CH 79

With many supporters from all over the world, the public performance heated up, and the sea of lights resembled colorful stars, shining with passion and beautiful light.

Zhao Jinjin continued to serve as the host, and the four mentors took turns as her partner. The opening partner was Ning Sile. He was the most popular, and it would be easier for him to drive the atmosphere when they put on the opening act.

As expected, as soon as the two came on stage, the audience began to scream as their respective light signs lit up. In order not to arouse the resentment of the mentors’ fans, the trainees’ fans would quiet down, neither yelling nor waving their light sticks whenever the mentors were the focus of the camera, giving enough space for the mentors’ fans to support their idol.

The fans get along very harmoniously. After the two people finished the introduction with their cue cards, the solo stage officially began.

This time more than half of the ten solo stages were singing and dancing. Although the style was explosive and easy to drive the mood of the whole scene, there were so many similar types making it difficult to stand out.    

Cen Feng came out seventh.

Before this, five singing and dancing stages lit up the entire arena. And when it was his time to perform it reached a critical point. So, whether if danced half-heartedly or even if his performance had the energy of the previous trainees, it would still cause the audience to experience aesthetic fatigue and reduce the views.

The kites were kneading their hands as they sweated, worried for their idol.

Now it’s not a question of whether he slacks off or not, but even if he doesn’t slack off it may not be able to meet everyone’s expectations.

Zhao Jinjin was already holding the cue card on the stage to call on the next trainee.

“The next trainee who will perform on the stage will present a piece of his own work.”

Several mentors took turns with her to host, and this time it happened to be the turn of Shi Lin, who then said.

“Yes, this is his own composition and choreography, and I fell in love with it the first time I heard his song, so I immediately contacted a choreography teacher and finished the song overnight. This contestant is a trainee who constantly surprises people, I heard you all call him a divine treasure.”

When kites first heard that the next contestant would perform his own song and choreography, they all stopped screaming, unsure if the one who would perform was their idol.

What if they got it wrong and shouted for the wrong name—how embarrassing that would be.

After all, they hadn’t heard that their idol had this kind of talent.

But as soon as Shi Lin cued ‘divine treasure’, the kites instantly came to life and began to shout Cen Feng’s name frantically.

Zhao Jinjin said with a smile.

“It seems that you all can’t wait. Next, let’s invite Cen Feng to bring his solo performance, ‘The Fight.”

The stage lights dimmed, and when they came back on, a beam of white light fell on a white gauze tent that had been enclosed. Cen Feng was standing inside the tent, his figure looming as the music accompanied by screams resounding throughout the audience.

The opening was an ethereal chant and as the rhythm advances it was followed by a rap, when the high notes climb to the top, a series of heavy bass drums become heavier, and after the cymbals, the lights explode along with the music, and the backup dancers standing silently on both sides of the stage violently tear open the tent.

The white veil flew up, revealing the original appearance of the teenager.

All the worries of the fans were unnecessary.

He could be the king of the stage if he wanted to be.

This was the first time the audience, fans, mentors, and trainees truly experienced Cen Feng’s stage performance.

No one realized that there were backup dancers on stage; their eyes could see only him.

A thought popped into everyone’s head: Is this really a trainee? Isn’t this the kind of stage power that only a top-notch singer and dancer could have?

Whether it’s his singing, dancing, stage style, or ability to control the stage, he had perfected it all. So much so that Ning Sile who stood under the stage was frowning as he stared, and his heart long turned upside down.

He couldn’t do that.

After five years of practice and five years since his debut, as one of the top idols in China, he has to admit that he couldn’t compare with Cen Feng in any way.

It’s not just shocking, it’s already frightening.

And what’s worse, this was the song that Cen Feng wrote and choreographed by himself. It was as if he was a black hole, he simply did not know how deep it was, how big it was, or what else could come up in the future that could shock the world.

The trainees in the broadcast room looked stunned.

