Chapter 22.2: Preparation for the First Performance (2)
Shen Xiu remembered that when he was teaching everyone, Ying Zi’ang had been standing at the very back of the group. He sang decently, his voice a bit hoarse, but his dancing was a disaster.
Yet, despite his awkward movements, which looked almost comical to others, Ying Zi’ang had managed to complete each move seriously, with a red face, driven by his passion for dance and a firm belief in doing his best.
And more importantly… Shen Xiu was very familiar with that envious gaze!
He was like that too—genuinely happy for those who could quickly bond with others and feel that sense of lively joy.
But when it came to himself, he still preferred being alone.
Ying Zi’ang was a good fit, both in terms of his attitude toward learning and his personality—just the kind of teammate Shen Xiu liked!
Shen Xiu walked toward Class F, heading straight for Ying Zi’ang.
Ying Zi’ang heard the sound of people around him sharply inhaling, but he didn’t pay it any mind. He was just a small, twisted mushroom crawling in the shadows—awkward, incapable, invisible. No one would ever pay attention to him.
Those reactions, surely, weren’t about him.
He kept his eyes on the lively chaos in the Class B section, watching as two top trainees from Class A battled it out over a Class B trainee, eyes full of longing.
Soon, though, Ying Zi’ang started to feel like something was off.
First, the hottest crowd—those around the Class B—began to look in his direction one by one, their faces showing surprise and confusion.
Then, he noticed that everything around him had gone strangely quiet. All the chatter had stopped.
Finally, a shadow fell over him.
“Shen Xiu just went to Class F. What kind of move is that?”
“No idea, but I’m shook.”
“Beyond shocked—I’m impressed. All I can say is: don’t try to guess what a boss-level mind is thinking. You’ll never figure it out!”
[What is happening, sisters?! Isn’t everyone picking people with good grades? Why is it that in Shen Xiu’s team, there’s only one person from Class B, just one from Class C, and now he’s skipped straight to Class F?!]
[Don’t ask. If you do, the answer is: a boss’s mind is like a needle at the bottom of the ocean—impossible to find.]
[You guys really don’t get it? Shen Xiu is already so strong—does it even matter what class the trainees are from? He can carry anyone.]
[Sister, I play jungle and even a 1v5 makes me sweat. Shen Xiu wants to 1v7 (though, to be fair, Xiang Yueting doesn’t need to be carried)? I, the King of Jungle, am in awe.]
[Sister, I’m not like you—I’m not the Jungle King. I’m the Northwest Slash King. Wanna duo? Let’s learn from Shen Xiu and slay the competition!]
…
Class F area.
Wait, what just happened?!
Ying Zi’ang finally realized something was going on. His neck stiff, he slowly turned his head and looked up—only to meet Shen Xiu’s cold and stern expression: “!”
Demon King Xiu’s expression was so, so scary!
“Sh-Shen…”
Hearing that familiar stammer, Shen Xiu felt a stronger sense of kinship. Look at this—wasn’t this just like the old him, before his parents died in the car accident?
Before Ying Zi’ang could even finish speaking, Shen Xiu—feeling like he’d evolved and now had a responsibility to look out for juniors—spoke gently (in his own way):
“Do you want to join us?”
The man’s face was expressionless, his gaze sharp and chilly, his voice flat and emotionless, like some cold mechanical A.I.
But the words he said… made Ying Zi’ang feel so warm it was like he was dreaming?
Was this a dream?
It had to be…
Although everyone in Class F was shocked that Shen Xiu didn’t choose Lin Jiashi and instead picked Ying Zi’ang, they couldn’t bring themselves to be bitter. Ying Zi’ang was such a good roommate—he often took out the trash and kept the place clean. So the others sincerely felt happy for him.
“Say yes, quick! This is Shen Xiu we’re talking about!”
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance—go for it!”
Hearing his roommates’ excited voices and the light pat on his shoulder, Ying Zi’ang slowly stood up. Standing in front of Shen Xiu, he was visibly nervous. When he finally met Shen Xiu’s sharp, frosty gaze, he realized—this wasn’t a dream.
Someone actually picked him. And not just anyone—the one who picked him was the undisputed top-ranked trainee among all hundred of them!
“I-I-I-I’ll join!”
Shen Xiu didn’t quite understand—he was just picking another teammate, so why were so many people staring at him?
Truth be told, Shen Xiu was just as nervous as Ying Zi’ang. He stiffly muttered: “Let’s go.”
Hearing Shen Xiu’s cold tone, Ying Zi’ang immediately nodded: “Okay!”
