Chapter 26
Two employees on duty in the New Talent Management Group returned to the office with their packed meals, watching a drama series while eating and chatting intermittently.
"Someone just told me that Gao Xiayu and Ye Xing have been having conflicts recently, creating a tense atmosphere in the practice room. Do you know what's going on?"
"It's probably about the rankings. Ye Xing originally wasn't in the top seven, but later the department heads said it would be better to include him. He's currently the easiest one to accumulate fans, so they ranked him sixth, just above Gao Xiayu."
"...If it were me, I'd be upset too. The person who was originally going to make it but got pushed out must be furious."
"But the department heads' decision was correct. Ye Xing ended up trending on social media."
"Yeah... sometimes it can be really cruel. That's what you get for entering the profit-driven entertainment industry."
"No matter how talented you are, you can't compete with those who are good-looking."
At that moment, outside the office door, Gao Xiayu was leaning against the wall, holding the office computer in his hands. He had originally come to return the computer, but now the situation was awkward.
He looked down for a moment, then returned to the practice room.
The previously noisy practice room was now empty and dark. After entering, Gao Xiayu only turned on one light and sat in the corner.
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The weather had finally started to feel like autumn. Looking up, you could see the blue sky with rolling white clouds, and the occasional breeze carried the unique coolness of the fall season.
Pei Luming stood downstairs with his suitcase, engrossed in the view of the sky.
Chen Wu, who walked up behind him, also looked up and said, "Ah... the perfect age to be fascinated by the sky!" He then patted Pei Luming's head like an adult would.
The previously artistic-looking Pei Luming immediately became irritated, "You're only one year older than me!"
"But I've already passed that age."
"I dare you to never look up for the rest of your life!"
"I'll look up whenever I want!"
"Ahhh, Chen Wu, you're dead meat!"
When the other trainees came down, this was the scene they encountered: Pei Luming chasing Chen Wu around, completely forgetting about his suitcase.
Gao Xiayu saw them and called out, "Come over here quickly, we're about to leave!"
Today was the day for the trainees to collectively move into their new dormitories. Not only that, but they were also about to meet over forty new trainees who would be joining them. Just thinking about it made their scalps tingle.
There were so many people!
The trainees who had already joined the company all lived in dormitories in the same community, just in different buildings. Gao Xiayu was in charge of the people in their building. After everyone came down, he counted heads to confirm, then said, "The bus is outside. Take your luggage and head out. Don't fall behind!"
Pei Luming, standing in line, saw people coming out of the opposite building and waved, "Hello--"
"Hello your head, let's go!" Chen Wu grabbed his collar and pulled him along.
The person in charge of discipline on the other side was Wang Silu. He was also confirming the headcount, checking who hadn't come down yet.
"Ye Xing is still upstairs."
"Let's wait for him. He's the big star, after all. He probably has a lot of stuff."
"Hahahahaha, he hasn't even debuted yet, and he's already high maintenance."
"That's enough, you two!"
Wang Silu overheard and gave those two a cold look. Soon after, Ye Xing came down with two large suitcases. Yao Shuo saw and went to help. Chi Qiao, who followed, was even more exaggerated with two suitcases and two large snake-skin bags.
Yao Shuo was speechless, "You're acting like you're never coming back to this place. Do you really need to bring so much stuff?"
"It's all clothes I need to change into, nothing much," Chi Qiao said.
"...Then you carry it yourself."
"Ah, ah, ah~ Help me out!"
"Ugh!"
The staff member waiting at the entrance of the community looked at the time and was about to call to hurry them up when they saw Gao Xiayu leading everyone out.
"Put the suitcases underneath, people go upstairs. We'll confirm the headcount again once everyone's on the bus," the female staff member said, handing the personnel list directly to Gao Xiayu.
Their large group attracted quite a bit of attention from the elderly passersby, with some asking if they were going on a spring outing, while others wondered if they were headed for military training.
At the mention of military training, Gao Xiayu's expression soured. He had just started his first year of high school and still had military training to attend. His school had scheduled it for October, meaning that after the National Day holiday, he would have to go for military training, and upon returning, he would need to start pre-checks, leaving him with hardly any time to practice.
Brushing aside those unpleasant thoughts, Gao Xiayu watched as his group boarded the bus, then went up to remind them, "Don't come down, alright? Just stay put up here."
After saying this, he got off the bus and went back to find the other groups.
It took nearly half an hour for all twenty-plus people to board. After Gao Xiayu confirmed the headcount, he handed the list back to the female staff member for a double-check. Only when it was certain that everyone was present did the bus start moving.
Perhaps it was something about this bus, but the trainees were all excited after boarding, curiously looking out the windows as if seeing the world for the first time.
