Chapter 90: Cat Persona
Moonlight Shop WeChat Group (500 members):
[Ahhh, I’ve been refreshing the trending searches all day, almost forgot there’s an episode tonight. Quickly ordered barbecue and milk tea—watching while eating.]
[+1 +1]
[By the way, do you guys think Zhihu Bro still has a chance to debut? (rubs chin.JPG)]
[Hard to say. Mainly because the voting channel’s closed. Not sure if they’ll reopen it later, and if they do, whether the results will change.]
[Depends on how determined the investors are to back him, right? After all, in recent years, capital hasn’t been picky—shoving all sorts of shady and trashy stuff into the entertainment industry.]
[The one upstairs is right.]
[Honestly, the industry’s always been messy. But more than ten years ago, actors at least looked good, could act, and there was variety—different flowers blooming, different flavors.]
[Yeah, the older generation was wild too, but at least they had works to show for it, and their looks held up. As for these past few years, it’s just investors’ ugly kids barging into showbiz.]
[I hardly watch dramas anymore. They’re all historical dramas—two leads fall in love, save the world. Watch too many and you get aesthetic fatigue.]
[I hope Yueyue acts more after this, any role’s fine. But honestly, I feel like domestic scripts these days aren’t that great… sigh.]
[Whispering: I think if Yueyue takes on acting roles, it doesn’t have to be the lead. Character setting ＞ script ＞ billing. The most important thing is the character.]
[Agreed, the character matters more than billing order.]
[Oh right, when was that cameo in Forbidden Timespace filmed?]
[End of May, after the finals, right?]
[Today’s April 26. They’ve only aired the second elimination. The debut night doesn’t feel that far away, but also not that close. Still, I’m so looking forward to Yueyue debuting!]
[I like his acting, but I love even more when he shines on stage www]
[+1115]
[Suddenly realized the show’s ending in just a month, but my GreenFruit membership has already been renewed till the next century (.)]
[If the pay-to-vote channel were still open, I could’ve renewed for another century.]
[Same here. Not using it feels like a waste, so since tomorrow’s a holiday, I’ll just watch the show.]
[Bad news, everyone: this Sunday we have to do a work-shift adjustment. Three straight days before the May Day break.]
[Whoever invented “work-shift adjustments” deserves to die…]
…
[It’s starting!]
[Another emotional opening. Honestly, I don’t even know what they’re trying to be emotional about. All I saw were a bunch of trainees who’ve been “taking good care of themselves.”]
[High EQ: “taking good care of themselves.” Low EQ: their double chins are showing.]
[Wait—that drop on his chin was a tear? I thought it was drool.]
[If your face doesn’t look good, you need surgery. If your dancing’s bad, you need to train more. Compared to that, body management is the easiest, isn’t it?]
[Do they really plan to show up like this on debut night? Do they actually want to debut?]
[Speaking of debut night, I wonder what style the finale stage will be. Can’t wait! I want a cute concept— Yueyue hasn’t tried that yet, right?]
[Downvote! As the ancients said: cuteness is nothing compared to sexiness!]
[The trainees are entering.]
[Here they come—]
[Ahhhhhhhhhhh]
[Yueyue’s silver-white hair looks amazing! It really highlights his beautiful features. The moment he walked on stage, I couldn’t see anyone else but him!]
[Been taking screenshots nonstop.]
[Face-con fans are thriving.]
[From this angle, looks like Zhaolin’s ear piercing has healed pretty well?]
[Yueyue really doesn’t have much of an earlobe, and the piercing’s set so low. Watching it makes me nervous, like it’s going to tear off any second.]
[Rebellious rock… Leg-Pendant Bro, if you can say more, say more! I want to see Yueyue wearing one of those chain earrings connected to a lip ring, rocking out with an electric guitar!]
[My kink is niche—I want to see him on the drums, with temporary tattoos and a brow piercing. Bad-boy and swoon-worthy at the same time—one glance and my heart rate spikes to 120.]
[Ahhh, me too! Could he try this style after debut?!]
[From what I’ve seen, most K-pop groups release a “concept trilogy” after debut to establish their style. Will Starlight do that too?]
[Probably. The previous survival show groups only released three or four songs before disbanding. Survival groups don’t last long; they all end up disbanding and going solo.]
[As someone who’s been into K-pop: in the group, Yueyue is like carrying a whole plane by himself. He’ll benefit most from going solo.]
