The 13th melon
A practice room at Star Entertainment
As the music started, four young men in the practice room danced to the beat of the drums in unison as a boy group.
The camera pans 360°, capturing the team members practicing their dance.
When the camera was stuck in the middle, Zhou Zexu, who was in the temporary C position, was about to rap. The lyrics had just started when he felt a dull pain in his side. Zhou Zexu had no time to react and was slammed aside by Zhao Kuan who was trying to grab the position.
Zhou Zexu staggered and almost fell out of the camera.
“Crack, crack, crack!”
The director shouted into the microphone, "What are you dancing to? Haven't you practiced this dance several times? And you can't even get the moves right?!"
Zhou Zexu was about to explain when Zhao Kuan spoke up first, "Director, I'm sorry. Zexu hasn't been sleeping well lately because of the baldness scandal, so he made the mistake of moving around. It's our fault. Let's try again!"
Director: "Then adjust it quickly and let's do it again."
The stage management and on-site staff immediately made arrangements and prepared for reshooting.
Zhou Zexu, who was squeezed to the side, frowned. While the staff were rearranging the scene, he stepped forward and grabbed Zhao Kuan's hand. "Zhao Kuan, what do you mean? This is originally my part. What's wrong with me standing here?"
Zhao Kuan smiled playfully and arrogantly slapped Zhou Zexu's face. "Zhou Zexu, if I were you, I would just stand in the back row. Are you standing in the front row so that fans can admire your bald head?"
Zhou Zexu froze, an unspeakable feeling of shame welling up in his heart.
Two teammates nearby also stepped forward, put their hands on Zhou Zexu's shoulders and sneered, "Zexu, the captain asked you to stand in the back row for your own good!"
"You don't want this MV to get out and our team to be laughed at and called the bald team, right?"
The three of them burst into laughter again.
Zhou Zexu suppressed his anger and clenched his fists.
He should have known that Zhao Kuan would laugh at him after his bald head was exposed, but he thought Zhao Kuan would at least restrain himself. He didn't expect him to be so presumptuous and start teasing him during the filming of the MV.
Just as he was about to hit Zhao Kuan in the face with his clenched fist, the sound of high heels "tapping" came from outside, and a young woman wearing ultra-black sunglasses walked into the practice room.
As soon as Sun Qianqian appeared, everyone stopped joking and became extremely serious.
Even the unruly Zhao Kuan became more restrained, with an expression of almost gentleness and doting on his face.
A new staff member asked curiously, "Who is this person? She looks quite young. Is she an entertainer? Why does it seem like everyone is so respectful to her?"
The veteran gestured to silence the crowd. "Keep your voice down! She's the daughter of the Starlight boss and the vice president of Starlight. How can we not respect her?"
Sun Qianqian walked up to the male team members, took off her sunglasses, and glanced at them with disdain. "What are you arguing about? We've been shooting an MV all morning and it's still not finished? Why are you so slow?"
The director quickly said, "Mr. Sun, there was a problem with our positioning just now. We need to redo this shot."
"The positions have already been arranged," Sun Qianqian frowned, "How could something go wrong?"
Zhao Kuan: "Boss Sun, it's mainly because Zexu has been involved in a scandal recently, so I want him to stand in the back row. This will also be good for our team!"
As he spoke, he looked at Sun Qianqian with an ambiguous look.
——Zhao Kuan and Sun Qianqian are a couple, which is no secret in Star Entertainment, but the two have not made it public and are still restrained in front of others.
Sun Qianqian looked at Zhou Zexu with disdain. She was only familiar with Zhao Kuan and had no impression of Zhou Zexu. At first glance, he seemed like a handsome entertainer, but when she thought of his bald head, Sun Qianqian's interest in him was halved.
"What Zhao Kuan said makes sense. A boy band's public image is very important. So, Zhou Zexu, you should just stand in the back row. Finish filming the music video quickly and don't waste any more time."
The staff took immediate action and arranged Zhou Zexu to a position further back.