After witnessing Shen Xiu’s string of teammate choices, the system finally couldn’t take it anymore:
[…Just admit you’re scared of extroverts already! All this inner monologue and drama—I almost believed it was something deeper!]
Shen Xiu: [System, you’re being so superficial. How can you say this isn’t a form of mutual pursuit? It’s not just that—we’re healing each other!]
System: [I would describe this as a group of anxious wrecks or an emo monster squad.]
Shen Xiu: Tsk, you’re the shallow one here!
Even as Shen Xiu led Ying Zi’ang away from the Class F area, he never looked back at Lin Jiashi.
Lin Jiashi, confused and puzzled—Shen Xiu had looked at him. So why did he end up picking someone else?
Was it… to embarrass him on purpose?
[Just realized something: Who ever said Shen Xiu was going to pick Lin Jiashi? He only glanced at him once, then locked eyes with Ying Zi’ang right after.]
[Ying Zi’ang?? Wait, this show has someone named that?! Holy crap, I just noticed him today!]
[Yeah, he exists, but his presence is really weak. If it weren’t for that last group lesson when Shen Xiu was teaching multiple people at once—Ying Zi’ang danced like all his limbs were moving in different directions on their own, yet he still finished the whole thing with a red face and stubborn expression—I wouldn’t have even known he was there.]
The other center-position captains were surprised by Shen Xiu’s choices, but thinking it over, they figured Shen Xiu was different from them. Strong people always like a challenge—he probably thought that trainees with higher rankings would be too easy to lead, so he deliberately chose lower-ranked ones.
Besides, with only twelve groups in total, it was inevitable that eight of them would end up with someone from Class F.
All in all, Shen Xiu’s actions made sense.
Sensing that Lin Jiashi was in a bad mood, the other members of Class F wisely stopped talking.
Shen Xiu returned with Ying Zi’ang to his previous spot. While walking toward the stage, he could feel the host looking at him.
Was it because he didn’t report his choice yet?
Thinking that, Shen Xiu took the initiative to say to He Ting, “I’ve made my pick.”
He Ting: “…Mm, congratulations.”
He got it now—he’d never seen a center leader make team picks this quickly or carelessly!
Three steps and done—he didn’t even bother fighting over anyone from Classes B or C?
He Ting sighed.
Fine. Maybe pushing Shen Xiu to fight over trainees like the others was unnecessary after all.
Shen Xiu didn’t discriminate when picking—he was fast, decisive.
From his view up top, He Ting saw everything clearly: Shen Xiu hadn’t turned away a single person who asked to join, and the ones he picked on his own weren’t ranked high either.
It was all about going with the flow, and even then, he made sure to choose someone from Class F who might’ve otherwise been eliminated.
That blend of confidence, cold exterior, and quiet kindness underneath?
He Ting was impressed.
—
They were all dream chasers. For them to be eliminated without even having the chance to compete on stage and truly show their skills to the audience—this rule of the program wasn’t just cruel; it also left the trainees feeling frustrated and stifled. It was easy to empathize.
Moreover, according to the program’s rules, after the first public performance, a ranking-based elimination would take place, cutting the number of trainees down to just 72.
Whether or not the four unchosen trainees would be eliminated now, after the first performance, only 72 trainees would remain on the field anyway, as originally planned.
Although keeping those four meant that some team members would have smaller parts in the performances, the trainees were willing to compete.
After all, only those who truly have strength and fight hard deserve to stay on this stage.
They believed in themselves.
So, after half an hour of team selection, the four trainees who were supposed to be left out were all absorbed into groups.
No one faced the danger of elimination.
[That scared me—I thought someone was actually going to get eliminated.]
[Thank goodness they all got to stay. If someone has to go, I hope it’s through the proper elimination process, not just because no one chose them.]
[The program may be heartless, but the trainees sure aren’t. Satisfied! Now I hope they show no mercy when battling it out on stage!]
He Ting picked up the microphone. “Not bad, not bad. Everyone did great.”
“Now, let’s move on to the next part of the process.”
A staff member standing next to He Ting was holding a black box. He Ting introduced it to the trainees:
“There are twelve songs in the box. The difficulty level of each song is indicated by the shade of the card. The lighter the color, the easier the song; the darker the color, the harder the song.”
Xiang Yueting eagerly chimed in, “Got it—pure white is the easiest, pure black is the hardest.”
He Ting smiled and nodded, “That’s right.”
“Now, each of the twelve groups, please send one member forward to draw a card. The song you draw will be the one you perform in your first stage performance five days from now.”
In the other groups, the center position (C-position) members went up to draw.
When it came to Shen Xiu’s group, he said, “One of you go draw.”
