The next day, the six members all returned to the company to continue training and preparing for the recording of the main song tomorrow.
After practicing the chorus many times, the teacher was very satisfied and told them to go work on their own respective parts.
The song was 4 minutes long. Aside from the part in the middle where there was no singing and the parts where all six members sing together, everyone’s solo sections were no longer than half a minute. On average, each person only had 3 to 4 lines of lyrics.
The current media is very critical about idol groups; however, once the idol group has established a concrete circle of fans, their tolerance for their singing will have surpassed that of a normal singer’s. The tolerance of these fans will lead to more picky passersby and these picky passersby will increase the tolerance of fans even more. This is why the road to fame for popular idol groups is always a mix of criticism and support. It was just as Duan Yikun had said: the singing ability of idol groups wasn’t that important.
Even so, everyone still trained and practiced seriously. None of them wanted to drag others down, but they also wanted themselves to attract more attention within the group. Afterall, it was obvious that every group had a popular king while there were some members who were so transparent that their names were unknown.
Only Wang Chao muffled a few words, then didn’t speak again. After sitting there for a while, he felt sleepy. He suddenly said, “You guys practice first. I’m going to go out for a bit.”
The others didn’t say anything. “You want to be lazy again. What are you going to do?” Xie Zhuxing asked.
Wang Chao’s eyes rolled as he said, “I’m feeling stuffy. I’m gonna go out for some air.”
“…Hurry up and come back; We have to practice the song later.”
This guy’s mouth is cheap and annoying, but he rarely tells lies. Although he would occasionally say a few words that went against his intentions, everyone was able to tell right away.
Wang Chao ran out and went straight to Duan Yikun. He immediately asked, “Has the leader been chosen yet?”
“I was going to announce who the leader is later. I was going to watch you guys sing.”
“Don’t be in such a hurry to announce it. Is it Xiao Xie?”
“Why do you think it’s him?” Duan Yikun asked.
Wang Chao said as if it was obvious, “If it isn’t him then who can it be? Ji Jie is like a porcupine, pricking whoever gets close to him. Cheng Yao is a dumb little kid, Yang Xiaomu only knows how to laugh all day, and Gao Siyuan is super annoying. Of course it has to be Xiao Xie.”
“It’s him, right? Um…don’t let him be the leader. Just pick whoever. It’s anonymous anyway Whoever you say it is, then they’re the leader.”
Duan Yikun asked strangely, “Don’t you have the best relationship with Xiao Xie? Why won’t you let him be the leader?”
“He doesn’t like all the extra trouble. Last time when Ji Jie and Cheng Yao asked him to live with them, he disagreed. He likes peace and quiet. If he’s the leader then whenever anyone has a problem, they’ll have to go find him. His attitude is too good to not help others when they come looking for him. Kun-ge, just don’t let him take the position.”
Duan Yikun listened with a subtle look in his eyes. “You’re right, it really is him. He had four votes. Out of you guys, there were only 2 of you that didn’t choose him. Even if I point randomly and say that you guys chose him, no one’s going to believe me.”
Wang Chao was dissatisfied. “He didn’t choose himself, but who is the other idiot without eyes? Oh! I know. Is it Gao Siyuan?”
“It’s not Siyuan. I can’t say who it was. Didn’t I say I’m not recording names?”
Wang Chao asked again, “Then who else got the vote? I know I have one; Xiao Xie chose me.”
Unexpectedly, Duan Yikun said, “You have two votes.”
Wang Chao, “….Just who doesn’t have eyes??”
Duan Yikun smiled as he held his glasses.
Wang Chao thought about it, then said, “Then…then I’ll be the leader.”
As noon approached, Duan Yikun went to watch the members train. After he gave a few compliments, he said, “Yesterday everybody sent me their chosen candidate for the position of leader. I originally said that whoever has the highest votes will be the leader, but turns out with six votes, it was a tie.”
The members looked at each other. Only Wang Chao was looking at his shoes.
“The tie is between Xiao Xie and Wang Chao,” Duan Yikun said. “You guys can choose. Or do you want to vote again? Or do you guys want to choose?”
Since Xie Zhuxing and Wang Chao were right in front of them, no one said anything.
Wang Chao raised his head and said, “Then I’ll do it. Is that alright with you, Xiao Xie?”
Xie Zhuxing, “…” How was he supposed to respond?
“How about this: you guys go eat first. After you guys talk it over a bit more and make a decision, you can tell me before 2pm. Xiao Xie’s profile is going to be released tonight, it’ll take time to repair the subtitles and pictures later.”
They went to the company cafeteria to eat, huddling around the table.
“No need to talk it over, it’ll just be me.”
Wang Chao had his heart set on being the leader. “Think about it. What can Xiao Xie do as the leader? Wake up every morning and cook you guys eggs? You don’t know how to buy an egg cooker?”
Xie Zhuxing, “…” That mouth really makes people want to tear it off.
Wang Chao said again, “I’m different from that. Next Friday is the Music Awards Ceremony. If you guys choose me to be your leader, then that will be our debut performance.”
The members were excited with suspicion for a second. The music awards was an annual event in the entertainment industry. Most within the music scene will be there, not to mention the awarding guests were either superstars or seniors within the industry. Those who receive an invitation to attend the ceremony must also be number one figures within the entertainment circle.
Ji Jie, “We’re only starting to publicize today, and the song is being released on Sunday. We wouldn’t even have officially debuted for a week by next Friday, how can we go to the music awards to perform?”
Cheng Yao also added in, “And Kun-ge had already told us that we’ll be having our debut stage at the Shi Liu Music Festival.”
