Chapter 42
There was silence in the air for a moment.
Fu Wen Ze and Guan Heng on the side raised their eyes in surprise.
Yun Pan didn't notice the gazes of the two men.
The silence made his ears turn red quickly, like a socially anxious little rabbit thrown onto the community stage to face the folks.
He unconsciously clutched the edge of his clothes, but his eyes were still on Jie Xichao.
Xie Xichao was also a little surprised.
After a moment, he said, "What I just said to Qingyuan was the truth."
"I know." Yun Pan said quickly.
He whispered, "If you agree, I'll go wherever you go. I'm fine with that."
As soon as the words fell, Ai Qingyuan, who was eavesdropping in the bathroom, could no longer hold back.
"You must be joking." He said, "Xie Xichao is going to sing rock music, why don't you go too?"
Xie Xichao: “…”
Considering Yunpan's background, maybe it will be possible.
He did not answer Yun Pan immediately, but lowered his eyes and thought for a few seconds.
Yun Pan had become visibly closer to him in the past two days. He could see that the other person was a slow-moving person. Although he felt that the trust was given a little suddenly, the child was very cute and he didn't want to make the other person sad.
After considering for a moment, he said, "If you want to come, of course you can."
"Only if you think about it carefully and guess which song I'll choose."
His ranking was ahead of Yun Pan, so he must have chosen the song first. Although the program team did not explicitly state which room you entered to determine which song you would choose, guessing one room at a time was obviously a bit awkward and funny, and it was obvious that most people would not do this.
"I've thought about it." Yun Pan answered directly without even thinking. It seems that he is really only worried that Jie Xichao will dislike him.
Xie Xichao rubbed his hair.
That night, he took a rare day off and went to see Ji Yan.
Ji Yan just finished working out and wiped the sweat off his face. "Pan Pan and Xia Ruiyan? I really don't know."
"I only know that people who know them say that they have a good relationship." He said, "and the company also intends to tie them together. Xia Ruiyan won't tell you the details, and Panpan's personality is also..."
He paused and said, "It's hard to say what Panpan's personality is like."
Neither of them thought much about it before.
But after what happened with Xia Ruiyan a few days ago, thinking back now, if Xia Ruiyan had any real feelings for Yun Pan, he wouldn't be so anxious to find someone to untie him.
Xie Xichao thought so too.
To avoid Ji Yan worrying, he did not tell Ji Yan that Yun Pan must come to his group, but said: "It's okay, I know."
-
Just like that, in a blink of an eye, the day for the second public song selection and recording finally arrived.
When we gathered in the activity room again, even though we had been eliminated, everyone still felt a little emotional when they saw the half-empty room.
But soon, this emotion was replaced by tension.
These days, everything seems calm within the trainee community.
But privately, just like Xia Ruiyan would come to find Jie Xichao, each ranking group has its own little calculations.
Whether all this will be settled depends on the final result today.
Selecting songs for recording can also be considered as a notice, so Jie Xichao held up a glass of iced American coffee after a long absence. He tried his best to suppress the urge to frown as the makeup artist poked and drew on his face. At the end, he said thoughtfully, "You seem to look a lot better recently."
Xie Xichao smiled and said, "Well, I feel better now."
"You're amazing." The makeup artist smiled. "They say that being in a group like this is physically demanding. Look at how listless they are over there. But you seem to be taking care of yourself."
Yun Pan was sitting next to Jie Xichao.
He seemed to have been suffering from insomnia recently. He dozed off while putting on makeup, and his golden head fell down accidentally.
When he was about to fall, Xie Xizhao used one hand to hold the man's head back, took a sip of coffee with the other hand, and then said calmly: "The most important thing is to think positively. If you can't make it, you can just go back to study mathematics."
The trainees around him who mostly failed in academic subjects: “…”
Or you should go back to study mathematics.
Jie Xichao cannot hear other people's criticisms, and even if he hears them, he will pretend not to hear them.
He finished his iced Americano and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then he stood up. Xia Ruiyan, who was standing by, calmly withdrew his gaze and looked at himself in the mirror.
