IDEI CH32

An Zi’ai’s tearful and snotty acceptance speech had all the viewers watching burst into laughter.

Even Yun Yangyang and the others present couldn’t help but smile. Seeing him like this, Yun Yangyang hurriedly took a few tissues and quietly handed them up from the side of the pyramid stage.

An Zi’ai’s eyes were red, and he used the tissue to dab his tears, but his makeup didn’t budge an inch.

[Hahahahaha An Zai, you definitely can’t take off the title of the comedy pillar!]

[Baby, you are a crying little pig.]

[Hahahaha my mood was complicated originally, but An Zai instantly broke it as soon as he went on stage.]

[Baby is crying so miserably… but still looks so good.]

[Stop talking about him crying, let’s talk about something else. I want to learn this makeup! He cried like this and it didn’t smudge. It probably wouldn’t melt off even in a rainstorm hhhhh]

[Hahaha person above, you didn’t spare our crying puppy An Zai either!!]

Then, the other trainees who made the debut lineup also went on stage one by one to give their speeches.

All the trainees were filled with emotion. It truly hadn’t been easy for them to get this far.

In their original companies, they were all the batch that wasn’t highly valued. They came to Your Star with their backs against the wall, but the show dealt them a huge blow right at the beginning.

The memory of being mocked by the entire internet back then had faded a bit, but the feeling of despair and confusion could not be forgotten at all.

Fortunately, they pulled through.

Now, they could stand on the high pyramid stage, under the spotlight, and welcome a brand new beginning.

The viewers were also filled with emotion, but soon, they noticed something was wrong.

The trainees’ speeches were usually just a few clichés, and the audience was used to them. But the speeches on the Your Star finale night were a bit different. Because the trainees in the debut group more or less thanked a person named “Brother Qi.”

“…Thank you very much for Brother Qi’s help, helping me regain my confidence and reshaping my expression management. Thank you, Brother Qi!” Gong Jiayu said tearfully.

“My current hairstyle looks good, right? Brother Qi designed it!” Yan Zihao broke into a big smile.

“Thank you to Little Brother Qi for discovering me when I was at my lowest and guiding me to find my own style.” Mo Jinghai scratched his head and smiled.

“…It was Little Brother Qi who told me to boldly be myself.” Wei Mingzhe said with relief.

“I, I, it was Little Brother Qi who let me pick up my courage again…” A tear slipped from Lou Yuxing’s eye, and he choked with sobs.

“Thank you to Brother Qi for his help to all of us.” Xiao Yingyi bowed deeply and said steadily.

…

Who exactly was this “Brother Qi”?

The bullet comments were extremely puzzled.

[Wait, why is everyone thanking this “Brother Qi”?]

[Doing styling, finding styles… is he from the makeup and styling team?]

[It sounds like this Brother Qi should be a very gentle and kind person.]

[Yeah, probably a gentle older brother figure like a life mentor.]

[Could it be that mysterious makeup artist from Your Star? The god who single-handedly elevated Your Star?]

[Curious curious curious… anxious anxious anxious, I am the King of Anxiety.]

In fact, very quickly, a topic was pushed to the top of the Xingbo trending searches.

#WhoIsYourStarBrotherQi?#

This topic was in the middle, right next to #MoJinghaiCried# and #PangNongYourLoveMadeDustyMeShine#.

The comment section was discussing who exactly this mysterious “Brother Qi” was.

@EatingMelons: Should be a member of the Your Star makeup and styling team. Who in the makeup and styling team has the surname Qi?

@XiaoMingUnderstands: Could also not be from the makeup and styling team, because it seems this Brother Qi manages quite a few things, and the trainees also respect him very much… maybe an assistant director or someone?

@WatermelonRindStirFriedMooncake: Look what I found! There is only one person with the surname “Qi” in the Your Star makeup and styling team, named Qi Yanning! It should be that trainee with the casting couch rumors. Didn’t some gossip say he changed careers before? But, this definitely couldn’t be him, right…

@MelonMelonBadgerBadger: Definitely not this guy! Qi Yanning, the useless trash who can’t sing or dance, suddenly transforming into Brother Qi worshipped and thanked by all the trainees? Even writing it in a novel would lack logic. Quickly see if there’s anyone else?