Gao Siyuan, “How can that compare to the music awards? Wang Chao, just what does your family do for a living?”
Wang Chao didn’t play nice as he said directly, “Why do you care what my family does for a living? I have my own ways.”
Gao Siyuan wasn’t annoyed; instead, he said with a smile, “That’s true. As long as we can get on the stage of the music awards, anything is fine.”
Xie Zhuxing looked at him and thought that sometimes, Wang Chao was pretty smart.
Wang Chao, “Do you guys have any objections?”
He said with pride, “Alright then, it’s decided. You guys’ll have to call me leader from now on.”
He called Duan Yikun to let him know that the selection of the leader had been settled.
After they finished their meal, he pulled Xie Zhuxing aside and said in a low voice, “Are you happy?”
Wang Chao rested on his shoulder and said, “Don’t call me that. We’ll just do whatever we have to do. If anyone asks you about the voting thing, just say I also voted for myself.”
Xie Zhuxing already had suspicions that he cheated. “Didn’t you say you didn’t want to be the leader?”
“Yeah I don’t wanna, but didn’t you say you didn’t wanna be the leader? So I’ll do it for you.”
Xie Zhuxing suddenly felt annoyed and said abruptly, “I don’t wanna die either. Are you gonna die for me?”
Xie Zhuxing felt that he had let his thoughts slip for a second as he quickly tried to mend his words. “How are you going to set up the music awards? Are you going to have to beg some people?”
“No need. I’ll just go tell my brother. He’ll have an idea.”
“Which brother? Is it Liang Xi again?’
The members walked into the elevator and called out to them, “Hurry up!”
The two sped up their pace and walked into the elevator.
After they went upstairs, the members walked into the studio. Xie Zhuxing wanted to walk in too, but he was stopped by Wang Chao.
Wang Chao scratched his head. “Are you lying to me?”
“…What would I lie to you about?”
“You said you didn’t want to be the leader. You actually do want to, right?”
“No, I really don’t want to.”
“Then why were you upset before? Saying something about death?”
Xie Zhuxing replied, half lying, “Not because of that. My throat isn’t comfortable – probably because my profile is going to be released tonight. I was just a bit nervous; I wasn’t directing my anger at you. It has nothing to do with the leader thing.”
His excuse was believable, and so Wang Chao didn’t question him anymore. “Then that’s good. I thought you weren’t happy.”
“Don’t worry, let’s go in.”
Wang Chao stopped him again.
“What now?” Xie Zhuxing asked.
Wang Chao spoke, “Um, humans all have to die eventually, so I can’t take your place in death…but if you have troubles on your mind, you can tell me. Everything about you is good. It’s just that you like to bottle your problems up.”
“What do you mean, ‘Don’t have any’? Your girlfriend dumped you. You kept it the whole time and didn’t say anything.”
Xie Zhuxing said, “It’s not that I didn’t want to talk about it, it’s just that I wasn’t close to you then. Didn’t I end up talking about it eventually?”
Wang Chao was immediately dissatisfied when he heard that. “You only felt close to me after the whole training period was over? Then why were you so nice to me before?”
Xie Zhuxing couldn’t refute him. “…”
Wang Chao thought about it. It is true that there were those people who were nice to you no matter what. He said generously, “Whatever, whatever. The leader has to be understanding. I’m not gonna argue with you. When we go back tonight, wash that pile of underwear for me. It’s been piling up for a week.”
Xie Zhuxing, “…” Why can’t he hold it in? If he didn’t hold it in, then he would’ve beat this idiot to death already.
They went in and practiced their song. After singing for a while, the workers said that there was iced coffee for them. It was Duan Yikun’s treat.
Everyone took a cup. Xie Zhuxing was going to take one, but then Wang Chao stopped him. “Your throat hurts; don’t drink cold stuff. Drink something hot.” He called a worker over and gave a few dollars from his wallet to him. “Go and buy a cup of hot coffee.”
It was a very hot day. The worker had already gone out once already. They didn’t want to go out again. But when they saw there was at least 500 in his hands, they said quickly, “Just one cup? It’s not going to be this expensive.”
Wang Chao said annoyed, “You’re talking too much, you think I’m letting you run this errand for free? Hurry up and go. Buy a box of cough drops when you come back.”
“What flavor do you want? There’s a lot.”
Wang Chao didn’t know which kind was good, so he gave him another two hundred and said, “Just buy one of every kind.”
The worker happily walked away.
Wang Chao called after him, “Hey! Remember the coffee has to be American style!”
The worker answered and then walked away at the speed of light.
Wang Chao said to him, “It’s not good for you to drink it too sweet anyway.”
Wang Chao had his coffee in one hand and Xie Zhuxing’s in another. He put both of the straws in his mouth and drank them both at the same time. Xie Zhuxing looked at him. He felt that he looked very funny with both of his cheeks puffed up. He resembled a dumb child.
Xie Zhuxing picked up the score and looked at it for a while, then put it down and looked over at him, saying in a low voice, “Don’t…”
Cheng Yao had gone to ask the teacher a question. The teacher answered him quickly and played a few tunes on the piano. The sound of the piano just so happened to mask the second half of Xie Zhuxing’s sentence.
Wang Chao didn’t hear what he was saying. He spat out the straw and said, “What did you say?”
Wang Chao put the straws back into his mouth and started blowing again.
Xie Zhuxing looked down at the score once again, his palms covered in cold sweat.
He must be too nervous because his profile was being released tonight. That was the only reason why he would say something so stupid to Wang Chao. Thankfully no one had heard what he said.