Her Majesty The Empress Has Made Her Debut In The Center Position [Ancient to Modern] - Chapter 23.1

Within half an hour of the official release, the number of members in the Debut! Girl group on a certain app skyrocketed from a pitiful hundred-something to five thousand, with numbers continuing to rise sharply. The number of posts also surged dramatically.

[Hey, everyone! It’s your eternal beauty here to join the fun. The quality of trainees this year is so high!]

[It’s not just the trainees—the mentors are impressive too. I’m a fan of one of them. It feels like I just graduated, and now they’re already a mentor. Those glasses look so stylish. Mentor, teach me everything! [starry eyes]

[Mentor fans, put down your bitter tea… Do you have a favorite trainee yet? I still don’t know who to vote for.]

[Let me summarize: Regular users get seven votes daily, and VIPs get forty-nine. You can distribute these votes among seven trainees however you like—all seven to one trainee, two to one and four to another… Am I right?]

[I’m a long-time VIP user, and I’m giving all forty-nine votes to Ji Zhaozhao. No other reason—just heard she’s the Initial Center. I admire strong women.]

******

[Wait, I haven’t even recognized all the faces yet, and you guys have already found your crushes?]

[Ugh, am I the only one who’s overwhelmed by the voting chart, finding everyone appealing? But some trainees look so different in their formulaic photos—much prettier when they’re moving!]

[Have you guys finished watching the show and are already focused on voting? Come on, let’s discuss the plot! I nearly died laughing—why did Yu Cheng suddenly kneel before Ji Zhaozhao? The production team cut it so chaotically—I need to see the uncut version!]

[I can’t stand Ji Zhaozhao’s “White Snow” performance, but you have to admit she’s incredibly skilled. Can’t she play something more familiar, like “Butterfly Lovers”? I’d instantly turn into a butterfly!]

[Yu Cheng must have been kidnapped… The more perfect her dance, the stiffer her expression. Yu Cheng, if you’re being held hostage, just blink!]

[You can’t pick Song Jiangjiang—she’s a gambler!]

[You mean the bet with Ji Zhaozhao, where she lost and had to wash Ji Zhaozhao’s clothes as her servant?]

******

As the main content went live, online discussions heated up, and the voting platform was overwhelmed. Meanwhile, back at the estate, it was calm and quiet, but life… wasn’t quite as peaceful as it seemed.

Two hours earlier, the trainees, who were diligently rehearsing on stage, were summoned to the multimedia classroom.

After expansion and meticulous planning by the production team, the classroom felt spacious even when a hundred trainees sat neatly on the tiered steps. Before the assembly time arrived, the trainees trickled in, small groups gathering together and whispering among themselves.

The Perfect Pair team was the first to arrive.

The reason was simple: as soon as they heard the call to assemble, Song Jiangjiang immediately raised her hand. “Our team’s motto is ‘First in Everything’! We aim to win first place in competitions, and we’ll be the first to arrive for assemblies too!”

Shen Xin bluntly exposed her: “You just want to sit and slack off.”

Ji Zhao, however, found Song Jiangjiang’s words quite reasonable.

First in Everything—she liked that.

So the six members of the Perfect Pair team marched grandly toward the multimedia classroom, followed by the sly Group B from The Puppet Show. The “sly” part was Qiao Yue’s observation. Spending so much time with Song Jiangjiang had sharpened her knack for roasting others. She gently speculated, “Are they trying to ambush us?”

The Perfect Pair team: “……”

“Don’t say such terrifying things with such innocent eyes!”

 “Why are they following us?” Ji Zhao asked, her team seated prominently at the center position of the steps. She seemed genuinely concerned. “Are they trying to steal our moves?”

“Absolutely!” Song Jiangjiang declared confidently. “Our stage concept is unparalleled—both unprecedented and unmatched. It’s only natural they’d want to copy us.”

Qiao Yue looked anxious. “What should we do?”

Zheng Dongqing patted her hand. “Don’t worry. We’ve recorded all our training sessions. It’ll be crystal clear who originated the moves and who’s copying them.”

