My Eyelashes Are Especially Long

Si Di had never expected this.

When he had signed with Wu Biao before, he had casually asked about it.

At the time, Wu Biao had said the company name had not been decided yet.

The matter had been shelved ever since. He had not expected them to pull such a ridiculous stunt at the very last minute.

After a brief silence, the filming hall erupted in laughter.

Si Di had seen it all. His skin was so thick that even nuclear weapons could not penetrate it.

He did not care what anyone else thought. He merely turned to look at Qin Wei.

Of all times, Qin Wei happened to turn back and look at him too.

His cool, detached gaze held a hint of scrutiny.

It seemed to say: What the hell is this? Like attracts like—what kind of idiot signs with what kind of dumbass company.

Si Di suddenly felt embarrassed.

Being embarrassed in front of others did not matter. Being embarrassed in front of his archrival was worse than death!

Yu Ning, seated beside him, quietly nudged Si Di's arm with his elbow.

Si Di took a deep breath, rose to his feet, walked onto the stage, and bowed to the mentors one by one.

"Hello, Teacher Zhao Yi. Hello, Teacher Qian Er."

His gaze swept past Qin Wei, seated in the center position among the mentors. It lingered for two seconds before he clicked his tongue and proudly looked away.

Skipping Qin Wei entirely, Si Di greeted the other two mentors. "Hello, Teacher Sun San. Hello, Teacher Li Si."

All four mentors wore expressions that said, We all know what's going on here.

The more reserved ones secretly glanced at Qin Wei's reaction.

The more straightforward ones had already picked up their microphones. "If my math teacher did not teach me wrong, Limited Idol has five mentors in total."

They truly were not afraid of stirring up trouble.

Si Di was not intimidated either. He answered crisply, "Teacher Sun San might not know this, but my tendons are stiff and my spine is straight. There are some people I simply cannot bend at the waist for."

[Stiff tendons and a straight spine? You didn't say that when you fought Qin Wei two days ago and bent over like a giant shrimp. [doge][doge]]

[No lie, this 4D kid has quite the mouth on him.]

[You could tell when he snapped at that blond guy earlier. Si Di's little mouth sure can talk. If he hadn't insulted my husband, I might actually like him.]

[Seems like Si Di never intended to compete properly. Fine, fine, production team, stop forcing him into this. Let him perform already so he can finish the task and go home.]

Si Di really was bold.

Of the forty million people watching the livestream in real time, thirty-eight million were Qin Wei's fans.

If he had been even a little uglier, the barrage comments would have cursed him into oblivion.

Facing Si Di's provocation, Qin Wei showed neither anger nor pleasure. He held the microphone and emotionlessly followed the usual procedure. "Introduce yourself."

Si Di cocked his head and rolled his eyes upward, looking like a delinquent young dandy wandering the streets. "Surname Si, given name Di. Twenty-one years old, one hundred eighty-one centimeters tall, sixty-three kilograms. Graduated from a 211 university."

The other trainees did everything they could to show off when they took the stage, yet Si Di's self-introduction was more boring than a résumé?

Qin Wei glanced at him and asked professionally, "Training duration."

Si Di's voice drifted lightly. "Two days."

"Any special talents?"

"My eyelashes are especially long."

The air fell silent for two seconds.

Qin Wei had been reading the profile sheet on the table. He abruptly raised his eyes and stared at Si Di as though he were an idiot.

Zhao Yi, the vocal mentor seated beside Qin Wei, burst out laughing. "Student Si is quite humorous. But he is not lying. You might not be able to see from so far away, but I can see very clearly from here. His eyelashes really are long."

The camera operator thoughtfully moved closer.

The shot zoomed in.

On Si Di's youthful face, above his bright, gleaming eyes, was a row of dense brown lashes like raven feathers.

Boys' eyelashes were different from girls' curled lashes. Though long and fine, his were straight.

Especially when he looked downward, his lashes covered his eyes, giving his vigorous youthful air an inexplicable touch of innocence.

[Camera operator, can you stop zooming in? I'm in the Bodyguard Squad—I can't like Si Di!]

[I couldn't help touching my own eyes. Damn! As a bald-lashed person, I'm insanely jealous!]

[Watching the livestream with my roommates, and all four of us swallowed at the same time...]

[I suspect the production team took money from Well-Fed and Sturdy. All these close-up shots are clearly meant to clear Si Di's name with his looks.]

[Pfft, hahahaha! That sister claiming they took money definitely has no idea how broke Well-Fed and Sturdy is. Go look it up online. Their company cannot even afford a car. The manager pedals a tricycle to haul Si Di around, and the tires are flat. It's as heartbreaking as it gets.]

The barrage comments were in heated discussion.

The venue was quiet as a grave.

Turbulence lurked beneath the surface between Si Di and Qin Wei. The trainees did not dare speak, while the mentors had nothing to say.

Two minutes passed in silence.

Qin Wei asked coldly, "You ranked yourself as F and chose the very last seat. Why?"

"Because I have a clear understanding of myself."

Si Di answered without hesitation, completely candid. "I was notified at the last minute and forced into this."

"I have only trained for two days, while the other trainees here have trained for at least nearly a year. The longer ones have trained for two or three years, four or five years, and some have even been trainees for seven or eight years."

"They practiced diligently, clinging to nothing but a hope that might never see the light of day, pouring out sweat day and night. Compared to them, in terms of effort alone, I deserve to sit in seat 101."

Si Di's tone was very calm.

Yet his words moved every trainee present.

The opening speech had said it: what was a trainee? A trainee sounded cool, but if they did not debut, they were nothing.

Only they themselves knew the hardship and sacrifice behind it.

After a brief silence, someone among the trainees stood up and began clapping. As if setting off a chain reaction, everyone rose to their feet, and applause surged through the hall like a tide.

Even Sun San, who had stirred up trouble earlier, nodded.

"To be honest, I always thought you were a very willful, self-centered boy. Only after hearing this did I realize that you see things more clearly than many people."

Qin Wei had been watching Si Di the entire time.

Those pitch-black eyes held the faintest trace of scrutiny beneath their cool detachment.

Before this, he too had always thought Si Di was completely insane. Only now did he realize... Si Di's condition was intermittent.

When he was not insane, he was actually fairly not insane.

With the mindset of "caring for patients with brain disabilities," Qin Wei picked up his microphone and said:

"Hard work and dedication are important, but talent is important too. Training duration does not represent everything. What we value is future potential."

"Si Di, begin your performance."

Si Di cleared his throat, stretched his limbs, and nodded at the sound engineer below the stage.

The sound engineer turned on the prepared backing track.

The moment the music began, Si Di suddenly remembered something.

Had Qin Wei just been comforting him?

Damn!

Would people misunderstand and think he wanted to keep competing?

Fuck, he wanted to be eliminated!

Eliminated immediately!