Chapter 91: First meeting of the groups (1)
According to the matters notified in advance by the program team, all participating groups will live together during the recording of the program, and everyone will live and train together.
The members have long been accustomed to the training camp. After all, they have spent every single day in the training camp since they joined "Youth Project".
The difference is that now they are in the same room with seniors from the domestic and foreign idol industry.
Among the six groups announced so far, their debut date is the latest. The members are somewhat nervous because they don't know the personalities of the other seniors.
After all, those two countries pay more attention to the relationship between seniors and juniors. If the other party has a difficult personality, they will have to pay attention to their words and deeds at all times to avoid misunderstandings.
Noticing the members' awkwardness, Wang Qingyun comforted them, "Don't be nervous. Although you debuted last, you're not much worse than them. There's no need to be too overbearing when facing those seniors. Just be neither humble nor overbearing and be polite. Remember, you're representing Chinese idols in this competition program."
Hearing this, the members nodded slowly.
"I understand, Sister Qingyun."
Wang Qingyun paused and said, "Although you are asked to be neither humble nor arrogant, you should also not act too distant. After all, they are guests who have come from afar. As hosts, we should be more proactive when they need help. This will also leave a good impression on them and on the audience who are not familiar with you."
Zheng Xingye patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Sister Qingyun, I've always been helpful and willing to help others since I was a child. I won't bring shame to the company!"
Wang Qingyun nodded. "I'm glad you understand. This kind of reality show is just like 'Youth Project.' The audience isn't just watching your singing and dancing skills and stage performances; they're also paying attention to each of your personalities and how you get along with each other."
"It's good to be outgoing, lively, and sociable, but you don't need to force yourself to change your personality to fit in with others."
"What you need to do is to show your strengths as much as possible so that the audience will remember you."
"Although 'Idol Battle' is a stage competition program, it's still essentially a variety show. As a variety show, entertainment must come first. How to make audiences and veteran fans who don't know you know you and become interested in you is what you need to care about and pay attention to most."
Although the members of Originore debuted through a reality talent show, "Youth Project" and "Idol Battle" are different. The contestants of the former are all amateurs, while the contestants of the latter are all popular idols who have a place in the domestic and international entertainment circles.
As the newcomers who debuted the latest among all the participants, the members must be more careful about their words and actions on the show. After all, countries K and J are different from China, and they attach great importance to the relationship between seniors and juniors.
Although it is said that when in Rome, do as the Romans do, it is not a good idea to be too casual and eccentric.
Maybe the seniors themselves don’t think there is anything wrong, but it would not be good if it offends their fans.
After all, Originore is here to attract fans, but he doesn't want to end up with a bunch of haters instead of fans.
Wang Qingyun was like an old mother sending her child to kindergarten on the first day, reminding the members of various precautions. After all, she had other work to do, so it would be inconvenient for her to remind them once the show started recording.
The members naturally understood the stakes of the matter, and even someone as arrogant as Bai Li listened very carefully.
The program was recorded in Yujiang City, not far from Yuehai.
Coincidentally, this is Mo Bei's hometown. But he hasn't been back for many years.
After returning to my hometown after many years, everything seems a little strange.
The roads and buildings seemed to be different from what he remembered.
Perhaps it is because of this that the feeling of being homesick has been diluted a lot.
The training location arranged by the program team is a relatively remote villa area.
The townhouse, with its Chinese-style design, is surrounded by a large green belt and a spacious road, perfect for morning jogging and after-dinner strolls. Through the window, you can vaguely see the interior decoration.
Simple and modern yet warm and cozy.
This was a much better accommodation than anyone had expected.
Mo Bei counted and found that there were six villas in total, and it seemed that each group lived in one villa. This seemed to be quite different from what Wang Qingyun had told him before, that they were "living together with the seniors."
However, the villas are so close to each other, either next door or opposite each other, so it cannot be said that they do not live together.