Zhou Zexu could only clutch his earphone, gritting his teeth and remaining silent for a long time. But he was just an ordinary artist at Xinghui, so what could he say in rebuttal?
In the end, Zhou Zexu stood obediently in the back row and continued filming the MV with the team.
Two hours had passed since we finished filming the practice room segment.
In the lounge, Zhou Zexu repeatedly watched the rough cut of the music video. In the four-minute music video for the new song, he only had less than 30 seconds of footage, and no separate part.
The assistant came in with a diet meal and saw Zhou Zexu watching the video and carefully practicing the moves. He sighed distressedly, "Brother Zexu, if they shoot like this, the fans won't be able to see you at all. How are you going to stand out?"
It is said that gold will always shine, but how can it shine if gold doesn’t even have a chance to show its face?
The M.D boy group that Zhou Zexu belongs to is a second-tier boy group. Except for Zhao Kuan and Sun Qianqian, who have good resources, the resources of everyone else in the group are very poor.
Yesterday, Zhou Zexu participated in "Leisure Life", which was the best resource he could get. It was also based on his previous friendship with Chen Xianzhi. If Xinghui had a variety show of the level of "Leisure", it would be given to Zhao Kuan instead of Zhou Zexu.
"Brother, I just passed by the office and heard Zhao Kuan and Mr. Sun discussing your becoming a regular on 'Leisure,'" the assistant whispered in Zhou Zexu's ear. "It was Zhao Kuan who suggested it! He said you could become a regular on 'Leisure,' under the label 'Bald Idol.' After that, you can invite more of them to the show as regular guests!"
On the first day of recording, the "Leisure" program crew enjoyed the benefits of Jiang Mingkai being a "cuckolded male star". Of course, they also agreed to the "bald idol" proposed by Xinghui.
Zhou Zexu laughed at himself when he heard this.
He was thinking, if Xinghui got the resources to be a regular on "Leisure", how could they give it to him? It turned out that they were using him to exchange for Zhao Kuan and others' chance to be on the show!
Zhou Zexu's hands fell weakly, feeling a little tired. He had thought that being an artist only required singing and dancing, and that as long as he worked hard enough and had strong enough skills, his fans would definitely notice him.
But I didn't expect that in the entertainment industry, which is a melting pot, connections are more important than anything else.
After a short break, filming resumed. Zhou Zexu put on his wig and left the lounge.
As soon as he stepped out of the door, he felt a chill behind him. Before Zhou Zexu could react, his hair was suddenly pulled, and the wig he had already put on was pulled off alive!
Zhou Zexu turned around angrily and saw Zhao Kuan and others smiling behind him.
"Zhou Zexu, your wig is really nice!" Zhao Kuan played with the wig. "I thought only girls in girl groups liked to wear it. I didn't expect you to wear it too!"
"Give it back to me!" Zhou Zexu reached out to grab it.
He had long limbs, long legs and long arms, so he might not be able to snatch the wig from Zhao Kuan, but Zhao Kuan was quick and immediately threw the wig to his teammate next to him. The three of them were beside Zhou Zexu, throwing the wig around like a ball.
Zhou Zexu's face flushed red, and he covered his hairline with one hand while trying to grab the wig with the other. Every time he was about to grab it, Zhao Kuan would throw the wig aside, and Zhou Zexu felt deeply humiliated.
Just as Zhao Kuan caught the wig again and was about to throw it to his teammate next to him like a ball, a hand suddenly reached out in mid-air, intercepted the wig and stopped this farce.
"Grass!"
Zhao Kuan shouted, "Who is it?"
When I turned around, I saw the tall and strong Jiang Mingkai behind me.
Jiang Mingkai is 185cm tall and has been lifting weights for years. He has broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He feels extremely oppressive in front of Zhao Kuan, who is 178cm tall.
"Jiang, Teacher Jiang?"
