Ch15 - Picture for the Memories

Out of all the trainees, Lu Xu had left the deepest impression on Ji Xiunian.

It wasn’t because he was his fan, but because Lu Xu’s conditions were too good. From his outer appearance to his temperament, Lu Xu was covered in dignity from head to toe. A man with such a confident aura would become the focal point no matter where he went.

Having heard him call his name, Ji Xiunian unconsciously halted his steps. He didn’t like interacting with others very much, but he still politely asked as he faced Lu Xu, “Is there anything wrong?”

Lu Xu had only called for Ji Xiunian to stop in order to get closer to his target.

As he faced the man who might be a stowaway, Lu Xu’s heart felt much more energetic. He hid  his excitement under half-lidded eyes, reminding himself that he was currently hiding under the identity of Ji Xiunian’s fan. He smiled and walked up to him. “Nian ge, can I take a picture with you?”

Lu Xu spoke with a faint smile on his face, his eyes gleaming with an inner starlight. It was obviously an unconcealable elation from seeing a ‘client’, but others interpreted it differently.

Since Lu Xu was a publicly recognised contestant in the show, Fan Zeng had given special instructions to the VJ to spend more time focusing on him in case he caught a scene they could edit into the show. Seeing that Lu Xu was taking a photo with Ji Xiunian, the VJ stood at the side with dedication, recording the scene with his camera.

The VJ had filmed many celebrity entertainers, but still couldn’t help but think emotionally: what kind of celestial beings were Lu Xu and Ji Xiunian that they didn’t need extra lighting or any adjustment for the right angles? The two of them were just casually standing and it already looked like a pictorial. Twice the number of handsome men brought about twice the attractiveness.

Ji Xiunian hadn’t thought Lu Xu would follow him to ask for a photo together, but this kind of behaviour was normal for fans.

The youth did not hide his enthusiasm. Ji Xiunian nodded. “Of course we can.”

Lu Xu stepped forward, about to take his phone out when he suddenly remembered something. “Nian ge, the program staff took our phones away. Can we take the picture with your phone first and then can you send it to me?”

He wanted to add each other as friends.

Ji Xiunian’s relationships with others were simple; he didn’t have many people in his contacts.

But Lu Xu had no other options, so he nodded generously. “Sure.”

The corners of Lu Xu’s mouth rose up, obviously in a good mood.

Seeing that the two of them were standing together for a photo, the VJ immediately went to the side to record the moment.

He focused the camera lens on Ji Xiunian’s phone, filming his quick movements as he tapped open the camera app and invited Lu Xu to take a picture together.

The two people on the screen stood a safe distance apart, neither too distant nor close enough to pressure the other party. Ji Xiunian was born attractive and didn’t have any flaws from any angle. Any man or woman who stood in the same frame as him was easily washed out by his presence.

Because of this, Ji Xiunian also had the nickname of ‘Group Photo Killer’. But today, as he stood in the same frame as Lu Xu, although each of them had their own merits, their looks somehow harmonised. Even the selfie taken on the phone turned out to be very eye-catching.

The VJ looked at the camera screen and then looked at the two of them, only feeling that Fan Zeng had an excellent eye for choosing people.

As Ji Xiunian raised his phone up to take the photo, Lu Xu looked at the camera and quirked his lips, but his gaze drifted over to the black mark on Ji Xiunian’s wrist.

When Ji Xiunian held out the phone for Lu Xu to see the selfie, he pretended to carelessly reach out and tap at the black mark. “What a coincidence, Nian ge, my friend’s wrist also has a similar-looking birthmark.”

Birthmark?

“I don’t have a birthmark.” Ji Xiunian followed Lu Xu’s gaze to his own wrist and couldn’t help but wonder. “This isn’t a birthmark, I probably somehow rubbed it against pen ink.”

“Is that so.” Lu Xu had his own answer already, but the smile on his face was innocent.

“Xu ge, do you want to get our rank uniforms together?”

“Coming!” Lu Xu had already achieved his goal, and coincidentally, Xu Lele called out his name, so he said goodbye to Ji Xiunian.

“Go on, good luck!” Ji Xiunian cheered on Lu Xu with warmth in his voice. His gaze kept falling back onto his own wrist.

If Lu Xu hadn’t mentioned it, he would never have noticed that mark.

There was a bit of black on his pale wrist, and it was quite jarring to the eye.

Ji Xiunian liked hygiene, and he immediately went to the washroom to wash it clean.

He stood in front of the washroom mirror, squeezing out a bit of hand soap, and bending over the sink to wash the mark off. However, the strange thing was, he had already rubbed his wrist raw, but that black mark hadn’t faded in the slightest.

Ji Xiunian rubbed at the mark even harder, and suddenly felt that there was a piercing pain in his wrist.

Ji Xiunian unconsciously sucked in a breath, using his other hand to gently alleviate the pain on the mark.

Just before he raised his head, there was a glimpse of dark energy that flashed past the mirror.

Ji Xiunian felt a bit frustrated. He pursed his lips as he looked at himself, his emotions complicated.

He didn’t know when it had started, but it was like he often saw things that other people couldn’t see.

