Boy group: In order to survive, I have to open business

After exchanging contact information, Kim Seung-hyuk strongly invited him to come to the company to watch the show. Yoon Dong-ho wore sunglasses and looked cool and didn't say a word the whole time.

Xia Xinglang asked: "Is Brother Donghao unhappy and doesn't want me to go?"

Yin Donghao cleared his throat: "I've been practicing singing and my throat is hoarse."

Xia Xinglang: "Okay."

Jin Chengxie made a phone gesture and said, "Then let's call tomorrow. When you are downstairs at the company, we will pick you up. Can we order pizza for takeout?"

Then the company's agent drove over, and Kim Seung Hyuk asked kindly: "Xiao Lang, do you want to get in the car? I'll let the agent drive you first."

Yin Donghao coughed at the right time, and Xia Xinglang immediately said that it would be more convenient for him to take the subway.

Yin Donghao opened the car door and said, "Get in. I'll take you there."

Xia Xinglang knew that their company VC had been acquired by TUBE, a major company that produces popular idol groups, in recent years. Most of the company's well-known idol groups have retired or changed careers, such as the sexy Angel girl group that has announced its disbandment. The company originally focused on the balanced development of its members, and balanced development means no special guidance, in other words, little money. TUBE, on the other hand, has been making great strides, with new generations of male and female idol groups emerging in an endless stream, and it is thriving. VC was incorporated into a subsidiary of TUBE, and a new label, Quinn, was established. The sub-label is said to be completely independent, and Lan Zhihe, a former ARMY boy group idol member under TUBE, serves as Quinn's behind-the-scenes producer and director.

The agent listens to Kim Seung-hyuk a lot. Xia Xinglang couldn't help but think of another rumor in his previous life. Kim Seung-hyuk is the nephew of a director of TUBE. Anyway, he has nepotism, so he has never lacked resources after the group was formed. Compared with Yoon Donghao, he has very little, but compared with other teammates who have zero resources, he is much better.

Xia Xinglang quickly arrived downstairs of his apartment building: "Well, see you tomorrow."

The two waved at him, and Kim Seung Hyuk pointed his phone at him and said, "Let's create a small group for the three of us so we can chat from time to time."

Xia Xinglang didn't sign with any company. As a solo trainee, it was rare for him to have such an opportunity to make friends. To some extent, he envied Kim Seung Hyuk and Yoon Dong Hao. Seung Hyuk was a nice guy, and he didn't think these two could be that bad. At least from the fact that he died once, he had seen too many bad guys. They played tricks on props during performances, spread rumors and slandered him during interviews, and he was isolated and had to clarify that they were actually very close... Bad memories came back, and I felt like vomiting just thinking about it.

Xia Xinglang even forgot to search for himself. He didn't eat dinner and fell asleep directly on the bed. That night he had a dream about what happened in his previous life.

He also debuted half a year after failing the talent show, also in a boy group, but not as highly regarded as Yoon Donghao. He signed a contract with a small company and fully witnessed the small company's step-by-step strategies and calculations. Compared with the brilliance emitted by the contestants who had participated in the talent show and finally debuted on the stage, it was like the difference between the sun and the firefly. Xia Xinglang stood under the brilliance and was overwhelmed and unable to breathe.

The most impressive thing was that during a music show, a cover singer named Yoon Dong-ho met him backstage, and Kim Seung-hyuk seemed to remember him: "We have met on the show, right?"

Yin Donghao took off his headset and said, "Seunghyup, it seems like you know everyone. You have such a wide network of contacts."

Kim Seung Hyuk smiled at him apologetically: "I'm sorry to bother you."

The two were talking and laughing when they left. His teammates mocked him for being eliminated in the first round of the talent show, but Xia Xinglang still forced a smile despite the sarcasm. Since they were not popular, they had to come to rehearsal earlier than anyone else. They had to wait until the last performance on the music show was finished before the next performance. The producer had been frowning when he saw them rehearsing, so the overall level must have been very poor. As the captain, he had no control over his team. There was even an accident on the official stage, and his leg was injured by the fireworks device, but he still forced himself to complete the performance.

His agent asked him why he was so careless, and the remaining variety shows quickly removed him from the notice list. In the end, Xia Xinglang paid the medical expenses out of his own pocket.

Standing on the stage is obviously my dream, but no one comes to see me. Can the camera capture me? What’s the point of my presence?

