DYUTVOBGA Chapter 14

….

The music gradually stopped.

The boy’s final ending pose was a kneeling posture with his head lowered and one knee touching the ground.

His hands were crossed over his chest, fingers stretched out into the posture of folded wings, like a migratory bird returning to its nest, silently perched in the center of the stage.

Continuous applause echoed through the venue. Many people clapped so hard their palms began to go numb, and it lasted nearly 10 seconds before gradually weakening.

Quentin restrained his breathing, stood up, stepped forward to take the microphone from the stand, lifted his gaze and looked at the four mentors.

He held the microphone but did not speak.

Seeing his calm and composed demeanor, the four mentors thought he had excellent physical stamina, as his complexion showed little change after performing such a demanding dance routine that required high body control.

….But actually, there was a change. If the foundation were removed, one would find his entire face was as pale as paper, clearly showing signs of exhaustion and depletion.

The system had extracted data from Quentin’s seventeen-year-old self when creating his body.

The seventeen-year-old Quentin had just experienced the turbulence of skyrocketing fame to being blackened across the entire internet.

His private information was maliciously exposed: his temporary residential address, the recording studio he frequented, the parks and malls he occasionally visited, his chat records with others, etc., were all made public.

The black material was fabricated by competitors, but this personal privacy was all genuine.

Countless people were curious about the private life of this ” young genius” who appeared out of nowhere. True and false information mixed together, ultimately resulting in sighs of relief: “Oh, so he’s that kind of person.”

At that time, Quentin’s police reports and pleas for help were ineffective. He had to change residences, but the new address would always be exposed again within a month of him moving. The finale of this farce was him leaving New York and secluding himself on a remote farm for half a year.

He was stubborn back then, unwilling to admit defeat no matter what. Even though his flee was desperate, like a drowned dog, it did not diminish his determination to retaliate in the slightest.

So, during those six months of seclusion, Quentin lived a reversed work-sleep schedule, pushing his body to the limit and devoting himself entirely to creation.

He always believed that only his musical works would be the foundation for his comeback.

Later, he indeed succeeded, but he could not erase the existence of that thin, desperate boy from when he was seventeen, lying amidst discarded manuscripts, spending his days and nights alone.

The system only helped Quentin adjust his physical appearance to its most pristine state; it did not modify his physical fitness data.

The seventeen-year-old Quentin was so physically weak that he would be out of breath after running a few steps. When he first rehearsed in the system’s practice room a few days ago, he almost fainted on the spot, and it took him three days of practice to barely finish half the song.

This was also thanks to him carefully adjusting the performance arrangement: he first cut out a small part of the song, remained still during the verse and chorus, and only danced solo during the interlude and outro.

One week was far from enough for Quentin to exercise his physical fitness to the healthy level of his previous life, where he could still be full of energy after a two-hour concert.

“Thank you, thank you for bringing us such a performance.”

Chen Shiyu raised her microphone, looking at Quentin with gentle eyes, her voice kind and full of strength: “This was a very complete performance. Every design and transition from beginning to end was done excellently.”

Quentin adjusted his breathing: “…Thank you, teacher.”

His panting was still amplified by the microphone, and his speaking voice was also hoarser than when he was singing earlier.

Chen Shiyu was momentarily stunned, then chuckled: “You must be tired, right? Do you want to drink some water and take a moment?”

“It’s okay.” Quentin shook his head.

“Alright, don’t push yourself.”

Chen Shiyu said gently: “I don’t understand dance, but I can feel what you wanted to express. If I were to summarize it, I would use the words freedom and romance.”

“Freedom is the freedom of the human soul, romance is the romance of vast nature. I also experienced such emotions from your singing.”

She paused for two seconds, and said with emotion: “To be honest, your vocal fundamentals are very solid, but your talent, your timbre, your control over emotional power, when to hold back and when to release…all impressed and shocked me even more.”

Speaking of which, she looked at the boy on stage and smiled: “I see you are an independent trainee, not yet signed to a company. So, would you be interested in coming to Xinda?”

Lu Kui barely held back a curse and whispered: “How cool is this, to be personally invited by Chen Shiyu to join Xinda!”

