Chapter 3

His eyes shifted. "You said you could prove yourself with time. Fine, but... tsk, you suddenly joined at a time like this, with nothing to convince us outright, and you just used time as a pretext-"

He leaned forward slightly, his tone as flippant and nasty as ever. "That really makes it hard to believe you, doesn't it?"

Sheng Chi glanced at him impassively and said nothing.

Qi Wang thought he had a guilty conscience and gave a derisive snort. He was about to continue mocking him when someone suddenly exclaimed, "...Wait, Sheng Chi?"

The person hesitated, then asked tentatively, "Could you be the Sheng Chi who came back from SPC...?"

The question jogged the memories of some of the others in the practice room.

There were established circles among trainees.

When SPC had forced all its Chinese trainees to leave, the incident had caused a huge stir in domestic trainee circles, so people had paid some attention to where the returning trainees ended up.

After returning, Sheng Chi had signed with a small company and debuted quickly, only for the company to abscond with the money. Plenty of people in the circle had heard about his misfortune and lamented it.

Sheng Chi made no secret of it. "That's me."

Qi Wang had naturally heard of SPC too.

His expression visibly stiffened at the answer, but then he gave a scornful laugh. "So what if you are? If you were really capable, you wouldn't have been sent back by SPC..."

Before he finished, Jiang Yu's expression changed.

The other trainees' expressions also turned unpleasant.

SPC forcing all its Chinese trainees to leave had been a sudden disaster that no one could have foreseen.

Moreover, all the Chinese trainees in Korea at the time had been caught up in the fallout.

Though Jiang Yu hadn't been with SPC, he had spent a year in South Korea and experienced its ups and downs. Knowing all too well how Chinese people were treated there, Jiang Yu could barely hold back from snapping back.

Sheng Chi, the one who had been insulted to his face, remained calm and simply stared at him for a while.

Although Qi Wang's words were nasty, no one had stopped him so far, which showed that his behavior did indeed represent the attitude of some people here.

If he wasn't convinced, naturally there were others who weren't either.

So what would the newcomer do? Show them what he could do and prove his ability?

Everyone was waiting to see.

On the surface, it was a confrontation between two people, but underneath, a whole group was stirring.

Sheng Chi lowered his gaze slightly.

He had been treated coldly so often in South Korea that he could still keep a straight face in the face of such a low-level provocation as Qi Wang's, and he wasn't surprised that the others stood by and watched.

In that case, he could-

"Chi-ge!"

Someone suddenly interrupted.

Everyone froze, then turned to Gu Zhijing, who had spoken up from the side.

Sheng Chi looked over too.

With everyone on edge, Gu Zhijing slowly said, "Are you-"

"Going to live in the company dorm from now on?"

Everyone else: "???"

Sheng Chi: "...?"

After a pause, he said, "Yes."

Under everyone's curious, puzzled, probing gazes, Gu Zhijing smiled. "The other stuff can wait. How about I show you our dorm?"

Being the company darling really wasn't easy for Gu Zhijing.

There weren't many trainees at the company, and they were all men, but the open and covert struggles over those debut spots had never let up.

Qi Wang was always arrogant, and Gu Zhijing didn't want to offend him either. Whenever they met, he obediently called him Wang-ge.

Whenever he saw Qi Wang and Jiang Yu about to start arguing, he would always distract them too.

As a result, Qi Wang had no major issues with him.

Since he had offered to mediate, Qi Wang gave him some face and let him and Sheng Chi leave.

Gu Zhijing sighed softly to himself.

He just didn't know whether his good intentions might end up making things worse for Sheng Chi-

"What's the monthly evaluation?"

Sheng Chi suddenly spoke, giving Gu Zhijing a start. "What?"

Sheng Chi was silent for a moment, then said, "Before we left, that guy told me he'd see me at the end-of-July evaluation."

Clearly, those were Qi Wang's threatening words to him.

Gu Zhijing choked for a moment. "You've got really good hearing."

He explained, "At the end of each month, Yue-ge and a few teachers evaluate how much progress we've made in singing and dancing over the past month, and they announce the rankings on the spot."

