28: Chapter 28 Anonymous Revelation from a Former SM Intern

"Thirteen people? Make a rough draft if you are going to make up stories! Ever since the brothers debuted, posters, albums, merchandise—when has it ever not been twelve copies? Are you going to draw that extra ghost yourself?"

"Capital has the final say in everything? Do you really think reality is like shooting a movie? In today's information age, if such a top-tier figure existed, even if they hid in outer space, the paparazzi would have dug them up completely long ago!"

"Hilarious, waveform charts can be faked, care to learn about AI synthesis technology? A poor internet celebrity team buying internet trolls for brainwashing—what a tacky method."

"To take a step back, even if he had stayed at SM Entertainment back then, being eliminated only proves his lack of strength. What kind of tragic hero is he running over to pretend to be now?"

"Waiting for the brothers' company to issue a lawyer's letter and send these internet beggars to jail!"

"That melody from the Dali inn is full of emotion and could never be created by a mediocre person. I stand with Su Chen."

"The truth is often in the hands of the few, and the methods of South Korean chaebols far exceed ordinary people's imagination."

"Stop bickering, let the bullets fly for a while."

[...]

Internet fronts.

The flames of war spread.

After Yan Yu's post was blocked, public opinion did not subside.

Many originally neutral onlookers gradually fell into wavering.

Fandom logic is rigorous, and the image of the twelve-member group has long been deeply rooted.

An extra person appearing out of thin air, and being described as a god crushing everyone else, truly challenges the cognitive bottom line of the general public.

...

Eight-thirty in the evening.

Douyin platform.

Wang Wenjian turned on his equipment on time.

As soon as he came online, the full screen of bullet comments was all about inquiries regarding the thirteenth person.

The viewers frantically called out to this clout-chasing expert known as the Omniscient Scholar.

"Old Wang, come quickly and review the XO incident!"

"You are well-informed, give us the inside scoop: is Su Chen really that KING?"

"Don't play dead, hurry up and chat about it!"

"This time it involves the fandom, Old Wang wouldn't dare not talk about it, right?"

"No way, no way? Is there any traffic that Old Wang dares not chase after???"

[...]

"Hahaha, brothers, you are trying to push me into the fire pit!"

"In the past, when I was still broadcasting League of Legends, I definitely wouldn't have dared to touch this topic. After all, I still need to make a living, but it's different now."

"I don't rely on live streaming to make a living at all now. Now I'm just talking openly and speaking my mind! ~~"

Wang Wenjian picked up his teacup, blew away the foam on the surface, and took a sip.

"Brothers, everyone calm down."

"This recent wave of storm is truly outrageous."

"Earlier we also watched Su Chen Dancing together."

"I admit that buddy's Dancing foundation is solid, and his guitar playing level can also be called peerless."

"Looking across the domestic circle, it definitely counts as top-tier."

"But insisting on lifting him onto a pedestal and even linking him with XO—that is called wishful thinking."

Wang Wenjian tapped his fingers on the desktop, making a tap-tap sound.

"Use your brains and ponder over it."

"How many years has XO been popular all over the world?"

"That is a cash cow, a money-printing machine!"

"If there really was such a stunningly brilliant all-around king back then, would the top management of SM Entertainment have water in their brains to jointly ban him?"

"Capital pursues profit, whoever can make money is the boss."

"For the sake of so-called local self-esteem, giving up a gold mine? Third-rate screenwriters wouldn't even dare to write such anti-intellectual plots."

The bullet comment section responded one after another.

"Old Wang makes sense!"

"Indeed, idol packaging over in South Korea is extremely mature, it's impossible to let go of any good sapling."

"I was almost brainwashed by that anonymous post earlier, thinking about it now, it is full of loopholes."

"It's just a meticulously planned script, first using Dancing to attract eyeballs, then throwing out a tragic life story to solidify fans—the routine is too deep."

"Things on the internet nowadays can only be believed by three tenths, otherwise you're just scamming yourself."

"As long as emotions are stirred up, money can be made. It's so easy to earn, who wouldn't want to get a piece of the action?"

Seeing the rhythm being driven up by himself, Wang Wenjian was full of complacency.

"Furthermore, the internet has a memory."

