Chapter 14: Even Better
The next day at noon, in the same familiar place, surrounded by the same familiar people, under the watchful eyes of the same familiar production crew.
This time, Lan Yezhou and Qiu Xuerui were also present. The mentors lined up in a row—handsome men and beautiful women, youthful and radiant. In contrast, the trainees standing before them couldn’t quite hide their exhaustion.
Among everyone there, Xie Xizhao was in the best shape.
He had gone to bed at 10:30 the night before. Since almost everyone had stayed in the practice room, leaving the dorm unusually quiet, his sleep quality had skyrocketed.
At this moment—
As Ji Yan put it, Xie Xizhao looked fresh and glowing, his skin so soft it seemed like it could drip water.
Ji Yan’s tone was full of envy when he said this, but Xie Xizhao didn’t take it to heart.
What he hadn’t expected, however, was that someone else also glanced at him a few times.
That person was Ai Qingyuan.
Xie Xizhao had left the chocolate yesterday purely out of a senior’s goodwill toward a hardworking junior. It wasn’t until later that he realized—right now, he was probably the only person in the entire dorm who could openly possess snacks.
That meant his little act was practically a registered gift delivery.
Xie Xizhao coughed lightly, deciding to fully embrace the philosophy of as long as I’m not embarrassed, the embarrassment belongs to someone else.
Ai Qingyuan, however, didn’t seem embarrassed at all.
He merely looked at Xie Xizhao with a strange expression, as if staring at some kind of bizarre creature, before finally withdrawing his gaze.
He hadn’t slept well the night before and had a headache.
Guan Heng, who stood beside him, also glanced at Xie Xizhao. The moment their eyes met, he flashed a friendly smile.
Since they were all from Class A, the subtle exchanges of glances were immediately interpreted by the other trainees as underlying tension and hidden currents.
No one realized the whole thing had started because of a couple of impulsively gifted chocolates.
Soon, all the equipment was set up. Dou Yu swept his gaze over the room and cleared his throat.
“Time flies, doesn’t it?” he said.
The trainees below responded with dry, obligatory laughter.
“Haha.”
“You’ve all worked hard these past few days. Teacher Li and I have seen your efforts,” Dou Yu continued. “Now, it’s time to reap the rewards. No need for unnecessary words—let’s begin according to the list, shall we?”
The group below murmured in agreement.
Dou Yu picked up a sheet of paper and read off a few names. The first batch of trainees stepped forward, their expressions tense.
—
The list had been arranged by the production team.
Of course, there was a strategy behind it. Each group consisted of five people, with a total of twenty groups. Their final broadcast order could still be adjusted during editing.
For now, the list simply determined which trainees would be tested together.
Ji Yan was placed in the first group.
The moment his name was called, his face twisted for a brief second. But he quickly adjusted his mindset, seemingly embracing an early death, early reincarnation attitude.
However…
Things actually went better than expected.
The production team wasn’t completely heartless—they provided an instrumental track with the vocals removed.
The moment the backing track started playing, Ji Yan floundered for a second, scrambling to find his footing. But in the end, he managed to keep up with the rhythm.
This development took the entire production team by surprise.
“Trainee Ji Yan has improved so quickly,” Qiu Xuerui remarked in astonishment.
“Indeed,” Li Lin agreed.
As the dance mentor, she could clearly see the progress. During the initial stage performance, Ji Yan couldn’t even be considered as dancing—he had merely learned to move his limbs and was then forced onto the stage.
Compared to the performance itself, the reactions from the trainees were even more telling.
“Oh my god, is this really Ji Yan? I almost didn’t recognize him!”
“Ji Yan, you—how dare you secretly train behind our backs?!”
“Did he take some kind of elixir, or secretly learn a martial arts technique???”
That last comment was surprisingly close to the truth. Many trainees from Class F discreetly glanced at a particular figure.
Xie Xizhao remained completely oblivious.
For once, he experienced the feeling of a proud father. As Ji Yan finished his evaluation, Xie Xizhao clapped for him enthusiastically, his face full of gratification.
Ji Yan immediately bounced over to him. “Brother Zhao, I love you to death!”
Xie Xizhao sincerely said, “You did really well.”
Much better than the guy next to him, who had danced like a monkey.
It was only then that he realized—the one who had danced like a monkey was Ni Xin.
…Uh.
That wasn’t intentional.
In the final ranking, Ji Yan was promoted from C to B, while Ni Xin dropped from B to C.
The entire room fell into silence.
—
Who was Ni Xin?
He was a trainee under Shenghong and a teammate of Ai Qingyuan. During the initial stage performance, the entire Shenghong team was overwhelmingly impressive. Although Ni Xin was not as dazzling as Ai Qingyuan and Guan Heng, he had at least left everyone with the impression that he possessed solid overall abilities.
In stark contrast to him was Ji Yan.
Most of the people present had more or less heard about the past dormitory feud between Ni Xin and Xie Xizhao.
Xie Xizhao appeared gentle and easygoing, but in reality, he had shown Ni Xin no mercy at all. Ni Xin had always liked forming cliques, and there had been no shortage of people who, in an attempt to win his favor, had considered causing trouble for Xie Xizhao. However, all such thoughts had died out because of that incident.
That being said, everyone knew that the only person Xie Xizhao had a decent relationship with was Ji Yan.
When the results came out, considering the subtle and complex relationships among these individuals, it almost seemed like…
Ai Qingyuan had lost once again.
As for why it was “again,” it was obvious—something all the trainees had agreed upon. During the initial stage performance, Ai Qingyuan had been overshadowed by Xie Xizhao.
After all, Ai Qingyuan’s excellent performance had been expected, but Xie Xizhao’s had been a genuine surprise.
