Idol Chapter 34

Getting an ear piercing was a momentary thing and was not really that painful.

At that moment, Huo Ren instinctively tensed his body, and Xie Lianyun held his hands tightly.

“Don’t be afraid,” Xie Lianyun coaxed him with a smile. “It’s already over.”

Dr. Zhai carefully threaded the silver needle through his earlobe and reminded him, “Don’t use tea stems. They may not be clean. Keep it clean and avoid infections.”

For the next few days, Huo Ren and Mei Shengyao would take turns rotating the silver needle and disinfecting it with alcohol.

His left ear was slightly inflamed, and it would hurt when he rotated it.

The other members took turns holding his hand and talking to him to distract his attention while Chi Ji helped apply the medication.

They understood his weaknesses and naturally accepted them, like mature children.

“We’re here.”

“All done. Captain, am I good at this!”

Huo Ren never thought he would be taken care of so attentively. Even though it hurt, he couldn’t bring himself to use force with his hands.

He realized that he had been laughing more often this year, much more cheerful than before.

A few days later, Uncle Jiang, with a serious expression, called for a meeting and slammed a report card on the table.

Just the lingering smell of smoke on his body and his furrowed brows made him look like a headmaster.

“What happened with the assessment scores this time?”

“Mei Shengyao got a B- in dance, Long Jia got a C in vocals, and Chi Ji got a D in composition?”

Actually, this time’s scores were much better than before. They studied the five main courses from morning till night, and on Saturdays, they occasionally went out to prepare for their performances. It was normal to occasionally struggle to keep up.

Huo Ren led them in dance and song rehearsals on a daily basis and was well aware of the overall situation.

Uncle Jiang’s demands were always strict, and almost every month he would scold them, saying they were the worst group he had ever led while shaking his head in disappointment.

It seemed like the older generation liked this kind of reverse education.

He rapidly tapped the table with his fingertips and pushed the single sheet of paper forward.

“Captain, come out and explain. No excuses allowed.”

Huo Ren immediately admitted his mistake, “It’s my fault for not being responsible enough. I accept the punishment.”

Uncle Jiang noticed that this kid was quick-witted with his words, and with a stern face, he said, “Accepting the punishment is enough? If you accept the punishment, does that mean Chi Ji’s grade won’t be a D anymore?”

Long Jia sat up straight and raised his hand. “Uncle Jiang! Chi Ji usually has the best grades. He caught a cold on the day of the exam and took medicine, which affected his concentration while answering the questions!”

“I said no excuses allowed,” Uncle Jiang said ominously. “Mei Shengyao also had a cold. Did all of you catch a cold?”

“He slipped while dancing,” Huo Ren explained immediately. “He will be more careful in the future. It was an accident this time.”

Mei Shengyao wore a troubled expression, instinctively wanting to speak up.

“You’re saying that if you say he won’t make the same mistake, then he won’t?” Uncle Jiang’s voice resonated like a booming bell, making people’s ears tremble. “Are you guaranteeing it for him?”

“I guarantee it for him,” Huo Ren didn’t dodge, his gaze serious. “He won’t do it again.”

“You’re the worst group I’ve ever led!” Uncle Jiang pounded the table again. “Long Jia, stand up. What’s the matter with your vocals? At the beginning of the year, you were at least a B, and now you’re regressing the more you learn?!”

Long Jia whispered, “Didn’t I get an A last month?”

“You got an A last month, and this month you get a C? Does that make sense?”

“Uncle Jiang, calm down for a moment,” Long Jia said calmly. “This song doesn’t suit my style. It’s too gentle and melodious. I can’t sing it.”

Uncle Jiang turned to look at Bo Jue. “Which song did they test you on?”

Bo Jue remained expressionless. ” ‘I Dedicate Oil to My Country’.”

“If you keep talking back, Long Jia, I’ll make you stand outside!” Uncle Jiang scolded.

Uncle Jiang lectured the group of kids, forcefully eliminating the restless atmosphere. Afterward, he slammed the daily calendar on the table and pointed his finger at September.

