I Became the Top Competitor in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 47.1

“Welcome to ‘Star Voyage,’ the most popular, skill-based, large-scale women’s variety survival show! I am your host and mentor, Xie Tongyue.” After a week, the host standing on the stage wore the same smile. The 126 trainees were seated on both sides of the stage.

“There is one minute remaining in the countdown for the first round of voting for Star Voyage.” Xie Tongyue’s gaze swept over the trainees on both sides. The trainees, who had rested for a week, were instantly pulled back into the intense atmosphere of the training camp. The joy of meeting upon entering vanished like smoke. Girls from the same company tightly held hands, silently praying in their hearts.

The massive clock on the big screen behind Xie Tongyue quietly ticked, showing the time as 23:59 on the night of July 8th. As the second hand moved quickly, the trainees felt as if they could see the virtual world, where countless viewers who loved them were enthusiastically casting their votes into the pool.

Before the countdown, no one spoke. The recording hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It wasn’t until the last five seconds that Xie Tongyue raised the mic, her deep voice counting down with the turning of the second hand, until the minute and second hands of the clock overlapped at the number twelve. A distinct sound of a door closing echoed through the hall.

Xie Tongyue stood straight and spoke to the camera: “Voting is over! The results of the first round of voting for Star Voyage have been finalized. The vote pool is emptied, and we now enter the second round of voting!”

As soon as her words fell, the sound of a door opening echoed in the hall again. The trainees below took a deep breath, swallowed, and looked at Xie Tongyue.

“With the end of this round of voting, the performance teams that received more votes in the first round of public performance will receive a ten thousand-vote bonus. The ranking results are being generated. Please wait a moment,” Xie Tongyue said, asking the trainees to wait a moment while the recording was also briefly paused.

Twenty minutes later, a staff member jogged onto the stage to deliver an envelope. Trainees sitting on the edges caught a whiff of ink.

Everyone’s gaze involuntarily fell on Xie Tongyue’s hand. She walked behind a small stand. Before opening the envelope, she said softly, “Now, I will unveil the trainee ranking results from the first round of voting. Out of the 126 trainees, 45 trainees will regrettably leave our stage.”

In front of all the trainees, she tore open the pink envelope printed with a gold star, and drew out two cards, placing them face down on the table.

The camera swept across the trainees’ faces. In the air-conditioned hall, many people had fine beads of sweat on their foreheads and noses.

“Remember our bet?” Chi Meng whispered to Song Jiaqi. Song Jiaqi nodded. They were sitting in the last row, with the rest of Renxing in front of them, who turned back with curiosity when they heard them talking.

Another new bet?

Song Jiaqi’s expression was a little cold.

Due to her efforts, her screen time in the second episode of the training camp was very little; she could only be found in the group scenes of the forty trainees in Class F’s collective training. Because Chi Meng had gained notoriety by being a training maniac, Song Jiaqi could occasionally glimpse her in Chi Meng’s daytime training footage, but this duration was very short, and Song Jiaqi wasn’t even interested in watching it. She had tried so hard to hide herself, and she didn’t believe her ranking could still go up.

However, she hadn’t expected Cen Hongjie to put her and Chi Meng’s bet and duet in the training room into the behind-the-scenes footage! Including the scene of her and Chi Meng “pecking” on the floor!

Now everyone knew about the “sister rivalry” between her and Chi Meng! She had clearly asked Sister Meng to tell Cen Hongjie not to give her screen time before she came. Was behind-the-scenes footage not screen time?

I want to sharpen my knife to specifically kill this dog director.

Song Jiaqi folded her arms and leaned back in her chair, silently radiating cold air. Su Mengyao, sitting next to Chi Meng, straightened up and acutely noticed, “There’s murderous intent!”

And a grinding sound!

Chi Meng chuckled. Before Song Jiaqi could become exasperated, she reached out and pressed Su Mengyao back down, and casually ruffled her curly hair. Untended for a week, Su Mengyao’s hair was extra curly and frizzy, clearly a self-made style.

Song Jiaqi couldn’t be bothered to respond, giving a cold snort and continuing to emit cold air. Chi Meng raised her hand and stroked Song Jiaqi’s long hair on her back, smoothing it left and right with a gentle, smiling expression.

Compared to the other nervous trainees, the atmosphere in their little corner was “gentle” and calm.

