When Wen Shike stepped off the stage, she couldn’t resist looking back at her support lightboard. It featured a crown and a scepter. By the glow of the board, she even caught a glimpse of her own slogan banners; they were beautiful, and she found herself wanting one for herself.
“I saw your lightboard just now, too.” Wen Shike looked at Lu Jingwei. By chance, Lu Jingwei’s fans were sitting right next to hers. Lu Jingwei’s lightboards were silver.
“Mm, I saw them too,” Lu Jingwei replied. There were five of them, not as many as Wen Shike’s, but she was satisfied. Many contestants didn’t have a single one.
There were nine performances in total. Wen Shike’s group was the ninth, meaning they had a very long time to rest. The two of them changed into a new look and sat in the waiting area, where they could watch the broadcast of the performances outside.
The rules for the first public performance were as follows: Each of the 2,000 audience members held three votes. Two votes were for their favorite performances, and one vote was for their favorite individual trainee. After each act, the voting channel for the performance would open. The individual trainee votes, however, would only be cast after all performances were finished. While people might switch their preferences for the group performances, the individual votes were usually fixed.
The trainees grew nervous upon hearing the rules and began discussing them fervently.
The producer, Xu Jianglan, continued explaining: “The two groups with the most votes will receive a 5,000-point boost for every member. The three trainees with the highest individual votes will each receive an additional 10,000 points boost. I hope everyone treasures the votes in their hands.”
The crowd gasped, excitement rippling through the room.
“Ten thousand… that probably doesn’t mean much for the top-tier trainees, but it’s a lifesaver for those in the back ranks.”
“True.”
“But… it’s hard for people in the back to break into the top three, isn’t it?”
“Isn’t this just a contest of who has the most fans? Most of the people sitting out there are the ‘head’ fans of various contestants… it feels like it’ll be hard to sway their votes. If they had three individual votes, it might be different,” someone else whispered.
Wen Shike calmly opened a bottle of milk and took a sip.
The pace was a bit slow. By the time Wen Shike finished watching the fifth performance, she was feeling a bit sleepy. Every group had to perform, introduce themselves, and then two or three people would be picked for individual interviews.
When the eighth performance began, Wen Shike went outside. she used two drops of eye drops and let the breeze clear her head.
“That sleepy?”
“It is past midnight, after all.” Wen Shike leaned against the railing and glanced at Lu Jingwei. “Is the first ranking announcement tomorrow?”
“Mm,” Lu Jingwei replied, looking at Wen Shike’s profile. “Judging by the lightboards in the arena, I don’t think you have much to worry about.”
Wen Shike was silent for two seconds. “What if the production team gave my fans a ‘backdoor’ entry?”
Lu Jingwei: “…” She hadn’t considered that line of thinking.
“The reaction from the live comments that day was good,” Lu Jingwei continued. “I think you should have more confidence in yourself. I searched for you before coming here, those old impressions can be overturned. People will discover the real you and come to like you.”
Wen Shike chuckled. “Thanks.”
Finally, it was their turn. Mist rose on the stage. Wen Shike was dressed in a red and black outfit, her gaze was sharp, and the garter on her left leg added a touch of allure to her cold aura.
She stepped out from behind the smoke, and her long, high note immediately drew screams from the entire crowd.
Sitting in the mentor’s section, Ding Qing froze for a moment.
“Very stable this time.”
“Indeed.”
Ding Qing opened her mouth to agree: “Mm.” She admitted it was perfect, but that didn’t change the fact that she disliked Wen Shike.
Wen Shike’s subsequent lines were equally steady. She opened the song beautifully, with pitch, emotion, and vocal control all perfectly in place.
During the duo part, Ming Wangxue took the center position, primarily because it allowed her to dance less, which was one of the reasons she chose this part.
Wen Shike’s right hand gripped Lu Jingwei’s waist, while her left hand rested gently on the back of Lu Jingwei’s head, stroking it lightly. Lu Jingwei’s hand rested softly on Wen Shike’s shoulder. The two moved closer until their noses almost touched. Despite the loud music, they could clearly hear each other’s breathing intertwining.
Just as they were about to kiss, they pulled away rapidly and launched into a high-difficulty synchronized dance.
