Chapter 21: “Interstellar Girls” Group Formation!

A few days later, another announcement appeared on the official homepage of “Interstellar 101.” It stated that the song selection for the third performance would involve participation from the fans, with details to be revealed at 8:00 p.m. Earth time. Fans were invited to tune in on time.

Fans who saw the announcement were utterly baffled. What new trick was Youjian Entertainment up to now? After nearly three months of relentless voting, the aliens’ resentment was thicker than that of vengeful spirits. Upon seeing the announcement, they didn’t care about the details—first, they unleashed a torrent of complaints. Venting was all that mattered.

[Youjian Entertainment, do you even have a heart? Is your obsession with data so dire you’ll die tomorrow if you stop?!]

[Youjian Entertainment, listen to the fans! Give Sela back her moment in the spotlight!]

[Can Youjian Entertainment let us vote in peace?! Is it too much to ask to just vote?!]

The data team had never encountered a situation like this before and immediately reported it up the chain.

Wang Pei, already a socially anxious person who rarely interacted with the outside world, was overwhelmed by the fans’ fury, feeling more than a little unwell.

Seeing this, Chang Yu directly notified Feng Jingyu and asked if they needed to guide the fans to prevent things from spiraling out of control.

Feng Jingyu’s reply was swift and very much her style.

[It’s normal for fans to curse the company. Give Professor Wang two days off. Tell him not to go online during his break. Finance will also arrange a mental health bonus.]

Chang Yu had braced himself for a major public opinion crisis meeting—after all, the fans were raging—but just like that, the matter was lightly put to rest?

Still, he had learned to keep his doubts to himself and review them later. After notifying Wang Pei about his two-day leave, he threw himself back into work.

·

Complaints aside, when 8:00 p.m. Earth time arrived, the fans showed up right on schedule. They saw that the official homepage of “Interstellar 101” now featured four livestream rooms, each labeled with a member’s name. Though still unclear on what was happening, they each chose the room of their favorite idol.

Upon entering, fans saw a red banner hanging on the wall behind the contestants, bearing the words: “Wither-Prosper Fruit Sales Stalled, Please Help Us!”

Alien fans were still half in the dark, but Earth fans understood immediately.

Just days ago, the news had reported the introduction of a new fruit. Now it was clear—the Wither-Prosper Fruit had truly piled up in surplus.

As soon as the contestants saw the fans enter, they greeted them with practiced ease. By now, they were well accustomed to interacting with their fans like this.

Each team’s captain began by explaining the reason for the livestream. Finally, they spoke earnestly: “This isn’t about the right to choose the performance song, but about our friends. We hope, with the help of our fans, to get them through this difficult time. But we also urge everyone to act within their means—after all, living your own life well is what matters most. Thank you for your support.”

Then the contestants gave it their all, following the methods of master seller Jiang Sixing, striving to sell the fruit.

“Baby, do you want to buy ten jin? Thank you, baby! You’re really so wonderful, baby. Love you~”

“Family, family, look at this fruit—thin skin, lots of flesh, truly the fruit of your dreams. Don’t you want to buy a couple of jin to try?”

“To the iron-blooded fan who just bought five jin, what song do you want to hear? What? Rap? Yunwan, it’s your turn!”

The funniest was in Senyu’s livestream room. At first, she was calmly introducing the fruit’s merits, but something must have struck a nerve, for as she spoke, she suddenly began to cry.

“F-family… the people of Shen Qiu and Pu Ye are truly wonderful and gentle, but when something so terrible happened in their hometown, they didn’t even tell us. I just feel so awful…” Senyu sobbed, her little pink flowers drooping with her sadness. Even so, she kept trying to sell the fruit. “Family… I can feel the unique sunlight and rain of Wither-Prosper sealed inside this fruit. They were nurtured with care, arriving before us full of hope… We… we can’t let down such a life… or these feelings…”

It could have been a touching scene, but Senyu’s tearful, munching face as she ate the Wither-Prosper Fruit was simply too funny. The comment stream was filled with “hahahahaha,” and, unsurprisingly, her room had the highest sales.

An hour later, all the Wither-Prosper Fruit available for preorder in the livestreams had sold out.

The final freeze-frame from the livestream was Qing Wu, together with Shen Qiu and Pu Ye, performing the highest ceremonial gesture of the Wither-Prosper star system before the camera for everyone watching.

·

A few days later, fans who had purchased the Wither-Prosper Fruit in the livestreams began receiving their packages. Opening them, they were delighted to find that, besides the carefully packed fruit, there was also a mysterious gift—merchandise related to the contestants.

In the interstellar era, virtual goods were the norm. Physical celebrity merchandise like photo cards, badges, or signed posters had long since disappeared, and the concept of merchandise itself was all but forgotten. Feng Jingyu had revived them, and the Earth government had even set up a dedicated production line for future mass production.

