Jiang Ye’s group finished their performance and went backstage.

As soon as the trainees got backstage, they immediately shed their idol personas. The trainees who had been posing beautifully for the ending pose in front of the camera just moments ago were now running, their expressions as dramatic as could be.

"Wow, I can’t believe I actually made it off the stage alive!!"

"I’m not exaggerating, I think we did really well!"

"Wuwu, I’m so moved by myself!"

"Me too."

Jiang Ye joked half-seriously, "Thank you for saving me the money I would have spent on buying a water army."

Everyone else: "..."

They ran all the way to the dressing room, ready to change into their outfits for their individual performance stages.

Jiang Ye had just turned the doorknob when she ran into Lin Zui, who was just coming out.

Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow, "So, how was our group’s stage?"

The finals were different from the regular performances, after all.

The audience at the regular performances could wait, but the live stream couldn’t, so there were almost no sets during the live stream, and it was difficult to create a stage filled with a sense of story like she liked.

So, Jiang Ye had to fill the stage with her own design as much as possible.

"It was good."

Lin Zui gave her a high-five, waved her hand, "But you still need to wait and see ours, maybe you’ll be humbled."

Jiang Ye smiled and pushed her out the door, "Go on, then."

•••

Jiang Ye quickly changed her clothes and went to the backstage broadcast area to watch Lin Zui’s group’s second stage.

Lin Zui’s group’s VCR was a little different from theirs.

If Jiang Ye’s group’s VCR reflected self-doubt and perseverance, then Lin Zui’s group’s VCR reflected conflict and reconciliation.

Many people in their group had their own ideas about this stage, and there were arguments at the beginning, but in the end, they reached a consensus and decided to perform this finals stage together.

The door to the stage opened, and Liang Yu, standing in the C position, led her group of trainees onto the stage.

Lin Zui, who was next to her, was wearing an exaggerated earring today, and her steps as she walked onto the stage were like the wind.

Jiang Ye was actually very excited about this group.

Just having Lin Zui and Liang Yu in the group was exciting enough, they were both trainees with very distinct personal styles, and the clash of their styles on stage would definitely be very intense.

And the other trainees were clearly not to be underestimated.

Sure enough, as soon as the music started, it proved Jiang Ye’s thoughts.

The six trainees stood in different positions and danced the first section.

They were like a wind carrying flames, burning brightly on the finals stage.

Everyone performed very well.

Even Shen Zhiyi, who was trying rap for the first time, her stage presence had successfully covered up her nervousness.

Then, as the last beat of the song played.

All the trainees tilted their heads to the beat, nodded forcefully, then quickly gathered their formation, stood in a row, and bowed to the audience.

This song was called "Different".

At the beginning, the trainees clearly had different personal styles.

But it was precisely because of these differences that the trainees created a unique stage.

But in the end, they stood in a row again, and the level of uniformity was breathtaking.

It perfectly matched the changes in their practice room VCR.

It was a very good design.

Jiang Ye sincerely applauded the stage in her heart.

•••

After the two group performances were over, the host announced the current ranking of the trainees.

This was also known as the "urge to vote" position.

Being called out at this moment was a huge psychological test for the trainees.

It was like giving you a little bit of hope at the last minute.

You desperately hope it’s true, but you’re also afraid that it’s just a false hope.

Tan Meng, unsurprisingly, heard her name.

Every day, the program team would announce the real-time rankings, and her name would always fluctuate up and down the debut position.

Her fans were worried, and she was worried too.

Tan Meng pinched her fingertips, trying to calm herself down.

She was the first to go on stage for her solo performance.

She absolutely couldn’t mess up at this moment.

She'd had a disastrous performance during the initial evaluation because she was too nervous.

She wouldn’t make that mistake again.

…

As the host left the stage.

The lights dimmed again.

The entire audience knew that the trainees’ solo performances were coming up next, and they couldn’t help but cheer excitedly.

The camera circled the stage.

It finally landed on Tan Meng, who was the first to perform.

Her solo performance was an original dance of her own, incorporating the different dance styles she knew into a one-and-a-half-minute song.

During the initial evaluation, the mentors had commented on her like this.

—"According to your profile, you have six years of trainee experience."

—"I think this isn’t the level you should be at."

And now, Tan Meng had condensed her six years into a one-and-a-half-minute performance.

It was unknown whether this performance would be enough to prove her ability.

Tan Meng stopped on her last move.

The camera moved away and landed on Cheng Zhen, who was standing in front of the microphone.

The song she chose was not very difficult, but it had a lot of personal meaning for her.

It was the first song she learned in vocal class.

She later participated in a school singing performance and won first place.

Thinking back now, maybe the first time someone recognized her for her skills, not because of her parents’ halo, was at that time.

After Cheng Zhen finished singing, the camera flickered and landed on Shen Zhiyi.

Shen Zhiyi was wearing a white hanfu dress and holding a black ink fan.

She had studied classical dance, but during the initial evaluation, she hadn’t had the desire to compete, so she hadn’t had time to show this side of herself, and she only showed it a little bit during the second performance.

On the last day, she finally showed her true self to the world.

Shen Zhiyi waved her ink fan, creating a ripple.

The camera followed the ripple and moved to Lin Zui, who was standing next to her.

Lin Zui chose a full singing and dancing performance.

Her song was an unreleased song.

If her original group hadn’t disbanded, this song would have been their third album’s title track.

