Ch7 - Strongest Networking Connection

Yesterday, Lu Xu basically went viral on Douyin.

The sneakily recorded video had been played over 20 million times. Many people opened up Douyin and immediately saw his face. More and more people joined the search for ‘Douyin xiao gege’, but an entire night had passed by without much success.

Many of the netizens just wanted to join in on the fun; they would probably push this ‘heart-moving male god’ to the back of their minds within two days.

But who knew that the world was so small, that casually swiping through Weibo would lead to swiping onto subway xiao gege’s face again?

The shares, comments, and likes were numerous and the stylist’s Weibo immediately started trending. Soon after, due to the netizen’s discussions under the #subway xiao gege# tag, Lu Xu appeared at the end of the hot searches list. Many people wanted to know his Weibo, but no one aside from Hua laoshi, who had posted the status, knew anything about this subway xiao gege.

The longer they went without finding his information, the more they felt mystified. The more mystified they felt, the more curious they became.

[@Sexy Loli Empress Ma: @Xiao Hua LaoshiV Hua laoshi I’m begging you, please point out a clear path for how to find this xiao gege I’m so greedy!]

There were also conscious and rational netizens who felt that this was a tactic, so they started to tear it apart——

[@Banana You Are Not Nana: This is just hype created by the team, okay? First, they bought a promotion on Douyin as a gimmick, then they’ll take the opportunity to debut him. I’ve really seen too many of these hype tactics. It’s totally not a new idea at all, okay?]

However, everyone saw those comments and ignored them-

[@Riding A Donkey And Chasing The Sun: This xiao gege is gaining merit by debuting with those looks. I’ll continue camping here for a link to his contact, woo~~]

After posting onto Weibo, xiao Hua laoshi went to busy herself with other things. She didn’t even realise that she had become trending on Weibo with those three photos alone.

The netizens waited for a while but never got a reply from the original poster, so they started their own self-investigation.

[@Holmes on Weibo: If I recall correctly, xiao Hua laoshi should be a contracted stylist for Yao Guai Entertainment. She used to work with Su Mubai and Yu Manman and they were both artists from Yao Guai Ent. Logically, I theorise that the subway xiao gege is an artist from Yao Guai Ent.]

[@Cat North South: Wth, I searched Yao Guai Entertainment on Bai Du and it’s full of big shots. Don’t tell me xiao gege is Susu and Manman’s little colleague brother?]

[@Children Are All Born: @Xiao Hua LaoshiV @YaoGuaiEntertainmentV Is he or is he not, I’ll be waiting for your reply.]

…

Bai Ze was the one who always managed Yao Guai Entertainment’s Weibo. After all, he was the only manager in the entire company.

However, right now, Weibo was not even on his mind. He was focused entirely on Lu Xu’s next filming.

Only when the two of them arrived at the location at 8 o’clock did they realise that the other companies’ artists were more proactive than they were.

However you went about it, Dongcheng TV was one of the best TV stations. In addition to the fact that Fan Zeng was in charge of ‘Birth of an Idol’, it was clear that the ratings would not be bad.

In this age of entertainment media, there were countless youths who had dreams and hoped to find their life on the stage.

Many of these trainees were young, but their training periods were five to six years, some even longer.

This opportunity, to them, did not come by easily. Everyone was holding onto the hope that they would stand out from the crowd of 100 trainees. Only when they got the chance to debut would their glamorous lives begin.

The 100 people participating in this show had been chosen from all over the country.

Different companies had different guidelines, so the quality of their trainees would also be different.

Some were very new, to the point that they did not even have a private Weibo after signing on. There were also some groups who had already performed on stage before, and surely had some popularity online. Other than that, there were also three boy group members who had already debuted, and had come to do this again due to various reasons.

There were dozens of cameras inside the studio. There was no telling when and who they would record.

Everyone was working on their own preparations, observing other people while trying hard to maintain their image, hoping they would be able to appear in the footage.

Lu Xu didn’t come very early. Bai Ze stood by his side the entire time.

