Chapter 12
The underground practice room was painted white, turning it into a bright space resembling a whiteboard. Even the slightest blemish on the walls was clearly visible, as if illuminated by a spotlight. The five individuals were all dressed in black, even their shoes matched the dark theme. It was evident that they understood the purpose of the white walls.
Jiang Juyou was well aware of their progress in learning. Before officially embarking on their trainee careers, Jiang Juyou had instructed them to record their daily learning achievements. The morning free practice sessions were meant for them to repeatedly practice and deepen their memory. Before lunch, members of the rookie management team would come with cameras, allowing each person only one opportunity to be recorded. Once recorded, the footage had to be uploaded to the platform and awaited evaluation and scoring from the instructors.
Each day, they diligently uploaded their recordings and even shared their thoughts and reflections. Jiang Juyou read through all of them, thus knowing the skill levels of these five individuals.
However, Jiang Juyou's visit today was not for encouragement but to introduce something that would make them feel a sense of urgency.
Unlike in foreign countries, where there is a mature idol industry, the situation in China is different. There, actors take precedence, to the extent that singers are hardly given any platforms for showcasing their talents. As a result, the singer circle is almost non-existent, with the same individuals who were popular twenty years ago still dominating the industry today.
The more difficult the situation, the harder it is for those at the bottom to rise. In recent years, singing competition shows have been overshadowed by actors, and singing programs fail to attract audiences. Consequently, even the capital is reluctant to provide opportunities for genuine singers.
Given this prevailing environment in China, Jiang Juyou chose to nurture the lower ranks of the singer circleβidols.
It was truly a hellish beginning.
Since she had decided to go down this path, Jiang Juyou had also done her research. The difficulty of cultivating idols in China stemmed from the overall environment. Those children who were selected as trainees for their good looks and some talent eventually ended up studying acting.
People kept flowing out, so how could a circle flourish?
Jiang Juyou was deeply afraid that her situation would turn out the same way. Apart from the obstacle of becoming an actor, there was also the hurdle of dealing with parents. If they treated this place as a summer interest class, it would be all over.
"After attending classes for a few days, how do you feel?" Jiang Juyou made an effort to suppress her uneasiness and assumed a boss-like posture.
She placed her hands behind her back and even rubbed them, as if it could alleviate her nervousness.
Standing in the middle was Gao Xiayu. He glanced at both sides before raising his hand and saying, "I'm trying my best to keep up with the teachers' lessons."
With just this simple action, Jiang Juyou understood that he was the backbone among the group.
Although Gao Xiayu was only a year older than them, being in high school made him different from these middle school kids. They regarded Gao Xiayu with the same reverence that elementary school students held for their senior brothers.
According to Ge Mu from the rookie management team, Gao Xiayu was the one who arranged practice schedules during their free practice sessions.
Jiang Juyou gestured for them to sit down when she noticed their unease. "Take a seat and let's talk," she said, settling herself on the floor.
The group exchanged glances, unsure whether to sit in a straight line or form a circle.
After hesitating for a while, they decided to maintain some distance from Jiang Juyou.
Seeing that everyone had taken a seat, she took out her phone from her pocket and asked, "Have you all read the comments from the video review?"
The five of them nodded, and Gao Xiayu spoke up, "Yes."
"You can only see your own evaluation, not the videos of others or the comments the teachers gave to others. I've also watched the surveillance footage from this morning, and it seems like everyone was practicing individually or Gao Xiayu and Chi Qiao were practicing some dance moves together."
When Jiang Juyou mentioned the surveillance footage, Pei Luming raised an eyebrow in surprise, then quickly pursed his lips. Jiang Juyou glanced at him after finishing her statement but didn't say anything.
Jiang Juyou only glanced at her phone briefly without handing it to them, and continued, "You know better than I do about the state of your individual practice sessions during this morning's free practice time. I don't want to say much about it. Whether you treat this as a summer interest class or genuinely aspire to debut, the final results won't lie."
"Only sixty days left until you go on stage, and as I mentioned before, from now on, each monthly evaluation will have an audience. It's up to you whether you're willing to embarrass yourselves with your current state and achievements. That's your decision."
"The spotlight shines on those who work hard, while those who don't end up becoming the backdrop that makes others shine brilliantly."
The expressions of the group varied, except for Gao Xiayu, everyone lowered their heads, avoiding eye contact with Jiang Juyou.
Jiang Juyou glanced at Gao Xiayu and then looked at the others. "Did you think I was singling out one of you? Actually, I was referring to all five of you. Do you think it's enough to consider yourself better than the others? Can you compare your current level to the standard for debut? How far do you think you are from reaching that level?"
"As I said, you will remain trainees until you reach the standard for debut."
"And the number of people who can debut can be four, five, or even seven, eight, or nine."
After finishing her speech, Jiang Juyou looked at the five individuals, who remained quiet with their heads down for a while. Finally, she sat up straight and said, "Let's continue practicing. In a few days, there will be new trainees coming in. Don't let them surpass you."
Compared to when Jiang Juyou entered, the expressions of the five individuals had dimmed, and they had even shrunk their shoulders. Gao Xiayu took the lead and bid farewell to Jiang Juyou, "Goodbye, teacher."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Juyou waved her hand in response and then left.
As soon as the door closed, both those inside and outside the door breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Juyou leaned against the wall outside the door, massaging her forehead. "What did I just say...? How can I afford to recruit more trainees? Help me, can't I control my mouth?"
She sighed, pondered the company's savings for a moment, and sighed again.
The ones inside the practice room weren't doing so well, especially Pei Luming. He glanced back at his brothers and cautiously said, "I'm sure I was caught playing games in the practice room..."
"I'm impressed that you can still play," Yao Shuo replied, and Gao Xiayu patted Yao Shuo's shoulder, saying to Pei Luming, "Just focus on practicing from now on."
Chi Qiao remained silent and went to the side with her phone, preparing to play music and continue practicing.
Having their own house in a place like the capital city and learning many special skills alongside their studies, it was certain that their family had some money. Not excessively wealthy, but their parents definitely had an annual income of several hundred thousand.
Such children were prone to being lax unless they treated this path as their dream. Most people were like Pei Luming.
Liking singing and dancing was one thing, but wanting to debut as an artist was another.
For children growing up in affluent families like this, it was just one path among many. If this path was closed off, there were still thousands of other paths for them to take.
There was only one way to mold such children.
After leaving the practice room, Jiang Juyou didn't rush to go up but instead turned to the office of the new talent management group.
The office door was open, and when Jiang Juyou entered, Liu Jiajia was contacting the teacher for the afternoon class, while Ge Mu was lying on the desk napping.
Jiang Juyou glanced at them and didn't say anything. Liu Jiajia had originally wanted to wake up Ge Mu but was stopped.
In a lowered voice, Jiang Juyou said to Liu Jiajia, "From now on, after the kids arrive in the morning, have Ge Mu go to the practice room first and hold a meeting for them. Let them review the previous day's recorded videos and look at each other's issues, as well as review the points the teachers pointed out."
"Alright," Liu Jiajia also whispered.
After Jiang Juyou finished speaking, she waved and left because now she had to take responsibility for her own big mouth.
Damn it!