Ch8 - The Most Dazzling Existence

After Lu Xu took his seat in F rank, everyone was dumbfounded.

The trainees sitting in B-rank couldn’t help but shout at him, “Bro, the rank you chose is the worst rank.”

“What now? Do we go down and sit with him?”

“A rank is the best, you better hurry and come up here.”

“Pft…” Liu Haichao’s arms were wrapped around his chest as he was unable to hold back his laughter. He looked at Bai Ze, shaking his head. “I’m not the one who said it. Director Bai, this little artist of yours is a bit too honest, I think. Even D-rank would have been better than choosing F-rank.”

Bai Ze wasn’t too surprised regarding Lu Xu’s choice. Upon seeing that even Liu Haichao’s eyebrows carried a sense of glee, Bai Ze tossed out a sentence airily. “The competition has only just started. No worries.”

Fan Zeng was at the side, directing one of the cameras to do a close-up of Lu Xu. He wanted to hear how Lu Xu was going to explain his choice.

The emcee, Liang Da, was part of Dongcheng TV, and an old partner of Fan Zeng’s. He used to host variety shows that garnered top views in the entire country.

He had a good affinity with the audience, and his place in the emcee industry was very high. Even so, Liang Da had always maintained a warm and humble persona.

The moment Lu Xu walked out from backstage, Liang Da’s eyes had lit up.

Fan Zeng had already told him earlier that Bai Ze had brought an excellent trainee along. Today, only after seeing him, did he realise that those words were not an exaggeration at all.

Just like everyone else, he would have never thought Lu Xu would choose F-rank.

After a brief moment of surprise, Liang Da immediately interviewed the culprit. “Student Lu Xu, can you tell us your reason for choosing F-rank?”

Lu Xu raised his head upon hearing his name being called. He replied calmly and naturally, “I’ve only trained for a short time. Choosing F-rank better reflects my current standard.”

The camera zoomed in and gave Lu Xu a close up, only to reveal the sincerity behind his peach blossom eyes, completely devoid of any doubt that he had done anything wrong. A close up like this could be considered a magnifying glass. Even so, Lu Xu’s face was still stunningly handsome, his skin in excellent condition, free from any blemishes.

Forget about the audience; even the trainees waiting offstage were envious.

Xu Lele watched Lu Xu’s face on the screen and couldn’t help but say, “Lu Xu probably lived off his good looks while growing up, he is too handsome, waaah!!!”

His fellow group member quickly poked him, joking, “Wake up, brother, you’re a straight guy.”

Xu Lele wasn’t self-conscious. “If straight guys say someone is handsome, then he truly is handsome. I feel like only Lu Xu’s face can be called a face, and that I just casually grew one out.”

Someone behind let out a soft snort, only thinking about recording, so they did not say much else.

Liang Da had obviously heard that Lu Xu was a newbie, but he never thought this child would be honest to this extent.

He was handsome and he had a good temperament, without the impetuousness that young people had nowadays. Liang Da’s impression of Lu Xu was very good. As for his training period being short, even if his talent was a bit lacking, he could still be encouraged. “I know that you haven’t trained for a very long time, but I believe that you can quickly graduate and rise out from F-rank.”

Haven’t trained for a very long time?

From backstage, in the waiting area, someone said softly, “I haven’t heard of Yao Guai signing anyone new, so Lu Xu is probably a pure newbie.”

So it was like this!

Upon hearing that, the trainees who saw Lu Xu as a rival immediately became more relaxed.

Whatever it was, ‘Birth of an Idol’ would look at the trainee’s qualities comprehensively. Having a beautiful face was obviously an advantage, but if one only had a good face and no other talents, then they would not get very far on the stage.

Lu Xu’s evaluation was only a small complication.

Liang Da had a simple conversation with him for a while, then continued with the self-evaluations.

The group that Xu Lele was in, ‘Age of Innocence’, was the fifth group to come and choose their seats.

When Xu Lele came in, the first thing he did was say hello to Lu Xu. The familiarity he brought made him seem like he was Lu Xu’s fanboy. He quite wanted to sit together with Lu Xu, but he was part of a group, so in the end he still had to follow his team to B-rank.

Upon seeing that B-rank was full, Liang Da picked up his microphone and smiled as he said, “Up till now, our A-rank seats are still completely empty. Who knows who the first person to sit in A-rank will be? Next up, we have the BTT-boys from Xin Du Entertainment. What will their choice be?”

Accompanying Liang Da’s announcement was the five member group BTT-boys who now came out. Their standardised dress and average height of 180cm made them quite eye-catching.

Lu Xu didn’t really have a good understanding of boy groups. He only heard the trainees excitedly shouting, “Aaaaa, it’s BTT! I totally love Song Zhe!”

“That’s right that’s right, their knife-like dancing is so amazing. I think all of them will be A-rank.”

“I bet they’ll choose A!”

“There was never any doubt about it, okay. BTT came here to debut.”

As expected, the five of them strode in with their long legs, straight towards section A.

As the leader, Song Zhe did not hesitate at all, and immediately sat in the center position at the top.

At this moment, BTT became the first group to choose A-rank for themselves.

“Sure enough, the view from up high is good.” Liu Haichao couldn’t help but feel great at the situation. The group he had brought in became the first ones to seat themselves at A-rank. He could imagine that when the program aired, there would be quite a lot of discussion. If all of them could debut, then all of his hard work from before would have been worth it.

Seeing that Bai Ze didn’t make a sound, Liu Haichao unconsciously found himself looking towards Lu Xu who was sitting calmly in F-rank.

No matter how lacklustre one was, they would have chosen B-rank. This Lu Xu was a maverick who felt that there was no problem in choosing F-rank.