Lu Jingwei wondered who had designed these moves. They hadn’t felt like much during practice, but under these lights, something felt… different.
The aggressive rap battle between Wen Shike and Zhou Yueran also triggered many screams. The tension was palpable. Neither gave an inch. Wen Shike was the queen who looked down on everything, while Zhou Yueran was the queen who destroyed everything. Though they weren’t actually fighting, the atmosphere was just as intense.
Meanwhile, Lu Jingwei’s solo dance was captivating with every move. Wen Shike was certain that after this first performance, Lu Jingwei would gain a massive following.
After the song ended, they were all slightly breathless. Wen Shike supported Ming Wangxue, who nearly tripped, and instinctively took her place next to Lu Jingwei according to their formation, waiting for Xu Jianglan to take the stage.
“Hello everyone, we are the ‘Get Rich’ Team! Choose ‘Get Rich,’ and you’ll get rich!”
The seven girls shouted their slogan and gave a synchronized wink. The audience burst into laughter, catching Xu Jianglan off guard for a second.
“Hello, I am Lu Jingwei, a trainee from Yinxing Entertainment and the leader of the ‘Get Rich’ Team.” Lu Jingwei stepped forward.
The second was Wen Shike: “Hello, I am Wen Shike from Yinxi Entertainment, the Center of the ‘Get Rich’ Team.”
Their introductions were the shortest, everyone else added a little extra flair.
“Can I ask who came up with this team name?” Xu Jianglan asked curiously.
Ming Wangxue raised her hand and glanced at Wen Shike. “Me.”
“And why this name?”
“It’s short, memorable, and down to earth. Plus, it’s a universal wish, who doesn’t want to get rich? We wish everyone here great wealth, and we hope you’ll cast your vote for us! Thank you!” Ming Wangxue said with a straight face.
Afterward, Xu Jianglan asked a few more questions and naturally cued Wen Shike.
“Teacher Ding just said your performance was very stable,” Xu Jianglan noted.
The crowd began to jeer playfully clearly, everyone who watched the show knew about the “feud” between Wen Shike and Ding Qing.
“Then I am honored to finally receive praise from Teacher Ding Qing.” Wen Shike glanced toward Ding Qing.
Once the performance was over, the seven of them relaxed significantly.
Downstage, Ming Wangxue hopped in place. “I almost fell just now, scared me to death. Eldest Miss, thanks for catching me, or I would’ve been so embarrassed.”
“Oh no, I’m getting nervous now!” another girl said, clutching her heart. “I was surprisingly calm on stage, but now I’m actually terrified.”
“I think we did great,” Wen Shike said calmly. She glanced at Lu Jingwei, who also appeared composed. In fact, Wen Shike realized she had never seen Lu Jingwei look nervous.
Lu Jingwei noticed the gaze. “What is it?”
“Nothing.” Wen Shike shook her head.
By the time all fourteen performances were over, it was nearly 3:00 AM. Wen Shike’s “alertness” was entirely supported by her “idol baggage.” As the fans began to leave, the trainees had to continue.
Perhaps because the results were about to be announced, Wen Shike woke up a bit. Everyone gathered in the hall, looking up at the large screen.
The announcement was full of long winded speeches, dragging out the recording time indefinitely. Wen Shike felt sleepy again.
Groups ranked 3rd to 14th were announced first. It was clear Wen Shike’s group was in the top two. All eyes and cameras were fixed on their group and the other remaining group.
After several cliffhangers and individual call outs, the result finally appeared.
Wen Shike’s team took first place with 403 votes. Second place had 381. Together, the two teams had taken nearly a quarter of the total votes. Many people gasped. The last-place team had only 97 votes, and two of those girls burst into tears on the spot.
Because many individuals received zero votes, only the top ten individual tallies were shown.
Wen Shike froze when she saw herself at number one.
She had 103 votes. The average was 20. Although she tried to control her expression, Wen Shike’s eyes widened.
“Wen Shike, did you not expect this result?”
Wen Shike took the microphone and nodded. “I didn’t.”
After a long silence, she spoke again.
“Anything I say will sound like I’m ‘humble-bragging,’ so I’d better not say anything at all.”