After Cannon Fodder A Accidentally Marked the Cold Film Queen - Chapter 9

Clatter.

As soon as Zhu Songning’s hand touched it, it was slapped away by Shen Qingyu.

Mission failed.

Zhu Songning smiled noncommittally, as if she hadn’t taken the failure to heart.

In fact, she hadn’t expected to succeed on the first try.

Locking eyes on Shen Qingyu’s unmoved beautiful face, Zhu Songning silently straightened up and chose to extend her hand in an honorable manner: “First time meeting, shouldn’t we shake hands, Mentor Shen?”

The trainees around her, including Luo Chuanhe, gasped at her bold move.

“You might not follow celebrities, so you aren’t familiar with the style of Film Empress Shen,” Luo Chuanhe whispered to her. “Film Empress Shen never has physical contact with any Alpha, let alone shaking hands.”

The smile on Zhu Songning’s face widened, in a way that was hard to tell if it was a provocation or something else.

Shen Qingyu’s gaze paused on her hand, her expression unreadable.

“I never shake hands with Alphas.”

Her tone was cold, icy, and the fingers hidden in her sleeve involuntarily curled.

“Furthermore, why do you think you are the special one, Zhu Songning?”

Zhu Songning smiled and withdrew her hand: “At least you remembered my name, didn’t you?”

“I think that’s a very good start.”

It wasn’t until Shen Qingyu’s footsteps disappeared from the cafeteria that Luo Chuanhe stared blankly, then turned to her new friend: “No way—you’re too fierce, aren’t you?”

Zhu Songning accepted the compliment: “Just so-so.”

“You call this ‘just so-so’?!” Luo Chuanhe suddenly raised her voice, then lowered it a little after noticing the surrounding trainees’ stares. “I’ve never seen Film Empress Shen look so upset!”

“What kind of things were you saying?”

“She looked very upset?”

Zhu Songning slowly finished the remaining half of her steamed bun, then wiped her lips.

Why did she feel that Shen Qingyu seemed to be in a relatively good mood?

However, her previous words did seem to have deeply offended the person.

Zhu Songning started to worry.

Having played too many games of deception, whenever she encountered a situation that required true emotion, it seemed to leave her helpless and at a loss for what to do.

How could she coax the person back into a good mood?

“Let’s go.”

She tapped on Luo Chuanhe’s dining table.

Luo Chuanhe looked up at her: “What for.”

Zhu Songning raised an eyebrow: “Did you forget, this morning is the initial evaluation…”

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Luo Chuanhe disappear like a gust of wind.

“—I need to go practice some more…”

The performance order for the initial evaluation was not based on the trainees’ pre-ranking.

Since trainees from the same company might have prepared the same performance as a group, the order was determined by drawing lots.

But Zhu Songning didn’t feel this draw was very fair.

She looked at the number in her hand, which happened to be right after Xu Zhe’s group, and felt that this treatment was a little familiar.

She vaguely remembered that in the original book, this spot was drawn by Luo Chuanhe, who performed solo. Coming after Xu Zhe’s group, her score was suppressed by the previous group’s stunning performance, causing her to narrowly miss the initial Center position. Xu Zhe took the only straight-A score in the initial evaluation and became the initial Center.

In later episodes, due to her company’s lack of support, Luo Chuanhe was continually suppressed by the show; her final broadcast content differed greatly from the live performance, her killing part was severely edited, and she ultimately missed the debut spot.

Unexpectedly, Xu Zhe planned to reserve this treatment for her now?

Xu Zhe’s group consisted of the seed contestants from Yuanhe Entertainment. Performing after them, Zhu Songning’s performance would only serve to embarrass her.

She tucked away the slip of paper and walked toward the lounge prepared for the trainees by the production team.

In the real-time broadcast, Luo Chuanhe was performing on stage.

The young girl with a sharp wolf-tail haircut delivered a rap that followed the music’s rhythm; the ear studs on her ears flashed, and her clear, fast articulation quickly ignited the whole venue.

Without the interference of a malicious draw this time, she successfully earned an almost all-A rating from the mentors, temporarily ranking first.

Only Lu Conghuan gave her a B.

“While your rap is indeed excellent, the stage assesses a trainee’s comprehensive strength.”

