midterm exam
The night is deep, the quietest moment before dawn.
Yi Jingchen tiptoed out of the dormitory, crouched down and closed the door, fearing that the noise would be too loud and wake up Mu Gan who was sleeping soundly.
He held the mini player in his left hand and the coil notebook in his right hand.
The notebook was filled with notes taken during the day, detailing the movements and positions for the theme song, as well as the key points emphasized by Instructor Gu.
When I couldn't sleep at night, I would sneak into the locker room to practice for a while.
"Host, host~" Guagua asked in confusion, "There's a practice room in the Class A dormitory, so why aren't you practicing in there?"
The dormitory area of Class A is equivalent to that of an ordinary three-bedroom apartment. In addition to a separate area for each trainee, there are also luxuriously equipped exclusive practice rooms and cloakrooms.
Therefore, the public locker room on the Class A floor was almost never used.
Yi Jingchen slipped into the locker room, following the wall like a secret agent, and finally replied, "Because Mu Gan is sleeping in the dormitory."
Although the Class A dormitory is luxuriously equipped, there are no partitions inside the room for filming purposes.
Even if Yi Jingchen practiced without accompaniment, the noise he created should be called noise.
It's similar to the sound of renovations coming from upstairs early in the morning on weekends.
No one wants to hear it.
"The host's roommate doesn't look like someone who's easily woken up," Guagua said confidently. "He even snores in his sleep! And the host doesn't even mind!"
"It's not like he's snoring on purpose. Besides, Mu Gan agreed to let me keep a cat in the dorm." Yi Jingchen found a good position, stretched his arms and legs briefly, and said calmly, "You can't repeatedly offend someone's boundaries just because they want to be offended."
"ah?"
The Guagua system that was forcibly bound to Yi Jingchen had no idea what humans meant by "sense of boundaries."
Besides, before it appeared, the host was best at offending others.
——Look at the bigwigs he interviewed, every one of them was offended eight or ten times.
He deserves the title of the reporter who most wants to be Dark Shark in the news circle.
Yi Jingchen was too lazy to explain to Gua Gua. He found a place to put the mini player and opened the coil notebook to review his notes.
Turning to the third page, he heard strange, rustling noises coming from the dressing room next door...
Yi Jingchen immediately pricked up his ears and moved closer.
I didn't hear any other sounds, but I did hear a strange voice.
[Will you be discovered if you do this in the middle of the night?]
[Whatever, there are no cameras in the locker room anyway, who would have thought it was me?]
Yi Jingchen frowned slightly as he listened.
[What to do?]
[Unexpected, right? There are no cameras in the locker room, but walls have ears~]
He was extremely alert and continued to listen to the movements on the other side.
The big brother next door suddenly screamed for some reason, and then rushed out for a long distance with hurried footsteps.
"Huh?" Yi Jingchen didn't expect that even though he was so cautious, he would still alert the enemy.
Wait, has my squatting skills deteriorated?
He walked out of his locker room and went around to the side, only to find that the room next to it was empty. The door that he had just swung open was flickering like a fan.
Yi Jingchen observed carefully, his eyes sweeping across the ground.
Finally, in an inconspicuous corner under the clothesline, I saw a sharp object shining with light.
"A thumbtack?" Yi Jingchen squatted down, searched around, and picked up the thumbtack with a rag. Some classic scenes flashed through his mind at inappropriate times.
For example, the battle between black and white swans...
Deliberately stuffing nails into someone else's ballet shoes or something...
[No way? Are boy band auditions using such dirty tactics?]
[Do you really think everyone doesn’t check their clothes and shoes before putting them on?]
[Also, who was that person just now?]
There is no curfew in the "Super Idol" dormitory building, but after 12 o'clock in the evening, the dormitory manager will go upstairs at irregular intervals to check if the trainees are playing with their mobile phones, sleeping naked, or doing other prohibited behaviors.
The trainees were all a little afraid of the dormitory manager, so they didn’t dare to go around the floors after midnight, for fear of being caught by the manager.
Yi Jingchen initially judged that the people who had just stayed in the locker room next door were from Class A.
There are eight people left in Class A besides myself.
When he left the dormitory just now, Mu Gan was still snoring inside, so he was temporarily ruled out as a suspect.
Then, the suspect is among the remaining seven people.
"Okay, there is only one truth!" Yi Jingchen lowered his head slightly, holding a thumbtack in his hand, pretending that his glasses were reflecting light.
In the deserted locker room, the classic BGM of "Detective Conan" seemed to be playing.
