Deeply Affectionate Male Supporting Character Topped the Protagonist 63

Chapter 63: Shining Boys

The next day was the rehearsal for the first stage performance of “Shining Boys.”

Rong Xingyi was so nervous he hadn’t slept all night, arriving early.

Xi Leng was already sitting on the sofa, startling him.

After silently observing his brother’s back for a while, Rong Xingyi cautiously approached him, calling out softly: “…Ge?”

“Ge?”

Xi Leng only seemed to snap out of his daze when Rong Xingyi stood in front of him.

He smiled, stood up, and said: “Ready? I’ll take you.”

Rong Xingyi, however, frowned: “What’s wrong? Didn’t you sleep again?”

His brother had fair skin, so dark circles were very noticeable when he didn’t get enough rest.

And it was early in the morning, Xi Leng smiling as soon as he saw him, this was too strange!

Xi Leng didn’t respond. Rong Xingyi asked again: “What’s wrong? If you’re not feeling well, then just rest, it’s just a rehearsal today, I’ll be back tonight.”

Xi Leng stopped forcing a smile, humming in acknowledgement, and sitting back down. Just as Rong Xingyi reached the door, he added: “Good luck.”

He said “good luck,” but he looked deflated, like a balloon losing air.

This also affected Rong Xingyi’s mood, unfamiliar with the studio, and also worried about his brother, he was distracted the entire time.

And he couldn’t ask Min Zhi, he wasn’t there.

Rong Xingyi heard someone sigh in disappointment, muttering Min Zhi’s name. Of the four mentors, only he wasn’t present.

Min Zhi hadn’t released any new songs in three years, yet he still had countless fans. Three trainees from Huoshu Entertainment had chosen his songs, their company hiring a professional choreographer.

Huoshu Entertainment was a large entertainment company, the stars among this group of small fish and shrimps, constantly surrounded by flattery, some even saying that the three of them would definitely get 3A (three A ratings).

Rong Xingyi silently covered his ears and went to practice on his own.

The next day, the official recording.

88 trainees sat in the tiered audience seats. The host was the actress Lin Yanran, radiant even with minimal makeup. Then the mentors appeared one after another, the trainees erupting in cheers and screams.

Rong Xingyi, however, was too nervous to make a sound, hiding in a corner like his brother, pretending to be a mushroom.

The camera swept past him several times, until it almost zoomed in on his face, he looked up in surprise, his sparkling peach blossom eyes and a faint dimple on his left cheek appearing on screen.

The trainees present were observing their competitors, while the staff in the control room, used to seeing handsome men and beautiful women, couldn’t help but admire his face.

“This kid is really good-looking.”

“Too bad his skills aren’t great, and he’s an independent trainee…”

The first few groups of trainees were all unknown cannon fodder. The mentors, one after another, put on pained expressions. After half an hour, their eyes finally lit up.

“We are from Huoshu Entertainment…”

The handsome trainees took turns introducing themselves.

“Huoshu Entertainment.” Dance mentor Soul’s harsh standards were hidden beneath her beautiful smile, everyone knew that her only harmless quality was her pretty face, “Then I’ll have very high expectations for you.”

Ren Xu, the center position, Rong Xingyi had just heard him talking sweetly on the phone with his girlfriend yesterday, even snapping at him when he passed by, so he had a strong impression of him.

But his attitude towards the mentors was completely different, saying confidently: “We won’t disappoint you.”

“Okay, please begin your performance.”

They received the highest praise so far since the recording started.

But the four mentors were carefully chosen by the program team, all highly skilled themselves. They still pointed out the flaws of the newcomers frankly, praising them first, then criticizing them.

“But—”

With every “but,” Ren Xu’s face darkened.

He was waiting for the vocal mentor to say something nice, but the vocal mentor was Min Zhi.

Silence was his highest praise.

He picked up the microphone, his words sharper than any of the other mentors: “You’re a group now, so I’ll address you together. Simply put, in terms of vocals, my rating is F, failing.”

The four mentors would discuss and decide on the ratings together, but Min Zhi started with the worst possible “F.” The three of them naturally weren’t happy. If the other three mentors, to save face for Min Zhi, actually gave them an F…

Ren Xu hurriedly grabbed the microphone and stepped forward: “Min-laoshi, I have something to say…”

Min Zhi raised an eyebrow, not even bothering to pick up the microphone, gesturing with his eyes, “Speak.”

Ren Xu became even angrier, unable to help but retort, “You haven’t released any new songs in years, you might not be familiar with the current trends. We’re performing idol dance music, which you might not be very familiar with either. We made some changes to your song, raised the key, did you even notice? How can you just say we’re failing?”

