IDEI CH55

Today’s styling for TND highlighted a crisp, boyish freshness. Pinkish-brown and contour shades were used only to accentuate their eyes and aegyo sal, free of any extraneous color. Consequently, on stage, they appeared remarkably fresh and vibrant.

The nine continuously shot bubbles toward the audience below, laughing with unbounded delight. Only when the song’s prelude drew to a close did they bounce and jog back to center stage.

As the song kicked off, they broke into dance. Because performing on a stage face-to-face with fans was a rare treat, everyone was thrilled. Thus, they poured even more power into their moves, radiating boundless energy.

Expansive choreography, crisp, catchy melodies, and the dazzling, warm smiles of the nine on stage.

Like an ice-cold fizzy soda in midsummer, just looking at them brought pure joy!

Fans roared their fanchants, while spectators who didn’t know them swayed to the rhythm, the atmosphere steadily heating up.

Soon, the song drew to a close, and TND exited the stage.

Regretful shouts rang out from below.

“Encore!!”

“TND!!! Ahhhhh!!”

“One more song!”

“TND!! You guys are amazing!!!”

Hearing these voices, the members’ smiles broadened even further, bowing and waving to the crowd repeatedly, but to avoid holding up subsequent performances, they hurried offstage.

Yu Zhi watched the direction of TND’s departure with lingering reluctance, though their figures had long vanished.

A touch disappointed, she quickly squeezed her way out of the throng, opening the video she had just recorded to review it.

“TND is way too handsome today!” Sitting in a corner of the lawn, watching the playback, she couldn’t help covering her face. Today’s TND was fresh and approachable; aside from their excessively gorgeous faces, they looked like male classmates you might run into at school, feeling delightfully within reach.

“Looks like Qi-ge must be back,” Yu Zhi murmured gleefully. “Coming here was definitely the right call, catching a performance styled by Qi-ge!”

Yu Zhi was a student at University A. Ever since watching Your Star, she had fallen head over heels, completely obsessed with this lineup that balanced top-tier talent with peerless visuals, naturally becoming a dedicated fan of TND after the survival show concluded.

Being a TND fan was pure bliss! The members were immensely skilled, had delightful personalities, and possessed great variety sense. Plus, they had a phenomenally talented stylist!

Whenever Qi Yanning stepped in, paired with TND’s skill, the result was inevitably a legendary stage. Any roundup ranking the year’s greatest stages couldn’t bypass TND’s performances; even their dance covers made the lists, driving fans of other groups green with envy.

It had become an undisputed consensus in fandom circles that TND churned out legendary photos and god-tier fancams.

Lately, however, fans had felt somewhat troubled, because their “Archmage” Qi Yanning didn’t seem to accompany TND to every event.

Many of their recent looks hadn’t been fully satisfying. It wasn’t that they looked bad; even the recent styling matched the solid output of top boy-group stylists elsewhere.

Yet “solid” was fundamentally different from “transcendent.” The interim stylists performed adequately, but lacked the arresting visual punch that Qi Yanning delivered every single time.

Consequently, fans had felt a bit let down, rewatching previous stages until the clips were practically worn to a polish.

For this music festival, they had assumed Qi Yanning wouldn’t return either, considering even an earlier, larger music festival hadn’t been styled by him.

…Who knew Qi Yanning would return, handing them a colossal surprise the moment he stepped up!

This crisp, summer-ready, minimalist yet eye-popping styling was gorgeous beyond words!

Yu Zhi reopened the video on her phone, watching it from the beginning once more.

The members’ denim ensembles were dashing and effortlessly casual, packed with clever nuances that never felt forced. Against the broad canvas of washed denim blue and white, each member bore small accents of distinct colors: belts, neck scarves, hanging streamers, headbands… every person carried a unique hue that resonated with their personality, feeling like their personal signature shade. The goggles echoed these accent colors seamlessly, adding an extra spark of delight.

Previously, fans had never considered that goggles could become an integral fashion accessory! Whether resting atop the crown, hanging around the neck, or fastened around the wrist, each placement held its own charm.

This aesthetic cast TND as boys from next door skating around the neighborhood.

Yu Zhi could practically imagine the backstory: chasing each other on skateboards, spotting this open stage, exchanging knowing smiles before leaping up to deliver a fiery dance, only to skate away smugly and effortlessly under everyone’s awestruck gazes.

Exporting the video from her phone, she posted it onto Xingbo.

@SpringBreezeWithZhi: Summer sun, skater boys, and bubble machines. #TND Soda Music Festival#

[Video * 1]

At this point, a few scattered clips had already been posted on Xingbo, but Yu Zhi’s phone camera quality was pristine and her vantage point had been prime. Consequently, even though hers was just an alternate account, once the video appeared in the trending square, views, comments, and reposts skyrocketed.

[@SettingSun: Wow, this video is so clear, amazing angle!]

[@KingGigi: Today’s TND is the literal embodiment of summer!!! Looking this handsome yet not appearing right in front of me is a bit impolite, you know.]