At first, there was cheering, clapping, and whistling, and then everyone looked at the screen in shock and silence. Dozens of people from backstage seemed to have frozen.

Once the music ended, Cen Feng held the microphone with both hands, slightly dropping his eyes, and ended the song.

Even after all the dancing and singing, he had done, his voice was still so steady that they couldn’t hear him taking deep breaths between each stanza. The lights gradually dimmed with the ethereal singing and finally disappeared into nothingness.

Unknowingly someone murmured.

“Am I really competing with a mortal?”

Was he some kind of immortal?

What wrong did I do to compete with an immortal?

A few seconds after the performance, the audience was pulled back from their trance, and the kites who reacted first began to scream and shout frantically with the same shock and ecstatic expression plastered on their faces.

We made a profit!!! We are fans of an immortal!!! Rounding is equal to our ascension!!!

Dish your chicken mother! Whose son is slacking now! Who is stepping on your mother now!

He doesn’t need to improve!!!

He’s at the top!!! He should defy all beings and be worshipped!!!

The screams were endless, and the teenager on stage had returned to his usual indifferent and cold appearance. Zhao Jinjin and Shi Lin walked onto the stage, also full of admiration and shock.

Zhao Jinjin now finally understands why Young Miss was trying to pry him out of the corner that year.

Holding the microphone, she applauded and did not hide her appreciation.

“I think the audience on the scene should be as excited and feel as incredible as I do now because this performance is really…”

She seemed unable to think of adjectives and looked at Shi Lin for help.

Shi Lin answered, “incomparable. It’s the best performance I’ve seen since I came to the program.”

Zhao Jinjin received a prompt from the director in her earpiece and she looked at Cen Feng and asked, “I want to know, did you enjoy the stage again now?”

Cen Feng was silent for a moment and whispered, “I’m trying.”

Shi Lin also received the director’s prompt and had to continue to ask, “what makes you willing to love this stage again?”

Immediately after Cen Feng’s earpiece also came the director’s voice.

“Cen Feng, please answer it as the show, Teen Idol.”

To answer these kinds of questions was usually outside the script, but generally, the director still provides the answer to avoid mistakes.

The whole room was waiting for his answer.

Cen Feng raised his eyes and looked down at the stage.

Xu Zhaixing squatted next to the stereo, holding the glittering orange light sign, looking gentle and serious. And behind her, the orange lights signs were warm and dazzling.

The director’s voice was a little anxious: “Cen Feng?”

He lifted the microphone, “Because someone said they wanted to see me on stage.”

Zhao Jinjin subconsciously asked, “Who?”

Offstage Kite tore up the stage and yelled, “US!!!”

Cen Feng smiled, and the scream almost overturned the roof.

With this king-level stage and right after the divine treasure, the next performances were a little dull, with this the voting results of the solo staged performance was obvious.

Cen Feng won first place with landslide votes, second place was Ying Xuze, and third place was Jing Xiangbai, who was previously ranked fifth. The top three trainees would participate in the recording of “Be my Guest”. The candidates have been decided.

The solo stage performance was over, and then there was the group performance. The six groups had their characteristics, and the whole night was filled with excited screams.

When all the performances were over and the results of the live voting were available, the audience left one by one, while the seventy trainees gathered in the recording hall and began to wait for the second pronouncement of their fate.

This time, the last 20 trainees would be eliminated, and only 50 of the 70 trainees would be left.

It’s the cruelest time again, but compared with the last time, everyone’s mood has been relatively stable. The competition was like this. This was survival of the fittest, the further they moved forward, the more difficult it was, and in every journey, there was always a time to say goodbye.

As usual, Zhao Jinjin announced from the fiftieth place.

Zhou Mingyu’s ranking has been improving as much as his strength, and this time he has surpassed the fifteen mark and ranked fourteenth.

With all said and done, Zhou Mingyu was still handsome, and his appearance was not bad compared to the top nine. He also has a good personality, always worked hard, and he has good grades. Putting aside the sand sculpture he had good potential to become popular.

