Chapter 28: First Performance (3)
Now, there were only two teams participating in the voting. The audience’s support would either go to Shen Xiu’s team or Zhuang Yi’s team.
Setting aside Lin Jiashi’s mistake in Zhuang Yi’s team, even without it, their performance wasn’t as remarkable compared to Shen Xiu’s team. Shen Xiu’s team had dominated the stage, making it extremely hard to win.
As expected, three minutes later, the first round of voting ended.
Whether it was the live audience or online viewers, the real-time statistics of the votes were displayed on the big screen in the venue.
On the big screen behind Shen Xiu’s and Zhuang Yi’s teams, it was clear to everyone that from the moment voting started, Shen Xiu’s team was leading with a crushing margin over Zhuang Yi’s team until the end.
He Ting: “The results of our first round of voting are clear.”
He Ting walked up to Shen Xiu’s team, turned to face them, and announced in an excited voice: “The first round of voting is complete, let’s give a big round of applause to Shen Xiu’s team for winning the first round of the group showdown in their first public performance!”
“Congratulations to every member of Shen Xiu’s team—each of you will automatically receive 10,000 additional votes during the ranking elimination!”
As soon as the host finished speaking, a wave of applause erupted from the audience.
“Shen Xiu! Shen Xiu! I can’t sleep without you!”
“God Xiu forever!”
“Expose those abs more, please!”
“Demon King Xiu is number one! Slay the whole team!”
“Go go Xia Wenhao!”
“Let’s slide down the icy abs of Iceberg Xiu!”
“Xiang Yueting, stop fooling around or I swear someone’s gonna gang up on you!”
“You are the eternal battlefield of love triangles—now that we have the Vampire Count, can a cross-dressing arc be far behind?!”
“Cutie An’an is soft and squishy!”
“This is my little treasure, that’s my big bundle, and Xiu Xiu is the gem of my heart!”
…
The applause was accompanied by an outpouring of enthusiastic shouting. Then, as if coordinated, countless support signs with words lit up in the crowd and were raised high.
The glowing signs swayed with the lights of the venue, shining brilliantly as fans expressed their love for the trainees on stage.
Shen Xiu: …W-What fierce and shameless declarations!
Xiu Xiu? Demon King Xiu? Battlefield of love…?
Were these nicknames born from his role as the Vampire King in Blood Romance? Had his performance as a vampire inspired all this?
Shen Xiu, who had never seen the world, was momentarily speechless, completely stunned.
Although he was deeply overwhelmed by the audience’s passion, seeing so many people remember him and cheer for him—there was no way he could say he wasn’t happy.
Faced with such enthusiasm, Shen Xiu’s heart pounded uncontrollably. His ears and face began to burn with heat.
He was thankful the venue was loud and his makeup was on point—otherwise, everyone would’ve heard the thunderous beat of his heart and seen his thoroughly blushing, embarrassed expression.
Shen Xiu’s Adam’s apple bobbed as his gaze swept across the audience, his eyes shining as he looked at every single light board bearing the character “Xiu.” A powerful wave of emotion surged through his chest.
He wanted to thank the fans who liked and supported him—but right now, his mind was completely blank from nerves. His unspeaking throat trembled, and all he could do was silently memorize the position of each sign with heartfelt focus.
“Ahhh! Is God Xiu looking at me?”
“Confirmed by the eyes—Demon King Xiu is definitely looking at me!“
“That cold, piercing glance from God Xiu swept this way… Those red eyes, so deep and unreadable, like they held a thousand unsaid words. Just one look and he pierced my soul—who can relate, sisters?! AWLS!”
Among the sea of glowing light boards for Shen Xiu, there were very few for anyone else besides Xiang Yueting and Xia Wenhao. Yet, the other members of Shen Xiu’s team didn’t feel the slightest jealousy.
They only felt admiration—because everything Shen Xiu had gained, he had earned through his own effort and personal charm.
They were truly happy for him.
After all, without Shen Xiu leading them, aside from Xiang Yueting and Xia Wenhao who had some presence, the rest of them would have been invisible in the crowd.
