Dad, Please Let Me Stan Just One!

During the evaluation round, group performances usually took up half the program.

But this time, because Flash Dance's elimination rules were so unfair, it was difficult for the trainees to reach a consensus about participating. As a result, many contestants' prepared group performances could not be performed. They either chose not to participate or were forced to go solo.

Yunlan Entertainment still had three trainees left, ensuring that the stage Chen Yining had prepared would not go to waste. Most likely, her dad had promised some other resources as compensation, guaranteeing that the other three trainees would not lose out even if they were eliminated. It was purely the power of money.

This was probably one reason she had not been the first to enter.

Volume One: 24. New Century Idol Cultivation Method.

The performance Chen Yining brought was a fairly classic, famous dance.

The song's melody and rhythm were urgent and passionate. The four trainees moved in perfect unison, their dance steps and formation changes smooth and natural, their expressions flawlessly performed, creating an excellent sense of immersion.

As the protagonist of this performance, Chen Yining did not disappoint in the Center position she occupied.

The girl's face was radiant and pretty, her gaze commanding, her smile confident. Her breath control while singing was stable, and the transition in her voice from mellow to bright was perfect, revealing her exceptional resonance.

Most eye-catching of all was the aura she carried, like a queen ascending the throne. It practically elevated the atmosphere of the entire stage.

Although her dancing was merely decent, her main-center position and the impact of her personal charisma made the overall performance eye-catching and quite outstanding.

Moreover, boosted by the imposing momentum of the group dance, she successfully covered up the shadow cast by Kiriwake Yayoi, turning this stage into a source of pressure for the next group of trainees.

Chen Yining's first appearance on stage could be considered a success.

After deliberation among the mentors, she ultimately received an A-Class rating.

However, due to the stage design and Chen Yining's slightly superior individual ability, her other three teammates were overshadowed to the point of having little presence. One group had somehow produced the miraculous combination of A, B, C, and D.

The trainees' evaluations continued. Judging by the number of people present, filming would probably last until evening at the very least.

Time passed slowly as one trainee after another entered and left the stage.

Two hours passed quickly. During that time, nearly all the highly anticipated contestants had appeared. Besides several popular contestants, Ji Shuzhu, praised as a dancing machine, was also unquestionably rated A-Class.

Perhaps because of the Elimination Mechanism, the contestants who dared to enter all had some real ability. Even under the intense pressure of being livestreamed, the quality of the rating stages far exceeded that of ordinary Talent Shows.

The Live Broadcast Room's popularity therefore remained at a terrifying level of over ten million viewers.

At dusk, Xie Qingxuan, hailed as the Great Demon King, officially took the stage. With a high-difficulty Girl Group dance titled Naughty, she raised the quality of the entire initial-rating stage, completely crushed the competition, and won the crown of A-Class.

Chu Yuanqing's eyelids drooped. Her curled lower lashes fluttered, and a few traces of pitiful drowsiness surfaced on her exquisitely sculpted, adorable face. But considering that the broadcast was still live, she hurriedly perked herself up and politely Looked Towards the stage.

Then...

Mm, she felt even sleepier.

It had to be said that anyone rated A-Class in Flash Dance was a top-tier trainee who could have dominated an ordinary Talent Show and debuted with ease.

Whether in terms of spectacle or atmosphere, the stages they brought were practically in a different dimension from everyone else's.

This directly raised the audience's expectations too high—so high that even B-Class contestants found it difficult to heat up the atmosphere.

Xie Qingxuan in particular—if an idol's abilities were roughly divided into vocals, dance, singing and dancing, stage presence, personal charm, and various other factors, then her overall stats were absolutely the highest in the entire venue.

After the Great Demon King blew up the stage, the pressure on later contestants was overwhelming. It was already good enough if they could perform normally, so their results were easy to imagine.

Even Chu Yuanqing, an outsider, found it boring. In the eyes of the professional mentors, it was even more unbearable to watch.

Chen Baijiu's sharp-tongued attacks became increasingly cruel. He nearly made five people cry in one go, while D-Class and F-Class ratings were slapped onto one successor after another like wholesale product labels. Only when the evaluations ended did a single B-Class contestant finally appear.

Chu Yuanqing did not care about ratings. But out of a Corporate Slave's instincts, she immediately smelled the scent of getting off work. Her spirits instantly soared as she sat upright, hoping the Program Group would hurry up and shut down the damned livestream.

