Chapter 13: Group A
Su Jinli held a bag of instant noodles, swaying in front of the mirror, when Chang Siyin walked over and asked him, "Jinli, is Zhihan in the dorm?"
"Yes, he's here."
He followed Chang Siyin into the dormitory and immediately saw him naturally open Zhihan's suitcase lock, then take out things to help Zhihan tidy up the bed.
Obviously, Chang Siyin often does this.
Zhihan stood by, as if accustomed to it, and went to Su Jinli's side, grabbing a handful of instant noodles to eat.
"Are you his mother?" Fan Qianting couldn't help but ask.
"Ah..." Chang Siyin sighed, "I often take care of my younger sister at home, so I'm used to it, and Zihan doesn't know how to do anything."
"Like a foolish child." Wu Yu leaned against the bed, holding a book and reading, and interjected.
"Foolishness is not a crime, I'm telling you!" Zhihan pointed at Wu Yu and began to spout off without thinking.
"Do you have any common sense?"
"Nope, I'm clueless."
While Chang Siyin was helping Zhihan tidy up the bed, he looked up at the two of them, then turned to Su Jinli and asked, "Is the atmosphere in your dormitory always so lively?"
"Um... what about your dorm room?"
"It's all good, our roommate even brought some local specialties to share with us."
Zihan seemed to have gotten an idea, crouched down and rummaged through her suitcase, and then handed a tablet to Su Jinli. "Here, it's for you."
"Is this... a specialty from your place?" Su Jinli held the tablet computer and asked in surprise.
"No, I couldn't find anything else to give, do you want an unopened pack of underwear?" Zihan continued searching in her suitcase.
Wu Yu smirked, probably mocking Zhihan's childishness.
"I don't want it..." Su Jinli returned it.
Coincidentally, at this moment, the production team called them to record something, and Su Jinli happily hurried away.
He now feels that as long as he spends a little less time in the dormitory, he is happy.
-----
What they needed to record was a personal video.
The four of them were arranged in a small room with the show's logo as the background wall.
Wu Yu had his makeup touched up and was the first to go in for recording, after all, he had the highest score in the entire competition.
The other three were arranged in the dressing room, as they would be shooting their individual posters and headshots for voting later, which was quite important.
When Wu Yu came out, Su Jinli was still eating instant noodles, afraid of smudging his lipstick. His mouth opened wide while eating, like a baby bird needing to be fed.
"Is it that delicious?" Wu Yu said, reaching into Su Jinli's bag and grabbing a few pieces.
"No, if I don't finish eating them, they'll become soft if not stored properly. What did you do inside? Is it difficult?" Su Jinli pointed to the small room.
An Zhihan went to take photos with Fan Qianting, while he was arranged to wait
"They just ask you questions, and you answer. Act natural and that would be enough. Also, they record a short promotional video." Wu Yu replied.
An Zhihan analyzed earlier that the last few groups are estimated to end quite late.
"They'll probably call you to record during rehearsal tomorrow. We're always here anyway."
"That's true."
After the staff called for Su Jinli, he handed the instant noodles to Wu Yu. After Wu Yu helped him wipe off the residue from his mouth, he stood up and followed to the recording room.
Once seated, a staff member held a notebook and asked him, "Do you have any particularly impressive performances? You can give some comments on their performances."
"Um, yes."
Immediately, Su Jinli opened up, but after talking for a while, it was all about which contestant sang beautifully and which one danced well, nothing more.
There was no joke or punchline that could be used.
The staff began to explain to Su Jinli, "You can watch these videos and imagine yourself at the scene, giving comments on their performances and also showing some interesting expressions, summarizing and so on. If you keep praising everyone like this, you might not even have a single shot in the end."
Even before Su Jinli arrived, Hou Yong had educated him on the importance of getting camera time.
Only when he gets camera time can the audience notice him and attract fans to like him.
Only when he is liked can he successfully debut and help the company overcome its difficulties.
Su Jinli started to ponder, and the staff reminded him again, "You can also criticize them."
"Wu Yu, during the interview, had a serious face and didn't say much. I thought he would sing a cool song. But after the performance, there was this move in the middle, accompanied by a pouting expression, and I thought it was so cute."
He stood up and imitated Wu Yu's movements and expressions.
They recorded for a while, but then they gave up and asked Su Jinli to record a separate campaign video.
Facing the camera, Su Jinli suddenly smiled, his smile natural and radiant, which made many staff members admire his appearance.
"Kind-hearted people who vote for Xiao Jinli will have good luck!" After answering, Su Jinli suddenly remembered something and raised his hand to pinch his own face.
