She debuted after having a child with a celestial being.

The excitement of the group battles hadn't even died down when the next round of tasks began.

The lights were on in the pyramid's main hall.

Zhang Yixing stood in the center of the stage, holding a new set of scripts in his hand.

Five colorful cover designs were displayed on the LED screen behind him.

Firewalking, Boom Boom Boom, Listen to Me, I'll Always Remember, Dream...

The production team created five original singles specifically for this round of position evaluation, covering various genres such as Hip-Hop, Tropical House, and Pop, which are the core content of the 60-to-35 elimination round.

Five songs, twelve people per group.

This means that for each song, there are two groups practicing the same piece at the same time: Group A has twelve people, and Group B also has twelve people.

The same song, two teams, in the end only one team can leave with a complete performance, while the other team, which practiced the same thing, may be eliminated as a whole.

"Out of sixty people, only thirty-five will advance to the next round."

Zhang Yixing's voice wasn't loud, but everyone heard it.

"This time, the songs and teammates will be chosen for you by the national producers."

They didn't choose the songs themselves, and the team leader didn't pick the members.

The audience who votes decides who you're paired with and what song you sing.

The combinations of votes vary greatly, and who gets grouped together depends entirely on the votes cast by netizens.

What's even more cruel is that the trainees didn't know which song or which teammate they were assigned to until this moment.

"Xiao He".

Xiao He stood up.

Zhang Yixing looked at him, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"Your group is probably the weakest team in terms of fundamentals."

The LED screen lit up.

Xiao He's name appeared in the Group A list for one of the songs.

The team roster continues: Li Quanzhe, Jin Yihan, Gan Junyan, Lü Chenyu, Zhou Tengyang, Wan Yuxian, Jing Peiyao, Jiang Dahe, Xu Heni.

A Class A plus a group of players whose basic skills are stuck at C, D or even F, plus a few marginal players who move between groups and no one wants them.

Upon seeing the list, the kid immediately blurted out, "What does this mean?"

Ding Zeren didn't speak, but his brows were furrowed.

Li Junyi pushed up his glasses, glanced at the screen, then at Xiao He. The lenses reflected the light, making it impossible to see his expression.

Xiao He stood in front of the stage, as expected.

First place in the group competition, no company background on the entire internet, completely transparent.

He dominated the field, but ultimately finished fourth.

Fourth place means that his online votes were far less than those of Cai Kunkun and Chen Linong, and the capital and the program team knew that he did not have a fan base to support him.

Putting him in the weakest team was both a test and a way to suppress him.

Give him the most difficult team members to manage, and see how he performs.

It was a great play; the show was explosive.

If someone fails to perform well, they are eliminated, and the next person moves up in order.

Cai Kunkun was voted by fans into Group A of "Hurts". The reason for choosing the song was that the national producers believed that this song could showcase his stage presence. The team members included a group of strong contestants in the top ranks such as Qian Zhenghao, Zhu Xingjie, Fan Chenchen, and Justin, which was almost the configuration of a group that was about to debut.

Chen Linong was selected for Group A of "Firewalking" because the song is warm and healing, which suits his vocal characteristics. The team members include Lin Yanjun, Ling Chao, Mu Ziyang and other contestants who have both variety show appeal and popularity.

Zhu Zhengting was selected for Group A of "Listen to What I Have to Say" because the choreography of this song was the most difficult, which perfectly matched his skills in Chinese dance and modern dance. His teammates included Bu Fan, Xiao Gui, Li Xikan and other contestants with solid dance skills.

The top spots are concentrated in a few songs, while he alone leads the team to fight against the odds.

Li Quanzhe leaned over to look at the list, and after finishing, he looked up at Xiao He: "Captain, how many people in our group are from Class A?"

"Me alone."

"Understood."

Li Quanzhe didn't ask any more questions, leaned back in his chair, and put his hands behind his head.

Xiao He stood in front of the list, his eyes slowly scanning over the names of the team members.

It was no accident that this group of people was assigned to him.

In the practice room, Li Quanzhe sat cross-legged on the floor, looking down at his phone.

Jin Yihan leaned against the corner of the wall, her earphones plugged in and her eyes closed. It was unclear whether she was genuinely listening to music or simply didn't want to open her eyes.

Gan Junyan sat in the chair with his legs stretched out, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Lu Chenyu lay on his knees, and Zhou Tengyang leaned against him. Neither of them spoke.

Wan Yuxian squatted in the corner, twirling a bottle of water in his hand, going around and around.

Jing Peiyao and Jiang Dahe sat side by side, each looking at their own phones.

Xu Heni stood by the window, his back to everyone, looking at the gray sky outside.

The sound system wasn't on, no one was practicing the dance moves, and no one was reading the lyrics on the poster.

Xiao He looked around and then asked, "You've memorized all the lyrics?"

No one answered.

Li Quanzhe's only reaction was to swipe his finger across the screen.

"What about the dance moves? Has anyone gone over them?"

Still, no one spoke.

"OK."

Xiao He walked over from in front of the mirror, stood in the center of the practice room.

"Tell me, what are you thinking?"

