I Became the Top Competitor in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 61.2

Three days from Saturday to Monday—one day for the public performance, two days for the full episode! The speed at which the production team was pushing the schedule—bring on more!!

Star Journey fans devoured the content fiercely, then yearned for more, finally understanding the production team’s intention in adjusting the time. The dog director might be a “dog,” but he had a conscience! Canceling the public performance live broadcast but allowing them to immediately watch new content—this was evident in the production team’s determination to throw out their last bit of hidden stock!

The previous day’s public performance enthusiasm had not yet faded, and the piping hot full episode of the public performance was immediately served, in ultra-high definition, too. Every movement and expression of the trainees was captured clearly, and the rumored “mermaid princess” story was finally completed!

Although they had called for people not to give the trainees gifts across the bus window, that bouquet of “mermaid princess” flowers was indeed a gift from a fan to Chi Meng! But why did it appear in Song Jiaqi’s resting room, why, oh why?

The Jiaqi Ru Meng (Jiaqi as Dream) CP fan base, where “Qiqi is having a New Year celebration,” expanded rapidly, becoming the number one CP group in Star Journey. Although Song Jiaqi’s act of dividing the “mermaid princess” flowers among other trainees also caused the CP fan base of Song Jiaqi and the trainees who received the flowers, as well as Chi Meng and the trainees who received the flowers, to increase, Jiaqi Ru Meng was still the most popular!

This could be seen from the production of fan fiction, fan art, and fan videos!

Lü Shifei, who was mixed in among them, felt that this summer vacation was truly a satisfying one. Delicious, delicious, everything was delicious~ Bring more, bring more! She could still consume more!

With the heat generated by the second public performance and the full episode still high, other celebrity groups retreated. The production team struck while the iron was hot and announced the live broadcast schedule. However, to ensure fun and fairness, the production team blocked all words related to the performance song lyrics in the live broadcast room and made an advance agreement with the fans not to post anything related to the performance songs. The room managers would kick out anyone who did.

The production team was meticulous and planned everything carefully. They didn’t expect that on the day of the live broadcast, the dense barrage of comments would be impossible to monitor. What song names, what lyrics—they couldn’t see anything, nothing at all. Even the room manager’s prompts were drowned out by the colorful barrage of comments. The screen was filled with the trainees’ names and cheering phrases, and emoticons flew everywhere. If conditions allowed, they would have sent pictures and GIFs of the trainees.

Amidst the enthusiastic, silent calls, 81 trainees, led by Shen Zhu, stood on the steps of the hall in a pyramid shape, smiling and greeting the audience in the live broadcast room.

After standing up, Chi Meng, who was in the third position, glanced at the dense array of cameras, feeling a little dizzy.

In addition to the cameras for the program recording, the production team had set up six live broadcast cameras corresponding to six live broadcast rooms. The cameras were labeled with small signs, and besides these, there were photographers carrying cameras running all over the venue.

Oh my god, it was impossible to distinguish! Chi Meng sighed. Sister Tongyue had taught them how to look and find the camera when they entered the camp. After Chi Meng’s small blunder during the ending pose of the first public performance, Song Jiaqi had personally coached her. Now she could barely manage, but with so many cameras, Chi Meng was still confused.

She quietly tilted her head to look for Song Jiaqi. The girl, who remained calm and composed despite being surrounded by so many cameras, stood straight, towering above the other trainees who were standing at attention. The simple act of putting her hands in her pockets looked relaxed and casual. However, if anyone with intention clicked through the six live broadcast rooms, they would find that Song Jiaqi looked good and comfortable in every one of them.

She still had a lot to learn, Chi Meng thought.

After the trainees greeted the audience, Teng Jia opened her arms and ran past the camera, looking young and cheerful. Luan Xiu, also wearing sportswear, ran over. Xu Shenglin was replaced by Luan Xiu due to her schedule, and Luan Xiu and Teng Jia would be hosting today’s event.

“Alright, alright, let’s stop pretending to be young.” Teng Jia said, catching her breath after running two laps.

Luan Xiu looked displeased and said, “Don’t include me. I’m in the prime of my life, understand?”

The trainees, who were already very familiar with the mentors, laughed heartily, and the barrage of comments also surged. The fan count of these two mentors alone equaled the total of all the trainees. Fans who came to see their idols, the two mentors, passionately flooded the comments.

