Chapter 17: The First Stage

Star Selection Town.

The night was deep, countless stars shimmering in the sky.

Tomorrow would be the recording of the first stage performance. Cheng Wangshu didn’t feel nervous, but she couldn’t sleep.

She walked out into the courtyard and lay down on a chair, gazing straight up at the dazzling expanse of stars.

“I really hope my future can shine as brightly as they do…” She reached up, making a grasping motion, her clenched fist remaining raised for a long while.

“Can’t sleep?” Chu Yunwan, also restless, didn’t want to just watch Cheng Wangshu from the balcony, so she came down to the courtyard and plopped herself onto the chair beside Cheng Wangshu.

“That’s right.” Cheng Wangshu relaxed her fist and let her hand fall. “The horn of war has already sounded. Tomorrow is our first campaign. It’s strange—I’m not afraid at all, just excited.”

“I feel the same.” There was a glint in Chu Yunwan’s eyes. “We have to win. Wangshu, I want to stand on the same stage as you, always.”

“Then let’s move toward that goal together.”

The two exchanged a smile, everything understood without words.

·

The next day, the girls of Star Selection Town washed up early and, with the help of stylists, began their makeup and hair, making final adjustments. Although each episode was pre-recorded, according to the plan, there would be a live audience for the very first performance, so they had to give it their all every time.

While the girls were still nervously getting ready and waiting for the stage recording, the official homepage of “Interstellar 101” dropped another bombshell.

In addition to the forty girls competing, there would be four mentors for this talent show. They were S-77 from the Third Star System, Qing Wu from the Wither-Prosper Star System, Le Huan from the Dawn Star System, and Earth’s own dance master, Huo Yuexing. Moreover, “Interstellar Singer” champion Yu Huaiyin would be joining as music producer, injecting the program’s music with soul.

This news drew in even those who had no intention of following “Interstellar 101.” They weren’t interested in the competition, but they were fans of the mentors. Being able to see their favorite singer appear on screen again was an unexpected delight.

With all eyes on it, the first episode of “Interstellar 101″—the initial stage—officially aired.

·

The first episode of “Interstellar 101” revealed a great deal to the audience.

For example, the mentors’ roles: S-77 would only judge vocal technique; Qing Wu focused more on the emotion conveyed in the singing; Huo Yuexing evaluated whether a contestant’s performance was up to par in terms of stage presence and expressiveness; Le Huan was responsible for livening up the atmosphere.

As for the rules: the initial stage would divide the forty contestants into four classes—A, B, C, and D—based on their performances, with each class representing a different level. The higher the class, the better the treatment, with Class A being the best. No one would be eliminated in the first stage, but after the first public performance, contestants would start leaving.

This was a competition system completely different from the days of “Interstellar Singer”—cruel and straightforward, it told the audience exactly what survival of the fittest meant. If you wanted your favorite contestant to stay, you had to work hard to vote for her.

The aliens were truly shocked. They had only ever seen such a system in competitive sports, but wasn’t this supposed to be an entertainment show? Why did it have to be so ruthless? All these girls were wonderful—losing any of them would be heartbreaking. How could anyone possibly choose?

After the first episode aired, such comments flooded the StarNet. Many people said that once voting opened, they would try to spread their votes as evenly as possible, so as to keep as many contestants as they could.

The relevant data was compiled and sent to Cen Lan’s terminal. She selected a portion and forwarded it to Feng Jingyu, asking, “Should we intervene?”

Feng Jingyu replied almost instantly.

“No need.”

Cen Lan passed along Feng Jingyu’s exact words, then left it alone.

Time quickly moved to the second day.

·

Since the initial stage was split into two episodes, the following day released the second half.

The beginning of this episode was much like the previous day’s, but the turning point came with the final group’s performance.

This stage featured two girls from Earth, Chu Yunwan and Cheng Wangshu. Their song choice was bold—they covered Yu Huaiyin’s “Expedition,” released after his victory in “Cycle.” Fans had jokingly called this song a “challenge letter” to all interstellar singers. In a way, without this song, “Interstellar Singer” might never have run so smoothly.

So, for these two girls to use this song on stage was essentially throwing down the gauntlet to all the other contestants.

To suit their performance, “Expedition” had been almost entirely reconstructed, from arrangement to lyrics. If Yu Huaiyin’s version exuded the aura of a king, brimming with the sense of reigning over all, then the version by Cheng and Chu showed generals fiercely battling on the field.

Cheng Wangshu’s vocals weren’t the strongest, but her singing and dancing were steady and controlled, her every movement calm and assured, her stage presence infectious; her facial expressions were impeccable—one look could make you feel her powerful aura. She was a true ACE, full of command.

