CHAPTER 35: THE BATTLE OF TEAM SELECTION

[Shining Path Official]: The trainees of Season III are ready to meet all of you! Dear National Producers, the moment you choose your pick has arrived—their glory belongs to you! @Leonard_ShiningPath @Luther_ShiningPath @...

Trainee Arthur has withdrawn from the program due to personal reasons. We send him our best wishes and hope that the path ahead will shine brightly, whatever his choice! The memories he created at Shining Path may have been brief, but they will never be forgotten!

Shining Path’s post quickly caught the attention of followers.

[Oh my, finally my children have official accounts!]

[Waited so long!]

It should be noted that, except for a few trainees with prior individual activities, like Leonard and Arthur, only they would have official accounts. The rest of the trainees either wouldn’t reveal their accounts or, if they did, they might delete them before officially becoming trainees for various reasons.

Some people even cried over Arthur’s disappearance.

[Why?! Arthur just disappeared without even a single verbal announcement?!]

[Maybe he won’t be active in showbiz...]

[Feels like he doesn’t value his fans at all.]

[Ha, didn’t he say it was due to personal matters?]

[Arthur, come back!]

[But he ranked third... what a pity...]

[That handsome face not becoming an idol is a loss for this industry!]

[Forget it, there are plenty of juicy younger guys out there. Heartbroken sisters, pay attention to xxx!]

[Check out my pick’s performance! Video]

[Guess which trainee who just created an account will get the most followers!]

[I’ve already made a stats chart, ha ha ha]

The trainees had no idea how quickly their follower counts were rising, because as soon as their accounts were created, their phones were confiscated until filming was over.

"Another team selection round! This time, we will make it a bit more special!" The MC’s voice rang out, full of anticipation. The trainees whispered excitedly among themselves, their expressions a mix of eagerness and surprise.

The MC continued, "This time, we’ll divide into nine groups! The nine Trainee As will have the right to decide which members join their group!"

Joshua instinctively glanced at Leonard and, sure enough, saw him smiling at him, eyes squinting playfully.

Leonard leaned slightly closer, their faces nearly touching, tilting his head: "You don’t want to be on my team? Too bad, because I’m picking you!"

The Trainee As were divided into nine groups and could select up to seven members for their group, including themselves. To determine the order in which groups could pick members, the Trainee As would participate in a small game.

"The chosen trainee can either accept the invitation to join the group or decline it. Of course, I believe the Trainee As have enough charm to keep the trainees they want on their teams!"

Leonard’s expression seemed to freeze momentarily as soon as the MC finished speaking. Then Joshua saw him straighten his face and say firmly, voice loud: "You’re not allowed to refuse me!"

Joshua: "...It’s not even your turn to pick me yet."

Leonard: "..."

Pfft ha ha! Luther burst out laughing from the side, his mask shaking.

Joshua immediately felt a weight on his shoulder—Luther draped an arm over him, loudly assuring, "Don’t worry, Joshua, you’re definitely joining my team!"

Joshua ducked back to avoid Luther’s arm, lifting his chin: "I’ll definitely refuse you."

Luther squinted at Joshua, and without hesitation, raised his hand to gently scratch Joshua’s raised chin gently—only to be met with a playful shove to the stomach from Joshua.

"Aaah! The violent scene will be cut, Joshua!" Luther stumbled backward.

Joshua glanced at him, not chasing after him.

Luther leaned in again: "What was that look just now? What was it called... oh, people call it a bombastic side eye..."

"Shut up," Joshua said coldly.

"Yes, sir." Luther seemed to lose all energy, yet obediently stood aside with his hands clasped in front of him, trying to look disciplined—but his eyes couldn’t hide a mischievous glint.

"You two are way too close," Leonard’s voice rang out, laughing. Joshua noticed his smile was the same as when they first met.

Joshua: "Who’s close to him?"

Luther’s eyes went wide, disbelief written all over his face. Joshua’s danger radar immediately sensed that he was about to say something uncontrollable. Luckily, it was time for the game to start, and the Trainee As were called to the stage, finally silencing Luther’s mouth.

Leonard winked at Joshua: "I’ll pick you." Then he strode onto the stage with confidence.

Luther pressed down on Joshua’s head: "Just wait and see if you dare refuse me."

Joshua was pushed back two steps by him, and suddenly his back bumped against something hard, making him pause slightly.

The other person supported his shoulder with a large, steady hand.

Joshua turned his head and smiled awkwardly. "Sorry... are you okay?"

But as he saw the other’s face, Joshua froze momentarily.

Henry lowered his eyes to Joshua’s right cheek. There had been a dimple there just a moment ago, but now it was gone.

Facing Henry’s gaze, Joshua instinctively swallowed and hesitantly asked, "W-what... happened?"

Henry said nothing, guided Joshua to the side, and stepped onto the elevated stage. In his hands, Joshua felt like a stiff stake about to be planted into the ground, completely rigid.

[Okay, breathe.] Nine paused briefly, then added: [This guy’s all gloomy and scary... don’t worry. If he dares to do anything to you, I’ll kill him!]

Joshua blushed slightly. "Stop threatening to beat or kill people all the time. Besides, Henry hasn’t done anything to me."

[I’m just worried about you!] Nine shouted. Threats or not, this world obeys the law of the jungle sooner or later. Only the strong survive, and Joshua, living peacefully until now, didn’t know this!

Joshua didn’t even realize Nine’s inner thought process. Meanwhile, the MC began explaining the rules:

"It’s simple. Here we have nine strips of paper, each 50cm long and skinny—remember that! You need to hold one end of the paper and pull. The person who pulls their strip the farthest gets the first choice of group members!"

Leonard chuckled. "This is way too easy. I’ll take first place!"

Someone couldn’t help but say, "Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Leonard."

Luther rolled up his sleeves. "First place is mine."

At the same time, the MC’s voice rang out: "Go!"

"Wait, what? I haven’t even used any strength yet!" Luther suddenly shouted. His strip of paper was embarrassingly short, and he had no idea what was happening. He swore he had barely touched it!

The MC smiled. "Don’t grip it too tightly. If the paper tears, you’ll have nothing to compare with others and automatically come in last."

Luther lowered his head, staring at the torn paper in his hand, thoughts of destroying the stage already forming in his mind.

Leonard, standing nearby, smirked and grabbed his own strip, but his expression quickly changed.

No matter how the rankings played out, the lead position was definitely out of reach for Luther and Leonard.

"Oaaaaa!"

Suddenly, a wave of astonishment echoed through the room. Henry’s expressionless face on the large screen was seen gripping his strip of paper. His brows furrowed slightly as the paper suddenly snapped—breaking at the far end opposite him—and drooped down!

Even the MC gasped in surprise. "Our Henry has pulled a full 50cm strip of paper!"