Chapter 481: No More Room for Improvement

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

At least Mr. Yun Xiao added another word to his repertoire of brief responses.

He would say to the trainees who advance to a higher rating, “Good.”

Towards the trainees who either remained in their original groups or were demoted, Mr. Yun Xiao gave them his usual encouragement to keep it up.

Group F members were the stars of the evaluation this time around. They walked into the judging room confidently and returned glowing in enthusiasm.

Out of the eighteen members of Group F, Ye Weiyang the lucky star joined Group A, three went into Group B, four were assigned to Group C while the remainder were promoted to Group D.

So far, no one from Group F was held back. All of them managed to climb up the rating ladder. As for the other trainees, there were some who went from Group B to C and some shifts going on between Group C and D, but no one was demoted to Group F.

Surprisingly, three members of Group A fell off the ladder to Group B. They were He Lu and two other Group A members.

Apart from Group F’s Ye Weiyang, Ji Jingyan and Liu Qianyu advanced to Group A. Everyone had an opinion about them being under the management of Cosmos Entertainment.

There was a great deal of resentment circling around the set. The trainees were convinced that the competition was rigged and that they were predetermined winners.

Other than the trainees from Cosmos Entertainment, the only person who remained in Group A was Su Ruowan.

Su Ruowan had known early on that she would make the cut since she was one of the pre-decided winners. Nevertheless, she was more than capable to debut even without them reserving the debuting spot. The reservation was only a precautionary measure.

He Lu and the two former Group A girls were in the same boat. Unable to criticize one another, they put all their resentment and hate on Cosmos Entertainment’s trainees.

After her turn, He Lu seized an opportunity to give her uncle a call. She wailed and begged on the phone, hung up on dropping out of the winning spots. He Lu had to find a way to get back up and make her debut somehow.

By the time she returned, she caught a glimpse of Su Ruowan exiting the judging room. To her dismay, Su Ruowan retained her A rating and was not demoted like her.

Why?

How was Su Ruowan better than her? Why had she fallen in rank while Su Ruowan did not? Resentful and bitter, He Lu wanted to quelch all those on top of her under her feet.

Su Ruowan looked at He Lu and approached with a worried look on her face. “Don’t worry, Lulu. With skills like yours, you will definitely make it to Group A. The program also looks at popularity.”

She did not want to see He Lu leave Group A, not because she was best friends with He Lu, but because Group A would be lorded over by the Song Wenye and her b*tches with He Lu gone.

With He Lu around, Su Ruowan could at least stick together with her. She would be left alone to fend against Song Wenye and the rest without He Lu by her side. Su Ruowan wished those b*tches could just jump off the cliff!

“Yeah.” He Lu was displeased that she was bumped off while Su Ruowan survived. Although jealous of Su Ruowan’s good luck, He Lu did not show it. She buried all her emotions deep within.

They should be in this together since they were besties.

Nothing appeared out of the ordinary to Su Ruowan. She never thought of He Lu as a friend since, to her, He Lu was only a pawn to do her bidding.

The pair had their own ulterior motives but still played the part of best buddies. The other trainees were envious of their friendship.

Next was to select the trainee to take center stage. The central position to perform the theme song was an opportunity for every trainee to gain more visibility, fans, and support.

The lead role would be chosen among the members of Group A, and it had to be someone with the strongest overall performance. The person’s look and appearance were also taken into account. The mentors and trainees who were not in the running to perform center stage would be casting their votes.

The trainees’ votes would account for twenty percent while the mentor’s collective voice eighty percent.

The reshuffled Group A took to the stage once more under the watchful eyes of the trainees. The remaining trainees were now the audience and judges.

Group A was undoubtedly strong.

The trainees had never seen Ye Weiyang in action. She was not the best dancer, the best looker, or had the best figure. Yet, she was the first to draw their attention among the group of seven.

The mentors were still blown away by Ye Weiyang as she glowed on stage. Dancing together with the other evenly matched contestants, Ye Weiyang was not the most outstanding, but she was definitely the most eye-catching and striking.

