I Became the Top Competitor in a Talent Show Novel - Chapter 7

Welcome to Star Journey.

Huge golden letters were pasted on the wall, and only when one looked closely would they notice that the words were pieced together from golden stars, reflecting the bright lights of the hall.

Photographers hidden in the corners filmed the scene, their lenses zooming in on Chi Meng’s face.

Her youthful features, still full of collagen, looked pure and bright. When she smiled ever so slightly, it was like a cool summer breeze blowing away the clouds, leaving behind nothing but a clear, pristine sky.

In the mentor’s room connected to the cameras, the judges’ eyes lit up as they looked at the profile of the trainee on screen.

“An independent trainee, huh? So young,” one mentor sighed.

“Xie-jie, did you notice her training period?” someone reminded.

Sitting at the center of the long table, Xie Tongyue—the host of Star Journey—immediately glanced at the resume and the column marked training period. She was left speechless.

“It’s alright. Our purpose is to select outstanding trainees to form a group. Before anyone becomes outstanding, they’re all unpolished jade that needs careful refining,” the host spread her arms with a warm smile. “I hope more and more unpolished gems will join our program!”

The mentors all chuckled.

Hall.

Following the directions, Chi Meng stepped into the arched passageway next to the grand hall. The corridor was darker than the hall itself, its walls filled with artistic design. Elongated stars stretched across the walls, separated by dark mirrors. Every time she turned her gaze, her reflection stared back at her.

Under her transparent floor tiles, countless stars lit up with each of her steps, glowing brighter as she walked forward—like a starry road paved just for her, leading her to somewhere more dazzling.

As she stepped past the archway, a majestic recording hall leapt into view.

Spacious, magnificent, glittering.

Even more beautiful than Chi Meng had imagined.

“Wow,” 019 gasped in her mind.

“You, a high-level world’s intelligent system, can actually be amazed by this?” Chi Meng asked.

019 admitted honestly: “But I’m just a little inexperienced system.” And by system lifespans, it was still basically a baby.

“I see,” Chi Meng replied, chatting idly to ease her nerves.

On the stage walls stood a giant screen. For now, it only displayed the words Independent Trainee. Nothing else.

“So pretty…”

“Yeah, and she looks so young.”

The voices of conversation drifted nearby. Chi Meng withdrew her gaze and looked toward the source of the voices. Her pupils trembled.

“Whoa—” 019 shouted inside her mind.

A gigantic pyramid of seats dominated half the hall. The stars embedded in the backrests sparkled in unison, and at the very peak, the seat shone brightest of all—gathering the light of the entire hall, radiating irresistible allure.

Scattered among the seats, a number of girls were already sitting. When they noticed Chi Meng looking their way, they stood up and waved.

“Hello!”

“Hi!”

Remembering she was supposed to be eighteen, lively and energetic, Chi Meng curved her lips into a smile and greeted them warmly: “Hello, everyone!”

She walked toward the seats. Seeing they remained standing, she asked with a laugh, “How do we choose where to sit?”

“Anywhere you want!”

“Sit wherever you like!”

One of the girls in the middle raised her voice, pointing upward: “You can tell by the colors. The first three rows, nine seats, are Class A. Below are Classes B, C, D, and F. The higher you sit, the stronger your ability!”

The rules were much like the other audition shows Chi Meng had watched.

“Thank you,” she smiled. Spotting that the seat she’d planned for was still empty, she strode straight to it. The other girls, who had already picked their places, stared wide-eyed as they saw her heading for the very bottom tier, the F section.

“She’s sitting in F? And I’m in B? Now I feel embarrassed,” one girl whispered, clutching her friend’s hand.

“It’s fine. We’re just narcissists,” her friend comforted, then teased, “Do you want to sit beside her?”

The girl hesitated, then shook her head.

Chi Meng sat down in the seat marked 99. The hall wasn’t yet full, so the seats beside her were still empty.

From two rows back, the enthusiastic trainee who had first greeted her leaned over a seat and called, “Why did you choose 99?”

“Hm?” Chi Meng turned, her side profile flawless like a work of art sculpted with precision—every angle distinct yet perfectly balanced.

The bright stage lights created shifting shadows as her lashes dipped down, casting fleeting patterns across her face.

The girl who’d spoken froze for a moment, then repeated shyly: “Why did you sit in 99?”

Her friend tugged her sleeve, hinting for her to keep quiet.

Chi Meng curved her eyes into a smile and answered honestly: “Don’t you think this number is really auspicious?”

“I’m probably the weakest here, so I picked a lucky seat to comfort myself.” She patted the chair.

“Ninety-nine, forever and ever. Hopefully this number will bless me so I won’t get eliminated right away.”

“With no strength, I can only rely on superstition.”

“Hehehe, you think the same way I do!” the girl laughed, turning her chair to show her seat number. “Sixty-six, smooth sailing!”

Chi Meng gave her a thumbs up.

And just like that, a friendship was born.

“I’m Lin Tingxia, a trainee from Shi Ke Entertainment.”

The girls beside her also leaned in.

“I’m Luo Guo, this is my younger sister Yun Guo.”

“I’m An Kui.”

The company name sounded amusing, and their trainee names were just as playful. Chi Meng wasn’t sure if they were real names or stage names.

