Chapter 17 Program Premiere

Wei Qianze's chat lasted for nearly an hour until the staff reminded him that the time was almost up. He stood up reluctantly and brushed the dust off his pants.

"Okay, let's stop here for today." He said with a smile.

"Keep training, don't be lazy."

Then the photography teacher and staff packed up their equipment and left the practice room.

The team members stood up and watched Wei Qianze leave. Xie Qingyu noticed with some amusement that the atmosphere in the training room became particularly lively after Wei Qianze left. Suddenly, it seemed as if his waist and legs were no longer sore, and he felt full of endless energy.

"Qingyu, can you help me see how I do this move?"

Sun Lele suddenly came over and looked at him expectantly.

Xie Qingyu looked at his movements carefully and nodded.

"Not bad, but you can turn faster to make it look more powerful."

"Okay!" Sun Lele immediately turned around and started practicing again, humming a song, obviously in a good mood.

On the other side, Qian Song and Zhu Xiaojun were discussing the details of a certain action, and Qian Song rarely took the initiative to speak.

"Xiaojun, I think you could relax a little more. If you're too tense, it'll make you look stiff."

Zhu Xiaojun nodded and tried to adjust it, and the effect was indeed much better.

He looked at Qian Song gratefully and said, "Thank you, Brother Song. I just felt something was wrong. It turns out I was using too much force."

Xie Qingyu looked at this scene and felt somewhat relieved.

Wei Qianze's arrival not only brought technical guidance, but more importantly, it made everyone relax and the training atmosphere became much more relaxed.

When it was dinner time, Xie Qingyu and his team members walked to the cafeteria together.

On the way, they heard other group contestants discussing the mentors' visit.

"I heard that Teacher Li Zhiqiu went to Gu Qiong's group to guide their vocal part. Gu Qiong's voice was already very good, and now it must be even better." A contestant said excitedly.

"That's right. Our group also has a mentor today, MC Ray. He taught us a lot of rap techniques and I feel I benefited a lot from it." Another contestant continued.

Walking into the cafeteria, Xie Qingyu immediately felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere.

Although everyone was eating, they exchanged glances from time to time, as if conveying some secret information.

Even the members of the "Banana" team seemed a little restless, whispering to each other from time to time, with a hint of excitement on their faces.

After Xie Qingyu sat down, he couldn't help but ask Bai Yan next to him: "Do you think the atmosphere in the cafeteria is a bit strange today?"

Bai Lang looked around and said calmly, "Maybe everyone is expecting something."

"What are you looking forward to?" Xie Qingyu was a little confused.

Bai Tang didn't answer directly, but just smiled and said, "You'll know in the evening."

After dinner, everyone returned to the training room to continue practicing.

However, by half past ten, Xie Qingyu clearly felt that the team members were no longer focused on training.

Their movements became a little slow, and their eyes drifted towards the door from time to time, as if they were waiting for something.

Xie Qingyu asked tentatively, "Is everyone feeling unwell? Do you need to go back to the dormitory to rest?"

After hearing the first half of the sentence, the team members were about to shake their heads and say no, but when they heard the second half, "Go back to the dormitory and rest," their eyes lit up and they nodded rapidly.

Seeing this, Bai Lang said calmly, "Since no one is in the mood to practice, let's stop here for today."

The team members felt relieved and packed up their things to leave.

Bai Lang added, "Don't stay up too late. You have to get up early tomorrow."

The others had different expressions and laughed, "I know, I understand. I promise I won't be late tomorrow!"

Xie Qingyu's head was full of questions, and he had no idea what everyone was expecting.

He looked at Bai Lang, about to ask further questions, but found that his gaze was fixed on the camera on the ceiling of the training room. Bai Lang shook his head slightly, indicating that he should not ask any more questions.

After returning to the dormitory, Xie Qingyu found that except for Gu Yan, everyone else was gone.

Just when he was about to ask Gu Yan where the others had gone, Leo suddenly rushed in, grabbed Xie Qingyu's wrist and rushed out.

"Leo, what are you doing?" Xie Qingyu staggered and only had time to put down her bag before she was dragged out of the dormitory by Leo.

Leo didn't answer, but just pulled him around and around to a blind spot where the surveillance was blocked.

After confirming that there was no one around, Leo let go of his hand, looked around, and then gestured for Xie Qingyu to squat down.

Xie Qingyu did as he was told, his heart full of doubts. Leo breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him squat down, then pulled out a... dictionary from behind him?

Xie Qingyu looked at the thick dictionary and couldn't help asking, "Leo, are you looking up something in the dictionary?"

Leo smiled mysteriously and did not answer. Instead, he carefully opened the dictionary.

Xie Qingyu then discovered that the dictionary was actually empty! Leo took out a square object from it, peeled off the packaging layer by layer, and finally took out a paper box.

Xie Qingyu was stunned and couldn't help laughing: "Is this a secret agent mission?"

Leo smiled proudly and continued to open the carton. There were actually six layers of packaging inside.

Finally, Leo took out the object itself - a cell phone that was not turned on.