“There are only three months left until the final assessment.”

“I was still planning to arrange resources for you next year. If you want to debut, study and practice hard for me!”

Xie Lianyun keenly caught the key point. “Uncle Jiang, you’re also becoming impatient, aren’t you?”

Uncle Jiang suddenly stopped.

“Did you see that little boy from the twelfth-floor debut early and start feeling anxious?” Xie Lianyun raised an eyebrow and pushed up his silver glasses. “Boasting to those managers at the drinking table?”

Uncle Jiang was furious. “What do you know, you little brat!”

“That guy surnamed Fan boasts to me every day about his little idol at home, and I can’t push you to study hard?”

Huo Ren quickly pacified the situation. “Uncle, you have good intentions. We will definitely prepare well and strive for everyone to pass the assessment with 3 As.”

“I don’t want you to strive for it. I want it to be a certainty!”

Xie Lianyun propped his chin, narrowed his eyes, and smiled. “Weren’t you always teaching us to be patient and endure…”

“Xie Lianyun, Long Jia, go stand outside for ten minutes and then come back in.”

Long Jia held his head. “I didn’t even say anything!”

After the punishment was over, Uncle Jiang happened to finish smoking on the nearby terrace and came back to his seat contentedly.

“Now let’s get to the real business.”

Long Jia and Xie Lianyun sat with their heads bowed, refusing to make another sound.

“Look at the screen.” He took the coffee cup handed to him by his assistant and played a popular video captured by a passerby for them.

The first segment showed them playing the piano in the mall, while the second segment was the Crown’s first public performance on Qingxi Road.

The video had already surpassed a million views, with thousands of comments creating a lively discussion.

“Waiting for a group name in the front row!”

“How can such a handsome group not debut yet? I’m dying from waiting!!”

“What? Are these six the ones who played the piano on the first floor of the mall? What kind of god-like group is this, who can play the piano, dance, and sing?”

“Why do I feel like each of these guys is perfect for my first love…”

Uncle Jiang scrolled through half the page with his mouse and calmly said, “If you encounter something like this, you should have told me earlier. I would have arranged a publicity team to help promote the videos and build hype.”

“To have over a million views,” Chi Ji expressed surprise, “are we already popular?”

“There’s some buzz.” Uncle Jiang didn’t shy away from it. “The two popular videos happen to feature the same group of people, so they can cross-promote each other.”

“Weibo has gained significant popularity since its launch last year. This year, we’re arranging a team to manage and operate your account, and we’ve already registered an official account for you in advance.”

With a couple of clicks, the mouse landed on Corona’s official page, and there was a small “v” verification mark on the Crown’s profile picture in the bottom right corner.

—They already had a hundred thousand fans.

“I originally wanted to keep it low-key,” Uncle Jiang sipped his coffee, “but there’s this unknown micro-influencer who suddenly appeared and falsely claimed to be the one leading the dance. It’s really laughable.”

“For now, don’t go out for performances. Let’s build up some anticipation and have you perform as the finale on Qingxi Road next month.”

Huo Ren sat at the front of the long table, realizing for the first time that their debut was getting closer and closer.

—They actually had fans already.

August passed, and they had already finished practicing three types of old-school and two types of new-school dances ahead of schedule.

Pei Ruye was prepared and led them in a jazz routine.

This type of dance originated from African American dance, but it became more versatile through American adaptations and modernization.

The emphasis was on accentuating body curves, with movements contrasting the intense and rapid nature of conventional street dance, focusing on fluidity and elasticity.

Pei Ruye wore oversized jackets throughout spring to autumn, with styles and patterns changing over a dozen times, giving off a mysterious and trendy vibe.

Huo Ren had only seen him zip up to chest height during rehearsals, and he could probably guess the difference.

——The current stage of training was still too simple, not worth making him break a sweat.

No wonder he played with his phone throughout the trainee sessions——it wasn’t necessary.

“I’ll demonstrate it for you first.” He looked around and called Chi Ji to step forward.

