Chapter 100
The large screen lit up, revealing the first group of trainees training in the practice room, wearing uniforms emblazoned with the Star 101 logo. Many of the trainees were wearing hats, and while Zhou Xiao was searching for Ji Shao, he suddenly spotted a very familiar hat.
The baseball cap was a gift from Zhou Xiao's first live performance, and was later given to Ji Shao by the fan club as a gift backstage at the meet-and-greet. The lavender cap was embroidered with chinaberry flowers, and the wearer was currently practicing his moves with his head bowed.
The camera quickly shifted to reveal the first group of eleven trainees in a small room, all seated obediently at a long, U-shaped table. When the camera panned to Ji Shao, wearing a hat and sitting on a stool, the crowd erupted in cheers and shouts of Ji Shao's name. His slender fingers folded on the table, his eyes, shadowed by the brim of his hat, beautiful yet naive, looked incredibly well-behaved, captivating his fans.
Everyone soon understood the purpose of this room: this was a team meeting to determine the selection of the group's center position. In front of the trainees was a large screen. The PD from the director's team spoke at the right moment, explaining the rules to the trainees in the room.
Each trainee competing for the C position will record the C position part with the help of their teammates. Of course, there is only one recording opportunity. Finally, the eleven members will vote individually and give their reasons to jointly select the C position of the "Chasing the Wind" group.
Zhou Xiao watched the trainees' Killing Part performance, his gaze completely riveted by Ji Shao, the backdrop. Even though he'd been the backdrop ten times, he'd been incredibly dedicated. The more he watched, the more he noticed some of the trainees' movements were strained to the point of distortion. But Ji Shao, alone, remained perfectly composed, maintaining his peak form throughout each dance move.
"Chasing the Wind" is a dance-oriented song. While it's about a young man chasing his dreams and features a relaxed and comfortable style, the movements must be extremely precise to look good. Furthermore, the dance moves are not simple, requiring repeated repetitions to maintain focus and support teammates during the video. This also leads to increased distortion and errors with each dance.
Finally, it was Ji Shao's turn to perform the assessment video. Amidst the enthusiastic cheers and applause, even though the team members were the same, the audience, without even a fanboy filter, could clearly see that this team was significantly more appealing. Furthermore, the added strength and flexibility of his dance made Ji Shao, already full of youthful energy, even more dazzling in this performance.
The eleven trainees' C-position segment concluded, and as everyone revealed their preferred C-position picks to the camera (with blurring), the screen suddenly went dark, and a line of text lit up: Who will be the C-position for the final stage, "Chasing the Wind"?
A cheerful melody played, and as the lights on the main stage flickered, the first group of trainees, dressed in baseball uniforms, slowly ascended from a lift. The background on the main stage's large screen quickly switched from scrolling song titles to a live-action baseball field.
Eleven teenagers stood in a V-shape on the stage. Standing at the front was Ji Shao, swinging his white baseball bat to the beat of the music. Meanwhile, the screen behind him showed the whistling sound of a baseball being hit.
When they saw Ji Shao in front of the crowd, Zhou Xiao, her friends, and the audience all became excited. They could finally see Ji Shao as the center of the stage on the Star Path 101 stage again!
The youthful, upbeat melody was repetitive and easily addictive. The young men, dressed in colorful baseball uniforms, radiated their charm on stage. As the centerpiece of "Chasing the Wind," Ji Shao perfectly embodied the center position advantage mentor Jiang Zhijuan had described, leading the entire group to shine.
With fluffy lavender hair and a matching headband, and a purple baseball jacket underneath, Ji Shao appeared on the big screen, and the audience cheered loudly!
The trainees who made it to the top 22 have undoubtedly proven their strength and excellence. Even Zheng Shulin, who previously had a weak foundation, gave a remarkable performance on this stage. "Chasing the Wind," a song full of youthful energy, ignited the audience's passion, not to mention the surprise interactive session that followed!
"Come here!" "Ji Shao!" "Ahhhh!" The audience was stunned when they saw the trainees on the main stage running towards the extension stage during the long melody. Everyone reached out to shake hands with the trainees running towards the extension stage, and many people were lucky enough to touch hands with Ji Dan, and they screamed non-stop.
Zhou Xiao's camera chased Ji Shao as he ran toward her. The atmosphere of the stage and Ji Shao's hair flying in the air as he ran, the young man's strong hormones were fully released in the clamor of the crowd. At this moment, she suddenly empathized with the title of the song, which really made her feel like she was chasing the wind!
The boy ran from the direction of the main stage and soon ran to the crown-shaped extension stage. The audience along the way raised their hands crazily, looking forward to interacting with the trainees.
Ji Shao, the leader, seemed to have found his target. He ran straight ahead and then squatted down. Before he reached out his hand, Zhou Xiao heard his voice, "Sister, can you lend me your camera?"
Zhou Xiao's mind went blank for a moment, and all she could hear was the screams of her friends. She nodded subconsciously, and the next second, Ji Shao snatched the camera from her hand.
