AITFYMIBP Chapter 55

TL: Hua

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Although Lin Yanran was a bit worried, he was much better off than Han Zhe.

Han Zhe, the rapper who usually embodied the ‘cool guy’ style, was so worried he was practically losing hair and couldn’t sit still for a moment in the lounge.

He walked over to Pei Luo, bent down, and asked, “Do you guys know how to do those Ten Consecutive Cute Poses? Is it supposed to be like this?”

After saying that, he made an extremely stiff peace sign next to his ear.

Pei Luo looked as if he had just seen a ghost. “How could you think I’d know how to do that?”

“I thought you idol boy groups would be trained in things like this?”

Failing to get an answer from Pei Luo, Han Zhe turned to Lin Yanran. “Yanran, can you do it?”

Before Lin Yanran could speak, he immediately dismissed the idea himself.

“Forget it, you definitely can’t.”

Tangtang, who was standing nearby, was already almost dying of laughter at the conversation, “Don’t worry, Teacher Han, let me teach you.”

Tangtang was the only one among the four who felt no pressure; these things were a piece of cake for her, so she was the most relaxed.

She then began teaching Han Zhe how to do the “cute ten consecutive poses.”

Just as the mentors were diligently trying to guess what was coming and how they should perform later, in the training room, the trainees also started casting their votes.

It must be said that this segment, which gave the trainees the power to reverse-assign performances to the mentors, was incredibly satisfying.

This feeling of being liberated from servitude and singing made them incredibly excited when they received the voting devices. They discussed in small groups what interesting performances they should vote for for each mentor.

At first, there were still a few honest individuals who seriously considered what style of performance suited which mentor.

The moment this thought emerged, they were stopped by the people with too many tricks up their sleeves: “No! Why pick a serious performance? If we’re going to pick, let’s pick something exciting!”

Lu Tianlang immediately asked in return, “Then what should we choose?”

Xia Xingxing quickly leaned over to lobby for votes, “Cross-dressing, women’s clothes! How great is women’s clothing! Let’s choose women’s clothing for Teacher Yanran; he’ll definitely look good!”

Qiao Ye, sitting next to Xia Xingxing, heard this dangerous idea, and after imagining Lin Yanran in women’s clothes in his mind, a faint smile played on his lips.

But what he said was, “Xia Xingxing, be careful not to get your fan membership revoked.”

Successfully scared by Qiao Ye’s warning about revoking his fan membership, Xia Xingxing settled down.

“Oh, then let’s choose live creation… that suits him best.”

Xuan Yihan overheard the conversation between Xia Xingxing and Qiao Ye, and he also started calculating silently in his mind.

If it were in the past, he wouldn’t have cared much about this segment.

But Lin Yanran was simply too weird.

In the previous few episodes, even a random shot of him playing the guitar could become a hot topic.

Therefore, he dared not take this seemingly funny game segment lightly at all.

His current state towards Lin Yanran was one of profound hatred and jealous madness.

He didn’t understand why this person, who he had clearly crushed underfoot before, had now once again become Heaven’s favored son, seemingly able to draw the audience’s attention with the slightest thing he did.

Moreover, he had secretly checked the online trends. Although the mentors didn’t have a voting channel, every time he looked at the audience feedback, Yanran’s popularity was not low, perhaps even surpassing his own.

Xuan Yihan didn’t want to give Lin Yanran any more opportunities to gain fans. He carefully looked at the options and began to eliminate some.

Dancing the theme song and live creation could both show off skill and could accidentally create a viral moment, so he definitely couldn’t choose those.

The ten consecutive cute poses, acting cute and spoiled, and cross-dressing options—female fans currently loved this kind of “contrasting cuteness,” and it was easy to attract clay sculpture fans¹Literal translation of 泥塑粉 [nísù fěn] or NSF. A group of fans who feminizes male idols, imagining them as delicate or possessing feminine qualities, calling them “daughter,” “sister,” etc..

He focused his attention on the other options, eventually choosing the ones least likely to stand out and the most ordinary: Medley of Catchy Hits and You draw, I guess.

After voting, he also persuaded a few other trainees, trying to get them to vote for these two as well.

After nearly ten minutes of voting, the trainees had mostly selected what they wanted to see.

Gu Siye leisurely twirled the pen in his hand and looked at Song Yingming beside him.

“Can I vote?”

Song Yingming didn’t say whether he could or not but instead asked Gu Siye, “What do you want to vote for?”

