CH 26

Chapter 26: First public performance (1)

Jiang Fengchi waited until the staff uploaded Qiao Dai’s portrait on the official website before leaving. He watched the comments about her online for a while before turning off his phone.

“Teacher Jiang.”

The night wind had started blowing and when he heard a melodious voice, Jiang Fengchi stopped in his tracks. He turned his head to look over and seemed surprised.

“Ruan Tao? Were you looking for me?”

Ruan Tao’s already slender figure looked even thinner in the darkness. She was standing not far from Jiang Fengchi, looking at him and a little hesitant to speak. She stared at him for a long time before quietly asking: “Was Teacher Jiang dealing with Qiao Dai’s issue?”

She wasn’t aware her father had been behind it; in her eyes, it had really been some unknown issue and Jiang Fengchi had been the one to solve it.

When the portraits had been uploaded earlier, Ruan Tao had seen Jiang Fengchi, who had just finished his class, return to the staff room and knew it had been about Qiao Dai’s photo. Her mood was a little complicated; she did not care how less popular her portrait was than Qiao Dai’s but was more concerned about the reason Jiang Fengchi would help her at this time.

Was it because he was her mentor? Or was it because he had himself encountered the unfairness and shady businesses of the circle, he had been particularly concerned about Qiao Dai’s incident? Ruan Tao was desperately trying to convince herself but she always felt uncomfortable in her heart. Even if she knew what type of man he was, many bizarre thoughts crossed her mind. Thoughts were weighing on her, leaving her unable to calm down for the upcoming performance. When she had seen Jiang Fengchi, she hadn’t been able to stop herself and had run to him to ask about his exact reason for helping Qiao Dai.

Afraid her words would make Jiang Fengchi overthink, she quickly added: “I just wanted to thank you on Qiao Dai’s behalf.”

Jiang Fengchi stared at the young girl for a while, before shaking his head and saying in a faint voice: “You don’t need to thank me, I didn’t solve this issue.”

He had contacted the Cheng group but when he had done so, the matter had already been resolved. He had simply stayed in the program group to check with his own eyes if they really were uploading the picture. As for how it had been resolved, none of this had anything to do with him.

Ruan Tao’s eyebrows raised slightly when she heard his answer, some disbelief in her eyes, but Jiang Fengchi had already changed the topic: “The performance will come soon enough, I won’t delay your training.”The girl was still lost in her thoughts but Jiang Fengchi had already politely excused himself. She watched him leave and as soon as he was out of sight, Ruan Tao clenched her fists. There was no her in his eyes. She had always been sensitive to the slightest emotion, and in Jiang Fengchi’s face, she was only an ordinary student, with nothing special about her. Had she been the one with an issue with her portrait, would have Jiang Fengchi worried as much as he had for Qiao Dai? In her heart, Ruan Tao knew the answer, and it was far from the one she wanted.

“Taotao, where did you go just now?”

Ruan Tao returned to the dance classroom where her ranked A Galaxy teammates were waiting for her. Seeing her come back with a pale face, they all stood up and asked about it in worry.

***

On the second day after the portraits were uploaded, the program group announced the performance’s details.

In addition to the repertoire, the program group provided them with nine five-member groups, four eight-member groups, and two twelve-member groups, a total of fifteen songs. The eleven girls of Class A would be captains and the remaining four would be chosen with a quiz among the four other classes; the player who would win first place in each class would become captain and the players would be selected in turn, according to the captain’s ranking.

In order to create some suspense, the fifteen songs were not made public. Only the fifteen captains were able to enter the selection room and choose after listening to the suggestions of the four instructors. Not only the lesser ranked captains would have less choice, they would also not know which songs had been picked up first.

By the time Qiao Dai entered the selection room, a few songs were already missing on the wall. 

Zheng Taijing remembered the player who had made her way to Class A with her finger dance. Instead of giving her advice right away, he asked with some curiosity: “Qiao Dai, which song do you like? Is there one you want to choose?”

His gaze swept over the wall. Although he wasn’t saying anything yet, he had already thought of a suitable track for her.

Twelve-person performances were the most difficult and could be put aside. As for the remaining five-person and eight-person songs, the most popular ones had already been chosen. Zheng Taijing felt that her choosing an urban song or a sweet one was the most appropriate but he didn’t know whether she would or not.

Hearing Zheng Taijing’s questions, Qiao Dai looked up and glanced at all the songs on the wall before her eyes were suddenly attracted by a title. She raised her hand and pointed at it.

“Teacher, can I choose this one?”

