Chapter 3
At half past six in the evening, it was completely dark.
The lights in the dormitory building across a small garden were turned on, and the trainees walked towards the cafeteria in twos and threes, with tired looks on their faces.
But when they passed a certain place, they seemed like different people and suddenly became energetic.
When Xie Xichao passed the garden gate, he heard several high-pitched female voices.
"Lu-Xing-Xing-Bao-Mom-Mom-Loves-You!"
"Ai! Qing! Yuan! Eat! More! Food! Less! Play! Games! More! Sleep!!"
"Ji Yan! Ji Yan, look at your mother! She has been standing here for two hours! Look at your mother!"
Jie Xichao turned his head and looked at the person next to him with a curious look on his face.
Ji Yan: “…”
He didn't know why his face turned red. "Well, before I debuted, I starred in a mediocre web drama, so I accumulated some fans."
Jie Xichao understood everything.
He was originally walking on Ji Yan's right side, but automatically moved to the left side. Ji Yan waved slightly to the girls outside the door, and they immediately waved back.
After saying hello, Ji Yan looked around and found that there was no sign of Jie Xichao. He felt a little sorry for Jie Xichao.
However, as soon as he thought about what had just happened in the practice room, this regret immediately disappeared.
……hehe.
Anyway, it won’t be long before his number of fans is lower than that of the one next to him.
Thinking of this, he felt relieved. Then he heard Xie Xichao ask: "Who is Lu Xingxing?"
This name is pretty cute.
"…Uh, but my name is Lu Xing." Ji Yan said tactfully, "Besides, he even came to our dormitory to say hello on the first day."
Xie Xichao was a little surprised.
He thought about it and finally remembered: "Is it a baby-faced one?"
Ji Yan: “Yeah!”
"What about Ai Qingyuan?" Xie Xichao continued to ask.
Ji Yan looked at him with a look that was hard to describe.
"Ai Qingyuan and Ni Xin are from the same company." Ji Yan said, "The second son of the Ai family, the prince of Shenghong. He was also the favorite to be the center of this public appearance, but his popularity has dropped. It is a recognized fact that unless he beats up the production crew on stage before the finals, he will definitely debut."
-
On the way back, Jie Xichao listened to Ji Yan's popular science introduction to the contestants in the show.
"In fact, I don't think Ai Qingyuan will definitely debut. He is too arrogant. He has many fans but also many haters." Ji Yan said, "He studied street dance and participated in a dance variety show before. He was criticized for his remarks, but the show hasn't started yet, so he can rely on his previous popularity to surpass others."
Xie Xichao said, "It's not a bad thing to be arrogant."
Ji Yan: “Hmm?”
Xie Xichao only said one sentence and didn't say anything else.
Ji Yan followed his gaze and saw a familiar defiant profile.
It was Ai Qingyuan, the person he had just been talking about.
Fortunately, Ai Qingyuan didn't know them and had no intention of talking to them. He just glanced at them and his eyes stayed on Jie Xichao's face for a moment. Just for a moment, he withdrew his gaze.
There was a look of arrogance and indifference in his eyes, which made Ji Yan feel uncomfortable.
So proud.
He thought to himself.
What are you proud of?
No matter how powerful Ai Qingyuan is, can he be as powerful as his brother?
Unconsciously, the scale in his heart had silently tilted towards Jie Xichao.
He whispered to Jie Xichao, "Brother, shall we go back to the dormitory?"
Xie Xichao said: “Yes.”
The two of them walked past Ai Qingyuan and went straight back to the dormitory via the stairs.
-
In the next few days, Xie Xichao no longer stayed in the dormitory or the physiotherapy room all day as before. He started to go out early and come back late.
Almost no one paid attention to this matter. The unpopular amateurs are invisible not only to fans and audiences, but also to the contestants themselves.
Except Ni Xin.
He threatened that day that he would see her on the stage, which showed that he knew Xi Chao was just a pretty face with nothing on it.
Are you kidding? What real talent can an amateur who became famous by chance have?
But when Jie Xichao returned that night, he asked him a question.
"You said earlier that we'd meet on stage," he said, "what did you mean exactly?"
Ni Xin: “…”
He said unhappily, "Of course I mean to beat you."
Xie Xichao thought for a moment: "Look at the ratings?"
Ni Xin:?
He suddenly realized that Jie Xichao was serious.
The moment this thought came to his mind, he was actually startled for a moment and had the intention of retreating.
However, he soon responded: "Okay."
"What's the bet?"
Ni Xin was stuck again.
This time, Xie Xichao didn't let him think too long. He said, "If you lose, you move out. If I lose, I move out. What do you think of this proposal?"
Change dormitory.
This matter was harmless, but the problem was that when Xie Xichao said this, everyone in the dormitory was there.
The remaining four pairs of eyes all looked at Ni Xin. Ni Xin knew that if he lost and moved out in disgrace, it would be very, very humiliating.
But having said that...
He gritted his teeth and said, "Okay."
So, this bet hung in Ni Xin's mind.
He has been restless these days, always feeling that Jie Xichao has set a trap for him.
He found Ji Yan privately: "You have a good relationship with Jie Xichao, what has he been busy with these two days?"
Ji Yan smiled and said, "My brother? My brother is practicing."
nonsense!
The question is what to practice!
Ji Yan said: "How can I tell you this? I have to keep it a secret for my brother."
He said, "Ni Xin, you are not afraid, are you?"
This sentence shut Ni Xin's mouth.
He was so angry, but he couldn't bring himself to follow her. Just like that, the days passed by unknowingly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the day of the first stage evaluation.
*
"Super Rookie": Choose the best idol in your mind.
