IDEI Ch10

Red hair, of all things!

He had never imagined a day would come where he would dye his hair red!

“Wei-ge!” An Zai leaned in, exclaiming with excitement, “This hair color suits you so well! It’s insanely handsome!”

Wei Mingzhe couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile.

“Everyone,” Qi Yanning called out, holding a small makeup brush as he stood behind the trainees. Seeing them turn around, he spoke evenly, “Done looking?”

Meeting Qi Yanning’s placid, unruffled gaze, the trainees felt an inexplicable urge to shrink back, retracting their necks as they cleared the space around Wei Mingzhe.

“Teacher, please carry on…” An Zai scratched his head with a sheepish grin.

Qi Yanning cast him a sidelong glance and called for Wu Jianming. “A-Ming, come do the makeup.”

“Right here!” Wu Jianming jogged forward. With practiced skill, he finished applying the makeup in no time.

Wei Mingzhe looked up into the mirror.

The reflection seemed to belong to an entirely different person.

The man in the mirror had a high nose bridge and sharp, piercing eyes. The reddish-toned eyeshadow did not lend him the slightest hint of fragility; instead, it brimmed with wild, untamed tension. Without his usual fringe obscuring his face, his sharply defined, aggressive facial features were fully laid bare before everyone.

He smiled, but the closed-lipped smile he had grown accustomed to felt jarringly out of place at this moment.

Wei Mingzhe paused, then switched to an entirely different smile—one his agency had strictly forbidden.

A spirited, unbridled grin flashing eight teeth.

“Hiss—”

“So handsome!”

A chorus of gasps erupted among the trainees behind him.

He let out a self-deprecating laugh, turning back toward the group.

“Wei-ge, Wei-ge, turn back around!” An Zai clutched his chest in theatrical exaggeration. “You’re so handsome I can’t breathe!”

Wei Mingzhe arched an eyebrow, unable to suppress another grin, before turning back to face the mirror amid audible gasps.

“It seems you know how to carry yourself now.” Qi Yanning’s hand rested on the back of his chair. Lifting his eyelids slightly, his voice sounded almost like a murmur, yet it drilled with crystal clarity straight into Wei Mingzhe’s ears, dealing him a heavy blow: “Clearly a fierce tiger, yet insisting on donning the skin of a graceful crane…”

Glancing at Wei Mingzhe’s conflicted expression in the mirror, Qi Yanning couldn’t be bothered to probe for the truth, turning instead to address the room: “Next!”

The dress rehearsal wrapped up quickly, though the mentors still had to record a series of reaction segments.

“Mentors, which song left the deepest impression on you during today’s rehearsal?”

Without exception, all the mentors named the “Dark Age” matchup.

In truth, the disparity in skill among the contestants was not vast; the deciding factor lay in stage presence and expression.

And today, whether it was Team A or Team B, “Dark Age” had left an unforgettable impression on them.

“Their teams were so eye-catching!”

“I’m already looking forward to tomorrow’s official stage!”

“So fiery, so explosive!”

……

While the rest of the production crew was tensely prepping for the first public evaluation, Qi Yanning was summoned to an office by the director.

Inside the office, a large monitor was paused on a video platform, with the theme song music video of Your Star prominently occupying the most eye-catching banner.

“Hi!” Ling Cangzhou was seated on the sofa, waving with vibrant energy the moment Qi Yanning arrived. “We meet again, Qi Yanning.”

“Xiao Qi.” Director Lin rubbed his hands together. “I called you over to look at the reception to the theme song MV together. Won’t take up too much of your time.”

Qi Yanning’s eyes flickered slightly. He didn’t ask why the assistant directors or other senior staff weren’t invited to something like this, leaving only the director, the chief investor, and an ostensibly unrelated stylist like himself.

Strolling over at an unhurried pace, he casually took the seat left open for him between the director and Ling Cangzhou.

“Then let’s begin,” he said, leaning back and effortlessly taking command of the room.

The music video began playing.

The opening melody featured only the members of Class A. Dressed in their refined uniforms, they sang and danced with spirited confidence to the beat.

Bullet comments streamed rapidly across the screen:

[It’s here, it’s here!]

[Opening straight with handsome guys, I’m in love!]