As the members dragged their luggage towards the villa, the photographers who had been waiting on the scene for a long time pointed their cameras at them.
When they first arrived, the members were puzzled by the six villas in front of them.
Which one is their dormitory?
Should I just pick one randomly, or wait until everyone else has arrived before deciding?
Or... the program crew has already arranged it in advance?
A community figure like Zheng Xingye immediately stepped forward to inquire about the news from the photographer.
However, the photographer seemed to have received instructions from the program team and did not give them any verbal response.
When his plan failed, Zheng Xingye immediately pulled Tao Xiaotie over and asked him to blink his big round eyes and act pitiful and cute.
Under Tao Xiaotie's big eye attack, the photographer finally gave in and signaled with his eyes to the big tree at the entrance of the villa.
Following the direction of the other's gaze, everyone noticed six keys hanging from the tree trunk. Each key had the group's name on it.
"So the production team has already assigned the dormitories, right? Now they want us to find them ourselves with the keys?"
The photographer didn't answer, but nodded imperceptibly.
After understanding the rules, Zheng Xingye looked at the villas on both sides and frowned slightly: "But there is nothing marked on this door."
“There’s no sign on the door, but there is a sign on the wall.”
Mo Bei looked at the exterior wall of a nearby villa. There was a palm-sized, stone-shaped, removable adhesive sticker on the wall. Because of the gray stone-like decoration on the wall, no one noticed it immediately.
A closer look revealed similar stickers on the exterior walls of each villa. Some depicted angels with wings, some fruit, and even some game experience bars, all seemingly related to the idol groups participating in the show.
Originore means raw ore, so the show uses stone stickers to represent it. LEVELUP is obviously the game experience bar.
As for which combination the remaining symbols corresponded to, Mo Bei couldn't tell. Perhaps only they themselves could understand.
After finding the dormitory, the group dragged their luggage and walked straight towards the villa with stone stickers.
After opening the door and putting down their luggage, the members heard the sound of a whistle outside.
It seemed someone else had arrived.
I saw a black business car parked at a nearby intersection, and then a group of boys who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old got out of the car.
The moment they saw the person coming, the members all looked at Sheng Yanyu.
The reason is simple: the person coming is FOREVER.
Sheng Yanyu's expression was calmer than everyone imagined. It seemed that he had really let go of that unpleasant and regretful past.
Tao Xiaotie was crunching away on a pack of Little Bear Biscuits. He glanced around at his teammates and was the first to break the silence.
"Want to go out and say hello?"
Currently, only two teams have arrived at the scene. In this situation, it would be a bad impression if they deliberately ignored the other side.
"Let's go."
Sheng Yanyu made the decision very decisively.
As I walked out the door, I saw someone moving boxes across the street.
Zheng Xingye took the initiative to step forward and lend a hand.
Seeing this, the boy who was carrying the box couldn't help but pause.
The other person was wearing a black T-shirt, had fair skin and handsome features, and looked like the most harmless brother who was most popular among his older sisters.
The boy seemed to have not expected Zheng Xingye to come and help on his own initiative. He was stunned for a moment and then began to thank him.
Before coming, the members had done some homework on all the contestants. Zheng Xingye knew that the person in front of him was the youngest member of FOREVER, named Song Keyu, who was 16 years old.
Seeing this, he immediately grinned and said, "You're welcome."
On the other side, the other members of FOREVER who had already moved their suitcases had no choice but to come face to face with Originore, or to be more precise, Sheng Yanyu.
Jiang Xincheng paused as he looked at the person opposite him who was once very familiar but whom he hadn't seen for a long time, then nodded slightly: "Long time no see, Brother Yanyu."
Seeing Sheng Yanyu again after a long time, the members of FOREVER felt a little complicated.
No one expected Sheng Yanyu to leave the debut group. Before that, they all thought he would debut as the leader of FOREVER.
However, fate plays a trick on him, and now it is Jiang Xincheng who serves as the captain.
