Ch35 - Do You Know What This Means?

Just as Shen Chengyu had said, the third episode of ‘Birth of an Idol’ used a group confrontation model.

The trainees were split into sixteen teams. There were eight pairings.

“The sixteen captains were chosen based on two selection criteria. Eight of them were chosen due to their effort and the other eight were chosen due to their abilities.”

As soon as Shen Chengyu finished speaking, Qin Kewei continued, “The ability groups are basically made of A-rank members right now. As for the effort groups—everyone can think about how long they’ve practised and guess if they’ve made it as a group captain.”

“Aaaaaaaa turns out those with longer training times have the chance to become a group captain! How regretful, I feel like I didn’t practise longer than others.”

“I think Wu Yuanhang will be chosen. I feel like every time I saw him he was in the practice room, ai!”

“It feels like I’ve practised for a long time too, maybe I can become a group captain…”

Everyone looked at each other, trying to guess who had practised the longest.

“Is it based on who has practised for longer?” He Xinghua’s gaze cooled and he couldn’t resist telling his teammates, “Aaaaa, in that case, the four of us should become captains!”

The F4 had enough obsession with the stage, and ghosts also didn’t need to rest. Whenever they had time, they would go to the practice room. To say that they could become group captains was not an exaggeration in any way.

Very quickly, Gu Wenan took out a list of the eight effort team captains. “The first effort team captain is from F-rank. Since entering our building, his total practise time exceeds 70 hours!”

“Heavens, 70 hours, that’s too awesome!”

“The first captain is from F-rank ai, we just won’t know who.”

“So that’s why talent is important, after so much effort he’s still in F-rank…”

“Hello brothers, you’ll get beaten up if you speak so candidly, okay?”

The trainees bickered back and forth, waiting for Gu Wenan to announce the captain from F-rank.

Gu Wenan had heard the discussion just now. He wasn’t in a hurry to list out the names and instead faced the crowd with a serious expression. “Do you really think effort has no use?”

“No!”

“It has use!”

“Not necessarily!”

The trainees below were silent for a moment before voicing their opinions in bursts.

Quite a number said it wasn’t important, but some kept to their views in small voices.

Gu Wenan waited for them to stop talking before continuing. “It’s true that many people will put in a lot of effort and are unable to be the best. But have you guys ever thought that although you might not succeed with effort, it will definitely bring you benefits. In my opinion, whether it’s regarding being a trainee or an idol, you cannot lack the spirit of making an effort. You will all understand one day. The thing that will keep you going the rest of the way is the thing you have always been persevering for.”

After Gu Wenan said this, he cleared his throat and said, “Yao Yulong, congratulations on becoming an effort captain.”

“Heavens, Yulong, congrats!”

The surrounding trainees’ first reaction when they heard that name was to turn around and congratulate. Those who said they didn’t admire him were lying.

“Thank you, everyone.” Yao Yulong couldn’t even believe it himself as he covered his mouth in shock.

Gu Wenan gestured for him to walk up to the front, his words carrying encouragement throughout. “Your training hours added up to 70 hours. What made you work so hard?”

Yao Yulong walked out of the F-rank section. His face was a bit hot, his expression bashful. He wasn’t considered very tall, and his looks could only be described as delicate and pretty, the kind that blended in completely when standing with the rest of the trainees.

He took the microphone from Gu Wenan’s hand, unconsciously looking at the ground. It was obvious that he wasn’t used to having so many people’s attention on him. “Actually, I didn’t think about it too much, I just felt that it wasn’t easy to have an opportunity to be on a stage like this, I have to treasure it properly. Our company is very small and hasn’t been doing that well lately, it might be my last chance…”

As Yao Yulong spoke, his eyes reddened, he was feeling quite upset. “My looks are average, and my abilities are so-so, but I also have my own dream of music. I haven’t thought about staying until the very end or anything like that, I just feel that I should work hard for every day that I’m here. That way, even if the day comes that I really have to leave, I won’t have regrets…”

It’s only through giving one’s all, that one can face up to their long-term dedication and hard work.

Lu Xu raised his hands to clap for him, and very quickly, the surroundings were filled with the sound of applause.

In Lu Xu’s eyes, a boy like Yao Yulong was ordinary but had an incomparably bright existence.

He clearly knew his own ordinariness, and also clearly knew what made him extraordinary. He also had dreams and worked hard for them. Although the final result may be unsatisfactory, it was something to worry about later.

“Ha.” There was a soft snort from the side. Lu Xu tilted his head and saw Lan Gaojie’s face carrying an expression of annoyance, it was obvious to see he disliked Yao Yulong. “You think just working hard is enough, you’re already so old yet still so childish, it’s really hilarious.”

