An album typically requires at least six months of preparation. One to two months are spent collecting and selecting songs. Once the lead single is determined, the concept matching the song must be prepared, involving countless MV and styling meetings. The MV should be filmed two months before the song's release, allowing time for editing and preparation.
This is the fastest method, but Jiang Juyou had been preparing the album since the company's inception. While the trainees were still preparing for the third public performance, the MV storyboards were already complete.
From the fans' perspective, the five members seemed to disappear after the show ended. The company didn't upload any materials, leaving only a promise made at the final performance that they would return with their work before the winter break ended. After that, there was silence.
Fans waited from before the New Year until after, only catching a glimpse of the five returning from Korea for a three-day New Year visit before leaving again. They were all wearing hats and masks, making it difficult for fans to distinguish who was who, except by their body shapes.
As major universities announced their return dates, the sluggish Random Entertainment finally released the first teaser.
Timetrain's TikTok account posted a short video. In the ten-second clip, a square acrylic box slowly transformed from a frosted state to transparent, vaguely revealing human figures and interior furnishings.
The sound of a videotape playing began, followed by the noise of a door opening, footsteps, and a chair scraping against the floor. It seemed someone had entered, pulled out a chair, and sat at the desk, busily typing on a keyboard.
The box never became fully transparent, but you could still make out some details.
This tantalizing glimpse drove fans crazy, trying to zoom in on the video for a better look. The puzzling concept left them with a question mark hovering over their heads.
"It's baffling."
"My brain and eyes aren't in sync."
"What is this trying to express?"
"It expresses the author's homesickness."
The teaser poster on Weibo was even simpler – just a semi-transparent frosted box, even more blurry to look at.
The only useful information from this teaser was the debut date: "March 5th"
That one piece of information was enough.
After the debut teaser was released, within just one night, almost all entertainment bloggers and marketing accounts in the Chinese entertainment industry had posted related news, determined to bring this information to everyone's attention.
The next day, indeed, everyone had seen this news, with some bloggers attempting to analyze the concept behind the debut poster.
Fans were only concerned about when the next teaser would come. Everyone was waiting for 8 PM to arrive, but before that, Timetrain's official account first released a notice about their performance.
"Good evening, Moonles. The Timetrain will arrive on March 5th. To welcome its arrival, we will be recording debut performances on March 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Moonles who wish to participate can apply through the Galexy World App. A corresponding number of fans meeting the requirements will be selected to attend."
Besides announcing the performance dates, the notice also included participation requirements: spending over 1,000 yuan on the Galexy World App and being at least 16 years old.
The first few days would be recordings, with only the 5th being a live broadcast.
"1,000? Who are they looking down on?"
"Hah, here I go again, just participating for the experience."
"I've spent almost 10,000 at your place, can you move me up in the queue a bit?"
With only half a month left until the debut date, or about ten days counting the recording days, fans would soon hear the debut song.
After waiting for years and months, these final ten days before the debut were the most excruciating. Random Entertainment had the fans' emotions in a tight grip, and even casual observers were getting involved.
This was probably the most professionally managed group in the Chinese entertainment industry to date. They had undergone years of training, starting with a large-scale selection process, followed by a debut competition, with every step witnessed by the public.
Their debut process also followed the textbook approach, first releasing teaser posters, then gradually revealing other materials.
The daily teasers not only captivated the fans but also piqued the curiosity of casual observers. Random Entertainment had everyone in the palm of their hand, as people religiously checked for updates at the same time every day. Even though everyone knew the teasers featured a frosted box, they still couldn't help but stop and look when they came across them.
After five days of box teasers, it finally became transparent--
The contents weren't what fans had guessed, but rather a miniature model of a young man's room, complete with a bed, desk, wardrobe, and computer table. Even the small decorations were reproduced in almost perfect 1:1 scale.
There was a base beneath the box with a switch on the side. When flipped to the play option, sound emerged--
The computer-processed piano sound had a unique feel, serving as a foundation and accompaniment. The protagonist, however, was the ocarina. Once the flute sound came in, everything changed. The R&B rhythm, emphasized by strong beats, immediately captured everyone's attention.
The upbeat rhythm was completely different from the sad love songs that had recently swept the internet. After listening to so many slow songs, this uniquely introduced track immediately caught everyone's eye.
