TTIG Chapter 71.1

The producer of Nanxing TV’s “Sounds of Nature” had been grinning from ear to ear lately.

 

Variety shows generally saw declining popularity after the third season, and “Sounds of Nature’s” viewership dropped significantly in the fourth season, so the fifth season couldn’t attract many sponsors.

 

The production team was quite poor and couldn’t afford big-name regular guests.

 

When he initially signed FTM as regulars, he was testing the waters, wondering if adding a boy group could bring some freshness to the fifth season?

 

Even if they got criticized, at least there would be discussion value!

 

No one expected FTM to become this season’s strongest dark horse, bringing audiences different stages every episode.

 

Online, there were massive discussions about this boy group, reaching peak volume when FTM won three straight with different main vocalists.

 

Their stages had gone viral.

 

View counts and saves on major video platforms were quite impressive, and countless listeners added the music platform releases to their playlists.

 

Hiring FTM was truly economical. As a group, their regular guest fee was only slightly higher than A-list solo guests, but split among five people, it wasn’t much.

 

Who could have imagined this group could be used separately?

 

Equivalent to the production team spending one guest’s fee but getting more than five guests’ worth of buzz.

 

So in producers’ and directors’ eyes, FTM became their fortune gods. Starting from episode 7, interviews, daily behind-the-scenes footage, and backstage stories featuring FTM significantly increased.

 

Since the show’s popularity rose, sponsors actively approached them, adding many advertisements.

 

Previously, the program opening only had two ads.

 

Starting from episode 7, opening ads increased to five, with two intermission segments and one near the end—quadrupling!

 

Advertisers invested real money, making the production team extremely profitable. Year-end bonuses were secured, backstage staff smiled more, and treated FTM with particular courtesy.

 

Episode 7: FTM collaborated with regular guest Zhao Jing on a fast-paced song but unfortunately lost to Luo Liang’s team.

 

Though losing meant online criticism and mockery about their three-win streak ending, FTM’s five members maintained excellent attitudes.

 

Competition stages naturally had wins and losses. Other veteran singers also performed well, and judging panel votes were influenced by various factors.

 

Win or lose didn’t matter.

 

They were happily enjoying this stage.

 

As the show aired, FTM left increasingly spectacular stages on this season’s “Sounds of Nature.”

 

Episode 9 brought a special guest—He Yan!

 

Seeing Brother Yan on this stage excited everyone since they were acquaintances who’d been guests at He Yan’s concerts.

 

A-list singers like He Yan mostly appeared as flying guests on music variety shows since he was preparing his national tour without time for regular appearances.

 

During mentor selection, He Yan said without hesitation: “I choose Teacher Ji Ying—I want to collaborate with my music group little brothers.”

 

Ji Ying smiled broadly with open arms: “Welcome to our team!”

 

He Yan was a singing-dancing artist, so collaborating with FTM naturally meant adapting singing-dancing songs. Fang Yinnian was happy that Mo Xun’s dancing could finally be seen by more audiences.

 

Teacher Ji Ying simply handed song selection to He Yan: “You know FTM better than I do. Decide what song yourselves—I’ll fully cooperate.”

 

After consulting with Mo Xun, He Yan decided to adapt an extremely energetic song—”Fire,” which had swept Asia years ago.

 

This song had the fastest rhythm Fang Yinnian had ever heard, with incredibly cool original mechanical dance. However, the show’s tight schedule gave them only two days to prepare.

 

Fang Yinnian and Tang Che couldn’t fully master such difficult choreography in two days—performing poorly would drag the team down.

 

Tan Junwen tried and also said it was too difficult!

 

After private discussion, Fang Yinnian said: “How about letting Mo Xun and Xiao Fei perform together this time? You were trainees for years with the most solid dance foundation—easier to learn.”

 

Tang Che added: “You can have live dance battles with Brother Yan—should look great. Don’t bring us along.”

 

Fang Yinnian and Tang Che didn’t reject dancing. Given a week to practice properly, they’d willingly accompany Mo Xun.

 

But with only two days… forget it.

 

They knew their limitations—impossible to master such difficult choreography. Rather than performing poorly and getting criticized, better to give the stage to the most suitable people.

 

Seeing teammates’ unified opinion, Mo Xun smiled: “Fine, you three rest. Xiao Fei, Brother Yan, and I will perform.”

 

Fu Fei scratched his head: “But this song has explosive high notes later. If we three perform, who’ll sing that part?”

 

Mo Xun said: “You, of course.”

 

Fu Fei pointed at himself wide-eyed: “Me?”

 

Fang Yinnian patted his shoulder: “Don’t forget, you’re free-range vocal in team harmonies—hit high notes when needed, lower notes when required. You’re also Sheng Yao’s all-around trainee. Be more confident.”

 

Fu Fei was embarrassed by the praise, grinning and scratching his head: “Hehe, then… okay.”

 

Tan Junwen also said: “Xiao Fei, go boldly! This three-person group, you’re main vocalist, Brother Yan and Brother Mo are main dancers. We believe you’ll sing excellently.”

