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[The fashion category is that competitive? Brother Xi is that amazing?]

[Jasmine, mommy misses you so much T T...]

"All the seats in Class A are taken, so we'll hold a Battle to decide who's more qualified to stay in Class A." Fu Hanyu paused, then smiled as he spoke the words countless people had been waiting for. "Who do you want to challenge?"

Lin Xiao was the first to step forward. He tilted his head up slightly, a confident smile spreading across his face. "Could anyone who considers themselves a main vocalist raise their hand?"

The moment he said that, the room erupted.

Some believed in the abilities of people they knew, some enjoyed the spectacle and wanted to stir things up, and some were just messing around for fun. Everyone shouted out their picks.

"Zhao Yifeng, quick, go for it!"

"My hand's up, it's up."

"Raise your hand, Cheng Jinghao! What are you waiting for?"

"Bro, he wants a main vocalist. Why would I join in?"

"Jin Xiheng!"

"Don't do this to me! I'm the main dancer!"

Lin Xiao quickly scanned every face with a raised hand. Finally, his gaze settled on a black-haired young man keeping his head down and playing ostrich. "Senior Xu An, aren't you raising your hand?"

The challenge was so charged with the smell of gunpowder that quite a few people exclaimed, "Whoa."

"Th-that's way too bold, isn't it?" Liu Qichu said, dumbstruck.

Lai Yudong turned to look up at him. Given Xu An's shy, introverted personality, he worried that the young man who had taken the initiative to befriend him would struggle to handle the highly charged situation.

Sure enough, Xu An looked down at Lin Xiao, bewildered and at a loss, like a student called on by the teacher in class. He had become the center of attention without warning, and the scorching gazes made him squirm in his seat. For a moment, he didn't know whether he should do as Lin Xiao had said and raise his hand.

[Silly kid, Xu An's not raising his hand for your own good...]

[He's trying to pick the strongest]

[It'd be fine if it were someone more outgoing, but putting Xu An on the spot like that is really awkward for someone with his personality.]

[Do you mean Liu Qichu? 233]

[Isn't it good if we get to hear Xu Anmu sing another song? This silly kid holds back unless someone cues him. Say it with me: thank you, Lin Xiao!]

[Thank you, Lin Xiao!]

The microphone passed from the front row all the way to Zhang Mingche in Class B, who turned and held it out behind him.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the microphone hung awkwardly in midair.

Xu An hesitated, staring at the "hot potato" before him. As the champion who had fought his way to the finals of Listen to My Voice, he had witnessed and experienced plenty of advancements and eliminations, but he didn't like competing for things, especially when the atmosphere was as tense as drawn swords and bent bows. That was why he hadn't raised his hand just now.

Yet Lin Xiao had called him out by name.

Like a duck being forced onto a perch, Xu An had no choice but to face the dilemma of picking one of two options. The situation was already awkward enough, but he wasn't even given time to think. The production team had fanned the flames by directing the contestants to pass the microphone along, cutting off his retreat and blocking the way forward for the other Class A trainees who had raised their hands.

It was as though he had become the only answer to this Battle.

So... do I have to take it?

Just as Xu An found himself unable to get off the tiger's back, the black-haired young man sitting beside him, his hair in a little braid, leaned over. He lowered the hand he had raised rather casually and took the microphone for Xu An. "How about considering me?"

The black-haired young man was Zhao Yifeng, one of the Class A members who had raised their hands, as well as a well-known online singer on a short-video platform.

Zhao Yifeng had covered many popular songs, each with over a million views. Although he had no scandals of his own, some of his covers had become even more popular than the originals and had even brought the original singers fame. So, although he had more than once urged his fans to speak rationally and discuss things civilly, the mutual attacks between fans of the originals and fans of the covers still dragged him into the fray, leaving his reputation worse than before.

The online singer label had also brought him stereotypes: that he couldn't perform live, relied entirely on pitch correction, and was a recording-studio contestant.

So, although many people had just been calling Zhao Yifeng's name, there was no telling how many genuinely considered him a main vocalist and how many were teasing him or waiting to laugh at him.

"So many people want to Battle you. Why insist on picking someone who doesn't? A forcibly twisted melon isn't sweet." Zhao Yifeng's eyes curved, his languid tone like a cat basking contentedly in the afternoon sun. "Besides, a Battle's only worth watching when the opponents are evenly matched. What's the fun in picking the number-one singer?"

His words instantly turned the situation around, forcibly pulling the attention onto Zhao Yifeng.

[Zhao Yifeng is so brave]

[As long as you say Xu An is the number-one singer, we're good friends!]

[True, picking Xu An would be boring. There's no suspense at all]

[Is Zhao Yifeng trying to steal the spotlight?]

[Why snatch Xu An's mic?]

[Speechless. What does this have to do with him?]

[You should ask Lin Xiao that. He was the one who cued him first]

[That's cover singers for you]

[Xu An: It's clearly a movie about three people, yet I can never have a name.mp3]

"What? What's going on?" Liu Qichu watched in bewilderment as the scene between two people grew to involve three. "So is Zhao Yifeng going to Battle Lin Xiao?"

Lai Yudong didn't answer. He quietly watched one bullet comment after another.

Zhao Yifeng was one of the few trainees Lai Yudong was relatively familiar with, even a little more so than Jiang Yangfan. He had listened to quite a few of the former's covers, while he hadn't watched the web dramas the latter had appeared in.

Lai Yudong had come across some opinions about Zhao Yifeng in the comment sections of short-video platforms. As a listener who hadn't even followed him and simply left it to the algorithm to recommend his videos, he couldn't understand the quarrels between fans.

People could listen to whichever version they liked. There was really no need to insist on ranking them and attacking each other over it.

But he hadn't expected to see the same kind of comments in the bullet comments.

Lai Yudong was stunned. Even his First Stage hadn't drawn any abuse; at most, viewers had treated it as something to laugh at.