Chapter 120: The Grand Entrance

"Brother! Brother!"

Backstage, after Liao Meiqi, Zhu Xiyu, and the others had changed into their performance costumes, they excitedly shouted as they saw Liao Yuan strolling toward them: "Come over here!"

Everyone was beaming with excitement. At their age, some people wouldn't even have the courage to stand on a classroom podium to give a speech, yet these girls were already standing on a stage with an audience of nearly twenty thousand. Over two months ago, none of them could have imagined they would make it this far. Of the 101 girls originally selected, only thirty-six remained. And after tonight, another fourteen would be eliminated.

"Did I keep you waiting?" Liao Yuan approached, smiling as he asked, "Are you nervous?"

"Nervous!"
"Extremely nervous!"
"My teeth are chattering!"
"I've got goosebumps all over!"

The girls chimed in all at once. Liao Meiqi blinked and asked, "Brother, aren't you nervous?"

"I'm very nervous, too," Liao Yuan smiled faintly. "But nervousness helps you focus and pushes your potential, so being nervous is a good thing."

The girls giggled. While everyone checked their mini-microphones and earpieces, Zhang Henge's team finished their performance on stage. In Zhang Henge's group, the contestant who received the most votes was Yu Xiaoxi. Out of the six thousand valid votes cast, Yu Xiaoxi received over 3,700, placing her second overall. The stage effect was excellent.

It is worth noting that after all six rounds of performances, the fourteen contestants with the lowest total online votes—combined with the live audience votes—would face immediate elimination. Therefore, every contestant had put their best effort into preparing for today's stage.

In Liao Meiqi's team, Liao Meiqi, Zhu Xiyu, Ju Nianzhi, and Zheng Min'er were all in the top ten of the voting rankings, so the chances of them being eliminated were slim. Fang Yiren was ranked twentieth; whether she would make it into the top twenty-two depended entirely on today's performance. As for Chen Duo, who was ranked near the bottom, there was almost no possibility of advancing. Even if she delivered a perfect performance, her weak foundation made it impossible for her to break into the top twenty-two. After all, the public performance stage was not broadcast live; each show was recorded, edited for a week, and then aired. Therefore, after tonight, Chen Duo's fate was clear.

However, she was not downcast. Making it this far was already a great stroke of luck for her. Her agency had already arranged her upcoming schedule. As soon as *Produce 101* ended, she would dive into a busy routine of public appearances. Although she couldn't be compared to contestants like Liao Meiqi or Xie Yutong, Chen Duo had gained a massive amount of popularity on the show. Once she left, a different kind of future awaited her.

"It's our turn!" Ju Nianzhi shouted. "Sisters, come on, let's go for it!"

The six girls gathered together, stacking their hands, and then turned to look at Liao Yuan. Liao Yuan sighed, walked over reluctantly, squeezed into the circle of women, and placed his hand on top. The next moment, he was enveloped in a wave of fragrant perfume. Before he could react, everyone pressed their hands down together and let out a loud, unified cheer.

"Do you really have to wear skirts this short?" Liao Yuan frowned slightly as he looked at the costumes. Even though they were wearing safety shorts underneath, the subtle allure still made Liao Yuan, acting as the protective older brother, feel a bit uncomfortable.

Ju Nianzhi twirled her skirt, revealing her fair, slender legs, and teased, "Brother, do you like it?"

Liao Yuan shook his head. "No, I don't."

Ju Nianzhi was taken aback. Feeling a bit deflated, she tucked her legs away and huffed, "I actually like them a lot, but these are the official performance outfits from the production team; we have to return them after the show."

The other girls looked equally reluctant. Whether it was a long skirt or a short one, there were hardly any girls who didn't love wearing them. Especially these girls with such great figures—thanks to daily dance practice, their legs were perfectly toned. Even they themselves were almost obsessed with their own beautiful legs.

Although Liao Yuan didn't like the girls dressing this way, he knew that if he were an audience member in the seats below, seeing those beautiful legs would make him feel quite pleased as well. So, he kept his opinion to himself.

"Next, please welcome the Liao Meiqi team, the final group to perform on this public stage!" On stage, after Zhang Henge's team exited, Chen Xiuyuan announced loudly: "Now, let me introduce the special guest mentor for this performance team!"

"He is the renowned author and celebrated songwriter—Liao Yuan!"

The crowd erupted into cheers, but over ninety-nine percent of the audience looked blank. Who was Liao Yuan? They had never heard of him!

It wasn't until Liao Yuan walked on stage from the wings with the six girls and was captured by the cameras and projected onto the giant screen that the audience saw he was nearly twenty centimeters taller than the girls. The female fans in the audience let out a piercing scream that raised the volume of the venue by several decibels.

Their cheers became even more genuine.

"Are you ready?" Chen Xiuyuan asked.

Liao Meiqi and the others took their positions, backs to the audience, and nodded in unison.

"Good luck to Teacher Liao as well! Now, let's have the Liao Meiqi team perform their new song, 'No No No'!!"

Chen Xiuyuan shouted, "Showtime!" as he ran toward the wings.

A second later, a rhythmic electronic keyboard melody began. Liao Yuan stood in the center, flanked by three girls on each side. The seven of them followed the beat of the music, dancing in step while snapping their fingers in unison.

"Never dared to expect, no, no, no / Expecting your love, no, no, no / Smiling as I wave goodbye, yet my heart has fallen to the depths / My heart is hanging on the edge, how I wish to fall in love with you / On this warm and romantic winter night—"

On stage, Liao Yuan and the six girls sang while swaying their hips and snapping their fingers. When this scene was projected onto the giant screen, the nearly twenty thousand audience members gasped in unison.

The crowd went wild.

"Holy... cow!"
"Thrilling! So exciting!"
"I'm into this."
"Wow, who is this guy? That hip movement, that's impressive!"
"Such charming moves, he's dancing well! I like it!"
"It's a bit like the choreography from 'Nobody'..."
"The Miracle Girls are truly amazing, another great song!"
"This young man is great, he can sing and dance. How have I never seen him before?"
"I want the full profile on this man within ten minutes!"

Amidst the thunderous cheers of the audience, the atmosphere surged, and the performance entered a fever pitch in an instant.