Chapter 16

(Page 1 of 3)

The trainees looked different after having their styling done. They were far more handsome and striking than they had been during rehearsal.

Everyone backstage was stunned. They screamed inwardly while flooding their WeChat group with exclamation marks.

Most students at Z University knew about the trainee program, but spectators had not been allowed to watch the rehearsals. They could only wait for the official performance, and so they had been eagerly anticipating it.

Finally, after a stage play ended, the two witty hosts returned to the stage.

They first praised the previous performance without reservation, then began building anticipation for the next one.

One of them said, “Speaking of talent, Z University is also full of famous people. There are so many outstanding students, and some of them are especially handsome. One of them is so good-looking that whenever I see him walking down the street, I think he’s a celebrity.”

The other said, “Is it possible that he’ll really become one someday?”

The audience had already sensed something when they heard the word “celebrity.” As soon as the second host finished speaking, the crowd erupted into screams.

The invited guests seated in the front rows did not know the truth, but hearing the audience’s reaction, they too began to form vague suspicions.

The two hosts chatted briefly about the trainees before finally making the announcement.

“All right, I’m sure everyone can hardly wait. Next, please welcome Xing Shi from the School of Mechanical Engineering and his fellow trainees, who will bring us a feast for the eyes and ears!”

Amid enthusiastic applause and cheers, the first group of trainees took the stage.

They were all dressed in pale colors. As the music began, they moved.

The choreography was not difficult, but the rhythm was exceptionally strong. Every movement landed precisely on the beat, making it impossible not to sway along. The group changed formations three times, gathering at center stage for the final transition and ending with the person surrounded by the others giving a sharp chest-pop.

The next moment, they split to either side, revealing the second group behind them. The newcomers immediately took over.

Their outfits were vivid, their movements more rhythmic, and they radiated boundless energy.

The third group performed mechanical dance, their movements precise and programmed, making for a highly entertaining spectacle.

The fourth group performed jazz. Rather than taking a sultry, seductive approach, they emphasized strength, dancing with a cool, commanding edge. One group followed another. The colors of their clothing gradually deepened, while their movements grew increasingly expansive and powerful.

Xing Shi danced hip-hop at the very center.

His hair had been dyed a cool tea-brown, and his exceptional proportions made him especially conspicuous within the group. The audience had been zooming in with their phones the entire time, and the moment he appeared, their screams rose another level.

As a short section of music neared its end, Xing Shi raised an eyebrow and flashed the audience a smile. He planted his right hand on the floor, and his body instantly sprang into the air.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

Xing Shi ended his part with that move, setting the stage for the next group.

The final group performed breakdancing—leg sweeps, windmills, floorwork, and all manner of high-difficulty moves.

By the time they finished, the members of the other groups had changed into matching black T-shirts and returned to the stage.

They lined up, and the simple yet forceful group dance began. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, their momentum overwhelming. It was a feast for the eyes.

The audience barely stopped screaming.

So many styles of dance, so many handsome young men—and all without spending a cent. What could be more delightful?

When the final move ended, the screams rose to another peak.

The trainees stood in formation and bowed, then lifted their heads to look out at the audience.

Screams, applause, a sea of people… The surging tide of sound was filled with such force that it seemed capable of striking directly against their hearts.

This was the road they wanted to walk in the future.

Their emotions surged, and several of them could not stop their eyes from reddening.

Xing Shi gazed quietly ahead, hearing the system ask in his mind, “How does it feel? Pretty good, right?”

He gave a soft “Mm.” “It’s all right.”

Ever since crossing into this world, he had trained seriously every time because he did not want to let anyone down.

He did not know what “he” had been feeling when he signed the contract, or what his purpose had been. Perhaps he had wanted to anger his father. Perhaps he had genuinely wanted to become a celebrity. Though he could no longer find the answer, at least he was still walking this path.

(Page 1 of 3)

(Page 2 of 3)

Standing there at that moment, he felt… it was not bad.

He suddenly spotted Fu Xiuning.

Fu Xiuning had started a company before even graduating, and given how accomplished he was, the university had arranged a seat for him near the front.

The young president was clapping at an even pace. Xing Shi could not make out his exact expression, but he knew it was probably no different from usual. Even if the sky were falling, Fu Xiuning would wear that same expression.

He heard the people to either side say that they ought to bow once more, so he followed them in thanking the audience again before turning to leave the stage.

They had only taken two steps when one enormous roar burst from the audience, hoarse and ear-splitting.

“Xing Shi, your brothers want to give birth to your little monkeys—!!”

The entire venue immediately exploded with laughter. Feng Zifan and the others staggered, nearly laughing themselves breathless.

Xing Shi recognized the voices of several of his roommates. He turned back and smiled at them before leaving.

More than a month of hard work had come to a perfect close. The trainees chatted and laughed as they boarded the bus, discussing whether they should have a group meal at noon and treat themselves to something good.

Their instructors happened to hear them and said, “The boss said you’re off today. If you go out for a meal, the company will reimburse you.”

Everyone cheered at once and began debating what to eat.

Elsewhere, the afterglow of the dance had not yet faded. The chat groups were filled with candid shots of handsome young men, and the atmosphere was as festive as New Year’s.

One of the students was a video creator. As soon as she learned that trainees would be performing at the university, she mobilized all her friends to help film them. Once she had collected their footage, along with material from various chat groups and her own recordings, she raced back to the dormitory to edit. She worked until evening, then nodded in satisfaction and posted the video.

