The woman with short hair wore a white suit and white high heels, exuding a strong, androgynous aura, appearing far more commanding than the one with long hair.
Thinking Xiang Yang was playing mind games, she smiled coldly and deliberately presented him with a difficult challenge.
“Only men who have nothing and can offer nothing say they are obedient, because obedience is their only capital.”
She didn’t think highly of him?
Xiang Yang, afraid of losing this opportunity, quickly explained to his elder sister.
“No, obedience is not my only capital.”
“Oh? Then tell me, what else do you have?”
“Obedient and resilient.”
This time, the short-haired woman couldn't help but laugh.
“You know quite a few things. Is it what I’m thinking?”
The room erupted in laughter again.
Xiang Yang looked at her, his expression unreadable.
Of course, that wasn't what he meant, but since they insisted on understanding it that way, he let them.
“Resilient. I want to see how resilient you are. How about this: accept a challenge. All your brothers and sisters are watching. If everyone applauds you, it means you’re truly capable. How about that?”
Xiang Yang’s palms were sweaty; he had no idea what he was supposed to do.
But with the opportunity presented before him, why would he back down easily?
“Thank you, sister, for giving me this chance.”
The short-haired woman called a butler-like man over and whispered a few words to him.
Soon, a large iron barrel was brought to the center of the venue.
How big was the barrel?
Xiang Yang was 1.84 meters tall, and the barrel was chest-high on him.
Once the barrel was placed, three or five burly men began to noisily dump ice cubes into it.
“Get in and stand there. You are not allowed to come out until I say so. If you can last until I deem it truly resilient, then you are truly resilient.”
It was still the first month of the lunar calendar.
The saying goes, “early spring is chilly.” Although the room was heated, this was still too harsh on the body.
Everyone instantly got goosebumps.
The agent was also shocked: This kid, why did he have to say this? If this woman was ruthless and made him stand for an hour or two, wouldn't he be ruined?
“Sister Hua, the child is young and doesn't understand things. My upbringing has been insufficient…”
“What? Are you giving up before we even begin? Boys nowadays are just useless. They only know how to talk, they can’t do anything else.”
As soon as Sister Hua finished speaking, Xiang Yang swiftly took off his clothes in front of everyone.
Then, he moved a sofa stool, stepped on it, and nimbly climbed into the ice barrel.
A gasp went through the crowd.
Some men felt his discomfort empathetically, while some women secretly admired his good physique and courage.
The two sisters smiled and glanced at the agent, saying nothing more, and told someone to add more ice.
The band started playing, and the night’s festivities officially began.
Xiang Yang stood in the ice barrel while others mingled, clinking glasses and toasting outside.
Some, flushed with alcohol, even came out to perform rumbas, Latin dances, and street dances.
It was like a mini variety show, with others enjoying themselves, completely unrelated to him.
Time ticked by. He felt his legs go numb, his whole body losing sensation, yet the two sisters didn’t even glance his way.
Only the agent was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, maintaining a fake smile while secretly looking at him from time to time.
His eyes were full of concern and helplessness.
Finally, after another young man finished singing a song, Sister Hua, bored, interrupted everyone.
“Alright, no need to sing anymore. I’ve found that young people nowadays only know how to sing meaningless fast songs; they have no depth. Listening to one or two is fine, but listening to too many is truly tiresome.”
“That’s all for tonight. Everyone can go home.”
Everyone had come with the mindset of an interview. Now that they were all dismissed, they naturally understood what it meant.
Daring not to say more, they politely took their leave.
In the blink of an eye, only Xiang Yang and his agent, along with the two sisters, remained in the vast room.
The two sisters gracefully walked to the front of the ice barrel and peered in, standing on tiptoes.
The ice cubes were already half-melted from the water.
Xiang Yang trembled all over from the cold, his lips turning purple, yet he stood there with unwavering eyes.
“Alright, let someone get him out. Who tests people like this? If you want to test endurance, test endurance; why keep someone freezing the whole time?”
“If he stands any longer, he’ll freeze. Even if you like him very much, what good will he be if he’s incapacitated?”
The two sisters exchanged smiles, and Sister Hua asked Xiang Yang.
“Can you get out yourself? Come on out.”
The agent quickly ran over, a blanket already prepared in her hand.
Xiang Yang’s legs were stiff. He bent down and rubbed his legs several times inside the barrel before clumsily clambering out.
The agent wrapped him up, dotingly rubbing his legs.
“The child is only twenty. He’s from a poor family and hasn’t learned skills like singing or dancing. He has no other talent except being able to endure hardship.”
“Don’t dismiss him as dull-witted, Sister Hua. This is the most sincere effort he can offer.”
“After this incident, he’ll likely become a laughingstock in the industry. Sister, you wouldn’t want to see him truly ridiculed, would you?”
Everyone understood the rules of this circle.
To climb up, to climb up by any means necessary, is human nature.
As long as you can climb, no matter what methods you use, you become a legend in the circle, respected, even a role model for juniors to emulate.
But if you put in the thought and effort and don’t succeed, you become the butt of everyone’s jokes.
How could Sister Hua not understand this?
“Alright, no need to play the victim for me. Since I haven’t let you two leave, I naturally have a reason to keep you.”
“Have someone take him to a room to recover first, and call Dr. Zhang to check on him.”
The doctor said some frightening words and then some precautions before leaving.
To be honest, Sister Hua felt she had gone a bit too far today.
She almost ruined the person.
Unprecedentedly, she kept someone overnight for the first time.
“You can go back first. I’ll take care of him tonight.”
The agent saw this and thought, this is incredible.
He had already caused a stir among the competitors right from the start, and tonight he was being taken care of by Sister Hua.
Xiang Yang’s capabilities were truly impressive; he was going to make a name for himself!
She was overjoyed to leave, but Xiang Yang, weak as he was, wanted to go with her.
“No, I can’t spend the night out. I’ll leave with you.”
“You child, look at yourself, how can you go back with me? And it’s so late already.”
Xiang Yang insisted, “No, it’s precisely because it’s so late that I must go back.”
Sister Hua personally offered to keep him, and he was being so ungrateful!
The agent was instantly exasperated by his foolishness and yelled.
“What are you doing? What’s going on? Do you have a girlfriend? You can’t go home late without an explanation?”
“It’s your fortune that Sister Hua is personally taking care of you. Don’t be so ungrateful!”
When they signed the contract, Xiang Yang had told her he didn’t have a girlfriend, which was why she cursed so freely.
Unexpectedly, Xiang Yang’s actions stunned everyone.