Winning the group battle meant each member received an automatic 10,000 votes during the ranking elimination round. For top-tier trainees like Shen Xiu and Xiang Yueting, those 10,000 votes weren’t a big deal—but for trainees like them, who hadn’t stood out since the beginning of camp, that number could decide whether they stayed or were eliminated.
In a way, it was Shen Xiu who had given them a chance to make it to the second public performance.
He Ting: “It looks like the audience really enjoyed Shen Xiu’s team’s first stage performance. Members of Shen Xiu’s team, is there anything you’d like to say to the audience?”
The team members all tacitly gave the honor of speaking first to Shen Xiu.
Under the gaze of everyone present, Shen Xiu forced himself to calm down. His eyes swept across the entire audience—those cheering for him, rooting for him—and with great effort, he pushed out the words he most wanted to say after seeing their support.
“Thank you all!”
Because of the overwhelming emotions and nerves, his voice came out stiff and hoarse.
But in that moment—because of the audience, because of the stage—Shen Xiu felt a powerful stirring deep in his heart. In a daze, it seemed as if… something inside him had changed.
That cool, magnetic voice carried clearly through the mic at his lips and reached every single person in the audience, setting off another wave of cheers.
“Ahhhh, even now, how does Xiu Xiu still sound so calm?!”
“Demon King Xiu looks totally composed—this first stage must be just another day at work for him!”
“He didn’t lose control once! That emotional control is insane! Demon King Xiu truly dominates the whole stage!”
After Shen Xiu spoke, the rest of his team followed, one by one, expressing their thanks to the audience as well.
When the thanks were over, all eight of them exchanged glances, then turned toward Shen Xiu in unison, voices ringing out together:
“And thank you, Captain Shen Xiu!”
Their voices were full of energy and sincerity.
Having just finished thanking the fans who loved and supported him, Shen Xiu was still tense all over. The sudden chorus of gratitude from his teammates caught him completely off guard. He turned instinctively toward them, blanking out for a second, forgetting to respond.
His teammates, after waiting a few beats without a reply, each quietly lifted their heads to sneak a glance at Shen Xiu’s face. But the moment their eyes met his calm, slightly cool gaze—they all instinctively tensed up.
Why was Shen Xiu looking at them so expressionlessly? Could it be… he thought their performance wasn’t good enough?
Before the team members could figure it out, Shen Xiu had already come back to his senses and awkwardly said three words:
“You’re welcome.”
The moment they heard those casually spoken words, the team members instantly understood.
They got it now.
To someone as strong as Shen Xiu, everything he’d done probably didn’t even register as a big deal. It was them who had been making a fuss over nothing.
Sigh, this was the gap between them and Shen Xiu.
To them, Shen Xiu was elevating their presence, pulling them up onto the second performance stage. He was their savior.
But to Shen Xiu, it was just a small gesture—not even worth mentioning.
As the winning team, the members of Shen Xiu’s group all wore genuine, joyful smiles on their faces. On the other hand, the atmosphere among the losing team—Zhuang Yi’s group—was undeniably heavy.
Host He Ting turned toward Zhuang Yi’s team and said, “It’s unfortunate that you lost, but I believe one win or loss doesn’t define anything. I’m sure you’ll continue to fight hard in the rounds to come, right?”
With forced smiles, Zhuang Yi’s teammates responded loudly and firmly on stage:
“Right!”
Next time… who knows if there even will be a next time.
“All right.”
He Ting raised his hand, signaling the crowd to quiet down. Once the entire venue fell silent, he continued:
“Now, let’s begin the second round of voting.”
“Remember, this vote will determine whether each trainee can continue to stay on this stage. Each audience member—whether in person or online—is allowed one vote per IP. You have three minutes. Please think carefully about who you truly want to support!”
“The trainee who ranks first in this round of voting will receive a special privilege!”
“Before voting, all audience members on-site and in the livestream, please carefully read the warm prompt displayed at the top of the screen.”
