I Became the Top Competitor in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 32.2

The First Public Performance and Team Selection

At 8 a.m. on the 24th, 126 trainees reunited in the main hall of Ming Yi Building for a new recording session.

The hall had been set up, with seven large floor-to-ceiling boards neatly arranged in the center. Chi Meng, who had originally stood in Class F, in the eleventh row of the entire team, was now in Class B, and the nine people in the front Class A were clearly visible.

Host Xie Tongyue walked in energetically, wearing pink athletic wear, along with the other six mentors. Xie Tongyue smiled, spun around, and waved to everyone, “Good morning, trainees.”

“Good morning, Sister Tongyue!” the trainees shouted in response. “Good morning, mentors!”

The mentors smiled and waved back.

Xie Tongyue held her cue card and microphone, smiling: “We’re all standing here together again. This time, I’ve noticed that the view right in front of me is a little different than before.”

Shen Zhu, who stood in the C-position, gave a slight smile. Xue Weiran and An Ran stood directly behind her, and upon hearing Xie Tongyue’s words, both looked at Shen Zhu’s back.

The girl was slender and tall, her black hair tied high, revealing a neck as white as jade.

Xue Weiran emotionlessly shifted her gaze.

Xie Tongyue fanned the flames: “Oh, I’ve noticed quite a few covetous glances behind the C-position.”

Shen Zhu did not turn her head, maintaining her calm smile. The camera lingered on her face before slowly pulling away.

“After yesterday’s theme song recording and experiencing what it’s like to be on stage, I believe many trainees here have developed some thoughts about the word ‘stage.’ Will there be a next stage? Can I continue to stand on the stage? Who else will see my performance?”

Xie Tongyue’s voice was gentle but filled the trainees with yearning. From the initial stage to the theme song recording, in just six short days, they had experienced the most radiant moments of their trainee lives, but everyone knew this was just the beginning.

“Today is June 24th, Saturday. Next Saturday—” Xie Tongyue paused, smiling slightly at everyone. “—is the date of the first public performance for $Star Journey.”

“Performance.”

“A public performance!”

The surrounding voices were noisy. The trainees’ faces showed excitement, nervousness, and anticipation. The first public performance meant they finally had a chance to perform in front of a real audience! Below the stage would no longer be just trainees, staff, or cold machines, but actual, genuine spectators!

For reasons unknown, Chi Meng suddenly felt a little nervous, as if her heart was being squeezed. She lightly rubbed her fingers, her eyes fixed forward, and curved her lips.

“The first episode is airing tomorrow. I was thinking about the show, and suddenly we have a public performance. Hiss! I’m so nervous!” a trainee whispered.

“It feels like time is flying, but if you think about it carefully, not much time has passed.”

While the trainees whispered, Xie Tongyue continued: “After the first public performance, the first round of eliminations will take place. As I mentioned before, in the first elimination, forty-two trainees will leave our stage!”

When her words fell, all the private chatter instantly ceased, and silence spread through the hall.

Xie Tongyue looked at everyone, slowly stepped back, and stood in front of the seven panels. She spread her hands, drawing everyone’s attention to the panels. She stated solemnly: “The seven panels behind me will determine the stage for your next performance—so what kind of songs are hidden in them?”

She paused and looked at the other mentors standing next to the panels: “Please, mentors, one by one, reveal the answers to everyone.”

The first position was Teng Jia. She raised her hand and unhesitatingly tore off the sticker on the panel, revealing the song title underneath: “In the West Wind” (Xi Feng Li)

Xu Shenling: “Never Ever”

Shi Xinxin: “Subtle” (Ruo You Ruo Wu)

Luan Xiu: “Silence” (Chen Mo)

A Meng: “Demons”

Bao Ziyu: “Not Bad” (Bu Cuo)

Xie Tongyue: “Flowers Have Bloomed” (You Hua Kai Guo)

With each sticker revealed, the trainees gasped. The confusion in Chi Meng’s eyes deepened. When all the stickers were removed, the seven panels faced everyone neatly, and Chi Meng had seven neat little question marks over her head.

The songs on the panels were revealed, and the trainees immediately started discussing which song suited them. Chi Meng pricked up her ears and heard Lin Tingxia and An Kui mentioning “Flowers Have Bloomed,” so she knew this song must be a sweet one. The song “Silence” didn’t sound very silent…

Xie Tongyue gave everyone one minute for discussion. She smiled charmingly and said, “Everyone has seen the seven songs. Now, I announce the rules for song selection for the first public performance!”

The main event had arrived. All the trainees held their breath and looked intently at Xie Tongyue.

“For the first public performance, all trainees will be divided into fourteen teams of nine people each. Every two teams will perform the same song and compete on-site. The audience will vote directly, and the team with the most votes wins and receives a bonus of ten thousand votes!”

As Xie Tongyue finished, the expressions of many trainees changed. They subconsciously looked at the Class A trainees. In a team-versus-team competition, the team composition was extremely important; the probability of winning was higher if they joined a team with more talented trainees.

“And,” Xie Tongyue paused, continuing under the trainees’ nervous gaze, “To encourage the trainees to bravely showcase themselves, the trainee with the highest overall live audience votes in the first public performance will receive a chance for a solo stage performance!”