Ye Weiyang’s stage presence alone made her a talented contestant!

At the end of Group A’s first performance as a group, the ballot began to decide who would take the lead role.

Without hesitation, Shen Xi picked Ye Weiyang.

The remaining mentors weighed in all the factors and decided on the best singer and dancer. As of now, Su Ruowan was ranked first.

Since it was an anonymous vote, the trainees had no fear of repercussions if they were to go against Cosmos Entertainment’s trainees. With the exception of Group F, the trainees cast their votes on Su Ruowan. It did not matter to them who got it as long as it was not someone from Cosmos Entertainment.

The result was released with Su Ruowan winning the lead role by a sliding majority. On stage, she humbly bowed and thanked the mentors and students for their support.

Following the outcome, the host received the cue from the director and interviewed Shen Xi. “Mr. Yun Xiao, can I ask why you voted for Ye Weiyang?”

With the central position in the bag, Su Ruowan may be looking expectantly at Mr. Yun Xiao, but inside, she was chewing him out. Nothing good ever came out of his mouth.

As expected, Shen Xi turned to the host. “Ye Weiyang showed the most improvement, I’m sure everyone would agree to that.”

This was true. No one was going to refute that fact.

The host nodded and switched the direction of the discussion. “But Su Ruowan was the most consistent and brilliant.”

Instead of adding to the comment, Shen Xi turned her eyes to Su Ruowan. Her tone was flat as usual. “While other people were improving, you showed no advancement.”

The remark saw Su Ruowan seething with resentment. She did not improve because she was outstanding enough to crush all her opponents. She modestly smiled. “You’re right, Mr. Yun Xiao. I will try harder.”

“If I’m being honest, there’s no more room for you to improve.” Shen Xi dropped a bomb.

The smile on Su Ruowan’s face froze.

The mentors exchanged glances. They knew Mr.. Yun Xiao was aloof and not much of a talker, but it never crossed their minds that he had a sharp tongue. Was he not afraid to break Su Ruowan’s spirit by socking it to her?

Chapter 482: Taking Center Stage

Su Muyan looked daggers at Yun Xiao.

Who did he think he was to criticize Wanwan!

Yun Xiao must feel threatened by Wanwan’s brilliance and talent. It made sense. He was livid and deliberately shot Wanwan down because none of the six trainees from Cosmos Entertainment managed to bag the lead role.

The other mentors did not share the same view as Su Muyan. Instead, they reflected on Yun Xiao’s comment. Having observed Yun Xiao at work, Gu Yang and Xia Mi knew the former would not make up bullsh*t just for the heck of it.

The realization hit Group A’s mentor, Fang Yao. She could not put her finger on the funny feeling she had about Su Ruowan at first, but now that Yun Xiao brought it up, she worked out that Su Ruowan had not shown much improvement.

Su Ruowan gave the same level of performance then and now. There was no progress in between. However, this could also mean that Su Ruowan was a great performer to begin with.

The trainees in the audience had different ideas about Mr. Yun Xiao. Many felt sick to their stomach and condemned Mr. Yun Xiao for his statement.

No mentor would say such a thing to a student. Some trainees concluded that Mr. Yun Xiao was probably taking it out on Su Ruowan because Cosmos Entertainment’s trainees had failed to take center stage. They held Mr. Yun Xiao in contempt for his lack of manners.

“I’m sorry to let you down, Mr. Yun Xiao. I’ll improve for everyone to see.” Thinking on her feet, Su Ruowan gave a decent answer with eyes welling up in grievance. Behind those eyes, hatred and fury were brewing.

She was reminded of Shu Baiyu. The old hag once told her that she was not cut out for dancing!

Here they were again, with this godd*mn Yun Xiao saying she had no more room for improvement. Who did he think he was to look down on her?

It was eerily quiet on the set as tension rose. Everyone turned to Mr. Yun Xiao, waiting to hear his next comment.

