Chapter 153 Newcomer

Entertainment Around You No Pop-ups
Story Timeline: April 2007
Recommended Song: BIGBANG - Wonderful
Disclaimer: This piece is purely fictional. Please do not project it onto reality. Any resemblance is one hundred percent a coincidence!

Jiang Yihan’s vocal cords had basically recovered without any issues, but Li Ran still insisted on restricting Jiang Yihan’s schedule of television appearances, driving all the music show producers frantic. Whenever the weekly first-place winner failed to show up, the ratings inevitably took a significant hit. Aside from needing to rest his voice, Jiang Yihan would be busy filming a drama in the coming period, which meant appearances on variety shows would plummet sharply, and he would only selectively participate in music programs, dedicating his primary time to the drama shoot. Therefore, compared to the present, Jiang Yihan’s public appearances would become even scarcer in the near future. To show consideration for the Castles who had consistently supported him, and to express gratitude to everyone for supporting Jiang Yihan’s third studio album and creating such a massive miracle, Jiang Yihan was going to hold his second official fan meeting since his debut.

There was also a special aspect to this fan meeting: the eleven individuals previously selected by Jiang Yihan from all of ONE Company’s trainees would perform in three groups, and the company’s instructors would score them together to ultimately decide the debuting lineup. Over a month had passed since Jiang Yihan selected these individuals back in February, and the hardships these eleven people experienced during this period could simply not be summed up in a few words. These eleven individuals were Cheng Yu, Xu Dongxu, Xu Zhengyya, Yin Yun'er, Lin Xiaoguang, Han Yunzhe, Lee Ledi, Jigoku Chiyoda, Lee Jaehwan, Song Boran, and there was also a direct approval from the company: Lin Yue, the girl Jiang Yihan brought back from Japan. Lin Yue’s capability had already gained full recognition; the company’s instructors all nodded in praise, and the sharp eyes of both Lee Tong and Yang Hyun-suk gave their approval, believing she possessed the capital to debut. At the time, the eleven prospective rookies had only been training for a week, so after weighing their options, the company decided to add Lin Yue to the mix. Following consultations with the eleven chosen members, Lin Yue’s strength won everyone over, earning her the qualification to strive alongside them.

Now, the rookie corps had reached a scale of twelve members. At Jiang Yihan’s upcoming fan meeting, they would take the stage divided into three groups, each selecting one of Jiang Yihan’s songs to perform before undergoing evaluation. The evaluation criteria included audience response, instructor scores, the trainee manager’s records, scores from the leadership (Lee Tong and Yang Hyun-suk), and a portion scored by Jiang Yihan himself. How many people would be eliminated, how many would remain, and the format of their debut would all be settled by then. Consequently, this fan meeting of Jiang Yihan’s was imbued with some rather unique significance.

Cheng Yu, Yin Guangxuan, Lin Xiaoguang, and Han Yunzhe formed one group; Xu Dongxu, Lee Ledi, and Lee Jaehwan became partners; while the remaining female members—Xu Zhengyya, Yin Yun'er, Jigoku Chiyoda, Song Boran, and Lin Yue—naturally constituted the final team.

Cheng Yu’s unit chose Jiang Yihan’s signature breakthrough song, "Castle." Such a high-difficulty track with an extremely slow tempo and no dance assistance made expression incredibly difficult, presenting a tremendous challenge. Meanwhile, Xu Dongxu’s unit selected "Rainbow," the song that swept the music charts earlier that year; combining dance and music was the crucial element here, and capturing the audience's attention was no easy feat, not to mention that the emotions within the song were exceptionally difficult to interpret. Finally, the girls' unit made a somewhat unexpected choice: they selected "Secretly Loving You," a mid-tempo romantic duet Jiang Yihan originally sang with Kim Jaejoong on his second album. While mastering such a mid-tempo track wasn't terribly difficult, performing it well while incorporating choreography was equally demanding.

