How can you ascend to heaven when you are a star?

Chapter 391 Lightning-Fast Slap in the Face

Before we knew it, the National Day holiday had reached its second day.

Most people spent their time watching videos as usual, except some watched them at home and others watched them in a different place.

Yang Jiarui is a trainee. Because she had to record a variety show, she did not go on vacation but stayed in Beijing, waiting for the production team's notification.

The sun was shining brightly today, and to avoid getting a tan, she stayed alone in the company-provided dormitory, applying a face mask while watching videos.

Her thumb swiped rapidly across the screen. Several videos of repairing cow hooves made her wonder if her phone had been tampered with. After swiping past another video of wilderness survival, a beautiful female celebrity appeared on the screen.

She is Bai Lu, a young actress known as the most beautiful woman in period dramas.

I thought they were going to promote a new work, but they unexpectedly danced.

The movements are both strong and gentle, the expressions are natural and relaxed, and the beautiful melody gives people a feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze.

'When will I be as famous as Bai Lu?'

Yang Jiarui thought to herself.

She watched it again, this time not only imitating Bai Lu's movements, but also mimicking Bai Lu's expressions, and then imagining herself as Bai Lu.

Big stars like Liu Yifei and Zhang Ziyi are out of her reach, while rising stars like Bai Lu are her current role models.

Huh?
As Yang Jiarui watched, she suddenly felt something was wrong.

Why does this music sound so familiar? It sounds like... it sounds like the debut song of the girl group Future Girls.

Yes, that's the debut song for the girl group Future Girls!

If it were an ordinary singer, she wouldn't remember it so clearly, but the singer of this song was the Future Girls group, which was a girl group formed by the first group of people eliminated from the variety show she participated in.

It wasn't that she was particularly close to those five people; it's just that comparisons are odious.

She is still competing with other trainees for 9 debut spots, while the 5 eliminated people have not only debuted as a group, but also released songs and received endorsements. Now even celebrities are learning to dance like these people. Where can you complain?

In comparison, those who weren't eliminated seem like a joke.

'If I were eliminated now and debuted as part of a group with other trainees from the company, would I be as popular as the future girl group?'

Yang Jiarui thought to herself.

However, she dared not gamble, since the other party had a famous lyricist and composer like Zhang Wen as a backer, while none of the training teachers in her company seemed to have written songs, except for those who taught vocal music, dance, and musical instruments.

Ugh!
This is probably life.

Yang Jiarui sighed and then continued watching videos.

After watching a few, another celebrity appeared on the screen: actress Zhou Ziqi. Surprisingly, she was also dancing to the music video for Future Girls' debut song, "The Best of Us."

Perhaps because she studied dance, Zhou Ziqi's movements have a fluidity ingrained in her bones, and even the strands of hair she tosses look so graceful.

Ugh!
Yang Jiarui sighed again and slid her finger upwards.

One, two, three...

When Yang Jiarui scrolled through the fourth video, she was completely stunned.

Tang Yi?
Is Tang Yi also dancing this dance?

Is this dance really that popular right now? Why are all the celebrities doing it?
Yang Jiarui's delicate eyebrows furrowed involuntarily, and even the face mask on her face twisted.

I swiped my finger across the screen a few more times, and unsurprisingly, it was the same dance as before, only this time it was performed by a female internet celebrity with hundreds of thousands of followers.

In the next ten minutes or so, Yang Jiarui came across more than a dozen videos like this. Some were of celebrities dancing, some were of internet celebrities dancing, some were of ordinary people dancing, and some were of dance teachers analyzing and teaching the dance. She couldn't help but hum along, and her head swayed from side to side with the dance moves.

what's the situation?
Is it because I watched Bai Lu's video a few more times that the big data system knows this and starts pushing it so aggressively?
Yang Jiarui was heartbroken.

She even began to doubt the show "Super Trainee". Could it be that, as rumored online, the show was rigged?
Otherwise, how could such outstanding contestants have been eliminated?

Yang Jiarui then thought about her own situation: she had no sugar daddy or sugar daddy to back her up, and although her company was not small, it was not valued.

At that moment, my good mood instantly plummeted.

at the same time.

Besides Yang Jiarui, many people have also seen dance videos of female celebrities such as Bai Lu and Zhou Ziqi.

