Chapter 21: 021

Chapter 21

"Ding dong--"

"Welcome to Galexy World. The performance will begin in thirty minutes. We are now starting admission. Please enter and find your seats. Use the concert QR code to scan and be seated."

The broadcast sounded on time, and people sitting and resting in the square began to gather their belongings and stand up.

Many of those who came today were spontaneous visitors, with quite a few rushing in just before admission. Some people, after choosing their seats, decided not to come because it was a free performance, but didn't cancel their reservations.

As the scattered crowd walked towards the steps, seeing how few people were present, some spectators had second thoughts about staying.

Before entering, everyone had different thoughts, but once inside, all attention was drawn to the facilities within the venue.

Although it was said to be a venue that could accommodate 2,700 people, which they thought would be small, it was actually very spacious inside. This was entirely due to its large stage and screens, which didn't resemble the facilities of a small venue at all.

For a venue of this capacity, having two large screens inside would be quite impressive, and even then, those screens might only be about 100 inches, hung on either side above the stage.

However, this venue had four very large floor-to-ceiling screens. Two in the middle of the stage used for playing background VCRs, and two on the left and right for broadcasting the stage.

There was also a very wide distance between the inner seats and the stand seats, seemingly enough space to fit another extended stage. The arrangement of seats and screens was also very reasonable, with people in the inner seats looking up at the performers on stage, and those in the stands watching the people on the screens.

Everyone who came in thought they would quickly find their seats, but it actually took several minutes to reach the inner seats after entering.

With more than twenty minutes left before the start, those who had taken their seats began taking videos of the venue with their phones, intending to send them to friends.

When most people had entered, the large screens inside the venue began to broadcast the performance guidelines. The first rule was that no photography or video recording devices were allowed during the performance, and anyone found doing so would be asked to leave.

People didn't pay much attention to this, as all performances say the same thing, but no one really listens.

At this time, the trainees who were about to go on stage were gathered backstage, encouraging each other.

Ye Xing touched his heart that felt like it was about to jump out, "...What should I do, I feel like I'm about to die."

It wasn't just him; the heartbeats of the others were so loud that they could feel the vibration when they put their hands on their chests. But the more they emphasized their nervousness, the more anxious they became. Gao Xiayu, seeing his younger brothers breathing rapidly, patted their shoulders and comforted them, "It's our first Monthly Evaluation, whatever happens is to be expected. Don't be too nervous, the more nervous you are, the more likely you are to make mistakes later."

As they were talking, they heard a staff member outside shout, "Ten minutes before the performance!"

Pei Luming, whose body was already numb from nervousness, tensed up even more. Chen Wu sat on the sofa, unable to stand up at one point. Even the trainees with more performance experience weren't doing much better, constantly rubbing their hands to relieve their nervous feelings.

A few seconds later, a staff member came to knock on the door and call them, "Hurry up, it's time to go to the standby area."

They suddenly became like ants facing an imminent rainstorm, in a state of panic and disorder.

With five minutes left, Jiang Juyou appeared in the inner area along with other staff members.

They were wearing staff badges and came from the direction of the backstage, immediately attracting the attention of the audience. Jiang Liuxing also looked over and quickly spotted his sister in the crowd.

It's just that--

His sister seemed to be in a position of high authority.

Jiang Juyou was led to the seats in the stands. As she approached, the other staff members who were already seated all stood up to greet Jiang Juyou and the department heads behind her.

She nodded, took the iPad handed to her by a staff member, and sat down in the stands directly in front of the stage.

The audience in front kept turning their heads to look in this direction, perhaps guessing the identity of these people. Some even took out their phones to take pictures, but were immediately stopped by staff members who demanded the photos be deleted.

Seeing this situation, the audience members who had originally planned to take some content from the performance immediately gave up the idea.

With three minutes left, all the lights in the venue dimmed.

Jiang Juyou was looking down at the trainees' profiles on the tablet, which included not only their current physical condition but also the list of songs they had prepared, and even the lyrics were listed.

Also seated with her were the heads of various departments, especially people from the A&R department, almost all of whom were in attendance. This was because whether the trainees could debut depended not only on the opinions of the New Talent department but most importantly on the A&R department.

They didn't have much contact with the trainees on a daily basis, yet they were the ones most in touch with the trends in the entertainment industry, so their scrutiny would be more strict and fair.

