When Li Chu entered, it elicited a wave of laughter, not out of mockery, but a kind of surprised, friendly amusement.

“He looks so young.”

That’s what the other contestants felt.

Different from the others, Li Chu truly seemed like a high school student who had wandered into the competition by mistake. He wasn’t the youngest among the trainees, but his youthful appearance and chubby cheeks gave him a much younger look.

Given today’s initial stage performance was a lively and youthful song, the outfit chosen specifically by Zhou Chunqing for him was a sporty yet slightly adorned tracksuit, fitting well with the stage effect and resembling a high school uniform, which made him look even younger.

Thus, when Li Chu made his entrance, the other trainees were all momentarily stunned, with the older Li Zi being the most surprised, dropping his jaw and asking, “What, has it come to this now? Are we roping in kids too?”

Li Chu’s arrival seemed to ease the tense atmosphere somewhat. Here, he was the one with the least halo around him, looking obedient and polite, bowing and greeting everyone without any intention of competing for the center seat.

After everyone else had scrambled for a seat, only three were left, and he casually picked one in the middle, seating himself a bit away from the others.

He looked a bit nervous, unable to help but fidget with his fingers as soon as he sat down.

This wasn’t an act; it was normal for him to feel some nerves, having never experienced this before.

Li Chu was like a transitional chapter, at most receiving a few praises from other trainees for being “obedient” and “cute,” because everyone knew who the next two entrants would be.

Despite today’s makeup rooms being specifically partitioned and the official accounts only releasing an ambiguous silhouette beforehand, it was undeniable that it was Qilin Entertainment’s trainees entering next.

Didn’t you see who came today?

Qilin’s Liang Xiaoliang, General Liang, was here, sitting backstage, a figure recognizable even by someone with 800-degree myopia.

Even with prior mental preparation, when the two from Qilin made their entrance, Li Chu could still hear the slight gasps from those around him.

Liang Xiaoliang indeed took this competition seriously, presenting contestants who were among the top at Qilin. Just their appearance was captivating.

Both were over 180 cm tall, smooth and handsome in appearance. Their performance outfits and makeup, specifically tailored by Qilin, were a notch above the program’s, and even their self-introductions had a different aura. Their names were Qu Shoubai and Sang Chuan, both good-looking.

But they seemed like the type not to be messed with, looking like they were here to snatch the center seat.

Li Chu thought so too.

Now sitting there, Song Yu was clearly the most uneasy, but he braced himself for the challenge.

Unexpectedly, these two tall figures came up the stairs, whispered among themselves for a moment, and after staring at Li Chu for a while, didn’t move further up but instead turned and sat down in the last two empty seats at the end.

This made Li Chu suddenly flanked in the middle by them.

A bit stunned, Li Chu thought: Wait a second.

He hadn’t been very noticeable before, but now sandwiched between these two trainees from Qilin, his presence suddenly increased.

Especially since he wasn’t as tall, just over 170 cm, and now surrounded by two people over 180 cm, the visual effect was rather comical, making Li Chu the “dip” in the middle.

Isn’t this a bit too dramatic, Qilin’s people?

Perhaps they thought it unnecessary to stir up drama at this point.

Li Chu took a deep breath and then politely introduced himself, but as soon as he finished stating his name, the person beside him spoke.

“Li Chu, I know you,” Qu Shoubai smiled at him, “I’ve heard a lot about you, and I came here wanting to compete with you directly.”

Li Chu was momentarily speechless.

In that instant, he tensed up.

The tension hadn’t even started onstage yet, and the entrance alone was already quite the spectacle, making the subsequent entrance of the mentors seem dull in comparison. The trainees were polite, standing and applauding, showing excitement, but it wasn’t as genuine as the earlier competitive spirit.

Then, Shen Huai from the mentor team stepped forward to briefly introduce the rules, and soon it was time for the individual performances.

He glanced over Li Chu in the contestant seats, showing nothing outwardly, and Li Chu wasn’t paying him any attention either.

After being sandwiched by the two from Qilin, Li Chu’s focus was solely on the competition.

The main reason Idol Star Map this season exploded in popularity was that many contestants genuinely possessed solid skills, making several stages highly popular, even to the extent that the original songwriters and choreographers gave their endorsements.

The replacement competition now was even more intense, starting off with explosive performances from the first contestant.

Dance, vocal, to rap, each contestant had their forte, and watching a few performances, Li Chu gradually calmed down.

It felt good to be part of such a competition.

He hadn’t seen such a pure stage in a long time, and this was the competition he had always wanted.

He was so engrossed that time flew by, and soon it was his turn to go onstage.

Li Chu took a deep breath backstage.

The song he chose to perform was the dance track “Bad Kid,” a huge hit from ten years ago, originally sung by an 18-year-old known for his fresh and sunny image. Over the years, many had covered the song, but audiences felt that no one could surpass the original.

A slight misstep could lead to being criticized for forcing a youthful vibe, making it a challenging song to cover.

As soon as the melody’s prelude played, everyone in the venue sat up straight—there should be no one unfamiliar with this song, and they could even sing along and tap their beats right from the start.

“Hey, you.”

“Look at me.”

“Do you want to play this game?”

“I’ll tell you the secret of a bad kid.”

But could Li Chu pull it off?

Before doubts could arise, from the moment he turned his head, raised his hand, and opened his mouth under the spotlight, the answer was clear.

The song was simple, but the dance was not—quite complex, actually. Dancing to this track required crisp, clear movements with no dragging, yet it also needed to convey the youthful energy matching the lyrics, which seemed like they could only come from a student’s perspective—older, experienced dancers wouldn’t fit.

