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........
Today was actually different from other times.
Yesterday was to make each group prepare a little bit without too much pressure to entertain an audience, so there was no live broadcast. But today, the recording started again, to show the audience each groups' preparation process for their stage.
Early in the morning, the trainees all arrived in the training room on time.
Li Xu'an was confident, but Anran and Zhou Xun's complexion were not very good. Honestly, Li Xu'an couldn't take care to continue polishing up his song anymore – in the morning, he got up early and went to tidy up his clothing and applied make up. He needed to show the audience his creative talent in order to win more votes.
After the cameramen turned on the cameras, several trainees gathered together.
All of them have to go through the song selection procedure again, despite having both the song and the captain already been selected. In the end, the audience wanted to see it by themselves, so they had to perform.
The group members sat in a circle in the group, but it was Zhou Xun who spoke first: "Yesterday you two wrote your own songs, now take them out to vote."
Li Xu'an took out "Peak of War".
Jian Xingsui also put "Shimmer" on the table. He knew the result, so he didn't have any hope.
Li Xu'an said confidently: "Then everyone, please take a look at our respective songs, and then we can vote."
If nothing unexpected happened, the result should be the same as yesterday.
Unexpectedly...
Zhou Xun looked at it for a while, put down both song's music scores, and said, "I can't tell anything just by looking at the lyrics. Can you two introduce your concept when creating these songs?"
The cameraman went over to zoom in to the lyrics.
Li Xu'an didn't expect Zhou Xun to add a scene like this, but he had no choice but to respond quickly and said: "When I created 'Peak of War', I wanted our entire team to be invincible and brave. Coming to 'Starlight' is to challenge difficulties together, so we must show fearless courage together."
The other team members nodded.
However, what Li Xu'an said was relatively just a generic concept. It wasn't touching or ground-breaking.
It was Jian Xingsui's turn, but he didn't prepare to give a speech like Li Xu'an did. He just picked up his own lyrics and looked at it for a while before saying, "I didn't think about anything when I wrote 'Shimmer'"
" ..."
The surroundings fell into silence. This youth... was too out of touch with the routine.
"I was just thinking... When I first came here, there were 108 students, that's a lot of people, right?." Jian Xingsui said slowly, as if gathering his thoughts, "At that time, the director told us that the variety show 'Starlight' was born to let everyone shine their own light."
"But to the stage, to the audience... in reality, I am too insignificant. So, I could say that if I were a star, I would be just a shimmering, small star that could only emit a faint light." Jian Xingsui's voice was soft, light, and calm. His tone of voice steadily led his group members around him to also calm down and listen to his speech, "But after experiencing being a small, insignificant star for a long time... I gradually understand that even if it's just a glimmer, there will be people who like me, people who cheer for me and give me affirmation."
The trainees who can stay in the second stage more or less have a certain level of fan base.
When they heard this, many people felt uncomfortable. They recalled the first stage, a stage with many twists and turns.
"I also feel that, it doesn't matter how bright of a star I am, even if I am just a small glimmer, I still want to shine for those who support me." Jian Xingsui smiled softly, " Even though I am insignificant, even though I may become dim in the future, I will never give up."
"..."
After his speech was finished, there was another silence in the room.
These words not only moved the audience a little, but also spoke to the hearts of the contestants – whoever participated in this survival show could understand what Jian Xingsui wished to express.
The audience was also very emotional:
[Shimmer's lyrics are very well written.]
[I already want to see the final version of the song.]
[I thought 'Peak of War' is good when I saw it, but now I think it pales in comparison to 'Shimmer'.]
Zhou Xun sighed in relief as he said, "In this case, let's raise our hands to vote."
In this team, Zhou Xun, Anran and Li Xu'an have a good relationship, while the other two trainees are neutral, so they were more uncertain with their choice. Though... after practicing 'Peak of War' yesterday, they found that this song has too much of Li Xu'an's personal style. As if when writing the song, this person really only cared about himself and didn't care whether it would suit the group's image. But they don't want to offend too many people at once, especially the first ranked trainee..."
