Chapter Nineteen: Surprise Date

shotWu Shih-hsien looked at this pool of water, and asked a question."It's probably late August or early September, I'm not too sure."Chi Jingyuan thought for a moment and gave a rough explanation."Wa...“...”

This question stumped Wu Shixun all of a sudden. He furrowed his brows, looked at Ji Jingyuan, and opened his mouth as if he didn't know how to answer. His expression was somewhat doubtful, perhaps calculating in his mind the idea that 'this person is deliberately provoking'.

“Haha...” Hearing the conversation between the two and seeing Wu Shi-hun's expression, the people beside him burst into laughter. Park Chan-lye chuckled and patted his shoulder: “Wuli Shi-hun, I remember you were a top student. I saw online that fans said you scored full marks in your math exam.”

"Hahaha." When he said that, the people beside him laughed even harder.

"Ah..."

It seemed like he was about to curse, but as soon as he let out a syllable, Wu Shixun forcefully suppressed it. The following word only formed in his mouth without making a sound. He shook his shoulders vigorously, shaking Park Chan-lye's hand off his shoulder, then frowned unhappily at Ji Kyeongwon, smacked his lips and explained: "I went to Seoul Arts High back then, but all those arts high schools are pretty much the same. They have drama departments, performance departments, music, dance departments, and so on. Most of them teach skills and knowledge related to the entertainment industry, like in the dance department they would teach K-pop dances, modern dance, ballet, etc."

"Won't you be teaching cultural classes"

“Of course, I've learned it. But those who go to these art schools aren't already debuted idols or trainees, they are kids who want to be idols or actors but haven't gotten their foot in the door yet. To be honest, not many people really study cultural courses properly. Since artists have so many schedules, they rarely attend school. Trainees who have joined companies usually just go to school in the morning and afternoon, then go to the company for practice in the afternoon. They are so busy every day that there's no time to study well.” Wu Shixun seemed to be deliberately avoiding the question behind Ji Jingyuan’s words, and he was trying to explain himself, as well as the efforts of his seniors and juniors at the same school.

"That's how it is..."

Ji Chengyuan nodded in understanding, seeming to have gained some insight into the art high school at Hanbando. Under Wu Shihun's encouraging gaze, he slowly turned around and sat back down, as if the confusion had been resolved. However, less than two seconds later, Ji Chengyuan suddenly turned back, blinked, and looked at him with clear eyes, asking again: "That being said, how are your grades"

"Hahaha..." The surroundings burst into laughter instantly. Several members were laughing uncontrollably, rolling back and forth in their seats. Park Chan-yeol and a few others were vigorously patting their chairs continuously, creating a clattering sound. The entire van was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Amidst the joyful laughter, a sound of anger could faintly be heard. Someone, after being embarrassed and angry, couldn't control their rage and started cursing:

"Go to hell, asshole..."

……

The nanny van drove into the Hanting Art High School in Songpo District. After exo got out of the car, they didn't wander around randomly. After greeting the program staff who had already been prepared, and the teachers from the school, they followed them inside. Ji Kyeong-won looked around curiously.

This high school's campus is quite large, with several teaching buildings lined up in a row. Although the walls don't look as new and are a bit worn out, the renovation itself is pretty good.

The remaining light still swept over several walls covered in graffiti, looking very hip-hop and eye-catching. Along the way, one could often hear bursts of noisy music and singing coming from everywhere, and the entire campus had a rather strong artistic atmosphere.

"You all know the specific recording process by now. The teachers have gathered all the unsuspecting students in the lecture hall. The cameras are all set up. Just wait at the door quietly and don't expose yourselves. When c announces it, you can go in directly and walk onto the stage. Then just follow the process."

First, they recorded a short introductory interview. Then the PD of the program briefly explained things to several members of EXO.

"Yes," the nine responded, getting ready and then following PD and C toward the auditorium.

They arrived at the entrance of the auditorium. There were already quite a few staff members gathered around, Exo leaning against the wall outside the door, listening to the sounds from inside.

