While the seven members of Inferno were preparing to go on stage, a post that had been on the forum for only a few minutes quietly floated to the top of the trending list on the forum.
>Topic: [Li Tao, the order of stages for the live broadcast night doesn’t feel right. After Inferno comes Echo, then Aurora, and only at the end are the trainees’ stages.
The guest stars scheduled after them are all singers and actors. All the idols have been arranged by the production team to go on stage before the NS trainees. Can someone analyze the production team’s intention?]
1L: [The original poster has such a sharp eye, I didn’t even notice the program list…]
2L: [Do you even need to ask? The trainees are the main characters of tonight’s live broadcast. The main characters naturally have to appear last!
And the other guests are all big-name seniors from different fields. Would you compare big-name seniors with our trainees? Certainly not. But the idols can’t escape.]
3L (OP): [The person above means that the production team is very confident in the trainees’ stages, arranging them after three idol groups because they’re not afraid of comparison?]
4L: [Ptooey ptooey ptooey! Don’t listen to the nonsense on the 2nd floor. That’s not true!]
5L: [I don’t think the production team thought that much… First of all, Inferno definitely has to go on stage first. They’re all 7-member groups that debuted the same year, there’s no reason to give way on NS’s home turf.
Secondly, Echo is Inferno’s senior group. It makes perfect sense for one to go on before and the other after. And Aurora is considered half a senior to us on NS. It also makes perfect sense for one to go on before and the other after. Arranged in order like that, isn’t it exactly the same as it is now?]
6L: [But it’s undeniable that the production team must be very confident in their own kids!
Because with this kind of stage order, if you’re not careful, you’ll be completely overshadowed by the three idol groups. A perfectly good debut night will be drowned in endless negative posts [facepalm].
If I were the production team, I would be more cautious and separate these boy and girl groups on stage.
At the very least, let the senior groups go on later. Our NS and Inferno can go on first. They’re both new groups, so the skill gap shouldn’t be that big.]
7L: [The person above is dreaming and hasn’t woken up?? How could Inferno possibly go on stage right next to our trainees? The production team isn’t even as confident in them as you are. [embarrassed]]
8L: [The skill gap isn’t that big…maybe in your dreams. If you’re comparing individual skills, maybe you could compete, but comparing the group’s average skill, it’s really unnecessary.]
9L: [It depends on who you’re including in that “average skill.” If you average 20 trainees, then there’s really no comparison. But if you take the debut group members individually, they can definitely hold their own [stroking chin].
Ace Quentin vs. Ji Xu, main vocal Wen Xinyi vs. Yan Xi, main dancers Yan Qiao/Cheng Shaozhi vs. Chen Yueshan, main rapper Xue Mingshu vs. Lin Qi, oh, and visual Quentin vs. Jian Yu.
That’s at least four wins and one tie. In what aspect can Inferno win?]
10L: [Damn… when you put it that way, our kids really seem quite strong?]
11L: [What’s with the person above? Are you a black fan? Our NS has always been very strong!!!]
12L: [It’s mainly hard to compare a temporary survival show group with a boy group that the company has cultivated since they were young, and that went through countless rounds of screening and elimination before being formed…]
13L: [Can you NS fans be reasonable? How did you come up with four wins and one tie?? Which is the win, if I may ask???
Inferno’s skills haven’t even been fully shown yet. Who has a dedicated program like you do to show off their stages? We, Inferno, haven’t had our first official stage until tonight’s live broadcast!]
14L: [Talking about it makes the tears flow. Which company’s main group has such a miserable fate? Ah, it turns out it’s mine [wiping tears]]
15L: [IceCola, come take a look. Inferno has been forced to be so laid-back that even undebuted trainees can step on them. Hurry up and bring out the stage, music festival, concert, variety show, endorsements, all of it!]
16L: [If you doubt Inferno’s skills, you can go watch the live stream replay~ Our Inf’s stage debut was a complete success! It’s only been a few minutes and we already have three trending topics! Are you jealous? Anyone?]
17L: [I don’t understand what’s so impressive and worth bragging about buying trending topics in advance… As if nobody else has them [embarrassed]]
18L: [QT answering interview questions has more trending topics than yours. Why are you, with your mid-to-back row trending topics, trying to compete with the top row? Is it because your company is unwilling to spend money, or because you have thick skin?]
