CHAPTER 105: CHAPTER 102: ENTERING THE CLASSROOM

Another Room

In Class D, Gao Ziyi was staring at the green team uniform in front of her with a look of disappointment.

She felt a bit uneasy about being assigned to Class D, but she could only accept it. It was no surprise to her that Jiang Mengqi, her teammate, ranked higher.

After all, Jiang Mengqi had been much more popular in the small theater. Last year, Jiang Mengqi had ranked third in their small theater’s fan vote rankings.

"Ugh! This color, and such a tiny uniform—how am I supposed to wear this?" Gao Ziyi picked up the uniform with an expression of reluctance.

She was already on the heavier side, and the uniform looked quite small. She was worried it would squeeze out her fat.

Beside her, Li Tiange, who had a well-proportioned figure and followed a sexy image, said, "You’ve got such a round face, but I think your figure is actually pretty good."

Gao Ziyi, who was already in a bad mood, glanced at her with her big round eyes and felt even more irritated. "Stop lying. Turn off the lights tonight, and you won’t see a thing."

Li Tiange was dumbfounded. "Turn off the lights—me?"

She hadn’t expected her simple words of comfort to provoke such rude remarks from this seemingly easygoing, chubby girl.

In fact, Li Tiange was a nice person. Both her parents were university professors.

She followed a sexy route because the company required it, but she personally had proper values and a cultured demeanor.

Not long after, Gao Ziyi, who had been complaining about the uniform, walked out of the restroom with a slightly embarrassed smile on her face.

Apparently, she realized she was being recorded just moments before.

And surprisingly, the uniform didn’t look bad on her. It didn’t even pinch her fat.

Just a note here: Class A’s uniforms were pink, Class B’s were purple, Class C’s were yellow, Class D’s were green, and Class F’s were gray.

So when everyone finished changing into their everyday team uniforms and started visiting one another, those in Class F couldn’t help but feel a sense of inferiority.

What does the color gray remind people of? Dullness, gloominess, even defeat.

Especially when seeing teammates they spent everyday moments with wearing uniforms of higher, even three levels higher, the mental pressure mounted.

Some were so affected that they couldn’t even stomach the lunch prepared by the production team.

But, there were always a few who stayed carefree and joyful.

Duan Yuxin was busy jotting down her roommates’ names in the notebook where she kept track of her weight every day.

She loved this place. It gave her the feeling of being in college.

"Duan Yuxin, why did you write ’Big Rain’ for yourself?" Lai Ruoxuan asked curiously as she watched from the side.

"Because I’m a bit chubby. At home, everyone calls me Chubby Girl, so now I want everyone to call me Big Rain here." Lai Ruoxuan was defeated by her logic. The name ’Big Rain’ sounded strange no matter how you heard it.

"Xiao Xuan, would you teach me how to dance and sing? I really like your traditional style dances," Duan Yuxin suddenly grabbed her hand.

"Sure! But with a voice like yours, I’m not sure I can teach you." Lai Ruoxuan felt happy about Yuxin’s trust but worried she wouldn’t be able to teach her well.

"You’ve been professionally trained in choir. I’m sure you can do it."

"Hehe, well... I’ll give it a try. But as for dancing, I’m no expert. We’ve got two amazing teachers here." Lai Ruoxuan said as she pulled over Wu Meiying.

Wu Meiying, after defeating Gao Lili from Class F, had been promoted to Class B by the mentors.

"I’m very strict. Just don’t cry when the time comes!" Wu Meiying smiled confidently.

Wearing glasses, Li Shihan quietly smiled as she watched them, feeling a sense of warmth in their dormitory.

In the dorm next door, Lu Bingbing walked in with a bag of bottled water.

"You’ve all been busy for a while now; you must be thirsty! I brought this up from downstairs—there’s both room-temperature and chilled."

"Perfect! I’ve been craving something cold," Meimei from Dream Flying gleefully grabbed a bottle.

"I want one too! If only we had some ice-cold soda," said Wei Xin, Meimei’s groupmate, licking her lips.

Lu Bingbing looked at her in surprise. "Don’t you work out regularly? How do you still drink carbonated drinks?"

Wei Xin awkwardly brushed her hair back and replied, "I only take a sip once in a while."

"Zi Meng, which one do you want?" Lu Bingbing walked over and gently asked Li Zimeng, who was sitting quietly.

