ATIS Chapter 20 pt1

Huayan city was one of the only super first-tier cities in China. Leyuan Shopping Center, located in the city center, has hosted many large-scale events.

The stage set up in the mall's lobby was rarely idle. Usually, the shopping mall would be rented out to businesses for resident singers to promote their products. Occasionally, second and third-tier celebrities would come for brand endorsements. So, although a number of handsome guys attracted the attention of passersby, they weren't particularly surprised.

Though encountering handsome guys wasn't an unfamiliar sight, stumbling upon potential future stars had still excited people.

At a glance, it was estimated that there were about thirty young men. Perhaps because they had been considered newcomers who hadn't officially debuted, special security measures had not been prepared in advance. Only two staff members had led them into the mall.

Initially, the girls who gathered to watch were a bit hesitant to approach. However, as the crowd grew around them, they couldn't resist joining in. Without any security measures in place, it was even possible to get within a meter's distance from the trainees.

Among the onlookers was a girl with her hair tied up in twin buns, who was somewhat bewildered as she held a banner, being pushed along by the crowd. She was actually a fan of 4SEVEN. She had come to the Le Yuan Shopping Center to pass the time since she couldn't stay at her hotel any longer. When she saw everyone heading in the same direction, she naturally assumed her brothers (1) had arrived early.

As a result of having struggled her way to the front row, she realized that all the faces around her were unfamiliar; she didn't recognize anyone.

So now, she found herself in this situation. Not far from her were some unfamiliar handsome guys, and the area was surrounded by excited girls holding their phones to take photos or record videos. She could even hear someone live-streaming.

Seeing that this misunderstanding had already been created and that she couldn't easily get out of the crowd, the girl with twin buns carefully folded her banner and put it in her bag. Lost in thought, she accidentally bumped into a guy's arm when she looked up.

"Um, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." She quickly took a step back and looked up, but she couldn't help but get a little lost in her thoughts.

The black-haired boy turned his head, his lean figure standing tall and back straight. At a distance of less than a meter, she could even see the light fluttering of his eyelashes when he looked down. He gave a slight smile, his clean and beautiful eyes a light color, and simply said, "It's okay."

A small chorus of excited squeals erupted around her.

She stared at him in a daze as he walked away, feeling the tips of her ears burning. She was vaguely thinking, he’s so good-looking when he smiles.

Realizing their oversight in preparations, the production team urgently contacted security personnel. With the help of security, they quickly made their way through the crowd and directly arrived at the center stage inside the hall.

It was an elevated spot, and the crystal chandelier hanging down from the glass dome above was about seven to eight meters long. Beautiful decorations surrounded the rotating stairs that spiraled upwards from the second floor all the way to the sixth floor's semicircular observation deck, providing a clear view of the entire stage on the first floor.

At this moment, crowds were gradually gathering from the first to the sixth floor. The scale of Leyuan Shopping Mall was much larger and could accommodate many more people than the trainees imagined. Due to the noise and the large number of people, they wouldn’t even hear what their teammates were saying clearly.

The trainees had never experienced such a scene before. They had thought they would have to wait for at least another month before facing a crowd. They didn’t expect the production team to play cards beyond common sense and arrange a flash mob event so soon.

Originally, they had only imagined there might be a few hundred spectators, but now, with the additional layers of people standing around the railing on the upper floors, there might be thousands.

In the six-story shopping mall atrium, people were more enthusiastic than ever. Except for the first floor, which was cordoned off by security, the second and third floors were also gradually filling up, with everyone looking down at the stage. Everyone held their phones, aiming the cameras at the center of the stage, eagerly awaiting the performance.

However, there was no time for them (the traineers) to mentally prepare. Before coming here, mentor Yao Chen had been clear: this flash mob stage was a reward or training opportunity. They didn't need to introduce themselves. They were to perform the theme song, then leave.

After stepping onto the stage one by one according to the positions from their pre-rehearsal, the trainees looked at their teammates beside them, and with a mixture of nervousness, excitement, and anticipation, they looked up at the audience waiting for the performance to begin, feeling an indescribable sensation in their hearts.

Qin Lu was no stranger to such situations. He lowered his head and squatted down to get ready, but saw Liao Junchen extending a hand to his left.

He (junchen) didn't turn around, his voice as steady as always, "Don't be nervous."

Qin Lu was slightly taken aback for a moment, then a hint of a smile appeared in his eyes. He extended his hand and lightly slapped palms with Liao Junchen's hand. "Okay."

He exhaled lightly. They had practiced this performance countless times. Even if it was just to ensure that their efforts weren't wasted, they had to deliver a great performance on this stage.

The second floor platform.

The girl standing by the railing and holding her phone to record the performance watched the footage she had just captured. She was so excited that she wished she could punching the air on the spot to express her excitement.

