APCF – Chapter 61 Script

“My Era” is an idol boy group competition reality show aimed at finding the most versatile and outstanding idols of the contemporary generation. Out of the 88 trainees who participated in the show, either nominated by major entertainment companies or individually signed up, only six will make their debut, based on the viewers’ votes.

The filming plan is set for three months, with all the trainees undergoing closed training. The competition consists of seven rounds, which will be edited into 10 episodes and two live broadcasts, airing on Dongcheng TV at 8 PM during the prime time slot.

The night before the recording, the show’s director held a meeting with the five mentors.

“Thank you for making time to come, teachers,” the director said. “Starting tomorrow, we will need your hard work, so now, let me go over the process for tomorrow.”

At the conference table, the director, Bo Ye, and performance mentor Chen Jiayi sat on one side, while vocal coach Zheng Yuyang, dance coach Wei Qin, and Qi Xingchen sat on the other side.

The seating arrangement alone revealed the different status and treatment of each mentor.

Chen Jiayi, in her early forties, had a gentle and beautiful appearance, with an excellent temperament. She was a professor at the Central Academy of Drama, mainly responsible for guiding the trainees’ physical movements and performance skills.

Zheng Yuyang, 32 years old, was a male singer-songwriter who primarily taught vocal techniques and songwriting to the trainees.

Wei Qin, 22, just one year older than Qi Xingchen, was the center of the previous season of My Era, a rising star in the industry, and was in charge of the dance coaching.

Bo Ye was the initiator and the host, responsible for overseeing the entire program, while Qi Xingchen’s role was mainly to provide objective evaluation.

The director continued to explain the rules: “Tomorrow will be the first round of ranking evaluations, where trainees will perform according to the groups assigned by their respective agencies. Teachers, your task is to grade their performances from A to F. A is the highest grade, and F is the lowest. After the grading is complete, trainees will be placed in classes based on their ranking for further training.”

During this time, Qi Xingchen had watched the previous two seasons of My Era and had a general understanding of the rules. He nodded in acknowledgment.

“These three,” the director said, pulling out a stack of materials, “please, teachers, go easy on them when grading tomorrow.”

… Go easy on them?

Qi Xingchen’s heart skipped a beat.

Does this imply something behind the scenes?

Although An Ran had given him a heads-up before, saying that My Era definitely had a script, Qi Xingchen had assumed the script was just there to create drama.

He never expected that from the very first round, the show’s producers would already be manipulating the trainees’ rankings and exposure.

After all, trainees with higher grades would naturally attract more attention than those with lower grades. The rankings could significantly affect the viewers’ first impressions of the trainees and would be beneficial in building their popularity.

The five sets of materials were handed out, and the mentors reviewed them one by one. When Qi Xingchen opened his, he found three sets: one individual trainee and two agency-nominated trainees.

The individual trainee was probably someone Dongcheng wanted to sign, while the two from the agencies had likely been arranged with some financial backing.

If that’s the case, it meant there were only three spots left for debut, so the odds weren’t one in fourteen, but one in twenty-eight.

The world is inherently unfair, and insider deals and hidden rules are inevitable. As an adult stepping into society, Qi Xingchen could understand and cooperate if the production team had already decided on one debut slot.

But half of the slots being pre-determined?

Wasn’t that a bit too much?

With this thought in mind, Qi Xingchen furrowed his brow, closed the materials without bothering to remember the names of these trainees, and decided he would just evaluate them fairly when the recording officially began.

At this moment, his phone buzzed.

Bo Ye had sent a WeChat message: [Take the materials seriously.]

Qi Xingchen furrowed his brow even more tightly—did Bo Ye agree with the script?

He actually… has no principles at all?

Qi Xingchen looked up at Bo Ye.

Bo Ye put away his phone without acknowledging Qi Xingchen, instead, he pushed the materials back to the director.

“I will grade according to my own standards.”

Qi Xingchen’s brow immediately relaxed.

The director, likely aware of Bo Ye’s personality, didn’t argue with him but smiled and smoothed things over. “I’m just saying, these three trainees have quite good abilities. I won’t say more, and I’m sure Teacher Bo Ye will recognize that too.”

Bo Ye didn’t comment, only smiled briefly, and the matter was passed over quickly.

The director then went over a few more details. After the meeting, Bo Ye called Qi Xingchen. “Xingxing, come with me.”

The director paused for a moment.

After Zheng Yuyang packed up his belongings, he heard the conversation and was surprised. “Do you two know each other?”

“They filmed a variety show together, I’ve seen it too,” Chen Jiayi teased. “Yuyang, you’ve been spending all your time writing songs, haven’t you?”

