Chapter Forty-Eight: To Choose or Not
Once the discussion began, the teams either stayed in their seats on the tiers or found an open space in the studio to sit in a circle and start discussing.
To avoid being overheard by other teams, they all lowered their voices and cast appraising glances at the seven people who had been chosen.
The program's photographers all came out to take pictures of each team.
The members of Fancy sat there with their heads down, and a few of them occasionally stole glances at the discussions among the teams inside the arena.
Zhong Chu remained motionless, a hint of resentment flashing in his eyes. He looked at his teammates and asked, "What's the difference between being split up like this and being eliminated?"
"Do we really have to hope to debut alongside teams from other companies?"
Fancy's lead dancer, Fan Na, retorted impatiently, "What can we do? Just give up and withdraw?"
"Why not?" he said eagerly. "Didn't we agree to debut together? Wouldn't it be better to quit together now, go back to the company to continue improving our skills, and strive for our debut? Besides, the company didn't have high expectations for our participation in this program. Before we came, they said that the result of this program wouldn't affect our plans..."
"Don't be naive," Fancy's captain, Qi Huaiyan, interrupted him. "At least staying here gives us exposure. You think it's noble to quit when we haven't been eliminated? No, it's stupid."
Qi Huaiyan was in a bad mood. Seeing Zhong Chu's still stubborn gaze, he said irritably, "Look at everyone, who wants to quit? If you want to leave, then you can leave yourself!"
Zhong Chu scanned everyone's expressions, his heart felt as if it had been struck a heavy blow. No one supported him; their eyes were full of incomprehension.
The disbanding of their team seemed insignificant to them; their eyes frequently swept over the S-level team and several A-level teams, their gazes filled with eager anticipation.
Only then did he realize that his team was really about to fall apart.
Meng Fanxi propped his head up, looking down at Zhong Chu's back, which seemed to have suffered a lot of blows.
"You want to add him?" Gu Huailang's voice came from the side, his tone unreadable.
The others followed the gaze, and Lin Ruohe, understanding, said, "Fanxi seems to be paying special attention to him."
Xu You tilted his head and asked casually, "Do you know them?"
Meng Fanxi shook his head and looked away. "It just feels a little familiar." He changed the subject. "Let's discuss it."
The A-level teams below them went down to an open area to discuss the matter. A large section of the tiered seating was empty, so they didn't move and remained at the top.
While the other teams were already discussing it enthusiastically, Meng Fanxi looked at his teammates, who seemed uninterested in the matter.
We chatted about random things, like what to eat later and whether we should choose a dormitory.
After Meng Fanxi suggested discussing it, Gu Huailang and Ren Yuchen moved their seats to sit together.
The photographer and the director Ying Zhuo, who was following closely behind, quickly stepped closer and carefully recorded their discussion.
Zhang Yang's gaze swept over the trainees without any ripples. "The six of us are enough."
So blunt? Meng Fanxi coughed, his eyes trembling slightly as he gestured for the camera to be aware.
The others seemed not to have received his signal at all, and one by one they reached a consensus.
Xu You leaned back boredly, not wanting to waste his breath on a topic he wasn't interested in. "Don't add anyone."
Gu Huailang replied simply and coldly: "No."
Meng Fanxi and Lin Ruohe exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.
We don't have to add people, but it would be troublesome if such a cold discussion were maliciously edited.
Lin Ruo frowned slightly, displaying the authority of a team leader, "Let's consider the feasibility first. If someone isn't selected, they will be eliminated."
Seeing the captain's displeasure, everyone more or less straightened their posture.
Ren Yuchen, who had been silent until now, spoke up: "The rules are too uncertain now. If we add someone, we have to be responsible for them. But it's not easy for us to keep our team. I don't think we have the capacity to add any more people."
Ying Zhuo felt like he had heard some strange tale. The team ranked first in the show said that it was not easy to keep the team?
Meng Fanxi's heart sank instantly. Yes, they had to be number one, and all six of them had to be intact. If more people were added now, who knew what would happen next?
Ren Yuchen also said, "The production team said that all the rules they set were agreed upon by the various companies, so if Will has indicated his agreement to rules such as splitting up groups and adding people..."
Before he could finish speaking, everyone understood that Will still wanted to separate them, in whatever way.
Ying Zhuo looked at Lin Ruohe and felt that he seemed to have thought of something, as if he had torn off his gentle disguise and turned into a distant tone: "We must unite against external forces and not add anyone."
Meng Fanxi caught another glimpse of the lonely, forlorn figure sitting below the stage, his expression unreadable.
"We filled out a lot of information on the team registration form before the initial stage performance. The program's rules might be based on questions from that form, so everyone should think about it carefully." Ren Yuchen mainly looked at Meng Fanxi, who was still somewhat hesitant.
Meng Fanxi recalled carefully, and a certain hint from Ren Yuchen suddenly flashed through his mind. He closed his eyes and said, "I understand."
