“I am very grateful to the eldest miss, Wen Shike, for her help,” Lu Jingwei said.
Hearing Lu Jingwei mention her name, Wen Shike waited for her to add a few more words of praise. To her surprise, the sentence ended right there.
Wen Shike: Heh, how forced.
The number of slots for advancement was dwindling. Those who had been crying earlier seemed to have accepted their fate of elimination, and the atmosphere had calmed significantly.
Wen Shike glanced at the remaining people in their seats. Propping her chin up, she took a deep breath and slightly clenched her fists. Sensing her turn was approaching, she gathered her thoughts, wondering what she should say once she got up there.
There were six people left in Class A herself, Zhou Yueran, and a few girls she wasn’t well-acquainted with. Most of the people she knew had already gone up. Only Ming Wangxue remained seated below, she had turned back to look at Wen Shike several times, appearing on the verge of tears.
Ming Wangxue likely wanted to come over and chat, but hindered by the massive distance between Class F and Class A, she could only stay put obediently.
Wen Shike speculated that Ming Wangxue probably had a “crying compilation” out there. She decided to search for it after returning, it would likely be quite entertaining.
“15th Place: Ming Wangxue!”
Ming Wangxue stood up, tears still wet on her face. She smiled like an idiot, when her expression was magnified on the big screen, the “silliness factor” was multiplied by ten. She hugged those around her and then sprinted toward Wen Shike, nearly tripping over a chair.
Wen Shike was startled.
“Wooo… I thought I was going to be eliminated!”
“Don’t get your tears and snot on me.”
Wen Shike’s body went stiff. She shifted her shoulder to avoid Ming Wangxue’s face. Although she tried to control her look of disgust, it still leaked through her eyes.
“Waaaaah! I don’t have snot!”
The moment Ming Wangxue let go, Wen Shike immediately turned her head to check her shoulder.
Ming Wangxue: “?”
“Eldest Miss, you are so heartless. Your words are colder than the snow in December.”
Seemingly wounded, Ming Wangxue turned and ran off, nearly falling again while heading down the stairs. Many people in the audience couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.
Wen Shike: “???” Wen Shike: “…”
Wen Shike silently covered her own mouth: Ahhh, I want to laugh so bad! Why is someone trying to break my character every single day?
As only the Top 11 and the final slot remained unannounced, the scene grew noticeably quieter.
Zhou Yueran silently shifted her seat to sit next to Wen Shike. The faces of several popular contestants appeared on the big screen. Looking at her own “cold and elegant” self on the screen, Wen Shike felt numb for a second.
“Do you have confidence in taking first place?” Zhou Yueran asked.
Wen Shike glanced at her. Indeed, only this girl would dare to say such things out loud. “If I get first, I’ll practice dancing for thirteen hours a day.”
She paused, then added: “And I’ll bring my teammates with me.”
Zhou Yueran: “?”
“What rank do you guess you’ll be?” Wen Shike asked in return.
Zhou Yueran thought for a few seconds. “Fifth, sixth, or seventh. I’ve debuted before, so I have a certain fanbase.”
She looked at Wen Shike. Wen Shike did have a massive initial advantage because a top-tier celebrity had helped pull votes for her. But those were ultimately Fu Chenyuan’s fans, voting for one’s idol versus voting for one’s idol’s friend are two different concepts. Her momentum would eventually slow down unless she could convert them into her own fans.
“9th Place: An Ya!”
Wen Shike: “???”
Zhou Yueran also looked up. For a moment, their expressions were remarkably similar. They locked eyes, both seeing a trace of confusion in the other.
An Ya stood up, flashing a signature smile.
“I’m very grateful to my teammates from the first performance, Zhou Yueran and the Eldest Miss. It was your strict supervision that made me more excellent.”
Wen Shike: “…” Zhou Yueran: “…”
Their faces appeared on the screen again. Since Wen Shike usually wore a poker face, her lack of expression didn’t seem odd to anyone. Zhou Yueran, however, couldn’t keep her mask on and likely didn’t intend to. Anyone could see her disdain, the atmosphere turned slightly awkward.
Wen Shike suddenly realized that a “cold” persona had its perks. She calculated the broadcast time for this week’s episode, planning to check Weibo later to watch the fans fight.
Zhou Yueran’s rank was close to her prediction: 6th place.
Wen Shike clenched her hands and licked her lips, leaning back to settle into a stable posture. When only the top two and the final cut remained, she felt her heart leap into her throat. She hadn’t even been this nervous checking her college entrance exam results. Back then, it depended on her own strength now, it depended entirely on fan votes essentially, fate.
She closed her eyes and waited for the result.
“1st Place… Wen Shike! She received 43,273,483 votes!” “2nd Place… Yang Simiao! She received 31,968,231 votes!”
Wen Shike opened her eyes and saw her slightly stunned face on the screen. She had just been laughing at Ming Wangxue, and now it was her turn to look silly.
However, her expression management was top-tier. She reacted quickly, standing up gracefully and walking down the steps as if attending an awards ceremony. Looking into the camera, she waved, the corners of her mouth curling upward.
She had prepared what to say, but standing on the stage, her mind went a bit blank. Listening to Yang Simiao’s speech next to her, she thought about mimicking it, but realized she couldn’t.
Yang Simiao’s moving story was about mutual support with teammates. At the emotional peak, she even shed tears. Wen Shike glanced over, this was the definition of “fairy tears,” rolling down the cheeks cleanly. Wen Shike really wanted Ming Wangxue to learn from this, if she cried like that, Wen Shike wouldn’t be so disgusted.
Half of Yang Simiao’s first performance teammates were leaving. Those girls were huddled together crying. Wen Shike felt a bit sentimental, but her own first performance team was one of the few where everyone had survived.
Yang Simiao took the second place seat. Wen Shike was the last to speak, with every eye in the room on her. She owned the stage.
Holding the microphone, she thought for a few seconds before speaking.
“In the week before I joined the show, I didn’t dare look at Weibo. Once, while buying milk tea, I happened to hear someone cursing at me. I didn’t quite understand some of the words, so I actually went online to look them up.”
She paused.
“One more thing, Sister Qiu, I only drank two sips of that milk tea. Since joining the show, I’ve lost five pounds.”
Wen Shike’s expression was dead serious, but many people burst out laughing.
“I don’t know if my current strength satisfies everyone. Of course, whether you are satisfied or not, I will keep working hard, hard enough to be worthy of this position.”
“Thanks to everyone who thanked me earlier. And a special thanks to Lu Jingwei, for helping me overcome the first hurdle I faced here, folding my quilt.”
Wen Shike turned her head to look at Lu Jingwei.
Lu Jingwei’s mouth twitched slightly as she silently covered her face.