After Cannon Fodder A Accidentally Marked the Cold Film Queen - Chapter 6

December 15th, Sucheng (Suzhou).

Winter days in Sucheng are always characterized by continuous drizzle. The Jiangnan water town possesses its unique charm. Unlike the winter rain in Beicheng (North City), Sucheng’s winter rain is a bone-chilling dampness, like a pervasive net cast from the grey sky, enveloping the entire world in a misty, dim vapor.

Zhu Songning exited the airport, pulling her suitcase and taking a deep breath of the fresh air.

As she hailed a taxi to her destination, she checked the notifications and requirements sent by the production team on her phone.

Quite similar to the first season of Youth Trainee, the second season was also a large-scale youth group training and talent selection show. All 101 trainees who passed the initial auditions would undergo three months of mandatory isolation, endure a brutal elimination system, and finally, seven of them would be chosen to debut as a group via public vote.

Among these seven, the first-place winner would exclusively claim the Center position and secure an endorsement deal with the show’s biggest investor, CuiCui Milk.

The conditions were highly tempting.

However—

Zhu Songning frowned as she looked at the last point: This season of Youth Trainee will adopt a method of simultaneous full-live broadcast and later-stage edited episodes.

This was a major breakthrough compared to the first season.

It meant that the actions and behavior of all trainees would be under constant public scrutiny, presenting both an opportunity and a challenge.

Zhu Songning put away her phone, got into the ride-share car, confirmed her phone number’s last digits with the driver, and double-checked the destination before leaning back against the seat and closing her eyes to rest.

She had married Shen Qingyu on December 13th, and that very day, she had left a letter at Shen Qingyu’s house before “fleeing.” Up until today, Shen Qingyu hadn’t shown any unusual reaction.

Not just unusual, there hadn’t even been any contact.

While this was exactly the outcome Zhu Songning desired, she still felt a strange emptiness in her heart.

Except for yesterday, when Shen Qingyu suddenly asked her a completely baffling and nonsensical question.

[Fish Fish]: (Are you there.jpg)

[Fish Fish]: Looking at your profile picture, do you like Golden Retrievers? (Peeking.jpg)

Zhu Songning’s social life was very simple. Her hobby outside of work was staying alone in her room, watching anime and the like. Her profile picture featured a golden-haired character from a favorite manga.

But, if she were to talk about her true preference…

[Ning Ning]: No.

[Ning Ning]: I prefer white hair over golden hair.

Golden hair was life, white hair was her ‘XP’ (fetish/preference).

[Fish Fish]: Oh, okay~

And then there was no further communication.

Zhu Songning’s closed eyelids fluttered, and she opened her eyes.

Her mind was restless; no amount of closing her eyes would bring the desired rest.

The destination was not far, located in a remote part of Sucheng, where newly constructed trainee dorms and a stage were situated.

Perhaps due to the huge success of the first season, the production team was visibly more affluent. The new building was attractive, with the sponsor CuiCui Milk’s large logo displayed on the exterior walls.

Zhu Songning took her luggage out of the car and followed the signs to the trainee gathering area.

A staff member pinned a badge with her sequential number to her chest.

The initial ranking of the trainees was based on the score of the audition videos they submitted. Zhu Songning glanced down at the number on her chest—

“101.”

It was completely unsurprising.

“Are you really going to wear that outfit for your entrance today?” The round-faced staff girl, who had just pinned on her badge, glanced at her several times. “The red carpet later is your first public appearance.”

It was cold today, and the production team had announced the red carpet would be outdoors. Zhu Songning was wearing a long-style trench coat, completely bundled up, and also wore the white gloves typically worn by a magician.

“Shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

It was very warm, and she wouldn’t be cold walking the red carpet later.

“Why waste your breath on someone ranked 101?” another staff member beside her scoffed. “Probably has no real skill, just a pretty face that’ll be eliminated in the first round.”

“Xiao Yu, you shouldn’t say that.” The first girl looked at Zhu Songning again. “She at least has a lot of room for improvement.”

Moreover, even though this ‘Number 101′ had almost wrapped herself up like a dumpling, she was completely bare-faced, and her visuals still looked highly striking.

Zhu Songning: “…………”

Thanks, she felt comforted.

“Only you would be willing to help these low-ranked people,” Xiao Yu sneered. “Hurry up, there are other trainees waiting.”

Nine o’clock quickly arrived, and the live broadcast of Youth Trainee 2 began on time.

The first to enter were the four mentors.

Dance Mentor Ellen, revered as a dance god by countless people in the industry, and the choreographer who created legendary dances for numerous Korean girl groups.

Vocal Mentor Jin Ming, a graduate of a prestigious foreign music academy, a well-known singer who has appeared on the Spring Festival Gala three times and performed OSTs for many TV dramas.

Rap Mentor Yang Yang, the dark horse rookie of the rap world who shone brilliantly on the New Rap stage last year, sweeping countless music charts.

And the Center from the previous season of Youth Trainee, the popular idol Lu Conghuan.

The comment section was already boiling over because of this lineup.

[OMG, this season’s show is so lavish! They managed to invite such a stellar lineup!]

