The two continued walking and chatting. Gu Yueyue said with some regret, "I've also thought about raising a gentle dog or a cute cat, but I can only stay at home a few days a year, so raising a pet isn't very realistic."
"Then spend more time with children. Children are innocent and adorable; they have goodwill towards the world, and their innocent words are very healing."
Gu Yueyue had already escorted her to the car. Upon hearing Dr. Wei's words, she was stunned, unsure whether Dr. Wei was joking or genuinely advising her.
But whether it's true or not, she's too busy to spend time with children.
"Dr. Wei, I will seriously consider what you said." She has been sponsoring a children's welfare home, so perhaps I could go and take a look there.
"Okay. Remember to get plenty of rest and don't put too much pressure on yourself. Feel free to contact me anytime if you have any questions."
Gu Yueyue nodded.
"Then I'll go first, you can go back now."
After Dr. Wei left, Gu Yueyue relaxed a little.
The sky had completely darkened, and a few small stars dotted the night sky. Under the bright lights of the city, which illuminated half the sky, those few newly emerging stars appeared hazy and indistinct.
Gu Yueyue couldn't stay idle at all; she was thinking about tomorrow's work arrangements on her way back to the dormitory.
Yuan Beidu is coming back tomorrow, and the three mentors are starting to plan the initial scoring. The production team requires that twenty-two trainees be eliminated this time, two of whom will be added to the revival competition later, in order to increase the drama of the variety show.
Eliminating 22 trainees is easy. After watching for just a few days, it's clear who has serious problems and who only has minor flaws. The real challenge lies in cooperating with the production team to create multiple dramatic twists and turns. Two trainees with decent skills must be eliminated to make it easier for them to enter the revival competition and strive for the championship.
Gu Yueyue was lost in thought, while Bao Xiaoxiao, who was secretly following behind her, was also deep in thought.
She followed Gu Yueyue back to the entrance of Gu Yueyue's dormitory. After watching Gu Yueyue close the door, she ran back to find Xu Yi.
When Xu Yi came out of the bathroom after taking a shower, she found that Xiao Xiao was gone.
Before she could even use her mind to search for Xiaoxiao, a chubby little girl climbed in through the half-open window.
"Don't move." Xu Yi was worried about her. Although it was only the second floor and Xiao Xiao was not an ordinary child, but also a Heaven-rank divine weapon sword spirit, Xu Yi was still worried like an old mother, afraid that Xiao Xiao would fall.
Xu Yi picked her up and casually tossed her onto the bed.
"Where have you been?" Xu Yi stood by the bed, looking down at her and scrutinizing her. "Have you learned how to run away from home?"
"No way!" Xiaoxiao tumbled on the bed, but quickly sat up and said angrily to Xu Yi, "It's because you're too stupid. If we rely on you alone, when will we ever win over Little Gu's mother? When will we ever succeed in overcoming our tribulation?"
Xu Yi looked at her, pursed her lips and didn't say anything. She really had no clue how to win over Miss Gu, but she was very unhappy to be looked down upon by her own little brat.
Xiao Xiao then told her, "Do you know that Xiao Gu's mother is sick?"
"Um?"
Xu Yi really doesn't know.
“I heard what she and that doctor were saying. She’s very ill and she desperately needs a child! Please take me there.”
"Huh?!" Xu Yi didn't know if Miss Gu was sick, but she felt that her little one might be a bit abnormal.
What kind of illness would make someone need a child? What would they do with a child?
"Is your mother's illness infertility?"
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-01-01 20:47:15 and 2022-01-02 19:00:39!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the grenade: 1 pistachio;
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Jun the Little Liar, for 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Xu Yi didn't take Xiao Xiao's words to heart, after all, what she said was too absurd.
Now, the students don't have much time left, and everyone is putting in their best effort to practice. She doesn't have time to think about the meaning behind Xiao Xiao's words.
In these last two days, the training room was bustling with activity. Some of the people who came here were like Zhang Ya, who came from well-off families and had no ambitions of their own, participating purely for fun. Others were second-generation stars like Shen Ningjiao and Han Shixue, who were secretly invited by the production team to generate buzz.
There are also internet celebrities like Ruan Hanmei and Zhuang Yan who frequently appear on various programs to increase their popularity and market value.
Many others, like Zheng Wan, were arranged by their companies to use the Star Idol Project as a springboard for their debut, serving as trainees for female celebrities in the entertainment industry. They also endured much harder training.
The only two oddballs left are Miao Lele and Xu Yi.
Xu Yi came to participate for the prize money, which is understandable.
Miao Lele, a content creator in the "ghostly" (parody/meme) video category, made a bet with her fans in the live stream and was forced to come on stage by their encouragement.
Therefore, during training, these two were at opposite ends of the spectrum.
