"Yes, look at the camera and smile brighter."
"Everyone, sit closer together and relax a little."
"Okay, imagine you're playing, but don't make the same movements. Look at each other."
On the set of the commercial, the photographer constantly gave new instructions to the eight teenagers, asking them to constantly adjust their expressions, postures, and movements. It was everyone's first time shooting such a large-scale commercial, and the initial curiosity and anticipation they felt upon entering the studio gradually turned to exhaustion as they continued to adjust and retake the shots.
This advertising shoot included individual and eight-person promotional photos, a full-length video, and a five-second short film. The photographer kept asking them to adjust the shots, but they still couldn't seem to achieve a satisfactory result.
It was summer, the studio was packed with people, and with countless headlights shining brightly, the young men were sweating profusely and had to constantly reapply their makeup. The layers of foundation smeared on their faces were unbearable.
The studio staff had bought iced fruit tea in advance and distributed it to everyone in the studio during the make-up touch-up break. During the break, they quickly brought downstairs some cold tea and lemon water for the boys to hydrate and replenish their energy. Fearing stomach upset, the studio prohibited them from drinking iced drinks. However, room-temperature water instantly became warm in the studio. Therefore, the studio specially prepared the cold tea and lemon water in a company car downstairs, with the air conditioning on, and had it brought up to the boys when the break was almost over.
Because they had already applied makeup twice before, the foundation on everyone's face was clearly thick and patchy to the naked eye. The head of the artist management department was still outside reviewing the results with the filming crew. In the waiting room, eight young men waited for their makeup to be reapplied.
Because they were sweating all the time, the makeup artist applied a thicker long-lasting powder to them during the second touch-up, and then applied several layers of loose powder to set the makeup.
The assistant took a look at the boys' appearance and makeup in the break room and thought they looked terrible. They had completely lost the freshness typical of boys their age and looked very fake. Furthermore, to prevent sweat stains from showing on their clothes, the advertising company had prepared clothes for the eight boys made of non-sweat-absorbing and non-breathable materials. Within half an hour of filming, the boys were drenched in sweat.
Seeing that the teenagers were in such a bad state, the assistant said a few words to the teenagers and then went out to discuss with the person in charge whether it was possible to allow the teenagers to adjust their makeup and wipe their bodies.
There was no one else in the lounge, so the teenagers started complaining without any scruples.
"When I saw it on TV before, I never imagined that filming a commercial would be so hot and tiring." Yin Haoran took a mini fan and blew it on his body. While no one in the company was around, he lifted up his clothes, revealing his white belly, and blew away the heat in his clothes.
"Yeah. But we've experienced a lot of firsts this year, hehe, the only thing missing is a few more parties." Fan Yao was also feeling very hot, so he simply followed Yin Haoran's example and lifted up his clothes to let the small fan blow on his body.
Wang Jiazhen glanced nervously outside the door and reminded them, "Don't let Sister Cancan catch you again. Last time, it was because you were naked and had diarrhea that we were all called in for a lecture."
Yin Haoran made a face at him in dissatisfaction, but he listened and lowered his clothes a little so that his belly was not so exposed.
At this time, a young man's somewhat annoyed voice was heard next to them: "I heard that those popular stars' lives when shooting commercials are not as miserable as ours. There will be a lot of air conditioners and ice cubes in the studio. And there are many assistants to help with fanning and so on." The person who spoke was Man Jie, the trainee next to them.
While the eight trainees all had good relationships, some naturally had closer ones. Wang Jiazhen, Fan Yao, Yin Haoran, and Zuo Jiashi were the ones who got along better. Shi Haoxuan's performance was less obvious, as he got along well with everyone but wasn't particularly close. Man Jie, Zhu Zhuo, and Chi Xuyao were the ones who got along better.
In fact, in the first half of the training, everyone was not so clearly differentiated. The teenagers were of similar age, ate, lived and trained together, and got along very well.
But as the training progressed, the trainees' training performances began to differentiate, each showing their own strengths and weaknesses, and the monthly assessment ratings gradually widened the gap.
Training and living together every day, spending long periods of time together and competing secretly have also caused some personality problems of the trainees to slowly emerge.
Although everyone was kind, Manjie was a bit sensitive and had a strong sense of self-esteem, which often made him upset over trivial matters. Yin Haoran and Fan Yao were both carefree people, and gradually they began to feel less comfortable around Manjie.
Later, as the company's training and performance videos began to go viral, the trainees' popularity varied widely, with a significant disparity in follower numbers. This, coupled with the subsequent popularity of variety shows, further glared the disparity in popularity. Man Jie, Zhu Zhuo, and Chi Xuyao, the three least popular, gradually began to form a group.
The company's management is very strict, and trainees are often required to attend ideological and moral education classes. They are strictly prohibited from forming cliques or small groups, and even incidents of bullying have occurred. While it's not obvious on the surface, small factions do exist. However, due to the bonds of training together for a year and a half, everyone maintains a decent relationship.