His voice wasn’t very quiet. Almost all of the A-rank trainees could hear him.

“That’s enough. He made an effort and it deserves respect. Is it really necessary to be so cynical?” Xu Haoming really didn’t like him and couldn’t help but call him out.

Lan Gaojie wasn’t willing to back down either, and rolled his eyes at him. “Can a young master like you who doesn’t know anything please talk a little less?”

The F4 who were at the side also felt that they couldn’t watch this. This person looked average and his character was also not anything great.

When Ji Xiunian heard the commotion, he looked over.

His authoritative aura was too strong, and a few people immediately halted their discussion when they noticed, becoming obedient like students that had been caught by their class representative.

Gu Wenan was still continuing on with the announcement of names. “The second effort captain comes from C-rank, with a cumulative total of 50 training hours!”

“C-rank, could it be me?”

“Have some face. You sleep so much in the dorm every day, did your fifty hours of practise come from your dreams?”

“I think I know who it is, I think it’s Siyuan ge…”

The people on this side had just finished guessing when Gu Wenan had just given a hint. “He was in A-rank after the first evaluation but fell to C-rank after the second evaluation. But he wasn’t discouraged and said he would come back to A-rank sooner or later through his own efforts… Chai Siyuan, congratulations on becoming the second effort group captain!”

“Wah, I guessed correctly! Of course it’s him!”

“Congrats Yuan ge!”

“Usually digging mountains with us but actually secretly making an effort. You’ve got some nerve!”

…

Compared to Yao Yulong, Chai Siyuan’s personality was more extroverted and he got along with people better.

Everyone joked around on the outside, but their hearts were truly happy for him.

“You guys already know that dancing is not something I’m good at. Because of dancing, I fell all the way from A-rank to C-rank.” Chai Siyuan couldn’t help but laugh as he spoke, as if in self-pity. But he didn’t wait for the others to comfort him before he changed the topic and laughed again. “But it’s really because my dance foundations aren’t good that I practised so hard and ended up with the effort captain title. So short-term obstacles can be stumbling blocks to our success, but as long as we work hard enough, stumbling blocks can also become our steps to success!”

This was said beautifully and was followed by steady applause.

Before he stepped down from the stage, Chai Siyuan didn’t forget to add, “Of course, if I could choose, I would prefer becoming a captain for my abilities.”

“Yuan ge, your thoughts are beautiful, but to be honest I also want to hahaha…”

Laughter abounded below him. The atmosphere couldn’t be any better.

Gu Wenan continued to announce the effort captains. “Wu Yuanhang… Shen Xueyi … Zhou Yu…”

Five minutes later, seven of the eight effort captains had been announced. Gu Wenan paused for a moment. “Can you guys guess who the last effort captain is?”

“I don’t know, ah, maybe someone from B-rank.”

“I think it’s someone from F-rank. That would make it a better comparison to the abilities group, ah.”

“Anyway, it can’t be someone from A-rank, since all the A-rank members are seeded players…”

There were all kinds of guesses, but no one got the correct answer.

Gu Wenan couldn’t help but smile as he shook his head. He immediately passed the microphone to Ji Xiunian. “Nian ge, this is your fan, so it’s better if you announce it.”

“Fan? It can’t be the person I’m thinking of…”

“A-rank also has effort captains oh my god!”

As long as Ji Xiunian’s fan was mentioned, everyone would immediately think of a certain person.

As expected, Ji Xiunian glanced at the name list and his lips curved up. “Lu Xu, congrats on becoming the eighth effort captain!”

“Fuck, it really is Xu ge.”

“He’s already A-rank and he can still become an effort captain. I suddenly feel like I should reflect upon myself.”

“Isn’t this that old saying that people stronger than you are still making an effort?”

“Xu ge has so much talent and still puts in so much effort. If he doesn’t succeed then the heavens won’t forgive us!”

…

Lu Xu was obviously quite popular among the trainees. Even when he just smiled and didn’t say anything, there was still a group of people secretly supporting and hitting call for him.

“Actually, I didn’t think that I would be fortunate enough to become an effort captain, after all, I strongly believe that in places that we can’t see, there is always someone who is more hardworking than us.” As Lu Xu said this, he specifically looked towards A-rank but made it look as if it was done unintentionally.

But to the F4, this was a confirmation. This was the Master Grim Reaper’s love for them!

“Wuuuu, Mater Lu Xu is the best, as expected!”

“Our hard work wasn’t for nothing, even the Master acknowledged it!”

