IDEI Ch2

The music started, and the “Moonlight Group” began their performance.

Qi Yanning, wearing a baseball cap he casually took from the makeup room, stood in the audience watching the dazzling Pei Huan on stage.

The original owner was genuinely bad at both singing and dancing, but Pei Huan’s issues were different—he didn’t know how to showcase his abilities.

Pei Huan had a background in modern dance, and his dance skills were actually quite good. However, he struggled to adapt to the explosive style of boy band choreography. Additionally, his low self-esteem and introverted nature made it difficult for him to confidently showcase his charm, causing him to blend into the crowd.

But this time, the stage was completely different from any previous one.

“Moonlight” was a song that balanced softness with strength—not an overly explosive track.

The show’s prepared styling was also light and ethereal. Pei Huan’s original outfit was a white shirt and black pants, with slightly curled hair, giving off a very pure look. Someone with strong expressive power could showcase the pure beauty of this styling, but Pei Huan, lacking such power, merely blended in.

Qi Yanning, without much thought, had already decided that Pei Huan needed a contrasting shock of elements.

And now, there wasn’t a trace of purity or blandness left on Pei Huan.

Under the stage lights, the pink blush on Pei Huan’s cheeks made him look like a peach, one just beginning to show a hint of pink, tender and soft with a fine layer of fuzz. His eyes were bright, nervous yet sincere, exuding extreme innocence. However, his lips were plump and full, as if tempting, red and dewy. That lack of confidence, paired with his styling, made him appear even more pitiful and endearing.

His white shirt was buttoned properly, with only the collar slightly loosened, unlike his teammates, who had undone most of their buttons or even left their shirts completely open.

Yet the overly direct kind of sensuality was less alluring than Pei Huan’s subtle, half-concealed appeal. His collarbones peeked out with his movements, and the black lace ribbon tied around his arm contrasted with his pale skin, giving just a hint of enticing color.

With this visual impact, even his slightly trembling singing sounded like the confession of a young boy finally summoning the courage to plead for affection.

It was truly heart-wrenching and adorable.

“Who is this?! Damn, they look amazing!”

“Is that… Pei Huan?”

“Pei Huan? No way! He used to look like a kid brother; how did he suddenly become so…”

“Wow, so beautiful! So tantalizing!”

“Such an amazing transformation! What a stunning beauty!”

Around him, the audience erupted in screams and praise, blending with the music and dancing on stage to form a scene of madness and immersion.

Meanwhile, Qi Yanning stood below the stage, his expression hidden under the brim of his cap, his casual and relaxed demeanor completely out of place with the frenzy around him.

With a faint smile, he watched the feverish crowd and the dazzling idol on stage. Such a scene would never have existed in his original world.

In this moment, he finally felt the reality of being in a different world. There were no cold and rigid palace halls, no endless schemes and calculations. He was no longer the feared head of the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau, but an ordinary young man in this world.

Well, maybe not entirely ordinary. Ordinary people didn’t carry as much scorn and criticism as the original owner did.

Qi Yanning smiled as if he’d discovered something amusing.

From what he’d observed in this short time, he was certain that the aesthetic preferences of people, ancient and modern, had commonalities. His talent in fashion and styling wouldn’t go to waste.

Moreover, he could finally abandon all the tiresome plotting and scheming and focus on doing what he truly wanted.

This was truly wonderful.

As the performance reached the chorus, everyone—whether the trainees, the audience, or the performers—was fully immersed.

Qi Yanning cast one last deep glance at the stage, pulled his cap lower, and turned, striding into the darkness of the backstage, leaving behind all the noise.

The breathtaking performance, sparked by his casual intervention, continued.

The audience grew even more excited. At this point, everyone else on stage became mere background for Pei Huan, whose radiance outshone them all.

The vocal coach, listening closely to Pei Huan’s part through her headphones, nodded approvingly for once.

Although the technique was a bit rough and the voice a bit quiet, the pitch was accurate. More importantly, the voice matched him perfectly.

Pei Huan’s voice was clear, with a subtle tremble that, combined with his shy and alluring look, made him sound like a young boy pleading for affection.

The dance coach, completely captivated by the performance, exclaimed loudly, “I didn’t expect Pei Huan to be so small, yet have such strong dancing skills!”

Chaos had broken out in the control room as well.

