The production team of "Super New Voice Generation," now backed by a generous sponsor, found themselves with a much firmer footing. The assistant director called Qiu Qiu, instructing him to get ready for a promotional photo shoot scheduled for the weekend, involving all contestants who had advanced to the regional semi-finals.
Up to this point, all the photos of contestants on the official website had been self-submitted. The styles were a wild mix: artistic shots, sexy poses, swimsuit photos, gym selfies... Qiu Qiu had been particularly slapdash, submitting nothing more than a standard, plain ID photo with a blue background.
But one couldn't argue with Qiu Qiu's natural good looks. Amidst that gallery of oddities, his simple ID photo had captured the attention of the vast majority. In the picture, the corners of his mouth were lifted in a slight smile, his brows were relaxed, and his eyes seemed to hold a glimmer of spring sunshine.
Originally, the show's budget had been tight. The promotional webpage was rudimentary, and even the official website was just a subdomain under a video streaming site—accessing the details required clicking on a pop-up ad on the main site. When Qiu Qiu first visited, he'd thought it was a phishing scam.
But now, with investment from Enrui Group, the production team suddenly had the funds, personnel, and time to add some flair. They decided to gather all the semi-finalists for a uniform set of promotional photos.
The website's lead designer had a clever plan: place the best-looking contestant, Qiu Qiu, right at the visual center. That was sure to grab the audience's attention.
Ah, if only this were a beauty pageant instead of a singing competition, Qiu Qiu would have been champion long ago.
...
On the weekend of the photo shoot, Qiu Qiu got up early. He set out two hours ahead, transferred three times on the subway, and finally arrived at the photography studio.
None of the other contestants had used public transport; the least affluent among them had taken a taxi. But Qiu Qiu was currently broke, his part-time job wages hadn't come in yet, and he didn't want to ask his parents for money. So, he had no choice but to squeeze onto the subway with his guitar on his back.
Fortunately, it was the weekend, and the train wasn't too crowded. With one hand protecting the wig on his head and the other cradling his guitar, he stumbled his way to the destination.
By the time he arrived, most of the other contestants were already there. A staff member led him to the waiting area and told him to take any seat.
There were ten contestants in total who had made it to the regional semi-finals. Since Qiu Qiu had gotten a direct pass to this round without going through the elimination stages, he didn't know any of the others. Some contestants who were already acquainted were chatting. When Qiu Qiu walked in, many eyes openly landed on him, appraising him as if assessing his threat level.
Faint whispers drifted from somewhere: "...I heard he's the top student and campus heartthrob from A University... He's certainly good-looking, but who knows if he can sing."
"...Still a student, huh. If he's a student, why is he causing a stir here? He should go back and focus on his studies."
"What's wrong with being a student? Young, fresh-faced guys are all the rage now. And besides students, look over there—there's one who isn't even in school yet."
Qiu Qiu didn't mind people talking about him—getting secretly photographed by girls or stopped for love letters was part of his daily campus life. He was more intrigued by the other contestant they mentioned.
Qiu Qiu quickly spotted the "not even in school yet" little kid. It was a boy around five years old, with a classic bowl haircut, straight-across bangs, and a face as soft and tender as a sticky rice ball, looking almost like a girl.
He wore a T-shirt printed with Peppa Pig. Below his shorts, his chubby legs resembled segments of lotus root, and his knees were dotted with faint bruises—clearly a frequent victim of tripping over flat ground.
The little boy was leaning against the wall, a contestant pass hanging on his chest. He was completely absorbed in playing a game on an iPad. During less critical moments, he'd even spare a hand to scratch his chin.
Qiu Qiu liked children. His current part-time job was tutoring elementary school students. He was gentle and patient with kids, and with his celebrity-like good looks, even the most mischievous children loved his lessons.
Qiu Qiu walked over to the boy to see what he was playing. Kids that age usually played games like Candy Crush, Fruit Ninja, or endless runners, as he'd seen with his own students.
...To his surprise, Qiu Qiu found the boy was playing "Honor of Oings."
...And he was already at the Gold rank.
...Qiu Qiu, who remained stubbornly stuck in Bronze despite numerous attempts, politely declined the boy's invitation to "team up and play."