The audience in the Live Broadcast Room seemed to have guessed this, and the Bullet Comments were filled with wails:

"Don't end the stream! Don't end the stream!"

"Ahh, I strongly demand that every detail be made public!"

"Oh no, Dream Weaver Rabbit over in Kyoto has already announced the stream is ending. This side will probably go offline soon too."

"There's Nothing to Be Done. What we're watching now is the kind of Things you couldn't see even if you paid for advance access on iQIYI. Flash Dance is definitely going to cut things off at the good part and save some content for the actual program, otherwise what will happen to the view count later?"

"Honestly, there's not much worth watching afterward. It's evening now, so the trainees will get assigned dorms and eat dinner. At most, we might get to see some training?"

"Has it occurred to you that I want to see the dorms????"

The audience's madness continued, but the livestream screen abruptly went black.

Those still unsatisfied quickly scattered across various social media platforms and video sites, fueling the fermentation of Public Opinion outside and causing Flash Dance's popularity to sweep explosively across every corner.

Chu Yuanqing had benefited from being the first to enter and the first to be evaluated. Her previously empty Weibo account surged from single-digit followers to over a hundred thousand during filming.

And it was not difficult to imagine that, as things continued to ferment, that number would double again.

Those A-Class contestants with exceptionally good performances had stages worthy of being clipped and shared. The attention they drew would not be lower than Chu Yuanqing's, and their momentum might even be stronger.

But for now, the trainees in their closed environment knew nothing about it.

Dream Weaver Rabbit picked up a microphone and said with a smile:

"The initial evaluations have concluded."

"Your dormitories will remain where they were originally assigned and will not change according to your ratings."

"Of course, higher ratings come with higher authority and better treatment. There is no doubt about This Point."

After speaking, it changed the subject and introduced:

"I believe everyone has already noticed that the underground base you are currently in differs from ordinary Talent Shows, which simply spend money to rent a film studio complex."

"This is a training base created to forge Worldwide idols. It is supported by the most cutting-edge technology on the planet, and much of its equipment has been sponsored by world-class research conglomerates."

"Shining Stage will be responsible for providing publicity for them. Every product appearing in the show will also gradually be launched onto the global market after the program airs."

"This includes, but is not limited to, the virtual reality systems installed in the training rooms, nutrient solutions that can rapidly restore stamina, massage pods that will be introduced for national athletes in the future..."

The trainees were deeply shaken and began discussing among themselves.

Every word from Dream Weaver Rabbit dripped with extravagance and fantasy.

Was this really idol training?

This method of training with such black technology was a little too far ahead of its time.

Never mind the Chinese Entertainment Industry—even across the Donghuang Federation, or even Worldwide, no one had heard of idols being cultivated with this sort of equipment.

Dream Weaver Rabbit ignored them completely. Floating in midair like a grand orator, it listed the functions of the base's equipment and the various rules one by one. As it spoke, its gaze lowered and swept over the Corners below.

Mm, it happened to spot Chu Yuanqing, who was completely unmoved.

Volume One: 25. She Really Didn't Want to Advance.

The next instant.

Dream Weaver Rabbit abruptly vanished from where it was and projected itself before Chu Yuanqing's face. Half its face was practically pressed against hers, its scarlet pupils and humanlike expression carrying the chilling horror of the uncanny valley.

If someone had been watching from Chu Yuanqing's first-person perspective, they would probably have been startled at that moment.

Mm, Chu Wangshu, sitting beside her, was so frightened that her pupils shook.

Chu Yuanqing was not afraid, but she was Full of the guilty unease of a worker caught slacking off on the job.

Dream Weaver Rabbit grinned. Looking at that calm, exquisitely beautiful face as though admiring a precious gemstone, the colors in its eyes deepened as it praised her pointedly:

"Chu Yuanqing, you truly have the talent to be an idol."

As soon as it finished speaking, the trainees' eyes turned toward her from every direction.

In a Talent Show, those words were no different from an ancient emperor declaring before a crowd that a prince had his own bearing. It made her stand out like a crane among chickens, practically setting up a target for everyone to aim at and turning her into the target of public criticism.

Chu Yuanqing felt as though she were sitting on pins and needles, thoroughly embarrassed and angry.

Was this show incompatible with her fate or something? How could even zoning out be praised as having idol talent? Were they not going to let her slack off in peace?

And that red-eyed rabbit that looked like Cupid—why was it just as vicious as Cupid? Could it hurry up and take that back already?!

