Trainee Ch.78

Chapter 78: The Third Performance (14)

Although the truth being revealed dealt Lai Yudong a million-ton blow, looking on the bright side, he had regained the freedom to speak his mind and was now set on the path of becoming a happy, carefree “e-person.”

Still, in front of the cameras, he needed to rein it in just a little, so his words wouldn’t get blown out of proportion and maliciously misinterpreted.

While Lai Yudong and the system were bickering about his identity, the “Anonymous” team was performing on stage. By the time their performance ended and the speaking segment began, he was already chatting again with Li Xu.

He basically let the “Anonymous” team’s stage pass him by.

It wasn’t that he disrespected the contestants—it just so happened that timing was unfortunate, and his personal affairs felt far more pressing than other groups’ performances. Even if he had wanted to focus on the stage first, those endless lines of “not an overseas contestant” kept flashing across his mind like bullet comments on a screen.

Forgive him, but he simply couldn’t spare the attention.

He could only rely on rehearsal impressions and the audience’s reaction to piece together the official stage. He figured it must have gone well—after all, the screams from the audience were real enough.

What he didn’t know was who would end up with the bonus vote.

The bonus vote was rather tasteless, but he was satisfied with the third performance regardless. Even if the prize for first place was nothing more than a lollipop, he couldn’t help but look forward to the small badge of victory.

For the third performance, they didn’t use electronic voting devices. Instead, a ballot box was set up at the venue, and once all the Starseekers had left, staff would tally the votes.

While waiting for the results, the “Grotesque” team was suddenly told to return to the stage.

Li Xu looked baffled. “What’s going on? Are they reshooting something?”

Lai Yudong pointed ahead. “Probably not. The screen lit up.”

Reshoots usually happened to force in some scripted content or because of technical problems with recording the audio or video. The current situation couldn’t really be the former—the storyline could easily be pieced together with practice clips, post-performance interviews, and final edits.

And besides, the livestream wasn’t even shut off. The production team wouldn’t be so blatant.

Fortunately, Lai Yudong reacted quickly and steadied Li Xu by the shoulder, preventing an awkward scene.

Startled by the sudden force, Li Xu glanced back at him with a slight frown. “Don’t tell me it’s another case of mental deficiency this time?”

Lai Yudong thought tracing things back to the root was a matter of perspective. “You could put it that way.”

Li Xu gave a cold snort. “Still so stubborn with your words.”

Zhao Yifeng, who was closest to the door, stopped walking and waited for the two lagging behind to catch up, then walked in step with them. “Could it be they’re about to announce the vote count?”

Lai Yudong shook his head. “Not that fast. There are two thousand people this time.”

“All mysterious like this, they definitely don’t have good intentions.” The haunted house incident had left a deep impression on Li Xu, and his distrust of the production team ran deep.

Zhao Yifeng joked, “If they go up there and announce our entire team’s elimination, now that would be funny.”

[Brother Feng, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about the word ‘funny’?]

[Am I the only one who finds that hilarious hhhhhh]

[So the main theme is surprise, huh]

“The production team should really hire you as chief planner,” Lai Yudong said, impressed by such a wild train of thought.

Zhao Yifeng grinned mischievously. “Hahaha, wouldn’t that be exciting?”

Li Xu rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you just say they’ll eliminate all thirty-five of us, then bring back the eliminated contestants for the finals?”

Lai Yudong tilted his head. “And then suddenly announce a battle royale?”

“…Wouldn’t that completely change the nature of the show!?”

[In a way, talent shows are already battle royales, 233]

[Only you three could come up with this]

[Why don’t you guys just run your own talent show]

The seven of them returned to the very center of the stage. Fu Hanyu was nowhere to be seen, leaving them at a loss about where to stand. One after another, they shuffled half a step back, until they ended up split into two uneven rows, all huddled behind their captain.

With no host present, the captain was their only pillar to rely on.

“What are you guys doing?” Lai Yudong turned around with a face full of question marks—one moment of inattention and suddenly no one was beside him. At first glance, their formation looked like they were playing “Eagle Catches Chicks.”

Li Xu: “I just stepped back one step.”

Zhao Yifeng: “I was keeping it symmetrical.”

Yin Zizhen: “I saw everyone else stepping back.”

