Xu Zifan had no emotions to let go of this time, and his mindset was constantly learning and maintaining youthful vitality, so he didn't linger in the void space and went directly into the next world.
He had just opened his eyes when he heard the person in front of him say, "It's almost your turn, do your best, good luck!"
Xu Zifan responded and quickly absorbed the memories to understand the situation of this world. The original Xu Zifan participated in a variety show called "The Birth of an Idol," which aimed to select seven male contestants from one hundred to form the top idol boy group in the country. Now was the beginning of the show, with the contestants making their entrance. As originally planned, the original Xu Zifan was insecure and very reserved, having virtually no presence in the first episode, only appearing on screen for a few seconds.
Although he performed well in each subsequent episode, his weight made his group dance moves look awkward and unremarkable, lacking any sense of style, and his votes kept dropping. While he is very handsome and looks rather cute with his chubby appearance, viewers want to see idols, not fat people singing and dancing!
The show's producers love anything that generates buzz, and when they discovered the original contestant's weight became a point of contention, they immediately gave him more screen time—but all of it was negative, damaging to his image. This caused viewers to start disliking him, and by the fourth episode, they were calling him ugly and troublesome, clamoring for his withdrawal from the competition. The other contestants also shunned him, because the competition had changed from individual performances to group performances, and pairing him with anyone would inevitably lower the entire group's score. Debuting was every contestant's dream, and no one wanted to be affected.
At the time, Pan Yu, who was the most popular and most likely to debut as the center, proposed to be in a group with the original owner. The original owner was chubby and fair-skinned, like a lucky mascot, while Pan Yu was handsome and charming. Their styles were completely different, and performing together on stage was incredibly awkward. There were many fans watching and waiting to vote in the studio, especially Pan Yu's fans, who kept booing and telling the original owner to get off the stage and stay away from Pan Yu, etc., even before they finished performing.
The recording went wrong, and the staff couldn't keep the original owner any longer. They suggested he withdraw from the competition voluntarily to save face. The original owner returned to his rented apartment, dejected and recklessly rummaged through his belongings, consuming a large meal that resulted in his death. It was later determined that he had taken an excessive amount of hormones, which reacted with a certain food ingredient. However, the source of the hormones could not be traced, and the case was left unresolved.
All of this is because of Pan Yu, who ultimately debuted as the center of the group and became a super popular idol. Pan Yu was reborn, and he and the original owner of this body are half-brothers. In his previous life, Pan Yu felt that he resembled the original owner who debuted as the center, so he became a fan of this idol. After many years of being a fan, he accidentally discovered that this idol was actually his brother, and he felt unbalanced. Therefore, after being reborn, he tried every means to get close to the original owner, used hormones to make the original owner fat, and became famous using songs written by the original owner in his previous life. In essence, he replaced the original owner's life.
The original owner was murdered by his trusted brother, dying with resentment in his eyes. He invited Xu Zifan, the envoy from another dimension, hoping he would defeat Pan Yu, become a superstar, take good care of his mother, and have a happy and fulfilling life. This mission wasn't like a revenge mission to anger his scumbag father; the original owner would pay a price, but wouldn't be completely destroyed. So now, disheartened, he reincarnated, handing over this world's body to Xu Zifan.
After understanding the situation, it was time for Xu Zifan to enter. He first went into a small room where the recording would begin. Here, he would be rated from best to worst, and the letter would be affixed to his body. Xu Zifan was familiar with these procedures, having happened to pay attention to them when dealing with the strategists in a previous world. Without hesitation, he chose "A" and affixed it to his body. When he looked up, a confident smile was already on his lips as he calmly walked into the recording hall.
[Next up is—individual trainee, Xu Zifan.]
The staff's introduction through the speakers filled the hall, and the twenty-odd people who had come in and sat down earlier started discussing it with puzzled expressions.
Who is Xu Zifan?
"There seem to be very few individual trainees. Is he very confident?"
"Has he been seen anywhere? I don't think I've ever heard of him."
When Xu Zifan walked into the passage, they stared wide-eyed, all of them showing expressions of disbelief.
"Oh my god, is that Xu Zifan? Is he really here to participate in Idol Birth?"
Why...why did he come?
Was this done on purpose by the production team?
Everyone was speaking very softly, but you could still tell something was off. Someone else might have felt awkward, but Xu Zifan acted as if he hadn't noticed anything. After standing still, he flashed a bright, sunny smile. "Hello everyone, my name is Xu Zifan, and I'm an independent trainee. I love singing and dancing, but I've never had the chance to receive professional training. I hope to learn professional skills from the mentors and everyone here on this show. By the way, please don't think I'm unsuitable for the competition because I'm so fat. I used to have a good figure, but I've developed a serious eating habit these past three months, gaining weight like a balloon. Don't worry, I'll definitely control my diet and exercise more to lose weight as soon as possible. I won't hold anyone back. Please take good care of me!"