…
The argumentative atmosphere in the hot post gradually spread to the official Q&A post released by NS.
Inferno had just debuted not long ago, and the solo fans of the seven members weren’t yet a force to be reckoned with. At this time, the group fans and solo fans were most united. And NS, currently at the height of its popularity, had unfortunately walked right into the line of fire.
Not even debuted yet and already this arrogant, once they debut, wouldn’t they be fighting and bickering every single day!
Although tonight was the trainees’ home ground, for Inferno’s fans, this was also their kids’ first official stage. No matter what, they couldn’t lose!
Thus, the official question solicitation post unexpectedly became a battlefield for the fans of both sides.
The high-liked, normal questions from the front rows were quickly pushed down, replaced by some snarky, trap-filled questions.
For example, asking Yan Qiao, if you could choose your teammates, who would you want to be teammates with?
For example, asking Ji Xu, if you participated in NS, what rank do you think you would debut at?
For another example, asking Quentin, what do you think of Inferno’s stage just now? Whose performance do you admire the most?
In short, at first glance, there weren’t any problems, but upon closer inspection, they were all pitfalls.
No one knew which fan had asked them. They came up with these questions that were enemies to all, not caring if the situation got out of hand.
The staff member screening the questions backstage was already sweating profusely. In the end, after picking and choosing, they barely managed to pull out three questions that were still within their control.
The lucky draw box was sent to the stage, and the host raised her hand to signal for the Inferno members to draw the slips.
The few boys glanced at each other and finally, tacitly, let the leader go first. Ji Xu had just reached his hand in and felt around when he almost lost control of his expression.
—What the hell, there were only three paper balls? There was no need for a lucky draw at all!
Maintaining the smile on his face, Ji Xu thought to himself, ‘So this is how NS creates entertainment effects. Were there only three paper balls in the previous rounds of draws too? Makes sense, since it’s a live broadcast, it wouldn’t be good if someone drew a question that was too outrageous.’
He deliberately fumbled around inside the box, pretending to hesitate, and slowly pulled out a paper ball, saying, “Hmm… let’s go with this one. Let me see who it’s for…”
“…Huh?”
Ji Xu was stunned for a moment. He subconsciously glanced at the large screen, then looked at the host: “Sister Miao, this… can I ask questions to people who aren’t trainees?”
Qin Miao had already received the director’s reminder through her earpiece. She knew the content of the three questions in the box in advance, so she nodded and smiled calmly: “Of course you can. Why that expression? Don’t tell me you drew a question for yourself?”
“Indeed…” Ji Xu put on a bitter expression like someone out of luck and helplessly showed the unfolded side of the paper toward the camera. “This netizen named ‘One Vine, Seven Melons’ asks Ji Xu, who is me…”
“If you were a trainee on Next Stage, who would you most want to debut with, and who would you most want to be teammates with?”
As soon as this question was read out, the audience in the stands opened their mouths and started shouting, “Ohhhh…..”
The camera swept over the audience. Most people looked surprised and confused, but a few were covering their mouths, laughing happily.
The barrage was even livelier than the on-site crowd. Uniform question marks and exclamation points crazily flooded the screen.
[???]
[When I type a question mark, it’s not because I have a problem, it’s because I think you have a problem…]
[I told you not to go crazy on the Q&A post. Look what happened. Now Inferno’s group fans are unhappy, and NS fans are disgusted too.]
[Well, I’m not unhappy… The problem is, my bias probably hasn’t even watched your show. He’s so busy, having just debuted. When would he have time to watch variety shows? If he can’t answer, who knows who’ll be more embarrassed [facepalm]]
[I’m not disgusted. Don’t speak for the fans. This question isn’t hard to answer, is it? It’s better than those crazy CP questions.]
[Caught a desperate solo fan]
Qin Miao cooperatively laughed out loud: “Aiya, this question is a bit difficult, but I remember there are people among our trainees that you, Ji Xu, know, right?”
Ji Xu looked up at the large screen, which showed the 20 trainees in the backstage waiting room. His gaze quickly passed over the unfamiliar faces: “Yeah, there are people I know.”
