IDEI Ch7

In Class A’s practice room, Xiao Yingyi was practicing.

His training clothes were soaked with sweat, and his upright, handsome face was dripping with perspiration.

It was obvious that after a long morning of training, he was extremely tired, but he didn’t stop.

The music continued to play, and his movements remained meticulous as he repeated the show’s theme song and the first performance’s selected song over and over again.

Although their phones had been taken away, there were still well-informed trainees who knew how the show was being received online.

Recently, the atmosphere among the trainees had been very downcast. Most of them had trained for more than three years, and their skills were considered top-notch among trainees in the entertainment industry, but for various reasons, they hadn’t gained much attention.

The show *YourStar* was essentially their last stand.

Before participating, the whole internet had high expectations, and they almost believed they were finally going to shine—

But the music video for the theme song shattered their dreams.

Being ridiculed across the entire internet made their previously hidden hopes seem like a joke.

Many people had completely given up. In the past few days, they hadn’t even come to the practice room, preparing to be eliminated and look for other opportunities.

But Class A, where Xiao Yingyi was, was different. They still practiced hard every day. Especially Xiao Yingyi, who, as the center of the theme song, bore the most negativity.

Parodies, memes, and all kinds of harsh criticism from influencers poured down on him like a flood. If it weren’t for the scandal surrounding Qi Yanning, he might have faced even more hatred.

But Xiao Yingyi never complained. He silently absorbed the negativity and pushed himself to train harder.

It’s still not enough! he thought.

If my skills are strong enough, the audience will overlook the ill-suited makeup and focus on me instead.

Xiao Yingyi silently stared at his reflection in the mirror and replayed the theme song once again.

“Let me become the light!”

The powerful opening high note of the theme song *I Am the Light* echoed through the practice room once again.

“Xiao-ge! The management sister told us to pick up the new uniforms, let’s go!”

The trainee who spoke was wearing a practice outfit on top and tight pants on the bottom. Under his tinfoil-permed hairstyle was a chubby, baby-faced appearance.

“Just a bit longer, I’ll practice a little more.” Xiao Yingyi’s voice was tinged with breathlessness.

“Okay.” The baby-faced trainee nodded. After a moment’s thought, he stood up and joined Xiao Yingyi, dancing to the theme song once again, which they’d performed countless times.

The other members of Class A hadn’t left either and silently joined Xiao Yingyi’s team.

The sound of synchronized footsteps echoed on the floor. From the front, everyone’s movements were so uniform they looked like a single person.

After several more repetitions, they finally stopped and headed toward the costume room.

They were the last group to arrive, having come out quite late. On the way, they saw other trainees hurrying back to their dorms with their new clothes, looking puzzled.

“Xiao-ge, why are the others so excited?” asked the baby-faced Gong Jiayu, confused.

Xiao Yingyi shook his head. Offstage, he was a man of few words.

If this show hadn’t been all about skill and little about other factors, he wouldn’t have been chosen as the center for the theme song.

“I hope the clothes aren’t like last time!” Gong Jiayu groaned. “Last time, I secretly sent a picture to my mom, and she asked me if the entertainment industry was too hard and if I’d switched to selling cars!”

Gong Jiayu’s resentment ran deep, and his baby face even puffed up in a pout.

The other members of Class A couldn’t help but chuckle.

“If A-Yu went to sell cars, he probably wouldn’t sell a single one in ten days!”

“Yeah, you look like child labor. Who’d trust you?”

These remarks left Gong Jiayu embarrassed and angry, chasing them in mock frustration.

Watching the playful scene unfold around him, a faint smile finally appeared on Xiao Yingyi’s face.

Before long, they arrived at the costume room, where the others had already received their outfits, leaving only them.

Li Jinshi was standing guard. Earlier, she had shown the sample uniforms to the other trainees, but by the time they arrived, the samples had already been put away.

Seeing them approach, Li Jinshi’s eyes lit up. “Hurry up, you’re the last ones!”

“Xiao Yingyi, XXL. Gong Jiayu, XL…” She checked off their names on the list one by one, then handed out the clothes.