But unfortunately.

Dream Weaver Rabbit did not wait for her reply. After speaking, it slowly floated back into the air beneath the trainees' strange stares and continued:

"Every piece of equipment in the base has been certified safe, and the contracts you signed to participate in this competition also include relevant insurance."

"If you are injured because of equipment provided by the Program Group, the compensation will be no less than five million and can reach as high as sixty million. So boldly try the new Things in the base."

"This may be the only opportunity in your lives to come into contact with them."

"As for the next stage, the Program Group has just uploaded eight theme songs to the official website. A one-day vote will determine which theme song receives the most votes, and that song will be used for your future group performance."

"So until then, you may move freely around the base. Whether you wish to look around, train, or rest is entirely up to you."

"Now, dismissed."

As its words fell,

Dream Weaver Rabbit glanced at Chu Yuanqing in the last seat, then disappeared on the spot.

Chu Yuanqing noticed it and met its gaze. She immediately felt a chill down her spine. Had something strange set its sights on her?

Chu Wangshu tugged at her sleeve and quietly complained:

"Qingqing, that Dream Weaver Rabbit feels super perverted."

"Tell me, is there something wrong with the person who created it, or is there something wrong with the database they fed it?"

Chu Yuanqing shot her a look as though she were an idiot and said irritably:

"Dream Weaver Rabbit is a Super AI. It probably holds all the authority over this base. Don't think it cannot hear you just because you're complaining behind its back. Be careful it doesn't make things difficult for you."

Chu Wangshu nervously covered her mouth. Pretending innocence, she blinked and looked at the crowd gradually dispersing around them, then guiltily changed the subject:

"Qingqing, which dorm are you in?"

Chu Yuanqing chose an entrance with fewer people and replied as they walked:

"Room 403, Building F."

The little girl replied with pleasant surprise:

"What a coincidence! I'm in Building F too, though I'm in Room 301."

Chu Yuanqing's expression did not change, but inwardly, she celebrated.

Thank goodness I'm not in the same room as my daughter. At the rate she's becoming clingy like a puppy with no sense of boundaries, I'll go crazy sooner or later.

"Then we're heading the same way. By the way, you didn't lose the card the Program Group gave out, did you? Without that thing, you can't take a single step in the base."

Chu Wangshu secretly felt around in her pocket. Only after finding the card did she retort unhappily:

"Of course not. I'm not an idiot."

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. You're not."

Chu Yuanqing humored her seriously, her peripheral vision catching sight of the distance.

Chen Yining's raspberry-red hair stood out sharply among the crowd. She walked beside Ji Shuzhu, a smile blooming across her usually proud and self-possessed face.

Ji Shuzhu's eyelids drooped, and she looked somewhat lazy.

Both of them had rather sharp personalities, yet when placed together, that quality became less prominent. Just as the other trainees had gossiped and complained, they really did seem to be childhood friends with a very close relationship.

Xie Qingxuan, meanwhile, perfectly embodied the Great Demon King persona. Her high-end, complexion-brightening platinum hair swayed in the light, seeming misty as though shrouded in fog. Unlike the other trainees who moved in groups, she walked away alone in silence, leaving behind only her slender silhouette.

Chu Wangshu praised her:

"Xie Qingxuan really has such great presence. She's like a Great Demon King."

Great Demon King?

Chu Yuanqing thought about it. In her understanding, the only beings worthy of that title were those Supreme Calamity Beasts capable of making tectonic plates roar and causing Main Cities to collapse with every breath.

Against enemies of that level, even at her peak, she could only revive hundreds of times using the Undying Authority, stack Meme Backlash with layers upon layers of skill buffs, and use Laevateinn to destroy them.

As for Xie Qingxuan, she was merely a little girl with an elegant appearance, a somewhat cold personality, and a bit of stubbornness.

Mm, actually, all the other contestants looked about the same to her.

After all, none of these trainees were much older than her daughter, and some were even younger. In Chu Yuanqing's heart, they were no different from children.

Even Kiriwake Yayoi, who shone so brilliantly on stage, was merely a little girl who made mistakes, got nervous, and panicked offstage.

"May I ask where you live?"

It was Kiriwake Yayoi who spoke.

Chu Wangshu instantly went on guard. For some reason, she felt the same displeasure as when one's parents gave another child one's toy. But her upbringing was excellent, so she merely stood obediently at the side and secretly observed.

Without even thinking, Chu Yuanqing answered: