Chapter 10 Theme Song Center Position Battle (Part 1) I don't have any questions right now...
On the weekend the second episode aired, the contestants, who had trained so hard they were oblivious to the world around them, gathered in the studio.
Anri Tsukichi whispered to Tinghan Jiang, "Is it a team-building recording? Maybe a re-enactment of the program that will be broadcast or something?"
Jiang Tinghan's voice was also very soft, and she even covered her mouth with her hand: "It's very possible that the production team won't be able to do a live performance without padding out one episode."
Anri Tsukichi: "That's perfect. My hands have been hurting as soon as I wake up lately from practicing dance. I hope I can rest today."
Jiang Tinghan squinted at the host who was still handing over with the staff offstage, then glanced at the mentors who were slowly taking their seats opposite him, and immediately changed his mind: "No, team building shouldn't be this formal, even the mentors are here."
Anri Tsukichi blinked her big, enlightened eyes twice: "That makes sense!"
"What could it be? Is it going to be some kind of test again?"
Jiang Tinghan noticed with her sharp eyes that a new seat had been added to the mentors' panel, which was currently vacant. After returning yesterday, she realized that simply having high EQ and IQ plus hard work was not enough; she still knew too little about talent shows. So she quickly brushed up on her knowledge of talent shows.
She speculated, "Could it be the recording of the theme song?"
Then invite young idols to demonstrate, and incidentally generate buzz.
Anri Tsukichi was completely certain of Coldy's words and believed Jiang Tinghan without a doubt: "Wow! It must be this one. Tinghan-chan is smarter than both of me!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Tinghan smiled and said, "Don't underestimate yourself. I'm probably only 1.5 times smarter than Anri-chan."
Anri Tsukichi: "Hehe~"
The two were like two little flying squirrels eating melons in a corner, chattering and whispering to each other.
They were seated according to their rankings. Jiang Tinghan, who was sixth in Group S, sat next to Tsukichi Anri, who was first in Group A. A few seats to the right was Kim Seo-hee.
Kong Yanshu, sitting several rows behind, looked at the two black heads huddled together in the first row with a somewhat sinister gaze.
So far, she only has Jin Ruixi and Jiang Tinghan as good friends. It's one thing that the two of them had an affair, but she can be tolerant of that. However, Jiang Tinghan has so many other women around him.
hehe.
During the thirty seconds she sulked, was Jiang Tinghan thinking about her, his good friend, or was he just thinking about spending every year with her and her two roommates?
Kong Yeon-seo suddenly felt an urge to sit in the front row as well.
Jiang Tinghan shivered inexplicably, wanted to sneeze but forcibly held it back, and finally shook his fluffy fur like a cat.
Audrey, Putuoxi, leaned forward and looked up at Jiang Tinghan with a hint of concern in her eyes: "What's wrong, baby? Did you catch a cold?"
Anri Tsukichi chimed in, "Kan-chan only got back in the early hours of the morning; the temperature wasn't very high yesterday."
Jiang Tinghan put on a stern face: "No, it's just a feeling—"
"It felt like a cold wind was blowing from behind."
Jiang Tinghan added to himself, feeling as if he were being haunted by a ghost.
Both Anri Tsukichi and Akane Putuo seemed to have a question mark popping up above their heads, clearly not understanding what they were hearing.
Jin Ruixi, sitting in the same row, raised the corners of her lips slightly, not too high or too low, so much so that her smile was barely noticeable unless you looked closely.
Bae Soo-min, who happened to be sitting in the first seat of the second row, immediately looked away and began to stare straight ahead.
Three minutes later, Lee Seung-gi walked onto the stage, and the contestants who were chatting below immediately fell silent.
An unknown recording is about to begin.
"Hello, esteemed mentors, admirable contestants, and viewers in front of the television."
Lee Seung-gi smiled and said, "Today is the day for the battle for the center position in the theme song!"
Tsukichi Anri secretly gave Jiang Tinghan a thumbs up.
It's true! Xiaohan-chan guessed it right!
Jiang Tinghan gently lifted the corner of his lips, concealing his merit and fame.
