Over the next few days, Jiang Yuqi spent her days practicing intensely with her teammates, and at night, she used her computer to search for evidence of Zhang Maosheng's illegal activities.
Time quickly flew by, and it was finally time for the first live broadcast competition of Dream Chasing Girls. Around a thousand enthusiastic audience members had been invited by the production team to the venue to participate in online voting, which, combined with other scores, would determine the contestants' results.
Host Teacher Yu cheerfully opened the show:
"Dear friends and guests, welcome to the first recording of Dream Chasing Girls. I'd like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all our friends who have traveled far to be here, to our respected panel of judges, to the hardworking contestants, and to the viewers watching eagerly at home."
"Up next, please enjoy the energetic and youthful theme song 'Dancing Life' performed by the girls!"
"That was amazing! Everyone practiced so hard—it really captured the lively spirit of youth!"
"Center girl Li Yuan was incredible! I couldn't take my eyes off her!"
"Watching these beautiful girls is such a visual treat. I never want to watch another cheaply-made idol drama again."
"Seriously, these days idol dramas pick leads based on what standard? Their visuals are at an all-time low."
The internet buzzed once again over the already trending performance of Dancing Life, and the topic quickly made it onto the day's trending list.
"Dear audience, did you find the contestants' performance just now exciting?"
Before the host even finished the question, the venue erupted into thunderous applause, lasting over a full minute.
"Dear friends, up next is the intense team battle segment. Contestants will compete in pairs, and the team with the higher score wins."
The host then read out the detailed scoring criteria:
"For this competition, judges' scores account for 40%, live audience votes for another 40%, and online viewer votes for the remaining 20%."
The first matchup was between Team 1, led by Li Yuan, and their rival team, both performing the same piece, Swaying Lotus.
As the powerful drumbeats began, everyone's attention was immediately captured.
Ten girls formed a massive lotus blossom on stage that slowly and brilliantly bloomed. The stunning display made everyone gasp—it was obvious this was Li Yuan's group's newly devised trump card. They opened strong with a visual "bomb."
Even the judges were amazed by the group's creative concept. The opening tied in perfectly with the title Swaying Lotus.
It was a brilliant idea that matched the song's theme flawlessly.
The livestream bullet comments began to fly rapidly as netizens jumped in to express their awe:
"Group One is overflowing with creativity—they completely captured my attention!"
"No wonder Li Yuan's the top-ranked trainee. Her leadership and team strength are outstanding."
"I feel sorry for the opposing group. After watching Group One, I don't even want to watch the next team…"
In the waiting room, Jiang Yuqi also acknowledged Li Yuan's group's impressive performance. Their stage presence was strong, and their coordination was tight.
However, Li Yuan's strength was so far above the rest of her group that it gave off the impression of one lead singer with nine beautiful backup dancers.
You couldn't blame Jiang Yuqi for thinking this—Li Yuan's individual brilliance was overwhelming, making the others seem like background props.
As for the second group, their performance was steady and technically sound, but it lacked originality and energy—it felt flat.
From the sparse applause outside, the result was already clear: Li Yuan's team had won, and the official results confirmed it.
Soon, it was Jiang Yuqi's team's turn to perform. All teammates entered the stage holding traditional round fans, ready to present their newly prepared fan dance.
At the start, everything went according to plan. Everyone's positions and movements were spot-on.
Suddenly, one member's fan began to slip. Jiang Yuqi noticed it instantly. Not willing to see all their effort ruined, she swiftly bent down and caught the falling fan in one smooth motion.
Then, without missing a beat, she slipped her own fan behind her back and handed it to the stunned girl, allowing the performance to continue seamlessly. The rest of the team let out a collective sigh of relief.
From the audience's perspective, it looked like a flawlessly choreographed trick—no one suspected anything. Instead, the applause grew louder.
The judges also took note of the incident, secretly raising their evaluation of Jiang Yuqi.
After all, being able to avert a potential stage mishap with quick thinking showed she had the makings of a true idol.
"Wow, Jiang Yuqi's fan-catching move was killer! No wonder she's my favorite!"
"Honestly, I don't think that move was planned. Did you see the other girl's surprised expression?"
"I don't care what really happened—the performance was amazing."
While waiting for the scores, Jiang Yuqi was tense. Even though she believed in their strength, she couldn't relax until the results were out.
In the end, her group won by a solid 200-point margin, and the team members were ecstatic.
The girl who had fumbled her fan came over to thank her:
"Jiang Yuqi, thank you so much today. If you hadn't reacted in time when I dropped my fan, our group would've been doomed."
"No worries. You were just nervous. It all worked out in the end."
Other members also came over to thank her, and Jiang Yuqi accepted their gratitude modestly.
In front of the cameras, sincerity didn't matter—what mattered was attracting fans.
The live competition lasted a full three hours. In the end, the brutal elimination round arrived: 30 contestants would be cut this round.
According to the rules, eliminations would only come from the losing teams. Each contestant would receive an individual score, and those with the lowest scores would be eliminated.
This rule actually benefited underperforming members of winning teams—it meant sometimes, being carried was a blessing.
But to survive the second round, contestants would need to rely on solid strength.
Although the second round would also be a team competition, the 70 remaining girls would be divided into 10 groups and paired off for PK rounds.
However, this time the elimination system had changed: each losing team would lose two members, and even the winning teams would lose one.
Meanwhile, Zhang Kexin had been closely monitored by her father's assistant lately, leaving her unable to stir up more trouble. She was about to go crazy from boredom.
Her father had incredible influence, and of course she didn't want to live a repressed life. But recently, he had advised her to lie low, saying once she recovered, he would send her abroad.
But that was something Zhang Kexin absolutely couldn't accept—she hadn't fulfilled her dream of becoming a star yet!