Zheng Yuyang quickly explained that he had been especially busy this year and hadn’t had time to watch variety shows, feeling embarrassed for being out of the loop. Wei Qin, standing quietly on the side, listened to their conversation.

After exchanging pleasantries, Bo Ye led Qi Xingchen away.

Qi Xingchen followed behind Bo Ye, knowing he was probably about to get scolded.

As expected, once they got into the car, Bo Ye’s face darkened. “Sit.”

Qi Xingchen, with a stiff face, sat down.

“You were too obvious in the meeting just now.”

“They went too far, I couldn’t hold back,” Qi Xingchen muttered in defense.

Bo Ye pressed his forehead. “I understand your thoughts, but you still haven’t established yourself here. Don’t easily offend people. And—”

“And there’s always me, right?” Bo Ye sighed. “In the future, come talk to me first before you act. Can you do that?”

Qi Xingchen suddenly had the illusion of having someone powerful behind him. He lowered his head and obediently said, “Alright, I can do that.”

Bo Ye had just released a new album recently and was quite busy. After the scolding, Qi Xingchen took the initiative to bid farewell.

As he opened the car door to get out, he bumped into Wei Qin, who was about to get in.

“What a coincidence,” Qi Xingchen greeted.

Wei Qin nodded and then asked Bo Ye, “Brother Ye, do you have any schedules later?”

Bo Ye simply answered with a grunt.

“Then forget it, I was planning to have dinner with you,” Wei Qin said regretfully.

With his high talent and good family background, Wei Qin had a smooth ride in his career and was very proud.

Qi Xingchen could understand this type of personality, so he wasn’t bothered by his indifference. He just returned to his own car.

An Ran was leaning on the windshield, craning his neck to look outside. Qi Xingchen, curious, asked, “What are you looking for?”

“Observing the enemy.”

“The enemy?” Qi Xingchen didn’t understand.

“Didn’t you see it?” An Ran scoffed. “Wei Qin is really trying to get close to Brother Ye.”

What does Wei Qin having dinner with Bo Ye have to do with her? Qi Xingchen was puzzled.

Seeing his confusion, An Ran straightened up and began to explain. “At the press conference after he debuted as the center two years ago, a reporter asked Wei Qin about how he entered the entertainment industry. Guess what he answered?”

“Because you like dancing and singing?”

“Wrong,” An Ran made a big X with her hands. “He said he gave up the opportunity to study abroad and chose to join an entertainment company as a trainee for Bo Ye. Bo Ye is his idol.”

So Wei Qin is also Bo Ye’s fan? Qi Xingchen was taken aback.

Then, he bit his lower lip.

Wei Qin was so outstanding, and given Bo Ye’s personality of pampering his fans, he must appreciate Wei Qin more than he appreciates himself.

“So I have to keep an eye on him! I can’t let him—uh…” An Ran suddenly remembered that her artist had clearly forbidden CP scandals, and quickly shut her mouth.

Qi Xingchen didn’t really hear what she said. In his mind, he replayed Wei Qin’s stage performance during the music festival.

He hadn’t thought much of it before, but now that he knew Wei Qin’s idol was Bo Ye, he realized that Wei Qin’s charisma and Bo Ye’s were indeed very similar.

It seemed that Wei Qin’s admiration for Bo Ye was probably just as strong as his own.

Due to the program’s requirement to complete the ranking evaluation of all 88 trainees in one day, Qi Xingchen’s car arrived at Dongcheng’s door at 6 AM.

In the past, he had been treated poorly, with Noah assigning him a low-grade business car. But now, they dared not neglect him, and gave him the highest-grade RV the company had, along with a dedicated stylist.

The stylist, named Jiang Jiang, had a soft name but was a tough, no-nonsense woman in charge.

It was likely that Dongcheng’s backstage was already in chaos, so Jiang Jiang directly styled Qi Xingchen in the RV. With no bangs and dressed in army green work clothes, the boy-next-door look was transformed into a cool guy.

Qi Xingchen was very pleased with the result, maintaining a serious expression as he entered the studio. Chen Jiayi, already done with her makeup and hair, saw him and gave him a thumbs-up. “Little Qi, you look amazing today! I’m going to be your fan for the day.”

“Then tomorrow, I’ll tidy myself up and you can be my fan for the day,” Zheng Yuyang joked.

“Hahaha, I’m already your fan now. Little Qi relies on his looks, and you rely on your voice —perfect.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying my looks aren’t good enough?”

“Did you hear that? Ahahaha.”

The two of them bantered, and Qi Xingchen felt a little embarrassed from all the compliments, giggling awkwardly. Soon, two figures appeared at the door, accompanied by the sound of camera wheels rolling, and the three of them instinctively looked in that direction.

