After gender swapping, my best friend and I hardcore BL (Boys' Love) became top influencers.

Ling Tinglan's displeasure was for a simple reason.

No girl wants to share a dorm room with a strange boy—even if he is also biologically male.

Li Shu had no way of knowing any of this, so much so that for a long time afterward, he had an extremely "terrifying" stereotype of Ling Tinglan.

After the pre-interview was completed, everyone was gathered in the studio.

The selection process, which involves a lot of dedicated shots and allows the audience to recognize the participants, was not their turn. So the two of them casually chose an inconspicuous spot next to each other and sat down, leaving the trainees around them feeling immense pressure.

Suddenly, the lights in the studio went out, and the spotlights of more than a dozen spotlights all focused on one place. As the stage's revolving door opened, a woman appeared in the center of the stage.

"Hello everyone, trainees. I am Jiang Ruyao, the representative of the national producers of Super Star."

Despite being only in her thirties, Jiang Ruyao is already a senior figure in the industry with twenty years of experience.

She also came from an old talent show, but in that era, singing ability was generally valued more. The "singing and dancing singer" route she took was not very mainstream. Although she has mostly worked behind the scenes in recent years, her status and experience are quite suitable, so it is very reasonable for the program team to invite her to be the main mentor.

Jiang Ruyao, holding a microphone, announced, "Welcome everyone to the recording of our first stage performance! Now, let's welcome the other three mentors!"

The stage lights continued to change.

Vocal mentor Qi Sheng is a currently popular and talented male singer in China. He is not only young but also quite good-looking. In the singer circle, he is considered to have a relatively large and loyal fan base. His entire fan circle ecosystem can be said to be more like that of an idol than some idols.

Dance instructor Jin is a highly accomplished European and American dancer who has won numerous international dance competition awards. She specializes in styles including hip-hop, jazz, and locking, and is the choreographer for the top-tier group Aether (The Fifth Element). Her professional expertise is arguably the highest among the instructors.

Rap mentor Han Jiang, a genuine member of the underground 8 Mile rap scene, successfully transitioned from the underground to the mainstream thanks to a hugely popular rap competition show two years ago. Among a group of rappers whose "foundation is ruins," he has a relatively good reputation.

Ling Tinglan and Jiao Wangshu's seats were quite far to the side, so much so that they didn't even get a clear look at the faces of the mentors. They mechanically stood up, clapped, and cheered along with the other trainees, unaware that today's torment had only just begun.

When we watch variety shows, we usually see the finished product, and the editing masters automatically make it "appropriate in detail and summary". But in reality, there is no way to press the shortcut key for even a second during the actual recording.

The initial stage guarantees at least thirty stages. Even if each performance is only two minutes long, it still includes the contestant's self-introduction, the mentors' comments, and some additional talent demonstrations...

This whole process takes at least twenty minutes per stage, so the initial stage alone would take about 10 hours to record. Even with some time compression, it would still take seven or eight hours of continuous recording.

Moreover, this is a cross-border talent show jointly organized with overseas platforms. Trainees from China, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand will be divided into four groups, and trainees from each group will take turns performing in order.

In addition, the contestants from different countries speak different languages, which creates communication barriers and greatly extends the recording time.

The first group of trainees to perform was the five-person team from Tianhua Culture Media in the Panda Group.

Their uniform attire, yet with individual touches, made them all look incredibly sophisticated, almost like idols who had already debuted.

The most eye-catching one was the boy standing in the very center. He had a head of dazzling red hair, and his large and small, jingling accessories gave a very rigid interpretation of what maximalism is.

The camera pans to the stage, where the five members bow together.

"Hello everyone! We are trainees from Tianhua Culture Media!"

"Zayn-Ji Yan"

Lead singer Bai Shuyang

"Lead Dancer Kim Min"

"The face of the store is ancient times complete."

"Maknae Haha-Lu Chen"

—"We are 'Dawn Era' MAX!"

The unified slogans immediately gave them an edge over others in terms of momentum.

Jiao Wangshu sat up straight with great interest; this was the first time he had ever watched a performance so close to the stage.

It is said that this group has always been trained under the system in South Korea, and the main dancer Kim Ha-min is of mixed Chinese and Korean descent and now holds Chinese citizenship.

As expected, it was a very complete performance. The singing, dancing, and stage presence were all excellent. They are already a mature group that could debut. Even though it was the first performance and the mentors intentionally lowered the grades, they still received a good score of three A's and two B's.

They got off to a good start, and next up were the trainees from the Sakura Group. The pair was one tall and one short, and their styles were quite different from each other. I don't know why they became a group.