Shen Xin nodded solemnly.

Yu Cheng clenched her fist. “Should I go ask them?”

He Yumeng, captain of Group B from “The Puppet Show” and standing not far away, couldn’t resist interrupting. “Are you asking or coming to beat us up?! You’re practically radiating killing intent!”

“Don’t badmouth us so loudly!” Wan Qi protested indignantly.

“And!” Shao Ke added, looking exasperated. “Steal our moves? Don’t you know the mentors are coming to watch our practice room rehearsal tomorrow? If you want to copy us, you can do it openly then!”

Ding Yan, the center position, let out an awkward “uh” and tried to smooth things over. “We didn’t actually mean to steal anything.”

“That’s exactly what I said—no stealing!”

“But you phrased it so ambiguously, and you were even patting her hand!”

 “So what if I patted it? I stand tall and straight.”

“You mean you stand tall and straight.”

“I can’t stand our Chinese teacher!”

The Perfect Pair group ignored their opponents’ petty squabbling. Leaning forward and huddling together, they spoke in unison: “When do we get the practice room for rehearsal?”

The opponents scoffed: “How can you not even understand the rules?”

Shao Ke wiped his sweat. “I’ll be devastated if we lose to them.”

Wan Qi reassured him: “Relax, that’s impossible.”

He Yumeng, equally confident, declared: “If we lose to them, I’ll pack my bags and go home.”

“Whether we get the practice room or not doesn’t matter much,” Ji Zhao said, steadying the team’s nerves. She listened to the opponents’ dismissive chatter with irritation. “But it really annoys me when they talk down to us like that.”

Shen Xin raised her hand. “Calm down. That’s straight out of a villain’s playbook.”

Ji Zhao retorted: “What’s wrong with being a villain?”

Song Jiangjiang chimed in: “Villains usually get their comeuppance…”

Ji Zhao hummed in agreement, her tone sincere. “But villains don’t have you guys. I do.”

The Perfect Pair group: “!!!”

Song Jiangjiang: “Through fire and water!”

Shen Xin: “Over mountains of knives and seas of flames!”

Zheng Dongqing: “To the ends of the earth!”

Qiao Yue: “Zhaozhao…”

 Yu Cheng murmured, “You’ll always have me.”

The opposing team: “……”

What kind of cult brainwashing loyalty pledge is this?! Why is that Ji Zhaozhao hosting a talent show? She should be running a pyramid scheme!

The production team didn’t give them much time to bond. As more trainees arrived, the atmosphere grew lively. Soon, Cheng Feiwan entered, holding a hand card.

 

After the customary greetings and a few random check-ins with individual trainees, she got down to business.

“At 8 PM tonight, the first episode of Debut! Girl will be released on the video platform. You trainees are dying to watch, right?” Cheng Feiwan asked with a smile.

The trainees drew out their response: “We want to—”

Cheng Feiwan turned and pointed to the set-up area. “You can watch, but first, the production team has prepared a little game for you. Let me explain the rules.”

“Each team will select one trainee to compete. Elastic ropes will be tied around their waists. When the timer starts, they’ll race to the finish line. Balls in the box at the end contain time values in minutes. The total time accumulated will determine how much of the show you get to watch.”

“You have two minutes to choose your competitors.”

The multimedia classroom fell silent for a moment before the small teams quickly gathered to discuss. Amidst the enthusiastic nominations and self-recommendations, the Perfect Pair team stood out for their harmonious agreement.

All eyes turned to Yu Cheng.

Song Jiangjiang: “Do we even need to vote?”

Zheng Dongqing: “No question about it.”

Shen Xin: “She’s even mastered the Lightness Skill…”

Qiao Yue: “Go for it, Yu Cheng!”

Ji Zhao also looked at Yu Cheng, her gaze filled with trust and high expectations, just like every time she selected someone for a mission in court. Yu Cheng felt her blood surge, and she sprang to her feet with a whoosh: “I’m in!”

