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Their third performance starts to shape up quickly. They choose Zhou Shen's Mirage as their first song fairly early on.
"I've got, like, very specific visuals in my head," Wei Wuxian tells Lan Zhan when he plays the song for him. "Mirrors, a fog machine with that dry ice fog that stays close to the ground and just swirls around all spooky and aesthetic-looking, the whole thing being backlit other than the mirrors. When he performs it, the costumes and dance moves and everything are emphasizing the tech aspect of the lyrics, but I don't think you really need that. I think a lot of this, like, sure it's talking about this emptiness from technology but a lot of what it's describing has always been part of the human condition, y'know? Like technology might make it harder to connect but this dichotomy between reality and dreams, and being lost in between them, that's always been there."
"You're very philosophical today." Lan Zhan looks amused as the song ends and he hands Wei Wuxian's phone back to him.
"Hey, that's me, I'm a philosophy guy." At Lan Zhan's raised eyebrow he shrugs. "Okay, maybe not a philosophy guy but I am extraordinarily good at overthinking things! I'll overthink anything, just try me."
"And you would want to incorporate dance into this performance?" Lan Zhan asks.
Wei Wuxian makes a drawn-out noncommittal noise. "Movement. I don't know, what's the line between movement and dance? If some of our movements happen to line up to the beat, does that automatically make it a dance? What I'm picturing doesn't quite feel like enough to call it dancing."
They're discussing options for the second song a few days later over lunch in a little cafe down the street from the apartment when a man suddenly appears at their table.
"Lan Wangji, I've been hoping to run into you," the man says. "Can I talk to you for ten minutes? I have a business proposition for you." He nods to Wei Wuxian. "It would, of course, involve Wei-laoshi as well."
Wei Wuxian pulls back a little at being called Wei-laoshi. "Who the hell are you?"
The man sputters a little, and Lan Zhan winds up answering for him. "He is Su She. He was originally a contestant in Group B, but was paired with Jin Guangshan." He does not sound like he trusts Su She.
"Yes," Su She says, and he takes a seat at their table as if telling Wei Wuxian his name were the same as inviting him to join them. Wei Wuxian is positive Lan Zhan did not mean it that way. "Unfortunately, my so-called mentor got himself kicked off the show almost immediately, and took me with him. Which, quite frankly, is insulting to me—I know other seniors have left the show mid-season before, and their junior was never kicked out with them. Every other time, the show simply found another senior musician to replace them. So you can see that an injustice has been done to me here!"
"Yeah, that sucks," Wei Wuxian says neutrally. The man hasn't really said anything offensive yet, other than generally interrupting them and sitting down uninvited, but Lan Zhan seems to be bristling at his mere presence, which makes Wei Wuxian instinctively not like the guy either. Plus, he vaguely remembers Yanli saying something about Su She, but he can't remember what... he's pretty sure it wasn't complimentary, though.
"Here is my proposal," Su She says. "Lan Wangji, I think you know that my father is the head of a very influential talent agency. He's turned quite a few people into stars, even some who've later been seniors on this very show. He has connections, and if he wants someone to get exposure, they get it, period. He refuses to represent me, because he feels like it would reek of nepotism and nobody would take me seriously because of it. But he's willing to offer you a deal in exchange for helping me."
"A deal," Lan Zhan repeats, not quite a question.
"Yes! Quite honestly, it's far more advantageous for you than me. If you're willing to leave the show and let me take your spot, my father will immediately sign you, as well as forego his fees for the next year."
"Leave the show?" Lan Zhan asks, frowning. Wei Wuxian is frowning, too.
"Yes! You see, since he can't represent me, I need this. I need the exposure, the networking opportunities, all of it. But if you sign with my father, you won't need a stupid variety show! He'll have you recording a new single within weeks, and he will make sure it gets the downloads it deserves. Guaranteed top of the charts."
Wei Wuxian wonders if Lan Zhan knows that what Su She probably means is that his father's agency will pay people to download the song en masse, artificially inflating its sales.
"How can you possibly guarantee that?" Lan Zhan asks suspiciously. So he doesn't necessarily know, but he clearly knows something is fishy here.
"He's just that good!" Su She insists. "Really, Moling Talent is one of, if not the, top agency in China in terms of launching new stars with huge sales. Then you'd probably record a full album, and from there, you want a concert tour, he can arrange that. Sold-out venues every night. You want to dabble in acting, he can get you cast in premium dramas. Lan Wangji, I am telling you, this is the opportunity of a lifetime, and all you have to do is give me a chance to work with Wei-laoshi instead of you."
