IDEI Ch28

[Who is that?]

[So cute!]

[Gong Jiayu? The king of greasiness? No, let’s wait and see.]

[Ah, he’s perfect for those roles where he appears for a second and then vanishes before he gets greasy, hahaha.]

[Such a sweet and handsome face, I’m tearing up.]

The barrage of comments exploded as soon as Gong Jiayu appeared on screen.

Meanwhile, the stage had moved on to someone else’s part. Although the camera occasionally panned over to Gong Jiayu, his expression wasn’t flawless, but it had improved greatly compared to before.

Gong Jiayu still hadn’t completely fixed his facial expressions—it was, after all, a habit developed over many years. However, Wei Mingzhe had taught him a clever trick.

Over the past few days, Gong Jiayu practiced in front of the mirror and identified a few of his best-looking expressions, like a shy smile, scrunching his nose, or a bright, radiant grin.

By rehearsing repeatedly, he managed to incorporate those expressions into his stage performance, leading to the impressive effect he now displayed.

When it came to his part, he worked hard to maintain a smile. His large, delicate eyes curved slightly with his smile, squeezing out two well-defined under-eye areas. His fair, smooth face revealed a single dimple on one side, appearing and disappearing with his singing.

As he finished a line, he added a cute little expression that matched the lyrics.

His peach blossom eyes looked directly into the camera, filled with innocence. He scrunched his nose, and his lips, slightly pouting, made his philtrum more prominent.

[Gong Jiayu… huh?]

[Whoa, that expression is killing me!]

[Did he use some kind of anti-grease spray? Now that he’s not making greasy expressions, I can actually appreciate his looks!]

[Oh my gosh, I just realized that this is the baby who was kidnapped from me!]

The audience was collectively shocked by Gong Jiayu’s transformation.

Without the greasiness, he was unexpectedly adorable!

Especially after hitting a high note, when his face flushed slightly from exertion, he shot a smug little glance at the camera.

It was like a cute puppy that had just jumped up to catch a frisbee, proudly running back to its owner.

[Ah, what a good boy!]

[He looks like he’s grown dog ears (no offense).]

[Baby, are you trying to take your mama’s life today? I’ll give you everything!]

Gong Jiayu’s performance this time truly surprised everyone, making his part highly anticipated. However, his screen time wasn’t long, so every time the camera cut to him, the audience went wild with excitement.

The other performers did well too. The entire stage was in soft pastel tones, and the trainees’ innocent expressions paired with their sweet, first-love-themed song naturally brought a smile to the audience’s faces.

Time flew by as they immersed themselves in the music, and soon, the song was over.

The camera swept over the trainees, capturing their final expressions. Under the bright lights, everyone’s eyes sparkled.

The last shot was of Gong Jiayu.

Just as the camera was about to focus on him, a loud, heart-wrenching scream came from the audience.

“Gong Jiayu! Mommy loves you!”

The woman’s voice was so powerful that it reached Gong Jiayu on stage.

His heart warmed, and the expression he had worked so hard to maintain throughout the performance immediately crumbled.

He gave a crooked smile, just on one side.

Uh-oh.

Realizing his mistake, he broke into a cold sweat, as if he could hear Qi Yanning’s cold snort in his ears.

His eyes briefly showed a hint of fear, and then, in a moment of appeasement, he gave a wink. His plump lower lip twitched slightly, and he flashed a somewhat pitiful smile.

With curly brown hair adorned with a single strawberry hair clip, his small face looked even more petite. His round eyes widened, revealing a flicker of barely-contained anxiety. Despite trying to smile, the deep dimples on his face made his cheeks look soft and bouncy, his thin skin suggesting it would easily bruise.

The audience erupted in screams.

[Ugh—he looks so pitiful, it hits me right in the feels.]

[Who bullied our baby? Tell mommy!]

[Who can understand this? I want to hug him, but I also want to tease him, make him show an even sadder expression.]

[Looks like I have a bit of a sadistic side in me.]

