Chapter 15: The First Performance (Part One)

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The second season special group of the country’s largest entertainment forum, *Starlight Shine*.
[74 replies | For friends without tickets to the first public performance, take a look here]
Original Poster: Seeing all those posts on the homepage about winning tickets to the first public show, I just want to say, I’m not jealous at all. [Sunglasses emoji]
Reply 1: Take off those sunglasses and have a look.
Reply 2: Our group already has over a dozen people—wow, truly seasoned fans.
Reply 17: Waiting for tomorrow’s report.
Reply 56: So many winners, why can’t I get one? [Crying emoji]
...
[123 replies | Going to watch the first performance of *Starlight Shine* Season 2 tomorrow, will report back]
Original Poster: This afternoon, I got a call from the production team saying I won a ticket to the first public show of *Starlight Shine* Season 2. They asked if I could make it, and of course I’m going! Here’s a screenshot of the confirmation message from the production team. I’ll post a report after the show tomorrow.
Reply 1: Ahhh, congratulations, baby!
Reply 7: Looking forward to it.
Reply 23: Congrats! If possible, could you please pay attention to Lan Chenxi?
Reply 74: Waiting here, post some behind-the-scenes.
Reply 101: Please give more love to our newbie Wen Yali, thank you.
Reply 115: Thanks for your hard work, sister.
...
Tomorrow is the first public performance, also the first time seeing the trainees live.
Before the show airs, everyone can only pass the dull waiting time with sporadic materials and digging up old info. There’s no doubt the public performance will be the event with the richest information.
Because filming is prohibited during the show and electronic devices are collected upon entry, some attendees rely on memory to write out what happened—that’s called a report.
From these reports, one can get a glimpse of the groupings for the first show, how the performances went live, the interactions among members, and the trainees’ personalities.
Many are already eagerly awaiting tomorrow.
—
On the day of the public show.
Pu Jingjing held a banner for Qiao Yiqing as they queued to enter.
The recruitment for the first public performance began very early, ending even before the theme song and trainee profiles were released.
Under such circumstances, the proportion of casual viewers without fan status in the audience was relatively high.
However, some well-known trainees had rumors circulating before the list was public, prompting their fans to apply early, or after the show materials were released, some casual viewers gradually became fans, and many at the venue held banners or cheering fans for various trainees.
Watching the many fans of Lan Chenxi and Wen Yali gathered together, Pu Jingjing felt a bit worried.
For trainees like Qiao Yiqing, who had no fame at the start, no archival footage, and barely any screen time in the materials released so far, few people paid attention to her.
Pu Jingjing searched a long time before finding another Qiao Yiqing fan; the two exchanged contacts and grouped together for mutual support.
No matter what, Pu Jingjing made up her mind: when Qiao Yiqing appeared, she would cheer wholeheartedly, not wanting her to feel she had no fans, wanting her to know that someone in this world truly liked her.
—
At 4 p.m., the audience had all taken their seats.
Suddenly, the lights dimmed, beams of light struck the stage, and a figure appeared.
The crowd instantly screamed. The stage lights brightened, and the representative of the Producers, Zhai Xingwen, stepped onto the stage.
“Hello everyone, I am Zhai Xingwen, your representative producer.”
The audience responded with enthusiastic applause.

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At this moment, the trainees backstage watched the screen and applauded as well.
“The representative looks so handsome today!”
“And he’s wearing a suit!”
Zhai Xingwen began announcing the process for the first public show and the voting rules.
“Today, we will begin the first mission performance of *Starlight Shine* Season 2, which is the group battle evaluation.”
“There are 10 songs in total, and each song will have two groups competing against each other.”
“Important to note: among the two groups performing the same song, you may only vote for one trainee. The individual votes will be summed, and the group with the higher total votes wins.”
“The entire winning group will receive a bonus of 3,000 votes.”
“So, please cheer for your chosen trainee!”
Zhai Xingwen wasted no time and moved straight to the theme of the day. “The first battle song is ‘HAHA’ by Happy Virus. Groups competing, please take the stage!”
Two groups lined up on either side of Zhai Xingwen.
“Luckily, we didn’t get this song,” Yao Xin said with some trepidation, eyeing the two groups on stage dressed in rainbow neon patchwork dresses performing “HAHA.”
It wasn’t that the song wasn’t popular; rather, it was not a typical girl group track. Stylistically, it resembled Ye Banshuang’s debut stage performance of “Disco Dream”—both were high-energy club-style dance songs.
Coincidentally, Ye Banshuang was in group one for this song.
The music started with thunderous drumbeats. Ye Banshuang, wearing black sunglasses, turned around, stared into the camera, stepped forward a few paces, then flung off the sunglasses and shouted, “Scream!”
The catchy rhythm kicked in, followed by a synchronized dance. Ye Banshuang led from the center, executing quirky moves with surprising ease.
Ye Banshuang was clearly the center of this group, Qiao Yiqing thought, suppressing a smile. Previously, Ye Banshuang had been reluctant to mention her debut stage performance of “Disco Dream,” but now, the first public show still featured a song of similar style, “HAHA.”
During the theme song performance earlier, Ye Banshuang had seemed somewhat insecure, but now on stage, radiating confidence, she truly seemed suited to this style, making group one’s performance noticeably brighter.
With this energetic opening, the atmosphere instantly warmed.
Watching Ye Banshuang toss off her sunglasses, trainees from the same agency cupped their hands around their mouths to scream, shouting, “Ye Banshuang! You are the new queen of clubbing!”
Laughter erupted among everyone.
The tense atmosphere among the trainees began to ease thanks to this song.
The second song was “Love Alert.” Qiao Yiqing focused and watched Fu Huanhuan take the stage.
“Love Alert” was a sweet little song. Fu Huanhuan’s group was quite young, matching the song’s vibe well. The song and choreography were not difficult, and the performance was steady with few mistakes. The whole stage was filled with a pink bubble-like atmosphere.
Seeing Fu Huanhuan perform well, Qiao Yiqing relaxed.
Several more groups performed thereafter.
“‘Lost Realm’ performed quite well,” Lan Chenxi said.
Everyone remembered that song had been the second backup choice.
Among the performers of “Lost Realm,” there were no particularly famous trainees, so the audience reacted quietly at first, but after the performance ended, the cheers grew noticeably louder.
They had earned the audience’s respect with their performance.
“Too bad we didn’t get that song,” Yao Xin said regretfully.
“No need to regret; we’re doing fine now,” Xi Rui said calmly.
“Exactly! Who says only energetic dance numbers attract attention? Today, we’ll show them how refreshing styles can win!” Yao Xin’s enthusiasm was reignited.
Since they usually practiced in different rooms and had staggered mentor evaluations and rehearsals, this was Qiao Yiqing’s first time seeing other groups’ stages and getting new impressions of other trainees.
“First Love” was a fresh, slightly melancholy song. The lead vocalist of group two was a girl named Wen Shan. During the debut stage and theme song evaluation, she hadn’t stood out, and Qiao Yiqing barely remembered her, let alone the others—most likely no one did.
Her clear and gentle voice introduced the song like a story being told, setting the tone for the stage. The harmonies were also excellent.
After this stage, other trainees would surely remember her name.
The next song was “Be My Love,” a sexy style track.