One had better singing skills, and the other had better dancing skills, so they got a C and a B respectively. However, their names were quite nice to hear: Zi Yao and Chun Shan Cou, which left a deep impression on Ling Ting Lan and Jiao Wang Shu.

Next up is a group of trainees from the kimchi group—Han Woo-seok, the first to perform as an individual trainee today. And he's a rare "mature man" type.

He is already 27 years old this year, which is indeed a bit old for a trainee, but it has to be said that Han Yushuo is very charismatic. It is said that he owns a bar and works as a resident singer. He is also very good at songwriting, so it is no surprise that he got an A grade.

However, the most energetic group was the Tyrande trio, who performed an authentic "electronic rock" song, which caused the entire audience to sing along. The only problem was that their names were too long. After listening carefully for a long time, Ling Tinglan and Jiao Wangshu could only remember their nicknames Nio, Cove, and Kael. But the atmosphere was hot, while the rankings were cool: one C, one D, and one F.

The long recording sessions went on and on. They started recording at 3 p.m., ate a boxed lunch in between, and continued recording at 8 p.m. The exhaustion of everyone was obvious.

"Nobody told me that idols are all made of iron, and that idols don't get hemorrhoids?"

Ling Tinglan couldn't help but start complaining, her whole body sprawling out like a "human pancake".

"Keep your voice down!"

Jiao Wangshu swore he had never seen so many cameras before. Although he knew that these cameras were probably not meant to film them, he still couldn't be so "unrestrained" and ruin his image, did he know that?

"And you're such a big lump right now, stop dumping all over me, can't you be a little more considerate?"

"I won't."

Hearing this, Ling Tinglan pouted and pressed herself even closer. "You little devil, Jiao Wangshu, now you dare to complain about me? Watch out for my headbutt!"

He buried his face in Jiao Wangshu's neck, his hair, coated with hairspray, stood up, the sharp strands rubbing against Jiao Wangshu's neck until it turned bright red.

"I was wrong, I was wrong..."

Jiao Wangshu struggled and begged for mercy, "Long live King A Ling! Please spare me..."

"Hmph ╭(╯^╰)╮"

Finally, after another long hour—

"Next up is—"

Donghai Media.

Jiao Wangshu tidied her hair slightly and pulled the stiff Ling Tinglan onto the stage.

Yes, this person is completely out of commission.

As a typical "bully at home," Ling Tinglan is fine when she's quietly watching from the audience, but when it's her turn to stand on stage, her "camera phobia" kicks in.

Fortunately, he now possesses this face. Even if his heart is twisted and screaming, as long as he maintains a blank expression, he still looks like a cool and handsome man. Only Jiao Wangshu, who knows his true nature well, can so accurately capture his emotions.

The camera work is brutal, but also incredibly real.

It's often said that being on camera makes people look fatter and uglier, but when someone is so good-looking that they've broken down the barriers between reality and fiction, the idea that they "don't look good on camera" seems utterly powerless.

What's more, there are now two people like this at the same time.

"hiss--"

Someone gasped, a truly loud sound in the otherwise silent atmosphere that had been filled with the presence of the two.

The sound seemed to be a switch, and everyone gradually recovered from their amazement. The trainees below the stage kept whispering and making exaggerated expressions, and the noise grew louder and louder. Jiao Wangshu even saw out of the corner of his eye that a certain South Korean contestant sitting in the first row was pointing at him and his teammates and talking incoherently, which he could not understand at all.

His attention was completely focused on the other person's expressive body language, and he even drifted off into his own thoughts, marveling to himself that art truly comes from life. The movements of these people were exactly like those in Korean dramas, how amazing!

Jiang Ruyao stared wide-eyed, incredulously flipping through the information cards in her hand again. "My God! You two are so handsome! Which company are these trainees from?"

The initial stage recording is almost over, and all the comments have been given. There are only a few groups of trainees left. She never expected that there would be contestants of this quality later on. Could it be that the production team has prepared some kind of hidden mission for her?

Standing on the stage, Jiao Wangshu smiled and said, "Hello everyone, we are trainees from Donghai Media. I am Jiao Wangshu."

"I am Ling Tinglan."

The two of them bent down together, making a very standard 90-degree bow.

These are all part of the "idol etiquette" training I received before coming to the show. Call people "teacher," bow when you encounter anything, and being polite and courteous is always a safe bet.

The performance officially began, with both of them facing away from the audience as the music's prelude started.

Immediately, a trainee in the audience exclaimed in surprise, "Oh! So it's this song!"

—Warrior.