“Today’s main focus is our lovely girls, everyone please sit down first. I, for one, need to sit and rest a bit!” Teng Jia shouted.

She had everyone sit in a semicircle.

She and Xue Weiran retreated backward. There were many soft cushions on the wooden floor. The A-class trainees sat in the center. Chi Meng was next to Shen Zhu, and Shen Zhu’s left was Xue Weiran. As a reward for the top three in the first round of voting, the camera directly in front of them was focused on them, and this live broadcast room had the highest popularity.

“We are gathered here today to allow our Star Makers to get to know everyone better,” Teng Jia said.

Luan Xiu acted as a straight man: “Who would say otherwise?”

Teng Jia: “So, everyone, don’t hide any talents you have; showcase them to the fullest!”

Luan Xiu: “That’s a must!”

“But we have so many trainees, how should we showcase them?” Teng Jia asked.

Luan Xiu naturally said, “Indeed, that is a problem.”

Trainees: “Hahaha!”

Teng Jia was annoyed: “That’s enough of you. Today is not for us to perform a crosstalk, but for the trainees to perform!”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t!” Luan Xiu clapped her hands.

The two acted in concert, making the opening atmosphere cheerful and lively. They explained the rules of the performance to the trainees and the audience like a crosstalk act. The winner of the mini-game could choose to perform their talent or designate someone else to perform. For the trainees, performing in a live broadcast was a reward, not a punishment.

“But we have 81 trainees here,” Teng Jia said. “Should we form teams?”

Luan Xiu said matter-of-factly, “It’s too many; we definitely need to form teams.”

“If you ask me, we should form teams based on rankings. Trainees with the same last digit in their rank will automatically form a group!” Luan Xiu waved her hand and said, “It’s just for fun, don’t feel burdened!”

With the mentor’s command, everyone immediately moved. The production team had prepared numbered hair clips in advance, with numbers 0-9 sticking up high, for everyone to wear on their heads.

Shen Zhu pinched the small red clip and casually said, “I’m 1.”

A snicker came from nearby. Shen Zhu looked up and saw Xue Weiran carrying her seat cushion to sit on the side. She couldn’t help but frown, whispering, “What’s so funny? So annoying.”

Chi Meng shrugged her shoulders, picked up her cushion, and stood up. Song Jiaqi, who was looking for her team, had a cushion tucked under her arm and came over to Shen Zhu. She said, “Is Zone 1 here? I’m 1.”

“Oh really?” Chi Meng said leisurely, slowly heading to Zone 3 next to her.

Song Jiaqi sat down in Chi Meng’s previous spot, turned her head to stare at Chi Meng’s retreating figure, and raised an eyebrow. “Tsk.”

What was she thinking, the minor.

The audience watching the live broadcast heard the trainees shouting “I’m 3, 333,” “2 gathering!” all over the venue, but when someone called out “I’m 1, I’m 1,” or “Where is 0? Where is 0?”, it was met with strange, spine-chilling smiles. The bullet screen was also filled with a mysterious atmosphere.

Teng Jia and Luan Xiu, being experienced individuals, understood perfectly, showing the peaceful smiles of elders, but when they looked at each other, it was that mysterious smile of “you know, I know too.”

Meng Xiaofei, who ranked 81st in the first public performance, walked to the center. Seeing the serene Shen Zhu and the gently smiling Song Jiaqi, her heart lifted. She remembered what her manager had told her: change her image, find ways to increase her camera time, or learn from others and create a CP (couple).

Who would want to be seen as a lesbian! Meng Xiaofei was disdainful, but her manager cited the examples of Chi Meng and Song Jiaqi, even showing her the Jiaqi Ru Meng fan club online. The number of CP fans was three times the number of her Weibo followers that she had paid for! These two were way too popular! Meng Xiaofei was shocked and realized that the two of them were indeed stuck together every day. Was it real or a deliberate hype…

Meng Xiaofei didn’t understand, but it seemed very effective.

To avoid being eliminated, she decided to endure hardship. Since Chi Meng could succeed, so could she. It was just that she hadn’t figured out who to pair with. The company had bought the “frenemies” trending topic for her and Qi Yan, but after it trended, it was hijacked by the CP fans of Shen Zhu and Xue Weiran, which angered the company, but they couldn’t do anything about it.

