Jian Xingsui completely believed Shen Xingchen's words.
He had been a fan of Fu Jinxiao for a long time. At first, he liked his singing voice. Later, as he got to know the person, he was gradually conquered by Fu Jinxiao's talent. Then, he slowly learned about the person, knew his hard work in the entertainment industry, knew his seriousness and efforts. He was attracted by his talent and loyal to his character.
So he chuckled, nodded, and said quite seriously, "Yes, of course I know, Brother Fu is a very good person."
Shen Xingchen had only said it casually, but Jian Xingsui actually nodded in agreement so seriously. From the moment they met, this young man had always been very low-key and quiet, and Shen Xingchen thought he was a taciturn guy. But now, when he mentioned Fu Jinxiao, his eyes seemed to shine, and he had a faint smile on his face, which really made Shen Xingchen's heart skip a beat.
Could this young man be a fan of Brother Fu?
What a tragedy...
In the short time it took to talk, the opening performances by the mentors were over, and all the mentors took their seats on the judging panel. Fu Jinxiao, with her seniority and high status in the industry, naturally sat in the middle position, next to Tuya, a Thai singer and dancer, and on either side were hip-hop rap contestants Liu Shuang and Li Zeming.
Li Zeming is a comedian, but he has experience in forming a group in his early years. This time, half of his responsibility is to serve as the host. He said, "Thank you all for coming to 'Starlight.' Your performances will affect your fate. We mentors will evaluate your performances, and the audience will vote for your performances. Life is full of opportunities to fight. I hope everyone can show and express themselves to the fullest on their own stage and leave no regrets!"
The atmosphere was lively, and the contestants applauded enthusiastically.
So the first group of people quickly went on stage to perform. The first group to appear was an idol group, but all of them performed rather poorly.
This caused quite a stir.
This also made many trainees who hadn't performed yet even more nervous.
Wen Shenge, the adorable little boy, sat on the other side of Jian Xingsui and whispered, "This year's mentors are so strict."
Jian Xingsui nodded gently.
Only Shen Xingchen scoffed after hearing this: "That's because these people in this batch are all cannon fodder."
"..."
That's really bold of you.
But that was indeed the case. The company behind this group didn't have a strong backing, and their own abilities were only average, so they didn't even get a chance to take the extra test, let alone get a score. Jian Xingsui also understood that his fate would definitely be just a fleeting moment, and perhaps from this day forward, Fu Jinxiao wouldn't even remember his name. But that was enough, that was fine.
After several groups came up, it was finally Jian Xingsui's turn to meet someone she knew. Teacher Li shouted loudly, "Next up is Fengxiang Entertainment, TH Little Elephant Group!"
It's An Ran's group.
With the groundwork laid by the previous groups, An Ran's group made their debut, showcasing their singing and dancing abilities. An Ran, in particular, is very handsome, and his voice was also very pleasant to hear during his performance.
The audience was also amazed:
"This young man is so cute."
"He sings very well."
"You're really cool when you dance."
The mentors were clearly satisfied. Next came the self-introductions of the contestants. After Zhou Xun and the other group members had finished their introductions, it was An Ran's turn. He was panting and bowed to everyone: "Hello, teachers, I am An Ran. I am 20 years old and currently studying at the Dance Academy in F City..."
Li Zeming, holding the microphone, asked, "You play your instrument quite well; you've been learning for several years."
"Yes, I've been learning for over ten years." An Ran's eyes slowly reddened as she answered the question: "When I was nine, I passed by a music store. My family was struggling financially back then, so I stood outside watching others play. Later, I would listen to them whenever I had free time. When I turned ten, that year was my birthday, and my mother bought me..."
The background music for the entire stage became gentle and lyrical, and the young man with a pure heart who was chasing his dream, and his decades of hard work and effort, seemed to radiate light.
The audience gradually became moved:
"This young man is working so hard."
"Such a dedicated contestant, I love him, I'm going to vote for him."
"Is her name An Ran? She's beautiful and so capable!"
The mentors were clearly moved, and most of the contestants in the audience were also touched. Jian Xingsui looked at everyone's expressions and her gaze unconsciously fell on Fu Yingdi in the mentor's seat. The man sitting in the center didn't talk much. He leaned back in his chair with a lazy posture and twirled a pen in his hand casually, but he clearly still appreciated An Ran.
Jian Xingsui knew that Fu Jinxiao liked hardworking and serious people, which was one of the reasons why the protagonist in her previous life was able to move him and attract his attention, and this life would probably be no exception.
Shen Xingchen, who was standing next to her, whispered, "That An Ran, one of the members of their group just stopped singing halfway through. Just you wait, Brother Fu will definitely bring it up."
Under everyone's gaze, Actor Fu picked up the microphone. The previous groups had even given scores without any evaluation, but he picked up the microphone in this group, which was enough to show his strength. Most people's attention was drawn to him, thinking that Actor Fu was going to praise An Ran, but unexpectedly, Fu Jinxiao spoke up: "Who lip-synced just now?"
On stage, the group consisted of five people, and everyone's attention was unconsciously drawn to Zhou Xun. This rich kid was not actually a trainee, and during training he always revolved around An Ran and did not practice with much effort, which led to his mistake.
Jian Xingsui remembered that in the novel of her previous life, Zhou Xun did not participate in the stage performance, while An Ran received unanimous praise for her wonderful performance on the first stage. But in this life, for some reason, there was suddenly a Zhou Xun who should have been eliminated in the audition. She didn't know what caused him to insist on joining the group. Could it be because he met her during the audition?
