Chapter 38: Popularity Soars!

Fifty thousand viewers.

One hundred thousand viewers.

Two hundred thousand viewers.

As Su Yunjin’s identity as the successor to the Yue People’s Song was revealed, the popularity of the C-Position girl group soared at lightning speed. In the blink of an eye, more than three hundred thousand people had flocked in. Although it didn’t reach the fifty thousand viewers of their first broadcast, for a show that had just resumed after being interrupted by a stage accident, thirty thousand viewers was already beyond anyone’s expectations.

Backstage, Zhang Zhichang’s eyes were shining.

He hadn’t expected that Su Yunjin would once again drive up the viewership in the livestream room.

Glancing askance, Zhang Zhichang looked at Lu Yiqing beside him. At this moment, Lu Yiqing’s expression was solemn, lost in thought about something. But Zhang Zhichang didn’t bother to dwell on whatever Lu Yiqing was thinking. He turned his attention back to the stage.

...

“Teacher Xinghui, you flatter me. When it comes to music, everyone has their own strengths. Vocal training shouldn’t be limited to just folk songs—it’s basic training for anyone who wants to pursue music,” Su Yunjin replied politely and courteously to Shao Xinghui.

“Enough with the compliments, you two. Today is supposed to be my main event—most people on this list are here to dance,” Wang Tao interjected deliberately from the side.

As the topic shifted to him, Liang Feiyue said, “There’s singing too. It can’t be all dance and no vocals.”

Shao Xinghui said, “So today, Teacher Su and I will split our work in half, but yours will double. Fei, you’ll help us host.”

Their banter livened up the atmosphere considerably. The contestants, who had previously looked nervous, began to relax, smiles breaking out as Su Yunjin and the others joked around.

A few minutes passed—just enough to break the ice.

Then Liang Feiyue announced, “Let’s begin the assessment.”

Prompted by her, Su Yunjin and the others grew serious, picking up the list to call out the names of the contestant groups.

Most of these contestants were from the same company. To advertise their brands, many girl groups even took their company’s name, with group sizes ranging from three to five members.

The first group up was a very stage-savvy girl group called KING.

Five girls, each with a different hair color, wearing sizzling hot pants and crop tops. As soon as they stepped onto the stage, these five distinctively styled “spicy girls” sent the audience into a frenzy.

“Damn, they’re gorgeous!”

“I’m drooling—do I really get to watch this for free?”

“With those bodies, pole dancing would be incredible!”

The cheers rang out in the venue, and in the livestream room, viewers watching through their screens howled even louder. The comments flew up the screen like a blizzard, and the C-Position girl group’s livestream room numbers skyrocketed.

In the blink of an eye, they broke through the 500,000 mark, with nearly 100,000 viewers online.

Onstage, the five girls bounced and danced energetically. At the climax, one of them even pulled out a portable pole and performed a pole dance, sending shouts of excitement rippling through the venue.

When they finished, the whole stage erupted—the atmosphere hit its peak.

But in contrast, in the contestant holding area, the explosive opening act left the remaining contestants feeling the pressure acutely.

They began whispering anxiously.

“What do we do?”

“How can anyone follow that?”

“We’re doomed. We weren’t that good to begin with, and now we look even worse.”

Worried voices drifted out.

Just then, as the contestants fretted, Liang Feiyue spoke up, “Yunjin, why don’t you share your thoughts first?”

She didn’t have much authority to comment on the performance herself, not being well-versed in dance. She’d only been invited by the C-Position girl group as a last-minute host. Her training in etiquette would be useful later during contestant training, but for now, she had no chance to apply it.

“Fei, what do you think?” Su Yunjin didn’t answer directly, but turned the question back to Liang Feiyue.

“I think they were excellent. Their postures were clearly trained and corrected, and they looked beautiful while dancing. The pole dance was powerful too,” Liang Feiyue offered her assessment.

Shao Xinghui added, “But their singing still falls a little short.”

Wang Tao chimed in, “The dance wasn’t completely in sync, and the energy wasn’t quite there. The captain, Wang Min, was better, but there wasn’t much emotion.”

Each judge contributed their thoughts, only to realize that Liang Feiyue had originally asked Su Yunjin for her opinion, yet they’d all spoken before her.

Feeling a bit awkward, Shao Xinghui turned to Su Yunjin. “What do you think, Teacher Su?”

“In fact, I think their biggest problem is this,” Su Yunjin said, picking up the microphone and addressing the girls with mock seriousness. “Your biggest issue is not introducing yourselves. You came on and finished your performance without a single introduction.

We judges are left in the dark, having to match names to faces like a memory game—is this the first challenge?”

...

“Pfft!”

“Hahaha!”

“I can’t stop laughing. Su Yunjin is hilarious!”

“I was expecting something serious, but honestly, this really is the biggest problem.”

In the livestream room, the audience who had been waiting for Su Yunjin to point out major flaws burst out laughing.

But it was true: they were watching a livestream. Even with off-stage interviews, in a five-member girl group, not every member could be interviewed thoroughly—usually just the captain or those with the strongest presence.

Even so, viewers were still often confused.

Let alone at the venue, where the judges had no off-stage commentary, only a list of names to match to faces—a much more difficult task.

Su Yunjin’s comment had the livestream rolling with laughter.

Backstage, Zhang Zhichang’s eyes lit up as he watched Su Yunjin.

He was one of the few who knew Su Yunjin’s background, but he hadn’t expected that someone of her stature would have such a lively and attentive side.

A simple self-introduction might seem minor, but it determined how much screen time each contestant would get.

By giving them a chance to introduce themselves, Su Yunjin was also giving them valuable camera time.

For amateurs, this was a rare opportunity.

But just as Zhang Zhichang was secretly giving Su Yunjin a mental thumbs-up, he caught a glimpse of Lu Yiqing in the corner of his eye. Lu Yiqing was also smiling at the monitor.

On his screen was Su Yunjin’s face.

In the camera, Su Yunjin’s lips were red, her teeth white, her features lively and charming. The kindness in her unintentional gestures made her all the more beautiful.

And the always-serious Lu Yiqing… was actually smiling?

Goodness, was this chemistry at work?

After giving her that push, had he now been drawn in himself?

A melodramatic romance?

For a moment, Zhang Zhichang’s mind conjured up scenes from cliché love-dramas—sweet in the moment, only to end up desperately chasing after her later. He shivered at the thought and quickly looked away from Lu Yiqing.