Esports world champion, debuted as the center of a talent show

"After several days of hard rehearsals, all the contestants are ready to go and step onto the stage that is their dream."

"Now, let's turn our attention and applause to each and every young person striving for their dreams, and officially begin tonight's stage extravaganza!"

Yu Lan bowed to the audience and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she stood up.

[Sister Yu is so beautiful, Sister Yu is slay!]

[I came here because of Yu Lan. I want to see what kind of program this is, that they could get Yu Lan to be the host.]

【Ahhhh, it's about to start—】

The backstage waiting area for the first performance of "Shining Project" was like a place that had been muted, yet it was also brimming with barely suppressed excitement.

The large backstage rest area was divided into separate areas for each team, with soft black sofas filled with people.

Jiang Zhiyu and the others sat in the back. He leaned back on the sofa, wearing headphones, listening to "The Unopened Letter" playing on repeat while watching the broadcast screen.

Listening to music is a habit he has always maintained before competitions to relax.

On stage, Yu Lan continued the flow of the performance: "First, let's welcome our four mentors, Tang Zhuo, Guan Liu, Wu Xiangyang, and Yu Qizhen, to our collaborative performance of 'Radiance'!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the lights in the studio flashed and changed rapidly, and the accompaniment started. Four figures emerged from the shadows.

"Excuse me, excuse me, let me pass..."

Lu Shanshan, carrying her large bag, carefully made her way into the front row of the audience seats, which had poor visibility.

After she finally settled into her seat, her companion to her left turned to her and asked, "Why did you take so long?"

"I've been stopped at security checkpoints so many times!" Lu Shanshan angrily put her bag on the ground, unzipped it, and started rummaging through it.

"Did you bring the long light board in?" His companion asked nervously, lowering his voice and glancing around furtively.

Lu Shanshan hummed in agreement: "Luckily, I have a lot of experience, so I managed to sneak in."

"That's good."

Lu Shanshan rummaged through her bag for a while before finally pulling out a headband with a light strip from deep inside. She put it on. The headband was designed to be low-profile, with no extra decorations besides the light strip, so it wouldn't obstruct the view of those in the back.

"Do you want to turn on the lights now?" his companion asked.

"No, we agreed to wait until Jiang Jiang goes on stage before turning it on, and only turn it on while he's on stage." Lu Shanshan couldn't hide her excitement, and gently patted the bag at her feet with anticipation.

At that moment, she felt the person on her right move and turn their head to look at her.

Lu Shanshan's heart skipped a beat, wondering if she had disturbed the other person's view of the mentor's stage. She quickly turned her head, but just as she was about to apologize, she suddenly choked up.

"Radiance" is a fast-paced dance track where stage lights flash rapidly in sync with the rhythm, reflecting off the face of the man next to him.

This is a handsome young man wearing silver-rimmed glasses, dressed in a low-key black shirt, and with an equally understated black-rimmed watch on his wrist.

But Lu Shanshan recognized it almost immediately: the watch on the man's wrist was a limited edition from a well-known brand that had recently been hyped up to eight figures, and it was only available to internal VIP members.

Perhaps because Lu Shanshan's gaze lingered for too long, the man who had already turned away turned back to look at her.

She then saw his face clearly, and for some reason, it gave her a sense of familiarity.

Lu Shanshan, who met the man's gaze, suddenly snapped back to reality and apologized in a low voice, a beat slow to react: "I'm sorry, did we disturb you? We'll try to be quieter."

The man shook his head: "It's nothing... Are you Jiang Zhiyu's fans?"

When the topic of self-supporting was mentioned, Lu Shanshan's eyes lit up: "Yes, we all are! What about you?"

Unfortunately, to Lu Shanshan's expectant gaze, the man shook his head again: "I just happened to be passing by and was just looking around."

Just passing by? Lu Shanshan was filled with questions.

Hey handsome buddy, do you mean you just happened to be passing by this remote, godforsaken venue, happened to buy an overpriced VIP ticket for the first row, and just walked in to take a look around?

But she didn't say much, just nodded twice, and out of politeness didn't say anything more.

As the four mentors finished their performance on stage, the audience erupted in screams. Lu Shanshan also cheered and clapped her hands in support.

As the cheers and applause from outside rang out, the people backstage grew increasingly tense, a sense of unease spreading through them.

The voices rose higher and higher, clearly reminding everyone backstage that the first public performance had officially begun, and everyone would step onto that stage under the spotlight to be judged by all the audience.

The order in which teams performed in the first round was determined by a draw by the team captains before the competition.

The first pair to compete were Team A and Team B of "Detonation Command" led by Mi Lan and Wang Yan.

As the two groups of contestants got up and headed to the stage entrance, many contestants backstage looked up at them.

Everyone has witnessed the controversy and delicate relationship between Mi Lan and Wang Yan, and they all want to see who will come out on top.

Before each group's official performance, their prepared interviews will be shown as a warm-up.

One question was asked to both Mi Lan and Wang Yan simultaneously: "What does the stage mean to you?"

In the video, Mi Lan answered without hesitation: "I love it."

Wang Yan paused for two seconds: "The future."

As the pre-recorded segment ended, spotlights instantly illuminated the stage, and the screams from the audience nearly lifted the roof off.

As the intro began, the two groups of contestants took the stage in turn.

The contestants waiting backstage all fell silent, their eyes fixed on the live broadcast of the stage on the large screen in front of them. No one spoke, and they were all watching the two groups' performances intently.

"Detonation Command" is a dance track with vocals playing only a small part, making it more challenging to perform dance moves.

Both groups, whether it was the uniformity of their dance, the stability of their singing, or their stage presence, Mi Lan and Wang Yan led their team members to the extreme, without the slightest mistake. Every shot and every segment was completed flawlessly.

Both have their own style, but both are excellent center performers.

When the song ended, thunderous applause erupted, and cheers from the audience resounded throughout the venue.

A few scattered exclamations of praise rang out from backstage.

"Mi Lan and Wang Yan are so reliable, no wonder they're from Class A."

"The opening was so explosive, the pressure was immense afterwards."

[Lan Yanpi is about to faint from all the hype.]

[Stop joking around, these two seem to be on the verge of a complete falling out, what's the point of this?]

[Mi Lan is really strong. Where did that brainwashing narrative about him being a useless prince come from? I actually believed it.]

Both teams are very strong; it's hard to say who will win.

[Wang Yan's demeanor has changed a lot. Before, he seemed like a gentle lamb, easy to manipulate, but now his aura has become much stronger.]

Soon, the two groups finished their performances, and Yu Lan went on stage for a brief introduction. Then it was the turn of the two groups performing "Never Say Goodbye".