Zhong Qu, Lu Kui, Yan Qiao, Dong Zeyu, Wei Bowen.
A dance-focused unit of five from BKL Entertainment, with Yan Qiao as the captain and Zhong Qu as the vice-captain.
“Two months ago, BKL Entertainment held internal company auditions for trainees to participate in the [NS] survival show.”
The system relayed the information it had gathered over the past week to its host: “Strangely, those notified to participate in the auditions were all trainees with an internal company rating of B or lower. The final selected candidate, Lu Kui, had even joined BKL only three months prior! He was a complete newbie who had been learning dance for less than half a year!”
“Host, host, guess why?”
Quentin: “…Because BKL and the [NS] program team have conflicts?”
“Yes! That’s right!” The electronic voice was excited. “This system dove deep into the major discussion forums to eat melons and finally figured out the past grievances between BKL Entertainment and the [NS] program team.”
“This is how it happened. Last year, the country’s first girl group survival show, ‘Shining Queen,’ was created through a collaboration between Youth TV and BKL. The final eight-member debut girl group was named Aurora.”
“However, after the show ended, BKL suddenly went back on their word. They not only refused to allow Aurora to participate in the girl group variety show Youth TV was planning but also intentionally scheduled heavy workloads for the Aurora members, making it impossible for them to have a full lineup for the post-show variety programs.”
Transforming into a professional gossip tabloid account, the system dramatically narrated the whole story from beginning to end with an exaggerated tone: “The worst part is, BKL actually used Aurora to feed popularity to their own newly debuted sixth-generation girl group!”
“Last year, the Youth TV survival show team spent all day cursing BKL’s name. The official ‘SQ’ account repeatedly ‘slipped’ and liked anti-BKL posts. Aurora fans and BKL’s sixth-generation girl group fans also fought fiercely.”
“Furthermore, since the Aurora members only had a two-year group contract with BKL Entertainment, the company not only withheld good resources from them but also frantically pushed all sorts of fan-exploiting commercial performances their way, all just to use Aurora’s popularity for resource swaps benefiting their sixth-gen girl group!”
“The deadly schedule BKL arranged for Aurora led to multiple members fainting from low blood sugar. The Aurora fan club launched rights protection actions against the company, which were ignored and suppressed. Rumor has it the manager BKL assigned to them was very skilled at PUAing artists. One member was exposed to have lost 30 kgs drastically within half a year, suspected of developing anorexia due to excessive dieting.”
The system got more and more excited as it spoke, like it had eaten too much melon and had indigestion, desperately wanting to shove all the gossip into its host’s head at once.
Quentin was silent for a moment, then said: “So… this time, the [NS] program team didn’t partner with BKL anymore and instead found a smaller company with deep pockets and fewer demands to be the sponsor.”
System: “Bingo~!”
“And the purpose of BKL sending their B-level trainees to [NS] is… to be cannon fodder to take up slots?” Quentin was puzzled. “If that’s the case, there’s no way [NS] would let BKL trainees debut in the final group, right?”
The system answered quietly: “Host, the entertainment industry in this world is unusually averse to practices like inflating results or falsifying data, and relevant laws and regulations have been enacted. If the [NS] program team secretly altered trainee vote counts or manipulated the final debut lineup behind the scenes, they could be taken to court on charges like suspected internet fraud, illegal fundraising, or corruption and bribery.”
This surprised Quentin somewhat: “It can be like that too.”
System: “Yes, so as long as these five BKL trainees are popular enough and can attract enough fans to vote for them, it’s still possible for them to squeeze into the debut spots.”
Quentin, however, was rational: “But the possibility isn’t high. The program team controls the final editing rights for the broadcast. If the director intentionally gives the BKL trainees no screen time, no matter how strong their skills are, they’re doomed…and the skills of B-level trainees probably aren’t strong enough to change their fate against heaven’s will anyway.”
The system muttered: “True…but! Not all five of these trainees are B-level. There’s one super A-level trainee among them who proactively applied to BKL to join.”
“A BKL super A-level trainee means that in their basic assessments for vocal, dance, and rap, one category meets BKL’s S-level standard, while the other two maintain an A or B grade. Additionally, they maintain scores of 90+ in courses like instruments, lyric writing, composition, languages, fashion sense, etiquette/poise, and psychological counseling.”
