DYUTVOBGA Chapter 2

Four Seasons Hotel, 16th floor.

Boys wearing hoodies of various colors stood in front of the elevator doors, each with a tired expression on their face. The one on the far right, sporting a messy perm, was tilting his head back, mouth wide open in a yawn.

“Mmm…”

Perm Hair rubbed his eyes and mumbled vaguely, “What time did you guys sleep last night? I’m so tired, I only got less than four hours. I was even practicing dance in my dreams…”

He pulled at his eyelids and leaned in close to his companions, complaining, “Look at these dark circles! If this goes on, by the time the show starts, even three layers of foundation won’t cover this up!”

The teammate closest to him pushed his face away with feigned disgust: “Stop acting pitiful. Yan Qiao definitely stayed up the latest among us. He was up all night helping you choreograph and adjust moves till 4 a.m. Look at him, then look at yourself.”

Perm Hair eyes widened in shock: “Damn, Brother Qiao is so amazing!”

Did you geniuses evolve secretly to ditch sleep without telling us ordinary people?!

“Brother Qiao, big boss, captain, please don’t forget me after the show starts, wuuu, I still want to keep clinging to your thigh!!”

He squealed and turned to look at the boy standing on the far left.

The boy was around twenty years old, wearing a baseball cap. Under the brim was a very distinctive face.

Narrow eyes, a high nose bridge, full lips, and a standard pentagon-shaped face with a jawline sharp as a blade.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a face that conformed to mainstream aesthetics…single eyelids, eyes not big enough, though the nose was good, but the lips were too dark and too full.

“Full lips” are rarely attractive on a man’s face; the slightest misstep can make them look tacky or dull.

But surprisingly, these flaws combined on Yan Qiao’s face, paired with his unique aura, created a compelling kind of handsomeness.

A bit flirtatious, and a bit sexy.

—It was a face with visible, strong sexual tension.

Yan Qiao raised an eyebrow at the Perm Hair’s fake crying, an indescribable dashing spirit in his eyes. He waited until the boy finished before saying unhurriedly, “Depends on your performance.”

Perm Hair clenched his fists, sobbing: “I, I will perform well! Come on! Lu Xiaokui! You are the best!”

Other teammates: “…”

That’s enough.

Just as he finished, the elevator arrived at the 16th floor with a soft ding.

The metal doors slowly slid open amidst the boys’ noisy chatter.

Yan Qiao looked up into the elevator, his eyes instinctively drawn to the boy inside.

The boy was wearing a navy blue baseball cap similar to his own. He stood tall and lean in the corner, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a phone.

The blue light from the phone screen outlined his distinct jaw and his dazzlingly fair skin.

He was looking down at his phone, the brim of his cap shading down to the tip of his nose.

The only visible part was his tightly closed lips, which were well-shaped, reminiscent of exquisitely carved marble statues in an art gallery.

“Wow, Brother Qiao, you’re wearing the same outfit,” Lu Kui exclaimed in a hushed voice.

Saying they were wearing the same outfit was an exaggeration; it was actually just a similar combination…coincidentally, both were wearing black hoodies and black pants.

Moreover, Yan Qiao and the boy in the elevator had similar builds: both were around 183 cm tall, with broad shoulders, long legs, and good proportions. Coupled with the fact that their faces were obscured and hard to see, at first glance, it was like looking in a mirror.

Yan Qiao didn’t say anything and was the first to step into the elevator. The other four teammates followed suit.

In the end, through a twist of fate, he ended up standing right next to the unfamiliar boy in the corner.

The hotel elevator was moderately sized, and fitting six boys with an average height of 180 cm inevitably felt a bit crowded.

The four teammates other than Yan Qiao naturally stood close together.

Lu Kui was still chattering incessantly about rehearsing the dance, while the companion beside him responded half-heartedly. The other two teammates chimed in from time to time.

The elevator doors closed, and the mirror-like metal surface reflected two black-clad figures standing shoulder to shoulder.

Yan Qiao couldn’t help but glance a few times. Just as he was about to look away, the reflection of the boy, who had been keeping his head down, abruptly looked up.

A pair of vivid, sharp green eyes suddenly crashed into Yan Qiao’s line of sight.

….
……
…….

‘Stunning…’

That was Yan Qiao’s first reaction after snapping back to his senses.

“Ding!” The elevator arrived on the first floor.

Quentin stepped out of the elevator.

He had been listening to the system chattering away and finally figured out his background in this world.

Quentin, 17 years old, of mixed Chinese and American descent, born in Yanhai City, China.

His parents worked abroad year-round, transferring a monthly allowance to their son’s bank account on schedule but never showing their faces.

Quentin graduated from high school in June of this year, filled out his college applications in July, and was successfully admitted to Yanhai University in August. However, due to his participation in the [Next Stage] program recording, he temporarily took a leave of absence.

System: “You don’t need to worry about the existence of your parents; this is just something the system fabricated to make your background rationalized.”

“Including your experiences growing up in Yanhai City, there’s no need to worry. Your elementary, middle, and high school classmates will vaguely remember the existence of ‘Quentin,’ but more details will be blurry. So no matter how you perform on the show later, absolutely no one will find it strange!”

Quentin asked in his mind: “So I haven’t signed with a company yet? I’m an amateur?”