Last time, when a girl flirted with him, she pinched his cheek. Does that prove that people like this now?
After thinking about it, he felt that the video was probably too short, so he raised his hands and made a wave motion on either side of his body, then deliberately shook his voice and said, "Bad luck, go away."
Finally, he turned around, struck a street dance pose, and ended.
Afterwards, he had to take photos, and Su Jinli still faced the camera with a radiant smile.
The photographer would then direct him to change poses and expressions. Seeing that he wasn't cooperating well, they even brought out the photos that An Zhihan had taken before to show him.
Despite An Zhihan's personality being the most troublesome for them, he was the favorite of the production team in other aspects.
For instance, when An Zhihan was recording the solo video or being interviewed about his views, he spoke eloquently and jokes kept coming.
His expressions are also particularly interesting. Any random screenshot could serve as a meme.
The same goes for taking photos. He has a strong sense of the camera, hardly needing any direction. He knew how to switch his movements and expressions. He also knows which angle flattered him the most and always showed that side.
Su Jinli admired An Zhihan even more.
Su Jinli also has imitation skills. After looking at An Zhihan's photos and getting a sense of it, he imitated a few expressions and movements, immediately changing his style.
After An Zhihan finished everything and came back to see Su Jinli's shoot, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Why are you so stupid? My clothes are fine in this position, so you're a bit weird." After An Zhihan finished speaking, he came over to help Su Jinli adjust his position, and tidied up his clothes by the way, "Continue."
After all the photos were taken, Su Jinli went to the side to look at the shots and chose a few to use for his promotional posters. He also needed to select one as his profile picture for voting.
"For the profile picture, choose one where you're smiling," An Zhihan gave his opinion after looking at a few photos. "That's your style, and it will make people remember you instantly. The profile picture is quite important, as some people vote blindly based on appearance."
"Okay, got it," Su Jinli replied.
Wu Yu finished all his shooting and came over to join them. Pointing at the screen, he said, "Choose this one, it clearly shows your features."
"He should choose one where he's smiling," An Zhihan added.
"But he naturally has smiling eyes, so if he smiles in the photo, it won't be noticeable. It's better to choose this one," Wu Yu suggested.
Su Jinli felt despair. It seemed like if he made the wrong choice, he would offend someone.
They both found each other displeasing, so they should avoid starting a fight...
"I... choose this one!" Su Jinli pointed to a photo that neither of them had chosen.
He slightly lowered his head and looked forward, pushing up his glasses with one hand.
"There are too many poses similar to this one." An Zhihan immediately shook his head.
"Exactly," Wu Yu chimed in.
At least these two agreed on something.
In the end, it was the photography teacher who helped Su Jinli make the selection. Su Jinli was finally saved and went to rest on the side.
When they went to the cafeteria for meals, Wu Yu sat on the left and An Zhihan on the right. It was truly like hell on earth.
Fan Qianting sat directly across from Su Jinli. He wanted to laugh, so while eating, he sprayed food particles, making the scene look disgusting.
-----
The next day, classes began, and all the participants were divided into three groups for separate training.
All the roommates in Su Jinli's dormitory were in Group A. Chang Siyin was quite lucky as he was the last one in Group A.
In Group A, there are 11 boys and 9 girls.
Everyone is sitting on the floor in the training room. Su Jinli has Wu Yu on his left and An Zhihan on his right. He really feels that this training camp is not easy to handle.
These two energetic men seem to be constantly challenging him. They always stick to him, one on each side, and always confront him. He really has no way to deal with them.
After waiting for 20 minutes in the training room, someone finally pushed the door open and entered. It was Han Kai.
After Han Kai entered, he directly announced the rules of the competition.
In the second round of the competition, the groups will be formed by drawing lots, with 4 people in each group, making a total of 5 teams.
In this competition, the judges will score each person's performance. The member with the lowest score in each group will be eliminated and placed in the standby area.
Only the top five contestants in terms of votes, once the voting platform is activated, will be able to stay. The other contestants will not have another chance to come back.
They are in Group A, and everyone in the group has performed the best in the preliminary round.
In other words, the opponents they will draw will also be the strongest.
Entering the top 45 doesn't mean everything will be fine.
Once the voting platform starts, the 5 contestants with the fewest votes out of the 45 will be eliminated.
They will be replaced by the top 5 contestants in the standby area based on votes.
In this round, 15 out of the 60 contestants will be directly eliminated.
As soon as the rules were announced, someone exclaimed, "Please don't draw Wu Yu..."
"I suddenly feel so uneasy. Why am I in Group A? It's so scary here!"
