Chapter 18: The First Performance (Part Four)
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At this moment, Wen Yali anxiously awaited the final results. The score gap between Lan Chenxi and Chi Xin was so wide that it completely wiped out the previous advantage held by Group 1.
Wen Yali glanced at Qiao Yiqing from the opposing team, then at Mo Hanmeng. Even though she was reluctant to admit it, Wen Yali felt that Mo Hanmeng probably wouldn’t win.
But without the scores announced, it was like an unpronounced death sentence; deep down, she still harbored a faint hope. What if?
“Mo Hanmeng 52, Qiao Yiqing 275.”
The screen flickered again, displaying the final scores of the two contestants.
Qiao Yiqing blinked in disbelief, thinking she had misread the numbers. But she was soon embraced by Xi Rui and Lan Chenxi.
Xi Rui even took the opportunity to gently stroke Qiao Yiqing’s braided pigtails.
Yao Xin and Fang Youan shouted excitedly nearby, “Ahhh, 275 points! Incredible!”
The members of Group 1 exchanged stunned looks, speechless at the high score of 275.
Shao Heling’s eyes widened, and she blurted out, “275 points? Is that even possible?!”
Fu Yunmeng and Chi Xin exchanged a glance and smiled bitterly, saying nothing.
Mo Hanmeng’s face turned pale; after a long while, she finally tore her eyes away from the screen, avoiding everyone’s gaze and forcing a bitter smile.
The duel results also appeared on the screen.
“Group 1: 301 VS Group 2: 595.”
“Group 2 WIN.”
Wen Yali’s anxious heart finally sank.
Watching the jubilant faces of Group 2 beside her, Wen Yali clapped quietly and whispered, “Congratulations.”
Whether that “congratulations” was sincere or not, at least on the surface, Wen Yali maintained her composure gracefully.
Lan Chenxi responded with a simple “Thank you.”
—
The audience had already left; the chairs in the studio were all removed, leaving the hall empty.
The 101 girls lined up in 20 rows according to their groups, with each group leader at the front.
Zhai Xingwen, the representative of the National Producer, stepped onto the stage.
“The first public performance has concluded. Thank you all for your hard work, trainees.”
“Now, the live voting results will be announced.”
The rankings were revealed in reverse order, names arranged in a pyramid shape. Seven names appeared per page, each accompanied by their respective votes and current rank.
The trainee ranked last stared at her name at the bottom, with a glaring single vote beneath it. Having already been bruised by the earlier results, her mood worsened, especially since this time it was displayed not just before her group members but before all trainees and mentors—a public execution of sorts.
Fang Youan and Yao Xin ranked 79th and 71st respectively.
Both sighed deeply.
“Now, announcing the trainees ranked 50th to 56th.”
Shao Heling’s name appeared.
Zhai Xingwen looked towards Shao Heling. “Trainee Shao Heling, ranked 51st. What happens if your rank remains the same next time?”
Shao Heling pursed her lips. “I will be eliminated.”
“Exactly!”
“So, trainees ranked below 50, pay attention. If your rank does not improve, you will be leaving.”
Hearing this, the trainees tensed up.
The announcement continued.
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...
“Now announcing trainees ranked 8th to 14th.”
The screen data shifted.
Wen Yali’s name appeared at 10th place.
The trainees who noticed were stunned, all looking towards Wen Yali in disbelief.
Zhai Xingwen deliberately clarified, “Trainee Wen Yali, center position for the theme song, received 124 votes, ranking 10th, thus not entering the debut group of seven.”
Wen Yali had anticipated this outcome and was mentally prepared. Feeling the shock, confusion, or even scornful gazes cast her way, she maintained an expressionless face, looking straight ahead, giving no reaction for them to gloat over.
Qiao Yiqing noted Fu Huanhuan’s score—117 votes, ranked 14th.
Looking towards Fu Huanhuan, she saw her happily smiling in profile and returned the smile as she turned her head back.
“Now, announcing the top seven trainees.”
Unlike the previous seven names appearing at once, Zhai Xingwen began announcing them one by one.
“7th place, trainee Quan Hongye, 159 votes.”
The camera focused on Quan Hongye as the crowd applauded. She covered her mouth in surprise and bowed to thank everyone.
Quan Hongye was the center of Group 1 from “Lost Realm,” whose group performance had been overall strong, though she stood out especially.
“6th place, trainee Ye Banshuang, 163 votes.”
Ye Banshuang modestly covered her chest with one hand and bowed. Her teammate turned to tease her, causing Ye Banshuang to lightly tap the person’s shoulder in mock irritation.
Qiao Yiqing couldn’t help but laugh.
“5th place, trainee Tang Mengzhu, 168 votes.”
This shocked the trainees even more. They recalled Tang Mengzhu was from “HATE” Group 2—the group composed of the remaining trainees.
Originally, they thought this group would be crushed by others, but surprisingly, their performance was quite good.
This ranking was truly unexpected.
Unknown trainees had garnered high vote counts, while once-popular trainees ranked much lower.