"Even if the three major giants reach the heavens, they cannot erase all traces."

"If there really was a thirteen-person practice room video, it would have already spread like wildfire on foreign websites, how could not even a single screenshot be left behind?"

"In my opinion, this Su Chen is most likely an eliminated Trainee with exceptional talent who harbors resentment and is just using this opportunity to create a gimmick."

The viewers firmly believed it.

The live stream's popularity climbed steadily.

Most people believed this theory.

...

This debate over authenticity seemed to end with the victory of the fandom and the rational faction.

However.

The face-slapping came unexpectedly.

Midnight at twelve o'clock.

Douban's Korean Entertainment Gossip Group.

That anonymous account that previously posted the truth about the thirteenth person came back to life again.

No lengthy preface.

The title went straight to the point: "Don't believe it? Then look at the evidence. Big public release of SM Entertainment's internal selection files."

As soon as the post was published, tens of thousands of night owls flooded in instantly.

The main content was extremely detailed.

"It seems many people think I am making up stories."

"That's right, ordinary people can hardly understand that kind of despair of being stripped of everything."

"Today, we won't talk about emotions, we only speak of facts."

"Five years ago, SM Entertainment launched an S-grade project aimed at creating a boy band that would rule Asia."

"The selection process could be called hell mode."

"Vocal, Dancing, rap, composition, physique, and expression management—a comprehensive assessment of six major items."

"A monthly end-of-month evaluation, with elimination at the bottom."

"At that time, the Trainees participating in the competition were as many as a hundred."

"Today's twelve members of XO, back then, most of their scores hovered between A and B."

"Only one person broke the routine."

"He came from Huaxia."

"On the first day of joining the company, it caused a shock among the top management."

"Below is a scanned image of the original internal scoring sheet before the final styling back then."

Below the text, a yellowed and slightly blurry file photo was attached.

The edge of the paper bore the watermark of SM Entertainment.

The table columns were clear.

On the left were the Trainee number and name.

On the right was the score summary of the six major items.

The name ranked in the first row was blocked by a thick black mosaic.

But the score column immediately following it was exposed without reservation under the gaze of the entire internet.

Vocal: S

Dance: S

Rap: S

Composition: S

Physique: S

Expression Management: S

Comprehensive Evaluation: SSS

In the remarks column at the very end of the table.

The chief examiner wrote two large characters in Korean with flying and Dancing strokes.

Translated, it unexpectedly was—[Monster].

And ranked below this name were precisely today's XO leader and various popular members.

Their scores formed a sharp contrast with the first row.

The best one only managed to get two As.

This document was like a nuclear bomb, accurately thrown into the originally clamorous internet ocean.

Stirring up monstrous waves.

The post's views surged exponentially.

The server was once on the verge of collapse.

After experiencing a brief silence, the comment section ushered in an unprecedented massive outbreak.

"F*ck!!!"

"Is this f*cking report card really real?!"

"All six subjects S? Comprehensive SSS? Are these scores a human can get?"

"I've studied Korean for eight years, that watermark and font layout are definitely SM Entertainment's internal official document standard format, they can't be faked!"

"The examiner's comment turned out to be Monster... To be able to make that group of snobbish South Korean producers give such an evaluation, what kind of terrifying strength did he display back then?"

"No wonder it's called dimensional reduction strike! This is simply a max-level boss slaughtering the novice village!"

"Quick look at the second place, that's XO's main vocalist now right? Vocal only got an A, just how heaven-defying must that all-S level be?"

"I believe it. Completely believe it. Only this kind of perverted-level data is worth the three major giants joining forces to ban him."

"Capital is afraid. They fear that once this Huaxia person debuts, he will set off domestic idols as waste."

"No wonder even a trace has to be erased! Isn't this f*cking a guilty conscience!"

[...]

Those viewers who had just echoed and sneered in Wang Wenjian's live stream room were completely dumbfounded at this moment.

The fandom girls' comment-control rhetoric appeared pale and weak in front of this document.

Any rebuttal was like a clown acting like a buffoon.

Evidence.

The most fatal weapon.

No need for many words, no need to sell misery.

A piece of paper is enough to crush all doubts.

Countless people enlarged, saved, and forwarded the picture.