Someone beside him whispered, "Brother Yan, Yun Pan he..."
"It doesn't matter." Xia Rui said in a calm tone, "Let him be."
"He's just a kid." He lowered his eyes, nonchalantly, "I'm busy lately. I'll talk to him after this is over."
Soon, the voice of a staff member was heard outside the door, notifying everyone to assemble.
Everyone gathered in the activity room.
*
Today's main MC is Li Lin.
She was wearing a pink and white dress today, paired with boots of the same color. She looked cute and soft, and she was an eye-catcher when she stood there.
Compared with Dou Yu and Qiu Xuerui, her hosting style is obviously more lively.
At the beginning, she smiled and said, "Good morning, everyone. Did you sleep well last night?"
The response below is very real: "No - OK -"
Li Lin was happy.
She said, "You guys are so useless. It's just a stage selection. You're so nervous now. What are you going to do on the final night?"
"It's okay, Mr. Li." One trainee was very honest, "I can't make it to the finals."
As soon as the words fell, everyone around laughed.
The recording officially began in such a cheerful and relaxed atmosphere.
Li Lin changed a cue card, picked up the microphone and spoke: "Well, now let's first reveal the song that everyone has been thinking about."
She paused and said, "Does anyone have any particular stage they want to do?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the audience began to talk at once.
Most of those who can come to the talent show are interested in the idol profession, and they know something about the popular male and female idols and popular groups. All of a sudden, all the familiar names appeared one after another.
If you don’t know, you might think it’s the name of the dish when distributing pork bonus at the end of the year.
Li Lin waited patiently for them to finish speaking, then gave a mysterious smile.
"It seems that the program crew understands you very well." She said with a smile.
Amid the sudden cheers, she nodded to the staff beside her, and the next second, the audition clip started playing.
-
Almost as soon as the clip sounded, the top-ranked trainees stopped talking.
Jie Xichao placed his finger on the dice in his pocket.
The temperature at your fingertips is slightly cool, which is the most suitable temperature for people to calm down and think.
The order of the groups was already written on the whiteboard in front of them: vocal group, dance group, rap group and creative group.
The first one is lyrical.
The moment the familiar melody sounded in his ears, Jie Xichao was stunned.
At the same time, everyone around him also looked at him, including the camera who was recording his reaction nearby.
Xie Xichao burst out laughing.
The first song was not any other song, but a song that he had said he liked very much during his first performance on stage.
"Dead Leaf Butterfly in the Rain" by Lan Yezhou.
After the song was over, Li Lin took the microphone and called him, "Trainee Jie Xichao."
She smiled and said, "Anything you want to say?"
The microphone was handed to Xie Xichao. He thought for a moment and said honestly, "It feels like I'm back to the time of the college entrance examination."
Li Lin was stunned.
Dou Yu, who was standing by, was already laughing: "This song is indeed known as the battle song for the college entrance examination."
Lan Yezhou usually doesn't write songs about love.
This song is majestic and has a "grand and sad" feel. When it became popular, it was used as the motivational BGM for many exams.
This answer is very clever.
It not only avoids the issue of choice, but also highlights that he is indeed very familiar with the song.
Li Lin reacted, looked at Li Xichao with appreciation, smiled and took over Dou Yu's words and chatted for a few words, then asked the staff to play the next song.
The next song is still lyrical.
The only difference from the first song is that this song has many more vibratos and high notes.
The original singer of this song is also a singer, but this singer is famous for his skills and voice.
The clip ended and Jie Xichao stopped tapping the dice.
"What do you think?" Guan Heng asked him in a low voice.
"It's a good choice." Xie Xichao said.
*
This is Xie Xichao's true words.
The reason why he chose "Super Rookie" is both complicated and simple. It can be said that it was a combination of the right time, the right place and the right people. He was at the peak of his popularity at that time, "Super Rookie" was in the audition period, and the recording location happened to be in this city.
To put it simply, he knew that this show would be a hit.
Because no matter how many little thoughts and interests Ma Hongping and Lu Yan have to consider, they both put the quality of the program first.
