I Became the Top Competitor in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 60.3

The parties involved didn’t feel there was a problem either.

After everyone was seated, a jib camera lifted to take a group photo. Everyone held up a “V” sign. Through the production team’s unremitting efforts, the show had gained more and more sponsors. Besides food and drinks, there were sponsors for sportswear that highlighted youthful vigor, sports equipment, including fascia guns, and skincare products. These were all beautifully arranged by the staff on tables that had been laid out in advance, ensuring the products would be included in the shots while they watched the show.

Soon after, the show began. The fourth episode was an elimination. The audience had more or less known who stayed and which performances they saw during the live stream of the performance yesterday, but today, the main episode revealed the details.

Watching the show again, the trainees who had been through the second public performance couldn’t help but sigh when they saw familiar faces. In less than two weeks, some of them would also have to leave like them. They remembered the red eyes and tears of many during their departure. Looking back, they felt a sense of melancholy.

It hadn’t been long, but it felt like a page in their lives had been turned.

The editing of the show was meticulous, with a lot of accompanying music and text that evoked strong emotions. When names were announced and acceptance speeches were given, many people inexplicably got teary-eyed.

When the elimination announcements were over and the show moved to the song selection for the second public performance, the editors cleverly inserted the interview segment recorded during the song selection as a transition.

[Among the trainees in the training camp, who do you think is the cutest girl?]

The trainees watching the show: “Ooh~~”

Time to open the blind box face-to-face!

The editors couldn’t possibly include all eighty-one people, so they only selected a few highly representative statements, such as:

Lin Tingxia: “Of course, it’s Yaoyao! Because she’s really good at barking ‘Wang wang wang’! And she can eat! She’s just a milky little puppy!”

“Hahaha, what the heck is a milky puppy? Is Su Mengyao a dog?”

The innocent “milky puppy” deliberately widened her eyes, ready to randomly choose the person laughing the loudest and bite them!

After Lin Tingxia was Su Mengyao. Su Mengyao clapped her hands, “First, it’s my Mom Meng! Because my Mom Meng is very good-looking, and good-looking people are cute no matter how you look at them! And Xiaxia, the cutest thing about Xiaxia is that she stays up late at night, sticking her butt out under the covers to read romance novels, and gets spanked by Sister An Kui, gah-gah-gah! That’s super funny, ahem, I mean cute, right!”

The entertainment twin sisters sitting next to Lin Tingxia laughed heartily, saying that this happens daily in their company dorms and was nothing to fuss about. An Kui rolled her eyes vehemently.

Only Lin Tingxia, whose embarrassing story was exposed, angrily raised her hands, “I’ll beat you to death!”

“Come on! Who’s afraid of who!” Su Mengyao also raised her hands. The two fought like puppies, exchanging insults like, “Meng is your mother! If you say your mother is good-looking, you’re complimenting yourself, you shameless thing!” and “An Kui spanked your butt, so An Kui is also your mother! Why do you have so many mothers, you’re so fickle!”

An Kui not only wanted to roll her eyes but also wanted to change seats to distance herself, pretending not to know these two people. Only the onlookers, who didn’t mind making a spectacle, cheered and shouted.

On the screen, the trainees continued to give their aesthetic opinions.

Trainee 1: “Lin Tingxia, I guess. She’s small and has fair skin. Her smile is very sweet, and she believes everything, so she’s very pure!”

Su Mengyao sneered, “Why do you believe everything!”

Trainee 2: “Of course, it’s Su Mengyao. Don’t look at her pure-and-seductive style, but inside, she’s a very cute and innocent little sister. When her hair is curly, she’s in her complete cute form, and her obedient look makes you want to buy her anything!”

Lin Tingxia: “Eww… that means you’re immature!”

Trainee 3: “What! Song Jiaqi is the one and only pure-and-seductive type in the camp, and I won’t accept any arguments! Oh, you mean cute? In that case, I’ll give a vote to Su Mengyao.”

Song Jiaqi: ?

