12 Jinjiang Literature City 12
Just past ten at night, all the trainee evaluations finally concluded.
A17, B23, C30, F24, with six eliminated.
Not many were cut after the debut stage, as there was no fixed elimination quota; the mentors tried their best to keep anyone who showed even a slight advantage. However, from the theme song performance onward, half the trainees would be eliminated each time.
“The initial rankings are complete. Remember, these do not determine your future ratings,” Xin Yue explained. “For the next forty-eight hours, you will need to practice the theme song ‘Look at Me’ from ‘Time to Shine.’”
The trainees whispered among themselves. In the first season, they had three days, but this time only forty-eight hours were given. For newcomers with no foundation, learning both song and dance while memorizing the lyrics was quite a challenge.
“Forty-eight hours later, you will shoot your personal theme song MVs, undergo a second evaluation, and participate in an online popularity vote. The top five will earn the center position in the performance. Please watch the tutorial video on the big screen.”
The screen started playing the song and dance instructions.
The tutorial featured a nine-person formation arranged in a pyramid shape. The dance was dense with beats, unfriendly to beginners. The melody was rather high-pitched, making it difficult to maintain steady breath while singing and dancing simultaneously, with the risk of going off-key.
When the song ended, You Yun donned a mask of agony.
“I think you’re just making it hard for me, Fat Tiger. Performing a spiral ascent in place would be easier than singing and dancing this.”
Class A trainees were eager and confident, but most wore the same expressions as You Yun.
“Oh my god, I can’t rap at all. The lyrics are so complicated I can’t even hear them clearly.”
“My vocal range is low. I can’t hit the high notes in the climax.”
“The dance isn’t simple either. That final pose—is that even humanly possible?”
Rehearsals for the debut stage stretched into the late night. Everyone looked utterly exhausted, Xin Yue included. She no longer had the patience to soothe anxious trainees and simply called out the next steps expressionlessly: “You may now choose your dormitories. The first floor is the common area, including the living room, pantry, and kitchen. The second and third floors house the dance studios and piano rooms. Floors four through seven are dormitories, divided into single, double, and quadruple rooms. Selection proceeds in the order of A, B, C, F—first come, first served. Remember to stick your name tag onto your bed.”
“Gather in your respective classrooms at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. Alright, start settling in.”
You Yun, carrying her stored suitcase, headed inside. Judging by room locations, her first choice was the seventh floor—partly because it was the top floor with only four dorm rooms: two quads and two doubles, relatively quiet. Another reason was the rooftop terrace above the seventh floor, which had no cameras, perfect for sneaking off.
All the double rooms had already been taken by earlier groups, with only one bed left in the quad 707.
Her roommate was a petite girl named Qi Yue, dressed in Lolita style, with sharp fox-like eyes and a pointed chin. Upon entering, she smiled warmly at You Yun. “Hi, I’m Qi Yue.”
Qi Yue was widely acknowledged as a hexagonal warrior—strong in vocals and solid in dance skills. She had dominated key moments on the debut stage, with hardly any weaknesses. You Yun hadn’t expected her roommate to be such a powerhouse.
“Hello, I’m…” To avoid misunderstanding, You Yun changed her wording. “My name is Nima.”
“That’s a unique name! I’ve heard that in Tibetan, Nima means ‘sun.’ Are you Tibetan?”
“No, I just made it up.”
“Oh, that’s cute.”
Soon, two more girls entered: child star Su Qianqian, the nation’s sweetheart, and Xin Yi, the anime-loving member of the SK408 girl group.
After putting down their luggage, the girls quickly struck up a conversation, beginning with introductions and then chatting about the show.
Xin Yi asked, “Are you all heading to the training room soon?”
“Of course, only forty-eight hours! But I don’t even know how to learn the dance yet,” Su Qianqian said, glancing at Qi Yue hanging clothes in the wardrobe. “Yue Yue, are you coming?”
Qi Yue caught her meaning and smiled. “Sure, I’ll help you guys learn the dance.”
“Really? That’s awesome! Yue Yue, you’re my hero!”
“Let’s grab two cans of Red Bull for an all-nighter!”
“Great.”
You Yun: “…”
You all are even tougher than 996 corporate slaves—successfully evolving beyond sleep entirely.
You Yun felt she couldn’t keep up. If she didn’t sleep well, she’d become irritable.
She hadn’t joined this rat race squad but instead sat on the floor leisurely unpacking her suitcase, laying out her clothes, makeup kit, and daily essentials. Finally, she took out a can of cola, popped it open, and took a sip. Suddenly recalling something, she added two packets of goji berries and chrysanthemum flowers into the can.
Cyber wellness, essentially self-deception.
But before You Yun could drink much of her health-boosting cola, it was snatched away. “Confiscated!”
You Yun: ?
It was the dorm inspector dragging a huge sack filled with snacks, game consoles, and comic books collected from everywhere. Entering sternly, he said, “Be disciplined. Phones must be handed in during filming. Don’t hide them—I know where you all stash them.”
You Yun thought, this is bad. Her phone was like an external organ. Handing it over felt like losing a kidney. Besides, she needed it to update her fan site.
Xin Yi hadn’t even reacted before her phone on the table was taken. She gasped, “Can I at least call my family first?”
