She debuted after having a child with a celestial being.

The last phone call Xiao He made was, of course, to his dear sister Liu Yifei.

"Sister, aren't you afraid that gossip accounts will stir up trouble and spread rumors about us?"

"Let them spread the word. We're already at rock bottom, how much lower can we go?" Liu Yifei's voice came through the receiver, carrying a carefree attitude of "what's the worst that can happen?"

Xiao He, holding his phone, leaned against the headboard of his dorm bed: "Sis, with me by your side, you'll bounce back soon."

"cut."

Liu Yifei hummed, the last syllable rising in pitch.

"Although you've debuted as the center of the trainees, your popularity is still far behind mine. You want to pull me out of this slump? I'm not underestimating you, but you really can't."

"Sister, the charm of numbers lies in their squares."

"What do you mean?"

「1的平方还是1。2的平方是4，4的平方是16，16的平方是256。」

Xiao He's voice was not loud and was very calm, but every word was steady and clear.

"That's why it's hard for newcomers to get ahead. Even if there's geometric growth at the beginning, it's still only within three digits. But when it reaches a thousand or ten thousand, the square of that number is like a nuclear explosion. In short, sister, in another year, you'll understand that I'm the man you look up to, the man you willingly want to marry. And having children won't be a secret request anymore, but a straightforward and willing choice."

There was a full three seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

Then Liu Yifei's voice drifted over, with that "I'll see you brag" kind of laugh: "You brat, all you've got is a mouth. You've been at the Beijing Film Academy for years, and you haven't learned to act, you've only learned to talk."

"sister……"

"Alright, we're all family, I won't look down on you if you don't brag. I'll be there in three days, I won't go to Hebei, I'll go straight to Beijing, you can pick me up at the airport in my car."

"Okay, sister."

After hanging up the phone, Xiao He stared at the Weibo post on his phone screen. When Liu Yifei said "I'm not afraid of anything," she really wasn't afraid.

When she said, "How far can I fall?", she really didn't care anymore.

A female celebrity labeled "box office poison" in 2017, a former top star ridiculed by the entire internet as "a fairy descending to earth", and a loser whose resources were even snatched away by newcomers from her sugar daddy.

What else does she have to lose?

She's already thinking about giving birth abroad, so what's there to be afraid of?

So she used her account with tens of millions of followers to post her first public Weibo message supporting a man to a trainee who had just won the center position.

Someone was calling his name in the corridor—Chen Linong's voice, soft with a Taiwanese accent, the last syllable rising upwards.

"Xiao He, is your luggage packed?"

"They're here."

With the final buzz still fresh, the list and arrangements for the nine-member group have been released.

总决赛当晚，肖赫以9764万0987票拿下C位，蔡坤坤以4764万0887票拿下第二，陈力农2044万1802票第三，范沉沉1551万7014票第四，Justin 1551万7014票第五，林彦俊1457万4594票第六，朱正廷1213万1367票第七，王子异1193万8796票第八，小鬼856万1329票第九。

The nine-member limited-time boy group NINE PERCENT will carry out group activities for a year and a half.

The schedule after the group was formed was not easy.

The nine members will travel to Los Angeles, USA for a 20-day training camp, where they will be personally instructed by Grammy Award-winning producer Rodney Jerkins and two-time Emmy Award-nominated choreographer Christopher Scott to choreograph eight dances that appeared during the competition, in preparation for the upcoming fan meeting.

5月到8月，将举办10到12场国内巡迴演出和6场国外演出，9月到10月发行第一张团体专辑，11月到12月进行唱片宣传和年底巡演。

But before the tight official schedule began, the production team gave everyone a short break.

After their debut night, they each took a few days to rest and wait for the notification to regroup.

Inside the dormitory, the trainees are packing their luggage.

After four months of closed recording, everyone's suitcases were packed to the brim.

Clothes, lyric books, handwritten letters from fans, and snacks smuggled back from the cafeteria.

