Theme Song

[This close-up, I can't hold it together]

[Zhao Yifeng: Kill you all. Xu An: Kill me.]

Lai Yudong gently rubbed his throbbing temple with the pad of his finger. The same nerves he'd felt before the initial stage came rushing back. The good news was that Class A was going first; the bad news was that he could dodge the first day of the lunar month, but not the fifteenth.

"Um..." Someone poked him with a finger.

"?"

Lai Yudong turned his head and met a pair of pitiful eyes, as if their owner had just seized a life-saving straw. The person asked in an utterly earnest tone, "Can you do it?"

Lai Yudong: "..."

He couldn't.

But as he watched Class A, forced to take the stage, take their places in the middle of the practice room, with a camera set up directly in front of them, Lai Yudong felt his resolve waver. The lure of the camera was hard to resist.

Although he couldn't dance the complete theme song and would very likely end up as electronic pickles to go with viewers' meals again, judging by Class F's overall skill level, everyone was a joke waiting to happen. Dying of embarrassment together would actually be less humiliating.

Besides, it was perfectly normal not to have learned it in such a short time. The viewers wouldn't judge him too seriously; at most, they'd just have a laugh.

All things considered, he might as well stand as close to the front as possible.

The closer he stood to the front, the easier he'd be to see.

Having sorted out the pros and cons, Lai Yudong took a deep breath and said slowly, "I can give it a try."

Chapter 19: Theme Song

As the class with the fewest members, Class A made it easiest to see how well each person had learned. There was no chance of anyone passing themselves off as a capable musician in the orchestra.

The consensus was that Jin Xiheng, a former dance teacher, was the best, followed by Su Junzhe, a trainee who had returned from Korea. The three in the middle each had their own problems, making it hard to rank them, while Zhao Yifeng and Xu An were undoubtedly at the bottom.

But if they had to pick the worst dancer in Class A, the sole honor should go to Xu An.

It wasn't that Zhao Yifeng danced any better, but he had a funny, self-aware openness about him. His expressions and movements were uninhibited, like a sunny, outgoing college guy who could make everyone at school burst out laughing.

Xu An, on the other hand, was timid and lacked confidence. His miserable expression made it look as though he might burst into tears at any second.

[I can't even bring myself to laugh at Xu An]

[How are they actually managing not to crack up? Hahahahaha]

[Kill the prophet, Zhao Yifeng can't hold it in anymore]

[Teacher Zhao is independent and cheerful]

[Zhao Yifeng has this "this is exactly how this dance should be done" kind of confidence]

Lai Yudong suddenly understood.

When people were at a similar skill level, facial expression management and stage presence made a much bigger difference than he'd imagined.

Although he hadn't paid much attention to it before, he thought his own talent in that area should be...

Pretty good?

He'd study it in front of a mirror next time.

When the music ended, the seven stood where they were, panting slightly. The dance teacher, Cao Yan, folded his arms and swept his gaze over them before giving his assessment without a trace of expression:

"Jin Xiheng and Su Junzhe did well. Everyone else did terribly. Especially Zhao Yifeng and Xu An. Watching you dance like that makes me wonder if you even came to class. Some of you have even debuted or been on survival shows before. The theme song shouldn't be difficult for you, should it? Or are you just here to play around?"

The relaxed atmosphere froze in an instant. Even Zhao Yifeng wiped the smile from his face, and everyone held their breath, afraid to speak.

[Our main vocals feel wronged hearing that]

[Being weak in one area isn't an excuse. Idols have to be able to sing and dance, otherwise go enter a singing competition]

[It's fine, they'll get their pride back in the next vocal class]

[Isn't dance the only group class? Vocal class has to wait until tomorrow]

"Don't go thinking it's only been a few hours and it's normal not to have learned it yet. You're Class A. Do you know how many people behind you want to pull you down?" Cao Yan said sternly, commanding respect without anger. "Out of 101 people, only the seven very best will be chosen. If you keep this attitude, you'll be replaced at the next evaluation."

He shook his head. "Go back. Practice more afterward. Class B, come up."

[Help, I'm suffocating]

[The teachers on this survival show are so strict]

[Don't take it seriously, the production team arranged it all to make the fans suffer]

[For a class of 101 people, they've learned it pretty well. Once the main episode is edited, it'll be a growth storyline. You lose if you get genuinely invested]

[Survival show fans are forever young and forever genuinely invested]

It was Class B's turn, and the number of people rose to twenty.

The trainees had been badly frightened by what they'd just heard. Every one of them looked serious and dared not slack off, terrified of following in Class A's footsteps.

The music started again.

The most eye-catching person in the crowd was undoubtedly Qu Xincheng, who came from a major company. His looks were top-tier among the trainees, and he was even more pleasing to the eye when he danced. His shortcoming, however, was that he was too nervous. He got several moves wrong in a row before he found his rhythm.

He had also missed his chance at Class A during his initial stage because of nerves.

[That said, Qu Xincheng's visuals are ridiculously strong]

[Currently picking Qu Xincheng, Jiang Yangfan, and Miura Yuki. Face-con heaven /doge]

[+1, these three are very good for my eyes]

Jiang Yangfan, who had likewise drawn plenty of attention, was far less outstanding. He struggled to remember the dance moves and only put real effort into the relatively easy-to-remember chorus. He muddled through the rest, filling in only the key answers as though he were doing a cloze test.

[As expected, there's a reason Jiang Yangfan is in Class B]

[The mentors have a sharp eye]

[Yangfan just has a bad memory! His skills are still pretty decent!]

Lai Yudong made a point of watching his roommate Li Xu. Unfortunately, to an amateur's eye, he was among the worst dancers in Class B. He could have kept his head down and coasted unnoticed in the crowd, but his red hair was simply too conspicuous, and the bullet comments kept calling him out for judgment.

Overall, no one in Class B danced particularly well, but no one danced particularly badly either. Their average skill level was a little higher than Class A's.

Class C's performance was even more mediocre.

The only guy who danced reasonably well was Zhou Rui, the kind person who had reminded Lai Yudong in the cafeteria that morning. But his luck was a little poor. Partway through, he collided with Liang Zhisheng, who had danced in the wrong direction beside him, and the bang shattered the atmosphere, which had been so tense it was hard to breathe.