Zhou Xun was the first to raise his hand: "I choose 'Shimmer'"
The other two neutral parties were stunned, looking at Zhou Xun in surprise. Jian Xingsui was also even more surprised, as obviously he didn't choose that way yesterday.
The smile on Li Xu'an's face almost fell off..
The neutral parties saw that Zhou Xun had taken the lead, so the two of them wouldn't offend anyone much. But it would be much better if there was one leader, and the two of them looked at each other and got the answer.
Zhang Jiajia and Zuo An raised their hands together: "We also choose 'Shimmer'"
Now Anran was the only one left.
But his choice wouldn't matter, as it's already 3:1 already.
Anran didn't expect this to happen. Things were fine yesterday, so why did everything take a turn today? What happened in just one night?
Zhou Xun put down his hands: "Okay, then the voting is over."
'Shimmer' won, and the final decision was made in front of the audience, so it could not be changed.
Li Xu'an had already begun to sharpen a knife in his heart, wishing to fight Zhou Xun. But facing the camera, he could only force a smile on his face, and even pretended to smile generously and said, "Congratulations, Suisui."
Jian Xingsui held his beloved songbook in his hand, smiling for the depths of his heart, "Thank you."
"..."
Both Anran and Li Xu'an were in a bad mood.
For the time being, the turbulent tide hidden among this group was invisible to the audience. Anran glanced at Li Xu'an, then tentatively said, "Then we have to choose a captain, Xu'an-gege has experience before..."
Zhou Xun cut him immediately, "Since we have already chosen 'Shimmer', let Jian Xingsui be the captain."
Li Xu'an vehemently disagreed. Jian Xingsui already took advantage of all the benefits! It's unfair to him! He forced a polite facade and said, "Xingsui, you don't have any experience in this field, right?"
"But he's doing very well." Zhou Xun was dissatisfied with Anran, so he dared to tell the truth, "He was still in the practice room very late last night. He wrote lyrics and arranged music for us, and yet he was the first to arrive every morning in the past two days. He would pack up the tables and chairs here, and help us sign the arrival. Aren't those a sign of him being a good leader?"
Zhang Jiajia also agreed on what Zhou Xun said. It made sense.
While it's true that Li Xu'an was the captain, but he could only order people around, while he didn't share any of the group work. It was a stark contrast to Jian Xingsui, who was friendly and helpful to them.
So Zhang Jiajia also said in support, "I also think that Xingsui will be a better captain, and he is also the composer of this song. It would be good if he conducts it."
Zuo An nodded, "I agree."
Again, it immediately became a quick 3:1 vote.
Li Xu'an felt a little heartbroken in an instant. He didn't expect these people to change their faces so quickly compared to yesterday. But there was nothing he could do in front of the camera. He couldn't be the leader if others didn't let him, so he had to suppress his resentment with a forced smile: "Then, congratulations once again for Suisui."
To his surprise, Jian Xingsui, who was elected, didn't make a speech. Instead, he put down his songbook and said, "I think it's better to let Xu'an be the captain while I am the vice-captain instead."
Li Xu'an looked at him in shock.
"Xu'an-ge is right. I have no experience in leading a boy group. Although I can write lyrics and compose music, I am really not good at dancing, blocking1, and other things." Jian Xingsui was neither arrogant nor impatient, he spoke in a quiet dignity, "So if Xu'an-ge becomes the captain, he should be able to play a greater role in my weaknesses than I can."
Li Xu'an was quite critical at first, but he didn't expect Jian Xingsui to be able to say that in such a frank manner. It created a subtle sense of appreciation inside his heart.
Zhou Xun also said, "Okay then, then Xu'an will be the captain."
