The reputation of Jincan and the Second Young Master of the Shen family were indeed easy to use, and the collaboration negotiations between Jincan Qichen and Leguo Video went very smoothly.
Soon, the recording time for Super Idol arrived.
After this period of observation, Yan Zijin discovered that the geography, history, environment, and so on of this world were basically the same as the world before his transmigration, but after all, it was still another world, and there were still many differences in the subtle details.
Take Leguo Video for instance; in his original world, this video platform did not exist. But here, Leguo Video was one of the four major video platforms, and even vaguely held a edge over the other three.
In order to gain a deeper understanding of the entertainment industry here, Yan Zijin had also requested a mentor spot for himself.
“Although the company has a collaboration with Leguo Video, this does not mean it’s foolproof. If your performance is too poor, I will be the first one to eliminate you. So your primary task is still to practice hard. Don’t even think about using those eye-catching yet unseemly tricks; only fans attracted by capability and talent will follow you long-term. The company is not boosting you to make quick money, and you must also plan for your own future.”
At the training base of Super Idol, Yan Zijin led several trainees from Jincan Qichen toward the dormitory building, imparting his industry experience from his past life all along the way.
Jincan Qichen had already successfully reached a collaboration with Leguo Video, and Yan Zijin made full use of resources, bringing over several suitable artists.
Today was the recording of the first episode, and all trainees and mentors were required to be present.
“It’s Tan Yuning! Her dancing is so cool! Is she actually a mentor this time?”
“Are those Luo Yin and Li Yintai? Didn’t they participate in Wonderful Idol before? They actually came to Super Idol as well. The competition this time is so fierce.”
“Who is that!? Holy crap, that handsome face!”
The sound of trainees gasping came from behind him.
“It’s over, it’s over, another debut spot has been reserved.”
Because he needed to appear on camera, Yan Zijin had specifically styled his look today and even put on makeup.
In the show, Yan Zijin’s identity was the boss of an entertainment company. To appear steady and mature, he deliberately wore a black suit, combing all his hair backward and fixing it behind his head with hair gel.
He was already outstandingly handsome, and after deliberate dressing up, he became all the more eye-catching. His handsome face was exposed before everyone without any obstruction, proving immensely impactful at a first glance.
A group of trainees who had just entered the training base and begun studying their competitors were awed by that face, wailing in low voices that the debut spots available for competition had decreased by another one.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, that’s not a trainee, that’s a mentor,” his companion comforted.
“A mentor? There’s no such person in the entertainment industry, right?” To be this handsome and still serve as a mentor, he must surely possess a certain amount of seniority and status.
“That’s the Second Young Master of Jincan. Naturally, you haven’t seen him in the entertainment industry before. But you might see him frequently in the future, because he took over the entertainment company under Jincan. Those few beside him are the trainees pushed by their company.”
That person swept a glance over the few people beside Yan Zijin, feeling they weren’t much stronger than himself, and let out a sigh of relief in reassurance.
Yan Zijin’s visual value was top-tier even in the entertainment industry. For him to go step-by-step from an extra playing minor roles in the Film and Television City to the position of a prospective Best Actor, he had relied on talent, but it was also inseparable from that outstanding face.
Before transmigrating, Yan Zijin was used to all kinds of amazement and praises, so he didn’t take the discussions behind him to heart.
Just as the three of them reached the foot of the dormitory building, preparing to enter the building, a burst of screams suddenly erupted behind them.
“Ahhhhhhh—”
“Look, quick, look who that is!!”
“My god!”
“Ahhhh it’s Ning Siyin!!!”
Amidst the clamorous racket, Yan Zijin captured a name.
Ning Siyin!
His lifted foot hung suspended in mid-air.
???
How could Ning Siyin appear here?
At the moment he heard this name, the very first thing Yan Zijin recalled wasn’t actually the plot in the original text, but his memory of that night. Even though more than a month had passed, it remained as vivid as ever.
Stuffing those memories that shouldn’t appear back into a corner of his mind after rolling them up in a lump.