Though young-faced Li Chu didn’t seem a perfect fit at first—appearing too innocent—he managed to convey a hint of the mischievous, slightly arrogant charm beneath the youthfulness once he turned around.

The two mentors responsible for dance were immediately captivated as he turned, watching his every move without blinking.

To the expert’s eye, Li Chu sang and danced simultaneously. His vocal skills may not have been as standout as his dancing, but they were still excellent, his voice remaining stable even with the intense choreography, truly a versatile performer.

His entire performance was nearly flawless, and surprisingly, he didn’t just reproduce the original choreography but added his own twist at the end.

A well-known move from the original was flicking cigarette ash, a killing part of the choreography—of course, no actual cigarette was involved in the performance, just hand gestures and body movements. The original singer performed it with a rogue school bully charm, but Li Chu modified this move.

His performance outfit had large pockets suitable for storing items, substituting the cigarette with an orange-flavored lollipop.

When the lollipop suddenly appeared, the camera zoomed in on his upper body, making this change particularly noticeable. Paired with the originally somewhat defiant expression in the original song, this “school bully” appeared bold yet somewhat innocent.

It was a modification very suited to Li Chu himself.

After the strong rhythmic dance track “Bad Kid” concluded, there was a round of applause from the contestant seats. The stage performance was explosively good, perfectly executed with a few unexpected delightful surprises.

Zhou Chunqing watched backstage, covering her mouth from the first second of the music to keep from shouting out.

Li Chu danced so well!

She felt incredibly proud!

Steady!

The two calmest people backstage were none other than Su Ning and Shen Mingzheng.

Su Ning was mostly relieved, always confident in his judgment. He had watched Li Chu practice this dance many times in the studio over the past few days. For a kid like Li Chu, it was rare not just to dance well but to also add his own flair.

Give him a stage, and he would shine.

As for Shen Mingzheng, he took note, well aware of what was happening.

In his previous life, Li Chu’s journey was fraught with obstacles. After Shen Huai got his way and debuted him carelessly, even with minimal support, Li Chu managed to explode in popularity in a short time. How much more now, with such a good stage?

Thinking of this, he glanced again at Su Ning.

It was miraculous how this man had completely changed Li Chu’s fate.

On stage, after catching his breath from the performance, the dance mentor was the first to speak, clapping vigorously: “I want to give him an S right now! Also, may I ask, how old are you?”

Li Chu nodded honestly, “Twenty years old.”

He was breathing hard, sweat on his forehead making his eyes appear larger and rounder, not at all looking his age. While answering, he also took the plastic wrapper and wire tie out of his pocket, quietly stuffing the prop lollipop back in and securing it.

Seeing this small action, the mentor laughed again, asking, “What, can’t bear to throw it away?”

“Ah, I thought it wouldn’t be nice to throw it on stage,” Li Chu replied, “It’s kind of sticky.”

He wasn’t always scheming; under normal circumstances, he was just like this, a bit dazed after exerting himself in a dance.

The contrast between his current innocent reply and the slick, sharply executed moves of the “bad kid” on stage was striking, almost like two different people.

The mentor’s smile didn’t fade as she said, “If he doesn’t get an S, I feel like my trip here was wasted.”

This was a hefty endorsement, very clearly expressing her appreciation.

Since there were only two S ranks available, and to avoid the order of performance affecting the fairness for those who performed later, the contestants’ ratings were not given on the spot but decided after all performances had ended.

Li Chu was the eighth to perform, with two from Qilin set to close the show, but with the mentor’s comment, there was hardly any objection from the audience.

Regardless of how you looked at it, it was an S-level performance, even if the remaining performers were from Qilin.

However, it was at this moment that Shen Huai spoke up.

“The stage was excellent, and I too felt it was very impressive. This replacement competition really brought a lot of surprises, I believe, to everyone,” Shen Huai smiled, “But I’m also in a difficult position, as the program has indeed only allocated two S spots. So, I want to ask this contestant, how about we show a little more?

“I saw earlier contestants had a freestyle dance segment, why don’t you do one too?”

His suggestion was typical, with no one raising objections.

With only ten contestants in the replacement competition, the individual showcase segment was relatively advantageous as they had plenty of time allotted, with many before him having a freestyle segment.

Onstage, Li Chu was taken aback upon hearing this, thinking that Shen Huai had turned over a new leaf, not making things difficult for him at this moment.

Freestyle performance was something he would have volunteered for even if it hadn’t been suggested, so he nodded in agreement without much thought.

This improvisation wasn’t scripted in the program schedule, and like many variety shows, not all sequences were set in stone, allowing for some improvisation. Thus, Chen Yuan saw nothing wrong with this, though Su Ning slightly furrowed his brow, straightening up in his seat.

“Alright,” Shen Huai spoke up, “Come on, let’s have the music teacher play a random track.”

The program had a music library to choose from, and Chen Yuan had no intention of making things overly rigid, so it truly was a random play from the library.

But as soon as Shen Huai spoke, the prelude to the music that played immediately confirmed Su Ning’s earlier unease.

—The song was named [Knees].

The rhythm of the song was very strong and well-known, indeed suitable for dancing, but true to its name, it involved a lot of knee movements, many of which required slamming the knees down.

Unfortunately, Li Chu had an old knee injury.

This was something Su Ning remembered clearly, and the old injury had even worsened recently after someone kicked him at Diao Chun Jiang.

He had seen doctors several times, used treatments, and was told it wasn’t too serious. Most dancers experienced some wear and tear, and as long as he was careful, normal performances and training wouldn’t be an issue, just mindful of the intensity.

But [Knees], known among dancers as a knee killer, was beyond what Li Chu could safely perform.