Huayu: From the Era of Ringtones to Becoming a Legend

On the morning of the fourth day, Lu Jiuge checked out of the hotel, packed her luggage, and arrived at the Super Star Survival talent show training base on time, following the address on the admission notice.

This is a sprawling estate-like building located in the suburbs, with a giant program logo printed on its exterior walls.

Security at the entrance was tight, and the people coming and going were all young trainees with backpacks and exquisite makeup.

Everyone wore a tense yet expectant expression, gathering in small groups to converse in hushed tones in Korean, the air thick with the tension of an impending battle.

As soon as Lu Jiuge approached, the previously noisy entrance became much quieter.

All the trainees turned their gazes toward him, initially with curiosity and scrutiny, but quickly turning to disdain and contempt.

"It's him? That foreign plagiarist?"

"Lu Jiuge? She actually dared to come and report for duty?"

"They're incredibly audacious, daring to mess with even President Lee of SG. They'll get what's coming to them!"

"This kid's looks don't fit Korean beauty standards; he'll be eliminated in the first round!"

……

The whispers weren't loud, but Lu Jiuge heard them clearly.

He walked calmly toward the registration desk.

The staff member in charge of registration looked up and saw Lu Jiuge; the professional smile on their face instantly vanished.

They didn't even bother with basic pleasantries, coldly tossing over an information form and a key.

"After you sign, go to the dormitory area, room 302. Don't wander around."

His perfunctory tone and rude attitude stood in stark contrast to his warm and attentive manner towards the other trainees.

Lu Jiuge didn't say anything, but bowed her head, signed her name, picked up the keys, and turned to leave.

As soon as he left, the staff behind him immediately took out their phones and whispered their reports into the walkie-talkie:

"Report, Lu Jiuge has arrived. As you arranged, she has been assigned to the bed in the far corner of room 302."

A cold response came from the other end of the walkie-talkie:

"Keep a close eye on him, keep the camera on him the whole time, and film as many awkward and isolated moments as possible; it will be useful in post-production."

"clear."

Lu Jiuge was completely unaware of all this, but even if she had known, she wouldn't have been afraid.

Passing through the manor gate, you enter a large southern-style garden, as big as three or four football fields, with exquisite scenery and a strong atmosphere.

Following the signs, Lu Jiuge walked towards the five-story villa at the back of the manor, and all the trainees subconsciously avoided him.

The crowd that had been chatting and laughing together immediately dispersed in unison when they saw him approaching, leaving an empty passage.

They were afraid of appearing in the same shot and being used as material by gossip magazines.

Lu Jiuge didn't care at all. She deliberately waved and greeted the group of trainees as she walked, which startled the group of young men, who quickly turned their heads away and dared not meet her gaze.

Upon arriving at the villa entrance, we went up to the dormitory area on the third floor. Room 302 was a six-person room, with a small space and a faint smell of disinfectant in the air.

As soon as she opened the door, Lu Jiuge's gaze fell on the only empty bed.

Located near the bathroom door, it's the most secluded, darkest spot, where you're practically stepped on as soon as you open the door, and you can clearly hear the noise of the flushing water. It's the worst spot in the entire dormitory and the one no one wants to choose.

Clearly, this was a "special spot" reserved for him by the production team.

Lu Jiuge walked to her bed without any expression. Just as she put down her suitcase, the dormitory door was pushed open, and four or five trainees walked in arm in arm.

When he saw that the person standing in the room was Lu Jiuge, the smile on his face froze instantly, and then replaced by a look of disgust.

"Tsk, they actually came."

"What bad luck to share a dorm room with someone like that."

"Stay away from us, don't get your bad luck tainted by plagiarism!"

The one speaking was a boy in the lead, with light blonde hair and an arrogant look in his eyes. He was Park Jae-hwan, a trainee under SG Entertainment.

He was a well-known leader among the trainees, and also someone Li Zaixiu had specially arranged to lead the suppression of Lu Jiuge.

Park Jae-hwan looked Lu Jiuge up and down, then deliberately raised his voice:

"Some people steal other people's songs and still have the nerve to participate in talent shows. Their skin is thicker than a city wall."

The trainees next to him immediately joined in the laughter.

"Exactly, doesn't he know where he is? Does he think he, an outsider, can run wild?"

"Just wait, it won't be long before he's cursed into going back to his own country."

……

Mockery, ridicule, and cold stares rained down on Lu Jiuge like a dense barrage of arrows.

Lu Jiuge lowered her head and tidied the bed without saying a word.

The more fiercely others mocked him, the calmer he became.

What others perceive as exclusion is, to him, simply an ever-increasing number.

His silence, however, was seen by others as a sign of guilt, cowardice, and an inability to refute.

Seeing this, Park Jae-hwan became even more smug. He deliberately snorted loudly in Lu Jiuge's direction, slammed the door shut with a loud "bang," which made the walls tremble slightly.

This was intentional.

They deliberately made noise, deliberately embarrassed him, and deliberately ostracized him in the most direct way.

The other students in the dormitory followed suit, throwing chairs, books, and laughing loudly, deliberately creating chaos so that Lu Jiuge would not be able to stay there.

Lu Jiuge acted as if she hadn't heard anything and quietly packed her things.

Unbeknownst to him, a hidden camera in the corner of the ceiling was pointed at him the entire time, capturing every single moment of his "isolation, exclusion, and embarrassment."

In the monitoring room, the director looked at the images on the screen and nodded in satisfaction.

"Great, this is the effect I want. If we edit it in later, it will definitely be a huge hit."

The staff member next to him asked in a low voice:

"Do we really have to target him like this? He doesn't seem to have done anything wrong..."

Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask.

The director interrupted coldly:

"This is President Lee's decision from SG; we'll just have to carry it out!"

More and more trainees arrived in the corridors of the training base.

Almost all the trainees rushed to the entrance of dormitory 302, peering through the door frame to watch the spectacle, pointing and whispering about Lu Jiuge.

"Look, that's Lu Jiuge. He's shameless."

"He can still remain so calm. If I were him, I would have left in shame long ago."

"The production team is really daring to keep this kind of contestant. They should have kicked him out immediately."

Among the crowd, many trainees under SG exchanged glances, preparing to give Lu Jiuge a "show of force".

Park Jae-hwan, who also lived in dormitory 302, exchanged glances with the people at the door, and suddenly rushed towards Lu Jiuge, who was making her bed.

Lu Jiuge noticed the moment Park Jae-hwan started the engine.

When Park Jae-hwan rushed over, he pretended to casually dodge.

Park Jae-hwan lost his balance and fell to the ground. He instinctively rolled over and knelt down.

Seeing this, Lu Jiuge subtly moved in front of him, her tone calm, yet every word pierced his heart:

"Such a grand gesture upon first meeting? Since you're so sincere, then I'll accept you as my disciple."

Park Jae-hwan knelt on the ground, his face turning a deep purplish-red, his chest heaving violently, yet he couldn't utter a single curse.

The trainees who were watching the commotion were all frozen in place, none of them expecting it to end like this.

They had hoped to see Park Jae-hwan give Lu Jiuge a hard time, but instead, Park Jae-hwan himself fell to his knees and was ridiculed in public.

The feeling of humiliation overwhelmed Park Jae-hwan like a tidal wave.

He scrambled to his feet, pointing at Lu Jiuge, his finger trembling:

"Damn it, you're playing me on purpose!"