IDEI CH36

[What happened? What happened?]

[Sounds like that Qi-ge is here!]

[Hahahaha, An Zai is so scared of Qi-ge]

[The Great Demon King persona is confirmed, hehehe]

[Protect our cub An!]

[Wait a minute, does no one think this is workplace bullying?]

[An Zai is so pitiful, he has to flatter the stylist just to get his hair and makeup done…]

[So speechless. Instead of serving the idol, he makes the idol suck up to him. This stylist is such a drama queen, he might as well debut himself.]

……

The bullet comments flew by rapidly across the screen, but An Zai had no idea what they were saying. He was leaning close to Qi Yanning, smiling with a bit of a guilty conscience.

“Qi-ge! When did you get here?” he asked, his smile carrying a hint of flattery.

“Not too early,” Qi Yanning chuckled. Before An Zai could breathe a sigh of relief, he continued, “Just right around the time you called me the Great Demon King.”

An Zai’s breath caught in his throat, and he started coughing loudly.

“It seems An Zai has a deep grudge against me, the Great Demon King?” Qi Yanning curled his lips, tilting his head to look at An Zai.

An Ziai hurriedly suppressed his cough and declared loudly, “No, no, no, Qi-ge is the best! Who said you’re a Great Demon King? Watch me teach them a lesson!”

Qi Yanning glanced at him. Seeing the cold sweat breaking out on the boy’s forehead, he decided to stop teasing him.

“Alright, Gong Jiayu is done with his shower, you should hurry up and wash up too.” After saying this, a faint look of disgust crossed Qi Yanning’s face. “You stink.”

An Zai gave a silly grin, waved at the live stream camera as he passed by, and ran upstairs. When he reached the second floor, he suddenly skidded to a halt, leaned half his body over the railing, and shouted down at Qi Yanning, “Qi-ge! I mean it, even if you are a Great Demon King, you are still the best Qi-ge in my heart!”

After saying that, without waiting for Qi Yanning’s reaction, he dashed back to his room like a whirlwind.

Because of this, he missed the moment Qi Yanning’s aura suddenly softened.

[????]

[This Qi-ge’s voice is so nice!]

[An Zai is such a kiss-ass hhhhhh Looks like it really is the Great Demon King]

[They say he’s a Great Demon King, but Qi-ge clearly didn’t even do anything]

[An Zai is so naughty, poking the tiger right before running away]

[Hahahaha follow An Zai to reap new jokes anytime, anywhere]

[?? Morning Star Entertainment is dead. Right in front of the camera, a TND member actually has to suck up to a staff member. Who knows how much grievance he suffers behind the scenes]

[Poor An Zai, who knows if he’s being bullied by the staff behind closed doors!]

[? Are the people above sick in the head? Any normal person can tell this just shows An Zai is on good terms with the staff]

[……6]

[Does no one think that this Qi-ge’s voice sounds a lot like Qi Yanning?]

This last comment, although questioning Qi Yanning’s identity, didn’t make a splash because the comments were refreshing far too quickly.

The first batch of members who finished showering soon arrived at the styling room. The live stream had also switched to the camera in that room.

The newly showered TND members were still damp, their hair half-dried, bringing a refreshing vibe with them.

[Holy crap, Xiao ge is so handsome!]

[So refreshing! Even though he’s bare-faced, he already looks super good!]

[Wei ge is proving to me with facts that a top-tier handsome guy won’t look tired or ugly even if he’s bare-faced with blue hair. Meanwhile, I followed the trend and dyed my hair blue… never mind, I’m going to put on makeup, otherwise people on the street will think they’ve seen a ghost :)]

[Their skin is so good! Is this the power of young people who exercise regularly? (Leans back)]

[My skin: rough and sallow. Their skin: smooth and tight. Heavens, you are too unfair!]

[What is this? Xiao ge, let me give you a smooch. What is this? Wei ge, let me give you a smooch. What is this? Little Xing, let me give you a smooch. What is this? Little Yu, I’ll mute you first and then give you a smooch…]

[Hahahaha don’t you talk about our loud megaphone Little Yu like that!]

[Honestly, with their current state, they don’t even need makeup!]

[Yeah, it’s a hot day, being clean and refreshing is great. Putting on makeup will make them look too powdery and heavy.]