Song Jiangjiang: “Just ‘I’m in’? Sounds almost like you’re cursing.”

Shen Xin: “Don’t act like you’re so experienced.”

 

Two minutes later, all the trainees representing their teams had gathered at the starting line. Eighteen teams, divided into two groups, were ready to compete.

 Yu Cheng was in the first group. Beside her, on the adjacent track, was Shao Qi, the rapper from “The Puppet Show” Group B. Shao Qi secured the elastic cord around her waist and met Yu Cheng’s gaze with a proud look. “I’m the long-distance running champion at my school!”

After a moment of silence, Yu Cheng suddenly asked, “What’s your relationship with Ding Yan?”

Shao Qi hadn’t expected such a sudden change in conversation and let out an “ah.” “Why do you want to know?”

Yu Cheng’s tone was sincere. “Just curious.”

Shao Qi naturally lowered her guard. “Oh, we’re from the same university, but she’s a new Chinese language teacher and I’m still a student. We’re not in the same faculty, so there’s no teacher-student relationship. That’s why we’re being hyped as a ‘Perfect Pair’… Why am I even telling you this?!”

Convinced that Yu Cheng was trying to undermine her by exploiting her reputation, Shao Qi steeled her resolve and ignored her.

Unfazed, Yu Cheng casually secured the elastic cord, testing its resistance. So this era is truly tolerant, she thought. Even teacher-student relationships are accepted.

 “Are you ready?!” Cheng Feiwan’s voice boomed through the microphone, echoing in the multimedia classroom. “I’m going to count down! Ready?!”

Shao Qi straightened her posture, her chest puffed out. “It’s time for you all to witness the capabilities of a long-distance running champion!”

“Three!”

Below the stage, Shen Xin clicked her tongue. “The opposing team looks so smug. It’s irritating!”

“Two!”

Ji Zhao reminded Shen Xin, “That’s the villain’s line.”

“One!”

Qiao Yue murmured, “But we have Yu Cheng.”

Ji Zhao smiled, glancing at Yu Cheng’s silent yet reassuring figure nearby. “Right. We have Yu Cheng.”

Grand General Yu, undefeated in battle.

 

At Cheng Feiwan’s command, the trainees at the starting line shot forward like arrows released from a bow. The fastest among them nearly reached the finish line and touched the ball, just a centimeter away, but couldn’t withstand the elastic cord’s pull and was flung back to the start.

Her teammates, though disappointed, didn’t forget to encourage her: “Good luck! Try again!”

 “Charge! Victory belongs to us!”

“Aaaaaah, I got the ball! How many minutes?! One minute?! The production team is being so stingy!”

“Someone got five minutes! So impressive! I’m so jealous!”

Amidst the frenzied chaos of everyone charging forward, Yu Cheng stood out. She wasn’t running or rushing; she was simply strolling leisurely along her track, as if taking a leisurely walk in a park.

One step at a time.

Walking with grace, walking with confidence, walking with style, walking with skill.

“What’s wrong with your teammate?” He Yumeng asked Ji Zhao, who was sitting next to her. “Can’t she at least respect the intensity of this competition? Strolling around like she’s on a catwalk!”

Qiao Yue whispered back, “Yu Cheng is really amazing.”

Ji Zhao hummed in agreement. “She’s really amazing.”

Faced with her opponents’ enigmatic confidence and clear foolishness, He Yumeng shook her head in exasperation. Having such opponents made it hard to tell whether they were lucky or unlucky. She just hoped they wouldn’t lose too badly, or else she’d—

Huh?

He Yumeng rubbed her eyes, her pupils widening.

 Was she seeing things? Yu Cheng had actually… reached the finish line just by walking?!

“What the hell? Is this how you play this game?”

“Why did she reach the finish line so easily when everyone else struggled so hard?”

“Isn’t the rope tied to Yu Cheng just a regular rope? Right? Right? Is she cheating? How else could she do this? Quick, look! She’s standing by the box and picking one up!”

Compared to the other contestants’ exhausted and strained appearances, Yu Cheng looked utterly composed and unruffled.

