Chapter 1

It was late July, hot and muggy.

In the training room, the dance teacher had just dismissed the class, and the trainees all collapsed onto the floor and began chatting idly.

"Hey, have you all heard? The company's planning to recruit another newcomer soon."

"No way. Where did you hear that?"

"Believe it or not, I happened to overhear Brother Fei talking to Sister Yu yesterday."

"And from what Brother Fei said, tsk, it sounded like he actually begged the guy to come."

"No way. Coming in at a time like this, is he going to compete with us for a chance to debut in the same group?"

Someone in the crowd suddenly gave a cold snort.

"Don't kid yourself. Coming in now, he'll most likely skip the selection process and parachute straight into the group."

At that, the mood in the training room turned gloomy.

Their batch of trainees had been recruited over time, fifteen in total.

More than half had left because they couldn't stick out the tedious training, leaving only eight to wait for the final debut.

They'd heard the company planned to launch a five-member group first.

But going from eight to five was hardly a guaranteed shot, and now another person was parachuting in to take a spot. Most of them said nothing, but they couldn't help feeling a little bothered.

After a moment of collective silence, someone ventured, "Then he must be really talented, right?"

"So what if he is?"

"Even if he's talented, isn't he still a parachute? Who knows what Fei Yue sees in him-"

Seeing the conversation veer further off course and threaten to drag their manager into it, someone finally couldn't hold back. "Enough. If you have time to talk about this, why not spend it practicing and give yourselves a better shot at debuting?"

The person who had first complained lifted his eyelids and gave a somewhat cold smile. "What, Jiang Yu? You think you're good enough that your debut's guaranteed, so you don't care?"

"Have you thought about whose spot this parachute will take if he goes after the center position?"

Jiang Yu tried to hold back, but couldn't contain the anger. Getting to his feet, Jiang Yu said, "Qi Wang, what do you mean by that?"

Qi Wang chuckled. "Nothing. I was just giving you a friendly reminder. Looks like my kindness has gone unappreciated, huh?"

The atmosphere in the room instantly turned tense.

Qi Wang and Jiang Yu were both trainees aiming for the main dancer role, and it was well known that the two didn't get along. None of the trainees around them dared intervene, and the room fell so quiet a pin could have been heard dropping.

Suddenly, there was a snap.

It sounded like a piece of chocolate breaking.

The sound was very soft, but it came at just that moment, and was just loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

It was like a wordless provocation to both sides of the argument.

Jiang Yu couldn't take it anymore. "Gu Zhijing!"

Everyone looked toward the far right corner.

The boy whose name had been called sat cross-legged, obliviously popping another piece of chocolate into his mouth as he looked up.

"What's wrong?"

Gu Zhijing looked innocent and entirely matter-of-fact. "Training was so tiring. If I don't eat a little to make up for it, my blood sugar's going to drop."

With that, he lowered his head and took another bite with a snap.

After a while, Gu Zhijing seemed to notice that the mood in the room was off. He looked up at Jiang Yu and blinked, his tone a little ingratiating. "Want a piece, either of you?"

Jiang Yu felt as though he had punched a wad of cotton and was left speechless.

Gu Zhijing was different from most of the people here.

The others had entered the industry with dreams of becoming idols, to one degree or another.

Gu Zhijing, on the other hand, had known nothing about it. Fei Yue had picked him up purely for his pretty face, enticing him with free food, lodging, and a base salary.

Gu Zhijing was eighteen and had trained for a total of four months.

Over those four months, his singing and dancing had both improved noticeably, but there was one thing he refused to change despite repeated correction.

He had no awareness of being an idol.

He ate snacks whenever he wanted and ordered takeout whenever he wanted.

He played on his phone whenever he wanted and played games whenever he wanted.

In short, everyone else was here to chase a dream.

He was here to earn a living.

And yet Gu Zhijing himself relied on his face to act with impunity around the company, secure in the knowledge that he could get away with it.