From her angle, she could clearly see the interaction between Liao Junchen and Qin Lu. She excitedly shook her friend beside her happily, "This is solid evidence of the future group's chemistry! I'm going to vote for both of them to debut together! When you get back, vote with me, and I'll treat you to milk tea!"

"Deal, hahaha."

There was another girl who had developed a favorable impression of Qin Lu after watching the theme song video. She was already on the verge of entering the pit (2) but was fortunate enough to see him in person now. She was so excited that she covered her mouth to hold back the urge to scream, and plunged straight into the pit.

In person, Qin Lu was even more handsome than he appeared in the video.

Custom-made handheld banners had to be ordered in advance. Amid the noisy crowd, it was unlikely he would hear her shouting his name. How could she let Qin Lu know that someone liked him?

Got it! The girl's eyes lit up. She quickly found a mini-program on WeChat and typed Qin Lu's name, selecting a bright yellow color to make it stand out.

Then, she tiptoed and raised her phone high, facing the screen towards the stage so that she could be seen in the crowd.

The bright yellow characters spelling "Qin Lu" scrolled across her phone screen—

She shouted, "Qin Lu, jiayou!" (3)

Qin Lu, who was preparing, happened to look up and saw a girl desperately raising her phone and shaking it, with his name on the screen.

The girl happened to meet the beautiful light-colored eyes of the black-haired trainee, who looked at her with a simple and beautiful smile.

Worth it, truly. The girl stared blankly as he mouthed back, "I will." and felt a happiness she had never experienced before spreading through her heart.

Help, this is too much.

When the first beat sounded, the over thirty trainees dressed in white school uniform-style suits simultaneously caught the rhythm and lifted their heads. The mall was instantly filled with excited cheers.

God knew what an exciting picture this was.

The effect of the speakers in the mall was unexpectedly good, and the volume was alsostrong. The audience drawn by the music continued to increase.

Countless phone lenses were aimed at the trainees on stage. The few boys in the center of the wide-angle view were clearly stronger in skill, especially the one in the C-position and the trainees around him. Whether it was the dance moves or the singing transmitted through the microphones with audible breaths, everyone's attention was irresistibly captivated.

Numerous short videos (4) rapidly began to be uploaded to Weibo and tiktok (5). Each person had their preferences, and watching in person was quite different from watching on screen. Up close, most people could quickly find their favorite picks.

Liao Junchen, who occupied the absolute center position, was astonishingly powerful. His initially somewhat indifferent expression underwent a complete transformation after the performance began. Many in the audience were here to spectate 4SEVEN. As seasoned star-chasing girls, their discerning eyes were already quite critical. However, they swiftly shifted from being dismissive to having their eyes light up with excitement.

Liao Junchen who was dancing onstage, shone brightly. Every spin was clean and neat, too fast to see yet precise and beautiful in every dance move, accompanied by the cold yet powerful aura in his gaze. During the killing part (6) of the performance, Liao Junchen tilted his head and gave a faint smile, instantly captivating the girls who were met with this smile head-on.

"The spring of the domestic entertainment industry's dance idols has arrived, oh my god!!"

"Wow, he's so handsome! Are all the new talent show rookies this talented? This dance is just amazing, absolutely amazing.”

"I really can't resist boys who dance well and look good wu wu wu, he's so killer, I'm going crazy."

"I'm immediately voting for him! It's a loss for the entire domestic entertainment industry if such talent hasn’t debuted yet. Pearls should not be left in obscurity!"

Meanwhile, the girl who happened to capture the mesmerizing part quickly edited the seven to eight seconds of video and uploaded it. She looked like an ordinary college student in her twenties, but she was a popular influencer in the online showbiz community with a following of six hundred thousand fans. The influence of her red V (verified account) was evident in the immediate results.

A few minutes later, the comment section was flooded with excited fans who had discovered this hidden gem.

People were asking who this person was, and those who had watched the theme song video into a movie(7) answered enthusiastically and directed new fans to the voting platform.

There were many future high-quality potential idols worth following.

Among the crowd, there was a girl with a professional "big cannon" camera, representing a fansite sister (8) from another fandom.

At this moment, she had her lens focused on one particular person.

As a prominent fansite sister for 4SEVEN, known by the ID "Falling Deity," she was a rare solo operator. From shooting and post-processing to account management, she handled everything herself.

Though it was hard work, she found it immensely fulfilling. Miao Yufan came from an affluent background, not lacking in money and not needing to work. Her happiest moments were spent as a fan, chasing stars. With the financial freedom to do so, she became a fansite manager.

Miao Yufan had a natural talent for photography. After systematic study, she progressed rapidly. She spared no expense on her equipment, and the ultra high-definition quality she achieved with a camera that was almost seven figures in cost was unmatched by even the most skilled fansite sisters.