She walked to the box, pulled out a ball, and after seeing the number inside, seemed unsatisfied. She put it back and picked another one. This time, she smiled faintly, turned around, and raised her hand. “Zhaozhao! Thirty minutes!”

Ji Zhao clapped with a smile. “Amazing!”

Yu Cheng grinned, then, under everyone’s watchful gaze, somehow propelled herself back to the starting line in a single bound. She placed the ball in the bucket and stepped onto the track again.

Still moving at her unhurried pace, she was thousands of times more efficient than the chaotic scene unfolding around her.

The trainees’ eyes turned red with envy.

 “I need all her information within five minutes!”

“Thirty minutes, my goodness! Our team ran over five times and it only took ten minutes total… Oh, sweetie, it’s not that you’re bad, it’s just that the competition is too strong. Be good now.”

“What’s the point in continuing the competition? Just pack up and go home.”

The Perfect Pair team had already witnessed Yu Cheng’s Lightness Skill, so they were no longer surprised by her superhuman body control. Still, Song Jiangjiang couldn’t help but boast, “Captain He, how was Yu Cheng’s runway walk?”

Captain He: Exhausted, stop provoking me.

 

In the end, Yu Cheng dominated the competition with an absolute lead of 45 minutes, securing her victory. Her winning speech was: “45 minutes is too short. The production team is so stingy.”

The 45 minutes represented the total sum of minutes in the production team’s box, not Yu Cheng’s limit.

The trainees: “……”

Damn, she outsmarted us.

Apart from her teammates, only Shao Ke refrained from grumbling. When Yu Cheng had finished fishing out all the balls from her own box, she casually helped Shao Ke and returned them untouched.

Shao Ke gazed at Yu Cheng with starry eyes, his tone sincere: “Yu Cheng, thank you! If you want to hear more about Ding Yan and me, or any other trainee gossip, come find me in Room 104 anytime! I know all the juicy details!”

Yu Cheng: “……”

 That wasn’t her intention.

After the game, Cheng Feiwan delivered another surprise to the trainees: “This cardboard box contains phones sponsored by the brand. I’m going to distribute them now. Once you get your phone, you need to post a vote-seeking Weibo.”

Her words instantly brightened the eyes of the trainees, who had been immersed in sorrow: “Phones!”

“You mean those phones that can access the internet, stream videos, play games, and take selfies?”

Cheng Feiwan held back her laughter. “Your Weibo accounts have already been officially verified. Your photos and videos are all in the albums—you can search through them yourselves. After you post your Weibo, you can go to the media room and watch your dedicated program.”

After the phones were distributed, the multimedia classroom fell into an unusual silence.

Although the phones provided by the production team had limited features, it had been so long since they’d been online that everyone eagerly began surfing the web. Some immediately opened the Weibo app, as Cheng Feiwan had instructed.

Most of the trainees were unknowns, and even those with existing fan bases had only a handful of supporters. Therefore, the production team had collectively re-registered their Weibo accounts, all with the same verified information:

“Contestant, Debut! Girl Season 4.”

 Watching Song Jiangjiang’s actions beside her, Ji Zhao opened Weibo, clicked the + icon in the top right corner, and began composing a post.

[@Ji ZhaozhaoV: Vote for me.]

She attached a photo from her album, showing her sitting on a tall stool outside a convenience store, a coffee cup in hand. She gazed into the distance, while Yu Cheng stood partially obscured in the background, her outline blurred. Ji Zhao remembered that Yu Cheng was counting coffee coupons at the time.

One by one, Yu Cheng had said to her, “These coupons are enough for Your Majesty to drink coffee until the finals.”

She clicked send.

Having completed her task, Ji Zhao glanced at Yu Cheng beside her. Still struggling with pinyin, Yu Cheng was painstakingly writing each character by hand:

[ …Please vote for Ji Zhaozhao! ]

Ji Zhao: “……”

Just in time, she corrected herself, “I meant to ask for votes for myself.”