The inspector was merciless: “You may use the public phone.”
Su Qianqian, a devoted fan of Lin Shen, clutched her phone, making a last stand: “My head can be cut off, blood can flow, but I can’t stop voting for my brother. If I don’t vote for three days, I’ll be expelled from the fandom. What if I don’t debut and lose my fan status? I’ll lose both wife and army! Can’t you make an exception?”
The inspector was unmoved. “No exceptions. Must hand it in.”
Su Qianqian: Q^Q
Seeing the situation was grim, You Yun tried to slip away but was blocked at the door by the inspector.
“Where are you going?”
You Yun bent over, feigning pain: “I’m… going to take care of something.”
Inspector: “What?”
Seizing his moment of confusion, You Yun quickly slipped under his arm and left a parting word: “Number two.”
Inspector: “…”
The bathroom?
Twenty minutes later, she returned clutching her stomach and was immediately caught by the unyielding inspector.
“Finished your business?”
“Yeah… I guess.”
“Alright, hand over your phone.”
You Yun glanced at the girls behind her, all with solemn, resigned faces—clearly stripped bare.
Resigned, she reluctantly handed over her phone.
The inspector finally left satisfied.
No sooner had he gone than You Yun returned to the bathroom and pulled out her backup phone from a waterproof pouch in the tank.
Ha! Hiding phones was a skill she’d mastered back in senior year of high school.
She had no intention to compete fiercely; only by coasting could she barely survive.
She had already thought it through: she was currently C rank. If she performed poorly in this theme song test, she would naturally fall to F, and with some bad luck, be eliminated directly.
A bright future awaited.
Heh!
Freedom!
_
Zhao Zhiyu came home late at night after finishing work, took a shower, towel wrapped around his head, and messaged Ji Sui.
As he headed to the bedroom, a notification popped up on his phone:
[Your followed author “YuzuMiao” has updated with a new chapter, come catch up!]
Zhao Zhiyu paused slightly, then clicked in.
Wow, she actually updated with ten thousand words!
If he remembered correctly, the show confiscated electronic devices, so how did she manage to post a daily update of ten thousand words without a phone or computer and not get caught by the inspectors?
[Leir emerged from the sea, his handsome face exposed to the air, long silver hair clinging to his cheek. Bare-chested, his inverted triangle physique revealed perfect abs and a fish tail half-submerged, the tail fin slowly parting the water, shimmering brilliantly under the moonlight.
He Jiao Jiao was surprised. Accidentally dragged underwater by him, her body pressed against the floating water surface, her feet dangling in the abyss below. Unknown fear made her instinctively clutch his neck.
His broad torso was smooth and elastic, but his body temperature was much lower than a human’s. Underwater, the fish tail slowly wound around her legs, intimately brushing against her.
He Jiao Jiao sensed the fish’s displeasure. Could it be angry because she hadn’t visited for days?
She smiled and gently stroked his ear, clearly feeling the small foolish fish’s body tremble. His ears were sensitive; touching them made him obedient and compliant—always worked.
She leaned close to his ear, exhaled slowly, and ran her fingers down his tail, peeling back the hard scales to touch him. The pheromone-induced heat spread across the sea surface, and the two fell into a dreamlike trance.
He Jiao Jiao: “Will you give me a little fish, please?”
Leir blushed and lowered his head to say “Mm.”]
Within minutes, the comment section exploded.
36D Save Me: [Ahhh, they’re going to have a little fish! So exciting! By the way, is Leir viviparous or oviparous? He can’t be laying eggs, right? /cry-laugh]
Lin Pinru Your Dad: [Can they still do it during pregnancy? If not, Jiao Jiao would be doomed to loneliness!]
Fahai’s Woman: [No worries, he still has a mouth.]
Chinese People Are Great: [Who threw their pants around? I just tripped! /fall]
Ex-Boyfriend Three Seconds: [When will Jiao Jiao sell the little fish?]
Crazy People Arriving, Step Aside: [Want to see Leir abandoned during pregnancy, crying while raising the kid and searching for his wife—just thinking about it is thrilling, slurp slurp~]
Helping Granny Cross Red Lights: [I think I’m pheromone-affected too~ Someone give me an omega, clingy and able to have kids, truly a treasure ahhh!]
What are pheromones?
After looking it up on Baidu, Zhao Zhiyu fell into deep thought.
Pheromones are external hormones secreted by omegas during heat, primarily for reproduction.
These days, he kept broadening his knowledge thanks to her.
Zhao Zhiyu opened the chat box.
After much thought, he sent a message.
“Dare to touch my woman?”: [Sharing the book ‘Human Anatomy Illustrated’ with you.]
You Yun stared at the WeChat reading share he sent and pondered.
What’s going on?
The top fan brother thinks she reads too little?
YuzuMiao: [Stop it, why are you inviting me to look at naked men? /shy /shy]
“Dare to touch my woman?”: [Let me give you some science.]
YuzuMiao: [Science about what?]
“Dare to touch my woman?”: [Human organs each have their functions, to accomplish breathing, digestion, excretion, reproduction, and circulation.]
YuzuMiao: [So?]
“Dare to touch my woman?”: [Some places are off-limits.]
You Yun: “…”