[When he was greasy, I just wanted to hit him. Now that he’s not, I kind of want to bully him. Is there something wrong with me?]

[I want to possess him, mark him, hurt him! Make him beg me, hehe.]

[Wow, what a perfect omega.]

[And peach soda-flavored!]

As expected, the barrage exploded, but the content…

[Hey everyone, calm down! Put your pants back on or we’ll get the stream banned.]

At this moment, the influx of viewers from Your Star’s previous stage performances, which had trended on social media, overwhelmed the live stream, causing it to lag. Eventually, the stream couldn’t handle the traffic and crashed.

The viewers, frustrated after refreshing the page for ages without success, turned to Weibo.

Meanwhile, a post from a marketing account quickly shot to the top of the trending list.

—

“Entertainment 100%” was a marketing account with a team that scoured the internet daily for useful content. But because they rarely had exclusive, juicy information, their engagement had always been mediocre.

Until today. One of the team members, while taking a break—or rather, looking for material—was watching the live stream of Your Star’s stage performance.

She originally wanted to capture some moments from the stage, but none of them seemed explosive enough. That is, until Gong Jiayu appeared on stage, and her eyes lit up.

This was great material: the transformation of the “oil king” into an ultra-sweet younger brother—perfect for a viral video!

But, captivated by the performance, the girl couldn’t help herself and thought it wouldn’t hurt to wait until the performance ended.

At the ending, she had another burst of inspiration! She quickly started taking screenshots of the comments on the stream, right until the live stream abruptly cut off.

At that moment, a sudden flash of insight hit her.

And thus, a mysterious new hashtag was born:

#Gong Jiayu’s smile shut down the Your Star live stream#

The girl, of course, knew that the stream cutting off was purely coincidental, but…

She was running a promotional account, so naturally, exaggeration was the name of the game!

Ignoring any objections, she posted the content, and soon, it went viral.

The hashtag soared up the trending list, and before long, it had climbed into the top ten, drawing in even more curious onlookers.

First, people were charmed by Gong Jiayu’s adorable smile. Then, they stumbled upon the screenshot of his shorts, and after learning the backstory, they couldn’t help but laugh out loud under the hashtag.

@Xiaobai: #Gong Jiayu’s smile shut down the Your Star live stream# Uh, well, I mean, how could it not?

@IAmAChacha: Hahahaha, I wonder what this idol will feel when he sees this hashtag.

@Saranghaeyo: Hahaha, just imagining his face turning bright red from reading those comments… I really want to see that!

Aside from the passersby laughing under the hashtag, many people started to take notice of this pitiful yet overwhelmingly sweet little idol.

@GoWithTheFlow: Gong Jiayu, right? He’s so cute! I need to go back and catch up on his earlier performances! How did I miss this little sweet bean?

@JiayuMama: Ah, well… I recommend watching the second performance and his mentor collaboration stage. As for the first performance… well… (painful expression.jpg)

The reactions from Gong Jiayu’s fans piqued the curiosity of many casual viewers, and out of sheer contrarianism, they immediately went to watch Gong Jiayu’s first performance.

… and returned utterly bewildered.

Wait, the greasy “oil king” and this world-class sweet boy are the same person?

＊

Your Star once again made a splash, but this time it wasn’t just idol fans. Even other passersby couldn’t resist clicking on the hashtag to see what kind of smile could crash a live stream.

At the top of the hashtag, a clip of Gong Jiayu’s live performance was pinned. Against a fresh, pastel backdrop, the boy wore pink overalls and a blue hoodie, winking, pursing his lips, and smiling.

There was a nervous, eager-to-please look about him, like a little puppy offering you an old toy. Although it was just a stuffed toy, it was clearly his most treasured possession.

This kind of harmless, protective-cute appeal made many people curious.

As a result, a week later, Your Star’s popularity soared once again. Because Your Star didn’t pressure fans to spend money and even actively limited the number of votes a single person could cast, the influx of new viewers boosted Gong Jiayu’s ranking from ninth to seventh almost overnight.

By the end of the following week, his ranking had climbed two more places.

