CHAPTER 120: CHAPTER 117: COMPETITION RULES

Li Zimeng’s situation was unsurprising; Wu Meixiang chose her. Both of them are standouts in the vocal category, making it a formidable pairing!

Yang Ni’s group welcomed Liu Mengmeng, who excels in both singing and dancing.

Fu Xiaoyu was joined by Wang Miaomiao, someone she seemed to have good chemistry with.

Qiang Yueting’s team gained Meimei, who was once a part of the A class.

Liu Feiyu selected Yang Han for her team, who is skilled in singing.

Lu Xiaoman was surprised when Su Rui from Vitality Era chose her—Su Rui is impressive in both singing and dancing.

Duan Yuxin’s group saw Lai Ruoxuan join without hesitation, not only because the two are close friends but also because Lai Ruoxuan, like Wu Meixiang, sought strength in unity.

After B-class finished selecting, there were four who found themselves in an awkward position.

Ju Lin, Lu Bingbing, Jiang Xijie, and Luo Qijia

These four hardworking C-position contestants surprisingly weren’t chosen by anyone.

The main reason was that their talents weren’t recognized.

Lu Bingbing never imagined she would fall to this point.

This was a world apart from her experience at the river.

Soon after, C-class began selecting, and the pace picked up immensely, with almost everyone rushing directly toward their chosen targets.

Lu Bingbing’s awkwardness finally ended when Wang Qingyu selected her.

Lu Bingbing couldn’t help but flash her friend a grateful smile.

Jiang Xijie was chosen by Yuehua’s Pan Junya, who felt her own singing wasn’t bad and thought Jiang Xijie’s group needed a lead vocalist.

As Pan Junya expected, only she selected Jiang Xijie from the C-class, meaning she would secure a favorable portion of the singing parts in the upcoming performance.

Faced with the enormous stakes of debuting, the already fractured Yuehua team fully split apart.

Another teammate of Jiang Xijie, Zhang Xiaohan, opted to join Duan Yuxin’s group, feeling that following her original leader wouldn’t lead anywhere and noting her close friendship with Lai Ruoxuan.

Ye Yuwei’s team gained Ni Chunshu from Red Sun Rising, Du Jiayu from Dreamlike Momentum, and Wang Ju, completing her group.

Wu Zixuan’s group added Luo Tiantian from Dreamlike Momentum and Wu Qian from Magical Numbers, also reaching its capacity.

Fu Xiaoyu’s group was filled by Shao Qiu, Zhang Jiarui, Qi Ziyue, and Xia Luojie, four contestants from C-class.

Yang Ni’s group welcomed Jiang Mengqi and Xu Qianhua.

Meng Meixuan’s team added Jiang Meixing from Bright Moon Girl Group and Zhou Xuefang from Shanghai Feather Group.

Liu Feiyu’s team received Wang Qing.

Ju Lin and Luo Qijia, meanwhile, were left without anyone choosing them, sinking into utter despair and questioning the point of being C-class contestants at all!

Next up was D-class, and by this point, the choices were becoming increasingly difficult.

Dreamlike Momentum’s Chen Yifan claimed the last spot in Meng Meixuan’s group.

Thus, among the capability-based C-position contestants, only Li Zimeng and Yang Ni were not yet filled; the rest were at full capacity.

Even Qiang Yueting, though a hardworking C-position contestant rather than a capability-based one, also reached full capacity, with selections from C-class Luo Fengwu, D-class Zhang Xinyue, Han Qiuhua, and Jinglan.

Ju Lin and Luo Qijia’s awkwardness finally ended as some contestants made their selections.

The comedic Gao Ziyi picked Luo Qijia, alongside D-class Wang Yalin, F-class Rui Meng, and Ma Xingyu.

Ju Lin’s group included Li Tiange, Gou Xueying, and Yin Ruixi.

Chen Yinghan noticed Lv Fangxin looking particularly dejected. Recognizing her desire to join Ye Yuwei’s group, Chen Yinghan subtly comforted her.

"If you go there, you’ll just get buried and overlooked completely, and you’ll drag Ye Yuwei down." Chen Yinghan’s words left Lv Fangxin stunned.

With her limited skill level, joining Ye Yuwei would likely result in Ye Yuwei going out of her way to accommodate her, which would probably lead to exactly what Chen Yinghan described—a liability.