Hearing Manjie's words, the other trainees were at a loss for words. While they seemed truly famous now, the company's strict management meant they barely had time to go out or surf the internet. Most trainees hadn't yet grasped the importance of being a popular artist and earning better treatment. Some even considered themselves trainees from a smaller company who hadn't trained long.
Fan Yao didn't think much of it, but just said to him in a strange tone: "Weren't Sister Cancan and Sister Xiaomeng helping us get the electric fan and towels just now?"
Man Jie still had some thoughts in his mind, but was too embarrassed to express them. He pretended to be casual and finally complained, "I just heard what others said, and I feel like there's no difference between us now and when we were famous."
Shi Haoxuan, Zhu Zhuo, and Chi Xuyao didn't say anything, and no one knew what they were thinking.
Fan Yao, Wang Jiazhen, Yin Haoran, and Zuo Jiashi didn't take it seriously at all. They just stared at each other's belly-lifting, ignoring the topic. Then, when they heard footsteps outside the door, they quickly pulled their clothes back on.
Wang Cancan, who was in charge of the eight young men for the shoot, arrived, along with several assistants and makeup artists. The assistants gave each of them two pills to prevent heatstroke and told them to hurry to the downstairs bathroom and take turns washing their faces and upper bodies. The assistants and makeup artists helped them freshen their hair and makeup before continuing with the next shoot.
After a grueling shoot, they finally completed their commercial assignment. Wang Cancan, accompanied by eight trainees and several assistants, walked into the studio and expressed sincere gratitude to the filming team and each staff member. They left behind a small gift bag made by their company, including a paper fan printed with the boy's photo, cooling spray, and heatstroke-fighting pills. They hurriedly left the studio to head to their next schedule.
The location where the advertisement was filmed was quite far away, and the next itinerary was the opening of a large chain shopping mall in the urban area of City A. They were invited to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening.
The boss behind this large shopping mall is one of the richest men in the country. He owns countless businesses and has unimaginable network resources. When you receive their invitation, even if you are just a tool to go through the motions, you have to arrive early to show your support.
The trainees' current travel vehicle is a 16-seat commercial vehicle, just enough for the driver, eight trainees, and several staff members. The driver had already started the car downstairs and turned on the air conditioning. As the trainees climbed into the car, they all let out long sighs of comfort.
"I'm back in heaven again!"
"Air conditioning is the mother of mankind! I love it!"
"I'm exhausted, I'm numb..."
Although they were all very tired, the teenagers still had a lot of energy to chat and bicker. Wang Cancan asked them to drink a few more sips of water to replenish their body water, interrupted their chat, and forced them to shut up and rest in the car for a while.
As the whole car became quiet, the boys who had just said they didn't want to sleep gradually closed their eyes.
The driver cranked up the air conditioning slightly to prevent the trainees from catching a cold. Several staff members gently covered the trainees with thin towel blankets, and they too took advantage of this rare break to close their eyes and rest their weary bodies. After driving for over an hour, they finally arrived at the mall.
A large crowd had already gathered outside the mall, and the car quietly pulled into the mall's underground parking lot. Several assistants fixed the boys' hair and makeup, and mall staff ushered them away from the crowds and into the designated artist lounge. The time for their performance was drawing near.
More and more fans gathered in the square in front of the mall, and more and more people began to chant their names. Attracted by the deafening roar, the boys secretly looked over and were also a little surprised by the countless light signs and cheering banners for them in the dark crowd. They were just here to help with the formality today, but so many fans came specially to see them?
They realized that they were famous, but they had never had such a direct feeling of looking at a large crowd of fans shouting their names. Several teenagers were obviously stunned and seemed very excited!
At this time, a person in charge of the mall also came over, shook hands with Wang Cancan and the teenagers one by one, and said to them with a smile: "You are very famous now."
Wang Cancan smiled broadly, still being very modest and giving the other person enough face: "No, I just gained some popularity. I also want to thank your mall for the invitation. I hope we can have more cooperation in the future."
The other party was obviously very satisfied with the boys' popularity. He made an expression that said "Don't be too modest" and pointed outside: "Ever since the announcement of your presence today, the topic of our event today has skyrocketed on various platforms. In order to avoid accidents, we have temporarily added dozens of security guards. You are here now." After saying that, he gave a thumbs up.
Looking at the uncontrollable smiles, satisfied expressions and polite attitudes on each other's faces, the boys stood obediently behind Wang Cancan and once again felt that they were really famous.
"You can go to the waiting room now."
"All security personnel, please pay attention and maintain order at the scene!"
"Ahhhh, Wang Jiazhen!"
"Yin Haoran!"
"Look at me, look at me! Fan Yao!"
"Shi Haoxuan! Shi Haoxuan!"
"Manjie, I like you so much!"
As the young men walked onto the stage, the crowd's screams instantly rippled through the entire mall, forming a massive wave of sound that reverberated throughout the center of the plaza. It seemed as if the entire plaza had become their fans, countless people chanting their names, waving flags and cheering heart-wrenchingly for them, cheering them on. This popularity also resonated deeply with the young men.
Everyone quickly came to their senses, walked onto the stage, waved and greeted the fans, each with different thoughts in their minds.
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