@WatermelonRindStirFriedMooncake: @MelonMelonBadgerBadger, there are a few others, all in the marketing team or props team, it shouldn’t be them… but the list I found is incomplete, maybe Brother Qi isn’t on the list?

@MelonMelonBadgerBadger: Probably, anyway it’s definitely not Qi Yanning. If he were this amazing, would he still go be a trainee?

…

Because it was finale night, the melon-eating passersby paid more attention to the trainees’ situations, and the topic of looking for Brother Qi eventually faded away.

The people participating in the topic didn’t know they were once only one step away from the truth, but they completely disbelieved that it was the correct answer.

At this time, Qi Yanning was backstage, and his expression had changed from a shocked raised eyebrow to a smile.

He had done the makeup and styling with the mindset of completing his work. Occasionally acting as a life mentor for the trainees was just an impulse of the moment, going with the flow, and he hadn’t thought about any return.

So, when all the debut group trainees loudly expressed their thanks to him on stage, his heart was touched for a moment.

This world is really nice.

Without too many swords, shadows, and conspiracies, young people could boldly reveal their emotions without worrying about being used…

Qi Yanning thought somewhat absentmindedly as he looked at the nine trainees on the screen, bowing to the camera and not getting up for a long time.

The finale night ended just like that.

In the end, the nine trainees of the debut group sang the theme song again.

Cold sparks erupted from the side of the stage, and countless shiny ribbons floated down from the air. The trainees shed tears in the ribbon rain, hugged each other, and made promises to each other.

It was a grand curtain call.

All the viewers felt a sense of loss…

[It’s over just like that…]

[So sad, during this time, I could remember every trainee’s name, hoping time would stop at this moment… it will be hard for them to gather together like this again in the future.]

[A survival show is a grand farewell from the very beginning.]

[If I ever genuinely follow a survival show next time, I’m a dog wuwuwuwu]

But, soon program PD Chu Zhao stepped forward.

“Our debut group members have all been selected. They will soon form a group for a five-year group activity period…”

This sentence was like a bomb dropped into the bullet comments.

[How long, how long did you say! Five years!]

[A five-year survival show group, rounded up, this is a long-term group!]

[How could all the companies agree?!]

[Chenxing Entertainment, you really did it!]

“…Through voting, our group name is finally decided as TND, an abbreviation for the ninth day. Similarly, it sounds like ‘the nice day,’ hoping that every day accompanied by our TND boy group, you can all have a nice day. At the same time, TND also means never END…”

Chu Zhao talked endlessly about the cleverness of their group name, but the bullet comments—

[Um… TND, why does it sound so much like a swear word?]*

(T/N: TND sounds like ‘ta nai nai de’ which translates to ‘his grandma’s’, a mild swear phrase in Chinese)

[…6]

[In the future, this group name will win big in arguments hhhhh]

“Finally, our TND will release their first album in two months, and the group variety show is also ready. Hope you who have accompanied Your Star for so long will continue to accompany TND!”

Chu Zhao led the debut group trainees in a deep bow, and the debut night live broadcast froze on the bowing figures of the newly minted TND boy group.

The live broadcast ended, but the celebration banquet for the program team and the trainees had just begun.

The trainees and all the staff of the program team were all taken to the banquet hall of the hotel next to Chenxing Entertainment.

Ling Cangzhou was also present.

The moment Qi Yanning entered the banquet hall, he saw Ling Cangzhou’s figure. He was currently exchanging pleasantries with several men who looked like investors.

“Go play on your own, you’ve all worked hard this time.” With one sentence, Qi Yanning dismissed the three little assistants following closely beside him, lifted his legs, and walked unhurriedly toward the middle of the banquet hall—

But, he didn’t make it.

He was stopped by several idols from the TND boy group.

“Brother Qi!” Gong Jiayu approached with shining eyes, “I debuted!”

“Congratulations.” Qi Yanning’s expression softened a bit, “Your expressions during tonight’s performance were good, keep it up.”

Gong Jiayu instantly bloomed with a smile, and was then squeezed out by the others.

Pang Nong had two teardrops hanging, his voice choked with sobs, “Brother Qi, thank you… I didn’t even think I could debut, thanks to you.”

He was truly very grateful to Qi Yanning, because the makeup and styling he did for him was what gave him the chance to be seen.