Lee Seung-gi: "First of all, please welcome our special guest to perform the theme song for everyone."
He turned slightly to the side and pointed to the big screen behind him. When the contestants looked up, they saw a female idol who had already debuted, wearing a black Chanel-style short skirt, but whose face was full of ambition and whose dancing power had not diminished at all.
Many Chinese and Korean contestants are already getting excited. Isn't this Shen Xiaoting, who made a comeback and debuted in a high position in "Girls Pl 999"?
In the blink of an eye, the specially invited instructor transformed a soft, ancient-style hand-holding gesture into two precise and powerful arm swings, as if simulating the process of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, full of vitality and beauty.
Combined with a chest-thumping gesture that echoes with a heavy heartbeat, a sense of power is unleashed.
This is a theme song full of youthful spirit, which is passionate and exciting to listen to. It is not gentle or sweet, but purely uplifting. The addition of vibrato from classical instruments, as well as Future Bass and electronic sound effects, instantly enriches the listening experience. The former is majestic, while the latter adds a touch of daydreaming and dreaminess, which perfectly matches the program's theme of "diversity".
“We are the shine, that lights up the world! ”
"This is our shining world!"
"Be the only light!"
The phrase "Shining world" in the chorus sounds like a high-pitched song or a shout.
Some athletes have already started jumping, making every second count to memorize the movements.
The theme song's gold medal producer, Shen Xiaoting, only performed for forty seconds, and by the end, the contestants all felt a little unsatisfied.
Audrey DuPont said softly, "Although I don't know this girl, her abilities are truly admirable."
Putuo Qian nodded in deep agreement.
Audrey turned to Jiang Tinghan: "Coldy, who is she? Do you know her?"
Jiang Tinghan felt the excitement of having guessed the exam questions correctly; the tutoring she had yesterday included "Girls Pl 999"!
"I know."
"She's an idol who debuted through a talent show last year and is now a member of Kep1er. Have you heard of 'Wa da da'? That's their group's debut song."
Audrey vaguely remembered and gave a grateful smile: "I see."
"Let's welcome Kepler's Shen Xiaoting with applause!" Lee Seung-gi raised his hand and announced loudly.
Amidst enthusiastic applause, Shen Xiaoting, whose makeup and styling were exactly the same as in the video, appeared and bowed, saying, "Oh my god, I'm Shen Xiaoting from Kepler."
When she arrived at the mentors' table, she bowed to the senior mentors again before taking her seat.
"I will announce the rules for the competition for the center position," Shen Xiaoting said, seemingly a little nervous but her voice was calm: "Any contestant who is interested in competing for the center position can register. You will have six hours to train. After six hours, there will be a test. All contestants and mentors can vote, and the contestant with the most votes will be the center."
"I and other instructors will randomly appear in the practice room to provide you with guidance and assistance."
There was no time for pleasantries; only a race against time. Shen Xiaoting announced crisply and decisively:
"The theme song for this event is titled 'Shining Star.' Six hours to go, let's begin!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a bright red six-hour countdown appeared on the big screen and immediately started.
The contestants were stunned for a moment, and then chaos ensued.
"Huh? Does registering count as part of the six hours? I haven't decided yet!"
"Quick, quick, where do I sign up? I want to go!"
"Excuse me, could you please let me through?"
"Shining star! So cool! This is my goal!"
Almost all the contestants in the first row stood up instantly and ran towards the registration area without hesitation.
Jiang Tinghan, with her long and fast legs, quickly overtook Yin Zhicai, picked up a pen, hastily wrote her name, and stuffed it into the registration box.
Yin Zhicai watched Jiang Tinghan's retreating figure as he walked towards the door, her eyes practically spitting fire. Not to be outdone, she hurriedly stuffed in the registration ticket and strode after him.
As soon as they stepped outside, Jiang Tinghan had already run quite a distance. Yin Zhicai wondered how he could run so fast, and there were no dogs chasing him.
Is that speed from a parkour champion?
No, she can't be left behind!
