43 Debut Battle
Backstage.
Yuan Xiao sat silently in front of the dressing table, her long hair curled into waves. She was wearing a pure black evening dress and a moon-white suit jacket draped over her shoulders. On the table in front of her was a thin envelope containing the list of members that would be announced after the debut battle.
There are five names written on the card inside the envelope. Three hours later, one or two of them may be modified, or they may remain the same. Then Yuan Xiao will take the card to the stage and announce the final result.
After one hundred and twenty days, five performances, and dozens of stages, she has already made a conclusion about the trainees' ability level. The final group lineup is gradually taking shape through constant trial and error, and it's just waiting for the dust to settle tonight.
Ten thousand people sat in the stadium, the online live broadcast room was opened, and hundreds of thousands of people were watching the debut battle online at the same time. The names of the trainees kept scrolling on the black screen before the live broadcast began. Before the official start, the entry #原心登道战# had already climbed to the top of the entertainment hot search list just by natural popularity.
Twenty-five trainees hugged and cheered each other backstage. The opening stage that would be performed soon would be their last theme song with all members present.
There is no absolute C position on the four sides of the stage. Tonight, each of them is the C. They stepped onto the stage in darkness, and squatted down in their own spots just like they did in the first recording. The shouts of fans surged like a tide. Yu Le saw his own name formed by the Zhan□□ cards in the darkness from the corner of his eye. His nose felt sore, and he warned himself in his heart that he must not cry.
We must live up to what may be our last stage performance.
“Knock, knock.”
The lights came down and the stage lit up, illuminating the trainees' uniforms clearly. In an instant, everyone's memory returned to the first stage, where they first met and where their dreams began.
The melody that had been heard and sung countless times and had been engraved into the bones resounded throughout the venue. Everyone on and off the stage sang in unison at the same time: "Sweat soaks the glass of the practice room in the early morning. The stubborn figure reflected in the mirror refuses to stop. The calluses worn on the fingertips are the marks of the medal. Even if I fall ten thousand times, I will still rush towards the light--"
Many people's vision was blurred by tears at this moment. This summer has become a deep memory shared by the trainees and fans in the audience. There will be many more summers in the future, but none will be as unique, beautiful and warm as this summer.
The trainees on the stage were scattered around the stage, dancing on different steps. Even when they were back to back, their movements were incredibly coordinated. This was the muscle memory that had been programmed into their DNA this summer. At this moment, the twenty-five people were connected in souls and heartbeats.
"In the dark night, I count the stars and silently recite my name. Can the world see clearly this time? The boy folds his dream into a paper airplane, breaking through the fog just to break through the sky——"
The interlude in the middle was supposed to be the trainees' dance break, but it was changed on this stage. The music switched to a cheerful string interlude. The trainees took advantage of this moment to rush to the edge of the stage, waving and making hearts to the fans below, and cheering like crazy.
The sound of the headset was turned down, but the trainees still cupped their hands like speakers and shouted to the audience:
"I love you guys! I love you guys so much!"
"Thank you for coming! You've worked hard! Thank you!"
"I will always, always, always remember this day—"
Tears filled Zheng Xiyan's eyes. At this moment, there was no longer any difference between taking responsibility for oneself and not taking responsibility for others. All twenty-five children were very good children, and each of them deserved a lot of love.
She raised her cheering stick, and like everyone around her, she cried and called out the name of every trainee she saw. The show was really successful. She claimed to be face-blind, but she had already memorized the name, personality, and even preferences of every trainee without realizing it. Each one was vivid and alive, shining in her memory.
The big screen on the stage suddenly changed to a pre-recorded video. It was Pei Zijin holding a camera and wearing a mask. He quietly took a photo with the fans' pre-prepared cheering flower wall early in the morning when no one was outside the venue. Then Jin Zeyu, Yan Fan, Jiang Tong... twenty-five people appeared one after another, firmly accepting the fans' love.
The online comments also began to scroll wildly, filling the screen with ahh ...
"What is this for? I'm going to collapse. If one of the twenty-five babies fails to debut, I'm going to blow up the Yuanxin headquarters."
“Ahhhhhhh this food is so good. Who stole my ticket? Who stole my life to go to the live show? Aaaaaaaah!!!”
"Wow, wow, Lele is smiling so sweetly in front of the flower wall. They all know, they know everything..."
People were crying together online and offline, the number of people in the live broadcast room continued to rise, and the backstage technicians were urgently maintaining dozens of lines. Entries about the debut battle were constantly refreshed on the hot search list, and every square was filled with fans' sincere wishes for their own debut.
"Crush the thorns of doubt, and let the heartbeat and drum beat resonate to create a miracle——"
After the interlude, they returned to their positions and started the knife dance. They also took the opportunity to change their formation to make sure that all four sides could turn a circle. The fans' chorus followed the song "We were born to be legends" from the first sentence to the last, and it was so neat that even the backstage staff found it incredible.
The debut concert was approved for a total of two and a half hours. Each stage was a reproduction of classic stages from the previous performances of the "Idol·Unnamed" program, including "Holiday" by Pei Zijin's group in the first public performance, the opera stage of Su Chen and Yu Le in the second public performance, "Borrow for a Moment" by Jiang Tong and Jin Zeyu's group, and the "Twenty-Six-Year-Old Grass and Trees" duet by Yan Fan and Pei Zijin, etc. In addition to leading online and offline audiences to relive the program, it also clearly demonstrated how much the trainees have grown and improved during this period.
All the hard training and accumulated stage experience were not in vain. Compared to the performances, everyone's stage expression has become stronger and more contagious. They have already far exceeded the scope of debut and are almost mature artists.