A staff member came over to let him pick his number. Lu Xu randomly chose one of the papers and looked at it——

Oh, number 4.

“What a coincidence, my lucky number.” Many chinese people felt that this familiar sounding ‘4’ was not very auspicious, but Lu Xu did not have that kind of sentiment.

“In a moment, we’ll begin the first ranking evaluation. Lu Xu, you’re in the fourth group to enter…” While the staff member was talking, Lu Xu was at the side listening quietly. His delicate profile and obedient face really made people feel good. The staff member noticed this and became more patient and detailed, and even remembered to give Lu Xu some personal advice. “Usually, A-rank will get a bit more screen time than the other ranks…”

They were all newbies. A bit more screen time could mean the favour of a few more viewers.

For someone as attractive as Lu Xu, he could get a lot of fans as soon as he appeared in the frame.

“Thank you.” Lu Xu thanked the staff member for their goodwill, but what he was thinking about, no one knew.

The studio was where the filming would take place. As a manager, Bai Ze could only go to the audience seats and watch Lu Xu’s performance from there.

Whether he was actually a signed artist or not, Bai Ze felt that he should still give out some tips. “Don’t feel too pressured. Just be yourself.”

Lu Xu was obedient. “Okay, Director Bai.”

Bai Ze and Fan Zeng could be considered old friends. After Lu Xu was settled, Bai Ze went over to greet him. At this time, there were already quite a few managers in the studio, and one of them could be considered an old acquaintance of Bai Ze’s.

“And here I was thinking Director Bai wouldn’t even participate in this year’s show. Who would have thought that he’d sign a new artist behind our backs.” As the man spoke, he smoothly pushed his glasses up, his voice carrying subtle annoyance.

This person was Liu Haichao. Everyone called him ‘Hai ge’ in the industry circle. He was the golden manager of Xin Du Entertainment, and was in charge of quite a few famous celebrities. He even had the reputation of entertainment’s number one manager——But this was all before Bai Ze appeared.

When Yao Guai Entertainment was first established, it was just a nameless company, and no one took them seriously.

But who would have thought that, in a few short years, Yao Guai Entertainment would push out the Film King Su Mubai and the Vocal Queen Yu Manman. These two people’s statuses in the industry were top-notch, and they led Yao Guai Entertainment to become a powerful management agency.

At the same time, as Su Mubai and Yu Manman’s manager, Bai Ze also slowly appeared in the public eye.

A lot of people lamented that Yao Guai Entertainment was a treasure; even the manager’s looks were good enough to debut with.

Even though Bai Ze did not have the heart to become an artist, he had quite a few fans in the industry. And today, when mentioning the number one manager in the entertainment circle, everyone first thought of Bai Ze. As for Liu Haichao, he was naturally pushed down by Bai Ze’s glory.

Needless to say, Liu Haichao was reluctant about it, and always wanted to get back the glory he thought belonged to him. However, after all the numerous artists he signed in the past few years, none of them could surpass Su Mubai and Yu Manman.

At first, he had been very frustrated, but after learning that Bai Ze had brought an artist to the show, Liu Haichao’s mood suddenly became a whole lot better.

“I heard that this artist hasn’t trained for very long, hm?” Liu Haichao chuckled, unable to suppress his glee. “But that’s all right, our Song Zhe is rich with experience when it comes to the stage. I’ll talk to him later, and ask him to take care of your artist.”

Song Zhe was a trainee that Liu Haichao had discovered three years ago. Not only was he handsome, he was good at dancing and singing.

Liu Haichao had made preparations for him to debut in center position when sending him to participate in this competition. It was just nice that Bai Ze didn’t have a good eye, and chose a completely green artist to enter the competition.

One strikeout and one center position debut; just thinking about this comparison would make anyone secretly happy.

Bai Ze wasn’t stupid, so he understood the meaning behind his words.

He merely chuckled, his tone a bit cold. “Oh.”

Li Haichao had been hit with a soft punch to the stomach, feeling an indescribable discomfort. He was about to say a few more words but was dismantled by Fan Zeng’s words. “Song Zhe is decent, but Lu Xu isn’t lacking. There are dark horses every year; maybe this year’s is this cute little newbie.”