Those who know the origin of this song and dance will give it a like after watching, while those who haven't heard the song or seen the music video will start searching for the original video.

Suddenly, searches for the song "The Best of Us" and its music video skyrocketed, and the dance sequence in the song's climax gradually swept across short video platforms.
Even some big internet celebrities with tens of millions of followers have released dance videos to ride the wave of popularity, and in doing so, they have become part of the popularity themselves.

night.

The latest episode of "Super Trainee" has been officially released.

However, compared to the previous episodes, the popularity has obviously decreased. The number of views has not reached 100 million within two hours of its release. In the barrage comments, there are messages from netizens saying "Future Girls fans check in", which at one point even covered the entire screen, making it impossible to see the trainees in the show.

Unsurprisingly, the show trended on social media the following day with the headline: "The first round of eliminations for 'Super Trainee' has ended, and the top 75 have been determined."

However, the top trending topic before this one was about the Future Girls group: Future Girls' music video dance has become a hit online, with celebrities and internet influencers vying to learn from it.

At the same time, an article titled "Eliminated contestants from 'Super Trainee' become hugely popular" appeared online.

The article details the current situations of Zhao Tong, Zhang Jiajia, Cheng Sisi, Chen Silu, and Su Jin, the first batch of contestants eliminated from "Super Trainee".
The song became a huge hit, generating millions in copyright fees. The dance in the music video went viral on short videos, and the artist even participated in the recording of variety shows on Beijing TV and Hunan TV.

The article also compares the current situation of the future girl group with the contestants who made it to the top 75 in "Super Trainee", and finally poses a soul-searching question to the program team.

The five best contestants were eliminated in the first round. Is this due to behind-the-scenes manipulation in the show, or are netizens simply blind?
After seeing this article, many people rushed to the official Weibo account of "Super Trainee" to leave comments in the comment section of the latest preview for the next episode.

"I won't watch it without Chen Silu."

"The Super Girls group hasn't even been formed yet, and the Future Girls group is already famous. Doesn't that make you feel ashamed?"

"Anyone who didn't vote for Zhao Tong, Zhang Jiajia, Cheng Sisi, Chen Silu, and Su Jin is a complete idiot!"

"After watching a few episodes, I'd call this the most embarrassingly contradictory variety show of the year."

"..." Netizens ridiculed the show "Super Trainee" relentlessly. The more popular the girl group became, the higher the level of ridicule became. In the end, not only the show, but even the mentors became targets of ridicule.

The five mentors wanted to clarify that the elimination of Zhao Tong and others had nothing to do with them, but when they thought about the agreement they signed when they participated in the show, they clenched their fists and gave up the urge to post on Weibo.

As the saying goes: "He who takes money must do the work."

However, the most frustrated ones are definitely the 75 trainees who have already advanced to the second round.

Logically, having emerged from the first round of eliminations, they should be the focus of netizens' attention. However, their online popularity is currently far lower than that of the Future Girls group.

Many netizens even compared them to Future Girls, belittling them to nothing.

They were all trainees, but they were disliked even after advancing to the next round. Who wouldn't feel frustrated?

"Oh!"

Feng Xinghai smashed another teacup on the ground.

This tea set had six cups in total, and now not a single one is left.

He thought the long holiday would bring some peace and quiet to the future girl, but reality still gave him a harsh lesson.

Every time a new episode of "Super Trainee" airs, there's bound to be a trending topic about Future Girls. They're either releasing new songs or getting endorsements, and now they've sparked a nationwide dance craze. It's like they're glued to everyone; no matter what you do, you can't shake them off.

"Damn it, this is never going to end!" Feng Xinghai said through gritted teeth.

"Buzz!"

Just then, the phone on the table suddenly vibrated.

Feng Xinghai frowned as he glanced at the caller ID. Seeing that it was the president calling, he immediately picked up the phone and answered.

"Mr. Jiang, I am Feng Xinghai."

"Old Feng, what's the deal with those five contestants from the Future Girls group?" came the question from Jiang Jun, president of Qiku Video, through the microphone, though his voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

Feng Xinghai's heart tightened.

Normally, the CEO wouldn't bother with such trivial matters; which variety show doesn't have behind-the-scenes manipulation? So why did he ask this time?