The wheels of suitcases rolled over the rubber floor in the corridor, making a constant rumbling sound.

When Chen Linong pushed open the door, he was carrying two cups of hot milk tea that he had packed from the cafeteria. He handed one to Xiao He and said, "Congratulations, you're in the center position."

His Taiwanese accent was soft and gentle. Before the straw for the milk tea even went in, he smiled—his eyes curved into crescents, a smile that overlapped with the nervous smile he had on his first stage performance, wearing a white long-sleeved sweatshirt and saying "My name is Nongnong" to the camera, four months later.

Xiao He took the milk tea: "You too. Third, Chen Linong. From dropping to Class C in the theme song to third place in the finals, you've worked harder than anyone else along the way."

Chen Linong lowered his head, poked the bubble tea with the straw, and remained silent for a moment before speaking: "Actually, the night the theme song was relegated to Class C, I hid under the covers and cried for a long time. Later, you stayed with me in the practice room and practiced that move thirty times, and I thought, I can't stop. Thank you, Xiao He."

Xiao He reached out his hand, and their fists met.

In the corridor, Fan Chenchen pushed two suitcases past, muttering, "Finally, we can have hot pot." Justin followed behind, urging him to hurry up. Zhu Zhengting walked at the very back, carrying a bulging backpack on his back.

Four months and six days later, one hundred boys emerged from 1908 people, and in the end, nine names were engraved on the list of NINE PERCENT.

Xiao He carried his suitcase to the dormitory building. He stood at the entrance and looked out—then stopped.

Cai Kunkun leaned against the wall in the lobby, his fringed jacket already off and draped over his suitcase handle, wearing only a simple black T-shirt. Seeing Xiao He come out, he straightened up, his lips twitching slightly—the kind of expression one might have when not good at small talk but felt he should say something.

"What a pity," Cai Kunkun spoke first, her voice very soft. "I was in the lead."

Xiao He stopped his suitcase at his feet and didn't respond to the "what a pity".

"Actually, just debuting is enough. Both the center position and non-center positions have their own fans, and your future stage is very broad."

Cai Kunkun looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and then smiled—a completely relaxed smile, tinged with a little helplessness but mostly with relief.

"Having an opponent like you is quite interesting. Our competition isn't over; it's just beginning."

"Of course." Xiao He looked at the light boards of Xingguang Film and Television Park in the distance, which were being dismantled piece by piece by the staff, and said in a steady voice, "Let's see who will become the top star in the future."

He paused, then his gaze returned to Cai Kunkun.

The humming of the fluorescent lights in the corridor stretched the silence between the two of them long.

Then Xiao He spoke, his tone a shade deeper than before: "However, I need to remind you of something."

"What?"

"Fans are like water. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."

Xiao He's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear and steady.

"You need to manage the distance between you and your fans well. You're someone who spoils your fans a lot, but sometimes excessive pampering can cause some irrational fans to cross the line, and it can also put you in danger. Especially with younger fans, please, please don't get involved. Even if they take the initiative to approach you, even if everyone thinks it's nothing, you're a top star, and every step a top star takes is magnified a hundredfold. One wrong step, and you're in an abyss."

Cai Kunkun was stunned for a moment. He didn't ask, "Why did you suddenly say this?" nor did he refute it. He just stiffened slightly on the shoulder that was leaning against the wall.

"I understand." His voice was soft, but there was an added layer of seriousness in his tone.

Xiao He looked at him and nodded.

That's enough—we've made our acquaintance. As for whether to listen or not, that's up to Cai Kunkun's own fate.

"Let's go." Xiao He pulled up his suitcase.

"Okay." Cai Kunkun didn't say goodbye. The two turned around and walked in different directions—one towards the dormitory building, and the other towards the elevator.

The sound of suitcase wheels rolling over the rubber floor gradually faded away in the corridor.