AITFYMIBP Chapter 5.2

TL: Hua

---

After the rules were announced, the tense and exciting first round of selections began.

Perhaps to avoid the awkward situation of a huge disparity in trainee numbers among the mentors, the production team was kind enough to have the four mentors go to separate rooms to wait for the trainees to knock on their doors.

After a quick briefing with the staff, Lin Yanran was led to his room.

The four rooms were arranged in pairs. His nameplate was on Room 4.

Next to him, Room 3 had Pei Luo’s nameplate, while across the way, Rooms 1 and 2 belonged to Han Zhe and Tangtang.

Lin Yanran pushed open the door to Room 4 and found it empty. Aside from a few emotionless cameras, there wasn’t a single staff member in sight.

He was the only living person in the entire room.

The recording hadn’t started yet. Lin Yanran looked around the room and saw that the mentor’s desk had some water, a tablet with trainee profiles, and some pens and white paper.

He picked up a pen, twirled it a few times in his hand, and put it back down.

This was for the mentors to take notes, but he guessed he wouldn’t need it.

After wandering around for a bit, Lin Yanran found the room quite boring, so he walked toward the camera in front of him.

He squatted down and asked the camera, “Is it just going to be me here?”

The camera gave a compliant nod.

After learning that no staff members would be coming, Lin Yanran sighed and said, “Then won’t I have to stay in jail here for at least three hours?”

He had already made a rough estimate.

It would take a lot of time for all 60 trainees to make their choices. Plus, to create a good show and have various interactions with the mentors, each trainee would likely spend about three minutes making their final choice.

Three full hours, 180 minutes, and he would be filmed by a camera the whole time. How was this any different from being in jail?

The director in the broadcast room, who was in charge of Lin Yanran’s shots, heard this description and burst out laughing.

Three hours in jail?

This Yanran really says whatever he wants.

A notification came through his earpiece from the production team, so Lin Yanran got up and returned to his seat.

Then, the host’s familiar voice echoed through all the rooms.

“The four mentors have all arrived at their rooms. The group selection phase officially begins. Trainees, please proceed with your choices one by one.”

The trainees had already been ranked in order, starting with Class A.

There were nine trainees in Class A. As soon as the host finished the announcement, someone immediately raised their hand to go first.

The person who raised his hand was named Wan Jiaxin. He walked up to the doors, looked at all four, hesitated for a moment in front of the camera, and then chose to open Door 2.

Completely unprepared, Tangtang was ecstatic when someone suddenly walked in.

She held her face and excitedly asked the camera, unable to contain her joy.

“The first person chose me? Is this for real? Is this for real? I’m not dreaming, am I? Hahahaha?”

The soundproofing in the four rooms was terrible, so Tangtang’s cheerful laughter from her “good start” echoed throughout all the rooms.

Immediately after, when the second trainee made their choice, Tangtang’s piercing laughter reached the ears of the other mentors again.

With two A-class trainees choosing Tangtang in a row, the previously confident and relaxed Pei Luo and Han Zhe suddenly felt the pressure.

This two-way selection was apparently not as simple as they had imagined.

After the first two trainees made their choices, the third, fourth, and fifth trainees followed.

This time, they didn’t choose Tangtang again but, as if they had all planned it, walked straight into Han Zhe’s room.

With most of the nine Class A trainees having already made their choices, and his own team still empty, the once-confident Pei Luo couldn’t sit still.

He uncrossed his fingers and changed his posture frequently, his gaze involuntarily drifting toward the door.

As an idol, he was the most well-rounded of the four mentors in terms of singing, dancing, and rapping. While the other mentors were strong in their professional fields, they were highly specialized.

So, he had assumed that the trainees would favor him. When the rules were announced, he even imagined that he would have a hard time choosing because too many people would select him.

But reality was so harsh.

The host’s voice announced the name of the sixth trainee. Pei Luo took a deep breath, silently praying that this person would choose him.

Fortunately, his wish came true. The person did choose him.

Not only that, but the next three A-class trainees also chose his team, which finally allowed Pei Luo to save face.

Because the soundproofing was so poor, all the mentors could hear what was happening in the other rooms. So, everyone had a good idea of how many A-class trainees each mentor had.

Pei Luo pointed at his four A-class trainees and smiled at the camera. “I have so many people here? Will the mentors with fewer people want to beat me up?”

It seemed like a joke, but it was a blatant jab at Yanran next door, who hadn’t even gotten one person.

However, Pei Luo didn’t know that while he was gloating, Lin Yanran, who was already mentally prepared, had leisurely finished looking through all the trainees’ profiles and was now drawing simple sketches of them based on their official photos.

Lin Yanran’s grandmother was a famous painter, and he had learned to paint with her for a while when he was a child.

He wasn’t particularly interested in painting, but genetics were powerful. Even though he had only learned half-heartedly for a short time, his drawing skills were still far better than most people’s.

The camera cleverly captured Lin Yanran’s movements.

