Dad, Please Let Me Single-Target Push!

Xu Ling fast-forwarded through all the parts she had already watched, switching the screen to the classic dormitory phase.

This was a plotline the audience loved to see; interactions between pretty girls always sparked anticipation.

What surprised Xu Ling was that Chu Yuanqing and her roommates had a significant amount of screen time during the dormitory phase.

The comments in the bullet screen also changed accordingly:

"Yay, it's Qing Bao! Mom loves you!!!"

"So cute, wife! Marry me!!!"

"Qing Bao and Xie Qingxuan are in the same dorm? Damn, I'm worried. Won't she get bullied?"

"Can you stop the hate? Just because the Great Demon King has a strong aura doesn't mean she's rude."

"Ugh, why isn't Little Sakura here?"

"Liuli is also in the same dorm? No wonder she kept looking at Chu Yuanqing during the theme song."

"LOL, totally a crush."

"Damn, the last one is Liang Xiaoxiao. This dorm has A, B, C, and D! What a spectacle for a survival show?!"

This kind of dormitory assignment was indeed a spectacle for a survival show.

Normally, dormitories in survival shows were assigned based on rank, with no situation where top-tier contestants lived with lower-tier ones.

One reason was to create a gap between the rankings and build tension and anxiety.

Another was that a mixed arrangement could easily lead to top-tier contestants passively supporting lower-tier ones, causing collective outrage among the fans of popular contestants.

But this move was hard to judge in Flash Dance.

Because after knowing the power difference between the various ranks, the audience couldn't express any unfairness. They even called the lower-ranked trainees in the dorms "too miserable," saying it was no different from forcing a commoner to watch an emperor live in luxury every day.

It was pure instigation and a wolf-like culture, aiming to force contestants to compete fiercely.

Therefore, there wasn't much controversy surrounding the dormitory assignments.

Xu Ling skipped all the training parts, precisely locking onto all the clips of interactions, her lips curving higher and higher. Sometimes she couldn't help but punch the dinosaur pillow in her arms, sometimes she took a big gulp of sparkling wine, a look of pure fangirl joy on her face.

The bullet screen comments in the video also changed:

"The Great Demon King is so polite and well-behaved. Is this how she acts in private? The contrast is amazing, I want to pinch her."

"Qing Bao knows how to balance things. She blows Xie Qingxuan's hair, goes to eat with Liang Xiaoxiao, and reads Hugo's fairy tales to Tang Liuli. What can I say? She's so motherly!"

"It's true. She's the youngest, isn't she? But she's so mature and can't help but take care of people."

"Her evaluation: Kindergarten Principal."

"Sniff sniff, Qing Bao's contrast is too much! Young yet mature, serious yet easily shy, full of real-life charm, and even likes to take care of people. She's got that perfect young wife vibe! Hehehe, my heart is racing!!!"

"Damn it, if you can't wear your panties, then don't wear them! You must be punished!!!"

The first episode was divided into two parts, totaling 200 minutes.

The introduction and stage evaluations took about 90 minutes.

The remaining 110 minutes covered dormitory life, introductions to the practice rooms of each rank, and training footage edited from the perspective of each practice room, interspersed with heartwarming moments designed to attract viewers to ship CP.

Because their stages and performances were too mediocre, they were ruthlessly edited out by the post-production team. Many of the initial 101 contestants had less than 30 seconds of screen time.

So, those who were kept were basically the highlights with something worth watching.

--Chu Yuanqing's stage being kept was entirely due to the buff she received from being the first to debut twice.

In this situation, the pacing and anticipation were continuous. If you hadn't watched the live broadcast beforehand, you wouldn't have the urge to move the progress bar at all.

The video bullet screen, various group chats, forums, and Weibo Super Topics all keenly detected a new CP:

"Did you guys notice that the other three contestants besides Chu Yuanqing don't know each other? In the edited videos, they don't even make eye contact or talk to each other, but the overall dormitory atmosphere is great and harmonious."

"Damn, that's true. Now that you mention it, Chu Yuanqing is having different chemical reactions with each of the three people individually?"

"I can't take it! Qing Bao has chemistry with everyone! Little Wangshu, the Great Demon King, Liuli, Little Sakura, Xiaoxiao... using Qing Bao as the material, you can ship her with anyone."

"Hehehe, if you say that, the chaotic drug-fueled CP party is coming!!!"

"Heh, solo stans say whatever. Myriad Female King is fine, as long as Qing Bao isn't tied down to anyone, the other sisters are just human blood packs!!!"