Not to mention he had a short-lived CP with Cen Feng. And the CP fans held the mentality that they must put Zhou Mingyu into a higher ranking to seal the CP, and not let others question their union. With these thoughts, the fans all worked hard to vote for him, and the number of votes soared all the way.

He Sian fell one place this time, from ninth to tenth, falling out of the upper circle.

In the last episode, Shi Ran was on the hot search with a quadruple rap, allowing many people to see his super rap skills. Apart from when he was in front of Cen Feng, he was actually a cool guy. This time he finally entered the upper circle and ranked ninth.

Bian Qi was still sitting fourth, but Fu Xingyan fell from second to third, and the crystal throne would be decided between Ying Xuze and Cen Feng.

The mentors also wanted to use this gimmick as one of their climaxes and asked two people to stand up and say what they felt about each.

Cen Feng still said, “thank you for the votes, you all work hard.”

Ying Xuze on the other hand was very bold: “I have long expected this day, I voluntarily abdicated!”

The scene was full of laughter, Zhao Jinjin also laughed as she reproached him.

“You are not qualified to step down, this is the voice of the crowd, congratulations to Cen Feng for winning first place in this episode.”

The scene was greeted with warm cheers and applause.

After tonight’s battle, no one dares to question his strength anymore, and everyone willingly and sincerely submits.

At the end of the recording, there was another parting. They didn’t go to the canteen this time. After all, it’s not good to always let the staff clean after them. Instead, they sat down at the recording site, hugged and said goodbye to each other, told them to take care of themselves, and went back to the dormitory one after another.

Early the next morning, the last twenty trainees left the recording camp. With only half of what was once a hundred now left, the competition after that would only get more and more brutal, and nobody dared to slack off.

There were only three people who did not need to train for the time being and were called by the staff to the conference room, ready to welcome their rewards.

The staff in charge of the “Guest” program team was the deputy head of Xu Zhaixing imperial study[1]. He was already a little bald in his thirties and was usually called directly by Xu Zhaixing “Teacher He He”.

When Cen Feng, Ying Xuze, and Jing Xiangbai arrived, He He was already drinking coffee inside. When the three people went in, he greeted them very warmly and then gave them three copies of the script.

While the three were flipping through it, He He asked, “All of you have seen “Be My Guest”, right?”

Ying Xuze nodded excitedly, “I’ve seen it, I’ve watched the first three seasons several times.”

After being a trainee of Chenxing for several years, Ying Xuze created a habit of watching every program created by his company even if he didn’t like it.    

Jing Xiangbai grew up in the United States and spent most of his life in the United States before joining Teen Idol. He didn’t know much about domestic variety shows, but fortunately, “guest” was famous. When he returned home, he watched it with his parents.

“I only watched the first season.”

He He smilingly said, “No problem, no problem.”

He then looks at Cen Feng again.

Cen Feng was silent for a while and found a reason.

“I wasn’t in China for the past two years and haven’t seen it.”

He He expressed understanding and continued.

“It’s okay if you haven’t seen it, our program focuses on one word, casual. Don’t be too restrictive, just treat it as normal. There aren’t many rules when recording. In fact, you can play freely, the more natural the better.”

The three nodded in understanding.

Because they were newcomers, and it was their first time participating in reality TV, He He patiently explained to them some of the places that need attention, to determine the contract before telling them to sign.

Finally, he explained, “I heard that you recorded the program late last night. Take a good rest today and get your spirit up. I will send a car to pick you up tomorrow morning. This time the host family is in B city which is very convenient.”

Coming out of the conference room, Ying Xuze asked excitedly.

“Who do you think, whose house are we going to tomorrow?”

He was not expecting Cen Feng to respond, so his gaze burned as he looked at Jing Xiangbai.

Jing Xiangbai felt that this kind of speculation was completely meaningless.

“If you go, you will know.”

Ying Xuze disagreed.

