If I Can’t Be a Fanboy, I Can Only Debut

When it comes to learning, most people have to admit that it's actually a boring and tedious process.

At first, there may be a sense of novelty, but as time passes, the novelty slowly fades away, and fatigue starts to set in.

The learning time for the theme song is three days.

Just on the first day, it's enough for the novelty and excitement to wear off everyone.

What followed on the second day is physical and mental fatigue and the despair of an uncertain future -- the realization that no matter how much you practice, there will always be mistakes.

For the veterans who have participated in several programs, this process is even more painful.

Although they are not very popular, they have more experience than others, and in contrast, their sense of novelty is even shorter, and their mental exhaustion is even deeper.

They know the importance of this stage, and they know they should pull themselves together, but the more they practice, the harder it is to lift their arms.

Shang Lin is a veteran trainee who has participated in idol drafts four times.

In his first three experiences, he also participated in some popular programs, but that was it.

The programs that he did well in were not popular, and the popular programs were short-lived. Like all unlucky contestants, he has been waiting for a chance to break through.

He sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night, feeling that his future is bleak and he can't see it at all, as he grows older every year.

Every year, there are younger and more talented people entering the industry. How far can he go?

Unlike others, he didn't come from a professional background, nor did he have a wide range of experience in dancing or playing musical instruments since childhood. He simply liked singing and dancing.

Coming from a non-professional background, he had to work harder than others. At the company, he defeated one talented opponent after another through his diligence, finally shedding the identity of a second-rate trainee. He even won the opportunity to participate in a talent show through an internal competition.

He still remembers that it was a highly anticipated and heavily invested competition, but for some reason, it didn't generate much buzz in the end. So even though Shang Lin achieved excellent results and placed in the top ten, it didn't change much for him.

In the world of newcomers, opportunities only come once. If you miss the chance, you become a "leftover" and have to start over from scratch.

He was tired of endless competitions. This time, it was his last chance to participate in a talent show. Before coming, he told himself that if he failed again, he would give up. He could either accept his limitations and become a nameless singer, making a living by performing at various commercial events, or simply return to his hometown and live an ordinary life.

Unfortunately, he now lay on the floor, gasping for breath, with sweat dripping down his face, neck, and hair. The sticky feeling and sudden surge of despair overwhelmed him.

"I can't even make it off the stage," he thought.

The exhaustion didn't suddenly appear at this moment. It was there when he left the company for the competition and was mocked by newcomers, when he found out that his prepared program had copyright issues and had to change the song at the last minute during the preliminary rounds, and when he suddenly forgot the lyrics on stage...

One small detail after another piled up, enlarging the cracks in his heart until they swallowed him whole.

Sometimes, working hard is simple, but it can also be difficult.

When you can't see any hope, every step you take requires twice the effort.

He couldn't hold on anymore.

Closing his eyes, Shang Lin just wanted to rest.

However, when he was almost falling asleep, a cold voice suddenly entered his ears: "Shang Lin? Are you okay?"

Opening his eyes, he saw a face that didn't look friendly.

Shang Lin was dazed and wondered, who is this person?

"I'm Luo Xin." As if knowing what he was thinking, the person introduced himself and said, "I think you danced really well just now. Can you teach me?"

Although it was a request, Shang Lin didn't feel any softness in his attitude. Instead, he felt that the person was high and mighty, making him look up to see him.

However, Shang Lin didn't care about that. He only cared about that one sentence and asked dumbly, "Did I dance well?"

Luo Xin didn't know why he was asking, but he chose to tell the truth instinctively. He even praised him a little due to his habit: "Very good! Your movements were smooth and natural, and your facial expressions were great. When you were dancing, it was like a god descending to earth..."

For years, he had bottled up many things, and they would just roll off his tongue without much thought.

His own poker face and habitual indifference made his words seem even more sincere and convincing.

After hearing these words, Shang Lin suddenly covered his eyes with his arm and burst out laughing.

"I'll teach you," he said.

Much later, when someone asked Shang Lin why he wanted to teach Luo Xin how to dance on the show, he thought for a moment and replied, "Because he praised me."

The person asking the question was dumbfounded, was it really that simple?

Shang Lin continued to smile as if it really was that simple.

But in his heart, he knew that it wasn't just because Luo Xin's praise gave him confidence during his lowest point, but also because his words reminded Shang Lin of his former fans.

In the entertainment industry, no matter how badly you're doing, you'll always have fans, and Shang Lin wasn't even the worst off, so he naturally had some.

He used to have a small group of fans who formed a fan club to cheer him on, make beautiful pictures, and use all sorts of flattering words to praise him.

It was just that Shang Lin himself was not capable of keeping them.

Those exaggerated praises naturally haven't been heard in a long time.

But Luo Xin happened to say them, and at a time when Shang Lin was about to give up.

How could Shang Lin refuse him?