“What does that have to do with me?” Song Jiaqi was cold.

Chi Meng chuckled and tilted her head to look at Song Jiaqi.

Song Jiaqi glanced at her, crossing her arms haughtily.

However, at this moment, the show became interesting. The screen split into two, left and right. The woman on the left had long, flowing hair and was holding a white rabbit. The girl on the right had crescent-shaped smiling eyes and was holding a fox plushie.

Xue Weirán, who shared a room with Chi Meng, and the five people who shared a dorm with Song Jiaqi, all simultaneously thought, “Ooh~”

Is it starting?

“I think the cutest person is Jiaqi / Chi Meng.” The editor was incredibly clever and creative, splicing the two people’s answers at the same frequency. The lazy and clear voices played together, a perfect blend.

“Of course, it’s Chi Meng.”

“The cutest trainee in my heart is, of course, student Xiao Song, our trainee Qiqi.”

In the shot, the two girls, one on the left and one on the right, each chose a plushie from behind them and faced the camera.

Chi Meng: “Qiqi is cute in every way, especially her eyes. Don’t they look like a fox? Whether she’s angry or depressed, they’re hooked like that. Very pretty!”

Song Jiaqi: “Chi Meng is like this rabbit. She looks white and tender and gentle, but she’s actually incredibly scary, using a harmless face to lure you into a terrifying trap…”

Outside the screen, Song Jiaqi frowned, “I’m ‘hooked’?”

“You’re alluring,” Chi Meng patted her arm. “I’m scary?!”

“P-powerful,” Song Jiaqi stammered.

Chi Meng smiled, “Oh.”

Teng Jia and Xu Shenglíng, sitting next to them, were almost dying of laughter. Xu Shenglíng wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and whispered to Teng Jia, “They’re so natural.”

They had seen CP-shipping in other shows before, but these two seemed so effortless and synchronized. For instance, the plushie choice—the production team even included a note in the lower right corner stating it was a pure coincidence and not scripted.

They truly deserved to be the most popular CP in the camp; their success was well-founded.

“I’m full, I’m full,” Lin Xueyang rubbed her stomach, looking thoroughly satisfied.

In the final vote, Su Mengyao won with 24 votes, beating Lin Tingxia’s 23, but Su Mengyao still felt like she had lost, scratching her head in confusion.

This part concluded with a shot of someone sleeping with a fox plushie pressed under their head, the plushie retaining the wide noodles that the editors had photoshopped in as a transition effect. Following that was the song selection segment. In this part, everyone saw each trainee’s decision-making process as they entered the song selection area. When facing the camera, the trainees gave their reasons for choosing a song—either it fit their style or they simply liked it. This content deepened everyone’s understanding of each other, making it easier to form teams or anticipate opponents in the future.

And everyone finally learned about the creation of Ning Yuze’s unexpected sound effect: Chi Meng teasing Ning Yuze three times, and the dramatic plot of Chen Zhu scaring both Chi Meng and Ning Yuze made everyone roar with laughter. Among the people involved, only Ning Yuze shook her head and sighed, looking at Chi Meng’s back.

Cute where? She’s just mean!

Chi Meng turned around and winked at Ning Yuze.

Forget about it, and we’re still good friends.

Ning Yuze: ╭(╯^╰)╮

At the very end of the episode, a small preview of the performance was shown. Just when everyone thought the main show was over, the screen changed, and Xie Tongyue appeared. She was wearing beautiful clothes, standing in the center of the first stage recording hall, smiling at the camera.

“The third public performance stage of Star Journey is about to begin. This episode announces the rules for the third public performance. The theme for the third performance competition is: Game Start, God-Given Group!”

It was the first day of their holiday, and suddenly hearing the news of the third public performance, everyone in the auditorium was stunned.

On the stage, Xie Tongyue smiled and said unhurriedly, “God-Given Group: The production team will provide the competition songs. The Star Makers (producers/audience) will personally select the trainees most suitable for that song. Each song is limited to nine people. All eighty-one trainees can be freely chosen and matched by the Star Makers!”

