Initial Evaluation

Lai Yudong's tenor made his ears ache. He couldn't resist saying, "You need to buy an audience ticket..."

[Agreed hahahahaha]

[Yuzu, you're my internet mouthpiece]

Lai Yudong: ...

Had another camera cut to him?

Sure enough, it was better to watch his words and act with caution.

"Pretty good." Li Ke smiled with satisfaction, and for once didn't say anything shocking. "You've got the style down, and your diction is distinctive. Your words were especially clear during that fast section in the middle. I knew what you were singing even without looking at the lyrics. The lyrics were a little weak, but that's not a big problem. What matters in trap is how it sounds. In a word, I really enjoyed listening to it."

Yu Yizhen bowed. "Thank you, Teacher Li Ke."

Li Ke flipped through the contestants' profiles. "You produced the beat too?"

"Yes."

"That's impressive." Li Ke teased, "Why do I get the feeling you came to the wrong show? Have you considered entering a rap show?"

Yu Yizhen scratched his cheek. "I was filming with the crew, so I missed the application deadline."

Li Ke: "...You're pretty honest, aren't you?"

After some discussion, Fu Hanyu announced the final evaluation results. "Jiang Yangfan, Class B. Zhang Mingche, Class B. Yu Yizhen, Class A. Congratulations. Please take your seats in your class areas."

[Jiang Yangfan only got Class B?]

[His vocals aren't as good as Zhao Yifeng's, his dancing isn't as good as Jin Xiheng's, and his looks aren't as good as Qu Xincheng's. Overall, he doesn't stand out enough.]

[Isn't it a little unfair to compare a minor actor with those three?]

[At least they didn't compare him to Xu An]

The three headed up the steps toward the top. When they passed the Class B area, Yu Yizhen had to part ways with the other two. Though he was the only member of the team to make it into Class A, his expression made it look as though he were the only one who hadn't.

Jiang Yangfan teased, "Hold your spot. Don't go leaving Class A before I climb up there."

"Don't jinx it." Zhang Mingche spread his arms and gave Yu Yizhen a reassuring hug. "Yizhen, you did really well."

Yu Yizhen took a deep breath and said solemnly, "I'll be waiting for you in Class A."

Jiang Yangfan smiled. "Okay."

Zhang Mingche neither agreed nor disagreed. He gave Yu Yizhen a gentle push. "Go on to Class A."

Chapter 7: Initial Evaluation

The six already seated in Class A and the newly seated Yu Yizhen made exactly seven, the same number of people who could ultimately debut as a group. But a third of the trainees still hadn't performed.

That meant that if anyone else was assigned to Class A, someone would have to be picked to come down for a battle.

None of the performances that followed were as explosive as the Web Drama Team's. Several new faces appeared near Lai Yudong's seat, but they weren't as enthusiastic as Liu Qichu. After greeting him amicably, they said nothing more.

Several groups later, no new Class A trainees had appeared, and there were only a handful of new Class B trainees. The ranks of Class F and Class C gradually swelled.

Lai Yudong had reasonable grounds to suspect he wasn't the worst one there.

It wasn't an illusion or a matter of confidence. Even he had noticed some trainees' mistakes: dance moves that differed from their teammates', accidentally hitting a teammate with a limb, forgetting lyrics and singing whatever came to mind, singing familiar songs so off-key that the originals were unrecognizable, and so on.

At least he had made it through his dance, and a few lines of his singing had been on pitch—at least, the beginner tutorial's scoring system showed he had earned points.

He comforted himself optimistically: he couldn't measure up to those above him, but compared with those below... he just barely had the edge.

But that was only because he had a shoddy golden finger.

Sorry, come to think of it, he seemed to be the worst after all.

"Is it almost over?" Liu Qichu grabbed Liang Zhisheng's shoulder in the row ahead. After finding out they were from the same hometown, the two had even made plans to go out for skewers together after filming. "Which strong contestants haven't gone up yet? Can we get another Class A? I want to see a battle! How can the First Stage not have a highlight like that?!"

Lai Yudong yawned sleepily.

Before he transmigrated, it would have been almost his bedtime. After several hours of filming, he was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. It was thanks to Liu Qichu, who kept excitedly firing off reactions in his ear,

like the Gatling Pea in Plants vs.

Zombies

. Otherwise, he might have fallen asleep sitting up.

The battle segment had little to do with someone in Class F like him.

Liang Zhisheng looked around. Their seats were fairly low down, so he could see most of the trainees when he turned around, and they all had their respective class labels stuck to their clothes. "There probably aren't many groups left."

"Why haven't you gone yet? You're not the last group, are you?"

"What are you thinking?" Liang Zhisheng waved a hand dismissively. "I don't have the skills, the popularity, or the star power. Why would the production team have me close the show?"

Liu Qichu blinked blankly. "Isn't the performance order random?"

"It's scripted." Lai Yudong dropped a bombshell.

"..."

"..."

Two pairs of eyes turned toward him in unison.

[I think I just heard something outrageous]

[Are you allowed to say that?]

[The guy's got guts. I'm a fan.]

Lai Yudong: "..."

Sorry, he was too sleepy and had spoken without thinking.

Wait, weren't the reaction cameras a little too good at appearing and disappearing without a trace?! When had they cut to him again?

They were really fleecing the same sheep, weren't they?!

"You Shu..." Even Liu Qichu, usually so carefree, hesitated to speak this time. He quickly glanced around, then leaned close to Lai Yudong's ear and whispered a warning. "Don't go saying things like that."

Anyone with a brain knew that reality shows were scripted to some degree, but just because an unspoken rule was common knowledge didn't mean it could be brought out into the open. Anyone who dared say it openly on the show was a warrior one in a hundred.

There was no telling whether it would be used as footage in the final edit, or how it would be edited!

And there was a livestream too—a livestream!