Amateur talent show? Top mentors are my students.

Wang Yijun hasn't seen He Xu all day.

He hadn't seen He Xu since they went to film the pool party the day before until this morning.

He Xu was nowhere to be found in the dormitory, the cafeteria, or the practice room.

The bed showed no signs of being moved, so maybe he didn't come back last night.

This is rather unusual.

In fact, Wang Yijun was not the only one who noticed He Xu's disappearance.

Since last night, several versions of the question "Where did He Xu go?" have been circulating among the contestants.

Version 1: His hand injury became infected, and he was taken to the hospital.

Version 2: He was summoned by the production team because of the bass harmony in the music video.

It's no secret that a hundred hot-blooded teenagers would secretly keep one or two cell phones, and the latest news spread throughout the base almost on the day the MV was released.

Version 3: His affair with those people in Class F isn't over yet; he's been called in to cooperate with the investigation.

Version four – the most outrageous version: someone saw him enter the professor's building last night.

This version was rejected by everyone the moment it was proposed.

"Get into the mentors' building? How is that possible? The contestants' and mentors' dormitories are separated by half a square, and there are access restrictions. How could he possibly get in?"

"Exactly, at least make it believable."

The contestant who suggested this version awkwardly shut up, thinking to himself that he clearly hadn't misread it.

But since everyone says it's impossible, then I guess I'm just seeing things.

9:30 a.m., in the studio.

One hundred white chairs were rearranged, this time not in a tiered arrangement, but in a semi-circle, with a transparent lottery box in the center containing numbered billiard balls.

On the large screen above the stage, all eight songs for the first performance have been announced—

"Blade" - Original singer: Shen Yiheng

"Round Disc" - Original singer: Zhou Wei

"White Waves, White Waves" - Original Singer: Xu Shutong

Wildfire - Original singer: Han Yu

Echo - Original singer: Flavor Girls Group

"Night Cruise" - Original singer: Noir Band

"Red Lips" - Original singer: Maggie Q

"One Shot" - Original singer: MAX Boy Band

Each song title is accompanied by a label indicating the dance and vocal difficulty level and the number of participants required.

In the contestants' seats, everyone was staring at the "Blade" section.

"Shen Yiheng's song..." someone whispered, their voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement, "If only we could get this one—"

"You're overthinking it," someone next to him poured cold water on his idea. "Those guys from Class A will definitely fight over it; you won't get a chance."

Another voice chimed in, "Not necessarily. Wasn't the team captain decided by drawing lots?"

"Only students from classes A and B are eligible to draw lots. What does it have to do with you, a student from class C?" The person who poured cold water on the idea was merciless.

The conversation fell silent.

The mentors entered one after another through the passageway on the side of the studio.

Shen Yiheng walked at the front, wearing a thin black jacket over a white T-shirt, looking more casual than usual.

But he didn't seem to be in good spirits—his eyes were slightly dark and bluish, as if he hadn't slept enough.

Xu Shutong followed behind him, wearing a pale yellow dress today, looking gentle and radiant.

Zhou Wei, Zheng Zaiyuan, and Jin Xian took their seats in turn.

Shen Yiheng walked to the center of the stage, picked up the microphone, and scanned the entire contestant's seat with his eyes.

"Before we begin, let me announce something."

The players' seats fell silent.

"Yesterday, due to copyright issues, the song list for the first performance was temporarily adjusted. 'Burn It Up' was replaced with my song 'Blade,' and the difficulty level is the same as the other seven songs, so don't worry."

A low murmur arose from the players' seats.

Shen Yiheng didn't linger on this topic and moved on to the next step of the process.

"Now, we will announce the grouping rules for the first performance."

He turned to the side, and the giant screen behind him lit up, displaying the names of eight songs and their grouping frames.

"Eight songs, each song has two groups, for a total of sixteen groups."

"The number of people in each group is determined by the choreography—five, six, or seven people, depending on the song arrangement."

"Each group rehearses independently and has its own stage. On the day of the performance, they will compete in pairs, and the winner will be determined by the audience vote."

The commotion in the players' stands grew even greater.

"Sixteen groups? Doesn't that mean we need sixteen team leaders?"

