Rebirth from the Ashes - Chapter 463

Chapter 463: Play the Part of a Mascot

Shen Xi’s statement only reflected her ignorance. She copied Xia Mi to compliment Ye Weiyang’s good voice and ensued with words of encouragement. They partially came off too obvious and intentional.

Watching on the sidelines, the mentors were feeling embarrassed by her actions, yet the person in question remained calm, acting like she had no idea.

It was not Song Wenye and the group’s turn yet as Ye Weiyang was the first among them to go up on stage. They started to panic when Ye Weiyang took a long time to return.

Ye Weiyang was a well-behaved young girl but was introverted and rather self-conscious. She was like a little girl next door that they wanted to put in their pockets to keep her from harm. Although it had not been a day since they knew her, the group wanted to be her big sisters.

“I’m going to take a look.” Song Wenye could not sit by and wait.

“Wait a little longer.” Ji Jingyan stopped her. It might not be a bad thing that she was gone for that long. For all they knew, the mentors might love Yangyang and be having a prolonged chat with her.

Just then, Ye Weiyang entered the room.

“How was it? How was it?” Song Wenye went up.

The girls seemed more nervous than Ye Weiyang. She smiled and pointed at her name tag. “Group F, but I’ll work hard to catch up to you.”

Dumbstruck by Ye Weiyang’s rating, Song Wenye said, “Don’t worry. I will help you. Let’s debut together.”

She was under the impression that the agency would find another ace in dance and music like Tong Kejun and the rest. Song Wenye thought Ye Weiyang was definitely going to be in Group A, but it turned out differently.

Standing a short distance away, Su Ruowan and He Lu were happy to see Ye Weiyang returning with an F rating. They held Ye Weiyang in contempt, thinking she was all that to sit on the second-place seat. She turned out to be a loser!

The trainees who had a problem with Ye Weiyang sitting on the front seat were delighted by Weiyang’s F rating. What a joke!

Following their sequence, the trainees went in one by one to be judged, and soon, it was Su Ruowan’s turn.

Su Ruowan had absolute confidence she would ace the evaluation, enter Group A, and remain there all the way until finally, she got a big break to stardom.

The mentors knew Su Ruowan as the Su family’s daughter. She was often taken to various events by film star Li Jingran. They not only knew her but also had exchanged words before.

Aside from a personal relationship, they found Su Ruowan’s performance as well as mannerism commendable. The five mentors gave their comments and sure enough, rated her an A.

Then came Shen Xi’s critique.

Su Ruowan appeared anxious as she gazed at Shen Xi. Although she could not care less for this mystery mentor, Su Ruowan was not going to reflect that thought of hers on her face, not after years of putting up a front.

With her every action put under a magnifying glass on camera, she had to remain watchful of her conduct.

“How many are there in Group A now?” Shen Xi suddenly inquired.

Everyone broke out in cold sweat by the rude awakening. The production team must be mad to bring this person onto the set. Was Mr. Yun here to make things difficult?

Xia Mi glanced at her while rolling her eyes to herself. Mr. Yun was only embarrassing himself and his company once the broadcast got out there. Even if he was here to punch the clock, he could at least be professional about it. Xia Mi answered, “There would be four, including Su Ruowan.”

Shen Xi asked another question. “How many more participants do we have left to perform?”

The question stumped Xia Mi. They were so focused on giving critiques and grades that they had not noticed how many were there. She glanced at the remaining mentors before shaking her head at Shen Xi.

In the end, they had to ask the staff member on-site to figure that there were fifty-three trainees left.

Shen Xi nodded and decisively pulled her mystery mentor’s card, declaring her veto. “I disagree. Half of the quota for Group A is taken now and yet there are still more than half of the contestants left. How can you be so sure there’s no one better than her? Wouldn’t it be unfair to the outstanding trainees to give out the spot before they have a chance to shine?”

Su Ruowan’s eyes alighted with fury.

The godd*mn mystery mentor was out to get her! Su Ruowan heard from the other trainees before her turn that the mystery mentor never said a word nor used his special privilege.

Why did he decide to exercise his authority to dismiss her when it was her turn?

Had it not been for the time and place, Su Muyan had in mind to teach the mystery mentor a lesson. The guy yielding privilege and acting like the boss was off-putting.

There was no denying Wanwan’s ability. She was the best among the riffraff of trainees. Not only was Mr. Yun blind, but he also had the audacity to challenge Wanwan!

“I’d have to agree. I’m going to leave it pending for now.” Xia Mi stood by Shen Xi for a change. She gazed at the other mentors. “What about you guys?”

Gu Yang had the closest relationship with Xia Mi, being friends in private. He did not oppose the idea. The mystery mentor had said something sensible for once. “Pending for me. I’d need to give the other brilliant contestants a chance.”