"And the final debut lineup is determined by the average ranking from all the previous evaluations."

"The evaluations are fairly transparent, and the rules are clear. That way, people won't question the debut lineup."

"Oh, right, the evaluations are livestreamed on Site X too, to build up some popularity for the future debut group."

Of course, Gu Zhijing didn't dare mention that very few people watched each livestream, and most of them were just there for the spectacle.

The active fans of all of them combined across the internet probably didn't number more than ten at the moment.

Seeing that Sheng Chi seemed to be thinking, Gu Zhijing smiled again. "Don't worry. It's the average ranking that counts in the end, so even though you missed the first few, debuting shouldn't be a problem-oh, we're here."

"This is the company dorm. It's only a ten-minute walk from the practice room, so it's really close."

"There's just one spot open in our four-person room. If you don't mind, you can stay with us."

He took out his key and opened the door. "In our room, Linyuan and Jiang Yu sleep in the bunk on the left, and on the right, it's just me-"

Halfway through, he caught sight of the mess of odds and ends he'd piled on the top bunk and stumbled over his words. "Sorry, I thought no one would..."

"It's fine, I'll clear my stuff away right now. I promise I'll leave it nice and clean for you."

Sheng Chi seemed unconcerned and merely nodded. "Thanks."

Gu Zhijing didn't mind his coolness. He took the last spare key from a drawer and handed it to Sheng Chi. "Here. You're one of us in room 102 now."

"Oh, right, I almost forgot."

"Chi-ge."

Gu Zhijing gave Sheng Chi a toothy smile, his peach blossom eyes curving attractively. "Welcome to the Leap Entertainment family."

That evening, Sheng Chi went back to pack his things.

Jiang Yu and Xu Linyuan returned to the dorm one after the other.

Jiang Yu was straightforward. Though Jiang Yu wasn't entirely convinced by the newcomer Sheng Chi either, Qi Wang was still more annoying.

Xu Linyuan, meanwhile, had always been an affable, smiling tiger who got along with everyone.

So their attitude toward Sheng Chi was neither particularly good nor particularly bad. They merely chatted and expressed some sympathy when they brought up his background at SPC.

Gu Zhijing had entered the field halfway through and knew only a little about everything in the idol world. Only after Xu Linyuan explained SPC's standing in South Korea and its approach to training trainees in detail did Gu Zhijing's eyes widen in shock again and again. "Seriously? He's that good?!"

Jiang Yu: "Yeah. I don't know why someone that good would sign with Leap. There must be other big companies here that want him, right?"

Xu Linyuan smiled. "Maybe he just doesn't like big companies."

Jiang Yu frowned slightly. "I just feel like something's not right."

Still full of doubts, Jiang Yu had been affected by Qi Wang's words after all and speculated, "You don't think Yue-ge really agreed to some conditions and promised him a spot and resources in the future debut group in advance, do you?"

Jiang Yu had ranked first or second overall in several evaluations in a row, so a debut spot was very secure.

A parachuted-in member was fine, of course.

But if that parachuted-in member was a royal, Jiang Yu felt a little conflicted about it.

Xu Linyuan fell silent too.

Jiang Yu muttered, "One Qi Wang is enough to deal with. I don't want two royals in the same group someday..."

"Don't overthink it."

Gu Zhijing interrupted, playing on his phone as he said casually, "Why not say our company has something special going for it?"

He thought for a moment, then half-joked, "Or maybe he found out in advance that Leap Entertainment had a trainee so beautiful it would take your breath away, and he wanted to see-"

Halfway through Gu Zhijing's sentence, the dorm door suddenly opened.

Sheng Chi came in dragging a suitcase and looked up.

Gu Zhijing, interrupted in the middle of admiring himself: "..."

Remembering Sheng Chi's extraordinary hearing, Gu Zhijing knew it was too late to take the words back. After a moment's silence, he made something up on the spot. "He wanted to see how he compared in beauty to the handsome Master Gu of the north of the city."

Xu Linyuan: "..."

Jiang Yu: "..."

Sheng Chi: "..."

