How to become an ACE of a top boy group

Since the livehouse starts at 5 pm, and they haven't finished filming the promotional video yet (it's not even 9 pm), they'll probably have to wait until then. Lu Yun suggested they could first stroll around the largest shopping mall in Haicheng, Ya Shang Xing Cheng, have a meal, watch a movie to kill time, and then slowly head to the basement of the Shengshi Building, where the livehouse is located.

Did you buy the movie tickets?

"No, if we get tired of walking, we can just find a movie theater and buy a ticket to go in. Let's walk around first. I'm craving Chen Ji's seafood congee. Let's take a taxi to eat first; we haven't had breakfast yet."

"Didn't we just say we'd go shopping at Yashang Xingcheng first?"

"Whatever. I'll go wherever I feel like!"

"You really didn't make any arrangements!" Luo Xi couldn't help but laugh as she watched Lu Yun start to hail a taxi.

"My usual approach is to make no plans at all; I just do whatever comes to mind."

After speaking confidently, Lu Yun looked at the roadside and quickly found the car that would take them there. He then pulled Luo Xi into the car.

Sitting in the car, Luo Xi suddenly realized that if he spent the whole day playing, he wouldn't be able to complete his practice tasks.

"Lu Yunzhen has a magical, invisible power that can completely disrupt any plan."

[041 believes that humans need a balance between work and rest. Luo Xi, given your hard work during this period, a day of rest is very reasonable.]

"Even so, the thought of not being able to complete a task one day and not getting any points is still nagging at me."

But then she remembered that Lu Yun had bought the tickets specifically for them, and that they were watching a performance by one of her favorite bands, so she couldn't possibly be unhappy.

"Let's just have fun first, we can't spoil the mood!"

They went to Chen Ji Teahouse in the center of Haicheng and ordered the porridge that Lu Yun wanted to eat, along with shrimp dumplings, steamed siu mai, crab roe soup dumplings, and so on. Luo Xi ate to her heart's content. When it came time to pay, Luo Xi wanted to split the bill, but she found that she had neither money nor extra points that could be exchanged for cash.

Lu Yun said, "It's okay, I'll pay today. Brother Xi, you don't have a phone, so just use mine. Don't worry, I've got the money."

The main problem was that even if she had a cell phone, she didn't have a single penny. Luo Xi said gratefully, "Then I'll rely on you for today. I'll treat you another time!"

After finishing their meal, they took a taxi to Yashang Xingcheng, which was two kilometers away.

Luo Xi now witnessed the grandeur of Haicheng as a top-tier city: towering skyscrapers, dense crowds and traffic, and wide, winding highways that could make one dizzy. All the modern urban constructions were concentrated here like a miniature landscape.

Ten o'clock is the busiest time for tourists, and the streets are full of people.

Perhaps because they were in the heart of a commercial district, the streets were filled with people dressed in trendy clothes. Luo Xi discovered that there was no need to worry about them being stared at. There were many people dressed like them, wearing all black with sunglasses or masks, and even more dressed in more extravagant ways.

Looking up, what came into view were giant advertising screens flashing among the skyscrapers, constantly displaying the dazzling faces of the world's top celebrities—not just idols, but also many actors and singers. Suddenly, Luo Xi saw people he had met before.

"Hey, isn't that guy a member of the Mickey Mouse group? They even came to our practice room to cheer us on before."

“That’s the ad for the Soft Breeze shampoo that MaiGuai is endorsing. They’re a top-tier group now, super popular.” Lu Yun followed Luo Xi’s gaze and told her, “The ones endorsing luxury goods are Dream Star’s boy group DayDay, STARDUST’s MaiGuai, MoRi’s One Origin, Shengshi’s ZONE, and Dream Star’s DayDay, they’re the hottest top-tier boy groups in China right now.”

"The girl groups that endorse yoga clothing are Jewelbul from Meiying Culture, S-grl from Shengshi, and Pink Sugar from Mengxing, who are currently the 'Big Three' girl groups."

“I remember there’s a girl group in Mexico and Japan, I think I saw them on a TV show…” Luo Xi recalled.

"Gleam, right? Their group's Hekaju Rian hosted our show, probably to boost their popularity. After all, the group isn't doing well, and the management of Mexico is getting worse and worse, which has led to their songs being popular but the members not being. Now they're just a second-tier group. You should say that now, apart from One Origin, there's no one else in Mexico that can compete, and there are rumors that One Origin is also considering disbanding. Mexico's stock has been falling."

"That's why we're investing so much in the current show and are so eager to launch a new group that can save face."

"you do not say."

