11 Group Showdown Review (Part Two)

The crowd erupted in a buzz of excitement.

Lan Chenxi, Qiao Yiqing, and Xi Rui stepped forward and stood beside Yao Xin.

“Wow, three from Class A.”

“Quite the choice! That takes guts!”

“As expected, Lan Chenxi got picked.”

“Class A trainees are so sought after!”

“This group is really strong!”

Seeing the astonished looks from everyone, Yao Xin grew visibly uneasy and quickly pulled out the next trainee’s name from the box.

Gradually, 19 groups were formed, leaving six trainees unchosen.

“Those six trainees who weren’t selected will automatically form a group,” announced Zhai Xingwen.

Tang Mengzhu felt both embarrassed and humiliated.

On stage, she was the only C-level trainee left; the rest were all F-level.

Was she really that bad? Tang Mengzhu couldn’t help but reflect bitterly. Why were even some D- and F-level trainees chosen before her, a C-class trainee, was left behind?

The bright yellow training jacket that once made her proud now felt like a badge of shame.

With that, the twenty teams were complete.

“Next, we will announce the songs for the group battles. Please take a look,” Zhai Xingwen said, pointing to the display board opposite them, which had been there since their entrance recording.

The curtain covering it slowly dropped, revealing ten A4-sized boards lined up evenly, each bearing the name of a different song and its corresponding artist.

Ten girl group songs with completely different styles, all either past hits or current chart-toppers.

The trainees erupted in delighted murmurs, pleased with the selection, instantly spotting the songs they wanted to perform.

“Ah! It’s ‘HATE’!”

“There’s ‘Mysterious’ too, awesome!”

“I really love ‘Lost Realm’—please let me get that one!”

“I absolutely want to pick ‘Lovely’!”

“Forget it, my eyes are only on ‘Girls’ now!”

“Wait, there’s even ‘HAHA’?!”

...

“You’re probably wondering how we’ll choose the songs, right?” Zhai Xingwen asked.

“Yes—” the crowd responded eagerly, many trainees already itching to pick.

“Well—it’s a race,” he said with a smile as he observed their shocked expressions. “Each group will select one representative. All twenty groups will race together to grab the song plaques. The team that grabs a plaque earns the right to choose that song. Teams that fail to grab a plaque won’t get to pick a song.”

“Additionally, the teams that secure songs will have the power to designate their opponents. The order of selection depends on the race results. They can choose their opponent from the teams that didn’t get songs, and the chosen teams cannot refuse.”

Before anyone could fully process this, Zhai Xingwen quickly added, “You have one minute to discuss which song you want to choose. The race will start immediately after.”

All the teams quickly huddled to discuss.

Although Yao Xin was the one selecting the team, she didn’t want to dominate the group. Firstly, she lacked the strength to lead confidently; secondly, she wasn’t naturally a leader. She had chosen three Class A trainees precisely to lean on their strength—especially Lan Chenxi.

So, she looked at Lan Chenxi expectantly. “Which song should we pick?”

Time was tight; no one had time to waste. Seeing this, Lan Chenxi immediately took charge and voiced her opinion first: “I want to pick ‘HATE.’ How about you?”

“I want to pick that song too,” Xi Rui said.

That song suited Xi Rui’s style perfectly; it was her first choice as well.

Qiao Yiqing hadn’t heard most of the songs, but she was at least somewhat familiar with ‘HATE,’ so she had no objections.

Seeing the unanimous agreement, Yao Xin and Fang You’an hesitated a little but finally spoke up, “The difficulty of ‘HATE’ might be a bit high for us. We’re worried about holding you back.”

“For live performances, a strong, intense style leaves a deeper impression on the audience, so I recommend ‘HATE.’ Don’t worry about the choreography—we’ll help you with that.”

Is this the kind of security only a pro can bring?

Yao Xin and Fang You’an were moved to the point of tears, feeling much more at ease.

No one objected to choosing ‘HATE’ as their first pick.

Lan Chenxi, with her rich experience, knew all ten songs inside out and could speak eloquently about their styles and choreography. To prepare for the possibility of losing the first pick, she suggested ‘Lost Realm’ as a backup since it shared a similar style.

Song selection ended quickly and smoothly. With some time left for discussion, Lan Chenxi asked, “Who will run the race? Who’s the fastest among you?”

Xi Rui shrugged, “I’m no good at running. Maybe pick the tallest? Long legs usually run faster. You all seem pretty tall.”

Qiao Yiqing shook her head, “I’m not good at sports.”

Fang You’an timidly raised her hand.

“If no one else, I can go. I was on the basketball team before, so I’m okay at running.”

Seeing Fang You’an’s nervous expression, Lan Chenxi reassured her, “It’s okay if you don’t win. This is mostly luck. We won’t blame you, so don’t stress yourself.”

Still, when Fang You’an stood at the starting line, she was very tense.

She focused intently on the ‘HATE’ plaque, waiting for the signal to sprint.

“Beep—”

The starting pistol fired. Fang You’an gave her all as she dashed toward the target.

Suddenly, a figure shot past her like the wind, quickly sprinting far ahead and snatching the ‘HATE’ plaque.

