Idol Chapter 154 Part 1

——Shi Jianian and Fu Mingnian were actually tied for second place!

The audience outside was filled with exclamations, astonished by this dramatic turn of events.

It was at this moment that a mixed-race boy, reminiscent of a Persian cat, walked out of the assessment room.

In front of everyone, he grabbed a chair and placed it between Zhu Xizhi and Fu Mingnian.

Zhu Xizhi looked at those gray-blue eyes and whistled, then moved the first-place chair a whole inch forward.

“Take your time chatting,” the little snow leopard said with a tail wag and a smile, “after all, first place is mine.”

Indeed, in terms of professionalism and practice duration, Zhu Xizhi had an overwhelming advantage among the 120 people.

He and Fu Mingnian were both only eighteen, retaining the agility and flexibility characteristic of youth, and they had distinctive faces. They liked to wear a spotted coat over their uniforms, making them noticeable wherever they stood.

That’s why, since the first season, his popularity ranking has always been high, with several support stations opened for him, and major fans arranging to book public performance tickets with SPF and Honglu Platform in advance.

Fu Mingnian cautiously nodded in greeting when he first met the mixed-race classmate, without engaging in much conversation.

He knew he had another competitor.

The two young men sat side by side, with curious glances from hundreds of people behind them.

The Great White Shark was not used to those gazes and adjusted his sitting posture several times, pretending to be seriously watching the subsequent assessments.

Five minutes later, Zhu Xizhi quietly moved his chair back and started chatting softly with Shi Jianian.

“Your eyes are really pretty, you won’t even need to wear colored contacts for performances…”

He extended his paw, wanting to compare their skin tones.

His originally fair skin immediately seemed duller next to the creamy white.

Shi Jianian’s eyes crinkled with amusement, “Your hand is very soft.”

Zhu Xizhi’s ears turned red, and he rubbed his fingertips in a very straight-forward manner.

“It seems so.”

Fu Mingnian silently turned his head away.

He felt that his future teammates were all somewhat abnormal.

The major ranking gradually concluded, much like the division exams in the first year of high school.

This round from 120 to 80, forty trainees were eliminated in one sweep.

All members of the Heavenly class held their positions, while a few dropped to the Upper and Lower classes.

Some trainees, upon learning they were leaving, felt a sense of relief.

…There were too many capable people here, sharing a room could spike anxiety levels.

While four classes were rotating and changing members, a boy named Ma Lu surprisingly jumped from the 103rd place in the Lower class to the last place in the Upper class, a remarkably rapid improvement.

As he blushed and thanked the instructors, Fu Mingnian took another look.

“Oh, it’s him,” Zhu Xizhi said in surprise, “You were practicing dancing with him last time, weren’t you? You didn’t return to the dorm until late at night, right?”

Fu Mingnian glanced at the camera and finally responded after a moment.

Over these two weeks, he had familiarized himself with everyone, lending a hand to several.

Grasping the overall situation was essential.

Right after the grand public exam ended, Huo Ren and the other instructors had a meeting with the program team to reconfirm the subsequent competition format.

“Chosen by the Gods” itself was co-organized by Honglu Platform and SPF, making many discussions convenient.

Half a year after Chi Ji’s suicide, SPF established a depression charity foundation, regularly transferring a percentage of earnings into its account to fund nationwide emergency assistance and charitable treatments.

Corona was an unavoidable topic. Huo Ren did not shy away from the media cameras, and the company preferred people to remember rather than forget.

Early in the program’s planning, they selected several classic stages from Corona’s history, hoping these songs could be reinterpreted by the new generation.

This move was a win-win.

The current trainees were mostly undercooked, inevitably appearing immature and flawed during performances.

Group dances like “Night Fire” and “Cold Light” were not something that could be smoothly performed by hastily assembled groups after just a week of practice.

The charm of the music and dance could highlight these young talents while also reminding people of Corona’s preciousness.