Yan Zijin recalled the plot in the original text once again, confirming that his memory hadn’t made a mistake. In the original text, Ning Siyin had not participated in the recording of Super Idol.
So he should just be passing by, definitely passing by. The show’s recording base was in the film town. In the original text, Ning Siyin had filmed a few dramas, and one of them was around this time. So it was very likely that Ning Siyin was passing through here, which was a very normal thing.
Confidently letting his foot fall onto the step, his breathing, which had been disturbed for a split second, smoothed out.
“It’s our mentor! He’s actually our mentor!”
That should be talking about someone else. Today was the first episode’s recording, so all mentors would be present, and a senior even more popular than Tan Yuning must have appeared.
Yan Zijin comforted himself this way.
However, in the very next second, his self-consolation was poked open.
“It really is Ning Siyin, wow, he’s actually a mentor for Super Idol! How long has it been since he made a public appearance!”
“Oh my goodness, to actually be able to record a show together with Ning Siyin, and for three whole months!”
These two Qichen trainees beside Yan Zijin were clearly fans of Ning Siyin as well.
“This time even if we fail to make our debut, it’s worth it. Our luck is truly too good!!”
“Did you come here to chase stars?” Yan Zijin narrowed his brows to look at those two, speaking in a cold voice.
Those two also seemed to realize their loss of composure, sticking out their tongues and speaking no further. Yet the expression on their faces still found it hard to conceal their excitement, constantly turning their heads back to look toward the main gate, restricted only because Yan Zijin, their boss, was right beside them and had just expressed dissatisfaction about it.
Making mental preparations for himself, Yan Zijin turned his head back.
Toward the main gate, a guy with broad shoulders and long legs had just stepped down from a nanny van. He wore a blue hoodie, with a mask, sunglasses, and the hoodie cap, his entire face covered up and dressed extremely low-profile.
The front of his path was packed with people—trainees, fans and fansite admins of trainees, and even staff members—all swarming over. Surrounded by bodyguards, that person painstakingly moved forward.
Yan Zijin didn’t have X-ray vision, unable to see the other’s appearance through various blockages, nor was he very familiar with Ning Siyin’s features and figure. He couldn’t confirm whether that was truly Ning Siyin or not.
Therefore, the person in front might not be Ning Siyin after all! Yan Zijin told himself.
In the original text, Ning Siyin had never participated in any Super Idol, so it couldn’t be him.
Just at this moment, the person at the center of the crowd raised his head to glance over in this direction, and subsequently took off his sunglasses.
One of them was at the foot of the dormitory building lifting his foot preparing to enter the door, while the other was in the crowd dozens of meters away.
Even separated by such a far distance, Yan Zijin could still see that pair of phoenix eyes curving slightly, those clear, sparkling eyes brimming with smiles.
That face he had deliberately required himself to forget drilled into his mind just like that.
Yan Zijin could even imagine the expression on that face—gaze gentle, water-chestnut lips slightly upturned, smile warm and bright, looking very good-tempered.
What the heck?
They had only met once, so how could he remember that face so firmly?
Could he have been influenced by the plot, falling into an obsession with Ning Siyin?
No way, no way, he must never fall in love with Ning Siyin like the numerous characters in the novel.
He had to firmly keep his identity in mind: he was currently the villainous male supporting character Shen Qing! Once he fell into obsession with Ning Siyin, he would do all kinds of irrational things just like in the original text, until his family collapsed, he met his end, and everyone abandoned him!
Recalling the consequences of Shen Qing falling into obsession with Ning Siyin in the original text allowed his mind to sober up. His foot, which had been suspended for several minutes, finally rested on the step.
Yan Zijin reached out his hand, pressing down on the heads of his own two trainees.
“Let’s go. Sooner or later, you guys can be like him too.”
“Of course, if you want to reach a status like his, you must focus your attention on proper business and improve your professional capability, rather than running off to chase stars during an important stage of your life—such as right now.”
