Day 21

“Imagine there’s a flower in front of you. Breathe in slowly through your nose, bringing the air into your abdomen and feeling it expand like a balloon.”

"Like this?" Peng Siyuan frowned, feeling a little strange, but he still followed suit obediently.

Fu Xunyan stretched out his hand and gently pressed the abdomens of the people in front of him: "Do you feel it? The breath is sinking."

The program team had limited teachers and could only implement a shift system. Since Fu Xunyan had not completed the adaptation in the past two days, he applied for an adjustment, reducing the frequency of vocal lessons, and asked the teacher to mainly lead a few people in basic exercises. As for the song itself, they would learn it together after the adaptation.

"Well, everyone has practiced almost enough. Tonight we will rehearse the entire routine, and then the teacher will teach us the adapted song."

Fu Xunyan held the newly delivered form in his hand and said, "Jiang An, Gu Feng, you two have materials to shoot tonight, right?"

The two people who were called out were a little nervous. As models, their basic skills were very poor. Under Fu Xunyan's encouragement, they had actually made great progress in the past two days, but it was still not enough.

Although Fu Xunyan was also pulled to shoot the variety show, that was supported by his ranking and strength, and he did not fall behind after returning.

They actually applied for this material voluntarily - they just didn't want to lose the opportunity to be exposed, but when they thought about their lack of practice, they felt a little guilty.

"Don't make that expression."

The two men, heads bowed, cautiously looked over. Inside the rehearsal room, the lights were blazing brightly, and sweat had already dampened the man's extraordinary features. Although they had initially thought him difficult to deal with, after two days of interacting with him, everyone in the group could sense Fu Xunyan's personality.

As a team member, as long as you work hard and try to achieve the goals he assigns, Fu Xunyan will be a caring older brother. But if you fail to complete them... Fu Xunyan will transform into the kind headmaster who wants to scold you but is afraid to hurt your pride.

Then he just focused on practicing with others.

At this moment, he raised his eyes, which were a little bloodshot from staying up late, and his gaze gently fell on the two of them: "Your absence will indeed bring changes to the arrangements, but it is not a nuisance."

"We are all trainees. Striving for more performance opportunities and radiating our charisma is part of our job. Recording well is an obligation to yourself and a contribution to the program as a whole. There's no need to feel guilty."

Seeing the expressions of agreement from the other three, Fu Xunyan pursed his lips and reminded them, "But after you finish recording, don't chat or anything. Come back and join us."

Jiang An and Gu Feng naturally nodded vigorously.

"Fu..." The practice room was opened a crack, and when the head came in and found that there was no one else, he pushed the door open loudly, "Is your team taking another break?"

"No, I sent their Cody the ideas for the stage look, so they all went to a meeting to confirm that every company agreed."

"Tsk tsk tsk, you really worry a lot." Min Hai sat down and took out a plastic bag from his pocket. "I know you haven't eaten yet, so I brought you some buns. Don't worry, they're made with vegetables and heated up."

"Thank you." Fu Xunyan didn't look up. He took the food with one hand and started to eat it, while the other hand was still drawing something on the drawing with a pen.

Min Hai came over to take a look, "What is this?"

"Stage map. I'm trying to figure out how to arrange the positions."

"Isn't this the job of the program planning teacher?"

Fu Xunyan shook his head.

Min Hai looked at him, his eyes like twinkling stars in the night sky, bright and determined. Even blurred by sweat, they didn't diminish their brilliance and focus. His thick, curled eyelashes were covered with glistening beads of sweat. As he blinked, a few drops occasionally slipped down, reflecting a rainbow of colors under the light.

His tall nose had beautiful lines, and the tip of his nose was covered with beads of sweat, adding to his allure.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, took off the headsets on his and Min Hai's chests, and lowered his voice, "Do you really trust them?"

"Huh?" Min Hai did as he was told, but he was confused. "Trust what?"

"The level of those teachers." Fu Xunyan finally stopped what he was doing, hugged his knees and looked at Min Hai, "I can tell at a glance that they're not good enough, right?"

Min Hai had nothing to say.

It is a well-known fact that "New Century" has no money, and this is the case both last time and this time.

But Fu Xunyan’s “bullying incident” triggered some effects.

