Ch123 - Yu Manman's Secret

Although everyone already knew that the guest singer of Lu Xu’s team was going to be Yu Manman, they were still very envious after Liang Da officially announced the lineup.

Xu Haoming felt like he was the ultimate embodiment of a sour lemon. “Lu Xu, I’m really so envious. I also want a shijie like Manman.”

“Can I ask if there’s anyone among us who doesn’t want that?” The other trainees echoed the sentiment upon hearing this, they felt that Lu Xu was truly fortunate to have such a good shijie to sing with.

Someone jokingly made a remark. “Lu Xu, since Manman jie is so great, do you have no other choice but to offer yourself as a gift? Hahaha.”

This statement was a bit too ambiguous, and those who didn’t know could misconstrue it as something going on between Lu Xu and Yu Manman.

Lu Xu didn’t take it to heart, only curling the corners of his mouth up into a smile and saying, “My shijie has indeed been very kind to me. All I can do is prepare for the upcoming performance with my utmost effort. I will use my performance on stage to repay my shijie’s support and encouragement.”

“Hahaha, why do I feel like I’m watching a primary school student who is giving a report card to his parents?”

“Me too, hahaha. But Lu Xu has always been the company’s beloved, so it feels fitting.”

“Lu Xu, good luck! Fight for your shijie!”

The other trainees chatted and laughed together, and the atmosphere became lively once more.

Lu Xu didn’t take this little incident to heart, but that didn’t mean other people didn’t.

Speaking of Yu Manman being a true goddess, not only did she have a beautiful voice, but her figure and appearance were also top-notch.

There were countless people who liked her, including celebrities and wealthy young men. It was said that many people had offered exorbitant prices for a meal just to meet Yu Manman, and some even lavishly tried to win her over.

However, neither money nor appearance could sway Yu Manman.

But this time, she had changed her schedule and recorded two episodes of a program for Lu Xu. At the very least, it indicated that he was important to Yu Manman.

Yu Manman and Lu Xu both had fair skin, good looks, and talent. Although there seemed to be a few years’ age difference, wasn’t an older sister-younger brother romance very appealing these days?

Many people who thought this way believed that Lu Xu was very lucky, and some even thought that it wouldn’t be surprising if Lu Xu and Yu Manman officially announced their relationship some day.

However, their survival show was for the purpose of forming an idol group, and the votes were cast by fans. If Lu Xu were to be in a relationship at this time, it would be inappropriate.

Even if they were actually in a relationship, they should keep it low-key, extremely low-key.

Knowing that fans wouldn’t want to see anything related to Lu Xu’s love life, everyone tacitly avoided continuing this topic.

Soon, all the guest singers were announced.

The other five guest singers might not sing as well as Yu Manman, but they were all popular female artists in the current music scene, and they didn’t lack appeal.

After the groupings were completed, they began their official practice. Yu Manman, as a guest singer, began waiting in the practice room much earlier.

Lu Xu and the others entered the room and immediately greeted Yu Manman politely and warmly.

Among the six people, it was true that some had more experience compared to what was stated in Yu Manman’s official profile, but Yu Manman was someone who had made a name for herself in the entertainment industry, and her presence was completely different from her peers.

“Hello, Manman jie!”

The group of people greeted her in unison, with a powerful and energetic momentum.

When facing a senior, everyone instinctively called her jie, but after calling her that, they realised that Yu Manman wasn’t much older than they were, so they weren’t sure if it was appropriate.

It must be said that Yu Manman was truly good-looking.

Even though they had already seen her in person during the previous two performances, seeing her again still left people amazed.

“My goodness, Manman is really stunning. If I were Lu Xu, I would also be smitten when faced with such a beautiful shijie who took care of me in so many ways.” The person speaking was someone named Fan Jiashi. He had initially debuted overseas but hadn’t been noticed, so he had returned to participate in ‘Birth of an Idol’. With his previous training experience, he had decent talent. Although he was in Class B, his ranking was relatively high.

At that moment, Lu Xu was on the other side greeting Yu Manman. Fan Jiashi couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration, though he muttered his statement quietly enough that only those around him could hear him.

The others didn’t say anything in response to his words, but the expression in their eyes silently agreed.

Forget about others, who could resist if a girl like Yu Manman truly captured their hearts?

Upon hearing these words, Yao Yulong couldn’t help but retort, “No, there’s nothing between Lu Xu and Yu Manman.”

After saying this, he couldn’t help but add, “Shijie is great, but not Lu Xu’s ideal type…”

Others might not know Lu Xu’s ideal type, but Yao Yulong knew.

Although Yu Manman was great, the truth was that Lu Xu and Ji Xiumian were the real couple. He initially wanted to bury this secret deep in his heart and not mention Lu Xu’s romantic feelings.

However, seeing so many people speculating about their relationship, Yao Yulong couldn’t help but say a few words.

Although Lu Xu and Ji Xiunian’s relationship wouldn’t see the light of day for a while, Yao Yulong still wanted to establish Ji Xiunian as the “official boyfriend”.

Love between people of the same gender was already somewhat fragile. If possible, Yao Yulong hoped that Lu Xu and Ji Xiunian wouldn’t misunderstand each other because of other people’s words.