[@ForgetMeNotGe: This is way too refreshing! Last time Flower Bomb was performed with lush, blooming floral styling; who knew switching to a fresh vibe would fit so well too! They look like fruity sodas. @SodaBrands, why haven’t you reached out to TND for an endorsement yet?]

[@ClaypotBBQ: This style! Qi-ge, it’s you!!! Did you finally remember your forsaken wife TND hhhhhhh]

[@GreenTomato: I regret so much not going in person!! Styling like this from TND today needs to be captured live! Wait for me, there’s another set tonight, I’m heading over immediately!]

…

Setting aside comments from rival stans promoting their own idols, the vast majority of remarks praised the stage as breathtaking. This filled Yu Zhi with vicarious pride.

The previous festival hadn’t drawn anywhere near this volume of active, genuine comments. Qi Yanning’s styling was truly miraculous, capable of magnifying a model’s strengths to perfection; no wonder every appearance bowled everyone over.

Remembering there was another stage at 10:00 PM, Yu Zhi simmered with quiet anticipation.

She still needed to claim a prime spot, resolved to squeeze to the front in an hour! Yu Zhi steeled her resolve.

Meanwhile, backstage, someone from TND was wailing in distress.

Because this second outfit was simply too tricky to put on.

Their second look was wasteland post-apocalyptic punk: diverse fabrics layered together, all looking distressed and ragged, leaving them utterly clueless as to which hole their head was supposed to go through.

“Qi-ge, Qi-ge, save me!” Gong Jiayu lamented.

One batch was getting styled first while the other went to eat. Gong Jiayu was in the first group. He had been trying to pull a bundle of fabric over his head, only to get stuck halfway.

Qi Yanning swept a glance over him, adjusted the top, reached through an opening, and patted Gong Jiayu on the crown. “Stick your head out here.”

Following Qi Yanning’s guidance, Gong Jiayu poked his head out of the garment and looked down at this “outfit.”

It was a top patched together from three colors, but whether yellow, green, or brown, all bore distinct distressed weathering.

One side of the hem draped down to mid-thigh, while the other side exposed half of his pale waist.

Even the collar around his collarbone was finely frayed, looking like a piece of clothing worn to absolute tatters.

“This outfit…” Gong Jiayu mused, “looks so familiar.”

Right then, someone silently handed something from the side. Gong Jiayu took it reflexively, looking down to see an empty, cleanly eaten bowl.

“Hahahahaha!” The culprit, An Zai, laughed hysterically. “With this bowl, Xiao Yu, you look even more like a beggar on the street!”

Locking eyes with his reflection in the mirror, Gong Jiayu’s defenses shattered.

It really did look like it! Ignoring his fair skin, he looked like a runaway homeless kid who had lived on the streets since childhood.

“An Zai!” Gong Jiayu raged in futile fury, snatching An Zi’ai’s outfit from the side and hurling it over his head.

“Put yours on and let’s see how much better it looks!” Gong Jiayu yelled.

An Zai had been deeply curious about his own outfit anyway. Shaking it open without hesitation, he froze in disbelief.

This garment—

From the front, it looked fine: an ordinary, loose, drapey teal-blue hooded sweatshirt. Yet the back was slit open from the waist nearly to the shoulder blades, held together only by a few crisscrossing cords to prevent it from falling apart.

An Zai looked pitifully toward Qi Yanning, hoping to hear that it was a mix-up, but Qi Yanning merely nodded with an ambiguous smile.

An Zai’s expression plunged into mourning, trudging dejectedly to put it on. He only felt a chilly draft blowing across his spine.

“Clothes showing off physiques like this should be given to Hai-ge, why give it to me?” An Zai grumbled under his breath. “Let me see what Hai-ge’s outfit looks like. Following the style of mine and Xiao Yu’s, hiss—don’t tell me he doesn’t even have a shirt…”

To his utter disappointment, Mo Jinghai’s outfit was completely intact, without a single hole, even featuring a thick leather harness around the waist.

“Qi-ge!! You’re playing favorites!!” Clutching Mo Jinghai’s clothes, An Zai ran forward to argue with Qi Yanning.

Qi Yanning arched an eyebrow, an amused glint flickering in his eyes. “Then… would you like to swap?”

“Pfft!” someone burst out laughing nearby.

An Zai shot Qi Yanning a resentful look. The two had a height difference of over ten centimeters; could Hai-ge squeeze into his clothes, or could he fill out Hai-ge’s?

Qi-ge was wicked!

An Zi’ai grabbed a jacket to drape over himself, slumping into a corner to sulk.

The others finished eating and began dressing and styling. It was 5:00 PM, and their performance began at 10:00 PM, leaving ample time.

Thus, feeling in no great rush, they turned down Wu Jianming’s help, piling into the dressing room to figure things out on their own.

“This top… which end do I put on first?”

“Between these two, which one goes on the outside?”

