Trainee Ch.41

Chapter 41: Visual Appeal Voting

Under the anxious anticipation of the audience, Climbing to Stardom finally uploaded the “visual center” selection—edited by their poor overworked editor who had practically gone bald—onto the official platform.

In an instant, the barrage of comments flooded the screen, and even clicking into the video caused a few seconds of lag.

[Here it comes, here it comes]

[Waited an entire day for this—Dog Sky sure knows how to keep people hanging]

[Haven’t watched the show yet, but I’ll check out the visual appeal voting first. If the handsome guys are my type, I’ll follow it]

[Blind guess: Yuzu in first place]

The visual appeal voting was revealed in reverse order, starting from 10th place. Each segment compiled various trainees’ reasons for voting, ending with the ranked trainee’s reaction upon learning the result.

10th place—

“The first time I saw him, I thought he was really cool, dressed with a lot of personality.” Liang Zhisheng pulled out a photo of a red-haired boy from the three headshots he had torn off, giving a helpless smile. “Don’t keep that scowl all the time, Li Xu. Isn’t it just as cute when you smile, like in the first public stage?”

“People might overlook his looks because he doesn’t seem easy to get along with…” Xu An pointed at Li Xu’s photo for the camera. “But he’s a good person, so I choose Li Xu.”

“Li Xu.” Miura Yuki stacked several photos together, holding the edges with both hands, his posture proper like a presenter awarding a certificate. “His hair color is nice—very eye-catching.”

[Starting right off with you 707 guys doing team bonding]

[Sorry, Yuzu was so good-looking I got distracted]

[If you think his hair color looks nice, just dye it yourself! Idols should dye their hair! Petition for Yuzu to have a new hair color every day!]

[Yuzu suits cooler tones better. Can’t picture him with red hair]

The camera cut to the red-haired boy whose fiery hair was as bold as flames. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Me? Tenth? Alright then, thanks for the recognition. …Do I have to say anything else?”

[Hope our handsome little brother can make it to the second public stage]

[The more I watch him, the more I think his personality is actually kind of cute…]

9th place—

“I’ve always learned my fashion styling from him!” Liu Qichu pinched the bottom of the card with one hand, the other hand fanned out behind it like a backdrop in a lipstick sales livestream. “You guys should check out his account, it’s really useful!”

“I’ve come across Teacher Song’s vlogs before—he looks even better in real life than in the videos.” Qu Xincheng scratched his cheek. “But he keeps insisting he’s not good-looking—sometimes he envies Yuzu’s eyes, sometimes Yuzu’s nose, sometimes Yuzu’s jawline. Every time I compliment him, he thinks I’m just comforting him.”

[Song Yanxi, why don’t you just say you envy Yuzu’s whole face hhhh]

[Brother Xi, look in the mirror—this counts as ‘not good-looking’??]

[Male idols having appearance anxiety is actually a good thing]

[Wait until you slack off one day and your face gets puffy—you’ll know the true meaning of ‘cry to the heavens and no one answers, cry to the earth and it’s useless’]

[Male idols are generally less disciplined than female idols. All of you, start working harder!]

The camera shifted to Song Yanxi, who pointed at himself in shock.

“I actually made the top ten? …Ah, that’s what Qu Xincheng said about me? But of course any normal person would think he’s just comforting someone! Being that good-looking is just too much!”

…

…

6th place—

“He’s always smiling, has a great temper, and never gets angry!” Liu Qichu gave a thumbs-up. “Definitely the perfect idol!”

“Delicate features, eyes that curve when he smiles—it’s easy to be infected by his smile.” Miura Yuki held a headshot facing toward himself; with its white back to the camera, it was impossible to see who he had chosen.

Prompted by the staff, he froze for a second.

“Huh? I didn’t flip it over?”

Miura Yuki quickly turned the headshot around, revealing a boy with a permed, fluffy lamb-curl hairstyle.

He gave an embarrassed little smile. “Sorry, I didn’t notice just now.”

[Adding Dumb-Cute Yuzu to my Yuzu collection album]

[I thought Yuzu was deliberately leaving suspense for the show 233]

The next second, the image switched from the photo to the real person. Su Junzhe, eyes curved in a smile, made a sideways scissor gesture, opening and closing his fingers like a cute little crab.

“Thanks for liking me! I hope I can share my good mood with everyone~”

[Too sweet!!!]

