CHAPTER 113: CHAPTER 110: RECEIVED 1 VOTE

Feeling a bit tired, Yuwei shifted her body, trying to stretch.

Suddenly, she noticed a gaze that instantly gave her goosebumps.

"Am I overthinking? Zitao wouldn’t be that kind of person, right?" Yuwei quickly avoided Long Zitao’s gaze.

Long Zitao also realized he’d lost his composure; he had been staring at her for far too long.

This small detail did not escape the sharp eyes of Xiao Yue in the director’s room.

But she also noticed that Zixuan was seemingly glancing unintentionally toward Long Zitao as well.

"Interesting. This show’s peak points are just going to keep increasing," Xiao Yue chuckled.

Once all the votes were cast, Long Zitao and Zhang Wei opened the voting box and began announcing the results.

Something shocking happened.

Yuwei only received one vote.

Meixuan got three votes, and Zixuan received five votes.

Everyone else received relatively balanced numbers, with the highest vote count surprisingly going to Shihan.

Both Meixuan and Zixuan’s smiles froze on their faces; they hadn’t expected their vote counts to be so low.

However, the entire room’s attention focused on Yuwei.

No one could have imagined that the one with the highest level of dance showcased here would only receive one vote.

Everyone’s gaze unconsciously shifted to her teammate Bingbing.

Bingbing appeared calm, though a complicated emotion lingered deep in her eyes.

Yuwei didn’t know whether to smile or not; she could only force herself to stay composed as she stood there. She knew that the single vote had to have come from Fangxin.

She was truly disappointed in Bingbing—someone who always preached about teamwork and unity had chosen to act like this at such a time.

Xiao Yue was equally shocked. She had assumed the C-position would undoubtedly go to one of Yuwei, Zixuan, or Meixuan, but the results completely deviated from her expectations.

Once you understood these girls’ mindsets, though, the voting results made more sense.

The three came from well-known girl groups; essentially, they were competitors with most of the other girls.

For example, Galaxy’s rivals included the Magic Numbers Girl Group, Bright Moon Girl Group, and others.

These groups had been suppressed by Galaxy to the point of near unemployment—how could they possibly vote for Yuwei?

The same applied to Milky Way Girl.

Don’t be fooled by their cheers during Milky Way Girl’s performances, acting like fangirls; once they became competitors, the ones they most wanted to destroy were the Milky Way Girls.

The individual trainees and temporary teams formed by other companies also shared similar thoughts.

If they wanted to stand out, they had to crush those stronger than them.

Xiao Yue hadn’t put herself in these girls’ shoes.

Her mindset was that of an audience member: given average interpersonal relationships, they would "fairly" choose the best candidate.

Another reason Shihan was selected was her lack of standout beauty and her introverted personality.

The other girls subconsciously deemed her less competitive.

Sometimes, being less attractive could actually be an advantage.

"Congratulations to Shihan for becoming our initial C-position," Long Zitao skillfully eased the tension.

In the meeting room, Xiao Yue and Sun Miao sat across from each other with solemn expressions.

"Xiao Yue, the theme song’s choreography turned out like this. The show has to be postponed for release," Sun Miao said.

"Xiao Miao, I’ve been thinking about that too. I really didn’t expect them to dance this poorly. I’m not only worried about the theme song’s choreography now—how are we going to handle the later performances?"

"Xiao Yue, there’s no choice. We’ll have to extend the show schedule so they’ll have more time to practice. But choreography isn’t something that can be perfected overnight!"

Sun Miao was also deeply troubled. She didn’t expect many of these girls to perform so poorly. But what’s scarier is that none of them were slacking off.

"I’ve already consulted the instructors. They said most of the girls have decent foundations.

This time, it’s primarily because of the overwhelming mental pressure that they didn’t perform well. Additionally, we need to increase the number of instructors and extend the mentoring hours," Xiao Yue suggested.

"Xiao Yue, the recent promotions and demotions have greatly impacted the trainees’ emotions. Should we consider comforting them to avoid any disruptions?"

"As long as we keep them focused in the practice room, nothing should go wrong," Xiao Yue said confidently.

Meanwhile, back in the dormitories, trainees displayed a variety of emotions. Some were dejected; others were secretly pleased. Everyone had their own story.

Guo Xia was packing her belongings, lamenting that she hadn’t even warmed up her bed before she had to leave.

But reality was cruel—in defeat, she had no choice but to accept.

"Sister Xia, you’ll be back after the first public performance," Meixuan approached and patted her shoulder in consolation.

"I will be back," Guo Xia firmly responded with confidence.

"Yang Ni, no need to pack so quickly," Zixuan said while helping her with her packing.

"Might as well pack early since I’ll have to leave eventually!" Yang Ni was already back to her usual self, quickly and efficiently sorting her luggage.

"Let’s go to the cafeteria for dinner later!" Zixuan said gently.

"Alright! Let’s go together," Yang Ni found Zixuan to be genuinely kind.

In another dorm, Jiayi unwillingly packed her small suitcase. She truly didn’t want to leave, and the hardest part for her to handle was the feeling of failure.

She yearned to prove herself with repeated success, but failures always seemed to accompany her. "Maybe I just haven’t worked hard enough," she thought.

"Shihan, let’s go to the A-class dorm together!" Meiying said, carrying her suitcase.

"Let’s wait a little longer. They haven’t finished packing yet. If we go now, wouldn’t it be like..." Shihan hesitated, feeling as though she was stealing something from them.

"It’s fine. Dinner’s starting soon, and who knows what comes after that? Do you want to move in the middle of the night?" Meiying seemed eager to move.

"Alright, then!" Shihan finally admitted Meiying had a valid point and stopped insisting.

During lunch, everyone received a small, exquisite dessert in addition to their meal.

"Wow, who’s so sweet?"

"Are they trying to ruin me? I’m trying to lose weight!"

"Whoever’s concerned about losing weight, give it to me!"

"Chef, do you have more? One isn’t enough for me."

All the girls happily enjoyed their desserts, with the oppressive mood from the afternoon’s evaluations lifted significantly.

Sometimes, girls are simple—good food alone can make them happy for half a day.

"It was Long Zitao and Instructor Zhang who bought them for you," the cafeteria chef announced.

The girls collectively shouted their thanks, making the cafeteria feel celebratory, like a New Year’s party.

Long Zitao and Zhang Wei chuckled as they watched this scene from the director’s room.

"Don’t mention it. I hope you all keep pushing yourselves," Long Zitao suddenly said.

"Good luck, everyone. No matter the results, you’re all incredible," Zhang Wei encouraged them.

The girls felt invigorated, surprised to discover their mentors were truly paying attention to them at all times. This motivated them to work even harder.

Just as everyone was enjoying themselves, a broadcast sounded: "Seven days from now, we’ll shoot the theme song MV. During this time, all members must practice diligently without slacking off. Instructors will periodically check your progress."

The announcement nearly caused an uproar among the girls.

"You clearly have plenty of time left, yet you made us submit results in three days. What kind of game is this!"

"We nearly killed ourselves over these past few days."

"God, why didn’t you tell us earlier? What is this—do you enjoy watching us cry and break down?"

"Damn, I was almost burned out!"

Although the girls knew they shouldn’t complain, they couldn’t stop themselves.