AITFYMIBP Chapter 29.2

TL: Hua

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Gao Yu nodded, his pride subtly saved by Lin Yanran. He took a deep breath, waiting for the final verdict.

The camera on the big screen locked onto Lin Yanran’s screen.

His slender, elegant finger tapped “Yes” on Gao Yu’s profile photo.

The moment the video ended, Lin Yanran explained his reason for choosing Gao Yu.

“You have a lot of potential and leadership ability. If we have a captain position this round, you should try to compete for it.”

Although Gao Yu hadn’t been the captain last time, Lin Yanran knew that he was the one who handled all the miscellaneous tasks for their team.

He would wake everyone up, get them breakfast, bring them water, and take care of everyone’s daily needs.

When they were practicing, he would also actively call out the tempo for his teammates, help them perfect the small details, and encourage everyone when they were tired…

Gao Yu did all of this to make up for his past mistakes; he wasn’t doing it to get screen time or to show off.

He never expected that Teacher Yanran had seen everything and acknowledged his efforts for the team.

This feeling of being seen and appreciated made Gao Yu’s eyes well up.

He bowed deeply to Lin Yanran. “Thank you, Teacher.”

Gu Siye patted his shoulder. “Go to your team.”

Gao Yu felt as if he had been given a new chance at life.

He stood up tall in Lin Yanran’s team, and the knot that had been in his heart finally came undone.

He knew that Teacher Yanran had forgiven him.

Xia Xingxing saw the tears in Gao Yu’s eyes and whispered to him as he gave him a hug, “I told you so many times! My idol isn’t a petty person. You have to believe in him, brother!”

Gao Yu looked at Xia Xingxing with gratitude.

He used to think Xia Xingxing was blind for liking Yanran since elementary school. After all, Yanran’s skills weren’t great back then, and he had so many scandals.

But today, he truly felt and understood why he had been a fan of Yanran for so many years and why he was so devoted.

Teacher Yanran was a person with great personality charm!

Of the 45 trainees, 20 had now announced their chosen mentors.

By this point, each mentor had chosen less than half their final team.

Tangtang and Han Zhe had both selected three people, while Lin Yanran had four. The worst off was Pei Luo, who had barely managed to secure two.

When they added up the numbers, they realized the success rate was only 50%.

But that was not even the most unfortunate part. The most unfortunate part was that many of the mentors had wasted their available spots.

For example, Tangtang had only selected three people, but she had already wasted three spots because trainees she chose didn’t choose her back.

This meant that even if all the remaining trainees she picked chose her, she could only select four more people at most.

The other mentors, except for Lin Yanran, were in a similar situation.

This meant there were not many spots left for the remaining twenty-five trainees.

Halfway through the recording, everyone was a little exhausted. The production team played a pre-prepared ad, giving everyone a ten-minute break.

During the break, Pei Luo’s assistant handed him his phone.

He discreetly opened the live stream and saw that the comments were full of praise for Lin Yanran.

Viewers were calling him amazing for successfully picking so many people without wasting a single spot.

After praising Lin Yanran, another group of people began to criticize Pei Luo for having the fewest trainees.

They said he was constantly looking at other people’s high-profile trainees, but not only did they not pick him, he couldn’t even keep his own trainees, wasting so many spots for nothing.

This barrage of comments sent Pei Luo’s blood pressure skyrocketing.

If there weren’t so many people around, he would have smashed his phone right there and then!

What the hell do you idiots know!

This is called strategy!

The more popular trainees you have, the more likely you are to win in the end!

The break ended, but Pei Luo’s anger did not.

After the staff announced the number of trainees each group had and the remaining spots for each mentor, Pei Luo leaned slightly forward, looking past Tangtang toward Lin Yanran on the far side.

“Teacher Yanran,” Pei Luo said with his signature smile, speaking to Lin Yanran for the first time.

No one comes to the temple for no reason.

Even more so when the person was Pei Luo, someone in Xuan Yihan’s camp.

Lin Yanran’s internal alarm bells went off as soon as he heard his name. He had a hunch that Pei Luo was trying to set a trap for him.

However, he didn’t show any reaction on his face, greeting Pei Luo politely and distantly. “What is it?”

Pei Luo pointed to the four people on Lin Yanran’s team. “Can you give us a heads-up? Are you planning to keep everyone from your original team today?”

The question sounded like a casual joke between mentors, and at first, it seemed to have no ill intent or trap.

But Lin Yanran noticed the live broadcast camera had focused on them when Pei Luo spoke.

Knowing that Pei Luo was trying to stir up a narrative, Lin Yanran smiled and made a “zippered lips” gesture.

“It’s a secret.”

It was a well-known fact that manipulating public opinion on a live stream was incredibly easy.

