As the first large-scale talent show in China, coupled with a strong lineup of mentors, Tomorrow's Stars has been receiving a lot of attention from the public since its preparation. So when the official Weibo account released promotional photos of the 88 contestants, it quickly became the top trending topic.

Many contestants already had popularity before participating in the show, or had already debuted, or were previously internet celebrities who had accumulated some fans. There were also some complete newcomers who had never appeared in front of the public before. Lin Qingyan belonged to the latter.

The most popular comments under the official Weibo post are all controlled by fans.

Of course, I'm most looking forward to seeing our handsome Lu Yuqi!

[Lu Yuqi is so handsome!!!]

[Nan Nan is so cute! Please support An Nan Yi!]

[Nan Nan, your sister-in-law is here to cheer you on! Go for it!!]

[To the person upstairs: I advise you to retract your comment. I am Nan Nan's sister-in-law!!]

...

However, many netizens with sharp eyes spotted a particularly handsome guy among the rows of trainees wearing the same navy blue uniforms.

[Sisters, the trainee in the second-to-last row, named Lin Qingyan, is so handsome! Oh my god!! I heard An Jing's younger brother is also participating in the competition, could it be him?? But why is his surname Lin? Shouldn't it be An?] [First published website]

[Isn't An Nanyi An Jing's younger brother? Does the person upstairs have eye problems? Also, please support our Nan Nan!]

[Hmm... Am I seeing things? Why does An Nanyi look nothing like her brother? Her makeup is so heavy, she looks so effeminate. An Jing is so much better looking!]

I also think that the younger brother named Lin Qingyan looks more like An Jing's brother, especially their mouths, which are almost identical!

[Hey, isn't everyone's topic getting a bit off-topic? Shouldn't the focus be on this little brother's looks? His features are so handsome and delicate! His eyes crinkle when he smiles, it's so damn captivating! Ahhh, Yan Yan, from today onwards, I'm a die-hard fan!!]

[He's such a handsome young man!! Among all these contestants, his looks are definitely number one! Ah, I can't wait for the show to air!!]

...

Many netizens noticed this contestant named Lin Qingyan, and the official Weibo account even tagged all the trainees' accounts, leading everyone to click on Lin Qingyan's Weibo.

Lin Qingyan didn't have a Weibo account before; she had just applied for one and it was temporarily managed by her agent. The account was empty, with only a few hundred followers, and she had only posted two Weibo updates: one was a repost of an update from the official Weibo account, and the other was an original video of about ten seconds.

The video was filmed in the company's practice room. The boy was wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans. He was slender and tall, and his whole demeanor exuded a clean and pure aura.

He must have just finished dancing; his bangs were slightly messy and stuck to his forehead, and a thin layer of sweat covered his fair and handsome face, with large beads of sweat sliding down his cheeks.

The boy stood ramrod straight and bowed deeply to everyone watching on screen with great sincerity. His beautiful peach blossom eyes curved slightly with a smile, and his features were soft and delicate.

Next came her self-introduction. Her soft voice revealed a well-behaved air, and her tone was somewhat shy, "Hello everyone, my name is Lin Qingyan, I am nineteen years old, and I come from Yihua Entertainment. Please support me, thank you."

After he finished speaking, he made a heart shape with his hands, but the movement was a bit stiff, and the video ended there.

[Holy crap, how can there be such a cute, beautiful, handsome, shy, and timid younger brother? I love him!!]

[The older woman's DNA has been activated!!]

[Waaaaah, this handsome young man's jawline is even more defined than my cleavage!]

[Right now, a self-proclaimed "face-obsessed" fan is drooling over the screen, thinking, "The entertainment industry can't do without you!!!"]

[Don't worry, Yan Yan, your big sister will get all the aunts and uncles in the family to vote for you, and we'll definitely make you debut!!]

[Hahaha, poor little brother, he has even fewer fans than me! Sisters, let's make sure he reaches 10,000 fans today, okay?!]

Let me lend my brother a hand!

...

No one expected that just based on an official announcement photo, more and more netizens flocked to the account, which only had a few hundred followers. In a short time, it surpassed 10,000 followers and is still on the rise.

Of course, it can't compare to popular contestants who already have hundreds of thousands of fans, but it's still quite surprising that so many fans have been gained just from one photo. If nothing unexpected happens, the effect will only increase exponentially after the show airs.

Of course, Lin Qingyan, who didn't even have a cell phone while on set, wouldn't know any of this.

"Master Gu, Lin Qingyan is quite something, he's got audience appeal." Lu Sheng exclaimed sincerely. Not everyone can have such good audience appeal. Some artists are good-looking and talented, but they just don't have audience appeal, so they can't become famous.

Audience appeal is really important for an artist.

When Lu Sheng first met Lin Qingyan, he felt that this child would be popular with the audience. He had good-looking features but no aggressiveness, and his temperament was clean and pure. Most importantly, he had a good personality.