Gu Siye didn’t speak, his gaze fixed on “acting cute and spoiled” on the big screen.

Seeing that he couldn’t get a clear answer, Song Yingming shook his head. “The voting is over; the results will be announced soon.”

“But you are a judge; you can make demands of them!”

Gu Siye curled his lips into a faint smile and said softly, “Is that so?”

Soon, the staff compiled the final results.

Lin Yanran and the other three were invited back onto the stage.

The four people who had previously been sitting at the mentor’s desk giving critiques now stood in the middle of the stage, just like four trainees.

Gu Siye picked up the microphone, looked up at them, and said, “Teacher Han Zhe, why do you look so nervous?”

Han Zhe put his hands together and bowed to the trainees. “Please don’t vote for strange options for me.”

Gu Siye slowly replied to him, “It’s too late; everyone has already voted.”

Realizing that it was indeed useless, Han Zhe immediately withdrew his hands and rubbed his head. “Oh, right.”

After speaking with Gu Siye, his gaze naturally turned back to Lin Yanran.

His tone was smiling. “And Teacher Yanran? Have you thought about what you’ll be performing?”

Lin Yanran, who looked outwardly composed, shook his head. “Anything is fine as long as it’s not acting cute and spoiled.”

Gu Siye nodded, but what he said was, “Then how about ten consecutive cute poses?”

Hearing Gu Siye’s suggestion, the audience immediately started to cheer and jeer.

Lin Yanran, of course, didn’t fall for it and directly refused, “Teacher Gu, don’t even think about tricking me.”

Gu Siye met Lin Yanran’s gaze, his tone unconsciously slowing down. “Okay, I won’t trick you.”

Afterward, he chuckled, “Then let’s see how the trainees have tricked you.”

After Gu Siye said this, the trainees immediately laughed nervously and waved their hands, “No way, Teacher Gu, not at all; we chose very seriously!”

Han Zhe, who was always outspoken, joked, “I’d be a fool to believe you. You young people are up to no good.”

After Han Zhe said this, the four mentors all turned to look at the final voting results behind them.

Soon, the names of the corresponding performing mentors lit up above the four options.

Medley of Catchy Hits – Pei Luo

Dance the Super Idol Theme Song – Yanran

Live Creation – Han Zhe

Cross-Dressing – Tangtang

Upon seeing the announced results, the mentors all breathed a sigh of relief.

These options were not too outrageous.

Han Zhe, feeling like he had dodged a bullet, quickly clenched his fist in thanks. “Thank you, thank you, everyone was still very merciful with their votes.”

Lin Yanran glanced at the announced results, remembered the earlier rule, and couldn’t help but quietly remind him.

“Teacher Han, there is still one item that hasn’t been announced.”

These four performances were the less extreme options among the choices.

Generally, it was unlikely that all four people would have been assigned only these.

This result was clearly filtered and deliberately displayed by the production team.

It was evident that the remaining performance was the major trap awaiting them.

Sure enough, just as Lin Yanran finished speaking, Song Yingming’s voice rang out.

“This only displays one performance item. The other performance item that the trainees chose for the mentors will be announced to the mentors individually. When it’s time to perform, everyone can guess which item it is.”

The trainees looked at Song Yingming in surprise.

Because the voting was anonymous, only the director team could see the final results.

Now that the second performance item was being withheld for them to guess, the trainees also grew curious.

The production team’s tricks truly were always unpredictable.

“Next, the teachers have 20 minutes to prepare.”

The trainees listened to the time given, various expressions of disbelief on their faces.

“This is too short, Director Song!”

Although they said this, the anticipation in their eyes was palpable.

With so little time, after taking out the basic makeup and costume changes, how much time would be left for practice?

Especially for Teacher Yanran’s theme song, they could practice it at most two or three times.

If they weren’t familiar with it, they might not even remember the choreography.

So they were really curious to see how these mentors would complete these performances in such a short amount of time!

It wasn’t just the trainees; the other mentors also thought about this issue.

Pei Luo, as an idol, knew that this difficulty was not small. For once, he quietly asked Lin Yanran, “Have you practiced this dance before?”

Lin Yanran shook his head. “I haven’t practiced it, but I remember the moves.”

Pei Luo gave an “oh” and was about to suggest to Lin Yanran that he could just perform a segment, which would be less difficult.

But he looked up and saw Xuan Yihan not far away looking at him and Lin Yanran, with an expression that was not very happy.

So he held back the words, turned around, and put some distance between himself and Lin Yanran.

