Theme Song
The same went for vocal mode. Memorizing lyrics was no challenge for him, but the Pitch Corrector was extremely useful.
To be safe, he made a point of checking.
Lai Yudong: [The Theme Song Assessment comes with a beginner tutorial, right?]
System: [Host, you are no longer a beginner.]
Lai Yudong: [...Huh???]
The sudden bad news struck Lai Yudong like a blow to the head. If he hadn't had the foresight to eat breakfast, he might have fainted from low blood sugar.
Not a beginner?
Since when? How come he didn't know?
System: [For example, a Lv1 Hero accepts a beginner quest to defeat a Slime. Upon completing the quest, he levels up to Lv2. A Lv2 Hero cannot defeat an Evil Dragon, but he can no longer accept beginner quests either, so he is no longer a beginner.]
Lai Yudong: [Is that a reason to send a Lv2 to defeat an Evil Dragon?]
System: [More new features await unlocking. Thank you for your inquiry, and have a pleasant day.]
...I really want to file a complaint.
What a rotten system.
A faint sigh reached Liu Qichu's ears. He thought Zeng Kai had faced reality and admitted he needed a week, and was about to turn and tease him, only to find that the one sighing was the taciturn, light-blond boy. For once, his exquisite, beautiful face bore an expression other than indifference. It was something hard to describe... uh... indignation? Despair?
"You Shu, what's wrong? Is it too hard?"
"...Yeah." Like a startled bird, Miura Yuki withdrew the expression from his face and gave a vague answer. "A little."
"Don't be scared. It's just a theme song! You've got all those people in Class F to share the joys and hardships with you!" Liu Qichu comforted him.
The response he got was polite but distant. "Thank you."
Liu Qichu couldn't help taking another look. The other boy's various reactions made him wonder: had Miura Yuki's company given him an aloof, unapproachable persona?
It was no secret that idols cultivated personas. In the entertainment industry, those who didn't were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns, but that didn't mean the personas were all fake.
A persona often amplified one of an artist's traits, turning it into a highly descriptive, memorable label. Common personas included foodie, academic ace, anime fan, old cadre, and the clearheaded one.
The same was true of Liu Qichu's social-butterfly persona. Because he really was outgoing, his team had emphasized that trait. Otherwise, getting someone introverted and shy like Xu An to be the mood maker would be no easier than teaching a fish to ride a bicycle. It would torment both the audience and the fish that was running out of air. Only an inept artist management team would do that.
Miura Yuki, on the other hand, had a cold look, a cold aura, a cold expression, and a cold manner of speaking. At first glance, he seemed hard to approach, but after interacting with him, something felt off. He gave the faint impression that his outward appearance and what lay beneath were worlds apart.
It didn't seem like a language barrier. It was more as though he was doing it deliberately.
Liu Qichu didn't dwell on it. Even if the company had created an aloof persona wildly different from the real Miura Yuki, it wasn't his place to comment.
He was just an ordinary trainee. He didn't understand the intricacies of such things.
When the video finished, the trainees enthusiastically applauded. Their expressions varied: some covered their faces in anguish, some stared blankly, some frowned deeply, some remained confident, and others were nodding off.
"—That was the entirety of our theme song, 'To The Stars.'"
Fu Hanyu picked up the cue card from the production team and announced rules even crueler than the difficulty of the theme song.
"The Theme Song Assessment has two stages. In the first stage, you'll be reassigned to classes based on your assessment results, and the Initial C Position, who will be eligible to stand at the center of the theme song MV, will be chosen from the new Class A. The second stage is the filming of the Theme Song Fancams and MV, which will then be uploaded to the Official Platform."
"Please note that trainees rated F will not be eligible to perform in the recording."
"The first stage will take place in three days, and the second in five. I hope you'll seize this opportunity."
Author's note:
Congratulations to Lai Yudong for leaving the beginner village! (Applause
Additional information that didn't appear in the main text:
It doesn't really affect the story, and putting it in would've been a bit like padding the word count, so consider it a little extra in the author's note!
Dorm arrangements on each floor—
4F: 2-person room × 1, 4-person room × 1, 6-person room × 1, 10-person room × 1
5F: 2-person room × 1, 4-person room × 1, 6-person room × 1, 10-person room × 1
6F: 2-person room × 2, 4-person room × 3, 6-person room × 2
7F: 2-person room × 1, 4-person room × 4, 6-person room × 2
Chapter 15: Theme Song
"Reassigned to classes!?"
"Three days!?"
"Five days isn't enough either!"
The crowd instantly erupted. Even the drowsy trainees were startled awake, asking the people beside them in disbelief whether they had heard correctly.
Fu Hanyu smiled and twisted the knife. "I learned the theme song in one afternoon. Do your best, everyone."
[He learned it in one afternoon and still danced that well]
[As expected of a first-generation idol, his skills are so strong]
[Suddenly the schedule doesn't seem so tight]
Even so, not everyone wailed in despair about being demoted. Some were full of ambition, planning to turn things around with this opportunity, while others were optimistic like Liu Qichu. "It's fine. I'm already in Class F."
Zeng Kai rolled his eyes. "Thanks, I feel so comforted."
Although Liu Qichu had made the joke to lighten the mood, it wasn't without reason when they thought about it. Since they were already in Class F, how much worse could things get?
At worst, they would stay in Class F. They wouldn't be eliminated anyway; at most, they wouldn't get to perform in the recording.
For Lai Yudong, however, who had a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, staying in Class F was not a good thing. Less screen time would at most mean a slightly lower chance of debuting for the others, but for him it would trigger a series of terrible chain reactions. His life might even be in danger.
Finding a way to hang on for a few more rounds was his stopgap measure.
The theme song instruction consisted of three class periods.
The first was a large group class for all four classes, starting at one that afternoon.
For the second and third periods, different specialist instructors would teach each class separately. The dance and vocal lessons were scheduled for tomorrow morning and afternoon, with different class times for each group.