On the side, someone pressed a remote control, and a hoarse and lazy female voice softly sang, “Oh babe babe—”

Pei Ruye’s body sank, and his fingertips traced directly from his ankles to his knees and thighs, revealing his figure.

Chi Ji excelled in jazz, able to follow the routine completely on the first try.

“I must confess, that my loneliness is killing me now—”

The two of them were dancing the same routine, but their styles were vastly different.

Chi Ji had the most flexibility in his body, able to balance softness and release a bold and daring aura. His eyes instantly immersed in the music, gazing straight at everyone in the room.

He was delicate yet agile, innocent yet wild. When he shook his buttocks, he resembled a naive wildcat.

Pei Ruye, on the other hand, exuded a sense of power.

When he extended his limbs, it felt like he was demanding and conquering. The swing and rotation of his upper arms and wrists resembled wielding a scepter, and his swaying and tossing of his head carried a sense of suppression.

Every line of his waist and legs was taut and smooth. With a pointed finger, he retreated and beckoned, silently commanding everyone to move forward.

“Give me a sign——hit me baby one more time!”

After watching it for the first time, Huo Ren was still trying to remember the different expressions and the impact of varying intensity on the stage performance. Unintentionally, he glanced left and right, only to find the other boys blushing inexplicably.

Some even avoided eye contact and seemed a bit embarrassed.

He belatedly realized that there were quite a few sexual implications in those movements. But he continued to stare at the two, full of academic spirit, recording every detail in his mind.

After three rounds of dancing, Pei Ruye signaled Chi Ji to step aside.

“The moves are quite simple. Have you all memorized them?”

Xie Lianyun quickly shook his head. “No.”

“Even if you haven’t, come up and dance. Chi Ji, you lead at the front.”

The bamboo sword tapped twice on the wooden floor, and the other five silently began to sway along.

“This is too provocative…” Xie Lianyun muttered under his breath. “I’ll turn gay after dancing this.”

The bamboo sword struck his waist. “Wave!”

Huo Ren had been practicing street dance for the past six months, thinking he had found his groove. Now, he had to forcefully train in the opposite direction.

His body, originally like a solid wooden board, had to transform into a spring with joints that were both soft and resilient. He had to showcase all the lines of his thighs, buttocks, waist, and chest, like a mating animal.

Pei Ruye stood by the bamboo sword, his voice cold and deep. “You’ll only learn one basic jazz piece. I won’t let you touch too much.”

“Uncle Jiang is arranging resources for your album tomorrow. He mentioned many ideas to me.”

He looked serious as if discussing business. “Of course, the main theme of the album will be street dance, highlighting the cool and free-spirited boyfriend vibe. But I suggest you include a jazz piece as a harmonizing element.”

Most of the performances maintain a clean and lively unified style, with one reserved track that was both provocative and alluring, creating a striking contrast.

Huo Ren, still following Chi Ji’s lead in swaying his hips, instinctively turned his head and asked, “Has the arrangement already started?”

“Yes, the team needs to be formed in advance, and the recording studio needs to be booked,” Pei Ruye replied calmly. “Next year, I’ll still be the choreography director for Crown, and your group has the highest priority for collaboration.”

Huo Ren lost his focus and danced a half-beat slower, anxiously waiting for a scolding, but the bamboo sword remained still.

“It’s your birthday today,” the man glanced at him. “I won’t make it painful.”

Long Jia chuckled, “Mr. Pei knows it’s Huo’s birthday?”

“I’ve already given him the gift,” Pei Ruye said calmly. “He’s my first official student.”

“Or maybe the only one if he’s lucky,” Long Jia added jokingly.

Huo Ren didn’t expect this revelation, and his movements slowed down even more.

“Teacher, what are we then?”

“I teach you all how to dance, and I teach him urban and choreography. It’s not conflicting,” Pei Ruye’s hands clasped the bamboo sword, his gaze fixed on the young man as he spoke slowly.

“He has an exceptional photographic memory. It would be a pity if he didn’t learn this.”

Surprisingly, his tone carried a touch of solemnity.

