Ch22 - Hehe, I Fooled You

“Fuck, he got A-rank!”

“Lu Xu is really too strong. Singing is good, dancing is good, he can do everything.”

“I’m done for. A-rank’s level is too strong, I have no hope left.”

Lu Xu’s performance had been too obvious, so when Ji Xiunian announced his ranking, no one was surprised.

Ji Xiunian congratulated Lu Xu. However, his gaze unconsciously never left the boy’s side. After hearing that Lu Xu had received A-rank, those four weird fellows seemed to be more excited than the other people there.

“That’s great, I just knew Master was an ace.”

“Woooo, I’m so happy!”

“Eh, I suddenly feel so emotional? I really want to cry?”

“He Xinghua, that’s enough, you overreact at happy situations.”

…

The four ghosts chattered, seeming like they were very familiar with Lu Xu.

Did they know one another?

As Ji Xiunian thought about this, he couldn’t help but look at Lu Xu to see his reaction.

When Lu Xu heard his rank, he just smiled, exuding a kind of self-confident charm. There were some trainees who cheered his name and congratulated him, but Lu Xu didn’t even glance at the four things beside him.

So he didn’t know about them?

Ji Xiunian’s emotions were complicated. Right now he didn’t know if he hoped that Lu Xu could see them or not.

The start of Lu Xu’s performance to the announcement of his rank had only taken three minutes. Very quickly, it was the next contestant’s turn.

As a mentor, Ji Xiunian had to compose his thoughts and focus on watching the next student’s performance,  temporarily putting Lu Xu to the back of his mind.

“Xu ge is so amazing!” Xu Lele was in one of the side sections, and couldn’t help but wave excitedly when he saw Lu Xu, speaking in a very soft voice.

Lu Xu nodded lightly at him, and lifted his hand in a show of encouragement.

Many of the people present had not interacted much with Lu Xu beforehand, only having observed him from afar and thinking that he had very impressive looks. But seeing him smile at such a close distance, everyone noticed that the term ‘good-looking’ couldn’t encompass him at all.

This was when they realised that some people were really favoured by god. Even if they were lowkey, their existence was still dazzling.

As the first A-rank member, Lu Xu wore a gentle smile as he went over to the A-rank seats, his manner quite good-natured.

The F4 followed closely behind him, unable to stop talking about how happy they were to have danced together with him just now.

“Master Lu Xu, I really haven’t been that happy in such a long time,” Probably because he had been very young when he died, He Xinghua’s emotions were bubbling over. Debuting and going onstage had always been his dream, and the opportunity to dance hadn’t come easily to him, so he was naturally very happy about this. However, he suddenly sighed. “I really hoped that people could see us perform. I really want to participate in another round of evaluations too.”

He had just said that on a childlike whim, but had never expected Lu Xu to slightly move his lips and give a suggestion, “You can try it on Ji Xiunian later, you might be surprised.”

Lu Xu was looking straight ahead as he said this, making it seem like he was focused on watching the other students’ performances.

He Xinghua got his meaning, and glanced at Ji Xiunian again. They were always guessing whether this person could see them or not, why not continue to make sure?

The evaluations continued.

Lu Xu was like a dose of excitement who could always unknowingly raise everyone’s mood. The trainees who came after him were all very serious, but the levels of their ability fluctuated.

After 10 consecutive B-ranks, Song Zhe – the one who was thought to be the best center position candidate – went on stage.

Compared to Lu Xu, he had trained for a lot longer, and his foundations were a lot stronger as well.

As expected, whether it was his dancing or his expressions, Song Zhe’s standard was that of a professional.

Just like Lu Xu, when Ji Xiunian announced the result as an “A”, everyone treated it as a guaranteed thing.

“Gods are gods, I feel like their dance and mine aren’t even the same.”

“He’s the leader of BTT, it’s normal for him to be strong.”

“I’m suddenly very curious. Between him and Lu Xu, I don’t know who will get the center position.”

Song Zhe thanked the judges and took his new name tag, and walked towards the A-rank section. Naturally, he could hear the sounds of discussion.

