Chapter 65: Dimensionality Reduction Strike

In the rehearsal room for Meteor Garden, Ji Yu sat in a chair with his legs crossed, reading his script.

The rest of the F3 members were currently attending their posture and body-language class.

Ji Yu glanced up and couldn't help curling his lips in a silent sneer. Their acting was truly abyssal.

Aside from their looks, they were thoroughly lacking in every other aspect.

Their local accented speech sounded exceptionally strange, and the pronunciation of many characters was completely non-standard.

Their physical carriage and posture were also an absolute mess.

Vic’s shoulders were slumped, completely devoid of any refined temperament.

Jerry was tall with a decent physique, but he was far too stiff.

Vanness was alright; his carriage and temperament were relatively prominent, but the center-parted long hair did not suit him well, and overall, he looked just so-so.

Ji Yu couldn't help sighing. None of these guys possessed the air of wealthy scions from prominent families.

They didn't even look as much like elite chaebol heirs as the actors in short-form CEO web dramas from decades into the future.

Ah, the dividends and filters of an era.

After a few brief, casual glances, Ji Yu lost interest and turned his attention back to studying the script.

The character of Hua Ze Lei was somewhat of a warm sunshine boy, but he also carried that distinct aura of a lonely patient.

Of course, that wasn't the most crucial part. What bothered Ji Yu the most was discovering that no matter what role he played, his character always seemed to have his woman stolen away by someone else!

Hua Ze Lei liked Dao Ming Si's Tengtang Jing, followed her to Paris out of love, and then Tengtang Jing ended up marrying a foreigner.

Later on, he fell for Shan Cai, but Shan Cai ultimately ended up with Dao Ming Si.

Ji Yu couldn't help scratching his head in bewilderment.

From Tin-chung in Detective Corner and An Xiushi in The Treasured Love Classic to Yan Shisan in The Third Master's Sword, and now adding Hua Ze Lei to the mix.

Tch, why couldn't he ever have a proper, flawless romance without regrets?

The second male lead truly got no respect.

Jerry and the others watched Ji Yu sitting there looking so leisurely, a flash of envy crossing their eyes.

So jealous!

He didn't even have to train!

Barbie and Vic sat together, whispering complaints about how exhausting the training was, and watching Ji Yu's relaxed appearance left them feeling rather unbalanced.

"What gives him the right to skip training?"

"Exactly. If he's not going to train, he should just get out instead of sitting there and being an eyesore!"

"Who knows if he's actually any good, anyway."

"Maybe he's just trying to get on our good sides. A bumpkin from the mainland; he must be panicking inside."

Noticing them whispering, the posture instructor scolded them briefly before announcing a short break.

All of them collapsed onto the floor, utterly exhausted.

The posture class was by far the most tiring; walking and standing postures had to be meticulously practiced, just like military boot camp.

With his flowing long hair, Vanness couldn't help turning his head to tell Ji Yu, "I'm so envious of you. I'm practically dying of exhaustion."

Ji Yu gave him a faint, indifferent smile.

He simply sat there casually, his slender fingers tapping lightly against the back of the chair.

Sunlight slanted through the window, casting a warm glow across his profile and making him look like an elegant, noble young master.

Before Vanness could even feel jealous, Barbie by his side muttered, "Trying to look cool~ Who is he putting on a show for?"

Vic also chimed in, "Why do I suddenly feel like I look like someone straight out of the countryside?"

Barbie immediately turned to Ji Yu with a curious glint in her eye and asked, "Ji Yu, where on the mainland are you from? The countryside?"

Ji Yu didn't mind the deep-seated disdain hidden in her eyes. He merely glanced at the tattoo on her hand and let the corners of his mouth turn down slightly—a typical delinquent girl trying to act sophisticated beyond her station.

He wondered what Angie Chai had been thinking when she chose Barbie.

How could a character like Shan Cai possibly have tattoos?

Barbie had quite a few tattoos on her body, including one on the back of her neck that was visible whenever she tied her hair up.

If it weren't for her being styled like a student girl right now, she was practically indistinguishable from a delinquent punk.

Unsettled by Ji Yu's gaze, Barbie couldn't help snapping, "I asked you a question. Where are your manners?"

Ji Yu replied calmly, "Shanghai."

Barbie was slightly taken aback, not expecting him to be from Shanghai.

So he wasn't from the countryside after all. No wonder his aura and temperament seemed so refined.

A flurry of thoughts went through Barbie's mind, and the look she gave Ji Yu softened just a fraction.

"Oh, Shanghai. No wonder."

She muttered to herself, and the others couldn't help nodding in agreement.

They seemed able to accept the fact that Ji Yu possessed such an extraordinary temperament.

