Chapter 23 Chapter 23 Parents' Dinner (1 more)
[Chapter 23, Dinner]
Fang Yinnian had been nervous these days, but after the successful performance last night, he finally relaxed. He slept very deeply and woke up groggy around noon the next day.
Fang Yinnian glanced at the time on his phone and said to himself, "How come I slept until eleven o'clock..."
Mo Xun was lying on the bed next to him, browsing Weibo. When he heard this, he couldn't help but raise the corner of his lips and said, "I saw you were sleeping soundly, so I didn't wake you up. I don't have any other plans today. I'll have lunch with the parents at noon and take a flight back to Jiangzhou in the evening. It's okay to sleep a little late."
Fang Yinnian rubbed his eyes and got up, asking, "What time did you get up?"
Mo Xun said, "A little after nine o'clock."
Xu Baichuan sent a message in the group: "Everyone, go downstairs and gather at 11:30."
Fang Yinnian hurried into the bathroom and quickly washed up.
The two changed their clothes and went downstairs. Not long after, the other three also arrived at the hotel lobby. Because they were going to meet their parents later, everyone dressed simply and appropriately. They all tacitly agreed to wear jeans and short-sleeved T-shirts, which would not go wrong.
Xu Baichuan hurried down the elevator, followed by Assistant Chen. The two of them were carrying a bunch of things in their hands. Mo Xun stepped forward to help carry them: "Brother Xu, what are these?"
Xu Baichuan said: "I have prepared some gifts for your parents. Let's go and take the bus at the main entrance."
A group of people walked out of the hotel lobby and saw a tour bus parked at the door. The parents also received the message to gather here.
Fang Yinnian walked quickly to his family and called out with a smile, "Dad, Mom, Grandma."
My grandmother is 75 years old this year. Her hair is all white, but she looks very energetic. Fang Yinnian's parents are very busy at work, so his grandmother took care of him when he was a child and cooked delicious food for him every day, so he has the closest relationship with his grandmother.
Fang Yinnian walked forward and hugged his grandmother, who immediately reached out and rubbed his head, squinting her eyes and smiling, "Niannian, you're awesome! The song you sang yesterday was so beautiful, everyone was praising you."
Fang Yinnian said: "Really?"
Dad also smiled and said, "Nian Nian in our family will soon become a big star."
Fang Yinnian's ears turned red: "Dad, please keep your voice down. We are still a small and obscure group, not a big star."
His mother had always been against Fang Yinnian becoming a singer. She had been training Fang Yinnian to play the piano since he was a child and hoped that Fang Yinnian could focus on the piano. But after watching the performance last night, she noticed that… her son seemed to be glowing as he stood on the stage.
The LED screen at the scene magnified Fang Yinnian’s face, and his expression was particularly serious and devoted when he sang.
At that moment she suddenly understood her son's choice.
Fang Yinnian wants to be a singer. He has loved singing since he was a child, so he is so happy when singing, right?
The mother walked forward and gently patted Fang Yinnian's shoulder, her tone much softer: "You have grown up. Since you have chosen this path, you must walk it seriously and don't give up halfway."
Fang Yinnian curved his eyes and smiled, "I know, Mom."
Xu Baichuan's voice came from the side: "Dear parents, get ready to get on the bus."
A group of people lined up to get on the bus and found their seats.
Fang Yinnian sat with his grandmother, next to him were his parents, and in the back row were Mo Xun's family.
The car started off steadily. There were so many parents that the five of them were too embarrassed to speak and the car suddenly fell silent.
Xu Baichuan suddenly called out, "Mo Xun, say something, don't let the conversation get awkward."
Mo Xun: “…”
It was so embarrassing to be called by the head teacher to speak at the parent-teacher meeting. Fang Yinnian was very glad that Mr. Xu did not call his name.
The car was going very fast, and Mo Xun couldn't stand up, so he just sat there and said loudly, "Welcome, uncles, aunts, grandparents, sisters and brothers-in-law. We have been too busy with rehearsals these days to take care of you. Did yesterday's performance look good?"
There were voices of praise in the car: "Very good!" "You sing very well."
Mo Xun smiled and said, "We were actually very nervous during the rehearsal, but I don't know why I performed beyond my expectations last night."
Fang Yinnian couldn't help but chuckle. Mo Xun was quite adept at handling such social occasions. From now on, the responsibility of dealing with reporters will be handed over to you, captain.
A girl's voice suddenly rang out from the back row: "Brother Nian, Brother Nian, hello!"
Fang Yinnian turned around and met the clear eyes of a girl.
