Chapter 1.1 - PandaTL

“The information displayed inside shows that you’re still in high school, and you also don’t belong to any entertainment company, so what made you think of participating in our talent show?”

Qin Lu opened his eyes and found himself standing right under the spotlight. The lenses that were familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time were aimed at him from all angles, and the man that looked like the director was anxiously mouthing at him.

There were four people with strong auras and delicate makeup sitting opposite him, not far away. The tiered pyramid-shaped seats behind them were filled with handsome young boys. Their gazes were all fixated on Qin Lu, watching his performance.

Some fragments of memories quickly flashed in Qin Lu’s mind. And as there wasn’t enough time to think about it in detail, he quickly extracted several important pieces of information and roughly knew he was participating in a talent draft.

He knew very well that he was supposed to be dead. But he was standing here now completely unharmed, debating on whether he should figure out what was going on or deal with the immediate problem in front of him first.

As someone who had endured various hardships in the entertainment industry for decades, Qin Lu had faced innumerable emergencies, and hence, he forced himself to calm down quickly.

After absorbing the general information he had just gotten, Qin Lu raised his eyes and looked at the mentor that had asked the question. With renewed vigor, he exhaled, and a look of embarrassment surfaced on his face.

“Sorry, teacher, I’m a little nervous.” He smiled.

Lai Yu Han, who had always been a patient vocal teacher, nodded his head in understanding, while Cui Zhi Hao, who had been observing Qin Lu all along, didn’t comment on this. But he repeated the question asked just now seriously, “We noticed you weren’t associated with any entertainment company and were just an ordinary high schooler before joining this program. You even got good grades-”

Yin Su Li, a senior with great influence that rarely spoke, looked at the information and tapped her fingertips on the table twice, showing a rare look of astonishment. She raised her eyebrows and said, “Jinghe High?”

“Mm-hmm,” Qin Lu hummed, not saying anything else.

Yin Su Li raised her head to look at him for a moment. Then, she let out her first smile since the recording began. The cameraman’s reaction was quick, and he captured that unusual reaction.

This female rapper, who was famous for being a person not to mess with, had already debuted more than 20 years ago, and the way she regarded her trainees was not particularly picky or vicious. Personal strength was something so basic it didn’t even need to be mentioned. And it’s understandable even if you want to attract attention through unconventional methods, but at the very least, mentors shouldn’t be treated like fools.

Take earlier, for example. There were some trainees who obviously failed to meet the standard, but the moment they were on stage, they were full of confidence. They treated their skills with boastful attitudes and exaggeration, but once they opened their mouths, they almost made Yin Su Li leave on the spot.

After singing a song that seemed like it would go on forever, they still pretended to be modest and made up nonsense that could only fool a layman.

“Just now, there was a C chord tone that I thought was too easy, so I fine-tuned it a little myself, and made it a little rough.”

You little bastard,¹ how are you calling this ‘a little rough’. When Americans and Russians are at war, all you need to do is stand in the middle of it and shout to directly send both sides away, and with this, world peace is achieved.

The Nobel Prize would feel sorry for you and your great achievements if they didn’t give you a prize.

However, the program was still recording, and Yin Su Li still had to give some face to the person chosen by the program staff in front of the cameras, so she could only put on a cold face and say, “F.”

Yin Su Li sighed internally. In recent years, talent shows have become increasingly popular, and all youths, regardless of gender, wanted to depend on such shows to become a hit overnight. They either had dreams of becoming a celebrity or just wanted to make easy money, but how was being famous as simple as they thought?

Many people considered looks to be the most important factor in a talent show, and this she had to admit, but those that really got to debut in the end were the ones that either relied on themselves with their looks and strength or had someone supporting them behind the scenes.

Having personal characteristics is important as it can be used as a memory trigger for the audience to remember you, but only good triggers would be of use. To make people like you is also an ability. Some people would cry and make the audience sympathize and tolerate their lack of strength, while some would cry but make the audience feel disgusted instead.

This is also why there will always be people in these talent shows who show too much of their strength and end up being scolded humiliatingly for being fake and artificial. Having fate with the audience is an abstract² thing which can’t be forced.

If you don’t want to be a star with a limited period of three months, soon to be forgotten by the public in less than half a year, then real strength is still needed.

Exaggerated strength is not considered real strength, and strength built on being marketed is just like a bubble, easily bursting with a single poke.

If the strength was still not up to standard, then be determined to work harder. But people who want to aim high and pursue the impossible yet don’t have the ability to do so are destined to not go far.