Ah, a young master hailing from the bustling metropolis of the old foreign concessions.

In his heart, Ji Yu couldn't help letting out a silent scoff. Those bustling foreign concessions of the past weren't nearly as glamorous as people romanticized.

It carried a certain sorrowful air, much like singing the decadent songs of the southern dynasty across a divided river.

In some ways, it felt rather similar to Taiwan today.

Seeing them chatting happily, the posture instructor couldn't help asking Ji Yu, "Did you study at a professional academy back on the mainland?"

"No, I rely entirely on natural talent."

The instructor mentally rolled her eyes at the absurdity. Why were kids these days so narcissistic? Just like the rest of this bunch, they were all problem youths!

Watching Ji Yu's pretentious posture, she couldn't help challenging, "Come on, walk a few steps!"

Walk a few steps if you think you're fine!

Let's see just how much natural talent you really have.

"Right, right, come on! Let's do a runway walk together!"

Barbie, loving a good spectacle and eager to watch the show, ran over and grabbed his arm, pulling him out to walk the runway.

Whether she purely wanted to make a fool of him remained to be seen.

The room was filled with young people, all crowding around and hooting playfully.

Ji Yu also felt like teaching them a lesson.

Soon, several of them stood in a row, puffing out their chests and striking what they believed to be their coolest poses.

Jerry struck a wild, arrogant, and cool pose with his hands in his pockets; Vanness posed with one hand in his pocket while tossing his center-parted long hair; Vic stood slumped and slouchy, looking somewhat anemic.

Ji Yu simply reined in his facial expressions, letting himself adopt an even colder, more aloof demeanor.

When expressionless, his facial features remained static, looking handsome from literally any angle.

Too many facial expressions would only look good from specific, calculated angles.

Ji Yu's gaze carried a sense of icy detachment, with a trace of impatience lingering between his brows, as if he were merely humoring a group of children at play.

Observing the smiling or exaggeratedly tough expressions on the other guys' faces, and then looking at the utterly expressionless Ji Yu, the instructor truly felt the stark contrast.

In particular, Ji Yu's physical carriage was exceptionally natural and relaxed, with an immaculate proportion between his legs, waist, hips, shoulders, and neck.

While he was sitting down, it hadn't been quite as obvious, but now standing in comparison with the others, he instantly stood out like a crane among chickens.

The contrast was especially glaring when comparing Vic—an absolute amateur—directly against Ji Yu.

Vic practically had "sleep-deprived and anemic" written across his forehead.

The wealthy young master and his lackeys...

A bizarre thought flashed through the instructor's mind.

Barbie also observed Ji Yu through the mirror, a flash of astonishment in her eyes.

Standing together was the only way to truly realize how massive the gap was.

All her earlier disdain for Ji Yu vanished, and she couldn't help turning her head to steal covert glances at him.

Ji Yu's profile was exceptionally striking, with a well-defined, rugged jawline and a high, proud, thoroughly charismatic nose bridge.

He was genuinely, breathtakingly handsome.

Ji Yu was filled with quiet confidence; how hard could it be for a seasoned cheat-code user to crush a bunch of amateurs?

Wasn't F4 just a group of handsome guys? He was simply far more handsome!

At that moment, music began to play in the rehearsal room, and the group started walking forward in long strides.

Jerry and the others walked with a slumping, swaggering gait, whereas Ji Yu strolled forward with a nonchalant, leisurely pace, elegant to the absolute extreme!

After all, that was precisely the established persona of Hua Ze Lei.

He needed to form a sharp contrast with Dao Ming Si—one blazing and hot-tempered, the other gentle and soft-spoken.

In the television series, Hua Ze Lei was the second male lead, yet his screen time was even less than that of Meizuo and Ximen.

Meizuo and Ximen always trailed behind Dao Ming Si, serving as background scenery most of the time, though their frequency of appearance was indeed high.

Hua Ze Lei had a lower appearance frequency, but his scenes carried much more weight.

Therefore, Ji Yu had to consider how to shape the character into something far more brilliant within the confines of limited screen time!

Character traits simply had to be exceptionally distinct.

Just then, outside the rehearsal room, Angie Chai and director Cai Yuexun walked past together.

Hearing the music from inside and assuming a class was in session, they stopped by the door to watch without stepping inside.

And right then, they witnessed Ji Yu's dimensional-reduction strike of absolute presence.

With the group standing together, anyone's gaze would inevitably be drawn to Ji Yu first, completely bypassing the others beside him.

Even though Ji Yu was positioned on the very edge, it somehow felt as though he were standing dead center!

If not for Jerry's formidable height, he would have been entirely overlooked!