The two days of outdoor filming passed quickly.
Although the ancient town was several times livelier on the second night than the first, the tourists joining the fun weren’t there to chase celebrities. They had come mainly for sightseeing, taking the chance to also see the Red Fox that had become a sensation on the internet.
Quentin had already learned from the enthusiastic greetings of the onlookers that he had gained some fame online under the identity of a scenic area NPC.
While he squatted at the edge of the venue drinking water and resting, many audience members sitting in the rest area behind him kept asking what his forum account was, urging him to post more dance videos and not to miss this wave of massive popularity.
Quentin silently drank his water, while the other trainees watching on couldn’t even muster the energy to feel envious.
They had all heard about it…
ECHO’s Ji Sheng had proactively reposted the video of Quentin dancing in his mask, directly sending him onto the trending lists.
The official account of Lulin Ancient Town was overjoyed, posting several related random dance challenge videos one after another and hopping enthusiastically between various popular threads about the Red Fox.
Even the production team, which had originally planned to wait until the random dance challenge footage aired to reveal news about “NS”‘s involvement in the random dance challenge, was now planning to release the short videos submitted by the trainees ahead of schedule.
Especially those who had chosen to film “Lust”, releasing them now would perfectly ride the wave of popularity from the three foxes dancing to “Lust.”
All these changes stemmed from just one person: Quentin.
Even after their group returned to the filming base , the production team staff were still marveling that Quentin either possessed a traffic-attracting constitution destined for fame, or had terrifyingly powerful backing.
That Ji Sheng was an artist under BKL. Regardless of whether he knew who was beneath that red fox mask, he had chosen to help a newcomer with no apparent connection to him, instead of helping Yan Qiao, who was also a main dancer at BKL and his junior. Was this Quentin’s good luck, or his strong connections?
Perhaps… both?
“Quentin, come here for a moment. There are some things we need to discuss with you.”
Director Wang beckoned to the young man wearing a cap in the hallway.
Quentin followed him into the meeting room and saw two people sitting by the table.
One was the assistant director, and the other was dressed even more casually than Director Wang, looking like a middle-aged man going fishing. Quentin hadn’t seen him before, so he likely wasn’t part of the production team.
The assistant director looked at Quentin and introduced him with a smile: “Quentin, this is Director Wang’s friend, Director Chen Hai.”
Quentin greeted him politely: “Hello, Director Chen.”
“Director Chen, this is Quentin. He just turned 18 a couple of days ago. He’s the youngest kid on our show, but his skills are among the best, truly exceptional.” The assistant director said jokingly, “On ‘NS,’ if he says he’s first, no one dares to say they’re first.”
Director Chen looked at the young man standing before the table with interest: “So the rumors online about the ‘NS’ trainees treating this kid like an idol, and even using company funds to chase the idol… are those true?”
The assistant director coughed: “Netizens are just joking. It’s not that exaggerated, Director Chen, don’t take it seriously.”
Quentin sat down opposite the three directors. Recalling his investigation into last year’s idol group shows, he vaguely guessed why Director Chen was here.
The third public performance was destined to be postponed by a week or two, and the production team naturally wouldn’t let the trainees stay idle during that time.
“NS” was rising in popularity like the sun at its zenith, and Galaxy Entertainment was also beginning to build anticipation for the upcoming idol group debuting from the show.
In other words, for the next two weeks, it would be time for the popular contestants competing for debut slots to “venture out.”
Following the tradition of the previous season’s talent show, the production team would arrange for a few trainees with over 99% debut probability to go out for advertisements, magazine shoots, and to appear as flying guests on a national variety show.
Since the person in the meeting room was a director friend of Director Wang, Director Chen was most likely from some popular variety show.
The subsequent conversation confirmed Quentin’s guess.
“‘Cat and Mouse Game’ has been airing since 2015, and this is its tenth season. A couple of years ago, they wanted to try some innovations, but the results were average. Not only did marketing accounts mock them, but they also lost a bunch of long-time viewers…”
Director Chen sighed. “So this year, they’re planning to restore the original game rules. Two groups of guests take turns being the cat and the mouse, returning the show to its essence of hide-and-seek and pursuit battles.”
“But for the new season’s trailer, we still need to piggyback on something big. Recently, your show is the hottest in the industry. Plus, your program has brought out several ordinary people who haven’t appeared on other shows yet, especially Quentin who gained ten million followers in a month. So young and with boundless future prospects.”
The man smiled cheerfully at the young man across from him: “So, Quentin, are you interested in coming to play on our show? You young people have good physiques, run fast, have strength… playing these physical games gives you the biggest advantage.”
He didn’t go into detail about the rules of “Cat and Mouse Game.” It was a major national IP; who would have thought that Quentin had never even heard of it before this.
Thus, the usual emotions a newbie might feel, like ecstasy and flattery that a variety show director personally invited them, were completely absent.
