Chapter 3
“Oh my god, I thought Mentor Wen was going to give her an A.” Higher up the pyramid, several trainees who hadn’t performed yet breathed sighs of relief. They all came from major agencies and had spontaneously formed a group, occupying seats in the Class A section. They had no intention of giving up their seats anytime soon.
Qu Xiao bowed again. “Thank you for your guidance, Mentor.”
The next two guest mentors began giving their evaluations, but Qu Xiao barely heard what they said.
Wen Sixu’s cool voice kept echoing through her mind.
“I’d like to see you perform an additional piece. Would that be all right?”
“My understanding is that you lack stamina.”
“Next time, don’t sign up for something you can’t do. You’ll only disappoint the audience.”
Summoning her courage, she raised her eyes again, but Wen Sixu had already lowered her head to study the list and was no longer looking at her.
The fourth mentor spoke.
“Qu Xiao, I really like your vocals, but the issues Mentor Wen pointed out just now are also quite valid. I share her opinion. If you genuinely have weaknesses, I hope you’ll train harder to overcome them. If your dancing ability is just as good as your singing, I hope we’ll get to see you sing and dance next time. My rating for you is B.”
Qu Xiao bowed somewhat mechanically. “Thank you for your guidance, Mentor. I’ll work hard.”
The final mentor hesitated for a moment.
“Your abilities deserve an A. I hope you’ll continue to preserve your unique style in the future.”
The five mentors’ ratings were A, A, B, B, and A.
The host glanced at the hidden scores. “Qu Xiao, welcome to Class B!”
A row of seats on the pyramid lit up, indicating where she could sit. Since most of the contestants hadn’t performed yet, the exact rankings were still uncertain.
Qu Xiao looked up. It was the highest row directly beneath Class A, corresponding to positions eight through thirteen.
That was already pretty good.
She reassured herself with those words as she left the stage and climbed the pyramid.
Along the way, several trainees were already studying her with curious, probing gazes.
A small agency with no connections, the first contestant specifically asked to perform an additional piece, and the highest-rated contestant in the initial stage so far. These labels had stacked together to give her quite the collection of buffs.
This time, Qu Xiao didn’t bother being modest. She sat directly in the eighth-place seat. The golden chairs of Class A were right above her head. For some inexplicable reason, she felt a little defiant as she sat down, although even she couldn’t explain what she was upset about.
Once seated, she looked down at the sea of heads beneath her and let out a long breath of relief.
Performing early certainly came with considerable pressure, but it also spared her much of the psychological torment of waiting.
Of the six contestants who had performed before her, some had entered Class B and others Class C. Based on their hidden scores, all six ranked below her. They were now seated beneath her, comfortably preparing to enjoy the remaining performances while looking for opportunities to make comments that might be included in the final broadcast.
Qu Xiao settled into her seat as well, but her gaze didn’t fall on the center of the stage. Instead, it rested on the pink figure seated at the center of the judges’ table.
Wen Sixu had lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought.
Qu Xiao’s heart was filled with a mixture of fearful anxiety and bitter grievance.
She was terrified that Wen Sixu would use her influence to force her out of the competition and have her blacklisted, just as she’d done in the original novel.
But at the same time, she desperately wanted to stand before Wen Sixu, look seriously into those eyes, and ask:
“Mentor Wen, was your evaluation of me really free of personal grudges?”
A voice suddenly sounded in her mind, startling her.
“Host, based on your initial stage rating, your hidden mission reward is now being issued—ten points.”
“Ten points?” Qu Xiao thought for a moment. “How many points would I have gotten if I’d entered Class A?”
“Thirty points.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Thinking about the twenty points she’d lost over those few ranking positions, Qu Xiao felt a pang of heartache.
Although she didn’t know what the points could be exchanged for, judging by how stingy the system was, the more rewards she could collect, the better.
The system thought for three seconds before deciding to shift the blame.
“I did give you a hint. Mentor Wen prefers dancing. You’re the one who insisted on not dancing.”
Qu Xiao’s pupils contracted sharply. She wanted nothing more than to drag that little robot out and give it a beating.
“Did you tell me that the judge was Wen Sixu?! You didn’t even tell me that the person I marked was Wen Sixu!”