Xie Qingyu finally saw Lushan's true face, and his first reaction was: "Leo, you actually know how to hide a phone?"

Leo raised his chin proudly: "Of course, I prepared it in advance!" Although it was taken out for the first time today, of course, this goes without saying.

Xie Qingyu couldn't help laughing and shook his head: "So, why do you want to use your phone?"

Leo's eyes widened, staring at him in disbelief: "Brother, you didn't know? The first episode of the show starts tonight!"

Xie Qingyu was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening. He hadn't really paid much attention to the show's broadcast time, but he hadn't expected Leo to be so attentive.

Leo muttered as he turned on the camera, "I've been waiting for you in the dorm for ages, just waiting for you to come back and watch it together. Aren't you curious about what it's like to be on the show?"

Xie Qingyu looked at Leo's nervous expression and suddenly wanted to tease him, so he deliberately said, "What if the program team installed a signal jammer at the base?"

Leo tensed up when he heard this, his eyes fixed on the startup screen. Seeing that there was a signal, even though there were only two bars in the upper right corner, he breathed a sigh of relief. "That shouldn't be the case. It's just that the base is so remote."

He turned around and was about to tell Xie Qingyu that it was okay, but when he saw Xie Qingyu's smiling eyes, he realized that he had been fooled. Leo angrily decided that he would not say a word to his brother for the next minute.

Xie Qingyu looked at Leo's cheeks, which were about to swell up like a pufferfish, and couldn't help laughing out loud: "Okay, I won't tease you anymore, let's watch the show."

Leo then opened the Grape TV that he had downloaded in advance, and the splash screen advertisement of "Road to the Stars" immediately popped up.

On the homepage, photos of the trainees appeared one after another, and Leo saw the photo of himself and Xie Qingyu at a glance.

He was about to turn around and share this discovery with Xie Qingyu, but suddenly remembered that he had told him not to pay attention to him for a minute, so he turned his head abruptly, clicked on the homepage to open the screen, and tilted the phone towards Xie Qingyu.

Seeing Leo's awkward look, Xie Qingyu couldn't help but smile and reached out to rub his hair: "Okay, don't be angry, let's watch it together."

Leo then turned around with a smug smile on his face: "Brother, look, we're on TV!"

Xie Qingyu nodded, and the two of them squatted in the blind spot of the surveillance camera, leaning their heads against each other, and began to watch the show seriously.

All the mosquitoes around them gathered around them, buzzing as if they were performing a symphony for them.

The program is divided into two parts. After entering the opening screen, it jumps directly to the first part. First, the Grape TV logo flashes, followed by an aerial view of the training base.

However, after the list of brand sponsors scrolled like a revolving lantern, a voice-over introduced the background of the program, forcing sentimentality.

Leo couldn't help but start tapping his knees with his fingers. Xie Qingyu caught a glimpse of his anxious look and directly moved the progress bar to the first stage node.

Finally, the show got to the point.

The order in which the program is broadcast on stage is not the direct recording order. In order to highlight the variety show effect, the program team will make certain adjustments to the order.

The first contestant to appear after the editing was Wen Yan.

Wen Yan's stage performance as the opening really ignited the atmosphere.

But when the instructor announced the first A, the screen suddenly cut to the contestants' reactions to Leo—accompanied by other contestants' exclamations: "This is too strong!"

Xie Qingyu frowned slightly and turned to look at Leo.

The latter pursed his lips tightly, his fingers unconsciously scratching the edge of the phone case.

The first A was Leo. The program team intercepted some of the contestants' comments on Leo and gave them to Wen Yan, giving the impression that Wen Yan, who was the first to go on stage, got the first A.

Sure enough, a stream of comments like [Wen Yan deserves the title] and [The first A is too stable] floated across the screen. Leo suddenly reached out and turned the screen semi-transparent. He blinked, his eyes slightly red, and his voice was a little hoarse: "Brother, am I... not that good?"

Xie Qingyu put a little pressure on his shoulder and said, "Your first A is real. No matter how much the production team edits it, it can't change the fact."

He paused and deliberately said in a teasing tone, "Besides...it's just a program edit. We can just edit it back ourselves."

Leo chuckled, tears still hanging from the corners of his eyes: "Brother, you are so mean!"

Although the show started with a spliced ​​editing, it is undeniable that the popularity has indeed increased. I heard that the quality of the contestants on the show is good and many passers-by were attracted to watch it.

The second F-level contestant to go on stage obviously became a "tool" of the program team.

When he danced to the wrong beat, the barrage of comments instantly exploded:

【Is this a joke? 】

Did the production team set the audition threshold too low?

I watched this show because I heard the contestants were good. All talent shows are scams...

A little disappointed

[Don’t worry if you’re in the front, I heard there’s a great guy behind! ]

Passersby who were attracted by the quality of the contestants complained about the second contestant's performance, and this attracted another group of passersby who came to watch the fun. The program team really had a good plan.

Xie Qingyu noticed that Leo's expression gradually relaxed, and he even began to nod along with the rhythm: "Actually, he's not that bad, he's just too nervous."