[This show is already just “Yue Zhaolin and his freeloaders.” If he debuts, he’ll have to drag them along for two more years. So annoying. I can’t even look at the accessories anymore without irritation.]
[Same. I only want Yueyue to shine alone. I feel like a hardcore solo stan now—watching the show is unbearable. Every time other trainees’ shots come up, I just want to skip.]
[Same here.]
[Wait, did they change the host this time?]
[Ugh, just calm down already. Why are these trainees still screaming nonstop? After enduring for over ten seconds, I feel like I wandered into a monkey mountain.]
[LMAO, I stopped watching the show entirely. Just watching you guys’ live commentary in real time.]
[They’re starting to announce the rankings!]
[Don’t know a single one of them.]
[Ah, that guy with the surname Meng finally got eliminated!]
[I was so sick of his fans pushing that “delicate white-flower bottom × scummy top” CP dance. It’s like gum stuck to your shoe—disgusting.]
[Zhaolin hasn’t even done anything, but in CP fans’ mouths, he’s suddenly the scumbag. So unfair.]
[Only shipping Yueyue × Tide.]
[Let’s just focus on our own. Those inter-fans, though—they’ll ship literally anything. I can’t understand it.]
[I saw something even worse—some inter-fans inserted Yueyue’s “Immortal Lord” performance from the second round into a BL comic as the protagonist.]
[…?]
[We’ve always said: different dimensions shouldn’t be mixed. Each can shine on their own. But those international fans? They just go all out in the comments: “he is the real xxx.”]
[Wait, what?]
[Yeah, that’s how inter-fans are.]
[I really want to crack open their brains and see what’s inside. Such boundaryless behavior. It annoys me—and probably annoys the comic author too.]
[Can we ask them for emotional damages?]
[I want to as well.]
[Before, when we stopped spending money, international fans were backing us up, and I was touched. But now—this feels like a slap in the face. Inter-fans are truly strange creatures.]
[Ah, Mango got eliminated too.]
[Honestly, Mango’s skills weren’t bad. In another survival group, he could’ve at least scraped by as a main vocal.]
[The live comments are all filled with “Mango” hahaha. Even though it’s just a codename, he’s famous now.]
[Negative popularity is still popularity. Plus, this nickname has a bit of a playful edge. If managed well, elimination might actually be his starting point.]
[Like if he ever released a song called Codename Mango, I’d probably listen.]
[…Pfft, sorry.]
[This one who got eliminated looks familiar. Wasn’t he in Zhaolin’s group for the second round?]
[My roommate’s watching with me—she’s not into idols—and she asked me if this Shu Yang was the one who danced Crane Bell with Yue Zhaolin.]
[Honestly, the hype around Crane Bell feels bigger than Cold Lover.]
[Isn’t Zhaolin’s “sword tassel” actually an F-brand necklace? Someone even claimed it, using stage photos, and posted about it overseas.]
[That’s reassuring for Huohuo.]
[So… another round of “raising gu” again.]
[Again? These “raising gu” shippers are too fickle. Dropping D-brand now? Didn’t they say Zhaolin would attend D-brand’s jewelry show in June, and that’s when they’d make it official?]
[The “raising gu” fans say Starlight is casting a wide net.]
[…Do they think luxury brands are like fish in a pond? Starlight just scooping up whatever they can?]
[Feels like whenever there’s the slightest stir around Zhaolin, that group gets all anxious. We haven’t even used our basic attack, and they’ve already blown two ultimates.]
[After R.E’s sales passed 30 million, they lost their minds. The Hollywood cameo just made it worse—their weak point couldn’t be clearer.]
[So what? If their spending got crushed by us, just top up and outspend us again. If they haven’t, maybe they just don’t want to?]
[Sharp tongue—say more, say more!]
…
[Finally at 35th place. I don’t get why announcing the rankings takes so long. Checked the time—it’s already been over half an hour.]
[Another familiar face?]
[Steamed Bun from that world-famous painting.]
[Steamed Bun’s face looks better now that the swelling’s gone. He’s not annoying, but he doesn’t know how to play the game. Without camera time, he never stands out.]
[In a survival show, all he comes across as is… boring. (Hehe, slipped in an English word there.)]
[Monkey, on the other hand, is way more proactive.]
[Speak of the devil—Monkey’s up to 24th? Right, weren’t we pulling votes for him back then?]
[Yeah. Monkey, plus that red-haired edgy guy. We pulled for both.]
[Red-hair’s around 11th or 12th, I think? Just shy of debut. His skills are better than Monkey’s. I think his initial grade was A or B, can’t remember.]