"I’ll have a room-temperature one," Li Zimeng replied in her peculiar yet soft tone.

Even though she was visibly exhausted, she maintained perfect posture, clearly a result of rigorous training.

Lu Bingbing knew that people from uncommon backgrounds often carried a deep sense of caution toward outsiders. After setting the water down, she didn’t press her further, knowing there’d be time later to build trust.

In the same dorm position one floor below, Luo Tiantian from Dream Flying was watching Jiang Mengqi with curiosity as the latter carefully organized a dressing table.

This girl not only kept her own things meticulously neat but even tidied up others’ scattered belongings.

"Wow, Mengqi, you’re amazing! My old dorm was always a mess. Living with Guo Jia and the others felt like being in a pigsty!" Luo Tiantian ruffled her half-golden short hair.

She followed an androgynous style, and truthfully, she had a certain charismatic "coolness." But Yang Ni and her captain Guo Xia were so dazzling that they completely overshadowed her.

Just then, a voice that they would come to deeply dislike in the years to come rang out.

"Attention, everyone! Put on your team uniforms and gather in your respective practice rooms immediately." It was the loudspeaker from the show’s production team.

Feeling they hadn’t rested enough, the girls could only drag their weary bodies to follow the floor director to their respective practice rooms.

Class F was the first to find their space.

Their training room wasn’t far from the elevator doors.

When this group of "gray-clad" girls opened the door, they found the room to be small with no mentor waiting for them, which left them feeling even more defeated.

They felt like abandoned children, their only purpose now to be fodder.

"Look, there’s a note over there!" Zhao Yongke from the Fashion Girl group pointed towards the message board by the door.

"’F is only temporary. Don’t give up on yourselves. Keep trying, and you will be noticed. Trust me, I’m here for you,’" Zhao Juke read aloud.

Originally convinced they were discarded, the Class F girls instantly burst into tears.

"We’re not forsaken. Someone is still paying attention to us," Zhao Juke exclaimed passionately.

"At one time, I thought I was amazing. But the moment I was placed in Class F, I completely denied myself from head to toe. Now, knowing that someone hasn’t given up on me..." Zhang Xiaohan from the Half of the Golden Autumn group was crying uncontrollably.

"Hello, everyone!" At that moment, Luo Junxiang walked in.

The sight of him made everyone breathe a collective sigh of relief.

They felt Long Zitao was far too strict.

Zhang Wei and Hu Binbin were kind, but their singing skills were intimidatingly high-level, leaving the girls afraid of failing and angering them.

Wang Junhe had an intimidatingly cold demeanor that made it hard to approach him.

As for Tian Jiaxuan, they liked her, but she wasn’t there.

But when Luo Junxiang arrived, everyone was delighted. He was humorous, lighthearted, and playful, always managing to make them laugh. And his singing and dancing skills weren’t bad either.

"I know what you’re all thinking right now," Luo Junxiang said, "but when you’re at a very low point, what do you do?"

Class F, brimming with anticipation: "Jump higher!"

Luo Junxiang shook his head. "No, your legs go numb."

Everyone burst into laughter.

Zhang Xiaohan looked at Luo Junxiang, her eyes sparkling. She felt that this man truly understood them.

"I believe that there are some among you who absolutely do not belong in Class F," Luo Junxiang said.

His words instantly reignited the girls’ fighting spirit.

These were all elites from their respective companies, many seasoned with years of practice. Deep down, they refused to accept that they deserved to be placed at the bottom.

"I know you’re scared right now and even feeling a bit defeated," Luo Junxiang added.

His gaze swept across each of them as he spoke, causing many to lower their heads in shame.

"If you give in to these thoughts now, you’ll respond the same way every time you face setbacks in the future. We won’t give up on you, but you must not give up on yourselves first."

Luo Junxiang’s words were like a shot of adrenaline. Encouragement isn’t inherently bad—it depends on how it’s used.

For these young girls chasing their dreams, they weren’t afraid of hardship or exhaustion; what they feared most was losing hope.

When given even a sliver of light, they would fight desperately to grasp it.

"Come on, let’s train together," Luo Junxiang urged.

"Teacher, play the music... Why are you all so serious? This is a lively song—smile! Be happy, manage your expressions!"

"Don’t look at me, look at yourselves in the mirror. What I want from you now is to open your hearts."

Luo Junxiang tirelessly lifted the mood, pulling them out of their frustration and pain.