"I notice Wei-laoshi gets no say in this," Wei Wuxian says drily.
Su She turns to him with wide eyes. "Oh, I don't mean to exclude you, of course! But obviously, the two of you were paired basically at random anyhow, and I don't think anyone would argue with the fact that stylistically I'm a better match. Lan Wangji and I are both up-and-coming artists in need of mentorship, but if he takes my father's deal, he'll have all the guidance he needs! Wouldn't you rather focus your energies on someone truly in need of your expertise?"
"Have the producers agreed to this?" Lan Zhan asks. It's clear to Wei Wuxian that he is offended, possibly outraged, but Su She entirely misinterprets the question.
He gives Lan Zhan a pleased smile, clearly believing that Lan Zhan is only asking because he is interested. "Not yet, but why would they say no? If you bow out, they'll need someone to replace you, and they already asked me to be on the show once. It's an obvious solution! And my father, of course, has many friends at the network. If we both want this to happen, it will happen, don't worry about that."
Wei Wuxian suddenly remembers what his sister said about Su She, but before he can so much as open his mouth, Lan Zhan beats him to it.
"Even if what you describe were my career goal," he says, voice low and dangerous, "which it is not, and even if I had any desire to enter into a deal that benefits you in any way, which I do not, unlike you, I honor my commitments. I have committed to participating in this show and working in partnership with Wei Ying until the competition is completed or the audience decides we are finished. I would not simply walk away from that commitment, whatever you offered me. Perhaps if you understood such things, you would not have been kicked out of Cloud Recesses."
Su She huffed. "Don't be so stubborn! You Lans, always so concerned with looking upright and perfect—nobody cares, Lan Wangji! Nobody is looking at you right now going 'Wow, he's so principled.'" Wei Wuxian kinda is, actually. "I am offering you the opportunity of a lifetime, literally, and if you say yes, nobody will know but the three of us and a few producers. Nobody will be saying 'oh, that Lan Wangji, he doesn't honor his commitments'—they'll be saying wow, have you heard the new single from Lan Wangji? What a banger!"
"Why would I care whether random members of the public believe that I'm principled, or honor my commitments?" Lan Zhan's outrage has given way to earnest confusion. He is the most precious thing in the world, and Wei Wuxian wants to hide him away from people like Su She's father forever. Not in an infantilizing way, he's sure Lan Zhan can deal with assholes himself, but just because people like that don't deserve to interact with him.
Su She seems stumped by this. "Well if you don't care what they think, then there's no reason not to say yes!" Wei Wuxian almost bursts out laughing as Lan Zhan closes his eyes, perhaps praying for patience, or holding himself back from banging his head on the table.
"Actually, there is," he finally breaks in, wanting to get rid of this guy as quickly as possible. "There's no way the producers would let you back on the show."
"That's ridiculous," Su She says. "Why would you say that?"
"Because the reason you got kicked off along with Jin Guangshan is that you were defending him online."
Su She has the audacity to look offended. "Only at first! Obviously, once it was clear that the girls had irrefutable evidence of his misdeeds, I took all those posts down. I wouldn't defend a real rapist. But I hate how so many people—including producers—just automatically assume that a guy is guilty of whatever he's accused of these days. Twenty years ago, they wouldn't have kicked him off until he'd been properly charged or even convicted, but now everyone wants to jump all over a guy if one random girl makes some shit up. You can't blame me for saying a few things in his defense before we knew for sure—he'd been a good mentor to me so far, I didn't want to lose that!"
"Well, you made yourself as much of a liability as him," Wei Wuxian explains. "When you could have just kept your damn mouth shut—and bonus, you wouldn't have defended a rapist. You might have deleted the posts, but you know someone out there has screenshots. The last thing they're going to do is take you back, especially if it would involve Lan Zhan signing to your father's company right after, which would make it look like the show was somehow involved in your talent laundering scheme."
"Fine," Su She hisses, and stands up in a huff. "Just remember, Lan Wangji, you could have signed with Moling, but you have missed your chance. There won't be another one." And he storms off.
"Ugghhhhhhhh," Wei Wuxian groans. "What a dick." Lan Zhan hums in agreement, and Wei Wuxian pokes him with a toe. "What was that part about him getting kicked out of Cloud Recesses? I thought Nie Huaisang was the only person on the show you'd met before?"
