Chapter 13

There was relevant content.

But if Gu Zhijing could perform it at the debut evaluation, it might earn him a lot of bonus points.

Gu Zhijing actually had no particular role in mind for himself.

His strength was that he had no weaknesses, but his weakness was that he had no particular strengths. The suggestion caught him off guard, and he was tempted, but after a moment he hesitated. "Isn't it hard to learn?"

"It's not."

"In a boy group, you're not really expected to be at a professional rapper's level. Knowing even a little can earn you bonus points."

Sheng Chi looked at him. "I've learned a little. I can teach you."

Gu Zhijing said, "I'll think about it."

Sheng Chi stared absentmindedly at the part of his profile he could see.

Gu Zhijing had the clean-cut looks and air of a youth. Even the peach blossom eyes, naturally cool yet amorous, looked less alluring on his face and considerably softer instead.

But a closer look at his features and bone structure revealed a hint of restrained sharpness. If he dyed his hair and wore earrings, then rapped onstage with the lighting and makeup amplifying that understated edge-

Whew.

Sheng Chi lost himself in thought for a moment and unconsciously turned his wristband. Only after a while did he come back to himself and say, "The most popular, fan-attracting idol persona right now is one with contrast."

Being one way onstage and another offstage could be utterly captivating.

Gu Zhijing's youthful air was precious.

He had always followed that route.

But if he could change his style for the debut evaluation, it might give his score a significant boost.

Gu Zhijing was tempted by the suggestion too. After a while, he tapped the tablet with a fingertip and smiled, his eyes curving. "I think it could work."

He hurriedly switched pages and began enthusiastically looking for songs in a different direction. Then, as if remembering something, he asked in passing, "By the way, what exactly did Qi Wang say to you yesterday that made you angry enough to hit him?"

He kept looking as he asked casually, "Jiang Yu and the others said it had something to do with me?"

Actually, his relationship with Qi Wang had been passable before. They had been on good terms only on the surface, and things had taken a nosedive only after Sheng Chi arrived.

Come to think of it, Qi Wang didn't have any dirt on him.

So he really couldn't imagine what bad things Qi Wang could have said about him.

Sheng Chi's expression stiffened for an instant.

A moment later, he said, "Nothing. I was in a bad mood and felt like hitting him, so I did."

He naturally reached out and ruffled Gu Zhijing's hair. "It had nothing to do with you. Don't overthink it."

Gu Zhijing said, "...?"

His fingertip paused briefly against the cool screen, then he unconsciously scooted a little to the side.

Ever since their argument a few days ago,

Brother Chi seemed to have grown closer to him than before.

Could the saying that little quarrels kept a relationship sweet be true?

Or was he hoping this encouragement would inspire him to work hard and strive for a debut spot?

But speaking of the debut evaluation,

although Sheng Chi had suggested this new direction, Gu Zhijing was still a little worried.

He had calculated his ranking, and Sheng Chi had talked to him about it too.

As long as he came second, he would still have a chance.

But coming second was hardly easy.

For him as he was now, actually taking second place would be as hard as climbing the roads of Shu-harder than ascending to heaven.

In the trainee business, talent mattered a great deal, but so did the fundamentals.

Reaching this level in nearly five months was already the result of exceptional talent.

Sheng Chi, meanwhile, had trained in South Korea for six full years. Jiang Yu had spent two years in South Korea and another two after returning home, not to mention that Qi Wang had been groomed for this path since childhood.

Honestly, there was no way to quickly make up for a gap that had accumulated over so many years.

But no matter what, Gu Zhijing still planned to work hard and take a shot at the last moment.

Debuting would be best.

Even if he didn't debut, he wouldn't have let himself down.

But he never could have imagined that another unexpected incident would occur before the debut evaluation at the end of August.

It came out that Qi Wang had been privately contacting fans.

The company was investigating him.

Chapter 14

When the news got out, dorm 102 erupted.

The first to be shocked was Jiang Yu, an onlooker who didn't know the full story. "What's going on?"

