IDEI Ch18

The two were invited to the signature wall to introduce themselves and sign their names.

The host chatted through a few standard topics, and both answered fluently; though slightly green, their responses were substantive and poised.

Soon, the host turned to the final topic regarding their styling for the night: “Xiao Rou, A-Ling, when you two walked over just now, my eyes lit up. Absolutely gorgeous!”

The livelier Xiao Rou smiled and spoke, “Thank you. It’s all thanks to the stylist the company arranged for us. He is truly incredible.”

A-Ling added, “Yes. The styling for the group Huanmeng earlier was also done by his team.”

The host was slightly taken aback. On the red carpet just now, the two had carried themselves with graceful elegance, hardly seeming like newcomers. Yet answering like this now revealed their rookie status completely.

After all, seasoned veterans who had walked countless red carpets would never praise their styling team in public like this, giving away their own spotlight to others.

Quick on her feet, the host teased, “Now I’m truly curious about this master! Let’s add each other on Feixin once we head inside. Recommend the styling team to me, I want to experience what it’s like to blow everyone away too!”

Xiao Rou and A-Ling smiled as well.

As they headed into the main hall, the live stream chat buzzed with discussion.

[Huanmeng, Xiao Rou, and A-Ling? Two completely different aesthetics actually came from the same person?]

[This person has to be a grandmaster! Morning Star Entertainment truly has deep pockets, hiring a master to style rookies. Looks like Huanmeng, Xiao Rou, and A-Ling are highly valued by the company]

[Curious curious curious, begging for the stylist’s Xingbo handle! I need to follow him, his aesthetic is so good for my eyes!]

……

The discussion even spilled over onto Xingbo. Although the topic #SearchingForTheMysteriousStylist# didn’t crack the hot search list, quite a few people were buzzing about it.

Many began to harbor a growing curiosity about this stylist.

Meanwhile, the mysterious stylist, Qi Yanning himself, had just finished watching the broadcast. Seeing Xiao Rou and A-Ling sign their names with graceful poise and walk hand in hand into the venue, he gave a slight nod and set his phone down.

The reaction in the comments aligned with his expectations. Because the two were actresses, he had exercised some restraint with their styling, aiming primarily to bring out their innate aura. Those subtle touches around the eyes were designed specifically to accentuate their gaze, which seemed capable of conveying myriad emotions.

Sure enough, he had succeeded.

Qi Yanning put away his phone and closed his eyes to rest. They were on the way back to the Your Star filming base. The assistants were thrilled, but seeing him close his eyes, they stopped talking out loud, instead chattering feverishly in their private group chat.

This was their first time participating in red carpet styling. Even if their clients were obscure rookies, it was more than enough to make them ecstatic.

What’s more, with the red carpet drawing to a close, their looks were a rare brilliant highlight in an otherwise dull and lackluster affair!

They refreshed Xingbo’s trending square relentlessly, sharing every single positive comment into their chat group.

By the end, the praise rolled in faster than they could share.

Rave reviews flooded in!

In Xingbo’s poll ranking the best red carpet looks of the night, the two groups—one black, one white—held top spots.

It wasn’t until Li Jinshi accidentally hurled her phone to the floor in her excitement, awakening Qi Yanning with a frown, that they finally managed to rein in their excitement under his freezing glare.

Qi-ge with waking-up grumpiness was terrifying!

“Nothing to do?” Qi Yanning spoke, his tone cool.

The three shook their heads frantically.

“Tomorrow is the second performance. Once we’re back, practice the makeup looks assigned to you on each other and show me.” Qi Yanning’s voice was calm, yet felt like a hammer striking their hearts.

We’re dead! Waking the sleeping Great Demon King truly comes with a steep price!

During the two days Qi Yanning was away, the trainees made rapid progress. Being talented performers, they were able to pick up the tracks and choreography in very little time, followed by endless drilling.

Next came the dress rehearsal with makeup.

Qi Yanning assigned tasks to the stylists, while he oversaw the entire picture.

Previously, during styling discussions, Qi Yanning would still listen to the opinions of other stylists.

In practical execution, however, the stylists abruptly discovered that this man was an absolute autocratic tyrant!

They had to follow the pre-approved designs strictly; any spontaneous inspiration required his explicit permission.

And more often than not, he would reject it.

Qi Yanning didn’t scold people, nor did his inflection ever shift. But the moment his half-smiling gaze rested on someone, the stylists would sheepishly tuck away their sudden bursts of creativity and obediently follow his instructions.

Under Qi Yanning’s iron-fisted rule, styling proceeded smoothly. Before long, it was Mo Jinghai’s group’s turn.

“These are… our clothes?” Mo Jinghai held the garments in his hands, sounding hesitant.

“Yes, hurry and try them on!” Noticing Qi Yanning’s impatient gaze sweeping in their direction, Wu Jianming hastily ushered the trainees into the changing room.

After a morning of relentless back-and-forth communication, Qi Yanning’s impatience was nearing its peak. Wu Jianming had no desire to find out what Qi Yanning—whose stare was already chilling enough to freeze people—would look like if he genuinely lost his temper.

The trainees emerged after changing, looking rather uncertain.

Their group’s wardrobe consisted of dress shirts with fluid, elegant drape, precisely split three in white and three in black among the six.

The bottoms were simple tailored trousers, accented only by metallic trouser chains that broke up the minimalist look.

Just as they were wondering why their wardrobe was so plain, several stylists swarmed around them.

When the makeup was complete, looking at their reflections in the mirror and then at their teammates beside them, their expressions turned peculiar.

