Just as Nan Que thought about the idea of a partner, he shook his head.
Having a partner could bring traffic. If two people coordinated well and fans became deeply invested, it would accelerate breaking through their respective circles for both parties.
This was a shortcut.
This was precisely why Zhang Zhe had been crying and begging every day for Nan Que to join him as a partner.
But forming a partnership wasn’t just about talking or having daily connection sessions.
It required both parties to share similar tastes, have chemistry, and create sparks of ambiguity through their interactions.
Fans weren’t foolish—they could tolerate manufactured sweetness, but if that unique atmosphere between people couldn’t be cultivated, if no sparks flew, it would all be in vain in the end.
Nan Que felt that Xiao wasn’t the type suited for a partnership.
He was too solitary.
With his daily live streaming hours pushed to the limit, he already exhibited signs of being a workaholic, almost like a model worker.
Nan Que couldn’t imagine what kind of person would be suitable to partner with a workaholic who lacked any sense of fun.
Training Camp Assessment Hall:
X. Miracle: The Hall Selection Assessment will begin tomorrow at 4 PM. The examiners will be me, X. Jiuyue, X. Yinhe, and X. Diting. Those planning to participate must register with Hall Manager Yanmai by 10 PM tonight.
X. Miracle: Please be prepared.
Nan Que wasn’t sure if he could participate in the Hall Selection Assessment while suspended from streaming, so he hesitantly messaged the Hall Admin.
Nan Que: Sister Yanmai, since I’m currently suspended, can I still take the assessment?
Yanmai: Of course!
Yanmai: I was just about to look for you. For individual broadcasts, you should rest for now, but you can continue with scheduled shifts as usual. Just avoid peak hours.
Nan Que: Okay, okay~ Thank you, Sister Yanmai! Thank you, President Xue! Thank you, company, for giving me another chance! I will definitely reform and be a better person!
After finishing the illustration he owed Xiao, Nan Que couldn’t resist sketching another solo portrait of Xiao.
No matter how you looked at it, this person’s voice, along with the image and performance of his Little Electric Man during streams, really appealed to him. Over the past few days, he’d even leveled his alt account to 12 for Xiao—he’d truly become his Lovecast.
He packaged the illustrations and sent them to X. Xiao, but since Xiao was still streaming, he didn’t disturb him.
Turning his attention, he entered the scheduling group and signed up for a shift.
At 2 AM, there were still over two hundred people in the hall, though not many were active on the public screen—most were likely asleep.
Nan Que discreetly took on a 2.0 task and got on the mic.
Training Camp Chat Group:
Sha Zi: @Nan Que Back for scheduling?
Nan Que: (Nodding puppy)
Man Zi: Welcome back, little Nan Zi!
Nan Que: Brother Man Zi, you’re so blunt (pointing finger)
Man Zi: Hahaha, I watched your stream that day—it was quite cute.
Sha Zi: Yeah, I heard you drew your own character design?
Nan Que: Mhm~ Interested? Pay up first, and we can talk!
Sha Zi: Hahaha, alright, save a slot for me. I’ll contact you later for an illustration.
Man Zi: Me too, me too!
Having been away from scheduling for too long, Nan Que worried about not meeting the monthly hour requirement, so he scheduled shifts all the way until 7 AM before logging off.
In the latter half of the night, the hall had even fewer people. It was difficult to even start a second round of the song list on the mic, and scheduling became downright boring. During idle moments, he simply turned on his mic to chat.
Besides previously acquainted teachers Sha Zi and Man Zi, Nan Que also met newly joined teachers Han Chan and Qi Qiang.
Han Chan lived up to his name—during the assessment, he stunned everyone with his stunning high-pitched opera singing, leaving a lasting impression.
Qiqiang and Han Chan joined the hall on the same day, both possessing the rare “uncle voice” quality. Everyone teased that Qiqiang Teacher’s voice sounded like a scumbag who’d abandoned his wife and children.
Perhaps working the late-night shifts had forged revolutionary camaraderie among them. After signing off, several people created a group chat called the “Midnight Scheduling Squad,” and they all politely requested art commissions from him.
Nan Que calculated—he had enough money to pay his fines again.
How wonderful.
(Ｔ▽Ｔ)
He slept until past 3 PM and only woke up because Zhang Zhe dragged him out of bed.
“Bro, you have an assessment today, and you pulled an all-nighter? Are you insane?”
Nan Que mumbled through a mouthful of cold lunch, “I call this last-minute cramming!”
“Alright, alright. But I’m warning you—the assessment hall is open to the public. Watch out for the chat chaos.” Zhang Zhe was practically worrying himself to death. It was one thing when they weren’t streaming live, but assessments drew crowds. He could already predict how messy the live comments would get.
Nan Que shook his head with a smug smile.
“You don’t understand~ I have a secret weapon~”
Though Master Yinhe was strict and had high standards for assignments, Nan Que had genuinely improved over the past few days, with noticeable progress in his singing.
His master had even asked Qi Ji Teacher to adjust his sound card settings to better highlight his vocal qualities.
Finally, he’d seriously “advised” him to focus on singing and ignore everything else.
Zhang Zhe sighed, “Yinhe Teacher is really kind.”
Nan Que guiltily shoveled food into his mouth.
