Chapter 132: Who to Choose

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Entertainment Around You - No Pop-ups
Story Timeline: February 2007
Recommended Song: JJ Lin - "Suddenly Tired"
Disclaimer: This story is purely fictional. Please do not project it onto reality. Any resemblance is purely coincidental!

Busy schedules during the day, relentless practice at night. However, for the past two days, Jiang Yihan's practice regimen had an additional task: the first round of selections for the new talent auditions.

First was the headcount. There were over 30 people who had turned their audition tapes back into the studio, which meant they lacked confidence. Unexpectedly, nearly half of these were veterans who had been trainees for over three years. In other words, even after training for so long, they still lacked confidence in themselves.

Jiang Yihan specifically retrieved the tapes of these trainees who had given up and watched them carefully. He found that while these individuals had shortcomings, they were not lacking in ability; they simply lacked total confidence in their own strengths. After finishing the tapes, Jiang Yihan consulted with the trainee managers as well as vocal and dance instructors. Finally, synthesizing everyone's opinions, he pulled out one specific tape.

His name was Yin Guangxuan. The boy's dance and vocal abilities were excellent; he only lacked a certain grasp of song interpretation. With some specialized training, he could actually be quite good. Looking at his profile, he had only been a trainee for one year, which was likely the real reason for his lack of confidence.

After much consideration, Jiang Yihan decided to keep his tape.

Meeting Jiang Yihan made Yin Guangxuan quite nervous.

"Hello, Yin Guangxuan. Do you know why I asked you to come here?" Jiang Yihan said to him with a smile.

Yin Guangxuan was only 15 years old this year, standing about 175 centimeters tall—a bit shorter than Jiang Yihan. He had delicate features and short hair that just grazed his ears. He looked very shy when he smiled, but when he danced, he was a completely different person; the fusion of his expressions and movements was truly charming.

"Hello, Senior. I... I'm not sure. Didn't I choose not to submit my tape?" Yin Guangxuan was very nervous, his voice shrinking back.

"Haha, don't be so nervous. I just want to have a talk with you." Jiang Yihan laughed, wondering if he had looked just as nervous back in the day. "Youth is truly a wonderful thing. How did you end up joining our company?"

"I always wanted to be a singer, but I never had the courage," perhaps feeling relaxed by Jiang Yihan, Yin Guangxuan became less tense. "Later, I kept hearing your songs and admired you. Last year, when I heard your song 'Can I Love You?', I finally gathered the courage to try out at ABC. I never expected to actually get in and become a trainee."

"Oh, so I played a part in that, then? Haha," Jiang Yihan laughed happily. "I still feel like I haven't debuted for that long, and I didn't expect to experience the feeling of being an idol like this today. Haha, I'm really happy."

"Senior, please don't say that. I really admire you." When mentioning the Jiang Yihan he worshipped, the light in Yin Guangxuan's eyes changed instantly. "I used to think that dominating the stage meant using all your strength in dance, focusing all eyes on yourself when you move in the center. But when I heard you sing 'Castle,' I realized that just standing quietly in the center of the stage, singing with smooth transitions between chest and falsetto, and performing a song into people's hearts—that can also command the stage. Watching your performance makes people forget everything around them and focus solely on you. That is the charm I envy, and the charm I want."

"Haha, am I really that good? Oh, I'm a bit embarrassed," Jiang Yihan fanned his reddening face, feeling slightly awkward. "Big Bang's Lee Seung-hyun once told me something similar. I always thought it was just a personal feeling, but hearing you say it today, maybe I should be full of confidence, haha."

Jiang Yihan's approachable nature made Yin Guangxuan laugh as well. "Yin Guangxuan, I called you here today to ask: what kind of person do you want to be? You are training in this company—what kind of result are you looking for? To debut? To be admired by thousands? Or to be famous throughout the world?"

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Jiang Yihan's question left the young Yin Guangxuan stunned.

"In my opinion, since you chose to be a trainee, you must have prepared for the hard struggle and prepared to stand on that stage. Why did you choose to retreat and not submit your tape this time?" Jiang Yihan didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point. "Don't tell me it's because you've only trained for a year and feel inadequate or lack confidence. I've looked at your training records for the past year and the scores given by your instructors; you've always been at the top. What you lack now is just some tempering. This was an opportunity, and the fact that you chose to give up without even trying makes me very disappointed."