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Everyone wore tight black leather outfits. Ren Qianqian’s top was a short black halter, paired with low-waisted leather pants. Around her exposed waist was a leather chain belt, making her look both sexy and fiery.
“Her figure is amazing!” Yao Xin and Fang You’an couldn’t help but exclaim.
Not only was her figure great, her dancing was even better. One dance move involved lying on the floor and slowly lifting her upper body. When the camera focused on Ren Qianqian, her supple waist arched like a snake forming a graceful curve. Upon rising, she tilted her head slightly, flicked her hair, and shot a sultry, captivating glance at the camera, leaving the backstage trainees stunned.
“Ahhh!!!”
“Big sister is killing me!”
“Ren Qianqian, what are you doing?!”
“No wonder this is the adults’ stage!”
At that moment, the audience erupted into unprecedented screams.
Many trainees pretended to be shy, covering their eyes and peeking through their fingers.
Xi Rui also covered Qiao Yiqing’s eyes, saying children shouldn’t watch.
Qiao Yiqing was both amused and embarrassed.
Soon, it was time for the ninth song, “HATE.”
“HATE” was a girl crush-style dance track. The original group F.E.I had skyrocketed to fame with this song, becoming a top-tier group. It was very well-known in the fandom and had been everyone’s first choice.
When the two groups took the stage, group one appeared relaxed, while group two looked nervous.
Group one was the first-picked group during song selection, with high-ranking members: one from Class A, two from Class B, and two from Class C, including Fa Shuxuan.
Group two was the leftover group, with only one member from Class C and the rest from Class F.
Both in popularity and skill, the difference between the two groups was huge.
Everyone remembered how several members of group two had cried in despair when their group was assigned.
Watching the two groups on stage, Yao Xin sighed softly, “Looks like this will be a one-sided massacre.”
Fang You’an added, “Hopefully group two won’t lose too badly.”
Everyone expected group two to lose.
But after seeing their performances, opinions began to shift.
Seeing group one’s lackluster, sloppy moves, and several collisions during positioning, Yao Xin wondered how they had even practiced.
With such member rankings, their performance shouldn’t have been like this.
All the initial expectations for group one turned to disappointment.
Yao Xin silently complained, “Why didn’t they practice properly after getting this song? They don’t cherish it at all! They might as well have given it to us!”
In contrast, no one had high hopes for group two’s abilities. Although their singing and dancing were lacking, they basically got through it. Especially the center, Tang Mengzhu, whose determination was palpable even through the screen.
After the performance, several members of group two cried while thanking Tang Mengzhu for her efforts as leader and center, practicing with everyone. Trainees watching backstage were quietly moved.
A few trainees even wiped away tears.
There was still one last song to perform.
The production team thoughtfully arranged “Lovely” as the finale.
The recording started at 4 p.m. and it was now 11 p.m. Seven hours of recording was exhausting; many audience members would leave early, and even those who stayed grew impatient from fatigue.
“Lovely” gathered many popular members in the two groups, such as Lan Chenxi and Wen Yali. Fans who came to see these members wouldn’t leave early, and the battle between Xingyuan and Yunding was also a highlight for casual viewers. Thus, almost no one left and everyone stayed until the end.
Just as Zhai Xingwen announced the final group to take the stage, a tsunami of screams erupted.
Finally, the moment had arrived.