Xia Xinglang woke up from his sleep, his whole body soaked in cold sweat. It was three o'clock in the morning. His phone showed a new group message alert. Jin Chengxie pulled him into the small group of three and forwarded a screenshot of a family of three: Are we a family of three?

Yin Donghao: No

Kim Seung Hyuk: I am the father of the little wolf, please call me Wolf Dad

Yin Donghao:?

Yin Donghao: Am I the mother?

Half an hour later, Yin Donghao typed: Xiaolang will not reply to you

Kim Seung-hyuk sent several crying emojis in a row.

After not receiving a reply for a long time, Kim Seung-hyuk sent him many messages, asking him what happened. Xia Xinglang only replied now that he was sleeping and just woke up.

Unexpectedly, Kim Seung-hyuk replied quickly: I was worried for a long time and thought you deleted me as a friend.

Xia Xinglang: If you delete it, it will show that the message has been rejected. Why are you still awake?

Kim Seung Hyuk: Yeah, I’m writing songs.

Xia Xinglang gave him a thumbs up.

Kim Seung-hyuk took a photo of his dormitory, showing the keyboard and percussion pad under the lights, as well as a corner of the lyrics book.

Kim Seung Hyuk: Xiaolang, you are really famous, and many people like you.

Xia Xinglang: Really?

Kim Seung Hyuk: Of course I like you too

Xia Xinglang sent a flying kiss emoticon: I like you too, brother.

While taking a shower, he was still thinking about the second round. He probably wouldn’t make it to the end. He didn’t check the official website to see the number of voters. Maybe he would stop on the night of the group formation. No matter what, it wouldn’t be worse than his previous life. He would check it out later.

Type in Xia Xinglang, and several related terms appear on the software search trends, including a leaked photo of the second public performance. Oh, this photo takes a very good look at him, the camera must be a good brand. He and Hua Shanyuan have rehearsed this interaction many times, and his clothes are lifted up very naturally. There are a lot of good comments, and everyone wants to see the official live shot.

Someone changed the account name to Xia Xinglang to debut, so he must be a fan of his... I feel warm inside, that's how it feels to be a fan. Although he held a few meet-and-greet and autograph sessions in his previous life, and some people supported him, he was still a bit obscure overall. Has his album sales exceeded 10,000? It seems to be 800 at most, but now many comments below call him Little Wolf Baby.

Several stage replays have caused a lot of discussion. It feels good to be liked by others. Xia Xinglang is a little bit overwhelmed by the good reviews. At this time, he needs to read the negative reviews to calm his brain. However, if you replace the "Xing" in "Xinglang" with "Xin", "Xing", and "Xing", the tweets retrieved are probably all negative reviews. It's over-marketed. No matter how much money is spent, it's disgusting to always dog-push male idols. I get annoyed when I see it. Go to hell, die, die, die, if you sell homosexuality.

Some people say that his face was made to look like a certain ARMY male idol. Wow, that’s quite a criticism.

Xia Xinglang thought that this was the social network he was familiar with. If it was full of positive comments, it would be easy to get addicted to his own little world, and eventually his psychological defenses would become weaker and weaker.

The intense self-searching made him feel dazed, and he didn't come back to his senses until the morning. Kim Seung Hyuk asked him early in the morning if he had left, and Xia Xinglang packed up and set off. He wore a cotton mask and a thick sweater. It was his first time going back to the TUBE Entertainment building. He felt inexplicably nervous, and it seemed that the psychological pressure was even greater than the performance stage.

Kim Seung Hyuk: When will you arrive?

Xia Xinglang: Just got on the subway

Kim Seung Hyuk: Which station?

Xia Xinglang: Telecom Building

Even though it was the weekend, there were still crowds of people. Xia Xinglang felt uncomfortable wearing a cotton mask with a bear pattern print. He couldn't help wanting to take it off several times. But in fact, he was probably being too sentimental. No one might recognize him if he took it off, so he decided to keep it on. He walked all the way to the entertainment company building, and his psychological pressure was rising. He sent a message to Kim Seung-hyuk saying that he was almost there. In fact, when he was standing at the door, the security guard looked at him very strangely, probably thinking he was a paparazzi or a stalker fan.

Xia Xinglang took off his mask and breathed, and soon Jin Chengxie and Yin Donghao came down and invited him in.