His words were resolute, which made others hesitate.

Fan Jiashi was originally just casually speculating, but Yao Yulong’s serious explanation made him reply involuntarily, “You’re not Lu Xu, so how do you know what his ideal type looks like?”

Of course I know.

Yao Yulong really wanted to say this.

But considering Ji Xiunian and Lu Xu’s statuses, he merely smiled and didn’t continue the subject.

“Since everyone is here, let’s officially start rehearsing,” said Yu Manman. She had come as a guest singer to support Lu Xu, but she was genuinely serious about her work.

The song that Lu Xu’s group drew was called ‘Submission’, which was coincidentally the title track of Yu Manman’s new album. Yu Manman rose to fame with her touching love songs; at the time it was released, everyone said she could sing directly into people’s hearts.

For the past two years, Yu Manman’s works had mainly been sentimental songs. However, her recently released album broke away from this previously established style.

The song ‘Submission’ blended electronic music with R&B elements. It had a strong and energetic rhythm that made people feel extremely excited.

‘Submission’ told the story of a girl transforming into a queen, with a hint of apocalyptic elements.

It was undoubtedly an empowering story of a queen conquering her subjects, but it was ultimately a song for a female lead. If a boy wanted to sing it, it would definitely require some post-production adaptation and processing.

Lu Xu himself was a very charismatic person. After determining the performance style, he organised everyone to brainstorm and think about the best way to interpret ‘Submission’ on stage.

The group of people discussed passionately, exchanging words back and forth. They couldn’t help but make on-the-spot adaptations to the song.

Before long, Lu Xu’s team had already settled on the performance style. They even went through the routine once, and overall, the effect looked good.

Initially, Yu Manman stood aside with a smile, watching the trainees practice the song. She only began singing softly when it was time for her to join.

Being beautiful and having a sweet voice were considered part of Yu Manman’s unique characteristics. However, it wasn’t until she began singing that everyone realised her singing voice was much more wonderful to listen to than her speaking voice. Even though they had heard Yu Manman sing before, it was still different hearing her live compared to the post-production album.

Yu Manman’s voice seemed as if it had been kissed by God. Even a casual and gentle hum made people feel like their thoughts were floating on the sea, drifting along with the song.

Every time Yu Manman began singing, everyone couldn’t help but be captivated by her voice.

It was a magical feeling, to the point where it could be called enchanting. No wonder everyone said no one could resist Yu Manman’s singing; this now seemed to be the truth.

Not only were the staff present immersed in her singing, even the trainees performing on stage couldn’t help but be attracted by her voice, and some of them even forgot their own lyrics.

Speaking of which, the only one who wasn’t affected was Lu Xu.

Regardless of others’ reactions, Lu Xu’s eyes always remained clear.

“Manman’s singing is really amazing.”

The assistant in front of the monitor couldn’t help but marvel at Yu Manman’s angelic voice. It was clear the assistant was her fan.

In front of so many people, Tang Yanqing didn’t say anything like “this is my family’s Manman”, but every time the assistant spoke, he would smile and nod, looking inexplicably proud.

Ji Xiunian’s attention was mostly focused on Lu Xu, and he didn’t have any particularly strong feelings about Yu Manman.

However, apart from him, everyone else, including the mentors like Gu Wenan, praised Yu Manman, saying they were listening to a divine voice.

One had to admit that Yu Manman’s singing voice was very pleasant and captivating, but describing it as “touching the soul” always seemed somewhat strange.

What made Ji Xiunian feel the strangest was that almost everyone felt that Yu Manman’s singing voice had a magical power. Looking at it from both in front of and behind the camera, he and Lu Xu were the most indifferent in their reactions.

Ji Xiunian also didn’t know why this was the case. He tried to suppress this strange feeling and comforted himself with the thought that maybe it was just a difference in taste.

The day passed by quickly.

Not long after Ji Xiunian returned to his room, he heard some movement inside. When he turned around, he realized that Lu Xu was behind him. “Nian ge, there’s a new client.”

“Oh, okay,” Ji Xiunian didn’t waste any words and merely held Lu Xu’s hand out of habit as they headed straight to the scene.

On the other side, Yu Manman found a talisman in her luggage and thought of giving it to Lu Xu.

Although Tao Yingbo and the others had been reincarnated and wouldn’t follow Lu Xu around anymore, the world was too big and it was difficult to guarantee that there wouldn’t be any other malicious ghosts harassing Lu Xu.

Rather than inviting someone to come and deal with the ghosts in the aftermath, it was better to prevent it beforehand.

With this in mind, Yu Manman sent a message to Lu Xu, wanting to give him a protective amulet. After waiting for a while without any reply, she guessed that Lu Xu currently didn’t have any time to check his phone.

In any case, since Lu Xu’s dormitory was not far away, Yu Manman decided to get up and personally deliver it to him.

Just as she climbed up the corridor, Yu Manman felt a strong sense of something threatening.

It was the scent of a natural hunter, making her feel like her heart was tightening due to nerves.

With a firm resolve, Yu Manman continued forward. As soon as she turned the corner, she saw a cat crouching not far away, staring at her intently.