Han Kai's expression turned serious after hearing this. "Being in Group A doesn't necessarily mean you are the most outstanding. There are contestants in other groups who are not as good. It's just that their performance in the first round gave us a certain impression. But what if they make mistakes due to nervousness? So, you can't take it lightly for this reason."
"It's quite interesting," An Zhihan smiled, raising the corners of his mouth and turning to Su Jinli. "Who do you least want to be in a group with?"
"As long as I'm not in a group with you guys, it's fine," Su Jinli replied.
"I, on the other hand, look forward to being in a group with someone and personally taking them down," An Zhihan glanced at Wu Yu.
Wu Yu smirked but didn't reply.
Teacher Han Kai had five song titles. They needed to draw lots from a box, and whoever drew a particular song would automatically become a team.
After taking a deep breath, Su Jinli went to draw a song title and opened it to see the song title "Endless Love."
A classic song.
He held the title and returned to his original seat, peeking around to see that neither Wu Yu, An Zhihan, nor Chang Siyin had the same song as him.
Among the group, only Wu Yu and Chang Siyin ended up together, and Chang Siyin seemed a bit desperate.
Originally, Su Jinli breathed a sigh of relief, but when Han Kai started teaching them, his heart sank.
Han Kai asked the members of several groups to sing the songs they drew, to get a feel for them.
When it was Su Jinli's turn to sing, Han Kai only called out Su Jinli's name and said, "Su Jinli, you have a big issue."
"Huh?" Su Jinli was taken aback.
"I actually noticed during the preliminary auditions. When you sing love songs, there's no emotion, you just sing the lyrics mechanically according to the melody," Han Kai continued to give guidance.
Su Jinli became a bit flustered and asked cautiously, "Is that wrong?"
"When you sing, you don't put any emotion into it. The song you picked is one that tests emotional expression intensely. While others are sad and deeply emotional, you're like a scumbag, not taking this feeling seriously at all."
Su Jinli pursed his lips, his heart anxious.
"Have you ever been in love?" Han Kai tried to evoke emotions in Su Jinli.
Su Jinli shook his head, "No."
"Have you ever had a crush on someone?"
"No, I haven't."
"Don't be shy about this. It's normal to have feelings for someone, regardless of idol expectations."
Su Jinli shook his head again, "Really, I haven't."
"Has anyone ever pursued you then?"
Su Jinli felt almost desperate from being asked so many questions, "Teacher Han, these questions of yours are really distressing..."
"You're so handsome, and no one has ever pursued you?" Han Kai asked Su Jinli in surprise.
Su Jinli made a pained face and said, "Yeah, actually I really want to be in a relationship."
"Why? Is it because you want to try it since you haven't been in one before?"
"No, it's just that…I feel like, if I'm not in love, or not indulging in delicious food, then what's the point of living?"
After Su Jinli finished answering, the other students who were listening burst into laughter.
An Zhihan was the most exaggerated, laughing "hehehe" while swaying from side to side. Finally, he simply lay down on the floor, his body trembling as he continued to laugh, looking as if he needed to be rescued.
"Do you have someone you particularly miss?" Han Kai persisted, hoping that Su Jinli could empathize.
"Yes, my older brother."
"It's been a long time since you've seen your brother?"
"Yeah, I had only been with my brother for a few years after I was born before we were separated. I came out this time to make a name for myself and to find my brother, but for many reasons, I still haven't found him."
Han Kai couldn't chat with Su Jinli for too long on this topic since there were other students to teach afterwards.
So, I just told him, "Then imagine missing your brother, think about how you've been longing for someone, but for some reason, you can never meet again. You could have been great brothers, but fate keeps getting in the way. Wouldn't you feel frustrated?"
Su Jinli nodded, "Yes."
"Would you feel sad? Conflicted? Full of Longing?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Not being able to be together, him occasionally appearing, even calling others 'little brother' and treating them well. Wouldn't that affect your mood?"
Su Jinli suddenly paused, thought carefully, and replied, "I would cry."
"Try to experience it."
Su Jinli lowered his head again, looked at the lyrics in his hands, and while others in the group were singing, he tried to sing this song with emotions.
To avoid disturbing others, he deliberately went to a corner and softly hummed by himself.
An Zhihan came over to his side, squatted beside him, patted his shoulder, and said, "It's okay, from now on, I'll be your brother."
"Do not disturb me, I just got into character."
"Heh, aren't you grateful, young man?"
"How old are you?" Su Jinli asked.
"One year older than you."
"An Ge." Su Jinli obediently called out, purely out of politeness.
An Zhihan, warmed by the respectful address, nodded with a smile, and then patted Su Jinli's head. "Good little brother."
Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter
No comments:
Post a Comment