[Turns out Your Star doesn’t just have ugly guys, hhhhh]

[Once the styling stops burning our eyes, you can tell Your Star’s talent is genuinely top-notch. These Class A members each have their own stage presence yet harmonize together so well. If only there were a few fewer ugly ones.]

[Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous]

……

As the track progressed, more and more trainees appeared, until the final chorus where all one hundred trainees danced in synchronized precision across the rooftop, the lawn, and the stage—matching one another down to the exact angle of their raised arms.

So in sync that it struck a strangely moving chord in the heart.

[The copy-paste technique!]

[Is Your Star a military camp or something, hhhhh]

[This synchronized? Are you guys insane?!]

[Suddenly touched, this MV is so youthful]

[Takes me back to middle school, back when I wasn’t a toxic hater…]

[Pulling out to a wide shot ignoring everyone’s faces, this scene is genuinely so passionate and breathtaking. One hundred youths gathering for their dreams… wouldn’t it be great to share one with me?]

[The twist in that previous comment nearly snapped my spine]

[Then I want ten]

……

The comments were a solid wall of rave reviews and witty quips.

Director Lin breathed a colossal sigh of relief, his eyes welling with tears as he prepared to pour his heart out to the other two.

Qi Yanning and Ling Cangzhou, however, remained utterly placid. Almost in unison, they pulled out their phones and began checking the public reception on Xingbo.

Director Lin: ……

Feeling rather deflated, he fished out his own phone and opened Xingbo.

In fact, the MV had already been out for a full day, and public sentiment had largely stabilized.

To keep online discourse from ruining his mood before the live evaluation, the director hadn’t looked at the comments all day, merely relying on his assistant director’s assurance that everything was fine.

Who could have foreseen Ling Cangzhou dropping in unannounced, insisting on pulling them together to watch it under the guise of “inspecting the deliverables”?

Director Lin’s staunch resolve to avoid reading comments crumbled instantly. Deliberating for a moment, he squinted at his screen and began scrolling.

#YourStarThemeSongMV#

The hashtag hung conspicuously at number three on the hot search, trailed by an eye-catching “Boiling” tag.

The comments under Your Star‘s official account were a chorus of praise.

[Looks great, love it, post more]

[The Empress returns to the palace! From this day forth, Your Star is no longer the Your Star of old…]

[Keep this up, do you hear me?]

[Wait, did your production team go through complete metamorphosis? How did your aesthetic suddenly shoot up to this level?]

On the topic feeds, the buzz was even livelier.

Marketing accounts reposted clips en masse, spreading the MV to every corner of the internet.

Fashion bloggers offered exceptionally high praise for the new uniforms.

@LilyAnn: Someone recommended the survival show Your Star to me (honestly, the show’s name is tacky as hell), and the teacher who selected the uniforms for the theme song MV is an absolute master.

Factoring in universality without hindering dance movements, while remaining stunning and high-fashion, is extraordinarily difficult. Yet this stylist pulled it off with flying colors.

The palette is sophisticated and the tailoring clean and sharp, yet it doesn’t alienate the audience, nor does it have an unattainable styling threshold. What’s more, the entire ensemble strikes an immaculate balance between youth and maturity.

Of course, the manufacturing craftsmanship is a hot mess and the fabric choice was merely an expedient shortcut, but as a survival show uniform, the flaws do not obscure its brilliance.

(P.S. The Center is insanely handsome with such a high-fashion face. If he were a model, I’d invite him to walk my next runway show.)

Such glowing acclaim stunned the fashion blogger’s followers. As an independent fashion designer, Lily was notorious for having sky-high standards, praising little and roasting plenty. But thanks to her sharp, precise critiques, she had amassed a sizable following.

[Lily, are you… strapped for cash?]

[Praise this high? I’m going to check it out]

[Ah, a fan of both Sister Lily and Your Star, double joy!]

Lily paid no mind to the banter, instead posting another photo of Xiao Yingyi, lavishing praise on him as her new muse.

While Lily’s fans scratched their heads in bewilderment, other casual netizens on the hot search had already begun making fan edits.

For instance, identification videos at 0.25x speed, tagging each trainee’s name next to his face as the camera passed over him.

Or side-by-side comparison videos playing the old and new MVs simultaneously: on the left, a gaudy cringe insurance commercial; on the right, fresh high-school youths. Watching it pushed viewers to the brink of sensory whiplash.

