Should I Buy You Two Boxes of Kidney Treasure?

Back at the dorm.

Yu Ning was the team captain for the first public performance, which basically meant he had to lead the group.

The little sweetheart felt a heavy burden on his shoulders.

Out of responsibility to himself and his teammates, Yu Ning got an early start to make up for his lack of talent with diligence. Lying in bed, he kept replaying the song audio on the MP4 player provided by the production team.

Si Di did not disturb him. After washing up, he climbed into the top bunk.

He thought it over and over.

But he simply could not figure it out.

Why had his lover of so many years suddenly deleted him?

Si Di tossed and turned until he finally fell asleep in the middle of the night.

When he got up the next morning, there was an especially noticeable dark circle beneath his eyes.

While they were having breakfast, Yu Ning, who was sitting beside him, leaned over and asked, "Didn't sleep well last night?"

Huo Xiao, seated across from him, also lifted his eyes to look over.

Si Di gave an absentminded hum, took a bite of his sandwich, and drooped his head listlessly.

"Not easy, huh? Si Di, who always has an incredible mental fortitude and stays as steady as Mount Tai no matter if the sky falls or the earth cracks, actually has insomnia too. Could it be that training has been too intense these past few days and your body's been depleted? Do you want—"

Yu Ning slyly scooted closer. "Want me to buy you two boxes of Kidney Treasure?"

"..."

People really could not get too familiar with one another.

As long as the bond was strong enough, even the cutest, gentlest good boy would turn into a teasing friend.

Si Di sighed and did not argue.

After breakfast, they headed to the practice room.

The production team had arranged it so that the two competing groups who chose the same song shared one lounge.

Yu Ning left reluctantly, while Si Di and Huo Xiao entered the practice room.

There were five members in each of the two groups.

The people who had arrived were already seated on the wooden floor on opposite sides of the practice room according to their groups.

Only two people from Si Di's group had arrived.

One was Ji Yan, and the other was Cheng Shaoke.

There were a hundred trainees. Even if he had tried to memorize names, there was no way he could have learned them all in just a few days.

Not to mention matching every name to a face.

Before the groups were formed, Si Di had not known Cheng Shaoke at all. He had chosen him solely because Ji Yan recommended him.

Ji Yan and Cheng Shaoke were from the same company.

It was a major company, so their abilities were naturally not weak.

And since this was a group competition, Ji Yan certainly would not pick someone who would drag the group down.

Ji Yan and Cheng Shaoke sat facing each other.

Si Di walked over, sat cross-legged on the floor, took a lyric sheet from between them, and began following along with the lyrics to the music playing through the room's speakers.

Once everyone had arrived, they first divided up the lyric parts.

They split the lyrics into sections based on timing, then assigned them to the people best suited to sing them.

This kind of thing was not easy to handle.

Everyone wanted the relatively eye-catching highlight segments.

But every song only had one chorus.

Just as everyone was arguing heatedly, vocal instructor Zhao Yi and rap instructor Li Si walked in.

The livestream had already begun.

As the instructors entered, the cameraman carried his equipment into the room.

The two groups seated in circles on the floor of the practice room immediately appeared on the livestream.

[Finally, it's Fox's group.]

[I waited over an hour and finally get to see my son. [sigh][sigh]]

[4D with his hair brushed down is seriously the peak of youthful vibes in domestic entertainment.]

[Huh? Huo Xiao is wearing a headband today! Oh my god, he's reached a whole new level of cool! [starry eyes][starry eyes]]

[Allow me to formally introduce them: Huo Xiao is my husband, Si Di is my son. Sisters who see this, please vote for my two babies. Thank you!]

[No joke, could the sister above be my mother-in-law? Because Huo Xiao is my dad, Si Di is my husband... Also, Ji Yan is my boyfriend...]

[For voting, I bought ten whole cases of milk! From now on, my entire family is drinking milk for all three meals!]

[Are you charging into the yogurt vote? Charge, charge, charge, charge, charge!]

[Are you charging into voting? Charge, charge, charge, charge, charge!]

[One vote from you, one vote from me, Di-baby will debut any day. If you don't vote and I don't vote, when will Di-baby ever rise to the top?]

The comments flew by at lightning speed.

After all, the top three trainees in popularity were all in this practice room.

When the instructors entered, all the trainees stood and politely said, "Hello, teachers."

Li Si wore an expression like she was above the heavens. Her lofty gaze swept over everyone before landing on Si Di, and she rolled her eyes at him without the slightest attempt to hide it.

