5 SK Boy Band Seven-Member Group

What is Chu Yiming, the biological son of Xie Yunze who has been on the minds of several people, doing right now?

The boy band SK had just finished shooting an advertisement for a bread brand today. After a whole day of still photography, filming a promotional video, and handling various other materials, they were completely exhausted. By the time their nanny van returned to their seven-member dormitory, everyone was sprawled out on the sofas, utterly drained.

They had barely been lying there for a moment when the sound of the door opening echoed through the room. Their manager, Lei Fu, walked in carrying two large bags of meal boxes.

"Time to eat, time to eat! Get up, everyone. Didn't you all say you were starving on the way back?"

Lei Fu, thirty-six years old, was a fairly well-known manager in the industry. Since he started managing the seven members of SK, he had been constantly dealing with headaches; after all, the average age of the group was only eighteen. They were like children, which left Lei Fu functioning more like a nanny than a manager.

At his call, the group sprawled across the sofas struggled to rise, with Jin Fei jumping up three feet high.

"Finally, food! I’m going to starve to death!"

Jin Fei, who had turned eighteen only a month ago, impatiently reached for the meals in the manager's hands. The others gathered around as well, pulling the items out of the large plastic bags. Upon opening them, their faces instantly turned ash-gray.

"Sometimes I really feel like I didn't join the entertainment industry to be a star, but to graze like livestock. Ever since we debuted, I haven't had a proper meal. It's just grass all day, and today, it’s grass again..." Tang Fengming sighed, looking utterly hopeless as he collapsed back onto the sofa.

Beside him, Jin Fei had already picked up a box of diet meals and started eating, muttering, "At least there’s beef and chicken. Cherish it; it would be truly miserable if we got fat."

Although the others didn't care for the diet meals, these were prepared by the company specifically for their individual physical needs. They each picked up the container labeled with their name and began to eat. Chu Yiming opened his box to find the usual boiled beef salad, a routine he had already grown accustomed to.

Seeing the "little cubs" eating and no longer complaining, Lei Fu finally spoke with satisfaction.

"Everyone performed very well during today's poster and promotional material shoot. The brand was very satisfied. If things continue to go well, we might even have further collaborations. Also, the flight tickets for tomorrow for Xiao Zhe, Chu Yiming, Jin Fei, and Bai Yucheng have already been booked. Get a good rest tonight; you'll land in Pearl City tomorrow afternoon and start participating in the show 'Challenge the Superstar' sharp on the morning of the day after. Are you prepared?"

"Challenge the Superstar" was the hottest live-stream variety show of the year. Not only did it have a massive audience during the live broadcasts, but the edited clips also broke 50 million views at lightning speed daily. It was considered an excellent program.

Most importantly, the show was produced by a director from CCTV. Its main goal was to focus on the lives of ordinary people, stripping celebrities of their halos and forcing them to take on different social roles. If one performed well on the show, they might catch the eye of a high-level director.

"Yes, we've been ready for a long time," Bai Yucheng replied. Xiao Zhe, who was not much of a talker, was frowning while eating his salad.

"Brother Lei, so this time the challenge is to go to a construction site to move bricks—basically manual labor? We'll definitely work hard!"

Chu Yiming and the others had already received the "script" from the show's production team and knew they would be moving bricks at a construction site. For these young men, it wasn't much of a burden.

Jin Fei, who was wolfing down his food, managed to squeeze in a comment: "Then Brother Lei, since we're going to be moving bricks, we can at least eat the meal boxes provided by the production team, right? Otherwise, if I move bricks all day and still have to eat grass, I’m really going to die..."

His complaint made the other boys, who were also eating "grass," laugh. After all, suffering while eating grass alone is hard to accept, but when everyone does it together, you eventually get used to it.

Lei Fu laughed at Jin Fei's antics.

"Don't worry about that. For this season of 'Challenge the Superstar,' your identities will be those of construction workers. The production team will find a site for you. Wages for bricklayers are paid daily, and the production team will only follow you around to film; they won't give you a single cent. Whether you get to eat well depends on how hard you work during the day. Once you get your wages, you can eat whatever you want—I won't interfere."

Though he said this, Lei Fu knew that bricklaying wages wouldn't amount to much anyway; no matter how much they ate, they wouldn't get fat after a day of labor.

"Yay! Then I'll definitely work hard! I'll take my wages and go eat something delicious—fried chicken, drumsticks, milk tea, I want it all!"