While others were sweating profusely in the practice room, Xu Yi was sitting in a corner, holding a cup of flower tea, meditating with her eyes closed, and Miao Lele was casually chatting with fans in the live stream.
They each belonged to their own faction and were not in the same world as everyone else.
The night before the elimination round, Zhang Ya gathered everyone in Villa No. 2 together.
Zhuang Yan and Ruan Hanmei really wanted to debut on this show, but it's okay if they don't succeed. They can go back to being internet celebrities. They came here just to take a chance, but they took it in a very relaxed way. They practiced very seriously but didn't push themselves too hard. They were in good condition and had a good mindset when facing the elimination rounds. The two of them could even get together and chat about fashion and makeup.
Han Shixue and Shen Ningjiao have nothing to worry about. Han Shixue's father is a well-known director in the entertainment industry, and her mother is an actress who has stepped onto the international stage. Shen Ningjiao's mother is a pampered young lady from a wealthy family, and her father was once ridiculed for marrying into a wealthy family. Now he is a performing artist with both acting skills and good looks.
The conflict between their families stems from a past relationship between Han's mother and Shen's father when they were young. They were considered a golden couple in the industry, but their relationship ended in a bitter breakup. Han married another woman, a decision that moved many fans to tears, leading them to declare, "I no longer believe in love." Adding to the controversy, their weddings and the birth of their children coincided, fueling endless speculation about the truth behind their breakup. Rumors circulated that Han Shixue, heartbroken, had engaged in illicit sexual relations with a director, or even succumbed to depravity by embracing a wealthy woman. One particularly outrageous rumor claimed that Han Shixue and Shen Ningjiao were sisters, implying that the wealthy woman and the director were being cuckolded.
Shen Ningjiao and Han Shixue originally had no conflict, but the outside world kept talking about the feud between their two families, and when they were still very young, the seeds of hatred for each other were already planted in their hearts.
The root cause of their mutual dislike was that when they were thirteen or fourteen years old, they participated in a program called "Transformation". On the first day of the program, Shen Ningjiao unfortunately fell into the water and was rescued by Han Shixue. When she was about to regain consciousness, she witnessed Han Shixue giving her artificial respiration.
This disgusted Shen Ningjiao so much that she vomited on the spot, and Han Shixue also looked unwell. After that, they publicly started fighting, and whenever they were together, they would either argue or fight.
The production team wanted to bring them in to generate buzz because of this.
They both came to the show with the intention of disgusting each other.
I didn't put much effort into practice, but since I had a good foundation, even casual practice made me better than real amateur trainees.
So, by all accounts, the only person in Villa No. 3 who is most worried about whether she can debut is Zheng Wan.
She was arranged by the company. If she can debut, the company will definitely promote her heavily. But if she fails even with the company's help, the company will definitely abandon her.
Zheng Wan became increasingly nervous as she thought about it. When Zhang Ya called her out of the practice room, her face immediately turned cold.
"What's the point of having a meeting at a time like this? Can't you give us some time to train?"
Zhang Ya only wanted to hold a mobilization meeting for everyone, but she didn't expect Zheng Wan to react so strongly.
Zhang Ya: "We've been training with you so much these past few days. The knockout stage starts tomorrow. If you don't want to rest, you should at least give us some time to adjust, right? Besides, judging from our current overall strength, we don't need to worry about being eliminated at all."
"Of course you don't need to worry, everyone knows you're just here for fun." Zheng Wan said without thinking. Zhang Ya narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, remaining silent.
Zhang Ya was angered by her and felt a lump in her throat. "Fine, I won't come then."
The seven people gathered in the living room. Zhang Ya briefly explained the elimination rounds for tomorrow and told everyone not to worry too much, as all members of Villa No. 3 would definitely pass.
Xu Yi, however, was not optimistic about Zhang Ya's statement. She thought that these people might all be on the debut list arranged by the program team, but she had seen the competition rules. There was a revival competition at the end. In order to create highlights, they would definitely deliberately eliminate one or two of them and then revive them to create a legend for Villa No. 3.
Besides Xu Yi, Han Shixue and Shen Ningjiao probably also knew the inside story. They didn't follow Zhang Ya's pre-match pep talk either. They sat listlessly at opposite ends of the sofa, listening to the others' speeches with great boredom, but their minds were wandering far away.
Miao Lele didn't really want to stay any longer. She could manage to sing, but dancing was really too much for her. She had lost a lot of weight in just a few days. She should have made the bet on the black stockings and JK uniform back then, so she could have come here to suffer.
Almost all the trainees' team villas were filled with pre-competition preparations, and the mentors were not idle either.
Gu Yueyue, Xia Lan, Yuan Beidu, and Liu Dai also gathered together to discuss which two would be eliminated tomorrow for the revival competition.
