Chapter 18: Attraction
Su Jinli attentively watched their performances, one act after another.
Even An Zhihan had his turn on stage.
As soon as An Zhihan came on stage, before he even reached the center, An Zhiyan asked him, "Why do you have three chicken feathers on your shoulder? Are you mimicking Sanmao?"
"Not Sanmao, San Ji," An Zhihan calmly responded after taking the microphone. (Note: 三雞 (Sān jī) - Literally: three chickens. I have no idea what this means. Maybe he's referring to Sanji from One Piece?)
"So, you're trying to look like a gangster? It suits your personality."
"Don't you think I look sexy today?" Zhihan tugged on his shirt. It was a thin, sheer fabric. Although it was black, once it clung onto his skin, it had a semi-transparent appearance.
Fortunately, his jacket covered the essential parts from appearing pixelated.
His jacket was a mix of red and black, with three striking red...chicken feathers as a décor on his shoulder.
The pants were custom-made, after all, An Zhihan has long and slender legs. Wearing standard sizes would look ugly, so tailored pants make his legs appear even longer.
"You look great, just like my younger self," An Zhiyan said with particular confidence.
An Zhihan just smiled without saying anything, fearing that if he contradicted his brother, he would be pinned down and spanked on the spot.
"When I saw you during the break, you were constantly looking at your phone. Show some dedication! Is this really the time to be on your phone?" An Zhiyan was especially blunt, pointing it out directly.
Being stricter with his younger brother was necessary, even more so than with others.
"No, it's not like that. We created a discussion group, and we're talking about this match," An Zhihan replied in a particularly honest manner.
"Can I see your phone?" An Zhiyan asked, expecting that if he took the phone, he would show it off on camera.
"No, this is a secret among boys."
"Who's in that discussion group?" An Zhiyan didn't dwell on the topic, but continued to ask.
"Su Jinli, Wu Yu, Fan Qianting, and Chang Siyin," An Zhihan counted off the names on his fingers as he answered.
"So, you hang out only with talented players, huh?"
Caught off guard by the question, An Zhihan thought about it and then answered earnestly, "We teamed up together and got along very well, so we became friends."
"Fine, you win. Start your performance," An Zhiyan gave up interviewing An Zhihan and went on to interview the other members. In the end, he walked away, suppresssing his laughter.
He had set several traps, but the kid hadn't fallen into them. He's improved.
An Zhihan's group specialized in energetic singing and dancing, they would sing while dancing.
On stage, An Zhihan was still a "stage maniac", appearing even more explosive than during normal practice sessions.
Their selection was entirely random, with two members in this group: one who had hardly practiced dancing, and another with average dance skills, but both were picked for this group.
An Zhihan usually practiced with them, waiting for their progress to catch up, and after giving occasional pointers, he would leave to hang out with Su Jinli and the others. Their chemistry was only developed over the past couple of days.
An Zhihan had been learning dance and music since he was young, so he had excellent physicality and a pleasant voice, as well as being unfazed by stage fright.
Su Jinli was so busy that she didn't know whether to watch the big screen or the stage, staring nervously the whole time, afraid that An Zhihan would make a mistake.
Another thing Su Jinli had to learn was the stage presence that An Zhihan possessed.
At the end, An Zhihan found the perfect timing and winked at the camera, then gave a charming, crooked smile, making Su Jinli almost gasp in surprise.
How did he pull off wearing eyeliner so well? Su Jinli initially believed that this kind of makeup was a bit over-the-top.
He was incredibly attractive! Was he really only nineteen years old?
Su Jinli was becoming a fan.
However, this atmosphere was shattered the moment An Zhiyan stepped onto the stage.
"Come on, bite your lower lip and rub your thighs." An Zhiyan hooked his fingers at An Zhihan, and walked up at the same time.
An Zhihan immediately broke down: "What do you mean by rubbing my thighs? Do you think I'm scrubbing in a bathroom?"
"I saw you rubbing your waist and then your thighs from the angle I was in the audience."
After An Zhiyan finished speaking, Cang Ai couldn't help but ask him through the microphone, "I want to ask Brother An, are all you northern guys so unromantic? Dancing doesn't seem to have any aesthetic appeal in your opinion."