This trend of chaotic CP shipping did not trigger backlash from the fans of the main contestants.

The reason was simple.

Flash Dance was a survival show with 168 contestants. If the screen time were distributed evenly, each person would only appear for less than 45 seconds in one episode.

It was fine for the first episode with only 101 contestants, but once the remaining 67 contestants joined, the competition for screen time would only intensify.

Even someone as popular as Xie Qingxuan would find it difficult to dominate in this regard.

In this situation, the smartest approach was to form small groups, preferably ones with chemistry that the audience enjoyed watching interact.

If successful, the combined popularity of several people would earn them more screen time. Plus, being able to appear together, their screen time in the show would be quite abundant.

The fact that Chu Yuanqing's daily dormitory life was edited into the show proved that this method was indeed effective.

Under these circumstances, who would be dissatisfied with Chu Yuanqing?

She is not only the link connecting everyone, but also the driving force behind creating interesting interactions.

Since their main star was benefiting without being tied down or drained by the other party, it was a truly mutually beneficial situation, and the discussion atmosphere was naturally very friendly.

And with such an environment, before the show even finished airing, some people couldn't wait to go to Weibo and create a bunch of new CP super topics.

Because the scene of Chu Yuanqing blow-drying Xie Qingxuan's hair looked very loving and hit many people's sweet spots, the CP super topic for these two appeared first, named Qing Cheng Qing Guo—Qing Cheng Qing Guo.

Next was Tang Liuli, and her CP name with Chu Yuanqing was Qing Ci Li Qu—Qing Ci Li Qu.

Although it was a step behind, due to hints revealed in the previous live broadcast, the super topic station was filled with fanfiction that had been circulating in small groups just minutes after it was created.

Well, to summarize the themes, it was roughly about a socially anxious, irritable, gloomy little pitiable person being healed by a mature, steady, and gentle mother figure, and even leading to indescribable smut.

It's said that the author is a famous big shot in the fandom, with a healing writing style that is both sad and sweet. The steamy scenes are somewhere between clean and explicit, sometimes demure, sometimes wild, a rare art in the fanfiction circle.

As for Liang Xiaoxiao, due to realistic popularity and appearance issues, although some people shipped her and created a CP station, her popularity and heat couldn't compare to the first two, let alone the skyrocketing—Wu Zhong Jian Qing.

But even so, she still benefited a lot. Otherwise, with her D-Class rating, in the first episode, only her mid-air flip dance move could attract some attention; there would have been no further camera time at all.

Now, because she shares a dorm with Chu Yuanqing, the increased camera time and her fans' "love me, love my dog" attitude would at least add over a hundred thousand followers to her Weibo account.

And while the CP fans were shipping them intensely, a group of people finally reached the end of the first episode.

The plot in the latter half of this episode had progressed to the date synchronized with reality, describing the state of the trainees on the last day before the second evaluation.

A quarter of the screen time was allocated to the first A-ranked contestants, featuring a brilliant training video and a personal exclusive interview.

At the same time, to advertise and put pressure on the top-ranked contestants.

These training or interview clips focused on the powerful effects of the virtual reality system and other high-tech equipment.

Meanwhile, the remaining three-quarters of the screen time were used to describe the state of the various trainees.

F-Class, D-Class, and C-Class did not have independent practice rooms.

Therefore, the recording method was to have an assistant lady use software to randomly select a time point, then enter the training room of their respective class with a camera at that time, record less than five minutes of footage, and conduct a simple interview with those present.

This was clearly to encourage the hardworking trainees.

In fact, the low-ranked trainees who were recorded and broadcast averaged over 12 hours of training per day, making them the most diligent among the diligent.

Some of these girls were in tears, some had determined eyes, some choked up saying they wanted to be on stage, while others had adjusted their mindset, stating that hard work might not pay off, but they wouldn't regret it.

The BGM was emotional, and combined with the cruel elimination mechanism, it was hard for the audience not to feel a mix of emotions.

This contrast technique made the high-ranked contestants appear as dragons living in treasure caves, while the low-ranked contestants were naturally seen as underdogs destined for a comeback.

For a time, many passersby chose to support the latter.

And in such an atmosphere, the scene shifted again, showing the same assistant lady arriving at the C-Class practice room to invite Chu Yuanqing for an interview.

Chu Yuanqing's popularity among all the contestants in the first episode, if not top-tier, was at least in the top ten.