Half a minute into the performance, the director realized that this stage had the potential to become legendary. Normally calm and composed, he couldn’t sit still anymore. He jumped up, snatching the job of the technical director, and started directing everyone in a frenzy.

“Quick! Camera 1, zoom in on Pei Huan, close-up!”

“Camera 3, you need to catch Pei Huan’s next move, especially the ribbon on his arm!”

“Cameras 6 and 8, focus on Pei Huan, the other two don’t matter! Hurry up! Your job now is to capture every single move Pei Huan makes, even down to a strand of hair!”

The technical crew worked frantically to follow the director’s orders, as they too were overwhelmed with excitement. They hadn’t expected much from this performance, but just moments ago, it was as if they had witnessed the birth of a legendary stage!

Their mission now was to gather as much material as possible.

Whether this episode would explode in popularity depended entirely on this moment!

The director’s eyes sparkled as he excitedly instructed his assistant, “Did you see that? This is the key moment! We need to edit the next episode’s teaser today and get it out right away! Push it hard—I want everyone who opens Xingbo today to see clips of this legendary stage!”

Meanwhile, in the trainees’ waiting area, the atmosphere was tense.

They had all seen Pei Huan’s performance. As much as they didn’t want to admit it, they all recognized how stunning Pei Huan was on stage.

It was like a dusty, uncut gem that had been meticulously polished, revealing its natural beauty.

None of the trainees had expected that, halfway through the show, they would still see a dark horse emerge.

Pei Huan, a trainee they had barely paid any attention to before, had suddenly become a serious competitor.

Trainees who were friendly with Pei Huan still maintained their composure, clapping and cheering. But those who weren’t close to him could no longer hide their expressions.

Luo Heng and his friends were utterly silent. They had always looked down on Pei Huan, but now Pei Huan had outshone any of them.

Especially Luo Heng.

His performance today had been far below his usual standard.

It was because of Qi Yanning’s words! After getting on stage, he couldn’t focus—his singing was offbeat, and he messed up the dance moves.

Damn it!

Qi Yanning, I’ll make sure you never rise again!

Luo Heng thought angrily.

The other trainees were indeed silent. Even if they tried to lie to themselves, they couldn’t say that Pei Huan’s performance today was worse than Luo Heng’s.

Especially Mo He, who was almost blatantly staring at Luo Heng with a worried look, making it nearly impossible for Luo Heng to maintain his smile.

The “Moonlight” stage ended, and the voting results were quickly announced.

Pei Huan, this previously unknown trainee, won nearly as many votes as Luo Heng, the candidate for the center position, missing by just one vote.

Keep in mind that at least a third of the audience were Luo Heng’s fans. For Pei Huan to receive such a high vote count spoke volumes.

The trainees glanced at Luo Heng, some obviously, some discreetly.

Luo Heng clenched his fists, trying hard to ignore the schadenfreude-filled stares directed at him.

But the stiffness in his expression betrayed his emotions.

He had clearly seen everyone’s styling before and had secretly observed their singing and dancing abilities—all of which fell short of his, making him feel quite assured.

But damn it! When had that introverted, almost mute Pei Huan secretly changed his styling?

He pressed hard on his knuckles, outwardly appearing calm but feeling like he was sitting on pins and needles.

On stage, Pei Huan was still frozen in place.

During the performance, he vaguely remembered hearing loud screams from the audience every time his part came up. He thought it was because there was something wrong with his makeup and felt a bit uneasy.

But unexpectedly, he ended up with the second-highest vote count in the entire audience?

His expression was dazed, which only caused the audience to scream even louder.

“Wife! Baby!”

“Pei Huan! You’re so beautiful!”

“Pei Huan! Let me take a bite!”

Such comments kept coming, and Pei Huan, blushing, mustered the courage to wave to the audience. Amid nearly deafening screams, he followed his group off the stage.

Even after leaving the stage, he still felt like he was dreaming.

So much so that he didn’t even hear his teammates talking to him.

“Hey, Pei Huan.” Pei Huan snapped back to reality, only to see the complex expressions of the trainees in the dressing room.

“Your styling today…” The team captain pressed his lips together and asked, “Which stylist did it?”

“Teacher Lulu…” Pei Huan, feeling the gaze of others on him, lightly touched his face, then quickly withdrew his hand as if afraid of messing it up, whispering softly.

He didn’t know what effect Qi Yanning’s actions had, so for now, he decided to keep Qi Yanning a secret.

