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

The rankings are still being announced, and we've quickly moved into the twentieth place range.

When Yu Lan announced "Twenty-first place, Yu Jin," there was another uproar from the audience.

"If I remember correctly, Yu Jin was sixtieth in the last ranking announcement, right? How did he rise so quickly?"

"How come anyone who's with Jiang Zhiyu becomes incredibly popular, like they're on a rocket? He seems to have a knack for making everyone he's with famous..."

"Ever since Yu Jin was chosen by Jiang Zhiyu as the face of the show, things have changed for him." The speaker's tone was somewhat sour, filled with deep envy.

Yu Jin himself was also full of surprise, his eyes filled with disbelief.

In the previous round of rankings, he was only one place higher than Qi Sixian, both in the bottom tier, just one step away from elimination.

Who would have thought that he would jump 39 places in this round, reaching 21st place and firmly entering the upper-middle tier of safety? This ranking even gives him a chance to look forward to the finals.

Lin Sen patted him on the shoulder: "Not bad, Yu Jin, congratulations on advancing!"

Yu Jin smiled and responded to the congratulations from others one by one. Then he walked to the comments section, briefly shared his feelings about winning the ranking, and then he let out a breath. After a pause, he continued, "This sentence is quite common when the rankings are announced, but I still want to say thank you, Zhiyu."

He looked around, feeling the gazes around him and seeing the dense array of cameras all around, and felt something heavy in his heart disappear.

Standing under the light in the acceptance speech area, he thought that the weight that had disappeared was probably a burden he couldn't shake off before his heart-to-heart talk with Jiang Zhiyu that night. As everything settled down, he quietly accepted it himself amidst the light and applause.

[Even more extreme than Qi Sixian's jump from 61 to 25 is Yu Jin's jump from 61 to 21, but both deserve it! I watched their group practice for the second performance all the way through, and no one in this group held back; they all worked very hard.]

[Both of them owe their fates largely to Jiang Zhiyu. This is the umpteenth time now; he's practically becoming the savior of the lower-middle tier!]

[Actually, even in the top ranks... I dare say many people's rankings have been influenced by Jiang Zhiyu, those who know, know!]

[Actually, this isn't something that was hard to predict. Many Jiang fans will take the opportunity to promote Jiang Zhiyu's teammates. He has a large fan base, so it's natural that...]

Once the third round adopts the one-pick mode, the rankings will likely undergo a major reshuffle.

Following the procedure, Yu Lan then announced: "Next, we will announce the trainees who will advance from the nineteenth to the tenth place."

As the list of names was read out, all the well-known contestants were called, and the number of people left in the waiting area whose names had not been called dwindled, making the atmosphere increasingly tense.

Nineteen, eighteen... ten.

Jiang Zhiyu's other teammates in the middle circle of the second performance, Zhuang Sheng, Fang Shi, and He Sen, also advanced safely, and the list of thirty-fifth to tenth place has been completely announced.

This ranking announcement still placed the last spot on the edge of the cliff before announcing the debut positions. Yu Lan looked at the trainees still standing in the waiting area. At this moment, apart from a few in the top ranks, the rest of them looked very ugly, with despair mixed with a hint of luck.

All twenty trainees present were praying that they would be the last one.

Holding the microphone, Yu Lan slowly announced amidst countless hopeful gazes: "Next, we will reveal the thirty-sixth place in this round, who is also the last trainee to advance just before the elimination line."

As soon as the words were spoken, all the trainees in the waiting area who had not yet had their names called held their breath, and a tense atmosphere gradually spread.

She slowed her speech: "Thirty-sixth place—Wang Qin."

Wang Qin was xxy's former teammate. After being forced into the xxy incident, he became an unlucky scapegoat, and his popularity, which was originally quite good, plummeted.

This ranking is not an improvement for him; rather, it represents a dramatic shift from a sure-fire entry into the top three to a narrow victory.

But advancing was the best result he could have achieved so far. With tears in his eyes, he slowly walked toward the pyramid amidst the blessings of his teammates.

Next, the highly anticipated rankings will be announced.

"Now, we will announce the ninth through third place."

She announced them one by one:

Ninth place: Wang Yan

Eighth place: Yao Wei

Seventh place: Yu Wen

Sixth place: Deng Sushui

Fifth place: Kui Shuang

Fourth place: Ahn Joon-young

Third place: Lin Sen

[Ahhh, Lin Sen is third! Our 310 team swept the top three spots! 310 is amazing!!]

The competition for debut spots is fierce, and the vote differences are small. Some players drop in the rankings while others rise; it's normal fluctuation. But right now, I'm incredibly curious about the number of votes for the top spot.

I'm not sure whether to say Deng Su lost more water or Lin Sen gained more water quickly... it seems like Lin Sen's boost was too significant.

In a corner no one cares about, Wang Yan is about to fall out of the debut positions. Where are the fans? Didn't they say he was a pitiful little thing and needed to be promoted to debut?

[Wang Yan's public image is starting to falter, which is why he's lost a lot of fans.]

There's nothing anyone can do about it; I can only say it's all due to cause and effect.

The discussion about Wang Yan quickly stopped in the live chat, because the acceptance speeches of the trainees who were about to debut all seemed a bit awkward.

Wang Yan, who came in ninth, was the first to speak: "I actually doubt whether what I did back then was right or wrong, but I can't go back. I can only move forward. I will bear the consequences of my past mistakes, but I am still very grateful to you for continuing to support me and vote for me. Thank you, and thank you for your hard work."

Fifth-place winner Kui Shuang maintained his signature style in his acceptance speech, his blond hair shining even brighter under the headlights in the speech area: "My sights are set on first place."

This statement is ambiguous, leaving people unsure of Kui Shuang's meaning. Does he aim to be number one, or does he want to emulate Jiang Zhiyu, who has always been number one?

I finally got to know that person I wasn't very familiar with... It brings back so many memories!

[The world's least irrational CP fans are all in "Shining Project," and those who understand it are crying.]

[I'll just take it one more time, the last time. If it's real, what's wrong with taking it once? It's real to begin with. If it's fake, what's wrong with taking it once? It won't become real anyway.]

After the players ranked ninth to third had all taken their seats, only the first two seats in the pyramid seating area remained empty. The two remaining high-ranking players were still Jiang Zhiyu and Mi Lan.

The two people were assigned to stand far apart, on the far left and far right of the waiting area, respectively.

Distance couldn't stop the two from gazing at each other across the crowd. They nodded to each other, and the camera locked onto them, capturing the moment in real time.

The screen splits to the left and right, still showing close-up shots of the two people.

Jiang Zhiyu and Mi Lan, whose rankings were announced this time, were clearly more familiar with the scene and did not show any emotional fluctuations.