Chapter 31: 031
Chapter 31
Last Saturday was also when the pre-event inspection took place. Jiang Juyou was still in Shanghai that day, and after returning, she went to inspect the park, leaving her no energy to pay attention to the concert. However, according to feedback from the performance department, both the artists and the company were very satisfied. The Shanghai venue performance was also confirmed, though it would be an encore show in January next year.
Jiang Liuxing also did her part, ostensibly promoting Li Nayou's concert, but in reality, promoting the concert venue, attracting attention on social media for both parties.
Even their studio's planned topics and discussions easily trended across various platforms, bringing in a lot of work.
Originally, the three sisters wanted to get together to celebrate, but Jiang Juyou was too busy. She wouldn't even reply to WeChat messages and stayed up late, though if asked what exactly she was busy with, Jiang Juyou herself couldn't say.
When she appeared backstage at the venue with this low mood, everyone who had been chatting unanimously fell silent after seeing the boss's expression.
Only Li Yao and a few other veteran members dared to approach her.
"It's a full house today!" Li Yao excitedly showed her the seating chart on her phone.
This was the first time they had opened the entire venue. They had thought it would be good if just the inner area was full, but after Ye Xing trended on social media, all the seats were booked within a few days. Their own seats had been moved to the second-floor boxes.
Jiang Juyou, slumped on the sofa, just glanced at it and said disinterestedly, "Wasn't this all booked out a long time ago?"
"Yes!" Li Yao continued, "Next time we can start making money!"
At the mention of making money, Jiang Juyou, who had closed her eyes, opened them again, "Is the account registration for the letter station done?"
"It's all set," answered Zhao Xu. She sat down and handed Jiang Juyou a sandwich, "Why are you so tired? Didn't sleep last night?"
Jiang Juyou was about to speak, but then remembered that her unfinished graduation couldn't be made public, so she closed her mouth again, "Mm."
While they were chatting here, it was also very lively outside. The opening event from a month ago hadn't gained much traction until now, but a few days ago, Li Nayou's concert trended on social media, and Galexy was mentioned again. People also remembered a certain fan site's grand gesture from a month ago, and that Weibo post was being shared again.
Thanks to this rekindled interest, even those who had thought about not coming changed their minds and put this activity back on their list.
The ground floor of the adjacent building was also hosting events. Many who came for the performance were now watching the random dance activity there. Upstairs, fan clubs were holding birthday support events for their idols, and people were going up to join in the excitement. As for the fifth floor, it was always full.
The fourth floor was cordoned off, and judging by the knife and fork symbol above, it was likely being converted into a restaurant.
The revenue from this building was high every day, and currently, all of Random Entertainment's expenses were supported by this side, at least the employees' salaries came from here.
Jiang Liuxing had also come this time. She was now sitting in Galexy's café, drinking tea and watching the excitement in the group chat.
"Anyway, they're not practicing at the company, probably because there are always people waiting at the back door, so they've changed locations."
"They're practicing somewhere else now, quite far... I went once and gave up on the idea."
"See, I told you they weren't at the company."
"They should be filming the debut competition soon, I found the registration."
"They've only been training for a few months? Is their company crazy?"
"So far, only Ye Xing has some fame, right?"
"Yao Shuo is quite famous too, at least among those who know this group."
"Is Piggy Sister coming this time too?"
"Yes, she is!"
"Yay― We'll have fancams to watch again!"
"Is Ye Xing's fan site admin in our group?"
"I don't think so, after all, we're all quite frugal."
"...I can't argue with that."
"If they're doing a debut battle here, are they still going to the survival show?"
"That side should have more buzz, this side is completely self-indulgent within the circle."
"I'm going to the survival show side, the kids here are too young, can't keep up."
"I'm staying here, as a student I can't go too far, can only watch this one."
Jiang Liuxing took a sip of tea and looked at her phone again, finding that they had already moved on to another topic. "These people are a bit too well-informed..." The news about filming the survival show was something she had only learned about recently.
The group chat had already fast-forwarded to digging up where they were training and filming.
Jiang Liuxing glanced at the time and quickly stopped the topic, sending a message to the group: "We can enter now, sisters!"
"Time flies!"
"We can go in."
"I've been here several times, but this is the first time I've seen so many people."
"I'm in the inner area, anyone with me?"
"I'm in the stands, convenient for taking photos."
"Damn... I forgot about this."