Fang You’an panicked for a moment, then hurriedly turned to grab the ‘Lost Realm’ plaque, but before her hand could reach it, another trainee snatched it away.

At this point, all the song plaques had been claimed.

“Ma Mengrong! Ma Mengrong! Ma Mengrong!” her teammates cheered loudly.

The trainee who took first place and grabbed ‘HATE’ was Ma Mengrong, and her team shouted her name excitedly.

Ma Mengrong happily waved the plaque, signaling her success.

With the race results tallied, Zhai Xingwen announced, “First place, trainee Ma Mengrong, please choose the group you want to battle.”

Catching her breath, Ma Mengrong didn’t hesitate: “I choose Tang Mengzhu’s group.”

When Tang Mengzhu heard her group was called, she closed her eyes—just as expected.

Though she avoided eye contact, the call was inevitable.

Tang Mengzhu knew well that her group was made up of leftover trainees, universally regarded as the weakest. Every team looked at them as if they were lambs led to slaughter.

Targeting the weakest to gain extra votes was only natural.

‘HATE’ was the song everyone had tried hardest to avoid due to its difficulty. Tang Mengzhu and her team had hoped for an easier song, but fate had other plans.

Already feeling down from being left behind, the blow of being picked as the weak group forced to sing a song they didn’t want was crushing.

Tang Mengzhu and several teammates couldn’t hold back tears.

Zhai Xingwen comforted the disheartened team, “Even if you didn’t get your preferred song, I hope you won’t give up. Practice hard and show the producers your effort and sincerity. I believe they’ll be moved by you.”

Other teams proceeded to select their opponents.

Unanimously, they tactfully avoided Lan Chenxi’s group.

To the other trainees, both Wen Yali’s and Lan Chenxi’s groups were the most threatening. If possible, it was best not to face either.

This led to the current situation.

“Then, Wen Yali’s group will automatically be matched with the unchosen Lan Chenxi group.”

Watching other teams get picked off one by one until only Lan Chenxi’s group remained, Wen Yali’s joy over securing her desired song gradually faded. As the last group to claim a song, she had no right to choose her opponent.

Wen Yali didn’t want to face Lan Chenxi’s group—not because she feared losing, but because she wanted to secure the bonus of 3,000 extra votes.

In Wen Yali’s view, barring accidents, her team’s popularity and strength gave them a 90% chance to win against others. But Lan Chenxi’s group was strong, with the highly popular Lan Chenxi herself, significantly lowering those odds.

Zhai Xingwen was also surprised by the outcome. “Looks like this battle will be very exciting!”

The other trainees expressed their amazement.

“Wen Yali and Lan Chenxi are facing off again!”

“Who said they wanted to see a showdown between these two groups? It’s happening now!”

“Another epic battle between Yunding and Xingyuan!”

“These two teams are evenly matched—this will be great to watch!”

The day’s tasks were complete. Producer Zhai Xingwen left gracefully, leaving the trainees to begin free practice.

Still in the grand hall, the teams scattered, each finding a place to sit and focus on their next mission.

Qiao Yiqing’s group chose a corner to settle.

Lan Chenxi broke the silence, “Let’s pick our team leader first.”

No sooner had she spoken than all four naturally looked at Lan Chenxi.

Lan Chenxi had anticipated this outcome. None of the group members had experience as a leader nor ambition to take the role.

From the start of song selection, they had trusted her implicitly.

Lan Chenxi had ample leadership experience and didn’t refuse the responsibility, accepting the role. A sticker with an “L” symbolizing leader was pinned to the upper left of her outfit.

The group applauded.

“Next, let’s choose the center position,” Lan Chenxi asked. “Who wants to be the center?”

Qiao Yiqing, Yao Xin, and Fang You’an all raised their hands.

Xi Rui did not.

Noticing their puzzled looks, Xi Rui calmly explained, “I don’t think my image fits this song well, so I won’t compete for center.”

Wen Yali had chosen the song ‘Lovely,’ so naturally, Qiao Yiqing’s group was assigned that song.

It was an energetic and lively track, with cute lyrics and choreography.

Completely different from the intense ‘HATE’ they had picked.

Seeing Xi Rui’s silver hair and rebellious expression radiating a “don’t mess with me” vibe, everyone understood her reasoning.

Lan Chenxi pondered and said, “So, all four of us want to be center. How about this: we watch the song once, then each take turns performing the key parts, and vote to decide. Sound good?”

Being center not only meant standing in the middle during performances but also handling the song’s key “killing part.”

Everyone agreed.

After watching the song, since Lan Chenxi was familiar with the choreography, she said, “I’ll go first.”

“I wanna love you, I wanna with you—this is our lovely day~”

After Lan Chenxi finished singing, Qiao Yiqing was a bit surprised. Lan Chenxi’s usual image was sharp and cool. Her debut and theme songs had a sleek, stylish vibe, and her demeanor was somewhat unapproachable. But facing this bright, cute song, she transformed effortlessly, fully immersing herself in the performance. Her expression and vocal control perfectly matched the song.

No wonder she was known as the queen of girl groups—the styles didn’t limit her; she could adapt to anything.

“Okay, I’ll go next,” Qiao Yiqing took a deep breath and began her performance.