He was good-looking, and his was the sort of beauty that felt gentle and approachable, not the least bit intimidating.

On top of that, he was a little clever and knew exactly how to use those advantages. Like now, the corners of his peach blossom eyes dipped when he looked at someone, a watery sheen in them that made him look almost pitiful. But however you looked at him, he seemed to be saying, I was wrong, and I'll do it again.

Jiang Yu knew perfectly well he was doing it on purpose.

Even so, Jiang Yu was left with a breath stuck in his chest, unable either to let it out or keep it in.

The person to Gu Zhijing's left poked his elbow and quietly stepped in to smooth things over. "All right, stop eating. Did you forget you were given chores as punishment for ordering takeout? Oh, right, did you put up the recruitment notice?"

Gu Zhijing bit off the last piece of chocolate with a snap and held it in his mouth. A moment later, he blinked twice in bewilderment.

"...I forgot."

Outside, cicadas droned on and on, making an awful racket.

Under the scorching sun, Gu Zhijing held the recruitment notice between his teeth and lazily tore off a strip of double-sided tape.

Their company, Leap Entertainment, was a typical shoestring operation.

Apparently, their manager and big boss, Fei Yue, had once been a rich second-generation heir. With spare money, time, and ideas, he had plunged headfirst into the entertainment industry in a burst of youthful impulsiveness, determined to create his own top-tier boy group.

Unfortunately, his family didn't think the industry was a viable path and disapproved, so the startup capital he had been able to bring from home wasn't particularly plentiful.

Though the small operation was barely staying afloat for now, it was constantly on the verge of going under.

To save money, Fei Yue handled a great deal of the company's business himself, doing everything from managing and scouting to planning.

With the big boss taking such a hands-on approach, the little odds and ends were often divided among the trainees.

Gu Zhijing did the most, since he was often punished for secretly ordering takeout.

Gu Zhijing looked down at the printed recruitment notice.

Aside from an executive manager and two assistants, they were hiring for everything from styling, photography, and editing to publicity and public relations, including even media interns.

Gu Zhijing: "..."

He knew the company had always been short-staffed, but wasn't it a little late to start hiring now?

Still, Gu Zhijing didn't dwell on it. He stuck the double-sided tape in place, then rose on tiptoe and carefully put up the recruitment notice.

He didn't notice that someone had appeared behind him to one side at some point. The person glanced at the company sign above, then silently studied him.

This had to be a trainee who had just finished practicing.

He still had a black-and-white headband tied around his hair, without having had time to take it off. Damp strands hung naturally against his snowy-white neck, and sweat had soaked a portion of the back of his T-shirt, outlining his somewhat slender frame.

He was absorbed in putting up the notice and noticed nothing. The portion of his profile that showed was fair and pretty, with soft contours.

Probably because he hadn't debuted yet, he didn't have much of an idol's aura, but he radiated youthful energy.

Judging by appearance alone, without considering ability, he was promising idol material.

A flicker passed through Sheng Chi's eyes.

The scout had a good eye.

After a moment's thought, he shifted his gaze from the boy back to the recruitment notice and scanned it line by line. He couldn't help frowning slightly before abruptly speaking. "You're... even hiring interns?"

Startled, Gu Zhijing nearly stuck the last corner on crooked.

He pressed it flat before looking back.

The newcomer was tall, at least 185 centimeters, but despite the heat, he was wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled low, apparently unbothered by how stifling it was.

With the light behind him, Gu Zhijing couldn't see his face clearly, but judging by his approximate age, he looked like a college student out looking for a summer job.

Gu Zhijing looked at the freshly posted notice again. Figuring Brother Fei must have posted the recruitment information online too, he naturally took the person before him for a recent graduate or current student and understood at once.

"You're here to apply for a job, right?"

After two knocks, the door to Fei Yue's office opened a crack.

Then a head poked in from outside.

"Looks like Brother Fei went out."

