The short-haired woman wore a white suit and white high heels, exuding a strong androgynous aura, appearing much more commanding than the long-haired one.
Thinking Xiang Yang was playing some trick, she gave a cold smile, deliberately posing a challenge.
"Only men who have nothing and can't offer anything say they are obedient, because their only capital left is obedience."
She didn't fancy him?
Xiang Yang, afraid of losing this opportunity, quickly explained to his sister.
"No, my capital isn't just obedience."
"Oh, then tell me, what else do you have?"
"Obedient and tenacious."
This time, the short-haired sister couldn't help but laugh.
"You know quite a lot, do you mean what I think you mean?"
The people filling the room burst into laughter again.
Xiang Yang looked at her, offering no comment.
Of course, he didn't mean that, but since they insisted on understanding it that way, let them.
"Tenacious. I want to see how tenacious you are. How about this, accept a challenge. So many brothers and sisters are watching. If everyone applauds you, it means you're truly capable. How about it?"
Xiang Yang's palms were sweating, unsure of what he was supposed to do.
But with the opportunity presented, why would he easily back down?
"Thank you, sister, for giving me this chance."
The short-haired woman called a butler-like person over and whispered a few words to him.
Soon, a large iron bucket was brought to the center of the club.
How big was the bucket?
Xiang Yang was one meter eighty-four, and the bucket was tall enough to reach his chest.
As the bucket was placed down, three to five burly men noisily began dumping ice cubes into it.
"Get in and stand. You are not allowed to come out until I say so. If you can endure it to a point I deem tenacious, then you are truly tenacious."
It was the first month of the lunar calendar.
The saying goes that early spring is chilly. Although the room was heated, this was still too damaging to the body.
Everyone instantly got goosebumps.
The agent was also startled: This kid, why did he have to say this? What if this woman was ruthless and made him stand for an hour or two? Wouldn't that ruin him?
"Sister Hua, the child is young and doesn't know any better. I've failed to discipline him..."
"What? Retreating before we even begin? Boys these days are useless, all talk and no action."
As soon as Sister Hua finished speaking, Xiang Yang nimbly stripped off his clothes in front of everyone.
Then, he picked up a stool, moved it to the ice bucket, stepped on it, and skillfully climbed in.
A gasp erupted from the crowd.
Some men felt empathy for him, while some women secretly admired his physique and courage.
The two sisters smiled at the agent and said nothing more, instructing someone to add water to the bucket.
The band began to play, and the night's revelry officially commenced.
Xiang Yang stood in the ice bucket while others outside mingled, toasting and drinking.
Some, flushed with wine, even came out to perform rumba, Latin, and street dances.
It was like a small variety show; others were enjoying themselves, but it had nothing to do with him.
Time ticked by, and he felt his legs go numb, his entire body losing sensation. The two sisters still hadn't glanced his way.
Only the agent was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, forcing a smile while secretly looking at him from time to time.
His eyes were filled with heartache and helplessness.
Finally, after another boy finished singing a song, Sister Hua, bored, interrupted everyone.
"Enough, no need to sing anymore. I've found that young people nowadays only know how to sing meaningless fast songs; they have no substance. Listening to one or two is fine, but listening to too many is truly tiresome."
"That's all for tonight, everyone can go home."
Everyone had come with the mindset of an interview, and now they were all sent back, naturally understanding the implication.
They dared not say more and politely took their leave.
In the blink of an eye, only Xiang Yang, his agent, and the two sisters remained in the vast room.
The two sisters gracefully walked to the front of the ice bucket, tiptoed, and peeked inside.
The ice cubes, soaked in water, had already melted by half.
Xiang Yang shivered uncontrollably, his lips turning purple, yet he stood with a determined gaze.
"Alright, let someone get him out. Who tests people like this? If you want to test endurance, test endurance, why keep them freezing all the time?"
"If he stands any longer, he'll freeze. Even if you like him a lot, what's the use if he can't function?"
The two sisters exchanged a smile, and Sister Hua asked Xiang Yang.
"Can you get out yourself? Come out."
The agent quickly ran over, already holding a blanket prepared in advance.
Xiang Yang's legs were stiff. He bent down and rubbed his legs in the bucket several times before awkwardly climbing out.
The agent wrapped him up, affectionately rubbing his legs.
"The child is only twenty. He grew up poor and never learned singing or dancing. He has no other skills besides being able to endure hardship."
"Don't think him dull, Sister Hua. This is the greatest sincerity he can offer."
"After this incident, he'll likely become a joke in the industry. Sister, you wouldn't want to see him truly ridiculed, would you?"
Everyone understood the rules of this circle.
To climb up, to climb up using any means, is human nature.
As long as you can climb, no matter what methods you use, it becomes a beautiful story in the circle, earning respect, even becoming a model for juniors to imitate.
But if you put in the effort and heart, and fail to climb, you become everyone's laughingstock.
How could Sister Hua not understand this?
"Alright, no need to play the victim. Since I didn't let the two of you leave, there's a reason I kept you here."
"Have someone take him to a room to recover first, and call Dr. Zhang to take a look."
The doctor said some frightening things and then left after giving some precautions.
To be honest, Sister Hua felt she had gone a bit too far today.
She had almost ruined the person.
Unprecedentedly, for the first time, she kept someone overnight.
"You can go back now. I'll take care of him tonight."
The agent saw this and thought, this is incredible.
He had already caused a stir among the competitors right from the start, and now he was being personally attended to by Sister Hua.
Xiang Yang's capabilities were truly outstanding; he was about to become famous overnight!
She was happily about to leave, but Xiang Yang, weak as he was, wanted to go with her.
"No, I can't stay out overnight. I'll leave with you."
"You child, look at yourself, how can you go back with me? Besides, it's so late."
Xiang Yang insisted, "No, it's precisely because it's so late that I need to go back."
Sister Hua personally offered to keep him, and he was being so ungrateful!
The agent was instantly exasperated by his foolishness and cursed.
"What are you doing? What is it, do you have a girlfriend? You can't go home late without explaining?"
"It's your fortune that Sister Hua is personally taking care of you, don't be ungrateful!"
When signing the contract, Xiang Yang had told her he didn't have a girlfriend, which was why she felt comfortable scolding him.
However, Xiang Yang's actions surprised everyone.