These two selections highlight this point very well.
Lan Yezhou is a typical pop singer. His songs have simple melodies and resonate with the public, making them very popular. He can be said to be a representative of the new generation of male singers who has both popularity and talent.
Correspondingly, his songs will appear "slippery".
Jie Xichao discussed this with Lan Yezhou, and the other party admitted that he had to make a choice.
"It's so hard to write a song that's both popular and a work of art," he said. "The goddess of inspiration doesn't always come to you."
Jie Xizhao deeply agreed with this.
If Lan Yezhou's song is more popular than technically skilled, then the other song is a typical example of "too highbrow for the masses".
This virtuoso piece of music isn't that bad to listen to.
But it was really not the style that Xie Xichao liked - he meant that it sounded very physically demanding.
Of course, some people are just right for it.
He caught a glimpse of Zou Yi not far away and his eyes lit up.
Xie Xichao continued to listen.
The second group is the selected music clips of the dance group.
A Chinese style song, a boy group song.
This was also within his expectations.
He sighed in his heart and felt a little worried.
"Why do you have that expression?" Qiao Ye, who was standing by, took a quick glance and saw someone coming to talk to him.
Their seats today were arranged according to their ranking. On his left was Guan Heng, and he was not very familiar with the sixth person on his right. In fact, he and Qiao Ye were not very familiar with each other, but from the beginning, Qiao Ye looked extremely bored and wanted to chat with him, and now he finally found the opportunity.
Maybe it was because of the recording, the choking smell of cigarettes on him was gone today.
Xie Xichao felt much more comfortable and answered gently. He explained: "I feel a little conflicted."
Qiao Ye suddenly realized.
Then he laughed: "Then come and rap with me."
Xie Xichao: “…”
"It's okay." Qiao Ye said, "If you don't know how, I'll teach you."
Guan Heng, who was between the two of them, coughed.
Also looking away silently was Fu Wen Ze, who accidentally heard what was happening not far away.
Qiao Ye was completely unaware.
He was very interested in Xie Xichao. He felt that Jie Xichao was a rather magical person, beautiful and fragile, yet also seemingly very strong at the same time. Straight men have no resistance to this kind of people, especially those who are obsessed with looks.
But Xie Xichao didn't seem to intend to pay attention to him.
After being politely rejected, Qiao Ye retreated angrily.
Jie Xi turned over the dice in his pocket, and the two dots looked like nostrils pointing upwards.
-
Soon, the audition clips of the six songs were played.
The remaining two rap songs are also in two different styles. It is worth mentioning that although it is a rap group, these two songs are more comprehensive and complete songs.
These two songs are both very popular idol songs.
The program team did spend a lot of time selecting the songs. At least a lot of copyright fees were paid.
The rest of the creative team didn’t audition the clips because they wrote their own songs. So after the rap group's segment was over, Li Lin picked up the microphone and asked, "How about it, have you made up your mind?"
This time everyone said in unison: "No—no—"
Really not.
People with poor ability feel that every song is extremely difficult, people who are not good at one subject well are worried that they will be squeezed out if they choose a popular song, and some people are also struggling.
Xie Xichao felt that every song seemed to be okay, but also seemed to be unacceptable.
Amid the confusion, Li Lin had already started asking people to come on stage.
The first one is Ai Qingyuan.
He stepped forward, and Li Lin asked him, "Has Qingyuan decided which group to join?"
Ai Qingyuan said: "I've thought about it."
Cool.
"Then which group is it?" Li Lin didn't expect him to be so direct. She was stunned for a moment and asked quickly.
Ai Qingyuan smiled at her, then said coldly: "Guess."
Li Lin: “…”
The trainees in the audience: “…”
Really, really owe it.
Among them, the most dissatisfied was Qiao Ye who was sitting next to Guan Heng. Xie Xichao heard him mutter: "What kind of straight man is this? So rude."
Xie Xichao: “…”
I think you two are the same.
Guan Heng lowered his voice and asked him, "Which group do you think Qingyuan will join?"