Major social media platforms shuffled their hot search lists.

# All-S Scoring Sheet #

# SM Entertainment Monster Trainee #

# Su Chen, the Erased God #

Behind the hashtag, a purplish-red "Explosion" tag uniformly followed.

All topics dominated the top ten of the Douyin trending search list!

Weibo number one!!

The moment you clicked into any software, the pop-up promotions were all headlines about the 13th member of XO.

...

Wang Wenjian's live broadcast room had not yet been closed.

He was feeling quite smug when the tide suddenly turned.

[Old Wang, go check out the new post in the Douban group!]

[Does your face hurt? The ironclad evidence is overwhelming!]

[Your analysis this wave was ridiculously wrong, hurry up and apologize!]

[What the heck, what's going on? Didn't people just say his analysis was very good? Why is everyone turning around and saying he was wrong?]

[You don't know yet, do you? Hurry up and go check it out, that leaker from last time came out to leak information again!]

[Su Chen's past dance practice reports were all leaked by the staff!]

[All S! I am fucking dumbfounded!]

[What?? Among South Korea Trainees, all ratings are S???]

[Fuuuuuck!! It's actually true!!!]

[...]

Wang Wenjian was completely dazed by what the netizens were saying.

The face-slapping came so suddenly???

He clicked open the webpage.

There was no need to search at all; that SSS-grade rating sheet was the first recommended video, directly hitting him in the face.

The teacup in his hand tilted, and the tea spilled onto the keyboard, completely unnoticed by him.

His Adam's apple rolled, and he couldn't squeeze out a single word for a long time.

"Holy shit! Is this fucking a monster..."

Wang Wenjian muttered to himself.

He knew quite a few stars, among them idols who returned from South Korea, and had heard them talk about how deep the water among Trainees was.

The competition was mind-bogglingly fierce!

Eating one meal a day was common sense.

Training alone started at thirteen hours every day.

Even so.

Countless Trainees were eliminated every year, and many domestic idols escaped back to make money because they couldn't stand their model.

Let alone managing to get all ratings to S inside there.

Is this fucking even human???

[Old Wang, are you still there?]

[Hahaha, were you scared out of your wits?]

[Can someone tell me what all S means? In Honor of Kings, what kind of level is it?]

[Let's put it this way, in Honor of Kings it belongs to: this person is the number one on both the rankings and peak tournament, the number one in the country for all five positions, and the kind of person who leads the second place by a generational gap.]

[Holy shit! This is way too badass!]

[Let me just ask one thing, which domestic star can get all S at SM Entertainment?]

[Stop kidding, getting two A's would allow one to swagger sideways across the Chinese Entertainment Industry, all S? South Korea itself can't find a second one!]

[...]

Quite a few netizens didn't understand the situation of Trainees, but after being explained this way...

Everyone understood its true weight.

Is this fucking human?

No!

This is our Huaxia person!!!

Wang Wenjian wiped the cold sweat off his face.

"Brothers."

"I apologize."

"I take back what I just said."

...

The internet storm had just begun.

Countless dance bloggers and music producers started streaming overnight.

Tyrannosaurus's live broadcast room.

Without makeup.

Wearing oversized cartoon pajamas.

Online viewers in the live broadcast room: 150,000!

Tyrannosaurus directly casted that rating sheet onto the white wall behind her.

Holding a telescopic teaching pointer in her hand, she pointed at the column "Dancing: S".

"Take a clear look!"

Tyrannosaurus slapped the wall, making loud smacking sounds.

"I! Practiced Popping for twelve years!"

"My body has suffered three bone fractures!"

"You guys usually call me the number one sister, call me the great god."

Tyrannosaurus threw away the teaching pointer and covered her face with both hands.

"I'll put my words right here today."

"With just my level of skill, if I went to participate in that assessment back then—"

"In the eyes of that examiner, I wouldn't even be able to get a C!"

The bullet comments instantly plastered the screen.

[Sister Long, don't be like this, you are also very strong.]

[It's not your fault, it's just that that man is too monstrous.]

[Twelve years can't compare to him Dancing casually, who can you even reason with about this.]

Tyrannosaurus raised her head.

"Do you guys know the rules of Trainee assessments?"

Tyrannosaurus supported herself on the table with both hands.

