Looking at Zhou Xingyu’s smile, which seemed completely oblivious to a tragic future, Mo Yunyu felt profound boredom. Just then, the program began recording. With an annoyed glance at the person beside him, he put on his audio equipment with the staff’s help and stepped onto the stage.
Shining Stars was Mango TV’s newly launched boy group survival show. It was their first attempt at a hybrid broadcast model of pre-recording and live streaming, meaning they would pre-record one episode of daily life and then live stream one episode of competition.
As a gimmick, they began using the live-streaming format right from the very first performance of the preliminary round.
Because it was a large-scale talent show with a hundred contestants, the first episode was divided into two live broadcasts to control the runtime. As contestant number 65, Mo Yunyu was in the second group to perform.
Faced with such a scene, Yunyu found it quite novel, but he still kept his eyes straight ahead, found his seat, and openly zoned out. After all, according to his character setting, Mo Yunyu wasn’t supposed to care much about the show anyway.
Because the production team had already invested a massive amount of capital in publicity early on, the bullet comments on the live stream platform were already scrolling by cheerfully right at the start.
“A new handsome guy! Drooling!” “They really went all out this time. Trust Mango TV to round up this many good-looking guys one by one.” “I’m already visually exhausted, I’ll just shout husband directly!” “Ahhhhh, my male god!”
The female host was Mango TV’s top host, Miss Orange, whose smile was filled with sweet citrus energy. Once the contestants had taken their seats one after another, she announced the start of the program amidst exciting music.
“Welcome everyone to the first episode, second live broadcast of Shining Stars. Hello everyone, I’m Orange.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the live audience naturally erupted into massive cheers, so loud that Yunyu rubbed his ears.
There were too many contestants and the live broadcast duration couldn’t be too long, so the mentors didn’t perform an opening show like in the first live broadcast; instead, they directly kicked off the trainees’ individual performances.
Right from the beginning, the show displayed a cruel elimination system and fierce competition. Forty people were to be eliminated in the first episode, which meant twenty out of fifty would be cut from each of the upper and lower halves.
Yunyu finally perked up a bit. After all, his plotline was supposed to end during the semi-finals, and he definitely couldn’t get eliminated halfway through.
“How is the original host’s dance performance going to be?” Yunyu asked.
“The script doesn’t explicitly write it out; it should mostly rely on his family throwing money at it.” 609 flipped through the script, its mechanical voice carrying a hint of helplessness.
Yunyu raised a hand to support his chin and thought slowly. Since that’s the case, maybe I can just improvise a bit.
Sitting in a corner of the second row, he wasn’t particularly eye-catching, but he still managed to attract a prolonged, steady gaze.
After staring at those curly locks for a long time and noticing a camera sweeping toward their direction, Zhou Xingyu, who was sitting diagonally behind Yunyu, finally withdrew his gaze.
Although the handsome guys found by this show all passed the basic appearance threshold and came in various styles, their talent performances were uniquely awkward in their own ways.
The three mentors sitting on the stage giving scores all wore complicated expressions, prompting the live stream barrage to fill up with rows of haha.
Even Orange struggled slightly to control her facial expressions, though she managed to maintain her professional decorum and kept from laughing out loud.
“This batch of people really each has their own comedic charm.” Known industry-wide for his sharp tongue, Mentor Yin, sitting dead center, evaluated without any reservation.
To his left was Mia, a highly influential girl group leader. Hearing Mentor Yin’s words, she tried hard to smooth things over. “Actually, there are still highlights. Their performance was very exciting.”
“Does Sister Mia really not plan to ask the director to supplement a mental damage fee?” As soon as the man in the right seat spoke, the audience’s laughter mixed with screams reached Yunyu’s ears.
Yunyu lifted his eyes to look. Although the distance was a bit far, he could still clearly see the man’s flawless, handsome cheeks.
Shi Jingchi, the top traffic star in the script, and also one of the protagonist’s lovers.
Not bad-looking.
Seeming to sense Yunyu’s gaze, which was completely different from everyone else’s, Shi Jingchi swept his eyes around a circle and briefly locked gazes with Yunyu for a split second.
And right at that exact second, the pulse on Yunyu’s left wrist beat abruptly. The burning sensation he had felt not long ago spread across his wrist once more.
