I Became the Top Competitor in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 34.1

The trainees from the three stages ran down the stairs, their faces flushed with excitement. They were still disoriented, only knowing to follow the person in front until they returned to the tour bus. It was only when they sat down that a sudden realization dawned: Ah, I actually performed in front of so many people.

Chi Meng and Song Jiaqi were sitting together. In the row in front, Su Mengyao suddenly turned around, cupped her face, and her eyes sparkled, “Did I really just dance in front of all those people?”

“I was about to faint!” she took a deep breath.

Song Jiaqi had been silent since getting off the stage. She gave Su Mengyao a cool glance but didn’t speak.

Chi Meng asked with concern, “Are you okay?”

Su Mengyao looked up, recalling the sea of people below the stage. She couldn’t help but open her mouth, her cheeks slightly flushed with excitement, and her eyes full of yearning, “There were really so many people watching me… Wow!”

Chi Meng chuckled softly.

Hearing her laugh, Su Mengyao snapped out of it and shyly scratched her head. Since she learned she was going on stage, she had been in a state of mysterious excitement, and her mind went blank once she was on stage. Feeling a little embarrassed, she sweetly asked Chi Meng, “Sister Chi Meng, did you notice my dancing? My hands are still shaking, and I don’t know if I got the moves right.”

“Actually… I didn’t pay attention either,” Chi Meng sat up straight and told Su Mengyao, “To be honest, it was my first time singing and dancing in front of so many people. I still feel a bit unreal right now.”

019 appeared from nowhere and shouted, “Host was super awesome!!! I recorded everything! Host was absolutely beautiful!”

Chi Meng was a little surprised. It was only then that she remembered, when she heard the juniors screaming below the stage, there was also a cute, childish voice in her ear that was just as loud as the juniors’. Chi Meng couldn’t help but smile.

The tour bus rattled on its way back, but unlike the confusion on the way there, the trainees in every car were enthusiastically discussing the performance on the stage. Some talked about how they were suddenly put on stage, how glad they were they didn’t forget the moves, and how excited they were. Others talked about how they couldn’t see the faces of the audience when standing at the back, only knew to follow the people in front, and wondered if the actual final performance would have so many people.

The cameraman on the bus, holding a camera, filmed their expressions. The follow-up PD smiled and said, “Today’s performance was actually because Teacher Luan gave up part of her stage time for everyone to perform. It was also to promote our show. This was only decided today and everyone was immediately notified, with no time for a rehearsal. That’s why Sister Cen was so nervous, but everyone performed very well! We all saw it from backstage, and Teacher Luan and Sister Cen are very proud of you all.”

Hearing the director say this, the surrounding trainees asked in surprise, “Really?”

“Thank you, Teacher Luan. Sob, Teacher Luan is so nice.”

Song Jiaqi slumped lazily in her seat, musing casually: The Dongjiang Riverside Music Festival and Dongjiang TV have always been partners, and Star’s Journey is a variety show under Dongjiang TV, so this could be arranged in such a short time. However, these trainees have no fame, so Luan Xiu must have put in a lot of effort for them to get on stage. She didn’t expect Luan Xiu would go to such lengths for these trainees.

She lowered her eyelashes, staring at the tie hanging from her chest, her expression cold. Just then, a hand reached over from the side. Long and delicate fingers pinched her tie and gently tugged, as if it were a doorbell cord.

Only one person dared to be so handsy with her.

Song Jiaqi lifted an eyelid and gave Chi Meng a look.

The girl, who had been sitting upright since getting on the bus, slowly exhaled. She let go of her fingers and moved them along Song Jiaqi’s flat waist, slowly wrapping her arms around it. Her head drooped, and her back, which had been straight as an arrow, seemed to suddenly relax, leaning slowly against Song Jiaqi.

“Woo.” Chi Meng buried her face in Song Jiaqi’s shoulder, making a sound that contained a giggle. She said, “I was so nervous.”

Song Jiaqi: “…You’re off the stage, wake up.”

Didn’t she just smile sweetly and treat Su Mengyao gently?