"I can't represent all the northern men, after all, there aren't many as handsome as me."
"Is this the bizarre self-confidence of a straight man?"
"It's the love and support from my fans."
"Bro, I don't think you're suitable to be a host," An Zhihan ruthlessly teased him again.
"Is it because I'll steal the limelight from the contestants?"
"No, it's the constant awkward jokes throughout."
An Zhiyan really wanted to hit someone. Who did he agree to host for?
Such an ungrateful individual.
Undeniably, the first day of the competition was hard to accept for An Zhiyan.
The last one to enter the waiting area was the contestant who couldn't dance at all.
Even so, this contestant received unanimous praise from several judges. They believed he had already done an excellent job; it was not easy to learn this much in such a short period of time.
An Zhiyan, still holding his microphone, helped this contestant get some votes.
-----
Su Jinli kept watching and watching... finally, the third from the last group had finished their performance.
The second-to-the-last group drew "Unending Love."
Su Jinli finally got up, stamped his foot, and felt a numbness in his legs.
His team members stopped their rituals and joined Su Jinli on stage.
Once on stage, Su Jinli automatically stationed himself at the furthest point from An Zhiyan, standing quietly in a corner, appearing peaceful and well-behaved.
However, after An Zhiyan interviewed a few other contestants, he changed places and stood next to Su Jinli.
Su Jinli remembered not to keep avoiding An Zhiyan like the last time, so his body tensed up instantly as he stood, completely on edge.
"I'm a little curious, what do you guys talk about in your discussion group?" An Zhiyan asked, holding the microphone towards Su Jinli.
"We just chat about today's competition. We sit quite separately, and Zhiyan talks a lot. He feels uncomfortable if he doesn’t speak, so we created the discussion group."
"Oh, did you talk about me?"
"Yes, Zhihan said your nostrils are especially large."
An Zhiyan was teased by his brother.
Su Jinli also teased his "brother".
An Zhiyan's expression became particularly strange in a moment, stuck between wanting to laugh and wanting to be angry. So, he just looked at An Zhihan in the audience.
An Zhihan subconsciously flinched, constantly giving Su Jinli hints with his eyes.
"Why did my nostrils get bigger?" An Zhiyan asked.
"He said that your nostrils could fit scallions," Su Jinli nervously responded, not daring to look at the audience below and just answering whatever was asked.
An Zhihan really wanted to go up there and kill Su Jinli.
He should have taught Su Jinli how to handle interviews much earlier. Su Jinli's way of saying whatever came to mind was absolutely not acceptable; he was just too honest.
Once Su Jinli enters the entertainment industry, he will have to deal with those pit-digging journalists. It's only a matter of time before they start causing trouble for him.
An Zhiyan finally started to laugh. He moved his wrist a little and continued to ask Su Jinli, "So, how do you find my nostrils?"
Su Jinli quickly turned his head to glance at An Zhiyan, then turned away. He immediately answered, "Oh... they're quite nice, very delicate."
"Delicate nostrils," An Zhiyan laughed again, letting out a rhythmic "Quack, quack, quack," like a duck splashing in the water.
"Do you find me handsome?" An Zhiyan continued his questions to Su Jinli.
"Handsome."
"Be honest."
"A bit fierce."
An Zhiyan nodded, then abruptly turned his head to look at Su Jinli: "Do you dare to look me in the eyes for 15 seconds?"
"Why?"
"Because I want you to notice how handsome I am."
Su Jinli swallowed, still turned around, and met An Zhiyan's gaze for 15 seconds.
An Zhiyan couldn't quite pinpoint his attitude towards Su Jinli.
From their first meeting, he was attracted by Su Jinli's presence.
Having only met twice and never conversing, An Zhiyan still had a vivid memory of Su Jinli. He impulsively joined this show after seeing Su Jinli's profile, leading to many awkward moments throughout the program.
He was obviously troubled to death because he was attracted to someone inexplicably.
After Su Jinli avoided him, he felt somewhat bothered.