“If anything doesn’t fit, come to me by tomorrow. We can change sizes or make alterations,” Li Jinshi said with a bright smile, waving goodbye as they left. “Hurry back and try them on!”

They took their clothes back to the dorm.

Class A all lived together. The *YourStar* production team was well-funded, so their dorms were large villas, with each class living in the same villa. Since Class A had only nine members, they enjoyed an entire villa to themselves, with each member having their own room.

As a group of boys, they weren’t too concerned about modesty, so they started unpacking and changing into their uniforms right there in the living room.

“Wow, the color is amazing!” Gong Jiayu was the first to unwrap his clothes, and his eyes lit up as he exaggeratedly exclaimed, “It’s completely different from what I imagined!”

“This color is stunning,” another Class A member, Wei Mingzhe, also exclaimed.

Even Xiao Yingyi’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t expected the newly made uniforms to be this striking, a world apart from the previous set!

The members of Class A exchanged glances, all seeing the same smiles and anticipation in each other’s eyes. They eagerly put on the new uniforms.

And as soon as they put them on, they could feel the difference.

The previous version of the uniforms clung tightly to their bodies, making them feel cramped and uncomfortable, but this set was different. It was just right—not too baggy to look sloppy, nor too tight to restrict movement. Instead, it perfectly outlined the trainees’ lean, toned figures.

Gong Jiayu pulled out the shirt and sweatshirt, mumbling in confusion, “Why are there two inner layers?”

But he quickly brushed off his confusion and picked up the shirt to put it on.

Once they had changed, the trainees of Class A stood in front of the mirror one by one.

“This outfit…”

Wei Mingzhe’s eyes flickered. He wore the shirt, with only a few buttons fastened, revealing faint muscle lines between the shirt and suit jacket.

The outfit, paired with his long hair, didn’t look out of place at all! The gray-blue-green suit was fresh and elegant, and the pure white silk shirt lay smoothly and luxuriously against his skin, giving him an air of refined debonair charm.

He couldn’t help but tilt his head, raising an eyebrow as he looked in the mirror.

“Wow, Zhe-ge, you look so handsome,” Gong Jiayu exaggeratedly held his heart and exclaimed.

Wei Mingzhe laughed heartily, showing eight teeth. But he quickly paused, then restrained his expression into a subtle, toothless smile.

“Let me see how I look!” Gong Jiayu hurriedly squeezed in front of the mirror. He imitated the others and left most of the buttons undone, but with his fair chest and belly and baby face, it looked somewhat awkward.

“A-Yu, you should wear the sweatshirt,” Xiao Yingyi, already changed, glanced at Gong Jiayu and said softly.

“Huh? But I like the shirt,” Gong Jiayu reluctantly touched the shirt before obediently switching to the sweatshirt.

Now it looked right! The others nodded in approval.

Gong Jiayu had a baby face and a slender build, full of youthful energy. Now, with the sweatshirt and uniform jacket, ignoring his hair that looked like it had been hit by a bomb, he resembled a high school junior, brimming with youthful vitality.

“But I like the shirt. Wearing the sweatshirt makes me look a whole generation younger than you guys. There’s no manliness at all…” Gong Jiayu muttered as he checked himself in the mirror.

The others ignored his complaints, instead carefully inspecting whether the clothes fit properly.

Since the uniforms looked so good this time, they wanted to make sure the final result was perfect.

“This waist is a bit loose.”

“The pant legs are too long…”

“One of my shirt buttons is about to fall off.”

“There’ll probably be a lot of people going to the costume department tomorrow. We should go early to get done faster…”

They all chimed in.

Suddenly, they heard a voice, “Hey, if you don’t mind, I can fix all that.”

They turned toward the voice and saw the trainee Yan Zihao, with his dreadlocks, frowning at them.

Wow!

The trainees of Class A stared at him in surprise.

“What are you looking at?” Yan Zihao’s face flushed slightly, and then he pretended to be fierce, “Do you want help or not?!”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Gong Jiayu was the first to jump up!

＊

Early the next morning, as soon as the trainees arrived at the practice room, they heard the management team notify them.

“Tomorrow, we’ll be reshooting the official photos and the theme song MV, so make sure you’re prepared.”

