Boss, He Is Chasing Stars Again Chapter 2
byChapter 2 The Starlight Training Camp Base
The Starlight Training Camp Base.
Shi Xingze collected the sticker with his name printed on it and several sets of clothes from the staff. After politely thanking them, he flipped through the clothes provided by the production team. Aside from a standard blue and black knight uniform that everyone received, the rest were mostly similar short-sleeved shirts, likely meant to facilitate the contestants’ dance practice later on.
He changed into the uniform, affixed the sticker to the knight uniform, had a makeup artist touch up his look, and then went to shoot the cover photo for the contestants. These cover photos would later be synchronized to the official Starlight Training Camp account for fan voting.
Shi Xingze stood in front of the white backdrop as instructed by the photographer. The photographer, looking at Shi Xingze through the camera, said, “Alright, Teacher, please move slightly to the left… not your left, my left. Yes, right there. Now, smile at the camera.”
Shi Xingze listened to the photographer and moved slightly to the right. Thinking that he was one step closer to his dream, he flashed a genuine, brilliant smile at the camera, revealing his two canine teeth.
The photographer, seeing Shi Xingze’s bright smile, couldn’t help but smile himself. “I wish Teacher a smooth and successful career path.”
Shi Xingze thanked the photographer with a smile and returned to the dormitory arranged for them by the production team.
Since the auditions had just concluded, Shi Xingze and the other contestants had not yet been scored. To avoid drawing fan resentment, the production team cleverly opted for a lottery system to assign dormitories. They figured they could reassign rooms later when more contestants were eliminated.
Shi Xingze retrieved his luggage and knocked on the door according to the number he drew. A contestant who had already finished shooting his cover photo asked, “Who is it?” and then came to open the door.
The person who opened the door looked groggy, seemingly catching up on sleep before the assembly time. Despite the annoyance of being disturbed, his exceptional demeanor and good looks were still evident.
Shi Xingze apologized, set down his luggage, and greeted the other person. “Sorry about that, I disturbed your rest. I’m Shi Xingze. When I went to get the key, the staff said someone had already taken it, so I had to knock.”
The person who opened the door was Huo Yan. He paused, then scratched his messy, sleep-tousled hair, and awkwardly said, “Uh… I’m Huo Yan. When I finished shooting, the others were still queuing, and I found it troublesome, so I just brought all four room cards back with me.”
Shi Xingze waved his hand. “It was quite slow. When I came back, there were still many people in line. The assembly time this morning was also early. I was afraid of being late due to traffic, so I got up at five to rush over.”
“Right!” Huo Yan found a kindred spirit and was no longer sleepy. He sat on his bed and complained to Shi Xingze, “The production team is inhumane, setting the assembly time so early. I barely slept after finishing my shoot yesterday.”
Huo Yan then advised Shi Xingze, “I suggest you rest for a bit too. I heard our dance instructor is taking an afternoon flight and won’t arrive until tonight. They might call us to meet him then. If you don’t sleep now, you won’t have any energy later.”
“Huh? Will we assemble tonight too?” Shi Xingze’s eyes widened. Weren’t all their shoots during the day?
Huo Yan shook his head and told Shi Xingze, “The director of this show is Qi Xinci. Everyone in the industry calls him Ruthless Qi. You must be new to the industry, haven’t you heard of him?”
Shi Xingze nodded obediently. “Yes, I just passed the audition, and this is my first time participating in a show like this.”
Huo Yan also felt that Shi Xingze didn’t look like he had connections. He complained a few more times about Qi Xinci’s glorious deeds, then yawned and declared he needed to sleep.
While they were talking, another knock sounded on the dorm room door. Shi Xingze stood up to open it; it was his two other roommates.
Shi Xingze’s two other roommates had completely contrasting styles. Bai Jiayan was taller than Xie Jinhan, but when he greeted Shi Xingze, he seemed hesitant to make eye contact, appearing even shyer than Shi Xingze. The other roommate, Xie Jinhan, was the complete opposite, exuding a sunny and confident aura.