Turning with a cheerful smile, she introduced herself: “I’m Chi Meng. Chi like in The pond where the lotus first shows its tips, Meng like in Dreams of a foolish dreamer.”

“Ohhh~” The four nodded together.

Once she faced forward again, Yun Guo quickly whispered to her sister, “The lotus pond poem—where’s the ‘pond’ in it?”

Luo Guo: “…Could it be, the poem is literally titled Small Pond? Pond. Haven’t you been to elementary school?”

“You know perfectly well whether I went or not!” The sisters started play-fighting.

Lin Tingxia and An Kui immediately covered their ears: “Not listening, not listening, too noisy!”

Hearing the bickering, Chi Meng couldn’t help but laugh. But when more trainees entered and deliberately chose seats farther away, a small pang of disappointment struck her.

All the liveliness belonged to others.

Trainees from various companies streamed in one after another. They were of different heights, wearing different styles, each young and vibrant.

At first, Chi Meng was a little overwhelmed, but after a couple of rounds, she naturally began to stand up and greet newcomers whenever they entered.

“Being a trainee is really tough,” she murmured to 019.

019 agreed: everyone’s posture was very upright.

Chi Meng felt like she had waved and bowed more in this one day than in the past month. The hall grew fuller and fuller, yet her neighboring seats remained empty.

“If only you’d brought the lyrics book to memorize,” 019 said. “Such a rare free moment in your busy life.”

“Thank you for putting in so much effort to help me grab screen time.”

019: “?”

“Attention-seeker.”

019: “Oh, you humans say things so politely.”

While the two bantered, the atmosphere around them suddenly heated up. Excited chatter rippled through the hall. Another group was arriving—this time from a large company. And among them were girls whose beauty stood out even more.

A silhouette flashed in Chi Meng’s mind. As she raised her head and saw the company logo appear on the big screen, her lips curved upward. She immediately stood.

They were here.

“Renxing! It’s Renxing!” trainees cheered like boiling water. “That’s the company of my dreams!”

“Shut up, we still have to live our lives!”

“That’s the super rich company with tons of stars! My idol is under Renxing!”

“They must all be stunning beauties!”

“They must be amazing.”

As the chatter grew louder, a line of girls in matching uniforms walked out from the passageway, calmly standing center stage under countless eyes.

“Hello everyone, we are—”

“Renxing Entertainment, Onena Girl!” They shouted their team name and bowed together.

Except…

Chi Meng’s smile deepened. Her eyes stayed fixed on the girl standing at the far right of the group—the one closest to her side. Her slightly delayed movements were out of sync, but instead of spoiling the mood, they lightened it, drawing laughter from the crowd.

The other Renxing members exchanged helpless glances but didn’t repeat their introduction. They simply lifted their heads to examine the remaining seats.

Song Jiaqi, too, looked up, quietly searching through the crowd.

The bright stage lights fell on her flawless face—perfect to the point of coldness. Her long black curls cascaded like the endless night, reminding one of a blood-red flower blooming in the depths of a dark abyss, out of place in such a passionate world.

Her expression was languid, detached from her teammates’ chatter, half-lowered lashes as if even the air before her might blossom in her gaze.

Until her eyes met a pair of bright, expectant ones.

Chi Meng crooked a finger and pointed to the row on her left, tapping lightly several times.

One, two, three, four, five. Seats numbered 100 through 104 were all empty.

Song Jiaqi gave a subtle nod.

The others from Renxing were still talking about seats. One girl addressed the leader: “Captain, seat #1 is taken.”

“Go up first,” Shen Zhu led the group up the steps, but then glanced back. “Jiaqi, do you have a suggestion?”

“Hm?” Song Jiaqi raised a brow and said softly, “Sit wherever you want. I’ve already chosen.”

“Huh?” The four others looked at her in confusion.

Nearby girls held their breath, watching in admiration. Was it because of their company’s fame, or their striking beauty?

“I heard that Shen Zhu wanted seat #1!”

“But it’s already taken by Qingniao Meng and Liu Yuexin.”

“Liu Yuexin is impressive too.”

“Still, Renxing lives up to its name… That one girl, Song Jiaqi, is that her name? How does someone look like that? Kids these days…”

“Her voice is so beautiful too. Gorgeous and a lovely voice? Unfair!”

“I like Shen Zhu. She’s cold as well, but seems easier to approach.”

“Oh, you’re being picky now?”

Amidst the chatter, the four Renxing girls linked hands and followed Song Jiaqi down to Class F. But everyone knew it wasn’t about lacking ability—the higher seats were simply full.

Song Jiaqi looked a little helpless, again telling them, “You can sit higher up. Don’t worry about me.”

“It’s fine, it doesn’t matter where we sit now.” Their captain smiled. “And there just happens to be room for all five of us here.”

Song Jiaqi said no more. She turned her head—and found the girl beside her had been looking at her all along.

Their beautiful eyes exchanged faint smiles.

“Hi, we meet again,” Chi Meng said softly, extending her hand. “Independent trainee, Chi Meng. Chi like ‘pond’ from A pond where the green lotus blooms, Meng like ‘dream’ from Dreaming of my old home in autumn.”

“Renxing, Song Jiaqi.” She took Chi Meng’s hand and gave it a shake.

“Tender as water, beautiful as a dream—that kind of Jiaqi.”

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