Other trainees also saw their vote counts increase to varying degrees. The earlier episodes of Your Star experienced a surge in viewership, resulting in a massive boom in the show’s popularity.

The daily highlights and the final elimination, which aired the weekend after the third performance, nearly matched the ratings of a national variety show!

After this elimination, only 20 contestants remained on Your Star.

These 20 trainees would train for a week and then take the stage for the finals, competing for nine debut spots.

All the trainees were practicing intensively. They had little time, and in addition to preparing two group performances, they also had to practice a farewell ballad, and finally, a one-minute solo stage.

With three stages to prepare for, they threw themselves completely into their training, showing little interest in outside news.

Even when the magazine featuring the top nine contestants officially went on sale, they simply checked to make sure there were no negative rumors circulating and went right back to practice.

But, while their magazine caused only a small stir within Your Star, in the wider idol fandom, it was a full-blown storm!

The controversy started when an account claiming to be a contracted makeup artist for The Tide magazine posted on the Red Bean Forum, calling out the top trainees of Your Star for acting like divas. The account also claimed that the trainees were entirely dependent on makeup and were actually ugly in real life.

Red Bean Forum, as the largest anonymous forum, always attracted attention when it came to gossip, and this time was no different. The fact that the poster was directly targeting Your Star, possibly the hottest talent show in the last two years, drew in a huge crowd.

Because the account posted a photo of a heavily blurred The Tide magazine work ID, its credibility was fairly high, and those who disliked Your Star immediately jumped in, eager to stir the pot.

[LMAO, as expected, Your Star is a gathering of ugly freaks. Even the makeup artist is roasting them. I can only imagine how ugly they must be.]

[Not only are they ugly, but their attitudes are awful. Your Star really is a show about picking the ugliest. I don’t get why so many stans hype them up.]

[Knew it! Your Star got popular just through marketing.]

[Stans keep saying their trainees are tragic but beautiful, but the only thing they are is tragic—ugly and broke, it’s no wonder their lives are miserable, hahahaha.]

Such comments instantly infuriated Your Star’s fans.

[You believe whatever people say? If someone told you to eat dirt, would you?]

[How old are you this year, little one? Done with middle school exams yet?]

[Forget middle school, they must’ve just graduated kindergarten.]

[Lies and rumors. Where are the pics to back it up?]

The back-and-forth between fans and haters quickly escalated, until, after being silent for half a day, the original poster suddenly dropped a blurry photo.

The photo showed nine men.

Even though the image was blurry, it was clear that these guys were short, dark-skinned, and greasy.

What made things worse was that you could vaguely make out that these men were the top trainees of Your Star!

While Your Star fans were breaking down, the haters seized the moment to mock.

[Wow, short, ugly, greasy men—Your Star fans, you deserve better!]

[Hahahaha, this is so hilariously ugly!]

[Just so you know, a trainee can lack skill, but they can’t be ugly. Skills can be improved, but ugliness? That’s forever, hahahaha.]

Your Star fans, furious and panicked, were desperately battling with the haters. Deep down, they were nervous. Could it be? Could the photo really be real?

As the argument raged on, someone suddenly appeared.

[Everyone stop! The Tide just released a statement!]

The fans immediately perked up and rushed to Xingbo.

@Era · The Tide: Recently, a man claiming to be a contracted makeup artist for The Tide deliberately slandered our magazine and our partners on a public platform. As soon as we became aware of this issue, The Tide initiated an internal investigation.

The results are as follows:

1. The anonymous account on the Red Bean Forum belongs to Zhang, a former assistant makeup artist who was dismissed from our company. Zhang entered the company through improper means, displayed poor work ethic, and had extremely low job competence. After careful consideration, we terminated Zhang’s employment.

2. Zhang’s claims are entirely false. We have retained evidence and reserve the right to pursue legal action.

We hope the public will exercise their own judgment and not believe rumors lightly.

[Photos*5][Video*1]

The photos showed Zhang’s work after joining the company, chat logs where he hinted at wanting gifts from celebrity assistants, and his termination letter.

