Hmm… the general process is a question-and-answer session, followed by a one-minute impromptu performance.
The first three girls had already performed.
Now, it was Orange Quiet Forest’s turn.
Orange Quiet Forest stood in the center of the stage, squinting her eyes, casually scanning the outlines of the judges hidden in the darkness below.
She wasn’t nervous at all because she didn’t intend to pass in the first place.
After all, only those who want to win get nervous.
For someone whose only goal is to go home and play video games, and who has already planned out the “fail the audition – go home – play games” route, this is just a formality.
There’s none of that tension of entrusting your fate to others, nor any need to compromise yourself for the sake of a dream.
The woman who seemed to be the leader in the middle spoke up.
She had a head of fluffy brown hair that bounced with her movements.
“Well then, the first question.”
“Okay.”
“Please answer what your future dream is.”
“I dunno.”
The air went silent for a second.
“Please answer what you like.”
“I dunno.”
“Please answer what you dislike.”
“I dunno.”
“Please answer what love truly means to you.”
This kind of philosophical, theme-elevating question is usually a moment for contestants to showcase their thoughts.
However, Orange Quiet Forest didn’t even think for a second.
“I dunno.”
After a smooth round of Q&A, Orange Quiet Forest scanned the judges below.
Probably because she answered too quickly, most of them showed no reaction.
Only her aunt in the corner—Ms.
Orange Peach—looked exasperated, painfully covering her face with her hand, her brow deeply furrowed.
Trying to get footage for a documentary?
But if she gets eliminated, there naturally won’t be any camera time for her.
Is it starting already?
Or do they think there’s no entertainment value here?
Are they also using these tricky questions to force out a girl’s ambiguous stance, to further attack her perceived weakness?
The first three girls seemed to have hints of this too.
Oh!
I think I’ve seen a documentary about some numbered idol group before; their debut documentary started filming from the auditions.
After all, Orange Quiet Forest didn’t have a good impression of that kind of documentary back then.
To be honest, she felt a bit angry about it.
The first time she watched it, she thought the girls were working so hard and seemed pitiful.
But looking back a few years later, she realized many segments were deliberately designed to embarrass the girls, to make them cry for cheap tears.
Deliberately creating environments where girls would cry, manufacturing anxiety for them, making them compete against others in isolated, helpless situations, forcing them to make choices, even using hidden cameras.
Once she realized it was just about intentionally hurting girls to sell tears, she found it disgusting.
The brown-haired leader in the middle nodded again.
“Alright… very unique answers. Well then, please begin your talent performance. Do you need to connect to our sound system to play the accompaniment?”
If she were a normal contestant, she would definitely nod in agreement.
Better equipment means higher chances of winning.
But the impression Orange Quiet Forest just made on the judges has probably already hit rock bottom, so it doesn’t matter at all.
Orange Quiet Forest decided to just use her own phone.
Even though her phone’s volume might be a bit low for this spacious venue.
But it doesn’t matter; it’s just going through the motions.
“No need, I’ll just use my own phone.”
This was a song from an idol group in a certain rhythm game she played.
She liked the pink-haired girl with the fangs the most.
The M-song that starts with ‘M’ and has three words recently went viral and became a trendy little thing, so she’ll just dance to this one.
Since she felt a bit tired of just singing last time, this time she’ll sing and dance.
She had practiced for two and a half days, after all.
After a flurry of movements, Orange Quiet Forest finished her performance.
She had no idea how it actually was.
She could only say she did her best.
And the judges’ expressions became even more subtle.
The contestants behind her seemed to have less malice towards her now, and some couldn’t hold back their smiles.
The emotions of the contestants behind her weren’t hidden at all.
“So she’s just a pretty face.”
“She’s so pretty, but she dances like that?”
“Locked in, locked in.”
It seems she really did dance terribly.
So be it.
Anyway, she didn’t want to stay in the entertainment industry, she hadn’t practiced for long, and she had video games to play.
It should all be over once she goes home today.
“Next up, Contestant Number Five.”
Orange Quiet Forest obediently left the stage.
Turns out the Contestant Number Five after her was quite a character too.
She was a girl with deep blue curly hair, wearing a long skirt.
Her hair was slightly past her shoulders, she had big eyes, and bangs as thick as armor.
Like Orange Quiet Forest, she also wasn’t wearing makeup.
“May I ask what your dream is?”
“Um…”
The girl hung her head, her hands tightly twisting the hem of her skirt, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum.
“I… I don’t know…”
“What do you like?”
“Um… uh…”
The entire Q&A basically went like this.
“Um…”
“I don’t know.”
Was she imitating Orange Quiet Forest?
Orange Quiet Forest watched with great interest from the side.
It didn’t seem like it.
It felt like she was just naturally shy.
When answering, she was the complete opposite of Orange Quiet Forest.
She kept her head down, not daring to look at the judges’ faces, speaking haltingly and in a soft whisper.
Every time a judge asked a question, she would flinch like a startled little animal, making the leader look like a bully picking on an innocent girl.
In the end, the judges were looking at each other, passing the questioning duty around, making even Orange Quiet Forest feel awkward.
She’s actually quite pretty…
If she’s this shy, does she still want to be an idol? She must really love it then.
Doesn’t it seem like she has problems communicating with people?
“Why do you want to be an idol?”
“Um… uh… Because I want to change myself… I want to change the unchanging status quo.”
“Why did you choose dance? Is it because you like dancing?”
“It’s because dancing doesn’t require talking.”
…
But if you become an idol, you’ll have to sing and dance later, right.
Completely speechless.
The music started, and Contestant Number Five began to dance.
Surprisingly, the moment the music played, that trembling girl seemed to transform into a different person.
Her movements were fluid, her gaze firm.
Although not top-tier, it was definitely a hundred times better than Orange Quiet Forest’s two-and-a-half-day calisthenics routine.
Just as Orange Quiet Forest thought it was about to end.
She heard the staff’s guidance.
“The second round assessment will begin shortly. It includes line reading under professional guidance, vocal testing, dance replication, and—an impromptu situational performance segment.”
Orange Quiet Forest’s smile froze on her face.
In that moment, she felt as if she could hear the sound of her own heart breaking.
So annoying.
Hmm…
Anyway, after all that trouble, Orange Quiet Forest finally finished.
Since they finished at the same time, it wasn’t strange for Orange Quiet Forest and the five-person group to run into each other.
The elevator lobby was paved with polished marble floors, reflecting their figures.
Orange Quiet Forest was idly watching the jumping red numbers on the elevator display when she caught a glimpse of a figure emerging from the restroom out of the corner of her eye.