Huayu: Traffic is king

Chapter 9 First A!

Zhou Jieqiong stared at Gu Jingyi intently, her cheeks flushed.

Although he has a good relationship with Gu Jingyi in private, Gu Jingyi seems to have a more inexplicable charm with the blessing of the stage.

After the perfect performance, he received unreserved praise from Li Ronghao and Zhang Yixing, two popular artists who have a place in the country.

Gu Jingyi did not show his joy like other contestants. He stood calmly on the stage and accepted the comments from the mentors.

This guy is really contradictory. He is obviously young, but he has a rare maturity and exudes a strong sense of brotherhood.

Zhou Jieqiong can fully imagine how many viewers will become Gu Jingyi's fans after the show is broadcast.

So during the stage commentary, she also laughed and joked: "Gu Jingyi, are you here to participate in the show just to be a [face]?"

The term "face" refers to the most attractive member of an idol group.

Zhou Jieqiong said this on purpose, actually she was indirectly praising Gu Jingyi's handsomeness.

At the same time, he was also secretly showing off his close personal relationship with Gu Jingyi.

She did not make business comments like other mentors, but led the comments in an interesting direction, just like chatting about family matters.

"I was wondering why the moment I saw you, the corners of my mouth lifted uncontrollably. Even the tiredness I felt before was swept away."

Zhou Jieqiong frowned and spoke frankly without any reservation.

Such a straightforward evaluation made Gu Jingyi stunned for a moment.

He quickly reacted and smiled, "Thank you, teacher, but I don't have a fixed position for myself at the moment. If the team needs me to be the face, I can be that."

This "can also be" has some spirituality.

It was as if he was somewhat reluctant, but was doing it to save Zhou Jieqiong's face.

Wang Jiaer couldn't help but grin and pointed at Gu Jingyi and laughed.

Zhou Jieqiong's cheeks felt a little hot, and she fanned herself gently with her hands.

"Stop laughing, I just think Gu Jingyi is very handsome."

"But Jieqiong, Xiao Gu doesn't seem too happy to be the face of the store."

Wang Jiaer picked up the information collection form on the tutor's seat and shook it in front of Zhou Jieqiong.

His Mandarin wasn't quite standard, but he still spoke very straightforwardly: "Look, Xiao Gu wrote All Rounder in the location field. Jieqiong, were you so focused on looking at the handsome guy that you didn't even read his profile?"

When the news that Gu Jingyi positioned himself as "All Rounder" came out, the trainees present were excited by this somewhat domineering word.

"All Rounder? That's too much."

"Gu Jingyi is really too impatient. With his popularity, even if he doesn't do anything and just completes the competition step by step, he can directly lock in a debut spot. What is he doing? Isn't this giving the production team a handle to maliciously edit the show?"

"Wa Qu, Gu Jingyi is too bold. Isn't this just saying that he is the strongest ACE in this session? That's too immodest."

Cheng Xiao sat up straighter and looked at Gu Jingyi, who remained calm in the face of numerous questions from the trainees.

Her hands, which had been placed on the table, trembled slightly with excitement.

The mentor's authority, which he had finally maintained, was shattered once again.

[As expected, that's what he would say. This guy really hasn't changed at all...]
Cheng Xiao looked at Gu Jingyi in a daze, with strange glint in her beautiful eyes.

Gu Jingyi was not panicked, his strength was enough to shatter all doubts.

Ever since he joined "Idol Producer", he has had no intention of toning down his edge.

Gu Jingyi must seize every opportunity to show the audience his three-dimensional personality charm, so that the audience can remember him in the shortest possible time and leave a deep impression.

In its previous life, this "A Little Thing Called First Love" was a "limited hit drama".

More than three months after the series aired, Hu Yitian's popularity also fell back to the level of an ordinary second-tier star.

Gu Jingyi learned from the experience of his predecessors and chose a phenomenal talent show to gradually consolidate his somewhat fluctuating popularity.

His distinctive personality and strong strength are the favorites of show fans.

And it just so happens that the image that Gu Jingyi showed to the audience in "Idol Trainee" fits all of this.

Unlike the trainees, the mentors were very interested in Gu Jingyi's words.

Zhang Yixing raised an eyebrow and flipped through Gu Jingyi's resume. Before long, he took the initiative to challenge: "Gu Jingyi, have you participated in 'Produce 202' before?"