“I knew you two would be here, but he was too scared to knock. We don’t have room cards, how else are we supposed to get in?” Xie Jinhan wiped the sweat from his forehead, put down his luggage, and finally greeted Shi Xingze and Huo Yan. “I’m Xie Jinhan, and this is Bai Jiayan. Why don’t you two introduce yourselves?”
Shi Xingze and Huo Yan exchanged glances and introduced themselves. Xie Jinhan casually accepted the room card Huo Yan handed him, explaining, “What I just said wasn’t directed at you two. You wouldn’t believe how long I queued up, only to find the room card was gone when I got here.”
Brother Long was experienced, which was why he urged Shi Xingze to come to the training camp early. These two, however, didn’t seem to have any guidance.
Huo Yan also apologized, explaining that he wanted to finish shooting early and sleep. Since he was staying in the room, he figured anyone needing him could just knock. It was indeed thoughtless of Huo Yan, so he took the opportunity to mention the matter he had just discussed with Shi Xingze, then climbed back onto his bed to rest.
Xie Jinhan pointed at Huo Yan’s bed and silently mouthed to Shi Xingze, “He’s just going to sleep like that?”
Bai Jiayan also looked innocently at Shi Xingze. Shi Xingze shrugged helplessly and mouthed back to Xie Jinhan and Bai Jiayan, “He’s the champion of staying up late last night. Can’t compare.”
There were too many contestants this season, so Director Qi simply created a group chat for all hundred people. He muted everyone except himself, using it solely for announcements. When the morning’s filming session ended, Shi Xingze saw the group message and woke Huo Yan up, telling him, “It’s time for lunch. You can sleep again after eating.”
Xie Jinhan and Bai Jiayan were still energetic. Xie Jinhan was charging his phone and playing a game, while Bai Jiayan was wearing headphones, likely listening to music. Shi Xingze wasn’t worried about them missing the group messages.
Huo Yan rubbed his eyes as he got up, thanked Shi Xingze, and headed to the bathroom to wash his face and wake up.
Xie Jinhan watched Huo Yan’s retreating figure, squinted, and said to Shi Xingze, “Our roommate here doesn’t seem simple.”
Bai Jiayan had just taken off his headphones and was caught off guard by Xie Jinhan’s comment, not quite understanding the meaning. Shi Xingze, however, understood. But since it was Huo Yan’s private business, Shi Xingze didn’t intend to pry, so he brushed it off, saying, “Everyone who passed the audition is a chosen one, so of course, they’re not simple. We’ve been busy all morning, are you hungry? Let’s go eat together. I heard the photos we took will be posted on the Starlight Training Camp’s official account the day after tomorrow. I’m kind of looking forward to it.”
Huo Yan came out after washing his face, wiping the water droplets off, and said, “Definitely. Let’s go. If we’re late, we’ll have to fight for seats again.”
A few days later, Jian Xingzhi searched for several videos related to Shi Xingze on DiliDili. There were too many contestants from the audition, so Jian Xingzhi dragged the video progress bar until he finally saw the segment where Shi Xingze appeared.
During the audition, Shi Xingze wore a simple white short-sleeved shirt and jeans, looking very fresh. He quietly sang a song on stage while holding a guitar. He seemed unaccustomed to facing the camera, smiling shyly at the audience after finishing his song.
Shi Xingze was different from those long-debuted celebrities; he still carried a noticeable youthful innocence, which was probably why Jian Lezhi liked him.
It must be said that in some respects, Jian Xingzhi and Jian Lezhi were indeed biological siblings. Jian Lezhi’s reasoning was simple: Shi Xingze looked like a little white rabbit who hadn’t been tainted by the big dye vat of the entertainment industry. Since they liked to see idols crash and burn so much, surely it would be fine if she started following someone from the ground up this time?
Jian Lezhi had good taste. He had just found an audition fancam, and even through the blurry and shaky footage, Shi Xingze’s youthful and handsome face was visible. Jian Xingzhi highly approved of Jian Lezhi’s eye for talent.
