Chapter 46: An Intro Beyond Expectations
"Joshua, are you ready yet?"
Leonard showed up, his face carefully made up and dressed in full performance attire, coming to find Joshua.
Moments like this—he was truly the only one with free time.
Joshua frowned slightly at him. "We’re not even on the same team anymore, and you’re not about to go on stage. What are you doing here?"
At the time, Joshua was sitting in a chair with his eyes closed, letting the makeup artist do their work, a large blanket draped around him.
Leonard couldn’t help but chuckle. "What’s with the blanket? Is there anything that I, Leonard, haven’t seen before?"
Joshua gave him a complicated look before saying softly, "Where did you even learn to say things like that?"
Leonard laughed, then feigned melancholy. "You don’t have a single romantic bone in your body, Joshua. After the performance, I’ll be waiting for you at the gate—there’s a surprise."
He snapped his fingers, thumb, and forefinger, forming a gun shape aimed at Joshua, and winked.
Joshua remained completely unmoved by Leonard’s handsome act. "Are you challenging me to a fight or something?"
Leonard only smiled mischievously, left a teasing remark about waiting for Joshua, and quickly took off.
Joshua didn’t bother with him, but Lucian, who had been watching from the side, chuckled. "Leonard really cares about you, huh? The show’s about to start, and he still came to see you, haha."
Joshua lowered his gaze. "He’s just got too much free time."
By now, the groups were heading to the stage one after another.
The comment section had gone completely insane—not only with fans of the show and the trainees, but also with fans of the idol groups whose songs were being covered this round.
Praise and criticism flooded in all at once.
However, once the top-ranking trainees took the stage, the audience was swept up in a frenzy.
[Aaaaaa, Leonard—are you trying to kill me?! Stop winking already!!!]
[Take off your shirt! What I need is your smile—wait, no, that’s not what I meant...]
[Are you sure that’s not what you meant?]
Leonard’s group looked like a lineup of ancient deities, dressed in barely-there costumes and golden accessories that shimmered with every move. Every step they took sent flashes of light dazzling across the stage.
Leonard stood at the center—his charisma and stage presence radiated so strongly that he seemed to glow. The fans screamed nonstop.
Then came Luther’s group. Their song, surprisingly, was performed in an adorable concept, and the fans practically lost their minds laughing.
[Hahaha, no, Justin, seriously—this isn’t what I meant when I said I liked that honey-tanned skin!]
[What are you talking about? He fits the character perfectly!]
[Luther is a god. Luther the cat is an even greater god!]
[He’s such a noble cat! So adorable!!!]
If Joshua saw the comments from Luther’s fans, his expression would probably change in a hundred different ways.
After all, no "noble cat" could resemble Luther—at the very least, real cats like cleanliness.
Nine performances, each lasting four to five minutes, plus short breaks in between—it didn’t take long before the final performance took the stage!
[Joshuaaaaa! Finally! I’ve waited so long for this—it’s been torture!]
[Waiting has never been this painful, but now I can finally scream for him!]
[Joshua’s in the same group as Henry, right? I thought they were pretty solid before...]
[The two of them always sneak off to some corner to work together, it’s so cute hahaha]
[Henry... cute? Excuse me, are we talking about the same person?]
[He’s terrifying 24/7 hahaha]
[That face is so intense—imagine him telling me to kneel. I’d drop to my knees instantly!]
[Good grief, a bunch of degenerates!]
[Anything involving Joshua automatically becomes cute.]
[Your "adorable baby" is performing a sexy concept this time—get ready to cry when his rank drops hahaha]
[Who let this stray dog in here? Get lost!]
At that moment, the MC’s voice echoed across the venue:
"Dear National Producers, the moment we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived! The final performance of the day is about to begin! Everyone, turn your attention to the stage and welcome—Mnight!"
"Aaaaaaaah!!!"
The concert hall exploded into screams, then slowly fell silent as the lights dimmed to darkness.
Leonard sat in the waiting room, eyes fixed on the tablet screen in front of him.
Smoke began to rise; flickers of red and blue lights pulsed on and off, illuminating a single pole standing on stage.
"AAAAAAH!" Another wave of screams erupted, mixed with gasps of disbelief.
[Wait—what?! I’m not seeing things, am I?]
[What are they doing? Pole dancing?!]
[Aaaa what what what—do it already, my heart can’t take this!!!]
[Aaaaaaa!!!]
The screams in the live comments were almost perfectly in sync with those in the audience. Leonard’s eyes widened as he stared at the screen, shock flickering in them—nearly as if he couldn’t believe what he saw.
The flickering lights flashed once more before going dark again. But this time, everyone saw it—someone was standing behind the pole.
A tall, straight-backed figure.
A pair of bunny ears perched atop his head.
His hands reached behind him, one above the other, gripping the pole.
The upper body was clad in a loose white shirt—broad at the shoulders and sleeves, billowing slightly—but below, he wore high-waisted leather pants, skin-tight against long, slender legs that outlined every curve of calf and thigh.
A small, fluffy bunny tail swayed lightly at the base of their spine.
Below that—heels. Sharp, stiletto heels at least fifteen centimeters high, maybe even higher.
The lights flickered again, blue and red intertwining. Then—suddenly—they all flared to life!
The figure stood under the glow, a silhouette cast in crimson and indigo.
At that moment, the music began—low, rhythmic, sultry.
The breathy bassline made hearts race instantly.
The figure on stage began to move.
He sank slowly, gave two quick bounces, then extended one leg out—and in a fluid, serpentine motion, twined himself around the pole, moving with effortless grace, every shift of his body smooth and deliberate.
Below the stage, jaws dropped.
Some people instinctively swallowed hard.
Finally, the lights flared again, and the camera zoomed in—revealing his face.
He raised an eyebrow, the corner of his lips curving into a faint, teasing smile.
His red lips parted as if whispering something—and then, with an air of careless charm, he fell backward into the darkness.
At that exact moment, the lights cut off—and the real performance began.
Mnight appeared on stage. Their outfits blended deep blue and black, and the performance began in full force.
The audience—and the live comment feed—completely lost their minds, ever since that pole dance had appeared. It hadn’t even lasted ten seconds!
[Whoever said my boy couldn’t be sexy—apologize right now! I almost grew a third leg just now!!!]
[That’s harassment, please stop, PLEASE stop—actually, never mind, I’m drooling mlem mlem mlem]
[Aghhhhh, I hate my life! Why wasn’t I part of this show?!]
[Those hips, waist, pose, heels—!!!]
[Why didn’t my baby keep the heels on for the entire performance aghhhh!]
[Think about Joshua, though! Those heels are too high—how could he dance so intensely without hurting his feet?]
[Main dancer energy is no joke!]
On stage, when it came to Henry’s part, he cracked an imaginary whip.
The crowd erupted into pure chaos.
[Oh my god, everyone’s about to turn feral—stop, stop!!!]
[Give me a ticket to that venue, I’ll be the first to go feral, thank you!]