Her Majesty The Empress Has Made Her Debut In The Center Position [Ancient to Modern] - Chapter 25.2

Ji Zhao reached out her hand to Yu Cheng. After a moment’s hesitation, Yu Cheng took it, feeling its delicate, almost boneless softness. Her heart raced with panic, and it wasn’t until she managed to calm down that she heard Ji Zhao say, “I’m sure Yu Cheng’s vote count will be higher than mine.”

“How is that possible?” Shao Ke, though a fan of Yu Cheng, aligned himself with Ding Yan as a fellow competitor.

“There are only 253 votes in the pool. If Yu Cheng gets more, that would leave our Mr. Ding with just over fifty votes!”

Ji Zhao smiled, her pendant swaying gently, the mole at the corner of her eye glowing crimson like blood. “We’ll find out soon enough.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the vote counts for Yu Cheng and Ding Yan simultaneously appeared on the screen:

Yu Cheng: 201 votes

Ding Yan: 52 votes

A crushing victory—a true landslide.

Ding Yan chuckled and comforted Shao Ke. “At least it’s a lucky number.”

Yu Cheng ignored her teammates’ wild celebrations, staring at the numbers on the screen for a long moment. Then she turned to Ji Zhao. “Mine is lucky too.”

“Oh? How so?” Ji Zhao asked.

“Because it means ‘I love you,'” Yu Cheng replied.

Team B: “……”

What kind of bizarre team culture is this?!

Meanwhile, Team A—having witnessed this trope of Yu Cheng’s sole devotion to Ji Zhaozhao countless times—fell silent for a moment before simultaneously groaning. Qiao Yue chimed in with a cheerful, “Enjoy the ship!”

 Song Jiangjiang made a dramatic gesture, pretending to cover Yu Cheng’s mouth. “Are you trying to kill us with that sickeningly sweet ‘forced pairing’ talk?!”

Ji Zhao was momentarily stunned by Yu Cheng’s sudden pun, then her expression hardened. “Impudent.” Seeing Yu Cheng’s panicked look, she smiled. “But it’s true, it’s quite auspicious.”

She turned to Song Jiangjiang. “What’s ‘forced pairing’?”

As Group A discussed “forced pairing,” they left the waiting room and headed to the break room, leaving the defeated Group B behind, staring blankly at each other. After a long silence, they began to console each other.

Ding Yan forced a smile. “Can’t help it. Who can compete with a Center Position who can fly?”

He Yumeng shrugged. “Her operatic vocals are truly stunning.”

Wan Qi sighed. “We’ll just have to practice harder when we get back.”

Jian Li: “Thanks to the two audience friends who liked me…”

Zhong Ruohan: “They don’t even know what ‘forced pairing’ is, yet they still sold Ji Zhaozhao as this ethereal, otherworldly beauty? Could this be true love?”

Shao Ke: “And they’re even shipping them now, huh?”

The six exchanged glances, then looked off into the distance in unison. “We’ll keep pushing forward next time!”

With this, the competition for the first public performance of “The Puppet Show” on “Debut! Girls” had come to a definitive end. Group A emerged victorious, with each trainee earning 20,000 votes.

Yu Cheng, having received the highest number of votes, was awarded an additional 30,000 votes, totaling 50,000.

 Yu Cheng took the top spot with 201 votes, the highest number of votes received by any performer during the entire show.

That night, the hashtags #DebutGirlsLightnessSkill, #YuWangmeng, and #ThePuppetShowOperaticVocals dominated the top three spots on the trending topics list. The forum posts about Debut Girls surged, and the number of people flocking to the platform to vote grew steadily.

How is it possible for someone to have Lightness Skill? Fans at the live show, don’t exaggerate too much! Lightness Skill has been lost for ages. She says she has it, but how can we believe her? No wires? Then I’ll change my name to yours!

Yu Wangmeng didn’t even know his daughter knew Lightness Skill. How did you guys find out?

To be honest, I can believe she knows Lightness Skill… I’ve seen too much of the world on Douyin. I even accidentally followed this jianghu heroine once. Who understands?

Don’t say the people who went to the public performance are tight-lipped. Even they don’t know which pair won in the end!

Who understands? When Cheng Feiwan told us to be careful on our way home, I thought I was dreaming. Could they really not even announce the vote counts? Turns out they really didn’t!

Send someone to hack into the production team’s system for me. I need to know the vote counts!

Is the voting channel about to close?

Five minutes left!

At midnight, the voting channel closed on time.

The votes were locked.

Meanwhile, the estate fell into a rare tranquility.

The public performance had just ended, and there was no announcement of rankings or new tasks. With a light rain falling, the trainees felt a sense of peaceful contentment and slept soundly in their dormitories.

Occasionally, someone would be woken up for post-performance interviews. After the interviews, they would hurry back to sleep.

The interview questions were simple, asking about their reactions during the preparation and recording of the first public performance. These responses would later be edited together with the corresponding footage in the final program.

Every trainee who answered the questions earnestly received a coffee voucher.

Due to Yu Cheng’s monopoly, coffee in the estate was highly sought after. Many trainees were willing to pay high prices for a cup, but this was only before the public performance. Now, with an uncertain future and finally catching a moment to sleep, who would want coffee?

So, many trainees flocked to Dorm 309, trying to trade with Yu Cheng.

Yu Cheng accepted everyone’s offers. In less than half a day, her small box was filled with coffee vouchers. Chen Xingzi, who had borrowed a computer from the Staff Manager to watch a movie in bed, saw Yu Cheng counting the vouchers. “How long will Zhaozhao have to drink coffee to use all these?”

Yu Cheng pondered. “Until the day before the finals.”

Chen Xingzi: “…Don’t get too attached.”

