After Jiang Ye finished her performance, the venue fell silent for three seconds.

Then, applause suddenly came from the side of the stage.

Jiang Ye looked over and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

It was Lin Zui who was clapping.

Jiang Ye didn't know that Lin Zui was actually a firm believer in strength.

When she first went to find Jiang Ye, who was sitting in first place, and asked her to give up the seat, her intention wasn't to provoke her, but to sincerely believe that the seat should be taken by the person with the strongest skills in the venue.

And before that, she thought that person was herself.

Until she watched Jiang Ye's performance.

Only then did she fully acknowledge Jiang Ye's skills in her heart.

If there was anyone in this venue who could compete with her for first place.

It should be this trainee who was four years younger than her, who seemed to have no experience in the entertainment industry, but who had completed a complete singing and dancing stage performance.

Unexpectedly.

This show actually had hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

It was completely beyond her expectations.

After Lin Zui took the lead in applauding, the trainees in the venue followed suit.

"Wow, that was really amazing."

"Damn, I think Lin Zui might not be able to win first place."

"No way, it's Lin Zui! She's been a debut artist for years!"

The trainee sitting below Tan Meng turned to her and curiously asked, "Your teammate is so strong?"

"You must be pretty good too, right?"

Tan Meng didn't know how to answer for a moment, so she could only shake her head.

She vaguely heard the people around her discussing.

"Yeah, yeah, Shengrui Entertainment is sending people to participate in talent shows for the first time this year, but they sent a dark horse."

"I wonder how the other Tan Meng's skills are? If she's also strong, we're finished."

"Relax, there are five debut spots, even if their company is powerful, they can't take two at once."

"Since Jiang Ye is so good, Tan Meng is probably just a runner-up..."

...

Tan Meng felt a little dazed.

She knew that Jiang Ye was very strong.

But she didn't expect her to be on the same level as Lin Zui.

Tan Meng took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

But her heart still beat faster, making her increasingly anxious.

On stage, the mentors began to comment on the two performances.

"First, let's talk about Lin Zui."

Vocal mentor Chen Yiming said, "You completed a very mature stage performance. If it were on another talent show, I would have given you an A directly."

"It's a pity, our show doesn't have a level scoring system."

After making a little joke, he turned to Jiang Ye, "Then, Jiang Ye, did you write this song yourself?"

Jiang Ye nodded, "Yes."

Chen Yiming smiled, "A very sharp work."

Young people's creative works are basically just about how the world is harsh, and grew hope from despair.

But Jiang Ye didn't write it directly like that.

She made a metaphor, and then integrated the song with herself into a stage performance, a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon and dancing gracefully, very interesting.

"I can see the sharpness of youth in your lyrics."

"Although there are still some immaturity and shortcomings, I personally like it very much."

The microphone was handed to Yang Jingjing.

"Now we often say that we don't define idols."

"But if we were to define idols, you two would be the templates in my mind."

Yang Jingjing herself was an idol, so after giving such a high evaluation, she looked like someone with choice paralysis, showing a conflicted expression and saying, "Why did you two have to go against each other, the program team's format this year is really cruel."

"Hey, director."

She pretended to call out to the backstage, "Can't you just have two first places?"

The trainees in the venue laughed.

She shrugged and motioned for Mu Xingchi to speak.

"It's my turn, right?"

"The other mentors have been praising you, so I'm going to say something harsh."

"Lin Zui's performance was fine."

Mu Xingchi suddenly changed his tone, "But it was just fine."

"I think you're still stuck in your previous stage performances, at least I didn't see any improvement, any thinking, any changes after you left the group. I didn't feel it."

Lin Zui's expression twitched slightly, but she still politely said, "Thank you, teacher."

"Then, Jiang Ye."

Mu Xingchi paused, didn't comment on her performance, but changed the subject, "Have you written any other works?"

Jiang Ye was stunned for a moment, then said, "For now... no."

"Actually, I also liked to write things when I was your age."

Mu Xingchi said, "And your work has a very similar style to mine back then."

"So, I'm looking forward to your other performances."

He chuckled and looked at her, "I don't know what the other mentors think. But if I had the deciding vote right now, I would vote for you."

The entire venue erupted in an uproar.

As a mentor, he criticized Lin Zui so harshly, but he openly admired Jiang Ye.

Maybe he saw his younger self in Jiang Ye, or maybe it was because of something else.

But this was already quite dangerous.

Jiang Ye quickly calculated the probability of being assassinated by Mu Xingchi's girlfriend fans before politely saying, "Thank you, mentor."