He turned to look at Zhong Qu sitting next to him: “Quentin’s skills are too amazing. He’s definitely getting an A. But the people going on stage after him are in trouble….”

Lu Kui’s voice stopped as he noticed Zhong Qu’s frown: “You… what’s wrong?”

Zhong Qu paused for a moment, a brief white flashing on his glasses: “…It’s nothing.”

Lu Kui withdrew his gaze strangely, then turned to look at Yan Qiao on the other side: “Hey, Brother Qiao, what do you think of his dancing? How does it compare to yours?”

Lu Kui had only started learning dance half a year ago while also juggling his studies. Fortunately, he had good talent, so even without spending too much time on dance, after two weeks of intensive training with his temporary teammates, he could dance quite decently.

But he was far from qualified to comment on Quentin’s dance.

When the interlude started earlier, Lu Kui noticed that Yan Qiao was shaking his head to the beat, his eyes tightly fixed on the boy whose body was moving on stage.

Such a gaze…he probably greatly appreciated Quentin’s dancing ability, right?

Yan Qiao’s performance outfit today was a white-gray hoodie paired with charcoal gray cargo pants, a red and black checkered shirt tied around his waist, and retro, worn-looking sneakers…a very hip-hop ensemble.

Around his neck, he wore two black cords of different lengths, each adorned with a silver ring. Because of the stacked hoodie, the cords passed near his Adam’s apple, unconsciously drawing attention to the flowing muscles of his neck.

“……Very good. The choreography is very good, and he dances very well.” Yan Qiao lowered his brows, his voice carrying a trace of casual indifference, but his eyes were very focused.

He sat in a languid posture, his fingers hooking the ring at the end of the black cord and turning it casually. His whole person exuded an air of roughish charm.

This “air” mainly came from his appearance.

He looked very wild, like the type of handsome guy who had a girlfriend for every strand of his hair.

Even if Yan Qiao swore to heaven in front of the entire nation that he had never been in a relationship, most people would still be skeptical.

But if someone seriously spread rumors that Yan Qiao had an early relationship in high school, smoked, skipped classes, even fought with local gangsters for a girl, and rode a motorcycle to a girl’s house and set off fireworks…hiss, it feels… like something this guy might actually do.

Because Yan Qiao looked like the kind of charming, carefree playboy who didn’t wear his clothes properly, had hickeys on his neck, and was born destined to be entangled in emotional dramas.

Who would have thought that this person was actually an Iron-Blooded King Of Volumes, obsessed with learning dance, had no heart for love, and was wholly devoted to trainee training and debuting in a boy group?

**Iron-Blooded King Of Volumes basically means an extremely ambitious and ruthlessly competitive “workaholic” who is single-mindedly dedicated to outperforming everyone in their field.

Just as Lu Kui was about to press further, he heard the mentors below say it was Teacher Yang Xu’s turn.

“Before I give my comments, I’d like to say a few words to everyone.”

The former main dancer of a top boy idol group turned to face the 100 trainees behind him, his expression serious: “This is your first time participating in a boy group survival show, and for me, it’s also my first time being a mentor on a survival show.”

“There are only seven spots in Class A, so we four mentors have strict selection criteria for these seven spots.”

Yang Xu continued: “Everyone should know the different positions members of a boy group have.”

“Main vocal, main dancer, lead rapper.” he said, “These are the three most basic categories. If we evenly distribute the seven spots among these three positions, that would be two vocals, two dancers, two rappers, and one flexible position.”

At these words, he deliberately paused for two seconds, his gaze slowly sweeping over the 100 faces before him, some nervous, some confident, then said slowly: “Personally, I think the most ideal situation is if this flexible position can be given to an all-rounder who excels in singing, dancing, and rap.”

“….That is what we commonly call an ‘ACE’.”

“So, the remaining 32 trainees aiming for Class A, you can think about which position you belong to. I hope you can fully display your specialty on stage…… Oh, right, I forgot to mention, excellent original creative ability can be a key bonus point.”

Yang Xu smiled: “For this season’s survival show, we four mentors hope to select a boy group with originality. Everyone, please do your best.”

After speaking, he turned back to face Quentin, the smile on his face instantly becoming much warmer: “Quentin, may I ask, which choreographer’s work was the dance you just performed?”