Professional coser, get into role anytime, anywhere!
Guagua was successfully infected by the host's middle school aura and excitedly asked who it was!
It urgently wants to know how the host can identify the suspect with limited information?
"We don't know yet." Yi Jingchen raised his head and carefully put away the thumbtack. "I'll give it to the staff later and we'll know by comparing fingerprints. There are only seven people, so it's easy to check."
"Ah..." Guagua was obviously disappointed. "Host, is this how you solve the case?"
"What else?" Yi Jingchen complained mercilessly, "Reality isn't anime. It's the 21st century, how could there be no surveillance, no fingerprints, no biometric information every time?"
"Uh." Guagua was inexplicably relieved that Yi Jingchen was not bound by the two-dimensional detective system.
If this useless cat was asked to solve the case, how could the anime have more than a thousand episodes?
After Yi Jingchen handed the thumbtack he picked up to the staff, the program team responded that they would handle it with caution and try to minimize the impact.
Yi Jingchen was not at all surprised by the capital's response.
For the next two days, the entire recording base was calm and peaceful.
However, contestant Lingqiu, who received an A grade in the initial stage, was called over by his leader for a talk.
After returning, the originally scheduled mid-insert commercial was assigned to another Class B contestant, You Mo.
The program team did not announce the specific reason. All the trainees remained calm on the surface, but secretly cast their expectant eyes on Yi Jingchen.
[Melon King! Request melon!]
Before the competition, Ling Qiu was definitely the most popular trainee by the program team and the original company, no doubt about it.
Ling Qiu's father is a movie emperor and his mother is a senior executive in a film and television company.
He was born with stardom and just after entering the entertainment industry, he already had top film and television resources in his hands.
Unfortunately, acting skills are not inherited genetically.
Ling Qiu has filmed several idol dramas one after another, with ratings ranging from 2.2 to 5.4 points.
Seeing that acting was not a viable path for him, his parents sent him to a talent show, intending to use marketing to make him a new star.
In order to achieve this goal, they specially invited the best teachers and practiced hard for half a year.
He even made special arrangements and used connections within the program crew to allow Ling Qiu to get into Class A on the first stage.
And You Mo, who snatched Lingqiu's commercials, is Lingqiu's old rival.
They are both actors who debuted almost at the same time. You Mo played supporting roles for Ling Qiu twice, once as the fifth male lead and once as the second male lead.
When he played the fifth male lead, his Douban rating was only 3 points, and the audience said, "Give one more point to the fifth male lead."
Later, You Mo became the second male lead, and his ratings rose to 5.4 points. He actually became a little famous with the bad movie and received the script for the male lead.
Ling Qiu was so angry that he brought money into the crew and snatched You Mo's script. He got the lowest score in his career for that work and was blacklisted by the whole network.
Similar things happened several times. You Mo had no background and could not compete with the second generation of stars, so he could not survive in the film and television industry.
You Mo didn't want to become unknown and disappoint those who liked him, so he chose to change his career path.
Who would have thought that as soon as I arrived at the recording base, I would meet Ling Qiu.
Ling Qiu was so angry that his eyes were about to burst into flames!
Yi Jingchen figured out the whole story and was slightly shocked.
[Otherwise, why do we say that enemies often meet on narrow roads?]
You Mo certainly didn't expect that while he was dreaming, Ling Qiu was planning to stuff thumbtacks into his shoes to prevent him from dancing to the theme song.
[He's a second-generation celebrity, with capital and connections, so how could he possibly be more sophisticated in his revenge?]
Ling Qiu passed by Yi Jingchen with a face full of resentment, and glared at You Mo who was in high spirits after filming the mid-roll commercial.
You should know that the mid-insert advertisements in the early stages of the talent show are either selected by the sponsors themselves or reserved for the most popular and well-known trainees of the session.
If it weren't for Yi Jingchen, how could You Mo have gotten this opportunity?
You Mo obviously understood the reason and thanked Yi Jingchen excitedly.
"You're welcome." Enthusiastic citizen Yi Jingchen grabbed his wrist and took the opportunity to ask, "Come and square dance with me."
"Okay!" You Mo agreed readily.
Over the past two days, almost half of the people in the square danced to the theme song together.
Those who were originally on the sidelines saw them dancing more and more vigorously.
The audience and the fans who were waiting there also accepted this matter subtly.
Gradually, the originally hesitant trainees got closer and closer, and were slowly developed into the "offline" of square dancing.
As a regular user of the square, Yi Jingchen's ranking is getting closer and closer to the central area.