However, this novelty quickly wore off as they got stuck in traffic. Today happened to be the first day of the National Day holiday, and the roads were packed with cars. After stop-and-go traffic for a few minutes, everyone started feeling carsick. Some fell asleep, while others just closed their eyes.
No one knew exactly how long they had been traveling when they finally heard someone say, "We're here!"
Pei Luming rubbed his eyes sleepily and looked outside, "...I don't see anything."
Chen Wu beside him exasperatedly turned his head to the other side, "It's over here."
Located in the suburbs was a work park area filled with large, box-like buildings. As the bus slowly drove in, the female staff member sitting at the front began to introduce the place to them.
"This is where you'll be practicing from now on. The building at the very back is your dormitory. Good news, it's one person per room."
Upon hearing this, the boys on the bus immediately cheered.
"The building across from the dormitory is where you'll be training. There are over a dozen practice rooms. Your regular classes and training will take place there." After saying this, she pointed to another low-rise building, "That's the cafeteria where you'll have your meals."
After introducing the place, she explained another point, "For school in the mornings, there will be a shuttle bus to take you to the subway station. In the afternoons, it's the same - you'll take the shuttle bus from the subway station to here."
"The next few months might be the most challenging time. If you find it difficult to balance everything, make sure to let us know so you can make a decision early on. You're still students, so studies should be your top priority."
"Trainees from out of town will still come on weekends. The weekday class content will be sent to you, so you can practice on your own."
After the initial excitement wore off, everyone faced reality.
During summer vacation training, they didn't have to deal with these issues. It was simply practicing from morning to night. But after school started, balancing school and company activities became much more challenging.
They would still live in the dormitories, go to school by themselves in the morning, then come to practice after classes in the afternoon. They would practice until eleven or twelve at night, quickly wash up at the company, then rush back to the dormitory to sleep, repeating this cycle day after day.
However, compared to where the trainee system originated, this lifestyle was already quite relaxed. Their instructors told them that trainees there would typically take a leave of absence for an entire semester, then attend school just enough to meet the minimum attendance requirements. Even then, they would only go in the morning, leaving for the company to practice right after lunch. Some even stopped going to school altogether.
Their classes would start at noon and continue until after 10 PM. Elementary and middle school trainees would finish at this point and return to the dormitories to rest. High school trainees would begin self-practice sessions, continuing until 3 AM, then rush back to sleep for a few hours before going to school.
Trainees there not only had monthly evaluations but also weekly and quarterly ones. Due to the large number of trainees, selecting the best of the best was just the basics. Every month-end, a few would be eliminated. Trainees barely had the chance to become close or familiar with each other. Those who did become close were the ones who had survived in such an environment for years.
After the bus parked, everyone got off in turn. Just as they retrieved their luggage, they saw two more buses drive in behind them, also full of people. It seemed these were the new trainees joining the company.
Seeing this, Pei Luming exclaimed again, "There really are so many people..."
People in the cars on the other side also started to get out, and everyone became alert.
Chen Wu stood next to Pei Luming, both watching the other side. As they were looking, he suddenly remarked, "They're all quite handsome..."
"Tsk!" Pei Luming whipped his head around, "Can you not dampen our morale!"
Chen Wu said simultaneously: "But I'm still the most handsome."
Pei Luming immediately changed his tune, "Maybe you should dampen it a bit, it's not good to be too confident."
Staff members were also getting out of the cars on the other side, seemingly related to the trainees' relocation. Several employees from the new talent department had gathered here, and of course, they were all pulling luggage, apparently planning to stay here.
The leader of the New Talent Management Group, named He Li, walked to the center with his suitcase and addressed the crowd: "I'll hand out room cards to everyone. Later, just go up according to your room number. One person per room. If you have any questions, come find me on the first floor."
This time, not only were there over sixty trainees moving in, but also staff from the New Talent Management Group, as well as people from the production team. The place they were staying was actually an apartment-style hotel. Each room was about 20 square meters, with a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and a bathroom. That was it.
The staff were all staying on the first floor, while the trainees were on the second floor and above.
After everyone received their room cards, trainees who were close would gather to see if they were staying near each other. Those with good relationships would even swap rooms to be next to each other.
Pei Luming, Chen Wu, Gao Xiayu, and Yang Yuzhen were from the same dormitory. Seeing that their room cards weren't adjacent, Pei Luming ran around the whole place, insisting on getting the four rooms together.
Ye Xing's room card happened to be next to Yao Shuo and Chi Qiao, so they didn't need to swap.
The trainees had already formed their own little circles before this.
Those who had confirmed their rooms started pulling their luggage towards the dormitory building. Only when they got inside did they realizeβ
There was no elevator.
Pei Luming: I hope Chen Wu can share half of his confidence with me.
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Small spoiler, the debut group size isn't seven~
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