The three-minute video completely overturned the general impression of Quentin in the hearts of netizens.
Fans were heartbroken by the angst, but at the same time, they were completely charmed by the little kid and the sickly teenager versions of Quentin in the video.
Sick Quentin was indeed very pitiful, but the contrast between fragility and strength was even more irresistible!
The first time the audience watched the video, they were moved to tears by factors like the editing and background music. But when they watched it again, combining the blonde boy who never gave up his studies or music despite a serious illness with the brilliant trainee performing in the show…
Ah, no wonder he’s our most popular leader on NS.
Of course, after the ninth episode aired, some viewers suspected the production team was helping Quentin create a fake persona.
Since the video didn’t specify what illness Quentin had, nor did it clarify what surgery he underwent, some black fans started making sarcastic remarks, hinting that Quentin might have just been physically weak, had a simple minor surgery, but exaggerated the truth to gain sympathy from fans.
Others even proposed conspiracy theories, questioning whether the materials in the video were staged, because who would record the entire process of being sick?
But such people were ultimately in the minority, quickly forced to delete their posts and go into hiding after being attacked by fans and other netizens.
Sheng Yuanxu and his group’s live stream became a hot search topic thanks to the ninth episode’s popularity. While fans of other trainees publicly dismissed their behavior as riding on the waves of popularity, many secretly paid close attention. Some clips from the live stream even had higher view counts than their daily vlogs, and the comment section was completely chaotic.
After all, these six individuals did have a good relationship with those trainees who had the most fans on the show. From a friend’s perspective, their opinions were quite credible.
Moreover, before ending the live stream, they talked about the finale invitation letters, joking that they would ask the director if they could visit backstage at the finals to film some vlog material.
After fans of various trainees saw this clip, they flooded the barrage, encouraging them to definitely go, and also urging them not to forget to film Quentin/Wen Xinyi/Yan Qiao/and the other trainees.
The matter even reached the production team. Before Sheng Yuanxu could proactively discuss it with the director, a staff member contacted these six eliminated trainees.
The staff first assured them they were welcome to come backstage and film, then asked if they would be willing to do a extra reaction live stream segment, hoping they would interact with the audience like they did in the live stream that went viral.
Sheng Yuanxu and the others discussed it privately in their group chat, then cautiously asked the production team if the reaction segment could be simultaneously streamed on their personal live stream accounts.
They thought the production team wouldn’t agree, but unexpectedly, after a moment of silence, the reply came back: yes.
This was perfect for everyone. The eliminated trainees happily booked their flights and hotels, put the invitations in their pockets, and headed to Yanhai in advance.
As the finale night approached, the list of guests officially announced by the production team grew richer. The four mentors went without saying, and many popular singers and actors were also there to support.
The invited guests and their fans were all satisfied. The popularity of the NS finale itself was enough to make most artists in the industry envious. But for the fans, being able to see their bias’s live stage performances was the most exciting thing.
The promotion for the finale night was in full swing. Meanwhile, Quentin, who had finally finished writing his new song, left his dormitory and knocked on the door of Room 301 next door.
He had just knocked twice when a sound of things clattering and crashing came from inside, followed by a grumpy yell.
“F*ck! My head!” Xue Mingzhu covered his head and hissed, then said loudly, impatiently, “Who is it? The door’s unlocked, just come in!”
Quentin pushed the door open and saw a messy scene inside. Looking down, he spotted two open suitcases on the floor. Clearly, the two in Room 301 were deep cleaning and packing.
The moment Xue Mingzhu, who was kneeling by the suitcases, saw Quentin, his annoyed scowl changed, and his expression became clear: “Uh, Quentin, it’s you.”
He glanced at the messy boxes and bags around him and said in a deep voice, “Why are you here at this hour? Is something wrong?”
Quentin looked at Yan Qiao, who was slowly folding clothes on the other bed: “It’s 8:30 PM. There should still be people in the practice room. Yan Qiao, do you have time right now?”
Yan Qiao didn’t expect that Quentin’s rare visit to their room was to find him. He looked towards the door with a surprised expression: “Right now? Go to the practice room?”
