Chapter 31: First Performance (6)
After He Youna finished speaking, the eliminated members from Zhuang Yi’s team instinctively turned their gazes to Shen Xiu.
Even though they knew the chances were slim, as long as Shen Xiu hadn’t made his decision yet, they all still had a shot—didn’t they?
It wasn’t just the eliminated trainees looking at Shen Xiu; the other trainees were watching him too. This only made Shen Xiu, who already felt ashamed sitting at the top, feel even more pressured.
Shen Xiu didn’t step down from the stage. Instead, he asked the mentors, “Teacher, can the revival privilege be transferred to someone else?”
During this time, Shen Xiu had been focused entirely on his own team. He honestly had no idea what the situation was like for Zhuang Yi’s team. It wouldn’t be fair for him, an “outsider,” to make a sudden decision about them without understanding their circumstances.
Besides, ever since the elimination list had been confirmed, he had noticed that Zhuang Yi’s eyes had never left his own team members, his expression full of guilt.
To Shen Xiu, no one was more suitable than Zhuang Yi to decide who should be revived.
Zhuang Yi was surprised when he heard Shen Xiu’s words and looked over at him, eyes filled with hope.
He Youna thought for a moment and then nodded. “No problem. Who do you want to transfer the revival privilege to?”
Shen Xiu, still not used to making eye contact, didn’t meet Zhuang Yi’s eyes and simply said, “Zhuang Yi.”
[I didn’t expect this turn of events.]
[Hehe, I saw it coming. Based on Boss Xiu’s logic as a strong contender, of course he’d want to leave the stage to those who work hard. But since Boss Xiu doesn’t know Zhuang Yi’s team members like Zhuang Yi does, it makes total sense that he’d let Zhuang Yi decide who should stay. After all, Boss Xiu is just that meticulous and serious.]
[You’re amazing, it turns out I didn’t study the Shen Studies enough. I’ll follow you!]
Zhuang Yi instantly stood up from his chair, his emotional gaze fixed on Shen Xiu. “Thank you, really thank you, Shen Xiu, I’m really grateful!”
Zhuang Yi was so excited that his words became a bit jumbled.
Shen Xiu replied, “…You’re welcome.”
Zhuang Yi walked down from the pyramid and went straight to the members of his team who had been eliminated. His gaze swept over each of them before finally landing on Zhang Te.
From the reality shows Lin Jiashi had watched before, it was usually at this point that the trainee who would be revived had to say a few emotional words to stir the pity of the person holding the revival ticket.
Lin Jiashi whispered, “Brother Zhuang, I…”
Zhuang Yi, with a clear purpose in mind, didn’t pay attention to Lin Jiashi. Without hesitation, he looked at Zhang Te and said, “I choose to revive Zhang Te.”
Zhang Te hadn’t expected the captain to choose him. After all, he wasn’t very noticeable in the team. Even during his brief solo part on stage, he hadn’t reacted quickly enough to a sudden situation, leaving him standing behind and finishing his performance awkwardly, which essentially meant an ineffective stage presence.
Lin Jiashi’s unfinished words were stuck in his throat, his expression one of shock.
Before the other unrevived teammates could speak, Zhuang Yi continued, “I know you must be wondering why it’s not one of you, but Zhang Te, right?”
The members who weren’t chosen nodded in agreement.
Faced with this rare opportunity to stay on the stage, none of them wanted to be humble. “Brother Zhuang, why?”
[Exactly, why? What makes Zhang Te better than our white-haired little brother? He’s not as good-looking as our little brother, doesn’t know how to dress, and isn’t attractive at all. Why should he stay on stage?]
[You scared me! I’m relieved now. As long as it wasn’t Lin Jiashi, Zhuang Yi made a great choice!]
[Hehe, I love seeing your frustrated faces. If you’re so capable, go grab the revival ticket yourself!~]
“On stage, aside from Lin Jiashi’s incident, there was also Zhang Te’s issue. He was blocked by Lin Jiashi and couldn’t get to his assigned position in time because Lin Jiashi didn’t move. As a result, Zhang Te didn’t get the camera shot he deserved, which is an overlooked problem. On the other hand, each of us got our own camera time and had the chance to show ourselves. So, I want to give Zhang Te a chance to prove himself.”