In this bustling commercial district, there are clothing stores of all sizes, cafes and large game arcades everywhere. What interests Luo Xi are the record stores that sell all kinds of albums. They not only sell records and albums, but also merchandise of currently popular idol groups. Like bookstores, they have a wide variety of products and there are more than one store. Moreover, there are many people buying them.

After browsing the album store, they went to the clothing store, which could take a long time. They went to a fashion boutique that Luo Xi was hesitant to go to alone. Lu Yun wanted to buy clothes for Luo Xi, but Luo Xi was already embarrassed to have eaten and drunk so much, so they absolutely couldn't buy anything more.

"It's only a few thousand, not expensive, right? This one suits you well, buy it if you like it."

They ended up buying them anyway, and the two of them continued shopping with bags full of albums, merchandise, and clothes.

As they passed the subway entrance, Rosie saw a large advertisement on the bulletin board. It was a One Origin advertisement welcoming visitors to Haicheng City, along with a recommended subway route for tourists.

“Ah, this,” Lu Yun explained to Luo Xi, “is a subway line opened in Haicheng City with an idol industry and cultural tourism theme. It starts at Ya Shang Xing Cheng and connects five major companies: Mo Ri Entertainment, Shengshi Entertainment, Ya Yi Media, Fang Jing Film and Television, and Meng Xing Culture. Since the headquarters of the other four companies, except for Ya Yi Media, are all in Haicheng, it’s quite a sight to behold.”

Seeing that Luo Xi was very interested, Lu Yun took the subway with her, which connected the five major companies. At each stop, he introduced the companies to Luo Xi and they even saw BOB Company.

Compared to companies that mostly use modern building designs, YaYi Media's company building, which combines the beams, columns, and eaves of ancient Chinese palaces with a modern steel structure, is quite different.

"This building is so beautiful!"

"This is the style of Ya Yi. After all, they are the pinnacle of Chinese entertainment companies and represent the most traditional Chinese culture."

"So, it seems I've never seen any of Ya Yi Media's groups before."

"You don't even know that Ya Yi has never been involved in the idol industry? They monopolize the traditional performing arts industry in China, only signing actors and singers. Are you an alien?" Lu Yun was surprised that Luo Xi didn't know this common knowledge. "Did you live in a place completely unrelated to entertainment before?"

"Just think of me as an alien," Luo Xi chuckled, then quickly changed the subject, chatting with Lu Yun about other things.

The railway line ended at the Haicheng Gymnasium, where they were about to hold their concert. Since there were no events taking place at the gymnasium, they were able to enter without any hindrance. In the stands, they saw children playing a small football match.

This stadium is really huge, perfectly matching Rosie's concept of a large-scale concert.

This made her even more excited. She couldn't even imagine herself standing here, not in the audience, but on the stage being watched by so many people. Just thinking about it made her very excited.

Lu Yun suddenly said, "I really hope the competition starts soon, I can't wait."

Luo Xi immediately replied, "Me too!"

Lu Yun nodded in approval: "You and I are quite similar in this respect. You don't feel nervous or sad or anything. Well, this gives us both a lot of motivation, which is great. I like it very much."

"I'm the kind of person who doesn't get nervous. I don't know why, especially when I'm on stage, I do get nervous, but the excitement outweighs the nervousness."

"I think if you mess it up, you mess it up, but the most important thing is that you had fun. So there's no need to overthink it."

"That's true, but if we still have time when we get back tonight, let's practice some more. Thinking about it carefully, we made a lot of mistakes before, and we've only been dancing better in the last two days... Maybe we can refine it a bit more and become even more proficient."

"Haha, didn't I just say I wasn't nervous?"

The two chatted casually for a while, then Luo Xi glanced at her phone with a smile and was startled.

"Oh my god, I'm 40!"

"3:40?"

"4:40!"

"Oh, wasn't it only three o'clock when we arrived? Two hours have passed in the blink of an eye?"

"So that's how we stay up all night in the dorm! Does that livehouse show start at 5 pm?"

"Yes, yes, you have to enter early to have your ticket checked. I don't know if they'll let you in if you're late. I heard that some people with a strong personality won't let latecomers in."

I have no idea where the time-disappearing technique came from.

They had to rush to the Shengshi Building where the livehouse was located; the stadium was on the outer edge, more than twenty minutes away from the Shengshi Building.

Lu Yun and Luo Xi didn't even have time to hail a taxi; they ran out of the stadium, found a random taxi, and jumped in.

"The Grand Mansion!!" Lu Yun shouted, "Master, hurry up! We're going to miss the performance!"