Zhao Yi quickly waved his hand. "It's fine. Sit down and keep practicing. Teacher Li Si and I are here to guide you, not add psychological pressure, so don't be nervous."

Only then did the trainees sit back down.

The issue of dividing the parts remained unresolved. Everyone kept arguing, emphasizing how well suited they were to the chorus.

After listening for a while, Zhao Yi took the initiative to interrupt. "How about this? Since all of you like the chorus, everyone sing it once, and I'll listen."

Huo Xiao was the first to stand.

His teammates hurriedly followed him over.

Several of them stood in front of the piano.

Following the score, Zhao Yi skillfully pressed the keys and played only the highly coveted chorus section.

Holding the lyric sheet, Huo Xiao opened his voice with ease.

The rhythm of the chorus was difficult to control. The first two lines were hazy and dreamlike, while the last two featured falsetto and incredibly difficult vocal runs. At the end, there was also a line of extremely low, mysterious rap.

Huo Xiao handled it with flawless precision.

The moment he finished, Zhao Yi nodded and praised him. "Very good. As expected of the main center. Your adaptability is incredibly strong."

Huo Xiao accepted the praise calmly.

Zhao Yi smiled and said to another member, "You sing it for me."

The piano began playing again, but this time, the gap between the singer and Huo Xiao was obvious.

The first two lines were barely passable, but the vocal runs afterward were too choppy. His technique was not up to standard, and as he sang, his pitch could not hold and went off-key.

Zhao Yi did not comment.

But the trainee himself guiltily lowered his head.

The other trainees continued their tryouts.

They were all trainees who had studied singing and dancing. Who sang well and who was slightly inferior was obvious to everyone without Zhao Yi needing to comment.

When Zhao Yi asked again who could guarantee they would not mess up the chorus, only Huo Xiao raised an eyebrow in response.

The final result was obvious.

Huo Xiao successfully secured the center position and took charge of the song's chorus, as well as the highlight of the entire performance.

Under Zhao Yi's suggestions, the other members each took on different sections.

Once Group A was done, it was Group B's turn, the one Si Di belonged to.

Having learned from what came before, two members of Si Di's group directly withdrew from competing for the chorus.

Only Si Di, Ji Yan, and Cheng Shaoke remained.

Zhao Yi rested his hand on the piano keys, lifted his eyes, and asked the three of them, "Who wants to go first?"

The moment he finished speaking, Cheng Shaoke stepped forward voluntarily.

Zhao Yi nodded and began to play.

Cheng Shaoke sang fairly well, but his falsetto was a little strained. He paused for a second while singing, throwing off the rhythm of the latter half of the line.

After he finished, he asked, "Teacher, can I try one more time?"

Zhao Yi nodded, gave him a few pointers, and had him sing it again.

This time, it was obviously much better.

After he stepped back, it naturally became Ji Yan's turn.

Ji Yan's skin was exceptionally fair.

A large part of the ethereal aura radiating from within him came from his perfect shoulder-to-neck proportions.

Ji Yan had a tall, slender build.

But from the side, he looked exceptionally thin.

Unlike other boys, he lacked that sense of strength. His neck was long, and there was almost no visible trapezius muscle where his neck connected to his shoulders.

Only two straight collarbones faintly showed beneath his collar.

His unworldly temperament made him stand out particularly among the other boys.

Yet someone so ethereal was now supposed to sing the seductive, bewitching Fox.

It was no different from asking Chang'e from the Ninth Heaven to play Su Daji.

Simply standing there, he somehow looked completely out of place.

As usual, Zhao Yi played several key notes.

Ji Yan stood elegantly before the piano, lyric sheet in hand, and began in a calm voice.

His clear, nimble voice was like wind chimes lightly brushing together at the edge of a cliff.

Leisurely.

Sacred.

The originally seductive song, sung by him, seemed as though it had been washed by the morning light, instantly filling with an ethereal, mysterious quality.

Zhao Yi's brow furrowed deeply as he listened.

He was somewhat unable to evaluate Ji Yan's singing style.

It could no longer simply be described as good or bad.

In terms of vocal ability, Ji Yan was flawless. His rhythm, falsetto, and vocal runs all had no issues.

Yet it felt deeply incongruous.

His vocal style and this song were somehow fundamentally incompatible.

Zhao Yi hesitated for a moment, skipped over Ji Yan directly, looked up at Si Di, and said, "Si Di, you give it a try."

Si Di nodded, took the lyric sheet, and stood in front of the piano.