Urban incorporates multiple dance styles and requires both talent and a powerful memory for coordination. Most people could only scratch the surface and wouldn’t be able to fully grasp its essence within two or three years.

But Pei Ruye knew that Huo Ren could achieve it.

He could even reach this level of choreography within six months without Pei Ruye directly teaching him.

Huo Ren paused his breathing for a few seconds and hurriedly asked, “You knew all along?”

When did he expose himself in front of him?

Pei Ruye smiled and remained silent.

The practice room fell into a brief silence.

Bo Jue thought the idea of a photographic memory was a joke until he saw Huo Ren’s expression and snapped back to reality. “Is it true? Is that why you learned the piano so quickly?!”

Long Jia recalled many details of their past interactions and realized belatedly, “So this ability actually exists… Were you born with it or did you train for it?”

“I was born with it.”

Even Wei Jie was dumbfounded. “Holy sh!t?!”

Just as they finished the routine and entered break time, Pei Ruye waved his hand, signaling them to relax, then went out to take a phone call for business matters.

Several members of the group quickly gathered around, with Wei Jie eavesdropping from the outskirts. They all had curious expressions.

Huo Ren quietly spoke up, “I thought Xie Xie already told you all…”

Mei Shengyao turned his head to look at Xie Lianyun. “And you kept it from me?!”

Xie Lianyun thought carefully and said, “Huo Ren, actually… he was the top scorer in last year’s high school entrance examination.”

Everyone: ?

“He remembers everything he sees.”

Everyone: ??

“When he lived with me, he memorized the entire Oxford English Dictionary in just two weeks.”

Everyone: ???

Bo Jue grabbed the captain’s shoulders and let out a long gasp. “The Huo Ren you’re talking about… is our Huo Ren?”

Xie Lianyun immediately looked at Huo Ren. “Did I confess too quickly?”

When Pei Ruye finished dealing with company matters and returned to the Hive practice room, the captain was already surrounded by his teammates, with Xiao Wei as a small teacher on the side.

“Perform one more time!”

“Huo Huo, one more time!”

The young man, facing away from Pei Ruye, looked a bit embarrassed. “Isn’t that inappropriate?”

“We haven’t started class yet, it’s okay~”

Pei Ruye leaned against the doorframe and smiled lightly as he watched him.

Huo Ren casually thought of something and said, “π is equal to 3.1415926535897932…”

He spoke as casually as reciting the multiplication table, and Chi Ji was helping Mei Shengyao prop up his chin.

“Damn… that’s incredible,” Wei Jie exclaimed dreamily. “There’s actually something like this?!”

Xie Lianyun quickly said, “Huo Huo, that’s not impressive. What’s 45,823 multiplied by 12,342?”

Huo Ren answered without hesitation, “565,547,466.”

Mei Shengyao, realizing belatedly, took out his phone and used the calculator. When he saw the answer, he was stunned. “How is this possible?!”

“There are techniques and mnemonics for this…”

“Captain, I think I’m dreaming.”

“Huo Huo, are you a monster?”

“You’re actually a super genius——I can’t believe I just found out today!”

Pei Ruye whistled. “Class time.”

The five people simultaneously tried to delay. “Teacher, just five more minutes—”

“You’ll be together every year in the future, a few more minutes won’t make a difference.”

He casually helped them buy some time and handed Huo Ren a milk candy, placing it in his palm.

“You can have something sweet today.”

Huo Ren quickly said thank you to the teacher, peeled the candy, ate it, and neatly folded the cow-patterned candy wrapper and put it back in his pocket. He smiled with narrowed eyes as the aroma of milk melted and spread.

If he danced a little longer, he wouldn’t gain weight.

The candy tasted really good.

Time passed faster than they had imagined.

It felt like just yesterday when they signed their contracts to join Corona at the beginning of the year, and now they had jumped to the assessment week at the end of December.

Uncle Jiang disappeared for two and a half months as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth. He didn’t even attend the final exam.

It had been a long time since they had been scolded by Uncle Jiang, and they were a bit unaccustomed. It felt like the crown was missing a support.