They all knew that Sheng Yanyu's departure wasn't due to his age, but rather a lack of strong backing. Zheng Zhilu and Yanyu were only a few months apart, yet the former ultimately made the team.
Although Mr. Lian fired Zheng Zhilu's uncle after learning the truth, the spilled milk had already become an unchangeable reality.
Even if the company has put Zheng Zhilu on ice, Brother Yanyu will never come back.
They were destined not to be teammates.
Compared to his former trainee friends, Sheng Yanyu seemed quite calm. He looked around and asked, "Isn't Zheng Zhilu here?"
Jiang Xincheng couldn't explain in front of the camera and could only be vague: "Well, he didn't come."
In fact, rumors of Zheng Zhilu relying on his uncle to debut had already spread within the fan community. Although some of Zheng Zhilu's fans disagreed, the majority of the veteran fans who had watched these trainees debut were furious.
At first, they were puzzled. How could someone like Zheng Zhilu, who had poor looks and poor skills, make his debut in Zaoxing Entertainment?
Now that we know that the other party actually relied on his uncle to squeeze Sheng Yanyu out of the debut group, everything has an answer.
How on earth does a thief like this have the nerve to stay in FOREVER?
Are the company's top executives blind?
Until one day, Zheng Zhilu stopped participating in group activities, and fans finally smelled something unusual.
An insider brought news that the other party's uncle was fired by Lian Cheng, and Zheng Zhilu himself was implicated and hidden by the company.
Zheng Zhilu's popularity was the lowest in the team anyway, so the company's shareholders had no objection to his being put on ice. The fans were even more so.
The only dissatisfaction came from Zheng Zhilu's fans, but since they made up too few fans to cause much trouble, they would soon leave the fanbase anyway.
As for Zheng Zhilu, no matter how dissatisfied he was, he had no recourse. The company wasn't a charity; Zheng Zhilu had relied on connections to secure opportunities that weren't his for the money, but he hadn't delivered on the returns that matched them.
Meanwhile, Sheng Yanyu, who he had squeezed out through unfair competition, had shone brightly in a talent show and debuted at a high position. Not only Lian Cheng, but most of the company's shareholders were also furious.
How much money will this cost?
This time, when participating in "Idol Battle", the company excluded Zheng Zhilu and let the other five people participate.
The members of Originore didn't know about this. Upon hearing this, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
They had heard before that Zheng Zhilu had snatched Sheng Yanyu's debut spot. Before coming, they were worried that the two might clash, but they never expected that this person would not even come.
There is no need to worry that the other party will affect the captain's mood.
Feeling that the crisis was over, everyone suddenly felt a lot more relaxed.
On the other side, the members of FOREVER noticed that Sheng Yanyu did not seem to have any grudges against them because of the company's decision, so they slowly opened up.
There are six people in FOREVER. Excluding Zheng Zhilu who didn't come, the remaining five and Sheng Yanyu are old friends who have known each other since their trainee days. They have been friends for at least five years.
Among them, the team leader Jiang Xincheng and the youngest Song Keyu have known Sheng Yanyu the longest, for a full eight years. They all joined the company at the same time, but Song Keyu started out in the children's actor department and later switched to singing and dancing.
Because Sheng Yanyu is the oldest of the three, he has always taken care of his younger brothers since they were young. It is also because of this that the youngest, Song Keyu, relies on him a lot.
When Sheng Yanyu left the company, Song Keyu was sad for several months.
However, during this meeting, the once crybaby brother had become much stronger. Furthermore, Sheng Yanyu even keenly noticed that the other party's eyes seemed to have been fixed on a certain place since a while ago.
Following the direction of the other person's gaze, Sheng Yanyu saw Jiang Monan's profile.
“……?”
Feeling his gaze, the other party tilted his head slightly with a puzzled look.
Sheng Yanyu shook his head and looked away.
It must be just an illusion.
When Sheng Yanyu was thinking this, he heard a sentence beside his ear——
"Um...Brother Mo Nan, can you add me on WeChat?"