“What? Any objections?” Qi Yanning stood nearby, asking evenly as he noted their hesitant expressions.

“Sorry, Teacher, we don’t have any objections!”

“Right, it looks great, it’s just…”

One trainee hesitated for a long while before finally blurting it out:

“It’s just, why are there two distinct styles across the six of us?”

The others exchanged glances as well.

Among them, the three clad in white featured more red tones in their makeup: vivid crimson sweeping beneath the eyes and slightly damp, piecey hair made them look rather gloomy, melancholic, and fragile. Even their lip color leaned distinctly redder.

The three in black were quite different. The styling on the three tall, sturdy men was largely corrective and sculpting, relying on minimalist black and earthy tones, with their lips kept to a natural, healthy flush. As for their hair, aside from Mo Jinghai’s clean buzz cut, the other two wore sharp, slick styles without a single stray lock.

Standing together like this, the visual dynamic between them was exceedingly delicate.

Qi Yanning flipped through the notes in his hand and looked up. “There is nothing wrong with the styling. If you want it changed, go talk to the director.”

“Ah, I see… Thanks, Teacher.” The trainee who had spoken scratched his head, grinning sheepishly.

Feng Qingyi gave Qi Yanning a deep look before plastering on a smile. “The teachers must have considered the concept carefully. As long as it looks good, that’s what matters. Let’s go rehearse.”

“Okay!” Mo Jinghai was the first to respond, striding to the doorway and holding the door open for his teammates.

Watching their retreating figures, Qi Yanning narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Qi-ge, for this group’s styling, is that… implication a bit too obvious?” Chu Sixiu asked hesitantly.

“What defines ‘too obvious’?” Qi Yanning said evenly. “As long as their stage expression is compelling enough, even if it appears deliberate, the audience will gladly lap it up.”

Chu Sixiu nodded thoughtfully.

The day after dress rehearsal brought the second public performance. Following a week of buzzing online discourse, Your Star‘s attention and word-of-mouth had climbed vertically, driving the ticket lottery odds down to nearly several hundred to one.

Li Xin’er was one of the unlucky ones who failed to win a ticket. A student at University C, she loved watching survival shows of all kinds.

Previously, her eyes had been thoroughly assaulted by Your Star‘s atrocious styling, leading her to swear she would never follow this trash show again.

When the remade theme song MV trended, she resisted checking it out. But when the entire internet showered praise on the first performance of “Dark Age,” she couldn’t hold back.

With that, she fell hard, becoming Wei Mingzhe’s visual fan.

For this second public performance, she created multiple burner accounts to enter the ticket lottery, wanting to support Wei Mingzhe in person, but her luck was terrible and not a single one hit.

Left with no choice, she curled up in her dorm room and opened her laptop to watch the live stream.

To avoid disturbing her roommate lying on the bed nearby, she put on headphones.

It had to be said that the talent level of Your Star‘s trainees was truly top-tier. The vocal groups sang completely live with open mics, so steady that even breath sounds were barely audible.

The rap trainees delivered crystal-clear articulation at breakneck speed, brimming with flow and sense. The dance trainees were formidable across the board, matching arm angles down to the exact degree in synchronized routines.

Furthermore, the styling this time was extraordinary. Everyone’s look suited them to perfection, hitting the mark whether it was youthful high school boy, glamorous and ethereal chill, or edgy swag.

With talent, styling, lighting, and camera work all firing on all cylinders, viewers like Li Xin’er were easily captivated by the visual feast.

Although Wei Mingzhe’s stage had already passed, Li Xin’er didn’t close the stream, staying to watch the rest.

Until the host took the stage to announce: “Next is the final performance of the second public evaluation, Dance Category: ‘Lost in Your Eyes’.”

Only then did she realize with a jolt that only the final stage remained. A strong reluctance to say goodbye welled up in her heart, making her glue her eyes to the screen even more intently.

On screen, the stage had already begun.

Six silhouettes stood in the darkness with their backs turned to the camera.

As the prelude sounded, under the spotlights, the six turned around one by one. The white light washed over them like liquid silk, cloaking their figures in a hazy, ethereal glow.

Must be a cool, ethereal fairy-like song, Li Xin’er thought, her gaze never wavering.

The music swelled abruptly, the saxophone introducing a lush, sensual melody.

The six began to move, dancing to the rhythm. The movements were understated at first, conveying a tantalizing push-and-pull.

As the beat deepened, a black-clad figure took the center! Executing a flawless, crisp body wave, he tilted his head slightly, gazing at the camera with an unreadable expression.

A buzz cut, rarely seen among idol trainees, heightened his masculine magnetism, while taut, well-defined muscles peeked through the black shirt. With his movements, the shirt collar parted slightly wider.

Revealing clean, sculpted collarbones.

And…

The deep valley between the swollen curves of his chest beneath them.

His fingers lightly tapped his left shoulder, then swept swiftly down his chest and abdomen to his trim, powerful waist. Rather than meeting the camera head-on, he turned his head to glance downward, revealing only a bright crimson ear…

And the faint curve of a smirk.

“HOLY SHIT!!!” Li Xin’er’s eyes went wide, letting out a scream.

Yet she noticed something slightly off…

Why were there two screams echoing in the dorm room?

Li Xin’er looked over, meeting the eyes of her roommate, who had always claimed she had zero interest in survival shows.

The two spoke at the exact same moment.

“Your Star…?” Li Xin’er asked hesitantly.

“What an absolute doting muscle hunk!” her roommate shrieked with overwhelming excitement.

Then, as if suddenly realizing what had just flown out of her mouth, the roommate’s face flushed bright red!