Strangely, Jiang Tinghan didn't go to the nearest practice room, but instead went to the one that was furthest away and at the very end.
The practice room wasn't just for one person, but Yoon Ji-chae insisted on following along. When she rushed into the last practice room, beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and she had the illusion that she was being walked like a dog.
At this moment, Jiang Tinghan's privilege within three minutes of running 800 meters had been fully demonstrated.
When she turned around and saw Yoon Ji-chae, her eyes lit up immediately: "It's you!"
Yin Zhicai gritted her teeth, "If you didn't know she was behind you, why did you run so fast!"
Jiang Tinghan immediately leaned closer, speaking in a sincere and friendly tone: "Honorable No.1 of Group S, could you teach me the dance moves while you're learning them?"
Yoon Ji-chae's face was cold: "Don't I need to practice myself? Why don't you go find your Tsukichi Anri?"
Jiang Tinghan said straightforwardly, "I just felt embarrassed to trouble them."
Yoon Ji-chae almost choked on her breath: "Do you think it's okay for you to beg me?"
Jiang Tinghan acted somewhat shamelessly: "That's not how it works. I was thinking that I would shamelessly ask whoever entered the same practice room as me, so I chose the last one."
Yoon Ji-chae: "..."
She suddenly felt like a clown for chasing after him.
"What if the one is even weaker?"
“Then we’ll have to rely on ourselves—” Jiang Tinghan saw that Yin Zhicai seemed about to say “then you should rely on yourself,” so he dragged out his words, patted his chest, and said with a mix of fear and relief, “But thankfully it was you who came.”
"You're number 1! All the mentors have given their full affirmation of your talent. I'm so lucky."
Upon hearing this, Yoon Ji-chae's expression softened somewhat: "Sweet talk."
“I won’t teach you,” she said coldly. “But what you do is none of my business.”
Jiang Tinghan understood; it meant that when Yin Zhicai was breaking down the dance steps, she could follow along and imitate them.
Without further ado, the two immediately turned on the TV in the practice room, which already contained clips of the invited instructor's demonstration.
The dance was quite intense; even Yoon Ji-chae struggled a bit when she first learned it, but she was able to memorize most of it on her first try.
After several weeks of practice, Jiang Tinghan developed a quick way to learn to dance. This involves extracting a few memorable moves from a dance, perfecting them to a high degree, and then interspersing them throughout the performance to create a confusing and visually appealing effect.
She had already started using her unorthodox methods, observing Shen Xiaoting and Yin Zhicai on the screen at the same time, using both hands simultaneously. She basically grasped the essence of the dance after watching it only once.
Without further ado, let's start school now!
Yin Zhicai looked at Jiang Tinghan beside her. Sure enough, whatever she did, the other party copied her. How could she so easily provide Jiang Tinghan with a template?
Then, she had a sudden inspiration, pushed herself up with her hands on the ground, and did a neat front flip.
Now I can't learn it, right?
But when she stood up again, she broke out in a cold sweat, her face turned as pale as paper, and when she looked down at her hand, she saw that there was a huge gash in it, and blood was flowing out.
"hiss--"
Jiang Tinghan immediately came over, frowned, scanned the floor, and saw the glittering shards: "There are shards of glass here."
"Luckily, it wasn't your leg that was injured. Let's go to the infirmary." She took Yoon Ji-chae's other hand.
Yin Zhicai was stunned for a moment. Didn't Jiang Tinghan need to practice on his own? Why was he accompanying her?
Her face flushed slightly, embarrassed by the fact that her attempt to show off had backfired and resulted in a wound.
Yin Zhicai shook off Jiang Tinghan: "No need, don't worry about me."
This is what Bae Soo-min saw when she opened the door to the practice room.
Yin Zhicai's palms were covered in blood, and her face was flushed with anger as she stared intently at Jiang Tinghan.
Jiang Tinghan took two steps back, seemingly pushed.
Neither of them had any expression on their faces.
"!!!"
Bae Soo-min's pupils contracted. No way? They're fighting?
She immediately closed the door, her thoughts in turmoil.