Then, a sense of competitiveness arose within him. He desired to see a change in Su Jinli's attitude towards him, which would make him feel satisfied. He knew Su Jinli had feelings for Shen Cheng, and that he had a good relationship with An Zhihan. Knowing this, he couldn't deny the bit of disappointment he felt, leaving a bitter taste in his heart.
What a scoundrel, he thought of himself.
When people liked him, he was annoyed.
If they didn't, he felt disappointed.
Or perhaps... Su Jinli was the only person that truly captivated him.
He himself attracted others.
Yet, Su Jinli was the one attracting him.
Two attractive men, deeply gazing at each other on the stage. The more they gazed, the louder the audience got, even more enthusiastic than when Zhang Caini asked for Su Jinli's blessing.
It was only after Su Jinli and An Zhiyan locked eyes for a full 15 seconds that An Zhiyan intentionally lowered his voice to ask, "Looking at me now, do you think I am handsome?"
"Ah... a little bit."
An Zhiyan finally gave up, smiling helplessly. He reached up to pat Su Jinli's head, allowing him to peacefully perform the program.
Just like they had at the start of the rehearsals.
In this segment, Su Jinli was seated under the dim lights, quietly singing his song.
No movements, just the voice.
A competition of who immersed deepest into the emotions.
Su Jinli's voice, in reality, is not suited for this kind of song infused with the sense of time's ruthlessness, he can't bring out its utmost essence.
Despite that, he was earnestly singing, pouring real emotions into it. While singing, he would slightly frown with deep affection, expressing the song in his voice.
Despite drawing a song that didn't play to his strengths and couldn't fully display his talents, his performance was still noteworthy.
His sorrowful appearance would cause hearts to ache; Su Jinli has made significant progress.
Regarding Su Jinli's performance, Han Kai gave his praise: "Actually, Su Jinli is the participant I am most worried about. He had many difficulties during earlier practices. However, today's performance was indeed quite good."
"Actually, Su Jinli is the kind of adorable guy who might not seem perfectly suited for this song, but his performance was still great. As an idol, you should be able to handle all styles." Gu Ju also expressed this view.
Afterward, the judges provided comments on the performances of the other participants.
In the end, Su Jinli scored the highest in his group. However, his score was not the highest overall.
The current rankings are as follows:
Wu Yu: 95 points.
An Zhihan: 93 points.
Wei Jiayu: 91 points.
These three are in the current top three.
Fan Qianting: 87 points.
Su Jinli: 88 points.
Chang Siyin: 71 points.
------
The last group featured Zhou Wenyuan's team, which drew a lot of attention. After all, he was a newcomer who had only practiced for less than two days. It was really difficult to predict how they would perform in the end.
Zhou Wenyuan took the stage and obediently stood beside An Zhiyan.
"In the first round, you made a significant mistake, which was a pity and left a deep impression," An Zhiyan said to Zhou Wenyuan, pretending to be clueless.
"Yes, so I feel a lot of pressure for this competition."
"I look forward to your performance," An Zhiyan planned to "wrap things up" quickly.
"Uh, idol, can... Can I ask for a hug to encourage me?" Zhou Wenyuan asked shyly.
An Zhiyan looked surprised for a moment but did not refuse. He raised his arms to hug Zhou Wenyuan briefly, patting him on the back as a sign of encouragement.
From the standpoint of politeness, An Zhiyan's hug did not even touch Zhou Wenyuan's body, demonstrating a sense of unfamiliarity and politeness.
After all, it would be hard to refuse such a small request in front of the cameras. Otherwise, it would appear as if the seniors were being arrogant.
However, Zhou Wenyuan suddenly hugged An Zhiyan tightly and, without a microphone, leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Thank you."
After grunting approval, An Zhiyan took a step back and then left the stage.
In the waiting area, he found Jiang Pingqiu and took a bag of odorless disinfectant from his hands. He sprayed the disinfectant on himself vigorously and asked, "Did you investigate it, what's the deal with this kid?"
"Huasen initially did not agree, but they relented after finding out you were hosting," responded Jiang Pingqiu.
"Did he come because of me?" An Zhiyan asked.
Jiang Pingqiu only smiled without saying a word.
"Darn it, it's annoying," An Zhiyan complained and threw the disinfectant into the trash bin.
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