Chapter Twenty-Three: The Challenger

F?

Everyone was startled—how could this be!

Liao Meiqi bit her lip, then forced a smile and bowed. “Thank you, teacher.”

“F does not belong to you.”

Chen Xiuyuan grinned mischievously. “Congratulations, you’re entering Class A!”

The crowd erupted in astonishment!

With this, the final spot for Class A was awarded.

Liao Meiqi’s mouth hung open, her emotions surging so swiftly that her tears collapsed in an instant.

The next moment, tears flowed down her cheeks.

She cried as she bowed again. “Thank you, teacher!”

“Wow, Chen Xiuyuan, you’re so wicked! How could you tease the young lady like that!” Jiang Lingsu laughed and scolded. “Look at how frightened you’ve made her. Aren’t you going to apologize?”

Chen Xiuyuan was a little surprised by Jiang Lingsu’s reaction—wasn’t she the one who looked down on this girl?

But, amid the crowd’s jeering, he finally stood up and pleaded with the sobbing Liao Meiqi, “Miss, please don’t cry. Once this episode airs, who knows how many people will curse me. Please, forgive me!”

Liao Meiqi broke into laughter through her tears, her smile blooming like a flower, leaving many in the audience mesmerized.

She bowed in gratitude once more.

Yu Lianzhou smiled calmly. “I look forward to hearing you sing again.”

“Of course,” Yan Nenan added with a smile. “And your dancing, too!”

Vocal coach Zheng Yongxu earnestly reminded her, “Number 73, remember my words: three months from now, whether you succeed or fail, my promise stands—forever!”

Thus, all members of Class A were officially assembled.

But—

Shortly after Liao Meiqi took her seat in Class A, during the following performances, two more contestants were selected for Class A by the judges!

“The quota for Class A is only eleven spots. Now, there are two extra members, so according to the rules, two of you must accept a challenge from the newcomers,” Chen Xiuyuan announced, rising from his seat. “The losers will automatically be demoted to Class B.”

All the Class A contestants tensed instantly.

“Of course, you can choose not to accept the challenge and voluntarily move to the Class B seats,” Chen Xiuyuan continued. “Now, Ju Nianzhi and Zhu Xiyu, please step forward and select the opponent you wish to battle. I trust you’ve seen their performances, so please consider carefully.”

The atmosphere was electric; many could feel themselves trembling.

This format—girls tearing off their masks, openly battling, and ultimately crowning victors and vanquished—sent everyone’s adrenaline soaring.

Too thrilling!

Zhu Xiyu barely hesitated before heading straight for contestant Hua Chunlan in seat number eight, challenging her to a battle and ultimately winning, advancing smoothly into Class A.

Ju Nianzhi, however, lingered on stage for quite a while.

She feigned suspense, wandering before the seats of the eleven Class A contestants, inflicting the greatest psychological pressure on them all. Finally, she stopped before Liao Meiqi, curled her finger, and smiled confidently. “Sorry, but this seat is mine!”

Ju Nianzhi had watched all the Class A contestants’ performances.

At the company’s direction, she was thoroughly familiar with several contestants’ profiles.

She knew some of them were returning artists, already debuted overseas for over a year. One was even the protégé of one of the Empire’s Seven Sons, a prodigious talent with grand slam credentials.

Such highly skilled contestants were daunting—she naturally avoided them.

After all, in life, head-on clashes rarely end well and often become the classic case of eggs striking rocks.

So, it’s best to pick the softer fruit.

She had carefully studied Liao Meiqi’s background:

Signed with an obscure company, utterly lacking resources; her greatest asset was, perhaps, her so-called genius brother.

Without her song “The Rest of My Life,” Liao Meiqi wouldn’t have made it into Class A, and even Class B would have been uncertain.

Such a contestant posed no threat to her.

Thus, weighing the pros and cons, Ju Nianzhi was utterly confident.

She simply couldn’t believe Liao Meiqi could produce another song as powerful as “The Rest of My Life.”

“Me?” Under everyone’s gaze, Liao Meiqi was nervous but stood up regardless.

Her expression was timid, yet she spoke earnestly: “Actually… I feel the pressure in Class A is enormous and I want to settle for less, but before I came, I promised my brother I wouldn’t let any opportunity slip by.”

“So you’re accepting my challenge?” Ju Nianzhi asked.

Liao Meiqi affirmed, “Yes, I accept.”

The audience burst into applause.

“This is going to be good,” Jiang Lingsu laughed. “In my opinion, these two are evenly matched. Ju Nianzhi’s dance skills are strong, but her singing is weak and her vocal range narrow. Liao Meiqi’s singing is solid, well-rounded, and her sense of rhythm is insanely good, but her dance skills are just learning to walk…”

“I think Liao Meiqi is in danger—she might end up in Class B,” Chen Xiuyuan remarked. “She couldn’t possibly deliver another song on the level of ‘The Rest of My Life.’”

Amid the lively discussion, the first battle began.

First was the dance.

With random music from the production team, the sultry Ju Nianzhi showcased her full allure on stage; her serpentine waist swayed, exuding unmatched charm.

Even though more than ninety percent of the audience was female, she still left everyone parched and tongue-tied.

Chen Xiuyuan kept praising, “This is the benchmark of girl group dance.”

Then, Liao Meiqi took the stage.

After her epiphany in the previous dance round, Liao Meiqi’s grasp of musical pitch was nearly transformed.

She hit every beat perfectly and adapted her moves accordingly.

Yet, unfortunately, at this moment, Liao Meiqi was like a martial arts master who had accidentally acquired sixty years’ worth of internal energy—her power was immense.

But not knowing any techniques, she had no idea how to unleash it.

So her movements looked patched together, entirely unstructured.

But…

Strangely, it was still a pleasure to watch!

Even when she twisted randomly, she unconsciously drew everyone’s gaze.

This oddity baffled many.

Jiang Lingsu and Yan Nenan, both choreographers, instantly recognized it.

Their eyes shone with a brilliance beyond words.

Their gaze was like discovering a peerless uncut gem, eager to sculpt it into a rare treasure.

After all, this was a gem with sixty years of power—even if weak and untrained, it could split stone with a single blow.

After the dance battle, the singing contest began.

Ju Nianzhi performed a love song, “Three Lifetimes,” currently sweeping the nation, earning applause from all contestants present. She had tweaked the rendition to suit her breathing technique, making it more dazzling.

Yet the two vocal coaches whispered to each other.

“A bit ahead of the beat, but it doesn’t matter,” Chen Xiuyuan said. “She deserves an A.”

Yu Lianzhou frowned. “This is a competition—mistakes are mistakes.”

“Unless it’s an A+, Ju Nianzhi is guaranteed to enter Class A.”

Chen Xiuyuan glanced at Yu Lianzhou and concluded, “Teacher Yu, I know you’re acquainted with Liao Meiqi, but a competition is a competition—there’s no room for favoritism. I’m not saying Liao Meiqi is worse; with her talent, a stint in Class B might do her some good.”

Yu Lianzhou grunted and fell silent.

Chen Xiuyuan felt frustrated.

Yu Lianzhou was just too stubborn. This was a show—the audience isn’t blind; they can see who’s better. If you keep favoring Liao Meiqi, you might end up hurting her instead…

At that moment, Liao Meiqi stepped onto the stage and picked up her guitar.

Everyone watched her quietly.

Liao Meiqi plugged in the amplifier, adjusted the microphone stand to her height, and, as the whole audience waited, began strumming the first chord.