Chapter 5

After the completion of the three rounds of the selection, only 40 people remained in Zone B.

The assistant quickly called Huoren into the office and placed a stack of contracts in front of him.

On there was a security insurance, training plans and dozens of pages.

“You’re 15 years old…” The assistant frowned. “It’s not an employment contract. For that, you will have to ask your parents to sign.”

“Each individual is given a nutrition pay of 1,500 a month, but if you make it to the top 20, you will have to sign up long-term with us. Are you turning 16 in September? “

“Yup.”

“Oh, nice.” The assistant obviously met too many difficult parents and was relieved. “Jiayou, [1] good luck getting to the top.”

He quickly moved into a new dormitory and was also assigned a new general administration. After receiving the discipline and training manual, he had to go to the next building to help with the teaching materials and the magnetic tapes.

Although there was no television in the bedroom, there was a tape player for public use, which could also be used to listen to the radio.

Huoren took the identification card, sat alone in the bedroom, and went through the thick contracts.

No matter how well he did in school, he was still a child deep down. But after signing these documents, he suddenly felt that he was treated like an equal—an adult—and he felt a sense of respect.

Huoren cautiously closed all his personal belongings, went to the balcony to call Aunt Lu and Mother Chen individually, and after a while, calmly explained his situation.

At seven o’clock the next morning, everyone gathered on time in meeting room C603.

A total of more than 130 trainees attended, and Aya and five other teachers appeared at the door.

They didn’t go in immediately and instead bowed to the guy coming from the other side. After this person entered the meeting room, they proceeded to enter.

Many of the trainees who were following the entertainment news widened their eyes, leaned in to see more clearly, and sat in a panic, pretending to be calm.

The uncle appeared to be at least fifty years old, had a slim figure and colored hair. His eyes were as sharp as a hawk’s.

He stood in the doorway and looked at everyone, then asked, glancing sideways,”Is this it?”

Aya replied respectfully, “Yes.”

“I haven’t seen a few of them stand out yet.” The uncle snorted, “Let’s have a meeting first.”

The two teachers went up the stage and greeted the trainees, and the LCD screen behind them began to show slides simultaneously.

“First of all, congratulations, for you have passed the preliminary screenings and now possess equal competitive opportunities.”

“Our SPF [2] is the largest entertainment company in the industry, and this gentleman next to us is Uncle Jiang, a veteran manager who has cultivated many stars and has been a huge star himself. “

Unable to contain their enthusiasm, the younger generations shouted, “Hello, Uncle Jiang!”

It was the closest they had ever been to the entertainment world.

Seeing Uncle Jiang alive in person was equivalent to seeing all the top stars in the entertainment industry.

Value, it had too much value.

Huoren turned his pen over, feeling that bringing a notebook here seemed a bit useless.

“Most of the time, managers rarely come in person at this stage,” the teacher obviously hadn’t had the chance to see Uncle Jiang much, and his tone was a tad overwhelmed, “It’s because our plan is special enough to be able to receive this type of treatment.”

He squeezed the electronic pen and turned a page on the screen.

A logo appeared on a pure, dark black background. .

The simple gold lines were built in an abstract pattern, and six letters were written in the bottom row.

“CORONA”

It was the Spanish word for crown.[3]

Suddenly, some trainees on the site began cheering and clapping, as if they had already known about it long ago.

“Uncle Jiang took a break for several years and has finally started making a group development plan. Our company has been preparing for this plan for four years and has been waiting for the best opportunity.” The teacher went on to explain, “Therefore, the company has also provided the best teachers. The lineup, including our assistants, is also at the level of national championships.”

The trainees alongside Huoren took a breath and silently took pictures of the teachers with their phones, and they couldn’t hide their faces with joy.

The assistant professor looked at them with a smile and said slowly, “CORONA has only six letters.”

“So we only need six members.”

“Six members that are unique enough.”

Uncle Jiang nodded approvingly.

The atmosphere of joy and excitement suddenly vanished.

The electronic pen blinked again and displayed the removal system.

“It’s July, and in four months, we will conduct a fair and uniform training and evaluation.”

“The 30 people with the lowest monthly average grade will be directly disqualified from the competition, losing their qualifications to compete for one of these six positions.” The teacher announced, “According to what we signed yesterday, those who are eliminated can continue to practice in the company, but they have to wait until after the group is formed. It’s hard to say when you will debut. “

The apprentices who were the first to cheer now silently shook their heads and began exchanging glances with the others.

Huoren frowned, feeling something was wrong.

He knew that look.