At that moment, the twelve prospective rookies backstage were terribly nervous. For all of them, this was both a first and crucially important occasion. Standing backstage and peering through the curtains, they saw over eight thousand audience members seated in the auditorium. Everyone was wearing black caps adorned with a gleaming golden Castle logo, and their T-shirts were uniformly the black tees designated for Castles, with the Castle on the right breast shining with golden radiance. What they held in their hands were not the usual balloons, but black cloth banners glittering with silver stardust; when unfurled, the iconic shape of the Castle could be seen on the right side. With this complete attire, anyone could tell at a glance that these were Castles, absolute Castles.

As Jiang Yihan poured out his sweat on stage, the audience below chanted slogans in unison. Every song had a different slogan, and everyone had put a lot of thought into designing and innovating various chants. Yet when the songs reached the chorus, they would suppress their excitement to quietly enjoy the charm of Jiang Yihan’s vocals. When Jiang Yihan held the microphone out to the crowd, the unanimous mass chorus of ten thousand people was blood-stirring. At this moment, Jiang Yihan was the young master, the prince; every single movement of his, his subtle gesture of wiping away sweat, his shy smile, and his structured dance steps drove people crazy, crazy, and crazier still. The entire venue plunged into a spell of pure magic.

When Jiang Yihan stood upon the stage, it was as if he held the entire world in the palm of his hand. He possessed precisely that kind of charisma, leaving the prospective rookies backstage gazing at him with eyes full of envy. When would they ever be able to stand on that stage? When would they ever be able to enjoy such cheers? When would they ever be this radiant? When would they ever be adored and yearned for in this manner...

"Is everyone happy today?" Jiang Yihan wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked with a smile, those upturned lips and rosy cheeks making everyone wish they could just pinch him. "Hehe, so many people came today, which actually makes me a bit nervous. Haha, it's been a really long time since I've seen this many people."

"Liar, liar..." The entire audience fell into an uproar; clearly, everyone was well aware of the grand spectacle of the previous "Ten Thousand People Recruitment."

"Hehe, aren't you going to allow me a moment of forgetfulness? It's not like you don't know my memory isn't great." Jiang Yihan blinked and said.

"Cheer..." Everyone ruthlessly teased Jiang Yihan without showing any mercy, making him burst into hearty laughter.

"My lovely everyone, I'm tired now, so what should I do? I don't have the strength to sing anymore," Jiang Yihan teased.

"Play games, play games..." "Take questions, take questions..." "Give us gifts..." The kaleidoscopic array of answers threw the entire scene into a lively hubbub.

"Haha, I'm not going to do any of the things you suggested, haha." Jiang Yihan deliberately stuck out his tongue and said playfully.

"Young Master, is someone... are there guests today..." Suddenly, a loud voice called out.

"Ah? How did you know?" Jiang Yihan’s stunned expression made everyone laugh once more. "Hehe, indeed, there are a few people today that I want to introduce to you all." Jiang Yihan sat down on the large sofa on the right side of the stage to rest for a moment. "As you all know, my latest album was produced by myself and has gained everyone's approval. Therefore, I've developed a few more ideas regarding production. The company has also given me tremendous support. If the opportunity arises, going forward I'll be participating in the production and launch of some rookies, and I might even help produce their albums. If the rookies I produce debut by then, will you guys support them?"

"Yes!" the crowd answered in unison.

"Really?" Jiang Yihan opened his eyes wide and asked, "Hehe, I think you better not; everyone should just keep liking me instead, otherwise no one will care about me anymore." Jiang Yihan’s slightly jealous remark made everyone laugh again. "Actually, regardless of who debuts, winning everyone's affection still depends on their own efforts and the audience's support. As for myself, this time I'm merely someone working behind the scenes; don't do it just for my sake, hehe!" Jiang Yihan said with feigned seriousness, prompting another light chuckle from the venue.

"Alright then, I'll take this opportunity to rest and hand the time over to these lovely juniors. Enjoy yourselves thoroughly, everyone; later on, I'll let you all give your feedback." Jiang Yihan blinked playfully and said, "Then, please welcome the first group to bring you my debut song, 'Castle'."