Seeing that Lu Xu was waiting for him calmly in the A-rank section, Song Zhe’s emotions were a bit complicated. Before this, he still felt that the center position belonged to him, but after seeing Lu Xu’s performance, Song Zhe was suddenly unsure.

It wasn’t accurate to say that Lu Xu’s dance was a lot better than his, but dancing wasn’t just about the movements, it was about the atmosphere and emotions it aroused in the audience. Onstage Lu Xu’s charm was obvious, as though he was born to be on the stage.

With these conflicting emotions, Song Zhe walked towards the A-rank section. When he saw Lu Xu smile warmly at him, he told himself not to think about it anymore.

If he did his best and left the rest to God’s will, there was no need to worry so much, right?

The two of them stood next to each other in A-rank, quietly watching the remaining evaluations.

These trainees were sent from national management agencies after all, so their overall abilities were not bad. However, where there was a comparison, the shortcomings would show. Especially with Lu Xu and Song Zhe as super A-rank contestants, it would be difficult for the trainees that came after to stand out.

From the overall lineup, it hadn’t changed much. No one was surprised at Lu Xu and the 5 BTT members making it into A-rank.

Seeing that there was only one position left in A-rank, the trainees who hadn’t done their evaluation yet gave it all their strength.

Lu Xu wasn’t very interested in the evaluations. He could only stand there, bored, until the filming was over.

There were only a few more trainees left. Everyone couldn’t help but guess who the last A-rank member would be.

The BTT members were no exception, they all said who they thought could be the best candidate.

Song Zhe and Han Tianyu both thought it would be B-rank’s Guan Honglang. Xu Haoming thought it would be C-rank’s Xu Lele.

“It’s definitely Guan Honglang. If he hadn’t picked the wrong song for his first evaluation, he would have been in A-rank from the start.”

“It’s not because I know him that I think he’ll get it. The main thing is that Xu Lele’s dance foundation is not bad. It if weren’t for his teammate’s lack of strength, he wouldn’t have gotten a C-rank…”

None of them could convince the other. Xu Haoming then couldn’t resist asking Lu Xu, “Xu ge, who do you think will get the last A-rank position?”

Lu Xu, upon hearing those words, scanned the surroundings. His gaze stopped on a trainee in F-rank. That person was only 173cm tall, and was stuck in the middle of a group of long-legged trainees, so he didn’t stand out at all. His facial features were fair, but average. At first glance, he wasn’t very eye-catching.

If it weren’t for the strange aura around him, Lu Xu wouldn’t have noticed him at all.

“Who is that?”

“Which one?” Xu Haoming followed the direction that Lu Xu was pointing at, and then pursed his lips. “Xu ge, you’re not asking about F-rank’s Lan Gaojie are you?”

Lu Xu hadn’t thought that Xu Haoming would actually know, so he asked, suddenly interested, “You know him?”

“Mm. A few years ago, when the company was first recruiting trainees for BTT, Lan Gaojie was part of the name list. But his foundations were really too bad, and he came in last for every evaluation. When he was eliminated by the company, he cried at first and wouldn’t leave, then he started cursing and saying that we would regret it…” Xu Haoming shrugged, he didn’t have a good impression of this person. “Xu ge, you don’t think he’ll get A-rank, do you?”

Lu Xu started at Lan Gaojie, smiling and yet not smiling at the same time. “Nothing is set in stone. What if it’s the one in a million?”

It was not only Xu Haoming who didn’t believe it, even Han Tianyu also thought that this joke was not very realistic. “There isn’t even the possibility at all. What kind of abilities would he have if he got F-rank as soon as he came in?”

As they talked, Lan Gaojie just so happened to be walking on stage.

Seeing that it was an F-rank trainee, the mentors weren’t very interested, and only politely told him to start his performance.

It was strange. The Lan Gaojie who looked so average off-stage suddenly became a different person. His body moved to the music, his face filled with youthful confidence.

He wasn’t handsome, but his strong aura made everyone unable to take their eyes off him.

His height and proportions weren’t that great, but his smooth, flowing motions made everyone’s eyes brighten and feel like his dancing really was brilliant.