"Su She was no longer on the show when I said that," Lan Zhan says. "I thought he was irrelevant, and I'd certainly hoped he would stay that way. He was a year below me. It is a long story, but the short version is that he was continually being cast in things, and then if he thought his role was too small, dropping out of the production partway through as soon as he found something to audition for that he believed was better. He put more than one director in a lurch having to recast partway through rehearsals. Sometimes it was only for a background role, but some of the roles he deemed beneath him were actually fairly substantial, and difficult to recast on short notice. There were other issues, but that was the largest."
"Yikes," Wei Wuxian says, swirling his noodles absently in his bowl. "Although..." He watches Lan Zhan carefully. He's not testing Lan Zhan, not really, but he is very curious about how he'll react. "I gotta admit, he was offering you kind of a sweet deal, in terms of money, at least. Moling is one of the top agencies out there, even if those guaranteed downloads he was promising probably would've been bought and paid for. But if you don't mind your agency doing that, or bribing the occasional government official, or whatever else they do, they would have made sure you made a ton of money."
"Are you saying you think I should have taken the deal?" Lan Zhan asks sharply.
Wei Wuxian snorts, grinning widely. Lan Zhan is legitimately not the slightest bit interested and it's great. "Fuck no. Moling will make you a shitload of money in the short term, but everyone knows the kind of shit they pull. Nobody in the industry would respect you. Sure, they have a few big names who've been with them forever who are generally respected, but only a few. Most of their artists are flashes in the pan. They make a ton of cash, but nobody wants to work with them unless Moling bribes them to, so they don't have any staying power. Some of them are nice people, they just didn't realize what they were signing up for, and those ones usually sign with someone more reputable as soon as their contract is up. But there are plenty who don't care what Moling does as long as it rakes in the dough—if they make enough in a few years, it doesn't really matter to them that their career is gonna dry up prematurely. They were never in it for respect, or for the art, or even really because they wanted a career. Just money. If you'd been seriously considering it, there's no way I would've let you do it unless you fully understood what you were getting yourself into."
But of course he hadn't seriously considered it for one moment, because Lan Zhan is honorable AND has no idea why he would care whether anyone knows he's honorable. He just IS that way.
He's super hot, and insanely talented, AND righteous without being too self-righteous about it. Ugh.
Wei Wuxian is definitely not allowed to have a crush on him, and it is totally not too late to close that barn door.
They settle on 云与海(Cloud and Sea) as their second song.
Mirage is going to be a pretty involved production, from the set to the lighting to the choreography. The set guys are rigging up some pretty cool mirrors that can turn from reflective to transparent thanks to some kind of lighting tricks inside the pane of glass. He and Lan Zhan will both be wandering through a backlit maze of mirrors and fog, and sometimes they'll run into a "mirror" that switches from showing their reflection to instead showing a backup dancer who's standing behind it.
Once Lan Zhan understood what Wei Wuxian had in mind for the performance, he actually wound up taking the lead on the choreography—as they wander they're sometimes tripping or staggering, sometimes dashing forward only to be blocked by something, sometimes being jerked in different directions. It's all very carefully planned, very stylized, their movements very controlled. The influence from classical choreography is clear, and Wei Wuxian loves that there's something of both of them in the performance. Each one of them wanders like this on his own, never coming across each other, until the very end when they come face to face in one of the "mirrors" and the question is which of them is real and which is the reflection. It's high-concept and cerebral and labor-intensive.
So they are stripping 云与海 down to basics, both because it will be a good counterpoint to show their range and just because they don't have time to put together two performances like Mirage.
It's another love song, but only one of the verses is directed at the love interest; the rest could easily be a third party telling their story. So they're playing it that way, with Lan Zhan as the heartbroken lover and Wei Wuxian the storyteller. They'll both be sitting on stools the whole time, with simple lighting, not even looking at each other.
Mirage is going to kick ass, and 云与海 won't be anything exciting but will be a simple, heart-wrenching performance.
Chapter 9 End Notes:
Since I didn't get to include recaps of the group B episodes I'll put this info here: JGS & SS were kicked out a couple days after episode 3 aired, which due to the delay between filming and airing and the fact that they only get a couple days to prep their first performance means they'd already filmed episode 4 and the producers had to awkwardly edit them out of the final cut of the episode. Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao will then replace them for episode 6.
Music in this chapter:
Mirage by Zhou Shen, who was in S1 of Our Song
云与海 (Yún yǔ hǎi, Cloud and Sea) by YueYue, Hu Xia's audition song in S3 - no video just of his audition, but he went on to perform it on other shows and release it as a single. (I like his version a lot better and theirs would resemble it more)