His smile gave him the vibe of a little milk dog. The corners of his mouth were curved, and just looking at his face, you would think he was an underage high school student. Even his voice was a standard youthful tone.
“The one I’ve known the longest is definitely Yan Qiao, who’s from the same company as us.”
He said, “But Brother Qiao was in the dancer group before, so most of our classes didn’t overlap. I often heard Brother Qiao’s name, but we rarely talked face-to-face. It’s a shame when I think about it now.”
Ji Xu changed the topic: “But not long ago, we recorded a variety show together. Can I talk about that here?”
Qin Miao raised an eyebrow: “Oh…are you talking about Cat and Mouse Game season 10, which will air next Sunday after our Next Stage?”
Ji Xu’s smile grew even brighter: “Exactly. I got to know a few new friends on Cat and Mouse Game, and because of that, I specifically went online to watch my new friend’s survival show stage.”
“Su-per-awesome-!”
He gave the camera a thumbs up, deliberately using an exaggerated tone: “So, getting back to the question, if I were a trainee here, I would definitely want to debut with my new friend, Quentin, the most!”
“Of course, it would also be great to be teammates with the four trainees who I was fortunate enough to record the show with!”
[Hmm, it’s Quentin. Not surprising at all.]
[It’s hard for people who’ve seen QT’s stage performances not to like him. You wouldn’t even know how to lose if you were teammates with him. (I think the NS trainees can definitely speak to that)]
[Cat and Mouse Game’s promotion is as impressive as ever. For the sake of the cast in the trailer, I’ll grudgingly renew my membership.]
[This show gets more boring each season. Apart from watching the guests, I don’t know what else there is to see.]
[What variety show doesn’t get more boring? The fact that it’s made it to season 10 just means that no matter how boring it gets, there are still people watching.]
[I thought Ji Xu would say Yan Qiao… So they’re not close?]
[Xiao Ji already said it very tactfully. They’re just not close. He’s only heard the name, and they’ve barely spoken a few words. [embarrassed]]
[Actually, even without Cat and Mouse Game, Ji Xu would still choose Quentin. Our Xiao Ji is a face-con. He’s closest to Jian Yu within the group, and isn’t that because Jian Yu is the visual, the best-looking?]
[A fool who judges purely on looks, not skills. Don’t forget that Xiao Ji himself is an ACE. We’re not lacking in skills.]
Ji Xu easily answered this question, then stepped aside next to the lucky draw box, signaling for his teammates to come forward and draw slips.
The teammates glanced at each other, all looking hesitant. Finally, Jian Yu raised his hand tentatively: “How about… I go?”
“You go, you go!”
“We’re leaving it to you, Jian Yu. Use your lucky red hand and draw a good question!”
Jian Yu nodded, closed his eyes, reached his hand into the box, and grabbed a paper ball without looking: “I’ll go with this one!”
He drew too quickly and didn’t notice there were only two paper balls in the box. When he lowered his head to unfold the slip and saw the question written on it, his previously relaxed expression instantly froze.
Qin Miao knew the two difficult questions left in the box. Seeing Jian Yu’s reaction now, she guessed which question he had drawn.
She found it amusing. The luck of these Inferno kids was almost too good, specifically drawing questions related to themselves.
But, since they couldn’t avoid it, drawing it themselves gave them a little more time to think.
Jian Yu unfolded the paper in front of the camera with a complicated expression. Everyone could hear the hesitation in his voice: “Netizen ‘AAA Professional Acupuncture Beauty Rong’ asks: I heard Jian Yu really loves to ship CPs. Does Jian Yu know about the CPs on Next Stage? Which one does he ship the most?”
[WTF?]
[What the hell does ‘love to ship CPs’ mean? Is that true or false? You Inf guys are that wild?]
[I don’t know about others, but Jian Yu really does love shipping CPs. His alt account follows many discussion areas for CPs in the Chinese entertainment industry. He often accidentally likes CP posts. He ships everyone within the group except his own CP.]
After Jian Yu read the question, everyone on and off stage had an expression of eating melon and watching the drama. Their eager looks made his face burn.
Which fan had even come up with this question that couldn’t be said in public? His habit of shipping CPs shouldn’t have become common knowledge!
