Chapter 30

"Absolutely incredible!"

"Whoa, how did you even come up with that?"

"I was worried sick, but you pulled off a surprise move!"

After they left the stage, the four trainees from the training room were surrounded by the other eight, who showered them with praise and questions.

Jiang Ji walked over and answered everything in a single sentence:

"Because Xiu Si told me that the public performance they wanted to give wasn't just a public debut, but a performance for the public."

All eight fell silent at once.

What kind of vision was that?!

Xiu Si had given up the chance to show themselves off, choosing instead to dance Yingge Dance in the dark in response to the people there, without the slightest fear of being overlooked by the audience!

"Congratulations."

As the group stood there in awe, a voice suddenly came from behind them.

Qian Li had come over with several members of AUV.

A large crowd followed them, some carrying notebooks and others cameras.

Facing Xiu Si, Qian Li spoke slowly. "You really put a lot of thought into your performance."

All twelve fell silent at once and looked at them as if they were enemies.

Qian Li ignored the others' gazes and leaned toward Qiao Huan, lowering his voice. "But you focused on the audience instead of yourselves. What a shame."

Qiao Huan said, "Oh."

He didn't care.

Qian Li laughed. "Great. Keep it up. What a shame that a performance you put so much thought into has absolutely no commercial value."

Qiao Huan's expression naturally didn't change. Commercial value wasn't why he had conceived the performance in the first place.

Jiang Ji, standing beside him, was furious and demanded sharply, "There's no bad blood between our two sides, is there?"

Qian Li snorted.

No bad blood?

How much money had he thrown at Shi Xingzhou to hold Between Life and Death before? How could there be no bad blood?

He had brought AUV to the military training this time specifically to block OSOK's path to debut and smash Star Radiance's reputation!

It was just that they hadn't expected Xiu Si to perform so well.

But what did performing well amount to? It hadn't shown off their individual abilities at all, and they thought they could debut with that?

At that thought, he pointed at the reporters behind him and said patronizingly, "Never mind, we'll talk later. Our team has interviews to do."

He didn't believe in that "good content will take flight on its own" nonsense. Otherwise, the entertainment industry would have cleaned itself up long ago. How could there still be stars created by capital?

He firmly believed that the buzz generated by the audience's spontaneous discussions could never compare to the attention stirred up by posts from marketing accounts and major entertainment accounts.

So he had arranged in advance for prominent entertainment reporters to come to the venue today.

He came from a well-off family too, and had paid a considerable sum for exclusive interviews, so they would focus their coverage on AUV's performance for the next few days.

He was determined to climb to the top by stepping on OSOK.

However.

A reporter behind him suddenly spoke. "Excuse me, would you be willing to do an interview?"

The twelve from Star Radiance and the members of AUV were all taken aback.

Because the reporter was asking Xiu Si.

Qian Li stared in disbelief. "Wait, Reporter Liu, we had an agreement..."

"Yes." Reporter Liu tucked up her hair. "I'm quite sorry, but I think Xiu Si's performance just now is more worthy of an interview."

The reporters beside her chimed in. "That's right. We can return your deposit. Sorry about that."

Qian Li was dumbfounded.

People always said money could make even ghosts turn a millstone. Were there times when money didn't work?

Jiang Ji was still hesitating over whether to accept, since it would offend someone, but Ye Yiwei suddenly replied, "Sure."

He was determined to get Qiao Huan to debut.

Not only had Qiao Huan performed so well just now, he had also willingly given him the highlight at the end!

Wasn't it just a matter of commercial value? He would say ten thousand words in the interview. He refused to believe Qiao Huan wouldn't become popular!

Seeing Ye Yiwei agree, Zhuo Yang nodded repeatedly. "That's right, we're willing to be interviewed!"

Qian Li grew anxious and said to the reporters, "You'd better think this through! If you interview them, don't ever interview us again!"

Reporter Liu was unconcerned. "Without AUV, there's still BUV and CUV. There are far too many formulaic performances like yours. We can find suitable material to interview whenever we want."

Then she looked at Qiao Huan. "But a boy group like theirs is something you can only come across by chance!"

The other media outlets present joined in. "That's right!"

In any case, they were moved now. As for rational thought, that could wait until tomorrow!

Watching the reporters he had worked so hard to gather switch sides one after another, Qian Li spat viciously. "Fuck."

"Let's go!"

UVA hadn't expected their provocation to backfire so quickly. Seeing the entertainment reporters raise their cameras, they hurried after Qian Li, afraid of being caught looking bad.

Reporter Liu cared even less. She simply called her cameraman over and asked again, "Is that all right?"

Only Qiao Huan had yet to give an answer.

Seeing the expectation in Ye Yiwei's eyes, Qiao Huan realized this seemed to be the first time he had seen anything resembling excitement on that eternally icy face.

Is he trying to secure an interview, even at the cost of offending someone, so his best friend can see his light and warmth?

He understood.

So Qiao Huan nodded. "Please."