This made Li Haichao feel a little uncomfortable, but he didn’t dare offend Fan Zeng and could only reply with a smile, “Fan ge is right, maybe Bai Ze’s artist really is the dark horse.”

Pei!

A little artist who had never received formal training paddling water to participate in this kind of survival program was just a joke.

Li Haochao was full of unspoken criticism, and could only listen as Fan Zeng directed the camera. “Stand number 2 focus on Lu Xu, see what he chooses.”

The first week of the program required evaluations. Before the mentors appeared, the trainees had to first complete a self-evaluation.

The show had set up an A-rank, B-rank, C-rank, D-rank, and F-rank.

A-rank was at the top, while the other ranks were progressively lower.

Trainees would first choose seats based on their own abilities and the reputations of their management companies. Afterwards, the mentors would re-evaluate them based on their performances. At that time, some people would demote ranks and others would rise, creating a bit of an exciting scenario.

Everyone wanted to be A-rank, but their skills had to be considered good enough.

No matter how you thought about it, choosing A-rank at the beginning of the show then getting demoted by a mentor was absolutely a loss of face.

The lower the number one drew, the more freedom one had in choosing a seat. Lu Xu’s draw of number 4 was pretty good.

While the other three groups ahead of him went onto the stage, Lu Xu quietly waited backstage.

Most of the others had come in groups and were curious to see an unfamiliar face standing alone.

Those who became trainees all had decent appearances, but even though he was sandwiched between a group of handsome men, Lu Xu was still the one with the most presence.

There were many who observed him, and even a simpler personality who directly came up to him to obtain information with a “Hello my name is Xu Lele, a trainee from Happy Entertainment.”

Lu Xu turned around and saw a pale boy standing behind him. His smile revealed two shallow dimples, looking very cute.

“Hello, my name is Lu Xu, a trainee from Yao Guai Ent.”

!!!

“My god, Yao Guai Entertainment?” Xu Lele let out a noise of surprise, and immediately followed up with another question. “The one that Su Mubai and Goddess Yu Manman are in, that Yao Guai Entertainment?”

Lu Xu nodded. “Yes.”

Upon hearing where Lu Xu was from, everyone who was listening couldn’t help but be a bit surprised, and they felt the burden on their shoulders get heavier.

Lucky fellow. It was enough that he was handsome, but he even had to be in the same company as Su Mubai and Yu Manman.

If they thought more about it, then his manager had to be Bai Ze.

He hadn’t even debuted yet and already had Bai Ze guiding him, along with Su Mubai and Yu Manman as a glamorously blinding background. Didn’t that mean this person was this competition’s strongest networking connection?

Everyone had their own thoughts. Some admired Lu Xu for his good fortune, some silently saw Lu Xu as their rival.

Not long after, the staff member came over to let Lu Xu know it was time for his self-evaluation.

When Lu Xu went into the studio, the first three groups had already chosen their positions.

Perhaps in order to play safe, everyone in the three groups had chosen B-rank.

Because of this, the entire section in A-rank was obviously empty.

After Lu Xu got onto the stage, most of the people felt that he would choose A-rank.

The students who were already sitting in B-rank saw Lu Xu and couldn’t help but start discussing. Someone even let out a scream—

“Wah, this xiao gege is way too handsome!”

“He’ll choose A-rank. After all, he looks so good.”

“That’s right that’s right, A-rank looks so inviting.”

Regardless of personal abilities, being the first person to sit in a seat at A-rank would create excitement in itself.

Lu Xu finished his self-introduction and started to walk towards the seats. Just when everyone thought he would head to the A-rank section, he stopped without hesitation at F-rank, and calmly found a place to sit.

Everyone’s heads were filled with question marks—

Was there a mistake?! Was this allowed?!

cael: please welcome the new aliens joining our official alien bureau: tofunoodle/sylvia, our new editor, and chunky, our new proofreader! ????????????????