After the hubbub, Song Yingming asked the four people on stage, “Do the mentors and judges have anything else they’d like to say?”

Han Zhe shook his head, looking quite pleased. “Piece of cake.”

Lin Yanran asked Song Yingming, “Can I just dance directly?”

Song Yingming also felt the difficulty was a bit too high, so he was about to reduce the requirements for Lin Yanran and immediately nodded.

But just as Song Yingming finished speaking, Gu Siye picked up the microphone again and looked at him.

“The theme song has uniforms, right?”

It sounded like a question, but the tone was declarative.

When the trainees realized what Gu Siye meant, they immediately started to cheer and egg them on.

“Yes!! Uniforms!! Uniforms!!”

“Dancing the theme song without the trainee uniforms has no soul!!”

“Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, Teacher Yanran must wear it!!!”

Lin Yanran, who had been ready to go backstage to prepare, turned around and smiled at Gu Siye.

“Teacher Gu?”

What was the meaning of this?

Gu Siye’s eyes curved slightly, his charming peach blossom eyes smiling suggestively, “It matches the theme song better.”

Song Yingming, who loved watching the drama unfold, immediately agreed, “Yes, yes, yes, we have brand new ones, lots of sets.”

So, as soon as Lin Yanran arrived at the backstage lounge, a staff member brought him a set of light gray uniform and a white undershirt according to his size.

After changing into the uniform, Lin Yanran immediately began to practice the Super Idol theme song.

Previously, when he had looked into the conflict between the original owner and Xuan Yihan, he had memorized the dance after watching it once.

However, the MV the production team gave him was the version featuring all the trainees.

Unlike the previous individual rehearsals, Lin Yanran watched the trainees dance to the theme song once.

He chose the choreography of Qiao Ye, the center of the theme song.

After dancing through it barely twice, the production team came to hurry him onto the stage.

The few of them were waiting backstage. Following the principle of ladies first, Tangtang was the first to walk onto the stage.

Since she got the cross-dressing performance, she changed into a black overcoat, leaned on a cane, and waved generously to everyone.

Only when she looked up did everyone realize that she had also pasted a walrus mustache on her face.

Her appearance was very comical. After walking around the stage once, a cute and playful piece of music suddenly started playing.

Tangtang raised her hands to her ears, mimicking the shape of a kitten.

Although she had a mustache on her mouth, Tangtang was naturally petite and cute, and doing this cat-like pose actually had a contrasting cuteness.

Tangtang’s cat impression was clearly very popular, and the trainees below the stage screamed wildly.

“Cat Game!”

Tangtang’s performance was very simple, and everyone guessed it almost immediately.

After Tangtang finished performing, Gu Siye gave her the ‘A’ card in his hand.

Seeing Gu Siye give away the ‘A’ card first, Song Yingming, looking like he was enjoying the show, asked him, “Teacher Gu, you’ve given away your A, and you haven’t seen the rest of the performances yet. How are you planning to rate them?”

It turned out Gu Siye really could manage.

The second to perform was Pei Luo. After a medley of catchy hits, he did ten consecutive cute poses.

Gu Siye gave him the ‘B’ card in his hand and said, “The highest grade I have left is B, and Teacher Pei’s performance deserves the highest grade.”

These words made Pei Luo not feel downgraded and served as an indirect compliment to his strength.

After all, the highest ‘A’ had already been given to Tangtang.

The guys weren’t trying to compete with the girls for the ‘A,’ so there was no issue with Gu Siye giving the only remaining ‘B.’

However, Han Zhe, who came out next, spoke up before he started performing, “Teacher Gu, you’re not going to give me a C, are you? No way, that’s too perfunctory!”

Gu Siye smiled, joking with him, “C is indeed a bit perfunctory; how about F?”

Han Zhe waved his hand to reject that and then immediately launched into a freestyle.

He had drawn a live creation performance, which was easy for him, who had won countless underground rap battle championships before his debut.

However, after his powerful freestyle, Han Zhe struggled with his next performance.

His second performance had the same number of votes as Pei Luo’s: ten consecutive cute poses…

Although he had successfully anticipated the prompt before and had Tangtang quickly teach him some moves, now, under pressure, he couldn’t remember a single one.

At this moment, the production team, intent on creating drama, played a cute BGM for him, and the pattern on the large screen behind him changed to dreamy little pink stars.

Han Zhe, the cool guy, had no choice but to perform, and after doing an incredibly cringe-worthy set of ten consecutive cute poses, he was too embarrassed to stay on stage afterward.

