Chapter 53: CHAPTER 53

The next day, in the ‘Tiny’ group’s practice room.

The eliminated trainees left after giving them a group name.

But the remaining three members still had to face the upcoming group change and selection process.

The reason for the group change was simply because the eliminations were uneven.

Previously, each performance group had eight trainees.

After the second ranking announcement, each group had eliminated some trainees.

But not every group happened to eliminate exactly three members.

‘Tiny’ was a bit unlucky, and they were suddenly down to just three members.

As for the groups that had more than five trainees remaining, they needed to have an anonymous vote among the trainees to decide which members would be voted out, and they would then be moved to the groups that needed people.

This was what everyone called the ‘voting out’ process.

This process was quite cruel in a way.

Because most trainees wouldn’t want to switch groups at this crucial moment.

After all, they had already learned everything they needed to learn, and switching groups at the last minute meant they would have to learn a new song in a very short time. Unless the trainee was exceptionally talented, they might not be able to keep up with the stage, leading to a complete disaster in this performance.

And it was also unlucky for the groups that needed to fill their spots.

Their carefully planned stage had been disrupted, with half of the members eliminated, and they had to start over with new members.

Moreover, the trainees who were usually voted out were those who were considered unsuitable for the stage or those whose skills were relatively weaker.

This was what Jiang Ye was most worried about.

Fortunately, in their misfortune, since Jiang Ye was first in the second ranking announcement, they had the right to choose members according to the rules.

Besides Jiang Ye and Liang Yu, the remaining member of the ‘Tiny’ group was Luo Xuan, the rapper who had been in the same group as Jiang Ye in the first performance.

She had luckily advanced by being ranked 25th.

The three of them had good foundations and their stage chemistry was good.

So, while the other groups were recording the voting process, their practice room cameras were still off, and they jokingly started picking out trainees.

Luo Xuan: “Who do you want to choose?”

Liang Yu pretended to ponder for a moment, then said, “I think Lin Zui is alright.”

“Yeah, I think Lin Zui is alright too.”

Jiang Ye said, very heartlessly, “I suggest they directly vote her out of their group and move her to ours. We’d definitely choose her first.”

Liang Yu immediately applauded the suggestion, “I think it’s doable.”

Luo Xuan thought for a moment, “I remember she’s one of the current C-position members of ‘If I Can’. It would be amazing if she got voted out, wouldn’t it?”

“It’s not unheard of in the history of talent shows.”

Jiang Ye started making up stories again, with a serious expression, “Imagine, being a top contestant and getting voted out by all the other trainees. That’s a tearjerker, right? And then, after coming to our group, she quickly practices and performs exceptionally well, and makes a comeback. That’s a redemption arc, right?”

She clasped her hands together in a prayer gesture, “Lin Zui, see how good I am to you? I’ve already arranged the plot for you. Now, everything is in place, all that’s missing is you getting voted out.”

Luo Xuan: "..."

Liang Yu: "..."

Joking was joking.

Jiang Ye still hoped that Lin Zui would stay in her own group.

After all, the song was perfect for her, and her fans specifically voted for it. She herself valued it very much and hoped for a good stage.

After waiting for a while, Liang Yu couldn’t hold back anymore, “Why is it taking so long?”

“Let’s wait a bit longer.”

Jiang Ye counted on her fingers, “They need to discuss it before voting, then there’s the anonymous voting and counting, and finally, they have to comfort the trainees who are being switched to a new group.”

“If you calculate it like that, it’ll take at least an hour, right?”

Liang Yu, who was a veteran of the talent show world, couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Does it really take that long?”

“Yeah, it’s normal. Every year, this is the time for bloodbaths, and the trainees have to be careful with every move they make to avoid malicious analysis. They’re all very cautious.”

Jiang Ye had seen countless talent shows in her previous life and had plenty of experience, so she calmly analyzed the situation with precision, “Even though the voting is anonymous, the viewers will try their best to find clues from the camera footage to figure out everyone’s voting patterns.”

Once those voting patterns are figured out, they can quickly jump to the fan fighting stage.

After all, they’re down to the top 25 now, and almost everyone has their own fans.

No matter who gets voted out, their fans will need to grieve a bit.

Under this system, it’s no wonder the third performance is often jokingly called the ‘Dance Gate Incident’.

•••

Half an hour later.

The staff came in to check if the cameras in this group were on.

Jiang Ye knew that the voting process was basically finished.

“Come on!”

Jiang Ye stood up, “Get ready, let’s welcome our new friends!”

Just then, the trainees who had been switched to a new group carefully pushed open the practice room door, ready to greet everyone, when they were suddenly showered with confetti.

“Welcome gift!”

The three trainees cheered, “Welcome to ‘Although Tiny, But What’s Wrong With That’!”

The trainees who had been switched to a new group were already feeling a bit down.

After all, they were either voted out because they weren’t popular or because they weren’t skilled enough, and they already felt like they were disliked by their team members.