[Ai, I personally feel Luo Luo could have gotten all A’s. Mentor Lu is too strict.]

[But she’s right, an idol’s worth is based on comprehensive strength! I support Mentor Lu!]

[Do you think there will be any straight-A trainees today? Only a straight-A can beat Luo Chuanhe and take the initial Center spot, right?]

[I’ll bet on Xu Zhe… Her pre-ranking was number one, after all.]

“Don’t listen to Mentor Lu,” the rap mentor, Yangyang, looked at her as if she had found a treasure. “Come with me, my little Luo Luo~”

As Zhu Songning had expected, Luo Chuanhe chose Yangyang as her trainee mentor.

Next came a few uneventful trainee stages, and the audience began to feel drowsy.

Until the director called out the name of the next group—

“Let’s welcome Group 36, Honey Girl group from Yuanhe Entertainment, led by Xu Zhe!”

Now, not just the audience, but even the mentors on stage perked up.

“The number one is coming?” Ellen brightened up.

Jin Ming nodded, her eyes fixed on the stage curtain: “I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. None of you try to steal her from me now!”

The stage lights came on. As the music began, the four turned around, and the faces behind their flowing hair were stunning.

Xu Zhe stood in the center. Her eyes, originally full of confidence, suddenly met Shen Qingyu’s gaze, which was directly facing her.

As if reminded of a bad memory, she suddenly panicked for a moment, and her first line of lyrics came in one beat late.

Jin Ming’s brow subtly furrowed.

As a trainee who had been cultivated for a long time, she quickly adjusted, but her performance was still not as good as she had anticipated.

In the end, she received the same grade as Luo Chuanhe; this time, Jin Ming did not give her an A.

“The whole group performed well, but how could a rookie mistake like coming in late on the intro be made by you?” Vocal mentor Jin Ming shook her head. “I had high expectations for you.”

Yangyang shrugged, “The song you chose didn’t have many rap parts, so I can’t really judge… But Mentor Lu, this is the first A you’ve given out today, and it went to trainee Xu?”

“Yes,” Lu Conghuan’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she still spoke. “I believe the stage’s completeness is incomparable to the other groups… Trainee Xu’s performance was very striking.”

Xu Zhe smiled sweetly: “Thank you for the affirmation, Mentor Lu.”

She chose Lu Conghuan as her mentor.

[“Lu Xu” is giving me major feels again, ahhh! Love this senior/junior vibe!]

[Is it just me, or does this feel weird? I feel like the other trainees were just background for Xu?? All the highlights went to Xu emmmm]

[What’s wrong with heavily promoting the number one? Talk to us when your favorite is number one, haha.]

[Although Xu Zhe and Luo Chuanhe have the same mentor grade, Xu Zhe has more popular votes, doesn’t she? Looks like Trainee 2’s initial Center will be her. I guess those who follow won’t have much competitive edge.]

The audience in the live stream was beginning to disperse sparsely, when suddenly someone in the comments shouted, “Wait.”

The lights on the stage, which had dimmed, brightened once again, and a tall, striking figure appeared in the light.

Zhu Songning was sitting on a chair, wearing a black V-neck suit instead of yesterday’s thick coat. The skin exposed on her chest was dazzlingly white, a red rose pinned to her lapel, and a matching black tie was loosely knotted around her neck—it looked less like conformity and more like a constraint.

But what stunned the audience and made them stay wasn’t just Zhu Songning’s captivating outfit.

It was the song she chose for her initial stage—

It was the very stage that Lu Conghuan had made her name with in Youth Trainee 1.

Since that performance was broadcast, very few people dared to perform that stage because that performance was so incredibly stunning that it was considered an iconic, “divine” performance by fans.

“Is she crazy? How dare she?!” The trainee watching below was shocked. “Does she think she can surpass Mentor Lu’s stage?”

“But just by the look of it, why do I feel like Zhu Songning is more captivating…” another trainee murmured softly.

Shen Qingyu, in the mentor’s seat, also suddenly looked up.

Lu Conghuan’s performance had been meticulously prepared for over half a month; everything from the set design to the lighting and backup dancers had been rehearsed countless times.

In contrast, Zhu Songning was dressed all in black, with no backup dancers and no special lighting.

Yet, standing on that stage, she gave the impression that she was born to be the center of everyone’s attention, effortlessly commanding all eyes.