Chi Meng threaded her other hand around Song Jiaqi’s back, hugging her waist, and sighed softly. She was completely draped over Song Jiaqi, whispering, “I found my legs were a bit weak after sitting down. How can there be so many people?”

Song Jiaqi was a little surprised. She looked down at Chi Meng. From this angle, she could only see Chi Meng’s fan-like eyelashes and her cute nose bridge. Song Jiaqi pressed her lips together, raised her hand, and patted Chi Meng’s arm, saying, “Don’t think about it. You danced very well.”

“Oh, you saw me?” Chi Meng was surprised. She moved away from Song Jiaqi, creating some distance to look at her, “Did you perform well?”

The moment Song Jiaqi stepped onto the stage, she had a bad feeling. Countless people stood below the stage, looking up. In her past life, she had participated in many galas, big and small. The magnificent halls were replaced by the clear blue sky, but what remained unchanged were the pairs of passionate eyes below the stage.

When reality became so tangible, the illusion was instantly pulled away. The moment the music started, she instantly kept up with the moves, dancing with all the trainees amidst the cheers.

This was not what she wanted.

But when she occasionally glanced sideways and saw the brightly smiling Chi Meng next to her, she couldn’t bring herself to slack off at all.

This counted as performing with Chi Meng, didn’t it?

Standing on the same stage, dancing the same dance, singing the same song.

Chi Meng looked at Song Jiaqi’s expression, slightly widened her eyes, and showed a mischievous smile. She didn’t say anything, but it was as if she had said everything, patting Song Jiaqi’s hand.

Well done.

Song Jiaqi instantly lowered her eyelids.

“At least you weren’t so scared that your legs went weak.”

Chi Meng lightly snorted, imitating Song Jiaqi’s posture and slumping into the chair. She raised her leg and rested it on Song Jiaqi’s knee. Her fair leg immediately pressed against the pink skirt.

“Get down, it’s hot,” Song Jiaqi said in disgust.

Chi Meng wiggled her foot and said, “Jiaqi, who has seen the world, come and massage your sister’s leg.”

Song Jiaqi: ?

What nonsense are you talking about?

“Hurry up, I’m going to exercise my older sister’s right and bully the younger one,” Chi Meng said with confidence.

Song Jiaqi stuck out her index finger and poked, poked, poked Chi Meng’s leg.

Chi Meng: “Hiss!”

The commotion between the two was a bit loud. The trainees sitting nearby looked over in surprise, wondering what game they were playing. Among the astonished and bewildered looks, there was a pair of sparkling eyes.

Lin Xueyang, sitting diagonally across, looked at Song Jiaqi, then at Chi Meng, and chuckled.

“…Yangyang, why are you smiling like that? It’s kind of perverted,” the trainee next to Lin Xueyang looked at her suspiciously, thinking she might have been so excited on stage that she’d lost her mind!

Lin Xueyang acted mysteriously: “You wouldn’t understand.”

Trainee next to her: ??

On the way back to the training camp, everyone kept discussing the performance on stage until someone looked out the window first, shouted, and grabbed the hand of the person next to them, asking her to look outside.

“It’s our show’s ad! The promotional ad!”

“What? Where? Where?”

A single stone stirred up a thousand waves. Everyone by the window simultaneously looked outside. Beyond the drawn curtains, the city traffic flowed, and amidst the skyscrapers, large tech screens stood tall. On a giant screen, the golden star of Star’s Journey rotated. Below it, centered around Xie Tongyue, the six mentors stood on either side. The professionally edited photo looked magnificent.

[June 25th, 8 PM, “I” await you on the Dongjiang TV app]

Everyone: “Wow!!”

“That’s right! My manager told me yesterday when we were recording the theme song that the Star’s Journey ads are now displayed at subway entrances, bus stops, and many other places!”

“Starting tomorrow night, people will be voting for us!”

“Our performance will be seen by more people!”

Amidst the noise, Chi Meng looked up at the clock in front of the bus. She counted on her fingers, and taking advantage of the excitement, she said to Song Jiaqi, “Jiaqi, we have to train when we get back anyway, so why don’t you go over the song with me first? Have you memorized all the lyrics?”