“What does that mean?” The trainees were a bit confused. Chi Meng also tilted her head and exchanged a look with Song Jiaqi.

“Log in to the Dongjiang TV App, click on the Star Journey Third Public Performance Special Section, and match the competition song you like with the trainees you like. Upload your match-up and earn likes. The Star Maker with the most likes will win an exclusive viewing seat for the third public performance stage, a signed poster by all the mentors and trainees, and other exclusive gifts! And the match-up with the most likes will be confirmed as the official Third Public Performance PK lineup for Star Journey!”

The auditorium was silent, only the enthusiastic background music of the show could be heard from the speakers.

Xie Tongyue waved her hand and announced loudly, “The official start is at 00:00 on July 17th. The group you want is up to you! The trainees you like are yours to match! Start now! Countdown: Three, two, one—”

“—Game Start!”

A loud boom came from the speakers. The screen went black, and the QR code and voting link for the app appeared. If viewing from the app, it would lead directly to the performance section. The current time was precisely midnight of the new day.

Teng Jia and Xu Shenglíng, who knew about this beforehand, calmly enjoyed the trainees’ expressions.

Chi Meng lowered her head in thought. Next to her, Song Jiaqi propped up her face and calmly watched the “Game Over” screen. Teng Jia’s mouth twitched. She turned to look at the back row.

The trainees looked at each other.

The next second, the auditorium suddenly erupted.

Teng Jia: That’s more like it~

Upcoming Novel Snippet: Dating a Drama Queen in a Slow Variety Show (Pre-Order)

As an A-list celebrity, Luo Mingzi embodies the word “controversial-yet-popular” to the extreme.

Those who like her praise her as prettier than a flower, with a good face and figure, and a clear sense of love and hate—a sight for sore eyes.

Those who dislike her criticize her for her “tea-flavored” words (passive-aggressive drama), being big-chested and brainless, and full of pretense. They argue that she’s a disgrace to the entertainment industry, useful only for her face and figure!

The “disgrace” accepted a slow variety show offer to spend time raising flowers, planting vegetables, walking dogs, and fishing in the countryside.

Fans and haters alike rushed to watch, curious to see how much drama she could stir up.

The first episode welcomed the guest. The guest was beautiful and graceful, like white snow on a mountain, an ethereal fairy from the clouds.

The controversial queen covered her lips with her slender fingers, pretending to be utterly shocked, pointing at the fairy and shouting, “This person looks just like my girlfriend!”

With that one sentence, the first episode became an instant hit across the entire internet, with the hashtag #TopTierIdolAllegedlyComesOut soaring in popularity.

Li Yue is a new-generation idol singer, with a gentle and detached personality. The moment she opens her mouth on stage, the whole world seems to fall silent.

Soon after releasing her first single, the detached “chrysanthemum” was packaged by her manager and put on the slow variety show called Life in the Quiet Village.

She arrived at the location, carrying her suitcase, and knocked on the door. The beautiful woman who opened the door stared at her with wide, round eyes.

Hearing Luo Mingzi’s sensational statement,

Li Yue: “.”

Li Yue: “Thank you for the compliment.”

Li Yue: “I like Teacher Luo too.”

Upon hearing of Luo Mingzi’s “coming out” on the show, troublemakers rushed to watch the drama, only to discover:

Luo Mingzi picked up two leaves and washed them for two minutes, and the woman beside her gently praised her for doing a great job.

Luo Mingzi accidentally scalded her finger with hot water and whimpered “woo-woo,” and the woman beside her tenderly blew on it to make it feel better.

Even when Luo Mingzi pulled out the vegetables planted in the field, mistaking them for weeds, Li Yue still spoke softly, saying, “You worked hard…”

The originally curious onlookers were dumbfounded: Are you here to film a show or to date?!

Darn it, it’s actually really sweet. Do more if you dare!

To which, Luo Mingzi responded: “But we really are dating!”

Gentle Attack x Little Drama Queen Receiver

A pure, sweet little story.

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