Chapter 48: Thinking About It, It’s Actually Kind of Cute Part 2

Qu Yanni pointed at a fleeting figure on the screen, Zhao Zhining. “Is that him?”

Liu Lusi nodded. “Call him simple, and he’s very perceptive, knows how to speak pleasingly. Call him clever, and he’s easily provoked, letting his emotions show right in front of the camera. Good thing everyone knows he doesn’t have a bad heart, and no one will hold a grudge against a pretty handsome fool…”

Qu Yanni reminisced, “When Mengmeng first recorded Night Heart Seven, he occasionally let his emotions show too.”

And so the group veered off-topic, reminiscing about the fresh, green Mengmeng who had just joined the show.

“Back then, Mengmeng also had a nickname, ‘Little Arrogant’.”

Indeed, Mengmeng had a certain proud aura visible on his face back then.

He needed to use his own skills to convince everyone, yet because he was so raw, a hint of bluff inevitably showed. Once the production team and audience were both wholeheartedly convinced, he rarely let his emotions leak out anymore. Even when Mengmeng appeared on camera with a cold, expressionless face, everyone just assumed he had a plan figured out.

Including First Sister; when she was anxious, she would instinctively look towards Mengmeng.

Mao Maoyu giggled. “Thinking about it, it’s actually kind of cute.”

He was immediately glared at by Mengmeng. He instantly shut his mouth and mimed zipping his lips.

So everyone returned to the main topic.

It had to be said, the All-Star Launch storyline was dragging on way too long.

One Positioning Round broadcast over two episodes. They’d finally finished it and were pushing towards the final climax, only to spend another half-episode on the elimination process at this stage. The remaining hour was used to set the stage for the final Public Performance. Just as they finished listening to the demos and started picking songs and positions, they’d insert solo interviews with seven or eight male trainees. Each had mastered a certain linguistic art, greatly satisfying the audience’s desire to see “Boy Group Dynamics”.

And so, everyone waited until only the last 20 minutes remained.

Finally, the Host notified all 18 trainees that the Flying Mentor was about to arrive!

Eldan looked at Li Tingzhou. “We waited all night just for your screen time.”

Li Tingzhou himself was tired of waiting. “That’s quite a feat.”

Everyone locked their eyes on the TV screen. Just as the trainees in front were pulling out all the stops to fight for song parts, eyes clashing frequently, Mengmeng, wearing a water-gray collarless shirt, quietly arrived at the mentor panel at the back.

His arrival truly felt like he graced the place with glory!

Kang Yu and An Jue, who had long admired him from afar, behaved with relative restraint. They didn’t rush over to hug Mengmeng directly but shook hands with him with controlled composure.

“Is this what it’s like for a teacher watching the classroom monitor feed?”

Mao Maoyu commented, “It’s a bit like a nested doll.”

Mentors watching the trainee feed from the mentor lounge, while they watched the mentors watching the feed on TV.

Li Tingzhou choked a bit. “It really is a bit like that.”

When had the mentor panel ever been allocated this much screen time before?

As soon as Mengmeng arrived, so he could identify everyone, almost every time a trainee came forward to select a part, they’d quickly run through their impressions with Mengmeng. It was a first, evaluating the trainees from this perspective. The audience and fans also cared a lot about Mengmeng’s views as a Producer—would he choose to be harmonious and go with the flow, or would he forcefully suppress the male trainees?

As it turned out, Mengmeng did not disappoint.

He was there to play the bad cop.

After the groups for “BAD” and “See You Tomorrow” were divided, not every male trainee was happy with the result. The more opportunistic ones were already scheming how to push their teammates aside and take over themselves. But everyone knew the adjustment rules for the mid-point check. Unless a performance was so terrible even the mentors couldn’t stand it, generally, they had to grit their teeth and perform according to this distribution.

But Mengmeng didn’t care about that.

As soon as he arrived, he showed a small flash of anger, practically pointing at these male trainees’ noses and asking: Do you still want to do this or not? If not, we’ll replace you!

He precisely targeted Zhao Zhining as a breakthrough point, while also calmly suppressing Jian Ming.

Once these two were made examples of, the others immediately fell in line.

Viewers without specific biases actually found this kind of plot very satisfying to watch.

It must be known that Show Fans spoiled male trainees to the point of praising even water buffalo voices. It was rare to see a mentor who didn’t mince words, and one with solid credentials at that, immediately dampening everyone’s arrogance. With just this little display of skill, even if the male trainees had complaints, they could only swallow them for now and obediently practice.

Dai Jier, worried that Show Fans would curse Mengmeng, had been watching with a troubled expression the whole time.

“They really are a bunch of young masters…”

Mao Maoyu curled his lip. “Would Whale really dare to maliciously edit Mengmeng?”