A solo stage?

A stage belonging solely to an individual among 126 people?

This rule both surprised and delighted everyone, especially the Class A trainees. The “covetous glances” Xie Tongyue mentioned earlier reappeared. Xue Weiran lightly pursed her lips and made eye contact with Shen Zhu, who turned to look at her. She smiled and raised an eyebrow. Their gazes briefly met and then separated.

019, who was secretly watching the show live, jumped out and cheered: “Host, go for it! Host, charge!”

Since updating its voice package, it was no longer a mechanical voice and could clearly express emotions, such as excitement, intense excitement. It exploded a yellow duck firework for Chi Meng with a “bang,” and the duck’s wings had a small flag tucked into them.

Chi Meng: “… Calm down.”

019: “Solo stage!”

Chi Meng: “Yes, I know. Okay, stop exploding ducks!”

019: “Charge, ducky, ducky, ducky!!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Chi Meng: “…”

Xie Tongyue smiled, watching the trainees below excitedly discussing the solo stage opportunity. She reminded them at the right time, “The chance for a solo stage is rare, but the team’s victory is more important. Don’t lose sight of one for the other.”

“Now, we come to what everyone cares about the most: the team assignments for the first public performance!” Xie Tongyue raised her voice. As this related to their stage for the first public performance, the trainees tightly shut their mouths.

“Popularity first, skill above all. After five days of hard training, you entered different classes based on your evaluation scores. When recording earlier, I said that entering Class A comes with benefits you can’t imagine, and now is the time for the Class A trainees to receive their benefits!” Xie Tongyue said, “The nine Class A trainees on site directly have the right to select a song. Then, our mentors will select five people from the remaining trainees to form five additional teams, and they will, in turn, select their teammates.”

When Xie Tongyue finished, many people were stunned. Someone immediately said, “Does that mean the trainees who are selected are lucky or unlucky?”

Lucky because after being selected, they have the chance to choose a song. Unlucky because there won’t be any Class A trainees in their team!

As all the Class A trainees were split up, one could say it was balanced.

For a moment, everyone was discussing loudly. Chi Meng suddenly said to 019: “Xiao Jiu, quickly shake the draw! Will I be one of the 5 out of 117 people selected?”

019 immediately pulled out the code, excitedly shaking the draw for Chi Meng and muttering a spell: “It’s the Host, it’s the Host, the Host will be the captain, yes, yes, yes—Yay!”

The three-and-a-half-year-old toddler voice popular among the systems let out an excited cheer, and Chi Meng’s heart immediately relaxed.

She thought for a moment and asked, “Will Jiaqi be one of these five people?”

019 happily shook the draw for Song Jiaqi and cheerfully said: “Yay!!”

Chi Meng was even more relieved and asked, “What about Mengyao?”

019 sensed something and sensitively asked, “Host, do you not want the right to choose your teammates?”

Chi Meng smiled sweetly and said, “I’m okay with anything.”

But it would be even better if she could rely on a strong team.

019, who had a ten-layer filter over Chi Meng, innocently believed her and continued to shake the draw. At this moment, Xie Tongyue suddenly said: “As the C-position of the theme song, trainee Shen Zhu has a special privilege. She can not only choose a song, but also has the right to immediately select all her teammates. Trainee Shen Zhu, please step forward.”

In Class B, Chi Meng tilted her head, her eyes lighting up.

In Class F, Song Jiaqi tilted her head and quietly took a sharp breath.

Shen Zhu was stunned, a look of surprise crossing her face. Under everyone’s envious gazes, she strode forward decisively and stopped in front of the “In the West Wind” panel.

A staff member handed her a microphone. Xie Tongyue smiled and asked, “Trainee Shen Zhu, please choose the teammates you’d like to have from outside of Class A. After your selection, these trainees will be removed from the draw list.”

Shen Zhu licked the corner of her mouth and said unhesitatingly: “The first trainee I choose is from Class F, Renshine Entertainment, Song Jiaqi.”

Clang! 019’s small draw-shaker hit the floor, thinking in shock: Why!

Chi Meng smiled and turned with the other trainees to look at the back of Class F, where an extremely beautiful, cold, and dark-spirited girl slowly walked out with reluctant steps.

A smile appeared on Shen Zhu’s cool, clear face. For some reason, this smile was a bit cold, with a hint of “I’ve got you now” in it. Song Jiaqi stood behind Shen Zhu and sighed.

A very disappointed sigh.

Shen Zhu: Heh.

Because of that sigh, the second name she was about to call out was immediately replaced by another person.

A terrible, terrifying, relentless devil!!

Shen Zhu: “The second trainee I choose is from Class B, Chi Meng.”

In Class B, Chi Meng spread her arms and happily jumped down.

Shen Zhu (coldly): Face the wind! ╭(╯^╰)╮

019: (Throwing the draw-shaker): No— ┴─┴︵(‵□′╰)

Chi Meng (happily): Here I come! ^▽^

What do you think of Shen Zhu’s bold move to pick both Song Jiaqi and Chi Meng for her team?

Support I Became the Top Competitor in a Talent Show Novel