The silence lasted for about five seconds.

Li Quanzhe put his phone on the ground, looked up, and spoke with a tone that suggested, "Since you asked, just say it."

"Captain, do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

"The truth."

"We're just here to make up the numbers. Don't you know that?"

"Look at the treatment Yuehua Seven receive! How popular is Cai Kunkun? And what about us? Nobody even remembers our names. I was ranked in the thirties last round, while they..."

He pointed to a few people next to him.

"Jin Yihan is in her early sixties, Gan Junyan is fifty-eight, Lü Chenyu, Zhou Tengyang, and Wan Yuxian—does anyone recognize them?"

Jin Yihan took off her headphones and opened her eyes.

Lü Chenyu lifted her head from her knees.

Zhou Tengyang moved to a different spot.

No one objected.

"Don't you know why the production team grouped the characters this way?"

Li Quanzhe continued, his tone becoming increasingly aggressive.

"The top-tier artists are all crammed into 'Dream' and 'Firewalking,' while those of us at the bottom are thrown in and not even given a shot. What's the point of practicing? Who are we practicing for?"

He picked up the phone; the screen was still lit, displaying the ranking page for Weibo super topics.

His ID is listed in the thirties, but you can't find anyone else's at all.

"I'll say one last thing."

Li Quanzhe stood up and patted off non-existent dust from his pants.

"Since I'll most likely be eliminated in the next round anyway, what difference does it make whether I practice or not?"

The practice room fell silent.

Xiao He looked at Li Quanzhe but did not answer immediately.

He walked over to the stereo, picked up the remote, and pressed a button.

The screen displays a list of music files including the demo of "Dream," the arranger's revised version, and several choreography reference videos.

He opened the demo, let the beat play in the practice room for a few seconds, and then turned it off.

"Li Quanzhe, you're right."

Li Quanzhe was stunned for a moment.

"You guys are just here to make up the numbers. The production team didn't expect you to win when they dumped you here. Song selection, group assignments, editing—these things are never up to us. You all know who the investors want to promote, who gets the screen time, and who gets the trending topics."

His gaze moved from one face to another.

Jin Yihan's earphones were still hanging around her neck, but she didn't put them back in.

"But there's one thing that capital doesn't have the final say on."

He paused.

"Stage effects."

Xiao He's voice was not loud, but it was strong and clear.

"Those few minutes on stage, the music plays, the lights come on, and if you dance well, you dance well. Capital can't buy that. Capital can't buy the audience's eyes either."

"But we didn't dance well."

Jiang Dahe finally spoke, his voice muffled.

"Then practice until you're good. You think Cai Kunkun's good performance came from just sitting there chatting? It came from Cai Kunkun leading his team through countless repetitions. Guess how many hours they sleep a day?"

No one answered.

"Since you all think you're going to be eliminated..."

Xiao He took a step forward and looked into Li Quanzhe's eyes.

"Then treat it as your last performance. You rehearsed for so long, until the early hours, until your knees were bruised, and in the end you didn't even have the guts to go on stage and give it your all?"

Li Quanzhe looked at him, his lips twitched, but he didn't say anything.

"You harbor resentment. I can see it," Xiao He's voice continued.

"Why are the Yuehua Seven being promoted by their company? Why is Cai Kunkun trending on social media? Why were we grouped with a bunch of people who are at the bottom of the class?"

He glanced at everyone.

"You're resentful, aren't you? Then let's do it. Young people, if you're not happy, then let's fight. When we're on stage, let everyone see that this group doesn't rely on the company, doesn't rely on capital, just on themselves."

Li Quanzhe stared at him for a long time.

Then he bent down, flipped the phone over so the screen was facing down, and placed it on the floor.

"Dry."

He said, just one word.

"But I really can't memorize the lyrics."

Lu Chenyu lifted her head from her knees, her voice muffled.

"I've never rapped before, and this time they put me in the rap part in the group, and I can't even find the beat. I've been practicing for two days, but I still can't keep up."

Xiao He looked at him.

Which section?

"The part before the chorus."

"Bring it here."

Lu Chenyu paused for a moment, then got up from the ground and handed over the lyrics sheet.

Xiao He took it, glanced at it, then put the paper on the floor, squatted down, pointed to the lyrics with his finger, and broke down the rhythm word by word.

"Here, the time signature is 4/4, and the emphasis is on the second and fourth syllables. When you read it before, you put the emphasis on the first syllable, which messed up the rhythm of the whole passage. Try it again."

Lü Chenyu took it and tried reading it aloud.

It's still messy, but it's a little better than before.

"Again."

One more time.

"Again."

And so it went, over and over again, from the first sentence to the last.

When Lü Chenyu read it for the eighth time, she finally managed to recite the rap in its entirety.

He paused for a moment, looked down at the lyrics sheet, and then looked at Xiao He.

"I...I read it out loud?"

"But that's not enough."

Lu Chenyu held the paper and looked at it for a long time.

Then he folded the paper and put it in his pocket.

"Thanks."

"No need to thank me." Xiao He stood up, walked to the stereo, and said, "Keep going."