She was just about to say more when the host spoke from the stage.
“Next, please welcome independent trainee—Victoria!”
Qu Xiao hurriedly joined the people around her in applauding.
She clearly overheard the conversation between two trainees nearby.
“Victoria’s here. Just watch. She’s definitely going to Class A.”
“I think so too. Her only weaknesses are that she doesn’t have an agency and her fanbase is small. But she’s incredibly talented.”
Qu Xiao narrowed her eyes and focused intently on the center of the stage.
She remembered Victoria. In the original novel, Victoria was an angelic girl who, just as the two trainees beside her had said, possessed both beauty and talent.
At the judges’ table.
Upon hearing the host announce the next contestant, Wen Sixu didn’t immediately look toward the stage. Instead, she raised her head and gazed toward a particular seat on the pyramid.
Just one position higher, and that Alpha would have been sitting in the row of golden chairs.
How must she be feeling?
When Wen Sixu had given her rating, she hadn’t expected the scores to work out quite so precisely. After the judges’ hidden scores were averaged, Qu Xiao had ended up exactly one step away from Class A.
At first, Wen Sixu had found it satisfying.
But after seeing the unwillingness and disappointment on that face, a faint bitterness had risen in her heart.
It seemed she’d done something she shouldn’t have.
By the time she’d finally composed herself, and the contestant named Victoria was making her way onstage, Wen Sixu could no longer resist looking toward Qu Xiao’s seat.
What she saw was this—
The Alpha looked particularly attractive in today’s styling, like a little puppy with bright, sparkling eyes, watching the performance onstage with complete concentration.
Wen Sixu suddenly felt a little angry.
What a naughty puppy.
A lively, rhythmic melody began playing as Victoria walked to the center of the stage. Dressed in a black-and-red gauze dress, with blonde hair and blue eyes, she attracted everyone’s attention the moment she appeared.
Onstage, she displayed extraordinary talent in both singing and dancing. Even Qu Xiao couldn’t help feeling admiration as she watched.
Her own dancing, which she’d never received any formal training in, truly couldn’t compare to even a tenth of Victoria’s ability.
In the end, all five guest mentors unanimously awarded her an A.
Victoria lifted the hem of her dress and gave a playful curtsy before making her way step by step to the center seat at the very top of the pyramid.
Qu Xiao looked up as well. The seat was decorated with a floral wreath and lights, emphasizing its exceptional importance.
“Straight As! This center position is seriously unbeatable! Does anyone performing later even have a chance of replacing her?”
“Sigh. After watching Victoria’s performance, I guess I’ll have to practice for another three hours today.”
Qu Xiao wasn’t particularly surprised by the result.
She shifted into a more comfortable position and watched the remaining performances. She could match the faces of some trainees from major agencies to the names she’d read in the original novel, and she found herself genuinely looking forward to exploring this show more closely.
Then the host announced, “Please welcome the next group of trainees, Ye Lifei, He Yijie…”
Qu Xiao instinctively frowned.
In the original novel, the culprits who’d sent the original owner to the top floor to retrieve something, ultimately causing that tragedy, were none other than the small clique led by Ye Lifei.
If she remembered correctly, Ye Lifei was an S-rank Alpha backed by a major agency. Later, she hadn’t been affected by the incident in the slightest and had enjoyed smooth sailing throughout her career.
Qu Xiao turned her attention to the stage. The four-member group consisting of Ye Lifei, He Yijie, and the others had already appeared.
In Wen Sixu’s opinion, the four women’s performance could be summed up in a single phrase.
Utterly boring.
Her gaze briefly swept over the four contestants’ flashy but insubstantial résumés on the list. She had no desire to spare another glance at their dreadful fundamentals onstage.
Perhaps their only redeeming quality was the prestigious agency name written before their names.
With that thought, Wen Sixu looked away from the list and once again glanced toward the seat directly beneath Class A on the pyramid.
Qu Xiao was still watching the performance, and her expression could even be described as intensely focused.
Wen Sixu narrowed her eyes.
She’d heard that previous seasons of survival shows had attracted a certain kind of Alpha—one who participated in the competition not primarily to debut, but to make new acquaintances.
Could it be… that Qu Xiao was that kind of scummy Alpha?