“The one you should thank the most is yourself.” Qi Yanning’s voice was plain and certain, his eyes gentle.

“Brother Qi!” Pang Nong instantly burst into tears and was about to throw himself forward to give Qi Yanning a bear hug.

But he was stopped by Xiao Yingyi and Wei Mingzhe. They both knew Qi Yanning didn’t really like physical contact.

“Little Brother Qi, thank you so much, you’ve worked hard this time.” Xiao Yingyi’s tone was steady.

Wei Mingzhe was much more direct, “Little Brother Qi, for our future MV shoots and other activities, can we still work with you?”

Qi Yanning glanced at them and didn’t answer.

An Zai couldn’t hold it back. He threw himself forward, grabbed Qi Yanning’s arm, and yelled, “Little Brother Qi, you definitely can’t abandon us! How can I live without you!”

As he spoke, he even fake-wiped away a couple of tears.

But he suddenly found the atmosphere wasn’t right. He turned his head and found Ling Cangzhou, the big CEO of Chenxing Entertainment, standing behind them.

An Zi’ai froze all over.

Ling Cangzhou, with a bright smile, took a large step forward, inconspicuously plucked An Zi’ai off Qi Yanning’s arm, and took advantage of the situation to occupy the position beside Qi Yanning.

“Your album preparations are almost done, and the group variety show filming is also ready. You will be very busy for the next period of time. Just have fun at tonight’s celebration banquet.” As soon as Ling Cangzhou spoke, the few people fell silent.

Just debuted and about to fall into work hell…

Even their level of happiness was discounted.

“Go play. I told your managers in advance tonight, you can eat some desserts and stuff…”

“However, you have to film the group variety show tomorrow, so weigh it yourselves.”

At this moment, in the hearts of the few, Ling Cangzhou was a devil incarnate as a capitalist.

They looked at each other, still agreed, and then hurried away.

God knows what other devilish remarks CEO Ling would make if they didn’t leave?

“CEO Ling?” Qi Yanning tilted his head, looking at Ling Cangzhou who had just unleashed his mighty power to scare the kids away, an inexplicable smile on his lips. “CEO Ling takes them very seriously. That is the luck of those few.”

Ling Cangzhou smiled slightly, “If I couldn’t catch such explosive traffic like Your Star, then Chenxing Entertainment might as well close down early.”

“Oh, CEO Ling is very confident.” Qi Yanning’s smile deepened, his eyes looking down slightly, “Then, our CEO Ling, can you let go of my hand now?”

Ling Cangzhou instantly sprang away as if burned by fire. Just now, when he plucked An Zai’s hand off, he had grasped Qi Yanning’s wrist, and then during the conversation, he had forgotten to let go until Qi Yanning reminded him.

“Cough, sorry.” Ling Cangzhou’s eloquent aura from just now instantly vanished. He touched his nose and apologized somewhat awkwardly.

“It’s fine.” Qi Yanning adjusted his sleeve. “Did CEO Ling have something to see me about?”

“A few things.” Ling Cangzhou said, “Shall we… go over there?”

“Alright.” Qi Yanning gave him a sidelong glance and led the way out of the noisy banquet hall.

Ling Cangzhou followed closely behind, rubbing his hanging fingers together.

A’Ning’s wrist was truly like a piece of cold jade.

Even the curve of his wrist perfectly fit his hand, exactly right.

So nice.

The place they chose was a hidden small hall in the banquet hall, very private and suitable for discussing matters.

Ling Cangzhou pulled out a chair for Qi Yanning, and then turned to sit opposite him.

Qi Yanning leaned back in the chair, his posture somewhat languid. Having been busy since morning today, he was also a bit tired.

“What does CEO Ling want to say?”

“A’Ning, the magazine incident before was the work of a few minor shareholders in the company. I have already dealt with them.” Ling Cangzhou leaned forward, looking sincerely at Qi Yanning. “A major purge was also carried out within the company. There won’t be such incidents again in the future.”

He turned his phone around and placed it in front of Qi Yanning. On it were the investigation results of the last incident.

“So…”

“How is A’Ning’s consideration of the matter you said you’d consider last time?”

The lighting in the small hall was dimmer than outside. The warm lighting shone on Ling Cangzhou’s face, making him appear exceptionally gentle.