He hurriedly poked Gu Zhijing, his face full of curiosity. "Gu Jing, Gu Jing, you're close to Brother Fei. Why don't you ask him?"

He spoke quickly, and the three syllables of Gu Zhijing's name often ran together until they became Gu Jing. He got used to saying it that way, and it became his habitual name for Gu Zhijing.

Gu Zhijing said, "...How am I supposed to ask about that?"

He paused, then asked, "What does privately contacting fans mean?"

Sheng Chi said, "It means contacting fans in private."

"Can't idols contact fans privately?"

Gu Zhijing was taken aback. "Why not?" he asked, puzzled.

"If they're pretty obscure and don't have many fans, can't they be friends with the few longtime fans they do have?"

"If you're a singer or an actor, maybe."

"But not if you're an idol. No matter how obscure you are, you can't."

Sheng Chi's expression grew solemn. "Privately contacting fans is a permanent stain on your career as an idol. It's a high-voltage line you absolutely can't touch."

"Think about it. If you set that precedent, what about the other fans afterward? Do you treat them all equally and contact them one by one, or pick out the attractive ones, the rich ones, the ones who've given the most, or the ones who've been with you the longest?"

Sheng Chi leaned against the ladder with his arms folded and said unhurriedly, "You're an idol. You sell dreams, not the chance for fans to pay to text you, call you, eat with you, and chat with you."

Gu Zhijing nodded, only half understanding.

Jiang Yu was even more curious. "But we're still trainees, and we're all obscure as hell. What's the fan after?"

Xu Linyuan had been the first to bring the news back.

He chuckled softly and said at a leisurely pace, "What do you think? Did you really think their relationship stopped at private contact?"

"Qi Wang's insisting that's all it was because it makes it easier to get out of this."

Xu Linyuan lowered his voice. "They moved past private contact and into a proper relationship ages ago."

Jiang Yu said, "Holy shit, he fucked a fan? Exciting."

Xu Linyuan smacked him on the head, then continued, "After the July evaluation, he missed class for several days. We all thought he'd gone home, but he was actually out having fun with this girlfriend of his."

"I heard Wang Jue say his girlfriend is a fansite master who specializes in hooking obscure little celebrities. She probably wasn't planning on a serious relationship either. They were both getting what they wanted." Wang Jue was close to Qi Wang, while Xu Linyuan had always been the neutral, rule-abiding sort who smoothed things over. They could occasionally chat a little, and Xu Linyuan could pick up some news.

The domestic entertainment industry's idol fandom had never been particularly healthy.

Many people became fansite masters hoping to contact trainees privately. If they got lucky, they could transform from a fan into a sister-in-law, giving them something to brag and show off about later.

If Qi Wang debuted in the future,

this would definitely be a hidden bomb.

Xu Linyuan said, "I heard his girlfriend seems to manage his super topic for him too. She's also the one who sends the most comments for Qi Wang during every livestream. Honestly, she's put quite a bit of effort into it."

Jiang Yu said, "That explains it. Qi Wang always had way more comments than anyone else. I thought his family had hired a water army."

Their conversation suddenly reminded Gu Zhijing of Qi Wang's super topic.

Was that impeccably managed super topic not run by undercover fans his family had hired for him, but the work of this girlfriend who was a veteran of fandom?

If he debuted someday, his girlfriend might even be able to date him while serving as president of his fan club.

Talk about killing someone and destroying their heart.

At that thought, Gu Zhijing suddenly remembered the alt account he planned to use to become the head of Sheng Chi's fanbase, and shuddered out of nowhere.

Feeling a little guilty, he glanced toward Sheng Chi, his thoughts running wild.

That shouldn't count as private contact, should it?

If anything, wouldn't this be open contact?

"Oh, right."

Xu Linyuan suddenly said, "If Brother Fei investigates, I wonder whether he'll look into the others too. I heard other trainees were involved in privately contacting fans."

"I think I know about that."

Gu Zhijing narrowed his eyes slightly. "Qin Xiaochuan told me Qi Wang took some trainees out to eat with fans. Qin Xiaochuan also sounded me out about whether I wanted to go, but I turned him down."