"I think you know about my background," Jiang Yihan really valued Yin Guangxuan; he couldn't let such a good talent give up so easily. "When I first debuted, I had trained for less than a month. How many people didn't believe in me, and how many were waiting to see me make a fool of myself? Aside from myself, you'll never know. The scandal that broke out last year had a lot to do with my lack of seniority and the fact that people's impressions of me weren't solid. Otherwise, why would everyone have so easily believed the media's slander? If I had given up on this opportunity because I was afraid or didn't believe in myself, the person standing in front of you today might not be me. Don't you think?"

Finally, Jiang Yihan hit the point home. "Actually, I think you're quite good—even better than many others. I gave you three chances, and you gave them up. Now I'm giving you a fourth chance. Whether you grasp it or not is up to you."

"Senior... you... you mean..." Yin Guangxuan looked up, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"I mean, if you're willing, you can return to the competitive group. But whether you do or not is your choice. The decision is in your hands. I'll give you three days. After three days, this fourth chance will be void. Do you understand?" After saying this, Jiang Yihan stood up, gave Yin Guangxuan a deep look, and turned to leave.

Watching Jiang Yihan’s retreating back, Yin Guangxuan sat in his place, his thoughts in chaos. When he chose to be a trainee and join ABC, it was partly because he wanted to sing, but a large part of it was because of Jiang Yihan. He wanted to be someone like Jiang Yihan, standing on stage and radiating infinite charm.

But is it really that easy to become Jiang Yihan?

Since arriving at ABC, Yin Guangxuan had seen Jiang Yihan many times as a trainee. Although they had never spoken, he had seen his senior practicing tirelessly, sometimes until he was physically exhausted or had foot cramps. It was the countless effort and sweat behind the scenes that had earned Jiang Yihan his achievements today. Yin Guangxuan felt a bit like backing down; he didn't know if he could persist like Jiang Yihan.

In this selection, Yin Guangxuan had been doing well, but at the last moment, he retreated. He felt he had many shortcomings, and compared to Senior Jiang Yihan, those shortcomings seemed even greater. So, he hesitated and chose to continue his life as a trainee. But today's conversation made Yin Guangxuan think about something different.

Among the tapes of those who gave up, Jiang Yihan had found Yin Guangxuan. Next, he looked at the tapes of those who were full of confidence. The tapes that included lists of shortcomings were left for last.

The tapes in the safe in the first practice room were packed, nearly 60 in total, meaning most people were very confident in themselves and felt that passing the first round was absolutely no problem. The remaining fewer than 10, which listed their own shortcomings, were sent to the second practice room.

Jiang Yihan spent two nights with all the staff finishing all the tapes. After watching them, Jiang Yihan asked everyone to select the three most impressive people in each category: singing, dancing, and live performance.

Then, Jiang Yihan once again found the trainee managers and various instructors to collect their usual evaluations of the students. Only then did he gather these nearly 60 trainees.

"I know you are all very confident in yourselves." The life of running schedules during the day and watching tapes at night left Jiang Yihan sleep-deprived and in a not-so-great state. This was the price of being a producer, but for now, Jiang Yihan was still enjoying it. "It's good that you have confidence in yourselves. However, since you are so confident, we were extra careful when watching your tapes."

Only then did everyone realize what was happening, secretly thinking to themselves that if they had known, they would have put their tapes in the second practice room. But Jiang Yihan's next words made them feel better. "However, your self-confidence is the first step toward success. That's a plus. As long as it isn't blind confidence, that's fine."

"Speaking of blind confidence, I think it's indisputable that those who fall into the following categories will be eliminated. For example, in the singing section, if you go off-key in the studio... why did some of you go off-key on songs you chose yourselves? If you aren't sure about a song, pick an easier one. Picking a difficult song gives you a good first impression, but if you end up going off-key, it's all for nothing." Jiang Yihan felt it was a bit funny to say it himself; some people had been practicing for years, yet they could still go off-key. Perhaps it was due to nerves, but in such cases, continuing to practice was the wise choice. "Secondly, picking the completely wrong song. I think your vocal teachers have told you about vocal techniques and pitch ranges. Choosing a song that suits you allows you to show your strengths, but some people who are better suited for dance tracks chose ballads, which completely exposed the shortcomings of their vocal range. That is unwise."

