After Transmigrating Into a Male Idol Talent Show

Chapter 52

In the practice room, there's still a teammate who's unaware of the upcoming challenges.

The staff had already called Han Suyan out, while Jin You'en was completely oblivious, listening to demos on his iPad with headphones. Yu Zifei, as usual, was buried in practice, dancing in front of the mirror as if there were no one else around.

ToeiSup's Chinese proficiency still needed work. At the moment, they were adding pinyin to the lyrics one by one while reciting them and meticulously writing them out.

Fan Xi couldn't hold back his curiosity. If he stayed together, he couldn't help but want to say something. He wanted to know how others would handle it, fearing that he wouldn't be able to hide his expression and let them notice that something was wrong. So, he quickly got up, glanced at the composed Qin Lu and Liao Junchen, and said, "Are we going to the soundproof room?"

To prevent trainees from disturbing each other during individual practice sessions, the production team had equipped a certain number of soundproof rooms in advance. These were small rooms with soundproofing material all around, capable of accommodating two to three people. They were primarily for vocal practice, allowing trainees to sing without worrying about off-key notes or disturbing others.

Actually, there were cameras installed inside for recording practice materials, but they might not necessarily be included in the final cut.

Fan Xi didn't want to stay in the practice room any longer. He planned to stay inside until almost everyone had been pranked, and then come out to ask them one by one how they reacted. But he didn't want to go alone.

Fan Xi's expectations were written all over his face as he looked at his two teammates. Liao Junchen remained non-committal, while Qin Lu pondered for a moment before standing up. "Sure. Bring the lyric book. Do you remember the melody?"

Fan Xi knew that Qin Lu had agreed, so he nodded confidently. "I've got it mostly!"

He just didn't want to go alone. Since Qin Lu agreed to go together, Fan Xi saw that Liao Junchen didn't seem to mind either, so he casually said, "Liao Ge, if you're not going, can you call us after they finish solo recordings?"

Liao Junchen raised his eyebrows. "I didn't say I'm not going."

Fan Xi: "...Ge, you're unpredictable."

Once they said they were going to practice singing, their teammates didn't find it strange. They glanced at them and continued with their own practice.

Soundproof singing rooms were available on every floor, but since there were already people inside the ones near the door's small glass windows, they went to the ones upstairs.

The soundproofing material, sponge-like and blue, made the space feel a bit cramped with three people inside. Once the door closed, it was as if the world had suddenly become quiet.

Fan Xi always found it magical when he came here. It was his first time using these convenient soundproof singing rooms since joining "Infinite Youth" program. He could practice without worrying about disturbing others or embarrassing himself. As for the camera in the corner, Fan Xi always ignored it; it didn't feel real to him.

He had only been here with his teammates and Jin You'en before. Before formal practice sessions, they would chat casually. "Lu, you've probably never used these soundproof rooms before, right?"

The three of them sat cross-legged, facing each other casually in a circle. Qin Lu leaned against the wall, biting the pen cap as he looked at the lyric book, and responded without lifting his head, marking the lyrics with a pen as he spoke, "No."

Fan Xi teased, "Our company is really simple. The name sounds high-end, but in reality, it just rents a floor in some office building. When I went to sign the contract, I thought a somewhat famous entertainment company should at least have a whole building, but it turned out to be just one floor... and it's rented. Liao Ge probably has used it before. As one of the big three companies, they must be well-off."

Qin Lu glanced at Liao Junchen with an inquiring look. Liao Junchen remained aloof, simply responding with a "Hmm."

Fan Xi's curiosity piqued, and he asked eagerly, "Liao Ge, what does your company look like? Does it match the feeling of a big company I imagined?"

There's a big difference between entertainment companies and system-trained idol companies, and Qin Lu was relatively unfamiliar with this information.

Seeing that Qin Lu seemed somewhat interested, Liao Junchen added a few more words, "The company occupies a standalone building. Facilities such as practice rooms and recording studios can be used regularly, and the equipment is better than what the production team provides."

Fan Xi showed a bit of envy in his expression. "That's good. Our company's practice rooms probably need to be repainted. Even though we make quite a bit of money every year..."

Liao Junchen's expression remained unchanged. "The environment is better, but it's harder to stay. The competition rules are very strict, with monthly assessments. If you're assigned to the D group three times in a row, you're out."

Fan Xi exclaimed, "...What?!"

He had heard that big companies were ruthless in cutting people, but he didn't expect it to be this scary. With such fierce competition, many trainees trained for years without debuting, which meant they had to go through this kind of day repeatedly?

Monthly assessments and being cut if you're in the bottom three for three consecutive months? How much psychological pressure does that entail?

Fan Xi was speechless, suddenly shaking his head. "Um, I think our company is quite good now. At least I feel pretty relaxed working with people from the same company every day."

Previously, when he practiced for several hours a day, Fan Xi felt he was working very hard, but now he felt like he was just going through the motions.

Qin Lu didn't feel too much of an impact. Although he took a different path in his previous life, he faced competition just as much within the company. Many times, there was only one chance, with no cushion of being at the bottom three times in a row. If you didn't do well, there might not be a second chance.

Whether it was pursuing acting or becoming an idol, to be among the top few in the pyramid, one would definitely have to put in more effort than others.

Big companies could provide a higher starting point and better resources after debut, so the threshold for staying was naturally higher.

Many viewers only saw idols standing on stage looking glamorous, as if all they needed to do was sing and dance, as if it were easy, and the money flowed in easily. But in reality, it wasn't as easy as it seemed. How much effort was put in behind the scenes was hard for others to imagine.

Qin Lu tapped on the lyric book. "Let's sing it first. Have you decided on which part you want?"

The chorus part required a high vocal range, and Fan Xi wanted to know if he could handle it. He raised his hand. "Let me try the C part first!"

His vocal tone was a standard rainbow tone, and when singing high notes, he didn't need falsetto. His voice sounded effortless, and he could hit high notes smoothly without any sense of tension, making it very comfortable to listen to.

In the soundproof room, Fan Xi felt exhilarated as he didn't have to hold back his voice. After singing, he couldn't help but praise himself, "Wow, I sang really well."

Qin Lu: "..."

He couldn't help but chuckle and lowered his head, his smile faint. "Yes, you sang very well."

Fan Xi grinned proudly, feeling like a large golden retriever.

Actually, Qin Lu was curious why Liao Junchen chose this song, as it didn't seem to be his style. But he knew that Liao Junchen had his own thoughts and definitely didn't choose this song on a whim.

He asked him, "Which part do you want to sing?"

Surprisingly, Liao Junchen said, "The first part."

When he started singing, Qin Lu was slightly taken aback.