In the blink of an eye, it was December.
During this period, the five members of FTM practiced every night in the company’s rehearsal room, each holding a microphone connected to the sound system, singing and dancing simultaneously, focusing on practicing full open-mic singing and dancing.
At first, their breath control was poor, resulting in various issues such as microphone popping, off-key singing, and cracking high notes.
After singing a song, everyone was exhausted and gasping for breath. Especially during the knife formation dance at the end, singing while dancing made it easy to run out of breath.
Breathing sounds were clearly audible in the microphones.
Teacher Qiao personally helped them correct their breathing rhythm, specifying when to inhale and exhale on each word, practicing repeatedly to integrate with the dance rhythm.
Everyone practiced daily, but progress was very slow.
Physical fitness greatly affected their ability to sing and dance with open mics.
Mo Xun had the best stamina among the five. No matter how intense the dance moves, he didn’t have obvious breathing sounds, and his voice was very stable. The other four teammates couldn’t achieve this yet.
Besides practicing singing and dancing, everyone also worked out with Mo Xun, spending time running and lifting weights at the gym every night.
Fang Yinnian envied Mo Xun’s abs and wanted to build some muscle too. Recently, they had been strictly controlling their high-protein diet, knowing that only long-term persistence could build core strength.
Seeing how hard they were practicing, Xu Baichuan comforted them: “Even singers who have debuted for over a decade might fail with fully open mics live. Don’t rush, practice slowly. This isn’t something you can master in a day or two.”
Fu Fei asked, “Brother Xu, will we have stage performances this year?” The others also looked expectantly at Old Xu.
Xu Baichuan said, “There are many year-end events. I’m negotiating with several satellite TV stations to see if you can perform at New Year’s Eve galas.”
The five were shocked: “New Year’s Eve gala?!”
Were they qualified for such major events?
Xu Baichuan said, “New Year’s Eve galas invite many celebrities. Some TV stations have contacted me and we’re in talks, but the appearance fees are very low.”
Fu Fei quickly said, “That’s fine, we’re newcomers. A token appearance fee is enough. I’m quite eager to experience a New Year’s Eve gala, hehe~”
Tan Junwen asked, “Are New Year’s Eve live events filled with big names, with stage specifications much higher than company concerts?”
Xu Baichuan said, “Of course. Last year’s Nanxing Satellite TV New Year’s Eve gala spent over ten million yuan just on stage construction.”
Fang Yinnian grew increasingly excited—FTM had only performed once at the Shengyao Family Concert when they debuted.
Although that performance was recorded and uploaded online, it was still just a company event with limited influence and a small audience.
So far, their public appearances had been on variety shows, without any formal stage performances for the general public.
The New Year’s Eve galas on major satellite TV stations were broadcast live nationwide, reaching a national audience with far greater influence than company concerts.
Fang Yinnian curiously asked, “Brother Xu, which two satellite TV stations?”
Xu Baichuan said, “Nanxing Satellite TV and Yuntu Satellite TV. Our FTM has been quite popular recently, and both stations are interested in collaborating. I’ll negotiate good terms. Don’t reveal this to anyone yet—we’ll make an official announcement once it’s confirmed.”
All five nodded. They weren’t clear about what specific “terms” would include, but they trusted their manager would do his best for them.
Mo Xun said decisively, “Brother Xu, please arrange as you see fit. We’re fine with either one.”
Xu Baichuan said, “Mm, keep practicing your open-mic singing and dancing. We’ll finalize everything by mid-December.”
Since Xu Baichuan mentioned they might participate in the New Year’s Eve event, the five became even more dedicated in their practice.
During this period, not only did Tang Che and Fang Yinnian practice until 2 AM every day, but Mo Xun, Xiao Fei, and Junwen also stayed to practice together.
After all, group choreography required all five to coordinate, so they could only practice the song and dance over and over.
Ensuring proper dance movements while keeping their breathing and voices stable was truly challenging.
**
On December 7th, the cover contest entered the final evaluation stage.