Quentin: “Yeah.”
Yan Qiao looked at him, his brow relaxed, and he smiled for some reason.
Ten-plus minutes ago, he was annoyed by the noise Xue Mingzhu was making while packing, and was forced to get out of bed and help the guy organize his luggage. Seeing Quentin now, his previously frustrated mood miraculously improved.
Even though he had already showered, and it was a hassle to go out late at night, since it was Quentin asking, then practice it is. He could just wash up again after practice.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Clearly the finals were solo stages, with everyone dancing their own dance, except for the final theme song group dance.
But Quentin must have something important to discuss, and he was also very curious about Quentin’s new song. Maybe he would have a chance to hear it?
Yan Qiao was happy, but his gloomy mood shifted to the ignored Xue Mingzhu beside him.
Why specifically call Yan Qiao to the practice room so late? Could there be a problem with the choreography?
Xue Mingzhu thought he guessed correctly; Quentin didn’t invite him, he invited Yan Qiao. Did that mean Quentin’s new song didn’t have a rap part?
If there was a rap, Quentin should have come to discuss it with him, right? He even wanted to show Quentin the rap lyrics he had just finished writing this morning…
After realizing this, Xue Mingzhu was still a bit annoyed. He thought Quentin was born to sing rap, but Quentin didn’t have rap in his initial solo stage, and he wasn’t planning to add a rap section in his final solo either.
If he hadn’t been on the same team as him during the second public performance, would Quentin have never intended to showcase his rap skills on the show?
So, compared to rapping, Quentin definitely preferred dancing more!
The young man sat alone on the dorm floor, his troubled and annoyed look exactly like a little kid who failed to share his favorite toy with a buddy. The way he packed his things became heavier, causing clanging sounds everywhere.
These childish behaviors of an over-aged kid were quietly recorded by the camera. Within two days, they were edited into a behind-the-scenes clip and broadcast, quickly becoming a classic segment in the 3A shipper’s compilation videos.
Xue-Que CP fans: Pfft, You can clearly tell that he is jealous (/≧▽≦)/. The wife rarely takes the initiative to come over but he’s looking for the love rival, leaving the poor dog alone in the room. Too pitiful, wahahaha!
Que-Xue CP fans: What are you waiting for? Chase after him! Aren’t you a few months older than Quentin? Show the attitude of a younger, hot-tempered shou!
The remaining cult Yan-Xue CP fans: [Trembling in fear.jpg]
…
“You mean we add a transitional duet dance between our two stages?”
Yan Qiao followed Quentin on the way to the practice room, listening as the other party laid out the entire duet dance plan.
As he listened, his expression changed again and again. Finally, he let out a long breath and curled his lips: “You never thought I would refuse, did you.”
Quentin’s tone was calm: “It’s mutually beneficial, there’s no reason to refuse.”
Yan Qiao chuckled, raising an eyebrow: “Are you sure? You and me?”
Quentin had a face that said “Why are you stating the obvious” and reminded him: “You’re performing right before me. It has to be you.”
Yan Qiao nodded in understanding. It made sense, given Quentin’s pursuit of excellence in his stage performances, if the person right before him wasn’t him but Xue Mingzhu, the transitional performance between them would probably be a duet rap, not a duet dance.
However, as far as he knew, no other trainees had thought about adding a collaborative segment between solo stages. If only he and Quentin did this, the live audience would probably go crazy…
He thought about these things but didn’t show it on his face, asking casually: “So, what dance will we do? How do we arrange this so-called ‘transition’? For example, how do you come on stage, how do I exit? Have you thought about these things?”
Quentin nodded: “Yes. I was thinking we each take the last ten seconds of your stage and the first ten seconds of mine, using a total of twenty seconds for the duet dance. But the focus of this segment isn’t the ‘dance’, it’s the ‘duet interaction’.”
Yan Qiao couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow again, his mouth twitching: “…What kind of interaction?”
“I looked into the choreography style you prepared for the finals. Combined with my side, I have some ideas.”
