INHA Chapter 92

The first group to perform consisted of contestants with decent overall abilities. Like Xu Dongyou’s group, they chose a song-and-dance performance, playing to their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses. The final result was fairly good, and the judges gave them a solid score. Afterward, the host conducted brief interviews with the group, discussing their daily training routines before letting them return to their seats.

Next up was Li Ge’s group. While Li Ge excelled in every aspect, one member struggled significantly, almost disrupting the entire group’s rhythm. Thanks to Li Ge’s quick recovery, they managed to regain their momentum, but the young contestants couldn’t hold back their tears after the performance, especially the boy who had caused the mistake. Overcome with guilt, he repeatedly bowed and apologized to his teammates, who quickly reassured him that it was okay.

Although they felt some frustration, the group knew the mistake wasn’t intentional, and none of them wanted to appear petty on camera. So, they chose to forgive him. The host offered some comforting words and conducted a brief interview before the judges gave their scores. Despite the small mistake, the group’s quick recovery and determination were acknowledged with an encouraging point, though their overall score wasn’t very high.

As other teams took the stage one after another, it seemed that the production team intentionally saved Xu Dongyou’s group for the final performance.

The fifth-to-last group to perform was Yan Yu’s. Due to significant internal disagreements and Yan Yu’s subtle yet palpable arrogance, which frustrated his teammates, their performance was lackluster. Their last-minute changes to both the dance and song left them far behind the other teams, resulting in the lowest score of the day.

After the performance, the contestants tried to remain composed, but it was clear that some of them were barely holding back their anger and frustration, especially Yan Yu, who was the most upset. However, he had no choice but to smile and pretend he wasn’t bothered.

The host noticed the tension and kept the interview brief before moving on to the judges’ scores. Once the scores were given, the contestants were quickly directed back to their seats.

Next up were two more groups, whose scores were neither high nor low, but still slightly better than Yan Yu’s group. This caused Yan Yu’s expression to tighten visibly. Fortunately, group scores wouldn’t directly determine whether someone would be eliminated. The next phase involved public voting, and only if they performed poorly in that stage would elimination become a real concern.

Then it was Xu Dongyou’s turn. There was still one more team after his, and while Xu Dongyou wasn’t sure what that team was thinking, he could see that his own teammates were very nervous.

They were all afraid that any mistake might cause them to rank low, especially since they believed their song and dance routine, both in terms of adaptation and choreography, were excellent and should earn them a good score.

Xu Dongyou encouraged them, and perhaps his calmness somehow rubbed off on them, making them feel a bit less nervous.

Finally, Xu Dongyou’s group took the stage and began their performance. Each member held their breath, their minds almost blank as they performed, but they managed to execute everything perfectly.

During the critical climax, Xu Dongyou raised his voice to a higher pitch, his ethereal and hauntingly beautiful voice instantly capturing everyone’s attention. The camera panned across the judges’ astonished faces before returning to the stage.

As the last note ended, the judges did something they hadn’t done in a long time—they applauded, openly showing their admiration and surprise.

Xu Dongyou and his teammates immediately realized that they had nailed it. They struggled to contain their excitement as they answered the host’s questions. When it was Xu Dongyou’s turn, he responded with a cooperative smile that made him look particularly endearing, even causing the host’s tone to soften unconsciously.

After the Q&A, the host asked the judges for their scores. The judges quickly gave high marks, the highest of all the teams so far, sparking envy among the other contestants, who began to worry about the next performance.

Once all the teams had finished, the host announced the group rankings and identified the two teams with the lowest scores. These teams would have to practice again. If they remained the lowest in the next round, the contestant with the fewest public votes from these teams would be eliminated.

All the contestants grew tense. Even those not at immediate risk of elimination became extra serious, as no one could predict if their ranking might slip in the next round. This experience made everyone more focused. Even those who previously didn’t get along decided to set aside their differences, at least temporarily.

No one wanted to be eliminated.

This included Yan Yu’s team, who finally agreed to cooperate with each other. However, due to their underlying dissatisfaction, their collaboration was less than seamless. Still, Yan Yu was already satisfied with this level of cooperation.

Afterward, all the contestants were given free time. The next day, they would begin selecting new songs and practicing with the judges.

As usual, Xu Dongyou took the opportunity to check his spiritual energy watch while using the bathroom, reviewing the latest abnormal events before returning to his room to sleep.

