Rebirth from the Ashes

The trainees gathered and murmured their views with their girlfriends.

After several rounds of elimination, 28 trainees were left in the running. Without Su Ruowan and He Lu at the cafeteria, there were only 26 of them. In the vast and empty cafeteria, a few groups sat far apart so no one could eavesdrop on their hushed conversation.

“Su Ruowan’s doing okay, thank god. It’s a pity though, the situation with He Lu. She had a chance to win one of the top seven spots,” whispered a girl sitting at the furthest table.

The other trainee with her had to disagree. She smiled sarcastically and pointed at another table. “Lan Lan, look at how happy Han Yan is. She’s number seven if anything happens to Su Ruowan too. I have no idea what the fans see in her. Do they like her craziness? I feel sorry for you because obviously, you’re more talented than she is.”

“That doesn’t give her the reason to wish misfortune on anyone.” Lan Lan was one of the girls who used to hang out with He Lu and Su Ruowan. Although she may say so, jealousy was eating her up inside at the sight of the bubbly Han Yan. Against her conscience, she uttered, “Han Yan is very talented too. I won’t say she’s lesser than me.”

Despite being at the bottom of the former Group F, Han Yan managed to progress at a steady pace in the competition and bumped Lan Lan out of ninth place during the last ranking.

Had it not been for Han Yan, Lan Lan would be ranked eighth, a place away from making her debut. What was she to do? Lan Lan had only her rotten break to blame.

Sure, there was not much of a difference between eighth and ninth place since these were rankings that would not make the cut to debut to begin with. Nevertheless, Lan Lan was not going to take it sitting down. She must win back her ranking!

“Talented, my *ss. You have always secured ninth place. If it weren’t because Han Yan played the victim in front of the fans, her votes would never have exceeded yours.” The other girl at the same table set the record straight.

“There’s still a chance for me to make my way into the top seven. You guys should keep it up too.” With the cameraman moving the lens in their direction, Lan Lan quickly ended the conversation.

She turned and glanced in Han Yan’s direction while envy overtook every inch of her being. Han Yan shared a table with those of the top seven – her good friend, Ye Weiyang, and Song Wenye’s group from Cosmos Entertainment.

Sensing a pair of eyes on her, Han Yan stared back in defiance.

Song Wenye asked, “What’s the matter?”

Han Yan mumbled under her breath, “A moron’s jealous of me.”

“Tell them that luck is also a strength, but it’s such a shame for you. You’d be with us and form the Seven Blossoms girl group if Su Ruowan were to quit too.” Song Wenye lamented and sincerely hoped for ill fate on Su Ruowan.

“That’s a tacky name.” Ji Jingyan rolled her eyes. Seven Blossoms? She could have come up with something better.

“What a pity,” Han Yan sighed. Nevertheless, she was happy and content to jump up to eighth place as it never crossed her mind that she would make it to the finals. It was thanks to the help of these girls that she was able to improve and stay in the competition.

“Watch your language.” Tong Kejun reminded them as the cameras rolled on them.

Song Wenye took a glance and pursed her lips before lowering her voice. Something was bugging her. “Let’s say we made the debut, there’s still a one-year contract for the girl group. I’m losing my appetite just thinking of having to work together with Su Ruowan for a year.”

Liu Qianyu smiled helplessly. “Keep a positive attitude and think of her as any regular partner.”

They knew that Lil’ Ye and Su Ruowan did not see eye to eye. Lil’ Ye hating Su Ruowan with all her might had something to do with Shu Baiyu’s student, Shen Xi. Lil’ Ye may seem brusque and a bit of a nitwit, but she was tight-lipped and refused to share the details with them.

“Yes.” Ye Weiyang nodded in agreement.

Song Wenye looked at Ye Weiyang, frustrated as she was unable to make Ye Weiyang see her way. “Why are you nodding? With Su Ruowan gone, you’d be number one and the champion! Silly girl!”

Ye Weiyang muttered, “But you can’t wish misfortune on others just to win.”

Song Wenye, “…”

Anyone could see Yangyang had the skills; be it singing, dancing, composing, or choreography. She improved in record time and even surpassed Su Ruowan. Su Ruowan would not be worth the mention if Yangyang was given another month to grow.

However, with the fans’ support and vote counts considered as part of their skills, Yangyang lost to Su Ruowan in terms of the fan base. The agency did not really hype her up or push her presence on social media platforms.

Su Ruowan, on the other hand, was marketed, made viral, and relevant in social media since the start of the show. The high publicity stunt and that bit of talent drew in countless fans.

The semi-finals and finals would be broadcast live at half-past seven in the evening. The trainees had the whole morning to practice and an afternoon for rehearsals before going onto the set at half-past six.

Shen Xi looked at the stadium filled with people. Fans, in a show of support to their idols, lifted banners, raised posters, and waved glow sticks as they excitedly shouted the names of their favorite idols.

Whilst most of the fans came in support of the trainees, there was no lack of the mentors’ fans. Out of the mentors, Gu Yang had the largest following. Coming from a boy band from Country H, he had a huge and loyal fan base. These die-hard fans were top-notch in their organizational discipline.

Gu Yang had always had an affable relationship with the fans. He went to greet his fans and handed out water and bread he bought, leaving his fans moved to tears. Fans of other idols were left to turn green with envy.

Shen Xi took a seat on the panel and waited for the shooting to begin. Next to her was Xia Mi. The other mentors had not arrived.

The black hip-hop outfit Shen Xi had on today brought out the stoicism in her. She was glued to her phone as though the bustle in the stadium had nothing to do with her.

Xia Mi quietly sneaked her a few glances, stumped at how to begin a conversation. She put in much thought before inquiring in the end, “Mr. Xixi, I’ll be releasing a new album in the latter half of the year. Do I have the honor to collaborate with you?”

Gu Yang said that he asked Mr. Xixi directly, so Xia Mi had to give it a go too and at least pop the question once. She could then move on if the answer was no.

Su Muyan happened to walk in on the conversation. Following a momentary shock, he nervously turned to Mr. Xixi and waited for his reply while holding Xia Mi in contempt.