On the fourth night, Yi Jingchen was able to perform the entire dance completely and coherently.
Although his progress was slow, he worked from morning to night without skipping a beat every day, and he had the most energy among everyone.
The players around who were feeling cold and tired and were starting to back off found it hard not to be infected by Yi Jingchen's energetic appearance and dragged their tired bodies into a new round of practice.
By the fifth day, he was already behind Du Xingwei.
It's only one step away from the 'core area' where the best jumps are performed.
The theme song stage of "Super Idol" only lasts for eight days in total.
By the fifth day, which meant that half of the training time had passed, the program team arranged three professional instructors to give them a mid-term test.
Although the midterm exam does not directly determine the final rating, it can give us a general idea of the contestants' situation.
Moreover, the atmosphere of the midterm exam is more relaxed, and there are opportunities to start over if you make mistakes.
When it comes to the final evaluation, if the contestant makes mistakes or makes significant progress, the mentors will also consider the evaluation as appropriate.
"What should I do? I haven't learned «Super Pick» yet..."
"Me too. I can't remember the movements for the interlude at all."
"It shouldn't matter, it's just a small test. There are still three days left, we just need to work harder." After saying this, he secretly rejoiced:
[Actually, I've already learned it. By then, the teacher's impression of me will definitely be higher than yours!]
While waiting for the quiz to begin, the empty area of the auditorium was clearly divided into two camps.
Square dance camp and non-square dance camp.
The non-square dance camp appears to be comforting each other, but in fact each has their own ulterior motives, hoping that the other side will fail so that they can perform exceptionally well.
The square dance camp, separated by a barrier of air, does not have those empty consolations.
Several contestants who had been dancing on the periphery these past two days and were not very proficient in the movements were surrounded by several big dance leaders and received emergency guidance.
"Perform well later and don't embarrass our dance troupe."
"And you, Yi Jingchen!" Cen Hao patted Yi Jingchen on the shoulder and encouraged him, "This quiz is based on class units. You have to take it with the other students in Class A. Don't feel any psychological pressure."
Everyone has seen Yi Jingchen's progress in recent days.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reach the level of Class A players in a short period of time.
Anyone who has taken an exam knows that the most anxious thing about an exam is not that they don’t know the answer.
But it’s because I don’t know how to do it, and there’s a top student next to me who handed in his paper early and got full marks, and the pressure is about to reach its peak.
"Okay, okay," Yi Jingchen responded several times in a row, smiling, "I will do my best and respect the stage."
Mu Gan looked left and right, then pointed at himself and asked, "Why is no one comforting me?"
If compared with the players from Class A, his strength is far inferior to Yi Jingchen.
Don’t rappers have human rights?
"Naigan, do you still need comfort?" The trainee next to him handed over a bottle of Wangzai milk. "Here, drink some to calm your nerves."
Mu Gan took it and felt better all over.
The quiz began, and Gu Sijun, Wei Mi, and Mobb Z walked into the auditorium one by one, each holding an assessment form with their name printed on it.
The trainee who had been trying hard to brainwash himself into thinking that the quiz was unimportant suddenly panicked.
Why are the quizzes still graded?
[Hahahahaha!]
[The trainees who are surprised now must not have experienced the beatings in college!]
Yi Jingchen was not surprised by the 'quiz score' and laughed wildly.
[The professor also told us that roll call is 'just to get to know everyone.']
[As the semester ended, they started to deduct scores from us for our performance!]
After hearing Yi Jingchen's complaints, many college students who had their grades deducted at the end of the semester cursed at him through the screen.
That day, college students recalled the fear of being dominated by name.
The dead memories attacked them madly.
"Hi!" Wei Mi greeted cheerfully, "It's been a few days since we last met. How are you all doing?"
"...Okay." The poor trainee faced the reality and answered weakly.
"Alright, let's get started." Mobb Z, too lazy to go through the motions, turned around and sat down at his seat, flipping open the assessment form and asking, "Who starts first?"
"This..." Everyone pushed and shoved, no one wanted to be the first to go up.
Gu Sijun had been staying at the recording base for the past few days. He knew the trainees best and made the decision for them. "Class A will go first to set an example for everyone. Ling Qiu, Shu Lang, and..."
Gu Sijun checked the list and called out five names.
The trainees whose names were called knew they couldn't escape, so they resigned themselves to their fate and walked in front of the three mentors and stood in a row.
As we all know, 'A' represents the highest level of the draft.
The contestant who got an A on the first stage had a high opinion of himself and looked down on those who were square dancing outside.