Jian Xingsui suspected that some butterfly wings had quietly flapped again, from who-knows-where.
“It’s me.” Zhou Xun stepped out of the line, bowed, and then explained somewhat awkwardly, “I was a little nervous at the time, and then my in-ear monitor stopped working, so I didn’t sing live.”
Fu Jinxiao raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly: "You didn't sing because your in-ear monitor was broken?"
Although the words sounded harmless, they carried an inexplicable pressure that made everyone's hearts tighten.
An Ran, being kind-hearted, saw Zhou Xun looking embarrassed and quickly said, "Teacher, I'm sorry. I'm the team leader, and it was my dereliction of duty not to properly help my teammates check their in-ear monitors before going on stage."
Zhou Xun immediately said, "Ranran, this has nothing to do with you."
An Ran shook her head, indicating that she was willing to take responsibility.
In fact, this matter had nothing to do with him, and his sense of responsibility impressed many viewers, except for... the mentors sitting in the mentor's seat.
Fu Jinxiao narrowed his eyes slightly. Those who knew him well knew that this meant the movie star was in a bad mood. He repeated An Ran's words: "Didn't you check your in-ear monitors before going on stage?"
Everyone's hearts were in their throats, and they could feel the low pressure in the tone of the voice.
Fu Jinxiao smiled slowly and deliberately: "If your earpiece is broken, you won't sing. So if your clothes are dirty today, you won't come to dance?"
An Ran's words violated his biggest taboo.
It is well known in the industry that Fu Jinxiao is a very principled person with a strong bottom line. He values the professionalism and character of his artists the most.
Sure enough, Zhou Xun's face paled a little, and he said awkwardly, "I was too nervous because of the in-ear monitor problem, and I also forgot the lyrics and sang off-key, so I didn't sing."
He finally told the truth.
Fu Jinxiao put down the microphone and didn't say anything more, only giving one last sentence: "Honesty and frankness are also basic respects for the audience."
It was a huge irony that what was supposed to be a fantastic stage was ruined by this incident. The other mentors unconditionally supported Fu Jinxiao. They felt that the issue of not singing with the in-ear monitor could be minor or major, but the performer's attitude was very important. So, they ultimately gave the other three people an F rating, while An Ran, who should have gotten the first A, only got a B.
Although the director team originally intended for him to be A, Fu Yingdi confidently placed a big B on the mentor panel, and no one dared to say a word.
...
After two more groups, it was Jian Xingsui's turn.
The stage lights shone brightly, and the host began to call out the contestants' names. Jian Xingsui, who had been waiting in the wings, was about to enter. The previous groups also had some excellent contestants, all of whom were quite remarkable, but the mentors did not show any obvious interest. However, surprisingly, when the host started to call out Jian Xingsui's name, the atmosphere in the mentors' seats suddenly became a little subtle.
Fu Jinxiao, who had been lazily sitting in her chair playing with her pen, stopped writing and looked up at the stage. Tuya, who had been uninterested, suddenly sat up straight. The two teachers next to her had already heard about this contestant who had been called out by two big shots and almost eliminated, so they couldn't help but focus their attention.
The audience also noticed this:
"What's wrong? What happened?"
Are there any heavyweight competitors?
Who is it?
The stage lights shone brightly, and slowly, a man with a buzz cut, wearing jeans and a white shirt, emerged. Unlike the other pretty boys with their colorful and luxurious clothes, he looked like he had just stopped by on his way to buy groceries. The only thing worth mentioning was that this man with a buzz cut had very fair skin and deep-set features. Surprisingly, he didn't look greasy in front of the direct camera; on the contrary, his clean face didn't make him look oily at all, and he looked quite refreshing.
Jian Xingsui bowed somewhat nervously: "Hello, mentors, my name is Jian Xingsui."
"..."
The entire scene fell silent for a moment.
Tuya was the first to laugh out loud. She spread her hands and said, "That's it?"
Jian Xingsui looked at her with some confusion, then looked at Fu Jinxiao who was calm and composed beside her. Seeing her idol's gaze on her, she said nervously, "That's all."
Tuya covered her mouth and laughed.
Other contestants practically raved about themselves during their self-introductions, but Jian Xingsui just gave her name and that was it; she acted like she was going to die if she said even one more word.
Hip-hop veteran mentor Liu Shuang also spoke up: "You can talk about your ideals, or what talents you are good at to introduce yourself, or tell us why you came to this stage and what your goals are."
Pursue?
ideal?
Jian Xingsui felt a cold sweat break out on his back. He came here just to pass the first round of the competition and get 20,000 yuan so he could move out of that rice cake shop. But if he said that reason, he would probably be laughed to death.
Well, how about we make up a reason?
Does he say he's doing it to pursue his dream? Or because he loves the stage?
But isn't that lying? When he recalled the two previous movie stars saying with serious expressions that honesty and candor are the greatest respect for a stage and an audience, Jian Xingsui started to panic again. What if the production team exposed him? He might only have this one chance to meet his idol in his life, and he would be left with the image of a liar in his mind.
He doesn't want to
He could actually accept losing face in front of the main character. He never even thought about showing off his talents or hoping to be remembered by Fu Jinxiao. But what he least wanted was to leave an embarrassing impression in front of his idol.
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