CHAPTER 195: CHAPTER 190: NOT THE VILLAGE BELLE

"Next, I will reveal the trainee ranking fourth place. I won’t describe this person’s characteristics right now because if I do, everyone would guess immediately. So, let’s make it a guessing game."

Long Zitao purposely left the suspense hanging. The previous attempts at suspense were all guessed immediately, so this time the production team simply instructed him not to reveal anything, making it a blind guess.

"Lv Fangxin!"

"Lv Fangxin!"

Almost everyone shouted out this name.

At this moment, Lv Fangxin’s heart was racing, her entire being immersed in an indescribable mixture of emotions—fear, anxiety, and an intense longing.

She had never experienced anything like this in her life.

She felt as though the experiences of the past month had been like a dream, bursting with vivid colors every day.

This was the kind of life she truly desired. She couldn’t envision herself returning to that tiny village, or worse, ending up married to some boorish man.

Right then, Long Zitao smirked with a hint of sarcasm: "You’re wrong!"

The group of girls instantly fell silent. Yang Chaoyue, who was famously bad at singing and dancing, was still more competent than anyone here. And yet, she managed to make it into the top three.

This left the girls feeling deeply conflicted. Did years of hard work and effort mean less than someone’s "village belle" looks—or their tears?

Long Zitao, too, was someone who believed in talent and hard work. Back in the day, he pushed himself to the brink, nearly breaking his own body.

He felt deeply conflicted about Lv Fangxin making it into the top three.

He understood that this was a "trainee development" program, where fans prioritized personal branding over skill.

But seeing an individual without talent break into the top three left him discontented.

Especially after witnessing the recent moments of "heartbreaking separation."

The frustrated expression of Lin Jiayi, the tear-stained face of Zhang Yuxin—how deeply regretful their circumstances seemed.

Ye Yuwei!

Wu Zixuan!

The group of girls now weakly voiced out two more names.

"You’re all wrong." Long Zitao echoed, equally lacking energy.

Then everyone turned to look at Meng Meixuan with astonishment. The latter’s face had already turned pale, her eyes filled with frustration and unwillingness. Her gut told her that Long Zitao wasn’t joking anymore.

"No way! Meixuan ranked fourth?"

The girls’ internal scales began to shift. Initially, they simply appreciated Lv Fangxin’s simple and endearing personality.

But now, they were overwhelmed with the feeling that their hard-earned accomplishments were being ignored, while someone who seemingly did nothing was being glorified.

Lv Fangxin sensed something was wrong. She could even read hostility in the gazes of many people—those elder sisters who used to smile at her now wore faces that seemed frightening.

Panicking, she instinctively began looking for a familiar figure.

When her eyes found Chen Yinghan’s encouraging and comforting gaze, she managed to muster her courage once again.

"Meng Meixuan, congratulations!" Long Zitao announced loudly.

Earlier, Yang Xiaoyue reminded Long Zitao to pay attention to keeping the atmosphere lively.

This time, the applause was merely symbolic. Most of the girls shared the same frustration as Meng Meixuan.

Wu Zixuan, however, fluttered down like a joyful bird, sincerely embracing Meixuan tightly: "Meixuan, you’re amazing, congratulations!"

"I’m going on stage now—don’t make me cry; I don’t like crying." Meng Meixuan chuckled while gently pushing Wu Zixuan away, moving towards the stage.

"Meixuan, you’re the best—you’re our big sister!" On the pyramid, all the girls stood up, cheering her on.

Their cheers were a form of protest against the production team and a lament for their friends who failed to take a step toward a new life symbolized by the pyramid.

They wanted the production team to know that they valued "fairness."

Sitting in the audience, Ye Yuwei witnessed this scene with mixed feelings. She understood the sentiments of these girls.

But what they were competing for wasn’t simply who worked harder, trained more diligently, or excelled in singing and dancing. All of that was merely a means to an end—getting the audience to like you.

It was just like Hanoi—there were plenty of talented singers and dancers who trained relentlessly, but those who ultimately rose to the top were those who leaned into their "couple appeal."

It was the epitome of irony, and also the root cause that Hanoi could never escape this cycle.

When facing the greater mass market, the public didn’t have time to care about someone’s "development story." All the public cared about was whether their three- to five-minute performance on stage was good or bad.

"I’d like to say..." Meng Meixuan hesitated slightly here, and the cameraman immediately zoomed in on her; he seemed to smell drama.

Yang Xiaoyue grew visibly excited. She truly hoped Meng Meixuan would throw some direct jabs at Lv Fangxin.

"Go for it! Go for it! Meixuan, you’re mom’s rebellious girl."

"Mom knows you’re proud and can’t tolerate this humiliation. You should speak up for yourself; speak up for your sisters. You’re their big sister."

All of the trainees held their breath, waiting for Meng Meixuan’s words.

Just as she was about to say something, her gaze inadvertently collided with Ye Yuwei’s. The latter quickly blinked a few times.

Meng Meixuan froze with a jolt of realization. As long as Tencent hadn’t gone mad and still wanted the final team to succeed in the market, they wouldn’t possibly make Lv Fangxin the center position.

She and Lv Fangxin weren’t even competitors.

If she went ahead and spoke bitterly now, what kind of fallout would she face online the next day...

She immediately swallowed the words she had really wanted to say.

"I know many people are leaving, but I’d like to say a few words to them."

"It’s a cliché, but it’s also my motto—’Gold will shine no matter what.’"

Everyone heard this and couldn’t help but feel deflated.

Yang Xiaoyue was slightly stunned. Since when had Meng Meixuan become so savvy?

Wu Zixuan was equally disappointed. She really hoped Meng Meixuan would say something that would lighten her mood.

"This has always been something I believe in. I think everyone here is amazing. Even if you leave, you can still succeed. And those who stay will continue to shine brightly."

After saying this, she pretended to cheerfully walk towards the pyramid.

Every step she climbed, the girls would come forward to hug her.

It was as if she was their true queen.

Some girls even directly said, "In my heart, your position is the highest."

Long Zitao watched this scene with growing sadness, but he had to follow the program’s script.

"Now, there are still four spots remaining. The top three trainees received over 70 million votes from creators."

Everyone gasped exaggeratedly; even dividing that number by ten would still make it an astonishing figure.

"So, who are the top three?"

This time, Long Zitao didn’t prolong the suspense, as the answer was already obvious.

"They are Lv Fangxin, Ye Yuwei, and Wu Zixuan."

Ye Yuwei and Wu Zixuan remained composed, the hours of emotion and tears had left everyone a bit drained.

Lv Fangxin, meanwhile, glanced around in disbelief, still unable to comprehend that this was real.

"Please step onto the center stage."

On the way to the stage, Ye and Wu deliberately slowed their pace, while the inexperienced Lv Fangxin naturally walked ahead.

In fact, Ye and Wu’s seats were closer to the stage.

Lv Fangxin soon realized something was amiss. From what she’d observed in her village, the leader usually took the central position, so she hurriedly stepped back, intending to give up the center spot.

But Ye and Wu exchanged a quick glance and flanked her one on each side, sandwiching her in the middle.

Honestly, it worked for everyone—Ye and Wu clearly understood that Lv Fangxin wasn’t a true threat to them.

By now, barring major surprises, the top three (Ye, Wu, and Meng) were unlikely to fall out of the debut lineup.

What they were truly competing for was the coveted center position that commanded the spotlight.

Lv Fangxin was innocent and adorable, the youngest of them all.

By letting their "little sister" stand in the center, neither Ye nor Wu risked upsetting anyone.