Ying Zhuo couldn't understand the wordplay the six of them were playing, but he was also somewhat alarmed by their guesses about the team registration form.
On the other side of the stage, several people from WONE sat together and discussed quietly.
Jin Ziran specifically found a good angle for the camera to capture the shot, naturally posed, and looked gently at her teammates, "What are your thoughts, everyone?"
WONE's captain is Zhong Lifu. Baihe Company made him captain because he was the oldest, but his leadership qualities are far from those of a captain. The team is now gradually becoming centered around Jin Ziran.
Even though Jin Ziran had only joined a few months ago, Han Jia glanced at Jin Ziran and then looked at Meng Fanxi, who was surrounded by new teammates at the top of the stairs, and felt extremely complicated.
Zhang Ruizheng looked at the disbanded Fancy team members and weighed the options: "I feel like they can't help us much. We'll need to work on their teamwork after they join. Their skills are just so-so."
Upon hearing this, Jin Ziran's eyes darkened slightly, inwardly thinking, "Fool!" But outwardly, she looked at the others with a gentle expression: "And you?"
Han Jia didn't want to be singled out, so she simply said, "Anything is fine."
The others didn't have much of an opinion and said it was fine, but Zhong Lifu, as the team leader, tried to show some leadership: "Then let's not add any more. Rui Zheng is right. Adding more people might not be beneficial to us." After saying that, he subconsciously looked at Jin Ziran.
Jin Ziran didn't care about any benefits; it was just about adding another person. He pretended to be conflicted and thought about it for a while, then said with a reluctant expression, "If we don't choose, what if someone gets eliminated? One more person means one more source of strength. We should see their strengths instead of selfishly considering other factors."
He has thoroughly studied competitive variety shows; those who make it to the end are not necessarily the strongest, but rather the most popular with the audience.
He couldn't miss out on something that could increase audience goodwill. "We need to have confidence in ourselves, and also in the people who are joining us."
The WONE members didn't have much of an opinion to begin with, and Zhang Ruizheng and Zhong Lifu were easily persuaded. They started discussing who to add: "It seems like there's no limit to how many we can add, but adding two is a bit too many, making it a nine-member group."
Jin Ziran widened her eyes slightly, her expression showing a hint of helplessness. "Then..." she added with a touch of distress, "Let's add one more, but unfortunately we have too many of our own people. I hope they can understand."
"Who should I add?" Zhongli Fu asked.
"Him, what do you think?" Jin Ziran naturally pointed to someone who seemed easy to control.
Zhong Chu turned around as if sensing something, but saw nothing. He felt as if he had become a piece of merchandise on a shelf, being pointed at and talked about by others. He sighed and lowered his head.
When the 20 minutes were up, the five mentors took to the stage, and the teams of each level returned to their seats on the tiered platform.
The members of Fancy sat in the audience, somewhat lacking confidence, and all took a deep breath.
Yun Mengtao said, "Before the official selection begins, the trainees waiting in the audience can recommend themselves to their favorite teams. If they want to recommend someone, they can simply raise their hands."
As soon as he finished speaking, Fancy's captain, Qi Huaiyan, immediately raised his hand. Except for Zhong Chu, the other five members reacted a beat slower but also raised their hands, their faces showing regret for being too slow.
"Alright, let's have Qi Huaiyan nominate himself first. He can face them directly." Yun Mengtao guided Qi Huaiyan to the tiered seating.
Each team seemed to be sitting on a high mountain. Qi Huaiyan approached with trepidation. Looking up at Meng Fanxi at the very top, he stood up first, and then the others followed suit, as if sensing something. He held a glimmer of hope in his heart.
Meng Fanxi stood looking at Qi Huaiyan below the stage. He didn't know what Qi Huaiyan was thinking, but he felt that standing up showed more respect.
Although the show has different levels, everyone is a trainee from a different company, so mutual respect is still necessary.
Qi Huaiyan held the microphone in both hands, looking straight up to the top: "I am Qi Huaiyan, a trainee from Beilin Music. My position in the company is that of an all-around trainee. I am the class monitor of our class and the captain of Fancy. I, I," when he met Xu You's indifferent gaze, he suddenly became somewhat incoherent, "I am very hardworking and never complain. I hope to join you, learn from you, and grow and improve together. I will help you unconditionally. I want to create a unique stage with you."
"Please accept me, the eternal six stars of the Weir Corporation!" He shouted the last sentence at a very loud volume, as if he wanted to shout out all the courage in his chest.
The studio was silent, and everyone's eyes were on the six people at the very top.
The mentors' eyes were also filled with curiosity.
The six people under the spotlight had indifferent expressions. Lin Ruo glanced at Fancy and the others, who were also looking at them with the same eagerness. Their preferred group was obvious. He sighed silently.
Lin Ruohe picked up the microphone, spoke clearly and steadily.
"Sorry, we are not planning to add any more people. We hope you can find a suitable team."
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