Moreover, Ye Yuwei’s dazzling presence would utterly overshadow her.

"Fangxin, let’s not be in the same team this time. If you trust me, go pick Jiang Xijie’s group."

Though Lv Fangxin didn’t fully understand why Chen Yinghan suggested this, she decided to follow her advice out of trust.

Chen Yinghan then selected Duan Yuxin’s team, surprising her but also making her happy.

Despite being from F-class, Chen Yinghan was widely regarded as highly capable. Known for her ability to compose music and her strong musical foundation, her presence was expected to help correct others’ subtle errors in singing.

Long Zitao saw that everyone had finished selecting and stood up to announce: "Now, it’s time for the A-class contestants to make their selections. You can join any team, whether it’s to form a strong alliance with the capability-based groups or to support the hardworking groups. The choice is yours."

Li Shihan didn’t hesitate at all and went directly to Yang Ni’s group, causing Yang Ni to be overjoyed. Meanwhile, Liu Mengmeng felt quite dejected, as her original plan had been to become the dance leader of this group.

Gao Yingxi joined Zhu Riri’s group, leaving Zhu Riri utterly hopeless.

One Lin Jiayi was more than enough trouble, and now Gao Yingxi had joined too—this left Zhu Riri’s C-position status dangerously unstable.

Lv Xiaoxue joined her friend Qiang Yueting’s group due to her assessment that her singing and dancing skills were subpar and that her only asset was popularity, making Qiang Yueting a more practical choice.

Wu Meiying opted for Duan Yuxin’s group, aiming to secure a dance leader role and noting that Duan Yuxin’s group aligned well with her own cute style.

Zhang Zijing selected Lu Xiaoman’s group after noticing that it lacked a strong singer—her arrival meant she would be the sole lead vocalist.

The choices by A-class contestants left everyone with mixed feelings.

Everyone knew that aside from Li Shihan and Lv Xiaoxue, the rest were targeting practical C-position opportunities.

This might just be the case of preferring to be a "chicken head" over a "phoenix tail."

With group assignments finalized, everyone felt as though they had just woken from a dream.

"Alright, the allocation of song lyrics and choreography in your performance will be decided by your teams."

Long Zitao’s words shocked everyone, especially those who had previous girl group experience.

In companies, these elements were usually assigned by their mentors.

Duan Yuxin was suddenly flustered, realizing she lacked enough authority to manage her team. What if arguments broke out over lyric distribution or choreography?

Others like Luo Qijia, Ju Lin, and Li Zimeng shared the same concerns.

Li Zimeng’s team included two F-class members—Zheng Chengcheng from the Fashion Girl Group and Zhang Jingxuan from Dynamic Era.

Due to visa issues, Li Zimeng had returned to Thailand, missing the chance to build initial friendships with the girls. Coupled with her guarded nature and language barriers, only Wu Meixiang had a good relationship with her.

Meanwhile, some contestants with ulterior motives began plotting how to secure more lyrics for themselves, given that the allocation was left to the teams.

After nearly a month of recording, the competitive spirit among the girls had grown strong.

Added to this was the formation of cliques over time—without the program’s structured class-based selection process, some contestants might have been completely excluded.

Long Zitao carried on:

"There will be 16 performance teams, and mentors will pair you up for face-offs.

At the end of each round, the audience will vote for their favorite girl from two competing teams through a like-button device.

Your live vote count, combined with likes from the external audience, will be included in your total score."

Watching the girls grow excited, Long Zitao shot them a stern look: "I must remind you all, this show is different from other shows."

The girls quieted down and looked at him attentively.

"Others let you record your song-and-dance performance multiple times, editing together the best version for TV audiences. Honestly, live audiences in those shows are just hired extras," Long Zitao said, provoking a response that was part amusement, part unease.

"Our program isn’t like that. You have only one chance—once your performance is done, it’s done. The broadcast will feature your live performance as it is, ensuring absolute fairness."

Long Zitao’s explanation left the girls both excited and greatly pressured—one shot to prove themselves.

Previously disheartened contestants like Ju Lin and Luo Qijia found themselves reignited with determination.

After all, if they performed exceptionally well live while other groups made mistakes, they could potentially turn the tide.