IDEI Ch11

“Holy shit, holy shit, who is that?”

“So handsome aaaaaahhh!!!”

The live audience gasped in awe, and the live stream bullet comments were just as wild.

Once Wei Mingzhe took the stage, the comments had been scrolling at high speed. When his part finished, the chat erupted completely.

[Who is this? Handsomeness off the charts!]

[So wild, so cool, so badass]

[Holy f*ck, what a magnificent face]

[Alpha energy bursting, aaaaaah!]

[Red hair! Truly the GOAT!]

[Is this Wei Mingzhe?]

[Who, fake-immortal Wei Mingzhe? Didn’t he do the cold, brooding aesthetic?]

Viewers behind the screens wanted to keep discussing, but the stage was still going.

As the chorus kicked in, the five members on stage lined up, with Wei Mingzhe taking center stage.

The audience noticed with astonishment that the red accents in the group’s outfits connected to form the shape of a flame, and at the very tip in the center was Wei Mingzhe’s fiery red hair!

They leaped high in unison.

The heavy bass dropped alongside their movements, and the LED screen behind them flared with flame-like visual effects!

Amidst the surging music, the five moved with massive, expansive frames, yet moved in unison as if one person.

The wide movements set to the intense beat left the audience thoroughly exhilarated.

[Damn, so satisfying!]

[This level of skill! I have goosebumps!]

[Wei Mingzhe’s dance skills are so good!]

[So handsome so handsome so handsome so handsome]

[!!!!!]

The audience below swayed and screamed to the music, completely absorbed in the audiovisual feast.

Every face was flushed with excitement, eyes reflecting the five trainees dancing fiercely on stage.

The music steadily built toward its ultimate climax, and then—

Cut out abruptly!

The five froze instantly in their ending poses. The fiery red background screen instantly shifted to a pale, soft blue, throwing everyone’s sharp silhouettes into relief.

The camera panned over each member one by one.

Finally, it rested on Wei Mingzhe’s face.

He looked directly into the camera, parted his lips after two beats, and let out a smile.

The smile held a touch of roguish mischief, with a sharp canine catching slightly against his lip, accentuating his red lips and bright white teeth.

The live audience couldn’t see the full impact of their ending fairy up close, so they merely cheered and screamed the trainees’ names.

The viewers watching the live stream, however, took a direct critical hit.

[Mom, someone is bullying me with pure beauty!!]

[Send help, he’s so handsome I can’t breathe…]

[Wei Mingzhe! Is this level of beauty real!]

[That canine tooth! %¥@…#]

Countless bullet comments detonated the second the ending pose concluded. Aside from meaningless screaming and keysmashes, everyone was singing praises for Wei Mingzhe and his group’s performance.

By this time, Team B of “Dark Age” had finished their self-introductions. The comments began branching out into all sorts of chatter.

[Bai Yan is so formidable! Handsome and capable]

[Lin Xinyang is small in stature but packed with explosive energy, Mama needs to kiss your cheeks!]

[Luo Gu’s legs are so long, he’s just one giant vertical human hhhhh]

With self-introductions done, Team A returned to the stage to await the vote tally between the two groups. The host cued the trainees for a few quick questions, while the entertainment-seekers in the comments chatted away.

[Best watch of the night so far.]

[Yeah, both groups had spot-on styling. Cohesive while honoring their individual traits.]

[The fatal blush on the previous song cracked me up, gave off total straight-dudes-forcing-fanservice vibes hhhhh]

[Wei Mingzhe’s styling was an absolute stroke of genius! Incredible]

[To the stylist who dyed his hair red, I won’t let anyone speak ill of you!]

……

Amid the chatter, the vote tally quickly materialized on screen.

422 votes vs. 476 votes. Wei Mingzhe’s Team B claimed victory.

A collective gasp rippled across the live venue.

The vote composition for Your Star‘s public performances allocated one vote per audience member and twenty votes per mentor, creating a total pool of 520 votes. With ten groups performing across the night, each person held six votes. The highest score from the earlier matchups had been 405 votes.

No one expected both groups in this round to outscore all preceding teams.

Moreover, out of the 476 votes Team B earned, Wei Mingzhe alone captured a staggering 230 votes!

