She debuted after having a child with a celestial being.

The recording of the theme song's rating assessment will take place three days later in the afternoon.

In the studio, six mentors sat in a row behind the monitor.

Zhang Yixing sat in the middle, holding a pen in his hand, with a stack of evaluation sheets in front of him.

The recording method involved each person facing the camera individually and performing the theme song they had learned over the three days.

Singing and dancing are done simultaneously.

The video will be transmitted in real time to the monitor in front of the tutor, who will then reassess the performance and assign a grade.

The first trainee walked in.

He stood in front of the camera, took a deep breath, and then spoke.

The very first line of lyrics was soaring, the ending note trembled and rose, the dance moves were half a beat ahead, then half a beat behind, the whole person seemed to be chasing a song that they couldn't keep up with.

After the performance, he bowed and quickly walked out of the studio.

Zhang Yixing made a mark on the evaluation form without saying a word.

The second one. The third one. The fourth one.

Someone forgot the lyrics; their lips were still moving halfway through the song, but the sound stopped.

Some people remember all the dance moves, but each move is half a beat slower than the beat, as if they are dancing to a completely different song.

Some people completely lost their rhythm, their rap parts were mumbled, and their lyrics were all jumbled up in their mouths.

Not a single person could remember the lyrics and dance perfectly.

Cheng Xiao was speechless behind the monitor.

Zhou Jieqiong glanced at her, and the two looked at each other without saying a word.

Then, a trainee walked in and stood in front of the camera.

He didn't speak or make any dance moves. He stood there for about three seconds, then turned around and walked out of the studio.

Zhang Yixing stared at the monitor, stunned for a full two beats.

His pen hovered above the grade sheet, his fingers poised to write, but he hadn't written a single word. He couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"

Cheng Xiao's voice came from the side: "He gave up."

Zhang Yixing was truly at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Suddenly, some images flashed through his mind.

In 2008, he was selected by South Korea's SM Entertainment to become a trainee.

He was seventeen years old at the time, a trainee who trained for more than ten hours a day and only slept for three or four hours.

They practiced dancing until their clothes were soaked with sweat, then wrung them out, put them back on, and continued practicing.

Even with bruised knees from practicing, I'd put on a plaster and keep jumping.

There is a monthly evaluation, and you may be eliminated in each evaluation.

The trainees who came in with him disappeared one by one.

The people I was practicing dance with yesterday are gone today.

He didn't dare ask, nor did he have time to ask.

Because he might be next.

He debuted as a member of EXO in 2012.

From 2008 to 2012, four years.

His efforts over the past four years cannot be explained simply by saying "hard work".

Now, he sits on the mentor's seat of "Idol Producer," watching a trainee walk into the studio, stand for three seconds, and then turn and leave.

They didn't even try it.

They didn't even have the courage to speak.

"How could he not cherish it?"

Zhang Yixing's voice was squeezed out of his throat, clearly unable to understand what this young man was doing, wasting such a good opportunity.

Recording continues.

More trainees walked in.

Someone stopped midway through the performance, shook their head, started again, and then stopped again.

Some people persevered and finished the entire dance, but every move felt like they were fighting with themselves.

Zhang Yixing finally stood up.

"Wait a minute."

"It's been three days."

Zhang Yixing's voice came from in front of the monitor.

"Three days, one song, one dance—is it really impossible to complete?"

He paused.

"Class A, what's going on?"

His gaze swept across the image frozen on the monitor screen.

"You guys are in Class A."

The studio was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

No one spoke from the instructors' seats.

Zhang Yixing didn't sit back down. He picked up the evaluation sheets and flipped through them one by one.

After flipping through the sheet, he put it back on the table, still furious, and then walked out of the photography studio.

The recording was paused for a while, and only resumed after the staff reassured the PD.

Class A's recording was scheduled last.

Zhu Zhengting stood in front of the camera and took a deep breath.

The music started.

His movements weren't the kind of clean, crisp, fixed-point movements; they had a sense of extension, like an invisible thread pulling outwards from his fingertips.

Every arc his arm traced wasn't deliberate; it was the trajectory his body naturally followed after twelve years of dancing.

He bowed when the performance ended.

Cheng Xiao finally smiled behind the monitor.

Cai Kunkun is next.

The pink sweatshirt made his skin look even whiter.

The music started, and his body began to move rhythmically.

His movements were something else entirely.

If Zhu Zhengting represents extension, then Cai Kunkun represents control.

Each fixed point is as if it has been measured with a ruler; when you raise your hand to this angle, it's just right.

Turn your head this way, it's perfect.

Leaning your body to this angle is just right.

Her facial expressions were perfectly controlled; when she was supposed to smile, the curve of her lips was precise, and when she was supposed to turn cold, her eyes would turn cold in an instant.

The rap in the chorus is enunciated clearly, with every word perfectly timed.

After the performance, he bowed and left the stage with a smile.

Zhang Yixing wrote something on the score sheet, then said something to Li Ronghao next to him.

The voice wasn't loud, but the tutors in front of the monitors all heard it: "This is the standard for an A."

When Xiao He walked in, the pink hoodie he wore gave off a different vibe.

It's neither Zhu Zhengting's gentleness nor Cai Kunkun's refinement.

He is sunny and handsome, with a youthful spirit.

His facial features are rather strong, with a clearly defined jawline.

The music started, and Xiao He's movements were different from the two people in front of him.

He has a natural, fluid movement that follows the music on its own.

His shoulders swayed to the beat, not much, but every joint was relaxed.

In the chorus, his voice came out, clean and clear, with that uniquely youthful, roguish energy.

He bowed after the performance.

The recording for Class A has been completed.

Of the nine people, only three sang and danced the entire song without any mistakes: Cai Kunkun, Zhu Zhengting, and Xiao He.

The other six people all had varying degrees of forgetting lyrics, missing beats, and making mistakes in their movements.

Chen Linong missed two eight-beat counts in his dance moves, causing his grade to drop from A to C.

When Wang Ziyi sang the second chorus, he forgot a line of lyrics and dropped from A to B.

Justin's vocals cracked, and Ding Zeren and Lin Chaoze had synchronization issues.

In the end, only three people managed to protect Class A.

Zhang Yixing leaned back in his chair, holding the rating sheet in his hand. His gaze lingered on the rating sheet for a moment before he put it down.

"In Class A, there are finally three who look decent in pink hoodies."

The competition for the center position in the theme song took place after Class A finished recording.

Inside the pyramid hall, the hundred trainees reunited.

They were seated according to the new hierarchy.

The three students from Class A sat on the top floor. Xiao He's seat number 1 was at the very top, followed by Cai Kunkun and Zhu Zhengting.

Class B sat on the second floor, Class C on the third floor, and Class D and Class F squeezed onto the bottom floor.

Fan Chengcheng sat in the aisle seat of Class C, Wang Ziyi was in Class B, Justin was in Class B, and Chen Linong was in the side seat of Class C. He had changed his pink hoodie into a gray hoodie from Class C.

Zhang Yixing stood up from the mentors' seat and walked to the center of the stage.

"The reassessment is complete."

"Class A, three people: Cai Kunkun, Zhu Zhengting, and Xiao He."

"Next, we will choose the center for the theme song from these three people."

Zhang Yixing paused for a moment.

"The rules are simple. Each of the three of you will prepare a solo performance suitable for the theme song. It can be dancing, singing and dancing, or any way you feel you can showcase yourself."

His gaze swept from the bottom of the pyramid to the top.

"After the performance, the trainees from classes B, C, D, and F will vote. Each person will have a center position sticker, which they will stick on the person they think is most suitable to stand in the center position."