C5 Part1

Yan Qing waited until early morning. At 7:30AM, the security guard carefully roused her up from her half-asleep state: “The living residency’s doors are open now.”

In the past two hours, the security guard underwent a roller coaster of emotions. Just a little while after Yan Qing had sat down near his post, she had been spotted by a “Rise Up! Girls” crew member that had been working overtime. The crew member excitedly grabbed a video camera and placed it in a corner. Before he could say anything, the crew member signaled for him to stay silent. The security guard had been feeling nervous ever since.

Besides that, and more importantly, he kept feeling like there was someone watching him. The creepy sensation made it hard for him to sit still.

Yan Qing thanked the security guard. Pushing her luggage, she entered through the main doors of the dormitory building. The lobby had been thoroughly decorated to welcome the new trainees. Uniformed staff members waited at the front door. They handed her a badge with the number 1.

“Name?”

“Yan Qing.”

“Company?”

“I don’t have one. I came by myself.”

The staff member was excited. Yesterday, she had heard that they had signed a promising candidate as a last minute replacement. But now she saw that this candidate was very daring, she came to sign ins without any makeup!

But she had a clear milky complexion and lips that were cherry red even without coloring, so she had the face to back up the confidence.

“The building opens its doors at 7:30, but we told the trainees to show up at nine. Why did you arrive so early?”

Yan Qing rubbed her drowsy eyes and gave an honest answer. “Because I’m homeless.”

The worker laughed and awkwardly tried to cover it up with a cough. She then asked again, “Then what is “Rise Up! Girls” to you?”

Yan Qing thought about her journey tonight. She made a fist with her hand and seriously responded, “Family! Home! Safe Haven!”

A place to hide from Huo Yunshen!

The staff member smiled, thinking that it was cool that such a beautiful girl wasn’t aloof in the slightest. She was even a bit cute. Due to the good first impression, she advised her to try to look out for cameras so that audiences can remember her. Even though they weren’t filming for the premiere episode, there was still a chance that footage from today might be clipped into the episode.

Yan Qing had only just realized that there were cameras in every corner. Her drowsiness disappeared immediately. She didn’t expect them to have started already. She pulled up her collar to cover her face. She hastily asked, “Where is the restroom?”

The staff member looked up, “What’s wrong?”

Yan Qing’s eyes widened with regret. “I didn’t put on make up!” She ducked away from the cameras. She darted off to the bathroom, like a kitten running from a sudden scare.

The staff member doubled over at her reaction. She could tell that this sequence was going to be kept in the episode.

A normal beautiful girl would gain attention. But the staff member had thought she was a pretty face, but underneath the outer layer was a cute personality. A pretty face plus an amusing personality would definitely make her popular!

Yan Qing didn’t think that far. She was more in worried right now. She had been in a hurry when she left from her old home, so she only brought some clean clothes in her luggage. She had completely forgotten to bring makeup.

Previously, she still had reservations against filming a reality show. But today, this program was her refuge. She needed to behave well to stay. She didn’t want to be eliminated. Moreover, there was Sister An Lan that wanted her to help with the show.

But after searching her luggage thoroughly, she concluded that there wasn’t a single piece of makeup in there.

After awhile, the majority of trainees had arrived. When they exited out of their vehicles, they had already been dressed to the nines. She was the only one standing there without any makeup. Even worse, her face was reddened by the chilly morning.

Yan Qing was anxious, wondering if she should go ask a staff member for help. She heard the sounds of footsteps and laughter coming from the hallways. In the next second, four girls carrying luggages appeared in the bathroom. Their eyes met with Yan Qing’s.

“Wow! Chengfeng is pretty amazing. There are fairies even in their bathrooms.”

The so-called fairy looked up at them. Pitifully, she asked. “Please, could I borrow some makeup?”

The documentary female VJ that had followed them into the sitting area of the restroom quickly zoomed in on her face.

Yan Qing sat in the middle of a group of girls. She was given a princess’ treatment.

They chose foundation, eye shadow, and debated over lipstick color. A short hair girl lifted her chin up as she applied eye shadow, and sighed. “I feel like I’m playing with a Barbie doll.”

Yan Qing looked at the girls. “You are all contestants too?”

“Yup.” A long haired girl said softly. “We are all trainees from the same company. We’ve been training since middle school, but we’ve never had the opportunity to debut. Our company said that if this time doesn’t work out for us, then we can just pack up and disband.”

Yan Qing turned to the other three girls, surprised. Everyone was smiling brightly and appeared relaxed, but no one refuted her words.

This show was their last chance.

The short haired girl adored Yan Qing. She pinched her cheeks. With a carefree tone, she said , “The only chance. No matter whether we get it or not, at least we were able to meet such a beautiful girl. Our choice to come was worth it.”

As they continued speaking, Yan Qing’s makeup session finished. As Yan Qing put on the lipstick they had chosen for her, she noticed the red mark near her collar bone.

Huo Yunshen said that was something that Yun Qing had marked for him.

If he had pointed out another feature, then she might have hesitated. But this mark was something that she had a deep impression of. While practicing singing in school, she had been frustrated in her inability to ‘open’ her throat, and accidentally pinched out this mark. She still remembered the pain of that time.

She really liked singing. Now that she was at this program, this was the first time that she dared to envision a future with a stage.

And the girls with her now all knew how precious this opportunity was. The competition was fierce, yet they were willing to help her and treat her warmly.

In this moment, she hoped that “Rise Up! Girls” would be popular, and that the trainees would be popular.

As the time approached 9:00 AM, 99 trainees assembled. In the Chengfeng Videos’ courtyards, they filmed the first sequence of all the trainees together. Then, the trainees separated into three buses, heading towards the recording studio site.

The bus drove for thirty minutes. On the road, the girls couldn’t sit still. Excitement filled the air. The girls sitting near here were all curious and friendly. Yan Qing casually chatted with them, her gaze occasionally glancing out the window. She was observing every vehicle passing by.

President Huo, bye bye.

Don’t show up again. Don’t be stubborn.

Luckily, nothing unusual happened on the way to the recording site. When they exited the buses, An Lan found her and pulled her aside. She spoke seriously, “Remind to perform well during filming. I trust that you can make this show popular. If this show fails, I probably won’t be able to stay in this industry anymore.”

Yan Qing suppressed her worries about Huo Yunshen and answered confidently, “I’ll do my best.”

She hoped that President Huo can really move on…

An Lan was satisfied with her answer. She pulled out a delicate box from her backpack. “I feel reassured now. A man gave this to me before we left Chengfeng Videos. He said I must give this to you. Yan Yan, tell me the truth. Is that your boyfriend? A relationship would be negative news for the program.”

Yan Qing tensed up. “What man?!”

“He was tall and slim. He had glasses and looked very intellectual. Seemed like his background wasn’t simple.”

…Min Jing!