Both Team A and Team B were caught off guard by the results, but smiles broke out across their faces soon after.

The broadcast director smartly cut the camera back to Wei Mingzhe’s face.

The fiercely charismatic, roguish idol from moments ago was now lightly pursing his lips, smiling with bashful modesty, his ears turning completely red.

His eyes shone brightly as he looked at the crowd, as if filled with starlight.

The bold exterior paired with shy modesty created an intense contrast that sent the bullet comments exploding once again.

[Damn, that hits my aesthetic right on the bullseye.]

[Ah, the golden rookie era visual peak]

[Suddenly went from husband to wifey, wuwuwu, even better.]

[He used to make this expression before, but back then all I thought was: what a fake tea. Now… he’s clearly a younger puppy!]

[Damn, this styling went for the throat!]

……

When they returned to the waiting room, the other trainees swarmed them immediately.

“Wei-ge! Insanely handsome!”

“That was explosive, got my blood pumping.”

“Bro, that was way too cool! Red hair suits you so well!”

Wei Mingzhe had instinctively planned to smile quietly in line with his old persona, but Qi Yanning’s meaningful look flashed through his mind.

His eyes flickered, as if reaching a decision.

“I think I’m super handsome too!” He tilted his chin up, casting everyone a deliberately exaggerated roguish smirk, then grinned wide enough to flash eight teeth.

The surrounding trainees paused, then burst into hearty laughter.

They never imagined Wei Mingzhe had this kind of personality!

Back when he acted cold and aloof, many thought he was pretentious. Acting like this made him feel genuinely real.

……

The performances carried on. Next up was the “Let’s DISCO” matchup styled by Ah Qing. Xiao Yingyi, the original center, was in Team B for this track.

It was a song steeped in vintage flavor, evoking the atmosphere of the 1980s. Ah Qing’s styling matched the musical style well, with rich color palettes and retro hair and makeup that accentuated the song’s vibe.

The makeup he gave them was also well-suited, fitting their features and elevating their natural looks.

It was clear Ah Qing was not just arrogant; he had genuine skill.

However…

Qi Yanning narrowed his eyes slightly.

His mindset was too impatient, and he preferred underhanded shortcuts over doing things the proper way.

To beat Qi Yanning, he had resorted to cramming nearly every usable accessory onto the trainees. It was a petty, childish tactic, so low-grade that Qi Yanning had not even bothered to call him out.

Though Ah Qing had strained his wits to integrate all the accessories without creating glaring visual clashes, he overlooked a critical point…

Qi Yanning stayed silent, watching the stage from the wings.

The stage lights flared bright, catching the audience’s eye, and the bullet comments began rolling in rapidly.

[This group looks so good too!]

[Bold color scheme, incredible visual effect!]

[So retro, feels like my dad in his youth hhhhh]

The trainees began singing and dancing to the music. The choreography used broad formations with frequent position swaps.

As the music rolled on, various pieces of jewelry clinked against one another, adding a dynamic sparkle.

During the early half of the stage, everyone was fully focused. Toward the latter half, however, as the trainees’ stamina waned, their movements loosened slightly.

The accident occurred right then.

During an elaborate transition, two trainees were meant to brush past each other in a killing part. But as they crossed, the chains at their waists tangled together!

Caught unprepared, the inexperienced trainees froze, scrambling clumsily to untangle the chains. But panic bred more chaos, and the intricate chains wound tighter with every frantic tug.

Murmurs and gasps rose from the crowd below, and the other trainees lost their rhythm for a moment.

The trainee with dreadlocks at the front frowned and stepped out of formation, grooving casually to the beat as deep, rapid-fire rap lines poured from his lips. He stepped forward, shielding the two behind him.

The other two teammates caught on and stepped up as well. As the chorus arrived, the three exchanged looks and belted out the lyrics in unison, doing everything possible to pull the crowd’s eyes onto themselves.

The commotion below gradually settled, but the atmosphere was nowhere near as electrifying as before.

The three continued gritting their teeth through the routine, the slight tremble in their voices betraying their inner panic.