Cheng Yu, Yin Guangxuan, Lin Xiaoguang, and Han Yunzhe felt their hearts leaping into their throats. When Jiang Yihan began introducing them, all twelve of them felt a sudden tightening in their chests—it was time, it was time, their turn to go on stage had arrived, and their hearts were practically pounding against their teeth. Yet the moment they stood at the edge of the stage preparing to go on, the nervousness instantly vanished, and all their focus concentrated on the impending stage performance. The four of them helped each other straighten their clothes and checked to ensure their makeup was in order. The instant Jiang Yihan’s introductory words ended, the stage lights dimmed.

The four of them draped their arms over each other's shoulders, took a deep breath, whispered a quiet "Let's do our best!", and walked to the center of the stage.

The moment the music started, all nervousness was cast aside; right then, the stage belonged entirely to those four. Sitting off to the side and watching the four individuals in the center of the stage, Jiang Yihan felt his own emotions drift back to the stage of his own debut. His own heartbeat, his own breath, the sweat in his palms—those memories remained so vivid. Among the four, Cheng Yu was indeed the most outstanding; he completely mastered the essentials of transitioning between high notes. Jiang Yihan smiled softly; the serious expression on Cheng Yu’s face when he previously sought guidance from him remained fresh in his memory, and now it was all fully displayed. Signing a contract with Cheng Yu ahead of time was indeed the right choice. As for the remaining members, Jiang Yihan felt their proficiency levels were relatively even. Yin Guangxuan, whom he had initially held high hopes for, perhaps due to nervousness, still failed to handle certain beats smoothly, and his breath control during transitions was clearly audible, indicating that he still needed more training. On the other hand, Lin Xiaoguang exceeded expectations, delivering a performance second only to Cheng Yu’s; especially the infectious emotional depth in Lin Xiaoguang’s facial expressions while singing made Jiang Yihan instinctively want to applaud. Finally, Han Yunzhe could only be described as standard and steady; his voice was better suited for mid-to-low ranges rather than such bright, intricate tracks, which somewhat hindered his performance, but it was still decent nonetheless—after all, the difficulty of the song "Castle" was quite high.

When the four of them finished singing, the entire venue spontaneously erupted into applause. Although their rendition lacked Jiang Yihan’s fluidity, and Jiang Yihan still held a slight edge in emotional expression, vocal timbre, and singing technique, their performance remained exceptionally brilliant.

"How does everyone feel?" Jiang Yihan beckoned the four over and introduced them. "When they told me they chose my debut song 'Castle,' I was worried they wouldn't be able to handle it, as this song is still rather difficult. But their performance today was simply stellar and truly deserves our applause and congratulations." Jiang Yihan started applauding himself as well. "Now, the four of you, introduce yourselves."

The four introduced themselves with varying degrees of nervousness and urgency, drawing different levels of applause, while the popularity king unsurprisingly turned out to be the shy yet handsome Cheng Yu.

"Next up, we have five girls bringing us 'Secretly Loving You,'" Jiang Yihan continued introducing. "This song is a duet between Jaejoong and me. While it might not be hard for guys to sing, for girls, nailing it poses quite a challenge, so let's look forward to their performance."

Xu Zhengyya, Yin Yun'er, Jigoku Chiyoda, Song Boran, and Lin Yue stood behind the curtain in absolute silence. Lin Yue felt as though her mind had gone completely blank. If someone had told her two months ago that she would be standing on a stage and seizing a chance to debut, she never would have believed it. Yet after meeting Jiang Yihan and coming to Korea, she was about to realize this dream in a mere two months; even if she pinched herself right then, Lin Yue couldn't feel a thing, her body feeling completely numb as if everything were a dream, nothing more than a dream. Yin Yun'er, meanwhile, was extremely calm; two years ago at Jiang Yihan’s fan meeting, she had still been just an audience member, a little girl trailing behind Li Ran and gazing at Jiang Yihan with envy. Now, she too had the chance to stand before everyone, prompting a sudden wave of sentimentality in Yin Yun'er over how fast the world truly changed. Jigoku Chiyoda’s feelings at that moment were the most complex; as a Castle, watching the young master’s stage performance made her genuinely enjoy the moment. But adoration was adoration, and the very next instant, she was about to step onto the very stage that had mesmerized her—the sensation was truly, profoundly different!

