On the day of the Next Stage finals, the scene was once again bustling and lively, only on a larger scale than the previous three public performances, with more audience members and a wider venue.
According to the production team’s arrangement, the debut night was broadcast live in its entirety. The official voting portal would close during the last half hour with a countdown involving the entire audience, followed by the moment of crowning glory for the newly formed idol group members.
The live broadcast officially started at 8 PM. The trainees arrived at the venue at 8 AM, while the mentors and invited celebrity guests would arrive a bit later.
After Quentin finished a round of rehearsals with the main group, he went back to the dressing room under the guidance of the styling teachers to prepare for the official stage makeup and styling.
During the styling process, a staff member came in to deliver meals, handing out two differently packaged boxed lunches to the trainees versus other employees.
“Hey, Quentin, don’t open your eyes yet. Let me finish this eye, then you can eat.”
The makeup artist was helping Quentin with his eyeshadow. The palette she was using was sent by the sponsor of tonight’s debut night.
Although the eyeshadow advertisement OW filmed with Quentin hadn’t aired yet, OW had already released a pre-sale announcement. Everyone on the NS production team knew that OW had specifically come to sponsor the debut night because of Quentin.
Those eyeshadow palettes, not yet officially released, were also sent in cartons. It was said they hoped the production team would capture shots of Quentin with the OW eyeshadow palette while filming behind-the-scenes footage.
In fact, the makeup artist responsible for Quentin’s makeup felt quite helpless inside.
To be honest, Quentin’s makeup for today didn’t need the OW Joker series colorful eyeshadow palettes at all. Two basic dark and light earth-tone eyeshadows would be completely sufficient.
Moreover, for a face like Quentin’s, unless it was the deliberately exaggerated ugly makeup like that of the first public performance, the three-dimensionality of his brow bone and eye sockets meant he didn’t need much eyeshadow enhancement at all.
Colorful eyeshadow also clashed easily with his green eyes, making it look too flamboyant and ostentatious, and not suitable for most domestic boy group stages.
However, Quentin himself seemed flamboyant enough, especially after switching back to blonde hair.
This type of flamboyant, handsome-looking idol was extremely rare domestically. Combined with his personal abilities, he was basically an idol without any substitute.
The makeup artist stopped, gently resting the brush on the eyeshadow palette: “You can open your eyes now.”
Quentin opened his eyes and saw the transparent plastic box on the table. Inside was the familiar brown rice, beef, broccoli…there was a strange feeling of being chased by the cafeteria chef.
But at this critical moment, no trainee would complain about whether the food tasted good or not. Having eaten this for three months, wasn’t what they were waiting for tonight the final result?
The heart-wrenching nervousness, the near-suffocating feeling, mattered far more than food or such concerns.
Sitting at the makeup tables to Quentin’s left and right were still Yan Qiao and Xue Mingzhu. The former wanted to talk more with Quentin about the stage, the latter was just used to it. In most situations, unless unnecessary, he would always sit next to Quentin.
They ate while chatting casually. After less than ten minutes, they heard a knock outside the door. The next second, the door was pushed open. A man wearing sunglasses and holding a camera walked in. He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the unfamiliar faces before quickly locking onto Quentin’s area.
“Quentin? You haven’t forgotten me, have you.”
He chuckled, strode over confidently as if entering his own home, and naturally reached out to touch Quentin’s hair: “Last time we recorded the show, I didn’t see you with this hair color. It looks pretty cool.”
Quentin still had food in his mouth, with one cheek puffed out. He looked questioningly at the camera in the man’s hand and mumbled a greeting: “Ji Sheng…have you eaten yet?”
“You’re not calling me ‘Brother’ anymore?” Ji Sheng teased casually, then said, “Yeah, I ate. Lao He and I went to a restaurant this morning. I thought about calling you out to catch up, but Director Wang said you guys were busy rehearsing, so I didn’t.”
Quentin: “Yeah, rehearsal was a bit busy.”
Ji Sheng looked around, pulled a chair from the aisle, placed it behind Quentin, sat down comfortably, and crossed his legs: “Being busy is good. In our line of work, you can’t be idle. I saw your performance list. You wrote another new song?”
Quentin nodded.
“Impressive, in such a short time… Hey, with you around, your future group might actually be able to do original songs.”
As Ji Sheng spoke, his eyes wandered over the faces of the other trainees, trying to match them with the few prospective debut members he knew.
Before coming, he only recognized Wen Xinyi, Yan Qiao, and Qi Yang, the three who had also recorded “Cat and Mouse Game”. He had only vaguely recognized the faces of others while watching NS, and could name no more than ten.
Ever since Ji Sheng entered the room, the trainees had silently perked up their ears, secretly paying attention to his conversation with Quentin.
Most trainees knew Ji Sheng was a permanent guest on Cat and Mouse Game. So seeing Ji Sheng take the initiative to greet Quentin, and so skillfully and naturally, they were immediately shocked and almost ground their teeth to pieces.
Although they knew Quentin was first place and understood his outstanding abilities, this was Ji Sheng! A great, great senior from the ECHO boy group that had been popular for nearly a decade! He interacted with Quentin as if their statuses were on par even though he hadn’t even debuted yet; how could they not be envious!
If they were chatting with Ji Sheng, they would definitely lead the conversation enthusiastically and warmly, fully demonstrating the emotional intelligence and warmth of a junior!