Director Wang knew the purpose of this conversation all too well. This guy just wanted to build a good rapport with Quentin in advance, with the best case scenario making Quentin owe him a favor, as if he had struck gold by betting on the right horse.
Quentin didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he said: “Is everyone going together?”
Director Chen smiled: “Do you want everyone to go together?”
Quentin could tell that this middle-aged director in his forties was treating him like a child. At his age, having just finished the college entrance exam, he indeed seemed like an inexperienced kid in the eyes of this successful director, perhaps even younger than his own son or daughter.
He didn’t mind being underestimated; in fact, he could use it to his advantage, playing the role of a fearless youngster speaking boldly: “Xue Mingzhu, Yan Qiao, Wen Xinyi, Qi Yang, Fang Xu, Cui Yan…”
“Stop, stop, stop… are you reciting a menu or what?” Director Chen laughed. “Your show only gets at most four flying guest slots for this. It’s best to pick those guaranteed to debut. The other flying guests might have some connection to you guys…”
Director Wang interrupted him and asked directly: “Have you already decided on the other guest list? Who else is there, and have you invited them all?”
“Don’t worry, it’s all settled. The theme for our trailer is boy group rivalry, and all the guests come from boy groups.” Director Chen stroked his chin. “As for who… Old Wang, you can probably guess.”
“…” Director Wang was silent for two seconds, then frowned. “Inferno?”
Inferno, derived from Latin, translates to “an uncontrollable blaze.”
Although “blaze” here is a noun, choosing such a name for a boy group sufficiently demonstrated BKL’s ambitions.
BKL had deliberately scheduled Inferno’s debut project to coincide with “NS”’s broadcast, clearly with ill intentions.
They were probably confident they could siphon off “NS”’s popularity, nipping this talent show group, which could become Inferno’s future rival, in the bud.
Unfortunately, their timing was unlucky. No one anticipated that “NS” would become this explosively popular. Inferno stumbled badly right at their debut, and their spotlight was completely snatched away by a competitor.
Although popular contestants like Wen Xinyi and Qi Yang faced constant online attacks from marketing accounts and paid trolls, the attention they had garnered over the past month surpassed that of all stars from other concurrently airing hit dramas, variety shows, movies, concerts, music festivals, and various other events.
Their presence on trending searches was genuine. The production team could secure countless organic trending topics without much effort.
The show’s theme song, “Next! Next!”, had remained on the front pages of the Light Music Apps’ daily charts since its release and had not dropped out of the top ten at all.
And these achievements didn’t even account for the show’s biggest miracle…Quentin, the all-around ace with an overwhelming first-place lead in votes, possessing the potential to become a top-tier star.
Although the title of “all-around ace” wasn’t entirely cemented yet, fans who had seen the second public performance had already started boasting about it within their circles.
Other fans who hadn’t attended the live show also firmly believed in Quentin’s ace status. However, following the reassurance from major fans, they patiently refrained from outward praise for now, quietly awaiting the upcoming broadcast of the second public performance.
Up to this point, the sponsors of “NS” were grinning from ear to ear. The commercial value these young men brought forth by the show was being observed and assessed by countless eyes.
They hadn’t yet landed endorsements, shot commercials, or been featured in magazines, yet their fanbases grew increasingly passionate and fervent by the day.
Various brands were eager to capitalize on these consumers, who were hungry for content. Unfortunately, Galaxy Entertainment maintained a tight defense, and the “NS” production team held firm to the discipline of closed filming. This wait and see approach only began to ease after the second public performance ended.
Director Chen Hai of “Cat and Mouse Game” was the first beneficiary to secure cooperation with “NS,” prevailing over the competing parties.
As for Inferno, they unfortunately became cannon fodder in the explosion of “NS”’s popularity.
Director Wang stared at his old friend of many years: “What made you think of inviting Inferno? No one can even name their members right now. What did BKL give you in exchange?”
“Well, about that…”
Director Chen laughed sheepishly. “Although Inferno isn’t famous right now, we all know BKL’s ability to create stars. There are no outsiders here, so I’ll be frank…the advantage right now is with your show itself, not the debut group that will come out after the show ends.”
“Galaxy Entertainment is still a new company. Whether they can successfully manage a talent show group remains a question. But BKL is different.”
“Moreover, if ‘Cat and Mouse Game’ can secure the first joint appearance of Inferno and your talent show group, the popularity of this season will be locked in!”
At this point, Director Chen raised his eyebrows smugly: “Our trailer is scheduled to air shortly after your show’s final. In the meantime, there’s enough time for BKL to build momentum for Inferno. By then, it might very well be a peak showdown between two new boy groups with top-tier potential.”
“You’re dreaming quite nicely.” Director Wang rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you give us seven, eight, nine, ten slots and let us stuff all our popular contestants in there? With only 4, what kind of ‘two major boy groups sharing the stage’ is that? It’s just Inferno bullying the few with numbers.”