“Hiss—these pants! Which two straps tie together?”

“Xiao-ge save me save me, I tied myself into a knot!”

…

In the end, after wrestling with the clothes, they raised the white flag, letting Wu Jianming step in to help untangle them.

Over at the vanities, Qi Yanning had already begun styling Gong Jiayu, An Zi’ai, and Pang Nong. All three leaned toward cute, youthful energy, making them ideal to group together.

All three put on translucent, deep blue contact lenses. Qi Yanning perfected their base makeup, applied pronounced contouring, and proceeded with color cosmetics.

For the eyes, they shared a matching charcoal-gray eye look, deepening the lower waterline to lend their gazes a cool, aggressive detachment.

A wash of apricot-orange blush was brushed across their cheeks, dotted with faux freckles as if fiercely kissed by the sun. Their lips were kept to a simple terracotta-nude.

Yet their accessories were distinctly unique. Gong Jiayu had a faux eyebrow piercing placed over his left brow; a lip ring was clipped to the center of An Zai’s full lower lip; while Pang Nong wore a silver serpent circlet, head and tail intertwining dead center on his forehead.

The three looked like brothers hailing from the same post-apocalyptic settlement: though youthful in face, their demeanor was guarded and razor-sharp.

Once those three were done, it was Xiao Yingyi, Lou Yuxing, and Feng Qingyi’s turn.

Qi Yanning grouped these three together as well. All three were tall and lean, their presence carrying an innate, righteous strength.

Their makeup base matched the previous trio’s, though they lacked the sun-kissed blush.

Lou Yuxing’s long hair was braided into micro-plaits, his eyes fitted with pale blue lenses. Black dots were painted on either side of the bridge of his nose between his eyes, as well as on the outer corners of his eyes. Four symmetrical points elevated his enigmatic aura instantly.

Not stopping there, because his garment featured a plunging V-neck slash, Qi Yanning used black ink to trace mysterious runic script from his jawline down his neck, making him appear profoundly arcane—like the high priest of a fallen tribe, exotic and perilous.

Feng Qingyi resembled an assassin. The oversized hood of his off-white cloak cast a deep shadow over the upper half of his face, revealing only a straight nose bridge and thin lips. A sharp black line ran straight from his lower lip down his chin and throat, disappearing beneath his collar like an arcane sigil. The hooded tunic cinched at the waist, accentuating his lean, athletic frame, while around his ankle beneath wide-leg pants, a silver serpent cuff peeked out subtly.

Xiao Yingyi was dressed as a human warrior. Wide-leg trousers were tucked neatly into fitted combat boots, sleek and functional, while his upper body featured a distressed tank tucked into his waistband, draped with an asymmetrical high-low cloak. Runic script was traced beneath his eyes, echoing Lou Yuxing’s markings from afar.

The final three were Yan Zihao, Wei Mingzhe, and Mo Jinghai. All three possessed distinct personas charged with intense tension, which Qi Yanning chose to amplify.

Yan Zihao’s wardrobe featured the most colors, yet never looked cluttered, setting off his unique aura instead. His already chiseled, intense facial features were intensified, looking ferociously wild, though a leather band wrapped around his neck.

…Much like a collar.

Delicate metal chains trailed from the collar down to his waist, clinking softly with his steps. He looked like a feral predator that had broken free of its leash, roaming unrestrained.

Mo Jinghai’s outfit appeared fully covered, but was actually form-fitting and lightweight. The top was stretched taut over well-developed pecs, creating a powerful, sculpted silhouette, only to be cinched at the waist by a palm-wide leather belt. Broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist—profoundly alluring.

Wei Mingzhe’s clothing seemed straightforward: a minimalist hooded top paired with exaggerated wide-leg cargo pants. His hair was sprayed a vibrant crimson, blazing like a scorching sun.

Yet beneath this blazing sun, a metallic muzzle-like accessory masked the lower half of his face.

His brows were fierce, his eyes piercing, but his nose and lips were encased in an intricately sculpted, strangely beautiful metal bite guard. He resembled a powerful, savage beast bred in secret, appearing unruly and unyielding, yet bound in lethal loyalty to its master.

“Done. Wrap it up,” Qi Yanning dusted his hands after fine-tuning the final detail.

The members of TND looked at one another, expressions turning wondrous.

Holy shit, today’s styling was an absolute trump card!

The clothes had looked like rags on the hanger, yet paired with the full styling, they transformed into a wasteland expedition squad, each carrying a secret identity and an untold past.

Too handsome!

Exchanging smiles, they strode eagerly toward the stage.

As the spotlights flared, their figures were revealed to the crowd.

Having cheered all night, the audience had been running on fumes, yet the instant TND’s looks came into view, exhaustion was swept away.

All at once, the crowd below echoed the exact sentiment the members had felt moments before:

“HOLY SHIT!!”

“HOLY SHIT!! IS THIS TND??!!”

“THIS STYLING IS MINDBLOWINGLY EXPLOSIVE!!!”