Gu Zhijing pushed the door open and entered as he spoke, then poured the visitor a glass of water. "Have a seat."

Sheng Chi glanced around and gave a low hum of acknowledgment. "Then I'll wait for him here."

He lifted his eyes and met Gu Zhijing's gaze. "Anything else?"

A little dazed, Gu Zhijing found himself asking, "Aren't you hot?"

Sheng Chi: "...No."

Gu Zhijing was indeed a little dazed.

He had assumed the newcomer applying for the job was just an ordinary male college student.

But after coming inside, he had taken off his hood, and the face he revealed had left Gu Zhijing momentarily entranced.

It was an extremely aloof face, but that did nothing to conceal its sharp contours and finely sculpted features.

Gu Zhijing had always been quite confident in his own looks.

There were certainly plenty of good-looking people in the world, but someone as good-looking as him had to have received a special measure of favor from the heavens.

Today, though, he finally felt that he had met his match.

This man could debut on the spot without any trouble.

Why would he think of coming to an entertainment company for a temporary job as an intern?

Gu Zhijing suddenly took an interest in the newcomer. Feeling lazy and not wanting to go back to practice anyway, he sat down across from Sheng Chi. "Since Brother Fei isn't here, I'll ask you a few questions for him first."

"Name?"

"Sheng Chi."

"Age?"

"Twenty-one."

"What can you do?"

Sheng Chi paused.

Apparently finding the question a little strange, he frowned almost imperceptibly, but answered anyway. "I'm an all-rounder."

At that, Gu Zhijing raised his eyebrows, his eyes suddenly shining.

Did he mean an all-rounder who could shoot, edit, handle publicity, do styling, and retouch photos?

That was a little too incredible.

Gu Zhijing was even more curious. "What did you study before? How come you can do everything?"

Sheng Chi: "...I studied everything."

"Since you're so capable, haven't you thought about doing something else? Why come here to do this?"

Sheng Chi: "..."

He lowered his eyes and composed his expression. After a moment's silence, he said, "Because I like it."

The room was quiet for a while, with only the hum of the air conditioner.

Gu Zhijing thought it over and noticed nothing amiss. Instead, he felt excited that their little operation had finally found a treasure.

If Brother Fei knew, he'd probably be overjoyed too.

Before this newcomer arrived, every matter in the company, big or small, had to pass through his hands. The former rich second-generation heir was as busy as an exploited farmhand.

At last, someone could share his suffering.

In that brief moment, Gu Zhijing made up his mind.

He had to get on good terms with someone this capable, no matter what.

He might seem a little cold, but if they really got to know each other, leaving aside the possibility that he might give Gu Zhijing priority with styling and photo retouching in the future,

the next time Gu Zhijing skirted or broke a company rule, he might also put in a good word for him with Brother Fei and the other staff.

At that thought, Gu Zhijing immediately looked up. "Brother Chi."

Sheng Chi's eyelid twitched.

Gu Zhijing was naturally outgoing, and getting close to people came easily to him. "With your abilities, I'm sure Brother Fei will want you to stay."

"Since you're here, we're family now, and family doesn't stand on ceremony. From now on, you're my big brother."

"I'm Gu Zhijing, a trainee here. I'll be counting on you to look after me in the future, Brother."

As Gu Zhijing spoke, his peach blossom eyes curved into a smile, and his dark, beautiful pupils gazed directly at Sheng Chi with apparent sincerity.

Sheng Chi's thumb rubbed against the glass, pausing almost imperceptibly.

He hadn't noticed it just now, but it suddenly struck him that this Gu Zhijing seemed very capable of drawing people into the atmosphere he created.

Just looking at someone like that, he could easily lead their thoughts astray.

A phrase surfaced in his mind for no particular reason.

A born idol.

Before Sheng Chi could answer, Gu Zhijing was already continuing with a smile. "Brother Chi, so the position you came to apply for this time is...?"

He drew out the last word, thinking it over briefly.