Among the five people, only Shu Lang belongs to the square dance troupe camp.
The rest stayed in the spacious and bright training building for men's group training.
Wei Mi: "Class A should dance the best. I'm really looking forward to it. Let's get started."
After confirming that all the trainees were ready, the staff started playing the accompaniment of "Super Pick".
When the first few syllables sounded, Shu Lang was obviously panicked for a few seconds.
——After getting used to listening to "Hi Enough", I feel a little uncomfortable dancing to the theme song with the original accompaniment.
Fortunately, he reacted quickly and adjusted himself quickly.
Even so, there was still a clear sneer from the side, with a sense of gloating.
The four who did not join the square dance camp secretly congratulated themselves for making a wise move.
[Shu Lang is such a fool. Who made him hang out with that bunch of trash?]
[Serves them right! Who uses square dancing to learn the theme song? This is karma!]
Yi Jingchen, who was reviewing the movements with his head down, raised his head and gave them a puzzled look.
What's so funny?
[You know nothing about power!]
Sure enough, the subsequent development was just as Yi Jingchen said.
They soon stopped laughing.
Shu Lang has solid basic skills, and with a little adjustment, he quickly caught up with the original accompaniment of "Super pick".
In addition, he had danced over and over again in the past few days. Every time he turned his back to the trainees and faced the fans, he had become accustomed to the feeling of being watched from all sides, and he did not feel stage fright at all during the assessment.
However, the people nearby were immediately panicked when they realized that Shu Lang's dance was several levels more perfect than theirs.
One student accidentally jumped in the wrong direction and suddenly came face to face with another contestant.
The other contestant was stunned for a moment and turned to the other side, causing confusion among the contestants next to him.
Throughout the second half, except for Shu Lang, the other contestants in Class A danced terribly.
Standing together, there is no sense of being a group at all.
[Help! Our boy group seems to be finished! ]
[I can't imagine them dancing together as a group]
@Superidol, is this the highest standard for your show?
[Don't sink into despair together, Shu Lang was defeated in seconds. If I had played "Hi Enough" for him just now, I wouldn't have even made the initial mistake.]
After the first group of Class A finished their performance, the scene fell into a long silence.
Mobb Z said nothing and lowered his head to fill out the assessment form.
Wei Mi nudged Gu Sijun with her arm, signaling him to comment quickly.
"That... is my fault." Gu Sijun sighed faintly and looked away, "I shouldn't have let Class A do the proofing first."
Now, the fight has gone on and on, and the style is gone.
If everyone thinks that this is the highest standard of "Super Idol", how will the subsequent programs be run?
Gu Sijun learned from his mistakes and made adjustments on the spot, moving the second group of Class A to the back to give them enough time to prepare.
Let classes B, C, D, and F start the assessment first.
I thought that since Class A danced like that, there wouldn't be much to look forward to in the future.
Unexpectedly, there were several groups that came up later who danced quite well.
His movements are generally smooth, his facial expressions are well managed, and he has the vitality that a boy band should have.
The strange thing is that most of the contestants who dance well have one thing in common: when they hear the prelude of "Super pick", they always hesitate tactically for a few seconds.
Wei Mi and Mobb Z, who were unaware of the situation, thought it was some kind of choreography.
The audience who understood the mystery were laughing like crazy.
Keep having fun!
Have fun!
While the contestants from other classes were taking the test, Yi Jingchen quietly found a corner and practiced his dance moves in small steps.
Recently, every time I dance, Gu Sijun's words keep echoing in my mind:
If you want to stand in the center, you can't always look at other people's backs.
In order to avoid seeing the back of the person in front of him, Yi Jingchen would occasionally close his eyes and completely immerse himself in his own world.
Next to him, Tian Xitu, who also came to review the movements, watched him jump closer and closer to the wall... almost hitting it.
"Hey, stop!" Tian Xitu quickly reached out and stood between him and the wall.
Yi Jingchen immediately opened his eyes and saw the hand blocking his way. He followed the arm to see Tian Xitu.
"Super Idol" has been recorded for 7 days, and Yi Jingchen and Tian Xitu have spoken no more than five sentences.
It wasn't that Tian Xitu was difficult to get along with, because after the theme song phase began, Yi Jingchen was out doing square dancing every day. Tian Xitu had to go to other classes, find the scattered members of the 48th department, and teach them to dance one by one, otherwise he would be punished by the company.
The 48 series focuses on "seniority". When facing Tian Xitu, who has only been in the company for two years, the Feiyangyang boy group always acts like a senior and orders him around like a cattle or horse.
