Chapter 21.1: Preparation for the First Performance (1)
“!”
The moment he heard his own name, Shen Xiu had a feeling like a dying man springing up in shock—only to realize the idiot was himself.
His heart skipped a beat, and the breath caught in his throat wouldn’t come out. His vision darkened, and he nearly passed out from holding it in.
This kind of luck—was more absurd than absurdity itself!
Shen Xiu was suffocating.
And he couldn’t help but secretly suspect that the supposedly random selection system was targeting him—though he had no proof.
Just as Song Chengwang heard Shen Xiu’s name and was about to mock his “good luck” with a grin, the next second he heard his own name—and the smile froze on his face.
Song Chengwang: “???”
What kind of garbage matching system is this? Don’t be ridiculous!
Xiang Yueting, who was sitting next to Song Chengwang, couldn’t hold back his laughter: “Hahaha, I don’t laugh easily, but this is just too funny—hahaha… Serves you right for insisting on sitting next to Shen Xiu. Now you’re really sitting next to him, hahaha!”
When Xiang Yueting arrived earlier, he had wanted to sit next to Shen Xiu, but Song Chengwang tricked him by saying there was a helicopter outside. When Xiang Yueting instinctively looked out the window, Song Chengwang quickly snagged the seat closest to Shen Xiu.
But now, Xiang Yueting only wanted to say—good move!
Performing a sing-and-dance routine on stage with Shen Xiu? With Xia Wenhao’s previous example as a warning—that’s just terrifying! He wanted no part of it.
Song Chengwang gritted his teeth and glared angrily at Xiang Yueting: “Isn’t Shang Yu also sitting close to Shen Xiu?!”
Shang Yu instinctively reached up to push the bridge of his glasses, only to touch nothing and remember that he wasn’t wearing them during the talent show. He tilted his head and gave Song Chengwang a slight smile: “Can’t help it—I’m just lucky.”
Shen Xiu: “……”
Got it. Song Chengwang was blaming him for having bad luck, like his misfortune was contagious.
‘Sorry, my bad.’
Shen Xiu looked apologetically at Song Chengwang.
[Xiang Yueting, stop laughing, I’m afraid Charizard’s gonna challenge you to a 1v1 after this.]
[Shang Yu: Luck… is an ancient and mysterious art (smile)]
[Is no one gonna mention it? Right now, Boss Xiu just casually glanced at Song Chengwang beside him, his cool and composed eyes full of confusion: “It’s just the first group. Why panic?”]
He Ting: “Would the two trainees please come up on stage and press your song choice on the floor screen in front. Once confirmed, the performance will begin.”
Staying glued to his seat at this point would only draw more attention and make him look even weirder. Shen Xiu gritted his teeth, pushed himself up from the chair, and under the blazing stares of the entire room, forced his jelly legs to march up onto the stage.
With this many eyes staring at him… surely they’re laughing at his bad luck, right?
Watching Shen Xiu stride toward the stage with his head held high and that calm confidence, the trainees started chatting in curiosity:
“Hey, what do you think Shen Xiu’s gonna pick?”
“Wild guess—it’s gotta be some flashy, high-difficulty track. I mean, Shen Xiu’s crazy skilled. He didn’t even flinch when his name was called first—dude probably already had a game plan ready.”
“Yeah, true. They say starting first is the hardest. If it were me getting picked that early, I’d be shaking so bad my knees would knock. But Shen Xiu? Still cool as ice, like always. When will I unlock that kind of ‘fearless under pressure’ skill?”
“Forget Shen Xiu, I’ve got this one track that’s pretty tough too—been practicing it a lot. I’m picking it when it’s my turn.”
“Eee, now I’m awake just thinking about it. I’ve got a showstopper track ready too—just wait and see!”
The boy group trainees who came to this competition with serious ambition—all of them had a little “secret weapon” up their sleeves. And now, with the fight for center position in the first group performance on the line, it was time to bring it all out.
[Can’t believe Boss Xiu and Song Chengwang ended up in the same group. Love to see it!]
[Looking at that stage setup and thinking about the letters “AI,” I finally get why they have two circular stages, one in front and one in back—it’s for projecting the original MV so the AI can score their performance.]
[This is brutal. Even the original crew probably couldn’t recreate that stage perfectly again. The production team? Certified evil. No doubt.]
On stage.
“Wait a sec.” Song Chengwang stared at the glowing circular stage ahead and raised a concern. “Shen Xiu and I picked different songs. If we perform at the same time, what if he messes me up?”
Back during the theme song evaluations, even though everyone was tested together, it was with the same song. The music was consistent, so as long as you stayed focused and didn’t get thrown off by others, you could make it through just fine.
But now? Totally different ballgame.