"So, our final decision is."

"Congratulations to Jiang Ye, you've defended your position."

The venue fell silent for a second, then exploded.

"No way, Lin Zui lost?"

"I never expected that."

"To be honest, if I had to choose, I would choose Jiang Ye too, her stage was really outstanding and very surprising."

"That's right, the puppet dance part was amazing."

"This Jiang Ye, is she the one the program team specifically sent to deal with the big boss this year?"

The mentor interviewed Lin Zui, "Are you disappointed?"

Lin Zui smiled easily, "Not disappointed."

"But Jiang Ye."

She tilted her head and declared war on the person in front of her, "I'll be back on that seat one day, you wait."

Jiang Ye was stunned for a moment, then quickly smiled back, "You're always welcome to challenge me."

•••

Jiang Ye returned to her first place seat.

She suddenly felt that this rule was a bit like a ring match.

She had successfully defended her position, so she was done, it was time for the next person.

The person in the second place seat was Xue Zhihan.

As the C-position from her previous life, Jiang Ye's impression of her was probably the deepest.

Her skills were also among the top five in the entire show, and it wouldn't be easy to challenge her successfully.

And with Lin Zui's challenge failing just now.

For a moment, the trainees were a little timid about challenging the higher positions.

Jiang Ye casually looked down.

But she found that Tan Meng had actually raised her hand.

Last night, Tan Meng had chatted with her about the format.

"The program team still won't give us any spoilers."

Tan Meng said, "I really suspect they're going to do something big."

Of course, Jiang Ye knew the format.

But it wouldn't be beneficial for her to tell her beforehand.

She paused slightly, looking as if she was being casual, "I guess there will be a battle segment."

"Of course."

"What show doesn't use that to attract attention."

Tan Meng lay on her bed, clasped her hands together and prayed, "I hope I don't have to participate in the battle."

Jiang Ye laughed, "Are you scared?"

Tan Meng exploded as soon as she was provoked, "——Impossible!"

"But it's the initial evaluation, so it's more important to play it safe."

"Assuming it's graded by level, if I lose the battle, I might drop directly to F, it's not worth it."

She paused and whispered, "Besides, don't we have to be assigned dormitories based on our evaluation results? I want to live in a big room."

...

But she actually directly challenged the second place?

She was in sixth place, and she could have easily played it safe and kept her seat order.

And the sixth position she chose was also very good, as it was right outside the debut spots, so whether she was challenging or being challenged, she would definitely get some screen time.

Jiang Ye didn't understand.

Why?

The other trainees in the venue were also surprised.

The sixth place was actually challenging the second place.

And this sixth place, originally had a chance to sit in second place, what was the point of this?

But according to the rules.

Tan Meng and Xue Zhihan were still invited to the center stage.

Tan Meng made her challenge declaration to the camera, "I chose sixth place because I wanted to leave room for myself to improve."

Her voice trembled slightly, "So now I think I can try."

After she finished speaking, she looked up at Jiang Ye's position, pursed her lips, "I... I'm ready."

Jiang Ye felt something was wrong.

When Tan Meng started her performance.

Jiang Ye felt that something was wrong, and it seemed a bit excessive.

Tan Meng's performance was very off.

She had prepared a solo dance piece, and she didn't even need to sing much.

But her limbs were shaky, and her timing was off.

Jiang Ye had seen her practice.

She was definitely not at this level.

As expected, after both she and Xue Zhihan finished their performances, she was criticized by all the mentors.

"Based on your profile, you have six years of trainee experience."

"I don't think this is the level you should be at."

"Since you have the courage to directly challenge second place, do you think your skills have caught up?"

Mu Xingchi said mercilessly, "It's too reckless."

Tan Meng lowered her head and didn't speak.

"The final result is, Tan Meng's challenge failed, and she's going to the failure zone."

Yang Jingjing paused, as if noticing her emotions were wrong, and asked, "Do you have any questions?"

Tan Meng stood there.

She looked like she was about to cry.

She tried hard to hold back her tears, then whispered, "No."

Xue Zhihan next to her handed her a pack of tissues.

Tan Meng didn't take them.

She sniffed, bowed to the mentors, and then walked straight towards the failure zone.

Jiang Ye sat in her seat, slightly recalling.

It had been too long, and her memory was a bit blurry.

But if she remembered correctly, in her previous life, Tan Meng's final ranking was the same as her seat choice.

Sixth place.

Just barely missing out on the debut spot.