Despite this old-fashioned and unoriginal slogan, the program still caused quite a stir on the Internet before it was even recorded. This is indeed due to the unique charm and competition system of the talent show.
On the day of recording, Jie Xichao went to the dressing room with Ji Yan as usual.
With one hundred contestants, they were bound to have to queue up to put on makeup.
Although Ji Yan came here just to show his face, the long absence of the camera made him nervous. He talked to the trainees from the same company for a while, and when he turned around, he found Jie Xichao asleep on the sofa.
"This is the Jie Xichao who accidentally became an Internet celebrity after being reported in the news." His companion said, "How amazing! We have been in closed training for almost half a month and haven't seen him many times."
"Looks..." another person said, "seems to be quite good-looking indeed."
Ji Yan said: "That's it."
Then he explained: "Brother Chao is not in good health."
"You keep calling me brother, Yanyan. You are really being disloyal." The brother from the same company laughed and said, "I shouldn't have let you go to another dormitory."
"But he has just recovered, can he handle the recording and practice?"
"Come here to show your face."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone suddenly understood.
Just like Ji Yan became the most beloved younger brother among the trainees because he wanted to be an actor in the future, the trainees in the room were originally a little wary of Jie Xichao's threatening appearance, but soon, this wariness was suppressed by this sentence.
Everyone quickly changed the subject, only Ai Qingyuan glanced at the sofa indifferently.
"The one in your dormitory?" he asked.
It was rare for him to take the initiative to speak, and Ni Xin was flattered: "Yes."
"Brother Xin even made a bet with him, why are you pulling me?"
Ni Xin's face was stiff, but Ai Qingyuan had already heard it.
He asked with great interest: "What bet?"
Ni Xin had no choice but to tell the story again and explained: "I just can't stand his arrogant and lazy attitude."
After he finished speaking, the people beside him fell silent for a moment.
That's what I said.
But when it comes to arrogance and laziness... this guy in front of me... uh...
But Ai Qingyuan obviously did not have this awareness of substitution.
He commented: "You should be thankful that the initial ratings of this show are not based on appearance."
After saying that, he walked away.
The people who stayed behind looked at each other in bewilderment, and one said, "Brother Yuan, what does this mean?"
The person next to him was unsure: "It seems like he is saying Brother Xin is ugly."
Ni Xin: “…”
"Go, go, go, go." His face was full of excitement, and he pushed the people next to him out. "My number has been called, everyone, go put on your makeup!"
-
Xie Xichao didn't know that while he was asleep, several undercurrents happened in the entire dressing room.
He had a good sleep. The main reason was that the waiting time was too long and no one disturbed him, so he got enough sleep.
When he woke up, Ji Yan came over to call him, and it was only two days before it was his turn.
He went to wash his face.
He hasn't stayed up late for a long time in order to recover. If nothing unexpected happens, tonight will be his first late night. After all, according to his experience, the recording of this kind of program always takes a long time.
Fortunately, after a good sleep, he felt good.
The makeup artist was a capable girl with short hair. She was quite familiar with him and it was very easy to put on makeup on his face.
She held up the makeup brush: "What kind of makeup do you want?"
"Can I choose?" Xie Xichao smiled.
"You can do it if others can't." The girl was straightforward, "After all, I am a face lover."
Xie Xichao thought for a moment and said, "Let's make it clearer."
The girl lowered her head and found that he had rarely worn his usual old-school cadre style outfit and had chosen a beige sweatshirt.
There are graffiti on the sweatshirt that simulates crayons, in colors.
Underneath, she wore a pair of slightly ripped jeans.
It’s strange to say, but Xie Xichao’s actual age is... uh, a little hard to calculate. He was 18 years old when he fell into a coma, so if you count the four years he was in a coma, he would only be 22.
But for some reason, the girls always felt that he was calmer and more composed than all the little kids present.
Is being in a coma also a form of cultivation?
The girl murmured.
She muttered to herself, but her hands did not hesitate. After a while, Xie Xichao opened his eyes.
Ji Yan, who was waiting for him nearby, held his breath.
The boy in the mirror has a pair of very gentle and clear eyes. At this moment, his eyes and eyebrows are outlined with black eyeliner and eyebrow pencil. It's just a few strokes, without much makeup, but it makes the eyebrows and eyes look more natural.
The lips, which had been pale for years, finally looked more "red" because of makeup, making the whole face suddenly look much more lively.
The most vivid thing is the diamonds of different sizes dotted at the end of the left eye.
These diamonds are spread out at the end of the eye. When you look closely, they complement the light in the eye, but when you look far away, there are only dots of colorful marks left. It can be said that...
"Scheming." Ji Yan said, "Brother, your makeup is too scheming!"
Jie Xichao was speechless.
He stood up and the makeup artist said, "Come on."
He said, "Thank you."
He and Ji Yan walked out of the corridor together.
"Brother, here is the signature board." Ji Yan called him.
Before entering, everyone must sign their name on the signature board. At some point in the future when they leave, this will become a place for star-chasing girls and all the trainees in the factory to check in, express their feelings and reminisce.
And at this moment, this only represents a new beginning.
Ji Yan had already signed, and he handed the marker to Jie Xichao. The moment the black oil-based pen fell on the board, Xie Xichao was slightly dazed.
The tip of the pen is winding, outlining a slightly curved arc, as if it is vaguely about to write down a simple number.
However, half a second later, Xie Xichao came back to his senses.
He smiled helplessly and stopped writing.
Half a minute later, silence returned to the signature board.
The midday sun fell on the board, bright and brilliant. In a corner of the board, the three big characters "Xie Xichao" were written in vigorous, neat and freehand strokes, winding like a swimming dragon.
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