"Um,"

Xie Qingyu echoed, "The program team has to create some topics to attract attention."

The show is still going on. Although the production team has used some tricks in the editing to increase popularity, there is still no real bad editing overall.

When the five members of Tianguang Entertainment appeared on the stage, the barrage was instantly filled with [All members ACE].

Bai Lang stood in the center, his eyes as cold as a knife. When the music started, every movement he made was as precise as if it had been measured with a ruler.

[So cool, my phantom limb has woken up! ! ! ! !]

[Only three A's for this level? Is the instructor's eyes blurred by #? ]

[Bai Tang's backflip was amazing!]

[Is the production team afraid of giving too many A's and having nothing left to give out later?]

[Everyone, the song selected is "Break the Limits", the latest single from Aether, the popular boy band under Tianguang Entertainment. Princesses and princes are welcome to listen to it for free on GG Music~]

Xie Qingyu looked at the screen and suddenly remembered that day in the training room when Bai Lang practiced a turning movement repeatedly until the early morning.

Whispered to Leo: "Sometimes, the hard work off the stage is more worthy of being remembered than the brilliance on the stage. This is something that no one can erase."

At this point, the first part of the main program of "Road to Star Dreams" has ended. At this moment, Xie Qingyu's face suddenly flashed at the end of the stage. Leo excitedly grabbed Xie Qingyu's hand and clicked on the next episode.

Unfortunately, the second episode did not start with Xie Qingyu. This was just a hook set by the program team. The beginning of the barrage was full of little green fish complaining about the program team's editing.

[I thought it would be my brother at the beginning, but the program editing team is a habitual fraud offender]

【？ ？ ？ ？ ？】

[I clenched my fist]

Fortunately, although Xie Qingyu was not the first one, it was his turn after only two stages.

When Qu Qinghuan read out Xie Qingyu's name, the camera first showed his back, and then slowly lengthened, giving people a sense of anticipation.

The camera then slowly moved up from the ground, freezing on his slightly lowered profile. The comments were instantly flooded with comments from the little green fish:

[This man has arrived, striding over with his original song! ! ! ]

【Green Jade Go Duck! 】

[Brother is so handsome~]

【The only original talent of "Dream Dance Road"! 】

After he announced that he would perform his original work "Day and Night" and the mentors expressed their great anticipation, passers-by on the barrage also began to speak out, expressing their belief in the mentors' vision and their anticipation for original works.

When the music started, Xie Qingyu's voice seemed to come from far away, and it seemed as if it was whispering in her ear.

The comments suddenly went quiet until he reached the climax of the song, then someone said, "I got goosebumps," followed by a chorus of "!!!"

When the humming ended, the barrage of comments completely exploded:

【Request the sound source! 】

[The production team, please bring up "Monsoon"! ]

【This is the true original strength! 】

Leo was so excited that he almost dropped his phone: "Brother! You're amazing! I'm going to record this and use it as my alarm!"

Not long after, when Leo's performance finally began, he was as calm as if he were watching someone else's performance. Comments like "This little brother is so cute" and "His floor moves are amazing" floated across the screen, and some even began to question his performance.

[The editing feels a bit disconnected. There's a line from the first half on the back stage. It's so weird...]

Xie Qingyu pointed at the comment with a smile and patted Leo's broad shoulders: "See, the public's eyes are sharp."

Rio pursed his lips, wanting to see the comments praising him but feeling a little embarrassed.

The final S-level battle brings the show to a climax.

When Gu Qi won by a narrow margin, fans [Salt Grain] set off celebratory fireworks in the barrage.

However, because the gap between them and other A-level fans was not too big, the six A-level fans were not very convinced and started arguing in the barrage.

【Gu Qiong truly deserves the title! 】

[Is this a royal script?]

[The other six brothers are also very strong! ]

[Hehe, a parallel import...]

[The program team is being punished for forcing the show to promote it, haha~]

[Some fans of the main character are pretending to be reasonable. Just because their main character is not strong enough, they can spread rumors about other excellent contestants? ]

Leo looked at the six fan groups on the screen that had jointly posted the tag "Only Royal S-level in "Road to Stardom"". He couldn't help but pat his chest in fear and said, "Why did they start arguing on the first episode of the show?"

Xie Qingyu smiled, raised an eyebrow and said: "After the group debuts, the main battlefield for each fan group will be..."

He had never seen any group's fans not quarreling with each other, including after NOVA-X reached the top, the fans of each group were still fighting each other.

It was already early morning when Xie Qingyu and Leo finished watching the show. When they returned to the dormitory in the dark, they found several sneaky figures in the corridor.

Leo lowered his voice and said, "Brother, look, is that Ding Zai in the front?"

Xie Qingyu looked at the black shadow that flashed by in the distance and couldn't help laughing: "It seems that you are not the only one who hid the phone."

Leo raised his chin proudly: "But I hid it in the most creative way!" Unexpectedly, Xie Qingyu patted him on the back of the head and told him to go back to the dormitory to wash up and rest.

Xie Qingyu (touching his chin): Am I the only one without a backup phone?