Meng Xiaofei didn’t really want to form a CP with Qi Yan; she just wanted everyone to know that she was better than Qi Yan. They entered the dance studio on the same day, but Qi Yan always overshadowed her in major competitions, which made Meng Xiaofei very resentful. Later, when Banana Blue came to the studio to scout, a clueless manager said Qi Yan had the most potential among everyone. Wasn’t that saying she was inferior to Qi Yan!

Although Meng Xiaofei later had her company leader’s relative give that person a hard time, and the person apologized to her, Meng Xiaofei was still very unhappy. If she was unhappy, she had to make others unhappy. She also messed up Qi Yan’s entry into the company. Did Qi Yan think she could join her family’s company just by winning a few trophies in a dance competition? Dream on!

Now that Qi Yan had a high momentum in the show, she had to form a CP with her. Meng Xiaofei was very contemptuous, but circumstances forced her hand… Outside, she let her manager market and promote it, but inside the camp, she didn’t give Qi Yan a good look.

After the public performance that day and meeting with her company, her manager told her not to be a misfit in the show and to let Wei Xin and Jin Jingqian keep an eye on her. However, these two were usually introverted and didn’t know how to act, so following them wouldn’t get her any screen time. Meng Xiaofei also looked down on them, thinking she would do it herself, and now she had a good opportunity!

Meng Xiaofei suppressed the excitement in her heart, her gaze landing on Shen Zhu. Song Jiaqi… Song Jiaqi looked like she was smiling, but Meng Xiaofei somehow felt that the person was very cold, making her not want to approach her. Moreover, Song Jiaqi had already formed a CP with Chi Meng. In terms of approachability, Shen Zhu was better, and Shen Zhu was also the number one in the whole camp. Logically, she should choose Shen Zhu.

When Team 1 was assembled, Meng Xiaofei quickly scanned the others, came up with an opening, and sweetly addressed Shen Zhu in a low voice: “Sister Xiangxiang, our team has one extra person!”

Shen Zhu was quietly thinking about something. After a two-second pause upon hearing Meng Xiaofei call her, she gently nodded, “Yes.”

The others had subtle expressions, gave a dry laugh, and said nothing.

Hua Xiaowei was sitting next to Shen Zhu. The girl with long, straight hair, who was always subtly smiling at others, softly said, “Having one extra person means one more strength than the other teams. It’s great.”

Meng Xiaofei gave Hua Xiaowei an appreciative look, thinking this girl was sharp and knew how to talk.

Hua Xiaowei lightly smiled, looked away, and started a conversation with Song Jiaqi, asking why she didn’t save her a “mermaid princess” flower.

When Song Jiaqi was holding the bouquet and distributing flowers, Hua Xiaowei had gone to the restroom. The bouquet was eventually left in Shen Zhu’s room. Xue Weiran went to Shen Zhu’s lounge to ask for a flower after seeing Shen Zhu’s stage, and Yuan Sike snatched one from Xue Weiran, but these two were both from Spark, so it wasn’t a big issue.

Considering the companies behind the trainees, Song Jiaqi didn’t initially intend to give one to Qi Yan, but Qi Yan overheard them talking when Song Jiaqi pulled Su Mengyao aside in the hallway. Qi Yan and Chi Meng had a very good relationship, mutually serving as teachers, and Qi Yan didn’t hesitate to ask for a flower to support Chi Meng.

At that time, the cool sweet girl asked for a flower with a cold face, and Su Mengyao was still staring with starry eyes and saying, “Yanyan, you’re so cool.” Qi Yan’s face grew even colder, she took a flower, and turned to leave.

Su Mengyao: “Wow! Even cooler!”

Song Jiaqi, who was standing nearby, looked indescribable, feeling that letting Qi Yan teach Su Mengyao singing back then was a huge grievance for Qi Yan. The good response brought by the current trending topic was well-deserved by Qi Yan!

“Your company might not agree,” Song Jiaqi whispered to Hua Xiaowei. Having collaborated on a stage with Hua Xiaowei, Song Jiaqi felt that Hua Xiaowei was a quick-witted girl.

Hua Xiaowei immediately understood. She smiled sweetly and said in a gentle voice, “It’s okay. Next time, just tell me about such things. My company can’t control me, and my contract is about to expire anyway.”

She had signed a five-year contract with the company, from age fifteen to twenty now. If she couldn’t debut this time, Hua Xiaowei was considering other life plans and wasn’t too concerned about these matters.

Support I Became the Top Competitor in a Talent Show Novel