Huayu: Traffic is king

Chapter 4 Perfect Debut

The stage was buzzing with activity, the speakers making my ears buzz. Backstage preparations were separated by a long distance, and every contestant was gripped by an inexplicable, oppressive tension.

As he was about to make his debut on stage, dozens of cameras were pointed at the backstage.

The cameras from all directions are like a pair of eyes, observing each contestant from a high vantage point.

Gu Jingyi unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and drank it in small sips to moisten his throat.

After appearing and choosing your seat, the instructor will cue you to go on stage to perform.

If the throat is not sufficiently moistened, it cannot be fully relaxed.

Some newcomers easily break their voices in pursuit of the ultimate sense of vocal opening on stage.

"EO EO, throw away the shackles that bind your mind. Kio Kio, the whole world will take your picture!"

Suddenly, someone howled behind him, and Gu Jingyi lost his grip on the bottle. A few drops of water fell from his hand, and he looked behind him in surprise.

Fan Chengcheng faced the wall, making various gestures with his hands, and immersed himself in the rap, singing over and over again.

In contrast, Zhu Zhengting and Justin, who had experience in overseas talent shows, were more relaxed. They leaned against the wall, chatting and observing their surroundings.

Zhu Zhengting, the captain of the "Yuehua Seven", looked at Gu Jingyi apologetically and whispered "sorry" with his lips.

Gu Jingyi smiled and didn't take it too seriously.

Fan Chengcheng is also one of the popular contestants of this show, and his sister is a famous star.

This was also his first time in the public eye, so he was naturally a little nervous.

After wiping the water droplets on the back of his hand with a tissue, Gu Jingyi stood in front of the mirror and fiddled with the loose hair on his forehead. His eyebrows were completely exposed, and the loose hair covered his eyebrows a little.

While being handsome and heroic, he also carries the youthful vigor that is unique to a 19-year-old.

Just after he finished adjusting everything, he was led to a room by the election officer.

The election officer asked him to put his name on the mirror and write a message for himself.

Gu Jingyi didn't hesitate at all, picked up the marker and started writing:
“Don’t give up easily, because surprises always come quietly.”

Thanks to his grandfather's teachings, Gu Jingyi has beautiful handwriting.

Even if the words are just written with a marker in front of the mirror, they are vigorous and powerful with a structure.

After he finished writing it in one go, the photographer set up the camera and cut to a close-up.

Gu Jingyi turned around and followed the staff's instructions into another room.

Here, there are five signboards on the ground from "A" to "F".

Before going on stage, contestants need to rate themselves and affix their chosen rating labels near their name tags.

Without any hesitation, Gu Jingyi directly put the "A" on the right side of the nameplate.

"Jingyi, can I ask why you chose A?"

The staff of the program team started to cue the topic, and the photographer's camera was almost pointing at Gu Jingyi's face.

"Because I just got the standard answer of A."

Gu Jingyi stared directly into the camera, his confidence evident in his expression. Each talent show has a fixed broadcast duration, and the production team constantly trims down the footage that makes it into the show. Ultimately, only the gimmicky and controversial material is included.

Although given Gu Jingyi's popularity, he was destined not to be treated like this.

But for the audience before the show, every episode will have a large number of contestants appearing. It is as dazzling as a buffet, and what Gu Jingyi is doing is to quickly establish his character.

With such dominant strength, moderate display of ambition is more to the liking of the audience behind the camera.

His strong self-confidence also attracted some attention from the staff.

"Okay, then please ask Huace trainee Gu Jingyi to go to the front waiting area and prepare for his debut."

After smoothing out the slight wrinkles on the name tag, Gu Jingyi walked towards the waiting area to prepare for his appearance on stage.

When the Huace Entertainment logo suddenly lit up, the trainees who had already entered the venue widened their eyes and began to discuss. Some trainees from smaller companies even exaggerated their reactions to get more shots.

They immediately stood up and looked at the stage with pretended curiosity, as if they were really interested in Gu Jingyi and wanted to see his look-alike in advance.

It’s just that those people’s acting was somewhat clumsy and it was a bit awkward to watch.

Gu Jingyi wasn't affected at all. He appeared under the intense gazes of all the trainees. Without any response, he walked straight to the center of the stage.

A clip of him in "A Little Thing Called First Love" appeared on the large screen at the back, before the image faded into a flash of light and disappeared. When the screen came back on, Gu Jingyi's resume and headshot were displayed, along with his predicted ranking.

"Is this face real? It's so handsome and impactful. It's definitely the type that even boys would find handsome!"

"He's so handsome. As soon as Gu Jingyi appeared, I couldn't help but focus my eyes on him."

"Why did Gu Jingyi expect 5? This is totally inconsistent with his ability."

"Phew, I feel like I can pack up and go home early."

"It's really Gu Jingyi. I thought he was here to be a mentor."

Gu Jingyi treated the discussions as background music and made a perfect debut.

He glanced straight ahead, and saw a hundred transparent seats marked with serial numbers, spreading upward in a staircase. Like a pyramid, the higher the number, the fewer seats there were.

Seat No. 1 at the top has the best view and extremely bright light, which makes people yearn for it just by looking at it.

[Is this the center position? It feels completely different from the other positions.]
Gu Jingyi looked at him for a few seconds and then looked away.

Song Shuishui, who was sitting in the number 1 position to get the spotlight, breathed a sigh of relief. He was just a little-known trainee. He chose the center position only because he overheard the production team say that Gu Jingyi's expected position was not the center.

During the audition, when the trainees choose the center position, the production team will shoot a close-up shot of the center position. The shot, which lasts for more than 5 seconds, is the biggest benefit for the unknown trainees.

When Gu Jingyi looked over just now, he almost gave up his seat out of guilt.

Fortunately, Gu Jingyi did not stay too long.

Gu Jingyi calculated the time for the staff's reminder in his mind, and waited until all the shots were captured by the camera before he took a step and walked up the stairs.

[Which seat will he choose? Will he really follow the rules and go to seat 5?]
[Such a strong aura, is this the popular young actor?]
[As expected of Gu Jingyi, who is known for his looks, this face can withstand any close-up. Please, please don't let him sit next to me.]
Gu Jingyi didn't care what the trainees were thinking, nor did he pay attention to the looks on his face. He walked straight towards position 5 without stopping.

"Hello, Cai Xukun."

A boy with short light brown curly hair, wearing a blue velvet jacket and a black mesh inner layer stood up and greeted Gu Jingyi.

(End of this chapter)