This cover contest had been incredibly popular, and was the first “DIY personalized accompaniment” cover format in recent years, attracting attention from many netizens. The number of participants reached five digits.
—Over ten thousand people covering the same song was unprecedented.
Excellent works kept emerging in the contest section, with fresh cover songs uploaded daily. Netizens would vote for their favorite works, selecting more than twenty songs to enter the final round.
In the final round, all vote counts were reset. The WeSing homepage and Weibo official account published the audio of all selected songs and opened online voting channels.
Contestants began seeking votes through various methods.
The expert judges were also carefully scoring.
Teacher Yu sent the selected works to Fang Yinnian, asking him and his teammates to listen and score them as a reference.
The five listened to the songs together in their dormitory after school. They heard many interesting cover versions, with one particularly delighting Fang Yinnian: “Is entry number 7 sung by children? The children’s voices are so cute.”
Mo Xun praised, “These kids really sing well.”
Tan Junwen said, “Entry number 16 is also interesting—five girls imitating our FTM five-person harmony style, recording a female version.”
Tang Che said, “I saw that—they’re university students from a choir, singing in different voice parts, quite professional.”
Fu Fei excitedly said, “Many internet celebrities participated. The current highest vote-getter, Fox Brother, is a famous Douyin internet celebrity!”
Fang Yinnian said, “Teacher Yu said that as the original singers, our opinions are important. He wants us to score all the works for the judges’ reference.”
Mo Xun took out paper and pen: “Let’s start with the first one and listen through them all. Maximum score is 10 points, and each of us will give a score.”
This was the five’s first time being judges, listening to various voices covering their song—it was a strange feeling.
Especially hearing versions by children, female versions, middle-aged men versions, male-female duet versions, and so on—all were novel and interesting.
This is the charm of music—even with the same song, different performers will have different interpretations.
They carefully completed their scoring, and Fang Yinnian sent the scorecard to Teacher Yu. The judges would consider their scores in determining the final rankings.
The internal scores were quickly compiled.
On December 14th, after a week of intense voting and final expert review, the #SingHarmonyWithFTM# national cover contest officially announced the winners.
Once published, it trended again!
Surprisingly, the first prize went to a version sung collectively by children. It was reportedly organized by an elementary school music teacher, having five 8-year-old children cover FTM’s single together.
The children’s voices were very crisp, mixing with FTM’s voices and appearing alternately, creating a wonderful chemical reaction.
This was undoubtedly a very special work.
Netizens gave many likes.
“Are kids nowadays this impressive? They sing really well~”
“The children’s version feels completely different, very nice to listen to.”
“Keep it up, kids, maybe form your own group when you grow up, hahaha!”
“Completely unexpected that the championship would be taken by a group of children.”
“This has truly gone mainstream, right? Even children are covering it!”
The champion did not face much questioning from netizens, as the children’s harmony version was indeed sung with fresh creativity.
This song has a light and lively style, and netizens of any age can cover it without feeling out of place.
There were three second-place winners: a harmony version by five female university students; a rich, powerful, and majestic cover by a 40-year-old man; and an electronic music cover by internet celebrity “Fox Brother.”
The format of freely choosing accompaniment tracks gave each work a unique personality, with many excellent cover works also appearing among the third-place winners.
The K-song platform compiled all the winning covers into a collection, displayed separately on the homepage, titled “Sing Harmony with FTM~ Cover Contest Award-Winning Collection.”
The collection’s popularity soared.
FTM’s original single “For the Music” continued to see rising save counts, exceeding one million on a single platform one month after release!
A high-rise discussion about FTM appeared on music forums—
“FTM’s song has been covered in so many ways!”
“Listened to several winning works—truly impressive. There are masters among the people.”
“Searched on QQ Music, FTM’s song has exceeded one million in both comments and saves, damn!”
“Is this the most popular boy band single now?”
“It’s also the first boy band single to go mainstream. Elderly people, children, men, women—many people are covering this song. The casual viewer traffic on Douyin is also huge, with many internet celebrities singing it during recent livestreams.”