"Thank you." Yi Jingchen took a step back and took the initiative to give Tian Xitu a good guy card.
"You're welcome." Tian Xitu immediately retracted his hand and distanced himself from him, his expression cold and distant.
Yi Jingchen didn't care about his indifference and quietly observed Tian Xitu.
[This kid must have been persecuted a lot by his 'teammates' at work, so he's so alert.]
[It's so pitiful. Look at what kind of people his teammates are? Top players who rely on their physical strength to get to the top, seniors who boss him around out of jealousy, and leaders who use contracts to suppress him...]
[So the real Hell Factory isn't Mushroom-senpai's company, but yours, right?]
When Tian Xitu came to "Super Idol", he was originally wary of everyone, especially those from his own company.
After hearing Yi Jingchen's evaluation, the invisible fortress seemed to collapse for a moment.
"Well, you didn't hit the beat just now." Tian Xitu thought for a moment, then took a step forward and said with a slightly awkward expression, "The intro to 'Super Pick' is a little different from the square dance you guys do. It should be 1 (space) 234, not 12 (space) 34."
"Is there any difference?" Yi Jingchen's face was full of confusion, and he couldn't understand the rhythm at all.
"You, you dance to my beat." Seeing that he didn't understand, Tian Xitu took the initiative to teach him.
Yi Jingchen danced with him twice before he figured out the tiny gap between the beats.
"Thank you, you are really good at teaching dance!" Yi Jingchen was quite impressed. He looked at Tian Xitu again and shook his head with regret.
[Poor kid, how did you get tricked into joining a duck-raising boy band?]
Tian Xitu: I feel so wronged!
After a while, the other classes finished their assessments and the instructors called over the remaining four people from Class A.
"Mu Gan, Tian Xitu, Yi Jingchen, Du Xingwei, there are only four of you left."
"Okay~" Senior Mushroom was almost growing mushrooms waiting, but when he heard his name, he immediately rushed over.
Mu Gan threw the milk can into the trash can, put his hands in his pockets, and leaned over lazily.
They both found it incredible when they found Tian Xitu and Yi Jingchen coming from another direction.
Isn’t Tian Xitu the most difficult cool guy to get along with in the entire “Super Idol”?
How did he become so close to Yi Jingchen in just a few minutes?
Tian Xitu walked in front of the instructor and asked Yi Jingchen, "Are you better with your left hand or your right hand?"
"Right hand."
"Then I'll stand on your left." According to Tian Xitu's experience in participating in theater performances, it is easy for novice dancers to turn in the wrong direction, misjudge the distance, and hit the person next to them.
Tian Xitu was beaten too many times, so he developed the good habit of avoiding risks in advance.
"Um..." Yi Jingchen smiled at him and said embarrassedly, "Actually, I can use my left hand as well. Because I used to be left-handed, and later I was forced to correct it."
Tian Xitu was silent for a few seconds and whispered that it was okay.
[Even if it was corrected later, the left hand should still be weaker, right?]
Yi Jingchen added kindly, "Also, I've practiced martial arts for two years and even won a fighting championship."
Tian Xitu: ...
【Ha ha ha ha! 】
[Tutu: I think you just want to beat me to death!]
【Melon King 6】
Gu Sijun saw Tian Xitu's concerns, and when he saw these people coming up, he deliberately adjusted the formation.
"Du Xingwei, Tian Xitu, you two step forward."
"Mu Gan, step back and stand behind Du Xingwei to the right."
"Yi Jingchen, you also take a step back and stand behind Tian Xitu's left."
"Okay." Yi Jingchen did not complain at all when Gu Sijun adjusted his position for the second time, and he obediently retreated to the designated position.
Instead, it made Tian Xitu feel a little embarrassed.
He was indeed afraid that Yi Jingchen was inexperienced and would hit him with his hands while dancing, but he had never thought of driving him so far away.
Tian Xitu opened his mouth and was about to speak.
Gu Sijun spoke first, looking directly at Yi Jingchen, and pointed to a position closer to the front, between Tian Xitu and Du Xingwei.
"Your goal is to find a way to jump here from there. Do you understand?"
Before Yi Jingchen responded, the people around him gasped.
You know, Du Xingwei, who spent six years in the Hell Factory, and Tian Xitu, who reached the 48th series God Seven solely by his own strength, represent the pinnacle of strength in this "Super Idol".
Gu Sijun asked Yi Jingchen to set his target in front of them, which meant—
"Understood." Yi Jingchen looked at that position with a sharp gaze, "I will do my best!"
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