Reporter Liu clapped like a seal. "Wonderful!"

Although Xiu Si had all agreed, time was tight, so the media outlets had to "divide up" the four, one apiece. Each found an empty room backstage and conducted an interview.

That suited the four, though. After all, it would have been rather embarrassing to heap praise on one another in front of the other three.

After watching Xiu Si get whisked away by the eager reporters, the eight backstage fell quiet again.

"Will they be okay?" Li Xun wondered. "They don't seem to like dealing with the media and things like that..."

This was their first interview. What if they messed up and offended someone? What would happen to their future careers?

But when they took out their phones and saw the rapidly multiplying comments and posts, their worries suddenly vanished.

It wasn't just the professional media. The audience had seen the thought they had put into it too!

#Azure Dragon Singing Competition Yingge Dance# and #Training Room Four Performance# had already climbed near the top of the entertainment trending list.

Many new posts were discussing the details of Xiu Si's performance, and the buzz kept growing:

"What is Yingge dance?"

"On the compatibility between boy group performances and traditional cultural dance."

"Did you notice that Xiu Si's masks were based on the elements 'wind, forest, mountain, and fire'?"

There were especially many posts about Qiao Huan and Ye Yiwei. People said that not only had both reached a professional standard in singing, but it was incredible that they had kept their voices steady through the sweeping movements of Yingge dance.

And the way they had exchanged a smile at the end, then stopped singing together and left the final part to the audience, was brilliant!

How in sync did they have to be to pull that off so perfectly?

It wasn't just the netizens. Even the eight from Star Radiance were eager to know how Xiu Si had designed such an ingenious performance, and how they had achieved that level of chemistry...

Meanwhile, in interview room A.

Reporter A looked at Bai Jike. "Who came up with the overall arrangement for this performance?"

Bai Jike said, "Qiao Huan."

"Qiao Huan chose both songs, right? What about the dance? And the video in the background?"

Bai Jike's voice was as flat as an electronic announcement:

"Qiao Huan designed everything except the dance. He also proposed those videos to another... assistant besides our team leader"—he had forgotten the name—"who found people to make them."

"How did you come up with this way of performing? As some artists have said, wasn't it because you wanted to focus everyone's attention on the young people training at the base rather than yourselves? This was your first public appearance."

Bai Jike said, "Because Qiao Huan thought this was the performance best suited to this stage. They were the main characters, not us."

"Oh..." Hearing him bring up Qiao Huan in nearly every sentence, Reporter A smiled. "It sounds like Qiao Huan is the driving force of your team!"

Bai Jike nodded, a blush spreading across his cheeks. "Yes!"

Then he added, "Without Qiao Huan, I wouldn't be who I am today. If only one of the four of us can be approved by the company to debut, I hope it's Qiao Huan."

Interview room B.

Reporter B held the microphone out to Zhuo Yang and asked, "Mr. Zhuo, as the lead dancer, how did you come up with the idea of incorporating Yingge dance into the performance?"

Zhuo Yang pondered for a moment. "It all started with the Square Dance that day. Qiao Huan"—he stressed the name—"and I were walking around the base when we saw a formation of middle-aged and elderly people. They asked us to help fix their sound system, so Qiao Huan and I helped. We didn't expect them to keep us there to do Square Dance."

"Even more unexpectedly, they turned out to be retirees from the Folk Performance Association." Zhuo Yang's voice grew animated. "At first, I hadn't thought of learning from them, but Qiao Huan"—he stressed the name even more—"extended an invitation to them on my behalf. That was how I got to stay and meet an older gentleman who had practiced Yingge dance."

"I only mentioned it briefly when the four of us were meeting, but Qiao Huan immediately stayed up to look into it. He discovered that Yingge dance was a perfect fit for the overall design of the performance, so he asked me to learn it from the gentleman. The gentleman was fired up too, and choreographed this dance for us, combining it with modern boy group dance."

"After all, he used to be on the national team. He got fired up as soon as he heard the arrangement and finished the choreography in no time. He was incredible."

"But! It was still thanks to Qiao Huan that I could get along so well with him!"

Reporter B smiled. "It sounds like you and Qiao Huan are very close, Mr. Zhuo!"

"Yes! Without him, my artistic ability would be nowhere near the level it is now." Zhuo Yang thought for a moment, then added, "If only one of the four of us can be approved by the company to debut, I hope it's Qiao Huan!" His voice cracked.

Interview room C.

Before the entertainment reporter could speak, Ye Yiwei said, "Qiao Huan came up with the whole idea."

"Not only is Qiao Huan extremely hardworking and his singing has improved greatly, but without him, we'd still be scheming against the people from 403 and 402. We wouldn't have had a chance to devote ourselves wholeheartedly, much less thought we could put on a performance like this."

"Qiao Huan inspired us all to work hard too. Seeing him sleep only a few hours a day so he wouldn't let us down, we doubled our training so we wouldn't let him down either."