She looked about fifteen or sixteen years old, with very fair skin. She wore a simple beige dress, had a high ponytail, and had air bangs. Her smile was full of energy.
The girl quickly took out a notebook and a pen from her backpack and handed them to Fang Yinnian, saying, "I'm Mo Xun's sister, Mo Yao, which means distant. I really like your voice. Can you write me a TO signature?"
"Of course." Fang Yinnian took the notebook and signed on it: "To sister Mo Yao, I wish you academic success and everything goes well."
The girl was very happy: "Can we ask Junwen, Che, and Fei to sign as well? I want to collect all your FTM signatures!"
Fang Yinnian passed the notebook forward: "Everyone, write a TO signature for Mo Xun's sister."
Several teammates cooperated to sign autographs for her, and Tan Junwen even drew a Q version avatar.
Mo Xun teased, "Mo Yao, are you standing at the forefront of star chasing?"
Mo Yao said proudly: "I want to be your first die-hard fan of FTM." She finally handed the book to her brother: "You sign it too."
Mo Xun signed his name on it and said to her, "Keep it. Don't wait until we become famous and then sell it for money."
There was laughter in the car.
Mo Yao said excitedly: "I got the first signature of all FTM members. I will frame it and hang it on the wall when I get home!"
Fang Yinnian glanced at the back row. Mo Xun must have a very good relationship with his sister. His sister is quite cute.
Grandma Fu Fei and Grandma Fang Yinnian began to chat about family matters, and the other parents were also chatting in low voices.
They have been busy rehearsing these days and have not taken care of their families, but their assistant Xiao Chen has been organizing family dinners. Everyone has already become familiar with each other in private, and the atmosphere in the car is joyful.
After a while, the car arrived at the dining place.
This private restaurant has a great environment. The private room Xu Baichuan booked has a large round table that can seat more than 20 people.
Ya'an is a coastal city, and the local specialty is mainly seafood. Xu Baichuan ordered the dishes in advance, and the waiter started serving the dishes after they arrived. Lobster, king crab, various abalone and sea cucumber are all available.
This table of food is standard for entertaining VIPs and it costs a lot of money. I wonder if it was reimbursed by the company or paid for out of Brother Xu’s own pocket? Fang Yinnian looked at the lobsters and crabs on the table and was eager to try them. He loved seafood the most, and this meal would be a feast for his appetite.
The dishes were served quickly. Xu Baichuan took the initiative to pick up the drink and said with a smile: "Many people are going back today. I also have to take the five little ones back to Jiangzhou, so I won't drink alcohol - I'll use tea instead of wine. Let me offer a toast to everyone first."
Everyone stood up and raised the drinks in front of them.
Xu Baichuan said: "Thank you to all the family members for coming from afar to witness their debut performance in person, and congratulations to our five FTM members for their successful debut!"
Everyone raised their glasses and took a sip of their drinks.
Xu Baichuan smiled and said, "Everyone, please sit down. You are welcome. Let's eat and chat at the same time."
Fang Yinnian sat down, put on gloves, and began to peel the shrimps skillfully. After peeling them, he put one in his grandmother's bowl first.
Xu Baichuan continued, "The entertainment industry is much more complicated than you think. In addition to having dinner, we have brought everyone together today because we have something else that we want to make clear to everyone in advance."
The parents immediately pricked up their ears.
Fang Yinnian silently complained in his heart: It is indeed a parents' meeting, and the head teacher is about to start speaking.
However, what Lao Xu did was right.
Family members don’t understand this circle, and if some things are not discussed in advance, if some family members are ignorant and jump out to say something nonsense at a critical moment, and are judged by netizens based on screenshots, it will cause trouble for them.
Not long ago, a celebrity was pushed to the forefront of public opinion because of his "dramatic" parents.
As family members of celebrities, we must also be careful with what we say and do in the future.
Sure enough, Xu Baichuan said: "The five children have officially debuted now. They are considered public artists, and many people will be watching them. I hope their family members will not post various small essays casually on the social accounts of the public platform. Let's keep a low profile."
He emphasized: "Even if you encounter all kinds of negative news in the future, I can understand that your family is anxious, but don't speak out without authorization, so as not to be judged by netizens through screenshots. The company will do crisis public relations. If you are really anxious, you can call me first to confirm."
The parents nodded to show that they understood.
If one day a few children were hacked and became a hot topic, and if a bunch of "Fang Yinnian's father" and "Mo Xun's mother" appeared online to make comments, it is not certain whether they would be able to help - they would definitely cause trouble.
If you don’t understand, don’t talk nonsense. Xu Baichuan had to explain this principle to them in advance.