And indeed, the edit actually favored Mengmeng’s side.

No one is born liking to lose their temper and target others. Mengmeng’s intentions were undeniably good. He wanted to humble the trainees, strip away their impatience, and prevent them from getting full of themselves before even debuting.

Was “BAD” really that hard to learn?

How could they still not remember the lyrics after hearing it several times?

Was singing two lines in a high note really that hard?

Why did they secretly lower the key just as it was about to reach their throat?

In the past, this would definitely have been edited into a hardworking underdog story: “Encounter Difficulty – Get Scolded by Mentor – Overcome Hardship – Perfect Performance.” But now, it leaned entirely towards Li Tingzhou.

A perfectly fine song like “BAD”, ruined like this by the trainees.

No matter who it was, their mood wouldn’t be too good.

He didn’t throw a tantrum or curse them out on the spot. Instead, he pointed out the trainees’ shortcomings and corrected details over and over again. That was already quite patient. Surrounded by a chattering bunch of dense fools, Mengmeng could even maintain his composure and steady his temper—this level of self-cultivation was extraordinary!

But those who knew Mengmeng well understood: trouble was brewing.

Generally, reaching that expressionless state meant one of two things.

One was having a well-thought-out plan, which, of course, didn’t fit this situation. The other was brewing a storm. Once he realized it was a waste of his energy to keep helping in vain, Mengmeng would usually employ some methods of mental suppression.

Clearly, the current situation was the latter.

In that case, it would be these arrogant, clueless male trainees who’d be in for it.

Just as everyone was watching excitedly, anticipating Mengmeng’s might, the episode ended.

“I give up. Feels like only the last 20 minutes of these two hours were useful.”

【Rebuilt Public Opinion Observation Room | Mengmeng Flying? Mengmeng Dog Training!】

————

You can really feel the difference between a mature man and young male trainees. Mengmeng just standing there, looking so dashing and well-built—I even thought the main hall’s lighting was actually pretty good. In comparison, the male trainees look as tender as elementary schoolers, all huddled with their hands clasped in front of them, standing before him. They were so obedient it made me want to laugh…

Who understands? Watching Mengmeng single out Zhao Zhining, the guy’s eyeballs were practically vibrating.

It’s all about overwhelming force breaking all schemes. In the face of absolute suppression, those little tricks and tactics are completely useless. Who understands how long I’ve been really annoyed by Jian Ming? Every time he’s the one instigating others while hiding behind them himself…

1L: Truly felt Mengmeng’s charm +1

6L: Wasn’t there talk before about Mengmeng going to Star Two as a vocal mentor? Good thing he didn’t go.

9L: Star Two mentors are clearly not as good as Night Heart Seven Guest Singer. If I were Mengmeng, I’d also pick Night Heart Seven. Is being a mentor really that great? Kang Yu, An Jue, and the others haven’t been scolded any less. It’s made the mentors restrained instead, having to be overly careful with the male trainees. Who’s the teacher and who’s the student here? Isn’t this turning the natural order upside down?!

11L: Mengmeng really dodged a bullet.

19L: LOL, the Show Fans one second are popping champagne because their bias got into the Bad Guys group, the next second they’re aiming their cannons at Mengmeng, listing ten major crimes against him, like not respecting the male trainees…

25L: May I ask, have the male trainees debuted yet?

If they debuted and became A-Listers, that’s a different story. Right now, they’re nothing.

41L: If I were Mengmeng, I’d scold them too. Working hard to write a good song only for it to be sung terribly.

45L: Someone on Douyin pieced together the demo fragments. So majestic!

49L: I’m starting to loop it right now…

60L: Isn’t the funniest thing that Show Fans started an uprising in their Super Topic, preparing to ally with several fandoms to fight the Mengmeng fans, while their biases are being trained by Mengmeng’s few words until their eyes shine, and whenever Mengmeng comes to inspect, they just sing louder/try harder?

56L: Everyone dares to say it, Mengmeng’s cold expression is incredibly handsome.

58L: [Mengmeng crossing arms, expressionless]x1

[Mengmeng wearing glasses, slightly frowning]x1

[Mengmeng speechless, closing his eyes]x1

208L: So handsome, I just fainted from the handsomeness…

212L: Show Fans can give up hope. Next episode’s preview shows even fiercer training, haha!

221L: Referencing the strictness level in the female trainee recording room, I support Mengmeng training the male trainees until they cry.

230L: Mengmeng can come train me, I’m not afraid of fierceness (spicy emoji)

249L: That black shirt in the preview is absolutely stunning. Also, a post comparing the male trainees’ heights using Mengmeng’s 183cm as the reference is already up next door. Hope everyone supports it. 【Link: Taking Mengmeng at 183cm as Baseline, The True Height of Male Trainees】

253L: Good post, upvoted.