Chapter 45: Proposition—My Youth, Unyielding to Time

In the song selection hall, Shen Xiyin took out her cue card, glanced at the trainees below, and giggled, "Do you want to know today's grouping rules?"

"Xiyin, hurry up and tell us," the trainees below couldn't contain themselves, urging her on.

Shen Xiyin waved the cue card in her hand and said, "Since everyone is so eager to know the grouping rules, let's first look at today's song selection rules."

"What is this!" A chorus of frustrated cries erupted from the trainees.

This was exactly the effect Shen Xiyin wanted. She suppressed her laughter and said, "The third performance is, once again, a themed show."

"A theme again!"

The trainees began to clamor.

Shen Xiyin cleared her throat and said, "But this time, it's different from last time. This show's stage will have all groups share the same theme: 'My youth, living up to the prime years.'"

"My youth, living up to the prime years."

Upon hearing the theme, the trainees started whispering among themselves, discussing it.

Shen Xiyin stepped aside to let the big screen take center stage. "Let's look at the screen first."

The screen lit up and started playing a video.

The first song was an upbeat track, an electronic dance number with a powerful melody.

The video featured not only the song but also the choreography.

All the trainees quietly discussed which song suited them and which choreography would be harder to master.

Soon, the screen finished showing the dances for four songs.

There were two uptempo songs and two slower ones.

A trainee raised their hand to ask, "Only four songs? That means each team will have at least ten people."

Shen Xiyin shook her finger and clarified, "No, there are six songs. The other two are customizable."

"Customizable? Don't tell me it's original again?"

Many trainees caught on and instinctively looked toward Fang Xing.

So far, every song Fang Xing had been responsible for was a brand new one.

But this time, it was two customizable tracks.

That meant even if Fang Xing wanted to choose a customizable song, another team would have to do the same.

A trainee asked, "Does customizable mean it has to be a new song?"

Shen Xiyin explained, "Customizable can be a new song, or a rearranged version, but there must be something new presented."

Most trainees, upon hearing this requirement, quickly shied away from the "customizable" group.

"Let's start picking songs," a trainee urged.

Shen Xiyin looked down at her cue card and continued, "Don't rush. This time, the competition format is upgraded—it's even fiercer. Each team must prepare not just one song, but two."

This announcement made many people nervous.

"What does that mean?"

"For the next performance, there's still a PK segment, but the rules are upgraded to include a duet rule," Shen Xiyin read from her cue card.

"Duet? Is it with the mentor?" a trainee immediately asked.

In many music reality shows, the finals or semifinals often have mentors join for the duet round.

Shen Xiyin waved her hand. "No, it's not the mentors. It's the team captains."

"In the PK segment, each team must send out one member. The captain can join the chosen member in singing the PK song together."

"The losing member of the PK segment will have to leave the stage of 'Tomorrow's Star.'"

The production team had indeed changed the rules.

With this change, as long as the captain was strong enough, they could carry their teammate into the finals.

This rule seemed different, yet also unchanged.

Fang Xing glanced toward the director's area. Chief director Tong Fei sat gracefully in her chair, legs crossed, looking relaxed, the mature charm almost overflowing from her.

With the new rule, captains would have to participate in every PK round.

This meant more opportunities to perform.

Being a captain would become a huge advantage.

The rules for selecting captains would therefore be crucial.

Different selection methods could yield different captains.

For example, if all trainees voted for the captain, Fang Xing would likely be out of luck, since he could probably only count on the votes of Lu Ming, Shao Yu, and the other three.

...

"Just announce the captains already. I can't take it anymore."

The trainees, tormented by the ever-changing rules, complained loudly.

"So how are captains chosen this time?"

The trainees pressed Shen Xiyin for answers.

Shen Xiyin read from her cue card, "For the next performance, the captains will be decided by the popularity rankings on Penguin Video's 'Tomorrow's Star' page."

"The top six trainees on the popularity chart automatically become captains."

"If any of the top six decide to forgo the captaincy, the position will pass to the next ranked trainee."

"Now, let's look at the big screen to see who the six captains are."

The screen scrolled, displaying six names.

The first three were Wu Junchen, Liu Yichen, and Fang Xing.

Shen Xiyin asked, "Among these six captains, does anyone wish to give up their position?"

The trainees below immediately began whispering.

"Who would give up being captain? As captain, you get to perform two songs every show—it's a great opportunity to boost your popularity."

"Exactly. Once you're captain, your popularity will skyrocket, making it even harder for those ranked lower to break into the top six."

As everyone discussed, convinced that no one would give up the captaincy, suddenly—

Liu Yichen stood up, took the microphone handed to him by the crew, and said, "Junchen and I have been apart for a long time. For the next performance, I hope we can collaborate."

His words caused a stir.

"What? Liu Yichen is teaming up with Wu Junchen?"

"How is anyone supposed to compete? The top two in popularity are teaming up—this is definitely aiming for number one."

"So who's the remaining captain? Who's ranked seventh?"

Shen Xiyin looked surprised, "Yichen, are you giving up the captaincy? Two captains joining forces—this stage is going to explode!"

Her surprise seemed genuine, as if she hadn't known about this beforehand.

The crew held up a cue card, signaling her to continue.

Shen Xiyin glanced at her cue card again and read, "Since Liu Yichen has given up the captaincy, the position passes to the seventh-ranked trainee, Li Yifan."

After announcing the captains, Shen Xiyin continued to explain the song selection rules: "Following the popularity rankings, Wu Junchen will choose first."

"Currently, there are two uptempo songs, two slow songs, and two customizable tracks."

"The two teams that choose the uptempo songs will automatically become rivals in the next performance."

"Likewise, the two teams choosing slow songs and the two choosing customizable tracks will also become rivals."

After hearing the song selection rules, the trainees resumed their low whispers.

"Which song will Wu Junchen and Liu Yichen pick?"

"It must be 'Youth Squad.' That uptempo song suits them perfectly."

As the trainees discussed, their eyes frequently drifted toward Wu Junchen and Liu Yichen.

Sitting together, Wu Junchen and Liu Yichen leaned in close, quietly discussing their choices with obvious seriousness.