[Yinhe’s actual words:
“Nan Xiaoque, I’m warning you—no more of that rap. It sounds like a toddler’s babbling. If you sing it again, I’ll cut your tongue out.”
“Choose your songs carefully. No funny business. Stick to what you’re good at.”
“If the chat gets chaotic during the assessment, ignore it. Just sing well. If you perform flawlessly, no one can criticize you.”
“Sing poorly? Well, the company has a farming variety show with openings. I’ll send you straight there. Understood?”]
At 4 PM, the Hall Selection Assessment officially began.
At Siji Xianyin, aside from the singers’ second exams, all assessments were open to the public and held in a dedicated Assessment Hall.
The Hall Selection Assessment was held every two weeks, hailed as the first step for newcomers to soar. Many singers had skyrocketed to fame after shining during this assessment.
Like X. Xiao, for example.
This time, the host was Winter Hall’s X. Guandeng Teacher. As soon as he opened the hall, the viewer count surged to 5,000.
“Good afternoon, everyone! Wow, such enthusiasm! Haha, I’m your favorite Guandeng Teacher. Type ‘Guandeng Teacher is the handsomest’ in the chat!”
“Ah, good~ You’re all so supportive! Who called me an old fogey? Kick them out! I’m so mad!”
“Let’s welcome our judges for this Hall Selection Assessment: our head judge X. Miracle Teacher, deputy judge X. Jiuyue Teacher, Spring and Winter Hall manager X. Yinhe Teacher, and Summer/Autumn Hall manager X. Diting Teacher!”
The four judges joined the mic and chatted with Guandeng for a while. Once the moderators brought the assessed singers into the mic queue, the assessment officially began.
“Alright, our first singer is X. Shazi Teacher, who joined the hall just three weeks ago!”
Shazi, being first in the mic queue, was visibly nervous. He stumbled over his words at first, and even after the accompaniment started, his heavy breathing was audible.
“H-hello, teachers. My assessment song is ‘Wall Observer.'”
Shazi’s voice was clear and penetrating. During last night’s shift, they’d discussed which songs would best win over audiences, and everyone unanimously recommended this piece for Shazi.
Sure enough, he took the advice.
“… Snow dyes countless glorious lights, bell tones mold the Buddhist shrine This journey dust-covered to feast on music’s wine Where have the vibrant hues gone, the cave paintings’ former shine? Yet I awaken to watch from sidelines, frozen in time—”
Nan Que was utterly enchanted. If he had to choose, X. Xiao’s voice was his favorite, X. Yinhe’s voice was the one he most admired, then Sha Zi’s voice was the one he most wished to possess.
His own voice was comparatively thinner than Sha Zi’s. While the difference wasn’t very noticeable when singing pop songs, in these grander compositions, pushing the high notes really highlighted the gap.
But it didn’t matter—play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses~
As expected, Sha Zi passed with unanimous votes after his performance. Teacher Yinhe sent him an offer, letting him choose.
Each hall of Siji Xianyin was actually quite evenly matched, but Spring Hall leaned more towards ancient-style songs, Winter Hall mostly featured pop songs, Summer Hall had a sweeter style, and Autumn Hall had more rappers.
Originally, everyone thought Sha Zi would choose Spring Hall, but surprisingly, he ended up picking Winter Hall.
Nan Que was a bit surprised, but this was just as well. He figured if he got in, it would probably be Winter Hall too. Being able to stay with Sha Zi was a good thing.
Zhang Zhe, who went before him, pulled out his trump card “Love9” again and successfully won over Teacher Di Ting, smoothly joining Autumn Hall.
Teacher Wu fully utilized his deep, resonant voice with a performance of “So Annoying,” exciting the audience to spam “The midnight show has started!” in the bullet comments.
Nan Que felt his eardrums vibrating from the intensity and finally couldn’t resist sending a “So saucy~” meme in the Midnight Scheduling Squad group chat they’d created last night.
Three people passed in a row, making Nan Que think the assessment wasn’t that strict after all. But then the next four all failed—some chose unsuitable songs, others went off-key while singing—all sent back to the Training Camp to continue their internships.
This scared him so much his palms were sweating.
“Zhezi, I kinda need to use the bathroom…”
Zhang Zhe had come over to cheer him on live after his own assessment and was speechless hearing this. “You’re up next! Hold it together!”
X. Guandeng: “Alright, next up is Teacher X. Nan Que. Are you ready?”
[Nan Que? Is that the newcomer who went viral a few days ago?]
[I saw that secondary creation too! Little Bi Ga seems to be a little pink-haired guy, pretty cute actually.]
[Remaining skeptical. Getting this much attention right after debuting? Hope they don’t bring shame to Siji.]
[We’ll know if they’re any good after they sing.]
[Delicious Delicious: Go Nan Nan!]
[Sweet Bean: Go Nan Nan!]
[Don’t Argue gifted Nan Que Rose Bush (666 coins)]
[Delicious Delicious gifted Nan Que Rose Bush (666 coins)]
[For My Peanut gifted Nan Que Heart Gesture (99 coins)]
[6, only flashy moves attract fans huh? They’re already getting fed.]
Nan Que pinched himself hard, cleared his throat, ignored the public chat, and turned on his mic.
“Hello teachers, my assessment piece is—’Runan’.”
“Please guide me.”