Anran would not let go of this opportunity to look like an obedient boy in front of the audience, so he quickly raised his hand with a sweet smile, "I agree!"
Of course the others also agreed.
A crisis that was about to split within the team was actually resolved by Jian Xingsui's lack of greed. 'Shimmer' was officially finalized as their song. There were only five and a half days left.
But alas, their progress wasn't smooth.
Everyone had a different strengths and style, and so they had their own, varyingly differing opinions:
"I think adding an extra rap section would be good for the song."
"I feel my personal section is too short, can you add it a little?"
"Not enough passion, when we dance it on stage then we'll appear weak."
Of course, Jian Xingsui also tried to meet everyone's demands. But, the more anxious he was in changing the song, the harder for him to do it. Especially because of the tight deadline and everyone's clashing opinions. All of that factored in delaying the progress.
With four days left, Jian Xingsui faced the computer alone and felt a splitting headache.
Many things were not as simple as he imagined. It seems that taking the initiative to participate in competitions and elections requires a lot more than he imagined.
As the night fell, his stomach growled.
Jian Xingsui slowly realized that he hadn't eaten at night. He had been busy revising and polishing the song for so long that he forgot to eat all day. Since the majority of the trainees were already back to their room to rest, the cafeteria should also be closed at this time.
He remembered that he had a stash of instant noodles for this kind of emergency.
As he was rummaging through boxes and cabinets, the door of the training room opened just a tiny bit. Someone stood at the door, looking at the Headless Chicken Boy in the room.
Jian Xingsui paused, turned around, and saw the Movie Emperor Fu leaning against the door.
Fu Jinxiao held the registration form in his hand, crossed his slender legs, and leaned lazily against the door. Like a deer in a headlight, Jian Xingsui froze before he managed to stand up and greeted the older man respectfully, "Instructor Fu."
Fu Jinxiao responded in a lazy tone, with a slight curl on his lips, "What are you doing at this time? Can't sleep?"
"I'm writing lyrics and arranging music." He spoke as he cradled a cup of instant noodles. The contrast was a bit funny.
Fu Jinxiao walked inside and glanced at the instant noodle, "Are you going to eat this at night?"
Jian Xingsui nodded, "The cafeteria is closed."
"You didn't eat dinner at the cafeteria then?"
Jian Xingsui pursed his lips in nervousness. Well, his teammates actually had called him to join them for dinner, but he wasn't fully aware and kept delaying it until it was too late. Now, they already fell asleep, while he was still here.
Fu Jinxiao looked at the cutely-dumb youth in front of him, sighed helplessly in his heart, and said, "Come with me."
*blocking refers to the positioning of all the dancers / formation, so they can all appear in front of the camera in an interesting way.*
.........
As he digested what the actor said to him, Jian Xingsui stared at his back and froze for a moment.
Fu Jinxiao didn't turn his head back, instead just directly gave a command, "Follow me."
Jian Xingsui finally came to his senses, so he quickly put the instant noodles in his hand on the table. Without thinking too much about Fu Jinxiao's reasons, he faithfully followed the actor to go eat out tonight.
The cafeteria was indeed closed, so it was expected for Fu Jinxiao to not take him there. Instead, he led Jian Xingsui to the outside, where the cultural and sports hall was. Many of the program crew had clocked out from work, some had gone home while the others went outside for dinner. And indeed, not far away from the filming location, many vendors were selling snacks and dinners. The scene was very lively.
While the two of them walked out, some of the staff recognized Fu Jinxiao, so they would stop to greet him respectfully.
"Hello Instructor Fu."
"Fu-ge, good evening."
"Instructor Fu took a trainee out for supper."
Fu Jinxiao nodded faintly as a greeting. He stopped by a flower bed not far away, looked to the youth at his side and said, "Choose what you want to eat."