Xie Xichao didn't even have to think: "Click."
One of the two dance songs.
Ai Qingyuan is a comprehensive contestant, but this fast-paced dance music is obviously more to his taste.
Of course there is one more thing. I don’t know if it’s because Jie Xichao pointed out directly that he had a broken voice on his first stage last time, but he seems to have some psychological trauma about singing recently. There were some clues before.
Guan Heng smiled: "I wanted to make a bet with you."
Xie Xichao also smiled: "We can gamble next."
Second place, Xia Ruiyan.
*
When Xia Ruiyan went on stage, Yun Pan just sat in his seat and didn't even look at Xia Ruiyan.
The way he silently lowered his head made the trainee next to him a little worried. He kept looking at him, and finally couldn't help but asked: "Panpan, are you feeling unwell?"
No matter how competitive it is, everyone will pay more attention to younger trainees.
Yun Pan was startled.
Then he realized that it was the person next to him who was talking to him.
He shook his head: "No...no."
He said, "Brother, I am not feeling unwell."
The people around him still looked worried.
At this moment, Xia Ruiyan suddenly glanced over here lazily.
Yun Pan just happened to look up.
The moment their eyes met, he suddenly grasped the corner of his clothes.
He never returned to the dormitory these days. In a blink of an eye, almost a week has passed.
The reason he told the dorm manager was that he had neurasthenia and was prone to insomnia. This is not a lie. He is indeed a nervous type. When under a lot of pressure, he is prone to anxiety, insomnia, and even overeating.
But that wasn't the real reason he wanted to move out.
He took a deep breath, and the nightmarish feeling of suffocation and fear spread in his heart again.
He subconsciously reached into his pocket.
The moment he touched the hard fruit candy in his palm, his heartbeat finally slowly returned to its original level. That was the candy that Jie Xichao gave him in the morning.
The young man's gentle and clear voice seemed to overlap with the familiar voices in his memory.
He lowered his eyes and said silently in his heart: "Brother."
No one responded.
On the other side, Xie Xichao withdrew his gaze thoughtfully.
"What did you say?" he asked. "Sorry, I was distracted just now."
Guan Heng said: "Nothing, I just said that it is more likely that Xia Ruiyan will join the dance group."
He paused: "Are you looking at Yun Pan?"
"Yeah." Xie Xichao said, "It seems like he has something on his mind recently."
Guan Heng suddenly realized.
"He and Xia Ruiyan are in the same company, right?" he said. "I thought they would be in the same group. After all, they have been tied together since the first performance."
So he was also surprised that day.
Xie Xichao didn't comment, but just said: "I don't think Xia Ruiyan will join the dance group."
Guan Heng was slightly surprised.
"Let's bet or not." Xie Xichao lowered his eyes, tapping his fingers slowly on the dice, "A meal."
Guan Heng also said readily: "Okay."
Third, don’t gamble.
From head to toe, Qiao Ye looked like he was going to join the rap group, the only thing missing was setting off firecrackers to announce it to the world.
He stood up with a relaxed expression, and before leaving, he once again extended a sincere invitation to Jie Xichao. After being rejected once again, his mood became visibly worse, at least he no longer looked as graceful as a peacock spreading its feathers.
Guan Heng and Jie Xichao silently watched Kong...the corridor after Qiao Ye entered the activity room.
Then, Guan Heng stood up and looked down at Jie Xichao: "Should I look forward to our meeting?"
Xie Xichao said: "Teacher Guan, the camera is over there."
Guan Heng: “…”
He laughed: "You really are..."
"I'll wait for you in the room," he said.
Xie Xichao gave him face: "Even if I'm not in the same group with you, I will come in and say hello to you later."
Guan Heng sighed: "When you say that, I suddenly have a very bad feeling."
Guan Heng left with a bad premonition.
Soon, Xie Xichao heard his name from Li Lin's mouth.
He stood up.
After a brief conversation, he pushed open the door behind the activity room.
In the corridor, all the doors were closed quietly.
Jie Xi looked at them one by one, and finally his eyes stopped on a certain door.
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