Chu Yunwan was even more of a surprise. Unlike Cheng Wangshu’s mature, commanding style, she was a cool beauty with a frosty air, yet on stage she exuded a crisp, bold, and striking presence.

This gave her tremendous distinctiveness. But that wasn’t all—Chu Yunwan was also a rapper. Her original lyrics blended seamlessly with “Expedition,” especially when she sneered, “I’m standing right here—come at me if you dare.” Not only the contestants watching live, but even viewers behind virtual screens were so fired up they howled with excitement.

One hour after the episode aired, the voting channel quietly opened.

Five minutes later, Chu Yunwan and Cheng Wangshu’s vote counts were far ahead of everyone else.

[To hell with vote balancing! I’m giving all my votes to Wangshu/Yunwan! Sis, I’ll support you forever!!!!]

·

After the initial stage aired, Wang Pei’s mathematical model and summary report were the first to reach Professor Lu’s terminal. These were reference materials for the upcoming “vote clearing plan.” Professor Lu quickly skimmed through them, then forwarded them to his last disciple, Chang Yu.

Chang Yu sat right beside Professor Lu, reading the report in silence, his expression complex.

“If it were you,” Professor Lu asked, “and you saw this talk about ‘vote balancing,’ what would you do?”

Chang Yu paused, then quickly organized his thoughts and began to speak at length: “Of course, I’d tell the fans that this approach isn’t scientific, and explain how to maximize the value of their votes…”

Professor Lu’s face darkened at the very first sentence. Chang Yu, sensitive to his teacher’s mood, immediately stopped, looking at Professor Lu with a guilty expression.

“Do you think that method could achieve the same effect as Ms. Feng’s?”

Chang Yu reflexively tried to defend himself: “If I’d also seen Cheng Wangshu and Chu Yunwan’s stage in advance, then…”

“And then what? Haven’t you seen it now? Why would you still make such arrangements?”

Chang Yu opened his mouth. He wanted to say that his plan was backed by models and scientific proof, but remembering that Feng Jingyu had achieved this effect with nothing more than the order of stage appearances, any justification now seemed feeble. His throat tightened, and he slowly lowered his head, saying nothing more.

“I fought for you, took Xiao Chen’s spot, and even put my old face on the line to get into this project. And this is what you give me?” Professor Lu was bitterly disappointed.

“Please don’t be angry, Teacher. I know I was wrong.” Chang Yu was terrified that Professor Lu might get too upset.

Professor Lu sighed, his tone softening. “Ah Yu, you’re a talented child. But you’ve had too smooth a path, never faced real setbacks, so you can’t understand the mindset of ordinary people. I want you to realize that ‘the will of the people’ is everywhere, and it’s the most important foundation. Never forget, the masses are the bedrock of everything.”

Chang Yu clenched his fists, then released them. “Teacher, I want to go to Youjian Entertainment and start from the ground up. Don’t worry, I’ll do my best—I won’t let you down.”

Hearing this, Professor Lu was much relieved.

“Work steadily, study hard. I’ll speak to Deputy Minister Cen about this.”

“Thank you, Teacher.”

·

When Cen Lan received Professor Lu’s request, she wasn’t surprised at all—or rather, she had anticipated this outcome from the moment Professor Lu appeared in the conference room.

So she quickly replied to Professor Lu and arranged for Chang Yu to report to Wang Pei the next day.

“I imagine Professor Wang will be delighted to have such an assistant.” Cen Lan looked over Chang Yu’s file, a satisfied smile on her lips.

Xiao He, standing nearby, was a bit concerned. “Will Mr. Chang really be willing? After all, it’s basically a gofer’s job. And will Professor Wang be happy about it?”

“Chang Yu may be arrogant, but he respects Professor Lu deeply. He’d never go against his mentor’s wishes—if he did a poor job, it would reflect badly on Professor Lu. As for Professor Wang… among mathematicians, his temperament is considered mild. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been assigned to build our models. He can accept Chang Yu.”

Only then did Xiao He understand. “That’s true… When you first requested a mathematician, everyone else made excuses—they clearly looked down on this project.”

Cen Lan laughed. “For those geniuses, a project like this doesn’t satisfy their ambitions. Having Professor Wang on board was already a stroke of luck. As Jingyu said, everything is the choice of the Steins;Gate.”

“Steins;Gate?” Xiao He was puzzled, then sighed. “Sometimes I really don’t understand Ms. Feng. She’s the kind of genius no one can figure out, isn’t she?”

Cen Lan’s smile deepened. “She’s quite endearing, don’t you think? That’s what a twenty-year-old girl should be like.”

Xiao He nodded. “You always see things so clearly.”