Quentin’s breathing had already stabilized by now: “It was by a choreography teacher from Los Angeles. He himself doesn’t really want fame, so… I’m sorry.”

Yang Xu waved his hand: “It’s fine. Your dance was water-style choreography, right? You said earlier you practiced hip-hop, but I saw traces of popping in your dance. You probably started with old-school, right?”

Quentin nodded: “Yes.”

“Very good, you really danced very well. The rhythm of your body movements was particularly great; it’s a kind of natural talent.”

Yang Xu gave a thumbs-up: “I can see your muscle memory is a bit slightly rusty, some detailed movements aren’t very clear cut. It’s not that you haven’t practiced this dance enough, but your body couldn’t fully keep up with your brain. You probably hadn’t danced for a while before this, right? But your isolation is done very well.”

“Water-style choreography really tests isolation, like keeping your head and shoulders still while only moving your neck.” He demonstrated with his body as he spoke, “For example, keeping your limbs still, tightening your core torso to do a wave. This kind of choreography really showcases a dancer’s strength and sense of quality.”

“Honestly, if you only systematically learned hip-hop for half a year four years ago, then your talent must be terrifying.”

Yang Xu joked: “Of course, dancing like this at your current age is also quite good. If you hadn’t said so, I would have thought you grew up practicing since childhood.”

Quentin smiled: “Thank you, teacher.”

Vinki couldn’t help but pick up his microphone: “Hey, Quentin, how are you so calm? Don’t your emotions fluctuate at all?”

The black-haired, green-eyed boy tilted his head slightly, seeming somewhat surprised as he made eye contact with Vinki. His calmness did not affect the beauty of his eyes: “I am very excited.”

He looked at Vinki with these rare and beautiful green eyes. His tone was calm, yet somehow possessing a magical quality that made people trust him due to his unique voice.

“I am very happy to meet so many like-minded people my age, to be able to stand on this stage, in front of the four teachers.”

After speaking, he smiled again.

Vinki: “….”

‘Damn it, I feel a bit charmed. This kid will definitely be very good at teasing fans in the future!’

Lin Qifeng was naturally a taciturn person and not accustomed to talking freely in crowded settings.

His evaluation of Quentin was simple, only one sentence, but he said it with a solemn air: “Quentin, I think you should seriously consider Teacher Chen’s suggestion. Xinda Media is very suitable for you.”

** Quick recap, of the three top companies, Xinda Media primarily focuses on music production, while BKL focuses on building idol labels and Wanming focuses on actors and actress.

Quentin bowed slightly, but did not answer directly: “Thank you, Teacher Lin.”

This round of mentor discussion didn’t take much time; the four mentors had no disputes regarding the rating.

Soon, Qin Miao raised her microphone and announced the rating result in a soft voice: “Quentin, congratulations…”

“Your rating is, Class A!”

“Congratulations, you are the first Class A trainee in this initial stage performance rating. Now, please take your seat in the Class A section.”

As her words fell, the platform at the top of the pyramid-shaped steps sank down with a rumble, and white dry ice spray rose up.

Amidst the exclamations of the trainees, seven exquisitely carved black and gold chairs slowly rose from the top, replacing the originally empty platform.

Looking up from below, they resembled seven thrones standing on top of a mountain peak, silently waiting for newcomers to climb and conquer.

And so, under everyone’s gaze, Quentin walked up the steps step by step and took a seat on the first chair from left to right.

The bright lights of the studio fell on his shoulders, coating the pure black suit with a thin layer of glitter, making even his dark black hair seem to emit a faint golden halo.

Even though he wasn’t sitting in the central C position, he exuded the aura of a new king ascending the throne.

“The ultimate B-king…”

Lu Kui’s mouth unconsciously fell open, his hands frantically tugging at the checkered shirt tied around Yan Qiao’s waist: “Brother Qiao! You can’t lose when you go up later! You are the last hope of our BKL!”

Yan Qiao: “…I’ll try my best.”

***Those who want to check out what water-style choreography looks like https://youtu.be/PbzoNHXPSRg?si=KGTQE0gyjt2ipHG9