Yu Cheng, without looking up: “Caring for her is my duty.”

Shen Yican, who had just woken up, leaned down from the upper bunk. “They all say you can use Lightness Skill. Is it true?”

During “The Puppet Show” performance, Shen Yican’s group had been checking the voting results and missed the performance. Chen Xingzi had boasted about it several times before Shen Yican finally asked.

Chen Xingzi also leaned down, making sure her eye roll landed. “Of course it’s true! Everyone says so!”

Shen Yican said skeptically, “Seeing is believing.”

Before Yu Cheng could respond, Chen Xingzi objected, “Do you think Yu Cheng is some kind of street performer? That she should perform just because you want to see her? Shen Yican, how old are you—”

Before she could finish, a voice called from below the balcony, “Zhaozhao, you’re back!”

Chen Xingzi froze, her vision blurring.

Yu Cheng, who had been sitting across from her at the table counting coffee coupons just moments before, had vanished. Only the hem of her clothes lingered in the air, flying toward the balcony before disappearing completely.

Chen Xingzi’s mouth hung open.

Shen Yican’s eyes widened. “Holy shit!”

They leaped out of bed and rushed to the balcony, gripping the railing and looking down. Yu Cheng had already reached the ground and was standing face-to-face with Ji Zhaozhao. Though they couldn’t hear what Ji Zhaozhao was saying, a faint smile appeared on Yu Cheng’s usually impassive face.

Chen Xingzi: “……”

Shen Yican: “……”

Chen Xingzi nudged her shoulder. “What do you think?”

Shen Yican murmured, “So she really can use the Lightness Skill… It hasn’t been lost after all… Revive Chinese martial arts!”

Chen Xingzi: “……”

Did they even come to ship with me?!

Dorm 311:

Song Jiangjiang clicked her tongue and turned to leave.

“Where are you going, Jiangjiang?” her roommate asked.

Without looking back, Song Jiangjiang replied, “To wash someone’s clothes! A lady’s body but a servant’s fate!”

*****

Dorm 205:

Zheng Dongqing sat at the desk by the window, directing traffic with her words as she worked on crafting the backstory for The Puppet Show. She heard her roommate say, “Dongqing, your teammate Yu Cheng just flew down!”

Zheng Dongqing didn’t even look up. “I’ve seen enough of that.”

Her roommate: “……”

*****

Dorm 209:

Shen Xin rolled over again, dead to the world.

Further down, on the balcony of Dorm 113, Qiao Yue held her face in her hands, gazing with mock affection at Ji Zhao and Yu Cheng standing nearby. Behind her, in the room, Pei Jia was bent over, packing her luggage.

“They won’t be taking back the Class B practice uniforms, right? If not, I’m taking one as a souvenir. What do you mean? We have to wear them for the filming order release? Why make things so complicated? Is there a one-click withdrawal button?”

 “Hey, Jiajia!” Qiao Yue called out. “Look, Zhaozhao’s here.”

“Boss Ji—” Pei Jia snapped her suitcase shut and rushed toward the balcony. “Boss Ji, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you! Come here, come here!”

Ji Zhao approached at a leisurely pace. “Already spent your salary?”

Pei Jia’s eyes crinkled with laughter. “No way! There’s nothing to spend money on here! I was just packing, thinking I’d probably be eliminated in the first round. I just wanted to talk to you a bit more before I go. After I leave, I’ll be standing by at the company. Just let me know what you need.”

“Let you know?” Ji Zhao said. “You won’t be eliminated in the first round.”

Pei Jia’s smile froze. “Huh?”

Ji Zhao stepped forward onto their balcony and sat down in a chair. “If you can stay on the show, you’ll get a prize of 100,000 yuan after the first round, 200,000 after the second, and for the third…”

“Stop!” Pei Jia grabbed Ji Zhao’s hand. “Boss Ji! I’m willing to stay! For my dreams!”

Ji Zhao had just finished her post-interview and taken a detour to buy coffee. Now she sat on the outdoor balcony chair, the setting quite romantic.

Yu Cheng sat beside her, glancing around occasionally. Pei Jia couldn’t help but tease, “No one’s going to suddenly appear, grab Boss Ji, and sprint off with her…”

“But Boss Ji, how do you know I won’t be eliminated?” Pei Jia asked curiously.

Ji Zhao remained silent.

Yu Cheng and Pei Jia had their phones. That morning, they had gotten up early to check the rooftop. The platform’s voting chart was locked, but fortunately, the forum still recorded the results. Before the voting closed, Ji Zhaozhao had securely held the Center Position, followed by Yu Cheng and Song Jiangjiang.

Scrolling further down the list, they saw Pei Jia at number 26—a respectable ranking.

Ji Zhao didn’t tell Pei Jia about the phone. She just smiled at her and said, “I believe in your abilities.”

Pei Jia: “!”

Could this… could this be what it feels like to be trusted?

Just as Ji Zhao was about to try to bond with Pei Jia as superior and subordinate, she suddenly heard someone running over. Ji Zhao recognized the Assistant Director’s assistant. The assistant panted, “Ji Zhaozhao, go to the log cabin. Someone’s looking for you.”

Yu Cheng asked, “Who is it?”

The assistant shook her head. “I don’t know. The Assistant Director just told me to find you. You need to hurry! It’s apparently some big shot!”

Ji Zhao gave a nonchalant hum and walked toward the log cabin with Yu Cheng. Pei Jia and Qiao Yue watched them walk away, their chins resting in their hands, their eyes full of admiration.

After a long pause, Qiao Yue finally remembered. “Oh, right, Jiajia. When did you get a dream? Didn’t you say you didn’t have one before? What’s your dream now?”

Pei Jia’s face lit up with longing. “To get rich.”

Qiao Yue: “……”

Support