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Quanzhe can’t help but find it slightly ironic that the finals for Asia Super Young are to be held in the same arena as the most recent Yuehua Family Concert, which was just a little more than half a year ago. He knows that the Galaxy Arena is everyone’s preferred venue for concerts and large events in Macau these days, given how new and well-built it is all around, but it still feels like life is mocking him somehow. And even though he’d already known that both events were going to be at the same location before either of them took place, it’s not something he likes to think about, so he had shoved it into a dark corner of his brain and lived the past 6 months pretending like he didn’t know about it until he’s being made to face it again now.
Because so much has changed since then, and Quanzhe thinks this is one of those things that’s going to feel unreal regardless of how much you convince yourself of it until it’s actually happening. The last time he and Zhengting and the other members of NEXT stood on this stage, they could almost pretend like they were still a group, like they still saw each other for work everyday, even if there were only 5 of them and each of them performed a solo and only shared the stage at the very end with all their other label mates. This time, he and Zhengting will still perform separately, but of course Zhengting’s going to be performing solo as a mentor, whereas Quanzhe’s going to be performing with his possible future groupmates as a contestant.
Zhengting’s performance is breathtaking as ever, from where Quanzhe watches it on the monitor backstage, a welcome distraction from stressing over his own performance and the rest of the night after that. Alive is a song Zhengting performs often and also one of Quanzhe’s favorite songs of his, but he can’t help the way the lyrics are making him feel more emotional than usual today, Zhengting singing about how he misses someone, regrets letting them go, and only feeling alive when he’s with them. Quanzhe tries not to think too much about it - even if he’s always thought some of the lines in the song are almost exactly how he feels towards Zhengting, he knows they won't end up like the remnants of the relationship described in there. Not today, not ever.
His team is the second to perform since their song was dubbed song B by the production crew from the moment they were presented with the two songs. Quanzhe thinks he did well - he had quite a few center parts he thought he pulled off, because despite his nervousness up until the music started playing, he felt like he was truly in his element onstage this time. He really put everything he had into the performance, wanting to leave no regrets for when he looks back on this day in the future.
Of course Zhengting is asked to comment on their stage after they’re done. He talks about how he thinks everyone has reaped the fruits of the effort they’ve put into the stage, as well as how he was able to see everyone’s metamorphosis throughout the entire show. “But I think the most important thing for today is, regardless of what the results are, it might not be a period, but a new beginning. Everyone, keep working hard, okay,” Zhengting waves, ending his commentary abruptly, and Quanzhe can’t help the inkling of unease that had come up because what did he mean by “regardless of the results” ? But there’s nothing he can do about that, and he knows Zhengting is right. He reminds himself he’s done his best today, so really, wherever that gets him is wherever he’ll accept.
They call him up to receive the Asia Super Cool award sometime later, apparently a popularity award, and he watches as Zhengting looks first to Cheng Xiao then the production staff, all confused because he doesn’t understand Cantonese, then bursting out laughing when the staff told him what the award was for. Quanzhe wishes they would hurry up past the filler stuff and go straight to announcing the final debut lineup too, but they have a 2.5 hour time slot today that they need to fill up.
After Rain’s performance, a sentimental song typical of survival show finals along with all the returning eliminated contestants, and several commercial breaks sprinkled in, it was time to announce the rankings at long last. The mentors are taking turns to announce the members of the new group, and Quanzhe doesn’t know if he’d rather Zhengting announce his or not. He doesn’t get to worry about it for long though, as the uneasiness he had suppressed earlier creeps back up his throat once again when the first three members are announced and they are not really who he - or anyone in the audience - was expecting, obvious by the sudden change in the atmosphere of the venue.
They hand Zhengting the mic to announce the next person, fifth place, and Quanzhe feels like they’re passing around his heart instead. Surely he can’t be fifth. Zhengting makes a shocked face after he opens the envelope containing the cue card, and Quanzhe prepares himself for the worst.
“Wow, it’s so long,” Zhengting grins as he looks up briefly to the stage. Their eyes don’t meet but Quanzhe thinks Zhengting would have a different reaction if it was him and tries to calm himself down. “Let me read it,” Zhengting says, and Quanzhe almost wants to smack him on the head to please just get on with it . He breathes a sigh of relief as soon as Zhengting says “this contestant has never lost any of the live performances” and thinks it’s the only time he’s thankful he didn’t win.
He’s happy Shiyu places 5th, a little less that Xinxi places 4th because he should’ve been higher , but then he’s not feeling anything anymore because Eric Tsang is announcing the candidates for the top 2 ranks and he calls Ollie first. Quanzhe glances around the stage subtly - out of everyone who’s yet to be called, the only other person who’s been consistently top 9 is Chen Liang, and while Quanzhe has nothing against him, he really hopes the other candidate is himself.
Eric calls his name and it seems like everyone else reacted before he did. Dianjia’s the first to reach him, then Lin Shiyuan is there and Ollie is bounding over too, hugging him and escorting him out of the circle that has formed around him with an arm around his shoulder, for both of them to go stand on each side of the mic like it was the first rankings announcement all over again.