It wasn’t that he was being modest—he was just afraid of having bad luck. He’d already used up all his good fortune earlier when choosing teammates.
According to the Law of Conservation of Luck, he was now very likely to be out of luck.
All eight of his group members were in agreement:
“No, no, you—ahem, you should draw!”
“You’re the leader, you should draw.”
“You’re the center, you should draw.”
“We’re all fine with whatever song we get.”
The back-and-forth push and pull was too much for Shen Xiu. He looked at the teammates he’d chosen, and one by one, they all averted their eyes, avoiding his gaze.
Shen Xiu: “?”
Group members (in their heads): Shen Xiu’s icy stare is way too intimidating. Please don’t make us go up—what if we draw the hardest song and he regrets choosing us?!
Sensing the host’s and the other groups’ attention on them, he sighed, “…Alright then.”
He would draw.
What Law of Conservation of Luck? Nonsense—all of it. He was a firm believer in materialism!
Shen Xiu stepped forward, reached into the black box, and fumbled around for a few seconds.
He took a deep breath and prayed: Please don’t be the hardest one—the black card, please!
Prayer complete, he grabbed a card, braced himself, and pulled it out of the box.
Pitch black—the hardest song.
Shen Xiu froze.
The Law of Conservation of Luck… never lies!
Song Chengwang was the first to burst out laughing. “Hahaha, he got the hardest one! No need for the rest of us to be nervous anymore, hahaha…”
Jiang Yanxi said, “Hey, uh, maybe don’t laugh? Does Shen Xiu look like someone who actually cares whether it’s hard or not?”
Song Chengwang looked at Shen Xiu’s expression—calm and indifferent as he stared at the card—and gritted his teeth. “Then why are you telling me not to laugh?”
Shang Yu chimed in, “Did you forget? Xiang Yueting is in the same group as Shen Xiu. Jiang Yanxi’s just afraid Xiang Yueting will punch you.”
“Hah! That blockhead? I’m afraid of him?”
Shang Yu replied, “Fair. You two are equally matched.”
[Xiang Yueting: Why does that sound kinda off…?]
[Shang Yu, stop—there are no more bamboo shoots left in the panda’s mouth, you’ve stolen them all, hahaha!]
[If you keep going, this is gonna turn into a 2v1—Song Chengwang and Xiang Yueting tag-teaming you!]
Under immense pressure, Shen Xiu numbly held onto the pure black card. He didn’t even have the heart to look at what song it was. He just walked silently back to his group.
Facing the expectant eyes of his teammates, Shen Xiu was too ashamed to say a word.
Xiang Yueting reassured him, “It’s fine, it’s fine. They’re all the same.” Seeing Shen Xiu’s calm expression, he figured it couldn’t be that hard.
The others quickly chimed in:
“Yeah, no worries.”
“Looks like a piece of cake.”
“Nothing to be scared of.”
If Shen Xiu didn’t even bother to look at the song title, that just showed how confident he was. As the ones chosen by the great Shen Xiu himself, they absolutely couldn’t let him down!
[Shen Xiu’s group… y’all are getting a little too cocky.]
[So this is the kind of confidence you get when a bigshot’s leading the team. I felt that.]
[The harder the song, the easier it is to mess up on stage—but if you pull it off, it becomes a legendary performance. Brother Shen must’ve realized that, which is why he stayed calm, not panicked. I bet deep down he was thrilled—he probably thought he got the most explosive, impactful track!]
[Yes, that has to be it!]
With the song drawing complete, He Ting announced, “Next is free time. You can head off to find practice rooms, get to know each other better, or familiarize yourselves with the track your group drew. All center positions—team leaders—come with me.”
There was a short individual interview segment for the center members before the first public performance.
—
Twenty minutes later, Shen Xiu finished his solo interview and left the room.
As the last person to be interviewed, the hallway was now empty, just his lone figure under the dim lights.
It wasn’t the dorm area, so there was no risk of disturbing anyone. He didn’t bother to tiptoe, walking at a normal pace.
Just as he turned a corner, Lin Jiashi suddenly stepped out from behind it, eyes red and fixed intently on Shen Xiu.
“!” Shen Xiu halted just in time, his heart nearly skipping a beat from the scare.
Since joining this show, he felt like his heart had taken enough damage for a lifetime. Frowning slightly, he looked at the person in front of him. “What is it?”
Confronted by Shen Xiu’s cold gaze and displeased frown, Lin Jiashi bit his lip. “Shen Xiu, can I ask you something? We were both in F-class, and our abilities weren’t that different—so why did you end up choosing Ying Zi’ang over me?”