The creator had 130,000 followers. The moment the new work passed review, someone noticed it.

The title was simple:

Come In and Feast Your Eyes—Trainees Spotted at Z University’s Anniversary Celebration!

Curious, people opened the video. Through the subtitles, they learned the whole story: a student had signed with an entertainment company as a trainee and brought his friends to perform at the university anniversary celebration.

The creator had considerable skill. The camera angles shifted smoothly, making the video much more appealing than footage shot from a single fixed position.

After watching the entire performance, fans thought, “Not bad, not bad. Total overkill. This is incredible.” They reached out to hit the like button, only to realize that the video was not over yet.

The next second, Xing Shi appeared in close-up, flashing a bold smile.

The finger about to tap the screen abruptly froze.

Wait?!

The image immediately changed to Yu Yi, whose delicate features filled the frame in another close-up. He wore a sweet smile. Then it switched to the next person—the careful styling had not been wasted, and every single one of them looked fantastic on camera.

After more than a dozen people, the video returned to Xing Shi at the end, showing him glancing back with a smile as he left the stage. Unlike the dazzling smile from before, this one held a hint of indulgence and conveyed an entirely different feeling.

The fans: “!!!”

Everyone was fired up. They dragged the progress bar back and saw that the comments were already multiplying.

[Ahhhh, I can take it! I can take all of them!]

[You’re so clueless. You should have shown the later part first.]

[I knew from the beginning that this wasn’t going to be simple. This creator is a notorious face-lover. Why would she show us only the performance?]

[Why doesn’t our university have handsome guys like these?!]

[I want all his information within one minute!]

[Which company is he signed with? Has he debuted? What’s his name?]

[June Culture? That’s Brother Yi’s company!]

[Checking in at Radiant Era!]

The video was reposted across various platforms.

A trainee performance at a university anniversary celebration was already enough to spark curiosity. Their dancing really was excellent, and most importantly, the ending delivered blow after blow of stunning visuals. On top of that, the matter was connected to Qi Changyi…

After fermenting for one night and one morning, the video finally climbed onto the tail end of the trending searches.

Xing Shi and the others had just finished training.

(Page 2 of 3)

(Page 3 of 3)

A group of them were about to go eat when the head of their department arrived and told them not to make careless remarks on Weibo.

The moment they heard this, they became alert. They hurriedly opened Weibo, assuming some celebrity at the company had become involved in gossip. Instead, they discovered that they themselves were trending.

“Holy crap, we’re on the trending list!”

The first person to notice shouted excitedly. The others, slower to open their phones, were startled and quickly followed suit.

They walked into the restaurant while refreshing their screens, found seats, and continued reading the comments. They were so absorbed that they hardly touched their food.

Xing Shi was not among them.

He selected several dishes he liked and began eating contentedly.

Feng Zifan and Yu Yi were seated at the same table. Though they had also gotten food, both were staring at their phones, their chopsticks motionless in their other hands.

Yu Yi had been featured in the video, and many people were admiring his looks.

Feng Zifan had been standing beside Xing Shi while dancing, so he had appeared in a small part of the footage as well.

After scrolling for a long time, he finally found a comment that read, “The silver-haired guy beside the little beauty is pretty good-looking too.” Feeling satisfied, he looked at Xing Shi.

“A lot of people are drooling over your face. Aren’t you going to take a look?”

Xing Shi said calmly, “That’s normal.”

Feng Zifan could not argue. After all, he had been thoroughly dazzled the first time he saw Xing Shi too.

“What do you think the company will do?” he asked.

“No idea. We’ll follow their arrangements.”

June Culture’s artist-management department had a well-established system.

After noticing the stir online, they held a meeting and decided to capitalize on the attention by creating personal accounts for the trainees on all the major platforms and posting snippets of their training routines to attract followers.

However, they also wanted to maximize the publicity. After asking Fu Xiuning for his opinion, they contacted Qi Changyi.

At that moment, Qi Changyi was sitting in the airport lounge.

His new film was about to be released, and he had recently been traveling from city to city promoting it.

For the role, he had grown his hair long and casually tied it back, giving him a carefree, unrestrained appearance.

When he heard his assistant call him, he opened his languid, almond-shaped eyes.

“What is it?”

The assistant briefly explained what had happened.

After learning that the trainees belonged to his company, Qi Changyi agreed to cooperate with the publicity campaign and closed his eyes again to rest.

“Find the video. I’ll take a look later.”

The assistant sat back down and searched for it. After watching from beginning to end, he immediately inhaled sharply.

“So handsome!”

The associate director was sitting beside him. Hearing that, he leaned over to take a look, then froze.

He took out his own phone, opened the video, paused on a frame, and walked over to Director He, holding it out.

“A brand-new trainee. Handsome enough to bring down the heavens.”

Director He only wanted to sleep. He waved him off in annoyance.

“Get lost. I’m not watching. No matter how handsome he is, can he really be more handsome than my son?”

The assistant looked curious.

“Director He’s son is handsome?”

“Of course. I’m not bragging, but if my son entered the entertainment industry, these little brats wouldn’t stand a chance.”

The associate director shoved the phone in front of him.

“Just look. One glance.”

Director He reluctantly swept his eyes over it—and his expression instantly locked in place.

The next moment, he shot to his feet, snatched the phone away, and stared in shock, his words tumbling over one another.

“What? A trainee? Who? Ah?”