Chapter 3

The room was well soundproofed and quiet enough to give him a good rest.

In his dream, he was returned to his thirteen years old self, and a teacher came to his door and asked him if he wanted to go to a junior class to study at a university.

His mother pressed her hands to his shoulders; her expression was soft and moderate. Due to the tension, her fingers were rubbing his shoulder blades unconsciously.

His father asked how many subsidies and scholarships would the university grant and if it would include lodging and food.

The professor smelled the alcohol on his body and couldn’t help taking a step back, still looking at Huoren.

“This is a great opportunity…” He repeated, “Think about it.”

When the boy opened his eyes again, the digital clock read 6:15.

He sat up slowly and inaudibly sighed.

The bedroom was covered with a camel-colored Persian blanket and a deer head hung on the wall. The deer’s nose was painted red with pencils, which gave a fun touch.

From the beginning, Huoren has been practicing how to accept this goodwill that even made him feel indifferent.

He quickly wore the shirt Pei Ruye left for him, pulled up his school uniform pants, and began cleaning his bare feet.

He poured the instant noodle soup from the night before into the drain. He folded the bowl and placed it in the trash. The sheets were also perfectly spotless. It was as if no one had lived there at all.

Then, he started cleaning the floor and wiping the windows.

When Assistant Zhang swiped the card, she found the teenager half kneeling in the bathroom to wipe the dirt off the door frame.

“No, no, get up,” she almost confused him as a cleaner. “Are you a trainee? There is time before the 8 o’clock meeting, I’ll take you out to eat.”

Huoren put away the rags and brushes, hurried up, and put on his shoes and coat.

“How many years have you been wearing these shoes? You have even glued them and haven’t thrown them away.” Assistant Zhang stopped him “Don’t put them on, I’ll give you new ones.”

Huoren’s movements stopped, and he put on a slightly worried expression.

“Don’t worry, all trainees must wear the company uniform. You don’t have to worry about the cost.”

Assistant Zhang turned to him from the shoe cabinet and gave him a pair of flip-flops: “These haven’t been opened yet, you’ll have to try them on.”

Assistant Zhang was in her twenties, her work neat and spotless, and her head was full of dreadlocks.

She took the young man from the 17th floor to the basement, and the staff on the way greeted her.

After she got the two sets of training clothes, the shoes and socks, she took him to the cafeteria on the second floor: “You can eat whatever you want, it’s self-service.”

Huoren had never been in such a place.

He was like a young wolf exposed to nature, alert and eating fast.

Assistant Zhang brought a bowl of zhajiangmian[1] and sat next to him, eating slowly.

“Oh right, you met the boss before, didn’t you? He used to live abroad, so he doesn’t have many friends.”

Huoren had already finished eating, she stuffed an apple in his mouth, and he nodded after a while.

He picked him up from the underground parking lot last night, so they didn’t know much about each other.

Assistant Zhang picked up some noodles and added two cloves of garlic, and her sleeper earrings and eyebrows gleamed in the light.

“You look good cleaned up. I saw you during the interview and thought a scruffy boy had come.”

“Thank you.”

At the end of breakfast, she sent him to the meeting place and handed him another box of yogurt.

“Yesterday you stayed in the administrative building F. This is the G building where the trainees and pre-trainees stay. Don’t make a mistake in the future.”

“Eat more fruit in the future; you’re too skinny to dance.”

“Alright.”

“Come on, little trainee. If you pass the third round, you can learn to dance with my boss.”

After assistant Zhang left, Huoren lowered his head and slowly drank the yogurt. He took out the registration form and looked around, opened the door, and entered.

Although it was only 7:30, many people have already arrived at the training site.

As soon as he entered, all the dozens of eyes landed on him.

Huoren sat down according to his number, next to him sat a red-haired man, his red hair like a cherry blossom.

“Did you come with an internal reference?” The little redhead saw him talking with the Assistant Zhang just now and leaned towards him: “Why don’t you go straight to the third round. We’re still waiting to be examined, dude.” [2]

Huoren continued to pay attention to those close to him and said: “Are there more than two hundred people?”

“Even more than that,” laughed the little redhead, “There were 50,000 people registered across the country. According to my uncle, just over 1,500 passed the interview. We are in Zone B, just enough for more than 500 people to come and examine themselves. ”

The young man with purple hair sitting in the front row heard them chat and turned to them to join in the fun: “Do you think this time it will be a song and dance test? I was practicing yesterday with my teacher all afternoon and now my legs are stiff. ”

“I think so. After all, they are choosing artists.” The little redhead took out his mobile phone and exchanged numbers with him. The latter took out the MP4 in his pocket and showed his music library: “Cool, the touchscreen can also be used to read novels. ”

The two played with the MP4 and talked about the latest hot topic, forgetting about Huoren.

As soon as eight o’clock arrived, almost all of the five hundred apprentices were there, and some of them pushed open the door and ran in, looking for a position while apologizing to the staff.

At 8:15, a long-haired woman came up on stage, picked up the microphone and motioned for the staff to close the door, not letting latecomers through.

She cleared her throat, and all the boys and girls under the stage were silent. They all looked at her.

“Hi, I’m Aya, the first round assistant teacher.”

“The pre-evaluation will last three days, and only 100 people from Zone B will pass.”