[+1 to thinking they don’t need makeup. I feel like after makeup, they’ll turn from refreshing campus idols into edgy internet influencers…]

……

Qi Yanning and TND were completely unaware of the chatter in the bullet comments.

Usually, live streams are equipped with a large screen so the hosts can read the comments. But since this was TND’s first live variety show, the production team didn’t provide a screen to prevent them from becoming too self-conscious and restricted by the audience’s words. If they wanted to see the comments, they had to lean in close to the camera.

But clearly, TND didn’t have time to pay attention to the comments right now.

Qi Yanning was preparing his makeup tools. Over this period, after testing out well-reviewed cosmetics on the market, he had successfully assembled his makeup kit. Right now, a massive case sat to the side, ready to be carried out later, while an identical set of makeup products was neatly arranged on the table.

Although he wasn’t afraid of being recognized, Qi Yanning didn’t want to steal the spotlight during TND’s live stream. Therefore, he wore a black mask and casually grabbed a baseball cap from a pile of props, pulling it low over his head.

Seeing that the TND members were mostly ready, he spoke up, “The clothes are in the fitting room. After you change, go blow-dry your hair, and then come over for makeup.”

The TND members obediently went to change or dry their hair, evidently accustomed to this routine. However, the comments section was immediately filled with question marks.

[??]

[Why do they have to blow-dry their own hair? Is the stylist dead?]

[Hard to evaluate. If the members have to do everything themselves, they might as well do their own makeup too.]

[This stylist has such a big ego!]

[Who gave him the authority to boss TND around!]

[Heh, this guy must have connections. Being TND’s makeup artist is such an easy job, you don’t even have to lift a finger and you still get paid.]

[? Are the people above mentally ill? There’s only one makeup artist. If the members don’t blow-dry their own hair and make the artist do it one by one, this styling session will drag on until the afternoon!]

[Please be aware, ‘big boys’ in their twenties are perfectly capable of blow-drying their own hair.]

[To put it bluntly, Morning Star Entertainment is just cheap for only assigning one makeup artist to TND.]

[Morning Star Entertainment is dead!]

……

Seeing that Xiao Yingyi had changed his clothes and his hair was mostly dry, Qi Yanning called him over first and pressed him into the chair.

“Did you lose three to four jin (approx. 3-4 lbs) these past few days?” he asked, studying Xiao Yingyi’s face.

Although it was phrased as a question, his tone was full of certainty.

Xiao Yingyi smiled gently. “Yes, practice has been too exhausting recently, and I lost my appetite. When I weighed myself this morning, I was 3.6 jin lighter than last weekend.”

“You can’t keep losing weight.” Qi Yanning applied a hydrating face cream to Xiao Yingyi’s face, spreading it with quick, gentle strokes. He spoke at a leisurely pace, “Your facial bone structure needs plump flesh to support it. Once there isn’t enough flesh, you will look exhausted and aged.”

Xiao Yingyi couldn’t move his head, so he simply blinked his eyes to show he understood.

[Holy crap, visually estimating weight?]

[This stylist really has some skills.]

[Xiao ge blinking his eyes is so cute hhhhh I didn’t expect even Xiao ge to be so obedient.]

During the rest of the makeup process, Qi Yanning didn’t say much else. He swiftly completed the makeup and hair styling.

[Ah… so fast.]

[This Qi-ge’s hand speed is insanely fast! I just tried to take a screenshot and his hands were a blur.]

[Makeup done this quickly must be a sloppy job!]

[He just slapped some stuff on casually and called it a day?]

The comments started arguing again. Meanwhile, Xiao Yingyi didn’t rush to get in front of the camera. Instead, he sat to the side, quietly reading a book.

Through the live stream camera, viewers could faintly catch a glimpse of the corner of the book in his hands—

How the Steel Was Tempered.

[Uh… ah?]

[Wait, you… I… Xiao ge…]

[How the Steel Was Tempered, ah, such a distant memory.]

[Dreaming back to mandatory middle school reading hhhhh, why is Xiao ge reading this!]

However, no one was there to answer the viewers’ questions at the moment.

With lightning speed, Qi Yanning finished the styling for all the members. Because it was a simple daily look, the total time spent was less than an hour and a half.

And the audience watched with relish for that hour and a half.

