Ti flew by quickly, and by 3 a.m., the dance practice room was left with only Lin Jiayi’s lonely silhouette.
She quietly sat on the floor, two tears rolling down her cheeks, which she wiped away swiftly. She didn’t want anyone to see her cry; to her, crying was a sign of weakness.
True strength is forged in sweat and perseverance.
Zhu Riri hadn’t returned at all. Fan Lei had tried to persuade her to leave, but she said she still believed Zhu Riri would prioritize the team. And yet...
"Was I really wrong? Perhaps, in Zhu Riri’s mind, she’ll get eliminated in the next round anyway, so no matter how hard she works, it won’t matter." Lin Jiayi let out a desolate smile, closed her eyes, and lay on the floor.
She didn’t want to return to the dorm and stare at that tear-streaked face which occasionally revealed a chilling gaze that unnerved her.
If she had a choice, she might have joined Lu Bingbing’s group instead, because those people were genuinely devoted, and the forr was an exceptionally responsible leader.
To help everyone rest well, Lu Bingbing even bought foot soak redies for them, so they could relax and have the energy to tackle the next day’s practice.
What Lin Jiayi didn’t know was that soone else wasn’t sleeping either: Ye Yuwei was in the public restroom, reading the letter Mu Yunchu had given her.
The handwriting was elegant and beautiful, detailing the events of recent days ticulously.
Ye Yuwei hadn’t anticipated the wave of attacks against her would be so ferocious, especially coming from Lan Yening’s fans.
Her impression of Lan Yening was rely that he was quiet, cool, lacking the sunny vitality of his peers.
She hadn’t expected him to beco an idol.
She didn’t think Lan Yening’s company had orchestrated these attacks; the two didn’t have any competing interests. It was likely just so "brain-dead fans" acting on their own.
These people probably decided to harass her because their beloved "brother" and his female dance partner had normal physical contact once.
Actions that normal people might find baffling were commonplace in the fan circles, especially among younger fans.
This letter gave Ye Yuwei a surge of confidence.
Her initial plan was to use the show to attract fans, accumulating as much popularity as possible before being overshadowed. She hadn’t thought she could outperform Lu Bingbing in competition.
But now, she felt she had a chance, because she had a strong base of active fans. If she guided them well, maybe they could vote for her to win.
Still, everything was unpredictable.
Without an agency, she only had her fledgling, barely-ford fan club to rely on.
Whether they could fight for her until the end, or would crumble under pressure, or even quit halfway remained uncertain.
A person’s success depended not just on talent and effort but also on fate.
She felt fortunate already; thankfully, she hadn’t given up and had made thorough preparations in the beginning, which led to impressive performances in the first two episodes.
These performances had attracted so many fans, giving her the confidence to keep moving forward.
Ye Yuwei read the letter several tis, and after much deliberation, decided to act after the first public performance.
She held onto a trump card, but whether it would work depended on the results of the first performance.
She wouldn’t naively believe that fan votes alone could secure her debut—unless she broke out in an overwhelming way that left the production team unable to ignore her.
The sunlight soon pierced through the horizon—another new day had begun.
On her way to the practice room, Lu Bingbing still didn’t spot her fans.
By now, she understood clearly that this was the show suppressing her.
Because one after another, other people’s fans had started to show up.
The most popular among them was Yang Ni, who received gifts until her hands were full.
Next in popularity were Wu Zixuan, ng ixuan, and Ye Yuwei.
Even the petite and adorable Lai Ruoxuan surprisingly had many fans.
The village beauty, known for her looks and tears alone, seed to also have a remarkable buzz.
However, Lv Fangxin always insisted those fans were hired by the production because she believed soone like that—not particularly skilled—couldn’t possibly have real supporters.
"Mu Yunchu, thank you for the gift you gave last ti and for the encouraging letters you wrote." Ye Yuwei seized a mont when the staff wasn’t looking and grabbed his hand.
Mu Yunchu was stunned by his idol’s gesture, which bordered on "fan-pandering" and "special attention"—a kind of favoritism that could provoke jealousy and backlash among other fans.
Sure enough, fans of other participants imdiately turned their gaze toward them, so looking envious, while others seed incredulous.
The staff promptly intervened, separating them and warning Ye Yuwei that her actions violated the show’s rules.
Fans weren’t allowed close contact with contestants, nor could contestants discuss anything related to the show.
Lu Bingbing, watching from afar, witnessed everything.
Next to her, Wang Qingyu sneered, "Looks like Ye Yuwei has gotten arrogant."
"No. If anyone in Galaxy is untouchable, she’d probably rank in the top three," Lu Bingbing replied. She didn’t believe Ye Yuwei would act carelessly.
Elsewhere, Jiang ngqi and Luo Tiantian looked enviously at Ye Yuwei.
"Tiantian, when will we have fans of our own?"
"Only when the company hires so for us, I suppose."
Luo Tiantian’s response left Jiang ngqi chuckling awkwardly, "Can’t you show so faith in yourself?"
"We hardly have any screen ti—what’s there to believe in?"
This ti, Jiang ngqi fell silent too. At this point, they could already tell from the production’s attitude which contestants had montum and which didn’t.
From initially equal attention to the current selective focus.
In this base, only about five or six contestants enjoyed the privilege of special cara coverage and were featured in mid-broadcast advertisents—it was always those few.
"Jiang ngqi, here’s so Rainbow Skittles for you."
Suddenly, a chubby girl ran over and handed her a box of beautifully packaged candy.
"Ah! Thank you! Are you my fan?" Xu ngjie exclaid with delight, overwheld by the unexpected happiness.
"Yes! I like your smile. Seeing you makes feel better. Also, Rainbow Skittles is my favorite candy, and your na is Rainbow." The girl’s eyes glowed with a trace of sadness.
"Thank you—I love Rainbow Skittles too," ngqi replied.
"Really?" The girl covered her face, overwheld, and began crying.
"Really. I also love collecting jars of candy. I fold stars and place them inside, then make birthday wishes to them," Jiang ngqi said earnestly.
"...Rainbow, can you make a wish for too? Wish for the people around to treat better."
"I’ll fold stars for you and put them in this jar. Co pick them up when you’re ready."
Jiang ngqi had an inkling of what might be going on, but she couldn’t ask further; the show wouldn’t allow anything too negative to be shown.
"I will always love you. There are many girls like who adore you. Don’t give up—we’ll vote for you!"
Jiang ngqi was deeply moved, tears brimming in her eyes. She had no defenses against fans’ love for her and always responded with sincerity.
Luo Tiantian gazed at her friend enviously but felt an ache in her heart.
She adopted a more neutral style, aiming to attract female fans.
But first ca Yang Ni, followed by Guo Xia and ng ixuan—these three overshadowed all other gender-neutral idols in the base.
"This is my friend Luo Tiantian. When you vote for , please also vote for her. Okay?"
Luo Tiantian froze montarily, then grasped Jiang ngqi’s hand tightly, deeply touched. ngqi was sharing her votes—a precious commodity in this stage of the competition.
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