The biggest taboo for CP fans was to act out in front of the people involved. And now, he was supposed to confess this kind of thing in front of countless live stream viewers? Where would he get such thick skin!
Jian Yu often used his alt account to browse under various popular CP threads. The fact that he loved shipping CPs was indeed not a persona. In fact, their group’s manager had once warned him to be mindful of his personal hobbies and not to let them affect the persona and position within the group that the company had arranged for him.
The CPs among Inferno’s seven members could only be described as chaotic. Because the group had just debuted, even the company couldn’t predict which CP would become the most popular, so they simply tried every pairing.
Originally, Jian Yu was supposed to go with an all-around bottom, always-receiving route. However, this person’s real personality was vastly different from the omega seductive bottom persona the company had planned. He was repeatedly caught using his alt account, so the omega persona was eventually dropped.
BKL’s current focus was on promoting another CP pair, and that effort was aided by the CP-shipping little genius, Jian Yu.
Who asked him to always grin like an auntie on the sidelines whenever his teammates were doing fanservice? It wasn’t just a day or two that he had been shipping CPs right in front of them.
The trainees sitting in the waiting room were stunned when they heard the question Jian Yu read out.
“Ship CPs…?”
“What? I didn’t hear clearly. Is he talking about the CPs in our show?”
“What CPs does our show have? Who knows.”
Quentin’s expression didn’t change much when he heard the question. His understanding of CPs was limited to knowing that certain CPs existed. He didn’t know anything specific about CP sweet moments or CP fans’ wild antics.
“CP… Do you even need to ask? There’s definitely me and you.”
Xue Mingzhu, quite self-aware, reached out and patted the sofa Quentin was sitting on, then tilted his head back to wink at him: “When we answered that ‘domineering CEO’ question, the audience’s reaction was so big. It was obviously suspicious. Maybe it’s because our CP is very popular!”
In Xue Mingzhu’s thinking, his and Quentin’s CP being very popular meant that the audience thought and hoped they had a good relationship.
Wasn’t that an obvious fact? Who couldn’t see that he, Xue Mingzhu, was the person closest to Quentin in the entire show!
But Xue Mingzhu never expected that there was a third person in his and Quentin’s CP.
“Should I say it just like that? That’s a bit awkward…”
Jian Yu looked up at the large screen, then looked at the host with a troubled expression, seeking help: “If I say it now, how will I face them later?”
Both corners of his mouth turned down. His pouting expression stirred the maternal instincts of many fans, but there were even more viewers in the live stream just watching the fun.
Qin Miao blinked, raised her hand to her ear, and whispered, “How about you secretly tell me, and I’ll say it for you?”
Jian Yu: “…Isn’t that plugging one’s ears while stealing a bell? Ah, fine, whatever, I’ll just say it… Let me state beforehand, I really, really, really haven’t watched many!”
[Really? I don’t believe you.]
[Judging by the way those little eyes are rolling around, you’ve definitely watched a lot.]
[If you can’t say it, let me do it! Xiao Jian, remember, you’re speaking on behalf of CP fans everywhere! Where’s your momentum? Bring it out!]
“Speaking of what I know, the only ones I know are 3A, 303, Cui-Que-Qiao Fox Group…” Jian Yu spat out a string of words very quickly, then mumbled in a low voice, “The one I personally ship more is probably 303… but I haven’t watched much, I just casually saw a little!”
Qin Miao had done some homework before hosting and had a decent understanding of the basic information about the trainees and guests, but she was at a loss when it came to specific CP names.
However, she didn’t show it and naturally suggested, “303? Hmm, I see. But it seems like many audience members didn’t understand. How about you give a brief explanation for everyone?”
Jian Yu: “…”
Jian Yu said with difficulty, “Explain… how?”
Ji Xu put his hand on Jian Yu’s shoulder: “Don’t be nervous. Just briefly explain who 303 refers to. It’s not a big deal. Maybe they themselves know, right?”
As he spoke, he waved and greeted the trainees on the large screen. The live camera had no delay, and Quentin and the others sitting on the front sofa quickly waved back.
“303? What are they talking about?”
“That Jian Yu seemed to mumble a bunch of words. I didn’t catch them.”
“303 refers to a dorm, obviously it’s a room number. Who lives in 303? The third floor is all Class A trainees, right?”