They were like a crown, making the public mistakenly believe the word “perfect” was common.

This proposal received the nod from the remaining five members of the crown, but Huo Ren decided to release it during the semifinals from fifty to twenty.

At this point, some trainees were too weak and their attitudes were lacking.

For both personal and public reasons, he did not want these songs to be treated perfunctorily.

“If that’s the case,” the director wrote a series of keywords on the whiteboard, “let’s directly divide the eighty people into eight groups, with free choice of projects.”

Dance, acting, vocal music, creation.

Each was a team effort, intended to teach these kids the difference between solo debuts and group collaboration.

“Dance is handled by Boss Pei, vocal music of course by Mr. Mei,” the producer said, leaning on his chin, “What about acting? Shooting TV commercials, magazine spreads, let the kids have a blast?”

Feng Jin leisurely said, “Just make sure not to end up crying in the end.”

“Another issue is creation…” the chief director said with a headache. “Original creation is difficult, especially when there’s not much time.”

“So, if someone can lead their team to stand out, they will score extra points.”

“We’ll just have to take a gamble,” the producer said seriously. “If it doesn’t work out, we’ll hire someone to write a fail-safe to save the day, and then eliminate them after they perform.”

As the selection narrowed from 120 to 80, forty trainees waved goodbye to their peers.

Having gotten to know each other over the past few weeks, there was inevitably some sadness, but the atmosphere was not overly sentimental.

“Brother Xi! Go for it, you must reach the top in the finals!”

“Good luck—I’m too weak, I’ll run ahead—”

“Brother Gu, I’m rooting for you!!! Thanks for the autograph, MUA!!!”

The four instructors watched as a group of kids walked out of the huge carved door of the filming hall, waiting for the inside to quiet down.

Some trainees lingered, unwilling to let their friends leave, while some never looked back.

As the grand doors silently closed, Huo Ren snapped his fingers.

Behind the instructors, the marble prop wall opened four doors, rotating to reveal their gilded carvings, magnificent and beautiful.

“It’s time to choose sides again.”

Huo Ren looked around at the juniors, who were filled with anticipation and anxiety, and calmly guided them.

The rules were clearly explained, and the four doors rotated like a golden compass.

“From today until the finals, you all need to fight for victory as team members.”

“Although in the future, you will only have five teammates, and you will have to start from scratch after debuting.”

“But everything now is a preview of what you will encounter.”

Disputes, divisions, unity, and division of labor.

Who to join hands with, who to recognize as a leader, or what it means to be a real group.

There is still much for you to learn.

Eighty people divided into eight groups, began to choose their paths.

Gu Shaochu didn’t hesitate much and directly joined the vocal group, which suited him better.

His acting and dance skills were slightly weaker, and vocal music didn’t demand much from an individual.

Bo Huan went to the creation group, and Han Yang headed to the vocal group, hugging each other before parting.

“Good luck—”

“See you in the Heaven group!”

Zhu Xizhi took a few steps forward, then suddenly stopped and turned back.

Huo Ren glanced at the young man, unsure of what he intended to do.

“Brothers—I’m going to the dance group!” The youth shouted with his hands cupped around his mouth, like an energetic high school basketball team captain. “I will compete for the group leader and lead everyone to victory! If you want to dance, come find me!”

His friends, who got along well with him, immediately raised their hands and laughed, quickly following him into the same group door.

“The dance group’s twenty spots are filled, and the door is closed.”

Fu Mingnian pondered for a long time and finally chose the sparsely populated creation group.

Before entering, he stopped in front of Huo Ren and bowed sincerely.

“Thank you for the guidance, teacher.”

Huo Ren nodded with a smile: “Good luck.”

Finally, the eight groups were filled, and the four instructors each went to confirm the list and arrange the process, preparing the trainees for the next performance.

The two teams in the acting group needed to shoot commercial and public service advertisements lasting three minutes each, which would also be publicly released on the same day.

