At the sa ti, in a university dormitory, a group of girls gathered around a table, staring at a laptop.
"Ah! ng ixuan is so cool, so charming!"
"I prefer Zixuan. Her gentle, sweet, princess-like vibe is adorable."
"That ’village beauty’ is incredible too. Back in the day, I was the pride of my village too."
Everyone was chatting and laughing as they discussed the show, barely noticing the subtle allegiances forming within the group.
"What the hell! Are the ntors blind? How could Zixuan lose to that blond half-demon?"
"Watch it! Who are you calling a blond half-demon? Wu Zixuan lost because her singing and dancing sucked—what does Yang Ni have to do with it? If she’s got the guts, she should win it fair and square!"
"Enough arguing! Clearly, ng ixuan is the best—an absolute ace in both singing and dancing."
"Co on now! Didn’t you see Ye Yuwei? Her dancing is amazing! Even the ntors praised her. And those long legs—wow, I’m absolutely smitten!"
The dorm quickly erupted into a noisy debate, each defending their favorite competitor.
anwhile, similar scenes were playing out across various schools in Huaxia.
For students, a life soaked in heavy coursework finds its outlet in idol-worshipping and fandom culture.
In a rented apartnt
Two girls, barefoot and munching on chips, were gleefully watching the screen.
"Oh my god, Zhu Riri, you’re the absolute worst!" One girl threw her chips onto the tatami in rage, almost exploding at Zhu Riri’s actions.
"She knows she lacks the skills for dancing, so she resorted to dirty tricks—shouting, stealing the spotlight, and sabotaging the girl next to her. Such a cunning snake," the other, seemingly more reserved, sneered disdainfully.
"After the show ends, I’m heading to her Weibo to tear her apart," the first girl declared, clenching her fist with a fury that looked like she was facing a sworn enemy.
At this mont, the comnt section was flooded with ridicule aid at Zhu Riri.
Over at Penguin, the staff were frantically trying to clean up the ss. The sheer number of insults was overwhelming, and many users resorted to coded language and homophones to skirt moderation, making manual cleanup necessary.
"Haha, this ’village beauty’ is hilarious! Other people cry out of sadness, but when she cries, it’s so funny! And that dance move—has she trained in martial arts?" soone in a dorm filled with seven or eight factory workers burst into laughter.
"She’s scared but refuses to give up. Honestly, it’s pretty pitiful. She reminds of us—chasing the dream of settling down and buying a house in the big city, a dream that feels unreachable. But still, we keep striving." A bespectacled young man, red-eyed, said softly.
The others grew silent, reflecting on how Lv Fangxin’s struggles mirrored their own.
"You’ve got to be kidding—that Zhu Riri ended up being chosen as the center position?!"
"Can Penguin please get its act together? I swear, I’m going to her Weibo to fla her stupid ass later." A girl watching the show in her school dorm almost smashed her phone in anger.
"Well, we shouldn’t put all the bla on her. Isn’t the system based on whoever puts in the most practice gets the hardworking center position? Zhu Riri worked hard too," another girl chid in.
"I’ll admit she worked hard. And if she lost despite her efforts, I’d have given her a thumbs-up.
But interfering with Gao Ziyi and hysterically grabbing the spotlight? That’s wrong.
She’s just a scher looking to play on sympathy and win attention."
The first girl barely managed to suppress the urge to argue with her roommate, choosing instead to rationally analyze the situation.
Galaxy
At the community center
Although the small idols from Galaxy outwardly appeared dismissive of the "Natural Idol" show, the rising popularity of the program had secretly hooked them.
"Damn, Ye Yuwei—she’s such a faker! Total green tea behavior, hiding her true talent, only to stun everyone later. What a cunning move," Zhang Yu spat, clenching her fists in frustration.
"And don’t even get started on the show staff—they must be blind. They gave her the ability center position, while Sister Bingbing only got the hardworking center slot. Bingbing deserves both center positions!" Xu ngchen scowled indignantly.
"Why did they even let Ye Yuwei onto the program in the first place? I bet she pulled so shady tricks to get in." Zhang Yu’s suspicion echoed the thoughts of most of Hanoi’s small idols.