Everyone’s choosing their own songs, so you’ve got multiple rhythms and beats clashing in real-time. Super easy to get distracted, mishear, or worse—end up singing someone else’s lyrics and dancing their moves.
Is this some kind of chaotic group number from the underworld?
He Ting gave a slight smile. “Don’t worry. Our production team has already thought ahead for this exact scenario. Please direct your attention to the headphones on the stage. To prevent C-position candidates from getting thrown off by hearing each other’s tracks, just put on the provided headphones, and you won’t hear anything but your own music.”
“Of course, for the other trainees here and the audience watching the livestream, rest assured—the backing tracks for both songs will still be played out loud, synced with what each performer is hearing in their own headset.”
“How’s that? Thoughtful, right? Doesn’t it just warm your heart?”
The trainees: Thanks, that’s kinda considerate… but only kinda.
As for “warmth”? Brother, our hearts are frozen solid.
[Hahaha I knew it. The production team is still the same old devils. No way they’d suddenly be kindhearted—there’s always a trap waiting for the trainees.]
[Wait, hold up—I think I found the trap. If you’ve got headphones on and can’t hear the other person’s music… doesn’t that also mean you can’t hear your own singing either??]
[Damn, production team… y’all really went all in on this one. You are really good!]
The trainees on set were quick to connect the dots too.
Song Chengwang: “Wearing the headphones basically means I won’t even be able to hear how I’m singing, right?”
He Ting nodded: “Correct.”
That immediately triggered a memory for Song Chengwang—one of the rare times he and Shen Xiu had practiced together in the training room.
Back then, Shen Xiu was using headphones for his vocal and dance training, while he had his music playing out loud.
So wait a minute…
Song Chengwang’s gaze drifted over to Shen Xiu.
Did Shen Xiu already anticipate this devil-level setup from the production team?
How is he this smart??
During those days of theme song practice, it wasn’t just in the A-classroom sessions with Song Chengwang that Shen Xiu wore headphones. Even later, when he was avoiding the others and practicing solo in a different training room, he still used his headphones.
Because Shen Xiu was worried—if the room wasn’t soundproof enough and the music leaked out, it’d basically be a flashing sign saying “Someone’s in here practicing.”
Sensing Song Chengwang’s gaze, Shen Xiu: “……”
He could understand the trainees in the audience staring at the stage—they were just waiting for the show to start. That made sense.
But what he couldn’t understand was—
‘Song Chengwang, why are you joining in?? We’re both on stage, why are you staring at me? Now people are gonna think there’s something going on between us! You’re making this super awkward!!’
[They say true pros are always ten steps ahead—Boss Shen didn’t just plan ten steps, he planned a hundred. I finally get it now. I used to wonder why he even wore headphones when he was practicing alone… Mystery solved.]
[All I can say is: Boss Shen really is Boss Shen. Not only is he insanely skilled, his brain is also firing on 120%. He predicted the production team’s prediction. Galaxy brain unlocked.]
[Boss Shen’s face stone-cold, eyelids lifting slightly, silently to the production team: “This all you got?”]
He Ting turned to Shen Xiu with a cue: “Singing and dancing with headphones on—you should be pretty familiar with that, right, Shen Xiu?”
Shen ‘Mentally Exhausted, Want to Laugh but Can’t’ Xiu.jpg
Yeah. Real familiar. So familiar that his ears were practically ringing from all the headphone time. All to keep the other trainees from figuring out which room he was training in.
Shen Xiu forced out a reply with the energy of a dying phone battery: “…Mm.”
And yet, here he was—first to go up, first to “eat the crab,” and still managing to stay calm and cool. His voice low, his tone indifferent, looking completely unfazed like a rockslide just happened and he barely blinked.
He Ting raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued.
Now he was curious—what kind of chaos would it take to finally crack this trainee named Shen Xiu?
Shen Xiu: “……”
‘Help… is the host not satisfied with my answer? Why is he staring at me?’
Shen Xiu instinctively straightened his back, standing like he was being inspected during a military drill, eyes locked forward, definitely not daring to sneak a glance at the host.
He was terrified the host would cue him again.
Thankfully, He Ting finally shifted his attention away: “Well then, questions answered. Shen Xiu, Song Chengwang—please put on your headphones and select your songs.”
Shen Xiu put on the headphones like a seasoned pro, took a step forward, and on the touchscreen embedded into the circular stage floor, calmly typed in the song title he knew by heart, hit search, and added it to the playlist.
Shen Xiu stepped back and took his place on the rear circular stage.
Getting picked first as the AI evaluation test dummy—Shen Xiu was both nervous and resigned to his fate.
After a lot of mental back-and-forth, he finally chose the song he had practiced the most, the one he was most familiar with.