On the large screen inside the studio, 11 teenagers randomly selected cameras and cell phones from lucky audience members. They quickly returned to the main stage, holding their electronic devices, to continue their performance.
Zhou Xiao was still dazed after losing her camera. Zhu Jian and the others beside her were already grabbing her arms and screaming frantically. "Ahhhh! It's gone!" Zhu Jian looked at Zhou Xiao excitedly. Having your camera taken away by someone else was an extremely rare experience, like winning the lottery!
The trainees holding electronic devices on stage were not affected at all, and their coolness made the audience swoon. They danced with ease, using their electronic devices as stage props.
By now, Zhou Xiao, now fully conscious, was certain they'd practiced countless times privately for this impressive performance, often even away from the production crew. After all, live performances like this were prone to errors. Zhou Xiao suddenly remembered the way he'd spotted them bending over as they entered the dark. If he was right, the trainees must have lowered their hand mics upon entering the stage.
The performance of "Chasing the Wind" came to an end amid the warm cheers of the audience. In the final ending, Ji Shao in the middle of the stage held the camera and took a picture facing the lens on the jib.
When the stage ended and the trainees were about to leave to prepare for their solo performances, Ji Shao suddenly half-knelt on the ground with his back to the audience, holding the camera high in his hand to record himself and the audience below.
The audience in the audience had already lost count of how many times they had been excited during the song, but when they saw Ji Shao holding a camera and asking to take a photo with them, many of them were already excited, standing on tiptoe and craning their necks in the hope that they could be recorded by Ji Shao.
This stage interaction was quite unexpected. Zhou Quanli waited until the audience had calmed down after the trainees left the stage before returning. After watching the trainees disappear behind the scenes, she turned around and said to the audience with a smile, "Our trainees are really brave~"
The combination of live broadcast, stage debut, and audience interaction is highly likely to lead to various consequences if one is not resolute. However, the trainees' outstanding performances have helped the instructors, who were initially somewhat dissatisfied with their last-minute changes, regain their composure. A more attentive eye can even detect a hint of relief and satisfaction on their faces.
"The first group of trainees from Star Path 101 have finished their stage performance..." Zhou Quanli on the stage began to cue the process, while the trainees who had taken away the electronic devices from the audience were now crouching down and returning them one by one.
There was no other way, they had to return the electronic devices they stole, because even the staff couldn't recognize where they stole them from. So when they just got off the stage, they were sent by the staff to return the electronic devices of the audience.
Only a single spotlight, following Zhou Quanli, remained on the stage. Zhou Xiao, seated in the audience, faintly sensed someone moving around. Initially, she thought it was the staff setting up the scene, but as the footsteps drew closer, she realized it was none other than the hunched Ji Shao.
When Ji Shao noticed that the audience in front of the stage were very excited because they had discovered him, he put his finger to his mouth to remind everyone not to make any sound, so as not to disturb Zhou Quanli who was on the stage announcing the names of the four trainees who were going to reserve their seats for the second time.
The audience wasn't completely blind; the large electronic equipment at the waist of the stage installation emitted its own light. In the hazy darkness, Ji Shao, from his previously carefully chosen position, accurately spotted his fangirl among the audience. He half-knelt down, handed her his camera, and said, "Thank you for the camera, sister. Enjoy the show tonight!"
After seeing Zhou Xiao take it, Ji Shao shook hands with several hands that were particularly stretched out towards him, and whispered, "Everyone, enjoy the stage tonight. I'm leaving first!" After that, he crouched down and gathered with his team members and returned to the backstage in the dark.
Taking the camera back from Ji Shao, Zhou Xiao saw it was still recording and clicked "end." Resisting the urge to immediately open it and review it, Zhou Xiao, after recovering his composure, actually pondered the list announced by Zhou Quanli at the premiere...
The second round of vote-recruitment list no longer includes the trainees from the previous round. I don't know if this is because the vote-recruitment has worked, or if the four trainees from the first round were pushed to the bottom.
…
As the second group's VCR finished playing, the trainees soon came on stage. This group's song was mainly vocal - "Flying"
Having already been tested by the previous group, this group, perhaps due to excessive nervousness or something else, Liang Wendao, known as the vocal master of Star 101, broke his voice during the climax. The audience was initially quiet, but then a buzz of discussion erupted.
From where Zhou Xiao was, he could clearly see that Jiang Zhijuan, the instructor, was looking rather unhappy, while the other instructors looked towards the stage with a worried look on their faces. Liang Wendao, the center of the group, hadn't held up at a crucial moment, a mistake that quickly affected the other trainees in the group.
During the closing scene, Zhou Xiao clearly saw Liang Wendao's regret. The sight of him closing his eyes on stage became a powerful ticket-buying tool. While this vocal breakdown was frequently mentioned in subsequent "Chinese Entertainment Crash Scene Review," it was precisely this display of vulnerability that prompted many fans to make significant purchases at a crucial moment.
Zhou Quanli returned to the stage with a somewhat regretful look on her face and began her third slot announcement. While she was doing so, netizens watching the live broadcast were also engaging in real-time discussions on various platforms.
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