On December 30th, they were assessed on team physicality, simulated interviews, and print performance.

On December 31st, they were assessed on group performance and five main subjects.

From January 1st to January 5th, they underwent assessments for elective courses and the final physical fitness test.

The final results would be announced on January 10th.

On the tenth, the internal affairs team took them to the conference hall in the administrative building.

All the teachers were present, dressed in formal attire.

Pei Ruye sat on the central seat with Zhong Fengyu on the other side. When they looked at the six young men, there was a hint of a smile in their eyes.

The six boys sat nervously across from them, leaning close to each other.

Uncle Jiang, wearing sunglasses, swiftly walked into the meeting room, holding an envelope with a strong and imposing demeanor.

Everyone stood up simultaneously.

The general manager stood at the main seat and bowed deeply to everyone.

“You’ve all worked hard.”

Everyone returned the gesture simultaneously and sat down in unison.

“I will now announce the practice results for Corona’s first year.”

He opened the envelope, and the blinds cast shadows on his deliberately trimmed temples.

“Main dancer, Odyssey, Mei Shengyao.”

“Dance, vocals, performance, and creativity: 4A.”

The child sighed with relief against the chair’s backrest.

“Main rapper, Alston, Long Jia.”

“Dance, rap, performance: 3A.”

Long Jia nodded slightly.

“Main creative, Ralph, Xie Lianyun.”

“Vocals, performance, creativity, rap: 4A.” Uncle Jiang paused for a moment. “To be precise, vocals are A-, but your creative teacher insisted on exempting you from the exam, so it counts as a bonus.”

Xie Lianyun smiled in response.

“Main instrumentalist, Otis, Bo Jue.”

“Vocals, performance, creativity: 3A.” Uncle Jiang looked at the long-haired youth. “All other five elective courses are A.”

Bo Jue pursed his lips and remained silent.

“Main vocalist, Noah, Chi Ji.”

“Dance, vocals, performance: 3A.” Uncle Jiang’s tone softened a lot. “You obtained exemptions for vocals and dance, but still took the exams on time and achieved excellent results.”

The young man smiled shyly, and the teachers instinctively applauded.

“Now, the last one.”

“The captain, the only C, Cain, Huo Ren.”

Uncle Jiang placed the envelope and the report card on the table, crossing his fingers like a hollow tower. He announced the final results calmly and unhurriedly.

“Dance, vocals, rap, creativity, performance, all passed with high scores.”

“Your overall grade is 5A.”

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The author has something to say:

This chapter is precisely 5,200 characters, just right.

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Additional remarks:
1. To avoid suspicion of padding the word count, I didn’t elaborate on the grade changes in the previous three quarters. But for the final results, I wanted to give it some attention since it’s commemorative (serious face).
* Odyssey will be referred to as Ody in the future.

2. The different names come from different languages, with mythological allusions and other considerations. The stage names don’t need to focus on the details (laughs).

3. The original plan for “Crown Prince” was for their debut to span four years, but here it should be from mid-2009 to early 2012, which is three years. I’ll quietly change it, so just pretend you didn’t see it, okay?

4. I didn’t elaborate on the rap course because it can be awkward to describe flow and instrumental accompaniment in writing. Thank you all for understanding. _(┐「ε:)_
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Today I wrote too late, so I won’t list the names of the lucky geese who commented in the top twenty yesterday. Sending lots of love!

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Translator’s Notes:

5200 words in Chinese and the translation was around 3600 words in English, but since one character is equal to a word in Chinese, let’s use characters. So this whole chapter amounts to around 20000 characters. Haha, I won. (Sorry, lost my mind a bit. This is a crazy long chapter after my long hiatus.)

C – Cain, Huo Ren (captain)

O – Odyssey, Mei Shengyao (main dancer)

R – Ralph, Xie Lianyun (main creative)

O – Otis, Bo Jue (main instrumentalist)

N – Noah, Chi Ji (main vocalist)

A – Alston, Long Jia (main rapper)