The fate of the two teams on stage now rested in the hands of every single viewer. As they waited for the judgment of fate, their nerves naturally started to build. Then, when they suddenly heard the host mention a “warm prompt” for the voting, they were a bit confused.
Given the show’s usual “tricky” nature, the trainees waiting for the vote grew even more nervous.
But no matter how anxious they were, it didn’t help—they couldn’t even see what the host was referring to. All they could do was hope that at least one viewer would like them enough to vote impulsively in their favor.
Even as the losing team, before the first ranking results were announced, they still clung to a tiny sliver of hope.
He Ting: “Three, two, one! Countdown’s over—voting begins!”
As the elimination round voting began, the live audience stared nervously at the voting devices handed to them at the entrance, while the livestream viewers fixed their eyes on the voting window that popped up on their screens.
[Is the one you want to vote for truly hardworking enough to deserve your precious vote? Or are they just coasting? Make your choice!]
“Wait, this message… is that the warm prompt the host mentioned earlier?”
“Damn, I almost voted in the heat of the moment just now.”
“Thinking about it calmly, based on what I’ve seen in the live broadcast, An An does seem to be working harder than Lin Lin. Ugh, I like both of them—this is hard.”
“What’s there to be torn about? Of course you should pick the one who’s both hardworking and someone you like. People are naturally biased—it’s just one vote, no shame in showing a little favoritism.”
[This prompt… wow. I was going to vote for one of the twins, Lin Jiashi. I like them both, but thinking about how Lin Jiashi acted kind of strangely in both the AI assessment and just now on stage… I think I’ll give my vote to An An instead.]
[Hehe, no prompt can sway me—Boss Xiu is all-powerful and hardworking. My heart belongs to him alone. Let’s goooo!]
[White hair and red eyes—totally my type. The A-level vampire count who slayed the whole stage must rise to the top!]
[Zhuang Yi is so pitiful. He had good intentions but ended up with such a drag of a teammate. Poor guy. He cannot fall here—vote him up!]
[Xia Wenhao’s passionate energy got me hyped—nice, nice. He gets my vote!]
[Heh, I love Xiang Yueting, that blinding ball of hot sun! Without him, Brother Wang wouldn’t even feel like clenching his fists!]
…
Judging from the bullet comments and the level of discussion among the live audience, the show’s warm-hearted reminder during the voting session did have some effect—it helped calm down some overly fired-up fans who were impulsively voting in the heat of the moment.
The trainees on stage were completely baffled. Before joining this boy group survival show, based on what they had seen from previous talent competitions, audience reactions during the voting phase were never this overwhelmingly intense.
Besides… other shows only allowed one minute of voting, while Youth Unstoppable gave a whole three minutes—so it turns out this was all part of a plan from the start, huh?!
So what exactly was the show’s “friendly reminder”?
Damn, it only made them even more nervous!
Shi Buwen was sitting at the master control station, watching each trainee’s expression through the live feed, laughing so hard he slapped the table: “Hahaha, the day has finally come! Any trainee who tries to coast by—don’t even think about debuting on my watch!”
Back in his day, he and some others in his batch had been sabotaged and torn apart by underhanded tricks.
That person who did it is still thriving in the entertainment industry, despite being utterly incompetent. They managed to jump from idol to actor, and even though their acting is as thin as watery porridge, fans still hype them up. Say one honest word about them, and you’ll get mobbed by their fanbase, ridiculed and attacked.
Meanwhile, some genuinely hardworking and talented people gradually vanished from the scene, simply because they didn’t know how to play the game.
Take their season’s champion, for example—too honest, too straightforward. He once openly pointed out that person’s laziness and how they dragged everyone down. But after the show’s editing, what the audience saw was: “Being talented makes you arrogant and dismissive of others.”
After the show ended, anyone who didn’t associate with that person was labeled by their fans as part of a b*llying clique.
The entertainment industry runs deep. Two-faced people are everywhere—saying one thing up front and doing another behind the scenes.
In the entertainment industry, having a bit of cleverness and strategic thinking is nothing out of the ordinary—it’s actually quite normal. He doesn’t dislike people like that; in fact, he sees them as smart and full of ideas.
