Retiring Tomorrow

Zhou Miao, currently enjoying the thrill of surfing the web, suddenly stumbled upon an official announcement for a variety show.

"The mentor lineup for Produce Camp 6 is officially announced! Huang Chengxi, Hu Xiran, Hui Yuan, Xiao Nan, Amy, and Xixi—six ultra-popular idols are sounding the assembly horn!"

Produce Camp 6 was none other than the talent show Zhang Han had previously passionately invited him to join. The show had already run for five consecutive seasons, and each season boasted explosive viewership and topic engagement.

However, after much deliberation, Zhou Miao had politely declined Zhang Han's invitation. He held a physiological aversion to sissies and sweet, pampered pretty boys; if he had to spend one or two months straight on a stage full of them, he genuinely wouldn't be able to bear it.

What he hadn't expected, though, was that his spot would end up being taken by none other than Hu Xiran. Old Hu certainly had quick eyes and fast hands.

"Alright, stop playing. Didn't you say you have things to do at the company tomorrow and need to wake up early? Go to sleep already," Hu San urged.

Hearing this, Zhou Miao stretched lazily. Tomorrow marked the start of Rainbow Entertainment's final evaluation, and with a mountain of preparations ahead, he needed to get an early start.

Struggling for a moment without getting up, Zhou Miao slumped into Hu San's arms, rubbing against her. "I don't want to go to work, and I don't want to go to school..."

Hu San pinched his ear. "Then what do you want to do?"

"I want to retire," Zhou Miao said with his eyes closed.

"You're only twenty, and you already want to retire?"

"Can't I?"

"Sure! Tomorrow we'll go apply for retirement, but for now, let's go back to sleep, shall we?" Hu San coaxed him as if soothing a child.

"Okay."

...

Early the next morning, when Zhou Miao arrived at the company, the staff were already tidying up the large conference hall, which was being converted into an evaluation stage for the trainees.

Zhao Li and An Qi had already arrived, but the atmosphere between them was rather strange. Keeping a distance from one another, they exchanged not a single word and simply kept their heads down, playing with their phones.

Although Zhou Miao had heard from Hu San last time that the two might not get along, he hadn't expected it to have escalated to the point of complete silence between them.

Coming down from upstairs, Zuo Qiu saw him lingering at the entrance and gave him a push. "Why aren't you going in?"

Zhou Miao pointed toward Zhao Li and An Qi. "What's going on with those two? Do you know anything about it?"

Seeing this, Zuo Qiu looked deeply troubled. "Who knows? The last time I dragged them out for drinks, hoping to mediate between them, the two of them just drank the whole time without saying a word. It was excruciatingly awkward."

"Let's go inside first. Don't block the doorway." With that, Zuo Qiu marched in ahead of the rest.

After entering, Zuo Qiu hesitated for a moment before deciding to sit next to An Qi. After all, since An Qi was new to Rainbow, her feelings needed to be looked after to some extent, while Zhou Miao took a seat beside Zhao Li.

Seeing Zhou Miao sit next to her instead of An Qi, the previously tense expression on Zhao Li's face softened instantly.

"Have you finished dealing with your affairs over there?"

Zhou Miao was momentarily stunned before realizing she was referring to the recent online storm. "It was never anything major to begin with. It's all in the past."

Nodding his chin in An Qi's direction, Zhou Miao asked, "What's going on between you and her?"

"...Nothing."

Since Zhao Li was unwilling to talk about it, Zhou Miao didn't press further. As long as they didn't disrupt today's evaluations, everything else was fine.

This final evaluation primarily focused on three major pillars: vocal ability, dance, and talent performance.

The standard Zhou Miao had set was that a trainee must achieve an "Excellent" grade of 90 points in at least one of these three categories, or score above 80 points in two categories, in order to pass the evaluation.

In his view, meeting this standard might not guarantee stardom in the entertainment industry, but it would at least guarantee them a secure livelihood.

After hearing these criteria, both Zhao Li and An Qi expressed their agreement. The threshold for entering the entertainment industry was low, but that didn't mean there was no threshold at all.

However, at Zuo Qiu's strong suggestion, an additional rule was added: trainees with exceptionally striking looks would receive a 10-point bonus.

