5 Theme Song Review (Part One)

The recording ended in the middle of the night, and the production team arranged for three buses to take the girls to the dormitory apartments.

Qiao Yiqing and Fu Huanhuan were not assigned to the same room. Fu Huanhuan complained the entire way, clinging to Qiao Yiqing and sobbing uncontrollably, "Wuwuwu, Qing-bao, I don't want to be separated from you."

After finally calming Fu Huanhuan down, Qiao Yiqing arrived at her dormitory—Room 303.

When she walked in, she saw that her other three roommates had already arrived, and a cameraman was standing inside.

The girl surrounded in the center noticed Qiao Yiqing and was the first to greet her with a sweet smile, "Hello there! Our dorm is finally complete!"

Seeing the other girl's enthusiasm, Qiao Yiqing responded with a smile.

After greeting her, the girl turned back to the camera to continue her interaction, "I'm so nervous! This is my first time staying in a dorm! But everyone seems so easy to get along with; I'm really looking forward to our life here! It’s going to be so much fun!"

Qiao Yiqing remembered this girl as Fa Shuxuan from Le-Fan Entertainment. The girl standing close to her on her left was likely also from Le-Fan. As for the girl on her right, Qiao Yiqing found her vaguely familiar but couldn't recall her agency.

Without their stage costumes and name tags, it was still difficult to match the faces and information of 101 girls after only meeting them once.

The dorm was a four-person room, set up like a university dormitory with beds above desks. Three of the beds were already occupied with belongings; only the bed on the left near the door remained empty.

"Sorry about that. We saw you hadn't arrived yet, so we picked our spots first. You aren't mad, are you?"

Only after noticing Qiao Yiqing walking straight toward the empty bed did Fa Shuxuan ask, acting as if she had just noticed her.

"It's fine."

Qiao Yiqing placed her luggage by the desk and opened the locker. Inside hung two blue training outfits with a large letter "B" printed on the back.

Earlier, when the three girls were showing their belongings to the camera, they were holding the same blue outfits. It seemed everyone in this room was ranked B.

Fa Shuxuan held up her training outfit, expressing her determination to the camera, "Although I didn't perform well in the initial stage, I will work hard starting from Class B and strive to make it into Class A!"

Luo Yujin, standing beside her, leaned in close, "We'll work hard together! We’ll prove to them that the trainees from Le-Fan Entertainment are all top-tier!"

"Yeah!"

Listening to their back-and-forth, Qiao Yiqing calmly organized her luggage, having no intention of joining in.

Ye Banzhuang chimed in softly, "I know my skills are still lacking, but I will practice hard."

At this point, the camera turned toward Qiao Yiqing, clearly hoping for an encouraging comment as well.

Seeing no way to avoid it, Qiao Yiqing offered a helpless smile to the lens, "I just hope the mentors aren't too angry with me during tomorrow's lessons."

After a full day of recording and with early morning practice tomorrow, everyone was exhausted, wanting only to finish unpacking, wash up, and get some rest.

Once the cameraman left, the room fell silent. Fa Shuxuan stopped talking to Qiao Yiqing, chatting instead with Luo Yujin while unpacking, their careless movements causing belongings and closet doors to bang loudly. Ye Banzhuang tried to interject a few times, but the cold responses she received led to awkward pauses, eventually causing her to fall silent along with Qiao Yiqing.

Two best friends and an outsider.

Qiao Yiqing thought to herself, not minding at all.

Only the laughter of Fa Shuxuan and Luo Yujin filled the room. Once they were finished, they walked off arm-in-arm to the communal bathroom, leaving Qiao Yiqing and Ye Banzhuang in the room.

"My name is Ye Banzhuang, from Yaoyi Culture. What's your name?"

Ye Banzhuang hesitated for a moment before walking over and speaking tentatively.

"I remember you. You performed 'Disco Dream' in the initial stage. You all were amazing."

Qiao Yiqing looked at Ye Banzhuang and said with a smile.

She had recognized her the moment the girl approached. Although Ye Banzhuang, now dressed in a dark jacket, looked vastly different from the girl in the bright purple bodysuit who had been dancing wildly on stage, Qiao Yiqing still remembered her.

At the mention of "Disco Dream," Ye Banzhuang’s cheeks flushed red. No matter how composed she had been on stage, the embarrassment returned once she was off. She defended herself weakly, "It was all arranged by the company. I protested, too."

Still, she felt a flicker of joy; being remembered was always a nice feeling.

"I'm Qiao Yiqing, an independent trainee."

"Oh, I see."

Ye Banzhuang offered an "oh" and had nothing more to say. It was clear she was racking her brain to recall Qiao Yiqing's performance, but her mind seemed blank.

Seeing Ye Banzhuang's awkward expression, Qiao Yiqing considerately changed the subject, "Are you all unpacked?"

"All done! By the way, I brought a lot of snacks. Do you want some?"

Ye Banzhuang, having hit a wall when trying to talk to Fa Shuxuan and Luo Yujin, seemed to grab onto Qiao Yiqing's initiative like a lifeline, enthusiastically pulling out her stash.

"This brand of cookies is delicious, I stocked up on them. And this is a local specialty from my hometown, I specifically brought it. Also these chips, I brought three flavors..."

"Thank you, but it's too late." Qiao Yiqing politely declined. Seeing Ye Banzhuang’s spirits deflate, she added, "It's easy to gain weight if you eat late at night. We can save them and enjoy them later."

"You're right. I'll hide them so those two don't see them." Ye Banzhuang put the snacks back into her suitcase, clearly nursing a grudge over the way Fa Shuxuan and Luo Yujin had ignored her.