At first, he still reassured himself, that it was normal to have nightmares when he didn’t get enough rest. However, the appearance of those ‘things’ became more and more frequent, and it was no longer as simple as just seeing them.

Even if he didn’t believe in the supernatural, he still thought of the prediction a master had made for him when he was young—

Alone till old age, either death or injury.

Ji Xiunian’s finger rubbed against that mark, and unconsciously used his strength to…

**

In order to more clearly differentiate the ranks, the show specially prepared different coloured shirts that the trainees could wear while practising.

Simple and elegant sportswear that was uniform for all the trainees, only the colours were different.

A-rank’s colour was purple, B-rank was green, C-rank was blue, D and F-rank were both the same grey colour.

The crowd of trainees wearing loose sports clothes, along with their tall physiques and handsome faces, could only make people feel like it was similar to  a wave of beauty and youth.

“Xu ge, you’re way too handsome!” As Lu Xu’s official fanboy, Xu Lele couldn’t help but sigh once he saw Lu Xu.

Lu Xu’s skin was already pale, with the purple colour on him, it made his skin seem even more clean and pure.

Xu Lele was not the only one who was stunned. Even the other trainees thought the same thing when they saw Lu Xu.

Young people already had pleasant personalities, add that to Lu Xu’s popularity, someone joked, “I’m really going to wither away. The same shirt on my body looks like a school uniform, but on Lu Xu it looks like a luxury brand.”

“Oh, brothers, what a coincidence, I had the exact same feeling.”

“Purple looks so good on Lu Xu, it makes me want to try it too.”

“Then you better work hard. After all, only A-rank’s shirts are purple.”

…

After changing into their new clothes, the trainees split into four groups according to their rank. A, B, and C each split into their own groups, while D and F were grouped together.

Each rank had been assigned a professional dance instructor to guide them. The fewer people there were in a rank, the more attention each person would get.

This way, the trainees in C and D rank would have to put in even more effort than others in order for them to rise up in the ranks.

As the highlight of the ranks, A-rank would gain access to more resources, as well as more attention.

The initial evaluation was based on their performance on stage. As long as there was one quality that stood out, they could be sent to A-rank. However, this round’s evaluation was different. The instructors wanted to see holistic ability.

In three days, they would have to learn an entirely new dance. A big component of this test was the trainees’ dance skills. Even if it was D and F rank, there were quite a few people who had years of training in that regard.

Although they all had had the same starting point, for those trainees who hadn’t trained for very long, or for those whose dancing was weak, the pressure from this round’s evaluation was like a mountain.

Lu Xu’s training period hadn’t been long, this everyone knew. Naturally, many people predicted that he would fall in rank.

However, everyone was in different dance studios, so only the trainees and the instructor in A-rank could see what Lu Xu’s movements were like.

Other than the BTT members, there was another trainee in A-rank called Chai Siyuan.

Chai Siyuan’s singing was good, and he had already signed on with a management agency and released an album, so his strength was in his singing. In yesterday’s evaluation, Chai Siyuan had relied on his vocal ability to get into A-rank.

However, his singing ability didn’t mean that his body was coordinated.

Chai Siyuan was a classic contestant who didn’t know how to dance.

There was no harm if there was no comparison. When he and Lu Xu were still following the dance instructor’s guidance, the five BTT members could already more or less follow the dance.

Chai Siyuan started to panic when he saw this, but as soon as he became more nervous, his movements became messier.

The instructor taught for three hours, and he learned a small half of the dance after struggling.

They managed to make it to break time. Chai Siyuan sat down beside Lu Xu, scratching his head as he watched the five people who were still practising. “Dancing is so hard.” His brain suddenly imagined himself being demoted, and felt even more despair. “I’m so scared I’ll drop from A-rank to F-rank. If that happens, that would be too embarrassing.”

He told Lu Xu all this purely because he wanted to get someone into the same position as him.

He had seen Lu Xu dancing. Although his physique was good and he followed the dance well, it was clear that he was unfamiliar with the movements and that he was a beginner.

Thankfully, Lu Xu was here. Hai Siyuan now felt that being demoted wouldn’t be such a lonely thing.

He thought Lu Xu would worry over the same issue as him, but he didn’t expect Lu Xu had never even considered the problem of being demoted.

Chai Siyuan secretly thought that Lu Xu had a big heart, and he couldn’t help but ask him, “Lu Xu, have you learned the dance?”

Lu Xu shook his head, uncaring, “No.”

“Then are you worried about your evaluation? There’s only three days left after all.”

Lu Xu chuckled when he heard those words. His attitude was as calm as ever. “You said it yourself, there’s still three days.”

“Well said, Lu Xu.” Fan Zen was sitting in front of the monitors listening to Lu Xu say those words. His eyes were full of appreciation, and he turned his head to tell the person behind him, “Xiunian, this kid reminds me of you when you were younger.”

However, looking at their current progress, Lu Xu and Chai Siyuan’s dance standards were really not that different. But when faced with the same problem, these two people’s way of thinking was completely different.

Ji Xiunian looked at Lu Xu, who was on the screen, dazzling, and couldn’t help but look forward to the evaluations.