But to be jealous of Quentin? They understood their own limits. The trainees with no hope of debuting gradually immersed themselves in fantasies, imagining that if they could add him on social media afterwards, they would have meals and gatherings together, make friends, and through the connection of friends, expand their networks, secure gigs, and charge fiercely towards the upper echelons of the entertainment industry…
When they snapped back to reality, they suddenly and unexpectedly met Ji Sheng’s gaze. Their backs instantly straightened, and they said respectfully, “Brother Ji…”
Ji Sheng raised an eyebrow: “Oh, hello.”
He finished speaking and withdrew his gaze, not giving others a chance to speak. He just casually nodded towards the two whose names he remembered, as a greeting.
Ji Sheng refocused his attention on Quentin. He had come specifically for Quentin. The production team had arranged separate dressing rooms and lounges for the celebrity guests. Unless trainees actively knocked on the door to greet them, celebrities generally wouldn’t come over to chat.
Ultimately, time was tight and the task was heavy, and they weren’t familiar with each other. Anything to say could be said during a post-finale dinner, if there was one.
As for why Ji Sheng wanted to see Quentin, on one hand, the impression the latter left on him during the variety show recording was too deep. After all, who could easily forget being pinned down by a young newcomer on a variety show, and almost having their belt pulled off?
A more vindictive person would have held a grudge against Quentin, but Ji Sheng was different. He was the type who got stronger with setbacks.
On the other hand, Ji Sheng came with a promotional task from Director Chen Hai of Cat and Mouse Game.
Originally, Cat and Mouse Game was planned to air right after the NS debut night ended. Now, it had already entered the promotional phase.
Ji Sheng and the others participated in the pilot film of Cat and Mouse Game. The official preview said it would air next Sunday. Apart from the several NS trainees, the other flying guests had all reposted the official preview, actively cooperating with the production team’s promotional requirements.
Director Chen hadn’t asked Quentin and the others to repost the preview. Otherwise, he could have easily contacted Director Wang and the trainees’ companies or managers. So what if their phones were confiscated? It didn’t stop others from logging into their accounts.
Reposting the preview could wait until after the finals. The task Director Chen entrusted to Ji Sheng was the top priority.
While the entire online audience was eagerly anticipating the debut night live stream, anxiously wanting to see their beloved idols, at such an exciting moment, let Cat and Mouse Game be the first brave soul to visit the debut night backstage!
Ji Sheng glanced at the small screen behind the camera, focusing the lens on Quentin, who had closed his boxed lunch and was getting ready to continue his makeup.
He cleared his throat: “Ahem, Quentin, aren’t you curious about what I’m filming?”
Quentin, already closing his eyes at the makeup artist’s signal, said in a muffled voice: “What are you filming?”
Eh? Such cooperation actually made it less interesting.
Ji Sheng’s understanding of Quentin was still stuck on the capable, good-at-hiding and cunning young man from the final session of Cat and Mouse Game. He only remembered how Quentin had effortlessly pinned his arms behind his back and forced him to his knees against the wall, but forgot that this young man was a quiet, detached person.
Oh, not necessarily quiet all the time. He had watched the show; Quentin talked quite a bit when he was being the team leader.
Ji Sheng said: “You know that Cat and Mouse Game is about to air, right? Tch, you made me lose a lot of face back then, kid. I’m here on behalf of our show to check on you, Yan Qiao, Wen Xinyi… By the way, Qi Yang isn’t here, is he? He should come to watch your finals tonight, right?”
“Probably.” Quentin paused, then said, “When does it air?”
Ji Sheng enunciated the line clearly: “Next Sunday at noon, taking over Next Stage’s timeslot on Youth TV. As a trainee who has repeatedly topped the votes on NS, do you have any blessings you want to say for ‘Cat and Mouse Game’?”
After speaking, he muttered under his breath: “Such a cliché question again… cut this part.”
Quentin thought for a few seconds and said seriously: “Then I wish that Cat and Mouse Game can achieve even greater glory building on the foundation of Next Stage.”
Ji Sheng was amused: “Ha… only you could say that. Not bad. Director Chen will probably be all smiles.”
After that, they exchanged a few more remarks, occasionally mentioning Yan Qiao and Wen Xinyi. Ji Sheng also got to know Xue Mingzhu.
As a loyal rap enthusiast, Ji Sheng always respected talented rappers. If he hadn’t walked the path of a main dancer years ago, he might have ventured into the rap scene.
Just as Ji Sheng had almost filmed enough material, Sheng Yuanxu and his group, who had already notified the production team, happened to push the door open.
Instantly, the dressing room became much more crowded. There was hardly any space to step in the middle aisle.
Quentin, whose hair was being styled by the stylist, met the eyes of Sheng Yuanxu’s camera through the mirror and couldn’t help but think: ‘The backstage of the finals is so lively!’
He hadn’t noticed it during the previous three public performances… And the backstage at his concerts in his previous life were strictly controlled. Some fans’ boldness and madness had no limits, something Quentin’s studio employees knew deeply.
Sheng Yuanxu looked at Quentin in the mirror, paused for a moment, then smiled and explained why he was there, sincerely stating that he wouldn’t film randomly and wouldn’t include anything inconvenient to air in his vlog.
After he finished this opening speech, he realized that the person sitting behind Quentin, holding a camera just like him, wasn’t a staff member responsible for filming behind-the-scenes footage.
He looked familiar, very familiar…wasn’t this Ji Sheng?!