Discussions analyzing the MV’s hair and makeup were just as widespread, with users pasting before-and-after photos of the same trainee side by side.

Sharp critiques and memes flooded the comments:

[Xiao Yingyi: From monkey’s butt to god-tier handsome human]

[Pang Nong: From neighborhood barber to mixed-race princeling]

……

Throughout the day, virtually every trainee gained followers to varying degrees. For those who left striking impressions in the MV, Super Topics and fan clubs were already being quietly established.

That day, Xingbo’s entertainment rankings were practically a festival celebrating Your Star.

“We turned the tables!” the director cheered enthusiastically. “Someone actually praised my aesthetic, hehehe…”

Qi Yanning glanced at him, the corner of his mouth curving into a meaningful smirk.

Ling Cangzhou exchanged a look with Qi Yanning, teasing with a mischievous grin, “Loving Brother Lin’s pink shirt, green trousers, and flip-flops, are they?”

The director huffed, choosing not to bicker with these two youngsters.

He continued rambling, “How wonderful. The show came back from the dead; I genuinely thought Morning Star Entertainment’s investment was going down the drain.”

“Still, everything is looking up now!” Director Lin bellowed. “Let me treat you two to a late-night supper!”

“My apologies, Director Lin. I’m not in the habit of having late-night meals,” Qi Yanning shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Noticing his weary expression, Ling Cangzhou asked softly with concern, “Why don’t you head back to rest? I’ll escort Director Lin to supper.”

“Thank you,” Qi Yanning looked up. “You’re not eating?”

“Me?” Ling Cangzhou’s shimmering peach-blossom eyes curved into crescents. “What a coincidence—I’m not in the habit of having late-night snacks either.”

He stood up, pulling the director along. “We’re heading out then. Chat on Feixin?”

With that, he had already stridden to the door, waving a hand to Qi Yanning before stepping out with effortless flair.

Contrasted against the director’s short, stout frame, Ling Cangzhou appeared exceptionally tall and broad-shouldered.

He wore a tailored suit with peaked lapels and an oversized silhouette, similar to the cut Qi Yanning had chosen for him previously. His hair was slicked back, exposing his handsome facial features.

Apart from the color of the suit, the Ling Cangzhou he saw today was dressed almost identically to how they had parted last time.

Tapping his knuckles against the back of his phone case, Qi Yanning looked at the empty doorway and let out a soft laugh.

The public evaluation the following day began promptly on schedule.

To uphold the production’s slogan that “skill speaks for everything,” the performances were broadcast completely live with open mics.

An hour remained before the evening show commenced. Lucky audience members who had won tickets in the lottery were already lining up outside, while on-site technicians conducted final checks on equipment and network connections.

The livestream was already running, facing the giant stage screen that alternated between looping the theme song MV and the trainees’ official profile photos.

Backstage, the trainees had already finished hair and makeup, waiting for their cues.

For this performance, they would perform their assigned tracks first, culminating in a collective performance of the theme song at the end. Consequently, the group performing last faced the tightest costume change crunch.

In the lottery drawn the previous evening, the team slotted into the final performance slot happened to be the group overseen by Li Qing.

The two groups under Qi Yanning’s charge were ranked fourth in the matchup order—the second-to-last set—which was an excellent placement.

Currently, he was backstage conducting a final inspection on the styling of the ten trainees across both teams.

This time, Team A’s palette was black, white, and blue, while Team B was black, silver, and red. Each had its own merits, and Qi Yanning had invested equal care into both, making it impossible to separate them in terms of aesthetic quality.

However…

Everyone’s eyes drifted toward Wei Mingzhe. Team A’s expressions were conflicted, while Team B harbored quiet pride.

Team A’s stage wrapped up quickly. From backstage, Qi Yanning could hear thunderous applause and cheering erupt from the audience.

Next up was Team B. The trainees took their marks in the dark.

The lights flared, the music swelled, and Wei Mingzhe delivered the opening rap.

He bounded out of the darkness, his fiery red hair seeming ready to incinerate the entire stage!

The heavy drumbeats dropped. He grooved with casual ease as he rapped. As his part reached its conclusion, he arched an eyebrow with roguish insolence, then broke into a wide grin.

Like a young tiger baring its fangs, brimming with dangerous, untamed ferocity!

The crowd fell dead silent for a split second.

Followed by an earth-shattering wave of screams!