When Quanzhe glances over at the mentors table Zhengting’s saying something to Cheng Xiao, but when he looks to Quanzhe and Ollie, he makes a gesture to remind them to take deep breaths and stay calm. Eric goes on to read his cue cards, a bunch of filter phrases to create suspense, and Zhengting raises both his fists in a fighting gesture.
There’s an ad break before their ranks are announced and Quanzhe has never needed anything half as much as how much he needs Eric to just please get it over with now. Zhengting’s making that calm down gesture again and Quanzhe tries really, really hard to count his breathing. But even Zhengting is visibly nervous, the smile on his face just a little more stiff than usual and the way he’s licking his lips unconsciously.
Through way too many pauses in between each phrase, Eric says he’ll announce the first place first. “The first place is… the first place is… who is it?” He drags on, and Quanzhe doesn't dare to look at the mentors table anymore. He glances around, taking in everything he can but doesn’t see anything at all, lightboards and spotlights and phone flashlights all blending into one blinding sight. “Who is it? The first place is -”
“Ollie!”
Out of the corner of his eye, Quanzhe sees Ollie drop to the floor. He takes a deep breath, puts on a smile and walks over to the younger boy, who’s looking up at him with such genuine shock and happiness it overshadows the mess of emotions inside Quanzhe at the moment. He gives Ollie a quick nod, who scrambles up from the floor and clings onto Quanzhe, just like how the monkeys they always jokingly compare him to would hang onto a tree. Quanzhe pats him on his back - Ollie is clearly so overwhelmed, and Quanzhe doesn't blame him, really, because he knows Ollie wasn’t expecting to be in the top 2 again after having dropped in ranks throughout the second half of the show. For how much Ollie overthinks, Quanzhe wouldn’t be surprised if the younger boy thought he wouldn’t end up debuting at all today after he wasn’t announced as one of the lower-middle ranks.
Quanzhe’s asked to speak first, and he walks up to the mic. One glance at the mentor’s table and he can tell Zhengting’s tearing up already, so he looks away, all around the venue, anywhere else. He hasn’t cried on this show up until now and he won’t break that streak today either, but he has a feeling he just might if he sees Zhengting trying to hold back tears.
“Please give me 5 seconds to take a look,” Quanzhe says, both to etch this moment into his memory forever and to gather his thoughts and feelings. He takes his time, definitely longer than 5 seconds - probably closer to 30, but the venue is filled with fans chanting his name and he thinks he could bask in it for a bit longer, pretend like he placed first for just a second.
Tears gather in his eyes regardless, and he blinks rapidly before he starts off with thanking his company, glad his voice comes out stable. Next, he thanks the production crew staff, who’s had to put up with them for the past 8 months.
Then, he looks back to the mentors’ table, where Zhengting’s eyes are red. “Zhengting,” Quanzhe says, and he almost wants to laugh at the way Zhengting perks up at hearing his own name then smiles, embarrassed, as if he didn’t think he’d be mentioned at all. And Quanzhe knows it’s because Zhengting actually wasn’t expecting Quanzhe to address him either - he’s always been so humble like that, always underestimating the impact he has on other people, the good he’s done for them because he thinks that’s something someone in his position should do and never once realizing he’s probably the only person who’d actually bother to do half the things he does.
“For always teaching me- helping me grow up and teaching me life lessons since I was 16, always being my mentor. I’m very honored, thank you.” Quanzhe shifts to the side a bit to give him a little bow. He didn’t- couldn’t hold Zhengting’s gaze the whole time he was thanking him, but he thinks it was probably the best for both of them, as Zhengting is trying really hard to hold back his tears now, not even bothering to put on a smile anymore. Quanzhe looks away and goes on to thanking his family, and he’s choking up despite trying his hardest not to - it’s his sister’s birthday too, and letting her see him give a speech here is the best he can do, even if he’s only second place instead of first.
He ends his speech with one of his favorite quotes from a movie, and thanks everyone with bows as he moves back from the mic to make way for Ollie. The name and logo of their group is announced after the final member is announced - Quanzhe is glad it’s Chen Liang but is sad it’s not Dianjia - and he steals a glance at Zhengting when he hears the audience murmur something that sounds suspiciously like Nine Percent, whose logo he doesn’t remember quite clearly but does seem to have a similar shape. He cringes internally and tries not to think about it too much as they move to stand on the rising stage platforms in ranking order. At least he’s still on the highest platform, even if he’s not in the center.
They end right at the 2 and a half hour mark. Offstage, security lets the mentors out first before telling fans to start leaving in an orderly fashion, and others onstage begin to walk off too. There’s no going to look for Zhengting later today - LOONG9 will have their debut interviews in a few hours and the mentors will be having their own separate one too. After that, they have the fan meeting tomorrow, their first event as a group, while Zhengting has to fly back to Beijing to prepare for his upcoming birthday concert in a week. Quanzhe doesn’t know if he’ll get to see Zhengting for his birthday, or really, when he’ll next get to see Zhengting in person at all, but he knows it’s a sacrifice they’re both willing to make. Xinxi and Shiyu are already discussing how they might balance the Boyhood comeback that was just announced a few days ago with this new group’s schedules, and Quanzhe thinks that if they can find a way for things to still work out with their old group, he and Zhengting will be fine too.