Hearing Song Keyu's request out of the blue, not only Sheng Yanyu, but also Mo Bei and other teammates around were stunned.
But FOREVER is not surprised.
"Oh, I almost forgot about that."
Jiang Xincheng smiled teasingly at Sheng Yanyu, "Now you are no longer our Xiaoyu's favorite. After watching the show, he climbed the wall."
After learning that Brother Yan Yu was participating in "Youth Plan", they all paid attention to each other's performance privately and voted for him silently.
What was unexpected was that Song Keyu, who originally watched the show just to support an old friend, eventually became a fan of Jiang Mo Nan. And it wasn't just lip service.
Originore's debut song, Song Keyu even bought a lot of Jiang Mo Nan's single covers.
Of course, he didn't show partiality and forget about Sheng Yanyu, his good brother. Similarly, he also helped the other party boost sales.
After being exposed by the captain, Song Keyu's fair cheeks suddenly turned red.
"Stop talking, Makoto..."
Looking at the boy who wanted to burrow into the ground, Mo Bei took out his phone and said, "Okay, do you want to scan me or do I scan you?"
Upon hearing this, Song Keyu immediately opened the QR code scanning page: "Let me scan you."
Looking at the new avatar added to the friend page column, Song Keyu showed a childlike satisfied smile on his face.
"You look so happy."
Jiang Xincheng reached out and rubbed his head, making the boy's smooth hair stand up.
"Brother Cheng, I told you I'm not a child anymore."
Song Keyu pulled Jiang Xincheng's hand down dissatisfiedly and straightened his messed hair.
"How come you're not considered a child when you're not even an adult yet?"
Sheng Yanyu also joked along.
Hearing this, Song Keyu's cheeks puffed up with anger, and he looked like a little goldfish.
Mo Bei couldn't help laughing when he saw it.
No wonder they like to tease Song Keyu, this kid is really fun to tease.
Back in TNO, there was a youngest member with a personality similar to Song Keyu. Because he was cute, the older brothers always liked to tease him.
Back then, apart from Lian Cheng, his fellow Chinese, the team leader and the youngest member, Wen Min-kyu, were the ones who had the best relationship with him.
The memory of them sneaking out to eat barbecue and visit the amusement park without telling their agent is still vivid.
Thinking of the good memories of the past, Mo Bei suddenly felt a little melancholy.
It has been many years, and I don’t know if I will have the chance to see you again in the future.
After this little episode, the atmosphere between the members of FOREVER and Originore became more harmonious.
After all, both parties are very good people, and they are not at odds with each other because of the conflict between Sheng Yanyu and Zaoxing Entertainment as the outside world thinks.
I don't know if it was a deliberate arrangement by the production team, but FOREVER's dormitory is right next to Originore. And the stickers on the exterior wall of their villa are angels with wings.
Seeing this, Zheng Xingye couldn't help but ask, "Why angel wings? The name FOREVER doesn't seem to have anything to do with angels, right?"
Jiang Xincheng smiled and said, "It really has nothing to do with the group name. The reason why the program team used Angel is purely because our fans are named Angel."
"By the way, our cheering sticks are also in the shape of white wings."
As he spoke, he took out the photo album on his mobile phone and showed them the style of the cheering stick.
Seeing this, everyone's expressions were somewhat complicated.
Their logo is a stone, and their fans call them miners. Meanwhile, FOREVER's support symbol is white wings, and their fans call them angels. They're both boy bands, so why are they so different?
But the FOREVER on the opposite side obviously didn't think so.
Lead singer Liu Yuan seems to be a straightforward boy. He said frankly: "Actually, we also think this setting is a bit vulgar, but the company's artist planning team thought it was good, so we adopted it. Fortunately, most fans are quite satisfied with it."
Lead dancer Feng Ziyu nodded in agreement. "Comparatively, I prefer your setup. Everyone has their own representative gemstone or something. It feels like a hero in a special effects film. Very cool."