"Idol Producer" is a domestic attempt to imitate the overseas phenomenal talent show "Produce 202". The model and process of this talent show are basically the same.

Gu Jingyi’s concise and clear answer of “Yes” instantly established his image as a “big boss”.

Even Zhang Yixing was a little surprised. He thought Gu Jingyi would take advantage of the situation to brag about his previous popularity. This way, he, as the PD, could also cue why Gu Jingyi chose to start over.

But Gu Jingyi just didn't play by the rules, making him, a senior who had been in the industry for many years, a little confused about how to proceed with the process.

"Jingyi, why don't you elaborate? Bro, you were so awesome before. You broke the nationality prejudice and became the first Chinese center in an overseas talent show."

Wang Jiaer was a little restless, and he began to praise his younger brother with whom he had a good relationship.

For China, "Produce 202" is a program that many people have never heard of.

Perhaps only those "show fans" who usually pay close attention to talent shows and have clear likes and dislikes may have seen it.

Seeing Wang Jiaer giving up the opportunity, Zhang Yixing also breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at the script and asked curiously, "Gu Jingyi, you were previously trained as a main dancer in an overseas talent show. I'm curious why you chose to showcase your vocals instead of dancing on the stage of Idol Producer."

"Because I want to tell all the producers out there that I have unlimited possibilities."

After Gu Jingyi finished his performance, a rare smile appeared on his polite and distant face.

He stared directly into the camera and said confidently, "After a semester of professional training at the Central Conservatory of Music, I want to show my achievements to the national producers. And today's stage is the best test."

Zhang Yixing nodded and gave a rare compliment: "I believe that after the show airs, everyone who has ever followed you will see it. Jingyi, do you want to try dancing?"

Gu Jingyi nodded without hesitation, and after a simple warm-up, the accompaniment sounded.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The prelude with clear drum beats sounded, and Gu Jingyi entered with a power move at the right moment.

After a series of one-handed rotations, elbow V kicks, and back kicks, Gu Jingyi ended the one-minute extra test with a clean and neat floor move.

Both the control of the limbs and the instantaneous burst of strength from the body are very eye-catching.

The skills and emotional mobilization are both perfect.

Gu Jingyi once again proved with his actions that the sentence he wrote on the information collection form, "I just took the standard answer of A," was not an exaggeration.

Even the trainees who were competitors were impressed by Gu Jingyi's dancing skills.

No one knows better than them how difficult it is to balance emotion and technique in dance.

"Gu Jingyi deserves the A, he is the standard answer for active idols."

"If he wasn't A, I would have suspected there was something fishy going on."

"Isn't this just ambition written right on his face? Gu Jingyi is so handsome. If I had his strength, I would be so arrogant too."

His absolute strength won him the respect of the entire audience, and those contestants who had previously criticized Gu Jingyi the most also looked at him with admiration.

At the mentors' table, Zhang Yixing and the other mentors discussed the matter for less than half a minute before announcing the results into the microphones in front of them.

"Now we're promoting the rating of Huace Entertainment trainee Gu Jingyi—"

For the sake of program effect and to insert sponsor advertisements during the broadcast, Zhang Yixing deliberately left this space blank.

After pausing for several seconds, he didn't keep the secret any longer.

"Your original song is excellent, and your singing skills are impeccable. Your dancing is also very eye-catching. I have to say that you have really raised the ceiling of the entire program with your own efforts."

"Just like you said, your rating is A!"

Zhang Yixing announced the evaluation levels of the initial stage and added a few more sentences.

"But when I was discussing this with the other mentors just now, they all agreed that Gu Jingyi deserved an A. It's not because he only has A-level ability, but because A is the highest level of evaluation on this show."

"He didn't get the standard answer of A, but the full score answer!"

Li Ronghao also clapped his hands and echoed, "Gu Jingyi, you are the perfect answer we have been waiting for."

Cheng Xiao also looked at Gu Jingyi with admiration and gave her high praise: "You are undoubtedly an A in my opinion!"

"Thank you, mentor," Gu Jingyi bowed calmly towards the mentor's seat.

Gu Jingyi walked alone in the dark and deserted tunnel for a long time. He thought he deserved this belated dawn.

The first A is just the beginning.

(End of this chapter)