It quietly tilted down to film, recording the entire process of him drawing.

One sheet, two sheets, three sheets…

The stack of small A4 papers on Lin Yanran’s right side grew larger and larger.

When Lin Yanran was drawing the tenth person, Xuan Yihan, the last one to choose from Group B, finally arrived at the mentors’ doors.

He hesitated for a long time in front of the camera, walking to Tangtang’s door one moment and then looking conflicted in front of Han Zhe’s door the next.

“Actually, the person I want to choose most is Teacher Pei Luo…”

Xuan Yihan looked longingly at Pei Luo’s name on the door, then put on a tearful expression. “But everyone loves him. His team must be very popular, and if I choose him, I’ll be under so much pressure. I feel like I’ll become cannon fodder and be unassigned…”

Xuan Yihan put his hands together and closed his eyes in a very sincere way. “I don’t care anymore. I’ll just follow my gut. Please give me good luck, and please, Teacher Pei, don’t kick me out QAQ.”

After adding some drama for himself, Xuan Yihan slowly pushed open the door to Pei Luo’s room.

The people in the room cheered loudly, while Pei Luo opened his arms and gave him a hug.

“Welcome, Hanhan.”

When the mentor welcomed the newcomer this way, everyone else immediately followed, shouting, “Welcome, Hanhan!”

Xuan Yihan was flattered and thanked them. After looking at the people in the room, he immediately shrank his neck. “Wow, Teacher Pei, you’re so popular! It looks like most of the trainees from Class A and Class B are here.”

Pei Luo raised an eyebrow triumphantly.

But seeing Xuan Yihan’s seemingly insecure expression, he immediately reassured him. “Don’t worry, your skills are as good as anyone in Class A.”

The soundproofing in the production team’s rooms was truly terrible. Lin Yanran, who was only a wall away and had good hearing, heard every single word Xuan Yihan said.

He got goosebumps all over.

The more lively things were next door, the more desolate Lin Yanran’s room seemed.

Even the director filming Lin Yanran felt a bit sorry for him.

But just then, someone knocked three times on Lin Yanran’s door.

Lin Yanran looked at the door curiously and quickly put down his pen.

“Please come in.”

Lin Yanran had expected some trainee who had given up all hope had chosen him, but unexpectedly the person who came was Gu Siye.

Gu Siyue walked in swaggering, scanned the empty room, and went straight to Lin Yanran’s side.

He looked down at the simple sketches Lin Yanran had drawn and flipped through them casually. “How are you feeling?”

“Honestly, not bad.”

Lin Yanran stood up and gave a free-spirited smile. “I’ve already mentally prepared myself to find some hidden gems.”

Gu Siyue’s hands paused as he stared into Lin Yanran’s eyes.

—Hidden gems? You’re saying that with a straight face?

Lin Yanran looked back at him.

—What else? There are so many cameras here.

After exchanging a knowing look, they smiled meaningfully at each other, neither one wanting to expose the truth.

Lin Yanran suddenly realized something very strange.

He had only known Gu Siyue for less than a day, but the other man made him feel as if they had known each other for many years.

They always understood what the other wanted to express with just a look.

Gu Siyue chuckled and lowered his head, flipping through all the drawings Lin Yanran had made.

“Your drawing skills are excellent. You’ve really captured the essence of each person.”

“Thank you for the compliment. I learned a little as a child.”

“Would you be kind enough to draw one for me?”

“Now?”

Gu Siyue nodded. “Yes. Is it inconvenient?”

Lin Yanran picked up the pen and shook his head. “I’ll do my best then.”

As soon as he spoke, Lin Yanran lowered his head and began sketching on the paper, starting with an outline and then adding facial features…

A few minutes later, Lin Yanran finished the sketch.

He had taken much longer than he did for the trainees, and the drawing was naturally much more detailed.

Gu Siyue took the paper in his hand, looked at it, and then asked, “Aren’t you going to sign it?”

Lin Yanran was surprised, then joked, “Teacher Gu, you could’ve just said you wanted my autograph.”

The corner of Gu Siyue’s mouth curled up, and he didn’t deny Lin Yanran’s statement.

Lin Yanran picked up the pen again and signed his name at the bottom of the portrait.

He wasn’t sure how the original owner wrote his cursive name, so he wrote “Yanran” in his usual handwriting.

The strokes were strong and fluid, and the signature was very beautiful.

Gu Siyue carefully put the signed portrait into his pocket, then turned to leave.

“I still have to check on the other mentors. You can continue to entertain yourself.”

After seeing Gu Siyue off, Lin Yanran didn’t go back to drawing the trainees. Instead, he started wandering around the empty room.

The director in the broadcast room, who was in charge of filming Lin Yanran, started chatting with a colleague when he saw him pacing back and forth.

“You can tell Yanran is really bored.”

“I know, right? He was so bored he had to resort to drawing.”

“I’d go crazy if I were alone in there.”

“No wonder he said he was in jail for three hours…”

They talked and laughed for a bit, then someone suddenly said, “Even though no one is picking him, he’s actually pretty interesting.”