As the male lead in the novel, Ning Siyin looked good and possessed strong capability; even with few works and rarely doing business activities, his fans still increased rather than decreased.
So it was far too normal for Jincan Qichen to have his fans. Yan Zijin truly understood it very well, and he didn’t oppose his own artists chasing stars either, provided it wasn’t in front of him, and most importantly, especially not Ning Siyin. He was afraid it would trigger certain memories of his, making him unable to stop himself from doing certain bad things.
Recalling the plot in the original text once again, he confirmed that whether it was the protagonist Ning Siyin or other supporting characters, none had participated in anything related to Super Idol, and the novel hadn’t even mentioned this show at all.
Yan Zijin felt at ease; he was definitely passing by, and even if he wasn’t passing by, it was very likely he was recording another show.
Leaving behind the commotion caused by Ning Siyin taking off his sunglasses, Yan Zijin forcibly pulled his own artists back to the dormitory.
After simply tidying up upon arriving at the dormitory, Yan Zijin took his people to the recording studio.
They arrived relatively early; there were only a scattered few trainees inside the studio, and the mentor seats were all still empty, without nameplates placed on them.
Yan Zijin knew this was for the show’s recording effect; only after the trainees were all gathered would the mentors enter, so as to film the surprised expressions of the trainees.
Yan Zijin was not an artist now, so he didn’t need such a segment to be set up. After separating from his own artists at the entrance, he casually found a seat to sit down.
There were no other items on the table, only a brand-new smartphone provided by the show’s sponsor, which would appear on camera during the show. The phone had no password set, and after opening it, there was only one app inside containing basic information on all trainees, as well as each episode’s performance acts, tiers, votes, and so on. Since the show hadn’t started recording yet, the positions further behind were still empty.
Yan Zijin thought to himself that it was quite advanced.
He had only watched talent shows on TV and was participating in a recording for the first time, finding it somewhat novel, so he studied that app for a while.
Soon the recording time arrived. Yan Zijin set down the phone and raised his head to look opposite him.
Opposite were the trainees’ seats, which were already fully occupied right now. Being all young people, gathering together to chatter was very noisy, but at the instant Yan Zijin raised his head, the noisy venue clearly quieted down for a moment.
“Thankfully he’s a mentor.”
Yan Zijin heard the trainee closest to him whisper to his companion in a low voice.
“Sucking up to the mentor won’t get you extra points, you know.”
Yan Zijin smiled at that trainee, teasing.
The trainees instantly let out a burst of laughter, and the somewhat tense atmosphere in the venue became relaxed. The bold trainees began trying to pull closer.
“Teacher, you’re so handsome, why don’t you enter the entertainment industry?”
“Yeah, yeah, Teacher Shen, if you entered the entertainment industry, you could attract a huge crowd of fans on visuals alone.”
Yan Zijin said with a beaming smile: “Although I think so too, if I entered the entertainment industry, wouldn’t the fans that originally ought to belong to you all run over to chase me instead?”
“It’s okay, I can also be Teacher Shen’s fan and cheer for you.”
“I can also be Teacher Shen’s fan!”
“Me too, me too.”
Yan Zijin spread his hands, appearing helpless as he said: “See, told you so. If I made my debut, not only your fans, but even you yourselves would be swept up by me in one net.”
“It’s okay Teacher Shen, I’m voluntary!”
Identical voices immediately resounded one after another in the venue: “I’m voluntary too.” It turned noisy once again. But unlike the slightly oppressive vibe earlier, the atmosphere right now was clearly much more cheerful. Some trainees even began to make lighthearted jokes.
“Teacher Shen, I heard Jincan Qichen also has trainees participating in this competition. Will you show leniency to them?”
Yan Zijin raised an eyebrow, looked at that person, and smiled: “Of course not.”
“Why?”
Yan Zijin knit his brows slightly. Even if he would apply double standards for his own artists during grading, how could he say it out loud? Especially now when facing all the trainees.
The abnormal situation that shouldn’t have appeared alerted his vigilance.