Even though the competition was already over, Zhuang Yi still remembered how, after he stepped aside to take over the part Lin Jiashi couldn’t sing, Lin Jiashi remained frozen in place. That mistake had blocked Zhang Te’s shot, forcing him to sing off to the side without being seen, making his effort feel like it had been wasted.
At least the others had their moments on camera, but Zhang Te only had a side shot. That was like all his hard work had been for nothing.
Zhuang Yi felt guilty about that.
If they weren’t on stage, Zhuang Yi would’ve wanted to kick Lin Jiashi out of the way.
After Zhuang Yi finished speaking, the eliminated members of his team recalled the incidents from the stage, and their gazes toward Lin Jiashi changed.
If they were eliminated, two-thirds of it was due to their own shortcomings—being not good enough, not capturing the audience’s attention. But one-third of the blame was on Lin Jiashi.
It was Lin Jiashi who caused the accidents on their stage and made their performance imperfect.
No matter what, it couldn’t be blamed on Zhang Te.
“Brother Zhuang, we agree with your decision.”
Some of the team members were blunt, saying directly, “As long as it’s not Lin Jiashi, I don’t mind who gets the revival chance. I don’t care.”
At this point, neither Zhuang Yi nor the members of his team cared about Lin Jiashi’s face anymore.
“Zhang Te, you have to work hard. You need to make sure that the revival privilege given to our captain is worth it, understand?”
Zhang Te, with red eyes, nodded. “I’ll definitely do it!”
“Alright, stop crying. Even if you leave the stage, I’ll still watch the show. But if you don’t work hard, I’ll make sure to criticize you in the comments, you know?”
Zhang Te’s expression was serious. “I won’t give you that chance!”
Even if his talent wasn’t strong, and his abilities weren’t outstanding, he could honestly say that he had worked hard. He had no regrets.
Zhuang Yi looked at his teammates who weren’t revived, his face full of apology. “Sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. You’re a great captain. It’s just that I didn’t have enough skill,” one of them said.
The group continued talking, and except for the initial comments about Lin Jiashi, it was as if he didn’t exist anymore. Even when Zhuang Yi and the team hugged, they skipped over Lin Jiashi.
Lin Jiashi stood at the side, biting his lip hard, his eyes red.
This time, he wasn’t pretending to look pitiful for the camera. He really wanted to cry.
[Aww, poor baby, don’t cry! It’s all their lack of vision! Don’t worry, my poor darling, I’ll always support you!]
[But… he got eliminated, so where exactly are you going to support him now?~]
[But… he got eliminated, so where exactly are you going to support him now?~]
[Haha, looking around, all I see is this comment. My adorable and silly neighbors online, you really know how to throw shade. I can almost feel the suffocating social death Lin Jiashi is experiencing through the screen.]
[Zhuang Yi and his team are going to make me die from laughing. Are they trying to inherit my credit card or something? Haha, throughout the whole thing, their communication just screams they don’t care about Lin Jiashi’s survival at all.]
[There’s nothing to be done—who told Lin Jiashi to disregard others’ well-being on stage? What goes around comes around.]
He Youna: “Shen Xiu has used up his revival ticket. Song Chengwang, who do you want to revive?”
Other than Lin Jiashi’s fans, no one cared what kind of expression he had. The revival process proceeded as normal.
The six trainees who were revived were moved to tears. As for those who weren’t, although they felt a sense of regret, there was no hatred.
At least on the surface, no one showed the obvious anger Lin Jiashi did when he mentally broke down. In front of the cameras, everyone expressed envy and well wishes for the revived trainees with restraint.
“To the eliminated trainees—after tonight, you’ll be leaving the training camp tomorrow. The production team has decided to host a farewell banquet for you this evening. There’ll be food, drinks, and entertainment. It starts at 6 PM, and only the 100 of you will be at the venue. We hope you enjoy this wonderful time together.”
Since the outcome was already decided, the eliminated trainees gave up dwelling on the sad parts and instead looked forward to feasting and having fun that evening, cheering up happily.
After all, they were leaving the next day. Their courage swelled, and they began to ask questions they hadn’t dared ask before, letting themselves go.