100 out of 500!?

There was a murmur coming from under the stage, and everyone started to feel a little nervous.

Aya didn’t even bother to look at the trainees. She raised her right hand and shook it twice: “Give them the stuff.”

Dozens of workers collected boxes from the cart and spread out to distribute accessories.

Huoren’s seat was in the back row, and it was a long time before he heard a curse.

“Fuck you, is this a skipping rope?”[3]

It would soon be his turn. The props were skipping ropes with counters made by a rubberized steel wire and an electronic watch, being a physical exam for everyone.

The little redhead took the skipping rope and put it in his hands, trying to make the numbers increase by twisting the rope, but the counter display didn’t move at all. It would only work if he actually used it.

The assistant professor on stage didn’t wait for the ropes to be given to everyone, so she went to the SPF company logo and started the electronic clock.

【July 9, 2009, 08:20:03】

She rapped on the table with her knuckles. The tips of her red nails were on the number. She picked up the microphone and said, “It’s 8:30. Today’s test is to jump 8,000 times. Once you’re done, you can register your name to get the overnight card.”

You can divide the jump period, there are energy drinks on the wall and the staff will guide you during meals and breaks.”

“If you don’t finish jumping by 6pm, grab your personal belongings and leave.”

The hundreds of people were bombarded with everything that was said at this time.

“Very well. Find your own place and jump. The four corners are under surveillance, so don’t worry about it.”

Aya signed the document and stepped off the stage, then left the training site without saying anything else.

As soon as the examiner left, many people started crying without caring about their image, and several people started jumping together. Fewer and fewer people were talking.

His high school entrance exam score was 195 points per minute. It will take him at least 41 minutes even if he jumps without a break.

Rope skipping was a very energy consuming exercise. Muscles throughout the body needed to control the movement, which was challenging for your heart and lung capacity.

The place gradually became quieter, and only the sound of the steel rope in the air could be heard.

At the end of the first ten minutes, someone was already tired and collapsed, resting and chatting with a friend with a drink.

At the end of the second 10 minutes, half the people of the place had already left their original position and were wandering around with a jump rope.

The redhead, because he was jumping, was panting for a long time, and he couldn’t help but play snake on the phone for a while.

He turned to look at Huoren and discovered that the boy was still standing in the same position. Jumping for a minute and then taking a five minute break. His back was soaked with sweat.

The redhead gave Huoren a drink and sat cross-legged beside him breathlessly. “It’s still early, what’s the rush?”

Huoren thanked him and jumped back as soon as time was up, like an emotionless robot.

After an hour and ten minutes, there was a scream in the distance.

The redhead, who was still playing snake, hastily pressed the pause and craned his neck to look: “Who? What’s wrong?”

“Someone’s finished jumping! That son of a bitch!”

“Really? Eight thousand times?”

The staff handed the room card to the person in front of everyone and congratulated him.

The others woke up as if it had been a dream, took the skipping rope and began to rush to progress.

The more Huoren jumped, the more tired he felt, and his body began to feel like a heavy stone.

When he studied, he used to analyze the thinking of the person asking the question, and his mind still remained clear.

The test was not about physical strength.

If it really were a physical test, they wouldn’t give them more than enough time.

They were actually looking for the learners’ ability to execute and self-control.

It’s not difficult to jump 500 times, it’s not difficult to jump 1,000 times, but it is difficult to have enough control to jump 8,000 times as if it were a marathon.

His jumping speed continued to decrease, and he didn’t finish until 1:35 p.m.

He was drenched in sweat and was also dry, he felt dry and wet, and his legs trembled when he walked.

Huoren walked to the statistics station with quick steps, thanking from the heart for the two meals last night and this morning.

He owed two people, and if he could, he should pay them.

“Hello, please give me the jump rope and the registration card.” The little sister in charge of statistics smiled sweetly: “You’ve accumulated five hours and fifteen minutes. This is your room card and your pass, congratulations.”

“Thanks.” Huoren took it and turned to look back. About three or four hundred people remained.

Without leaving immediately, he stood, looking at them for a moment.

The first boy to turn in the record was still playing on his phone as he waited for his partner to finish jumping. After a while, seeing that he was not leaving, he spoke to him.

“What are you staring at?”

“At my opponents,” Huoren replied briefly.

You need to understand the situation of your opponents and confirm that you may have a chance to go all the way.

“Opponent?” The tall boy laughed, “Your opponent is not here.”

Huoren frowned and said, “Isn’t he here?”

“Mn, the real ones are behind the scenes or are much more talented stars. They are all recruited internally by the company, and there is no need for them to pass a preliminary evaluation. ” The young man pointed above: “You have to wait until the third round to have the opportunity to see them. Some people may already even be inside.”

Seeing Huoren’s expression saying ‘that’s true,’ he held out his hand with a bright smile.

“Let’s be friends, my name is Long Jia.”

[1]Zhajiangmian is a Beijing gastronomy dish consisting of thick wheat noodles topped with a mixture of fried minced pork with fermented soybean paste.

[2]He called Houren “哥们” which is used colloquially in northern China to say “dude, bro, man” to someone

[3]He said “玛丽 隔壁” which literally means Mary next door (or neighbor Mary) but it’s actually a swear.