It wasn’t until Xie Tongyue, who had finished scanning the first card’s list, raised her head that Chi Meng withdrew her hand, crossed her arms, and looked down at the hem of her suit dress, a smile playing on her lips, yet her brow was subtly furrowed.

The show and the stage were a brand new territory for Chi Meng. She felt uncertain, especially after her trending searches had disappeared this week. While she appeared as calm as ever on social platforms and in daily life, she felt a lightness in her heart for the first time, constantly lowering her expectations for her own position.

She slowly inhaled, then gently exhaled.

“Next, I will announce the trainees who will enter Class D, those ranked 54th to 80th in the popularity vote. Trainees whose names are called, please come up to the stage in order.” To maintain an element of surprise, the last trainee would be announced later.

Xie Tongyue’s smile was more formal than in her usual hosting, much like the gown she wore today. Holding the card in one hand and the mic in the other, she said in a serious tone: “The trainee ranked 80th, who received a total of 106,935 votes in the first round of voting, is—Miao Wan from Dian Shi Cheng Jin Media.”

Among the sixty-plus trainees sitting on the left side, one of the three girls holding hands instantly covered her face with a shout. The girls on both sides immediately hugged her, pushing her toward the stage.

“It’s someone from our Team Ten!” Su Mengyao said happily, immediately applauding for Miao Wan.

Standing on the stage, Miao Wan sighed in relief, patted her chest, looking like she wanted to cry and laugh at the same time.

After she took her place, Xie Tongyue continued to read: “The trainee ranked 79th, who received a total of 107,989 votes, from Mu Xing Entertainment—Jiang Mo.”

The trainee whose name was called opened her mouth wide. She stood up a little weakly and smiled as she walked onto the stage, shaking hands with Miao Wan. The trainees below looked slightly surprised, because Miao Wan and Jiang Mo’s votes only differed by one thousand!

“Speaking of which, Miao Wan received ten thousand votes. If she hadn’t gotten those ten thousand votes…”

“Eighty places were a hundred thousand votes. That ten thousand votes made too much of a difference to the result.”

Everyone whispered.

“The trainee ranked 78th, from Gule Shengdong Entertainment, Xia Yin, with 110,907 votes.”

“The trainee ranked 72nd, from Qingniao Menghe Media, Qian Tong, with 144,510 votes.”

“The trainee ranked 69th, with 164,349 votes, Luo Ling from Shuiguo Entertainment.”

“The trainee ranked 68th, with 167,511 votes, Wen Yao from Qingniao Menghe Media.”

From the Qingniao Menghe team, which was currently one member short of being fully saved from elimination, another person stood up. She let out a sigh of relief and strode onto the stage. After the first round of eliminations, all of Class F was eliminated, leaving only 28 people in Class D. Xie Tongyue asked the thirteen people who had just stepped onto the stage to give brief speeches before taking their seats.

The hundreds of people in the still-crowded seats below, now missing thirteen trainees, looked at their backs with envy or longing. The bottom layer of the sparkling pyramid was filled by thirteen young girls.

Su Mengyao suddenly turned her head, grabbing Chi Meng’s arm, and nervously inhaled, “I hope I’m not that 84th person!”

Chi Meng, who had been lowering her head, seemed to be startled awake. She instinctively smiled and gently told Su Mengyao, “I think your ranking will be higher than you expect. Be confident.”

Su Mengyao pouted, leaning on Chi Meng’s shoulder and whining.

At this moment, Chi Meng suddenly recalled some videos she had watched that had given her many a-ha! moments. She paused slightly and also leaned sideways onto Song Jiaqi’s shoulder.

The one being leaned on: ?

“I’m nervous,” Chi Meng said with a sweet smile.

Might as well give the editors more material. Mish-mashing things up is fun, after all.

For some unknown reason, Song Jiaqi and Su Mengyao both felt a chill run down their backs at the same time.

Xie Tongyue on stage continued to announce the trainees ranked 55th to 67th in Class D. Among these thirteen people were Rong Qian from Qingniao Menghe, Bai Ruyue from Lehaian, Kui Tong from Xinghuo Economy, and Wei Xin, whom Chi Meng had met in Class F—a shy and introverted trainee.

The vote count also rose from 160,000 to 260,000. Even though they were all in Class D, the gap between the first and last was considerable.