“You are outstanding enough…” Shen Xi paused unusually long before adding, “Just leave the room for improvement and chance to the other students.”

All in all, it could be made out that Mr. Yun Xiao was saying Su Ruowan was exceptional, but what was with the long pause?

The crowd was dumbstruck. “…”

Mr. Yun Xiao sure took a long time to catch his breath. He went a little too far and scared Su Ruowan.

The production heaved relief. Mr. Yun Xiao could have finished the whole sentence in a breath.

Su Ruowan was the strongest among all the trainees, and no one could deny this fact.

She was taken aback for a while before joy overtook her. “Thank you, Mr. Yun Xiao.”

Godd*mnit!

He played her!

Su Ruowan was certain that Yun Xiao was trying to make a fool out of her!

Way to put everyone on the edge. With nobody objecting to it and Mr. Yun Xiao giving his stamp of approval, Su Ruowan was naturally going to perform at the premiere of the theme song taking the center stage. She became the envy of everyone with this glory.

The trainees and production team, who did not understand the meaning behind Shen Xi’s words, thought the remark was nothing but a joke. It was a bad joke though.

Those who caught the hint would not take it as banter. The mentors were able to read between the lines and had their own opinions about it.

However, even if they had their opinions, Su Ruowan’s skills put her on top of all the trainees thus far. They did not want to comment too soon until someone caught up to her.

Everyone was envious of Su Ruowan to get the lead role to the theme song, but it came as no surprise to them as she earned it.

Ye Weiyang was the most talked-about for turning the tide. The stunt of going from Group F to Group A was a highlight of the show.

She would definitely be the central focus of the show if the preview showed clips of her. Something to talk about made good TV. Ye Weiyang was not behind Su Ruowan in terms of stealing the spotlight.

Later, the trainees were performing the theme song on tape.

After the recording, Gu Yang the girl-group producer announced the new rules to the show. There would be 16 captaincies and these 16 trainees were to team up with other contestants to battle it out with other teams.

Group F no longer existed since all its members had advanced forth. Moving up was what the trainees had been looking forward to, and yet now that it happened, they were saddened by Group F’s removal.

Where was Mr. Yun Xiao going to be teaching now that Group F was no more? Would he be teaching every group just like the other mentors?

The info that they were itching to find out was not disclosed. They also had not seen Mr. Yun Xiao in the cafeteria during meals.

The boldest of the group, Han Yan went to ask Gu Yang and was told that Mr. Yun Xiao was gone. He would only be returning a day before the group match.

Even though Group F had forged ahead to other groups, they still hung out with their former groupmates rather than their current ones. They lost their appetite for dinner when they heard the news from Han Yan.

Mr. Yun Xiao might not be much of a talker, but he was dedicated to teaching them, so much so they were able to reverse their circumstances. They were sad to see him go.

Some people were happy while others were feeling the blues, albeit only Group F was plagued with the woes. The other groups were glad to see Mr. Yun Xiao scram and hoped he would never come back. Many with evil minds cussed him out under their breaths.

The happiest of them all was Su Ruowan. She belonged to the evil category and prayed for Yun Xiao to be hit by a car on his way out and be a mentor in hell for all she cared about.

After the evening practice, she received a text message from Su Muyan to come to his dormitory. While no one was watching, she quietly slipped away.

Although the mentors and trainees were aware that she and Su Muyan were siblings, they kept a distance as a mentor and student would in front of people to steer clear of unnecessary rumors.

“Muyan.” Su Ruowan was perked up to see him. The smile on her face bore clear signs of fatigue and forcefulness.

Su Muyan ushered her in and showed her a table full of her favorite snacks. He gently cried, “Hurry in.”

Sitting on a sofa, Su Ruowan held a bag of nuts in her hands. She did not open the wrapper, nor indulge in it as she appeared to have something on her mind.

Su Muyan knew Yun Xiao’s words must have taken hold of her. Heartbroken, he gazed at her. “Don’t take to heart whatever that Yun Xiao said today. What does he know?”