The trainees immediately stirred with excitement. They had wanted to erase those tacky official photos and that insurance-commercial-like MV from everyone’s memory for so long!

That day, the trainees worked extra hard. Even those who had given up were motivated to get back on track.

Whoever it was that redesigned the uniforms saved the show’s aesthetic. Hopefully, they’ll keep it up!

Now was their chance to redeem themselves!

The trainees thought, their faces showing fierce determination!

Meanwhile, Qi Yanning was in discussions with the styling team about the theme song MV’s hair and makeup.

The director had already chosen the new shooting locations. Under Qi Yanning’s subtle influence, the original choices—an abandoned factory, a stage with a light show, and a multicolored flower field—had all been rejected, leaving only the lawn, the rooftop, and the stage as options.

Qi Yanning had to ensure the styling matched these settings.

“Keep it restrained.” Qi Yanning glanced at a few of the makeup artists’ designs and slightly furrowed his brows.

The designs from the other makeup artists were okay, neither outstanding nor problematic. But perhaps out of defiance toward Qi Yanning or a desire to make a statement, the designs from the two stylists who disliked him and their assistants were overly dramatic.

Some designs used large patches of blush, others had shiny dewy skin, and some had super-curled lashes…

At first glance, they looked stunning, but they wiped out the individuals’ unique traits. It wasn’t suitable for a stage with so many people. While one person might appear exquisitely cute, if everyone looked like that…

It would reek of cheap makeup.

“Put away your flashy ideas,” Qi Yanning straightened up, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the defiant stylists. “Just deepen the contours and eyebrows and enhance the natural color of the lips and cheeks.”

“You can be unhappy with me, but don’t use the trainees as tools to show off your skills.”

“Don’t gamble with their futures.”

Qi Yanning’s gaze swept over everyone, and those stylists and assistants who had submitted the dramatic designs lowered their heads, not daring to speak. He let out a cold laugh.

They had done it on purpose.

They wouldn’t lose much if their designs weren’t chosen, but if Qi Yanning made a mistake and approved them, it would lead to another wave of public ridicule, and Qi Yanning would bear the responsibility for it.

Using others’ futures to sabotage him was utterly unprofessional.

Qi Yanning silently noted this incident but remained outwardly calm.

“That’s all. Meeting adjourned.” Qi Yanning gave everyone one last look before walking out in style.

“Qi-ge, wait for me!” Li Jinshi mustered up the courage to glare at the makeup artists before chasing after Qi Yanning.

The others exchanged glances, not knowing what to say, and could only leave one by one, heading back to rest early. After all, tomorrow, they had to do makeup for a hundred trainees—a tough battle awaited them!

＊

At five the next morning, Xiao Yingyi followed the management team’s directions to a makeup room. As soon as he entered, he sensed a strange atmosphere.

He stopped in his tracks and looked around the room.

In the corner sat a strikingly beautiful man with phoenix eyes, lazily flipping through a fashion magazine.

The rest had varying expressions. Two of the makeup artists looked at the handsome man with displeasure, while three makeup assistants appeared visibly angry at those two makeup artists.

The two makeup artists were A-Qing, who had always harbored strong animosity toward Qi Yanning, and another makeup artist who had recently become close with A-Qing.

Meanwhile, Xiao Le, who used to hang out with A-Qing, had begun to submit to Qi Yanning’s authority.

Xiao Yingyi broke the silence in the room, “Teachers, can we start the makeup?”

“Of course. A-Yi, come over here.” A-Qing smiled and eagerly guided him to his station.

Xiao Yingyi hesitated slightly before sitting down. A-Qing immediately got to work, completely ignoring the other trainee who had entered the room behind Xiao Yingyi.

“Hello, teachers! What about me?” A timid voice spoke up.

Xiao Yingyi looked over to see a trainee, ranked in the nineties, standing helplessly at the door. A-Qing, who had been so attentive to Xiao Yingyi moments earlier, and the other makeup artist merely glanced at the trainee before completely ignoring him.

Xiao Yingyi frowned.

But before he could speak, an unhurried voice sounded.

“Xiao Shi, you do it.” Qi Yanning, who had been casually flipping through his magazine, lifted his head slightly, giving the trainee a faintly amused look.