ATIS Chapter 23 pt 2

Everyone gathered around to watch a demonstration video provided by the show’s production team, getting a basic understanding of the dance moves and stage positions.

It was very complex. Although the trainees had seen many performances by their seniors, the intensity of the dance was just one aspect; the more people there were, the more complicated the positioning became.

At first, Su Qinglan could silently count one, two, three, but two minutes in, only a lump of paste remained in his mind.

Oh my god, this is too complicated!

After quietly watching the video, Liao Junchen turned his head towards Qin Lu, his usually cool gaze softening slightly as he asked quietly, “Can you do it?”

The question was vague, but Qin Lu clearly understood what he meant. His beautiful light-colored eyes filled with a smile as he nodded knowingly.

Having watched it once, Toeisup felt like he had seen nothing; he couldn't remember a single move, only the impression that it was difficult.

At that moment, he unintentionally looked up and saw that Liao Junchen had already started practicing the moves.

His joints bent and twisted with incredible curves. With years of dancing behind him, Liao Junchen had a slender body and beautifully defined muscle lines that were just right. Despite being lean, he exuded a seemingly endless strength.

Every move hit the aesthetic and artistic points precisely, clean and powerful, executed with a perfect balance of tension and release.

If the usual Liao Junchen appeared silent and indifferent, then the dancing Liao Junchen radiated an irresistible brilliance from his body. From the tips of his hair to his fingertips, he was the personification of radiant passion.

Toeisup stared blankly at Liao Junchen, feeling the immense skill gap between them like an unbridgeable chasm.

It wasn’t just a matter of skill; it seemed that even his passion for the stage couldn’t compare to Liao Junchen’s.

The difficulty of the choreography could be seen by the naked eye, and Liao Junchen could dance it almost perfectly with just one look, even more visually appealing and infectious than the professional dance cew in the video.

Not to mention, his looks added a definite appearance bonus.

Such a person had chosen a trainee like him from Class F as teammate. Toeisup looked down at his own gray training uniform, then resolutely scratched his light brown hair.

A endless fighting spirit burned in the young boy's eyes. He couldn’t let his teammates down. No matter what it took, he had to make this stage performance the best!

Three days later.

The last ending pose was uniformly executed, and after the music stopped, the trainees were exhausted, bending over and gasping for breath.

In the past three days, they had gone from being completely clueless about the dance moves to breaking down the steps one by one with Liao Junchen, to finally gaining coherency and tumbling through the entire song. The hardship and sweat they had endured were hard to describe in words.

Their current eight-person group dance was still without any changes in positioning; each had simply found a spot where they could see themselves in the mirror and completed the routine together.

The mixed-race boy, who was already thin as a bean sprout, simply sat on the floor, panting heavily. In just three days, Toeisup seemed to have been completely transformed. Even as he rested on the ground, his mind still remembered the energetic rhythm of "DIA" and the few moves he had not done well just now.

This was their first time dancing the whole song together. During his individual practice, Toeisup had focused only on correcting his moves. Now, practicing in front of the mirror with everyone else, he discovered his problem—

For the dance moves alone, Toeisup had improved a lot. However, although his accuracy seemed almost on par with others, the overall effect was vastly different.

Toeisup glanced at the black-haired trainee beside him, drinking water. Qin Lu had been standing next to him, so Toeisup saw it very clearly.

The moment the music started playing, the other person seemed to undergo an indescribable change.

Toeisup could vaguely understand but not quite grasp it. Qin Lu didn’t put on any specific expression, yet his performance felt worlds apart.

Sensing Toeisup's gaze, Qin Lu turned his head to inquire and looked at him, his good-looking eyebrows and eyes very gentle: "What's wrong?"

“Ah.” Toeisup rubbed his hair awkwardly. “I… it seems, don’t look good.”

Qin Lu was taken aback and looked at the young man's delicate face, with a smile in his eyes. "You look very good," he said.

Toeisup took a while to react, his pale ears reddening slightly. He waved his hands hastily, “No, no, I mean, I don’t look good dancing.”

He became even more confused as he hurried, “Uh, you look good!”

Qin Lu: “...?”

Toeisup’s eyes were filled with a thirst for knowledge as he looked expectantly at Qin Lu, “Dancing, I don’t look good. You look good. Why?”

Qin Lu seemed to understand.

He didn’t try to explain verbally, as it would be hard for the young foreign trainee to understand through words alone.

The black-haired trainee stood up, “Liao Junchen?”

Liao Junchen, who was resting in front of the mirror, turned around. Qin Lu smiled and pointed to the speaker beside him, “Can you play the music?”

Holding a water bottle, Liao Junchen glanced at Qin Lu and the sparkly-eyed Toeisup, then pressed the play button.

Originally lounging lazily on the ground because he had heard there would be a ten-minute break, Fan Xi couldn’t help but lift his head when the familiar tune of “DIA” played again.

Oh god, finally a chance to rest, and now this again?

Toeisup realized that Qin Lu was giving him a demonstration and seriously focused his gaze on the black-haired trainee.

The next moment, he felt the most crucial thing required to present a good performance, aside from singing and dancing skills.

…

At the airport.

The number of fans picking up (1) at the airport were very large, but under security's maintenance of order, they all tried hard not to make too much noise and disturb regular travelers.

Because they didn’t know the exact arrival time of the flight, the girls had already been waiting for two or three hours. Even if they were enthusiastic at the start, they were getting a bit bored now.

“Hey, have you noticed? Recently, the fan site master for 'Fallen God' hasn’t appeared at all?”

“…Now that you mention it, it seems true. She used to come to every airport meet, and that signature long lens of hers was so inhumane, I’ve always been impressed.”

“Her pictures are absolutely stunning, so even though I’m just a casual fan, I followed her site. Coincidentally, since the fan signing event, right? The site that used to post a picture within three days hasn’t been active at all.”

“Oh, oh my god, really!”

The two of them were originally just chatting, but after talking about it, it seemed like it was really the case.

The girls looked at each other, and from their eyes, they could see the flames of gossip and curiosity blazing.

A fan site master with hundreds of thousands of followers showing signs of climbing the wall (2)? She’s either losing interest or has found someone new to follow.

Either way, it would cause a massive stir in Xu Zheran’s fan base—

If it were another station sister (3), there might be nothing to worry about. Casual fans might've left a few “best wishes” comments and then unfollowed.

But the site “Fallen God” held a unique and extraordinary significance for Xu Zheran’s fan circle, beyond that of ordinary fans.

Before “Fallen God” emerged, no one paid attention to Xu Zheran, who had little popularity.

It was precisely because this fansite master came into the picture that Xu Zheran’s popularity soared, leading to his current meteoric rise.

The most touching and often retold story among Xu Zheran's old and new fans is how Xu Zheran would always remember to greet this longtime fansite master every time they met.

They didn’t need to know each other personally, but it was the most beautiful form of mutual companionship between an idol and a fan.

Yet now, this station sister might actually be moving on to another fandom…!

The two exchanged an excited and curious look.

—Who on earth could this new deity(4) be?

Translator's notes

(1)   Think of fans that wait at airports to see their idols/celebs. That’s what’s happening here

(2)   Climbing the wall: leaving the fandom for another group—climbing the wall to leave, so to speak

(3)   Station sister: a woman who runs a fansite; can be used interchangeably with fansite master

(4) deity as in who is so godly as to make her switch fandoms

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