CH 10

Chapter 10: Stage rating

“Don’t worry, we have been practicing this song for a long time and there will be no problem.”

Ruan Tao, who was waiting backstage, gently reassured Lai You who was in a bad mood. Ruan Tao’s voice was sweet and soft and could relax people instantly; the somewhat upset Lai You nodded after listening and looked a little calmer.

Right now, only the members of Galaxy and COCO were waiting and they were clearly separated. Perhaps because of Lai You, they did not even greet each other and were making their own preparations for their respective performances.

After comforting Lai You, Ruan Tao subconsciously turned her head sideways, and her eyes collided with Qiao Dai’s on the other end, startling her.

Unlike the others, Qiao Dai did not notice the subtle atmosphere backstage. She was looking around curiously, watched the camera, and tried to touch it. Observing her was like looking at a child discovering the word and after she finished visiting the area, she sat back in her position in amazement and noticed Ruan Tao was looking at her.

Was Ruan Tao trying to talk to her? Qiao Dai thought a bit; she remembered Ruan Tao was rather shy in the original novel. Did she want to tell her something but felt too timid? Guessing it was the case, Qiao Dai tentatively stretched out her hand to wave to her but at the same moment, Ruan Tao suddenly turned away from her, as if she hadn’t seen Qiao Dai, and continued to talk with her teammates.

Oops, it felt like she had been thinking too much. Qiao Dai felt embarrassed and lingered for a while until she remembered there were other people around. She quickly tried to see if anyone had seen her awkward situation just now and was relieved when she confirmed Luan Zhen had not seen her. She pretended like nothing had happened and went back to talk with her group.

[Hahaha, little sister Daidai is too funny!]

[How can she both be so foolish and cute?]

The live broadcast audience started laughing and some people who had screenshotted Qiao Dai’s embarrassed expression started to play with emoticon packs.

“Daidai, have you memorized your part and your lyrics clearly?”

Although the contestants were still rehearsing backstage, they already knew their performance by heart and were just trying to adjust their mentality and praying they would at least manage their training level on stage.

Just as they were talking, the Galaxy trainee had walked on stage. They had chosen a sweet song, which was not surprising because of Ruan Tao’s appearance. She was very sweet and she had been spoiled by her parents since birth; she had not been exposed to the dark side of society and her natural and innocent aura differentiated her from the other cute and lovely trainees, which made her particularly popular.

Although the dance of this song was relatively simple, the trainees’ moves were neat and uniform and Ruan Tao’s pure voice added points and brought 200% of the song out. When their performance was over, there was applause on the spot.

[Ah, my sister is so sweet!]

[It sounds good! It must be A!]

In the broadcast room, many fans were still immersed in Ruan Tao’s singing. In a trance, they felt like they could smell the fragrance of juicy nectar, like a peach on the tip of the tongue.

“This song is very suitable for you.”

Song Anni opened her mouth and told Ruan Tao, her tone full of praise. Song Anni was a well-known singer in the circle and the vocal tutor of this show. She was very sensitive to voices and she was obviously very satisfied with Ruan Tao’s singing.

After the performance, Ruan Tao and her teammates were standing in front of the four mentors. Hearing Song Anni’s words, Ruan Tao politely responded: “Thank you, Teacher Song.”

The barrage that had just been blowing rainbow farts suddenly stopped and the screen became empty. In this interval, Song Anni frowned and looked at the girls behind Ruan Tao and asked: “What about your voices? Except for Ruan Tao, I can’t remember any of your singing in the whole song.”

[I understand, it basically means they’re just background decor.]

[Aren’t they picky? It’s impossible for everyone to shine.]

[Funny, right? The girl group needs teamwork and Song Anni is a singer that knows nothing about girl groups.]

As people were complaining in the comments, Jiang Fengchi’s voice was heard: “I know you are all very good but personally, I am a little disappointed.”

As soon as Jiang Fengchi’s words fell, everyone had a change of expression. Except for the members of Galaxy who were on stage, the rest of the players, who had been laughing, suppressed the smiles on their faces and tightened their lips, not expecting Jiang Fengchi would be so strict.