Song Jiaqi: …

“Then sing it for me,” Chi Meng said with a smile.

Song Jiaqi: “…Just now, a lot of people were shouting your name under the stage? Have you managed a social media account before?”

Chi Meng shook her head, grasped Song Jiaqi’s wrist, and said, “I don’t have any of that stuff. They were high school juniors. Not many people. Don’t change the subject. Sing, three, two, one…”

She snapped her fingers. Song Jiaqi reluctantly leaned closer to Chi Meng’s ear and whispered, “Ask where the wanderer goes, flowing water and falling flowers, distant mountains veiled in residual sunset…”

Warm breath fell on her ear, and the lazy voice intertwined with the song of the person next to her, tangling in the black hair near her ear. Chi Meng lowered her eyes, her fingers grasping the end of the tie that hung on Song Jiaqi’s arm as she leaned in, and her clear voice joined the song of the person beside her.

In the front seat, Su Mengyao held her breath, slightly turned her head, and couldn’t help but narrow her eyes.

So nice to listen to~

The bus carrying over a hundred trainees of Star’s Journey headed towards the training camp, but the Dongjiang Riverside Music Festival continued. Soon, the three stages, which had been neatly filled, left a deep impression on many people, especially the audience standing in the front row. They were only separated from the stage by less than half a meter, and they could clearly see what the stars on stage looked like, not to mention the many fans holding professional equipment.

So many pretty girls!

With this one performance, the Star’s Journey trainees made many people at the event remember the show’s name. Some people immediately took out their phones to search for the show, and others had already posted pictures and videos they had just taken online.

Soon, many Star’s Journey-related topics, along with stage videos and photos, appeared under the Dongjiang Riverside Music Festival hashtag. As an influential and high-profile domestic music festival, the Dongjiang Riverside Music Festival invites many singers every year. Artists like Luan Xiu, who is a top-tier artist, have a large number of fans. The views under the music festival hashtag are very high, and news related to Star’s Journey quickly spread.

Female idol survival show!

Director Cen Hongjie!

Plus Xie Tongyue, Luan Xiu, Teng Jia, Xu Shengling… A famous director and all top-tier artists. Dongjiang TV must be spending a fortune to promote this show! The lineup is a must-watch!

And seeing the girls’ performance uploaded online, with their young but beautiful faces, it’s definitely a must-watch!!

Soon, the follower count of the official Star’s Journey account rose, and related fan communities were established. Many curious passersby gathered to chat.

Someone asked: “Isn’t it a bit premature to reveal the trainees before the show even starts? This stage must be the theme song for Star’s Journey, right?”

“The first episode of the show airs tomorrow, so it doesn’t matter. Besides, you don’t even know any of the trainees’ personal information, and the voting channel isn’t open yet, so what can you do even if you do know?”

“Director Cen just wants to build up publicity now. The show starts tomorrow, and it’s already trending.”

“I wonder which agencies these trainees are from! I’ve watched all the fan-cam videos and photos! There’s one girl I really love! She’s exactly my type. My heart just melts when she smiles! She must be the wonderful daughter I was destined to have!”

“Ah, ah, ah, I saw one too! One little girl was so cold and distant, but then she suddenly smiled and it totally struck my heart!”

Someone immediately uploaded a stream of photos and asked, “Come on, which one are you talking about?”

Before the show even began, a group of people started choosing their “daughters” from the photos, and another group was “claiming their older sisters.”

Lü Shifei is a student at Dongjiang No. 1 High School and will be entering her second year soon. While others her age are busy following celebrities and TV dramas, she’s busy following her “Jie” (older sister)—a follow born of admiration. And this “Jie” is none other than her senior, Senior Chi Meng, the pride of the teachers at Dongjiang No. 1 High School, the school’s rising star, and the student every homeroom teacher mentions from the class next door!

When she first started, she wasn’t particularly interested in Chi Meng, only knowing that her senior was very beautiful and was always on stage for speeches under the national flag or other major school events.

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