The trainees’ conversation didn’t reach the stage. Wen Xinyi and Fang Xu, who heard the keyword 303, both changed their expressions.
Quentin turned to look at his two roommates: “303?”
Wen Xinyi raised his hand to his lower lip: “…Ahem, they should be talking about us, right?”
Fang Xu opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but after meeting Quentin’s gaze, he silently swallowed his words: “Obviously.”
“Speaking of which… Do you guys know anything about boy group CPs?” Wen Xinyi covered his mouth with his hand and tentatively looked back and forth between Fang Xu and Quentin, “Or rather, would you mind that kind of thing?”
Fang Xu looked at Quentin first, then remained silent.
Quentin didn’t think too much about it and shook his head indifferently: “I know about it, I don’t mind, there’s nothing to mind. As long as artists have a good relationship, they all have CPs, right?”
Fang Xu relaxed: “Not necessarily. First, you have to be popular enough for fans to form CPs. But actors and singers aren’t necessarily tied to CPs. But boy groups definitely can’t avoid them.”
Wen Xinyi looked at Yan Qiao, who had been quietly listening to them talk, and couldn’t help but laugh: “Yan Qiao definitely knows a lot about this stuff.”
Fang Xu understood immediately. Indeed, after all, Yan Qiao had just recently escaped from BKL’s 7th generation group, where real and fake CPs were all mixed up. Yan Qiao, who had been arranged by the company to be the group’s top ‘husband’ and ‘alpha’ material, probably knew more than all of them combined.
Yan Qiao also understood Wen Xinyi’s meaning. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, finding it both exasperating and amusing: “Don’t tease me… Fine, I do know more than you all. If you have any questions about this in the future, feel free to ask me. I’d be very happy to personally teach you, step by step.”
As he spoke, he turned his head and winked his left eye at Quentin: “Same for you, Quentin. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just come to me.”
Wen Xinyi couldn’t help but laugh out loud: “…Pfft, you really do know how to do it. You even used your deep voice.”
Fang Xu drooped his eyelids: “Be careful, we’re still live.”
Quentin still looked completely oblivious. His brow was naturally relaxed, the corners of his mouth slightly turned up, and his eyes showed a little bit of tolerance, like watching a little kid fool around.
This tolerance was completely out of place with his looks and age. Such a wonderful sense of contradiction made people involuntarily want to explore his inner thoughts.
Perhaps it was precisely because of his calm and tolerant reaction that people wanted to tease him whenever they got the chance. But at the same time, they were also hindered by his innate aura and didn’t dare to tease too much.
It was like a cat meeting a scratching post. It would scratch it whenever it passed by, but the actual damage was zero.
Some viewers in the live stream were paying attention to the waiting room displayed in the small corner window, and they naturally saw these interactions.
[Xiao Jian stammered his way through, only to look back and find that the three people involved were happily chatting away themselves. Laughing to death, they weren’t even listening.]
[The CP video Jian Yu mentioned wouldn’t happen to be the one from the dorm massage segment, right? So he likes that kind of explicitness?]
[That video is absolutely god-tier, an essential for getting into the fandom, OK? The key point is the editing is amazing, the BGM combined with the visuals is so hot it gives you an intracranial orgasm www]
[Is there anyone who understands lip reading who can interpret what these guys were talking about? All three were staring at Quentin, but why don’t they give Quentin a frontal shot? They’re only letting the audience see the back of his head (even though the back of his head is also very round and good-looking…]
[Wen Xinyi covered his mouth, Fang Xu’s mouth didn’t move when he talked, and Yan Qiao only showed his profile… Are these guys former spies? Even with max-level lip reading, you can’t interpret it!]
[It feels like they’re talking about CPs. At the very least, Fang Xu definitely said ‘CP’.]
[So they also know they have CPs, meaning they guessed the meaning of 303?]
[What’s there not to know? Maybe they know more than the fans.]
[Quentin’s presence during this Q&A session is really strong… Two questions that weren’t really about him still managed to bring him up.]
[That’s just how authoritative our QT is. Want to bet that Echo’s Q&A draw will also circle back to QT?]
[Be low-key, be low-key, too much arrogance will get you beaten!]