The stage lasted more than two hours, with trainees going on stage one after another and returning to the backstage to put on makeup, following a pre-rehearsed process. It was tense, yet chaotic and orderly.
Su Chen originally thought that he would be nervous until the very last moment of this day, but as he performed on one stage after another, he miraculously forgot all these distracting thoughts about whether he would debut or not, and only hoped that this dream-like concert would never end.
Until all the performances were finished and at the end of the final debut concert, Yuan Xiao took the envelope and went on stage. All 25 trainees also returned here, hugged and supported each other, silently waiting for the final result.
The entire venue was filled with tens of thousands of people in total silence, even the sound of breathing was barely audible. Yuan Xiao stood under countless gazes, feeling the heavy weight of expectations and responsibilities on his shoulders.
She will make the decision to select the strongest and most suitable candidates to form Yuanxin’s first boy band, and will be responsible for the fate of the band in the next ten years, leading them to the top of the domestic entertainment industry and beyond Asia.
As everyone was expecting, Nakahara Xiao opened the envelope in his hand, and without much pause, he read out the first name directly:
"Pei Zijin."
The trainees cheered with tears in their eyes, supporting the big brother who had been taking care of each of them to move towards the bright future he deserved. According to the procedure, Pei Zijin should have walked to Yuan Xiao's side, took the microphone and said a few words of thanks, but he closed his eyes tightly, tears rolling down his cheeks, and hugged his brother beside him tightly, unwilling to let go.
Yuan Xiao had no choice but to read the next name: "Jin Zeyu."
Jin Zeyu in the corner looked up in astonishment, almost unable to believe his ears. Four months ago, he was the last trainee to enter the debut group of 25, and now, he was actually going to form a group.
The trainees around him shouted his name and hugged him in the middle. The boy who originally resisted forming a group had already found his own belonging in countless days and nights together. It was rare to see such a helpless look on the cool guy's face, but he will undoubtedly be the Rap leader of Stary. He deserves it and is irreplaceable.
Yuan Xiao: ...Aren’t you coming over here too?
"Yan Fan."
There is no doubt about this. The trainees gave their dance teacher their most sincere blessings from the bottom of their hearts. If Yan Fan was not on the debut list, no one would agree.
Yan Fan hugged everyone around him, then went over to hug Pei Zijin and whispered a few words in his ear. At the same time, he rescued Jin Zeyu from the crowd and pulled them both towards Yuan Xiao.
Taking the microphone from Yuan Xiao, Yan Fan turned to face everyone, suppressed the trembling in his voice, and made a promise to all his fans and brothers word by word: "I will work hard, keep working hard, and keep going with everyone's support."
Pei Zijin was the rare one who didn't care about his image. It was also because the eldest brother always loved everyone the most. Pei Zijin took the microphone, wiped away his tears, and said only one sentence: "We will always be brothers."
Jin Zeyu hugged his shoulders and looked up at the sky. He had to try his best to hold back his tears.
There are only two debut spots left.
The microphone was returned to Yuan Xiao, and she looked at the next name on the card in her hand: "Su Chen."
The lead singer of Stary.
When Su Chen's name was called, his first reaction was to look back at everyone, but many pairs of warm hands were placed on his back and shoulders, preventing him from turning around.
"Go ahead," they said. "Go ahead."
The last spot.
An unprecedented wave of noise erupted at the scene, everyone was shouting different names, and the barrage in the live broadcast room was stuck to the point of collapse. The fans of the trainees whose names were not called had already prayed to all the gods and Buddhas.
Yuan Xiao picked up the microphone. This second seemed as long as a year. She lowered her eyes and calmly read out the last name amidst the overwhelming emotions:
"Yu Le."
The fastest growing ACE came to the company from scratch. In just one year, he won the last seat at Stary with his own strength.
Fireworks exploded around the stage, and in the sparkling ribbons in the sky, Pei Zijin, Jin Zeyu, Yan Fan, Su Chen, and Yu Le officially debuted as members of the boy band Stary.
The youngest brother burst into tears and was overwhelmed by ecstasy and guilt in an instant. He cried so miserably that Avery next to him did not even have time to feel sad before he started to laugh and cry. He quickly rubbed little Yu Le's head and was hugged by the latter who was sobbing.
The trainees gradually huddled together, and the four people here also ran towards them and hugged each other tightly. The emotions of the young men were sincere and passionate, and for a moment everyone on and off the stage burst into tears, and their tears almost drowned the entire venue.
Everything was over. Jiang Tong looked up blankly, drowned in the ribbons, just like the time he was injured before. His mind went blank for a moment, and his heart seemed to be empty, with a big hole that could not be filled. It was over. His name was not on the debut list.
There were also fans shouting his name loudly, and he could vaguely make out that they were telling him not to be sad, not to be sad, but Jiang Tong could only force out a weak smile towards them, which was more sad than crying. This was the first time he had such a family, and the first time he received such unconditional and passionate love, but now, all of this was going to be far away from him.
For the first time, he no longer looked forward to tomorrow.
…
Yuan Xiao calmly hid her wrinkled hand card and gave the trainees a few minutes to release their emotions before interrupting them: "Okay, everyone, come to me."
The twenty-five young men held each other's hands tightly, like a group of little animals snuggling together, and followed Yuan Xiao to climb the top step.
She led the trainees to bow deeply to the audience in the audience and behind the screen, "All the trainees under Yuanxin Entertainment thank all the fans for their support over the past 120 days."
"The entire season of "Idol Unnamed" has come to an end. Stary is about to start a new journey, so please stay tuned."
【Author’s words】
Debut~ Everyone in the previous comment section guessed it very accurately. I was afraid of spoilers and I didn’t dare to reply at all orz
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