The piece “Look At Me Now” was scheduled to be performed in the last round, meaning Ji Zeyu’s group would be the last to go onstage.
Lu Nanyun was to perform in the first round due to the team’s scheduling.
When the members of this group appeared on the live broadcast’s screen, even Ji Zeyu showed a stunned expression. He had seen many performing artists, but very few in the entertainment circle could look as handsome as Lu Nanyun.
Lu Nanyun, in the center position, caused deafening screams to break out from the audience when he took the stage.
He wore black clothes today and combed his hair backward, revealing his good-looking forehead and sharp brows. By merely raising the corners of his lips slightly, he could make several girls’ hearts skip a beat.
“Oh, God. He is too handsome!”
“He’s way too alpha, he’s way too alpha. I’m going to die…”
“Nan ge! Nan ge! Look at me just once! Ah! Ah ah ah!”
The song Lu Nanyun’s group chose was very rhythmic to dance to. All the members in their group were tall, and each of them had strong, yet not exaggerated muscles. Their choreography was full of masculinity.
Gu Weicheng, one of Lu Nanyun’s roommates, was in this group as well. He was a man who could not appear more masculine, with a strong and tall stature and cool, handsome looks. His body’s strength was displayed fully as he danced.
But even so, as long as Lu Nanyun was onstage, nobody could take their eyes off of him. It was as if he was born to be the king of the stage.
After the performance ended, cheers and applause lasted for a long time. The judges gave very high opinions in their evaluations—Lu Nanyun’s center was well deserved. The audience could not wait to vote for Lu Nanyun.
Not long after, the other group went onstage and performed as well. They had, obviously, spent much time preparing, but their dancing seemed inferior compared to Lu Nanyun’s group.
After the two sets of performances ended, the audience had two opportunities to vote: one for their favorite group and one for their favorite dancer. The rule was very fair–as long as one performed well, they could still be a King even if their team lost.
Without surprise, Lu Nanyun’s group won. The top three contestants with the most votes were all in their group.
And Lu Nanyun himself obtained 1,426 votes, which astonished everyone—there were only 2,000 people in the audience.
As soon as this number was revealed, all the dancers backstage instantly let out exclamations of surprise.
“Oh, crap. He’s too popular! He’s the first one onstage, and his number of votes reached four digits!”
“The people going after him shouldn’t even compete anymore. We should all just take a shower and go to bed…”
Ji Zeyu stared at the screen. Lu Nanyun walked to the tallest chair with a golden frame, bowed toward the audience, and sat down in a composed manner.
Ji Zeyu suddenly felt stressed.
This number of votes… truly was intimidating. Almost no votes went to the other contestants.
“Are you nervous?” Qi Aodong took the initiative to sit beside him today. Seeing that Ji Zeyu’s brows furrowed, he could not help but ask, “What are you thinking of?”
Ji Zeyu pursed his lips, then raised the corners of his lips and said, “I’m not nervous.”
As the captain and center dancer, he must assure everyone.
One had to admit that the contestants in this season of Shining Future were all very capable. The subsequent groups’ performances were remarkable as well, and people placing in second and third place were all nervously shifting. Only Lu Nanyun sat motionless.
When Wei Yichen appeared onstage with his teammates, the crowd roared. All the contestants widened their eyes, waiting to see if his number of votes would surpass Lu Nanyun’s.
To be fair, there was no huge gap between Wei Yichen and Lu Nanyun, as they tied for first place on the popularity leaderboard. In terms of skill, they were on par with each other; both of them could compete for the final center position.
Some audience members said that the highlight of this show was the duo; nobody else could affect their rankings.
Wei Yichen’s group chose a light-hearted pop song as their competing piece. Their costumes and choreography were both very fashionable and handsome.
In private, Wei Yichen was quiet; however, when he performed, even Ji Zeyu’s eyes could not help but focus on him. He had to admit that compared to Lu Nanyun’s sharpness, Wei Yichen seemed gentler and more restrained, but he still had the necessary stage charm. The tear mole at the corner of his eye shone brightly.
Wei Yichen won without surprise as well, with a shocking 1,407 votes. However, he still could not surpass Lu Nanyun and sat only on the silver-framed chair.
“Wow, not even Wei Yichen could surpass Lu Nanyun?”
“This is like watching Gods battle each other. That number of votes is so scary…”
At this time, someone said, “But since not even Wei Yichen could beat Lu Nanyun, nobody else should be able to surpass him, right?”
The room backstage became silent for a few seconds. An expression of affirmation surfaced on everyone’s complexion.
“I think so, too.”
“Who else has this level of skill?”
“This is so scary. Mom, I want to go home.”
Bai Shengjie suddenly got closer to Ji Zeyu and whispered in his ear, “Captain, I think you are capable. You can challenge them. Make sure to perform well.”
The rest of the team members looked towards Ji Zeyu. After training with him for the past three days, nobody knew Ji Zeyu’s current skills as well as they did. In their view, they believed Ji Zeyu did indeed possess the skills to surpass the winners.
Tang Zhen’s team sat next to Ji Zeyu and his team. Someone overheard Bai Shengjie’s words and could not help but chuckle. However, due to the presence of cameras, he did not make it too obvious.
The same person said Bai Shengjie’s words in a low voice, and Tang Zhen could not help but laugh, too.
“Bai Shengjie must be mocking Ji Zeyu,” Tang Zhen said with certainty, “It sounds like he is speaking ironically.”
Everyone else around them started laughing as well, and a blatantly condescending look flashed through their eyes.
The public performance lasted for a very long time.
Ji Zicheng almost fell asleep as he waited offstage. His brother still had not gone onstage yet, so he sighed and told Ji Mingyun, who sat beside him, “Is this how it feels to be a celebrity’s stan? It’s too tiring,” He was a lazy man, and after such a torment, he almost wanted to die.
“Deal with it,” Ji Mingyun, by contrast, seemed very composed. When she was younger, she had been a celebrity stan. This torment was not much for her.
Suddenly, Ji Mingyun asked thoughtfully, “How much do you think that golden-framed chair costs?”
“It looks quite cheap,” Ji Zicheng glanced at it and replied, “My assistant’s chair should be more expensive than that.”
“If that’s the case…” Ji Mingyun furrowed her brows and contemplated for a moment, “Then let’s buy Yu Bao one. We can present it to him after this ends to make him happier.”
Ji Zicheng, however, showed a disapproving expression. He said: “Why are we buying it? Can’t he, Xiao Yu, sit on it by winning?”
TL’s Note: “Yu Bao” and “Xiao Yu” are affectionate nicknames.
After a moment, he asked another question, “By the way, what does it take to win it?” He obviously did not even understand the rules.
“There are 101 contestants. You must place the top three to sit in one of those chairs,” Ji Mingyun answered calmly.
“Oh, then let’s buy it,” Ji Zicheng took out his phone, “I’ll let my assistant know to buy a diamond-framed one.”
Ji Zeyu’s club president, Jiang Li, sat behind the duo, her expression confused and perplexed.
Was she listening to a conversation between two ordinary people?
Before Ji Zicheng could send a message to his assistant, the third climax of tonight’s performance hit. The entire stadium, once again, erupted in fervorous screams of anticipation.
Translated by: Sydney
Edited by: Alex
Vandez Translations 