 

“Yes!” Fu Fei was deeply moved.

 

Was he really this capable in his teammates’ eyes?

 

He’d always thought he was just FTM’s comic relief atmosphere maker, but teammates called him all-around ACE?

 

Fu Fei suddenly felt energized and confident.

 

Teacher Ji Ying’s arrangement team was very cooperative, adapting the song into three-person performance format.

 

However, Ji Ying worried: “This song is very energetic—won’t three people dancing be too monotonous? Should we find backup dancers?”

 

He Yan said: “I have a long-term collaboration dance troupe. I’ll have them help—better stage effects.”

 

Yan Chi actually brought 12 people.

 

If He Yan, Mo Xun, and Fu Fei had solo dance segments, each could bring 4 backup dancers in batches. If everyone danced together in the chorus, 15-person synchronized choreography would definitely ignite the stage instantly.

 

The backup dance troupe came to the practice room that day.

 

Yan Chi’s troupe was very professional. He even helped He Yan modify several moves on-site while Mo Xun participated in choreography, making his solo part more difficult.

 

Though Fang Yinnian didn’t need to participate in this episode’s performance, he’d come observe when Mo Xun and others trained.

 

Claiming to learn by watching, he actually had selfish motives—wanting opportunities to see more of Mo Xun.

 

Anyway, he brought Tang Che and Junwen to “learn by observation” together, so people shouldn’t suspect his motives?

 

Mo Xun dancing was truly too handsome.

 

Crisp, decisive movements made Fang Yinnian’s heart race.

 

He Yan was also very handsome with rich stage experience—even his hair seemed to create perfect arcs while dancing.

 

Fu Fei’s dance movements also had distinct personal style. His poses were cool and looked super energetic.

 

During two brief rehearsal days, the professional dance troupe quickly matched He Yan, Mo Xun, and Fu Fei’s rhythm, practicing synchronized choreography extremely well.

 

So on recording day, when Ji Ying team’s “Fire” appeared, the entire stage exploded!

 

Mo Xun, He Yan, and Fu Fei all wore flame-colored performance outfits today, with sequined decorations glittering under stage lights.

 

Audiences quickly discovered—FTM had separated again. Today Tang Che, Junwen, and Yinnian didn’t perform; Mo Xun and Fu Fei appeared together.

 

“FTM’s multiple usage methods?”

 

“This time it’s MoFei subunit~”

 

“Hilarious, really 5 people randomly separated and combined?”

 

“How many more surprises does FTM have that we don’t know?”

 

As the song intro played, He Yan brought four backup dancers forward for an intensely energetic solo dance.

 

Immediately after, Mo Xun led the dance troupe forward for another section of mesmerizing mechanical dance.

 

Mo Xun’s mechanical dance had won awards in international competitions.

 

Actually, this was the first time Fang Yinnian had seen him perform such high-difficulty mechanical dance. His body moved rapidly with the music’s rhythm like a fully activated intelligent machine—every joint in his body became controllable mechanical parts!

 

Live stream audiences watched in stunned amazement.

 

“Mo Xun dancing is truly handsome!”

 

“The captain’s dance moves have such power—super cool!”

 

“This segment is really gorgeous, I’m mesmerized”

 

“Mo Xun’s domestic entertainment top alpha dominant aura maxed out”

 

“So much better than certain idols’ flowery choreography”

 

Fang Yinnian also focused intently on appreciating their performance.

 

Mo Xun on stage was so dazzling—just by standing there, audiences’ eyes were irresistibly drawn to him.

 

Every movement was crisp and decisive. This explosive dance segment made hearts race with excitement.

 

After Mo Xun’s solo ended, Fu Fei also brought backup dancers for a segment. With two brothers setting high standards, Fu Fei showed no nervousness.

 

He seemed inspired with fighting spirit.

 

He danced particularly well today—energetic and youthfully compelling. 19-year-old Xiao Fei was truly at his best age!

 

After intro solo dances ended, the three picked up microphones to alternate vocals. This song was quite difficult to sing with extremely fast rhythm—missing one breath would cause immediate failure.

 

Moreover, they had to sing while dancing.

 

Dancing while maintaining lyrics, articulation, and pitch doubled the difficulty, severely testing physical ability and breath control.

 

However, all three performed excellently.

 

They sang while dancing with very stable voices.

 

Sitting below stage, Fang Yinnian wanted to applaud. Amazing—this was Mo Xun and Xiao Fei’s true dancing abilities, right? Usually to accommodate him and Tang Che, FTM’s choreography wasn’t this difficult.

 

Today they finally increased difficulty, especially Mo Xun’s mechanical dance segment, which would definitely become classic footage for netizens to repeatedly savor.

 

The song quickly reached the chorus.

 

During this climactic segment, He Yan and Mo Xun began dance battles, neither yielding to the other. Mobilizing every cell, they danced until drenched in sweat, creating sufficiently stunning effects.

 

---

 

 (advanced chapters available on kofi)