On the surface, nothing seemed amiss. The media team expressed clear surprise at the impromptu segment of the show, which, despite its rushed nature, added a touch of fun to the variety program.

Not giving any prior notice created a special entertainment effect, and Chen Yuan was quite satisfied watching the broadcast. In this case, whether Shen Huai was there or not didn’t really matter.

After all, the coaches, aside from scoring, mainly provided guidance during training. Shen Huai wasn’t as professional as the other coaches; his fame was his primary attribute.

After this “surprising” meeting, the host quickly announced the voting rules.

The rules were simple: eighteen “judges,” each with three votes, could freely choose their recipients. The votes were then tallied from highest to lowest, assigning ranks of two S-tier, four A-tier, and four B-tier positions. In case of ties at the tier boundaries, additional votes would be cast. Notably, this voting process was not anonymous; it was all public.

Now, it was time for these backup contestants to perform for the cameras.

They were all competitors. After watching their performances, it was natural for the already advanced contestants to feel threatened, especially those hovering near debut positions.

Now, with the voting power handed to them, even those securely in debut positions had to weigh their options. What if they voted someone in who might then displace them?

This kind of voting wasn’t just an acknowledgment of performance; it involved a psychological game as well, and importantly, it was all broadcast to the audience.

What would the vast fanbase prefer? Would voting purely from a personal standpoint be perceived as biased by the viewers?

Nobody could be sure.

Everyone had different thoughts, and soon, the voting began.

The eighteen voters proceeded in reverse order of ranking, updating the screen with each vote.

As expected, Li Chu initially led among the ten contestants. His performance was good, but he was closely followed in votes by two contestants from Qilin Entertainment.

Even after ten votes, the Qilin contestants had overtaken him.

Fortunately, Li Chu gradually caught up and secured the second position.

As the votes became clearer, the fairness among the trainees was evident, with most votes concentrated on the top three, marking the competition between Li Chu and the Qilin contestants, with the others lagging slightly behind.

By the time the last person voted, Li Chu remained in second place, two votes behind Qu Shou Bai in first place, with Shan Chuan one vote behind Li Chu in third.

If nothing unexpected happened, these would be the final standings.

Qu Shou Bai, also a dance position contender, was on par with Li Chu in terms of initial stage performance and skills. His advantage lay not just in his affiliation with Qilin but also in his childhood fame, having started appearing on TV shows at age ten due to family circumstances.

Li Chu, seeing these results, knew he wasn’t first but was reassured by securing an S-tier rating, seeing a good chance for the future.

Now, Ji Mowei, the current number one rank from a smaller company who had surged to the top, stood voting. Normally, whoever was brought up in the backup contest wouldn’t affect his position.

Faced with the voting pattern, the best strategy for the voting trainees was not to offend anyone; distributing the three votes among the top three maintained the order, avoiding unnecessary conflicts outside the program.

Li Chu was prepared for such an outcome.

However, Ji Mowei, instead of voting immediately, asked, “Can I give all three votes to the same person?”

“Yes,” the assistant director replied off-camera. “The rules allow any form of voting, even abstaining.”

Despite this, most participants preferred a balanced approach, distributing their votes among different contestants.

Without much thought, Ji Mowei decisively said, “Then I’ll give all three votes to Li Chu.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very sure.”

After casting his votes, Ji Mowei didn’t leave immediately but smiled at the camera, seemingly looking directly at Li Chu, and said, “Your performance was great. I’ll be waiting for you here.”

Li Chu was stunned; this was typical of Ji Mowei’s direct and fearless nature. Even when Li Chu had previously enjoyed a privileged status in the industry, few dared to provoke Ji Mowei, who was known to steer clear of.

Now, thanks to Ji Mowei’s votes, not only was Li Chu secure in the S-tier, but he also outperformed the Qilin contestants, taking one of the top spots.

“Congratulations, Li Chu, Qu Shou Bai, our double S!” the host announced.

Li Chu stood up, still a bit dazed. While this small victory wasn’t everything, receiving the S-tier pin amid applause and spotlight made him feel a renewed sense of beginning.

Especially now, as he looked towards the backstage area invisible to the camera, seeing his sister cheering for him and Su Ning there, it felt like a spotlight was shining on him.

After the announcement, this recording segment concluded.

During the break, Li Chu finally had a chance to speak with Su Ning. Coming down from the stage, he immediately approached Su Ning, blurting out, “Young Master, I have something to tell you.”

Su Ning led him aside without asking further in the crowded area.

“Happy?” Su Ning asked as they walked, adding, “I’ve said before, Li Chu, as long as you’re on stage and the audience has eyes, they will choose you.”

“I am happy. But…”

Li Chu replied, but hesitated to continue, his voice barely audible.

As they reached a secluded corner, Li Chu took a deep breath and poured out his concerns to Su Ning, which he had been keeping from him. “Young Master, you need to be cautious around Shen Huai; he’s not as simple as he seems. I’m sure he has other plans. The incident at Diao Chun Jiang was orchestrated by him, and I was…”

Li Chu revealed everything, his voice trembling by the end, but he kept his gaze fixed on Su Ning, not wavering in his confession.