Yunyu’s clear train of thought became somewhat sluggish with the change in his left wrist. He incredulously touched the spot with his hand to confirm it wasn’t just his imagination.
With a mix of surprise and hesitation in his heart, Yunyu quickly overthrew the script route he had already mapped out.
Detecting some unusual emotional fluctuations from the host, 609 spoke up appropriately, “The host’s emotions are fluctuating quite a bit. Are you too nervous?”
“It’s almost my turn, I’m indeed a bit nervous,” Yunyu replied, forcibly suppressing his overly clamorous heartbeat.
“It’s okay, these are all virtual data, the host doesn’t need to care too much,” 609 comforted.
“Thanks, 609.” Hearing the host call out for contestant number 65, Yunyu suppressed his emotions and calmly stood up, walking toward the center of the stage.
The feeling under the spotlight was quite nice, and Yunyu adapted well. Even though he had just received a piece of unusual information, he instantly slipped right back into Mo Yunyu’s shell.
“Hello everyone, I am contestant number 65, Mo Yunyu.”
Contestants participating in the show more or less used jewelry and carefully curated outfits to accessorize their standard uniforms. But rarely was anyone like Yunyu, currently standing in the center of the stage, stacked high with shiny accessories that kept flashing under the lights, making people want to look at him yet forcing them to look away.
When people finally managed to clearly see his appearance, it firmly captured everyone’s gaze. His overwhelmingly superior looks were like a sharp blade, instantly cutting through everyone’s restraint.
In an instant, the auditorium was filled with screams that almost blew off the ceiling, and the enthusiasm nearly turned tangible as it rushed toward Mo Yunyu.
Even Orange found it hard to control the scene, until Mo Yunyu pressed his hands to his ears and spoke up, “I can feel everyone’s enthusiasm. Have some pity on my ears, keep it down a bit.”
“This is simply bullying! Good-looks bullying!” “I screamed out loud even at home, let alone being at the venue. My mom told me to get out and stop howling like a ghost.” “Even an angry face from being disturbed is so pretty.” “Mango TV, which celestial being did you drag down from the heavens?” “I’m licking licking licking licking!”
Coming through the earpiece, the director’s reminder prompted Orange to finally drag her glued gaze away with sheer willpower.
“Then may I ask what kind of performance you brought for us today?”
Looking at the youth standing in front of him who seemed to be glowing all over, Shi Jingchi, sitting in the mentor’s seat, felt for the first time that his heart rate speed was a bit abnormal, thump, thump, like a little deer running amok in his chest, knocking all his calm and composure head over heels.
In his twenty-eight years of life, this was his first time experiencing such a brand-new feeling.
Mo Yunyu held the microphone, his eyebrows carrying a natural arrogance as he spoke, invisibly teasing everyone’s heartstrings.
“Dance.”
“I’m looking forward to your performance.” Orange timely took back the microphone, leaving the stage entirely to Mo Yunyu.
Mo Yunyu wasn’t flustered at all. Hearing the music kick off, he moved along with the rhythm. The movements weren’t large in amplitude, but they were precisely controlled on every single beat.
The accessories on his body collided just right against one another, hitting almost every single rhythm right in the audience’s hearts, while carrying a casual, lazy vibe that won over a massive new wave of fans once again.
As a short routine ended, Mo Yunyu panted slightly, took the microphone handed over grazed by Orange, and said a thank you.
That thank you, carrying a slight breathy tone, traveled through the microphone into everyone’s ears, making their earlobes tingle and causing some people to go weak in the knees.
“Then please, the audience off stage, start scoring for contestant number 65 Mo Yunyu. And mentors, please give the contestant some brief comments.”
“A dance with a very distinct style of your own. I like it.” Mentor Yin’s usually stern face softened a lot; for him, this was already a very high praise.
Mo Yunyu raised his chin slightly, bowing to express his gratitude with a proud, smiling expression.
When it was Mia’s turn, she was so excited that she slapped her hands onto the table in front of her. “If you were a girl, I would have dragged you into a girl group on the spot.”