If judged strictly, Han Zhe’s segment was indeed very weak and truly didn’t deserve a ‘C’ grade.

Even Han Zhe himself felt that an ‘F’ was certain for him.

Everyone was curious about how Gu Siye would score Han Zhe.

After all, using the same excuse as before wouldn’t be as justifiable this time.

However, Gu Siye easily diffused the awkward scoring situation.

He said, “I lost my grading card.”

Seeing Gu Siye save his face, Han Zhe immediately gave him a thumbs-up.

Brilliant!

After the first three mentors finished their performances, it was Lin Yanran’s turn—the one who had been voted to perform the most difficult routine among the group—to take the stage.

The theme song, Call Me By Your Name, was far too familiar to everyone present.

After all, every single one of them had danced this song back then, and Yanran had even given them grades for it.

So today, they were all very curious about what the mentor’s performance would look like.

Everyone watched the stage intently, especially Xuan Yihan. He really wanted to know how well Yanran, who had criticized him so harshly, would perform today.

The lights on the stage dimmed, and the familiar prelude of the theme song began to play.

Following the beat, many trainees started clapping their hands.

In a beam of light, Lin Yanran slowly walked towards the center of the stage.

Listening to the BGM and matching the rhythm, he raised his hand, a smile appearing on his face.

“Hey, give me a stage and a spotlight, I will become your pride.”

Lin Yanran was clearly a person with striking features, but the white shirt, black tie, and light-grey uniform he wore today made him look exceptionally pure and youthful.

Vibrant allure and pure vitality are clearly two different styles, but they didn’t clash on him at all; instead, they created a breathtaking feeling that made one’s heart race.

The trainees were instantly captivated.

The person dancing on the stage in the uniform was dazzling, as if glowing.

He started dancing the theme song along with the music, every move precise and beautiful.

The timing was accurate, the movements were natural and fluid, the power was controlled perfectly, and his balance was unparalleled.

His entire body language was just right: a bit more would be too stiff, a bit less would be too soft—everything was at a beautiful, optimal point.

Not only that, every single one of his expressions cooperated perfectly with the song.

On stage, Lin Yanran’s dancing was handsome and sharp.

Yet, his whole persona was also refreshing and full of youthful energy.

The song entered its cutest and most energetic part.

The trainees watched the usually reserved Lin Yanran, now wearing the uniform, looking like a vigorous trainee full of youthful energy.

A born idol!

When he showed a sweet and adorable smile, the trainees raised their hands frantically to cheer for him!

This was virtually the most perfect demonstration of the theme song.

“Call me by your name”

“Show me your hands”

“Listen to me, pick me, pick me”

The trainees chanted in unison: “Pick you, pick you!”

This dance was completely etched into the DNA of every trainee. During the second chorus, quite a few trainees subconsciously started dancing along with Lin Yanran.

The atmosphere instantly became lively.

Looking at Lin Yanran on stage, dressed in the trainee uniform, looking handsome, energetic, and radiant, Ji Shuai couldn’t help but lament.

“Teacher Yanran would be so suitable as an idol too…”

Xia Xingxing immediately countered, “He is suitable as an idol now too! He’s only 22.”

Ji Shuai, already considered an “older” trainee, felt instantly stabbed in the heart when he heard that age.

Why do some people, young enough to simply rely on their looks, insist on relying on their talent instead…

As the song neared its end, Lin Yanran started to pull back his power.

The final move was to make a heart gesture with both hands to the audience.

However, since that move was overly cute, Lin Yanran modified it.

For his ending pose, he smiled, turned his body slightly, and used his right index finger and thumb to form a heart pointing straight ahead.

Since Gu Siye was directly facing the stage, the heart Lin Yanran made was aimed right at Gu Siye.

The pose was held briefly for a few seconds. Lin Yanran then smiled and bowed to everyone, signaling the end of the performance.

The trainees, still wanting more, continued to scream Lin Yanran’s name and cheer for him wildly.

They had all danced this routine so they could better understand how strong Lin Yanran’s dance foundation was.

It was a dance that could be directly filmed as an MV and used as an idol textbook template. If they didn’t know for a fact that they had personally voted for this segment just now, they would have thought he had been prepared and practiced countless times.

Previously, the trainees from other groups only knew that Teacher Yanran was a good dancer, but seeing it in person today showed them just how good he truly was!

No wonder the production team dared to invite him when he was still relatively unknown.

His skill truly qualified him to be their mentor.