But when that cleverness is used solely for hype and to sabotage others, it just becomes disgusting.
Back when he was a trainee, people like him—who worked hard—were the ones hurt by the show’s editing and by that person who knew how to manipulate public attention.
Now, he wants to be the one holding the umbrella for others.
Malicious editing? Forget it—there’ll be full live broadcasts from start to finish. Don’t even think about it!
Slacking off in front of the camera while pretending to work hard? Ha! A live stream and a stage are the ultimate tests of who’s truly putting in the effort and who’s just faking it.
No one would’ve guessed that the chief director who came up with this entire show was driven by such a passionate and idealistic belief.
For the trainees, those three minutes felt like forever. But for the audience casting votes, they passed in a flash.
At the last second, He Ting spoke loudly into the mic: “Round Two voting is now over! Both teams of trainees, please step off the stage. Teams led by Song Chengwang and Lu Fei, please prepare for the next match-up. All Round Two results will be announced after the first performance is complete!”
The audience, already well-acquainted with the show’s usual antics, weren’t the least bit surprised by this outcome.
[Damn, this show really knows how to keep us hanging.]
[The show hasn’t announced anything yet, but I’m positive Xiu Xiu got first place in the votes. I just know it—can’t help it, my Xiu Xiu is a monster-tier powerhouse who crushed the stage!]
[Yo yo yo, don’t get ahead of yourself. The results aren’t even out yet—why act so smug? And don’t think we didn’t notice that white hair during the performance. Wonder who he was trying to copy.]
[Yo yo yo, someone’s salty! I’m dying—white hair and red eyes is a classic vampire aesthetic, you got a problem with that? Besides, tsk tsk, everyone knows your team’s king of dragging-down-the-group has pastel pink hair. Maybe have some shame and stop trying to force comparisons across fandoms like those clout-chasing “main dishes,” okay?]
[Exactly! Xiu Xiu isn’t even on the same level as him, come on!]
Amid the noisy back-and-forth in the bullet comments, the second group showdown began.
Although Shen Xiu had already delivered a performance like a gem, audiences couldn’t help but subconsciously place his team and the other eleven in completely different lanes.
Different lanes meant different standards of judgment.
Song Chengwang’s team launched a surprise performance: all members dressed in tuxedos with bow ties, playing cellos for a piece called Pure White Jasmine, exuding a noble elegance beneath their charm.
It was clearly more graceful and eye-catching than Lu Fei’s team, whose performance of Lucky was just a bouncy, upbeat routine with simple choreography.
As the team leader and center, Song Chengwang looked unforgettable in his suit—especially when he pulled the bow across his cello and the muscles under his shirt tensed, giving off an irresistible mix of bad-boy and polished charm.
In the end, Song Chengwang’s team beat Lu Fei’s.
[I wouldn’t dare stalk Boss Xiu’s abs, but I will stalk Brother Wang’s, hehehe]
[Ssshhh~ Here’s an idea, Brother Wang—you should go compare muscles with Boss Xiu! Let him flex and kill us all with those gains!]
[Damn it, Brother Wang, being this hot doesn’t benefit me at all!]
Jiang Yanxi’s team performed Early Spring Breeze, which was way too soft and sentimental—the choreography was barely there, and unlike Song Chengwang’s team, they didn’t use any props or surprise elements to elevate the stage.
It fell far short compared to Shang Yu’s explosive, high-energy hip-hop performance Blow Up the World, which was packed with intensity. Especially with Shang Yu as center—dressed in a white shirt with gold-rimmed glasses, his styling alone grabbed everyone’s attention.
In the third group showdown, Shang Yu’s team easily defeated Jiang Yanxi’s team.
[Jiang Yanxi’s team probably lost because of the song choice—there just wasn’t enough room for them to show off.]
[I seriously did not expect that Shang Yu wearing gold-rimmed glasses while rapping would work—it should’ve been such a clash, but somehow it totally hit!]
[That mix of restraint and wildness, who gets it? I just wanna rip the suit off Song Chengwang and throw it on Shang Yu—he’d look so good in a buttoned-up shirt with that whole “forbidden desire” vibe!]
