Chapter 55: The Fourth Round of Performance Selection Groups

Lian Cheng had no idea that there were more people who liked "Jiang Mo Nan" than just his daughter.

After learning that the contestants of "Youth Project" were coming to celebrate Coco's birthday, the children who were originally playing games in the house all ran out at once.

"Oh my god! It's so difficult!"

"Ahhhh! Jiang Mo Nan!"

Seeing her classmates and friends so excited, Lian Kehan ​​leaned towards Mo Bei calmly and said, "Brother Nannan is here to celebrate my birthday."

He looked like he was declaring his sovereignty, as if he had turned a deaf ear to his father's previous attempt to "break up the couple".

For a moment, many children showed envious eyes.

That’s great, they also want Nannan to celebrate their birthdays.

Although Jiang Mo Nan is currently the most popular contestant in the show, many of the children present are also fans of other contestants.

"Husband Lei Lie!"

"Tietie! Mommy loves you!"

There was a group of little guys who were not even as tall as the contestants' thighs, excitedly calling the contestants "husband" and "baby". The scene was so magical.

Especially when their parents are also fans of the contestants, such scenes become even more funny.

A mother blushed and said to her daughter, "Xiaoyan, stop yelling. Call me brother!"

"No." The girl called Xiaoyan twisted her body into a knot, "Lei Lie is my husband!"

On the other side, the little girl who called Tao Xiaotie "Zi Zai" was even bolder. She walked over directly with a plate of small cakes and said, "Zi Zai, try it! It's delicious!"

Tao Xiaotie, who was called "Zi Zai" by the little girl, not only did not feel any embarrassment or discomfort, but instead accepted the little girl's kindness with a good attitude.

"Hmm...it's really delicious."

Seeing this, the little girl's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly brought a new cake: "If you like it, eat more!"

Looking at the slightly confusing scene in front of him, Lian Cheng couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Are all kids nowadays so fierce?

Parents who were too ashamed to face others, children who spoke without restraint, and contestants who either laughed it off or felt embarrassed.

It has to be said that the arrival of the contestants added a unique touch to the originally ordinary birthday party.

Unlike the adults who were embarrassed, the children were very excited about it.

As the most popular contestant, Mo Bei naturally received the most love from the children.

Stickers, Barbie dolls, plush toys, the little girls lent him their most treasured things to play with.

They even played hide-and-seek and pretend house together at the children's enthusiastic invitation.

Mo Bei had never had such an experience before, and for a moment he felt it was extremely fresh.

Happy times are always short-lived. When the birthday party ended and the children waved goodbye to everyone, everyone's face was filled with reluctance to leave.

As the protagonist of the birthday party, Keke stole a lot of attention this time, and her attitude towards Lian Cheng became more intimate than usual.

"Thanks, Dad! I loved this birthday!"

Lian Cheng was suddenly hugged by his daughter, and he couldn't help but pause. For a moment, his expression gradually softened.

"As long as you like it, Coco. Happy birthday."

"Um!"

Seeing the smile on his daughter's face, Lian Cheng suddenly felt that the problems he had been struggling with before didn't seem so important anymore.

No matter what Mo Bei's current situation is, no matter how his daughter calls him, these are not the most important things.

The important thing is that his lost friends are back, and his family can still live happily together.

As for the secret that Mo Bei was hiding, if he was willing to tell it, that would be the best. But if the other party was unwilling, he couldn't force it.

Adult friendships need to adhere to certain boundaries, and he doesn't want to be the one who crosses the line.

After the birthday party, Mo Bei was called to the study by Lian Cheng.

Before he could ask what the other party wanted, he saw the person in front of him took out a mobile phone and a bank card.

Mo Bei raised his eyebrows when he saw this, "For me?"

"Yeah. I didn't know what you'd like, so I bought the latest model. There's 100,000 yuan in this card. It's the payout from your last commercial, and I had them transfer it to this card. The password is your birthday."

Lian Cheng paused and said, "Your real birthday."

Looking at the things in front of him, Mo Bei said silently: "Thank you."

Lian Cheng grinned and said, "You're welcome. I'm your boss now, and this is what I should do."

"It's a pity that the production team didn't negotiate a high salary with Jin Chun when they were discussing the commercial shoot. The combined cost for the twelve of you is only 500,000 yuan."

Hearing this, Mo Bei was stunned. "500,000 for 12 people? How can I..."