Even though they were in a low-key luxurious banquet hall, and Ling Cangzhou opposite him was also dressed luxuriously, looking calm and strategic.

But, Qi Yanning hazily saw a large dog, trying hard to wag its tail at him.

“Chenxing Entertainment is a giant in the industry. Whether it’s resources, connections, or other aspects, it has an advantage. If A’Ning is afraid of trouble, it’s better to join Chenxing Entertainment. After that, you only need to pick the work you like, and leave the rest to me… leave it to Chenxing Entertainment to do.”

Ling Cangzhou actively promoted his company.

Meeting Ling Cangzhou’s eager eyes, Qi Yanning raised an eyebrow.

After a long while, he curled the corners of his lips, “Then, CEO Ling, I’ll leave it to you from now on.”

Ling Cangzhou’s eyes lit up, and Qi Yanning even hallucinated a pair of furry, soft big ears instantly perking up.

“A’Ning, that’s great!” Ling Cangzhou extended his hand. “You won’t regret choosing Chenxing Entertainment!”

“Mm.” Qi Yanning looked meaningfully at Ling Cangzhou. “I also feel that I won’t regret my current choice.”

The next day, Qi Yanning went to Chenxing Entertainment to sign the contract. From then on, he was a signed makeup artist for Chenxing Entertainment.

While signing the contract, he took the opportunity to ask about the future arrangements for his three little assistants. These three people each had their own strengths, and they were all talented and hardworking kids. Qi Yanning quite liked them.

“Does A’Ning want them to continue being your assistants?” Ling Cangzhou rested his chin on his hand, looking at Qi Yanning opposite him.

Qi Yanning was probably the first makeup artist to sign with Chenxing Entertainment while sitting in the CEO’s office the whole time, with all the procedures being run by the CEO’s assistant, Little Xu. But neither of these three thought this was inappropriate.

At this moment, Little Xu was processing all the onboarding procedures for Qi Yanning. Only Qi Yanning and Ling Cangzhou were left in the office.

“No.” Qi Yanning shook his head.

“The three of them all have good talent. If they are willing, I want to take them in as apprentices,” Qi Yanning said plainly.

Although Qi Yanning had rapidly integrated into modern society, some of his ideas were still somewhat traditional. For example, master-apprentice inheritance.

“They signed contracts with Your Star, so they probably don’t have a place to go yet. If A’Ning wants to take them in, I will sign them into Chenxing Entertainment together,” Ling Cangzhou smiled.

“Let me ask them first.”

He would see what the kids’ future plans were before making a decision.

Seeing this topic passed, Ling Cangzhou took the opportunity to find another topic and chatted with Qi Yanning.

He talked about topics that Qi Yanning was interested in, such as the current predicament of makeup and styling in film and television dramas, and the arrangements for this year’s fashion week, etc.

Qi Yanning listened with interest to Ling Cangzhou talking eloquently. Unknowingly, he agreed to two art exhibitions, two movies, and a fashion show with him.

Looking at CEO Ling’s sparkling eyes after his scheme succeeded, Qi Yanning chuckled softly.

CEO Ling racking his brains to ask people out without showing it was quite interesting.

Sure enough, teasing a puppy is the most fun thing, isn’t it?

Seeing Qi Yanning agree to everything, Ling Cangzhou was satisfied and stopped while he was ahead, “Then, A’Ning, it’s a deal~”

Qi Yanning nodded. His procedures were just completed. He said goodbye to Ling Cangzhou and left Chenxing Entertainment.

His first job after signing the contract was to go and shoot materials for the newly minted TND.

Because Ling Cangzhou gave the green light all the way for Qi Yanning’s signing, the procedures were processed very quickly. When he arrived at TND’s villa, it was not even 10:00 AM.

Chenxing Entertainment was wealthy and imposing, and also attached great importance to TND. Therefore, the villa prepared for them was in a high-end residential area with very good security measures.

The villa had ten rooms in total, but because one was to be converted into a dance practice room, one into a vocal practice room, and one was originally a gym, the remaining eight rooms were hard to allocate. They simply put two people in each room, leaving the remaining two rooms for the managers or assistants to live in.

At this time, they were still sound asleep in bed.

At the celebration banquet last night, as the main characters, they were still surrounded and toasted. If Director Lin hadn’t blocked a lot for them, saying they were kids and shouldn’t drink, the situation might have been worse.