“Aaaaaah, I’ll be the Master’s fan for 10,000 years!”

Never mind how happy the F4 was, they softly let out rainbow coloured farts while they puffed out their chests and headed towards the effort captain section.

Ji Xiunian also couldn’t help but glance over, and secretly gave them a thumbs up.

To be consecutively acknowledged by two of their most respected people, the F4 were exceptionally happy.

After the announcement of the effort captains, it was time to announce the ability captains.

At the moment, there were still six A-rank members, along with two B-rank black horses, the eight ability captains were more or less confirmed.

Ji Xiunian went up to announce the eight ability captains and casually repeated the first rule. “Now our sixteen captains are standing there. Everyone can choose their own captains according to their order. Every team will have six people…”

This time being split into teams meant that they would be giving their first performance on stage soon.

The better their captain, the better their score.

It was also because of this that the ability captains were the most popular. In other words, the effort captains were the last resort.

But there was an exception to everything. Lan Gaojie’s ability team was the last to be filled up.

And on the effort teams side, Lu Xu’s team was the earliest to be filled.

After drawing lots to choose their competitor group for this stage, Lu Xu opened the lot he had chosen and couldn’t help but laugh––

Group four, and his PK rival was Lan Gaojie’s team.

Interesting.

Lu Xu didn’t have any strong objections to this outcome, he just calmly accepted it.

Speaking of, out of all the trainees, the happiest ones were the ones in his team.

They knew that Lu Xu was capable and very popular, so being in the same group as him would mean no problems.

Xu Lele was the first one to pick Lu Xu because it was his male god and his friend.

“Xu ge Xu ge, I’m really super happy!”

His smile was dazzling, his two little canines peeking out sweetly like there was nothing to be worried about.

“I’m also very happy.” Lu Xu looked towards his groupmates and politely greeted them. “We’ll be working hard together for the next few days, after all, we’re the effort team, aren’t we?”

“Hahaha, that’s right. The effort team definitely won’t admit defeat!”

“Speaking of, what name should we have? I feel like it should be something emphatic to match our vibe.”

Coming up with a group name was a troublesome matter. Just as they were collectively deep in thought, Xu Lele suddenly waved his hand. “Why don’t we call ourselves the Head Harvester, like we’re stealing online fans.”

“What kind of head harvester, why does it sound so gory?”

“That’s right, the perfectly fine idol drama suddenly became a horror film. I object!”

“I feel like a harvester is a bit old-fashioned, not even as cute as an excavator.”

Because of the group’s collective objection, Xu Lele’s ‘harvester’ didn’t make it in the end.

He sighed and said to Lu Xu, “Xu ge, you’re the captain, you should come up with the name.”

Lu Xu had never thought the day would come where he would have to come up with a name for the team.

He thought about it for a moment then said, “Why don’t we call ourselves the Effort Squad?”

Although it was the most ordinary name, it sounded like it was gilded in gold since it came from Lu Xu’s mouth.

The team members all approved and smiled as they agreed––

“Yes yes, it’s simple and to the point, fresh and not pretentious, hahaha…”

“Xu ge is amazing at picking names. As expected of our captain!”

“What?” Xu Lele was confused. This so-called “Effort Squad” was as equally foreign as “Head Harvester”.

Since Lu Xu saw that everyone had no objections, it was decided like that in the end.

After determining the team composition and the team name, up next was to wait for the drawing of lots to decide the program they would be rehearsing.

When they came out of the studio, Xu Lele kept giggling by Lu Xu’s side, obviously very happy that the two of them were in the same group.

“Xu ge Xu ge, I have super important news to tell you—”

He deliberately lingered on the last few syllables, clearly waiting for Lu Xu to ask about it.

The F4 scooted over in interest. They also wanted to listen in on this secret.

Lu Xu was very cooperative and raised his brows as he smiled. “What news?”

Xu Lele looked around in all directions and made sure no one could hear them before he said in a quiet voice to Lu Xu, “Do you know why we’re not drawing lots and not practising tonight?”

Lu Xu shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Xu ge let me tell you, didn’t Fan ge look for Nian ge in the morning? Not long after Nian ge came out, he contacted a person. You definitely won’t be able to guess what that person does.”

Since he had said it the way he had, Lu Xu immediately thought of the Master Lai Ji Xiunian had spoken of.

Sure enough, Xu Lele immediately went on to say, “The person Fan ge invited is a super popular mystical master. Xu ge, do you know what that means?”

“What does it mean?”

Xu Lele suppressed his voice even further, saying secretively, “It means that there are really ghosts in this building!”