"Of course, the expenses can't be shared equally." Lian Cheng paused and said, "Although all twelve of you received the highest popularity votes in your group, there are still significant disparities in your rankings. After all, some groups have a large concentration of top-ranked players, while others aren't as competitive."

"The client naturally treats each actor differently. It's just like actors' pay: popular actors get high pay, and unpopular actors get low pay. Isn't this a common thing in the entertainment industry?"

Mo Bei nodded slightly when he heard this.

Indeed, after experiencing the changes in his own situation, he took it for granted.

Lian Cheng continued, "This phone has a SIM card installed, some basic software has been installed, and a Weibo account has been registered for you. However, since I can't use my phone right now due to the program recording, I'll have to keep it for now. As for the bank card, you keep it yourself."

"There's still nearly two weeks until the finals. If nothing unexpected happens, you'll definitely debut as the center. By then, the production team will sign you guys to a group contract. The process after that should be similar to what we did back then."

"We work together, film group variety shows, release songs and albums, and participate in various online and offline activities."

"So I won't rent you a house for now. After all, you'll be living with your new teammates."

Lian Cheng no longer used the indirect, indirect tactics he used when they first met. In his eyes, Jiang Monan and Mo Bei were the same person. Mo Bei, knowing this, didn't try to hide his true intentions by pretending otherwise.

To be honest, he hadn't expected Lian Cheng to be so dedicated to helping him and not ask him any questions that were currently difficult for him to answer.

I remember that before going to Country M to attend the Fashion Week, he had a barbecue dinner with Lian Cheng and Xu Hexuan.

At that time, the relationship between the two was not as tense as it was later, but there were some signs of it. In order to try to make them get along better, he wanted to invite them out for dinner and have a good chat.

But unexpectedly, during the meal, Lian Cheng and Xu Hexuan actually started arguing over a piece of meat.

Lian Cheng claimed that Xu Hexuan had snatched his barbecue, but Xu Hexuan himself claimed that barbecue was meant to be eaten by everyone together and there was no question of snatching it.

Mo Bei wanted to step in to smooth things over, but Lian Cheng, who was furious at the time, told him that he wanted to break up with him when he saw that Mo Bei didn't help him.

After that, the two remained in a stalemate until he was killed in a plane hijacked by gangsters abroad.

When we met again, everything had changed.

"sorry."

Lian Cheng's sudden apology broke the silence.

Mo Bei came back to his senses and looked at the person in front of him inexplicably.

A trace of regret flashed across Lian Cheng's face, which was much more mature than it was 20 years ago.

"I shouldn't have said those words then."

"I was just jealous at that time. I was jealous that you favored Xu Hexuan. Obviously, our relationship is the strongest."

"After that, I also thought about finding a chance to apologize to you, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I never thought..."

Although he had expected this, Mo Bei couldn't help but tremble in his heart when he heard Lian Cheng say these words himself.

Looking at the depressed look on the man's face, he said, "It's okay. Everything is over."

Hearing this, Lian Cheng raised his head with slightly red eyes.

The past cannot be changed, but the future can be pursued.

Fortunately, he can now still meet the people he wanted to meet in the past and express his regrets.

"……Thanks."

After calming down for a while, I heard a sentence from my ear:

"Don't you have anything you want to ask?"

Meeting the clear and lingering gaze of the person in front of him, Lian Cheng was stunned for a moment and said, "Of course. But will you tell me if I ask you?"

"……Won't."

"That's it, isn't it?"

Lian Cheng laughed: "Since I can't get the real answer, is there any point in wasting time?"

Lian Cheng's answer was unexpected but reasonable. Mo Bei was surprised and a little disappointed.

During the time he was away, everything was changing quietly.

Even the most self-indulgent of friends have grown up.

He no longer gets to the bottom of things he's curious about like he did when he was young, nor does he argue about right and wrong in everything.

But for some reason, this change makes people feel a little lonely.

It was as if time had stood still for him alone.

Although he was a little sentimental, Mo Bei was essentially a man of action with clear goals and looking forward.

He did not dwell on the sadness of the past.

Because he has something very important to do next.

The next round of performances, which is also the final night of the competition to form a group, is coming.

…

The two-day break was over quickly, and the contestants gathered in the auditorium once again.

The host Zeng Yu had been waiting for a long time.