Ji Yan gave Xie Xizhao a solid hug before realizing they were in front of the cameras. Feeling a little embarrassed, he pulled back. Xie Xizhao patted his shoulder as a form of encouragement, and just then, he overheard a conversation between Ai Qingyuan and Ni Xin.
In Shenghong, although Guan Heng was the oldest, the true leader and backbone of the team was actually Ai Qingyuan.
Ni Xin lowered his voice and said, “I’m sorry, Captain. I embarrassed Shenghong.”
Ai Qingyuan’s tone was indifferent. “As long as you know.”
Xie Xizhao: “…”
Ni Xin’s face turned from red to pale, and he silently stepped back. Guan Heng noticed and sighed, avoiding the cameras as he went over to offer some comfort.
At this point, the teams had loosened up quite a bit. Ji Yan simply sat down next to Xie Xizhao and, taking advantage of the moment when the camera panned away, leaned in to whisper, “Young Master Ai looks like he’s never taken a real hit from society before. He’s seriously asking for it.”
Xie Xizhao said, “Why don’t I leave that responsibility to you?”
Ji Yan: “…”
“Brother, you’re asking for it too,” he replied.
—
Just like that, they chatted while filming, and before they knew it, half the time had passed.
To be honest, the way the production team arranged the groups was actually quite fair. They mixed boring and interesting segments, and they paired stronger contestants with weaker ones for balance. It was easy to imagine that once the show aired, there would be plenty of highlights to keep the audience engaged.
But no matter how interesting, listening to the same song a dozen times could dull anyone’s senses. By the time Ai Qingyuan’s name was called, most people behind the cameras were already dozing off.
The moment Dou Yu’s voice fell, everyone’s first reaction was:
Finally.
No surprises here—this season’s first center. The best trainee among them.
However, before they could fully perk up, Dou Yu’s voice rang out again:
“The last member of this group—Xie Xizhao.”
In the dead silence that followed, Xie Xizhao paused for a moment before standing up alongside Ai Qingyuan.
…The production team actually put Ai Qingyuan and Xie Xizhao in the same group!
The second everyone realized this, they were instantly wide awake.
They exchanged glances, not entirely sure why they were so excited—but one thing was certain: this group had just become the peak of tonight’s anticipation.
—
As Ai Qingyuan walked to his designated spot, Xie Xizhao was still beside him, sipping water to soothe his throat.
Their names were listed right next to each other, and their dance platforms were adjacent. From where he stood, Ai Qingyuan could clearly see Xie Xizhao’s slender wrists and long, pale fingers, with their distinct knuckles.
He felt a wave of irritation.
Because of the show’s blatantly deliberate arrangement.
The production team had grouped him with Xie Xizhao, and he didn’t even need to think twice to know why—it was because Xie Xizhao had taken the center seat during the initial self-evaluation. Now, by placing them together for direct comparison, if Ai Qingyuan outperformed Xie Xizhao, it would only further highlight how overconfident Xie Xizhao had been.
He didn’t particularly like Xie Xizhao, thinking he was opportunistic and too eager to chase the spotlight. But that didn’t mean he wanted to step on someone else to climb higher like this.
Of course, there was also the matter of those two pieces of chocolate.
As if on cue, Xie Xizhao finished drinking and casually stepped up beside him, asking naturally, “Did the chocolate taste good?”
Ai Qingyuan: “…”
“…Sorry, I didn’t eat it,” he said stiffly.
In reality, he had. The wrapper was still lying in the trash.
Xie Xizhao simply said, “Oh, alright. You should try it later—it’s a pretty good brand.”
His tone was so genuinely sincere.
Ai Qingyuan couldn’t help but blurt out, “You’re not nervous?”
How did he still have the leisure to care about chocolate at a time like this?
Xie Xizhao blinked. “Huh?”
He truly looked confused, and in that confusion was a kind of naive innocence.
Ai Qingyuan, who had a short temper to begin with, instantly felt his blood pressure spike. He pressed his lips into a thin line, took a deep breath, and forced himself to swallow his irritation.
“…Forget it.”
Xie Xizhao silently stepped back into place.
His posture was impeccable—his back straight like a stalk of green bamboo. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, everyone could sense a certain casual ease about him.
Or rather, an effortless confidence.
Ai Qingyuan felt a sudden wave of unease rise within him, triggered by his own thoughts. But almost instantly, he dismissed it as ridiculous.
He had trained for three days—singing, dancing, refining every detail.
He was here for the first center position.
No.
Ai Qingyuan corrected himself.
He was here for every first place.
In this world, victory was everything. The competitors in this program were too weak—so weak they could barely even be called competitors. In a place like this, he absolutely, absolutely could not allow himself to perform poorly. Even second place was unacceptable.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment.
…Once this was over, maybe he should take him out for a meal.
The thought came to him begrudgingly.
Just to settle the debt of the chocolate and the production team’s meddling.
With that decision made, he finally set aside his distracting thoughts, took a deep breath, and lifted his gaze.
His opening stance, the first movement to enter the frame, the first lyric to sing, the first glance at the camera—
Every single detail was already ingrained in his mind. The moment the music started, he snapped his arm up, hitting the mark precisely. But at that very instant—
A footstep landed in perfect sync beside him.
Ai Qingyuan’s lashes trembled sharply.
In his peripheral vision, the person who had just been smiling so gently had, at some point, wiped all traces of amusement from his expression.
In its place was something crisp and piercingly sharp.
A blade unsheathed.
Xie Xizhao had flawlessly replicated his every movement—the ones Ai Qingyuan had rehearsed over and over, honed to perfection.
Not a single beat out of place.
Or perhaps…
Even better.