Even more shocking was yet to come.
“4th place, trainee Lan Chenxi, 172 votes.”
If people could understand Wen Yali’s score earlier—after all, her opponent was from Lan Chenxi’s group, which had many popular members dividing the votes—then seeing Lan Chenxi with only 172 votes, ranking fourth, was surprising.
“3rd place, trainee Ren Qianqian, 178 votes.”
Ren Qianqian was startled, then shyly bowed, seeming unaccustomed to the admiring and envious gazes.
Fa Shuxuan stood in a corner, watching Ren Qianqian’s moment of glory with a complicated heart.
“There are two more trainees whose results have not been announced. Who will be the number one in this live public performance voting?”
Zhai Xingwen paused, the camera fixed on Qiao Yiqing and Wen Shan’s faces.
Their names and scores appeared simultaneously on the screen.
“1st place, trainee Wen Shan, 303 votes! 2nd place, trainee Qiao Yiqing, 275 votes!”
“Congratulations to trainee Wen Shan for achieving first place in this live performance voting!”
Wen Shan excitedly covered her mouth.
Everyone applauded.
Qiao Yiqing also smiled and clapped, looking at Wen Shan.
“Trainee Wen Shan, do you have anything to say?”
Wen Shan composed herself and said to Zhai Xingwen, “Thank you very much to all the national producers who voted for me. I will not let them down and will continue to work hard!”
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After saying this, she bowed deeply.
“Alright, congratulations to trainee Qiao Yiqing for securing second place!”
Compared to Wen Shan’s first place, everyone was even more astonished by Qiao Yiqing’s score. Wen Shan had no particularly famous trainees in her “First Love” groups, and she performed excellently, so it was plausible the votes concentrated on her.
However, Qiao Yiqing’s “Lovely” group was known as the “death group”—Lan Chenxi, Wen Yali, Chi Xin, Shao Heling, Fu Yunmeng—each one among the most popular trainees at present, as was evident from the cheers during the live broadcast.
For an unknown trainee like Qiao Yiqing to snatch the most audience votes from such hot favorites was astounding.
Moreover, seeing Lan Chenxi turn around with no resentment and warmly applaud Qiao Yiqing, she seemed genuinely happy for her, showing no trace of jealousy for losing the group’s top spot.
No matter the turmoil inside, on the surface everyone wore smiles of congratulations.
Fu Huanhuan clapped vigorously, the most excited among those around her, eager to rush over to Qiao Yiqing’s side.
“But it’s not over yet. Now, we will announce the rankings after adding 3,000 bonus votes.”
All previous data vanished from the screen, replaced by new rankings.
Some trainees who had been ranked lower surged ahead after receiving bonus votes. Meanwhile, those from losing groups who did not get bonus votes were easily surpassed, even if their individual votes were high.
“We can see that these 3,000 bonus votes have a significant impact.”
“But this is not the final result. The ultimate ranking will also include votes from the national producers. Voting is still ongoing, so trainees who have not yet reached the survival line, please don’t lose heart.”
“The final results will be announced at the first ranking ceremony next week.”
Hearing this, everyone felt a sense of urgency, as if a deadline loomed near.
“Next week? So soon?” Yao Xin was startled.
“That’s next week according to the broadcast schedule,” Xi Rui glanced at Yao Xin.
“Oh, that’s a relief. So we still have some time,” Yao Xin breathed out.
Though smiling, everyone felt anxious about the upcoming first elimination.
There was one more announcement. Zhai Xingwen continued, “As mentioned before, the group that takes first place overall will receive a reward.”
“This reward is an invitation to perform on the stage of ‘Weekly Music’!”
“Among the 20 groups, the group that secured first place is... ‘Lovely’ Group 2! Congratulations!”
Yao Xin was dumbfounded by the news.
“We’re going to ‘Weekly Music’?!”
She looked at Fang Youan in disbelief.
Fang Youan hugged Yao Xin tightly, and the two jumped up in excitement together.
“Yes, we’re going to ‘Weekly Music’!”
Upon hearing their group called, Lan Chenxi exhaled a relieved smile and turned to Qiao Yiqing; the two embraced.
“Thank you for your hard work,” Qiao Yiqing whispered in Lan Chenxi’s ear. “You are the best leader.”
Qiao Yiqing understood Lan Chenxi’s goal was to lead the group to first place overall and knew how much she had sacrificed for it.
Xi Rui also stepped forward and patted Lan Chenxi’s shoulder, saying, “Well done.”
Yet Qiao Yiqing pulled her in, and the three of them hugged together.
Xi Rui felt a bit helpless—this was how children celebrated, jumping and hugging at the same time—but she didn’t struggle free.
Yao Xin and Fang Youan, noticing the group seemed small, saw the trio hugging and immediately joined in.
The “Lovely” Group 2, who had swept the stage today, behaved like a group of children among themselves.
The other trainees nearby found it amusing and somewhat enviable.
Such genuine camaraderie.