“Such a trainee is most likely to be selected for BKL’s idol label and officially debut as a member of a boy group.”
The electronic voice in his mind drew out slightly, sounding somewhat puzzled and hesitant: “I don’t know why Yan Qiao would cut off his own path to participate in the [NS] survival show.”
“Yan, Qiao.” Quentin repeated the name in his heart: “Proactively giving up the chance to debut in a BKL group, participating in a boy group survival show as a super A-level trainee…”
Why did this Yan Qiao sound like a main character template from a novel?
During Quentin’s internal communication with the system, the trainees staying at the Four Seasons Hotel had come downstairs and arrived at the bus one after another.
With the roar of the engine starting, the bus painted in black and gold officially set off towards the [Next Stage] recording base.
It happened to be the morning rush hour. Traffic on the roads in Yanhai City was severely congested, and the bus moved slowly amidst the stream of vehicles. The [NS] program logo and promotional slogan printed on its body were quite eye-catching. Many drivers and passengers stuck in traffic rolled down their windows, raising their phones to take pictures of the bus.
Lu Kui silently closed the window curtains and moved closer to Zhong Qu to complain: “I feel like a monkey in a zoo…… This is my first time experiencing the treatment of a celebrity.”
Zhong Qu, however, smiled and said: “Doesn’t that just mean our show is very popular? We’ve only just started recording and already many passersby have heard of us. That’s great.”
“Huh, I guess you’re right…” Lu Kui quickly glanced at the black-haired boy sitting on the other side of Zhong Qu. Covering the microphone on his collar with his hand, he lowered his voice and said, “Zhong Qu, how could you be so brave earlier.”
Zhong Qu: “… Huh?”
Lu Kui gestured with his chin towards Quentin’s direction: “How dare you initiate a conversation with him? Don’t you think he seems very…very difficult to get along with?”
He seemed like the kind of cold, aloof type who would ignore what others say, fully immersed in his own world…and also looked like an expressionless school campus male god directly out of a manga.
Zhong Qu narrowed his eyes: “Hmm… It’s fine, I think he’s quite cute.”
‘Cu…te?’
Lu Kui shuddered, unconsciously rubbing his arms, and cursed under his breath: “Fuck! Don’t use that tone of voice, it’s so gay!”
Zhong Qu smiled faintly and didn’t speak.
Lu Kui: “…Fuck, Zhong Qu, you’re not thinking about… binding with him to hype cp, are you?”
Although Lu Kui was straight, since he was here to participate in a boy group survival show, it was impossible for him to know nothing about certain aspects of idol promotion.
Every boy group that debuted from BKL engaged in hyping cp and selling BL fan service. Before debut, the company would arrange official pushed CPs; after debut, fans would also form popular chosen CPs. This was all commonplace.
After all, fans and the general audience loved to see it, and creating CPs was also one of the most cost-effective methods for drawing traffic, solidifying fans, tormenting and cultivating fans.
The previous season’s girl group survival show also had trainees who successfully squeezed into the debut ranks by being bound in a CP. One could imagine this season’s boy group survival show would have even more tricks.
But Lu Kui didn’t expect that Zhong Qu, a usually calm and reserved, non confrontational “nice guy”, would also have such thoughts. Uh, how to put it, he had no prejudice against hyping cp, he was already in the entertainment industry, why pretend; he obviously has to promote in the direction the audience likes.
But….
Zhong Qu and Quentin… didn’t match, okay?
Lu Kui looked at Quentin, who was taking a nap, then at Zhong Qu, who was smiling without speaking, and his inner voice shouted: “They just don’t match!”
They don’t even seem like they’re from the same artistic style!
Actually, Zhong Qu’s features were quite good; he was a delicate, gentle looking boy. Wearing glasses boosted his looks a level, giving him a sort of refined, scholarly temperament.
But Quentin’s looks were just a dimensionality attack.
Lu Kui thought to himself, who could form a CP with him? The side-by-side comparison would be disastrous.
If it were him, he would definitely avoid any chance of being in the same frame as Quentin. Hmph, he didn’t want to be screenshotted and compared unfavorably by black fans.