The others’ expressions were hard to read, unsure whether they believed him or not. But Pei Huan’s teammates quietly frowned.

Their entire group had been styled by Teacher Lulu, so how come none of them had the same effect as Pei Huan?

Thinking about how Pei Huan’s original look was similar to theirs, but after disappearing for a while, he came back completely transformed…

Where had he found his “fairy godmother”?

＊

At this moment, Qi Yanning was in the control room.

Everyone around him was silent as death, busy with their tasks but occasionally sneaking glances at the two people facing off in the middle of the room.

The director had a stern face, clearly very angry. The pressure in the room was so intense that it made everyone else feel suffocated.

On the other hand, Qi Yanning looked completely calm.

He had come to resolve the issue of his withdrawal from the competition.

He wanted to withdraw, and the show wanted him to withdraw as well. Their goals were aligned, but…

Such a big incident had occurred, and not only had the show done nothing, but they also wanted to sacrifice a pawn to protect the king. This matter involved the life of the original body’s owner, and although Qi Yanning didn’t care much, the show still had to give the original owner an explanation.

After a long silence, the director compromised, saying, “We’ll talk after the stage is over.”

Qi Yanning’s lips curled into a cryptic smile, his dark eyes fixed on the director, containing a meaning that no one present could comprehend.

The tension in the room thickened.

After a while, Qi Yanning lazily responded, “Alright.”

With that, before anyone else could react, he casually found a chair and sat down in a leisurely manner.

The director snapped out of it, suddenly realizing that he had been intimidated by the gaze of someone so young!

But it was too late—everything had already been settled. The director, filled with anger, had no outlet and shot a resentful glance at Qi Yanning, who was sitting there. With no place to vent, he took out his frustration on the staff.

Qi Yanning didn’t care in the slightest. The director’s thinly veiled insults didn’t stir any emotion within him.

He had heard far worse, and compared to those words, the director’s remarks could be considered mild.

To him, an enraged director wasn’t even as threatening as the Pekingese that the original Emperor Jingde had raised. At least the Pekingese had the guts to bark directly at him.

Qi Yanning sat there leisurely, as if he were the true master of the control room. He watched everything unfold with great interest until all the stages had finished.

“Come on, let’s discuss it in my office,” the director stood up and said.

Qi Yanning didn’t move, his expression carrying a hint of amusement.

Their eyes met, and the director immediately understood what Qi Yanning meant. His face darkened even more.

He was worried that the scandal might repeat itself.

“Everyone else, get out!”

After everyone had left, the director noticed that Qi Yanning still didn’t budge. His face grim, the director yanked a chair and slammed it in front of him, making a loud bang.

Qi Yanning’s raised eyebrow didn’t even shift.

“What exactly do you want?” the director asked.

“What do you think, Director?” Qi Yanning raised an eyebrow.

“The security cameras really were broken that day. We were in a tough spot too,” the director said with a forced smile.

“Is that so?” Qi Yanning’s expression didn’t change a bit.

With great interest, he brought up another topic, “Luo Heng—he really is the show’s most popular trainee, isn’t he?”

The director was taken aback. He didn’t know why Qi Yanning suddenly brought this up, so he stayed silent for now.

“His fansite master, the one with the long chestnut hair—she’s really pretty, don’t you think?”

The director frowned, “What does that have to do with this conversation?”

“Doesn’t it?” Qi Yanning’s smile deepened with hidden meaning, “Director, why don’t you carefully think back to what happened at 2 a.m. the night before last?”

“You know?” The director’s pupils shrank, “What do you know?”

“Not much,” Qi Yanning’s long fingers tapped on the phone in front of him, his smile growing wider, “Just one little photo, that’s all.”

The director looked at the phone screen, and there it was—a picture of him embracing Luo Heng’s fansite master!

Fury flashed in his eyes as he lunged forward to grab the phone, but Qi Yanning effortlessly twisted his arm and pinned him down. The director’s hefty body crashed heavily to the floor.

“Don’t get too worked up, Director,” Qi Yanning looked down at him with a calm, superior smile.

Panting heavily, the director struggled to get up from the floor, glaring at Qi Yanning with clenched teeth.

After a long moment, he finally caved under the calm yet profoundly meaningful gaze of Qi Yanning.

Gritting his teeth, he said, “Fine. I’ll give you the footage from that day! But I have two conditions. One, you must delete the photo! And two, the footage can’t be released during the show’s airing!”