Bo Ye walked in wearing a black silk casual shirt with dark-patterned edging around the collar and cuffs, making his already fair skin look even paler.

His hair was styled with a 3:7 part, the three part combed back, while the seven part hung loosely in front of his forehead, giving off a simple, lazy yet dignified look.

Wei Qin wore a white shirt with a middle part, a typically fresh look, but paired it with a black velvet choker, making him look both pure and seductive.

“Hey,” Chen Jiayi exclaimed in surprise, “Did you two do your styles together this morning? One in black and one in white, the black-and-white duo?”

“Coincidence,” Bo Ye replied while scanning the room for a certain little fan, eventually spotting him in the seat furthest to the right, completely absorbed in the process book, not paying attention to anything else.

Bo Ye walked over to Qi Xingchen’s desk and tapped the surface.

Qi Xingchen slowly lifted his chin. “You’re here… I just noticed.”

Bo Ye didn’t respond, but placed a bottle of milk on the desk.

Wei Qin’s gaze darkened.

With all the mentors present, the director of the inner studio and the backstage director gave final reminders, and the recording officially began.

The previous groups of trainees were mediocre, hovering around the CF level, and the five mentors had almost no disagreements, making swift progress.

However, the seventh trainee to perform made everyone more serious—he was one of the trainees the director had mentioned earlier, the one who the mentors were advised to “go easy on.”

But the director wasn’t exaggerating; his singing and dancing skills were impressive, and his stage presence was stable. After the two-minute performance ended, the mentors unanimously agreed to rate him as an A-level trainee.

The trainee bowed and left, walking back to the backstage area, where the cameraman asked, “How do you think it went?”

“Not bad, but I was a little nervous.”

“Why were you nervous?”

“I’ve been waiting for this stage for so long, and I was really afraid of not performing well. Also, Bo Ye’s aura is so strong. He’s really intimidating when he’s serious. I glanced at him while dancing, and I thought I messed up the song halfway through—scared me!”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. The result was great, we got the first A,” the cameraman’s assistant comforted him before asking again, “What about the other mentors? What vibe did they give you?”

“Teacher Chen was pretty gentle; Teacher Zheng has sharp ears; Teacher Wei Qin has very high standards for dancing. He gave me a few pointers, each one hit the mark; the Star Observer—”

At this point, he paused, seemingly thinking about how to phrase it diplomatically.

Finally, he commented, “He’s really handsome and very serious.”

His answer was tactful, but the chief director behind the monitor understood the deeper meaning.

A strong trainee wouldn’t need to care about the Star Observer. While performing, he might not have even glanced at Qi Xingchen, and his evaluation could only focus on the positive aspects without finding any faults.

The chief director instructed the editor, “Keep this entire interview in.”

“Got it, Director Wang.”

While backstage interviews continued, trainees on stage made their way out one after another.

After the first A-level rating, the next two groups performed, and the Noah Entertainment logo appeared on the LCD screen. Chen Jiayi spoke, “Xingxing, that’s your company’s logo.”

As a veteran who helped Noah grow, Bo Ye owned a portion of the company’s shares, and his contract was extremely flexible, essentially leaving him in a semi-independent position from Noah. Otherwise, people like Allen wouldn’t call him “boss.”

In this case, Qi Xingchen had a closer bond with the Noah trainees, and he became more of a topic of conversation. Zheng Yuyang directly called out to Qi Xingchen.

Qi Xingchen nodded, not wanting to cause any awkwardness for Han Qing, so he didn’t reveal their friendship.

“Just don’t show favoritism,” Zheng Yuyang joked.

Qi Xingchen smiled, “With you guys here, I wouldn’t dare.”

Noah chose a typical boy group song with a strong rhythm. The trainees from big companies were solid with their basics, and their synchronization in the formation was excellent. After the performance, all the mentors showed satisfied expressions.

To avoid suspicion, Qi Xingchen didn’t plan to participate in the rating discussion. However, after everyone had shared their opinions, Wei Qin turned his head and asked, “What does the Star Observer think?”

Since he couldn’t avoid it, Qi Xingchen could only express, “Overall, it’s good. Trainees 1 and 3 are A or A-; 2 and 5 can be B to C; 4’s singing is weaker, maybe D.”

No. 3 was Han Qing, who secretly felt pleased upon hearing this.

For him, the approval of his friend mattered far more than the other mentors’ opinions.

“I actually think No. 3 is just average,” Wei Qin said, “Throughout the whole performance, he was always on the lifting side for the lifts. He may not have mastered the technical moves well. I think he should get a B, with further observation needed. The rest of my feedback is the same as yours.”