Chapter 5

Sheng Chi glanced at him.

The young man before him had lowered his peach blossom eyes, and his expression was somewhat restrained, as if he knew something but couldn't say it outright.

After a moment's thought, Sheng Chi asked, "Is the evaluation livestreamed publicly?"

Gu Zhijing nodded and was about to add something when Sheng Chi said, "Then there's no problem."

"With cameras there, even if someone wanted to interfere, they couldn't go too far."

Besides, when he was at SPC, the company had openly stated that Korean and Chinese trainees' evaluation scores were weighted differently.

He was already accustomed to unfairness and bias.

What he had to do was force that unfairness back into balance.

"Don't worry."

"I'll win," Sheng Chi said.

Gu Zhijing: "..."

Though Sheng Chi seemed confident, he couldn't help wanting to remind him of something.

Hardly anyone watched this livestream in the first place.

Who could he count on to act as his online watchdog?

But in the end, Gu Zhijing said nothing. He simply smiled, his eyes curving. "Okay, Chi-ge. I believe you."

Over the next three days, Sheng Chi kept to his solitary habits. During free practice, he found a small practice room without air conditioning and practiced alone.

Gu Zhijing occasionally went over to take a peek, but didn't dare disturb him.

Of course, he also had to give up on his earlier idea of asking Sheng Chi to help him work through a dance. He could only struggle through it on his own.

At last, the day of the monthly evaluation arrived.

In the dorm, Jiang Yu changed his clothes and said in a somewhat peculiar tone, "This time we can finally see what someone from SPC can really do."

Sheng Chi had joined as a parachute trainee. Though Jiang Yu said nothing outwardly, he was still a little unconvinced.

Beside him, Gu Zhijing glanced at Jiang Yu.

He suddenly remembered that Jiang Yu had taken time off to deal with something on the day Qi Wang and Sheng Chi made their bet, and afterward they had forgotten to tell him about it.

After a moment's thought, Gu Zhijing said, "I think Qi Wang's probably looking forward to it even more than you are. After all, he made a bet."

Sure enough, Jiang Yu was instantly alert. "What bet?"

Once Gu Zhijing had filled him in on the whole story, Jiang Yu slapped the table. "Damn, now I really have to watch!"

Still dissatisfied after thinking it over, he cursed again. "How dare Qi Wang make a bet with someone from SPC? Who does he think he is?"

Xu Linyuan couldn't help laughing. "Whose side are you on, anyway?"

Jiang Yu said without a hint of shame, "As everyone knows, I have exactly one identity across the entire internet: Qi Wang's rival. Whoever Qi Wang goes up against, I'll help the other person!"

"I'm betting on Sheng Chi to win!"

Xu Linyuan gave a thoughtful hum. "I trust Fei-ge's eye for talent too."

Gu Zhijing smiled casually. "The way you two put it, you don't sound very sincere about picking a side."

He fastened the single earring in his right ear, pinched it into place, and said with a smile, "Let's make it a big one. I'm betting everything I have on Chi-ge."

Even though Jiang Yu knew he was joking, he happily applauded. "Boss Gu sure is generous!"

Hearing that, Xu Linyuan raised an eyebrow. "You're that confident? Who's responsible if he loses?"

"None of us is betting on Qi Wang, so the loss is mine either way."

Gu Zhijing's peach blossom eyes curved with a foxlike slyness. A moment later, he looked toward the empty doorway. "But I really do believe it."

His lips curved slightly.

"Chi-ge will definitely win."

Though the monthly evaluation wasn't a major event, Fei Yue took it extremely seriously.

He knew better than anyone which expenses the company could cut and which it couldn't.

Beside the stage, the staff set up the cameras while Fei Yue went over to help adjust the sound equipment.

When Gu Zhijing entered the backstage area, he greeted all the staff, then went to sit in a corner and looked aimlessly around.

Nearly half the trainees had arrived.

But the two people at the center of the bet, Sheng Chi and Qi Wang, had yet to show up.