Originore members: “…”
I almost forgot about this.
In fact, in order to better fit the name Originore and the concept of the group, Pineapple Entertainment gave each member a corresponding representative ore after their debut.
Aquamarine, ruby, emerald, those who don’t know them would think they are gem spirits.
This kind of childish setting may seem cool to fans, but the members themselves don’t like to put it on themselves.
I didn't expect Feng Ziyu to find it cool...
Sure enough, people’s cognition is indeed different.
Thinking of this, everyone just laughed and didn't continue the topic.
Since all the performers hadn't arrived yet, just standing there waiting on the street didn't seem like a good idea. So, the two groups temporarily parted ways and went back to their dormitories to pack their bags.
The villa the production team arranged for them is very spacious, with three floors above ground and underground, five bedrooms, and four bathrooms. In addition, there is a living room, a lounge area, a gym, and a kitchen.
The allocation of rooms is still the traditional operation within the team - drawing lots.
No one knew if Bai Li had done anything wrong, but this time he continued his good luck and got the most spacious master bedroom. Even his roommate Mo Bei got some luck as well.
The remaining four rooms were quickly allocated, and the members began to pack their luggage.
However, when they were halfway through cleaning up, the sound of a whistle was heard outside the house again.
"Who is it?"
Yi Chuheng looked out through the window curiously.
Then I saw a mature man with overflowing hormones getting out of the car.
The other person was wearing a leather jacket, had a square face, and a mustache. No matter how you looked at him, he looked quite different from what the outside world thought of as an idol.
Could it be a staff member?
Just as everyone was thinking this, another burly man with wheat-colored skin, wearing a floral shirt, sunglasses, and hair wax got out of the car.
"It's SEXYcode."
Mo Bei had done his homework beforehand, and although he couldn't yet accurately match the faces of every member of the group, he still had a general impression.
"Go see if they need any help."
Now that Originore has come out, it is natural that FOREVER on the other side cannot do nothing.
Then the 15 people walked out of the house together.
For a while, both sides faced each other.
SEXYcode is not the idol image that the public has in mind.
First of all, appearance is a matter of personal opinion. This group does not follow the traditional flower boy style but a tough guy style that prioritizes strength.
But it’s not necessarily true that their figures are amazing.
After all, just like most male idol groups in Japan, their heights are as uneven as if they were bitten by a dog.
All in all, this group gives people a very subtle feeling.
I wouldn’t say they are ugly, but I can’t say they are handsome either. Some passersby who don’t know SEXYcode even ask soul-searching questions after seeing their photos:
Can someone with this kind of image enter the entertainment industry and become an idol?
If a SEXYcode fan heard this, they would definitely retort: "They are not idols, they are artists!"
However, to those who don't understand the industry, aren't they all just singers and dancers? How can they be considered artists? This rhetoric is just a fig leaf to rationalize their unsatisfactory appearance.
Although the appearance of SEXYcode gives people a subtle feeling, the members dare not take it lightly.
As the saying goes, existence is justified. Since they have been popular in Country J for so many years, there must be a reason for it.
Moreover, before coming, they had already heard that this group was very powerful.
In future stage competitions, the opponent might become a strong rival on the road to winning the championship.
SEXYcode didn't expect to meet two teams of idols from China right at the start, and they were all such young and handsome boys. For a moment, the five of them were stunned.
So the camera showed such a weird and funny picture——
On the left is a fresh and energetic handsome boy, and on the right is an old man who looks like a gangster.
The two sides met on a narrow road and were deadlocked due to the language barrier. At first glance, it looked like the scene in the comics where a passing high school student was blackmailed by a □□ uncle.
Although there are more people on the left, it still looks like a big bad wolf and a little sheep.
For a moment, an atmosphere of embarrassment quietly spread between the two sides.
Fortunately, this embarrassing situation ended quickly.
Because after SEXYocde, the fourth group of guests finally arrived at the scene.
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