Jiang Ye's worry wasn't unfounded.

Because on the day the song selection demos were released, Xue Zhihan secretly contacted her manager using her phone.

She looked at her manager, locked the dorm door, and lowered her voice, "... The song selection for the third performance is out."

The manager's tone was unhurried, "I know."

If they knew, why didn't they take the initiative to contact her and ask about her thoughts?

Xue Zhihan was puzzled for a moment, but she still calmed herself down and said, "Has Jiang Ye's fan club announced their song selection decision? I'm fine with any song, the main point is I want to be in the same group as her."

It should have been a very simple matter.

After all, the administrator of her fan club was actually a staff member within the company.

The company didn't even need to intervene, they could just use the fan club's name to send out a notice, and the casual fans would automatically put her and Jiang Ye in the same group.

It did not matter to her what song Jiang Ye's fans chose for her, whether it was her style or not.

Because she had to seize this last chance to be in the same group as Jiang Ye.

Although Xue Zhihan could clearly feel that Jiang Ye didn't like her very much.

She had intentionally tried to approach Jiang Ye a few times in front of the camera, but Jiang Ye had subtly blocked her every time.

Besides, Jiang Ye was never short of trainees who revolved around her, it was difficult for her to find an opportunity.

But Jiang Ye was good at hiding her emotions, unlike Lin Zui who would directly express her disdain, so Xue Zhihan thought that if they could be in the same group, Jiang Ye would have no choice but to accept it.

Then, she could just actively stick to Jiang Ye in the practice room, and let the fans ship their CP, wouldn't that be fine?

However, the manager paused for a moment and said, "No."

Xue Zhihan immediately exploded, "Why?"

Her temper wasn't as good as she showed in front of the camera, when facing her manager or people she was familiar with, she couldn't help but show a little bit of her impatient personality.

"That song isn't suitable for you."

The manager said, "And, your fans are currently at odds with Jiang Ye's fans, they wouldn't agree."

At this critical juncture, rushing to ship a CP with her, not only would she be ridiculed by Jiang Ye's fans, but it would also hurt her own fans' feelings.

Xue Zhihan wasn't stupid, she quickly figured this out and deflated, after a long time, she said, "Then which group do you want me to go to? I don't want to be in the same group as Lin Zui."

She wasn't against shipping a CP with Lin Zui.

But with Lin Zui's temper, she might directly confront her in front of the camera.

And she couldn't use this to play the victim, because Lin Zui's fans just liked her straightforward and unpretentious persona, and her aura wasn't as strong as Lin Zui's, so even if she was scolded, she wouldn't have anywhere to complain.

The manager didn't answer directly, but said, "The program team sent us the original footage of the second performance."

She paused for a moment, her tone calm, but the words she said were sharp, "You should know, you didn't perform well."

Xue Zhihan's body suddenly stiffened.

She pursed her lips, trying to defend herself, "My mistake was just a one-time thing, and it can be cut out during the broadcast—"

She had been very calm before, because she knew that the company would help her monitor the program team's editing, and any footage that was unfavorable to her would be ordered to be cut by the company.

But this time, the manager didn't agree with her, "You're the C-position, that shot of you lagging behind, no matter if you cut to a close-up or a wide shot, it can't be cut."

"Even if you really cut it, you can still see it in the direct camera angle."

The direct camera angle for the Chasing Light Girls program was a live performance, unlike other talent shows where many of the direct camera angles were taken during rehearsals, this way it could more realistically reflect the trainees' on-the-spot performance level.

Xue Zhihan felt a bad omen, and her address changed, "... What are you trying to say?"

"We'll put you and Shen Zhiyi in the same group, to better compare your strengths and fan attraction abilities."

Xue Zhihan widened her eyes, "What—?"

"We've also seen Shen Zhiyi's performance in the second performance."

The manager said, "She performed very well."

Compared to the Shen Zhiyi in the company, she was completely different.

She was naturally beautiful, and she had a base of face fans who fell in love with her.

If she could maintain her performance level from the second performance, the company could add a little push, she should be a very promising seedling.

And compared to Xue Zhihan, the company had put so much effort into her, they spent so much money on marketing in the early stages, but not only was her aura overshadowed by Lin Zui and Jiang Ye, but she even made a mistake in such an important performance.

"But that was a one-time thing!"

Xue Zhihan immediately retorted, "That time, Jiang Ye helped her, she won't help her next time!"

That time, she was lucky to be in the same group as Jiang Ye and she also encountered Zhen Jia, so Jiang Ye naturally chose to help her when she was fighting against Zhen Jia's group, but she wouldn't have such good luck next time.

"... Anyway, the company will make a decision based on your performance in the third performance when you're in the same group."

The manager didn't waver, but said, "If you want to prove that you're really stronger than Shen Zhiyi, then prepare well for your third performance."

After finishing, she hung up the phone, leaving Xue Zhihan listening to the sound of the phone being hung up, covered in cold sweat.

Xue Zhihan was really a little panicked this time.

She thought back, at first, the company hadn't decided who to focus on.

Shen Zhiyi was prettier than her, and her foundation was better, she wasn't confident enough to win her fairly.