"No, it's first the team leader is chosen, then the team leader chooses the others."

"So, who should be the team captain?"

Shen Yiheng waited until the commotion subsided slightly before continuing his story.

"The team captain will be chosen by drawing lots."

He walked to the lottery box in the center of the stage and placed his hand on the box.

"In a moment, contestants from Classes A and B, come up and draw a number. Numbers 1 to 16 will become team captains, and they will choose songs and members in ascending order of their numbers."

"From the 17th onwards, there is no right to vote; one can only be elected."

"Did you all understand?"

"Understood!" The voices of a hundred people mingled together, filled with excitement and tension.

Shen Yiheng nodded and stepped back to the side of the stage.

The staff member stepped forward with the list and began calling people in order.

Wang Yijun sat in the second row of the A class area, with her legs crossed, her hands on her knees, and her expression as indifferent as a glass of plain water.

He wasn't interested in the lottery.

It doesn't matter which number you draw.

Whether he's the captain or a member, the only difference to him is to stand on the stage, dance well, sing well, and then it's over.

But when luck comes, you can't stop it.

Wang Yijun was called up by the staff, and randomly picked out a small ball to show to everyone.

"...Number 1? Wang Yijun, you're number 1!"

"Wow, that's incredibly lucky!"

A low gasp of surprise rippled through the players' seats.

Yang Sheng looked down at the number 12 in his hand, feeling somewhat unwilling.

Wang Yijun walked down again with a blank expression.

At this moment, he noticed that He Xu had arrived at some point.

He Xu slipped in through the side door of the studio.

Nobody noticed him—or so he thought.

Everyone's attention was focused on the lottery box, and he walked along the wall to the B class area.

As soon as he sat down, Li Bufan sidled up to him.

"Brother He Xu, Brother He Xu, where have you been? We've been looking for you for ages!"

He Xu glanced at him, pointed to his throat, and waved his hand.

Li Bufan was taken aback. Before he could ask any further questions, he was called up to draw lots.

"Li Bufan, number 9."

He waved happily.

"Next up, He Xu."

When He Xu stood up, all eyes turned to him.

He walked onto the stage, stood in front of the lottery box, and picked out a billiard ball.

Unfold.

"Number 21".

There was a moment of silence in the players' stands.

Then came a burst of noisy discussion—

"Number 21? Does that mean they're ineligible to be selected?"

"So... he can only be chosen, and can't choose anyone else?"

"What a pity."

The murmurs gradually subsided, replaced by a subtle silence.

All eyes were on He Xu.

He didn't care at all, didn't say a word, and took the ball back to sit down.

That's good too, he doesn't have to stand up anymore, he can fall asleep standing up now.

The draw is over.

The staff read the list aloud, and the sixteen people stood up from their seats and walked to the front of the stage.

Wang Yijun walked at the front, holding a billiard ball with "1" written on it.

On the stage, sixteen people stood in a row in numerical order.

Shen Yiheng walked up to them, holding an envelope in his hand.

"The captain's selection rules are simple." His voice carried throughout the studio through the speakers. "In numerical order, each person will come up on stage one by one and choose their teammates from the remaining contestants."

"The number of people for each song varies—five, six, or seven, and the exact number is indicated on the playlist."

"Select until all slots are filled."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the sixteen young faces.

"Now, let's begin the selection process."

"Captain No. 1, Wang Yijun, please come up on stage to choose a song."

Wang Yijun walked to the center of the stage and stood in front of the song selection area.

On the giant screen, the names of eight songs were arranged in order, with the number of participants and the difficulty level of each song indicated below it.

He reached out and tapped the screen almost without hesitation.

Blade.

The players' seats erupted in chaos.

"Blade? He chose PD Shim's song?!"

"A six-person dance, five-star difficulty... Is he insane?"

"No, have you forgotten? Wang Yijun is primarily a dancer, so it's not surprising that he chose 'Blade,' right?"

"But that's PD Shim's song, the pressure must be too much..."

After selecting her song, Wang Yijun stood in the center of the stage, facing the contestants' seats.

"The first person I want to choose—" His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear, "He Xu."