He expected Su Ning to be shocked or disappointed, and he was prepared for any outcome. Yet, it was crucial for him to come clean now, to overcome his own guilt.

With such a platform and opportunity, his life was taking a new turn. What about Young Master?

However, Su Ning remained calm, listening until Li Chu finished.

“I know,” Su Ning said. “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

Li Chu, thinking Su Ning hadn’t understood, nervously repeated, “Young Master, what I mean is, Shen Huai and Jiang Chenfeng must have collaborated. The company is truly in danger. They won’t let this go, and besides me and Sang Le, they might have planted many others. You need to…”

“I understand,” Su Ning interrupted. “I’m aware of the company’s situation, and I knew about your and Shen Huai’s issues even before I dealt with him.”

Su Ning’s revelation left Li Chu speechless.

Knowing all this, Su Ning quickly realized why Shen Huai targeted Li Chu so persistently. Yesterday’s trending search was likely Shen Huai’s doing. Su Ning had anticipated that Shen Huai would try to confront Li Chu alone after tampering on stage, leading to their setup.

Li Chu hadn’t expected this, nor the following words from Su Ning.

“I suspected some of this earlier. If you were truly that frail and submissive without your own mind, I wouldn’t have recommended this industry for you, Li Chu. I know who you are. But the Diao Chun Jiang incident wasn’t your fault. Someone who’s been bullied without a way out wanting to fight back can’t be blamed.”

With that, Su Ning patted his head and straightened his clothes, gently wiping the S-tier label, adding, “I’m glad you told me this. Don’t do these things anymore; you don’t need to.”

“Go back to the stage, walk a brighter path. Although there’s competitive spirit among the trainees in the contest, it’s a fair competition. You don’t need to overthink.”

“I’ll handle the rest.”

If Su Ning had to worry about such things, he wouldn’t need to be involved in the business.

At the replacement contest, Su Ning was even more convinced that Li Chu was born to be on stage.

Stage performance is a demanding skill. A week without practice leads to rustiness, a month without it causes regression. Yet, Li Chu’s condition was such that he appeared in the dance studio every day, even on the day he was ridiculed and lost his ranking, never missing a session.

Because of his efforts, his performance today was flawless. With such resilience, Su Ning was more than willing to help him, even though he had already suspected something was off.

Li Chu was at a loss for words.

He couldn’t help but start to tear up, babbling about how he would definitely make it big, sounding like a schoolchild.

Su Ning let him cry for a while before helplessly leading him away, calling a makeup artist to touch up his makeup.

The replacement contest’s schedule was tight, with a solo interview segment up next, followed by further arrangements.

The trainees in the replacement contest would also have public performances, so song selection and grouping needed to be organized. Now officially joining the camp, Li Chu faced the same management as the other trainees—sealed training, no phones, dormitory living—just separate from those eighteen contestants, with no intersection.

Su Ning could visit him, given his cooperation with the production team, but he couldn’t interfere too much. From here on, they had to walk their path.

Now that everything was out in the open, Li Chu felt no more psychological burden and could truly focus on the competition.

As for Su Ning, he had many of his own matters to attend to.

The last scoring segment, although a pleasant surprise, did not go unnoticed.

Suddenly, Shen Huai disappeared. Jiang Chenfeng, also seated in the media area, became restless and excused himself as soon as recording ended, likely seeking someone.

Besides him, Liang Xiaoliang, always in tune with the scene, also felt something was amiss and quickly headed backstage.

Both soon arrived at the backstage medical room, where they learned new information: Shen Huai had decided to withdraw from the subsequent recordings due to personal reasons, with an official announcement from the production team pending.

So sudden?!

Inside, Jiang Chenfeng saw Shen Huai, looking pale and sullen after receiving basic treatment for a facial injury.

Su Ning had been precise; the injury was minor enough for the show’s medical staff to handle, but it was still on his face, meaning Shen Huai couldn’t appear in public for a while.

Jiang Chenfeng, looking at his still-healing arm, could imagine the situation and shuddered.

“Did Su Ning do this? Only he would dare,” said Jiang Chenfeng, experienced in such matters. “Don’t lie to me.”

Seeing Shen Huai’s injury and recalling his own, Jiang Chenfeng chuckled at the irony of him calling someone else ruthless.

Liang Xiaoliang, however, quickly understood Su Ning’s motives.

He had planned to sign Li Chu, aware of his knee injury. Normally, no one would make a trainee dance to a notorious knee-buster song unexpectedly; it seemed targeted.

And that was Shen Huai’s fate.

Liang Xiaoliang admitted he couldn’t have taken such drastic steps to protect a trainee, but Su Ning had, even turning it into a show-stopping moment.

Truly a master of strategy and ruthlessness.

He was more convinced than ever not to cross Su Ning lightly.

As Shen Huai sat silently, Jiang Chenfeng, somewhat cowardly, murmured, “Why provoke him? Su Ning seems a bit mad. Maybe…”

“I’ve told you, I fell myself. Don’t be scared by Su Ning. I’ve known him since he was a child; he can’t escape my grasp,” Shen Huai interrupted, his face darkening. “Just wait and see who has the last laugh.”

I think you should wait until your face heals before making such statements, thought Liang Xiaoliang, standing aside.