Someone who only had good looks could not be destined to go far. It seemed that Bai Ze might have made the wrong call this time.

If he really did have any talent, then it shouldn’t be concealed at the beginning of the show.

Liu Haichao thought and thought about it, getting excited in one moment then feeling doubtful in the next. In the end, he simply shook his head and focused on watching the recording from backstage.

After BTT chose their seats in A-rank, it was like someone pressed the fast-forward button on the following self-evaluations.

Very quickly, the trainees came out one after another. A, B, C and D-rank filled up with members, and the remaining trainees had no choice but to go over to Lu Xu’s side and sit in F-rank.

Everyone was restless and bustling, simply waiting for the stage performances for the chance to rise up in rank.

Lu Xu was sandwiched in the middle of a group of trainees, and he was the calmest of the bunch.

Seeing that the ranking was over, the corner of Lu Xu’s lips curved upwards, his hands crossed over his lap as he waited for his target to appear.

As expected, after the trainees were all in their seats, Liang Da strolled leisurely up onto the stage and smiled as he introduced the instructors. “In order to provide everyone with the opportunity to rise in rank, we’ve specially invited four artists to be your mentors. Now, let’s give a welcome to our legendary group of mentors as they come onto the stage—”

It had to be said that ‘Birth of an Idol’ had really gone all out. The mentors they had invited were all hot artists in the industry.

The dance instructor, Qin Ruowei, 23 years old. She started dancing when she was 4, went to become a trainee at an entertainment company overseas when she was 15, debuted in a group when she was 19, standing out from the other members in the girl group and becoming popular throughout Asia overnight.

The vocal instructor, Gu Wenan, 32 years old. He was the most reputable and talented lyricist in China in the 21st century and could play any instrument well. He started writing songs for artists when he was 11, and had already released a solo album when he was 17. He debuted at the top, and his songs ranked at the top of charts all year round.

The rap instructor, Shen Chengyu, 26 years old. He was from the same agency as Qin Ruowei, GM Entertainment Company. Although he was the main rapper of a boy group, Shen Chengyu was actually an all-around entertainer. This, along with his incomparable handsome appearance and cool swagger, gathered numerous girlfriend and wife fans.

With the addition of national treasure actor Ji Xiunian, just the money-burning lineup of mentors had already directed a large amount of attention towards the program.

With every mentor who came out, the trainees off-stage were beside themselves in shock.

The mentors standing in front of them were glowing like stars; who knew how many of the trainees regarded them as their own goals. To be able to record this show with them was really a dream come true.

The trainees were so excited they couldn’t stop shouting out the names of their idols. The entire studio became a large-scale scene of fans confessing to their favorite celebrities, but Lu Xu still sat there quietly, his posture showing no signs of emotional changes at all.

“My goddess is really an immortal fairy, love it love it!” The boy next to Lu Xu revealed a pair of canine teeth when he smiled. He was obviously a devoted fan of Qin Ruowei. He was so excited from seeing Qin Ruowei on stage that he didn’t know what to do.

He wanted to share his joy at meeting his goddess with the person next to him, but when he faced Lu Xu, he didn’t know how to start a conversation.

Lu Xu’s aura was too strong. Even though he was just sitting there, the boy couldn’t help but notice him.

Since the boy had sat down, the Lu Xu by his side had been rather unaffected. Just as he was in awe over the temperament of those from Yao Guai Entertainment, the person next to him suddenly displayed his first reaction.

The boy followed his gaze and saw that the nation’s male god Ji Xiunian had just walked on stage to introduce himself. His dark blue suit was well-tailored, making his posture seem even more upright. The spotlight shone on him, creating an illusion that made him look like a prince from a fairytale.

The stage was full of popular celebrities, but no one could take away Ji Xiunian’s brilliance. Whether it was Qin Ruowei or Shen Chengyu, they were all the faces of their groups and dazzling stars. But once they stood beside Ji Xiunian, everyone’s focus unconsciously fell on Ji Xiunian.

In all these years, no matter the time or location, Ji Xiunian had always been the most dazzling presence.

Lu Xu watched Ji Xiunian with interest, his eyes gleaming, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curving up slightly.

The boy thought, this reaction wasn’t much different from his own celebrity-chasing actions, ah.

Little Canine Teeth suddenly caught on, pointing at Lu Xu as he excitedly concluded, “Oh, so you’re Nian ge’s fan!”

“Hm?” Lu Xu was stunned at first, then smiled slyly. “I actually came because of him.”

Participating because of an idol?

Little Canine Teeth couldn’t help but give Lu Xu a big thumbs up. “A true devoted fan!”

Lu Xu shrugged and didn’t say anything else, only turning his head to watch Ji Xiunian, looking cheerfully attentive.

Ji Xiunian was naturally sensitive to being watched.

Starting from when he went on stage, someone had clearly been staring at him with a burning, watchful gaze.

He followed the direction he sensed the gaze coming from and saw a young boy smiling as he watched him playfully.

He had an excessively pretty face, slightly curled hair the color of flaxseed, watery peach blossom eyes. At first glance, he seemed a bit childish.

Ji Xiunian recognized this face; he remembered that this was the first trainee to sit in F-rank. At that time, Fan Zeng had told him the newly signed artist under Yao Guai Entertainment was also his fan. This person was probably Lu Xu.

When their gazes met, the boy did not evade him. He wiggled the fingers of the hand supporting his cheek, as if he was silently greeting him.

Ji Xiunian gave Lu Xu a slight nod, then sat down in the seat reserved for mentors.

Liang Da’s magnetic, charismatic voice sounded again. “Trainees, please prepare yourselves. The mentors’ evaluations will begin soon…”