In this situation, when they heard the group name, several of them almost couldn’t hold back.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry, honey.”

Jiang Ye quickly stepped forward to comfort them, “Your old group didn’t want you, that’s their loss. There are plenty of groups that want you. Come on, choose whichever one you want.”

One trainee was quick to react and immediately introduced herself, “Although I was in ‘Wonder’ before, I’ve loved this song for a long time!”

Liang Yu: “Wow, you’re a Trojan horse.”

Someone else quickly followed, “The song doesn’t matter, I’ve liked you for a long time, Jiang Ye! Can I have the opportunity to work with you?”

Jiang Ye: "..."

Jiang Ye quickly raised the biggest issue, “But our rap sections are quite difficult. Do you… have any difficulties?”

“It’s okay, I haven’t sung rap before, but I can learn now!”

“Me too!”

“Even though we only have a few days, I’ll definitely work hard and not hold you back!”

The trainees were all very enthusiastic, clearly eager to join the ‘Tiny’ group.

After all, the only other remaining group was ‘The Wind by the Sea’.

It was said that not only were the dance parts difficult, but Cheng Zhen said Tan Meng was very strict when she was training them.

It was better to try rap, which they hadn’t tried before, and since Jiang Ye was in this group, it shouldn’t be too difficult, right?

Jiang Ye scanned the trainees who had been voted out.

The expected situation of top contestants switching groups didn’t happen.

Well, it seemed like everyone in this season was either too peaceful or relatively timid.

There were four trainees who needed to be switched to a new group.

But after they introduced themselves, almost none of them had any rap experience.

Jiang Ye handed them the lyrics sheet, listened to them try to sing a section, and had Liang Yu pick the best one to stay.

Ten minutes later, the new five-member ‘Tiny’ group was assembled.

Jiang Ye distributed the lyrics sheets and then said, “Our goal is to reach the standard for performing on stage within three days.”

The new trainees were full of fighting spirit, “No problem!”

“No rap foundation? No problem, Liang Yu will teach us.”

“We haven’t learned the choreography yet? No problem, I’ll teach you.”

Jiang Ye continued, “But the problem is that we only have three days—actually, less than three days.”

“We have to perform on stage the night of the third day, and we have to rehearse with makeup the day before, which means we only have less than two days of effective time.”

Time was of the essence.

“Let’s just pull an all-nighter.”

Liang Yu said expressionlessly, “We should be able to catch up with a few all-nighters.”

“I don’t really need sleep anyway, and you guys probably don’t either, right?”

The two new trainees: "..."

Please don’t say such terrifying things with such a cute face.

They could not help but regret being so eager to join this group.

What kind of illusion made them think this group wasn’t as scary as the other one?

Oh right, it was Jiang Ye.

So, the trainees quickly turned their attention to Jiang Ye—the legendary figure who was worshipped by all trainees and was said to always lend a helping hand.

However, Jiang Ye thought for a moment and agreed with Liang Yu’s suggestion, “I think if we pull two all-nighters, we should be able to finish practicing. In the last day, we can take a nap to recover and then go on stage.”

"..."

No way?

You top contestants are really that dedicated?

“Don’t worry.”

Jiang Ye looked at them, her eyes crinkled in a smile, “We’ll be with you all the way.”

"..."

This was amazing.

Something that they initially found terrifying, when Jiang Ye said it, they actually felt something.

If they were with Jiang Ye, pulling an all-nighter didn’t seem so bad after all?

•••

While the groups with new members started their intense training.

The fans weren’t idle either.

As for Jiang Ye, who had a tragic past, her company was quick to remove the information, and her fans were afraid to bring up her orphanage background for fear of reopening old wounds.

But Xue Zhihan’s fans were different.

Jiang Ye’s unfortunate past was likely a natural disaster.

But Xue Zhihan’s unfortunate past was definitely man-made.

School bullying was a serious matter, they couldn’t just talk about it and be done with it. They had to make those bullies apologize.

So, Xue Zhihan’s fans dug deeper into the clues that had been revealed before.

Although it was wrong to dox someone, they dug deeper, determined to punish the bullies, and they actually found Xue Zhihan’s middle school classmates.

So, in the next few days, several of Xue Zhihan’s middle school classmates suddenly received various strange messages, questioning them about why they had bullied Xue Zhihan back then.

Xue Zhihan’s middle school classmates were confused and bewildered.

After the fans sent them a bunch of links that were supposed to be evidence, they were even more confused.

They dug up their old middle school class group chat, which they hadn’t chatted in for eight hundred years, and compared the messages with their classmates, realizing something was wrong.

So, one by one, they created accounts and went to the forum to post.

【What? Are you talking about the person who’s now called Xue Zhihan? I think I have a faint memory of her. We were in the same class in middle school, that’s right, but she wasn’t bullied in middle school.】

【Ah… Actually, there was some bullying in our class, but did you get the wrong person? The victim of the bullying wasn’t the Xue Zhihan you’re talking about.】