Leaning on Song Jiaqi’s shoulder, Chi Meng noticed that Shen Zhu’s sitting posture was tense. So far, no trainee from Renxing had been called up among the twenty-seven trainees. Shen Zhu was hugging her arms, her profile cold as snow.

Chi Meng instinctively tilted her head up. Song Jiaqi, who was forced to bear a weight she shouldn’t have to, withdrew her gaze from the stage and lazily rested it on Chi Meng’s face, raising an eyebrow as if to ask, What are you doing?

Just looking at you.

Chi Meng returned a smile.

How annoying, I can’t be bothered with you, Song Jiaqi indifferently went back to watching the stage, yet her shoulder was held straight, supporting Chi Meng… and Su Mengyao who was slumped on Chi Meng.

With the Class D rankings finished, Xie Tongyue opened a new envelope.

“Now we announce Class C, the trainees ranked 28th to 54th. We will first announce the names of the latter fourteen trainees. Trainees whose names are called, please come up to the stage.” Xie Tongyue unfolded the card, quickly scanned it, and said gently, “With 263,129 votes in the first round of voting, the trainee ranked 54th is Gu Sijing from Xianfeng Entertainment.”

“The trainee ranked 53rd, Renxing Entertainment…”

The moment “Renxing” was called out, Chi Meng felt the person beneath her tense up. Looks from all directions fell on the row of Renxing trainees—behind them. The initially surprised expressions turned to confusion.

Everyone: What… are they doing?

Chi Meng offered a gentle smile and slowly sat up straight, returning an innocent look. Su Mengyao, who was still young and hadn’t been through much, climbed up, her face red, and started playing with her button.

“Renxing Entertainment, Ling Yao,” Xie Tongyue read slowly. “267,971 votes.”

Renxing’s leader, Shen Zhu, breathed a sigh of relief and high-fived Ling Yao, watching her go up to the stage. Then she turned her head, her cold little face sweeping over the people sitting behind them.

I don’t have eyes on the back of my head, but you all better behave. (A serious face emoji)

Including Song Jiaqi, the three people immediately sat up properly, not even folding their arms anymore.

“The trainee ranked 48th, Lin Tongxu from Xinghuo Economy, with 328,698 votes.”

Another trainee from Xinghuo Economy walked onto the stage. The Xinghuo trainees were all smiles, while the Lehaian trainees sitting closer to them looked somewhat uncomfortable. As trainees from major companies, the Xinghuo trainees called up so far had all gone to Class C, while the three Lehaian trainees called had only made it to Class D. The Lehaian trainees were criticized for not being united since the initial stage, and now their mood was somewhat complicated; they could only smile and applaud.

After waiting for Lin Tongxu to take her place, Xie Tongyue continued, “The trainee ranked 47th, who received a total of 335,022 votes in the first round of voting, is Lin Xueyang from Weilai Music. Congratulations.”

As Lin Xueyang jumped up excitedly, Song Jiaqi’s hand felt a little numb, recalling the moment when Lin Xueyang had held her down to shout “Fighting!” and Chi Meng had witnessed it.

However, Lin Xueyang had achieved her goal now. She finally made it up.

The girl on the stage was beaming.

Xie Tongyue continued to announce the trainee ranked 46th, following Lin Xueyang.

“Shi Keyi Entertainment, Yun Guo, 341,009 votes.”

The twin sister happily hugged her sister and the other two people, then skipped onto the stage.

“The trainee ranked 45th, Fengguang Culture, Liu Yuetong…”

“…The trainee ranked 44th, Lehaian Entertainment, Tang Ge…”

“The trainee ranked 40th, Xingyun Entertainment, Ge Jianing, 402,275 votes.”

Xie Tongyue: “The trainees ranked 40th to 54th have been announced. Please give your acceptance speeches in order, starting with trainee Ling Yao.”

Ling Yao held the mic, her voice trembling slightly. Even more shaky than her voice were the hearts of the trainees below the stage.

“It’s already forty…” Su Mengyao quietly voiced the thoughts of many.

With 45 people eliminated, 126 were down to 81. The higher up you went, the more votes you needed, and the harder it was to stay. Many trainees who knew they had no chance looked pale, giving a wry smile as they told their neighbors they would vote for them when they returned.

“You can definitely stay! Don’t give up, there are still forty-one spots left!” The nearby trainee was unsure whether she was saying this to her or to herself.

Support I Became the Top Competitor in a Talent Show Novel