Inside the room, separated by a wall, several hundred students had already gathered, filling the auditorium to capacity. A few teachers were in the middle, maintaining order, and whispers from all directions came together, creating quite a buzz.

Obviously, the students had sensed that it wasn't the teacher coming to lecture or make an announcement, but perhaps filming some kind of program. This sort of thing happened frequently at this art school, so they weren't surprised, just very curious about what kind of program it would be and if they might even see some big-name idols.

Although art high schools and the entertainment industry seem closely related, with many trainees and already debuted idols studying here, to be honest, there's still a very distant gap between these ordinary students and truly popular artists.

Generally, trainees who are relatively good-looking and skilled are quite popular at school. As for idols who have debuted, they are the center of attention. For example, people like Jung Soo-jung and Woo Shi-hun were practically surrounded by admirers when they were in school.

Compared to ordinary high schools, students in art high schools can hear a lot of insider information, true or false, every day. They practice dancing and singing every day. Under such influence, they may have a stronger longing for celebrities than the former.

"Guerrilla Date!"

As the host walked onto the stage in front of the hall, under everyone's gaze, they grabbed the microphone and loudly announced today's event. The students below immediately started clapping politely. After learning that it was a 'guerrilla date', many people looked towards the door curiously, wondering which group of artists had arrived today.

"Wouldn't it be VIXX A top boy group."

"That's very possible, they just returned last week, and it's the time for promotion."

"I'd rather it be XO, they're way more handsome than VIXX."

"How is that possible Groups like XO rarely take on school events, they're just too popular to be seen so easily..."

Several girls looked eagerly out the door while whispering excitedly to each other.

But things didn't develop as they had expected.

Seeing that the atmosphere was already lively, c didn't beat around the bush. With his right hand pointing at the ceiling, he shouted with all his might: "Let me introduce to you..."

"Wow!"

"x!"

"Oh!"

The moment this name appeared, even the first letter's pronunciation was met with a roar of applause that drowned out all previous sounds. The entire hall reverberated with the deafening cheers, which sounded like thunderous bells, causing even 'c' on stage to feel a ringing in their ears. Underneath the camera's wide-angle shot, over six hundred students had risen to their feet within two seconds of hearing this name, all eagerly looking towards the entrance. Many, obstructed by those in front, jumped repeatedly, desperate for a glimpse of the arriving 'xo'.

For a moment, the entire auditorium reached a boiling point, as if the temperature around us had risen with it.

After C's announcement, the nine members of EXO also made a timely entrance from the door. Amidst deafening cheers and countless eyes filled with surprise, they quickly made their way to the stage and stood in a line.

"1, 2, 3, we are one, Anihaseyo, we are EXO."

Under Kim Jun Myeon's countdown, Ji Kyeong-won and the members bowed and introduced themselves.

Below, the students saw the combination of super popularity that they had never dared to imagine suddenly appearing before them. Some girls covered their heads with their hands, opened their mouths wide, and looked unbelievable. Many others were also surprised and excited, talking to each other in hushed tones, as if they couldn't believe that such an unexpected surprise could happen on a seemingly ordinary day.

"Wow! It's xo! Yuan, Sehun, ahhhh why are they so handsome..."

A girl looked ahead, tightly gripping her friend's arm and shaking it continuously. She uttered a wordless sentence before bursting into senseless, simple screams.

Seeing an idol in person is a completely different experience from watching them on TV. The sense of reality and closeness is significantly enhanced, and more importantly, the strong visual impact of seeing handsome or beautiful people who have put on makeup up close is incredibly powerful for students and fans alike. This creates a very intense and indescribable feeling of shock.

Even some idols with average looks, after being specially packaged and dressed up, would look much better than ordinary people. Not to mention EXO, whose appearance is already at the top level among boy groups, coupled with their strong popularity and the excellent momentum of this comeback, the combined effect on students is truly unparalleled.

He felt the overwhelming enthusiasm of the students at the school, and Chi Jingyuan was quite happy. A sense of accomplishment welled up in his chest. He scanned his gaze down, noticing that most of the students in the auditorium were girls, with boys making up a smaller proportion, about one-third. They were all dressed in Hanlin's navy blue school uniform suits, looking very spirited.