Never overestimate the character of the program crew. Even if there are good people in this huge team accumulated by capital, they do not have the right to speak.

Once a business opportunity is discovered, some people start to make trouble.

The program team will not change the budget, but other places will be adjusted.

Staff configuration is one of the hardest hit areas.

Most of the singing, dancing and arranging teachers have become relatives inserted by investors. They are either the nephew of someone or the niece of someone, and even worse, the aunt's daughter's aunt is there.

In his previous life, he didn’t have a stage to shine because the arranger was powerless. This time, Fu Xunyan felt like he was powerless.

Fu Xunyan also wanted to change this situation, but he didn't have the energy to do so right now.

“So I plan to do it all myself.”

"What about that? Has it been dealt with?"

"Well, I told the chief planner not to bother with us, and he agreed—why would he disagree? My name won't be on the stage design, so no one will know he didn't do this job."

"But isn't this equivalent to you working for him for free?"

"Yes." Fu Xunyan's hands started to get busy again, and Min Hai clearly felt his irritability.

"But this is a compromise and an exchange. I asked for freedom and his help in covering up, and I promised him a lighter workload and a stage arrangement that might go viral."

Min Hai's expression was complicated. "You... forget it. You've been responsible for too many things recently. You should rest well after the first public performance and stop rushing ahead."

Fu Xunyan was in charge of song adaptation, stage arrangement, variety show recording, and even other people's makeup.

Fu Xunyan didn't respond, so Min Hai had to leave the room, but he ran into Chen Chi at the door.

"Brother Minhai? Why are you here?" Chen Chi wiped the sweat off his face. He had just finished the group practice and went to the bathroom, then went to the convenience store for a walk. He thought Fu Xunyan should also be training, so he came over to see him.

"Me? I'm here to visit." Min Hai touched his head and pouted, "Is this guy going back to the dormitory to rest these two days?"

Chen Chi sighed and shook his head, "You can't catch him in the dormitory. He usually comes back around five or six in the morning, takes a shower and lies down for a while, and goes out again at eight."

Good guy, you are really not afraid of sudden death.

Min Hai was in mixed mood and left after saying goodbye to Shen Chi.

Chen Chi wanted to push the door open, but when he saw the tall figure sitting on the ground through the crack in the door, with his legs casually curled up and frowning in thought, he stopped disturbing him and just put the hot milk he had just bought from the convenience store on the inside of the door before quietly leaving.

Brother Fu doesn’t like to drink milk, but he seems to be very persistent about his health and insists on drinking a cup every day.

The subsequent training went on step by step. Although tiring, Fu Xunyan did not feel bored. He adjusted everyone's movements and expressions in each rehearsal, and talked to them about the timing and key points of interaction. Although it looked calm on the surface, only those in the team could clearly perceive the changes.

Especially Jiang An and Gu Feng, their original limbs were very uncoordinated, so Fu Xunyan immediately helped them cut out some movements and arranged for them to do some simple fixed points and walking to fill the gaps.

"Remember, the key to this song is the vocals. If you get too nervous on stage and forget your movements, that's okay. The most important thing is to sing the song."

"The first public performance was all open mic..."

Huh? As the two looked at each other, Fu Xunyan suddenly realized that he had subconsciously said something that no one else knew.

Yes, this time the first public performance was a terrifying one with the microphone on. Although many things in this life were different from the previous one, this week Fu Xunyan repeatedly confirmed with the production team that the first public performance would be a live performance.

Of course, the production team, perhaps still hoping to create buzz, didn't explain it as clearly as the other trainees. Someone asked if the mic would be live, and the production team replied, "Of course." The trainee didn't ask further—they assumed that "New Century" would only be partially live and have the sound adjusted for the sake of audience appeal.

But that’s not the case. The first public performance of “New Century” was not only broadcast live, but also had no audio editing at all, which created many car accident scenes.

Bai Zhen's eyes widened. "What should I do? I'm afraid I can't handle it."

The consequence of not being able to handle it is that the devil Fu Xunyan will drag the whole team to do a "consolation performance" - Fu Xunyan believes that the way to overcome nervousness is to rehearse more before going on stage, especially to practice more with people you are not familiar with, in order to eliminate the embarrassment and unnaturalness.