Not only had she acted as though nothing had happened after marking Wen Sixu, but now she kept directing her attention toward other people.
Wen Sixu looked away, yet an indescribable bitterness welled up inside her.
The four people onstage continued singing and dancing until their performance finally came to an end.
Wen Sixu discreetly pushed her headset microphone a little farther away. Listening to that kind of sound for even another second would be torture.
“Hello, everyone! I’m the team leader, Ye Lifei.”
At the front of the group, Ye Lifei introduced herself with a radiant smile, waiting expectantly for the judges to shower her with praise.
Ren Yue: “This style doesn’t really suit you. I hope you can explore and discover your own unique style. My rating is C.”
Gu Weiyu: “As for this trainee, I believe you have a certain amount of potential. You simply need the right opportunity to bring it out. My rating is B.”
Wen Sixu raised her eyes. “I agree with Mentor Gu. For now, I’ll give you a C. Keep working hard.”
Yet Qu Xiao detected something different beneath those words.
So this was what Wen Sixu was like when she genuinely didn’t care about someone.
She couldn’t even be bothered to offer any meaningful insight, merely adding a perfunctory, formulaic remark.
As the evaluations continued, Wen Sixu gave two of the four contestants B ratings and the other two C ratings.
The four trainees from major agencies had walked onstage beaming with confidence, only to leave with their heads hanging in disappointment.
Qu Xiao suddenly felt that the script she’d been handed wasn’t entirely a cannon-fodder script after all. It was starting to resemble a rather satisfying face-slapping revenge story.
The four girls sat down on the lower rows of the pyramid, sighing dejectedly. Qu Xiao overheard two trainees beside her, who had yet to perform, whispering to each other.
“Don’t be fooled by the fact that they’ve ended up in Class C for now. That’s all for the benefit of the general public. After the first public performance, it’ll be the votes that matter. Their agencies can just buy votes for them, and they’ll be back in Class A.”
“True. Major agencies really are something else.”
“Shh. You mean they’re not to be messed with.”
Listening to their conversation, Qu Xiao pressed her fingertips into her palms.
They had a point.
From now on, she could only hope that Ye Lifei and the others wouldn’t target her the way they’d targeted the original owner.
And as for Wen Sixu, she hoped the woman wouldn’t pay any attention to her either.
After another three hours of sitting, all the initial stage performances finally came to an end.
Everyone had received their ratings, and after adjustments based on the hidden scores, the rankings within each class had shifted somewhat.
The people seated beside Qu Xiao changed one after another, but she remained in the same spot the entire time. Nobody ever told her to give up her seat.
It wasn’t until the host announced, “And those are everyone’s initial stage ratings and rankings,” that Qu Xiao looked down at the seats beneath her and confirmed a fact that was both delightful and heartbreaking.
She was ranked first in Class B.
Just one position higher, and she could have sat in one of the top three rows. She would also have received an additional twenty points from the system.
Twenty points!
Her heart ached.
“Next, everyone may leave after collecting your training uniforms. You’re free to go to the cafeteria for a meal or take a rest. If you need anything, please ask the staff for assistance. We’ll gather again at two this afternoon.”
Qu Xiao descended the pyramid with the crowd and received a blue-and-white short-sleeved shirt with a blue letter “B” printed across the chest.
This would be the uniform they wore during their regular activities and training on the show.
Holding the shirt, she looked around at the crowded hall filled with over a hundred people. She decided to take a longer route to find an empty dance practice room where she could change clothes before heading to the cafeteria for a meal.
She was walking forward with her head lowered when a voice suddenly called out to her.
“Qu Xiao.”
Qu Xiao stopped and turned around.
The woman standing before her was completely unfamiliar.
She was neither a trainee participating in the show nor a member of the production team dressed in staff attire.
The woman handed her a business card. “My name is Zhou Xuan. Here’s my card. Miss Wen would like to meet you at the usual place in one hour.”
Qu Xiao accepted the card, her pupils suddenly contracting.
On the front of the card were the words:
Zhou Xuan—Wen Sixu’s Manager.
And on the back was the room number of the hotel suite where she and Wen Sixu had first met.
When she raised her head again, Zhou Xuan had already disappeared.
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