He thought Hanlim Arts High's deep blue suit looked much better than the earthy yellow school uniform that Woo Shi Hoon used to hang in his dorm.

"First of all, I'm really happy to be at Hanlin Art High School, haha... It's really great."

"Thank you all so much for your support. Let's have a wonderful time together today."

A few members started with a playful opening, greeting the students with smiles and calming down the excitement of the numerous girls in the audience. After they had somewhat settled down, the next segment began.

"Hey everyone from Hanlin Art High! Aren't you all super curious about xo" c shouted out to the audience, and was met with a chorus of agreement.

"Oh my!"

Now you can ask some questions and requests, xo will answer your curious places about the members.

With a wave of his hand, countless hands shot up below. Many people even stood up and jumped excitedly, reaching upwards as if trying to get C's attention.

"This comeback's title song, 《callbaby》, is really amazing. The dance is super cool. Could you show us a live performance" A female student was called upon and stood up excitedly, making a request. Her expression looked like she was an EXO fan.

When Chi Jingyuan heard this, he was stunned for a moment. If it weren't for the program crew saying it was a surprise visit, he would have really thought that this girl was arranged in advance, specifically to give them an opportunity to promote their latest song.

In fact, they would have shown it even if she didn't mention it...

"Call baby, call baby."

Of course, the fans' request couldn't be refused. Accompanied by music, nine people briefly danced to a verse and chorus. Although they only had over a minute of performance time, they were very serious about it, and it was very

Another fan request was fulfilled, a girl with pigtails stood up and directly asked Zi Yuan: "I want to ask Yuan, what's your favorite food"

"Ah..." This question seemed to resonate with many people. Several girls cheered together, staring curiously at Ji Jingyuan's face.

"Hmm..." Chi Jingyuan took the phone and pondered for a moment, then smiled and waved his hand. "There are just too many things I like to eat, it's hard to say. But if I have to limit it to a certain category, like snacks...I've been really into this chocolate bar lately..."

"Hey"

"Is that the one endorsed by XO I really like it too."

As soon as he spoke, she chimed in, expressing a similar fondness. It seemed that shared interests could draw them and Ji Jingyuan closer.

"I want to ask, does the regular first album 《xoxo》 of XO have behind-the-scenes footage of preparing for the album release I really like watching these private behind-the-scenes moments. Will there be behind-the-scenes footage released for this second regular album as well"

Next, a girl was called upon and stood up, looking at Ji Jingyuan with anticipation and asking a question.

On stage, Chi Jingyuan held the microphone and smiled at the female student: “If I had... would you be happy”

"Inside!" It wasn't just this girl who answered, a whole group of people beside her shouted it out loud.

"That..." Chi Jingyuan pursed his lips, then looked into the other person's eyes and stretched out his finger pointing at her. The corners of his mouth were raised in a sunny smile: "We will work for you."

"Scream..."

"Great job!"

The girl who was being stared at by Chi Jingyuan with murderous eyes heard this and immediately covered her face with both hands and squatted down, trembling all over and unable to utter a word.

It wasn't just her; many people in the venue were thrilled by this straightforward yet incredibly powerful statement. A group of girls jumped excitedly, as if Pool Jingyuan had said it to all of them.

This question and answer brought the atmosphere in the room to a peak, and the following members went wild with applause, cheering along.

Next came the interactive segment. C pointed to several students who raised their hands almost touching the ceiling, a group of six or seven girls. They walked onto the stage under the envious gazes of others, standing in front of EXO with both joy and pride. A few girls even kept staring intently at EXO's faces.

"...I'm Choi Ji-mi, a third grader..."

“I am in first grade.”

"...I am Kim Doyeon from the second grade..."

Under C's guidance, the several female students calmed down their agitated emotions and first introduced themselves.

To be honest, although it's an art school, many students' appearance and figure are still very different from the trainees Ji Jingyuan has seen at the company. Most of them are not much different from ordinary girls their age.

However, the youthful charm is naturally confidence and a smile. He thought these students were quite friendly.