Mainly because An Zai and Gong Jiayu kept bouncing off each other to entertain the crowd, with other members occasionally crashing in, making the live stream atmosphere incredibly lively.

When the styling was finally completed, the members were ready to set off.

However, before they left, their manager, Qin ge, arranged a small segment for them. Each person had to go up to the camera and answer three questions from the comments.

“Why am I reading How the Steel Was Tempered? Because I’m the captain, and I’ll be responsible for speaking in the future, so Qin ge told me to read more books to improve my cultural literacy,” Xiao Yingyi said calmly.

“My reading list?” Xiao Yingyi raised an eyebrow. “The assistant prepared the reading list… let me see… ‘Mandatory Reading List for Middle School Students’?!”

The look of utter shock in Xiao Yingyi’s eyes sent a wave of “hahaha”s floating across the screen.

“Have I thought about changing my hair color?” Wei Mingzhe looked over at Qi Yanning. “If Qi-ge thinks it suits me, I’ll change it!” He grinned widely.

“Is Qi-ge a Great Demon King…? Hey, don’t set me up!” When An Zai read this question, he almost jumped. He hurriedly shook his head. “Of course not. Qi-ge is the most gentle, beautiful, kind, selfless, righteous, loyal, and inspiring person in the world!”

This rapid-fire string of flattery made even Qi Yanning hook the corners of his lips beneath his mask.

……

Once the Q&A segment ended, the comments slowly shifted to a different focus.

[Did they suddenly turn on the beauty filter? Why does it feel like the members got way more handsome?]

[I don’t think so. Even when members pop into the frame unexpectedly, there are no signs of beauty filter glitches on their faces.]

[So it’s because of the makeup? Holy crap, I finally understand why the members are so submissive to this Qi-ge.]

[WTF, it really looks like a filter was turned on! Their bare faces were refreshing, but in front of the camera just now, they were practically glowing with handsomeness!]

[So handsome, so handsome, and it doesn’t look heavy or powdery at all. Just pure, hardcore handsome. How did he do that!]

[Qi-ge, I bow down to you. I really bow down.]

[No wonder they didn’t hire more stylists. Turns out one of him is worth ten of anyone else!]

[Too amazing! TND really struck gold having a stylist like this.]

[Coach, I want to learn this!]

Amidst the gasps of amazement in the comments, the members set off, driving toward the zoo.

For the first half of the day’s recording, it was a competitive game. The members had to find hidden animal silhouette pictures throughout the zoo and hand them to the corresponding staff members stationed at those animals to complete the mission.

The weather was sweltering, and the zoo was massive. By the time the mission ended, all the members were dripping with sweat.

By 4 or 5 PM, the production team announced another mission.

The location for this mission: the water park next door.

[Ahhhhh a water park!]

[Production team, you deserve a place in the Ancestral Temple! (You are the best!)]

[Will we get to see the didis in swim trunks?]

[Hiss— Is this something I can watch for free?]

The members’ eyes also lit up. Though they were covered in sweat and exhausted, the thought of a cool swimming pool instantly revived their interest.

The guys who had just been collapsed on the ground immediately leaped to their feet and sprinted toward the water park.

The comments section grew equally excited—

Until they saw the members emerge wearing T-shirts and shorts.

[Wait, that’s it?]

[Production team, I take back my praise.]

[I mean, I can understand wrapping up Hai ge’s body like a tamale, because one slip-up might get the live stream banned, but why is An Zai wrapped up so tightly?]

[An Zai: Are you being polite right now?]

[Scam production team, I’m leaving. Don’t try to win me back unless you let me see Hai ge’s abs (haughty).]

However, the water games were designed to be incredibly fun. The members were very familiar with one another, so they showed absolutely no mercy. All sorts of schemes, open plots, tricks, and formations were deployed, creating fantastic entertainment value. Although many people in the comments threatened to leave, the viewer count didn’t drop; instead, it steadily climbed.

Director Lin was a bit surprised. He had someone check the data and discovered that someone had shared the Let’s Go, TND! live stream link on Xingbo, pairing it with an incredibly provocative hashtag.

#ClickToWatchNineTenderBoysPlayingInTheWaterWet#

Hm? Director Lin wore a mask of pain.

But soon, his eyes lit up, and he instructed his assistant, “Buy trending heat for this hashtag! Push it up!”