Sure enough, as soon as Pei Luo’s words were broadcast, the comments about Lin Yanran began to spiral out of control.

[Huh? It’s true! Why is Yanran only picking people from his own team?]

[There were so many great trainees from other teams who chose him, but he didn’t take any of them. He saved all his spots for the weaker trainees in his own group?]

[If that’s the case, that’s kind of a turn-off]

[What’s the point of watching if the teams are going to be exactly the same?]

[I thought Yanran was pretty smart, but watching the live stream, he seems to have lost his mind.]

[Maybe the other three mentors are just better at this game. His choices are so boring.]

[I was just criticizing Pei Luo for being greedy, but I’m sorry now. He’s actually putting a lot of thought into his choices.]

Pei Luo not only initiated the conversation but also secretly had his assistant buy up bots to manipulate the comments in the live stream.

However, this narrative had barely begun before it was slapped down hard by reality.

The next fifteen trainees to come on stage included five people from Lin Yanran’s original team.

Just as everyone thought Lin Yanran was going to accept all of them and give them the green light, his list had zero of their names.

All five entered the “unselected” pool!

The live stream commentary suddenly ground to a halt.

Not only did it stop, but the most dramatic scene of the night unfolded.

Seven of the next ten trainees who came out, all from other teams, had written Lin Yanran’s name.

And of those seven, five were from Pei Luo’s team. Two of them were even successfully selected by Lin Yanran!

“Yanran.”

“Yanran.”

“He chose… Yanran!”

“Congratulations, you’ve made it into Yanran’s team.”

“You and Yanran have successfully paired up!”

Every time he heard Gu Siye read out Lin Yanran’s name after a trainee from his team came out, Pei Luo felt his face go red with embarrassment.

It was only then that he realized that picking only people from your own team wasn’t the most awkward thing.

The most awkward thing was when your own trainees all started running away to join someone else’s team!

If the five people had at least picked Tangtang or Han Zhe, it wouldn’t have been so embarrassing. But they had all seemingly made a pact to run to Lin Yanran.

To make matters worse, Gu Siye kept calling them out one after the other.

Just moments ago, Pei Luo was mocking Lin Yanran for relying on his own people.

Now, on his side, besides the two trainees Xuan Yihan had brought in, there were barely any left from his original team who were willing to even stand by him!

The contrast was so brutal it felt like a public execution.

The live stream comments died down, and everyone slowly regained their senses.

[Why are all the people from Pei Luo’s team leaving to pick Yanran?]

[Yeah, wasn’t he the most popular mentor last week? He has so many fans, so it seems like a good choice.]

[You obviously didn’t watch last week’s live performance.]

[Dear, if you want your idol to be a backup dancer for Xuan Yihan on Pei Luo’s team, we fully support you signing up~]

[Lol, Pei Luo was so unfair during the first performance. Do you think everyone is blind?]

[Haters get lost. How was Pei Luo unfair? The choreography had to be done that way.]

[If he’s so fair, then why is no one picking him?]

[It’s all about mutual respect and mutual choice. Our Pei Luo didn’t choose all the people from his own group. Why don’t you reflect on your idol’s own mistakes?]

Pei Luo’s fans were not to be trifled with. Seeing Pei Luo’s image tanking, they immediately went into damage control mode, aggressively defending him.

The barrage was too lazy to argue with them, so they continued watching the program.

Now there were only five trainees left, and each mentor was almost out of spots.

Lin Yanran had two spots left, while the other three mentors only had one each.

The number of spots was similar, but the number of trainees they had selected was not.

Tangtang had five, Han Zhe had six, and Pei Luo had only three.

And Lin Yanran…

He had already selected eight!

This also meant that he had not wasted a single spot on his list!

[Yanran is so good at this. Every single person he wanted chose him back!]

[That’s normal. A lot of people chose him, especially those from Pei Luo’s team. So many came over.]

[Where are the people who said Yanran was unintelligent and didn’t put effort into his choices? Step on up.]

[They even used it as a chance to praise Pei Luo. But today, Pei Luo was the worst at picking. Tangtang chose, just like in the first round, with a clear person for each position. Han Zhe chose people who fit his personality, all with unique strengths. Yanran chose a lot of B, C, and D-grade trainees, but they all have great potential and a well-balanced team setup. And Pei Luo? He just kept staring at the high-profile trainees, even a good-for-nothing one. He didn’t think about team chemistry at all.]

[To be fair, Yanran doesn’t seem to care much about a trainee’s popularity. The other teams have at least two trainees in the top ten, but his team only has one. It would be great if he could pick up one or two more popular trainees later.]

[Now that you mention it, Qiao Ye would be the perfect fit!]

As if the live chat’s predictions were blessed by a god, a voice spoke of the devil, and the devil appeared.

Without any warning, Gu Siye called Qiao Ye to the center of the stage.