“Teacher, will there be lobster and abalone at the banquet tonight?”
“Will there be expensive red wine?”
“Teacher, I want a deluxe KTV setup!”
“I don’t ask for much—I just want one of those super fancy seafood sashimi platters like the ones in TV dramas, the kind that costs tens of thousands!”
He Youna smiled helplessly: “Yes, yes, yes, the production team really went all out. Everything you asked for will be there!”
“But before the banquet begins, we hope all 100 of you can gather in the 10th floor practice room at 2 PM this afternoon. At that time, together with the livestream audience, you’ll watch edited footage of each group’s practice sessions leading up to the first public performance.”
He Youna looked at the boom-mounted livestream camera that had extended in front of her.
“Of course, to all the viewers in the livestream—don’t worry. Both the edited and unedited versions will be released simultaneously on the official account and video platforms. You can choose whichever version you’re more interested in.”
“Ah, that’s great! I’ve always been curious how Shen Xiu’s team trained to pull off such an amazing stage. Now we’ll finally get to see the answer!”
“Getting to see that and enjoy a big feast before leaving? This whole experience was totally worth it!”
The name Shen Xiu heard the most was his own team’s. Although he’d long anticipated that this day would come, now that it had actually arrived, he still felt uneasy.
So embarrassing!
He silently begged: Please don’t blame me for dragging you all into this public execution…
Shen Xiu anxiously glanced at his teammates seated in the pyramid section, praying in his heart.
Just as the members of Team Shen Xiu were holding their heads high, fully prepared to graciously accept envy, praise, or flattery from the other trainees that afternoon, they were suddenly met with a chilling look from their team leader.
Everyone was filled with big question marks.
They each met Shen Xiu’s eyes briefly before quickly looking away, exchanging glances with one another and beginning a wordless, tacit conversation under their captain’s icy gaze.
Xia Wenhao: Why is Shen Xiu suddenly giving us that cold stare?
Ying Zi’ang: Maybe… possibly… probably he’s telling us not to get too full of ourselves?
Ke Zi’an: I think you’re right!
Xiang Yueting: Thank goodness for the warning—if not, my tail would’ve been up in the clouds again!
Seeing how everyone only met his eyes for a brief second before immediately looking away, Shen Xiu couldn’t help but sigh once again: What kind of heavenly teammates are these?!
Hand in hand, ready to socially die as a full team, sharing the firepower equally… what a bunch of amazing people!
[Aaah, I can finally see the practice room footage! God knows how long I’ve been waiting for this day!]
[The production team has finally done something right!]
[Ahem… to be fair, the reminder from the production team before the voting also counts as them doing something right.]
He Youna finished announcing and smiled, saying, “Now it’s everyone’s free activity time, feel free to do whatever you like.”
After speaking, He Youna looked at the seven trainees holding revival tickets: “Trainees who have used their revival rights, come with me. There’s a post-competition interview to do. Shen Xiu, you come too.”
The seven responded and followed He Youna as they left.
Watching their backs, the remaining trainees who stayed behind showed expressions of envy.
Especially the trainees who had been eliminated, who no longer bothered to hold back their words.
“I have to say, the production team’s benefits are really good. As long as you’re strong, you get interview after interview, and the funny solo shots they release help gain some fans.”
“There are some things I have to say today, or I’ll never get another chance. Before I came on this show, I thought it was one of those programs that edits a version for broadcast. After all, that way, they can control the number of shots each trainee gets, and there’s a lot of room for manipulation. I didn’t expect it to be a live show, and now, if you want to grab the audience’s attention, you have to rely on your own effort.”
“Before coming here, I did a lot of homework and watched many talent shows. I thought if I could create some explosive topics, the production team would have material to edit, and if it could spark debates among the audience, that would create buzz. But who would have thought this show was live? Under the cameras, nothing can be hidden.”
“Same here. It’s all because I got misled by previous talent shows. When I finally wanted to make an effort, it was too late. Now I just regret it, really regret it.”
“Not only that, don’t you think this show has a boss… ah, no, I’d rather call him the King of the Competition, Xiu. With him here, it’s a total competition.”
