Chapter 45 Huaning TV Station 5
They immediately understood that instead of scratching their heads in pain, they might as well go and ask the talent coach.
Immediately, many trainees made an appointment to go to the third floor below ground to find the talent instructor. The talent instructor was not as bloody and violent as the body teacher, and she was also super beautiful. However, she was a little creepy when they thought of her, and they didn't dare to face her alone.
Xia Bai also followed them. He had his own idea, which was to go to the negative third floor to take a look.
The third basement floor is even cooler than the second basement floor. There is a layer of gray and cold air lingering in the corridor. Except for the three judges' offices with house numbers, the dark and old doors of other rooms are closed and have no house numbers. It is unknown what they are used for.
There was an assistant outside the doors of both teachers' offices, telling them that only one person could enter at a time.
There were not many people at the talent instructor's place, so they could go in directly. There were already three people queuing up at the physical education teacher's place, and Xia Bai saw that the one at the front was Liao Manni.
Appearance accounts for a large part of the scoring, and they have not yet figured out the aesthetic tastes of the judges and the audience. Many trainees cannot think of good talent ideas, and the first thing they think of is to find a body shape teacher to see if there is any way to improve their appearance.
Xia Bai thought about it and went to queue over there.
When he went over to queue up, Liao Manni just went in. About twenty minutes later, she came out with a look of deep worry on her face.
The people who went in later were similar to her, and none of them were happy when they came out.
Xia Bai was the fourth to go in.
The physical education teacher's office was as big as their three dormitories. She sat on the office chair in the middle with her blood whip on the desk. Behind her was a wall of mirrors, and anyone who entered would inevitably see themselves in the mirror.
When Xia Bai looked up, he realized that it was not a mirror, but rather several different mirrors, like lenses from different directions capturing different parts of his body and magnifying them on the mirror wall, like an unfinished human body puzzle, with every facial feature and part there, shaking messily with his movements.
"Hello, teacher." Xia Bai bowed.
The physical education teacher seemed to be in a good mood, "Please sit down."
Xia Bai sat down in the chair at the front of the office, surrounded by several flashing lenses and mirrors. No matter where he looked, he could see himself, even his own pores.
The physical education teacher asked: "Do you have any questions about appearance that you want to ask me?"
Xia Bai nodded, put his hands on his knees, like a good primary school student, "Excuse me, teacher, how can my appearance be improved?"
The morphology teacher's eyes were like those of a snake, with tiny vertical pupils, deep and sharp. They slowly scanned his face, nodding and shaking his head.
Normally, most people would get nervous if being stared at like this, and as she kept shaking her head, they would start to wonder what made her shake her head and what flaws she had on her facial features. However, Xia Bai didn't change at all and still looked at her with a dazed and confused look.
Seeing this, the physical education teacher said directly: "First of all, there is something wrong with your eyes. You look too dull."
After he finished speaking, Xia Bai saw his own eyes in several mirrors. There were so many eyes, appearing at the same time from different angles, and some were even enlarged versions. It seemed difficult to find the problem.
Xia Bai blinked and said, "That's because I haven't encountered anything that interests me."
Body teacher: "Your mouth has a problem too. You can't smile, right? It's too stiff. I've repeatedly stressed the importance of facial expression management. Your poor facial expression management alone will demote you to a lower level in the new standard of solo."
Xia Bai curled the corner of his mouth and laughed.
Physical education teacher: “…”
The physical education teacher stood up and said, "You are not tall enough either, less than 180cm, a male trainee who is less than 180cm is considered disabled."
"I'm 177cm tall, indeed not 180cm, but I'm much taller than the average male height. Teachers should spend less time on the Internet and look more at reality. I'm quite tall in reality." Xia Bai said.
The physical education teacher frowned: "Are you refuting me? In the 404 program group, male trainees who are not 180cm tall are useless! If you don't believe me, wait until you get on stage and see."
"Also, you are a male trainee, so skinny, without any muscles, what are you?"
Xia Bai lifted up a sliver of his shirt around his waist, "A little bit."
The physical education teacher took a deep breath and almost reached for the whip. His voice was sharp and hoarse, "If you are so confident, why did you come to me?"
Xia Bai: "I see there is a beautician in your team. Can you give me some skin care products? I haven't used them before, but I heard they can make the skin better?"
The physical education teacher's chest heaved violently, "Get out!"
Xia Bai: "Oh."
Xia Bai went out with a bottle of face cream in her hand.
The number of people lining up outside didn't increase, and it was time for breakfast.
The restaurant is at the easternmost end of the second underground floor. It is a very small restaurant where the lower-level trainees can only eat white rice and steamed buns.
Yang Mei waved at Xia Bai as soon as she saw him. Xia Bai came over with a bowl of rice. "Where's the captain?"
As soon as he asked, Ling Changye came to the restaurant. Seeing the two of them walking towards them, his eyes fell on the facial cream in Xia Bai's hand.
Xia Bai immediately stuffed the cream into his pocket, "My physical education teacher gave it to me."
The breakfast time was only 40 minutes, and the time was very concentrated. Many trainees came to eat, and more and more people from the Tourism Administration came over. Ling Changye didn't say much, and sat down with his plate.
During this short period of time, they ate and exchanged information.
Zhong Zicang said: "I went to the talent coach and told him that I didn't have any good ideas for the solo. She said it very politely, and her meaning was that I should find a way to attract attention."
Zhang Runyue said: "I am similar. She said that I look ordinary. If I perform ordinary shows, how can I attract the audience's attention and make an impression on them?"
It seems that the purpose of the talent instructor is to let everyone perform eye-catching programs. She is right. During the initial evaluation, the performances of singers and dancers are generally very poor. Those who use skills like the bald man to surprise people, even if it is terrifying, have good results.
But how can ordinary players perform so many unique talents?
The trainees in the lower group were even more worried.
Xia Bai was the only one on their side who had seen the physique teacher, so he briefly explained the matter, "The physique teacher pointed out the areas of me that she thought could be improved. She said that my eyes were dull, my mouth was stiff, I had no muscles, and I was not tall enough. I think her aesthetic is different from mine, is that right?"
“…”
In the silence, Ling Changye said "hmm".
“…”
Hearing the response, Xia Bai added: "I have muscles."
Yang Mei: "Brother is so awesome!"
“…”
Tang Ying turned the topic to a serious one and asked, "Is that all? If that was all, why did Liao Manni react so strongly?"
She was a female player in the Game Management Bureau's business department who entered the upper class group because she sang the farewell song after Ling Changye's performance.
She secretly pointed in the direction of Liao Manni, "She also went to the physical education teacher. After returning to the practice room, she has been absent-minded and often uses her mobile phone as a mirror."
Liao Manni was having dinner at a table with several players from the Holy Tour Guild. The other members of the Holy Tour Guild were eating and chatting, but she was the only one who was looking at her face with her cell phone. She was stroking the corners of her mouth and nose with one hand, smiling, then frowning, and hadn't eaten a bite of food for a long time.
Xia Bai didn't expect her reaction to be so big, so he described the environment of the physical education teacher's office in detail.
Zhang Runyue said: "That's understandable. Liao Manni is very concerned about her face. She was attacked by the judges and the audience on stage last night and she still can't smile. Today, she was criticized for her facial features under so many mirrors in the office. She must be feeling a little inferior now and doubting her confidence in her appearance."
They saw Liao Manni finally put down her phone and thought she had recovered. Unexpectedly, she hugged the bald man's arm, turned the bald man's face to face her, and asked something. The bald man smiled and touched her face, then went to talk to someone else. She was silent for a few seconds and continued to look at her face with her phone.
Tang Ying said: "Liao Manni is Baldy's lover. Baldy took a fancy to her the first time she entered the game. She probably doesn't have physical and soul skills, but she may have an item skill or something. After all, a small number of item weapons can be bought and sold."
She said it very tactfully, but they all understood that Liao Manni survived in the game by virtue of her bald head. You could also say that she survived by virtue of her face and figure, so she cared a lot about her face.
Xia Bai thought she was an isolated case, but she didn't expect that many players had encountered this situation.
In just one day, almost all the players had met the two teachers individually.
That night, the players were in two situations. One was that they lost their appetite and had no idea what show to perform, while the other was that they kept looking in the mirror and touching their faces, struggling with the topic.
Yang Mei said: "The physical education teacher is very strict. She also criticized my appearance."
Ling Changye: "Pua."
Xia Bai, who had just been online for a few months, asked: "What is PUA?"
Yang Mei knew it all, "It was mental and emotional suppression. The captain said that the physical education teacher was doing a PUA on our appearance."
Xia Bai suddenly realized that the physical education teacher and perhaps the entire program team were indeed doing a PUA on their appearance.
They first participated in the initial stage, where they were mocked and judged by thousands of angry audiences. Later, they were told about the importance of appearance, which was related to life and death, and then the physical education teacher directly criticized their appearance.
The mirrors and lenses in her office and the cruel environment of the entire production crew are all her tools for pua.
Xia Bai has already felt the importance of appearance in real life. Appearance affects others' impression and liking of oneself, and even affects career prospects. People care about their appearance to some extent, even those who do not rely on their appearance to make a living.
People already care about their appearance, and when it is linked to the fear of the unknown and life and death, they care about it to a level that they don't even realize.
Is appearance really that important?
In Idol 404, no one can say it is not important.
Many players were not in the mood to discuss, so Zhong Zicang did not organize anyone. The night was spent with the players heavy-hearted.
The next day, they had to confirm their performance. First, they needed time to practice well, and second, if they needed any special performance props, they needed to tell the program team in advance.
After breakfast, Zhong Zicang organized the people in their group to have a group discussion in the practice room.
"We'd better come up with a program today. Even if it's just an immature idea, we can talk about it. Three heads are better than one. If we work together to improve and optimize it, maybe some good ideas will emerge."
No one has said that when people are under high pressure, sometimes inspiration will come, and sometimes the brain will not work at all. Even if inspiration comes, so many performances on the first stage may cover it up.
What's more, this performance directly determines their life and death, and most people dare not make a decision easily, even if they are already extremely anxious.
"Okay." Zhong Zicang seemed to have expected this. He was not discouraged and said calmly: "Then I will summarize the direction observed in the first stage to help you think about the program in a targeted manner."
"Most importantly, I think everyone has discovered that the online audience is not ordinary people. No, let me put it bluntly, they are not people. They may be a group of ghosts."
Everyone knows that it is because they know that a group of ghosts are staring at them that they become more nervous.
"When performing a show, knowing the audience is the most basic, and grasping the audience's preferences and needs is the key. Captain Ling has shown us a way to solve the problem, but his direction can no longer be used. We can think of other directions."
He looked at the twenty-three faces that were looking at him one by one and said, "For example, we can choose a warm direction, a theme of [Warming the World], to remind the cold ghosts of the warmth of the world and the warmth of their families."
Several pairs of eyes lit up.
"Captain, I can do stand-up comedy. I can try to write a script like this to perform."
"Actually, dancing is fine, right? Who says this kind of ordinary performance is not good? As long as the core is touching, it's fine. Can you ask a dance teacher to choreograph a dance like this?"
"Yes, I said before that as long as we put our heart into it, we will have a good show." Zhong Zicang said in another direction, "We can also perform some new things that ghosts don't know about. Technology is changing with each passing day. The world today may be different from when they died. They should also want to see it, right?"
“Smart appliances?”
"Robot! I can take the robot and perform a mechanical dance for them!"
Zhong Zicang continued, "Don't forget our profession. We can also make use of our professional advantages. Most of our group are students of Heping Medical College. Many of them have interned in hospitals. Ghosts are all dead people. Can we perform some emergency treatments?"
Zhang Runyue said: "We can use this in our combined competition. We can bring our expertise to the stage and use the latest medical technology to rescue dying people. It may be a pity and pain for them that they could not be rescued. Let them know that we will work hard to reduce such regret and pain."
Zhong Zicang said: "This is a good idea!"
Wang Wei: "We can also perform a story about the emergency room and combine it with the first direction [Warming the World]."
"Okay, keep this one too."
Under the leadership of Zhong Zicang, people in the lower group began to think carefully and participate in discussions, and ideas emerged one after another.
The gloom in the lower-level group practice room was gradually dispelled, and hope appeared on many people's faces.
They were really hopeless before. This competition was too cruel. The game mechanism was almost designed to exploit and suppress these unskilled players. Facing those skilled big guys, they were really helpless and desperate.
Zhong Zicang had comforted them before, saying that if they worked hard, they could at least surpass the middle group and at least pass the solo, but they just took it as consolation.
Now they really see hope. Perhaps these unskilled lower-level players are really capable of fighting against skilled players.
As long as they really work hard and prepare carefully.
Xia Bai looked at Zhong Zicang and saw that he finally had a smile on his face. There was darkness under his curved eyes. He might not have slept last night again.
Now he understood why Zhong Zicang was the president of the Student Union of Heping Medical College. He was not the kind of person who could only shout slogans. He really tried hard to find solutions for everyone, and he was also very smart.
After the group discussion, everyone went their separate ways to think about their own programs, but they did not act as isolated islands and discussed together in groups of three or four.
Zhang Runyue gave Zhong Zicang a crooked thumbs up and tilted his head as well.
This was what Zhong Zicang had compared in the ambulance before they entered the game. When Zhong Zicang saw it, he couldn't help but laugh.
Wang Wei expressed it directly in words, "President, you are really amazing. We are both juniors, why is there such a big gap between us?"
Zhong Zicang said: "Weiwei, after you get out of this game, you will become a great person. You just lack practice. You are smart and have strong adaptability."
"Yeah!" Wang Wei nodded vigorously, looking at the beautiful light in Zhong Zicang's eyes, "I already have some ideas, and I'm not so scared anymore. I will definitely work hard."
Zhong Zicang looked at Xia Bai, who had been silent, and asked him, "Junior, do you have any ideas?"
"Yes." Xia Bai said, "I want to perform the burial of a corpse."
“…”
Zhong Zicang's eyes suddenly lit up, "Junior, your reverse thinking is very good. You were scolded by 100,000 ghosts for performing an autopsy. This time, if you perform a coffin, it is very likely that you will get 100,000 positive reviews."
"Xia Bai, you are great. You were not defeated at all by the setbacks on your first stage. Instead, you found the direction to success from it!" Wang Wei also praised.
Xia Bai smiled and didn't say much.
To put it simply, corpse burial is the repair of corpses, repairing those broken, damaged, and rotten corpses. According to Ling Changye, it is like repairing houses and cars for ghosts to see.
The Hua people have infrastructure in their blood. Xia Bai has heard of many programs about renovating homes and building houses. The evil spirits in his program should like it.
After getting the direction, they began to prepare intensively.
Not only their group, but all the trainees are preparing nervously, becoming more nervous and anxious during the preparation. According to the initial stage rating, more than half of them will be eliminated. They have a direction, but can they break through the F level under the stricter rating standards?
Not daring to think so much, they can only fill every second with practice, thinking about the performance all the time, thinking about every detail of every second on the stage, practicing body posture and expression management, and improving their hairstyle and overall look.
The lights in the dormitory are turned off at 2 o'clock. In order to practice longer, many trainees wash up about 10 minutes before 2 o'clock.
Lower-level trainees have to go to the public restroom to wash up. The public restroom has a very long sink with seven or eight faucets, which can accommodate many people washing up at the same time.
On Thursday night, after washing his face, Xia Bai looked up in the mirror and saw a row of trainees brushing their teeth. They all stood straight with a standard smile showing eight teeth. The toothbrush brushing on their teeth did not affect the smile.
In the dim and smelly bathroom, this scene seemed so strange that even Xia Bai, who was never afraid of dead people, felt a chill in his heart.
The dead are dead, but the living are alive. To be alive is not just to be alive, but also to be active.
Xia Bai ran away quickly with the small basin.