But even so, their situation wasn’t much better. Coupled with moving, it was already 4:00 AM when they returned to the villa.

The one who opened the door for Qi Yanning was TND’s assistant Tang Xin. He and the manager Qin Haoyu had rested at the villa last night, but the manager had set out early in the morning to liaise with Director Lin about the group variety show filming.

Tang Xin came from the contestant management team of Your Star. He was chosen as TND’s assistant because of his carefulness and earnestness, while Qin Haoyu was one of Chenxing Entertainment’s top managers. If the popular young actress under his wing hadn’t gone off to get married and have a child, TND wouldn’t have been able to get him.

“Brother Qi, you’re here?” Tang Xin politely greeted Qi Yanning.

“Mm.” Qi Yanning entered the door, frowning at the messy villa. “What time is the shoot?”

“Director Lin said it starts at 12:00, shooting lunch and the whole afternoon.”

“12:00?” Qi Yanning raised an eyebrow. “And they are still not awake now? Are they planning to film with pig heads one by one?”

Tang Xin was startled by Qi Yanning’s tone. He whispered, “But, they were too tired yesterday…”

Seeing Qi Yanning’s expression turn dangerous, he hurriedly said, “I’ll go wake them up!”

Ten minutes later, the nine people came downstairs sleepily.

“Little Brother Tang, we are so sleepy!” An Zai complained with a drawn-out voice.

But what he didn’t expect was that as soon as he went downstairs, he was greeted by Qi Yanning’s scrutinizing gaze.

“Holy shit, Brother Qi, why are you here?” An Zai jolted, his sleepiness instantly disappearing.

Qi Yanning didn’t answer, but looked over them one by one.

Very well, even Xiao Yingyi, who usually maintained his condition the best, had an edematous look where he couldn’t even open his eyes.

“Did you guys…” Qi Yanning’s expression was unreadable, “not look in the mirror this morning?”

“Shooting at 12:00, it’s 10:00 now. I don’t care if you go out to run laps or work out in the gym right now—”

“Before 11:00, I want to see all of your edema gone.”

Hearing Qi Yanning’s words, An Zai dramatically took a deep breath, “Brother, let me die!!”

“You can also choose not to.” Qi Yanning’s gaze swept toward him. “If after the broadcast, there’s a trending search about all of TND having pig heads that smashes my signboard…”

Qi Yanning curled his lips, and An Zai instantly jolted.

“I’ll go running.” An Zai said like a brave warrior going to his death.

The others reacted when they saw each other’s faces. They completely didn’t think about refuting Qi Yanning’s words. Instead, they obediently finished washing up, changed into sportswear, and collectively went out running on their first day of debuting as a group.

When they returned covered in sweat after running three laps around the villa area, the edema had mostly disappeared.

“Go take a shower, and then come over to get your styling done.” Qi Yanning sat at the temporary vanity set up by assistant Tang Xin and ordered.

Because it was a group variety show shoot, they didn’t need overly heavy makeup and styling; a refreshing look would do. Therefore, Qi Yanning didn’t apply a heavy hand, but focused on deepening the contours and improving the complexion.

Soon, the few people were completely refreshed.

The sallow dullness of the hangover disappeared, their listless eyes became energetic, healthy and natural blushes landed on their cheeks, and their lip colors were full of vitality. Even their hair had a calculated feel that seemed unstyled but highlighted their good looks.

It clearly looked almost no different from a bare face, but it was as if a layer of filter had been applied, elevating everyone’s beauty level by several notches.

“Brother Qi, I love you so much!” Gong Jiayu shouted dramatically.

And An Zai, cupped one of Qi Yanning’s hands like he had seen some rare treasure, “How is this simply a hand? This is God’s masterpiece! This is the tool bestowed upon the human world by the God of Beauty!”

Then, under Qi Yanning’s plain stare, An Zai sheepishly let go of his hand and went to play with Gong Jiayu again.

Qi Yanning couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to them. Just then, his phone rang. He walked to the window of the villa.

Outside was full of green vegetation, making people feel refreshed.

…If one ignored the dramatic shouts of Gong Jiayu and An Zai.

“What?”

A trace of surprise flashed in Qi Yanning’s eyes.

“…A production crew is looking for me?”

Support me on Ko-fi