Ruan Tao’s eyes moved, seemingly feeling a bit aggrieved, but before she could speak up, Jiang Fengchi continued: “You have performed this song very well but I don’t know whether you want to retain your strength or nor, do you really think this song shows your talent? Why did you choose such a simple song?”

Ruan Tao’s words got stuck in her throat and she stood there for a while, not knowing what to say. The microphone in her hands trembled slightly and she started panicking as she had not expected Jiang Fengchi would ask this question.

And… Ruan Tao could not help but feel guilty, She had chosen this song entirely out of selfish intentions; she had hoped Jiang Fengchi would remember her voice among so many girls on the first day on stage; in order to impress him, Ruan Tao had decided on a sweet song that fit her voice perfectly.

But she seemed to have overlooked one thing; this was a competition and a talent show. Even if she had a sweet and charming mind, Jiang Fengchi had no idea about her feelings and was simply giving his own evaluation as a mentor. In the eyes of the instructors, this stage was only mediocre.

“I am not sure about other people, but Lai You, do you think this song fits you and displays your talent?”

Lai You lowered her head. She was not taking the sweet route and this song was not her style. Although her performance was not bad, it was not amazing and she knew it even if the tutors had not mentioned it.

Galaxy trainees, the strongest contestant of the draft, could not even get one A. The little famous players who had originally intended to play as full-level bosses back to the novice village did not take this stage lightly anymore.

[This scoring is too strict, right?]

[Taotao sings so well but only gets B?]

[I feel like some people can just pack up and get out of the game already.]

The mentors’ strict scoring drew a wave of controversy but, after all, it was only the first episode of the show and it was understandable for the team to be stricter. It was the first performance and the audience did not continue to dwell on Ruan Tao’s rating and actually felt a little excited with this harsh rating. They could not wait to see the next performance and what the results were going to be.

[GKD1, I want to watch the next scene!]

[The rest can wash and sleep, Ruan Tao only got B.]

[COCO is next, right? So much pressure!]

After her performance, Ruan Tao returned to her seat. Her mood was a bit complicated; although she had earned the highest rating A+B so far, she was a little unhappy. The next stage was COCO, wasn’t it? Ruan Tao took a deep breath and raised her eyes to look at the scene. She wanted to see how the other trainees would be evaluated if their company had gotten such a result.

For a moment, whether they wanted to watch seriously or not, all eyes turned to the stage and waited for Qiao Dai and the others to start performing. The air became instantly anxious and a silent rivalry rose among the players.

With a “boom” sound accompanied by drum beats, the bright lights of the stage dimmed in an instant before a beam of white hit the center. On the dark stage, a young girl who had come out of nowhere was sitting quietly on a chair. Her snow-white skin, delicate lips, and innocent face were incompatible with her cold and hollow eyes, like a soulless doll. Qiao Dai looked towards the front of the stage blankly before stiffly stretching out her hand.

As soon as the house music2 full of drum beats sounded, four other pillars of light fell on the rest of the members. They stood on the stage and sang the first note together. After a short pause, the music suddenly became more intense and four people started a powerful mechanical dance while Qiao Dai still sat on her chair. After the sound of gunfire resonated, her eyes became sharper instantly and her fingers started moving quickly with the rhythm of the music.

Clean and neat.

Like a machine.

The crowd that had just been confused opened their eyes wide and someone exclaimed:

“This is… finger dance?!”

TL note: Second update of the day and… Here we are, the 10th chapter is online! The story is far from over but I cannot keep posting at this pace and finally got a schedule ready. Starting next week -and next chapter-, our little sea otter story will get three updates a week! 

Plus! On Tuesday, I will share the first chapter of a new project. This one will be updated a little slowly at first, but I will try to translate faster with this new schedule. This novel is a zombie story and you can already check the reading guide if you are interested.

Thank you so much for going so far with me already! So much more sea otter cuteness is on its way