On camera, this was a very harmonious and friendly scene, symbolizing the good friendship among the contestants.

Although they were clearly opponents, Shang Lin showed no sign of competitiveness. Instead, after he had practiced well, he helped Luo Xin, who had a very weak foundation, practice and correct his moves, again and again, practicing until late at night.

On the road to growth, there are tears and sweat from competition, but also warm smiles and pure friendship...

Luo Xin practiced meticulously, but he had already planned out the words that would be added by the post-production team.

If he had put in a little more effort, he wouldn't still be struggling to remember the dance moves and relying on Shang Lin for extra lessons.

Yes, Luo Xin was doing this intentionally.

Of course, he couldn't practice the routine well on his own, given his weak foundation and the difficulty of the theme song.

But practicing the theme song was not important enough to justify his deliberate attempt to please a stranger.

Luo Xin did this for two reasons. First, he habitually added drama to himself. If he had more screen time, he would have a better chance of advancing. If he was more popular, he could also help boost Shao Xiangchen's popularity in the later stages.

Second, it was also a habit.

It's a bit embarrassing to say, but Luo Xin used to be a fan of Shang Lin.

Shang Lin was different from Shao Xiangchen. He was a little less popular than Shao Xiangchen.

When Shao Xiangchen was at his peak, his fans could even crowd the airport.

However, Shang Lin at most had only ranked in the top three on some obscure charts and had only controlled the comments section on marketing accounts.

Luo Xin was introduced to this circle by a big fan-made compilation of Shang Lin, but only realized how cold the circle was after joining. The number of fans wasn't very high, and they weren't very good at promoting, so later on, whether it was controlling comments, ranking, fighting back against haters, or even arguing with rival fan groups, Luo Xin had to handle it all by himself.

Of course, after briefly loving Shang Lin, Luo Xin quickly climbed over to the homes of other small idols.

But he had gotten used to praising him at the time, so seeing the main character again now still made Luo Xin a little excited.

Men, after all, can't help but feel some tenderness when they see their old loves.

Naturally, holding a script about pure brotherly love, Luo Xin wanted to lend a hand. Coincidentally, he saw that Shang Lin had finished learning and was taking a break.

So he pretended to admire him, but actually played out the classic scene of "progressing with the laggards" with full of his wits.

Hey, actually, if Shao Xiangchen hadn't entered Class A, he would have wanted to leave this script for Shao Xiangchen.

But since he had met Shang Lin, it was fate.

Luo Xin took a second to repent to the current main character, Shao Xiangchen, then threw himself into interacting with Shang Lin.

Shang Lin didn't let Luo Xin down as a big fan of his. His personality was great, and even though Luo Xin kept making mistakes in one place for various reasons, he corrected him for the sixth or seventh time without any impatience.

Under his guidance, Luo Xin successfully learned the entire dance section.

Congratulations!

In the blink of an eye, three days had quickly passed, and it was time for the final inspection.

Because there were many contestants in the competition, all of them had to wake up at five or six in the morning to do their styling and follow the process for filming purposes.

Not only to have ample time, but the production team also wanted to take more pictures of the contestants looking tired for material.

Although many of the materials would not be used in the end, who would complain about having too little material?

Luo Xin maintained his good routine and did not feel uncomfortable at all. Among all the contestants who did their styling in the morning, only he was spirited. He was even praised by the makeup artist while doing his makeup and was given an exquisite eyeliner.

Looking at his eyebrows and eyes in the mirror from afar, Luo Xin felt that he looked particularly fierce today.

Was it just an illusion?

After finishing the makeup, there was an interview, and he didn't know where the production team got so many questions to ask.

Despite his inner complaints, Luo Xin still cooperated and completed the interview.

Of course, he also diligently cued Shao Xiangchen, dutifully accumulating sugar for the future "Constellation CP", working hard.

During the break, Luo Xin was ecstatic and thought about who would be lucky enough to ship him and Shao Xiangchen in the future. It would be so sweet!

In the noble Class A, Shao Xiangchen was enjoying the attention of a dedicated makeup artist when he suddenly shuddered for no apparent reason.

Another strong contestant, Wen Tongbai, asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

Shao Xiangchen smiled and replied, "It's okay. My nose suddenly itched just now."

Unlike other classes, there are fewer contestants in Class A, and everyone's abilities are similar, all top-notch. Therefore, the relationships between them are pretty good.

Shao Xiangchen and Wen Tongbai have a better relationship than the others because they live closer to each other.

Thinking about how the theme song is followed by the next evaluation, even though they both think there is no problem with each other's abilities, they still feel somewhat worried.

But in the end, they just hugged each other silently and said, "Good luck!"

"Good luck!"

After that, they entered the evaluation room for the theme song one by one.

In Class C, Luo Xin also closed his eyes and recalled the dance and lyrics of the theme song in his mind.

The next one is him.

---