When the CP fans edit their sugar-crushing videos, the attention of any passerby would be completely captured by Quentin alone, and the screen would be full of “The green-eyed one is so handsome,” “Who’s the green-eyed one?”, “Is the green-eyed one mixed-race?” Who would care if the CP was sweet or not?
Lu Kui was left alone in internal shock, disordered and in disarray in the wind.
Half an hour later, the large bus finally broke free from the traffic jam and rattled its way to the entrance of the recording base.
The buses from the other two hotels were already parked by the roadside early on, and the seventy-plus trainees on board were standing outside waiting.
Someone raised a hand and waved at them, shouting loudly: “Yo…everyone from the Four Seasons Hotel, hurry up, we’re waiting for you!”
“What are you dawdling for, brothers, come on, gogogo!”
“You’re finally here, friends! We’re about to head in, take a deep breath… hoo hoo…”
“Once we go in, it’s the initial stage performance, right? Are the mentors all there? Is Teacher Yang Xu there? And Teacher Vinki? I’m a ten-year veteran fan of Vinki!”
“I’m different, I’m a fan of the host. This time even if I can’t debut, I can still succeed in chasing my star! As long as I can see Sister Miao Miao, my coming here wasn’t in vain!”
Young faces were exposed to the brilliant sunlight, full of smiles, their expressions either nervous, expectant, or ambitious. They chatted amongst themselves, using the lively atmosphere to ease psychological pressure.
Who didn’t want to ride the favorable trend of the “country’s first boy group survival show” to rise rapidly? Who didn’t want to stand under the spotlight,be seen by more people, be liked by more people?
The 101 trainees were both competitors and teammates advancing together.
They would spend three months of training camp life together at the recording base, living under the camera’s lens every moment, experiencing competition and elimination, experiencing arguments and reconciliation, experiencing the power of unity, cooperation, and mutual help.
And then gradually move from individuality towards collectivity, learning how to greet the audience’s affection with the new appearance of qualified boy group members.
Topic: [[NS] candid leaks, one word, handsome!]
Content:[I won’t post the big bus photos, they’re everywhere in the group, everyone can look for themselves. I managed to take photos of them getting off the bus and walking the red carpet into the recording base.
I have to say, they look much better in real life than in their official photos. Most of them are the kind of handsome boys that would make me unable to help but turn my head for a second look if I passed them on the street. Sharing for the sisters to appreciate [heart][heart] [photo.jpg]*18]
1L:[ OP is generous [milk tea][milk tea]]
2L:[Damn,they really are quite handsome. They all look so tall and slender, such long legs. They actually managed to find this many amateur handsome guys at once?]
3L:[After all,it’s the first boy group survival show, how could they not be handsome? All the major companies are probably scrambling to send their young handsome guys to ride the traffic and get face exposure right? [shrugs][shrugs]]
4L:[Are candid photos allowed?I took some too, the security guards even tried to stop us from taking pictures]
5L:[It’s fine.These kinds of candid leaks aren’t like public performances. Public performances definitely won’t allow filming, it’s okay for now.]
6L:[[screenshot.jpg]10, these few seem quite handsome. OP’s pixel quality is a bit blurry.These guys are all without makeup and dressed so plainly, I feel like they’d be even more handsome with proper makeup and styling.]
7L:[Finally I won’t be scolded by my friends for having an ugly fetish anymore [lies down flat][lies down flat]]
8L:[Did OP manage to get a picture of that god-tier visual? I’m curious, would his mixed-race features be good looking in real life too? I feel like he’s the type that looks better only on camera.]
9L: [[screenshot]4,upstairs, open the full-size image and look. OP took four close-ups of Quentin.]
10L:[Sooo handsome, family. Can a guy really wear a floral shirt that handsomely? Why does my husband look like a Southeast Asian native saying ‘Sawasdee ka’ when he wears one?]
11L:[Indeed,the purple has a certain unique charm~ Is this Quentin’s private clothing? So this is his personal taste, hh.]
12L:[He’s been on hot search so frequently, but it turns out they’ve only just started recording… I can’t take it, I can’t wait. Can they finish recording today and broadcast tomorrow, please aaaaah!]
![After losing all his wealth, the ancestor rose from his coffin [BL]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Your-paragraph-text-1.png "After losing all his wealth, the ancestor rose from his coffin [BL]")