Suddenly, the big screen lit up, and Gao Xiayu's face appeared.

"Hello everyone, my name is Gao Xiayu, I'm fifteen years old, and I've been training for two months." As he was speaking, Gao Xiayu walked out from behind the stage. He stood in the middle of the stage, bowed, and then retreated to the side.

The videos of other trainees started playing, and the audience in the venue finally realized that it had begun.

When Ye Xing's face appeared on the screen, there was a small gasp from the inner area.

More than half of the people had come for Ye Xing, and they had prepared themselves to either be amazed or disappointed by the real thing. But when they actually saw Ye Xing on the big screen, everyone was still shocked by this beauty.

This feeling was no less than the surprise of finding gold while taking a stroll in the park.

Because of this gasp, everyone in the stands raised their heads, looked at the screen, and then at the people in the venue.

The three trainees who weren't participating in this Monthly Evaluation were also sitting in the stands with the teachers, and they were the ones who felt this difference most directly.

When the first few people came out, everyone was calm, but it was different with Ye Xing.

As fellow trainees, their feelings were different from those of the audience and teachers in the venue. Indeed, some differences are impossible to overcome.

The seven trainees came on stage one by one, and after the last one introduced himself, the seven of them stood together, looking towards the front.

Liu Jiajia, sitting next to Jiang Juyou, looked at her and then picked up the microphone, "Let's begin."

With this voice, the audience in front turned their heads again, and now everyone had a real sense of the Monthly Evaluation.

The first stage was a group dance, prepared to Billie's "you should see me in a crown". The song was chosen by themselves, and the dance was choreographed by the teacher.

While they were preparing their positions, Jiang Juyou looked down at the part distribution table. The first to open was Yao Shuo.

She tilted her head, frowning, and Li Yao leaned over to tell her, "The person who chose this song is quite clever. This song doesn't have any high notes, so the focus is on the performance."

Zhao Xu behind them spoke up, "This song is quite difficult. There are no high notes, so every line needs to be very stable. With their current skill level, can they handle singing and dancing at the same time?"

Jiang Juyou, who had seen their solo stages before, laughed, "It would be good enough if they can dance in sync."

The sound of a blade being unsheathed rang out. The six people surrounding Yao Shuo, following the prelude, opened their arms and posed in the position of a throne. Yao Shuo, in the C position, sat on the legs of Gao Xiayu and Ye Xing, even resting one arm to pose as a king.

"It depends on whether you're talking about skills from a fan's perspective or a general audience's perspective."

"That high note just now was really amazing. I think he could debut right now."

"It's a pity that minors aren't allowed in talent shows now, otherwise they could give it a shot."

Meanwhile, Jiang Juyou had already returned backstage with the other staff members. It was only then that she noticed the messages from her sister on her phone. Jiang Liuxing had been giving her feedback on the audience's reactions throughout the performance, but Jiang Juyou hadn't brought her phone out, so she didn't notice.

Just as she was about to reply to Jiang Liuxing, she received another message.

"Liuxing is Ziwei Star: I have to go to the airport to pick someone up, so I'm leaving now. Let's talk tomorrow. Sister is coming back tomorrow too, let's have a get-together!"

"Juyou's Grocery Store: OK, I'll get back to work then."

After putting away her phone, Jiang Juyou looked up. Standing in front of her were the trainees who had just performed. They stood with their hands behind their backs, not daring to make eye contact with the people in front, only able to stare at the floor.

"Director, have some water." A staff member handed over a paper cup, and Jiang Juyou took a sip. At this time, other employees who had gone to the restroom were gradually returning.

Li Yao sat down next to Jiang Juyou with an iPad, the smile from earlier now gone from his face. Everyone, like Jiang Juyou, had a stern expression.

Seeing that most people had returned, Jiang Juyou finally spoke. She looked at the seven boys and asked, "Do you know what's most taboo in the entertainment industry?"

They lifted their heads to look at her, but not knowing the answer, they could only shake their heads.

Jiang Juyou said softly, "It's being forgettable."

"Today, so many audience members entered the venue, sitting close to the stage. You were backstage watching other performances too. I believe you're more aware than I am of which performers got reactions from the audience, and during which performances the audience was playing with their phones."