Successfully changing the topic, Jiang Liuxing also started packing up to leave. There were quite a few people like Jiang Liuxing in the café, and everyone picked up their bags and headed downstairs together.
In the backstage waiting rooms, they were divided by groups, with one waiting room per small group. The nervous trainees kept practicing, while those with better attitudes like Gao Xiayu were stretching, preparing for their upcoming stage appearance.
This time, the performance mode was different from before, and even the accompanying small cards were different. The fan site admin who had paid a high price for Ye Xing's small card didn't receive any this time.
The card faces were revealed as soon as the audience entered the square. This time, there were still seven small cards, but only those who had chosen inner area seats had them.
Among the seven, the only familiar face was Pei Luming, though not many people knew him. Not only the small cards, but even the big screens in the square only displayed these seven people.
Because of this, there was quite a stir in the small circle. Ye Xing's super topic was full of questions for Random Entertainment, asking why there were no small cards of Ye Xing this time. Some even speculated whether Ye Xing had been fired, and the entire super topic was in a state of anxiety.
To make matters worse, the trainee account hadn't had any activity for a month, except for uploading behind-the-scenes footage and practice videos from the previous performance at the beginning of the month. After that, there was no more action, as if the company had suddenly gone bankrupt.
"Let's ask when we get in."
"Aren't there staff members over there?"
"I just asked, they said they're not from the new talent department, so they don't know about the trainees' situation."
"Will those inside know?"
"We've come all this way, we can't leave now."
And so, everyone held out until they were allowed to enter.
Unlike the usually closed big screens, today the screens were lit up when they entered. The screen showed neatly arranged small cards, but they were all face down, with only handwritten names on them.
Everyone's attention was quickly drawn to the screen, looking for familiar names.
After a few seconds, one card flipped over, and the screen on the stage changed accordingly. Half of it displayed the content on the card face, and the other half showed a solo poster.
The first to be flipped over was Pei Luming, who was also ranked first among the seven trainees.
The two central big screens displayed Pei Luming's handwritten self-introduction, while the other side showed his official photo. On the two screens outside the stage, Pei Luming's small card was outlined in gold and gently swaying.
After a few seconds, the screen darkened, and the small card screens on both sides highlighted other small cards, flipping them over and outlining them in gold. Then the big screen started displaying this person's information and official photo.
After coming a few times, the audience also realized what this meant. Some quick-acting ones had already started looking for Ye Xing's name, and soon they found a small card with Ye Xing's name written on it on one of the side screens, just not knowing when it would be flipped over.
"Wow, there are already this many trainees?"
"No wonder they're filming a debut battle."
"Are you sure it's a debut battle?"
"Well, it's some kind of show anyway."
A group of familiar people sat together, discussing in hushed tones.
The small cards on the screen kept flipping, each one showing for just a few seconds. Soon, it flipped to Ye Xing's card. When Ye Xing's small card was highlighted, cheers erupted in the venue, causing other puzzled audience members to look over.
The large screen on stage displayed Ye Xing's card face, which showed his name and specialties. Another screen showed a close-up of his face.
Screams immediately broke out from the audience below.
The group of fansites sitting together huddled and discussed.
"That face is magnificent, as it should be."
"Why isn't there a small card for Ye Xing this time?"
"Who knows? They must be crazy."
"Could it be that they're filming the debut battle today?"
"...Am I going to be on TV?"
These clever fans had already guessed seven or eight tenths of Random Entertainment's plans, even as the opening content for the survival show was being filmed backstage.
The trainees were gathered in the practice room, all seated in rows, waiting for Jiang Juyou to come in. Other staff members stood to the side to avoid being caught on camera.
There were over sixty trainees on site, and the practice room was small. There wasn't enough space for that many staff members, so they couldn't have one follow camera per person. The camera operators had to be responsible for several trainees each.
Everyone was waiting there. As the trainees thought about meeting Jiang Juyou again soon, their hearts tightened.
After a short while, a staff member was heard quietly speaking into a phone, "You can come over now..."
Jiang Juyou stood up on her end, and the department heads sitting around her also got up with their iPads and followed her out.
Upon hearing that Jiang Juyou was coming, the trainees all perked up, even sitting up straighter.
Then, the door was pushed open--
But the one who entered wasn't Jiang Juyou, but rather:
"Hello everyone, I'm Jiang Tang, the host for this season of '21 Heartbeats of Youth'."
Ye Xing's fans: We're going to hold Random Entertainment accountable today!
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