Chapter 4: Initial Stage Evaluation (4)
It was now the initial evaluation class phase. Before the trainees stepped on stage, they didn’t wear earpieces or hold microphones. The audience couldn’t hear their voices, leading to a flurry of speculation.
Given the intense and tense atmosphere between the three, the audience was more inclined to believe that there was some conflict between the trainees.
[Did they have a situation where their songs or dances clashed? Are they fighting over the rights to a song or dance?]
[It’s very possible. The production team is stirring things up. Each song and dance can only appear once during the initial stage rating, so the later trainees have no advantage. If by coincidence, a previous trainee sings or dances the same piece the later ones were planning to perform, the later ones would have to change.]
[Stir things up? On the contrary, I think it’s a great idea! It forces them to become stronger. After all, only the strong can handle any unexpected situation, right?]
However…
The true situation in the trainees’ seating area was:
Lu Qian, with a curious and eager expression: “Hurry, tell me! Tell me!”
Jiang Yuheng, also excited: “Tell me!”
People in the front row turned around, all curious, watching them.
So many wanted to hear, that Xiang Yueting felt just a little bit like showing off how Shen Xiu had comforted and counseled him in the bathroom. He opened his mouth: “Shen Xiu, in the bathroom…”
Xiang Yueting was about to share the embarrassing moment of singing in a bathroom stall, a scene too humiliating to imagine. Shen Xiu immediately refused to imagine it and blurted out, “Nothing happened!”
After speaking, Shen Xiu nervously blinked, holding his breath, anxiously looking at Xiang Yueting.
Please, please, don’t let a third person find out about his embarrassing moment!
Xiang Yueting originally wanted to tell everyone about how Shen Xiu had comforted and healed him in the bathroom, but was suddenly interrupted by Shen Xiu.
When he caught Shen Xiu’s gaze, Xiang Yueting’s eyes lit up.
He got it!
Shen Xiu meant that this was a small secret between the two of them, and there was no need to tell anyone else. It had to be that way!
It made sense.
Xiang Yueting thought to himself that while this matter might be very important to him, for someone as strong as Shen Xiu—someone who naturally shines and has such a dazzling life—he didn’t need such trivial things to add to his glory.
Xiang Yueting looked at Shen Xiu seriously and said, “Okay, I understand. I won’t say anything.”
Shen Xiu: Phew… That scared him!
Thankfully, the good person that he was really did understand and didn’t speak, saving his image, which was hanging by a thread.
Recalling how good-hearted Xiang Yueting had introduced himself earlier, Shen Xiu flashed a perfect smile, revealing eight teeth: “I know you. Hello, I’m Shen Xiu.”
This… should wrap up the conversation, right?
Xiang Yueting smiled. Of course, he knew that Shen Xiu knew his name—after all, that’s how the bathroom comfort had happened—but that didn’t stop him from grinning like a blooming flower, feeling content inside.
Xiang Yueting thought: “Mm-hmm!”
Shen Xiu: “…Mm.”
As he looked at Xiang Yueting’s smile, Shen Xiu was filled with confusion.
Great, Shen Xiu thought. He already felt out of place because he didn’t understand singing, dancing, various trendy brands, and the gossip surrounding the trainees in the group. Now… he felt even more out of place because he couldn’t understand what was going on in their minds.
Shen Xiu staggered back to his seat, eyes fixed on the stage, no longer daring to make eye contact with anyone, fearing another embarrassing situation like earlier.
Audience seats:
“Did they make up?”
“Probably. But I have to say, the way the cool guy frowns and looks serious is really intimidating.”
“Pfft, always calling him ‘cool guy.’ What’s the use of just having a face? If you’re truly cool, you should have the skill to back it up. An idol without talent is not cool at all!”
—
Shen Xiu sat in his seat, attentively listening to the songs and dances of the trainees who went on stage. According to the rules of the program, no trainee was allowed to sing or dance to the same song or dance that had already been performed.
Shen Xiu was worried that his only skill—the radio calisthenics and that unknown but pleasant song—might be skipped or already performed.
Fortunately, until the host, He Ting, called him up, neither his radio calisthenics nor his unknown song had been performed by anyone else.
“Let’s welcome trainee No.66, Shen Xiu, to the stage to draw lots, and then bring us his amazing performance!”