His younger brother, Lu Yuqi, is such a difficult person to get along with, with such a bad temper, arrogant and cold, and usually keeps to himself. Yet Lin Qingyan was able to become friends with him, which shows how good the kid's personality is.

At that moment, Gu Fei was sitting in his office, looking intently at the computer screen in front of him. He appeared to be working diligently, but in reality, the screen displayed Weibo. He was watching Lin Qingyan's video, which he had already watched over and over again.

After receiving no response on the other end of the phone for a long time, Lu Sheng couldn't help but say, "Are you even listening to me?"

The boy on the screen was making a heart shape with his hands for everyone. Gu Fei's gaze remained fixed on him, and a hint of pride seemed to creep into his otherwise calm tone as he spoke, "He is naturally the best, it's normal for everyone to like him."

Lu Sheng: "..."

What does it feel like to be caught off guard and suddenly be shown a dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection)?

——

The show "Tomorrow's Stars" was recorded and broadcast simultaneously. The first episode aired a week after the official recording began, with a new episode released every Friday night. It was exclusively broadcast on a well-known video website.

On Friday night, the day of the official broadcast, many viewers were already waiting in front of their screens. At 8 p.m., the first episode officially aired.

[It's starting! It's starting! Ahhhh! So many handsome young men!!]

[I've already topped up my VIP subscription for the next few months, little brothers, your big sister is coming!!!]

When did my husband, An Jing, appear?

[Coming for our family, Nannan]

[Sister Lu Yuqi is here!!! Let's go!!!]

The show begins with everyone gathering downstairs in the dormitory building, vying for a dormitory room. A large group of trainees appear in front of the camera, but at first no one notices Lin Qingyan until the camera cuts to her.

When Lu Yuqi arrogantly asked Lin Qingyan, "How many people do you like in a room? I'll snatch it for you," and then saw the slight twitching at the corner of Lin Qingyan's mouth, the comments section burst into laughter.

[Holy crap, Lu Yuqi is so cool, I love him!]

【Qiqi, I want to stay in a double room with you】

The guy next to me was speechless, haha!

[Ahhhhh!! This guy is so handsome, I'm totally smitten! Is he a fairy descended from heaven?]

[Ah, finally we get to see Yan Yan's screen time! Yan Yan, I've been a fan of yours for five days now!]

[This younger brother named Lin Qingyan is so handsome! Could he be An Jing's brother? They look alike, but why is his surname Lin?]

[Speechless. How can anyone ask such a brainless question? I've already said that our Nan Nan is An Jing's younger brother. Who knows this Lin Qingyan? Don't try to ride on my coattails, you nobody.]

[Trying to ride the coattails of someone else's popularity!]

[I was just asking because I didn't know, but An Nanyi's fans are so aggressive. If his brother wasn't An Jing, who would even know who An Nanyi is? Who wants to ride on his coattails? Speechless!]

In the first episode, Lin Qingyan didn't have many scenes, but whenever the camera panned to him, those one or two seconds were enough to draw the audience's attention to him.

When the whistle blew, everyone rushed in to grab a dorm room, but Lin Qingyan dragged her heavy suitcase slowly inside, almost tripping over the threshold. The comments section erupted in laughter.

[Hahaha, I'm so happy! She's such a silly beauty!]

[I love this younger brother so much, I'm becoming a fan!]

[It's kind of pathetic, but I still want to laugh, hahaha!!!]

[It's unbelievable that An Nanyi is sharing a dorm room with them; weren't there fans arguing in the comments just now?]

I always felt that these two didn't like Annan Yi...

When An Jing appeared, the live chat exploded with excitement. A large portion of the audience were An Jing's fans who were watching the show specifically because of him.

[Waaaaah, I'm so envious of Nan Nan for having such a great older brother]

They have a great relationship!

[Am I the only one who thinks An Jing and Lin Qingyan look more like brothers when they stand together? An Nanyi doesn't look like An Jing at all! Are you sure the hospital didn't switch them at birth?]

[Add one]

[There are twins who don't look alike. These two brothers have such a good relationship; it's ridiculous to say they were switched at birth in the hospital. Have they been watching too many mindless, melodramatic idol dramas?]

Next came the confiscation of prohibited items. When the contestants saw a whole bunch of books in Lin Qingyan's suitcase, including "Five Years of College Entrance Examination and Three Years of Simulation" and "Top Scholar's Notes," not only the contestants present were shocked, but also the audience in front of the screen.

[Hahaha, this is absolutely hilarious! This guy is seriously funny, who the hell would bring along "Five Years of College Entrance Exams and Three Years of Simulation" to a talent show? Hahaha!]

I heard a lot of players yell "Holy crap, hahaha!"

[Hahaha, this is so funny, it's absolutely hilarious!]

[Don't laugh! That younger brother is working so hard, how dare you laugh at him!]

[I remember now, I've seen this younger brother before. Sisters, you can watch his live stream on Douya (a Chinese live streaming platform); just search for Lin Qingyan. His live stream is hilarious! He wanted to sing, dance, and perform, but netizens kept forcing him to recite texts—it was absolutely hilarious!]