NiGHT, in their first week as a group, received their first opportunity - appearing as special guest performers at the "Back to Midsummer Night" music festival.
"Back to Midsummer Night" is Random iWatch's major production this year. From the end of last year until now, they've invested substantial resources and money into it. As Random iWatch's main variety show for the first half of the year, it has generated considerable online buzz.
The music festival during Christmas and New Year's weeks exploded on the internet - during that time, you couldn't open your phone without seeing clips from the performances.
The early episodes mostly focused on preparation stages and didn't attract many viewers. The show really took off when they aired the music festival episodes.
The production team even released an uncut version, giving viewers who couldn't attend in person a virtual experience of the twelve-plus hours of performances.
The popularity of "Back to Midsummer Night" surpassed that of two girl group survival shows combined. The later-concluding girl group show was completely overshadowed by "Back to Midsummer Night." Many fans gathered outside the venue just to catch a glimpse of the rehearsals.
Even though the secretly recorded rehearsal videos were blurry, they couldn't dampen people's curiosity.
The show's success wasn't due to any revolutionary concept, but rather because the offline music festival experience truly lived up to its title - it felt like returning to those carefree summer nights with gentle breezes.
"Last time I went with my friends, we had such a blast. We couldn't get to the front of the stage, so we laid out a mat in a less crowded area at the back, singing along while listening. It's my happiest memory since becoming an adult."
"We were there on New Year's Eve, and there were fireworks. Counting down with tens of thousands of people was absolutely incredible."
"At first, I thought they got the name wrong, but once you're there, you realize it really does feel like a midsummer night."
Though the music festival was held during Christmas and New Year's, it wasn't broadcast until half a month later.
Those who couldn't attend in person got to experience that summer night feeling with a delay, getting fired up just from watching the videos.
Riding on positive word-of-mouth and the show's success, the second music festival sold out completely the day before it began.
The news of the sold-out festival trended online, and the artists waiting for rehearsal at the venue saw this news too.
"How many people were there last time?"
"I think it was over ten thousand, almost twenty thousand."
"Wow... how many people will it be now that it's sold out?"
"I had just gotten over my nerves, but now they're back."
The news of the sold-out tickets was relayed to the artists, and during rehearsal, everyone was chattering excitedly about it. They seemed even more excited than the audience about tomorrow's festival.
In the rest area full of waiting artists and teachers, NiGHT, who had debuted less than a week ago, appeared nervous.
Some staff member had scheduled their rehearsal early on, meaning several senior groups were waiting to rehearse after them.
This meant that any mistake would cause delays, and making senior artists wait through long delays wouldn't leave a good impression - they were really worried about that.
The teacher in charge of NiGHT's stage performance held a water bottle and some A4 papers, comforting and instructing all nine members.
"It's just rehearsal, don't be too nervous. Rehearsal is for finding problems."
"We've been training intensively for a week. Execute the moves properly, don't rush the timing, don't cut the movements short. Remember everything I've told you in class."
"Most importantly, enjoy the stage."
The staff had started hurrying them along. The dance teacher gathered the nine members together for a cheer, "Fighting!"
The nine girls, like soldiers heading into battle, took a deep breath and shouted loudly, "Fighting!"
Their shout was so powerful it seemed to "shake the mountains and move the earth," startling the senior artists waiting in the rest area.
As NiGHT began their rehearsal, the AIcho members quietly made their way to the control room to watch their performance.
Groups from Random Entertainment all share one notable characteristic - they don't get stage fright, they're excellent at engaging the audience, and confidence and relaxation are the two most important elements in conveying stage emotion.
Clearly, these nine girls lacked that feeling.
Rather than performing for a music festival, they seemed more like they were promoting a song. Their movements were meticulously precise, with all nine members appearing to use the same amount of energy. Their singing sounded like a CD playback, without any noticeable flaws.
This quality of performance would be praised during comeback promotions, but this was a music festival - the small stage approach wouldn't work here.
"Should we say something to them?"
"...What if it comes across as us putting on senior airs?"
"But this kind of stage won't get a good response tomorrow."
"I think it's fine though."
Besides the music festival, audiences were also curious about how the four Random Entertainment groups actually interacted backstage, wondering if they knew each other.
After news broke about NiGHT's surprise appearance at "Back to Midsummer Night," the four groups entered a state of competition.
The title of company favorite had shifted from AIcho to NiGHT.