The dance and original creation groups shared the entire twelfth floor, with the instrument room and recording studio already set up.

Huo Ren called twenty people into the group, noticing several familiar faces among one team.

Fu Mingnian, Chen Yuanqing, Bo Huan, Shi Jianian, Ma Lu.

He took another look at the two Nian sitting on either side of the crowd and went over the creation process again before leaving work.

The chalk writing on the blackboard was still in Liu’s calligraphy, vigorous and slender, elegant and spirited.

“…It’s important to note that team leadership and time management are crucial.”

Back in the day, Corona owed a lot to Mei Shengyao’s constant deadline pressure and progress pushes, managing to produce five albums of high quality and speed.

Huo Ren wrote a few notes, suddenly missing everyone at home.

He steadied himself, calming his emotions before turning back to the audience.

“You have only seven days. Aim for a complete product first, then refine it. Don’t get stuck on the details.”

“The theme of this creation is ‘Morning Wind’.”

After the students were settled, he left a contact number and exited the classroom.

In the distance, the dance hall echoed with lively beats, and several young men were singing along.

Huo Ren watched for a while before heading towards the emergency exit.

He pulled out his phone and pressed a few buttons, initiating a voice call in a chat group that had been quiet for some time.

Soon, Xie Lianyun was the first to answer.

“Ren Ren? How have you been recently?”

“I’m fine, everything’s going smoothly here,” Huo Ren leaned against the wall, his voice husky over the phone, “Brother Yun… I miss you guys.”

After a few seconds of pause, Xie Lianyun’s voice came, warm and comforting, “I’m abroad these days. I’ll come to see you once I’m back.”

“Ren Ren is fine, we’re still here.”

Bo Jue’s voice soon joined, slightly anxious, “Ren Ren, are you okay?”

“He misses us,” Xie Lianyun softly explained.

“I miss you too… I’ve even dreamt about us several times, holding concerts, walking on the beach together,” Bo Jue rubbed his eyes, his voice slightly unstable, “It’s been so long, time flies so fast.”

Long Jia was still in a meeting, sending only a brief message to show his concern.

Within a few minutes, Mei Shengyao joined the call.

“Brother Ren? Brother Jue and Brother Yun are also here?”

“Today I was helping the trainees write songs, and it suddenly reminded me of the old days,” Huo Ren whispered, “Back then, Shengyao would nag us every day, and Brother Yun would throw pillows at him…”

“Now it’s Director Huo and Professor Bo,” Xie Lianyun tried to lighten the mood, “When Ren Ren first started writing songs, I thought to myself, how is this roommate like a little monster.”

“I always feel like we’re still seventeen or eighteen,” Bo Jue suddenly said, “Every time someone calls Long Jia ‘President Long,’ it feels unbelievable to me.”

“Didn’t we just join SPF a few years ago?”

Now even Huo Ren was already twenty-four years old, no longer the little kid who would hide ice cream with his brothers.

After a long pause, Huo Ren finally asked.

“How’s that little nightingale you’ve been raising?”

The multi-person call fell silent for a few seconds.

“Not so good,” Mei Shengyao sounded troubled, “It doesn’t pay attention to me, doesn’t sing, doesn’t eat, just sleeps all day.”

“…I’m trying to fatten it up.”

Xie Lianyun took a deep breath, unable to listen any longer.

They still apologize repeatedly to any member of the group they come into contact with, to this day.

“Just hang in there a little longer, I’ll come back and take over for a while.”

“It’s okay, Brother Yun, you go ahead with your work.”

“Let’s get together when you have time, I really miss you guys…”

“How about we have a meal together, or go see a musical?”

“You guys would never guess what Bo Jue asked me out for last time—vegetable porridge! Vegetable porridge and stir-fried loofah with eggs!! And in the end, I was the one who paid!!!”

“Did I not pay the bill…?”

“You didn’t!!”