Jin Fei was overjoyed at the prospect of choosing his own food. Chu Yiming couldn't help but laugh; compared to Jin Fei’s lively personality, Chu Yiming was as gentle as his appearance suggested. Only on stage did Chu Yiming reveal a wilder side.

"Alright, I just wanted to give you a heads-up. This variety show will be live-streamed for a week. I might not be able to accompany you for the first two days, as only Xiao Zheng will be with you, so you four need to take care of each other, understand? The show is constantly live-streaming, so perform well. Although moving bricks is tiring, it’s a good thing if you perform well and get noticed by a great director."

There were seven members in SK, and the other three had to participate in another variety show that featured too many big stars. Lei Fu needed to accompany those three the entire time, which was why he told the four headed to the construction site to perform well. He thought for a moment, then looked at Chu Yiming.

"Yiming, among the four of you, I trust you the most. Once you reach the production team, if anything happens, contact me immediately. Also, I’ve consulted with the production team; this variety show will take place at a construction site in the suburbs of Pearl City. It won't be dangerous. You can wear gloves while moving bricks. You guys make a living with your faces, so you must protect yourselves and not get injured, understand?"

The more Lei Fu spoke, the more worried he became. If this weren't a CCTV show, he really wouldn't want these newly-adult children to go to a construction site to move bricks. Those beautiful young faces would look so pitiful moving bricks at a construction site...

"Don't worry, Brother Lei, we will all protect ourselves well. If anything happens, I will notify you immediately."

Chu Yiming gave his assurance. He was a natural at looking after children; after all, his parents had given him a pair of mischievous younger twin siblings. He treated the other members of the group just like younger brothers and sisters, earning him the nickname "Male Mom" among the fans. Whenever there was friction between members, Chu Yiming only had to intervene, and they would reconcile immediately—it was like a magic spell.

When SK debuted, Chu Yiming had placed third, yet he was chosen as the group leader, which was a testament to his capabilities.

Lei Fu looked at the composed Chu Yiming and finally felt at ease. However, he would be joining them in Pearl City in three days, so leaving them to fend for themselves for two days should be fine, right?

But Lei Fu soon didn't have time to dwell on that, as a call came from the company, and he had to go in.

"I have to go to the company. Is anyone coming?"

As a song-and-dance group, monthly training was essential. The company had professional recording studios and dance rooms, and these kids were diligent enough that they didn't need Lei Fu to urge them.

"Me! I haven't finished the track I was writing the last two days; I need to go to the studio!" Tang Fengming raised his hand and immediately wolfed down the rest of the "grass" in his box.

"I'll go too! I want to practice singing and give some content to the fans." Jin Fei raised his hand as well. Although tired, as soon as singing was mentioned, his energy surged.

Chu Yiming also set down his meal. "I want to go to the dance room and practice for another two hours."

In the end, the seven members of SK, exhausted after a busy day, somehow felt the competitive spirit flare up. They followed Lei Fu to the company to train. Being in a boy band wasn't as easy as one might think; producing songs and performances required thousands of hours of practice. By the time they finished, it was already eleven o'clock. The company arranged a car to take them back to the dormitory. Early the next morning, Lei Fu left with the other three, while the assistant, Xiao Zheng, stayed at the dorm to help the remaining four pack their luggage, preparing to fly to Pearl City at noon.

***

As Chu Yiming boarded the plane to Pearl City, over at the construction site, the foreman had already received notice from the "Challenge the Superstar" team. The crew had begun installing cameras all over the site, and the bustle of workers and staff left some of the laborers quite confused.

It wasn't just the construction site; the factory buildings on the premises also needed cameras. Since it was an experience of a worker's life, they couldn't move bricks by day and stay in a hotel by night. Therefore, the production team had coordinated with the site and reserved a factory building for the celebrities to stay in. Coincidentally, this building was right next to the one where Xie Yunze and Kong Miao lived.

After all, not everyone was comfortable with having cameras installed in their living quarters. Li Dongfeng, Shi Hongju, and the others stood under a tree outside the factory building, waiting for the crew to finish the installation.

They already knew that among the celebrities arriving tomorrow was Xie Yunze’s biological son, and they were incredibly curious.

"Do you think this is Little Xie’s son? He’s quite handsome."

Shi Hongju pulled up a photo of a young star his daughter liked. He had eaten Xie Yunze’s food yesterday and specifically did some "homework" with his daughter, learning that the four young men participating in "Challenge the Superstar"