Lai Yudong: “…”

So it’s the herd effect, huh?

Just then, the production team down below announced the reason they had been called back, easing everyone’s awkwardness.

Each group would in turn record a double-speed version of their third performance song. They only had to dance without singing, which lowered the difficulty, while the other groups watched and reacted during the breaks—something to pass the long wait for the vote count.

The order of appearance was drawn at random. You could only say that Group Three going first was fate’s arrangement.

[Love watching this flashy stuff]

[“Grotesque” is already complicated at normal speed, won’t double speed just tie their arms and legs into a Chinese knot?]

[The more complicated it is, the better the show effect /doge]

“I knew they’d pull something like this,” Li Xu muttered. “Can our choreography even be done at double speed?”

Lai Yudong patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll all embarrass ourselves together.”

Li Xu’s mouth twitched. “You accepted that pretty fast?”

“The sooner we finish, the sooner we’re done.”

Under Lai Yudong’s positive leadership, everyone got back into their opening formation. The six clustered once more around the c-position kneeling in the center, putting on a solemn air as if about to lead everyone back into that grotesque little town hovering between reality and nightmare.

The BGM was the audio source they had recorded a few days earlier.

The music started.

The beat Lai Yudong counted silently in his mind sped up along with it—but before he could even count a few measures, the hands tugging at him from all sides turned absurdly chaotic under the acceleration. That swamp of sin seemed to bubble and boil as if it had been bombed.

—Was this peeling a pomelo or what!?

[Yuzu’s shocked little expression hhh]

[This isn’t Grotesque Town, this is a dog café!]

[Hallucinating Yuzu walking into a pet shop and getting pawed at by a pack of dogs]

His teammates’ dazzling moves made Lai Yudong completely forget to count the beats. The moment when he was supposed to raise his head flashed past like a shooting star—whoosh—gone in an instant. He didn’t even have time to salvage the head-raising move and instead scrambled up from the floor in a rush, hauling along a CPU-struck-and-dazed Yin Zizhen.

The next few beats were still manageable—the shifts in formation and choreography were within an acceptable range. At least, that was the case for Lai Yudong, who knew the moves well.

But when the music hit a pause, Lai Yudong sprinted toward Li Xu like he was about to catch a flight.

Only to find Li Xu standing there blankly, glancing around at his teammates, completely at a loss about what he was supposed to do next.

“Squat!” Lai Yudong pressed his hand downward through the air, like a beckoning cat, reminding him.

Li Xu instantly caught on and hurried a few steps forward to crouch, but the merciless double-speed music left him behind, causing him to miss the one-handed side flip.

Lai Yudong had no choice but to bypass him and charge straight toward the camera.

The stone pedestal became a traffic cone.

With a hasty brake, Lai Yudong stopped in front of the lens and crouched down. He raised his right hand, just about to strike a pose and lip-sync a fake rap—only for the rap segment to end.

“…”

His mouth hadn’t even opened!

Flustered, he quickly flung the camera’s focus aside, squatted for barely a second, and then immediately jumped back up.

[Good lord, I thought Yuzu was about to throw a punch at me]

[Yuzu’s running himself ragged hahahaha]

[Baby’s like a bowling ball]

[Hallucinating Yuzu as a pomelo rolling down a fruit stall—no way to catch him]

What followed were various rotation-of-center parts. Lai Yudong finally found a moment to catch his breath and thought he could relax a little. But when he turned back, ready to rejoin formation, he discovered that his spot was already occupied—by Zhao Yifeng and Li Xu standing side by side.

Lai Yudong: ?

What was this, a game of musical chairs?

Should he squeeze in too?

There was no time to think too much. Lai Yudong forcefully squeezed into the lost-duo lineup and asked helplessly, “Are you guys sure you didn’t mess this up?”

Li Xu, glancing left and right as if searching for the right spot: “Of course! No way the three of us are supposed to be squished shoulder-to-shoulder like this.”

Zhao Yifeng, who had given up struggling and gone with the flow: “Let’s just roll with it. What matters is the lively vibe.”

As they talked, Yin Zizhen was led away from center position by Jiang Yangfan. Somehow he drifted into the trio’s ranks, staring blankly at the chattering older brothers. The formation he had just barely sorted out descended into chaos again.