"A major exam once a month, recorded by cameras in all directions with no dead angles."

"With the slightest mistake, direct demotion!"

"Su Chen being able to get all S under such high pressure, his nervous system must definitely be made of steel bars!"

Tyrannosaurus grabbed a bottle of mineral water next to her, unscrewed it, and took a gulp.

"I don't care how those fandoms on the internet try to whitewash it."

"In front of absolute strength, all conspiracies and tricks are jokes!"

"Real gold is not afraid of fire; even if he went to the construction site to move bricks for five years, as long as he stands up and twists around casually, he can still rub the face of the entire Chinese Entertainment Industry on the ground!"

Tyrannosaurus stepped back two steps, faced the camera, put her hands together, and bowed at ninety degrees.

"God Su, please accept my bow."

"I don't want the account, I don't want the traffic."

"I only beg you, open a class!"

"Name your tuition fee, even if it ruins my family, I will still go take it!"

At the same time.

Choreography Mentor Lin Yuan's live broadcast room.

Online viewers: 120,000!

Choreography Mentor Lin Yuan wore gold-rimmed glasses, his tie pulled loose and sloppy.

He captured two other items on the rating sheet.

"Physique: S."

"Expression management: S."

Choreography Mentor Lin Yuan drew two big circles on the screen with a red pen.

"Outsiders watch the bustle, insiders watch the know-how."

"You guys only stare at his Dancing and singing."

"You guys simply don't understand the true weight of these two S's!"

Choreography Mentor Lin Yuan heavily gulped down a big mouthful of black coffee.

"South Korea's idol industry has perversely strict requirements for expression management."

"During intense singing and Dancing, the heart rate skyrockets to 180."

"And you still have to ensure that every single moment facing the camera, even the arc of a hair strand is flawless."

"No panting, no sweating, the gaze must kill."

"What is this called?"

Choreography Mentor Lin Yuan supported himself on the desktop with both hands and leaned close to the camera.

"This is called stage dominance!"

"This means every single second he is on stage, if you take a screenshot, it's a textbook-level piece of art!"

Choreography Mentor Lin Yuan slumped into the gaming chair, letting out a bitter laugh.

"I have taught boy band choreography for eight years."

"Every day I hold a stopwatch and a ruler to measure the amplitude of their movements."

"In front of this rating sheet, all the work I've done feels like grading homework for elementary school students."

"It's too aggravating!"

"Our Huaxia's top genius became a stepping stone for others to create stars!"

The bullet comments were completely ignited by Choreography Mentor Lin Yuan's analysis.

[Holy shit! When Mentor Lin puts it this way, it gets terrifying the more you think about it!]

[No wonder XO's dance style stood out uniquely back then; turns out they learned it stealthily from God Su!]

[These robbers! Driving away the rightful owner and staying behind to pluck the peaches!]

[I'm so pissed off! How on earth did God Su endure these past five years!]

Choreography Mentor Lin Yuan took off his glasses and rubbed the space between his eyebrows.

"I only have one thought right now."

"To see him."

"Even if it's just to watch him take a few casual steps."

Just as the entire internet was immersed in shock and anger...

That anonymous account quietly updated a line of text at the very end of the post.

[This table is only the tip of the iceberg.]

[The source file of that banned thirteen-person practice room video from back then... actually wasn't completely destroyed.]

[In my hands, there is a backup.]

As soon as these words came out...

The entire internet suffocated.

The video source file?!

That legendary fancam where Su Chen crushed twelve people with his own strength?!

If this thing appears in the world, the Chinese Entertainment Industry, the Korean entertainment industry, and even the entire Asia's entertainment circle will inevitably usher in a massive earthquake!

Everyone stared fixedly at the screen, frantically refreshing the page.

Waiting for that decisive blow.

However, the poster threw out a desperate condition.

[Because the file has undergone special encryption and is of a bygone era, I need twelve hours to repair and decode it.]

[Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, released on time.]

[The premise is, tonight, do not let the heat drop down.]

[I want those high-and-mighty capitals from back then to watch with their own eyes as the truth they tried to cover up comes to light!]

Twelve hours.

The countdown begins.

The violent wind howled.

Tonight, no one sleeps.