Director Chen glanced helplessly at Quentin, who had been silent throughout: “What can I do? Looking at your contestants, only four of them are truly solid bets for debut. The other three aren’t even as secure as Quentin. Honestly, my main reason for coming this time was because of Quentin.”
Director Wang gave a dry laugh: “Stop pretending. You already made deals with those other companies. You just couldn’t get in touch with Quentin’s company, so you’re going in circles. Just talk to him directly and be done with it.”
“Ahem, well, Quentin.”
Director Chen smiled as he looked at him: “You’ve heard what you needed to hear. So, how about it? Do you have time to come to Nancheng next week to film the show? You’ll be with Wen Xinyi, Qi Yang, Yan Qiao, and the other three.”
He sighed: “The company you signed with is too unreliable. We sent emails and tried contacting via forum private messages, but they said we should talk to you directly. You’re so busy with the show, how do you have the free time to handle other matters? They haven’t even arranged a professional agent for you. Sigh.”
Quentin raised an eyebrow. The company account he had publicized on the forum was handled by the system. He knew the system had received many collaboration invitations, big and small, during this time. He had instructed the system to ignore them for now; everything could wait until he debuted.
After all, any clear-eyed person could see which held more value: an undebuted trainee or a boy group idol who debuted as the center.
He was simply waiting to sell at the right time.
Quentin said calmly: “I told them to do that. I wanted to focus on classes and prepare well for the public performances, so I had them put aside all invitations during the talent show period. We’ll consider these things after the show ends.”
Director Chen looked resigned: “Just as expected from a young person… Alright, then what’s your current thought?”
“There’s still some time before the third public performance. I can go out to film a show.” Quentin looked towards the other side. “Director Wang, could I borrow a phone later? I need to contact my company so they can communicate with Director Chen about this.”
Director Wang glanced at Chen Hai’s slightly dejected expression and guessed that the previous words might have been instigated by Galaxy Entertainment.
Galaxy Entertainment was still hoping to sign Quentin. After all, this kid was getting more popular by the day, and his rise was unstoppable. Unfortunately, Quentin wasn’t playing along.
He had no other thoughts on the matter. These one or two weeks were originally reserved for the trainees to go out and take on jobs and Quentin had no reason to refuse.
As for which company he signed with, it wouldn’t affect the group contract remaining with Galaxy Entertainment. Future group activities like group variety shows, concerts, and fan signings were all opportunities for Galaxy Entertainment and Youth TV to profit.
“Alright, I’ll give you your phone later. Besides the variety show matters, you might also consider some of the brand promotion invitations.”
Director Wang thought for a moment, then hinted: “You have plenty of time these two weeks. Talk more with your company. It would be a shame to miss some opportunities.”
A few days ago, Quentin’s viral ugly makeup look had attracted the attention of many cosmetics brands, ultimately piquing the interest of the Asia-Pacific division of a top international beauty brand. They were interested in having Quentin serve as the promoter for their upcoming new series of eyeshadow palettes.
The title of “promoter” wasn’t particularly prestigious. Filming an ad or attending a few offline events wouldn’t bring in much money. The truly valuable thing was the attention from this international brand.
If Quentin could prove his commercial value during this eyeshadow promotion, there might be opportunities for several more short-term collaborations.
If he successfully passed the brand’s evaluation period, he would have the chance to formally sign with the brand, receiving an important title like China ambassador, Asia-Pacific ambassador, or even global ambassador.
When this level of international brand contacted Quentin’s company, named “Ideal Entertainment,” they received the same cold shoulder as Chen Hai. Forced to contact the production team via email, they asked Director Wang to pass a message to Quentin.
Heaven knows how shocked Director Wang was when he learned of this. How long had Quentin been in the public eye? And he already had the opportunity to touch a brand partnership at this level!
It was unlikely that this was an opportunity arranged by the forces behind Quentin; otherwise, why would they need to go through the production team to discuss the collaboration?
So… this kid was truly destined for fame, with boundless prospects.
·
Before Quentin and the others went to Nancheng to film the variety show, it was again time for Sunday’s “NS” episode update.
From the preview, viewers could tell that this week’s content was the first half of the second public performance. Quentin’s team’s stage, which performed third in the second public performance, would naturally be included in this episode.
Quentin’s fans were unaware of the random dance challenge the production team had arranged at Lulin Ancient Town, nor did they know that Quentin and the others were guests on the latest season recording of “Cat and Mouse Game.”
The latest news they knew was still about the ugly makeup stage and the fact that Quentin could rap. So before this episode aired, there were already intermittent threads on forums anticipating Quentin’s first rap stage.
As noon approached, the discussions in these threads grew livelier.
Soon, 12:00 PM arrived.