“When you’re in my position,” Min Zhi said coldly, “then you can ask me that.”

These words evoked a chorus of “woah”s from the audience.

Min Zhi, ignoring them, said to the trainees on stage, “Now, you can only ask ‘why’.”

Ren Xu’s face darkened, forced to be more humble, changing his words to ask: “…Then why?”

“Because of your attitude, I don’t want to tell you.” Min Zhi put down the microphone, not even looking at him.

Whispers spread through the audience, Ren Xu’s face almost unbearable to look at.

Dance mentor Soul, however, smiled kindly, her words, however, were, “After our discussion, we can only give you a B rating, keep working hard, jiayou.”

His two other teammates received the worst rating, F. They forced a smile, thanked the mentors, and turned around with dark expressions, walking off stage dejectedly.

Min Zhi glanced at their expressions captured on the big screen, saying nothing.

Only thinking, audience popularity wasn’t completely based on luck.

The host, Lin Yanran, smiling, tried to smooth things over: “The personalities of these trainees from Huoshu Entertainment are very similar to Min-laoshi’s back then.”

“You mean…” Min Zhi looked up, smiling coldly, “They don’t have what it takes to be a top star, but they have the attitude?”

“Woah——”

Another wave of shocked “woah”s and “damn”s from the audience, along with unintentional applause.

Min Zhi’s actions today, was he planning to make the trending topics his home?

The program team, naturally loving the drama, all the cameras focused on him.

Min Zhi, however, knew when to stop, lowering his head to check the notes he had made.

The director hurriedly instructed the cameraman to zoom in. The performance time for the initial stage was only a few minutes, and with several trainees performing at once, the other mentors’ comments were brief, using simple scores or just marking with checks and crosses.

The rap mentor noticed the camera and covered his notes, not letting them film.

The cameraman’s main target wasn’t him anyway, continuing to move behind Min Zhi.

Min Zhi refused to tell the criticized trainees why, yet his notes were very detailed. He had printed out the sheet music for each performance song, one for each trainee, marking all the off-key and out-of-tune parts.

The sheet music for the Huoshu Entertainment group was the one with the raised key that Ren Xu mentioned, covered in red and green markings, a disastrous sight.

Honestly, the director, seeing this, thought, sometimes telling the truth was more hurtful than saying nothing…

The atmosphere in the studio remained tense for the next half hour. None of the trainees who followed were particularly impressive, even the good-natured dance mentor kept shaking her head.

Min Zhi completely lost interest in commenting. When encountering truly terrible vocals, he would take off his earphones midway, not bothering to listen.

The trainees nervously went on stage, then dejectedly walked off with C or F ratings.

Until the first independent trainee appeared.

The mentors were still discussing the previous trainee’s performance when they heard the surprised gasps and whispers of the trainees behind them.

The three looked up, all slightly stunned.

“Ye Xingyi, right… 15 years old?” Dance mentor Soul’s eyes lit up, a doting smile on her face. “I heard you’re the youngest trainee.”

Rong Xingyi gripped the microphone tightly, a visible nervousness, but his smile was bright, “Mm-hmm, I’ll be 15 next month, I’m in my third year of junior high.”

Another wave of surprised and envious whispers from the audience, calling him “didi,” were children developing this well these days? Min Zhi vaguely heard someone say that they were a whole Chinese zodiac cycle older than him.

Dance mentor Soul, liking him even more, couldn’t help but chat with him, “Didi, has anyone ever told you… that you’re very cute?”

Her words carried a hint of adult teasing, but Rong Xingyi, not quite understanding, simply answered honestly, “No.”

“Not even your parents? You have to tell them, the audience will definitely say that when they see the show.” Dance mentor Soul, unaware of his family situation, chatted with him like a relative, then asked, “Do you look more like your mother or your father?”

Rong Xingyi bit his lip several times, looking a bit at a loss. The mentors and trainees thought he was nervous, encouraging him, telling him not to be afraid.

Rong Xingyi composed himself, smiling, his dimple appearing: “I should… look more like my gege?”

The mentors’ eyes lit up and immediately asked, “You have an older brother?”

“Mm-hmm, he came with me.”

Everyone instinctively looked towards the entrance.

Lin Yanran, smiling, cut in: “Hey, we’re getting off topic, this isn’t a family reunion show, why is everyone so curious about his family?”

“Hahahaha——”

The studio erupted in laughter, the previously tense atmosphere becoming relaxed and harmonious.

Rong Xingyi, the person at the center of this change, oblivious, stood on stage, smiling awkwardly.

Min Zhi brought the topic back, nodding at him: “Ready? You can start your performance.”

Rong Xingyi, starting from scratch, self-taught, had spent most of his time on dancing. At least he could sing just by opening his mouth, but training his limbs wasn’t something that could be done overnight.