Although the many people the siblings had followed had crashed, their looks had all been rigorously vetted by him and Jian Lezhi.
Jian Xingzhi, familiar with the process, opened Weibo and slipped into Shi Xingze’s fan group. Once inside, he found that there were only a few hundred people in the group, and unlike other celebrities who might have hundreds of people in a single group, this was the total number of fans across all groups combined—a very small number indeed.
With so few fans, Shi Xingze was lucky to have passed the audition. It was a pipe dream for him to stand out in a survival show.
This season of Starlight Training Camp learned from past failures. The organizers partnered with Muyuan Dairy and a charity organization to launch a dedicated purchase link for Muyuan Milk. Fans who bought milk through the link would receive points, which would be donated to children in impoverished areas at a 1:1 ratio, providing them with milk for nutritional supplements. This move not only earned them a good reputation but also encouraged fan voting.
To prevent any mishaps, the production team even hired a third party to audit the use of the funds. As a result, this season of Starlight Training Camp had been trending since the auditions, and it was only because Jian Xingzhi had been too busy recently that he hadn’t paid attention to the entertainment industry.
Jian Xingzhi raised an eyebrow. The organizers of this season’s survival show certainly had a strong will to survive, even resorting to partnering with a charity organization. This made fan voting feel even more meaningful. However, he wasn’t against it. After all, it was a good deed, and the milk wouldn’t go to waste.
Jian Xingzhi clicked on the Starlight Training Camp’s main page on Weibo and stared at Shi Xingze’s high-definition photo for a while. He then used the link below to enter the milk purchase page. Just as his finger was about to click ‘Pay,’ he suddenly stopped.
Wait, given his track record of things crashing faster the more money he spent, what if he impulsively supported Shi Xingze this time, only for Shi Xingze to crash and burn within a few days? Wouldn’t his money be wasted again? Although he was a CEO, other CEOs could at least hear a bang when they spent money; his spending was like throwing money into a black hole.
Moreover, if Jian Lezhi found out that he had caused Shi Xingze to crash again, given her personality, she would surely rush over and tear him apart.
Jian Xingzhi had never been so hesitant about spending money. As the payment countdown dropped from thirty minutes to fifteen minutes, Jian Xingzhi thought about it and made a decision.
It wasn’t that he wouldn’t spend money on Shi Xingze, but he needed to spend it slowly, gradually, and strategically. He would spend a small amount first to observe. If Shi Xingze didn’t crash, he would then spend more freely.
With this thought, Jian Xingzhi reduced the number of milk cartons he originally planned to buy by one zero and clicked ‘Pay’ without any burden. Jian Xingzhi set the shipping address to his company. He could have someone put it in the pantry tomorrow, treating it as an extra beverage for the employees. If they couldn’t finish it, it could be sent to the staff cafeteria for the kitchen to use in desserts.
Jian Xingzhi didn’t buy too little; otherwise, he couldn’t possibly drink that much milk, and he couldn’t waste it.
However, the images Jian Xingzhi had seen of Shi Xingze were either blurry video clips or high-definition photos heavily edited by the production team. He felt uneasy about spending the money, so he called Tang Songhe, the head of Shenfeng Entertainment and his friend.
Tang Songhe answered the phone and immediately asked, “Considering your idol-chasing judgment has helped me avoid pitfalls and make a lot of money, tell me, whose live performance do you want to see this time? Your brother will definitely sort it out for you!”
Jian Xingzhi: “…”
It was infuriating. Why was even Tang Songhe acting like this!
Jian Xingzhi said expressionlessly into the phone, “If you say that again, the next person I follow will be you. I want front-row tickets for the Starlight Training Camp live show.”
Tang Songhe’s tone immediately softened. “No, no, no, I was wrong. I’ll definitely get them for you. Uh, can you give me a heads-up on who you’re following? So I can… haha, you know.”
“Don’t even think about it. Go guess yourself.” Jian Xingzhi ruthlessly hung up the phone. He then looked at the two little canine teeth Shi Xingze revealed when he smiled in the photo and silently thought:
Little canine teeth, you better live up to expectations.