The repetitive melody echoed in the practice room, just a few lines, but it had been playing in the dimly lit room for hours.
The Vocal Instructor, thinking the room was empty, pushed the door open and turned on the lights, only to find the three of them squatting on the floor, all holding their phones in the same posture.
"Wow, I thought no one was here!" She quickly turned on all the lights and laughed upon hearing the familiar melody, "I saw dozens of videos with this song this morning too."
Seeing the teacher enter, the three squatting figures quickly stood up, grimacing due to the prolonged squatting.
"Ouch, hello, teacher!"
After their performance in the previous day's show, the song they performed had topped various charts and become a hot BGM on short video platforms, playing every few swipes.
This feeling was different from when they first debuted and sparked online discussions. Back then, it was because they were from Random Entertainment, but now it was because of their work.
Excitement and excitement filled their minds, making them feel this situation was unreal. Over the past two days, they frequently opened their phones to search for their names and the group's name, reading online discussions and netizens' comments.
When they debuted, they didn't feel the relief of hard work paying off, only that their burden had increased. But now, although the burden hadn't lightened, at least they could breathe a sigh of relief.
The Vocal Instructor didn't chat with them much but clapped her hands, "Alright, run a couple of laps to warm up, and then we'll start class."
After debuting, they had a lot of classes to attend, not just Equals3, but other groups as well.
NiGHT had only made a brief appearance at a music festival before entering a three-month training period, during which they had to rush to produce their debut album.
This time couldn't be wasted either. Random Entertainment recorded their three months of training into a group variety show to air for fans, to prevent fan attrition during this blank period.
The group next door to Equals3 was also in class.
"I'm dying..."
Before dance class, they had to stretch. Some members with insufficient flexibility were specially arranged in the front row to prevent them from slacking off.
Xia Simiao, who was right behind them, couldn't help but laugh at their occasional cries of despair, though she couldn't laugh too obviously with the teacher sitting in front.
The four in front, nicknamed "Bedraggled Phoenixes," propped themselves up with their elbows on the floor, their heads almost buried in their chests. The pain from stretching their thighs made their expressions contort, and water dripped from their faces, making it hard to tell if it was sweat or tears.
"Teacher, it's over."
"Three, two, one!"
"Ouch――"
The teacher sitting on the front floor still held a teaching stick, drawing out the words, "Three――"
The girl in front of Xia Simiao continued, "Three, two, one, three, two, one, three, two, one!" in hopes the teacher would finish counting quickly.
The final three seconds were stretched by the teacher to ten seconds' worth, and when she finally let them rest, the four in front finally pulled their souls back.
The five behind them were fine, at least they could stand up and pull their legs back, while the four in front collapsed to the ground, unable to move.
Such classes were also held during the show period, but only temporarily, for show purposes.
Here, it was different. They had taken several dance classes and stretched several times, each time having to mentally prepare before class.
It was mainly about the new groups. NiGHT and ORCHID were both limited girl groups, with similar show airing times and debut dates, both operated by Random Entertainment.
Flouxetine was the third male group Random Entertainment was about to launch, with seven members, currently busy finding the central concept of the group.
Jiang Juyou needed to know each team's plans for their group to control the following path.
"You don't have to worry about the promotional platforms for now, the company will collaborate with other platforms to produce them."
"Don't let the platforms set up for you, and then you can't promote the group."
Jiang Juyou turned her pen and looked at Lin Jie, "How's your side preparing?"
Timetrain's comeback teaser was released last week, and after AIcho finished their music show stage this week, it would be their turn next week.
Seeing Jiang Juyou call Lin Jie's name, everyone turned to look at her.
From the moment she was transferred to lead the operations team at Timetrain, rumors had been swirling within the company that Jiang Juyou intended to groom her as his successor.
These unfounded rumors, though lacking in credibility, were spread so vividly that over time, everyone began to believe them.
"There's nothing special about our side; we're just following the return schedule as discussed in yesterday's meeting," Lin Jie said nonchalantly, as if there really were no extraordinary aspects.
However, the other team leaders at the table knew that Timetrain's upcoming return was the largest investment the company had made this year.
The mere fact that her projects had been approved was already enough to make them envious, not to mention that her team's plans had been praised by Jiang Juyou.
Seeing her speak so casually, the other team members couldn't help but grit their teeth in frustration.
Jiang Juyou, seeing that she was confident, refrained from asking further questions and instead turned to the others to inquire about their preparation progress.
The meeting lasted only half an hour, but it left the team leaders sweating profusely. Not only did Jiang Juyou inquire about the preparation progress, but he also scrutinized the details of the plans. Answering correctly was fine, but failing to do so spelled disaster.
They felt like students being randomly checked on their memorization progress, dreading the possibility of being called upon next.
When Jiang Juyou walked out of the room, all the staff present let out a collective sigh of relief, feeling that the previously stuffy conference room had suddenly become fresh and breathable.
"Ah... I still have to go to the venue this afternoon to check on their pre-recording progress."
"You're going to oversee it personally?"
"I'll just take a look; I'm not at ease otherwise."
"Alright, then we'll head out first."
They chatted as they packed up their documents and computers, then stepped out.
Just as they took a step outside, they locked eyes with Jiang Juyou in the corridor. They quickly came to a halt and walked out with a composed demeanor.
Jiang Juyou had just finished a call and, seeing Lin Jie come out, called her over, "Lin Jie, come to my office."
Being called as an assistant and being called as a team leader felt entirely different.
Lin Jie's first thought was whether she had forgotten to mention something in the meeting or if someone on her team had caused trouble again.
Lin Jie: ...Wish me luck.