Bai Xingchen shook her head without hesitation, "No! You can't break the rules. What do you want to do with your phone?"
Xu Zifan lowered his head and said, "I haven't told my mom I participated in the competition yet. I want her to watch it on TV."
Bai Xingchen was silent for a moment, then asked, "Is it that simple?"
"It's that simple." Xu Zifan looked up and met her gaze, his expression particularly sincere.
Bai Xingchen hesitated for a moment, then handed him the phone. "Just this once. Keep it short and make sure no one finds out."
Xu Zifan gave an OK sign, took the phone, and walked to the corner inside. While walking, he quickly checked the competition rankings online. He was in first place with over 2.8 million votes, Pan Yu was second, only about 10,000 votes behind, and Li Keyang was third, with 70,000 to 80,000 fewer votes. Xu Zifan cleared his browsing history and then called his mother.
The third episode is about to be filmed, and he just wanted to know the audience's reaction. Although he designed many elements that would appeal to the audience, these things are unpredictable. What if the audience just doesn't like a fat person as an idol? He would have to change his strategy. Fortunately, the audience's reaction met his expectations, so he can continue.
The call was quickly answered, and Xu's mother's somewhat loud voice came from the other end, "Hello? Who is this?"
Xu Zifan smiled and said, "Mom, it's me. What are you doing?"
"Zifan? I'm preparing dinner in the cafeteria! Wait a minute." Xu's mother quickly walked to a quiet place, her voice returning to normal, and asked with concern, "Zifan, why are you using someone else's phone to make a call? Where's your phone?"
"Mom, I've entered a singing competition. All the contestants are in closed training. I'm just letting you know by borrowing someone else's phone so you won't worry if you can't reach me."
"Closed-door competition? What kind of competition is closed-door? Are you kidding me? Where exactly is it closed-door?"
"It's in a small county town right next to Beijing. Don't worry, Mom, it's not a lie. The first two episodes have already aired. Look for it on TV when you get home. It's called 'The Birth of an Idol.' I've just gained a little weight recently, so don't be alarmed."
"You're on TV?! Really? I'll watch it when I get home tonight. Wow, you're actually on TV! You've gained weight, that's good, you used to be so skinny. By the way, how long is your competition? Are you out of money? I'll send you some."
"No need, Mom. I get paid for recording this competition, so don't worry about it. Just take good care of yourself. When I become a big star, I'll earn lots of money and bring you here to live in a big house and live a good life."
Xu's mother chuckled a few times and said gently, "Okay, Mom will wait. Mom isn't in a hurry, and you're not in a hurry to make money either. Don't overwork yourself. Being a celebrity isn't easy. If you're having a hard time making it outside, come back. You earn less in a small city, and the pace of life is slower. As long as Mom sees you doing well, I'll be content."
"Okay." Xu Zifan heard someone calling his mother to cook, and quickly said, "Mom, you go ahead and do your work. The production team will arrange for the family to call in a few days, and I'll call you then. If you miss me, just watch TV. It airs every Saturday night at 8 pm."
"Okay, hang up now, good luck!"
"Okay, bye-bye."
Xu Zifan hung up the phone, his emotions somewhat affected by the original owner's memories. He felt a pang of sadness thinking of his mother, who worked hard cooking in the high school cafeteria. Xu's mother had always been very open-minded and supportive of her son's endeavors, but coming from a rural background and only having a junior high school education, she had never been able to find a decent job, only able to work as a cleaner or cook for others. The school cafeteria job paid 3,000 yuan a month, which was considered good in a small city, but it was also very tiring; Xu's mother often suffered from wrist pain.
Xu Zifan composed himself and went over to return the phone to Bai Xingchen. After filming this program, he could go out and earn money, and soon he would bring his mother over.
Bai Xingchen's phone had a loud speaker, so she heard almost the entire conversation between her and her son. She hadn't expected Xu Zifan, usually so composed, to be so obedient, sensible, and filial when facing his mother. She thought for a moment and said, "You're very popular. Work hard, and once you officially debut, your mother's dream of living a good life will come true."
Xu Zifan nodded. "Thank you, Professor Bai."
Xu Zifan glanced at Bai Xingchen's overly glamorous appearance, thought for a moment, and then reminded her, "Mentor Bai, the entertainment industry is a mess. It's hard to tell if gossip is true or false, and it's very difficult to clear your name once you've been smeared. I think if you have any ideas, you should be careful and not let others smear you."
Bai Xingchen glanced at him in surprise, then smiled and said, "Okay, don't worry. I've been in the industry for eight years now, I can handle things like this." She checked the time. "Are you going to eat? I have to go now. I'll come back to teach you again tomorrow. Good luck!"
"I will." Xu Zifan watched her leave first, then practiced basic dance skills in the practice room for half an hour before leaving.
In the third episode recording, everyone was divided into 14 groups for a competition. Two contestants withdrew, leaving seven people per group. There were only seven songs in total, selected based on previous performances to emphasize the importance of each performance. Xu Zifan, who was chosen as the center for the theme song last time, not only got to choose his song and teammates first, but also the contestant he would be competing against.