“That’s right! In the program team’s words, you are an independent trainee, and your initial stage will be a solo performance.”

The system chattered on as if pouring out beans: “According to the plan, the [NS] program team will officially announce the promotional photos of the 101 trainees tomorrow. But your spot was temporarily inserted by this system. In the original plot, there were only 100 trainees. All the other trainees have already had their posters and promotional videos shot; only you didn’t participate in the filming.”

“But don’t worry, Host. After you dye your hair, this system will carefully produce your exclusive poster based on the program team’s shooting style. It definitely won’t lose to anyone else’s.”

The system said with great vigor and confidence: “Although we missed the already released promotional videos, it won’t stop you from coming from behind and surpassing them! This system is your strongest cheat!”

……..Was this system forgetting that their goal wasn’t to build a career, but to redeem the main characters?

Quentin did not refute. Knowing nothing about the original plot or the main characters’s identity, the only thing he could do was establish himself in the entertainment industry as quickly as possible.

Although, from what he knew, the Chinese entertainment industry wasn’t as chaotic on the surface as Europe and America’s, but all crows under heaven are black. In this glamorous yet undercurrent-filled arena of fame and fortune, only the strong held the power to control their own destiny.

He suddenly thought: “If I need to sign with a company later, do you have any recommendations?”

System: “Your post-debut limited group contract will be with Galaxy Entertainment, the program’s investor.”

“As for a personal contract, this system recommends the three major mainstream entertainment companies: Wanming Pictures, Xinda Media, and BKL Entertainment. Among them, Wanming primarily trains actors, Xinda focuses on music production, and BKL specializes in building idol labels.”

“This system has already scanned them. The entertainment industry in this world is highly developed, almost to the point of nationwide star-chasing and entertainment to death. So, as industry leaders, these three companies are extremely strict in their management of artists and employees!”

The system muttered quietly: “Host, their contracts are very black-hearted, unscrupulous! The profit split ratio for newcomer contracts is 1:10, and once you sign, you’re tied to their company for at least fifteen years minimum! It’s like an indentured servitude contract.”

Quentin frowned: “Is that so……”

Since his previous life, Quentin had never signed with someone else’s company. Moreover, the music company he founded himself didn’t handle artist signings; the entire company, from top to bottom, served only him.

He had not looked deeply into the standard contracts of normal entertainment companies, but it was easy to imagine how much undisclosed scheming was involved.

Quentin certainly wasn’t happy about signing with another company. He was very aware of his own talent and capabilities. Besides, the songs he wrote in his previous life hadn’t been brought to this world…it was equivalent to a top-tier musician holding dozens of hit original songs having to sign a newcomer contract with an entertainment company.

Wasn’t this just rushing to give money away?

But what bothered Quentin the most wasn’t the matter of money, but this feeling of being controlled by others.

He thought for a moment and said: “System, can you help me establish a company? Or…….can you help me transfer my money from my previous world here?”

System: “Establishing a company is possible, but there’s no way to get money across worlds. The currencies of the two worlds are not interchangeable.”

Quentin’s mind worked quickly: “I remember you said you can provide professional practice room functions. Explain in detail.”

“Ahem!” The system cleared its throat, “This system can pull the host’s consciousness into another space when the host closes his eyes. The system will use data to construct a professional practice room in this space. At the same time, it will extract personal data from this world’s powerful singers, top dancers, famous rappers, and popular idols to replicate all-around famous teachers for 1v1 guidance, guaranteeing to train you into an all-round boy group idol skilled in singing, dancing, and rap!”

Quentin understood: “Then can you construct a professional recording studio?”

The system raised its voice: “Of course!”

Quentin: “If I have some songs, can I produce them in the recording studio you construct and then release them in reality?”

“Just that is no problem…” the system hesitated, “But system headquarters is very strict about copyright protection. If the host is thinking of taking popular songs from your previous world and releasing them here…that’s not allowed.”

Quentin nodded calmly: “Don’t worry, I’m not going to be a thief. They are my own songs.”

“Eh?! Host, you were a singer in your previous life too!”

The system was surprised for a moment, then quickly convinced itself: “Of course, the host’s appearance rating is so high, it would be strange not to enter the entertainment industry… Your own songs are of course OK! This system can even help you release them, and can provide song ratings and performance predictions before release too.”

Quentin sighed sincerely: “These functions of yours must make investors very envious.”

“Hehe.” The system was modest, “It’s not that amazing. These are just this system’s basic functions, and using them requires consuming energy…but not much! As long as the host actively interacts with the main characters and increases the plot deviation degree, energy is earned very quickly!”

“Every new host gets 100 points of welfare energy to use when first entering the book world. These 100 points are enough for you to use the practice room function for a full 100 hours!”

“There are six main characters in this world. Each has a 100% plot deviation progress bar. Every 1% of plot deviation can be exchanged for 100 points of energy, so, host, you can obtain 60,000 points of energy from them!”

As it spoke, the system glanced at the energy balance displayed in its backend: “Although you only have 100 points right now… Huh??!”

The system exclaimed just as Quentin reached the door of the hair salon.

He walked into the salon without changing expression, asking mentally at the same time: “What’s wrong?”

The system said loudly: “Host! The plot deviation degree has moved!!!”