When Fa Shuxuan and Luo Yujin returned, they found that the two girls who hadn't known each other before were now chatting naturally. Ye Banzhuang, who had been so eager to please earlier, was no longer as enthusiastic and greeted them with indifference.

Fa Shuxuan and Luo Yujin exchanged a glance with a faint, mocking smile. The two underdogs from smaller companies were banding together.

They didn't give it a second thought, continuing to talk and laugh loudly as if they were alone, completely ignoring Qiao Yiqing and Ye Banzhuang.

In just a few hours, the dormitory had split into two factions.

Qiao Yiqing had a premonition that life in the dorm might not be very peaceful from here on out.

Finally, after finishing everything, Qiao Yiqing lay down in bed.

The lights were out, and the room was shrouded in darkness, save for the soft sound of breathing.

Qiao Yiqing's thoughts wandered until she soon drifted off to sleep.

-

The trainees did not attend classes in one unified room but were divided into sessions based on their rankings, with each rank having a separate practice room.

The room for Class A was the A-Class practice room, and so on.

At that moment, the Class B trainees stood in four rows, awaiting the arrival of their instructor. They looked toward the door with anticipation, and the moment Wei Wei pushed it open, a wave of enthusiastic cheers erupted.

Wei Wei smiled and waved, accepting the trainees' warmth.

A small black table was placed in front of the trainees. Wei Wei walked over, sat down, and faced them.

"Have you all practiced?"

"Yes, we have," the group replied in unison.

"Then, does anyone want to volunteer to sing first?"

Suddenly, no one spoke. The trainees looked at one another, eyes darting back and forth in hesitation.

After a moment of silence, two people raised their hands, one after the other.

"Oh? We have two brave souls."

"You go first."

Wei Wei pointed to a girl with short silver hair.

The silver-haired girl stepped forward. She wasn't tall, but she had a strong presence. Even when called to perform alone before the instructor, she showed no signs of panic. Her hair was messily spiked, giving off a rebellious vibe. As she lifted her lyric sheet, her sleeve pulled back, revealing a corner of a tattoo on her arm.

"Waiting for a long time,

Finally seeing you,

..."

The girl began to sing. Her voice was slightly raspy, but not jarring; instead, it held an inexplicable magnetism.

*Such a voice would be perfect for lazy love songs,* Qiao Yiqing thought.

After she finished, Wei Wei pondered for a moment before speaking, "Xi Rui, I recall your specialty is rap, right?"

The silver-haired girl, Xi Rui, nodded.

"For the theme song, you must follow the original melody. Do not improvise or rearrange it. Is the high-pitched part too difficult for you?"

"The key is too high; it doesn't suit me."

"If you truly cannot reach the notes, you can use falsetto, but do not rearrange the song. The theme song is meant to be sung by everyone; doing it your way will make you stand out in the wrong way. Actually, your voice is lovely and your vocal placement is good. As long as you practice diligently, you can certainly sing it well."

After pointing out the issue and offering encouragement, Wei Wei saw that Xi Rui remained expressionless, showing neither the shame of being criticized nor the gratitude for being encouraged. After bowing, she returned to the ranks.

"Alright, Fa Shuxuan, come up."

The other person who had raised her hand was Fa Shuxuan.

"Teacher, I'm not very good at singing," Fa Shuxuan said as she walked up, offering a shy smile to Wei Wei.

Though she said that, she felt quite confident, especially after hearing Xi Rui's performance.

Wei Wei said nonchalantly, "It's fine. Just sing boldly. Only by singing can I know where your problems lie."

Fa Shuxuan seemed encouraged and nodded repeatedly. She cleared her throat and began, "Waiting for a long time..."

"Stop. Start over," Wei Wei interrupted sharply. "The pitch is wrong."

Fa Shuxuan's smile stiffened. She bit her lip, composed herself, and started again.

"Waiting for a long time,

Finally seeing you,

..."

"Stop. Still wrong. The pitch is too low."

Wei Wei interrupted again, staring at Fa Shuxuan while demonstrating the beginning of the song.

"Do you understand now?"

Fa Shuxuan nodded, tears shimmering in her eyes, but when she sang again, it was indeed much better.

This time, Wei Wei did not interrupt, letting her finish the first verse.

"Your singing is a bit too flat. It's like you're reading a book—there’s no fluctuation, no emotion. This is a very upbeat song, but right now, it sounds like you're about to fall asleep."

Watching Fa Shuxuan's eyes well up with tears, Wei Wei reflected on whether she had been too harsh and frightened this delicate trainee, so she offered a final word of encouragement.

"As long as you practice well, you can correct these issues. Keep working hard!"

Following that, Wei Wei stopped calling on specific individuals and instead had them come up one by one based on their standing positions.

"Your vocal placement is all wrong. You need to use your diaphragm."

"Don't strain your throat to sing."

"Why are you afraid to sing? If you can't even sing in front of me, will you also refuse to sing a single word when you have to face hundreds or thousands of viewers in the future?!"

"You made many mistakes in the lyrics. Why are there mistakes when you're looking right at them? Have you even studied the lyrics seriously?"

...

After more than half the group had gone, Wei Wei's throat grew tired. She took a quick sip of water for a few seconds of rest before immediately calling the next trainee.

"Qiao Yiqing."

A girl with long, straight black hair and pale skin stepped forward. She looked no older than sixteen or seventeen, with a pointed face and a hint of baby fat. Her demeanor was as pure and clean as a student's.

Wei Wei glanced at her and thought, *Oh, it's her.*

She had an impression of this girl.