But they would not have a third album anymore.

Lin Zui performed this song again on finals night, wanting to say goodbye officially.

From now on, she would embark on a new journey.

One by one, the trainees completed their individual performances.

Each trainee had a different journey.

But they all seemed to have chosen to use a performance with commemorative meaning to end their talent show journey on this special night.

The final shot landed on Jiang Ye.

A solitary beam of light shone on her.

Jiang Ye looked up, with a black butterfly hair clip behind her head.

She was wearing a white dress similar to the one she wore during the initial evaluation, and this dress also had butterfly elements.

It seemed to echo her appearance during the initial evaluation.

The little butterfly that flew out of the cocoon during the initial evaluation had now flown all the way to the finals.

The music started.

The entire venue was instantly in an uproar.

The song Jiang Ye chose was "If We Had Never Met".

It was a pretty popular song, but it was very fitting to sing it at this moment.

Because of this, Jiang Ye didn’t use too many techniques for this song, instead, she used her own emotions to express the feeling of the song.

She chose this song for her fans, and also for the trainees she had met here.

If they hadn’t met, if they hadn’t known each other.

Of course, it was also for herself.

If she hadn’t been reborn.

Would everything be different?

As she sang, many of the trainees in the eliminated trainees’ seats on the opposite side of the stage stood up, waving and joining in her chorus.

Many fans in the audience holding her light sticks also joined in the chorus.

For a moment, Jiang Ye seemed to hear the entire venue’s surround sound.

It was a very light-hearted song.

But with the atmosphere of the entire venue singing along, many people couldn’t help but cry as they sang.

Many viewers in front of the screen were also moved.

【Wuwuwu, how did Jiang Mei make me cry?】

【Wuwuwu, I’m voting and crying, baby, thank you for working so hard to come to me, I saw you, wuwuwu, thank you for this encounter, I’m so happy to know you!】

The music ended.

Jiang Ye smiled brightly at the audience.

It was supposed to be a solo performance show, but at this moment, it felt like her solo concert.

In the future, she would have more fans, holding her light sticks, singing every song with her.

The light sticks in front of her were like the stars on her journey to her dreams.

She followed the light and found her direction.

Jiang Ye bowed deeply to the audience.

Thank you for our encounter.

Thank you for that day, that moment, that scene, for appearing in my life.

•••

All the trainees’ solo performances were over.

Two guest performances were added to stretch out the time.

When the trainees returned to the stage, they had changed into their uniforms and were ready to hear the final results.

Yang Jingjing held a card and smiled at the trainees, "Are you nervous?"

The trainees said in unison, "Nervous!"

"Nervous?"

Yang Jingjing smiled, "Then I’ll let you relax for a while."

"Before we announce the final results, let’s hear some words of encouragement and blessings from your closest people."

The trainees were all stunned.

But the screen behind them lit up.

Cheng Zhen’s parents and other family members appeared on the screen.

"Cheng Zhen, baby!"

The entire venue erupted in cheers.

Cheng Zhen suddenly felt a little embarrassed, she hid behind the other trainees, trying to avoid the camera.

"We didn’t expect you to actually participate in a girl group talent show."

"Although we were surprised, we still choose to support all your decisions."

"No matter what results you achieve, don’t be afraid, Mom and Dad will always love you!"

Cheng Zhen looked at her parents on the screen, and she couldn’t hold back her tears.

She sniffed, held back her tears, and nodded seriously.

After her parents, the parents or family members of the other trainees appeared on the screen one after another, offering their children their final words of encouragement and blessings.

Many trainees started to get emotional as they watched.

Only Jiang Ye looked up at the screen, she was very calm.

Because she knew that her parents wouldn’t appear, so she didn’t feel too sad, instead, she occasionally looked at the reactions of the trainees around her, and found it quite amusing.

She wasn’t surprised that Cheng Zhen and Tan Meng were crying.

But she didn’t expect Lin Zui to also have tears in her eyes, she gently dabbed away the tears that were about to fall with her fingertips.

Jiang Ye gasped in her heart.

Rare.

After the VCRs of the first eleven trainees’ families were played.

Jiang Ye was about to turn around and go back, but she suddenly heard her name, "Jiang Ye."

Jiang Ye’s body instantly froze.

She quickly looked up at the screen.

An elderly woman with white hair appeared on the screen.

"Long time no see, Jiang Ye, I can’t believe you actually joined the competition."

"It’s good that you joined the competition, I said before, our Jiang Ye is so beautiful, and she sings so well, she’s definitely going to be a big star."

It was the headmistress of her orphanage.

She spoke slowly, with a slight accent, but it sounded familiar and warm to Jiang Ye.

"Although Grandma doesn’t understand these programs you young people watch, I know one thing, our Jiang Ye is the best at everything she does, so she’s definitely going to succeed."

"So, my little darling Jiang Ye, I wish you good luck in the competition, and I wish you happiness every day, always be a good girl."

Jiang Ye looked up at the screen, feeling a tingling sensation all over her body, her legs were a little stiff.

She suddenly remembered a figure she had caught a glimpse of during the performance, someone who seemed familiar.

She quickly turned around.

Just as the VCR ended.

The lights on the stage lit up.

In the corner of the first row of the audience, where a group of businessmen and big stars were sitting, there was an especially conspicuous figure.

It was Jiang Grandma, with white hair, smiling and waving to her.