"Let's start with the first stage and discuss the issues. The song choice was clever, but the dance choreography was terrible. It's not that the teacher choreographed poorly, but at your current skill level, this is all the teacher could come up with. Any more difficulty and you couldn't handle it. Even so, some of you still made mistakes."

"I remember you've been practicing this dance repeatedly for two weeks, right? If you've practiced for two weeks and it's still like this, I wonder if anyone checks the dance? Don't you break it down and check each part? Do you just keep repeating it without pointing out any errors or refining any details?"

"Let me say it again, this is a group performance. If you perform poorly, it's your fault. If you didn't point out your teammates' mistakes before going on stage, that's also your fault. This isn't a solo competition where you only need to worry about your own performance. This is a group performance. If you make even a small mistake, you're smearing shit on everyone else's face."

"The opening was so simple, just a few hand movements, yet you were all over the place. The middle chorus part was even worse. Chi Qiao, your singing was almost as weak as a lamb's bleat. And Ye Xing, you were half-hearted in every move, unable to extend fully or lift properly. You were practically there for comic relief."

"The only one slightly better was Yao Shuo, but that's limited to his singing. His dancing was also a mess. Today's stage performance has been recorded. Tomorrow, go watch for yourselves how terrible it was."

"As I said before, if I didn't mention your name, it's because you had no presence on stage to the point where I might not have even looked at you, so I have no impression to comment on."

"For the first stage, my summary is Yao Shuo and his backup dancers. Alright, do any other teachers have anything to add?"

Jiang Juyou sat in her seat and delivered a barrage of criticism. Not just the trainees, but even the department heads sitting nearby felt a bit intimidated. Li Yao initially wanted to say something but ended up just touching the microphone and quietly withdrawing his hand.

From this point on, Jiang Juyou continued to lecture about the subsequent performances. At the beginning, she at least praised Yao Shuo a bit, but later on, her critiques made it seem like everything was utter garbage.

The trainees went from lowering their eyes at first to completely hanging their heads by the end. The confidence they had coming off the stage earlier had completely vanished.

After speaking for so long, even Jiang Juyou was tired. She let out a long sigh and picked up the microphone again. "...I hope you don't think I'm being too harsh. These comments are just the most basic criticisms you'll face when dealing with the public. Those with a conscience will only say your skills are lacking; those without will say all sorts of things."

"Don't expect to hear kind words from me, because after your debut, your fans will say things that will make you think it's all deserved."

"The Monthly Evaluation ends here for today. Once you've cleaned up, everyone can go home."

After addressing the staff, Jiang Juyou turned back to the trainees and said, "Your parents are here too. You have the afternoon off. Go have a meal with your parents."

Hearing the staff's cheers, Jiang Juyou also stood up, supporting her tired body.

She waved goodbye to the employees and dragged her heavy body towards the office.

Meanwhile, the audience who had watched the performance were enthusiastically discussing it on various platforms, even creating dedicated super topics and groups.

"Title: Report/I watched an amazing performance today, who can relate?"

"I randomly came across a video this afternoon, and since it was near my home, I decided to check it out. To be honest, I was really impressed. Who can understand? I'm just a random passerby, not even there for that little card. I really just went because it was near my place."

"The aftereffect is so strong..."

"I keep replaying that line 'baby there's nothing holding me back' in my head..."

"They didn't allow recording or photos, so I really didn't record anything! Ahh! I can't even try to recall it properly!"

Comments:

"Let's use a code word, Galexy?"

"What performance?"

"What's Galexy?"

"I thought it was okay, but the opening really amazed me."

"Found our group!! Can someone tell me the name of the one whose voice quality improved as soon as he started singing?"

"They have official accounts on Eye, you can search for them. ID: The above are random entertainment trainees."

"Who hasn't saved Ye Xing's perfect A cut and B cut posters? I won't allow it!"

"What are you all talking about?"

"Looking at the OP's IP, could this be about the Domestic Entertainment Industry?"

"Wow, this little unknown bean is quite good-looking."

"They haven't debuted yet, they're all trainees. Today was a trainee performance, it was free. That viral little card video on Douyin was given out at their performance."

"What? That video was them?"

Jiang Juyou, who had just logged onto Weibo to post behind-the-scenes photos from today's performance, saw hundreds of unread messages.

"...Huh?"

Jiang Juyou: I'm as exhausted as if I had performed an hour of stone-breaking on stage.