For confidentiality reasons, Fu Xunyan did not let too many people see their performance. Only Jiang Han, Da Pei, Yin Xingheng, Bai Wenji, Chen Chi and Min Hai were lucky enough to watch it.

Yin Xingheng's expression was complicated: "I want to be your opponent, but I also want to be your teammate."

"It's truly amazing. It covers up all your flaws—ah, I'm not scolding you, but this stage truly hides them all. The song is also very nice. If the camera can take more close-up shots of your faces, your faces will be a big plus."

“I can’t fault it at all.”

Dal-bae nodded. "If I had to pick a nit, it would be that there were too few dance parts. But this isn't the second public performance, and since it's a ballad, it doesn't require too much dancing. The relaxed feeling you guys have is just right."

Chen Chi also praised him highly. He had just started to study vocal music systematically, but he was gifted. At this moment, he was particularly fond of Fu Xunyan's voice and skills.

"Brother Fu, you're amazing! Your voice was a little dry on your first performance, but now it's so bright! I never thought you could sing high notes like this."

Feeling that praising only Fu Xunyan would be a bit annoying, Chen Chi hurriedly added some praise for the other people.

After the show, Duan Qiqi and the others left tactfully because they had to rehearse the next day. Fu Xunyan had told them not to sleep too late tonight to avoid being in a bad state.

Although rehearsals are not formal performances, receiving negative comments from several mentors will undoubtedly deal a heavy blow to one's confidence - especially when one's own abilities are indeed lacking.

Finally, all his teammates left. Yin Xingheng naturally leaned over and was about to put his hand on Fu Xunyan's shoulder. Unexpectedly, he bumped his head with Da Pei. The two looked at each other, but Da Pei was quick to reach out and pull Fu Xunyan to his side.

"Hey, I got it first!"

"Hey, hey, hey, you're going too far. You two are roommates, but can't you just let me have the treasure hunt for a minute?"

hiss~

"Treasure hunting?" Fu Xunyan looked at Yin Xingheng with an awkward expression, "I must remind your brother that you are younger than me."

"Is it appropriate to shout about treasure hunting?"

"Of course! Now I'm your daddy fan." Yin Xingheng looked proud and subconsciously reached for her phone only to find it had been taken away. "Ah, you have to believe me. I joined your fan group right after the last holiday."

Fu Xunyan felt hopeless as he was embraced by Da Pei, who was laughing crazily.

"Dad, hahahahaha, you little brat, you still call me dad."

Yin Xingheng refused to accept the decision and started fighting with Da Pei.

Bai Wenji crossed his arms and smiled coldly. He was really impressed by these childish children. But even though he felt disgusted, Bai Wenji didn't move his butt.

Tomorrow is the day of formal rehearsal. It is already ten o'clock in the evening. Almost every team has stopped arranging training and is making final adjustments.

Although Bai Wenji looks like a man who doesn't care about anything, he actually has a very gossipy heart under his noble and cold appearance, so he has a lot of information.

He didn't want to disturb Fu Xunyan's mood with those things, but as a friend and roommate, it would be better to give him a proper reminder.

So he pushed aside Da Pei, whose legs were wrapped around Fu Xunyan, and Yin Xingheng, who was holding Fu Xunyan's shoulders with both hands, and said, "Be quiet, I have something important to do."

"Huh?" Everyone paused.

Being stared at by so many pairs of eyes, Bai Wenji felt a little uncomfortable. "Have you heard about the situation of Shao Ruzhou's group?"

Shao Ruzhou? Ah, the rival group.

Fu Xunyan shook his head. "I wanted to communicate with them, but they refused."

Jiang Han raised his hand. "Yeah, they're really weird. I was just passing by the door out of curiosity that day, but before I could even move my feet, they slammed the door shut. How mysterious!"

"Yes." Dal-bae also held his chin up, looking unhappy. "The stars are too arrogant. Every group should submit a finalized stage plan, but theirs hasn't been made public yet."

"Why, are you afraid that we will find out that you plagiarized me, huh?" Da Pei rolled his eyes.

Bai Wenji's expression became increasingly complicated. "It is said that they have prepared a secret weapon."

Secret weapon?