Since she started chasing stars, she had only opened two fansite accounts. One was for the 4SEVEN group, and the other was for her favorite member, Xu Zheran.

4SEVEN was currently the hottest idol group in China, which meant they had hundreds of high-quality fansite sisters producing content. Miao Yufan's ability to stand out among them and become a leader showcased her prowess.

She had a keen eye, steady hands, and her angles were unique and aesthetically pleasing. Xu Zheran, who initially had lower popularity within 4SEVEN, owed much of his rise to Miao Yufan's consistently impressive content that pushed him forward. She helped elevate him to a position just second to Lu Xi.

But at this moment, this incredibly skilled fansite sister had her lens focused on the black-haired trainee.

She patiently adjusted the focus, peering through the zoomed-in lens at the black-haired young man. She watched every crisp turn he made, every clean and handsome profile.

As she kept watching, Miao Yufan, who had originally intended to familiarize herself with the new lens in advance, found herself frozen.

She was a little dazed. Through the lens, it was as if a boy in his teens was standing right in front of her.

That smile was pure and beautiful, and his voice pierced through the harmonious chorus and fell into her ears clearly, like the initial, hazy fantasies carefully tucked away in the depths of her heart during her youth, transcending dreams and reality to materialize before her.

He was different from anyone Miao Yufan had liked before. At the beginning, Xu Zheran had been somewhat overshadowed, positioned at the back of the group, and unnoticed by others. During those times of neglect, there was a part of Miao Yufan inside that wished to lend him a hand.

 Later, Xu Zheran's popularity gradually surpassed that of his teammates in front of him, and his position on the stage became more prominent. He seemed to be more dazzling than before. However, whenever Miao Yufan looked at him, she always felt like he seemed to have changed.

She couldn't quite pinpoint where the change had occurred. After attending so many events, stages, and fan meet-ups, Xu Zheran recognized her. He knew which fansite account she managed, and he always greeted her individually, even now.

However, she just felt that the initial, somewhat compassionate liking had gradually faded. Even if she aimed the lens at him again, the initial emotions were no longer there.

In truth, she had already realized that perhaps the fondness she thought she had initially was just an illusion borne from seeing Xu Zheran being ignored and wanting to help him.

Miao Yufan originally wanted to say goodbye to Xu Zheran face to face when he came to the signing event. She planned to take a break, and close down her fansite account for a while for a change of mood.

It was just that now she originally intended to give Xu Zheran one last photo but unexpectedly felt her heart throb for the first time.

She felt her heartbeat quicken, an unfamiliar sensation spreading from the bottom of her heart.

Almost instinctively, she continuously pressed the shutter button, almost as if she was no longer in control of herself.

He was there, just a short distance away, with a light smile on his face, as if he were very close to you. But when you came back to your senses, he seemed distant, so distant. He wasn't someone you could reach out and hold in your palm but a star hung high up in the sky, bright and warm, yet far away.

As the final performance came to an end, the golden ribbons that had been prepared in advance unfurled from above, floating down rapidly yet slowly.

The black-haired trainee raised his head, his amber eyes gentle. He raised his hand quietly to catch the golden ribbons.

Some glitter fell onto the tips of his hair, and the trainee with curly hair beside him patted his shoulder and pointed. The young man was slightly taken aback and patiently lowered his head and leaned in to listen to what the other was saying, then lightly smiled, touching his own hair.

She heard someone call him Qin Lu.

The scene was so beautiful that Miao Yufan stared at him without realizing it. Her camera had just managed to capture that moment.

Qin Lu, reaching up to catch the golden ribbon under the crystal chandelier, Qin Lu closing his eyes and revealing a gentle smile, was as beautiful as a dream that made one unwilling to wake up.

She stared at the photo on her screen, lost in thought for a while, and finally made a decision.

----

Translator's notes

(1)   Referring to 4SEVEN

(2)   Entering the pit: entering the fandom (which is thought to be a pit bc you can’t crawl back out)

(3)   Literally “add oil”; A phrase used to encourage others—a mix of keep going, you can do it, work harder, come on—similar to how fighting is used in korea

(4)   Think reels or tiktok

(5)   The raws said mouyin. Tiktok in Chinese is douyin—I’m assuming that the author censored it lol

(6)   For those unfamiliar, the highlight, meant to capture attention and, well, kill fans

(7)   They watched it so much it was equivalent to a movie lollll

(8)   Fansite sister: the sister in this is a colloquial slang used online. Fansites refer to people or groups of people who take photos of idols (typically a specific one). That’s why you might have heard of a Yunho fansite or V fansite, bc they’re typically loyal to their bias.

Translator's corner

I almost forgot to post this again I'm so sorryyyyy

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