Seeing fans flaunt their merchandise on the star network, those who hadn’t bought the fruit were filled with regret and flocked to the “Interstellar 101” homepage, demanding these items be sold separately.

The official response came quickly: these items were just a trial run and were no longer in production. After the talent show ended, they would consider producing another batch for sale.

Astute fans immediately realized that these Wither-Prosper Fruit bonus items might become worth a fortune in the future, and that owning them would make one the envy of the fandom. They carefully preserved their treasures, ready to bask in admiration for years to come.

·

The third performance ended amid the lively fan sharing of merchandise. Thanks to the unexpected livestream, the rules for song selection had changed: the top-selling livestream room now had priority in choosing songs. Senyu’s team thus secured their desired track and took first place in the performance.

In the livestream, Senyu displayed an unexpected flair for variety entertainment, which helped her take first place in the voting battle. The final large-scale support event now had its rightful owner.

The official “Interstellar 101” soon announced the support event: Themed Star Routes.

In the Third, Aurora, Resonance, and Dawn star systems, a core main route in each would be designated as the “Senyu Themed Route.” During the event, all ships traveling these routes would have their exterior visual projections and internal entertainment system interfaces unified to the Senyu theme, and passengers would have limited-time access to her personal video highlights. The event would last for seventy-two hours, Earth time.

To check in on these routes, Senyu’s fans traveled great distances to these major star systems, sparking another economic boom. These locations would later become popular destinations for fans organizing their own support events.

·

After the third performance came the final group formation night, which would decide the winners. The remaining twelve contestants all grew nervous—even Cheng Wangshu couldn’t help but feel a touch of anxiety. Until the very end, no one could be sure if their name would be on the debut list.

The girls’ daily conversations during breaks lost some of their former liveliness.

The tension before the final showdown hung over Star Selection Town.

Meanwhile, in a Youjian Entertainment meeting room, Feng Jingyu and others were discussing the final lineup for group formation night.

“Thanks to our effective management, we’ve predicted the final debut list for group formation night.” The report was again delivered by Chang Yu, who by now seemed completely at home here.

The debut list was projected in the center of the meeting room for all to see.

Interstellar Girls Debut List

Earth: Cheng Wangshu (second in votes), Chu Yunwan (first in votes)

Porlu: Senyu (fourth in votes)

Crystal Song: Guang Yi (fifth in votes)

Velvetling: Sela (sixth in votes)

Wither-Prosper: Shen Qiu (third in votes)

“Because of Senyu’s performance in the livestream, her votes for group formation night might rise to second place,” Chang Yu added.

“The ranking changes don’t matter, as long as the lineup stays the same.” Feng Jingyu took a sip of her milk tea. “The fans aren’t aware of the concept of ‘center position’ yet, but just in case, we should start considering it.”

“Center position?” The others looked confused.

“Each rank comes with different treatment—like line distribution, screen time, and so on.” At this, a trace of annoyance flickered in Feng Jingyu’s eyes. “It’s an unavoidable part of group dynamics. In future PR work, you must pay close attention to this.” She added, “Remember, what we’re building is a harmonious group spanning civilizations, not a powder keg of internal strife. While respecting the results of fan voting, guiding fans to understand and accept the team’s internal roles is your next important task.”

“Understood.” Everyone nodded.

·

After the meeting, before Feng Jingyu had a chance to switch personalities, the head of the post-production team approached.

“Chief Planner Feng, Director Cen, there’s a video outtake here that needs your decision.”

With that, the post-production lead played the video.

In it, Sela and Jiang Sixing were chatting, surrounded by other contestants, clearly in a public area.

“Short-life disease? What kind of illness is that?” Jiang Sixing asked curiously in the video.

“It’s an illness that only long-lived species can contract. Those who fall ill have their lifespan shortened to between five hundred and one thousand Earth years. It’s a nightmare of a disease,” Sela said sadly.

“Five hundred to one thousand years?” Jiang Sixing was astonished. “But we Earthlings only live less than two hundred years. If I could live five hundred years, taking each decade as a chapter, I could travel to fifty star systems, make friends in fifty star systems, and create five hundred years of memories with them. That’s something we can’t even dream of.”

Sela was shaken by Jiang Sixing’s words. Compared to the fleeting lives of Earthlings, what the long-lived considered a terrifying curse—a shortened life—was a luxury Earthlings could never hope to attain.

The video ended there. Cen Lan thought for a moment and said, “This segment is too controversial. Let’s cut it.”

“No, Sister Cen Lan!” Feng Jingyu grabbed Cen Lan’s hand, agitated. “This is the blessing of the variety show gods! It has to go out, absolutely must!”

Cen Lan instantly changed her mind and nodded. “Alright, then let’s air it.”

With approval received, the post-production lead hurried off. This segment had to be released as soon as possible.