Gu Zhijing took out his phone and glanced at the livestream, which was already set up.

There were only a few comments in the livestream, with just three or four viewers waiting in advance.

[Here early for Qi Wang. Go, Wangwang!]

[Is Yuyu here today? Baby, take first place again this time!!]

Gu Zhijing: "..."

Even though he considered himself up to speed with the internet, he increasingly had no idea where these little girls picked up their catchphrases.

Someone sat down beside him.

Gu Zhijing put away his phone and glanced over.

It was Sheng Chi.

Even for today's evaluation, he'd just thrown on a simple casual outfit that wouldn't obscure his dance moves.

Still, good-looking people looked good in whatever they wore.

Gu Zhijing was about to wish him luck when Qi Wang came over first.

"You're here? I thought you might take the day off."

"After all, our Chi-ge-"

He emphasized the words "Chi-ge"; it wasn't clear whether he was deliberately trying to annoy Sheng Chi or Gu Zhijing beside him. "-just got back from South Korea."

"Now that he's back, he might have trouble adjusting to the climate, right?"

"Look, if you lose today, I've even found an excuse for you."

He smiled. "Chi-ge, aren't I good to you?"

Gu Zhijing's expression shifted slightly.

Qi Wang loved to provoke his opponents again before they went onstage, undermining their confidence.

It was his usual tactic.

Most of the staff were outside, and he wasn't speaking loudly, so apart from the three of them, hardly anyone heard.

No wonder Qi Wang was clearly taking jabs at him too.

A flicker of irritation rose in Gu Zhijing. He was considering whether to find an excuse to drive Qi Wang away when Sheng Chi spoke first. "Done talking?"

Qi Wang: "..."

He clicked his tongue in displeasure. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

"If you're done, you can leave."

Sheng Chi glanced at his watch and said evenly, "The evaluation's about to start. Don't waste everyone's time."

Qi Wang: "You-"

Fei Yue's voice came through the stage speakers. "All trainees, please come onstage."

Qi Wang had no choice but to drop it. In the end, he said viciously, "Just wait and lose."

Because of the company's budget, the stage they had provided wasn't very big.

With the trainees lined up across it, it looked a little cramped.

After a brief introduction, they began drawing lots.

The order of the draw was based on the rankings from the previous evaluation.

Jiang Yu went first.

He frowned slightly after drawing his lot.

The song was moderately difficult and one he'd reviewed before the evaluation. He performed it without a single mistake, but his expression wasn't at its best when he came down.

Gu Zhijing handed him a bottle of water. "What's wrong?"

Jiang Yu took a sip of mineral water before shaking his head. "Nothing. It was too easy, so I'm a little worried I won't get a high difficulty score."

Gu Zhijing: "..."

He was like a top student worried that an exam had been too easy to put much distance between himself and his ordinary classmates.

Qi Wang went up second.

After drawing his lot, he unfolded the slip of paper, suddenly raised an eyebrow, and announced the song's name.

"'Any.'"

The moment he heard the name, Jiang Yu's face darkened in the nearby rest area.

Gu Zhijing narrowed his eyes.

Jiang Yu snorted. "Lucky him."

Xu Linyuan looked up and exchanged a knowing glance with Gu Zhijing, then comforted Jiang Yu. "His song isn't that hard either. His difficulty score should be about the same as yours."

Jiang Yu sighed. "Don't try to make me feel better. This song isn't simple; it just happens to be right in his comfort zone."

"Any" was a jazz dance they'd learned just last week. Though it wasn't particularly difficult, the song was quite memorable, with a wild, free style.

Most importantly, everyone knew that before becoming a trainee, Qi Wang had specifically studied jazz dance.

The lot he'd drawn might as well have been tailor-made for him.

Sure enough, when Qi Wang finished his performance, every teacher below the stage wore an approving expression.

Even Gu Zhijing had to admit it.

The performance had indeed been virtually flawless.