His dance performance, however, wasn’t very good. He himself didn’t seem to notice any problems, singing and dancing, sweating profusely, still smiling brightly, his beautiful peach blossom eyes sparkling.

Dance mentor Soul had a good first impression of him. Seeing his age and independent trainee status, she didn’t have very high expectations for his dancing skills, her comments mostly encouraging, “You’ve clearly worked very hard, it’s okay to make mistakes, to forget the moves, the most important thing is not to panic, to finish the performance, that’s basic respect for the audience. I see your potential, jiayou, didi~”

The mentors were much more enthusiastic than before, their attitude towards Rong Xingyi quite good, now, only Min Zhi, the vocal mentor who seemed to have eaten gunpowder, remained.

He looked up, his gaze sharp as he scanned the nervous teenager on stage.

After a few seconds, he looked down at his notes, then finally spoke.

“Your tone is good, but you don’t even know the basics of vocalization, I won’t say more.” He was still blunt, at least he wasn’t cursing, “You have three months, learn hard, your foundation is weak, you’ll need to work several times harder than others.”

“Your overall rating is C.”

Rong Xingyi wasn’t used to his unfamiliar, serious demeanor, but he still nodded repeatedly, accepting the criticism humbly.

“Thank you, Min Zhi-gege.”

Min Zhi froze, silent.

The audience was also silent.

Rong Xingyi, having blurted it out, then realizing his mistake, but it was too late to take it back, simply bowed at a ninety-degree angle to all the mentors.

“Thank you, Peep-gege, thank you, Soul-jiejie…” He then turned around, including the host, “Thank you, Yanran-jiejie!”

The two women smiled brightly at him: “You’re welcome, didi.”

Laughter filled the studio again.

The recording for the first stage started at noon. Almost a hundred trainees took turns performing, plus the mentors’ comments, it didn’t end until evening.

The program team gave them a half-hour break. The mentors, being celebrities, along with all the trainees, had some snacks and drinks.

Rong Xingyi sat in the middle row, behind Min Zhi. He tried to talk to him several times but couldn’t find an opportunity, feeling strangely apprehensive.

Another independent trainee beside him, Liang Zhun, said to him: “I think Min-shen treats you quite well.”

Rong Xingyi was stunned, his expression slightly downcast, “Really?”

Compared to usual, it was a world of difference.

But this was work, he should be professional and unbiased, that was the idol he admired.

“We both got a C.” Liang Zhun, thinking he was unhappy about not getting a higher rating, nudged him with his elbow, grinning, “Put them together, and it’s a heart!”

Rong Xingyi couldn’t help but smile, his dimple appearing.

The camera expertly turned towards them, capturing this essential boy group interaction.

The recording continued after the break, everyone in the studio exhausted, while outside, someone silently leaked news about the first recording of “Shining Boys.”

【Melon | slsn first stage】
【MZ seems to be in a bad mood today, completely roasted my baby… Mama’s heart hurts】

The poster also included a few of Min Zhi’s new quotes, like “Get to my level before questioning me,” and “Doesn’t have what it takes to be a top star, but has the attitude,” so realistic that even passersby wouldn’t doubt it.

3L: Just say which mentor directly, it’s obvious, 23333

4L: Don’t, even abbreviations can get you a lawyer’s letter, protecting myself

7L: Hahahahaha, I’m dying of laughter, your bias isn’t exactly unknown, aaaaah, I can’t wait to see the full episode, can they just edit it and release it right now??

After the break, the atmosphere in the studio didn’t improve much. None of the trainees who followed were impressive, even the good-natured dance mentor kept shaking her head.

Min Zhi completely lost interest in commenting. When encountering truly terrible vocals, he would take off his earphones midway, not bothering to listen.

The trainees nervously went on stage, then dejectedly walked off with C or F ratings.

Until the first independent trainee appeared.

The mentors were still discussing the previous trainee when they heard the surprised gasps and whispers behind them.

The three looked up, all slightly stunned.

“Ye Xingyi, right… 15 years old?” The dance mentor’s eyes lit up, a maternal smile on her face. “I heard you’re the youngest trainee.”

Rong Xingyi gripped the microphone tightly, visibly nervous, but his smile was bright, “Mm-hmm, I’ll be 15 next month, I’m in my third year of junior high.”

Another wave of surprised and envious whispers from the audience, calling him “didi,” were children developing this well these days? Min Zhi vaguely heard someone say that he was a whole Chinese zodiac cycle older than him.

The dance mentor, liking him even more, couldn’t help but make small talk: “Didi, has anyone ever told you… that you look very cute?”