The next morning, Sheng Chi got up bright and early.

The noise he made getting out of bed woke Gu Zhijing.

Gu Zhijing jolted upright from a dying dream and exclaimed in alarm through his haze, "It's two in the afternoon already?!"

The trainees often stayed up practicing until midnight before going to bed, leaving them unable to get up the next day.

Fei Yue wanted to correct their inverted body clocks, but after several attempts, he was at a loss and had to compromise, usually scheduling the first class in the afternoon.

Sheng Chi: "..."

Sheng Chi: "Eight thirty."

Gu Zhijing said, "Oh," and flopped back down to sleep.

A moment later, he couldn't resist sitting up again to remind him, "Chi-ge, the first dance class today is at two thirty this afternoon."

Sheng Chi: "I know."

Gu Zhijing nodded and went back to sleep.

But Xu Linyuan and Jiang Yu in the neighboring bunk had woken up too.

After Sheng Chi left, Jiang Yu clicked their tongue. "What time did he get back from the practice room yesterday? Going to bed late and getting up early-that's a bit much, isn't it?"

Xu Linyuan narrowed his eyes slightly. "Interesting."

Gu Zhijing rolled over and poked his head out from under the covers. "Enough with the 'interesting.' What are you two doing? Are you going to let me sleep or not?"

He yawned. "Go back to sleep. Who cares what time he gets up?"

Xu Linyuan froze, then smiled. "You seem to like him quite a bit."

Gu Zhijing poked his head out, his expression suddenly serious. "This is mutual appreciation between handsome men. You wouldn't understand."

Jiang Yu: "..."

Xu Linyuan: "..."

Shameless.

Unable to get back to sleep after their disturbance, Gu Zhijing got up too and pattered down the hall to the washroom to find Sheng Chi, curious.

None of the trainees were up yet, and the hallway and washroom were quiet. Only Sheng Chi was there, getting ready to wash his face.

Gu Zhijing stood beside him as though they were already well acquainted. "Do you always get up this early?"

"Yeah."

Sheng Chi turned on the tap to collect some water and said over its rushing sound, "It's a habit I picked up back in South Korea."

"Did the company make you?"

Sheng Chi thought for a moment. "Not exactly. With the famous three rules in place, everyone was pretty disciplined."

As he squeezed out toothpaste, Gu Zhijing casually asked, "What three rules?"

"First, sleep and rest less, and train hard."

Gu Zhijing, who had spent years slacking off and making excuses to skip training, choked on his toothpaste foam. "..."

"Second, control your diet and maintain your weight."

Gu Zhijing, who had spent years eating snacks and ordering takeout while trampling all over company rules, bit down on his toothbrush. "..."

"Third, no behavior unbecoming of an idol."

Gu Zhijing was wide awake now.

Sheng Chi: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Biting his toothbrush, Gu Zhijing asked, "I get the first two. But the last one-what counts as unbecoming of an idol?"

"Leaving legal issues aside, contacting fans privately, putting in a halfhearted effort with public appearances, personally playing the victim, not controlling your weight, slacking off at concerts, and having your public persona fall apart all count."

"Of course, the most famous and most serious one is dating while you're an idol."

Gu Zhijing froze, then couldn't help asking, "What if you really do date someone?"

"As the old rule goes, idols get beheaded for dating."

Sheng Chi's gaze happened to sweep over Gu Zhijing's right earlobe.

His earlobe was naturally rather thin, fair and soft with a hint of pink, and had just one small piercing.

Sheng Chi's eyelid suddenly twitched. "What, are you dating someone?"

Chapter 4:

Gu Zhijing: "!!!"

Though Sheng Chi's tone was even, he gave Gu Zhijing a fright. "Of course not!"

Sheng Chi withdrew his gaze without a change of expression. "What about before?"

Gu Zhijing looked bewildered. "N-no, not before either."

He rinsed his mouth and added, "But before debuting, you're still just a regular person, right? Does your company control that too?"

Sheng Chi shook his head. "Even a relationship before debut can plant a mine for the future."

"If any photos, records, or embarrassing things from your past get exposed, for the fa