The four mentors looked at the direction she pointed and read “Treading water”. They exchanged glances with each other with some surprise and Zheng Taijing confirmed: “Are you sure you want to choose “Treading water”? It is adapted from traditional dances and songs, with many national elements such as opera tunes. It requires a lot of technique.”

Qiao Dai nodded and the teacher looked at her with some admiration. The song was very special and was completely different from the others. If it was performed well, it was easy to make an impression.

When she came out of the room, the rest of the players who were still waiting in line were taken aback. Nobody had expected it would be so fast. Didn’t Qiao Dai need to think about it for a while? It was the first public performance, if she failed, she would lose all of her chances.

The girls looked at Qiao Dai’s relaxed face and pressure rose in their hearts. At the same time, they couldn’t help but be a little admirative; after all, only great players could act so calmly in this situation.

After the selection was over, they were divided into groups. The fifteen team’s captains selected their members according to their ranking. There was no surprise in the whole process, except for when Song Yiqi refused other captains to instead join Qiao Dai’s group. Upon seeing this, the players looked at each other, all with different expressions.

Teams would train separately and until the day of the performance, no one would know who was performing what. This was not only to create suspense and attract the audience, but also to have the tension and excitement rise among the girls; the unknown was their biggest fear and motivator. Because they didn’t know anything concerning their opponents, they could only redouble their efforts and make sure they went all out on the day of their stage.

Chapter 26: First public performance (2)

For the next half a month, Qiao Dai and her four teammates devoted themselves to practice, leaving early and returning late, making sure they would show their best on the day of the performance.

“How can they be so calm?”

The rest of the contestants were curious about Qiao Dai’s team, with some admiration in their eyes. They did not show any care or concerns about the other groups and solely focused on their own training.

Lai You had originally been very aggrieved about her position in Class F. She had expected that she would be chosen by Ruan Tao and team up with her for the first public performance. Who would have known that she would actually get first place during the quiz and become a captain? Not only she couldn’t count on the help of any Galaxy members, faced with a group full of Class F players, she felt devastated. How could she shine with a team of losers?

Lai You was angry and felt unfair. Every day, she had to look at teammates so bad it was suffocating. She was curious about how they would rehearse without her!

In her head, she had thought that her team would soon realize she was indispensable and would come rushing and beg her to lead their team. Unexpectedly, no one had come to look for her, and Lai You was in a dilemma. Did she have to bow her head and go back on her own? Didn’t it mean those people would look down on her in the future? Those familiar with Lai You’s personality were aware that she was not the kind of girl to admit mistakes. She never ever apologized to others, especially when she thought she was better than them. In that case… who was afraid of whom? The best outcome was to go down together!

***

“Have you heard what happened to Lai You and the others?”

This time, Lai You and the others had made a big fuss and they did not start rehearsing together again until the mentors intervened. Unfortunately, the performance was near and they had started to practice as a group too late. Their progress was slow and the members were at odds with each other; it was difficult to imagine that they would create a satisfactory stage in the end. The other contestants did not need to wait for the public performance, they already knew Lai You’s team would fail.

But instead of wasting time gossiping as the day approached, each group became more and more focused on their training. Every day, people would suddenly feel ill because of constant stress and they were all reciting and memorizing moves at any hour of the day.

The girls seemed to have reached a tacit understanding, nodding at each other when they met in the classrooms or the corridors, encouraging each other yet trying to not disturb anyone, especially their roommates when they returned late at night. Everyone wanted to do their best for the first public performance. It was going to be their first public stage, but also the only one where every player would be there. Every stage was hard-won and nobody wanted to leave with any regrets.

On the eve of the recording, the four mentors came to the venue to send blessings to all players. At the same time, they brought very shocking news: a heavyweight guest would be joining the mentors for the first performance, and although she would not rate them, the meaning she represented far exceeded any grade. And when everyone heard her name, the girls suddenly boiled.

Meng Lingsi was a very famous dance artist in China. She had won many domestic and international awards at a young age, and many of the widely circulated choreographies in films and on TV were produced by her. Even Lu Cong respectfully called her senior.

As soon as she heard the name, Song Yiqi stared at Qiao Dai. She had put away her usual bored expression and clasped Qiao Dai’s arm tightly, her eyes wide.

“What’s wrong?”

Qiao Dai was suddenly hugged by her four teammates, embraced just like a cute doll. Hearing her question, Song Yiqi took a deep breath before saying in an excited voice: “Meng Lingsi! She is the original performer of “Treading water”!”

To be recognized by her was a huge honor anyone who performed this song dreamt of! Song Yiqi looked at her teammates and at Qiao Dai again before laughing softly. She strongly believed their stage would not let each other down.

And so, under the attention of the public, <Pick Eleven>’s first public performance officially began!