Chapter Sixty-Four: The First Duke (Part One)
Following Meng Fanxi's advice, everyone stopped pursuing that elusive feeling and instead began to explore emotions from their own experiences.
The music of "Swimming Fish" echoed gently in the practice room, and everyone was lost in their own memories.
Zhang Yang recalled the ups and downs he experienced in Weil and the various feelings after leaving for Kaidi. Lin Ruohe remembered the bitterness of struggling to form a group and the failure. Gu Huailang recalled past memories that had not flashed before his eyes for a long time.
Xu You was unusually silent. He recalled the prickly looks many people gave him, despite his uncle's fame and his straightforward personality.
Meng Fanxi observed everyone's reactions. Immersing the audience in emotions was a clumsy but effective method. It would be somewhat painful, but there was no other way. After all, none of them were formally trained. To draw the audience into the performance, the performers themselves had to get into character.
He noticed that Ren Yuchen, who seemed less absorbed than the others, sat down beside him and asked, "Class monitor, what are you thinking about?"
Ren Yuchen's eyes showed a rare look of confusion. "It seems like everything is going quite smoothly for me."
"..." Meng Fanxi thought about it and realized that Ren Yuchen's life had been smooth sailing. He had a harmonious family, was good at everything in his studies and trainee life, and did not suffer much after the disbandment of the VIER group in his previous life. He had always been steady and reliable.
As for his impression of Ren Yuchen after his rebirth, as the class monitor, he was very responsible and received high praise from classmates and teachers. At the same time, another very direct feeling that bothered him was the sense of distance between them.
After I went to the countryside to find him, the sense of distance gradually shortened, but before that, an invisible wall separated him and everyone else.
He was silent for a while, then said to Ren Yuchen, "Let's look at it from a different angle. Think about what emotional triggers you had in terms of friendship before you met us."
Meng Fanxi's suggestion seemed to be very effective. When Ren Yuchen heard it, he looked at him in surprise at first, and then seemed to fall into thought.
“My parents are very busy, so they sent out application forms to various companies in order to find a place where they could take care of me. I have never had any friends growing up, and I feel that I can’t open up to people my own age.”
His voice wasn't loud, but it gradually attracted everyone's attention, and Lin Ruo naturally lowered the volume of the background music.
“At first, I became roommates with Xu You. He was my friend. Initially, I subconsciously avoided him, but I eventually gave up.”
Xu You exclaimed, "Ah? Really?" He hadn't noticed at all.
Ren Yuchen glanced at him and continued, "If you hadn't taken such a long drive to see me..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but his eyes lit up with a bright light, no longer filled with confusion: "I think I understand now, the feeling of 'Swimming Fish,' the feeling before I met you."
"Okay, let's rehearse it again, and we'll change any inappropriate movements directly." Meng Fanxi was full of energy, and the six of them struck while the iron was hot, meticulously infusing the song with emotion.
This is a song in the ancient style. Meng Fanxi tried his best to recall the key points of some group performances in his previous life.
Their movements are as close as possible to martial arts and Tai Chi, with strength being of paramount importance; they have put in a lot of effort to practice.
The singing style also avoided overly modern singing methods. Zhang Yang's high notes, which were previously pointed out by the mentors, were also improved and presented in a different way that was mixed with emotions.
In terms of facial expressions and emotions, they refined the emotions based on their own experiences and, through continuous refinement, found a point of resonance amidst the intertwining of emotions. This led Ye Ni and Zhu Lou, who later came to provide guidance, to repeatedly praise them for their significant progress.
What else? They practiced until very late and returned to their dormitory exhausted.
Meng Fanxi's body was exhausted, but his mind was still very active. With the performance of the first public performance getting closer and closer, as the only one who could be considered experienced, he had to think of all possible situations in order to ensure the most perfect start.
He didn't sleep well that night. What he thought about during the day, he dreamed about at night. In his bizarre dream, he was dressed in ancient costume and kept traveling through time and space. He inexplicably started running and even ran into the realm of aliens, which he firmly believed.
His alien friend stared at him strangely. Following the gaze, Meng Fanxi looked down and saw the bizarre ancient costume on his body, which seemed to be pieced together from various different fabrics. He was so shocked that he opened his eyes instantly.
After a while, before setting off, he found Lin Ruohe and said, "Captain, let's go check out the costumes this morning. I asked Brother Ying Zhuo, and he said that the costumes for the performance were all purchased in advance. There are several sets. The production team has chosen one for us, and if it doesn't fit, it can be altered."
All the costumes from the beginning of the theme song were provided by the production team. Their sizes had been measured by the production team in advance, so they usually only tried on the clothes before rehearsals. But after that dream, he was really worried about the costumes.
For traditional Chinese style songs, costumes are equally important.
Lin Ruohe realized the importance of it after a moment's thought and immediately agreed: "Fanxi, you are so thoughtful."