Especially after watching the interviews of the top A-ranked contestants, what kind of information she would reveal in her interview naturally raised the audience's expectations again.

And the very first question, about her bare face, completely shocked the audience:

"???"

"Damn, is it fake? Really bare-faced the whole time?"

"Unbelievable, I always thought Chu Yuanqing wore some kind of advanced nude makeup, completely undetectable."

"Jealous to the point of grinding my teeth, Nuwa really knows how to mold people."

"Oh no, I want to be ravaged by Qing Bao even more???"

"No, doesn't anyone think her statement is really pretentious? What do you mean it's too expensive to buy, it's quite funny. A set of cheaper cosmetics is only five hundred, are your methods of gaining attention and showing off your looks a bit clumsy?"

This statement was provocative to casual viewers, stirring up quite a bit of controversy.

But for Chu Yuanqing's fans, it was a different story. They knew the reason and were in a state of emotional breakdown, unable to listen to such talk at the moment.

So, a large group of them mobilized like an army, explaining where needed, retorting where necessary, filling the screen until Chen Xiaoxiao quickly asked some lighter questions, which helped to ease the atmosphere.

In the show, Chu Yuanqing was describing her impressions of her roommates.

The bullet comments were full of complaints:

"I'm actually seeing the radiance of maternal love condensing behind the underage Qing Bao!"

"To be honest, her tone and attitude are too condescending, as if she's detached from the concept of a contestant and views them as a parent, which sounds strangely cute."

"Wuwuwu, how can someone talk about others for so long in their own interview? Sincerity is the ultimate weapon, I'm completely won over."

Afterward, a few more questions from the assistant further heightened the audience's emotions.

And the last question asked made the viewers who had seen the behind-the-scenes footage find it particularly amusing, and for a moment, the scrolling bullet comments in the show were almost filled with joyful "hahahahaha."

—What is your reason for participating in the competition?

This was a customary closing question. Many contestants interviewed before had talked at length about their dreams and childhood stories, some reserved and touching, some genuine, some full of conviction, some witty and interesting.

For Chu Yuanqing, viewers who had seen the behind-the-scenes footage expected her to continue her serious nonsense as she did on stage, creating a comically amusing contrast.

But in the image, Chu Yuanqing was silent for a moment. The light in her eyes dimmed as she looked up. Her young, cool face was set in a tight-lipped smile as she spoke earnestly:

"I'm sorry, I lied to the mentor before."

"The reason I participated in the competition was simply because the show paid very well."

The girl paused, her eyes cast down as if finding release. The upward curve of her lips deepened:

"The stage and being an idol are not what I'm pursuing."

The voice she spoke with was as light as dandelion seeds scattering in the wind, yet it seemed to carry the sorrow of the morning mist, embracing every viewer in front of their screens. It brought a long silence, and a chill that lingered in their chests.

As her words faded, the interview footage ended.

The first episode officially concluded with such an unfinished, yet deeply meaningful ending.

All the bullet comments on the video stopped scrolling. The screen froze on a hopeless blackness, reflecting Xu Ling's stunned, speechless face like an abyss.

Plink.

Tears fell onto the dinosaur plushie in her arms.

Then, they began to fall uncontrollably, like pearls from a broken string.

Xu Ling felt as if she had been swallowed by the "despair" expressed in that frame, or perhaps, for the first time, she had seen past that facade to glimpse Chu Yuanqing's childlike vulnerability, and through it, the complete and vibrant person.

The surge of affection and guilt, even the empathy and sadness, instantly overwhelmed her reason, causing tears to stream down uncontrollably.

In a daze, Xu Ling realized that from this moment on, her admiration for Chu Yuanqing was no longer a byproduct of her liking for Kiriwake Yayoi. It had become something independent, a separate idol worthy of love, entirely different from the former.

Many times, being a fan is like this.

Those seemingly fanatical and inexplicable obsessions, incomprehensible to outsiders, where fans shout "baby" and call themselves "mama" to stars older than them by a generation – they see not just the idol's current appearance, but their entire life journey.

Within these journeys, etched by youth, are reflections of precious emotions that transcend time.

And in the fleeting moments of resonance with these emotions, the joy and affection generated by fans can disregard age limits, leading them to utter words incomprehensible to outsiders.

It may seem foolish, but there are indeed people who, by drawing strength from and resonating with these emotions, have weathered a dark period in their lives, become better and more outstanding, transforming into a better version of themselves, and illuminating the rest of their youth.