She's currently selling to Jiang Tinghan, but the situation is that Yin Zhicai is injured. Shouldn't she tell the PD that it wasn't Jiang Tinghan who intentionally hurt her, but rather that the two of them were fighting each other?
No, there are cameras inside, so the PD knows exactly what's going on.
Bae Soo-min opened the door again. Faced with the two people's gazes, she really didn't know what to say. She could only stammer out a sentence that even she herself didn't quite believe.
She said dryly, "Friendship... comes first, competition... comes second..."
*
Yoon Shin-hye, watching from behind the monitor, naturally noticed the little incident. Currently, the two most popular people on the show are gathered in a practice room, and the windows in this practice room are larger than those of the others.
Yoon Shin-hye calmly said, "Take them to see a doctor, and also, let some word out today."
The staff are very perceptive; they've already written down the words "bloodshed" and "contradiction" in their notebooks.
To generate viewership, you need to capture everything that happens on camera, since the truth will be revealed when the show airs anyway.
After he left, another staff member asked curiously, "PDnim, wasn't the theme song recording originally scheduled for today? Why was it moved up?"
Yoon Shin-hye: "Because the producer who wrote the song submitted it in advance."
"G-Dragon, thanks to your suggestion I was able to finish the song and send it over ahead of time. Are you free? I'd like to treat you to a meal." The voice of Teddy, the former YG gold medal producer, came through the phone and reached Kwon Ji-yong's ears.
Teddy is very good at producing girl group songs, and it can be said that he played a very important role in creating the hugely popular girl groups 2NE1 and Blackpink.
Kwon Ji-yong, who is also from YG Entertainment, has a close relationship with him. However, Teddy now has his own independent company, Black Label. A few days ago, when Kwon Ji-yong visited Black Label, he took the opportunity to discuss music with his old friend.
I wasn't really interested in the girl group song that Teddy was working on, but when he said it was the theme song for "Shining World," it reminded me of the bright red I'd seen on screen a few days ago, so I said a few more words.
Kwon Ji-yong: "Okay, I've been in Seoul lately. It's just a small suggestion. No need to invite me. Let's just have a get-together."
"Yes!" Teddy said, "If I had known it would be this difficult, I wouldn't have accepted the invitation to sing this theme song. We've revised it more than a dozen times, and the client is still not satisfied."
Kwon Ji-yong on the other end of the phone just smiled and didn't say anything. He thought of the mentor lineup of "Shining World" and figured that Teddy's compensation must be very high. If you're going to take the money, you have to do a good job.
Teddy: "The production team even invited me to the first performance, saying that I could personally witness the results. Why would a producer who has been working behind the scenes for so long have to go to the front of the stage? That's really sneaky."
Kwon Ji-yong thought about his recent schedule.
There is no itinerary.
One public...?
"Hey, Ji-yong, why aren't you saying anything? Is the signal bad?"
Kwon Ji-yong snapped out of his daze: "N-nothing."
"Does Teddy want to go? If not, it shouldn't be a big deal if he doesn't go."
Teddy: "I'm not going. The talent show is too much trouble. I don't want to get myself into trouble by having to take special care of someone."
Kwon Ji-yong said calmly, "Indeed."
After discussing work, Teddy started chatting casually: "Jiyong, how have you been lately? Still all alone?"
Now in his thirties, the lonely man seems to have been wounded by an arrow, but after experiencing so much, he no longer has the same yearning for love as before, and now prefers to take things as they come.
"Living alone is quite nice."
Teddy: "I don't mean to interfere in your private life, but as a friend, I want to say that your physical and mental health is really bad right now. The last time I saw you, you seemed to be forcing a smile."
"Stop being a cat slave all the time. It's better to find someone to keep you company, whether it's a brother or a lover."
Kwon Ji-yong politely declined, saying, "Thank you, hyung, but—"
"I don't have any plans to be in a relationship right now."
A note from the author:
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There won't be any melodramatic plot points like being forced to quit because of injury. It's all about competing based on skill. There'll be another stage in the next chapter! So exciting! (rubbing hands together like a fly)
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