“No need for that, after all, we’re selecting a boy group right now.” Shi Jingchi teased Mia before finally daring to cast his gaze back onto Mo Yunyu. “Mo Yunyu, right? You danced great, looking forward to your next performance.”
Mo Yunyu looked straight into Shi Jingchi’s eyes, carrying a bit of a newborn calf’s fearlessness toward a tiger. But goodness knows how hard Shi Jingchi was struggling to suppress his heartbeat, immediately averting his gaze the moment he finished speaking to escape Mo Yunyu’s stunning eyes that almost felt like they were burning him.
“Thank you,” Mo Yunyu bowed slightly.
“Alright, now announcing the final score for contestant number 65. What kind of score will our three hundred audience members give to little Mo?”
Following a familiar, suspense-building background music track from the show, the display screen behind the stage revealed a dazzlingly high score.
276!
A score that practically surpassed even the first-place winner of the previous round.
Mo Yunyu suppressed the complacency in his heart and said thank you, but his slightly narrowed eyes had already betrayed his mood. Matching his little curly hair, he looked like a fluffy toy cat, tilting its head up to welcome everyone’s affection.
The bullet comments flooded the screen once again.
“So cute so cute so cute!” “Tell me how this little creature can be so cute. Eat him up!” “Like a proud little kitten! I really want to pet his head!” “Help me, he’s seriously both pretty and cute!” “I’m going to be his lifetime mama fan.” “Baby, you are a fragrant, soft little cat cake.”
“Now, please welcome the next contestant.” Orange took the microphone back once more, expending 100% of her willpower to resist the urge to reach out and pet those little curly locks.
Welcoming gazes that were either burning hot or filled with jealousy, Mo Yunyu walked back to his seat, not forgetting to shoot an expression of contempt toward Zhou Xingyu.
Zhou Xingyu’s gaze was as calm as water. Coming into contact with Mo Yunyu’s unique look directed at him, he pinched his own fingers in a somewhat restless manner.
It’s definitely seduction, blatant seduction.
“The host is amazing!” 609 praised its host without reservation; it truly hadn’t expected Yunyu to perform this brilliantly.
Yunyu smiled lightly, “Thanks, 609.”
The subsequent contestants showed varied skills, appearing even more lackluster in comparison to Yunyu.
Just as Yunyu was about to doze off, it was finally Zhou Xingyu’s turn to take the stage, causing him to straighten his posture and perk up a bit.
As the protagonist, Zhou Xingyu’s appearance was naturally top-tier as well, not to mention his performance was a guitar-accompanied vocal piece.
A brisk tune flowed out, paired with his clear, resonant voice. When it ended, it also drew thunderous cheers.
He ultimately scored 254 points, which was also a very respectable score.
The subsequent performances proceeded in an orderly fashion, and the second live broadcast quickly came to an end.
At the entrance of the contestants’ dormitory, eliminated individuals reluctantly dragged their luggage away with red eyes. Meanwhile, Mo Yunyu, who had entered as a parachute contestant, ignored everything and dragged his suitcase inward. The moment he spotted Zhou Xingyu, he unceremoniously pushed the suitcase over to him.
“Lead the way. Sharing a room with me counts as adding glory to you.”
Zhou Xingyu didn’t retort. He had originally been waiting here for Mo Yunyu anyway, so he directly took the suitcase and walked inward.
Sensing the surrounding gazes and thinking of the proud young master behind him, he could barely suppress the burning heat in his heart, especially since he had never expected to interact with such an existence.
Mango TV had pulled out all the stops this time; the four-person dormitories came fully equipped with private bathrooms. Moreover, Mo Yunyu let his family pull strings with their financial power, happily securing a spacious double dorm to share with Zhou Xingyu.
“Where should I put the luggage?” Zhou Xingyu gripped the suitcase handle, his gaze toward Mo Yunyu carrying emotions that were hard to fathom.
“I’m going to take a shower.” Mo Yunyu pulled the suitcase over, fished out his clothes, and only then spared a glance for Zhou Xingyu. “When I come out, I want to see the bed made. I’m sleeping in this one.”
Upon entering the bathroom, Yunyu’s eyes rolled slightly, and a fiercely mischievous smile hooked up the corners of his lips before disappearing in a flash.
This was the manifestation of him taking a playful whim.