Today, he was going to let everyone know about TND, these “nine tender boys” getting wet and playing in the water!

Whatever, tricking people into the stream came first!

Thanks to Director Lin’s ruthless promotion that disregarded the lives of the melon-eating public (gossips), the live stream’s concurrent viewer count skyrocketed. Although some people angrily exited when they didn’t see what they came for, others got hooked by the intense, chaotic games in the pool and ended up watching without realizing it.

They kept watching right up until the games ended.

On the bus ride back, the members were exhausted after a long day, their voices weak and lethargic. The viewers in the comments didn’t bother them, instead chatting among themselves.

[Is this a newly debuted boy band? They really have no idol baggage, showing up bare-faced to play in the water.]

[Get to know TND! A group of visual gods with super strong skills, and they’re all sincere babies~]

[Although they really don’t have any baggage (especially An Zai), they actually did put on makeup.]

[An Zai: I told you not to cue me at times like this!]

[Wait, they are wearing makeup? And it hasn’t melted off or gotten patchy? Is this makeup welded onto their faces?!]

This casual comment from a passerby woke the fans up like a splash of cold water.

Wait a minute! The members had been playing all day, sweating profusely and literally fighting in the water, yet their makeup seemed completely unchanged.

Some proactive fans immediately pulled up screenshots from the morning right after the makeup was done and compared them.

They discovered that aside from powdery products like blush and eyeshadow fading a bit, the rest of the makeup was literally untouched.

Holy crap!

The members’ hair had flattened into sleek wet styles from the water, but the makeup on their faces hadn’t budged!

[…Could they have secretly touched up?]

[Impossible. It’s a live stream today, everything happened right under our noses. There was absolutely no chance to touch up.]

[The only time was the twenty minutes when the members were changing clothes… To touch up nine people in such a short time, only an octopus could do that.]

[The main point is, when they came out after changing, their makeup looked exactly the same as when they went in!]

[Qi-ge, from now on you are my actual gege!]

[TND, what do I do, I’m a little jealous of you guys now.]

[Ahhhhh I’m so curious, who exactly is this master makeup artist Qi-ge!]

[I took a screenshot this morning. Although you can’t see his face clearly, he is definitely a massive hottie!]

……

And just like that, the first day of TND’s first group variety show live stream came to an end.

As the stream concluded, viewers flocked to Xingbo, and several topics were quickly pushed to the trending list.

#AnZiAiCreatesNewJokesAnytimeAnywhere#

#TNDHardcoreHandsome#

#XiaoYingyiYouCannotLoseAnyMoreWeight!#

#WeiMingzheParkourOverTheWall#

#TNDAlbumReleaseNextMonth8th#

#FengQingyiUnderwaterSplits#

……

Almost every member had a trending topic. Combined with that bizarre hashtag #ClickToWatchNineTenderBoysPlayingInTheWaterWet#, for a moment, it looked like TND had booked the entire trending list.

The fans, who had been starved for content for the past month, were incredibly satisfied after watching this full-day live stream. They happily added fuel to the fire, pushing all these hashtags high up the ranks.

Under these trending topics, the bustling comment sections were filled with real, active users, making other entertainment companies in the industry extremely envious.

But alongside these, there was another trending topic slowly climbing the ranks, one that seemingly had nothing to do with TND.

#HowToWeldMakeupToYourFace?#

Under the topic was a long essay posted by a beauty blogger.

@BeautyPigletZhu:#HowToWeldMakeupToYourFace?#jiemeis, look what I found! Today I watched the live stream of the newly debuted boy band TND. The didis are all so handsome, super handsome! Ahem, but the main point isn’t them. The point is, I discovered their makeup artist is insanely skilled!

Here is TND’s bare-faced state (P1). Doesn’t it already look great? BUT, look at them after makeup (P2). Doesn’t it look like a beauty filter was turned on?! It looks like nothing changed, but they just look so much better~

The most amazing part is later! TND’s variety show went totally crazy today. Not only did they run all over the zoo in 30+ degree (Celsius) weather (P3), but they also went into the water for a water fight (P4). And by the evening, their makeup hadn’t melted off! Well, I can’t say it didn’t fade at all (P5), but the foundation, contour, eyebrows, and other key steps were perfectly intact. When I saw this, I was absolutely shocked!