As the host’s voice faded, Shen Xiu took a deep breath and stood up, walking toward the stage.
To avoid walking too quickly and tripping over his own feet due to nervousness—an awkward, public embarrassment—Shen Xiu moved at a pace neither too fast nor too slow, keeping his eyes focused straight ahead, not daring to look around.
To others, this scene looked like:
Zhou Tong: “Although I don’t know how well he can sing or dance, but… he’s really confident. His steps are steady, his expression calm, and he doesn’t look like someone here for a talent show. He looks more like someone going on stage to give an award. Sigh, why wasn’t I like this when I went on stage?”
Lu Qian started taking notes: “Head held high, chin slightly raised, gaze firm. This gives off a dazzling aura of confidence from head to toe. Another small detail to learn!”
Xiang Yueting looked at him with pride, a sense of belonging in his expression: “Just as expected of him!”
Exactly, strong people are like this! Because they are so powerful, they naturally exude an imposing presence that commands respect.
Shen Xiu walked to the center of the massive circular stage. He Ting, holding a solid black box, approached him and, as usual, spoke: “Trainee No.66, Shen Xiu, please close your eyes and begin drawing a lot.”
Shen Xiu closed his eyes, extending his hand into the black box under He Ting’s guidance. After a few seconds of searching, he pulled out a stick.
He Ting: “Please open your eyes.”
As the host’s voice faded, Shen Xiu opened his eyes. When he saw the pure black lot in his hand, his eyes lit up.
The host loudly announced: “Trainee No.66, Shen Xiu, has drawn the black lot. His initial evaluation talent performance will be ‘singing.’ Let’s look forward to his performance!”
He Ting handed the microphone to Shen Xiu and stepped back.
With He Ting leaving the stage, all the stage lights immediately focused on Shen Xiu, who stood at the center of the enormous circular platform.
The stage, with its lighting and design, was perfect, ensuring that every mentor and every member of the audience had an unobstructed view of each trainee’s performance.
The mentor responsible for calling the start, Qin Xi, began: “Start…”
Before Qin Xi could finish his sentence, Shen Xiu’s low voice interrupted: “Sorry, teachers and audience.”
Shen Xiu bowed to everyone with sincerity, asking: “Excuse me, may I sing acapella?”
Having heard the neighboring big shot sing in the bathroom with no accompaniment, purely acapella, Shen Xiu wasn’t sure how to match the accompaniment and lyrics.
After thinking it over, he figured that singing acapella would be the safest option.
This way, if he sang badly, the production staff wouldn’t think he was ruining the song.
The four mentors, all big names in the industry, raised their eyebrows slightly when they heard Shen Xiu’s request. They exchanged a look, and in each other’s eyes, they saw surprise.
In the singing performance segment, if there is no accompaniment, singing acapella would only turn a disaster into an epic one.
With accompaniment, even if the singing is off-key, at least there’s the pleasant instrumental to listen to. More importantly, when there’s accompaniment, staying on key and conveying the right emotions in the song makes it easier to captivate the audience.
It was their first time seeing someone actively increase their own difficulty.
Was Shen Xiu, trainee No.66, really that confident?
Or was it… simply a strategy to leave a deep impression on the mentors and the audience? To make a statement that the initial evaluation class wasn’t important and to sacrifice the potential good score for the sake of ‘showing off’?
If that was the case, they would be very disappointed.
As an excellent idol, being memorable was certainly important, but what was even more crucial was superb singing and dancing ability.
He Youna, the oldest and most experienced mentor, leaned on the table with one hand, tilting the fixed microphone towards herself, and slightly leaned forward: “Trainee No.66, Shen Xiu, is it? Are you sure you want to sing acapella? Do you understand what that means?”
Shen Xiu gripped the microphone tightly: “Teacher He, I’m sure.”
He was so afraid that when the accompaniment started, he would be caught off guard.
Mentor Ye Ning said, “Alright then, please start your performance.”
The audience reacted:
“He’s too arrogant.”
“I was wrong. I originally thought he was just cool and arrogant because of his looks, but now I see he’s just as bold in his heart.”
“Maybe… this is what they call a crazy big shot? Because he’s confident enough to raise the difficulty for himself in a talent show. He’s ambitious. I like him. Just a little bit of a pick for now.”