After all, the entertainment industry remained a face-driven world; people blessed with good looks possessed an inherent advantage in this circle.

Throughout the entire morning, they were busy aligning the evaluation process and reviewing precautionary notes.

By 3:30 PM, the evaluation officially commenced. The promotional posters of Zhou Miao, Zhao Li, and Zuo Qiu appeared on the homepage of Dusha Live, bearing the title: Rainbow 233.

This was the name Zuo Qiu had specially chosen for this final evaluation, making it feel just like a variety show.

As soon as the livestream went live, hundreds of thousands of fans flooded in instantly, and the popularity of the livestream room skyrocketed exponentially. Bullet comments flew across the screen like a storm; without turning them off, it was practically impossible to see a thing.

Since it was an internal evaluation and no host had been assigned, Zhou Miao took over hosting duties directly.

Stepping onto the stage and looking out at the 233 trainees gathered below, Zhou Miao concisely outlined the evaluation rules.

"This evaluation consists of three components: vocal ability, dance, and personal talent. Each category has a maximum score of 100 points, with 80 points required to pass. Trainees with high aesthetic appeal can receive an additional 10-point bonus. Scoring 90 points in a single category or passing in two categories will allow a trainee to pass the evaluation.

"Trainees who achieve a score of 90 points or higher in two categories will receive Grade-A debut resources provided by the company.

"Those who achieve 90 points or higher across all three evaluations will receive Grade-S debut resource support from the company.

"As for those who fail to meet the passing standards mentioned above, they will receive an opportunity to return to school, along with a study assistance bonus of ten thousand yuan."

The trainees, who had been briefed on the rules beforehand, didn't react too strongly, but the netizens watching the livestream were utterly stunned upon hearing the terms.

Return to school? Wasn't that just a polite way of saying they were being expelled? This was far too cruel!

In Produce Camp, a hundred people competed for eleven debut spots, and even though the others failed to debut, they still had a chance to try again.

By contrast, Rainbow's internal evaluation offered no second chances whatsoever. If you weren't up to standard, you were swept out the door immediately.

Just as Zhou Miao finished explaining the rules and prepared to step down from the stage, a young man below suddenly raised his hand.

"Teacher Zhou, if I score 90 points across all three categories, can the Grade-S debut resources be swapped for something else?"

Zhou Miao looked at him with amusement. "You don't even want Grade-S debut resources? What do you want?"

"I want Teacher Zhou to write a song for me," the young man said loudly.

The trainees below burst into laughter. The art of flattery had certainly been mastered by this one.

Hearing this, Zhou Miao smiled as well. "I can consider it. It depends on your performance."

With the small talk concluded, the evaluation officially began. Due to the large number of participants, the evaluation for these two hundred-plus trainees would be conducted in batches, with the first week dedicated solely to vocal performance.

The first person to take the stage was a seventeen-year-old boy. Although young, he had already been training for three and a half years.

As the fierce electric guitar chords rang out, Zhou Miao raised an eyebrow. He actually dared to sing Nunchucks right in front of him? Young man, you've got guts!

The young man struck a dramatic pose, standing with his back to the stage and holding a pair of nunchucks, projecting the airs of a martial arts master.

Tapping his toes lightly, his whole body swayed gently to the rhythm. Then, he spun around abruptly and began to sing:

"The roasted meat shop is filled with the smell of smoke, right next to the martial arts academy..."

The instant his voice emerged, Zhou Miao covered his face, unable to bear the sight. A single line of lyrics had managed to miss eight different notes—where did he get the audacity to sing Nunchucks with that kind of vocal skill?

The young man realized he had botched the singing as well; his face flushed red instantly. Flustered in his heart, his hands grew equally chaotic with the nunchucks, and before he had even sung a few lines, he smacked himself right in the back of the head with one of the sticks!

The crisp sound of the impact echoed clearly throughout the entire large conference hall. Zhao Li couldn't help muttering softly, "That must hurt, right?"

Not only did it hurt, it hurt explosively. Zhou Miao, who had once specially practiced with nunchucks himself, felt that pain deeply.

Stunned by his own blow, the young man stood blankly on the stage, clutching his head with a look of utter helplessness.

It was over!