There was a hint of adult teasing in her words, but Rong Xingyi, only partially understanding, simply replied honestly: “No.”

“Not even your parents? You have to tell them, the audience will definitely say so when they see the show.” The dance mentor, unaware of his family situation, chatted with him like she would with a relative’s child, then asked, “Do you look more like your mom or your dad?”

Rong Xingyi hesitated, looking rather helpless. The mentors and trainees below thought he was nervous, encouraging him, telling him not to be afraid.

Rong Xingyi composed himself, smiling, his dimple appearing, “I should… look more like my gege?”

The mentors’ eyes lit up, and they immediately asked, “You have an older brother?”

“Mm-hmm, he came with me.”

Hearing this, everyone instinctively looked towards the entrance.

Lin Yanran, the host, smiling, cut in, “Hey, aren’t we getting off topic? This isn’t a family reunion show, why is everyone so interested in his family?”

“Hahahaha——”

Laughter filled the studio again, the tense atmosphere relaxing.

Rong Xingyi, the center of this change, oblivious, stood on stage, smiling awkwardly.

Min Zhi brought the topic back, nodding at him, “Are you ready? You can begin your performance.”

Rong Xingyi, starting from scratch, self-taught, had spent most of his time on dancing. Singing at least only required him to open his mouth, while taming his limbs wasn’t something that could be done overnight.

However, his dance performance still wasn’t great. He didn’t seem to notice the problems himself, singing and dancing with a bright smile on his face, his beautiful peach blossom eyes sparkling with sweat.

The dance mentor had a good first impression of him. Considering his age and independent trainee status, she didn’t have high expectations for his dancing skills, her comments mostly encouraging, “I can see that you’ve worked very hard. Regardless of whether you make mistakes or forget the moves, the most important thing is not to panic and to finish the performance. That’s basic respect for the audience. I believe in your potential, jiayou, didi~”

The mentors were much more enthusiastic than before, their attitudes towards Rong Xingyi quite good. Now, only Min Zhi, the vocal mentor who seemed to be in a bad mood, remained.

He looked up at the nervous teenager on stage, his sharp gaze sweeping over him.

After a few seconds, he looked down at his notes, then finally spoke,

“Your tone is good, but you don’t even know the basic techniques of vocalization, I won’t say more.” His words were still straightforward, at least he wasn’t cursing. “You have three months, work hard, your foundation is weak, you need to put in several times more effort than others.”

“Your overall rating is C.”

Rong Xingyi wasn’t used to his unfamiliar, serious demeanor, but he still nodded repeatedly, accepting the criticism humbly.

“Thank you, Min Zhi-gege.”

Min Zhi froze, silent.

The audience was also silent.

Rong Xingyi, having blurted it out, then realizing his mistake, bowed at a ninety-degree angle to all the mentors.

“Thank you, Peep-gege, thank you, Soul-jiejie…” He then turned to the host, “Thank you, Yanran-jiejie!”

The two women smiled brightly at him, “You’re welcome, didi.”

Laughter filled the studio again.

The recording for the initial stage started at noon. Almost a hundred trainees took turns performing, plus the mentors’ comments, it didn’t end until the evening.

The program team gave them a half-hour break, the celebrity mentors, along with the trainees, having some snacks and drinks.

Rong Xingyi sat in the middle row behind Min Zhi. He tried to talk to Min Zhi several times but couldn’t find the opportunity, feeling strangely apprehensive.

Another independent trainee beside him, Liang Zhun, said to him: “I think Min-shen is quite nice to you.”

Rong Xingyi was taken aback, his expression slightly downcast: “Really?”

Compared to usual, it was a world of difference.

But this was work, he should be professional and unbiased, that was the idol he admired.

“We both got C’s.” Liang Zhun, thinking he was upset about the rating, nudged him with his elbow, grinning, “Put them together and it’s a heart!”

Rong Xingyi couldn’t help but chuckle, his dimple appearing.

The camera skillfully captured this essential footage for the boy group survival show.

The recording continued after the break, everyone in the studio exhausted, while outside, fresh gossip about the first recording of “Shining Boys” was leaked.

【Melon | slsn first stage】
【MZ seems to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed today, completely roasted my baby… Mama’s heart aches】

The poster also shared a few of Min Zhi’s new quotes, like “Get to my level before questioning me,” and “Doesn’t have what it takes to be a top star but has the attitude,” so realistic that even casual readers would believe it.

3L: Just say which mentor directly, it’s so obvious, 23333
4L: Don’t, even using his initials can get you a lawyer’s letter, protecting myself
7L: Hahahahaha I’m dying of laughter, so your bias isn’t exactly unknown, aaaaah I can’t wait to see the full episode, can’t they just release it now??