The leaders had enough experience. The teaching materials were at the highest level, and the winners would have a full range of resources – what else could they be hiding?

“In these four months, you will train together to earn a spot through skill and effort.” The teacher seemed unaware of those below the stage and continued, “We will consider making a final decision from the last twenty people who qualify.”

“Even if they are not selected to join CORONA, the top 20 have a higher priority resource allocation.”

He looked at the boys on stage and smiled brightly.

“I hope to see you again in December when everything is ready.”

~

After the morning session, the trainees divided into four groups to meet again, as if it were a sermon from a high school classroom teacher.

After class , they talked about the discipline of eating and sleeping, and finally arrived to the main point.

“There are three main elements, vocal, dance and live performance.” Bob was a fast-talking, male teacher with black glasses.” These three are required subjects. Each day for an hour and a half, you will have random homework assignments and tests, all of which will be graded on your average mark.”

“In addition to the required courses, you have to choose two courses of study. The same exam counts for the end-of-month assessment.”

He picked up the marker and wrote quickly on the board in sloppy handwriting.

【Composing, choreography, rap, sing, lyrics…】

The trainees whispered to each other and began choosing courses, discussing their opinions on the different types.

“Silence.” Bob tapped the board and said, “All the introductory materials are in this booklet. Give me the registration form before 6 PM.”

“No class today. You can go freely from the fourth floor to the eighth floor. Don’t disturb other trainees. Do you hear me?”

They all responded and waited for the teacher to leave before whispering among themselves.

Huoren saw that Longjia was surrounded by various people who talked to him. After thinking about it, he decided to go out and take a walk.

He read the introduction to the course before waiting for Bob to enter the classroom and read the history of the company and its past achievements.

On the fourth and fifth floors were classrooms, the sixth floor a conference room, the seventh floor a functional training room, and the eighth floor a dance studio.

He didn’t know how long his memory capacity could last to help him walk around, but it was urgent to get out of the security zone immediately.

The boy wandered about the fourth and fifth floors, went to the seventh floor, stunned by the sight on the other side of the glass wall, and began to slow down.

Alongside the security zone, there were rows of piano and instrument rooms.

The largest room was decorated in a rococo style, with guitars, violins, clarinets, flutes, and a cream-white grand piano on display.

These things were so far from him; he couldn’t afford a harmonica in elementary school— he could only watch other kids play while he watched.

Huoren stood at the door for a long time without seeing anyone else coming, not even anyone practicing in the nearby piano room, as if he were alone on that floor.

He approached the grand piano carefully, trying a key. The sound was as sweet as spring.

The boy, with joy, found DOREMI and pressed them, one by one, with the same finger.

The sound of the piano had no impurities, so beautiful as if it was singing in his ear.

He took a deep breath and sat up boldly, putting his hands on the keys as he had learned from the music book.

And then awkwardly and happily he keeps playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

“It’s not like that” a voice in the distance suddenly said.

Huoren reflexively stood up and saw the other person standing in the doorway.

When he saw his waist-length hair, he almost thought he was a girl.

The man had an attractive face, appearing to be sixteen or seventeen years old.

“Sit down.” The long-haired boy walked over and motioned for him to sit on the side.

“Mn… the first thing to learn is posture.” The man helped him correct his sitting posture and the position of his arms. He was obviously also a teenager, but his tone was as familiar as that of an old performer. “The wrist is active, the shoulder is loose, and you have to think when you look at the staff.”

Sitting on the right side of the piano, he moved his hands as if stroking a cat’s fur, and the smooth and coherent notes flow immediately, flawlessly.

Huoren asked without thinking, “Have you passed the tenth level?”

“Oh, the level of a performer.” The young man brushed his long hair behind his ears and said calmly, “Do you want to learn to play the piano?”

“…I do,” Huoren’s tone was unsure, “but I have no basis.”

If he chose this elective course, he may be very weak on the exam.

“Why don’t you come and learn from me?” The boy played Bach selections, and the grand piano was like a soft nightingale at his fingertips. “Trust me, I teach better than the teachers below. They won’t do.”

Huoren suddenly took an interest in this arrogant stranger.

“Why do you think they’re not good?”

“It’s very simple.” He swayed to the melodious sound of the piano like a proud black swan.

“I am a world champion, they are not.”

[1] Jiayou – Fighting, to cheer someone

[2] It seems that the author didn’t remember the company name, so she wrote FPS, but so as not to confuse the readers it will always be translated as SPF.

[3] Actually, it doesn’t say that it’s Spanish, but Latin. Anyway, since Spanish is used and after all it’s the same word I think it is better to put Spanish.