INHA Chapter 91

Regarding the cautious and wary glances cast by the other contestants, Xu Dongyou was aware of them but chose to ignore them.

As he surveyed the contestants gathered backstage, waiting for their turn to perform, his gaze settled on a familiar face— the boy he had met once before, the one named Li Ge.

Li Ge was also scanning the room, and when his eyes finally landed on the name on Xu Dongyou’s badge, he seemed a bit incredulous and surprised. He hesitated slightly before walking over and asking, “Xu Dongyou?”

Previously, Xu Dongyou had been wearing a hat, only removing it when he went on stage to perform, and putting it back on afterward. Li Ge had never actually seen Xu Dongyou’s face.

So, when he saw Xu Dongyou up close, with his extraordinarily handsome—almost inhumanly beautiful—appearance, Li Ge found it hard to believe they were the same person.

Xu Dongyou nodded and smiled, “It’s you.”

Upon hearing this voice, Li Ge immediately knew he hadn’t mistaken him for someone else. The voice was so distinctive that it was impossible for two people to have the same voice and the same name.

Li Ge instantly broke into a warm smile, enthusiastically wrapping his arms around Xu Dongyou, though he refrained from fully embracing his shoulders, as if worried about disrespecting him. “Look at this fate we share, it’s incredible.”

Xu Dongyou smiled and nodded in agreement.

The other contestants discreetly turned their attention to Li Ge, seemingly wary as well. Although Li Ge was quite good-looking, he couldn’t compare to Xu Dongyou. However, to them, he was still a competitor.

Especially since the relationship between these two seemed good. If they decided to team up, their combined strength would make it easier to garner votes.

For a moment, every contestant felt a sense of unease, each thinking about how to deal with this situation.

Noticing the change in the other contestants’ expressions, Li Ge said nothing, continuing to chat cheerfully with Xu Dongyou. One by one, the contestants went on stage to introduce themselves and perform, then chose the seat they felt corresponded to the rank they believed they deserved. The entire process was fraught with tension.

Soon, it was Li Ge’s turn to perform. He sang and danced, choosing a popular song from this year, with choreography he had created himself. His performance was energetic and youthful.

The judges nodded repeatedly as they watched, giving him an A score. After Li Ge finished his performance, they asked him which position he wanted to choose. Li Ge glanced at the remaining spots—only the first, second, and a few middle and bottom positions were left unselected. He directly said he wanted the second position.

Indeed, while there were contestants who danced better than Li Ge, none were as good-looking and danced as well as he did. His choice of the second spot made everyone feel it was well-deserved.

As for the first position, all the contestants couldn’t help but think of that one person whose looks alone could overshadow everyone else, even surpassing male and female celebrities known for their beauty in the entertainment industry.

Moreover, this person’s temperament was exceptionally outstanding. While the entertainment industry had no shortage of good-looking people, those with a distinct air of elegance were rare.

One contestant in particular, named Yan Yu, had come to the show with the confidence that he would secure the first spot. After all, there weren’t many contestants as handsome and skilled in singing and dancing as he was.

Additionally, his company had bought him a song and even made some modifications, ensuring he would likely achieve instant fame.

But that confidence shattered when he saw the contestant named Xu Dongyou. Now, after seeing someone even slightly more handsome and slightly better at dancing than him, his self-assurance completely disappeared.

However, he reminded himself that he was in front of the camera and couldn’t show any unpleasant expressions, though internally, he felt both frustrated and upset.

At the same time, there was a small sense of relief.

He was relieved that he hadn’t chosen the first position; otherwise, it would have been utterly humiliating.

Xu Dongyou was going to perform a self-accompanied song. He sat quietly on a high stool and began singing one of his original compositions. While this wasn’t his best original song, it was certainly good enough for an opening performance.

Xu Dongyou believed the main reason his voice was so pleasant might be because his true form was that of a bird; after all, birds generally have clear and melodious calls.

As the song ended, the judges unhesitatingly gave Xu Dongyou the same A score, even better than Li Ge’s. However, no one was surprised—only filled with envy.

When the judges asked Xu Dongyou which position he wanted to take, he initially planned to choose a middle spot, and he indeed made that choice. However, when the other contestants realized this, their expressions became slightly grim.

This was especially true for the few contestants who had yet to perform; their faces darkened to the point where they looked on the verge of tears.

Only the middle, last, and first positions remained. None of them wanted to be unlucky enough to take the first spot because whoever ended up there would surely be harshly criticized when the show aired.

Sensing the tension, a judge who was particularly skilled at diffusing awkward situations gently reminded Xu Dongyou, “Oh, are you planning to take a middle spot?”

Xu Dongyou nodded.

The judge exaggeratedly gasped, making a troubled expression, and said, “If I were the director, I’d be in tears right now. No one has taken the first spot yet. What if, after all the contestants have performed, no one is willing to sit there?”

The judge then pretended to cry, and the other judges joined in on the joke, comforting him for the sake of the show’s effect. This made all the contestants laugh, easing the previously tense atmosphere.

