"Mice/Li Yao: What is Ye Xing doing to his beautiful face?"
"Mice/Yang Siyu: If you didn't say this was Ye Xing, I wouldn't have been able to recognize him at all."
"Mice/Zhao Xu: How did this person manage to take such an ugly selfie?"
"A&R/Liu Jiajia: ...You all are saying the exact same thing as the teacher yesterday. [Smile]"
The five trainees had different appearances and personalities, although they were all considered to be the handsome type. Among them, Ye Xing's looks were exceptionally beautiful and rare even in the entertainment industry.
According to his mother, his maternal great-grandmother was Russian, so Ye Xing had a touch of mixed blood, though it wasn’t very noticeable.
Ye Xing gave off the impression of a beautiful Japanese youth overall. The only exception was his tall, prominent nose, which seemed out of place. But this very feature gave him recognizability, especially his perfect box nose and undepressable nasal base, which added greatly to his entire face.
The other four were the boy-next-door handsome type. And that “atmosphere” descriptor could only be added after they had makeup on.
Apart from Ye Xing, there was another trainee with very distinctive looks, called Pei Luming.
His name contained the character for “deer,” but he didn’t resemble a fawn at all. Instead, he looked like a Maltese. His black pupils were very large, making him seem watery-eyed. Plus his lively personality and his self-introduction that his MBTI was ENFP. In both appearance and personality, he tended toward a puppy-like image.
As for why a puppy—he was only thirteen this year and not even 1.65 meters tall yet.
Among the remaining three, Gao Xiayu left an impression. He was the oldest of the five, two years Pei Luming’s senior. He was also a handsome man with well-defined features.
If not for Ye Xing, he could have competed with Pei Luming for the top visual position. But with Ye Xing’s blinding beauty and Pei Luming’s distinctive good looks, he fell a little short in that aspect.
However, what made him memorable wasn’t this. Rather, it was the naked ambition apparent in his eyes.
Whether at first sight or on the several times they’d run into each other at the company, Gao Xiayu's gaze was always the most determined. When the other trainees didn’t dare meet her eyes out of embarrassment, he dared to look Jiang Juyou right in the eye.
He was also the most comprehensively skilled out of the five. Whether singing or dancing, he could pick it up quickly. In the daily feedback the teachers gave in their group chat, he was one of the most frequently praised.
This was what left an impression on Jiang Juyou.
Jiang Juyou really didn’t have face blindness. But she would easily mix up the remaining two, not because they looked alike, but because they lacked brilliance compared to the other three members.
In fact, these two were polar opposites in both personality and preferences.
Chi Qiao had studied street dance since he was little. He was also quite outgoing, talkative, and playful, like he had ADHD—even when standing still properly, he would sway his body.
Yao Shuo, on the other hand, had studied vocal music and piano since childhood. He had even acted in musicals when he was small. Unlike the restless Chi Qiao, this one was a little too unwilling to move. Every time their dance class ended, he and Ye Xing were the ones scolded for moving like earthworms.
One excelled in dance while the other in vocals. One liked showing off while the other was artsy-fartsy.
They contrasted extremely in every aspect.
Chi Qiao’s playful side that knew how to play was also evident in his aesthetic style. He was always dressed the most fashionably out of the trainees. While the others just threw on T-shirts and shorts, he wore tank tops with cargo pants. He even kept a hat on his head when it was sweltering out and clattered around in various bracelets on his arms.
But his perception of beauty truly aligned with mainstream aesthetics, at least as far as the female employees in the company were concerned. They didn’t criticize his outfit choices as greasy or over-the-top. His selfies demonstrated his grasp on beauty perfectly—
"Mice/Li Yao: This photo’s nice. Who’s this?"
"Mice/Yang Siyu: Looks like Chi Qiao?"
"Mice/Li Yao: He really knows how to take photos and utilize props for good composition."
"Mice/Zhao Xu: Get him to teach the others, and teach me while he’s at it."