—The return of a king.

Although Zhu Songning did not come from a professional trainee background, when she was a magician on stage, she had seriously studied dance and singing to attract more audience members, in addition to her exquisite magic.

While she might not have the professional level of a singer or dancer, she always knew how to manipulate the audience’s hearts, turning her eight-tenths of skill into a boastful ten-tenths.

Moreover, she incorporated more of her specialized finger movements into the performance.

She had practiced repeatedly in front of the mirror in the preceding days, ensuring every expression was just right.

[I’m done for… How can a human’s fingers be this flexible? I found my seat in just one second, seriously?]

[Trainee 101’s facial expressions, I’m thrilled! OMG!]

[That smile… slightly parted lips, slight tongue movement, slightly narrowed eyes… so hot (drooling emoji)]

[Is no one going to say it? I really think this stage surpassed Lu Conghuan’s previous performance!]

[Be careful, the “Lulu” fans will attack soon (dog head save me emoji)]

The music ended, and the camera focused on her ending pose.

Unlike Lu Conghuan’s simple wink, Zhu Songning took off the red rose, and with a flip of her hand, the rose turned into the King of Spades from a deck of cards. The vibrant color of the crown was like a sharp blade, deeply piercing people’s hearts.

A flame suddenly ignited; the Joker card was quickly consumed by fire. The Alpha tilted her head slightly, blew on her palm, and the ashes scattered everywhere, leaving no trace on her glove, which remained pristine white.

The world seemed quiet for a long time before erupting into a burst of thunderous applause and screams.

The usually conservative and strict Jin Ming was the first to raise an A: “I have nothing to say; the singing was stable throughout.”

Ellen followed closely: “While the dancing may not be the best on the floor, it was undoubtedly very fitting for the stage.”

Yangyang also followed suit with an A: “The rap is fine, but you need to practice your flow more. I suggest you come to my team, I can teach you.”

Ellen grabbed Yangyang’s long braid: “You, you, you’ve revealed your true intentions! Shameless!”

Jin Ming subtly interjected: “I suggest you still come to me; your vocal talent is outstanding, and you could consider a future as a professional singer.”

The trainees below the stage were stunned: “Is this the first time the mentors have argued so fiercely? Not even Xu Zhe’s appearance had this kind of effect!”

Just as everyone eagerly anticipated a straight-A score, Lu Conghuan, with a pale face, gave a “B” rating.

[???]

“Does this not even deserve an A?” Yangyang’s smile stiffened slightly. “Mentor Lu must just not want to see anyone better than herself.”

“What kind of talk is that?” Lu Conghuan’s fingers gripping the B card turned blue at the tips. “It’s simply because Trainee Zhu’s strength isn’t that high. We can’t let those trainees with true ability be overshadowed just because a performance has a few extra gimmicks and designs.”

Yangyang still remembered the grudge from when she gave her trainee a B: “But you yourself said that stage effect outweighs everything else.”

Lu Conghuan: “…”

Seeing that the two mentors were about to argue over her, Zhu Songning proactively spoke: “It’s fine, Mentor Yangyang, I accept this rating.”

It was only the first time, and the initial Center position wasn’t the final one; it didn’t matter if she didn’t get it.

Her goal had already been achieved.

“Accept?”

Just as the scene descended into chaos, a cold, clear voice suddenly emerged, forceful enough to suppress all other noise.

The entire venue fell silent.

The founder, who had not spoken or participated much in the discussions among the mentors, slowly rose from her seat. Her white hair was like light, and she walked step by step into Zhu Songning’s light-colored eyes.

“I’m sorry, I don’t accept it.”

Shen Qingyu stopped right beside Zhu Songning, and her slender fingers slowly pulled a rating card out of her pocket.

“Now, Trainee 101’s rating is reversed.”

Zhu Songning’s pupils constricted.

Shen Qingyu’s delicate fingertips hooked onto her tie and tugged. The scent of jasmine tea was like an invisible rope, coiling around her.

“Though I don’t know what exactly you’re trying to do, with your on-and-off attitude…”

Shen Qingyu whispered to her, in a voice no one else could hear.

“But your performance today… I have to say… How does that popular phrase online go?”

“It truly makes it difficult to keep one’s pants dry.”

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