[I don’t remember anyone’s name anymore, just Yueyue’s cuts.]
[Red-hair’s 12th.]
[Close enough.]
[Blind guess for the sure-to-be top trainees: Leg Pendant Bro, Zhihu Bro, Stage-fright Bro, Fox-boy, Crown Prince Ying, and Moocher Bro.]
[I’ll bet on that too.]
[Everyone’s playing poker now, huh?]
[9th place, Deng Yangbing. Who’s that again?]
[8th place is Chen Wu. I remember he was a street-dance champion. His skills are solid. If the group debuts, he could be the main dancer—fits well.]
[Speaking of roles after debut, what do you all think Zhaolin’s position will be?]
[Center, absolutely! Big-C, extra-C.]
[I don’t mind a Liu Xing “split-slice” kind of stage and lines—one line for someone else, then one line for Zhaolin. With how much we’ve spent, he deserves it.]
[But a song is only three minutes long. No matter how you split it, there won’t be much. Starting to look forward to his solo career already.]
[Praying that as soon as the group contract ends, he goes solo!!]
[Starting to save money.JPG]
[7th place: Stage-fright Bro. He probably isn’t panicking yet… but when he wiped his tears, why did his face look so loose?]
[Yeah, like a balloon that’s been overinflated and then deflated—so many folds.]
[Sponsored by: Cosmetic Surgery Ads.]
[I was actually at the third performance. This Stage-fright guy doesn’t look good, and he has zero adaptability. First take, he forgot the lyrics. Zhaolin already picked it up, but he just stood there frozen—didn’t move positions, didn’t step aside, just planted like an idiot on stage. Watching it pissed me off.]
[Classic case of “virtue not matching the position.”]
[Zhaolin’s too polite. If it were me, the second Stage-fright Bro ruined the stage, I’d have just thrown myself on the floor rolling in rage.]
[He better not debut with them. Otherwise, even buying the album would feel gross.]
[Exactly.]
[6th place: Zhihu Bro.]
[Already cursed him out enough, don’t even want to look. Next! Please welcome our next guest.]
[5th place: Fu Xunying.]
[Freeloader #1, Son-in-law]
[4th place: Cen Chi, Moocher Bro.]
[Freeloader #2. (But since he carried Zhaolin on his back once, I’ll refrain from calling him “soy-sauce golden retriever” for now.)]
[3rd place: Chu Li.]
[Freeloader #3.]
[Come on, you guys have been “reverse-stanning” enough. Let the real male lead have some spotlight (side-eye smirk).]
[Nothing much to say about these three. Among them, Chu Li doesn’t act out too much, but since he kept hogging Zhaolin’s camera time before, I still don’t like him.]
[2nd place: Tan Shen]
[Leg Pendant Bro—next! I want to see Yue Zhaolin.]
[Is he here yet?]
[Finally! I almost fell asleep!]
[Wooo! That one boy’s votes instantly crushed the entire top tier again (starry eyes).]
[So satisfying!]
[Even though we were the ones voting, seeing Zhaolin’s smile and the other trainees’ shocked faces still gives me such a sense of pride.]
[Totally worth it.]
[He’s on stage!]
[Ahhhh]
[Holy sh*t]
[He said he wants to debut soon, so he can meet us sooner—Yue Zhaolin, do you even realize what you’re saying? Are you… are you acting cute?? UwU.]
[He’s like a clingy little kitten with separation anxiety…]
[Zhaolin, a kitten like you would get picked up off the streets and carried home in minutes!]
[He said he learned a new skill? What skill? Don’t tell me he’s about to unleash some ultimate move…]
[……]
[Ahhhhhhhhhh]
[He can wink now?!!]
[…This is a breathtakingly gorgeous, sweet-tempered, clingy, spoiled kitten. “Cat persona” is the greatest invention in the world.]
[I can’t breathe]
[Too cute. My heart’s racing—I almost feel like throwing up.]
[This is a rare, world-class adorable creature.]
[Just imagine it—our little Yue kitty, practicing in front of the mirror again and again, who knows how many times before he barely managed to get the wink right. Then he couldn’t wait to come show it off to us. And you don’t even care whether the wink was perfect or not—you just want to stuff that hardworking little Yue kitty into your mouth and chew him up, hehe, hehehehe.]
[…Yue Zhaolin, this is why you have so many “dream girl” type fans. Please reflect on yourself, uwuwu!]
[What’s this? Moe-style dream girl stanning? I’m in!]