Because the weather was getting hotter, this time he did not wear his iconic sequined suit but instead wore a white short-sleeved polo shirt.

"As I believe you all know, this performance is your last before your debut."

"On this stage, the fourth round of rankings will also be held simultaneously. 20 will be selected into 10, and this will determine your final debut spots."

Upon hearing this, everyone at the scene took a deep breath.

Although I knew about this a long time ago, it made me even more nervous when I heard it from the host.

Before they knew it, they had arrived here.

In fact, before entering the competition, many people had no idea they would make it this far. But fate is such a strange thing. Regardless of the outcome, they will give their all in one last gamble.

"The fourth round of performances will be the same as the third. You will still be performing original pieces."

"The difference is that this time the program team will only provide the original song demo. You will need to complete the arrangement, choreography and lyrics by yourself."

"In addition, you also need to decide the stage design and performance costume style according to your own ideas."

Compared with the first three rounds of performances, the degree of freedom in the group night performance is simply frighteningly high.

However, the high degree of freedom is also a big test for the players.

Because this will greatly test the players' ability to coordinate and plan, and their teamwork, as well as their individual abilities.

Choreography and music arrangement are not something that everyone can do, but once a contestant can show it, it will be a big plus.

After hearing what the host said, the capable contestants were eager to try, their eyes showing their eagerness to give it a try.

Zeng Yu paused and said, "This time, you will be divided into two groups to perform, with 10 people in each group."

Upon hearing this, there was an uproar at the scene.

"10 people? That many?!"

This is the group performance with the largest number of participants since the start of the competition.

However, after the shock, the contestants quickly relaxed. After all, the final group of the show was originally 10 people, and this round of performances was like getting used to it in advance.

"Because you have a heavy workload for this round of performances, the first thing you need to consider is how to plan the tasks for each member. A reliable teammate will greatly improve your work efficiency."

Upon hearing this, the contestants nodded in agreement.

Zhao Xi couldn't help but raise his hand and ask, "So how do you choose your teammates?"

The host smiled and said, "That's a good question."

"In the previous rounds of performances, we let the higher-ranked contestants choose first, so this time we're going to do something different."

"For this round of performances, we will draw lots for blind selection."

Contestants: “???”

"Fuck!"

"What?!"

Zeng Yu clapped his hands on the podium, and then a staff member walked onto the stage holding an opaque box.

"This box contains two colors of balls: red and blue. Each of you will come up on stage and draw lots. You will go to the team that draws the ball of your color."

Upon hearing this, there was an exclamation at the scene.

Before the contestants could even wail, the host revealed another explosive piece of news:

"By the way, group selection is also linked to song selection."

As soon as he finished speaking, two balls appeared on the big screen: one red, one blue.

The blue ball represents "all of mine," a pop song that blends house, UK garage, and Jersey Club styles. The red ball represents "Youth Travel," a traditional Chinese R&B dance song.

The two songs have different styles and have ample room for change. However, the contestants' personal preferences are of little use in this round of song selection.

After all, this is a blind selection, so whichever group you draw is the one you will be selected into.

The order of the draw was based on the ranking in the third round. As the first one, Mo Bei was the first to draw.

After reaching into the box and groping for a while, he took out a red ball.

"Jiang Mo Nan, Red Team, 'Young Traveler'!"

The next person to go on stage was Sheng Yanyu. He drew the blue ball and went to the "all of mine" group. After him, Lei Lie also drew the blue ball.

When it was Bai Li's turn, he stood in front of the box, staring at the hole for a long time, then reached out and took out the red ball.

After that, Chang Jun, Cui Junxi, Su Yi, Zhou Quan, Lu Ping and others all drew the blue ball.

Tao Xiaotie, Yi Chuheng, Xu Tingchuan, Zhong Gaoyi, Zheng Xingye, Zhao Chen, Zhao Xi and Lin Jiongyi all drew red balls.

By this calculation, except for Xu Tingchuan, the red team's "Youth Travel" group had all been temporary teammates with Mo Bei in performances.

After the two teams were divided into groups, host Zeng Yu continued, "In addition to the group performances, all of you will also need to prepare a large chorus performance on this group formation night."

"The staff will send you the music and lyrics later."

"Also, you guys need to take some time to review the theme song. We'll be dancing to it again on the day of the group's debut."

After explaining what needed to be explained, the rest of the time was given to the contestants.

Preparations for the group's performance on the night of the formation began.