I have reason to suspect the makeup artist used an electric welder when applying their makeup hahaha. Starting a petition, begging TND’s makeup artist to drop a tutorial for this look! I also want to learn how to weld makeup to my face so it survives sweat and water!

[TND Bare-Face Photo Collage] [TND After-Makeup Photo Collage] [TND Sweating Profusely GIF] [TND Water Fight GIF] [TND Evening Makeup Result Collage]

The comments section underneath was intensely engaged in discussion.

@LittleMengLovesToDream: Ahhhh Piglet baby, you watched the live stream too! Seriously, I was shocked when I watched it. The makeup effect is so good and so long-lasting. This stylist really has some serious skills!

@SmilingIsMyBaby: This teacher is the makeup artist who followed them from “You Star”! He doesn’t just know how to weld no-makeup makeup to faces. Lou Yuxing’s half-face makeup, Wei Mingzhe’s wild red-hair makeup, Yan Zihao’s exotic little prince makeup, Gong Jiayu’s cute little strawberry makeup, and Feng Qingyi’s alluring makeup were ALL done by him! Hhhhh the infamous “Great Demon King” Qi-ge!

@LinLin1: Woc, so it’s this guy! Half the beauty vloggers on the video sites were kept fed recently by those viral makeup looks from “You Star”, and they were all done by him?! That’s ridiculously overpowered!

@YouStarForever: Yeah, and even with a teacher this amazing, some people were still accusing him of workplace bullying against the trainees, saying he just sits around eating for free and makes others do the work. I’m honestly so speechless.

@SexyMamaCockroach: Sigh, brainless fans are everywhere. If my idol had a makeup artist like this, I’d practically build a shrine for him! I’m crying, he casually whips up a look and it goes viral.

@EatingFriedChickenWithKnifeAndFork: Speaking of which, I am seriously so curious, who exactly is this Qi-ge? He’s such a mysterious person! Based on what we know so far, he’s visibly over 1.8 meters tall, his face isn’t clear but he’s definitely a massive hottie, his voice is nice, his hands are pretty, and his legs are super long…

@ZhenIsEmo: Uh, Ms. Fried Chicken, wipe up your drool hhhhh. How do these details help guess Qi-ge’s identity at all?

……

Countless people who clicked into this topic, after marveling at this welded-on pseudo-no-makeup look, were completely blown away by the astonishing track record of this so-called “Qi-ge”.

Following that, they couldn’t help but grow curious. Just who exactly was this miraculous makeup artist, Qi-ge, who had appeared out of thin air?

It wasn’t until close to midnight, when the hashtag was slowly dropping down the ranks, that a new Xingbo post blasted the topic right back up.

This time, the topic shot up like a rocket, climbing straight to the top!

@BestAtPeelingTheTruth: WOC, I figured out Qi-ge’s true identity. Qi-ge is actually Qi! He is the trainee who withdrew from Idol Evolution (Ou Jin), Qi Yanning!

Evidence 1: We learned from the Ou Jin trainees that Pei Huan’s first viral makeup look was not done by the Ou Jin stylist, but it was unknown who did it. And Qi Yanning withdrew right after the second public performance of Ou Jin!

Evidence 2: Half a month after Qi Yanning withdrew, a famous stylist appeared on You Star. As everyone knows, his surname is Qi [祁 / 齊 – homophones]. And paparazzi previously leaked that Qi Yanning was spotted around the You Star filming location, though that leak didn’t gain much attention at the time.

Evidence 3: Someone once filmed Qi Yanning walking with three other people at a wholesale clothing market. A corner of the clothing sticking out of their bags looked identical to the outfits used for the You Star mentor collaboration stage. (Addition: Someone contacted me saying one of those three people is their classmate, and they do indeed work for You Star).

Evidence 4: The screenshot of “Qi-ge” from today’s live stream matches Qi Yanning’s photos almost perfectly. Furthermore, although the tone is slightly different, Qi-ge’s voiceprint matches Qi Yanning’s exactly.

Conclusion: “Qi-ge” is Qi Yanning!

[Evidence Pictures * 9]

The moment this Xingbo post went live, it was like tossing a boulder into a lake, creating a thousand ripples!

All the gossip-lovers across the internet were absolutely stunned!