“Idol songs are usually limited to fan circles. FTM’s manager had a good idea—holding a cover contest instantly raised their recognition.”
“On the WeSing platform, this song has topped the charts for three consecutive weeks, with cover works constantly emerging—it’s really popular!”
“I recently went to KTV with classmates and saw this song on the first page of the song request rankings—it’s popular offline too.”
“This song is indeed very suitable for group singing at gatherings.”
“The cover contest was worth it. The prize pool plus promotion probably cost just over a million yuan? The effect is more powerful than spending tens of millions on marketing.”
“This group debuted not long ago, and their first single is already making such a big splash. I’m a bit worried they might start high but end low.”
“Boy bands still need to focus on stage performance. Once they can’t hold their own on stage, the reputation built earlier will definitely backfire.”
“I’m quite optimistic about this group—at least they’re very serious. I hope they strengthen their professional abilities. Producing more works is the key.”
This cover contest made more netizens notice FTM.
These casual viewers don’t understand super topic check-ins, won’t contribute to data metrics, and might not even bother following their Weibo—but they recognize them.
If FTM has a stage performance, these viewers might be interested in watching.
But if the stage performance falls short, viewers will be left with terrible impressions like “everything was just marketing hype” or “they can only sound good with post-production audio correction.”
Therefore, FTM’s first stage performance was extremely important.
***
On the day the cover contest ended, manager Xu Baichuan called them to the meeting room for an urgent meeting.
Xu Baichuan said: “The New Year’s Eve gala schedule is set—we’ve finally chosen Yuntu Satellite TV. I want to confirm one thing with you: will you use fully open microphones?”
They had been practicing fully open mics recently. Although they had improved, no one could guarantee they wouldn’t make mistakes on such a big stage.
Xu Baichuan said: “Yuntu Satellite TV’s New Year’s Eve gala doesn’t mandate fully open mics. Singers can use half-open mics or even lip-sync.”
The manager’s expression was very serious: “The New Year’s Eve gala is broadcast live nationwide on satellite TV, with viewers across the country watching. Yuntu Satellite TV’s ratings consistently rank in the top three among satellite stations. If something goes wrong, it’s no joke.”
All five fell silent.
Xu Baichuan asked: “Well? Open mics or not?”
After a moment of silence, Fang Yinnian suddenly said: “Let’s use fully open mics.”
All his teammates looked at him.
Fang Yinnian said: “Our brand is ‘vocal group.’ If a vocal group doesn’t dare to sing live with open mics and only lip-syncs, couldn’t you just grab five random people and correct the audio in post-production?”
The usually mild-tempered Fang Yinnian now had a very determined look: “I think singers using open mics shows respect for the audience. Even if the singing isn’t perfect and has some flaws, it’s more sincere than lip-syncing.”
He paused, emphasizing: “Besides, we’re a vocal group. If a vocal group doesn’t dare to use open mics in performance, how are we different from a mute group?”
Hearing this, Mo Xun decisively said: “Then let’s use open mics. We’ve been practicing all this time, and our breath control has improved a lot.”
He looked at Fang Yinnian: “I believe Yinnian’s main vocals will hold steady, so our choral parts won’t go wrong. As for each person’s solo parts, everyone do your best—try not to shake, try not to go off-key. Let’s give it our all this time!”
He looked at his teammates: “What do you say, brothers?”
Fu Fei nodded vigorously: “I also think we should try open mics! If we don’t dare use open mics for our first stage performance, won’t we develop a habit of lip-syncing and become increasingly afraid to sing live?”
Tang Che said: “Anyway, many singers mess up at New Year’s Eve galas. As long as we don’t mess up too badly, the audience won’t criticize us too harshly.”
Tan Junwen said with a wry smile: “Tang Che, don’t be a jinx. What do you mean by ‘not mess up too badly’? We’ll definitely sing smoothly, okay?”