During the seven days of training, cameras followed the contestants constantly. Xu Dongyou patiently and diligently trained with the judges and carefully arranged who would sing the first and second lines of the song for his group. Somehow, he found himself becoming the de facto leader of the small group. Whenever there was a disagreement, the others often looked to him to decide which option to go with, assuring him they wouldn’t hold any grudges.

Xu Dongyou tentatively trusted them, and when he chose one person over another, the one not chosen indeed harbored no resentment and earnestly continued practicing. Relieved, Xu Dongyou wondered if he had somehow developed leadership charm.

However, he wasn’t naturally inclined to lead and usually stayed quiet, rarely asserting himself.

About two days later, with only five days left until the second performance, the production team announced that the show would start airing the next day. But since all their phones had been confiscated, they couldn’t know how the public would perceive them, leaving everyone anxious and sleepless, with dark circles under their eyes when they arrived for training the next morning.

Except for Xu Dongyou and Li Ge, who both fell asleep the moment they lay down. Although Xu Dongyou could use his watch to access information from the outside world, he didn’t cheat, only using it to check for abnormal events.

But that evening, a few contestants secretly approached Xu Dongyou in a corner where the cameras couldn’t see, whispering, “Dongyou, do you know what your rank is in the public vote?”

Xu Dongyou was taken aback.

The other contestants were also surprised and hesitated before asking, “Dongyou, have you signed with a company yet?”

Xu Dongyou shook his head.

Realizing this, the contestants explained, “We’ve all signed with companies, so the production team gave us a secret ten-minute window to contact the outside world. I heard it from our company people and even checked the voting rankings and numbers. Dongyou, don’t you want to know your status?”

Xu Dongyou was indeed curious about his current voting ranking and numbers, so he asked, “What’s the ranking?”

Although he could check with his watch, this opportunity to bond with the other contestants and facilitate future cooperation was more appealing.

The contestants, both envious and excited, told Xu Dongyou that he was currently ranked first, with Li Ge in second. However, the difference between first and second place was over a hundred thousand votes.

While the gap might not seem huge at first glance, considering the program had only been aired for a few hours, such a large number of votes was impressive.

Xu Dongyou wasn’t too surprised by the vote count and asked, “So who’s in third place?”

By right, it should be Yan Yu, as he was currently the best overall, skilled in singing and dancing, and had a striking appearance. He wasn’t overly masculine but more of the handsome type.

“We all thought Yan Yu would be in third place, but actually, he’s in sixth. The third place is taken by someone named Wu Zhi.”

Xu Dongyou’s expression showed rare surprise. Wu Zhi’s performance that day hadn’t been particularly stunning or outstanding—how did he end up in third?

Seeing Xu Dongyou’s reaction, the other contestants immediately explained.

It turned out that Yan Yu’s concealed arrogance, hidden beneath a seemingly calm surface during training, was perceived not only by the contestants but also by the audience.

Despite Yan Yu’s attempts to hide it well, his arrogance was analyzed frame by frame by sharp-eyed viewers, creating a perception that he indeed came across as superior.

Arrogance itself isn’t necessarily disliked, but a sense of superiority in every action and gesture can be irritating.

Even though Yan Yu performed well, he still attracted quite a bit of public resentment, while many fans defended him.

As for Wu Zhi, his diligence and academic prowess earned him a batch of fans, and the public had a favorable impression of him, which led to his third-place ranking.

Li Ge, with his good looks and impressive dancing skills, rightfully secured second place.

Xu Dongyou was not particularly surprised by his first-place ranking but was slightly taken aback. He thanked the other contestants for their information.

The contestants quickly insisted that no thanks were necessary.

In the evening, as Xu Dongyou lay down, he and Li Ge exchanged glances, both noticing that Yan Yu’s expression was quite dark and he no longer cared about the cameras.

It seemed likely that Yan Yu had already learned about the rankings.

As Yan Yu lay down, he couldn’t shake the constant reminders from his company to avoid showing any subtle expressions on camera. Despite his strong performance skills, these easily criticized actions had led to his sixth-place finish.

Yan Yu thought to himself: Is it wrong to have a bit of a superiority complex? I am clearly the strongest overall contestant, yet my ranking dropped to sixth because of some facial expressions. This frustration made me want to smash my phone, but I restrained myself.

He reminded himself to control his expressions tomorrow and avoid giving people more reasons to criticize him.

Yan Yu still hoped to make a successful debut and become a beloved star.

Just thinking about it felt incredibly satisfying.

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