Ji Jingyuan smiled and looked around, his gaze lingering for a second on the girl named Jin Duo Xian. She was one of the most striking people there, with a very distinctive smile.

And he looked at him and thought he was a bit familiar, he must have seen him somewhere before, but at this moment on stage there was no time for him to think about it.

After the self-introductions, several female students took turns showcasing their skills, dancing to various popular EXO songs, from "aa" to "Growl". Even the EXO members beside them enthusiastically joined in, acting as backup dancers, naturally complementing the girl at center stage. This allowed them to enjoy dancing with EXO and being praised by being placed at the center.

To be honest, I've been using a source switching app to read and catch up on books recently. Switching sources, with multiple reading voices... It's available for both Android and Apple devices.

That girl named Kim Dahyun was dancing "Hype Boy," she looks like she practices it specifically, her moves are very precise and quite good.

She smiled a little too wide when she was dancing, it felt a bit out of place with the mood of the song "Addicted".

Seeing that the other members had all gone up to join in the fun, Ji Kyung-won didn't want to stay on the sidelines pretending to be dead any longer. He handed the microphone to Park Chan-hyeok next to him and quickly walked over to start dancing with Kim Do-hyun.

"Touch you, yourlove, this is overdose."

The most iconic move in the choreography of "Obsession" is Jin Do-hyun's headbanging, where he kneels on the ground and swings his head back and forth. Meanwhile, Ji Kyeong-won stands behind him, mimicking the action by tapping the air with his hands as if manipulating a puppet.

Kim Do-hyun might have really practiced the dance for "Addiction," the two of them had a strangely good coordination. They didn't rehearse beforehand at all, but every strike and head nod was perfectly timed, exactly on the beat, making it very pleasing to watch. For a moment, screams filled the space below.

If you were to ask Chi Jingyuan for his opinion, in a slightly exaggerated way...

She doesn't seem to be any worse than BoA at dancing.

The music stopped, ending the brief minute or so on stage. Seeing Kim Do-hyun still kneeling on the floor, Ji Kyeong-won reached out his hand to signal him.

Kim Da-hyun froze for a moment when she saw the hand reaching out, and quickly reached out to grab it. A force pulled her up, and Ji-seong directly dragged her along. Before she could get excited, Ji-seong naturally let go of her hand, smiled at her, and retreated back to his fellow members' side.

After a few girls finished their performance, c chose a few boys to come up and interact. After the interaction, exo nominated Kim Jun-m to give the closing remarks. This time's campus 'surprise date' is considered over.

After a brief interview with the host, EXO bid farewell to the program crew and got into the nanny car to head to the next location.

They have a packed schedule with activities one after another, leaving little free time at all.

I think that girl just now looked familiar, wasn't it Kim Da-hyun Has anyone here met her before

In the van, Ji Jingyuan thought silently for a while but couldn't remember. He turned his head and casually asked the members.

"She's a JYP trainee, don't you know"

Upon hearing the question, Park Chan-wook paused mid-conversation with Wu Shixun, looked up at Ji Kyoung-won with some confusion, and said, "She seems to be a small internet celebrity, quite popular actually. I recognized her at first glance... Don't you guys know"

"I don't know, haven't heard of it."

"I think I've seen her videos online, dancing to that eagle dance or something. It was alright, it got pretty high views..."

Other members beside her also chimed in, it seems that girl is truly no ordinary high school student.

"..."

Hearing that she was a JYP trainee, Ji Kyung-won recalled and quickly remembered where he had seen Kim Do-hyun. It was when he watched GOT7's V 《SSIT》 last year; this girl was the female lead in it.

After that realization, Chi Jingyuan didn't mind it so much anymore. It was just a coincidence that he had run into this JYP trainee today. He probably wouldn't have any chance to see him again in the future.

However, speaking of Tzuyu, it seems she also filmed that V. I wonder if the audition show she participated in has started yet.

Peninsula asteroid

First release on Traditional Novels Networkd Pany, as well as BIGBANG's Taeyang, Victory, and their friends, also brought some trainees. They are all part of the industry."It was originally two private rooms, but since we all happened to be fr...