Chapter 2

Cannot Place Meng Fu on Their Level

“She can’t sing or dance. She can’t even read music. How can someone like that take fourth place through audience votes?” Xi Nancheng flung the namelist on the table and leaned back in his chair. “There’s a reason why no one has been able to advance to Global Idol all these years.”

“The television programs these days are like that. They just want to stir up drama and hype. The girl groups in our country need some work.” The manager glanced at Xi Nancheng. He did not force him to go for the assessment which made him feel relieved.

Meng Fu was bad at everything, but she was the best at pulling strings. Xi Nancheng was young. He possessed both talent and fame. However, he was very savage. Meng Fu could not even conceal her off-tune singing and lousy English when everyone was singing as a group, let alone perform well solo.

If Xi Nancheng had been present at the individual assessment today, he would have criticized Meng Fu until she cried.

Everyone involved in the television program knew that Meng Fu only got to where she was today because she had a formidable supporter. The manager was not sure of the legitimacy of these rumors, but he did not want Xi Nancheng to be caught up in them.

**

At the individual assessment venue outside.

Mentor Tang Ze looked up and grinned at Meng Fu. “Don’t be nervous. Are you ready?”

Meng Fu had already changed into the red-colored group outfit that members of Group A wore. She picked up a black hair tie and tied up her hair slowly. Thereafter, she signalled ‘OK’ towards the backstage crew. With her eyelids slightly lowered, she looked laid-back and languid.

She greeted the three mentors and nodded at them calmly. Tang Ze was taken aback. This was the first time he had seen a Meng Fu not act coy and feminine.

Due to Meng Fu’s change, Tang Ze’s tone became softer subconsciously. “You may start. All the best.”

Meng Fu touched the mic on her clothes.

When her spirit followed the female journalist, she saw this performance multiple times. Furthermore, she got to see the female journalist practice the group song at home as well. Although Meng Fu had never listened to the sleazy lyrics seriously, she could still remember most of them.

The other two mentors were watching Meng Fu’s performance with their heads raised while discussing the other members casually.

Until the first line of the song was sung.

“Overcoming darkness…”

Tang Ze, who had been leaning on his chair slightly, looked up, and watched Meng Fu’s performance seriously. The two mentors who had been discussing between themselves also stopped talking and looked at Meng Fu in awe.

With her head lowered, she sang casually. Although she was not familiar with some parts of the lyrics, her singing was filled with soul as she got the hang of the melody. During the chorus, she managed to express her emotions very well. Her powerful high notes also sounded very professional.

The most challenging part of singing was breathing. All of the members of Best Idol could not control their breathing as well as professional singers. However, the three mentors realized that Meng Fu’s breathing was very stable even though she was singing and dancing at the same time.

Their indifferent expressions started to turn serious.

She finished singing and the song slowly came to an end. Meng Fu finished her last move. One of the camera crew members who was in charge of the cameras backstage happened to capture the scene of Meng Fu looking up at the mentors. A strand of hair swept past her cheek and landed near her lips. She blew the strand of black hair away casually and gazed into the camera calmly.

Her amorous eyes looked beautiful. They were indifferent yet bewitching. They revealed a carefree and frivolous personality.

Everyone in the camera crew instantly fell in love.

The three mentors discussed amongst themselves.

Holding the namelist, Tang Ze said in shock. “She has improved so much, especially her English. Everything was good except the fact that she missed a few lines. Her moves are powerful but she made a few mistakes there too. She is also slightly stiff. Her voice… is very healing. Her tone is superb. My minor headache subsided after listening to her singing. We should give her a ‘B’.”

Tang Ze felt that there was something more to Meng Fu’s voice. Her tone was very soothing. After thinking about it for a while, he gave his final grade.

The other two mentors nodded. “I agree. She must have practiced a lot. Her voice and tune are great. Her English also improved, but she made a few mistakes on the lyrics and dance moves. I think ‘B’ might be too good. We should give her a ‘C’.”

After the three mentors discussed among themselves, they decided to give Meng Fu a ‘C’ grade in the end.

Girl groups had a grading system which consisted of 5 grades: ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’ and ‘E’. ‘A’ was the highest grade, while ‘E’ was the lowest.

Previously, Meng Fu had received an ‘E’ grade from the mentors. She had only managed to enter Group A because the audience votes had pushed her to fourth place.

She had indeed improved a lot since receiving a ‘C’ grade from the mentors.

Tang Ze gave her the Group C brooch and said seriously, “See, you can do it as long as you work hard. We gave you a ‘C’ grade because you could not keep up with the beat for many parts of the song. You also got the dance moves wrong at parts. Your greatest strength is your voice but you can’t rely on your voice alone to succeed on the stage. The final judgment is made based on holistic quality. I have high expectations of you. You have a bright future.”

Meng Fu looked down and held onto the Group C brooch tightly. “Thank you, mentors.”

In the past, her hands had only been used to fight. No one knew that this was her first time singing and dancing to this song. There was no professional crew present at the venue. Otherwise, it would be very obvious that dancing was not the only area she had to improve on.

**

Xi Nancheng returned after a few minutes.

The mentors were all on rather good terms. While they were waiting for another trainee’s performance, Tang Ze told Xi Nancheng with a smile, “You will never guess which group Meng Fu was put in.”

“Probably E.” Xi Nancheng was rather indifferent.

Tang Ze shook his head. “You are absolutely wrong. Meng Fu has improved so much since last time. We gave her a ‘C’ grade. Her voice was stunning. She has great potential. Do you want to watch the recording?”

Xi Nancheng rebutted, saying, “Great potential? Is her potential as great as Ye Shuning’s?”

He had taught Meng Fu before. She didn’t even know how to read music. What was a good voice if she couldn’t do anything else? How long could she last as an idol? The ‘C’ grade was most probably given because the mentors wanted to save face for the producer.

Taken aback, Tang Ze shook his head and scoffed. “You… How can you compare the two of them?”

Ye Shuning was the number one of Best Idol. She was a star student who was still studying in high school. She had clinched the first place in a talent competition at the age of 14. Even Tang Ze, who was a mentor, had nothing to nitpick about her.

She always surpassed the second place by a significant amount of votes and was popular amongst the mentors as well as the audience. Half of the audience watched the show because of Xi Nancheng, while the other half was comprised of Ye Shuning’s fans.

The two belonged to different worlds. How could he place Meng Fu on their level?