After Lin Yanran finished his performance, he stood in place and did not proceed to the next act.

The trainees waited and waited, and when they saw Lin Yanran make no move, they looked confused.

“It’s over?”

“Wasn’t there one more performance? Why is it over?”

Hearing the trainees’ words, Lin Yanran’s tone was playful yet earnest as he explained to them, “My second performance was completed together with the first one just now.”

Completed together?

The trainees looked at each other, all wondering if they had missed something.

“Besides the theme song, what else did he perform just now?”

“Ten consecutive cute poses?”

“You draw, I guess?”

“None of that was there; there was nothing…”

Just as all the trainees were guessing and couldn’t figure it out, feeling very curious, they were about to ask Song Yingming to announce the answer.

It was Gu Siye who spoke up nonchalantly from the side, “Acting cute and spoiled.”

After Gu Siye pointed it out, the large screen also lit up with Lin Yanran’s name under the category of ‘Acting Cute and Spoiled.’

When the trainees saw this option, they were thrilled.

But the next moment, realizing Lin Yanran said he had already finished the performance, they instantly felt like they had watched it for nothing!

Where did Teacher Yanran act cute or spoiled???

Lin Yanran seemed to sense their confusion and said, “Didn’t I make a heart gesture at the end? Isn’t that it?”

Xia Xingxing, who had just been swooning over Lin Yanran’s heart gesture to Gu Siye, shouted fearlessly: But you only act cute and spoiled towards Teacher Gu!

The trainees repeated this phrase, wanting Lin Yanran to do it again.

After all, getting Teacher Yanran to act cute and spoiled—if they missed this opportunity, there wouldn’t be another!

Hearing the repeated phrase, “But you only acted cute and spoiled for Teacher Gu,” Gu Siye turned to look at everyone, raising an eyebrow slightly. “Oh? Is that not allowed?”

With the Super Idol mentor directly threatening them, what else could the trainees say?

They all immediately nodded, “It’s allowed, it’s allowed…”

The final heart-gesture pose did look quite sweet; they could reluctantly count it as being cute…

Just as the trainees were consoling themselves this way, they heard Gu Siye ask Lin Yanran again with a soft chuckle, “You’ve been cute; what about spoiled?”

Hearing this, Lin Yanran immediately glared at him.

Their eyes met in the air.

Lin Yanran: Don’t go too far!

Lin Yanran had just finished dancing, and his usually fair face was flushed pink.

His glare was full of warning.

But in Gu Siye’s eyes, this look seemed more like a form of spoiled behavior.

“Alright,” Gu Siye’s tone carried a hint of teasing. “Passed.”

Song Yingming, watching the spectacle unfold with great enthusiasm, was utterly disappointed!

He quickly picked up his megaphone and shouted at Gu Siye.

“Teacher Gu, give a rating, give a rating!! I saw your grade cards; no more saying you lost them this time!!”

“Okay.”

Gu Siye didn’t evade the request. With a faint smile, he put down the microphone and walked towards the stage, holding the remaining grade cards.

He had done this for the previous three mentors: after they finished performing, he would walk onto the stage and place the grade card in their hands.

So, seeing Gu Siye walk towards him, Lin Yanran was also piqued with curiosity.

He had already given out the A and B grades. He had managed to trick his way out of grading Han Zhe.

So now, for his rating, what would he give him?

C?

Or would he find another excuse?

When Gu Siye stopped in front of him, Lin Yanran slightly tilted his head back to look at the man who was half a head taller than him.

“Teacher Gu, what grade are you planning to give me?”

Gu Siye didn’t speak but instead handed the cards in his hand to Lin Yanran all together.

Gu Siye elegantly raised both hands and grasped the black silk ribbons that had come undone and fallen to either side of Lin Yanran.

It was then that Lin Yanran noticed that the black tie, which he had previously tied loosely as a decoration, had come undone at some point.

And now, the handsome man in front of him was bowing his head, gently and meticulously helping him fix it.

His movements were slow, seemingly casual, yet extremely focused.

Seeing the attractive man in front of him and thinking about what he was doing for him, Lin Yanran’s heart inexplicably started beating a few times faster.

After more than ten seconds, Gu Siye finally retied the loose tie.

He looked at Lin Yanran, his eyes deep, and his voice low and husky.

“S.”

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  Literal translation of 泥塑粉 [nísù fěn] or NSF. A group of fans who feminizes male idols, imagining them as delicate or possessing feminine qualities, calling them “daughter,” “sister,” etc.