Jian Xingsui was already hungry, so it didn't take him long to decide. The moment he smelled the delicious, warm, inviting scent of the nearest food, he immediately went there. It was a fried rice stall with an absolutely divine aroma wafting everywhere. As he went inside, he said to the owner, "Two bowls of fried rice with eggs, please."
The stall owner happily smiled at his customer and asked, "Do you want anything extra to add?"
Jian Xingsui looked at the menu. There were a lot of add-ons available on the stall: meat, intestines, and various vegetables for side dishes. They all looked very appetizing, and it made Jian Xingsui want to add them all. Just as he was going to tell the owner his choice, he suddenly had a realization – he didn't bring any money at all!
But a voice came from behind, "Give him a little bit of all."
The actor's slender and clean hand passed the banknote over him, then handed it to the stall owner. He happily took the money, counted it internally, then immediately started cooking.
Jian Xingsui unexpectedly looked at Fu Jinxiao's hand in a daze. He still remembered that Fu Jinxiao also came to Zhang's family1 rice cake shop last summer. That time, he also gave Jian Xingsui a banknote and a band-aid. As he took a trip down his memory lane, he kept staring at Actor's Fu hand in a subconscious daze.
Fu Jinxiao glanced at him: "Are you hungry?"
Jian Xingsui suddenly came back to his senses, and quickly answered so he wouldn't look disrespectful, "No, no, I was thinking about paying back your money when I go back next time, or I can treat you to dinner someday too."
The stall owner finished cooking and handed over the take-away fried rice to Jian Xingsui.
The corner of Fu Jinxiao's mouth twitched into a faint smile, and he said slowly as he walked back, "You know, it's not easy to ask me out for dinner."
This sentence sounds a bit arrogant at first, but after some thinking, Jian Xingsui realized that it was true. He was telling the truth – in his position as a big-name actor, those rich producers or investors had to scramble in order to arrange a dinner appointment with him.
In comparison, Jian Xingsui was just a no-name trainee.
Jian Xingsui felt that his braincells must've been completely eradicated to say such a stupid thing. In a soft tone, he lowered his head and apologized, "I made a mistake..."
But Fu Jinxiao interrupted his apology as he slowly said, "If you want to make a dinner appointment with me, you can. However, you will have to wait until you leave this gymnasium. I'll agree to attend your celebration banquet. I will be waiting."
The wind at the end of autumn was a bit chilly.
Fu Jinxiao's words were heard clearly, but it made Jian Xingsui's heart skip a beat. Hearing the word "celebration banquet"made his heart very excited at first, but then it fell silent.
Ah, yes, he remembered.
He wouldn't – couldn't – be present at the debut celebration banquet. But... Actor Fu thought he could make it as a debutant of this show.
Wasn't that an affirmation of the highest degree?
Just thinking that made Jian Xingsui's heart jump and burn, beating very loudly in his ribcage.
The two of them walked to the pavilion not far away. The air was crisp, and the noise was minimal, as there was no one there. All in all, it was a perfect spot to enjoy a leisurely dinner.
Jian Xingsui handed the meal to Fu Jinxiao: "Yours."
Fu Jinxiao thought that Jian Xingsui bought two portions to eat for himself, so he was surprised that the youth were actually thinking of treating him to dinner. He smiled in response, "Thank you."
The freshly-made egg fried rice was warm and fragrant.
Jian Xingsui buried his head in his food, so focused because he was feeling ravenous. As he was demolishing his dinner, he heard Fu Jinxiao talking to him, so he turned his head to face the older man.
Fu Jinxiao was eating at a lazy pace, so he hadn't eaten much. Instead, the actor looked at the youth and asked, "Tell me, what's wrong with you?"
Jian Xingsui answered after a pause, clearly confused. He raised his head and asked back, "I'm sorry, what do you mean?"
Fu Jinxiao raised his eyebrows, "Don't tell me... you haven't eaten all day, did you? You glued yourself up to the computer from early morning to finish up your song; and after everything went well, you want to celebrate with that cup of noodles for your dinner?"