Xu Dongyou got the hint and, feeling a bit embarrassed, said, “Then… should I choose the first spot?”

His tone was slightly hesitant and nervous.

All the contestants were eager for Xu Dongyou to take the first position. If he sat in the middle, it would make the previous contestants look bad.

They all urged him to take the first spot, with Li Ge even waving enthusiastically at him, saying, “Come on up, the air up here is great!”

Understanding that sitting in the middle would make things difficult for both the contestants who had already performed and those yet to perform, Xu Dongyou reluctantly went against his usual preference and took the first position, looking very obedient.

All the contestants visibly relaxed.

Especially those who hadn’t performed yet—they realized they had broken out in a cold sweat from the stress and quickly wiped their foreheads before heading on stage.

After all the contestants had completed their performances, the show moved on to the next phase, which involved assigning tasks. The contestants would then move into the accommodations provided by the production team, where their daily training and living routines would be recorded. Ten days later, a ranking competition would be held. The bottom fifty contestants would be eliminated, with the remaining contestants continuing to compete.

This process would continue until the top ten contestants were determined.

Before handing over his phone, Xu Dongyou informed his parents about the situation. They were understanding and encouraged him to practice diligently without worrying about them.

At the same time, Xu Dongyou also asked the chief to notify him immediately if Zhulong went berserk. He promised to keep his spiritual energy watch on him at all times.

The chief assured him that he would.

After confirming that nothing was overlooked, Xu Dongyou handed over his phone. The room assignments were based on the ranking scores, so Xu Dongyou ended up sharing a room with Li Ge and another contestant named Yan Yu.

The three of them chatted for a bit and discussed their living habits, confirming that there were no issues to be aware of before lying down to sleep.

According to the schedule provided by the production team, they would need to wake up at six in the morning to head to the practice room.

They needed to get to sleep early.

However, since it was their first day on the show, all the contestants were too excited and nervous to fall asleep. Some quietly chatted with their roommates instead.

But Xu Dongyou was different—he fell asleep as soon as he lay down.

Li Ge and Yan Yu were envious of this but didn’t say anything to disturb him and tried to force themselves to sleep early as well.

The next morning, the three of them woke up, freshened up quickly, and headed straight to the practice room. A few other contestants had already arrived. Upon seeing Xu Dongyou and his roommates, they greeted them warmly and expressed their hope for mutual support in the upcoming tasks.

Xu Dongyou and the others didn’t refuse and simply nodded in acknowledgment.

Soon, the instructors hired by the show to train the contestants arrived at the practice room. They conducted a brief assignment of roles and then divided the contestants into groups of ten to discuss which type of performance they wanted to do.

Xu Dongyou, Li Ge, and Yan Yu were placed in different groups, likely because having all three of them in the same group would have been unfair to the other contestants. So, they were separated.

Xu Dongyou wasn’t skilled at dancing, but he didn’t mind it. In his group of ten, seven were strong dancers, while the remaining two weren’t very good at it. These two looked to Xu Dongyou, hoping he would decline a song-and-dance performance.

In a group dance, anyone who wasn’t good would stand out, making it impossible to slack off.

However, Xu Dongyou believed in following the majority, so he agreed to do a song-and-dance performance. Once this was decided, they chose a song from the options provided by the instructor and began private practice and choreography.

Since seven of them were strong in singing and dancing, they each wanted to showcase themselves with standout moves. This led to subtle arguments and power struggles during the early stages.

Xu Dongyou stayed silent throughout, as he truly wasn’t confident in his dancing. However, when it came to the vocal parts of the performance, the group unanimously agreed to let Xu Dongyou handle the most crucial sections. His voice was captivating and would help boost the group’s score.

After a few days of working together, none of the seven could convince the others to follow their lead. When they heard that other groups had already started rehearsals, they felt the pressure and temporarily put aside their differences. They carefully analyzed each other’s moves and made selections.

The dance was finally choreographed successfully. Like Xu Dongyou, the other two non-dancers in the group were skilled at altering songs. The three of them took charge of modifying the song, and after combining their ideas, they held a rehearsal. The results were promising, boosting their confidence and motivating them to practice even harder.

Time flew by, and during breaks, Xu Dongyou would check his spiritual energy watch while heading to the restroom to see if anyone had tried to contact him. If no messages were there, he’d quickly glance at the mission board, where he could get a brief overview of any significant events happening in the outside world.

The intense practice left them physically exhausted. Xu Dongyou and Li Ge would lie down and almost immediately fall asleep. Yan Yu, however, found it difficult to sleep, as he was stressed about the overly ambitious members of his own group.

However, it wasn’t the right time to complain to his manager about this, so he could only keep his frustrations to himself, tossing and turning with the thoughts.

Soon enough, the ten days passed, and it was time for all the contestants to showcase the results of their practice. They wore the outfits they had collectively agreed upon and performed one by one, with the judges scoring their performances.

Afterward, the production team would edit the footage and start airing the episodes. The public would then vote, and those with the lowest votes would see their rankings drop. In the following episode, the elimination list will be announced.

Everyone was determined to give their best performance this time, putting in 100% of their effort.

---