[Such an adorable baby! Gained my daily dose of good mood!]

5th place—

“Huh? A reason?” Li Xu scratched his head in confusion. “What reason do you need for a visual appeal vote? He’s just good-looking, that’s all.”

“Zhao Yifeng,” Miura Yuki pointed to the back of his own head and explained seriously, “He tied a little ponytail. It looks really good.”

[As expected of two people from the same dorm—both so refreshingly unconventional]

[Yuzu baby’s fourth kill]

[A rare gem—I love Teacher Zhao’s little braid]

[Why are Yuzu’s reasons always about hair color or hairstyle?]

[Sweetie, you’re voting for the face, not the hair!]

[Apparently, the only thing that determines Yuzu’s visual appeal is the hair]

To match Miura Yuki’s stated reason, the camera first zoomed in for a close-up of the little braid at the back of Zhao Yifeng’s head, before moving up to his face.

After hearing the staff’s relay of Yuki’s explanation, Zhao Yifeng couldn’t hold back a laugh. Pulling Miura Yuki’s official photo from the stack in his hand, he said:

“What kind of reason is that? Yuki, next time I’ll tie one for you too?”

[Teacher Zhao! Please!]

[If I don’t see Yuzu with a fruit stem, I won’t die in peace!]

[What the heck is a “fruit stem” lolol]

[If Yuzu gets a little braid, I’m gonna switch from being a Zhao Yifeng anti-fan to a casual passerby (grass)]

4th place—

“His Fairyland performance was really sexy—great figure, has abs.” Yin Zizhen’s tone carried a trace of yearning. Still in a growth phase, he had already lost in the height department. “I hope I can become like Brother Xuanhe one day.”

Miura Yuki pulled a card to the front, giving a simple and direct reason: “Bai Xuanhe. Personal taste.”

[Liang Zhisheng actually guessed right—Yuzu really does like this style]

[They’re kind of similar—both the aloof, cool-guy type]

[Yuzu’s fifth kill]

[Why is Yuzu popping up again in the voting segment!!! (Survival instinct: I’m not saying there’s too much screen time, just joking that Yuzu’s very good at picking)]

[So far, aside from Song, Yuzu seems to have picked everyone]

[This proves our Yuzu has an eye for spotting beauty]

Bai Xuanhe drooped his head in a sleepy daze, stifling a yawn. Next to him, the subtitle helpfully labeled him with three big words: “Just Woke Up.”

“Sorry, I didn’t hear clearly—could you say that again? …Huh? So when they announce the 4th place visual appeal ranking, they’re gonna use this face of mine? Wait, wait, wait! Can we redo it? Please, this is my lifelong request!”

[Looks like the answer is no kkkkk]

[What a tragic man]

[Still looks handsome like this though lol]

3rd place—

Jiang Yangfan stopped in front of the photo wall, tore off his own headshot, and half-jokingly asked, “Can I pick myself?”

[I can accept a handsome guy voting for himself]

[Jiang Yangfan: handsome and knows it]

“My first impression was that he’s a gentle, next-door big brother type, but after getting to know him, he’s not quite what I imagined.” Su Junzhe tilted his head. “He likes fluffy things—kind of unexpectedly cute?”

“This time I have a reason.” Li Xu held up a photo. “My little sister likes watching his drama—I think it’s called Soft Words? I watched it with her.”

[What kind of reason is that 233]

[Wait—Li Xu has a younger sister?]

The camera cut back to Jiang Yangfan. Hearing his rank, his expression stayed calm, as if everything was within his expectations.

“Third place? Then I already know who the top two are.”

[I know too]

[Who? There are too many people, I forgot who hasn’t been announced]

[Even without looking, I know they’ll be from the Kelp group]

[Huh? Yuzu hasn’t made the list yet? He’s appeared so much I automatically assumed he was already on it]

The most important visual center ranking—Top 1 and Top 2—was revealed in an alternating sequence.

By the time the results reached the top two, both the reasons trainees gave and the photos and video clips released by the production team had noticeably increased in number and length.

“It’s hard to choose just one—these two aren’t the same style.” Song Yanxi looked left and right between the two headshots in his hands, then finally raised the black-haired one with difficulty. “Qu Xincheng, I guess—I have the teammate filter.”