[Sister, I feel you! Gold-rimmed glasses, suit and tie, that deadpan smirk while staring you down? I’d faint on the spot!]
In the fourth group, a member of Rong Cheng’s team froze mid-performance due to stage fright, causing a major mistake.
Their song Love Me Right Now lost to Mu Zhenchu’s team’s Take Me Away From the World.
In the fifth round, Zhu Fuqing’s team performed Deer in the Forest, while Wen Yinglang’s team did Song of the Elephant. Both had similar styles and comparable stage effects, but Wen Yinglang’s team had better average visuals.
As a result, Wen Yinglang’s team crushed Zhu Fuqing’s in the votes and won the round.
In the sixth match-up, Cai Bo’s team brought the sweet and cutesy song Honey, while Ning Sinian’s team went with the cool and edgy Legend of the Assassin. The contrast in styles was stark, and Ning Sinian’s team’s charisma clearly stood out. They won the battle.
[Nothing after Legend of the Assassin really stuck in my head, to be honest.]
[Anyone else notice that all the stages after Boss Xiu’s were just… basic? Still, it only proves how amazing he is. Boss Xiu singlehandedly raised the standard for this entire first performance show!]
…
All twelve teams completed their six group battles, and by 5:30 PM, the curtain officially came down.
Backstage, after the competition, the trainees, who had been split into different rooms before the match, were finally gathered into the same room.
As soon as Song Chengwang saw Shang Yu, he rushed up to him, staring at the gold-rimmed glasses on Shang Yu’s nose: “You’re so flashy.”
He strongly suspected that Shang Yu had been intentionally avoiding glasses before the show, only to wear them during the first performance to create a contrast and secretly stun everyone.
Shang Yu smiled slightly, his gaze falling on Song Chengwang’s perfectly tailored suit and the muscles bulging from his arms: “Right back at you.”
Jiang Yanxi, standing nearby, rubbed his arm and groaned: “Ugh, you two seriously need to stop. I’m getting goosebumps here.”
Zhuang Yi, who had been let down by his teammates—causing a disaster on their first performance stage—pitifully complained: “Waaa, why are we so unlucky?”
As a B-class member who had just managed to move up to the A-class, Rong Cheng, the unfortunate center who got dragged down by teammates during the first performance, sighed helplessly: “Tell me about it.”
Xiang Yueting leaned over and whispered to Xia Wenhao: “Do you think they’ve forgotten there are cameras in here too? The audience is watching the livestream.”
Xia Wenhao immediately shouted: “Did everyone hear that?!”
Xiang Yueting: “…”
This kid! He was about to lose it!
Sure enough, Shen Xiu’s sharp eye had seen right through their true nature—just the kind of people who’d stab each other with knives!
[Hahaha, Xia Wenhao, you’re still the best!]
[Damn it, I wanted to hear more. Xia Wenhao, don’t you dare close your eyes tonight. Don’t sleep too soundly, I’m sending Xiang Yueting to ‘assassinate’ you!]
[LMAO, it’s so obvious that the other trainees are all aware of the cameras and are staying quiet, but these two couldn’t resist throwing jabs at each other.]
Ke Zi’an weakly raised his hand: “Uh… excuse me, has anyone seen our captain, Shen Xiu?”
After the group match ended, the two teams that entered the room first—Shen Xiu’s and another team—naturally found themselves seated in the last row, as was Shen Xiu’s usual habit.
Shen Xiu sat in the back row, and his team members naturally followed their captain and sat with him in the last row.
For some reason, Zhuang Yi’s team also decided to join the trend and sat in the last row.
As more and more trainees entered the room, everyone began chatting with familiar faces or talking with their teammates. No one noticed when Shen Xiu had left the room.
“Wait, look! Isn’t that Shen Xiu?!” someone pointed at the live feed on the big screen in front of the stage.
The trainees in the room all turned their gazes toward the big screen, their expressions filled with shock.
“Holy crap, why is Shen Xiu on the stage? What’s he doing?”