Zhao Kuan's momentum instantly weakened. Seeing Liu Mingqian and Chen Xianzhi standing beside Jiang Mingkai with cold eyes, Zhao Kuan became even more panicked. "Teacher Liu? Teacher Chen? Why are you guys here at Xinghui?"
Jiang Mingkai returned the wig to Zhou Zexu. Liu Mingqian, standing beside him, reached out and tapped the camera that was following the PD. He smiled, "We're recording the show, welcoming the new permanent guests. What's wrong? Any objections?"
Zhao Kuan's throat rolled and beads of cold sweat fell.
It looks like the filming is happening here. Does that mean that the whole scene of them teasing Zhou Zexu was filmed?
That's true.
At this moment, the "Leisure" live broadcast room was flooded with messages criticizing Zhao Kuan for bullying Zhou Zexu.
[Although I have no interest in Zhou Zexu, Zhao Kuan is going too far!]
[Does using a wig mean I'll be laughed at? I use a wig too! I'm so angry! Seeing Zhou Zexu being teased is like seeing myself being laughed at!]
[Zhou Zexu's hair parting is just a bit noticeable, probably from not eating enough carbs and staying up late, but Zhao Kuan is nothing! Even if Zhou Zexu is bald, he's still much more handsome than Zhao Kuan!]
[Before, MD was promoting the concept of team spirit, but I think it was just internal bullying!]
…
Zhao Kuan's back was wet.
In the past, they often bullied Zhou Zexu, because Zhou Zexu never protested anything. But if these were seen by netizens, it would be very bad.
Zhao Kuan stepped forward and put his arm around Zhou Zexu's shoulders, acting familiarly. "Teacher Liu, Teacher Chen, Teacher Jiang, we were just joking with Zhou Zexu! We're on the same team, so we like to joke around like this sometimes!"
He looked at Zhou Zexu and said, "Isn't that right, Zexu?"
Zhou Zexu did not answer, but looked at Zhao Kuan with a complicated expression.
The two team members nearby also agreed, "It's really just a joke! We joke like this all the time!"
The three of them pretended to be intimate and hugged Zhou Zexu with smiles, which formed a sharp contrast with the silent Zhou Zexu.
Amidst this awkward laughter, Zhao Kuan suddenly felt a chill on his head and his mind went blank.
He turned around suddenly and saw Lin Cha playing with the wig.
"Lin Cha?!"
Zhao Kuan covered his head and angrily asked, "What are you doing!"
"Oh!" Lin Cha held the wig in one hand and covered her mouth with the other exaggeratedly, "Brother Zhao Kuan, I just wanted to play a joke on you! I didn't expect you to be bald too!"
Zhao Kuan was furious and reached out to grab the wig from Lin Cha's hand. Lin Cha was quick to throw the wig to Jiang Mingkai.
"Lin Cha! Give it back to me!"
Zhao Kuan was so angry that his eyes almost popped out.
Lin Cha, however, looked pitiful, and her eyes were even filled with crystal tears.
"Is Brother Zhao Kuan angry? Isn't this just a joke? I was just joking with you! I'm sorry, Brother Zhao Kuan, I didn't know that pulling someone's wig is a joke in front of you, but not in front of others! I'm sorry~!"
Lin Cha usually looks like a harmless little white rabbit, but she actually has some acting skills. In such an embarrassing situation, she burst into tears.
Tears marred her innocent face, making her look even more helpless and innocent.
When netizens in the live broadcast room saw this, they all stood on Lin Cha's side:
[Isn't Lin Cha just joking with them?! Didn't Zhao Kuan say it was a joke himself? Now it's his turn, so he can't play along?]
Zhao Kuan is so hypocritical! He can tease Zhou Zexu, but Lin Cha can't do the same? He even made the girl cry! Why is he so fierce?
[I can't bear to see beautiful women cry! Bald men like Zhao Kuan are so disgusting!]
[That's right, Zhao Kuan still has the nerve to laugh at Zhou Zexu's baldness? He's not much better himself!]
[This is a bald boy band! The main character of the M.D boy band is all bald, so no one should laugh at each other!]
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