Lai Yudong almost burst out laughing. “Now we’re four?”

Zhao Yifeng sighed. “Getting livelier and livelier.”

“You all can enjoy your liveliness.” Li Xu had dark lines all over his face. He thought the four of them huddled together looked like a couple of potstickers stuck at the bottom of the pan.

Just then he remembered the new formation after the center switch. Without hesitation, he turned and left this trouble spot.

Only to bump right into Song Yanxi the moment he spun around.

Smack!

The potstickers and the pan-fried buns stuck together.

Both of them let out a miserable scream at the same time—one clutching his forehead, the other his wrist. Their laughing-through-the-pain expressions destroyed any sense of composure, but even the collision didn’t stop their steps. Each with one hand pressed to the injured spot, they dashed across the stage.

Lai Yudong: “…”

Alright, very professional.

[This is way too chaotic hahahahaha]

[Dead, Yuzu got scared by their screams]

[Yuzu: Surrounded by attention-hogs, I’m helpless too]

If things were already this accident-prone on the ground, then the risky move of leaping over backs was definitely off the table.

Lai Yudong’s plan was to perform a standing long jump beside Li Xu, a pantomime version with no props.

But—just his luck—another accident happened.

Song Yanxi reached too fast and accidentally yanked Zhao Yifeng’s necklace off. The two of them crouched on the ground laughing over it for ages, and then dragged innocent Yin Zizhen into it by pulling off his necklace too. Passing by, Lai Yudong scolded them bitterly for b*llying their little brother.

Infected by the lively atmosphere, Li Xu suddenly squatted down on the spot, hoisted Lai Yudong—who had been ready to jump—and carried him on his back, spinning around in laughter.

Lai Yudong: “…?”

He hadn’t even processed what was happening before his feet left the ground, face full of confusion.

To be heard over the blasting speakers and in-ears, Li Xu had to shout at the top of his lungs: “Double speed isn’t safe!”

Panicking, Lai Yudong hooked an arm around Li Xu’s neck, but still managed to snap his fingers with the other hand.

“I know!” he shouted back just as loudly. “But you’ve been spinning too long! Put me down so I can finish the group dance!”

“You should’ve said so earlier! I don’t get double speed!”

“And spinning in circles makes it clearer!?”

[What are Li Hong and Yuzu shouting about?]

[Mics are muted, can’t hear! I’m dying of curiosity!]

[Such a cute little spin]

[I can feel the joy through the screen]

Amid all the chaos, the double-speed version of Grotesque finally came to an end.

The last section of synchronized breaking was just painful to watch—each of them had their own brand of ridiculousness. Zhao Yifeng braced against the floor like he was trying to dig a hole with his feet, while Li Xu flopped around like a stranded mermaid.

The only one doing slightly better was Lai Yudong.

But not because his moves were normal—his lower-body kicks sped up so much that he accidentally knocked out his in-ears. By sheer coincidence, at the exact moment they fell, one hooked onto his leg mid-kick and got caught.

Instantly, laughter burst out from his teammates, and even he sat on stage laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

By the time he shakily slipped the earpiece back on, still laughing with his shoulders shaking, the breaking section had just ended.

After striking the not-so-important ending pose, the seven members of Grotesque exited the stage in high spirits.

Lai Yudong’s face was flushed from the heat. He tugged his leather jacket halfway off so it hung from his arms, leaving his white undershirt visible at the shoulders.

“Double-speed is way more exhausting than the normal tempo. I’m actually out of breath.”

“That’s from laughing, isn’t it?” Li Xu cut him down with his words, though the smile in his eyes still lingered.

“I was really trying to dance properly,” Lai Yudong said with mock seriousness, defending himself.

“I thought so too.”

“Oh, cut it out.”

Back in the lounge, Lai Yudong settled into his seat to watch the other groups’ double-speed stages.

The remaining four teams finished their performances amid laughter and cheers, but overall, the first to go on—Team Grotesque—stood out the most for its sheer comedy value. Not only was it hilarious, the contrast with their original stage was the sharpest.

They had laughed their fill, but what had to come couldn’t be avoided.

The screen flickered, changing to display a pyramid chart. The empty slots carried an invisible weight.

The live voting for the third round of performances had been tallied.

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