Xu Baichuan smiled with relief: “Good, it’s enough that you have this determination.”
He was actually worried the five little guys would get stage fright.
After all, FTM’s brand since debut has been ‘vocal group.’ If they don’t dare to sing live at big events, then what kind of vocal group are they?
As Yinnian said, they might as well be called a ‘mute acting group.’
Unexpectedly, Yinnian was so determined. His attitude toward music was indeed very serious. As long as the lead vocals don’t go off, the harmonies should basically be fine.
As for each person’s solo parts, they’ve been practicing every day. They’ve almost sung the song to death. Teacher Qiao is watching them closely, even timing their breathing to the rhythm. He believed the five little guys wouldn’t mess up.
Half of Xu Baichuan’s worries were eased. He said: “The New Year’s Eve gala is on the night of December 31st, and we’ll go for rehearsal on the 28th. Starting tomorrow, the major satellite TV stations will begin announcing guest lists. I’ll notify you when to repost.”
The five nodded in unison, their eyes full of excitement.
There were still two weeks until the official New Year’s Eve event, and the coming days would be even busier. Meanwhile, Mo Xun’s birthday was approaching.
Mo Xun was born on December 19th, at the tail end of Sagittarius. His straightforward, honest, and optimistic personality fit the Sagittarius traits well.
Fang Yinnian wanted to prepare a birthday gift for him.
They had been very busy recently, practicing singing and dancing late into the night to avoid mistakes at the New Year’s Eve gala. They simply couldn’t find time to practice anything like a rock band for Tang Che’s birthday.
He believed Mo Xun wouldn’t mind.
As long as the gift was prepared with heart, it didn’t matter what it was.
The four privately discussed and finally decided to give the captain an anime figurine—yes, Mo Xun really liked watching anime.
He shared his Bilibili account with Fang Yinnian, which had a category specifically for the anime series he liked.
Fang Yinnian was very attentive. From Mo Xun’s update frequency and barrage comments, he could tell which series he liked the most.
Coincidentally, this anime recently released an anniversary figurine of the male lead, exquisitely made with movable joints and quite expensive.
Only 10,000 limited edition figurines were sold nationwide.
Limited edition figurines were notoriously hard to get.
Mo Xun had seen the official announcement and set an alarm to try to get one but was too slow.
He planned to buy one on the second-hand market at a high price.
Unexpectedly, the four teammates secretly tried to get the figurine for him.
At the moment of the figurine’s release, Fang Yinnian, Tan Junwen, and Tang Che’s fingers were almost smoking from pressing buttons. Then, the “birthday temporary discussion group” received Xiao Fei’s scream: “Ahhh I got it!”
Speed was key, and Xiao Fei was really fast. After getting it, he immediately sent a screenshot to the discussion group: “Hehe, mission accomplished as assigned by the organization!”
Everyone immediately sent red envelopes to Xiao Fei—the birthday gift’s cost was agreed to be split evenly, so it was considered a joint gift.
A week later, the figurine arrived, and the four breathed a sigh of relief.
On Mo Xun’s birthday, December 19th, at midnight, Mo Xun’s phone received a message: “Happy 20th birthday, brother~”
It was from his sister Mo Yao, who always sent messages at midnight every year and was quite thoughtful. Mo Xun smiled and replied: “Thanks, little sister.”
Mo Yao asked: “Brother, how are you celebrating your birthday this year?”
Mo Xun decisively said: “Not celebrating. There are many year-end events, and we still have to rehearse dances.”
Mo Yao said: “It’s your 20th birthday! I thought since it’s the weekend, maybe you want to go home and we’ll prepare a birthday cake for you?”
Mo Xun said: “Not going back. It’s just a birthday, doesn’t matter if I celebrate or not. Tell mom and dad not to bother preparing anything. We’re too busy, really no time.”
Mo Yao said helplessly: “Alright, then work hard.”
After the conversation ended, Mo Xun looked at his quiet phone and suddenly felt a bit down—today was his 20th birthday, and Fang Yinnian hadn’t even sent a blessing?