So, she went to tell Shen Zhiyi in advance, "the company has chosen me, you don't have a chance".

She also specially comforted Shen Zhiyi, "but it's okay, the company will still send you to the competition, you work hard, try to get more screen time from the program team, even if you're eliminated, you'll still have fans".

Shen Zhiyi didn't have much confidence in herself to begin with, after hearing this news, she suddenly became gloomy, and she was a bit absent-minded in class for several days.

And being the one the company decided to focus on was really very comfortable.

The company spent money to arrange the theme song selection and performance song selection for her in advance, and they also arranged a very good storyline for her.

Actually, Shen Zhiyi should have had these as well, but she told Shen Zhiyi, "these are just for me, you don't qualify".

When the teacher asked her why Shen Zhiyi wasn't practicing, she smiled and said, "It's because she don't want to practice."

Over time, everyone believed that Shen Zhiyi was not good enough, that Shen Zhiyi was self-conscious, that Shen Zhiyi wasn't suitable to be an idol.

But why.

Why did she go to such lengths, and suddenly Shen Zhiyi became enlightened, and could catch up in an instant?

Xue Zhihan held her phone, forcing herself to calm down.

No, she can't give up.

She must quickly come up with a new plan.

A new plan that could quickly catch up to her aura.

To tell the company, she's the one who deserves to compete with Jiang Ye for the C-position, not the one who needs to be compared to a waste like Shen Zhiyi.

•••

Three days later, the song selection for the third performance was announced.

The trainees all gathered in the recording hall to wait for the release of the third performance task.

This time, the song selection was announced by vocal mentor Chen Yiming.

He was a bit serious and didn't joke with the trainees much, he just read the rules according to the script, then played the choreography videos of the five songs for the trainees.

Fans could only listen to the demos for a few seconds when they voted, but the trainees saw the complete choreography videos, the different dance styles and difficulties were presented visually.

The third performance was a theme assessment, so the five songs were all in different styles.

The first song, "If I Can", which Jiang Ye thought was most likely to be chosen by her fans, was a very typical girl group dance.

The second song, "Wind by the Sea", was a cheerful and sweet song, if fans wanted her to challenge the sweet girl style this round, they might choose this song.

The third song, "Wonder", had a cooler style and the choreography was more difficult, it was obviously prepared for the dancers.

As for the other two songs, "Dim Light" was a lyrical vocal song, and "Tiny" had a hip-hop style, with many rap parts.

Jiang Ye thought that her fans probably wouldn't choose these two songs.

But it was hard to say.

Who knows what other considerations her fans might have.

Jiang Ye deliberately didn't look at the fans' song selection for these few days, just to enjoy the joy of opening a blind box.

After the reference videos of the five songs were played, Chen Yiming said, "Now the fans have decided your performance song selections."

"So, please go up and collect your envelopes, and move to the corresponding practice room according to the content inside."

The order of collecting the envelopes was still the same as the first ranking announcement.

Chen Yiming said, "Jiang Ye."

Jiang Ye quickly stood up, went forward to collect her envelope, and opened it to take a look.

The trainees around her called out her name.

"Jiang Ye, Jiang Ye, which song are you going for?"

"Wow, I really want to be in the same group as Jiang Ye, my fans, did you see me praying devoutly?"

After reading the result, Jiang Ye stuffed the paper back into the envelope and smiled at the trainees in the venue, "Okay, then I'll look forward to seeing you guys in the practice room."

•••

Jiang Ye walked out of the recording hall and went to the practice room number one written on the envelope.

The order of the practice rooms was not the same as the order in which the choreography videos were played, so this song wasn't necessarily "If I Can".

The name of the song was written on the whiteboard on the wall, but it was covered with a sheet of white paper, and it wouldn't be revealed until all the trainees arrived.

Jiang Ye sat down and started to think about the possible song selection.

It was difficult to judge based on her alone, adding another trainee might help her guess.

The next person to make a choice should be Lin Zui, then Xue Zhihan.

Because the theme assessment was based on the total number of votes for the entire group, Jiang Ye really hoped that Lin Zui could collaborate with her.

But their fans seemed to believe in the principle of "kings don't meet", so they always wanted to separate them.

And she had just talked to Lin Zui quietly, Lin Zui seemed to have seen the song selection in advance, she shrugged, indicating that she didn't.

It didn't matter if it wasn't Lin Zui, as long as it wasn't Xue Zhihan.

Just as she was thinking this, the door was suddenly pushed open.

"... Jiang Ye?"

The trainee who entered was stunned for a second, then whistled, "It's you."

She turned her head to look at the covered panel and thought for a moment, "I thought I would definitely be in the rap song, but seeing you, I'm not so sure anymore."

"My fans wouldn't make me dance again, would they?"

She complained to herself, "I can dance, but I really don't want to dance."

Jiang Ye was also stunned.

The trainee who entered was Liang Yu, an all-around rap dancer, a member of Class A, because she had won first place in the first performance, so Jiang Ye had mentioned her name in the "Trainees I Most Want to Collaborate With" part.

Jiang Ye: "..."

No way.

Her fans, wouldn't they even remember this?