“Have you ever watched ‘Be My      Guest’? every time a guest comes to visit, he must prepare a gift. How can we prepare a gift without knowing who the host is?”

Jing Xiangbai: “Isn’t it popular to send red envelopes in China?”

Ying Xuze: “It’s not New Year’s worship!”

The two talked all the way back to the dormitory. Ying Xuze grabbed Cen Feng who was going to 302.

“Brother Feng, let’s go to my dorm room and talk about what we’re giving tomorrow.”

Cen Feng: “Not going. I’ll catch up on sleep. Just send red packets.”

Jing Xiangbai froze.

He didn’t have much contact with Cen Feng. He has an upright personality and his first encounter with Cen Feng was when he was slacking off. By then he knew he didn’t like him very much and didn’t take the initiative to talk to him. But after yesterday’s performance, he was surprised by Cen Feng’s strength, but because of the previous ill will, he still didn’t want to talk first to Cen Feng. But when he was suddenly recognized by the boss, he now suddenly feels he was a lot closer to him.

Turning his head, he rushed to Ying Xuze with his lips hooked upwards.

“I told you so, I should give you a red envelope.”

Ying Xuze: “…..”

The following day, the sun hasn’t risen yet but the three were already taken to the dressing room to do the styling since they would appear on camera, so they couldn’t just wear their usual training clothes with plain faces.

Before dawn, when the three entered, Xu Zhaixing yawned and sat on the sofa.

Ying Xuze wasn’t fully awake either, but when he saw her, he almost shouted.

“Little… mi—teacher Xiao Xu.”

Chen Xing’s trainee received a notice before she came. The young miss would join the program group as a stylist. In order not to cause unnecessary discussion, everyone would keep her identity confidential and never spread it.

He hurriedly shut his mouth and obediently sat down in front of the makeup mirror.

Seeing that Ying Xuze sobered up a little, Xu Zhaixing secretly smiled at him.

“If you want to appear handsome in front of the camera, who will come to style you if not me?”

Ying Xuze raised his hand, “Teacher Xiao Xu, I’ll go first.”

Nowadays it was not only girls who could put makeup on their faces, so were the boys. The three of them were wearing their plain clothes but after Xu Zhaixing painted their faces with simple and everyday makeup, they all looked too handsome. All three already have handsome faces so Xu Zhaixing decided to keep their appearance cool and natural.

He was fixing Ying Xuze’s eyebrows when Cen Feng came over and asked her.

“Have you had breakfast yet?”

Xu Zhaixing shook her head, “no, I have to go back to sleep after styling.”

Just after saying that, a bottle of milk was handed over. It was the breakfast that Cen Feng had just carried in his hand. He only ate a piece of toast, and the milk had not been opened. It was still warm when he took it out of the convenience store.

He said, “Drink this.”

Xu Zhaixing’s cheeks bulged for a while. There were other people in the room, so she didn’t dare to call out his name out loud. She whispered.

“I don’t need it. Drink it.”

Cen Feng unscrewed the lid and calmly handed it to her mouth: ”     Be obedient.”

The bottle was slightly cold, and the milk smell wafted in.

Xu Zhaixing felt that what she smelled was not milk fragrance, but love…

Ah no! Mother and son are affectionate!

She pursed her lower lip, took the bottle, pressed down her erratically beating heart, and drank the milk obediently.

And burped.

Cen Feng couldn’t help but smile and pointed to the corner of his mouth, Xu Zhaixing understood it at once and raised her hand to wipe her mouth with the back of her hand. Cen Feng then took the empty milk bottle and walked back to the sofa to sit down.

Xu Zhaixing smacked her lips and continued to apply makeup to Ying Xuze.

Ying Zuxe who saw everything: “….”

Is our Missy being teased?

***

imperial study[1]- the staff under Xu Zhaixing’s leadership (it was because their team were always so busy that other teams started calling them imperial study just like how the emperor’s imperial study was always busy back in the day)