Lai Yudong

Biodata

Background

Before entering Ascend to Stardom, Lai Yudong was a university sophomore majoring in broadcasting and hosting arts. He had no professional singing or dancing training and did not aspire to become an idol. A system transported him to a parallel world and assigned him the task of debuting through the show 1.

A data-import error registered his former Tieba screen name, Miura Yuki, as his real name. He assumed the name meant he was supposed to be an overseas contestant and restricted his speech to maintain that mistaken identity. The system’s account of his recruitment placed him on the show as a last-minute replacement for a trainee whose waist injury required surgery; Lai Yudong felt uneasy about taking the injured trainee’s place 5 6 8.

Appearance

Lai Yudong is tall and slender, with a poised bearing reinforced by his broadcasting training. His features and nervous, unsmiling expression gave viewers the impression that he was cold and aloof 3 10.

• Long, narrow phoenix eyes with hooked inner corners and upturned outer corners 10.
• Light blond, flaxen-platinum hair and primrose-colored contacts supplied as part of his initial styling 10 24.
• Long arms and legs, noted by mentor Li Ke during his initial evaluation 4.

Personality

Lai Yudong is cheerful, easygoing and friendly, rather than the aloof figure viewers initially perceived. His friends call him their “emotional radio station” because he listens to their troubles and reads emotions well 10 17.

His confidence depends on how prepared he feels: he was comfortable at art-school entrance interviews but intensely nervous about performing skills he had never trained. Despite his embarrassment and doubts, he chose to keep trying and practiced extensively for the theme-song assessment 2 48 49.

Skills and Resources

Broadcasting and speaking

His professional training gives him polished Mandarin, precise diction and an appealing vocal tone. He held a Grade 1-B Mandarin certificate and was preparing to test for Grade 1-A 2 3.

• His broadcasting habits initially hindered his singing: Jiang Xiaoting criticized his quiet volume, overly precise enunciation and unsuitable vocal placement 48.
• He has practiced calligraphy since childhood and has a good memory for lyrics and choreography, although his body needs repeated practice to execute the moves 44 50.

Singing and dancing

Lai Yudong begins the show without a foundation in either skill. He struggles especially with rhythm and coordination, but improves his theme-song dance through repeated practice 1 35 45.

• After an early class performance, Cao Yan said he picked up moves quickly but needed to work on the second half and his sense of rhythm 39.
• Cao Yan later praised his improved timing and hard work, while noting that his movements remained stiff 45 46.
• Jiang Xiaoting found his tone good and his pitch and rhythm largely sound in a vocal-class assessment, but identified significant technical problems 48.

System assistance

The system provides tools and information that Lai Yudong can perceive during the show.

• An initial-stage dance tutorial projected a 3D instructor and rhythm-game judgments, but he struggled to follow it in time 3.
• He used real-time bullet comments to learn about other contestants and gauge audience reactions. He later turned them off during his evaluation recording to reduce distractions 26 50.
• The system denied him another beginner tutorial for the theme-song assessment, saying he was no longer a beginner 28.

Relationships

• Xu An — Fellow contestant and Dorm 707 roommate. Xu An thanked Lai Yudong for performing his song “Lose Heart” and offered to help him with singing 8 9 23.
• Liang Zhisheng — Dorm 707 roommate who helped him remove his colored contacts, encouraged his practice and advised him to socialize for screen time 23 24 34 44.
• Li Xu — Dorm 707 roommate; Lai Yudong woke him for an early class after Liang asked him to keep an eye on him 23 43 45.
• Liu Qichu — An outgoing fellow Class F trainee who befriended him and warned him against discussing the show’s scripted performance order on camera 9 13.
• Su Junzhe — A Class A trainee who coached Lai Yudong in dance and encouraged him to keep practicing, jokingly calling him a future main dancer 33 34 40.
• Zhou Rui — Practice partner who trained in the same room with Lai Yudong through the night before the assessment 49.

Story Role

Initial evaluation

Introduced as Miura Yuki of LYD Entertainment, Lai Yudong drew attention for his looks and broadcaster-like Mandarin. His dance fell out of sync despite the system tutorial, and his additional performance of Xu An’s “Lose Heart” went badly. The mentors unanimously assigned him to Class F 2 3 4 5.

After the evaluations, he called his performance “too awful to watch” and predicted that he would rank eightieth in the first round. He subsequently chose Dorm 707 with Xu An, Liang Zhisheng and Li Xu 17 18 23.

Theme-song assessment

The trainees had three days to prepare for reassignment; contestants who remained in Class F would be excluded from the theme-song recording. Lai Yudong memorized the lyrics to “To The Stars,” sought help from other trainees and practiced for long hours 28 31 33 49.

During an early Class F performance, he lost the beat but recovered some choreography at the chorus. His smile attracted viewers’ attention, and he finished despite imperfect accuracy 37 38. Before recording his reassessment video, he turned off the bullet comments and began the dance with a smile 50.

The story synopsis states that his improving skills and charm ultimately helped him debut. He also discovered the identity mix-up, cleared up the misunderstanding and returned to using his real name 1.