"..."
Instructor Fu could be so humorous at times.
Jian Xingsui swallowed the food in his mouth, hesitating whether to talk about the problems he had encountered. When he looked up to meet Actor Fu's eyes, he only saw the older man's dark and peaceful eyes. Steeling his resolve, he just sat there, quiet and steady, thinking about how to explain his circumstances.
Fu Jinxiao wasn't the type who likes small chit-chat. He's very efficient with his words. So, there was no need for any extra embellishment, so he should just tell everything as-is. Any extra fluff would be seen as nothing but small winds and waves in front of Fu Jinxiao.
Besides, Fu Jinxiao was someone he could trust.
Someone who he could confide in.
Jian Xingsui remembered Wen Shengge's words he said as he left, the thing about asking Jian Xingsui to seek other people's help when he encountered difficult problems.
Wen Shengge was right. He was the type who buried all his troubles, not daring asking for any outside help. And he also knew that it wouldn't solve his problem, and at times, it even ended up worsening them.
He promised his ex-roommate that he would be better, and this was the time to fulfill that promise.
"Actually..." Jian Xingsui took a deep breath, "I have indeed encountered a problem, please help me out."
Sitting in the small pavilion, the youth with buzz-cut talked about his troubles, his hand was still gripping his disposable chopsticks. He talked about the song's arrangement – about how his teammates have a million differing opinions and it ended up prolonging things out. He knew too many cooks would spoil the broth, but he didn't know how to reject only some of their opinions without accidentally making it as if he was biased to a certain person.
As this was the first time that Jian Xingsui has told everything inside his mind in front of Fu Jinxiao, it ended up removing the last transparent barrier separating the two of them. They no longer felt as a polite teacher and student, but instead more like close friends ranting about their hassle at work.
Fu Jinxiao groaned after listening to the youth's problems, "So, you stayed and worked overtime by yourself?"
Jian Xingsui nodded slightly.
Fu Jinxiao sneered, full of sarcasm, and commented: "Stupid"
Jian Xingsui was taken aback.
Normally, Movie Emperor Fu looked refined and gentle, always with a polite smile. He looked like the kind of gentleman who would never use any swear words. So, when the actor said this word to him, Jian Xingsui was stunned for a moment.
Fu Jinxiao opened his mouth, dinner forgotten in favor of lecturing the stupid youth, "What is a team?"
"A team is the six of you working together to find a way to complete the performance, instead of throwing all the problems to you and waiting for you to solve it." Fu Jinxiao flicked his gaze to see Jian Xingsui more clearly, "Do you think that others will understand and gladly receive your love if you just accept all of it silently? Wrong, if the response of this stage is not good in the end; not only the audience, but even your teammates will put all the responsibility on your shoulder."
These words enlightened Jian Xingsui.
Jian Xingsui asked with a lost look, "Then what should I do?"
If Jian Xingsui asked for advice about his problem to the other mentors, they would advise him to think about the overall situation, to cooperate more with his teammates, how to properly discuss with his teammates, or how to fulfill his responsibilities as the team's vice-captain and composer.
But he asked for Fu Jinxiao's advice. This old fox would never eat such a loss with that kind of soft approach. No, he would think of something that 100% guaranteed to benefit him.
The black-bellied actor mused, putting his fingers on his lips, "What would I do..."
Then, as if he thought of a brilliant plan, Fu Jinxiao's lips curled into a meaningful smile. He sat lazily on the chair and drawled in an enchanting, yet dangerous tone, "Of course I would... discuss it with my teammates."
As the actor said that, the chilly autumn wind blew.
Jian Xingsui inexplicably felt embarrassed. A sudden chill went down to his spine.
He didn't know why, but he felt that the word "discuss" Fu Jinxiao just said was laced with such a level of spite.
As if he actually had murder in mind.
first date? OwO
Jian Xingsui's "supposed" biological family.