What they’d all missed was that no one could have predicted how explosive the show would beco.
Li Jiaqi was also watching the program with Yu Qingjia in their dormitory.
Ye Yuwei’s performance had left her completely awestruck.
"She never told you about this?" Yu Qingjia questioned, carefully observing Li Jiaqi.
"... Maybe she trained during the ti she left Galaxy," Li Jiaqi offered weakly, trying to make excuses for her friend.
"Jiaqi, don’t lie to yourself. You and I both know how hard it is to reach that level of skill in dance." Yu Qingjia turned to face her, locking eyes with her.
Li Jiaqi panicked and lowered her head. She realized Ye Yuwei—the familiar girl she once knew—now seed like a stranger. The Ye Yuwei on the screen felt worlds apart.
"I can understand her, though. If she’d demonstrated such outstanding talent when she first joined Galaxy, she could have encountered all sorts of problems." Yu Qingjia seed to be consoling Li Jiaqi.
"Maybe..." Li Jiaqi sighed. "Sister Qingjia, my heart feels so confused. Can you hold for a while?"
Yu Qingjia opened her arms and embraced the despondent Li Jiaqi tightly. "Jiaqi, we have our own path to follow. And we’re doing pretty well right now."
"I know, Sister Qingjia. I won’t falter because of Ye Yuwei. I will beco a big star and make it out of this place."
Yu Qingjia reached out and gently wiped away the tears that had unknowingly stread down Jiaqi’s face.
"Jiaqi, I’ll always stand by your side, no matter how tumultuous things are outside."
"Sister Qingjia, thank you..."
The camp
It was truly a showcase of life’s ups and downs.
The high-profile contestants were naturally beaming, while those overlooked couldn’t help but feel dejected and heartbroken.
Zhu Riri sat frozen in her dorm, accompanied by Lin Jiayi and Liu ngyao.
Although everyone had anticipated that Zhu Riri would face backlash, no one had expected the horrifying level of cyberbullying she actually received.
From Weibo to the show’s comnt section, it felt like the entire world’s most vile insults had been poured onto her.
So even photoshopped disturbing images, issued threats, and dug into her school, her family—so-called "classmates" painted her as a lunatic, a green tea type.
Rumors spread that she had slept her way to fa, suffered ntal illness from botched costic surgery, or ruined herself with dication.
At first, Zhu Riri tried to hold up under the pressure, but eventually, she completely broke down.
Since the program began airing, the attacks against her had never ceased. Gossip pieces about her kept popping up on every dia platform.
What terrified her the most was when the show’s production team approached her to ask if she wanted to withdraw from the competition.
In a panic, she ran to Yang Xiaoyue and frantically begged for forgiveness.
Afraid that she might hurt herself, Yang Xiaoyue tasked Lin Jiayi and Liu ngyao with keeping an eye on her.
Lin Jiayi was now torn, worried both about Zhu Riri’s emotional state and the competition itself.
In her current ntal condition, there was no way Zhu Riri could rehearse.
"Miaomiao, you’ve gone viral!" So mbers of the fashion girl group were gathered in Wang Miaomiao’s dorm.
"Oh, stop it! Rain Wei is still prettier than ." Despite her modest words, the girl who sang "Kiss Kiss" on the initial stage couldn’t hide the satisfaction in her eyes.
The promotional photo of her and Ye Yuwei posing at the airport had gone viral.
Online discussions were filled with praise for their stunning visuals, and her Weibo followers had increased by tens of thousands.
anwhile, her Penguin fan group had welcod hundreds of new mbers.
This made her the second-most popular mber of the group, after Yang Ni.
"We still need to nail the first public performance. The stage is our lifeline," reminded Yang Ni, the group’s responsible leader, in a serious tone.
But Wang Miaomiao didn’t take it to heart; her thoughts had already shifted. She believed she could debut based solely on her looks.
"In girl groups, appearance matters most. Lv Fangxin has so many fans purely because of her looks!" Wang Miaomiao thought to herself.
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