The video was from the day Your Star was filming. While Zhang didn’t appear on screen, you could see the backs of the trainees and hear his arrogant voice in the background.

“This is fashion! You’re all new to the industry, you don’t get it!”

His terrible attitude made everyone who heard it clench their fists.

After seeing this post, the fans stormed back to the Red Bean Forum.

[An assistant makeup artist who got fired for poor performance and attitude—how can you trust anything this person says?]

[I’m starting to feel bad for the Your Star trainees—he’s the one acting like a diva in that video.]

[Judging by his sloppy clothes and greasy hair, his aesthetic sense was a mess. Honestly, it’s good he got fired. Time to find a new career!]

[What is it about Your Star that makes people want to slander them every other day?]

But some haters wouldn’t let go of the claim that the trainees were ugly.

[The photos don’t lie! Even if this guy was in the wrong, the fact that the trainees are ugly is undeniable.]

The fans rolled their eyes.

[You need to get your eyes checked! In that video, their clothes are the same as in the photos—obviously, those are Your Star trainees. And despite those sloppy outfits, you can’t deny their height and great figures!]

[And look at their skin tone! The video was clearly shot in a dim hallway, but their skin looks perfectly normal!]

[You must’ve spent ages trying to find the worst angles, but I’ve got just one thing to say—]

[Pathetic!]

The fans, emboldened and ready to fight, were gearing up for a major showdown with the haters. But just as they rolled up their sleeves, The Tide dropped another post on Xingbo—it was a teaser for the Your Star trainees’ magazine photoshoot!

At that moment, no one cared about the argument anymore. They rushed straight to Xingbo.

@Era · The Tide: Here come the YourStar trainees! They’re tall, handsome, and their skin is flawless!

[Video.mp4]

Many onlookers, seeing the playful jab at the previous scandal, clicked on the video with a knowing smile.

The video was short, only about twenty seconds.

But what it contained left many people gasping.

In the first ten seconds, the figures of the trainees flashed by rapidly. Dressed in white and gold medieval suits, their makeup was bold and dramatic. Surrounded by red silk and roses, they looked fragile, manic, and hauntingly beautiful.

But this striking scene vanished in an instant. Before viewers could fully appreciate it, the video switched to black and white. The trainees were now in suits, their gazes sharp. Without the embellishment of color, their stunning bone structure was on full display.

Then, slowly, color began to return from top to bottom, as vibrant sunset hues filled the screen.

On a desolate highway, wine was spilled, and a baseball bat bent. The trainees lay on the ground, with red marks stark against their faces. Their expressions were intoxicated with wild, crazed smiles, staring straight into the camera.

It was like an invitation. Or perhaps, a threat.

Then the screen went black. Two ornate words appeared—

“Decadence.”

Fans and curious onlookers alike were stunned, their eyes wide with amazement. What an incredible piece of work!

“Let me watch it a billion more times!!”

＊

As this video from The Tide shot straight to the trending list, Ling Cangzhou was on the phone with Chief Editor Ning.

“…Are you saying this is your way of apologizing for the previous incident with Chenxing Entertainment?” Ling Cangzhou sat upright in his office chair, exuding confidence and control.

“Chief Editor Ning, today’s media storm is a win-win for both Chenxing Entertainment and The Tide. This has been a successful collaboration between us. Don’t you think using this as an apology is a bit… insincere?” His voice was laced with amusement, but his words allowed no room for retreat.

After some back-and-forth, he emerged victorious.

Chief Editor Ning agreed to reserve the October cover for Your Star’s debut group. Considering that “Golden September, Silver October” is a coveted slot in the magazine industry, this was her greatest concession.

But after hanging up the call, Ling Cangzhou didn’t seem all that pleased. Holding his phone, his brows furrowed slightly, and there was a faint trace of distress on his face.

Ah, it’s been so long since I’ve seen Qi-ge.

Ling Cangzhou thought gloomily.

What excuse should I find to go see him?!