Still, there was some progress—they exchanged names. Qiu Qiu learned the boy was called Qi Qiqi.
Qiu Qiu said in surprise, "Our names are so similar! Maybe we're long-lost brothers!"
Qi Qiqi was even more astonished. "Uncle, you're so old, and you still want to be my brother?"
"..."
Qiu Qiu was furious. Just moments ago, someone was jealous of him being a "young, fresh face." Life was full of surprises. In just a few minutes, Qiu Qiu had managed to find a god-grandson for Fu Ruien.
While Qiu Qiu and Qi Qiqi were chatting, the other contestants gradually all arrived. Staff gathered everyone together to explain the day's shooting schedule.
There were two photography teams on site, labeled Group A and Group B. They would first take individual promotional photos, then finish with a few group shots.
Everyone went up to collect the uniform shooting outfits. The clothes were horrifically ugly: everyone got a pair of jeans and a loose, shapeless white T-shirt printed with the show's slogan.
A clever girl rolled up the hem of her T-shirt and tied it into a small knot, making her waist look slender and delicate. Other contestants began improvising too: some cut their necklines wider, some removed the sleeves, some cut the hem into strips...
Qiu Qiu looked left and right and started clumsily trying to modify his own contestant outfit by following their examples. When Fu Ruien's video call came through, he didn't even have a free hand to answer. He could only tap to accept the call and place the phone on a nearby chair, continuing to fumble awkwardly with the clothes.
"Qiu..." Fu Ruien had barely uttered the first syllable before he immediately fell silent. From his perspective, the screen only showed the young man's flexible, slender waist and the thin layer of well-defined abdominal muscles. The T-shirt was huge enough to fit two people. When Qiu Qiu bent over, Fu Ruien could easily see his delicate collarbones and pale pink ns through the wide neckline.
Qiu Qiu clumsily tugged at the T-shirt, sometimes lifting the hem, other times trying to pull the neckline even wider.
"What are you doing?" Fu Ruien's voice lowered, but his interest definitely heightened.
Qiu Qiu remained completely unaware that he had once again caught the attention of the old pervert. As he adjusted his clothes, he explained, "We're here for group photos today. The clothes the show provided are too ugly, so everyone's trying to modify them."
"Don't you dare modify them."
Qiu Qiu said unhappily, "Why not?"
"If you dare show even a bit more skin, I'll come to the studio right now, drag you out, and have my way with you."
"..."
Middle-aged men (?) were truly unreasonable.
...
After changing clothes, everyone lined up in separate male and female groups to get their makeup done. For the sake of the camera, foundation was applied layer upon layer. Even Qi Qiqi was forced to wear red lipstick.
The lipstick the makeup artist used was chocolate-flavored. Qiqi kept licking his lips, over and over, and soon it was all gone. Once the chocolate taste vanished from his mouth, he happily trotted back to the makeup artist for a touch-up. He did this three times in a row, thoroughly exasperating the makeup artist.
The person in line in front of Qiu Qiu was a young man not much older than him. He must have been a cell phone spirit in a past life, as he sat in the chair in constant vibration mode, his leg shaking nonstop. He wore a pair of very trendy skate shoes, his long hair styled into "dreadlocks," and he was adorned with a big gold chain, large studs, and oversized sunglasses.
It was just... too hip-hop.
This hip-hop youth named Hua Xiang loved to chat, and his every gesture carried an aura of suffocating wealth. Qiu Qiu listened for a while and learned that every single thing on his person was bought abroad, even the porcelain crown on his tooth was done in Japan.
Hua Xiang: "Check out these dreadlocks. Hand-twisted, authentic, the real deal. A genuine African stylist worked on them for a full eight hours. Cost me five grand."
Because Hua Xiang's hair was so expensive, he refused to let the show's stylist do his hair, saying his whole look was created by a famous designer.
After he left, the makeup artist, holding back frustration, picked up a comb and styling gel, determined to give Qiu Qiu an especially handsome hairstyle.
Qiu Qiu hurriedly protected his wig: "No, no, that's okay. Just powdering my face is fine."
The makeup artist asked irritably, "What's the matter? Did your hair cost five thousand too?"
"No, my hair cost eight thousand."
"..."