[Just for this mentor lineup, I have to at least check out this show!]

[Conghuan is here too! Lulus assemble!]

As the trainees entered in sequence, the focus of the audience discussion began to shift.

Due to the massive popularity of the first talent show in China, many companies promoted their trainees before the show started to build a fan base early on.

[The trainees this year are great too! Isn’t Xu Zhe here, the one from the same company as Luo Conghuan? I heard he was an all-A back at the company!]

[Please also look at my kid, Jiang Yu! Although he’s from a small company, he’s a hardworking, shining child!]

…

Zhu Songning was completely unaware of the discussions online.

She looked at the trainees in front of her, who were wearing fashionable clothes and delicate makeup in the chilly winter weather, and raised an eyebrow.

Among this group of trainees, her appearance might be barely acceptable, but when it came to fan numbers and comprehensive skill, she was in a highly disadvantaged position.

But it didn’t matter.

No matter what, a talent show cannot escape the essence of variety entertainment. The focus of the first live broadcast should be on how to make the audience remember her.

As a magician accustomed to all kinds of stages, Zhu Songning knew exactly how to grasp the audience’s psychology.

“Number 101, Zhu Songning.”

A staff member called out her name, signaling her turn to enter.

The trainees’ order of appearance was based on their rank. By the time Zhu Songning stepped out, the comment section had already quieted down considerably.

People are generally less interested in those ranked at the very bottom.

Until, on a red carpet filled with various styles of gowns and short skirts, a tall figure walked into view from a distance, wearing an extremely thick trench coat.

The Alpha had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, with a pair of long legs encased in neat black boots. Due to her excellent physique, the trench coat didn’t look bulky on her but instead appeared simple and comfortable.

[I’m dying of laughter, this person must actually be here for the winter!]

[Is this a trainee? Am I sure I’m watching a talent show and not some Autumn/Winter fashion show?]

[This person’s presence looks so strong! One minute, I need all her information!]

As Zhu Songning approached, her face gradually became clearer in the camera.

Heroic eyebrows and eyes, with clean, sharp facial lines.

Her face was completely bare-faced, even showing faint dark circles under her eyes from the late-night flight, but her thin lips were still a sexy shape.

Zhu Songning’s gaze swept toward the live camera. Her eyes held an aloof, listless aura, giving her an overall sense of detachment and indifference to the world.

[Holy crap… such a superb face… this is satisfying to look at.]

[I feel like when she’s annoyed, she could easily dismiss the whole world with just a finger.]

[You upstairs are too crude! But I’m inexplicably excited by it.]

As they passed the camera, each trainee was supposed to give a brief self-introduction and sign the wall.

Zhu Songning took the marker pen from the staff member, politely thanked them with a slight bow, tightened the gloves on her hands, and then walked in front of the camera with the pen.

In front of all the viewers, Zhu Songning tilted her head and bit open the pen cap with her teeth. Lazily holding the cap in her mouth, she leaned in close to the camera, and with a strong, vigorous stroke, signed her name for the lens.

Because she was extremely close to the camera, her extraordinarily perfect face was magnified indefinitely. Her narrow eyes slightly narrowed, and her long, dense lashes lowered, giving the audience an intensely felt sensation of being passionately gazed upon.

[My breathing stopped when she leaned in… Stop biting the pen cap! Please bite me!]

[I can’t take it… How can she be so good?! Who is she? Which company sent her to get me!]

[I just looked at her name tag, how is she an individual trainee! Not signed with a company yet!]

[OMG, I know this Alpha. She was the top seller at a bar near my house, nicknamed the ‘Beicheng O-Seducer King.’ She suddenly quit a few days ago. I didn’t expect her to become a trainee!]

[What? A bar top seller? Then my corruption is completely justifiable!!]

Zhu Songning didn’t have her phone, so she couldn’t know how much of a sensation she had caused online, but based on her guess, her goal had probably been achieved.

She should have been the last person to walk the red carpet, as her rank among the trainees was the very bottom.

However, as she walked past Luo Conghuan’s stiff expression toward the trainee gathering area, the roar of an RS7 suddenly came from behind her.

The show director’s voice rang out excitedly over the broadcast: “Next, please welcome our final mentor, as well as the show’s PD and founder, to the stage!”

What?

There was another mentor?

Zhu Songning suddenly turned around.

She remembered the original plot of the novel; there was no fifth mentor. Moreover, with such an already powerful mentor lineup, who else in the entertainment industry had the stature to overshadow them?

Not only was she thinking this, but all the trainees, including the netizens, were discussing it heatedly.

The weather today was poor, with overcast skies that were unusually gloomy.

The lock of the black car opened, and the first to alight was a bodyguard holding an umbrella.

Immediately after, under the universal gaze, the passenger door was respectfully opened by the bodyguard. The first thing that came into view was a pair of red-soled high-heeled leather shoes.

And then, a head of snow-white hair, caught by the wind.

A pair of obsidian-like eyes, across the entire length of the red carpet, through the crowd’s noise and excitement, accurately and distantly locked onto Zhu Songning.

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