”
Did they deliberately leak the information to them in advance, hoping they would discuss it earlier and form a team?
But what was the point of that? It couldn’t be that putting them all together would generate more buzz, right.
“Don’t overthink it. Isn’t it good to adapt in advance?” Yan Qiao looked around unhurriedly and suddenly smiled. “This is our first stage together. I will give it my all.”
Cui Yan also smiled and proactively extended his fist: “Of course, I will too. This is the last public performance. We have to bring out our best.”
The young men reached out their hands one after another, making fists, fist to fist, saying words of encouragement and cheering one after another. The more they spoke, the more it sounded like they were taking an oath.
Finally, Quentin concluded: “As the leader, I will lead everyone to present the best stage.”
Such a responsible sentence, but it didn’t quite match his age. Especially after he returned to his blonde hair, he looked even younger than when he had the calm and reserved black hair.
With a head of light golden lamb’s wool-like hair, and a fair, delicate face, anyone would think he looked like a minor.
But the few people present had no objections and didn’t find such a Quentin incongruous at all.
After all, this young man had already proven his irreplaceable position with his strength. Only he, as the leader, could subdue this group of teammates who possessed both strength and popularity.
Very quickly, the team formation segment ended.
When drawing opponent groups, although the production team didn’t manipulate things behind the scenes, Quentin’s team still ended up matched against the second strongest team, composed of Cheng Shaozi, Zhou Zilin, and others.
The trainees from the other four teams let out a sigh of relief almost simultaneously.
Good. Let these big shots roll inwards and fight amongst themselves. When gods fight, mortals should not disturb!
Chen Shiyu, with her script in hand, walked back to the front: “So, all six teams have now been assembled. Next, let me announce the core theme of this round of public performances.”
Under everyone’s expectant eyes, she spoke unhurriedly: “Do you all remember what the theme of the last public performance was? Yes, that’s right. It was ‘original composition’.”
“And although the theme of this performance is not ‘original composition’, it will test everyone’s ability to adapt.”
“So, listen carefully. The theme of this round of public performances is….”
“Girl Group Song Adaptation!”