“Yeah, yeah. Can you believe we’ve been watching him draw for over an hour? Hey, where’s Yanran?”

They had been so caught up in their conversation that they hadn’t paid attention to the camera, and when they looked back, Lin Yanran was gone.

Just as they wondered if he’d gone to the restroom, he emerged from a blind spot in the camera’s view.

In his hand, he held a copy of…

Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Mock Tests (English Edition)[mfn]五年高考三年模拟 (abbreviated as “5-3”) is a series of high school supplementary textbooks, the most well-known one, for college examination (Gaokao) preparation.[/mfn]!

After seeing the title clearly, the directors were all shocked.

“Holy crap, the 5-3 book?! How did something like that get in the room?!”

“Where did he find that?!”

“What’s… what’s he going to do???”

Lin Yanran walked back to his seat and placed the book, which he had just found in the gap between the sofa and the wall, on the desk.

Then, the cameras showed his beautiful, fair right hand picking up the pen from the table again.

He then lowered his head and began to seriously work on the questions!

In the broadcast room, the staff members looked at each other, then shifted their gazes to Lin Yanran, who was working on the problems, and were collectively stunned.

When Lin Yanran started on the first practice test—

The director sighed: “Look at what they’ve driven this poor kid to…”

A staff member worried, “Do you think he can solve these problems?”

Half an hour later, they watched with wide eyes as Lin Yanran furiously worked through three tests and was about to start on the fourth—

The director screamed in horror, “Is Yanran a monster?!”

A staff member was speechless: Don’t ask me. I’m trying to find the right words.

So this is the correct way to use the English “5-3” book?!

Lin Yanran, who was a top student to begin with, worked through the problems at an incredibly fast pace. After quickly finishing a few test papers, he estimated that it was almost time to wrap up and put the book away.

After stretching a bit, he found a 4×4 Rubik’s Cube behind a sofa cushion.

He looked at it for a moment, then started to play with it.

In less than a minute, the scrambled cube was solved.

Lin Yanran messed up the cube again, then quickly solved it a second time.

The director who has been paying attention to Lin Yanran: ?????

You’re performing magic tricks here!!!

Was he born in the Year of the Dog? How can he find everything?!

And the worst part is, he can play with everything he finds and make it look cool!!!

After finding various things to pass the time, the trainee selection process was nearing its end, with only a few trainees from Class F left to make their choices.

Lin Yanran, who felt like he had been serving a prison sentence and just wanted to go home, leaned back in his chair and counted down the minutes.

He never expected that his Room 4 would be knocked on again.

A person carefully peeked their head in and, upon seeing Lin Yanran, said, “Hello, Teacher~”

Lin Yanran asked with genuine concern, “Are you sure you didn’t go to the wrong room?”

Xia Xingxing shook his head, closed the door, and walked to Lin Yanran. “No, I came specifically for you, Teacher Yanran.”

Lin Yanran, who had been sitting alone on a cold bench the entire time, was a bit shocked.

Seeing Lin Yanran’s strange expression, Xia Xingxing explained, “I’ve liked you ever since you participated in The Best Male Voice. I even secretly used my mom’s phone to vote for you, but she found out and gave me a good beating.”

The image was so vivid that Lin Yanran couldn’t help but laugh. “That show was six years ago. You’ve just turned 18, so you must have been a primary school student back then?”

The other person clearly hadn’t expected Lin Yanran to say something like that. He nodded, a little embarrassed. “Yes… I was still in the sixth grade.”

After saying that, Xia Xingxing was a bit touched. “But you actually remember my age…”

Lin Yanran smiled. “Yes, I just read your profile.”

He had been so bored that he had gone through all the trainees’ profiles.

The age, hobbies, specializations, and training history of each trainee were all stored in his mind.

Xia Xingxing was so happy that his favorite mentor remembered him.

He happily found a seat and sat down, then noticed how empty the room was.

“Is it just the two of us in here?”

Lin Yanran nodded. “To be honest, before you came, I thought I would be the only one in this room.”

According to normal logic, a person would follow up with a polite remark like, “It’s because they don’t have good taste,” or something similar.

However, Xia Xingxing was clearly not a normal person. His mind was very agile. After hearing Lin Yanran’s words, he became incredibly happy. “Doesn’t that mean I’m guaranteed to be on this team!”

With that, he ran to Lin Yanran and began to plead. “Teacher Yanran, on behalf of your six-year-old fan, please, please don’t kick me out!”

Lin Yanran looked at the pleading fan, who looked like a pitiful puppy, and couldn’t help but tell him a cruel truth.

“Little Xingxing, I advise you to take off your fan filter and face reality. You’re probably the only person in this whole place who thinks I’m a hot commodity.”

On the other side of the camera, the directors and staff eating their boxed lunches laughed so hard they almost spit their food out.

---

Please consider supporting me on Ko-fi if you like what I’m doing. Thank you for reading! (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)