Quentin laid out his plan calmly: “Before your stage begins, I’ll hide in the audience seating close to the stage edge. During the last ten seconds of your performance, you’ll reach out towards me in the audience and pull me onto the stage. That way, most people will misunderstand that you invited a lucky audience member up. When the camera turns to our faces, it will create an even bigger surprise.”
Hearing this, Yan Qiao couldn’t help but raise his hand to cover his lips, squinting his eyes to look at Quentin. He murmured with a hint of admiration: “You’re quite the expert.”
Quentin: “Huh?”
“Nothing. I think it’s fine, but we need to add more details.” Yan Qiao looked up at the corridor nearby. “Let’s go into the practice room first. We can rehearse and perfect it as we go, and also… let me hear your new song?”
Because the conversation was going so smoothly, Quentin hadn’t even noticed they had arrived. He looked around, pushed open the nearest empty practice room, and turned on the light.
He noticed the camera fixed on the wall, raised his hand, and waved at it. Seeing the camera sway with his movement, the red light still on, he guessed the staff behind the camera hadn’t rested yet.
The production team’s schedule was always unpredictable. They weren’t asleep when the trainees stayed up late rehearsing at night, and when the trainees got up early to go out, they were up even earlier.
Quentin greeted the camera: “We won’t practice for too long, about an hour, and then we’ll go. Thanks for the hard work.”
Yan Qiao, who was following behind him, casually closed the door and lazily echoed: “Rest assured, teachers, just one hour. We definitely won’t stay up all night tonight.”
The camera paused for two seconds, then silently moved up and down, nodding its head.
Quentin plugged his USB drive into the practice room computer: “I just finished writing this song and haven’t officially recorded it yet. Just listen casually, and we’ll talk about the duet dance as we listen.”
Yan Qiao hummed in agreement and cooperatively offered a suggestion: “If we follow your plan, it will be difficult to avoid detection if you hide in the audience beforehand. And because I perform right before you, you’ll definitely have your makeup and outfit done before going to the audience, and stage outfits really stand out. You’d better wear something over it to hide.”
Quentin agreed: “I considered this issue. Do you remember when we went out to buy drinks before the last public performance started? I was thinking of wearing a black outer layer similar to a staff uniform, preferably the kind with a hood.”
“I think that works. It looks more low-key, and when the camera turns to your face, you can take off the hood!”
As Yan Qiao spoke, his hands unconsciously gestured to his face: “The hood-removing move needs to be designed. Ideally, you should turn your back to the camera at first. Then, as you take off the hood, you look back over your shoulder at the camera.”
It was as if he could already picture the scene in his mind. He spoke faster and faster, continuing: “You also said that initially, we let everyone misunderstand that I pulled up a lucky audience member. The moment the camera turns to your face, that’s the turning point for the live audience’s screams. Looking at it this way, the ‘facial close-up shot’ should be the dividing point between the last ten seconds and the first ten seconds.”
By this time, the song’s intro had already started playing, but Quentin didn’t care at all, focused intently on Yan Qiao’s words.
He replied seriously: “I understand what you mean. Since it’s a transitional part, before the dividing point, our interaction should be centered around you, and the accompaniment should follow your stage style. After the dividing point, the focus shifts to me. The difference between the front and back parts needs to be clear.”
Yan Qiao’s attention, which had been drawn away by the intro one second, was forcibly pulled back the next. A flash of inspiration hit his brain: “How about this? Let’s use the ‘male step’ and ‘female step’ of a duet dance to show the difference.”
Quentin was stunned: “We’re choreographing this ourselves. Do we still need to distinguish male and female steps?”
Yan Qiao laughed: “That’s not what I meant. Hmm, you can understand it as a sense of push and pull? A struggle for initiative? Or, teasing and counter-teasing?”
“…I get it.”
Quentin looked at the charming young man before him and praised: “That’s great. This is why you dancers know better.”
Yan Qiao raised his hand to cover his lower lip and coughed twice: “Not really, it’s nothing special. Should we… give it a try?”