"Without Qiao Huan, we wouldn't be who we are today. And I don't just mean the four of us, but all the trainees." Ye Yiwei still felt he had more to say. "If Star Radiance's higher-ups choose only one person to debut, then whether from a commercial or a social standpoint, I hope that person is Qiao Huan."

Interview room D.

Reporter Liu looked at Qiao Huan, unsure where to begin.

"Mr. Qiao, what do you think of this performance?"

Qiao Huan thought for a moment. "I hope the audience liked it. Actually, all I did every day was eat, sleep, and train with them. That was it."

Reporter Liu laughed. "It looks like you're committed to being a salted fish to the end, Mr. Qiao."

At that moment, Qiao Huan, who still had no idea that his three good teammates were about to mercilessly expose him, said:

"Yes. My greatest dream is to retire early."

Reporter Liu asked, "Speaking of this performance, you actually did most of your dancing and singing in the dark, leaving more of the light for the people training here. Was that intentional?"

"Yes." Qiao Huan nodded. "They were the main characters tonight. We were just guest performers, and we shouldn't have upstaged them."

"But this was your first public appearance too. Don't you think it was a pity?"

Qiao Huan answered immediately. "As long as everyone remembers these people, our performance was meaningful. Of course it wasn't a pity."

Reporter Liu had interviewed more artists than she could count, and most were quite fake in front of a camera.

But aside from how sincere Qiao Huan's expression and manner were, the speed of his answer made it clear he wasn't lying.

"One last question, Mr. Qiao." Reporter Liu signaled the cameraman to move in for a close-up. "If every performance has a center, who do you think was the center this time?"

Qiao Huan considered it for a moment. "Ye Yiwei, Zhuo Yang, and Bai Jike were all centers in the fullest sense. I'm sure everyone saw how each of them performed."

"But if I can only choose one, I choose Ye Yiwei."

"His singing is exceptionally solid. He was the soul of our entire performance, and the ending should have been his chance to show off his skills, but he chose to leave it to the audience. That generosity is even more precious."

Afterward, Qiao Huan silently apologized to Bai Jike and Zhuo Yang in his heart.

All three had performed exceptionally well, but Ye Yiwei... had a best friend watching, after all!

"Oh..." Reporter Liu wrote down every word Qiao Huan had said. "All right, thank you, Mr. Qiao."

"You're welcome. I should be the one thanking you on behalf of my three teammates."

Seeing that it was about time, Reporter Liu said she was going to the restroom and left first.

Outside the room, she quickly compared notes with the reporters from the other three outlets.

Then all four exclaimed at once: So this is Xiu Si? Their chemistry is terrifying!!!

Interview room D.

Only after Reporter Liu had finally gone far away did Qiao Huan rub his aching temples.

Then he looked at the cameraman, who had been there the whole time without speaking, and slowly asked, "Why is it you?"

The cameraman could no longer hold back. He took off his equipment and rushed over to hug Qiao Huan.

"Bro Buffing!" Little Potato's face was full of joy. "I saw online that you'd become a trainee, but I thought it was fake. I didn't find out it really was you until I came here today!"

Qiao Huan patted him on the shoulder.

Back when they were in the smuggling organization, Little Potato had always been interested in photography and filming, so Qiao Huan had even signed him up for a class.

So it wasn't surprising that he had joined an entertainment company as a cameraman.

Qiao Huan said, "Thank you for not telling anyone about me."

Little Potato thumped his chest. "Like you said, Bro Buffing, let past mistakes stay in the past! The future is what matters most!"

"Right." Qiao Huan thought that was because Little Potato hadn't made any real mistakes, so he had a chance to start over.

But he still wiped away Little Potato's tears. "Tell me how you did it. It couldn't have been easy getting where you are today, could it?"

"I could never have done it without your help, Bro Buffing!" Little Potato looked excited. "Bro Buffing, I really think you've changed a lot too!"

Qiao Huan was startled. "What?"

"Before, you definitely wouldn't have asked me how I got into my career," Little Potato said with a smile. "I think you're much happier than you used to be! Is it because you spend every day with the other three from Xiu Si? I've been following your news, and I think they're really good people too!"

"Is that so..." Qiao Huan drifted in thought for a while.

Perhaps. He didn't know whether he had changed or whether it was the occasion and his mood today, but he wanted to hear someone else's story.

"Tell me," Qiao Huan said.

"Okay! It all started with the class you signed me up for..."

Little Potato was talkative to begin with, and Qiao Huan had no intention of interrupting him.

And so, one chattered while the other stayed quiet, and time flew by.

Everything was peaceful.

On the other side of the door.

Ye Yiwei had just finished an interview. He thought he had spoken well and was sure it would earn Qiao Huan recognition from the company and the public.

He wanted to take advantage of the joy of tonight's successful performance to ask Qiao Huan about his parents and Bro Buffing.

But he should never, ever have come over at that moment and heard all of this.

He had never imagined that "Bro Buffing"—the person he had searched for for so long, whose name alone kept him awake at night—

Would be right inside.