Anyone who had been watching Super Idol knew that Qiao Ye was the absolute best option for any mentor.

He was more skilled than anyone with his level of popularity.

Most importantly, his style was incredibly versatile and could adapt to all four mentors.

If a popular and talented trainee like him joined their team, it would be a huge boost to the team’s strength and popularity, no matter which mentor got him.

The moment Qiao Ye walked onto the stage, the audience watching the live stream became incredibly excited.

Everyone assumed he would be the object of a fierce bidding war among the mentors.

Especially now, with every mentor still having open spots.

The viewers clenched their fists, unable to stop themselves from imagining the dramatic scene of four mentors fighting over one person.

The big screen quickly showed Qiao Ye writing the mentor’s name on the card.

But just as he was about to turn the card over to reveal the name, the screen cut away.

Seeing the video freeze at the most critical moment, the live chat was furious, wishing they could jump through the screen and beat up the show’s producers.

[AHHHHHH, why’d you stop it there?! Who did Qiao Ye choose?!]

[You didn’t cut it before, so why now?! Are you even human?]

[I swear to god, you better show it now!!!]

But the production team refused to give in, switching the screen to Qiao Ye explaining his choice to the camera.

Qiao Ye’s eyes were emotionless as he simply stated, “He conquered me.”

Conquered???

Conquered in what way??

That information was way too broad!

It could apply to any of the mentors!

Realizing they had gotten no useful information, the audience started analyzing the situation from other angles.

[Sisters, I looked closely when he was writing the name. I can confirm the mentor’s name has two characters and a lot of strokes!]

[Wow, quick, check which mentors have two characters!]

[Friend, wake up. All four mentors have two-character names, and they all have a lot of strokes.]

[…My bad! Never mind!]

Just as the discussion was getting intense, the screen changed again.

This time, it showed the four mentors making their selections.

When Qiao Ye’s profile appeared, all four mentors said they wanted to fight for him, in perfect unison.

For the final shot, the production team played a clip of Pei Luo’s earlier boast: “Give up, you can’t compete with me. He chose me in the first round.”

Hearing that, Qiao Ye’s fans, who had been silent, suddenly panicked.

No, baby, please don’t pick Pei Luo, please!

Since the first performance, Qiao Ye’s fans had completely distanced themselves from Pei Luo’s fandom.

They hadn’t publicly started a fan war, but they hated him behind the scenes.

So when they heard Pei Luo so arrogantly bragging about the first round’s choice, they couldn’t help but roll their eyes.

After Pei Luo’s clip ended, no other video was shown. The screen cut back to the stage.

Gu Siye asked Qiao Ye, “Are you nervous?”

Qiao Ye shook his head. “Not really.”

Gu Siye: “Congratulations, two mentors chose you this round.”

The fans, who were about to cheer, suddenly froze when they heard Gu Siye’s words.

[??????]

[Teacher Gu, did you make a mistake? Weren’t there four?]

[They all said they wanted to pick him! How did it turn into two?]

Before Gu Siye spoke, everyone had assumed that with Qiao Ye’s talent, all four mentors would choose him, and he could successfully pair up with any of them.

And yet, only two mentors had picked him…

This meant that if his choice wasn’t one of those two, he would be unselected…

The audience, who had been relaxed, now felt their hearts tighten.

If a top-tier trainee like Qiao Ye couldn’t get a spot, that was terrifying.

At this moment, everyone finally truly understood how mentally taxing this two-way selection was.

It messed with the trainees’ heads, and it messed with the audience’s, too!

To make the show even more dramatic, the producers had all four mentors stand up.

Each of them had a sincere look and a slight smile, making it impossible to tell who had chosen Qiao Ye.

On stage, the previously calm Qiao Ye curled his fingers slightly.

He looked through the crowd, his gaze fixed on Lin Yanran.

Will you choose me?

A moment later, a rapid drum roll filled the room. The production team, who had pushed everyone’s tension to the breaking point, was finally ready to reveal the answer.

For some reason, the previously confident Pei Luo suddenly felt a surge of panic.

He wanted to sit down immediately, but the big screen simultaneously showed two images.

On one side:

Lin Yanran and Pei Luo both pressed “Yes” on Qiao Ye’s profile at the same time.

On the other side:

Qiao Ye smoothly flipped over his own voting card.

The mentor’s name, written in neat handwriting, was…

Yanran.

It was Yanran!

Qiao Ye had not hesitated this time, choosing Yanran and directly rejecting Pei Luo!

The moment the answer was revealed, Pei Luo almost choked.

His ears were ringing, and Gu Siye’s earlier warning suddenly flashed through his mind.

“Don’t speak too soon.”

He was right. You should never speak too soon.

Otherwise, you’ll end up being the clown in a live broadcast in front of tens of millions of people.

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