Since Random Entertainment managed all of them, people were very curious about the relative strengths of the four groups, and "Back to Midsummer Night" had firmly grabbed the public's attention on this point.
Everyone really wanted to see them compete.
With this anticipation for drama, time moved to noon on the day of the music festival.
Zhuhai was still hot, especially at noon. The sun was so strong it made hair feel like it was burning, and queuing visitors were taking off layers of clothing one by one.
The waiting time today was notably longer than the first time, taking about twenty minutes to enter.
After all, tickets were sold out, and the number of attendees was more than double the previous event.
After passing through the entrance, young men and women in stylish outfits began wandering around.
People wearing boots and long trailing dresses could be seen on the grass, and visitors taking commemorative photos were everywhere.
The second music festival happened to fall just before the new year, when students were on break, naturally leading to higher attendance.
Many young girls were attending this kind of event for the first time. They ran around everywhere, curiously touching and exploring, their eyes sparkling like deer's.
Though it should have been the dead of winter, it felt like the height of summer. Zhuhai had been having clear weather for the past few days, and temperatures had climbed a bit.
Today's highest temperature in Zhuhai was 23 degrees Celsius, comfortable enough for light clothing. Since people weren't wearing much, it was easy to move around, and they could just put on a jacket if they got cold.
The venue started letting visitors in early, with some entering as early as 10 AM - they even took naps in their camping tents.
Now more people were coming in, making the outside more lively, and those who had entered early were waking up.
The timing was perfect. Jiang Liuxing and her two friends yawned in their tent, while Liu Yue emerged from her sleeping bag, picking at her false eyelashes, saying, "I really shouldn't have worn makeup today."
"...My makeup is still okay, just a bit oily," Jiang Liuxing took out a small mirror from her bag to check, then rummaged around and found some eyelash glue, asking Liu Yue, "I have eyelash glue here, want to use it?"
"No, let's just leave it. We won't make it to the front row anyway," Liu Yue gave up on fixing her makeup and removed the false eyelashes from her other eye.
Zhou Keke, who had already gotten out of her sleeping bag and packed up her things, checked her phone and said, "It's almost time, let's head to the stage area."
"Okay, let's put everything away first, or it might get lost later," Jiang Liuxing crouched out of the tent and looked at the container-style prefab rooms.
The package tickets included camping grounds, though you had to choose between options. The three of them had bought two package tickets, so they had both a camping tent and a container room.
After taking a nap in the tent, the three packed up their belongings and wheeled their suitcases to the container room.
Just as they finished organizing their things and locked the door, they heard waves of screaming coming from the distance.
The volume was so loud that it drowned out even the prelude.
At that moment on stage, the four members of AIcho appeared on the elevator platform--
"Guess Who's Singing--" Pei Zhiping held her in-ear monitor and shouted.
The audience below roared in response: "AIcho--!!!"
This was the opening introduction of their hit song. What was originally like a whispered watermark vocal became a king-like proclamation in Pei Zhiping's new rendition.
Just from the audience's response, you could tell how popular their hit song had become.
Using a commercialized model to build personal IPs, any topic related to them would easily gain attention. Beauty bloggers and cosplay creators would use AIcho's music when imitating the four members.
Over time, their hit song went viral on Douyin.
The four of them wore denim mini-skirts, with simple tube tops or spaghetti straps on top. The white tops paired with denim skirts served as a backdrop for their luxurious accessories.
Pei Zhiping wore six or seven strands of pearl necklaces, Han Lemi had rings on all ten fingers, and the other two members' accessories were equally extravagant. This outfit ensemble was the same as the one from their music video.
The large screen combined with these dazzling jewels created a brilliance that even the noon sun couldn't overshadow.
Compared to the uniformity of the original dance, they had re-choreographed the routine so that they only danced in unison during the chorus, spending the rest of the time running across the stage.
The stage positioning seemed designed to show off their jewelry, as they moved from stage right to left, then ran to the extended stage.
Pei Zhiping's opening lines weren't even heard over the audience's voices; even with her in-ear monitor, she could hear some of the crowd's roaring.
Today's highest temperature was only twenty-three degrees, but at this moment, the audience below felt like they were back in the scorching summer.
The heightened emotions of those around infected everyone else, blood boiling in their bodies, adrenaline surging and screaming, bodies trembling uncontrollably, breathing becoming erratic--
"This is fucking amazing!"
Bystander: And thus began the era of Random Entertainment's rise.