When he returned to the dormitory, some people were reciting lines with a smile, some were touching their faces and looking in the mirror, and Xia Bai quietly got into bed.
At this moment, he really wanted to meet those people who had remained emotionally stable and had not changed much from beginning to end, such as Shi Danfeng, You Mohan, and Ling Changye.
Starting from the next day, Xia Bai discovered that more people came into the physical education teacher's office.
The day with the most visits to the two teachers' offices is Monday, when everyone wants to ask for opinions and directions. There are fewer visits on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when everyone is fully preparing for their own programs. So why are there more trainees going to the body shape teachers' offices at such a tense time on Thursday?
Is it because their talents are almost ready and they can’t make any further breakthroughs, so they want to start with their appearance, which accounts for 60%?
"Yes and no." During lunch, Ling Changye told him, "Last night, the physique teacher told Feng Sheng that there is a plastic surgeon in her team who can perform plastic surgery."
Feng Sheng was the only player without any skills in the top group. He knew that the reason he was able to enter the top group was because he was inspired by Ling Changye's performance and performed a sacrificial dance.
If this week's competition is a team competition, he doesn't have to worry at all. He believes that with these big guys in the top group, they will still be the top group in the next competition. The top group doesn't need to eliminate anyone, and everyone is safe.
But this week's competition was for individual solos, not for the group, and anyone rated F would be eliminated, which put them at a disadvantage in the upper group. Everyone in this group seemed to be doing it with ease, and no one was discussing it, which made him even more anxious, and he couldn't sleep all night.
He deeply felt the hopelessness of ordinary people in front of a group of bigwigs.
The physical education teacher seemed to understand his thoughts and told him: "Because you are in the top group, the judges and the audience have higher expectations of you. You must make great progress to stay."
How can we make great progress?
When he first thought of his performance, he thought it was pretty good, but later he felt that among all the new and novel performances, his was nothing special. The more he thought about it, the more mediocre it seemed, and the less confident he became.
He has no advantage over the more attractive people because he looks very ordinary. Even if he practices his manners and expressions and learns how to put on makeup, he can hardly compare with those good-looking people.
How to break through quickly?
If only, if only I could have plastic surgery.
In fact, he came here with this idea in mind, and his physical education teacher's words further strengthened his belief.
"Teacher, is there a plastic surgeon on your team?"
"have."
The same goes for Liao Manni.
The physical education teacher said to her, "Do you really think you have E-level ability? Even on the first stage, your performance was not good enough for E. It's because you were the first one on stage. We assume that the first one to go on stage has a disadvantage. It's unfair to the first trainee to go on stage, so we will be compensatory and lenient when scoring."
"Think about it yourself. Compare your performance with that of other trainees. Is your performance not good enough for you to enter the top group?"
Liao Manni actually thought she was right.
"You can't smile yet, it makes your face look even uglier."
"Then what should I do?"
"There's nothing we can do. The show is about to start. It's definitely too late to practice. Let's just make a smiling lip."
The players at the table were all stunned. When they went to find a body shaper, most of them thought of finding a beautician to take care of their skin, a makeup artist to learn how to put on makeup, or a stylist to change their hairstyle. These were small changes, but they never thought that they could also ask them for plastic surgery.
Wang Wei: "But, isn't it risky to have plastic surgery here?"
"Plastic surgery also has risks in reality." Zhang Runyue said that although her graduate studies were not focused on cosmetic surgery, she had been exposed to many of them due to her research project.
She knows that plastic surgery has risks and is not a necessary option in life, but many people still go for it. It is because their society values appearance too much, and many people go for it with the attitude of using their appearance to change their lives.
Indeed, she knew someone who had changed the trajectory of his life by having his face replaced.
High returns come with high risks. Having plastic surgery here may have great risks, but the benefits are also the highest, and that is life.
Zhang Runyue: "Some people will definitely get plastic surgery. Because of plastic surgery, their 404 will be even curlier, and we will be under more pressure."
She was right. That afternoon, Liao Manni went to see a body shaper for plastic surgery.
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