The sense of oppression was very strong. While waiting for the elevator, I met Xuanying, a member of the popular girl group idol. It felt like a dream. She was very beautiful in person... Xia Xinglang was actually very shy in private. Xuanying was very surprised and pointed to her ears with her hands on her head: "I know you, what's your name——"

"Xia Xinglang, little wolf." Jin Chengxie added.

"Well, you three, do you want to do a dance challenge?" Xuanying thought of something and immediately contacted the agent's assistant, "Shoot a short video, only a dozen seconds, very quick."

Xuanying's girl group is currently promoting their fourth album. The title song "sweet emotion" is cute and pure, and the chorus choreography has a very cute hand gesture. Xia Xinglang liked this song very much in his previous life, and he kept playing it on loop in his headphones on his way to work.

"Let's take pictures." Kim Seung-hyuk pushed Xia Xinglang and walked together.

The three of them followed Xuanying to the company's staircase. The assistant took a mobile phone to shoot a vertical video. Xuanying taught them the hand gestures for the chorus, which were probably poking their faces with their fingers, poking on the left, poking on the right. In fact, Xuanying didn't need to teach them at all, Xia Xinglang could dance to the whole song.

Kim Seung Hyuk: "Xiaolang, please stand in the middle."

Xia Xinglang was at a loss: "I, I——"

Yin Donghao: "You are our guest. We are senior sisters and junior brothers in the same company. It makes sense for you to be in the middle."

Xia Xinglang originally wanted to say that he was dressed casually, in a sweatshirt and sweatpants, but Kim Seung-hyuk and the others were dressed the same way, so he just took the photo, hoping that it wouldn't have the opposite effect.

Xuanying performed an opening dance and then hopped away, giving the camera to the three of them. Xia Xinglang couldn't stop smiling. He was in a good mood whenever he heard the song, so he just smiled throughout the filming. At the end, the four of them posed for the closing moves together. Xia Xinglang waved at the camera, and after the filming was over, everyone gathered together to watch the finished film. Xia Xinglang felt that his smile was redundant and it was silly to smile like that, and he hoped to retake the film, but he only said it in his heart.

"Just once, that's all. Great, let's wrap it up! What are you guys having for lunch? It's my treat."

"Pizza and fried chicken, already ordered," Kim Seung-hyup said.

"Give me the bill."

"it is good."

Xia Xinglang's face was still a little red after filming the video. Yin Donghao asked him why his movements were so familiar, and Xia Xinglang's answer was super unpromising: "I'm a fan."

Kim Seung Hyuk glanced at his phone and said, "Wow, the video has been sent out."

Because it was a song challenge that came with the software, the music was the selected chorus section, and it didn't even require editing or post-production. It was a super convenient way to promote the song. Xia Xinglang felt his palms sweating, and he didn't want to look at his phone for the time being: "Let's connect to the TV and cast the screen. The show is almost airing."

"It got over 5,000 likes in five minutes."

Xia Xinglang secretly leaned over to take a look, and Jin Chengxie laughed: "Someone said that they seemed to have met you by chance on the subway."

Xia Xinglang: “…”

The comments are all saying how cute it is, cute song, cute kids, and such big smiles.

Xia Xinglang endured it silently until his ears were about to bleed. Yin Donghao cooled him with a Coke and said, "Why is your neck so red?"

Xia Xinglang covered his face: "I don't know."

Kim Seung Hyuk patted his head and said, "The show is about to start. It wasn't our team's turn to perform on the first public stage in the last episode."

Yin Donghao hummed and poured Coke from a paper cup. Jin Chengxie checked the delivery time of the takeaway: "Is it time to enter the program preview? The theme song will play for one minute. I'll go downstairs to get the takeaway and be back soon! Pause!"

As soon as the theme song started playing, Kim Seung Hyuk trotted out the door, and Yoon Dong Ho turned down the volume: "My ears are getting calluses from listening to it."

Xia Xinglang was still very concerned about the comments under the short video. After flipping through them for a while, he actually didn't see any bad comments, only praise. No, he had to read some negative comments to calm his brain. Yin Donghao came over to take a look: "What are you looking at? Do you like to search yourself? Isn't this scolding you? He didn't even spell your name correctly. This is the "猩" in "gorilla"…"

Xia Xinglang calmed down a bit: "I like to read bad reviews."

Yin Donghao touched his forehead to test its temperature with a serious face: "Your brain is burnt out."