Chapter 7: Initial Stage Evaluation (7)
The trainees who heard it: “…”
Thanks to Shen Xiu, they finally understood what it means to radiate arrogance with just one sentence.
He already said it once and still made the other guy ask again—that kind of reply was basically a challenge in itself. And then he followed it up with that look, like he didn’t even see the other guy as a threat. If this were someone with a short fuse, things would’ve blown up by now.
Song Chengwang didn’t say a word, and the atmosphere got really awkward.
He could feel everyone around him giving him weird looks.
Shen Xiu: …What? Was there something wrong with what I said?
He ran his sentence over a few times in his head but still couldn’t figure out what was off.
Turns out, his roommate was right—his EQ really was ridiculously low. People would get mad at him and he wouldn’t even know why.
Another lesson learned: spacing out at the wrong time can get you roasted in public.
Now it was Song Chengwang’s turn to shut down emotionally.
So… Shen Xiu really hadn’t been paying attention to him at all, huh?
Did he think he, Song Chengwang, wasn’t even worth considering as a rival? Or was his presence just that forgettable?
Grinding his teeth, Song Chengwang spat out, “Watch closely.”
It was fine if Shen Xiu didn’t remember him now. After all, Shen Xiu was strong. But so what? Chengwang would prove himself with his own ability. He’d earn his spot in Shen Xiu’s eyes and make him acknowledge him as a worthy opponent.
Watch closely?
Ah, Shen Xiu finally got it—he was being invited to watch Chengwang’s first performance. So that whole interaction was because he’d zoned out and got caught. This Trainee No.99 actually seemed like a nice guy.
Feeling a bit grateful, Shen Xiu nodded and replied, “Alright.”
He made up his mind: he’d pay close attention to every performance from now on. No more spacing out!
Song Chengwang: “…”
Yeah, it’s official—he really was that forgettable.
But hey, at least Shen Xiu had kind of acknowledged his challenge now.
Finally making it onto Shen Xiu’s mental list of rivals, Song Chengwang felt pretty satisfied. He threw out a final line: “Make sure you watch closely.” Then, chin up and chest out, he strutted up to the stage.
Afraid of socially dying again, Shen Xiu quickly responded, “Okay.”
From then on, through the rest of the performances, Shen Xiu didn’t dare zone out for even a second. He sat up straight like a model student, eyes glued to the stage, not even blinking.
Song Chengwang ended up drawing dance for his category. When he found out, he clearly wasn’t thrilled—he had really wanted to go head-to-head with Shen Xiu in vocal.
Still, no surprise here: six minutes later, after impressing the mentors enough to earn an extra challenge round, Song Chengwang walked away with an overall evaluation score of A. Straight into the A-class.
As he came down from the stage, he purposely made a little detour… right past Shen Xiu.
When he reached Shen Xiu, he tilted his head slightly and looked down at him, saying nothing.
Shen Xiu had to force himself to tilt his head up and meet his eyes, confused and frowning a little at the move.
“…”
Shen Xiu was practically having an existential crisis. Did I really space out for like, five seconds? And he noticed?? What is he, a sentient camera? How did he catch that??
Meanwhile, seeing Shen Xiu frown, Song Chengwang misunderstood completely—he thought Shen Xiu was judging his performance.
His hand clenched into a fist at his side, and without a word, he walked back to his seat.
Damn it. He had messed up a tiny move during the routine, slightly off-beat with the music. Of course Shen Xiu noticed—he’d caught everything from the audience.
So that frown… it was disappointment, wasn’t it?
He must’ve thought he, Song Chengwang, didn’t live up to expectations.
The trainees in the front row, soaking up all the drama like it was a live soap opera: “…”
Why just a stare and nothing else? Why go out of his way just to lock eyes with Shen Xiu, only to silently walk back to his seat?
Honestly, no one could figure out what was going on in these two top-tier trainees’ minds.
Even the live audience was completely lost.
[What is even happening? I’m dying of curiosity!]
[Is there anyone who can read micro-expressions or lip-read? I’ll literally beg on my knees for an explanation!]
[+100000]
And it wasn’t just the other trainees and audience who were confused—Shen Xiu, one of the people involved, was just as baffled.
If he weren’t hyper-aware of all the eyes watching him, he definitely would’ve scratched his head with a big ol’ question mark on his face.
Swear to god, he’d only spaced out for five seconds. Was that really enough for Song Chengwang to hit him with a full-on icy death glare, take a detour just to stare him down, and then clench his fist like he was holding back rage before walking off?
In Shen Xiu’s mind, Song Chengwang = intense AF.
Song Chengwang sat a few rows behind him, and Shen Xiu immediately straightened up even more. By the time trainee No.100, Jiang Yanxi, stepped on stage, Shen Xiu was so focused he didn’t even blink. Not taking any more risks.
From behind, Song Chengwang noticed: He’s watching that closely? Wait… Could it be that Jiang Yanxi sings better than me? No, wait—I haven’t even sung yet! Tch, whatever. One more strong rival to watch out for, I guess.
Meanwhile, No.69 Xiang Yueting: Huh? Why is Shen Xiu staring so hard at No.100? Guess I’ll watch too then.
Then No.1 Shang Yu: Well, if Shen Xiu’s watching seriously… maybe I should, too.
No.43 Zhuang Yi stroked his chin, deep in thought: Does No.100 have some hidden talent?
The rest of the trainees: …Uhh, okay. If all the A-class elites are paying attention, this guy must be insane. We better watch too!
…
The moment Jiang Yanxi stepped onto the stage, he immediately noticed all the fiery, laser-focused stares coming from the trainee section.
Something was definitely off.