"Since the singing portion is very direct, the studio makes it very clear what is good and what is not. You have all listened to your own tapes. Even after hearing your own shortcomings, you still submitted them with full confidence. This is blind confidence." Jiang Yihan mercilessly pushed a batch of tapes to the side. "In that case, you are eliminated." Now everyone was extremely nervous, wondering if their names were among the eliminated.

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"The same goes for the dance portion. Incorrect beats, stepping on the wrong rhythm, failing to sync—these are all grounds for elimination." Jiang Yihan pushed another batch to the side. "Finally, regarding the live performance: actually, I have no requirements for your live performance, because even my own live performances have errors. A live performance with errors is a real live performance. The only thing to look for in a live performance is your expressions and your eyes. If you do that well, the live performance is fine. So, what looks like the hardest part is actually the easiest."

"After selection, only six people in this group passed. I will read the names now. The rest can come up to collect their tapes; the reasons for elimination are clearly written on them. If you don't understand anything, you can ask me now." Jiang Yihan read a list of names—four men and two women: "Han Yunzhe, Lee Ready, Jiguo Qianchiyue, Lin Xiaoguang, Song Baolan, and Lee Jae-hwan." The remaining people were all crestfallen.

Han Yunzhe was a typical Korean male trainee; his training career had lasted for nearly three years. His dance and singing abilities were relatively balanced, and although he didn't have any outstanding highlights, his overall strength was excellent.

Lee Ready—looking at his file, he was a Korean-Chinese. His stage presence was outstanding, but his singing needed more polishing. He was a child with a lot of room for development.

Jiguo Qianchiyue, the trainee from Japan, had been here for less than a year. She was a very cute girl, but her selection was based on the excellent singing ability that caught Jiang Yihan's eye. Of course, Jiang Yihan didn't know that Jiguo Qianchiyue was a "Castle" [fan]; coming to Korea was mainly for the purpose of debuting, but another part of the reason was Jiang Yihan.

Lin Xiaoguang was also a "Castle" fan—one Jiang Yihan didn't know about. This boy with a cute smile was selected from the first practice room group. Like Jiguo Qianchiyue, Lin Xiaoguang joined ABC training because he liked Jiang Yihan and also loved singing and dancing himself. He had been training for nearly two years. Due to his outstanding dance skills, he naturally stood out.

Song Baolan and Lee Jae-hwan were a duo—a male and female combination that was very unique. Their dance and singing skills were balanced, and they cleverly used each other's strengths to cover their own weaknesses, so their selection was natural.

After collecting their tapes, one boy walked up. "Senior, I've been practicing for five years, why didn't I make it this time?"

"What is written as the reason on your tape?" Jiang Yihan looked at the boy and took his tape. The name written on it was Xu Dongxu.

"It says my stage presence is not enough, and my expressions are not vivid enough," Xu Dongxu said with some frustration.

Jiang Yihan opened the tape and watched it. He remembered this boy. Although he didn't have a deep impression of his appearance, his dance and singing skills were excellent. He had originally prepared to select him, but after watching his third section—the live performance—he realized his expressions were too stiff, lacking the power to move the audience and the ability to attract attention, so he had to give up. "I remember now, Xu Dongxu. Have you watched your own live performance tape? Do you think there are any flaws?"

"Yes, I've watched it. I know my expressions aren't vivid enough," Xu Dongxu said, his voice lacking confidence.

"That's right. You felt your own shortcomings, so why did you put it in the first practice room instead of writing down your shortcomings and putting it in the second practice room?" Jiang Yihan placed the tape back on the table and said with a smile, "If your tape had been in the second practice room, you might have had a chance, because a thorough understanding of oneself and admitting it is also a sign of confidence. But since you chose to put it in the first practice room, you were eliminated."

"But Senior, I actually wanted to put it in the second practice room. There was a reason I put it in the first," Xu Dongxu said with frustration, clearly regretting it; had he known, he would have followed his plan and put it in the second. At Jiang Yihan's gesture, Xu Dongxu explained his reasoning. "I feel there are many kinds of charm on stage—sexy, alluring, lively, cute—these are limitless. Although my expressions weren't vivid on stage, I had my own unique charm, something others don't have. So I..." At this point, Xu Dongxu himself lost confidence, but Jiang Yihan changed his mind.

"Is that so?" Jiang Yihan raised an eyebrow and asked.