Xu Baichuan continued, "Also, in yesterday's debut show, Yinnian and Tang Che sang more, while the other three sang less. Let me explain here, our group is different from other boy bands in that they share the lyrics equally. We are a music group, and in order to make the whole song sound better, we will adapt various harmony singing methods, so the parts allocated to the five people may not be equal."
"You don't have to worry about whether the child will be wronged."
"I can promise that all five of us are equally important in my heart, and I will treat everyone equally. We will not compare popularity within our group, nor will we set up individual support colors, and we will not encourage fans to quarrel with each other. Because we started much later than other boy bands, it is better to unite as one to face the outside world instead of quarreling among ourselves to consolidate our fans. Only by working together can we compete with the top boy bands."
The parents looked at each other. This sentence contained a lot of information.
Especially the last sentence "to compete with first-tier boy bands" scared all the parents.
To be honest, everyone hopes that their children can have more opportunities to perform. Fang Yinnian and Tang Che shined in their debut performance last night, while Mo Xun, Tan Junwen and Fu Fei were relegated to "supporting roles". Although the parents of these three people did not say it on the surface, they were more or less unhappy in their hearts.
But after Xu Baichuan's special explanation today, everyone was completely relieved.
Competition in the entertainment industry is fierce. If a small and unknown group like them wants to make a name for themselves, it is important for them to be united.
People outside the circle don’t understand how to divide a song and how to arrange subsequent activities. But the agent promised to treat the children equally, which dispelled the parents' concerns that "my children will be wronged."
Sure enough, after Xu Baichuan said this, the parents all had smiles on their faces.
A man with slightly curly hair and a gentle temperament said with a smile: "Mr. Xu, our Junwen has been lazy since he was a child. He only gets excited after three minutes. If he does something wrong in the future, you can scold him."
Fu Fei's father also said: "Xiao Fei has been naughty since he was a child. If he makes a mistake, you can punish him directly without hesitation."
"That's right. We don't understand the rules of the entertainment industry either. If they do something wrong in the future, please feel free to criticize and educate them."
"That's right, they are young and not mature enough, so we should be stricter with them."
Five people: “…………”
Very good, the purpose of holding a parent-teacher meeting has been achieved.
Old Xu is still very experienced, so this way, parents will not interfere with their group's subsequent activities.
The private gathering was not like the dinner in the entertainment industry where people discussed resources. The five people did not have to take turns to serve tea to the parents. After Lao Xu finished his speech, everyone sat in their respective seats and ate happily.
Fang Yinnian was also secretly observing his teammates' families. Mo Xun looks 70% like his father, and his father looks very serious. His mother loves to laugh. She has her hair tied up and wears a cheongsam. She looks very elegant. I heard that both husband and wife work in a bank.
Tan Junwen's father is a photographer and his mother is a publishing editor. His father said that Tan Junwen originally aspired to be a painter, so he learned painting since he was a child and was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts. But he suddenly became an idol, which shocked his parents.
If Mr. Xu hadn't stopped him, his parents would have come to question him during the rehearsal two days ago. Junwen is really unreliable. He didn’t even discuss such an important matter with his family?
Xiaofei's parents are said to run a fruit shop, and his grandparents are retired factory workers.
Tang Che's parents did not come. His sister is studying for a doctorate at Jiangzhou University and his brother-in-law is a lawyer.
All five of them were from working-class families, none of them were second-generation rich people, and the parents were easy to get along with. They ate politely and then went their separate ways. After all, workers still have to go to work tomorrow.
After lunch, the five of them returned to the hotel together.
We flew to Jiangzhou at 9pm. Xu Baichuan asked everyone to rest and set off for the airport at 6pm.
Fang Yinnian was lying on the bed and browsing his phone out of boredom. When he opened Weibo, he was suddenly stunned.
What's going on?
When he woke up today, he had around 100,000 followers. After lunch, red dots appeared in the upper right corner indicating thousands of reposts and comments. The number of fans actually... doubled? !
Fang Yinnian rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
With so many messages, is she being cyberbullied?
He clicked on it nervously, only to find a large number of strange comments in the message box.
"I came from Station B, follow me!"
"What a confusing new boy band, haha, come and be a fan."
"B Station people are reporting in, come on newbies!"
"Sure enough, it's a makeshift team. They only posted this one message on Weibo."
He was about to ask Mo Xun, but Mo Xun spoke first: "What's going on? Why are there so many people from Bilibili on my Weibo?"
Fang Yinnian said: "Me too."
The two of them looked at each other's messages together and looked at each other in surprise.
What is happening?
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