“This guy is strong, I never noticed him at all before!”

“He’s F-rank? He clearly has the ability to debut.’

“If he doesn’t snipe that A-rank, I’ll turn upside down and wash my head!”

Everyone’s gaze was on Lan Gaojie’s body. Even the three mentors were shocked, and all agreed to give him A-rank.

Ji Xiunian looked at the trainee in front of him. There was something inexplicably wrong about him, but he couldn’t put a finger on what it was.

In the end, he still respected the other mentors’ opinions and gave Lan Gaojie A-rank.

“From F-rank all the way up to A-rank, this is really turning the tables!”

“I never thought that F-rank was hiding such a big god!”

Never mind that the trainees were all shocked, even the BTT members thought this was incredible.

Xu Haoming kept shaking his head. Han Tianyu was muttering to himself. “It’s really the one in a million?”

Lu Xu was the calmest one, simply watching Lan Gaojie hold his head high, chest puffed, as he walked towards A-rank.

“I didn’t think I’d meet you so soon!” Lan Gaojie stopped in front of the BTT members and couldn’t help but toss out these words. “Everyone better work hard, I don’t want to be grouped together with people who are weak.”

“What do you mean by that?” Xu Haoming was quick to anger as soon as he heard that.

“All right, Lao Xu. Don’t say too much.” The filming was still ongoing. Song Zhe didn’t want him to cause a ruckus at this time.

Xu Haoming’s feelings were turbulent, and he still wanted to say something, but in the end he lowered his head, realising that Lu Xu was tugging on him. Only then did he hold himself back.

Lu Xu gazed at the new person in front of him, and suddenly called out his name, “Lan Gaojie?”

This person originally wanted to go head-to-head with the BTT members, but having heard his name, he stared at Lu Xu. “What?”

Lu Xu ignored his rude attitude, and simply gave him a kind reminder. “You’ll have to return what you stole, eventually.”

Lan Gaojie, who was initially cocky and arrogant, was suddenly shocked. After he regained his composure, he said to Lu Xu softly, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Before he had even finished speaking, he went to the side to stand quietly, immediately wanting to distance himself from Lu Xu.

Lu Xu lowered his gaze, his lips curving. He licked his teeth, feeling quite pleased––

Looked like another order had come.

One hundred trainees had come to participate in this show. Even though everyone only danced for two minutes, it became quite a large process after adding it all up together, and having to watch the same dance one hundred times was not easy on the instructors either.

Including the break time and bonus footage filming, the entire filming only ended late into the night.

After the new groups were arranged, the greatest suspense was regarding the news of the theme song’s center position.

Those in A-rank were very strong contestants. It didn’t take much to know that the one who would take center position was one of those seven people. The cheers for Lu Xu and Song Zhe were especially loud, but as for who would be chosen, that still depended on the mentors’ announcement.

After a tense and orderly discussion, Ji Xiunian slowly got up and looked towards A-rank. “After looking comprehensively at the one hundred trainees’ performances, the four of us have all decided that the one who will take center position for the theme song is Lu Xu!”

“Wow!”

“It’s really Lu Xu!”

“Xu ge is amazing!”

The area was filled with the sounds of congratulation. Everyone was clearly more excited than Lu Xu.

The filming for the second round of evaluations concluded. Lu Xu stood on the stage, raising a brow and snapping his fingers at He Xinghua who was standing behind Ji Xiunian.

“Coming!”

He Xinghua made an “OK” sign, then floated to Ji Xiunian’s side.

Feeling that there was “someone” suspicious, Ji Xiunian still pretended not to see anything.

Before he even managed to take two steps, the fellow behind him suddenly raised the pitch of his voice and said, “Oh, Film Emperor, your phone dropped!”

Ji Xiunian subconsciously lowered his head, and immediately realised that something was wrong.

“Hehe, sorry.” He Xinghua floated in front of Ji Xiunian, grinning and making a face. “I just fooled you.”

here is a guide/visual reference to how birth of an idol would look like in real life!

here is some unsolicited chaos