Two people headed straight for the clothing store, while the other four continued practicing.
When Meng Fanxi and his group followed Qiu Yun, the deputy head of the costume and props team, to the row of costumes selected by the production team, everything went black before his eyes.
What is this golden garment?
Are you going to have those six "little golden statues" perform?
Meng Fanxi pulled up a corner of the ancient costume that resembled an imperial robe, and was so shocked that he stammered, "This, this has nothing to do with the song 'Swimming Fish', right?"
Qiu Yun took out a picture on her phone and explained, "This outfit has been specially treated. It looks gold under the light here, but it will turn blue under the stage lights. It will be very dynamic when paired with your dance."
Lin Ruohe held up one of the items and compared it to himself for Meng Fanxi to see. He imagined what the blue he had described would look like on him, but he still felt that something was not right.
Meng Fanxi asked, "Are there any other styles?"
He glanced at the costumes in the room; they were all pre-selected outfits for each group. The off-white ancient costume next to him must be the one for the "Free and Easy Wandering" group, which fits the song perfectly.
Qiu Yun led them to the back room, where among the many clothes, there were four sets of ancient costumes in the corner.
Meng Fanxi immediately spotted a set of clothes that exuded a powerful aura. He looked at Lin Ruohe and found that he was also staring intently at the clothes.
It was a dark-colored flying fish outfit. Lin Ruohe held up one of the outfits. The tailoring was meticulous, the embroidery was exquisite, and it looked very flattering.
If the previous outfit was a casual style, then this one is a uniform style; wearing it, they can instantly transform into imperial guards.
Qiu Yun also liked the outfit, but there was a hint of regret in her voice, "You guys would definitely look handsome in this, but it doesn't quite match the song."
The overall mood of "Swimming Fish" is one of melancholy, and everyone's first reaction to this outfit is that it's cool and stylish, which does seem mismatched at first glance.
What if a chemical reaction is created under a strong contrast?
The seemingly ruthless imperial guards who carry out their missions each harbor their own hidden pain and forbearance. Six people are unexpectedly caught in a predicament due to the same mission. While saving each other, they uncover their unknown past...
From a competitive standpoint, "Xiaoyao Ling" is dressed in white, so they are dressed in black.
The "Xiaoyao Ling" is both gentle and firm, and they combine both.
Lin Ruohe has fallen in love with this outfit and hasn't let go of it yet, constantly examining the details.
Meng Fanxi saw the hat that matched the outfit, which looked like an ancient official's hat. He thought for a moment and said, "Sister Yun, we don't need this hat. We can make it into a hairstyle with a jade crown or something similar for us."
Qiu Yun nodded: "Then we'll have to wear a wig then." She asked, "Are you sure you want to change to this one?"
Meng Fanxi and Lin Ruohe nodded without hesitation.
Meng Fanxi didn't hesitate at all when it came to this choice. Since he was already here, he thought about what other problems he might encounter with the clothing.
Looking at the clothes Lin Ruo was fiddling with, he suddenly noticed that the pleated skirt at the bottom almost completely covered their legs, so when they jumped, the audience wouldn't be able to see their leg movements at all.
This is probably a common problem with traditional costumes.
He immediately asked Qiu Yun, who paused for a few seconds, picked up the hem of the garment and considered for a while before saying, "Then let's just change it. Change the hem to be segmented so it won't interfere with the dance moves. You can wear tight black pants with it."
Meng Fanxi then suggested, "Why not add a touch of dark red to the details? This would not only break up the monotony but also highlight the color scheme of the program."
Qiu Yun raised an eyebrow: "Okay."
She immediately began arranging for people to improve the clothing and also needed to customize wigs; time was extremely tight.
As for the other set of costumes that will also be used, there may be situations where the movements are obscured, but since no one came to her, she did not make any changes without permission.
Information warfare is also a form of competition.
While they were wholeheartedly preparing for the upcoming first performance, the first episode was also released amidst great anticipation.
Meng Fanxi and his group learned of the news that very evening.
The dormitory's large TV screen broadcast the news, but everyone's attention wasn't on the airing of the first episode.
According to the program team, the voting channel will be opened at the same time as the first episode is released, and there will be another elimination round after the first round of performances.
This show is undoubtedly cruel. Meng Fanxi's feelings were a bit complicated. He thought of the three teams that were eliminated in the first stage.
They couldn't participate in the theme song, and they couldn't even catch up with the online voting after the official broadcast; they were completely eliminated in the first round.
He and Gu Huailang had to hurry up and improve their ranking because they had no idea what the program's next rule would be. They had to take control of the situation themselves.
On the day of their first performance, they all sat in a large waiting room, their eyes fixed on the ultra-high-definition broadcast television on the wall.
Yun Mengtao was hosting on stage, while thousands of audience members were below, their screams and shouts filling the air.
The fingertips hanging by her sides were trembling; no one understood Meng Fanxi's feelings at that moment.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