The trainees in the audience had mixed reactions—some gazed at Shen Xiu with admiration, some looked down on him, while others waited eagerly for him to embarrass himself.
On stage, Shen Xiu heard the mentors agree and bowed slightly, saying, “Thank you.”
He was surrounded by good people!
Then, apart from the spotlight focused on the central round stage, all other lights in the venue dimmed.
Shen Xiu closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes, he lifted the hand holding the microphone. His slightly pursed lips parted.
“Moonlight gently sweeps across…”
In just the brief opening line, the soft, long melody, laced with a hint of sorrow, sent a shockwave through the four mentors, who had initially thought Shen Xiu was just trying to show off. Their pupils trembled, and they instinctively straightened in their seats.
The high difficulty of the familiar song caused both the live and online audiences to hold their breath in stunned silence, all eyes locked on Shen Xiu, standing in the spotlight and singing.
He was singing… “Silence”—the hardest, most iconic song by Xu Shaoming!
“Silence” was a song with a vast vocal range, often using a mix of breathy and full vocal tones, switching from breathy sounds on one note to a full voice on the next, creating a dizzying, fast-paced shift in the vocals.
The tricky part was that the song frequently changed key mid-word, making it a true showcase of vocal mastery. It was a beautiful song but extremely difficult to perform—only top-level singers dared to attempt it.
And here was Shen Xiu, singing this difficult song—acapella—during the male group’s talent show initial evaluation!
It was truly like “a knife scraping the back,” a shocking moment that left everyone wide-eyed in amazement.
Mentor Qin Xi couldn’t help but glance at his friend, Xu Shaoming, who had come to support him in the audience. As expected, he saw the excited expression on his friend’s face.
Xu Shaoming, sitting in the audience, was initially taken aback when he heard the familiar lyrics. But soon, his expression turned to excitement. If his wife hadn’t been holding him back, he would have probably jumped to his feet.
He hadn’t expected that, while he and his wife were simply attending to support, they would hear someone perform “Silence”, the most difficult song he had ever written in his career. What was even more surprising was that it was an acapella version, which would make any vocal flaws even more obvious!
The key was that the performance was so good. It had that same flavor from when his voice was at its peak.
Xu Shaoming’s heart surged with pride, and he was convinced that trainee No.66, Shen Xiu, must be one of his loyal fans!
The camera was also on point. Knowing that the original singer was in the audience, the director deliberately cut to a shot of Xu Shaoming.
[Xu Shaoming looks so excited, with a face full of contentment. Does he know Shen Xiu?]
[Be confident, of course he knows! Who else could have taught Shen Xiu to sing this well? I had the door open while watching the livestream in my room, and even my mom heard the singing from outside. She came in to ask who was singing so well. Now, my mom is watching with me!]
[I’m in awe! From the very beginning, you could tell from No.66’s presence that he’s a powerful figure.]
[Singing this song in the initial evaluation phase, especially with such a high score for his debut performance, is totally overkill. It’s arrogant, but I love it!]
The trainees in the seating area were wide-eyed with shock.
Jiang Yuheng exclaimed, “I knew it! While we were all back stage, nervous and preparing, he must’ve gone to the bathroom to come up with this move! Ugh, even if he stole some techniques, there’s no way we could’ve learned this song!”
Shang Yu, who had been placed in Class A for his excellent performance, grumbled, “Damn it, is this his strength? Fine, I admit it. He’s really strong and has the right to be arrogant.”
Xiang Yueting nodded knowingly, “Just as expected!”
Having already witnessed the big shot’s powerful vocal skills, he wasn’t the least bit surprised!
Lu Qian let out a dramatic sigh, “Ugh, this is too difficult. This time, I really can’t learn it. I just can’t. There are so many big shots, why can’t I be one of them? Damn!”
Three and a half minutes later, the final note of “Silence” rang out, and the song ended perfectly.
Shen Xiu, who had been deeply immersed in the song’s emotional atmosphere, slowly came back to himself as the stage lights instantly brightened the entire venue.
The entire venue fell silent, all eyes locked on Shen Xiu.
Shen Xiu blinked in confusion. “?”
Uh-oh, the atmosphere felt a little tense.
‘What’s going on?’