Fang Yao and He Sumo gave it a thought before nodding to put the decision on hold for now. Otherwise, it would only be unfair towards the remaining trainees.

Su Muyan was not in the position to stand up and object to Yun Xiao’s veto. Everyone knew Wanwan was his sister. It would only stir unnecessary trouble and criticism if he were to stand up. Thus, he went with it.

The production team preferred drama over a conflict-free set. They zoomed in on Shen Xi, closing up on her face.

The mystery mentor was made for variety shows, sparking controversy every time he opened his mouth. The production team looked forward to his presence in the show.

Su Ruowan left the room hating on Mr. Yun’s guts. Who did he think he was? Was he looking down on her? Out of all the trainees, nobody stood out more than her.

She may think so, but restlessness was brewing within. What if the godd*mn mystery mentor came up with more theatrics to stop her from joining Group A?

As predicted, there were many brilliant and talented trainees to come. Song Wenye and other trainees brought nothing short of excellence to the stage.

Nevertheless, the mentors set them – including Su Ruowan – aside as yet to be determined. The production team was happy with the outcome even though it was not in the plans, but it made the show more interesting.

The anxiety and restlessness the trainees felt from falling into the mentors’ pending list became one of the highlights of the show.

After the last trainee was rated, the mentors turned to the list and were shocked by the numbers. There were twelve of them.

Before Shen Xi exercised the veto, three were already assigned to Group A. This meant that only four spots were remaining out of the seven in Group A.

In the end, the four selected for Group A were Song Wenye, Guan Rou, Tong Kejun, and Su Ruowan.

Ji Jingyan and Liu Qianyu may have breathtaking voices, but their dance was lacking. Since overall strength was taken into account for Group A, both of them only managed to bag a B rating.

Unless they were geniuses, dancing required years of training, and burning the midnight oil would not cut it. Ji Jingyan and Liu Qianyu had not built much of a foundation as they only started dance classes after signing onto Cosmos Entertainment.

Having discussed in private before, the mentors were no strangers to who were the trainees from their sponsor, Cosmos Entertainment.

They might find Cosmos Entertainment’s conduct revolting, but the ill feelings were only directed towards those fixed winners and the mystery mentor. As veterans of the industry, they were more than willing to guide trainees with talent and potential who would put in the hard work. The mentors were here to witness their growth.

Of course, Su Muyan was not one of those people. He directed his resentment towards everyone in Cosmos Entertainment, from Shen Xi and the mystery mentor to Cosmos Entertainment’s trainees.

If possible, he did not even want to give an A rating. Oh, how he wished they received the short end of the stick and were eliminated!

By the end of the grading round, seven trainees were placed in Group A. This was the only group with a fixed number.

There were twenty-one in Group B, twenty-five in Group C, thirty in Group D, and lastly, eighteen in Group F.

Apart from Gu Yang coordinating the show as the girl-group producer, the remaining mentors had to pick a group to be in charge of. Their role was similar to that of a homeroom teacher.

Leaving Shen Xi out of the conversation, the lot had chosen their respective groups. The only group that remained was Group F.

Su Muyan turned to Shen Xi. “Mr. Yun, you have more experience in handling them since you’ve been a coach for trainees in Country H. We’ll leave Group F to you.”

The remaining bunch exchanged a glance with a stiffened look on their faces.

Su Muyan was deliberately making Yun Xiao look bad since it was no secret he was just here to hang around. By handing Group F to him, the show might as well end here.

Xia Mi may have a sharp tongue, but the woman had a kind heart. Clearing her throat, she was ready to speak up for Shen Xi.

Without sparing Su Muyan a glance, Shen Xi straightened out the documents on the desk and bluntly replied, “Sure.”

Su Muyan was pleased to get the answer he wanted, anticipating Shen Xi to make a fool of herself and expose herself to be nothing but a fraud. Su Muyan only attempted to sound her out but to his surprise, she took the bait.

He had to see for himself if the supposed coach from Country H was only all talk when it came to guiding the trainees.

As the producer of girl groups, Gu Yang had the most say in things. He wanted to smooth things over and stop Su Muyan from putting an outsider on the spot. It never occurred to him that Shen Xi would agree to it without hesitation.

Certainly, he did not condone Su Muyan’s picking on others. However, Gu Yang had his own motives as well. He had been trying to get in touch with Cosmos Entertainment’s genius songwriter, Xixi, for a partnership so now was not the time to be offending anyone.

Gu Yang was more than capable of taking on Group F since he was in a successful boy band himself. It never crossed his mind that Shen Xi would happily go along with Su Muyan’s exhortation.

Fang Yao and He Sumo stood on the fence and only concentrated on their duty as mentors. It was best they isolated themselves and stayed away from any conflict.

Although impressed by the mystery mentor’s bravery, they wished he could just play the part of a mascot. The guy was just asking for it.