Xu Zifan chose Li Keyang and Xiao Cheng, whom he knew well, Liang Sijie, who had worked exceptionally hard and had risen from Class F to Class A, as well as two from Class B and one from Class C—all talented and hardworking contestants. Moreover, he included those skilled in dancing, rapping, and singing. The other contestants looked at him with envy; this was the privilege of being number one, a complete advantage in the competition. At this moment, a strong competitive spirit burned within everyone.
Once all the contestants have been assigned
When Xu Zifan was choosing his opponent, all the contestants were extremely nervous, especially those from Class F. Picking on the weakest link made Class F feel like they were just asking for easy kills. Bai Yuchen, standing nearby, chuckled and asked, "Xu Zifan, have you thought it through? Which contestant do you want to face off against on stage...?"
Xu Zifan nodded at Pan Yu and laughed, "It's definitely Pan Yu! The reason I didn't choose Pan Yu's team earlier was so that I could have a good competition with him on stage. Come to think of it, we've known each other for so long, but we've never competed like this before. If we miss this opportunity, we'll never have another chance. We definitely have to compete once."
The crowd erupted in uproar. Two good brothers were actually going to have a showdown? Wouldn't the loser be at a huge disadvantage? Even Pan Yu was taken aback for a moment, but he immediately became excited and said with a smile, "Okay, let's have a competition." He was naturally happy to finally have a chance to defeat Xu Zifan.
Pan Yu had just selected the remaining three members of Class A, and then chose the three strongest members of Class B. His team seemed stronger than Xu Zifan's, and many people didn't understand why Xu Zifan made these choices, as it seemed too easy to lose. However, this clash of titans was beneficial to both teams. During the competition, each member of the winning team would receive an extra 10,000 votes, while the losing team would not. Regardless of who won or lost, one of the stronger teams would be unable to gain any more votes.
Afterwards, they practiced in groups and had to choose a center position (C-position) and a team leader. Xu Zifan's group was relatively uncontroversial. Although they wanted to compete for the center position, the competition was strong, so they were more cautious. Xu Zifan was very eye-catching on stage, so having him as the center was a safer choice. Li Keyang was steady and meticulous, so everyone chose him as the team leader to assign tasks to the group.
Xu Zifan chose a very energetic and popular song, the kind with a bang-bang-bang melody, and the dance video is exhilarating. Li Keyang first had the best dancers break down the dance moves and teach them to everyone, then had the best singers mark every important point in the song, such as vibrato and pauses, teaching these details to everyone. The others memorized the lyrics first, and then started learning from the two best dancers.
Li Keyang was highly efficient, and Xu Zifan was exceptionally cooperative, which subconsciously energized the others, making them act with renewed vigor. After this competition, those ranked 56th and below would be eliminated. Xu Zifan encouraged everyone, saying they were certain of victory, filling the entire team with fighting spirit; they didn't want to be eliminated!
A day later, when the mentors came to coach them, their team was the only one that had completely memorized the lyrics and sang them without making a mistake. Many teams had members who forgot the lyrics after singing a couple of lines, some who sang off-key or cracked their voices, and some who didn't remember the dance moves. Some teams even had only one lead singer without a sub-vocalist, which made the lead singer's voice a little hoarse, and the distribution was particularly uneven. Under these circumstances, Xu Zifan's team impressed the mentors with both their atmosphere and their learning progress.
The mentors pointed out some common pitfalls and advised them to pay attention. Several experienced teachers provided guidance, and the team's performance improved significantly. Xu Zifan and the others practiced even harder, rehearsing in the open space back in their dorm. They felt pressured and absolutely could not afford to lose.
Compared to them, Pan Yu's team didn't perform as well. While choosing his best members strengthened the team, these members also had their own arrogance and weren't entirely convinced of Pan Yu's abilities. There was a slight disagreement when choosing the center and captain, but after each member performed and the seven members voted, Pan Yu won the center position with his charismatic performance. Afterwards, the captain asked them to memorize lyrics and dance moves, but because they were all at a high level, the captain didn't want to push them too hard. As a result, when the mentors arrived, they weren't ready and were criticized by Bai Yuchen.
The judges' critiques of the contestants are a major highlight of the show. For example, they might point out issues like the rapping not matching the vocals, the lead singer lacking control, the center position appearing indecisive, the contestants having unfocused eyes, unstable high notes, or a lack of stage presence in their dance. The contestants' defiance is also a major draw. One contestant with excellent rapping skills was unhappy about not having a chance to showcase his talent, saying he wasn't a singer, but a rapper. He was then criticized by the judges, who said that to sing his favorite parts, he first needed to qualify for the stage; otherwise, he wouldn't have a chance to sing anything at all.
After a week of intense practice, it's finally time to perform on stage. The winner will be decided by the votes of the thousand fans who came to the venue, which fully highlights the characteristic that this boy group is created by the whole nation. You can vote for whoever you want in the boy group. This interesting concept has attracted more and more audiences to participate in the voting.
Just before going on stage, Xu Zifan found an opportunity to speak privately with Pan Yu and asked, "Pan Yu, who exactly are you?"