He glanced at Sheng Chi.

Sheng Chi had watched the whole performance, yet his expression remained unchanged, in stark contrast to Jiang Yu beside him, who had almost begun mourning the loss of first place in advance.

Gu Zhijing pondered for a moment and was about to speak when the dance teacher said, "Thank you for your performance, Qi Wang. Please go wait and rest. The next trainee-"

"Sheng Chi."

Everyone present was taken aback, including Fei Yue at the mentors' table.

According to the previous week's evaluation rankings, Xu Linyuan should have been next.

The teacher explained, "Since Sheng Chi hasn't been evaluated before, we made a rough estimate of his abilities and placed him here."

Gu Zhijing frowned slightly.

Normally, since he hadn't been evaluated, he should simply have been placed last.

Instead, they had estimated his ability and put him right after Qi Wang.

That was purely to make him look bad.

Yet amid the surprised, puzzled, and curious looks, Sheng Chi simply stood up and went to draw his lot.

The dance teacher held the box out to him.

When Sheng Chi unfolded the slip, he paused briefly, then said in a low voice, "'Burning.'"

All the trainees were stunned.

"Burning"?!

It was the title track of an obscure South Korean boy group's third album.

It was also a highly difficult dance song combining popping, locking, and hip-hop.

Half a month ago, the teacher had taught the Chinese-lyric version once in class. But because the tempo was fast, the trainees couldn't keep their breathing steady while singing and dancing, and the transitions between dance styles were too fast and complicated, many of them couldn't manage it. The teacher hadn't insisted.

No one knew how it had ended up in this evaluation.

Gu Zhijing narrowed his eyes slightly, worried for him.

The song was very niche, and very few people had heard it, but its dance was among the hardest of any Asian boy group dance in the past five years.

On top of that, Sheng Chi hadn't attended that class at all. He probably didn't even know what dance went with the song, and even if he could improvise to the beat, there was no way he could know the lyrics.

Besides, the name alone made it clear that "Burning" was a fierce, rousing song.

The song's mood also clashed sharply with Sheng Chi's overly cold and sharp demeanor.

Amid the sounds of surprise, Sheng Chi lowered his lashes for a moment, set down the slip of paper, then returned to the stage and raised his eyes.

In an instant, his entire demeanor changed.

Everyone below sat up straight.

Gu Zhijing held his breath slightly.

Onstage, the spotlight fell on him.

The coldness in Sheng Chi's eyes vanished completely. He raised his brows, a sharp, flamboyant light in his eyes.

It was exactly the same look as the center's on the song's original album cover.

Chapter 6

Qi Wang had been confident about this evaluation.

He had pulled strings and deliberately adjusted the evaluation songs, putting himself in his comfort zone while giving Sheng Chi a show of force.

A song this difficult was enough to make the image of a talented performer Sheng Chi had built in front of everyone come crashing down.

Weren't you going to prove it with time?

Go on, prove it.

But for all his calculations, he had overlooked one thing.

The group behind "Burning" was indeed an obscure South Korean boy group, and very few people had heard the song.

But as their comeback title track, the song had been made with SPC's music production team specially hired for it.

So back when Sheng Chi was in South Korea, he had already practiced this difficult song over and over as a training piece until he knew the dance inside out.

Since he specifically chose this song to set a trap for me...

Sheng Chi's gaze sharpened. Facing the camera, he quirked a corner of his mouth.

Then, thank you.

The spotlights came on.

The music started.

Sheng Chi hit the first accented beat and began to dance.

Someone in the audience muttered, "He can't actually know how to dance, can he...?"

Qi Wang felt a little nervous at once, but still forced the words out. "What's he showing off for? Even if he's improvising on the spot, there's no way he knows the lyrics to this son-"

The verse track kicked in, and Sheng Chi opened his mouth, cutting Qi Wang off before he could finish.

He sang the original Korean version.

Qi Wang: "?!!"

Sheng Chi's voice