Shen ‘This Is The One I’m Most Familiar With, Mentally Done’ Xiu.jpg
Once both Shen Xiu and Song Chengwang had finished selecting their songs, they each retreated to the rear circle stage. At the same time, a robotic AI voice echoed in their headphones:
“Please prepare. After a three-second countdown, your selected track will begin. At that time, trainees, please begin your performance.”
Qin Hua: “Ahhhh it’s happening, it’s happening!! What did Shen Xiu pick?? I need to know!!”
Zhou Tong: “It’s not even me up there but I’m freaking out too. Damn it!”
[What is it what is it! Flies rubbing hands excitedly I’m READY.]
[Dear production team, I beg of you, be human just this once. Why did you move the crane camera away right when Shen Xiu and Song Chengwang were picking their songs?? Don’t play us like this. Stop teasing. I’m on the verge of crying with a knife in my hand.]
“Three… two… one!”
The countdown ended. As everyone held their breath, a familiar melody blasted through the practice room.
It was the theme song they’d been grinding for the past five days—the one they just performed in their evaluations yesterday: “Wind and Waves”.
The trainees were collectively hit with a full-screen “???”
“??? Wind and Waves??”
“I did not see that coming.”
“I don’t even know what to say right now… I just gotta admit, a boss’s brain is like a needle in the sea. Totally unpredictable. I give up.”
[I get it, I get it… give me a sec to type it all out properly…]
[You type too slow. Let me do it. Boss Shen must have had his reasons for choosing Wind and Waves. There’s always a reason!]
[I knew it! No wonder Boss Shen already nailed Wind and Waves on day one, and still kept practicing it every single morning afterward—he must’ve seen this coming! Only by drilling it into muscle memory can you guarantee that no matter what unexpected situation pops up, your body won’t lie when the music starts. What is this? This is Boss Shen’s foresight! He trained Wind and Waves to perfection—all for this moment!]
[Coughs blood—I finally finished typing all that and let you go first, and now you stole my thunder?! Please, I’m begging you, delete your post and let me say it instead!]
The moment the performance started, two virtual characters suddenly appeared on the front stage.
This unexpected twist startled not just the trainees in the room, but also the entire livestream audience.
Shen Xiu: “……”
Was the show trying to kill him with a heart attack or what?! This was insane!
His limbs moved instinctively through pure muscle memory. On the outside, he looked cool and expressionless, but on the inside? Near cardiac arrest. It took everything in him to stay on pitch and keep it together.
Song Chengwang, on the other hand, was visibly shaken. Just as he was jumping into his routine, a freakin’ AI robot popped up in front of him—his first lyric came out wobbly and unclear, and his moves almost slipped off tempo.
The trainees:
Luo Yuan: “I’ve got a sentence full of censored words I wanna scream at the producers right now!”
Jiang Yuheng: “Seriously, what kind of jump scare was that?!”
Ke Zi’an, clutching his chest: “Thank God I wasn’t the one picked for the first group. I would’ve been so stunned I’d forget why I was even standing up there.”
Zhou Tong: “How is Shen Xiu even managing to stay so calm and steady in the middle of all that chaos?”
Lin Jiashi, watching Shen Xiu’s icy, unchanged expression the entire time, surrounded by praise from all directions, suddenly stood up:
“Move. I need to use the restroom.”
After the re-evaluation following the theme song performance, due to the wave of motivation unintentionally stirred up by Shen Xiu, most of the trainees had been working very hard. As a result of their efforts, there were now only a few people left in Class F.
When the camera crane swept past, the Class F area appeared noticeably empty. The moment Lin Jiashi spoke, everyone seated in the Class F section looked a little dazed, turning to him in confusion.
“Huh? No one is blocking you though?”
Lin Jiashi’s ears flushed red. “Sorry, force of habit,” he said, quickly leaving the spacious seating area and heading for the restroom.
To ensure Lin Jiashi wouldn’t miss his turn in the upcoming draw, a staff member followed him, ready to notify him to go on stage the moment his name was picked.
After Lin Jiashi left, someone in the Class F section asked in confusion, “What habit?”
“Maybe… just being polite? He probably thought there were still lots of people in our section and blurted it out without thinking. Honestly though, it is a bit strange. With Xia Wenhao teaching both Ke Zi’an and Lin Jiashi, how is Lin Jiashi still in Class F? He seems pretty hardworking to me.”
“There are so many factors that affect a stage performance. Remember how nervous he was after yesterday’s evaluation? His eyes were red, he almost cried, did you forget?”
“…Oh right. But he’s also pretty resilient. He’s a good guy too. Even after everything, he still remembered that Ke Zi’an wanted to talk to Shen Xiu, and without a second thought, he took him to find him.”
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