After all, they had been on trending topics together. How could he be so indifferent?
Mo Xun felt a bit upset.
But he couldn’t quite explain this strange feeling.
He actually didn’t care about birthdays. When he was a trainee in Korea, he hadn’t celebrated birthdays for several years.
But this year, although he said he didn’t care, he still hoped to receive blessings from his teammates, especially from Fang Yinnian.
Mo Xun glanced at the guy sleeping soundly on the opposite bed, frowned, put down his phone, and continued to sleep.
Probably too busy? Recently, indeed, he was almost going crazy, practicing dance until exhausted every day. Everyone was under great pressure for the New Year’s Eve gala, so it’s understandable to overlook these small things.
Never mind, just pretend not to know.
The weekend was still fully scheduled with classes.
Everyone returned to the company to practice together, rehearsing until 5:30 PM, when Fu Fei suddenly said, “Let’s go back to the dorm to eat tonight.”
Usually, to save time, the life assistant would prepare meals and deliver them to the company in insulated boxes, and they would eat at the company.
Mo Xun asked curiously, “Why go back?”
Fu Fei excitedly said, “Auntie said she made sauerkraut fish, which is soupy and inconvenient to pack, so she wants us to eat at home!”
The teammates were all ready to go back, and Mo Xun had no choice but to follow.
After returning to the dorm, as soon as Mo Xun opened the door, suddenly a bunch of confetti sprayed down from above, and the four shouted in unison, “Happy Birthday!”
Mo Xun was covered in confetti and stood there stunned.
After coming to his senses, he looked back at the four helplessly, “When did you guys set this up?”
Fang Yinnian smiled with his eyes curved, “Last night while you were taking a shower.”
Fu Fei excitedly said, “Brother Nian is amazing, so quick, finished setting up the confetti in 5 minutes. He even calculated your shower time, hahaha.”
Tan Junwen smiled and asked, “Were you surprised?”
Mo Xun: “…”
Having lived together for so long, Fang Yinnian indeed knew exactly how long his showers took.
Mo Xun wanted to laugh a little. Yinnian was quite good at pretending. He had prepared the surprise long ago but hadn’t mentioned the word “birthday” today.
Fang Yinnian took out a delicately wrapped box and handed it to Mo Xun, “The four of us prepared this birthday gift together.”
Mo Xun immediately recognized the familiar anime character on the packaging.
His eyes suddenly welled up with tears. He took it hesitantly, “Limited edition figurine… When did you guys buy this?”
Fu Fei eagerly explained, “It was Nian’s idea. He said you really liked this anime character, so we got you the figurine.”
Tan Junwen said, “Luckily, Xiao Fei was fast enough to grab it. Otherwise, we planned to buy it on the second-hand market at a high price.”
Tang Che said calmly, “We didn’t even know you were following this anime. Yinnian knows you best, huh?”
Mo Xun: “…”
He recalled that he had previously shared his Bilibili account with Yinnian.
Fang Yinnian had obviously seen this anime in his favorites and noted his preferences. Yinnian was indeed the most attentive person in FTM.
Warmth rose in Mo Xun’s heart. He reached out and gently hugged Fang Yinnian, whispering, “Thank you. I didn’t manage to get it myself. I didn’t expect you guys to help me get this.”
Who could understand his excitement at this moment?
His favorite limited edition anime figurine, which he failed to get, was bought by his teammates as a birthday gift for him.
He had never told anyone he liked this character, though he had liked it for many years. But Yinnian was thoughtful and took the initiative to remember his preferences.
Fang Yinnian, you are simply an angel.
Mo Xun tightened his embrace and repeated, “Thank you. I really, really like it.”
Fang Yinnian smiled, “I’m glad you like it. I was worried I guessed wrong.” He gently patted Mo Xun’s shoulder, signaling him to let go.
Mo Xun released him and smiled, “I will cherish this figurine for a lifetime. Thank you, brothers!”
Warm applause erupted around them.