"Now that I think about it, his girlfriend probably arranged it, right?"

Sheng Chi immediately sensed trouble. "Who went?"

"I don't know exactly."

Gu Zhijing made a quick calculation. "None of the four of us went for sure. It looks like four or five of the others did."

Sheng Chi said, "..."

Jiang Yu said, "..."

Xu Linyuan said, "..."

"Doesn't that mean he invited everyone except us?"

Jiang Yu clicked his tongue. "Was Qi Wang planning to gang up on the four of us in dorm 102 and shut us out?"

"It's normal enough that he didn't invite us."

Gu Zhijing smiled. "And among the others, Qi Wang must want people he's close to in the group, so he wanted to win them over in advance."

Still eager for gossip, Jiang Yu continued, "The others aren't dating anyone, are they?"

Gu Zhijing spread his hands. "Who could know that much detail?"

"But..."

Xu Linyuan thought for a moment, then picked up the thread. "Qi Wang's family has money, so he doesn't care. He contacted fans privately to find a pretty one to date."

"The others might not be indifferent to the money."

That was why private contact was forbidden.

Once it was allowed, rich female fans could throw money around to buy chances to chat, spend time, or even date their idols.

Idols were pure dream-making machines.

Private contact pulled them down from their pedestals and immersed them in exchanges of money and benefits, wearing away their self-respect and destroying their futures, with the cheapness of an openly marked price.

"Don't worry."

Gu Zhijing reassured him. "Knowing Brother Fei's temper, he'll definitely investigate this thoroughly. Qi Wang's debut is in jeopardy too."

"No, Qi Wang did it on purpose."

Sheng Chi, who had been silent, suddenly spoke. "The law doesn't punish the masses."

"He knew Brother Fei would get to the bottom of it once he started investigating, but he'd never fire that many trainees all at once."

"Then he wouldn't have enough people to form a debut group later. He wouldn't do that."

Gu Zhijing froze, then understood at once. "You mean Qi Wang found people to take the fall with him?"

If the others weren't punished, what grounds would there be to punish him?

Click.

Fei Yue turned on the light in his office.

He had spent the entire day investigating this mess and had been run ragged. He had only just returned, and the exhaustion was plain on his face.

He sat back in his chair and rested for quite a while. At last, he forced himself to lift his head, tapped the desk, and said to his executive manager and assistant Yu Wenwen, who had followed him in, "Let me see the trainee contract."

Yu Wenwen found it and handed it to him. "What's wrong?"

"I'm going to discuss terminating Qi Wang's contract."

Yu Wenwen's grip loosened, and the contract fell onto the desk.

She paused in surprise. "That's impossible. We can't answer to President Qi."

Fei Yue flipped through two pages without looking up. "The contract says that if a trainee commits a serious violation during training, they'll be dismissed immediately."

"My business contract with the Qi family is a separate matter. There's nothing in it saying I have to make sure Qi Wang debuts. They agreed to invest and buy shares of their own free will."

Yu Wenwen fell silent for a moment. "A lot of things aren't spelled out in the contract, Brother Fei," she said softly.

Fei Yue smiled bitterly. "There are a lot of things I never expected that kid to actually do either."

Private contact was something he could be taught to correct.

Before debut, he was considered an ordinary person, and having dated wasn't a big deal either.

But he had been two-timing: on one side was a fan he had contacted privately, and on the other was the so-called official girlfriend he was also dating. This couldn't simply be classified as a failure to live up to the standards of an idol.

It was a question of whether he lived up to the standards of a person.

Because of the issue Sheng Chi had pointed out last time, Fei Yue had planned to have a proper talk with Qi Wang.

Who would have thought that, relying on his family connections, the kid would simply refuse to take his calls?

Fei Yue decided to go find Qi Wang himself, only to discover that he hadn't been home lately and had been holed up at his girlfriend's place instead.

And he had more than one damn girlfriend.

It turned out that, on the days Qi Wang hadn't come to class, most of the time...