“Forget about the Demon King Xiu competing, he even brought along a bunch of A-level experts to compete too—it’s terrifying.”
“I’ve been wanting to say this, I’d call it the ‘wolf-like’ boy group talent show.”
“Every day, we’re in fierce competition to the point of exhaustion. My brain is fried, sometimes I really feel like I’ve seen a ghost. Doesn’t Shen Xiu ever get tired?”
“Haha that’s the Demon King Xiu, how could he get tired?”
“Anyway, the Demon King Xiu, he’s not human!”
“Yeah! He’s not human!”
Some of the trainees, helpless at everyone’s honesty, loudly said to the camera, “Everyone, I swear on my character, what we’re saying is all positive!”
[Hahaha, don’t worry, it’s pretty obvious that Demon King Xiu is not human, isn’t it?]
[Yep, I can confirm, Demon King Xiu is clearly a big demon king!]
[Ahem, stop making stuff up, he’s clearly a vampire count! I even have pictures and videos to prove it!]
[Still, what the sister upstairs said is right.]
Meanwhile, backstage.
Before the interview, Yu Xiangwan explained to the seven trainees on-site: “This time, the format of the interview is different from previous ones.”
Under everyone’s confused gazes, Yu Xiangwan continued, “This time, each of you will be asked a different interview question. The questions were chosen by the live stream audience through voting, so please answer carefully.”
“And maybe, just maybe, some of the questions are a little bit… sharp. So be prepared.”
Yu Xiangwan’s hint was obvious enough—everyone understood.
The interview questions chosen by the audience wouldn’t be as harmless as before. There might be traps hidden in them.
Mu Zhenchu: “I’m ready!”
Song Chengwang: “Bring it on!”
Zhuang Yi to the camera: “Please be gentle with me, everyone!”
Shang Yu smiled: “We can begin.”
Shen Xiu: “……”
Why did everyone look like they were preparing for battle?
The audience is so adorable—how bad could their questions really be?
Absolutely impossible!
Thinking of the sea of light-up name signs raised for him in the crowd, Shen Xiu currently had a filter over the audience that was about 180 layers thick.
Zhuang Yi’s wish came true—his question from the audience wasn’t hard to answer, and he completed it easily.
After finishing Zhuang Yi’s interview, Yu Xiangwan moved on to Shen Xiu.
Looking at the card with Shen Xiu’s question, Yu Xiangwan fell silent for a second, and even her gaze toward him was filled with sympathy.
But this was her job—she had to ask.
“Shen Xiu, everyone really wants to know—what’s your impression of Lin Jiashi?”
Shen Xiu, upon hearing the question: “……”
[We just filled that in casually at the time… who would’ve thought it actually got picked!]
[Ahem, I secretly voted for this question because I saw people on Big Eye App already shipping the Competition King Xiu with Lazy Little Jia, and I couldn’t stand it. I don’t want King Xiu to be associated with someone who slacks off—I just want to hear how Demon King Xiu himself feels about Lin Jiashi.]
[I get that “don’t want to misplace my loyalty” feeling. Praying he doesn’t show any fondness for Lin Jiashi—I’d break down!]
The other six trainees looked at Shen Xiu with eyes full of sympathy. Even though they couldn’t see the livestream comments from the training camp, everyone more or less had a sense of what kind of person Lin Jiashi was.
If the answer wasn’t good, he might get flamed by Lin Jiashi’s fans.
At that moment, back on the ranking announcement stage, no one was talking to Lin Jiashi. The discussion was all centered on Shen Xiu. Lin Jiashi stood there awkwardly.
The atmosphere made it unbearable for him to stay, so he chose to leave.
“Impression of Lin Jiashi…”
Shen Xiu racked his brain, but couldn’t think of anything memorable about Lin Jiashi.
His beloved audience really was a little sharp—out of a hundred people, they’d picked someone he had no impression of at all. This question was so hard to answer!
Still unable to come up with anything, Shen Xiu could only answer honestly: “No impression.”
Yu Xiangwan: “……”
What… what a brutally honest answer. But—this is what it means to be a big shot, huh? Not even worried this clip might get him roasted later?
Just as Lin Jiashi walked out, he heard Shen Xiu say those words.