Fang Yinnian said, “Let’s eat. Tonight’s dinner is also very sumptuous. Auntie heard it’s your birthday and made many dishes.”
Fu Fei said, “Brother Xu will come later. He even specially bought your favorite roast duck, hahaha.”
Tan Junwen joked, “The cake was ordered by Xiao Fei. This time it’s a chocolate mousse cake.”
Tang Che said, “Xiao Fei is taking advantage of birthdays. From now on, whenever a teammate has a birthday, he can order the flavor he likes.”
Fu Fei laughed happily, “Hehe, since none of you like sweets, I’ll take care of everyone’s birthday cakes!”
Shortly after, the manager arrived with the roast duck.
The cake ordered by Fu Fei also arrived on time.
The table was filled with a sumptuous dinner. Everyone gathered in the dining room and sang the birthday song—still FTM’s signature harmony version.
Fang Yinnian started, “Happy birthday to you~”
Several teammates joined in harmony, “Happy birthday to you~”
Mo Xun sat there, his eyes slightly moist.
After the birthday song, Fang Yinnian smiled and said, “You’re 20 now. Make a wish.”
Mo Xun blew out the birthday candles in one breath.
His wish was simple—he hoped the New Year’s Eve gala performance would go smoothly. He also hoped FTM would have more and better songs and stages in the future.
Xu Baichuan took some photos of them for Weibo.
During dinner, Fang Yinnian suddenly went to the kitchen and said, “I’ll make you a bowl of noodles.”
Mo Xun asked curiously, “What kind of noodles?”
Fang Yinnian: “Longevity noodles for birthdays.”
Last time, when Tang Che had a birthday, they ate hotpot outside. The restaurant owner saw them with a birthday cake and gave Tang Che a small bowl of longevity noodles.
This time, since they were at the dorm, Fang Yinnian decided to cook himself.
He didn’t have time to make dough, so he boiled some dried noodles, added a poached egg, sliced a tomato and some greens, and seasoned it.
A bowl of light and refreshing longevity noodles was ready.
When Fang Yinnian brought it out, the whole table was filled with sounds of salivation—it smelled so good!
Fu Fei looked enviously, “I want some too.”
Tan Junwen patted his head, “It’s not your birthday today. Nian made this especially for the captain. No share for you.”
Mo Xun took the noodles and couldn’t help but smile.
Fang Yinnian made the noodles especially for him. The teammates didn’t get any, only he could eat it. This “exclusive privilege” made him very satisfied.
The poached egg in the bowl was round, and the greens and tomato were colorful, making it very appetizing.
Mo Xun took a serious photo with his phone.
Then he picked up his chopsticks and started eating without hesitation.
“Really delicious,” Mo Xun praised while eating, “Don’t you guys want some? Sorry, you can only watch me eat.”
“…” The teammates wanted to hit him.
“Brother Nian, can you make me a bowl of these noodles someday? It looks so delicious,” Fu Fei said, trying hard to hold back his drool.
“No problem, I’ll make some for you in the future,” Fang Yinnian smiled helplessly. Why was Mo Xun suddenly so childish today? Praising noodles so much—are they really that good?
Mo Xun was indeed very happy.
After dinner, he posted a Weibo: “Super happy today. Thanks to my four brothers and manager for spending an unforgettable birthday with me. Thanks to all the fans for the messages and blessings. I’ll keep working hard~”
He posted a nine-grid photo.
There were group photos, the cake, the gifts, and even a photo of the longevity noodles Fang Yinnian made.
Many of Mo Xun’s fans drew birthday congratulatory pictures for him on Weibo, including various chibi-style images and comics. Mo Xun saved quite a few.
He also saved the photo of the noodles separately.
After all, it was made by Fang Yinnian himself, very delicious, and undoubtedly the top birthday longevity noodles he had ever eaten.
Mo Xun suddenly thought, Fang Yinnian was thoughtful, caring, and a great cook. He wondered who would be lucky enough to be with Yinnian in the future?
##
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