In less than ten seconds of the song preview, played only once, everyone had memorized the melody.
"Cancel the 'Avoid Chinese Entertainment' movement! Chinese entertainment, here we come, haha!"
"Haven't been paying attention for a while, has Chinese entertainment evolved to this level? [Shocked]"
"So catchy, I've only listened twice, but it's playing automatically in my head while I'm making instant noodles."
"Damn it! Can't forget it!!!"
The veil of the box was finally lifted, revealing the face of the physical album. Weibo's preview tonight included one extra item – the album configuration. The mysterious box that had been posted by the official account for days turned out to be the actual appearance of the physical album.
"Prices for the 1st studio album 'infp-a' versions are as follows:"
"Bluetooth album: 79 yuan"
"SelfieCard album: 50 yuan"
"White vinyl album: 189 yuan"
The Bluetooth album was the box.
Random Entertainment had abandoned the traditional CD format, choosing a Bluetooth speaker as the carrier for this album. Besides playing the 16 songs of "infp-a" stored internally, it could also be used as a regular Bluetooth speaker, connecting to phones to play other songs.
The other two versions were a photocard album and a vinyl record, making a total of three versions.
The Bluetooth album came in five versions, each corresponding to a miniature house for one member. The house in the teasers was actually different each day.
Everyone knew that Random Entertainment had a peculiar habit of selling things with a time limit but no quantity limit. This time was no exception.
"What's wrong with you? Who sells albums for just one week? If you're tired of manning the stall, let me take over! I've been telling you to hire me!"
"Sales start at 10 AM on the 1st and end at 10 PM on the 7th..."
"Random Entertainment is always flip-flopping between trendy and outdated. I can't understand this move."
"Great, this card speculator is about to start speculating on albums!"
Tonight, they announced the album configuration along with several album-related events. Their debut date was March 5th, a Saturday, with a live performance broadcast that evening, followed by the first fan signing event on Sunday.
For the next seven weeks, there would be performances every Saturday and signing events every Sunday.
Jiang Juyou's plans for the group's operations also came to light.
Since there are no idol stages in China, they decided to create their own. Starting from Beijing, they would hold live broadcast performances at Galexy venues in various cities over the next few weeks, bringing the overseas music show promotion model to China. They planned two months of stage promotions following the album release.
After the album details were revealed, the evening teaser finally showed something different--
The scene opened in an interior, no longer a model but a real room, viewed from a computer webcam perspective.
In the dimly lit room, there were no bright light sources, only the glow from the computer and a bedside lamp. Directly opposite the computer desk was a bookshelf, with a bed next to it. The small bed had no frame, just a mattress on the floor covered with a blanket and a few stray jackets scattered on top.
Suddenly, the door opened, and someone walked in, pulling out a chair—
At this point, the sense of déjà vu from a horror movie was so strong that everyone involuntarily squinted their eyes. But in the next second, Ye Xing's face, handsome enough to provoke both humans and gods, appeared on the screen.
Ye Xing was wearing a blue trendy brand hoodie. The loose clothing expanded his figure considerably, completely erasing any trace of childish immaturity. Instead, the unique aura of a seventeen-year-old boy radiated from him.
He wore a white beanie with the artistic lettering "Timetrain" on it, and had a lollipop in his mouth, giving off an air of nonchalance. After sitting down, he put on the headphones from the computer desk, tapped on the keyboard a few times, and started playing music. That music was the intro to their main track.
Following the rhythm of the music, Ye Xing slowly began to sway, appearing completely immersed in the beat.
A message notification sounded at this moment. Ye Xing leaned in to take a look. It asked, "Want to come out and play?"
Ye Xing typed back: "Not going."
After sending this message, he smiled happily and continued bobbing his head to the music.
"Ahhhhh, family, who understands? This is truly the concept of INFP!"
"Of course, the face of the group should appear first!!!"
"Hello, husband, let's get married in three years."
A simple box had tormented everyone for five days. Just when everyone thought this would go on for another five days, with a refresh of Douyin, the other four clips appeared. When put together, the concept of the INFP personality type became crystal clear.
It told the story of an INFP self-healing at home and surfing the internet, utilizing the stereotype of INFPs loving to surf the web as a concept, and expanding to the other end of the concept—the fans.
Because the distance between them is just an internet cable.
Forever separated by a screen.
What emotions did the author express through this?