"We must select two capable individuals who want to stay, and we cannot inform them; this matter must be kept secret." Liu Dai was not a professional and did not know who to eliminate, so he could only follow the advice of the three mentors. At this moment, he was glad that Fan Weiwei was not there.
The initial plan was not to let Fan Weiwei know about this segment, as she was not very capable but made a lot of noise, and the production team did not dare to take the risk.
Gu Yueyue already had someone in mind: Ji Wenwen, whom she had met in the cafeteria, and Shen Ningjiao, with whom she had a conflict. Both of them were quite good.
Ji Wenwen may seem weak and timid, but she is actually quite good at singing and dancing. She is also very clever and has a tenacity that many new trainees lack. She will definitely participate in the revival competition. Such a person will never let go of any opportunity to succeed.
Shen Ningjiao is considered one of the top trainees. She originally came with a casual attitude and was indifferent to whether she would stay or leave. However, Han Shixue also came. If Shen Ningjiao is eliminated and Han Shixue stays, Shen Ningjiao will definitely return with more seriousness and fierce aura than anyone else during the revival competition.
These two were choices Gu Yueyue made after much consideration, and they were also the most reasonable choices that could create the most dramatic conflict and appeal.
It was at this moment that Liu Dai suddenly brought up another matter.
"By the way, it seems like something happened to Fan Weiwei. The production team's plan is to announce his leave first, and if he has a chance to come back later, they will let him return. If not, we can use the excuse that Fan Weiwei's schedule is not available to find another mentor to replace him."
"Of course, during Fan Weiwei's absence, we've arranged for a heavyweight guest to fill his spot. He's not in the industry, but he's also one of our investors. If there are any professional conflicts or disagreements, please bear with us." Liu Dai gave everyone a heads-up in advance to avoid any trouble later.
Xia Lan asked curiously, "Who is it? What's their background? Why is Teacher Liu so nervous?"
"Zhao Yuan's younger brother, Zhao Sheng, the young master of the Zhao family." Liu Dai was both amused and exasperated. This little devil Zhao Sheng loved to meddle wherever he went. He just hoped that he wouldn't cause any major trouble for their production team.
Zhao Sheng. Gu Yueyue remembered the gossip Ma Youcai had told her. She gripped the trainee list in her hand tighter, her expression becoming inscrutable.
Yuan Beidu laughed: "Young Master Zhao Sheng. I know him, I've heard of his name before, it's quite interesting."
People in the industry call him behind his back—the Kidney-Seeking Prince.
Yuan Beidu: "Who has she taken a fancy to? She's even come to our production team to follow her? Teacher Liu, can you give us a hint? Fan Weiwei left, could it be because of this 'Kidney Prince'?"
Liu Dai smiled and dodged the question. He knew why Fan Weiwei had left, and Gu Yueyue, the other party involved, was still there. How could he speak frankly? He could only chat with them for a few words before quickly changing the subject.
"Just be careful when the time comes, let's talk about work first. Have the three mentors decided which two to eliminate?" Liu Dai asked.
Gu Yueyue was the first to speak, "My suggestion is Ji Wenwen, Xu Yi."
Xia Lan looked at the names 'Ji Wenwen' and 'Shen Ningjiao' circled on her list and suddenly wondered if she had misheard.
"Teacher Gu, you mean—Xu Yi?" Xia Lan asked, looking surprised.
Yuan Beidu looked at the list he had circled: 'Ji Wenwen, Han Shixue & Shen Ningjiao'. Everyone should assume that Ji Wenwen was the answer, and the remaining one should be either Shen Ningjiao or Han Shixue. But he never expected that Gu Yueyue would choose Xu Yi. Did his manager make a mistake in predicting the question?
Yuan Beidu couldn't understand it either, since his agent had made a lot of sense before he came.
"Teacher Gu, I can understand choosing Ji Wenwen, but why did you choose Xu Yi?" Yuan Beidu wanted to find out so he could explain to his agent later.
Xu Yi's sword dance went viral, and although she doesn't have any public social media accounts, countless people visit the show's official Weibo account daily to express their admiration for her. She's exactly the kind of amateur trainee the show needs, and it's fair to say the show has already implicitly given her a debut spot.
Liu Dai couldn't quite understand it, because Gu Yueyue had always taken good care of Xu Yi, and it was said that Xu Yi was personally introduced by Gu Yueyue.
"Teacher Gu, can you tell me why you chose them?" Liu Dai was mainly curious about Xu Yi. He wasn't a professional and couldn't figure out the criteria for selecting members for a girl group, so he hadn't remembered who Ji Wenwen was.
Xia Lan and Yuan Beidu were also waiting for Gu Yueyue's explanation.
Gu Yueyue: "Choosing Xu Yi is very simple. She meets the standards for girl group members in all aspects, and her strength is also outstanding. Xia Lan, you should know about her dance skills and her singing ability during this period of practice."