"Mice/Li Yao: He must’ve studied art before, at least enough to understand composition."
"A&R Liu Jiajia: Right? I also feel his selfies look the nicest, so good-looking that I truly feel that ‘heartthrob’ aesthetic."
"Mice/Li Yao: Drag Ye Xing for doing who-knows-what to his beautiful face!!!"
"Mice/Zhao Xu: Get the teacher to pay more attention to Ye Xing during class. If I took selfies like his, I'd strangle someone."
"Mice/Yang Siyu: Then I’d quit collecting cards and become a rich divorcee."
"Mice/Li Yao: Wishful thinking. Selfies like these would only end up as fodder cards bundled with pricier cards."
"Mice/Zhao Xu: Or bonus enclosed cards."
"Mice/Yang Siyu: ......"
Jiang Juyou didn’t keep reading what they were chatting about in the group. She was observing the situation inside the practice room from outside the door.
She didn’t interact with them much, beyond the time when they first arrived at the company and the brief greetings in the corridors or elevator.
But after each day’s lessons, the teachers would give her feedback, focusing mainly on vocals and dance.
Currently, there were two people who could serve as main vocalists—Yao Shuo and Gao Xiayu. They had both received vocal training, but Gao Xiayu’s vocal skills were obviously lacking in some way.
In the teacher's words, apart from Yao Shuo, the other four were tone-deaf with limited range. They could only sing properly within a certain range. Beyond that, their notes would wander off toward the eastern, southern, western, and northern regions of the motherland.
Gao Xiayu was slightly better, just somewhat unstable.
Where dance was concerned, Chi Qiao was practically half a teacher already. Apart from Gao Xiayu who could barely meet the teacher’s requirements, the other three’s limbs seemed unfamiliar with each other, even their necks had a mind of their own.
And they had to go on stage for their first monthly evaluation two months later. So apart from foundations, they had to learn some set dances—all choreographed by the dance teacher with simple requirements of keeping the beat and moving uniformly.
When Jiang Juyou opened the door, Chi Qiao was leading Yao Shuo and Ye Xing in reviewing basic movements. She didn't go straight in, watching from the doorway instead.
"Don't move your neck. Why're you moving your neck when squatting and standing?"
"Relax your upper body more. You're too stiff. Though it's squatting and standing, your back doesn't have to be ramrod straight!"
"Stop hunching your shoulders and relax your neck."
The two earthworms struggled to follow Teacher Chi Qiao's instructions while their brains failed to control their bodies. They'd manage their necks but neglect their legs, remember their backs but forget their knees.
Chi Qiao stood in front, lips moving for a long while, before sighing, "Haa..."
Seeing his on-the-verge-of-giving-up expression, Ye Xing and Yao Shuo's faces scrunched up gloomily as well. He quickly comforted, "S'okay, s'okay. You've only been learning three days."
He was already overjoyed that none of the five were rhythm idiots.
Right as he finished talking, the doors of the vocal room opened. Gao Xiayu and Pei Luming exited at the same time, the former holding a phone while the latter kept kneading his throat.
"My throat's about to catch fire from singing." Pei Luming cleared his throat then went to the corner to grab his Paw Patrol water bottle and take a sip.
He had just turned, intending to ask Chi Qiao to lead him in practice some movements, when he met eyes with Jiang Juyou in the crack of the door. "Ahhh you scared me!"
The sudden yell spooked the others as well. They huddled together, those closest, Ye Xing and Yao Shuo, clinging onto each other directly.
The five of them crowded together like threatened cubs, trembling as they followed Pei Luming's line of sight toward the door.
Realizing she had frightened them, Jiang Juyou hurriedly pulled the door open. "Practicing?"
She also hadn't expected the five boys to not muster a single ounce of courage between them.
Seeing it was Jiang Juyou, the five promptly lined up to greet her.
"Hello, teacher!"
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