Is This Really a Boy Band Audition?

[My new novel, The All-A Girl Group, is currently updating. Take a look if you're interested.]

Super Idol has run for nine seasons, and the internet is full of criticism. Before the tenth season began, plenty of people predicted it would flop.

But when the first episode aired, the audience was stunned.

The guests had changed from trainees to graduates who hadn't gotten into college.

On top of that, the show's competition format had been revamped.

Rankings were no longer determined entirely by online votes. Contestants could also forge a different path, completing tasks through various job experiences to earn points and change their fates.

No one expected that on the first day of the show, contestant Lan Ran would dominate the trending searches all day. From then on, he would carry the entire show.

Other contestants' livestreams:

- So boring.

But Lan Ran's livestream:

- A legendary scene you couldn't even make up.

The jaw-dropping twists on his livestream drew more and more casual viewers in, until they couldn't tear themselves away.

On the first day, he picked up plastic water bottles. In the morning, an elderly passerby mistook him for a human trafficker. That night, the owner of a fried-food stall thought he was an undercover cop.

On the second day, he ran into a girl on the street and staged an epic case of a real and fake young master versus a princess in the livestream.

In short, you can never guess what will happen on the livestream a second from now.

The livestream's wild plot and irresistible twists earned it the nickname "the perfect livestream to watch while eating" from the curious passersby who tuned in.

From then on, Lan Ran's reputation as a funny guy was firmly established.

But the longer people watched, the stranger things seemed. One night, Lan Ran's solo performance clip shot up the trending charts. Watching the incredibly sexy man in the clip, viewers fell into deep thought.

Even more astonishing, his naughty comments in the livestream set Lan Ran apart from the hundred trainees.

On top of that, the succession of job experiences left the graduates, who were used to having their clothes handed to them and their meals served, complaining bitterly.

They came to become idols, so how did they end up becoming the ultimate wage slaves?

After going through all kinds of survival challenges, the graduates who joined the show all said: Let me go home! I love studying! I want to go to college!

Netizens compared notes: Is this really a boy band competition, and not a big, inspirational public service announcement urging young people to study?

Netizens who hadn't liked the show and had posted passionate criticisms started changing their tune.

[Before the show, those cocky graduate boys acted like they were above everyone. But when they hit the stage, they obediently pouted and called us big sisters.]

[Reader Advisory]

★ The show's format is inspired by Produce 101.

★ The livestream plotlines involving job experiences are completely outrageous.

★ There are on-screen comments. If they make you uncomfortable, please stop reading.

★ Hope you enjoy reading.

The All-A Girl Group

As the first all-gender-neutral girl group in history, Carbuncle has faced controversy ever since its debut was announced.

People question their talent, accuse them of chasing attention, call them unbearably greasy, and judge them from head to toe. They soon rack up countless haters.

Before long, a music festival proves all the critics wrong.

[Best performance of the night. Are these really rookies? Terrifying.]

[Who said they were photoshopped? They're a perfect-looking group, if anything.]

One red-haired girl stands out the most.

Netizens say: [Her real-life proportions are unreal. A pure flex by Nuwa.]

#

Li Changyao wants to shout, like all rich second-generation kids, "I don't want money, I want lots of love." Unfortunately, she's an indifferent person, destined to feel neither love nor affection.

Confused, she decides to take a gap year, leaving a letter behind as she runs away from home.

On the very first day, she runs into a talent scout.

"I can see you've got what it takes to be an idol. You'll set the whole world on fire someday."

Li Changyao: What? No way, not even a dog would... I mean, of course I'm going to be an idol.

Getting dropped into the lineup with no experience and only a week to debut would put anyone under immense pressure. But Li Changyao is indifferent, laid-back and emotionally stable, with her soul seemingly always wandering beyond the three realms.

Everyone worries about her while they film her first-person debut video.

But when she puts on a custom suit and sits down on a leather sofa, she's elegant and composed in every gesture. At the director's call of "Action," her unfocused eyes transform, shining with an unfathomable light in the dim room.

She slowly turns her head and glances at the camera, her eyes carrying a hint of provocation and invitation.

Everyone: Mom, she's flirting with me!

She nails it in one take.

Everyone at the company sees her in a new light.

But when it comes to her first appearance after debut, everyone still worries she won't be able to let loose.

"You can't be indifferent onstage. You need to manage your expressions, charm your fans, and give them fan service."

Li Changyao: I don't know how to give fan service, and I don't know how to... charm you. I just charm you anyway.

The moment she steps onstage, she goes all out, setting the stage ablaze with her passion and making the audience scream.

Her groupmates are dumbfounded: Is she an intermittent indifferent person?

#

The groupmates try to get along with the unexpected new member.

They share their wardrobes when she has nothing to wear, and arrange fried chicken, fries, and milk tea for her to try. They never imagined she wouldn't even know how to use delivery-app coupons.

When they hear she lives in the mountains,

they treat her even better, determined to make sure she feels all the love they have to give.

Until one day, a flight cancellation means she can't make it to an event, so she makes one phone call and a private jet arrives.

Groupmates: ?

Li Changyao: The whole mountain belongs to my family. What's the problem?

At first, Li Changyao was only playing around. She never expected the stage to give her a new life, like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.

Together with her groupmates, she goes from obscurity to fame. Carbuncle is destined to shine brilliantly.

Theme: Achieve your dreams and work hard to make your own way in the world.