Is it because this group has become popular now? Did President Jiang see the potential in this group?
"Mr. Jiang, what aspect do you want to ask about?" Feng Xinghai asked tentatively.

There are too many inside stories about the five members of the Future Girls group. If I were to reveal them all, I would definitely get a severe scolding, and they might even be stripped of their power.

This is absolutely impossible.

"Why were those five contestants eliminated?" Jiang Jun asked patiently.

Upon hearing this, Feng Xinghai's mind raced, and after a moment's thought, he explained, "President Jiang, it's like this: those five trainees were arrogant and disobedient to the director's arrangements, so they were eliminated in the first round."

"So, you're saying their elimination was arranged by you, not by audience votes?" Jiang Jun's voice grew louder and colder.

"Uh……"

Feng Xinghai's hand trembled, and his phone almost fell onto the table.

He could tell that the president was very dissatisfied with the elimination of those five people, and if he couldn't give a reasonable explanation, he certainly wouldn't be able to quell the president's anger.

"President Jiang, those five are indeed good, but given their rebellious personalities, even if they make it into the Super Girl group, they won't obediently follow our arrangements. Rather than keeping these troublemakers around, it's better to eliminate them early so that the rest of the script can be implemented normally."

As soon as Feng Xinghai opened his mouth, he shifted all the blame onto the five trainees, knowing that President Jiang would not question the parties involved.

Moreover, they showed an attitude of caring about the program, but that's not all.

"President Jiang, I know this group is quite popular right now, but their popularity isn't because the five trainees are so outstanding, but because they have a great teacher..."

"Their teacher is Zhang Wen, nicknamed 'The Song Maker.' Every song he writes is a hit, and the debut song for the future girl group was tailor-made for them by him..."

"I've heard that song; it truly deserves to be called a hit. You could pick any five trainees from the rest of the trainees to form a group and sing this song, and they'd be a sensation..."

Feng Xinghai spoke at length, but in short: people become popular not because they are talented, but because their songs are good.

Such examples abound in the music industry. Many singers, despite having little talent, become wildly popular across the country in just a few days simply because they come across a good song.

As for instructing the director to invite those five contestants...

This matter must absolutely not be discussed.

“Old Feng, we’ve known each other for so many years, and I still trust you completely. But the trainees eliminated from ‘Super Trainee’ have become popular, and now many people online are questioning whether the show was rigged. This has not only affected the show’s reputation but also made the sponsors very unhappy. The sponsors said that if the negative impact doesn’t subside, they will withdraw their sponsorship fees.” Jiang Jun said slowly.

The sound was much calmer than before.

Feng Xinghai was slightly taken aback. It turned out the sponsor was dissatisfied, but he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His earlier outburst hadn't been in vain; it had finally extinguished the president's anger.

“President Jiang, you should know that as long as it’s a competitive program, no matter who is eliminated, there will be controversy and people will say there’s something fishy going on. But controversy is also part of the program’s popularity. The bigger the controversy, the higher the popularity. If there is no controversy from beginning to end, the competition will lose its suspense. What’s the point of watching then? If there’s no point of watching, who will watch?” Feng Xinghai continued.

Of course, this wasn't said to the CEO, but rather to the sponsors.

“Hmm, that makes sense.” Jiang Jun nodded, agreeing with Feng Xinghai’s statement.

"President Jiang, the first round of elimination matches has ended, and the second round of elimination matches will be even more intense. I assure you that the matches will be even more exciting and the level of excitement will be even higher," Feng Xinghai said confidently.

He knew very well that only a popular show could make sponsors obediently shut up and hand over their money.

"Okay, I hope the show will get better and better, but it's best not to cause such a big controversy in the future, understand?" Jiang Jun reminded.

"Don't worry, Mr. Jiang, I'll handle it well. I'll also prove to everyone that the Super Girl group formed by the show will be countless times better than the Future Girls group," Feng Xinghai said.

He didn't believe that another Zhang Wen could emerge. As long as there wasn't a second Zhang Wen, there wouldn't be a second Future Girls group, and there would be no controversy.

As for the Super Girl group, with the support of so many episodes of the show and such a long period of fan accumulation, they will definitely shine brightly when they debut in the future, and will absolutely not lose to the future girl groups.

Zhang, just you wait and see. The day Super Girls form a group will be the day your future girls fall from grace.

……

(End of this chapter)