Xu Zifan bowed, and everyone applauded and laughed good-naturedly. At this moment, they weren't concerned about why Xu Zifan had come; they just thought he was interesting, had a great personality, and was quite cute. They couldn't feel any aversion towards him.
One side of the hall featured a nine-tiered staircase, shaped like a pyramid, with one hundred seats, each labeled with a number so contestants could choose their own spot. At the very top was a large, luxurious armchair. Xu Zifan ascended the stairs, his goal clear, and amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, stood before the throne, smiling and saying, "This is my dream spot. I choose this place."
I will continue to work hard for this position. Thank you everyone!
Xu Zifan bowed again, then sat steadily on the throne, leaning back with an extremely relaxed demeanor, showing no sign of tension, anxiety, or excitement. This made some of the contestants uneasy. Was it true what he said earlier about having a great physique and good talent? If he truly possessed such skill, his confidence would be understandable. But could this 200-pound guy really lose weight for the show?
The five mentors on the show were also discussing Xu Zifan. They sat around a table in a room, watching each contestant's performance on the screen, comparing their profiles, and gaining a preliminary understanding of them. Previously, when they saw Xu Zifan's profile, they were all shocked by his chubby photos and discussed whether an idol boy group could have a chubby member. Everyone felt it would create disharmony; a group needs members who are similar in all aspects to create a cohesive and visually appealing performance.
But Xu Zifan's performance upon entering the arena was completely unexpected. This contestant was very interesting, making it impossible not to smile along with him. He was also extremely confident; whether choosing an A-level contestant or immediately challenging for the throne, his words and actions exuded powerful self-assurance. This made them all remember Xu Zifan and eagerly anticipate his future performance.
The other contestants entered one by one, some from the same company even entering together, all dressed identically, looking quite imposing. Some were reserved and silent, some were exaggerated and pretentious, and some couldn't control their expressions, rolling their eyes all over the place—a real mixed bag. Xu Zifan, sitting at the very top, had a clear view of everyone's performance and found it quite amusing.
When more than half the attendees had arrived, the trainees from Pan Yu's company were about to enter.
[Next up are the trainees from Shengxing Entertainment.]
"Wow! Shengxing Entertainment! Why is such a big company participating? Are they trying to kill us?"
"How many of them are there? Five?! Oh my god, are five of the seven debut spots already reserved?"
A commotion broke out as Shengxing's five trainees strode in amidst the murmurs. Pan Yu was in the center. His appearance elicited small gasps of surprise from the crowd, who all recognized him. They said he had released two self-written songs that were particularly good and very popular.
Pan Yu appeared very confident, greeting everyone with a smile, until he saw Xu Zifan on the throne, at which point his expression froze for three seconds! Xu Zifan smiled and waved to him, pointing to the second seat and calling out, "Pan Zi, come sit here with me, I don't know anyone else, there's no one to talk to!"
The vulgar and corny nickname "Panzi" almost made Pan Yu lose his temper. He suppressed his anger and waved his hand with a smile, "Zifan, don't give me nicknames randomly. People will take it seriously. I'm with my friends. We'll catch up later." After saying that, fearing that Xu Zifan would say something shocking again, he immediately said, "Hello everyone, my name is Pan Yu. We are trainees from Shengxing Entertainment."
The others bowed along with him. A contestant next to Pan Yu stood up straight and pointed to five seats in the fourth row, saying, "There are five seats over there. Shall we go over?"
He had already found his seat, so Pan Yu couldn't say anything more. He could only nod and smile as he followed them to seat number eighteen. His carefully prepared opening remarks had been aborted, and before he could even project his confidence during the seat selection, two of his highlights were gone, leaving him quite annoyed. What puzzled him most was why Xu Zifan was sitting on the throne. When he encouraged Xu Zifan to participate, Xu Zifan was clearly insecure. How could he have chosen the throne in front of so many people and dared to speak loudly to him? Was it a mistake to invite Xu Zifan? What if he hadn't managed to discourage Xu Zifan but instead helped him regain his confidence?
Pan Yu glanced back at Xu Zifan, but Xu Zifan was looking straight ahead, not even sparing him a glance. It felt so much like his past life; it was as if he would never be noticed by this half-brother. However, Pan Yu then glanced at Xu Zifan's physique, satisfied, and turned back. This kind of fat guy would only be laughed at by everyone on a show like this. This was only the first episode; everyone was just watching for fun and wouldn't say anything. Just wait, the real storm was yet to come.
Xu Zifan watched the others enter with a smile, clapping and laughing along with everyone. This chubby guy, with his good looks and charisma, was quite attractive even though he was overweight; he had a particularly auspicious appearance. Gradually, everyone felt that his seat was quite harmonious. After all, he was the only overweight person out of a hundred, which would have looked odd anywhere else. His relaxed posture made everyone feel more at ease; he really did resemble a lucky charm.