The choreography for "Secretly Loving You" belonged to a mid-tempo, upbeat genre. The five girls incorporated some uniquely feminine and cute postures into their dance moves, making the song feel considerably more endearing. Meanwhile, Lin Yue’s commanding stage presence earned her the highest cheers of the entire venue; talent was talent after all, and she was indeed noticeably stronger than the other four. Xu Zhengyya’s performance also took Jiang Yihan somewhat by surprise; her cute yet sweet smile was a comfort to behold, and her interpretation of the song was quite commendable. Her breathing and rhythm coordination matched exceptionally well, and her live vocals revealed no glaring flaws, which was truly rare. Furthermore, trainee Jigoku Chiyoda from Japan possessed a clear, bright voice that, upon hearing it once more, still struck Jiang Yihan as stunning.

"Hey, how come these five girls make me feel like this song has completely changed its style? Am I right?" Jiang Yihan resumed his hosting duties. "Now, let's have everyone introduce themselves."

While the girls were introducing themselves, Xu Dongxu, Lee Ledi, and Lee Jaehwan felt as though their breathing was about to stop. The stellar performances of the first two groups intensified their anxiety even further; this was a fierce competition, an elimination event where others had already performed brilliantly, meaning they had to do even better just to stand out. Xu Dongxu recalled the night the first-round selection results were announced, and the words he told himself when Jiang Yihan gave him a second chance: Do your best and be confident! Xu Dongxu repeated that phrase quietly to himself once more. Jiang Yihan had given him a chance, and he had seized it, so he had to grasp this opportunity just as firmly—only by doing so could he avoid辜负 (failing) Jiang Yihan's appreciation. Xu Dongxu clenched his fists and cheered himself on.

The performance of "Rainbow" triggered the most enthusiastic applause of the entire night. This was a newly released song that had snagged first places with effortless ease; it was a fast-paced hip-hop track accompanied by a sexy dance routine. Naturally, everyone at the venue was electrified.

Xu Dongxu’s stage presence allowed Jiang Yihan to witness a completely different realm, where distinct traits manifested through a different kind of stage, thereby radiating a unique charm. Jiang Yihan felt deeply satisfied with his own judgment, glad that he had given him a second chance. Meanwhile, Lee Ledi proved worthy of his strong dancing prowess; among the three of them, his stage performance instantly left a formidable impression, making it impossible not to look at him with renewed respect. In addition to this, Lee Jaehwan’s capabilities also opened Jiang Yihan’s eyes. The blend of sexiness and dominance in his choreography was exceptionally well-executed; although the heavy physical exertion of the stage caused him to rely a bit too heavily on breathy vocals while singing, his overall performance remained remarkably impressive.

When everyone’s performances concluded, the twelve individuals, who originally thought they could finally breathe a sigh of relief, found themselves even more nervous than before. Because the results were about to be revealed. Previously, they had simply buried their heads in intense practice—getting angry with themselves over a single misstep, arguing with partners over poor coordination, or collectively sulking when their stage presence fell short. Yet looking back now, they realized all those hardships were a blessing. Although they anticipated the impending outcome, an infinite sense of tension threatened to drown and suffocate them.

"My dear Castles, everyone knows I'm about to start filming a drama next, so my appearances might not be as frequent as before, but I still hope you'll continue to support me," Jiang Yihan said in a spoiled, playful tone. "If I occasionally show up on music shows and there's no one in the audience supporting me, I'll be heartbroken." Jiang Yihan’s words set the entire venue laughing.

"Well then, today's fan meeting concludes here, everyone be careful on your way home." After performing the final song, "A Fool's Tears," today's fan meeting officially came to an end.

Next up, Jiang Yihan would plunge into the filming of his drama, alongside the ultimate evaluation of the twelve prospective rookies!