Finally, as the chorus entered its second section, the two managed to untangle the chains. Only then could the full choreography resume.

Even though the two swiftly snapped back into performance mode, the lost momentum could not be recovered. When the five walked off stage, their faces were clouded with frustration and regret.

Passing Team B of “Let’s DISCO,” the boy with dreadlocks whispered, “Xiao-ge, watch out for the accessories. They’re way too cumbersome!”

Xiao Yingyi was frowning as well. He had witnessed what happened, but there was no time left to take anything off. They could only march on stage and brace themselves.

Forewarned by Team A’s mishap, the five members of Team B moved with extra caution, managing to pull off their stage relatively smoothly.

Because they held back, however, the energy of the performance took a hit, and their vote count was bound to suffer.

Sure enough.

Even with Xiao Yingyi, the most prominent trainee on the show so far, the team’s final score stopped at 408 votes.

It was lower than Team A of “Dark Age.”

Xiao Yingyi pressed his lips together, keeping a polite smile as he led his teammates off the stage.

They had very little time left. In five minutes, all trainees were due back on stage to perform the theme song.

Xiao Yingyi’s group needed to change outfits backstage at top speed. Through the noisy backstage bustle, they could faintly hear the host reading transitional lines, while a stage coordinator barked orders at them to hurry.

They had to slip into their uniforms as fast as possible and join the rest of the cast for the theme song. This was the theme song’s first live stage, and the director placed immense weight on it.

To ensure a swift change, six styling assistants had been assigned to help the five boys.

What the director never anticipated was that even with this level of precaution, something still went wrong.

Taking off the delicate, tangled accessories proved agonizingly slow, and everyone broke into a frantic sweat.

The control room issued two warnings to hurry up, and the host was already interacting with the crowd to buy time. In the midst of this crunch, a necklace around Xiao Yingyi’s neck refused to come off!

During the vigorous choreography earlier, the necklace had warped out of shape and was now jammed tight against his neck.

The other trainees had already been escorted by coordinators to the wings to stand by, leaving only Xiao Yingyi wrestling with the stubborn piece of jewelry.

If the gold-and-gemstone necklace had not clashed so violently with the theme song uniform, Xiao Yingyi would have walked straight onto the stage wearing it!

The styling assistants stamped their feet in panic, completely at a loss.

Xiao Yingyi furrowed his brow, his voice low and urgent. “I’ll pay for it!”

Before anyone could react, he ripped the necklace from his throat!

Gold links and tiny gems scattered across the floor, but Xiao Yingyi had no time to care.

Ninety-nine trainees were waiting on him alone; he could not delay any longer!

He spun around and strode toward the stage entrance.

“Wait a moment,” a pleasant male voice called out.

Before he could look back with a frown, he felt a strip of fabric wrap around his neck.

“You’re scratched here.” The man’s cool fingers brushed lightly against the side of his neck. Then, with practiced speed, he tied a ribbon matching the suit’s color around his neck, the neat bow perfectly concealing the cut.

“There’s blood on your face too.” This time it was a handkerchief. Xiao Yingyi followed the well-defined hand up to its owner. It was that stylist with exquisite aesthetic taste and a formidable presence! His viral look from the theme song shoot had been modified based on this man’s notes.

For this performance, their group’s stylist had initially wanted to switch up his look out of spite, but after several failed attempts, had sourly settled on a styling nearly identical to the theme song shoot.

One corner of the handkerchief bore a simple, elegant embroidered pattern: a cluster of duckweed. As the cloth drew close, Xiao Yingyi caught a clear scent that was crisp and cool, layered with a hint of commanding presence.

“Tsk.” Qi Yanning frowned slightly. “I can only wipe off the blood for now. Get on stage, we’ll tend to it properly once you’re done.”

“Okay.” Xiao Yingyi nodded, turned, and strode onto the stage, blending into the center of the ninety-nine waiting trainees.

Qi Yanning leaned against the stage entrance. The other styling assistants huddled behind him, poking their heads out like little chicks sheltering behind a mother hen.

On stage, the chords of “I Am the Light” swelled, and the lights flared with brilliance.

Amid screams and cheers, one hundred trainees smiled bright, moving in sharp unison to the music!