Yu Cheng’s hand froze.

Ji Zhao smiled. “Focus on getting votes for yourself. Don’t worry about me.”

Yu Cheng hesitated, conflicted.

“This is an Imperial Decree,” Ji Zhao insisted.

Reluctantly, Yu Cheng deleted the sentence. Her subsequent writing became perfunctory:

[ I will never disappoint the hopes of our ancestors and fellow villagers. Victory or death! ]

 Ji Zhao nodded in satisfaction.

Song Jiangjiang, standing nearby, grimaced at the sound. “Are you two playing that Emperor-subject game again?” She made a playful face, her voice turning coy. “Your Majesty~ You still haven’t chosen tonight! Will it be Noble Consort Song or Empress Cheng~?”

Yu Cheng’s voice deepened. “Don’t be impudent.”

Song Jiangjiang chuckled. “Even if this Princess shouldn’t be impudent, I’ve gotten away with it plenty of times… Huh? Yu Cheng, why is your face so red?”

Ji Zhao glanced at Yu Cheng and cleared her throat. “Noble Consort Song’s behavior is inappropriate. Relying on Your Majesty’s favor, she’s become too presumptuous. She lacks the gentle grace of Empress Cheng. We shall retire to Empress Cheng’s chambers.”

Song Jiangjiang whimpered and buried her face in Qiao Yue’s arms, seeking comfort.

Yu Cheng, still flushed, stammered, “…Your Majesty, just let her carry on.”

“Are you joking?” Ji Zhao teased, laughing. “Your face is genuinely red. Let me see if it’s warm.” She pinched Yu Cheng’s cheek, kneading it until satisfied. “It wasn’t warm earlier, but now it is.”

She turned to her teammates. “Have you all posted on Weibo? Once we’re done, let’s go watch the show.”

 

Among the “Perfect Pair” group, only Song Jiangjiang had a slight internet addiction. The group’s main trait was their independence from their phones; after posting their Weibo updates, they handed their phones over and were the first to leave the multimedia classroom.

The remaining trainees were left with mixed feelings.

Shen Yican: “I was so close! So close to being in Ji Zhaozhao’s group.”

Chen Xingzi: “My roommates! All of them are amazing, right? Let me tell you, there’s not a single weak link in our dorm—except for Shen Yican, of course.”

Ying Tian: “Waaaaah, Zhaozhao! My gentle, adorable Zhaozhao! I’m going to check out what she posted on Weibo and comment right now!”

Her teammate silently held up her phone. “You mean Ji Zhaozhao, the one who only used two words and an ordinary photo for her campaign? Her Weibo post… seems to have a lot of likes?”

“Seriously!” another teammate chimed in, leaning closer. “Look how fast the comments are piling up—over a hundred already!”

Ying Tian opened the comment section.

[“Vote for me.” Such a simple message. Is this what it means to be royalty? Even their campaigning is so half-hearted! So cool! I love it! Where do I vote? Any pointers?]

[Her casual photos are stunningly beautiful. I just want a kiss—mine, my wife, the wife I’ve never even met—just one kiss…]

[Came here after reading the leaks. So this is the only “true royalty” from Debut! Girl? If that’s the case, I’m about to have some fun. After all these years of dealing with talent shows, I’ve never had a royal to work with. All my favorites never even debuted. It’s my turn to shine, right?!]

 

Ying Tian was utterly baffled. “What are they talking about?”

“I know!” Chen Xingzi, sitting in the back, raised her hand. “They’re from a gossip blogger. Apparently, Zhaozhao was incredibly rude during the interview. Insider leaks say she’s arrogant and self-centered. The fact that she was ever the Initial Center proves she’s royalty through and through.”

 Shen Yican sneered. “This insider’s leak seems to have backfired.”

Contrary to her expectations, the netizens didn’t mock the Royal family; instead, their interest surged. In this cutthroat entertainment industry, why gamble with untested methods when you could simply align with the Royal family? Though it lacked the thrill of discovery, it offered a reassuring sense of security.