But—
Can someone please tell him—
Why is EVERYONE staring at him?!
Not only was he under the intense gaze of the audience, but even his fellow trainees—aka his direct competition—were all dead-eye staring at him like he was a live broadcast of the finals.
Trainee No.100, Jiang Yanxi: “…”
Great. It’s official. He had unlocked the “only one suffering in this world” achievement.
When the others performed earlier, people in the audience were whispering to each other, zoning out, or even staring at the ceiling. No one looked this serious! Why was he the one getting 100% focused attention from everyone?
Even the audience was confused.
[First Song Chengwang stared at Shen Xiu, then Shen Xiu stared at Jiang Yanxi, and now Song Chengwang is staring at Jiang Yanxi too… bro, is “staring at Jiang Yanxi” contagious or something??]
[Apparently, yes. It’s very contagious. Look—besides Shen Xiu and Song Chengwang, Class A’s No.1 Shang Yu, No.43 Zhuang Yi, No.69 Xiang Yueting, and even Class B’s Jiang Yuheng… they’re all staring at No.100!]
[My take on this… clears throat… yeah, this is just… impossible to explain.]
[Jiang Yanxi shaking in fear.jpg]
Six minutes later, thanks to his solid vocals and strong performance, Jiang Yanxi successfully made it into A-class. But when he got the result, he walked back to his seat looking like he’d aged five years—mentally and physically drained.
God knows how much pressure he was under, being stared down by people who might end up as teammates or rivals. His whole body had been tense the entire time, not daring to slip up for even a second.
On the flip side, that same high-pressure environment pushed him to deliver a nearly flawless performance—good enough to land him a spot in A-class.
And with that… the initial evaluation round of “Youth Unstoppable” officially came to an end.
He Ting stood on stage, holding the official results from the initial evaluation round.
“First,” he said with a smile, “let’s give a huge round of applause to every trainee who made it into the advanced class!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the venue erupted into thunderous applause.
Once things calmed down a bit, He Ting continued, “Of course, to those of you who’ve been placed in the lower class—don’t get discouraged. On the stage of Youth Unstoppable, anything is possible if you keep working hard. Our goal is to rise to the top, debut as the center position, and show the world that nothing can stop the youth!”
“Let’s go!”
Fueled by his words, both the trainees and the live audience were fired up. A loud chorus echoed across the venue: “Youth Unstoppable! Let’s go!”
The energy in the live broadcast studio skyrocketed. Whether they were in the room or watching from home, everyone was hyped for the fierce competition ahead.
Once the excitement settled down a little, He Ting raised his hand.
“Now, it’s time to reveal the stage evaluation results for each trainee! Dear producers, please look at the big screen!”
“Class A trainees are: No.1 Shang Yu, No.43 Zhuang Yi, No.66 Shen Xiu, No.69 Xiang Yueting, No.99 Song Chengwang, and No.100 Jiang Yanxi!”
“For Class B, we have: No.8 Qin Hua…”
Half an hour later, after reading through the full list of trainees and their placements, He Ting looked up at the camera with a practiced smile.
“Don’t go anywhere—we’re handing things over to our post-evaluation interview team!”
Right after the initial rankings, the post-interview segment began. Since there were a full hundred trainees, the producers planned a mix of solo and group interviews—not just to save time, but also to stir up conversation and build some buzz.
The trainees who hadn’t been called up yet stayed seated in their section, waiting their turn. Every interview was streamed live to the massive screen in the middle of the venue—big enough for all 2,000 audience members to see every expression up close.
Backstage in the interview room, the first trainee to be interviewed was also the first one to perform—Trainee No.1, Shang Yu.
Interviewer: “Hi Shang Yu, I’m your host, Yu Xiangwan.”
Shang Yu nodded politely. “Hello, nice to meet you.”
Yu Xiangwan raised her mic and got right into it.
“So, Shang Yu, out of all the trainees on the Youth Unstoppable stage today, who left the strongest impression on you?”
Without a second’s hesitation, Shang Yu replied: “Trainee No.66, Shen Xiu.”
Yu Xiangwan: “Can you tell us what it was about Shen Xiu that caught your attention?”
Shang Yu: “His performance of the song ‘Silence’ really hit me—it left a deep impression.”
Cut to the trainee area, where Shen Xiu was suddenly and very publicly name-dropped during the live broadcast:
Shen Xiu: “…”
Cue full-body awkwardness.
So that song has a name. ‘Silence,’ huh? Shen Xiu thought, expression blank.
Honestly, it was a good song—until he sang it. He really did make it live up to its name… and now he was carrying the blame for making everyone go quiet.
Please, let that guy from the bathroom stall not come after me later, he silently begged. I swear, I didn’t do it on purpose!
Yu Xiangwan: “Do you have anything you’d like to say to Shen Xiu?”
Shang Yu looked straight into the live cam, knowing full well Shen Xiu would be watching.
“Shen Xiu, I accept your challenge. I’m looking forward to the day we meet at the top.”
Boom—right on cue, the camera switched to the trainee section, zooming in directly on Shen Xiu’s face for his live reaction.
Shen Xiu: “…”
He stared up at the camera crane hovering above him.
…Wow. This production team is savage. Who benefits from making me this uncomfortable on national television?!
At that moment, Shen Xiu seriously started calculating the feasibility of digging a tunnel and escaping.
Unfortunately, before he could put his prison break plan into action, He Ting suddenly appeared in front of him and shoved a mic toward his face.
“Trainee No.66, Shen Xiu,” he asked with a grin, “do you have anything you’d like to say in response to Trainee No.1, Shang Yu?”
Baby pls………. 😂