“This one’s loose—lots of people must’ve torn it off already.” Lin Xiao easily plucked a card from the photo wall that fell off with a touch. “Qu Xincheng—he’s perfect for playing the male lead in a campus romance drama.”

“If I can only pick one…” Miura Yuki lowered his head, fanning out the cards in his hand face-up toward himself like he was arranging a hand in Fight the Landlord.

He gave the cards a quick glance, then decisively pulled out Qu Xincheng’s photo.

“Objectively speaking, he’s good-looking.”

[As expected, Yuzu didn’t pick himself]

[I prefer Xiao Qu’s harmless-looking face, but he’s missing a bit of presence—like he’s tense all the time]

[Yuzu’s eye shape is on the colder side, but that doesn’t stop him from being stunning—easy to fall for at first sight]

[Yuzu baby… aren’t you holding a lot of cards…?]

[Everyone else is picking their visual center, Yuzu’s here stocking up]

[Counted it—Yuzu picked seven people, and they all made the top ten]

[Should Yuzu consider switching careers to a talent scout?]

“Of course the visual center is Yuki—do we even need to think about it?” Liang Zhisheng rattled off a whole string of reasons: “Cool fair skin, well-defined features, rare standard-shaped phoenix eyes, great head-to-shoulder and head-to-body proportions, excellent aura. Even when he walks, I feel like we should be adding dry ice and special effects.”

Squatting in front of the photo wall, Zhao Yifeng pinched the edge of Miura Yuki’s card from the very bottom row, then tilted his head toward the camera to ask the director’s team:

“Can I only choose one?”

“Stage shots are limited—sometimes you only get a few seconds. A qualified idol needs to make sure the audience remembers them in that short time.” Mo Li shook the official photo of the light-blond-haired boy. “I think Yuki’s face can achieve that.”

[You guys are even better at blowing rainbow farts than Yuzu’s fans]

[Yuzu is versatile—he can carry both fresh and glamorous looks]

[The key is Yuzu’s aura—he has no cheapness about him]

[Suddenly very curious what Yuki was doing before he got pulled into this]

[Flight attendant (?)]

[Male flight attendants are required to be no taller than 185cm—Yuzu’s official height is 1cm over]

[!! Yuzu’s that tall?!]

[Didn’t you see in the first public stage how he was a head taller than his teammates?]

The screen split into two, with Miura Yuki on the left and Qu Xincheng on the right, their names shown in subtitles below.

In the middle was a line of text in a headline style—

“Who is the Visual Center of Climbing to Stardom?”

After about two seconds, the left side was enlarged until the light-blond-haired boy filled the entire screen, which was then replaced with the ending shot from his theme song performance.

At the moment when the heart he made with his fingers broke apart, a new subtitle appeared in its place—

Visual Center: Miura Yuki.

[It worked!!!]

[The fan-voted visual center is finally officially recognized!]

[Our Yuzu baby finally has a first place! (hands on hips)]

[Congrats to our visual center Yuki!]

“Me?” Miura Yuki blinked in surprise when told the result, then gave a polite smile. “Thank you, everyone. I’ll work hard to show my best.”

A staff member behind the camera whispered something, but the mic didn’t catch it clearly.

Realization dawned on Miura Yuki, and he nodded. The corners of his lips lifted slightly as he placed the index and middle fingers of both hands together in a heart shape by the right side of his cheek, then slowly moved it to the front of his left chest—right where the heart would be.

“Your love—I’ve already received it.”

He lowered his left hand and raised his right, making a small heart with his thumb and index finger.

With a sincere, smiling gaze, he said, “So, please accept mine in return.”

At the very top of the screen, four large characters appeared—

To the Starseekers.

[Ahhh, Mom received it! I love it so much!]

[666, Yuzu’s still got it]

[Baby… do you not have creative slumps… (passes out happily) (gets up to look at Yuzu) (passes out again while hugging Yuzu)]

[It’s been three whole seconds without fresh Yuzu footage! Sky, I command you to film more!]

—————————————————

**Author’s Note:

Full Version of the Top 10 Visual Ranking:

1. Miura Yuki* / 2. Qu Xincheng / 3. Jiang Yangfan* / 4. Bai Xuanhe

5. Zhao Yifeng / 6. Su Junzhe / 7. Pei Lan / 8. Mo Li

9. Song Yanxi* / 10. Li Xu

Those with * are those Dong-baby didn’t choose; he was too embarrassed to choose himself.

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