Snow-Kissed Rose (GL) Chapter 35.1

On June 4th, the mentors returned to the White Tower, watched all the trainees' theme song performances in the meeting room, and gave their grade evaluations. Afterward, the production crew gathered the trainees to announce the elimination list and everyone's performance results.

Only three mentors were in attendance this time: Shi Shuyao, Duan Mi, and Ren Qian. Zheng Qiyi was absent.

The trainees stared at the mentors without blinking, eagerly and anxiously waiting for their results.

With a program card in hand, Shi Shuyao said, "We have watched your performance of the theme song, and to be honest, you all have done much better than we expected. Good job."

The trainees relaxed a little at these words.

"But there are still some who didn't meet our requirements," Shi Shuyao continued, putting a damper on the trainees. "More specifically, as everyone's standards rise, so will our grading criteria. You may have exceeded your limits in this challenge, but that doesn't mean everyone else has stagnated."

The thawing atmosphere froze once more.

Looking at the group of young and beautiful girls before her and seeing the anticipation and apprehension on their faces, Shi Shuyao felt a little reluctant to continue.

Frankly, none of the things Shi Shuyao just said was superficial. It was a fact that the trainees performed much better than she or any of the other mentors had expected. If the chief director had not informed them of what had happened in the past two days, they would never have guessed how these trainees could improve so much in so little time.

This season's Star of Spring might be aiming to present a lighthearted and loving show to the audience, but for the trainees involved, the process remained as intense and brutal as past seasons. The production crew originally planned to eliminate at least 30 trainees for the theme song performance.

However, because the trainees exceeded expectations and developed many memorable traits and styles during filming, the production crew and mentors held an emergency meeting this morning, eventually reducing the elimination count to just 17 and granting more trainees a chance to find their radiance.

Taking a deep breath, Shi Shuyao began announcing the list of eliminated trainees, "Liu Qingqing, Xu Yi…"

After all 17 names were read out, silence befell the auditorium.

Several seconds later, one of the eliminated trainees turned to her companion and said, "I can't return your Star Card anymore."

In response, the trainee's companion hugged her, saying, "Then, you better treat me to a meal when I leave this place! Okay?!"

"Do we have an elimination speech segment? The production crew isn't that stingy, right?" an optimistic trainee asked jokingly.

"We don't have that," Shi Shuyao said, crushing the trainee's hope.

Unable to stand this scene, Duan Mi promptly followed up Shi Shuyao's words by adding, "But you still get to perform on one more stage."

The eliminated trainees froze and stared at the mentors.

The stage.

This was what everyone had come here to fight for.

In previous Star of Spring seasons, trainees rated E were never allowed to perform the theme song on stage. Even if they weren't eliminated, they could only watch from the sidelines as others performed.

However, it seemed things worked differently this time around.

…

Returning to the morning meeting…

After deciding which trainees to eliminate from the show, Ren Qian suddenly spoke up and strongly recommended that the production crew change the theme song stage to a group performance. He was fighting to let even the eliminated trainees have a chance to perform on the stage.

Addressing the production crew and the other mentors, Ren Qian said, "They tried their best but still failed to meet the stage's requirements. It's unfortunate, but that's the reality. I've been there myself; I know the remaining trainees have worked just as hard, if not harder, so I don't pity those who were eliminated. But…"

Ren Qian fiddled with the mouse in his hand, clicking to open a video on his desktop.

The screen projected a video.

The video was a series of rough-cut footage haphazardly pieced together without subtitles or background music.

As the video played, scenes of trainees practicing unfolded before the mentors and production crew.

The trainees jogging against the wind to the small square…

The trainees lining up to practice dancing together…

The megaphone showering everyone with jokes and encouragement…

The better dancers stepping out to guide and correct their classmates…

...

In the final scene, staff members could be seen carrying boxes of water to the square and calling the trainees to retire for the day. Initially, the staff had intended to distribute the water themselves, but several trainees beat them to it and began distributing the bottles to their peers.

Xu Yi, dressed in a gray uniform and one of the trainees slated for elimination, plopped on the ground without caring about her image. Even when others tried to help her up, nobody could pull her off the ground.

However, as soon as Xu Yi received a bottle of water from one of her companions, she quickly got off the ground, made her way through the groups of green, yellow, and blue uniforms, and searched through the trainees in pink. Then, upon locating Rong Yi, she twisted open the bottle cap, handed the water bottle to Rong Yi, and said cheekily and respectfully, "Have some water, Little Teacher. You've worked hard teaching me."

Rong Yi seemed to want to refute Xu Yi's words when she looked up at the other party but was too embarrassed by Xu Yi's form of address. After a brief mental struggle, she reached for the water and muttered, "I hardly taught you anything… Come to me next time you have a problem."

"Really? Then, I guess this bottle of water wasn't given in vain!" Xu Yi grinned.

Rong Yi didn't respond. Instead, she held the bottle of water up with both hands and gulped it down.

...

The video stopped at the shot of Rong Yi and Xu Yi.

Turning to Director Wu, Ren Qian said, "Their actions moved me. It's rare to see trainees developing such group spirit from the very first day. I like their energy, and I'm sure the audience will too. Please give them a chance; you won't regret it."

In response, Director Wu clicked his tongue and said, "Even if you hadn't said anything, we were already planning to do that."

This revelation surprised Ren Qian. Laughing, he said, "I guess I spoke too soon."

After that minor interruption, Director Wu faced the mentors and asked, "We will now have to choose a center from Class A's trainees for the theme song."

"Song Yingshi," Ren Qian cast his vote without hesitation.

"Is it because she's the square dance instigator?" Shi Shuyao asked.

"She is very cohesive, which makes her perfect for the center position," Ren Qian said, nodding to Shi Shuyao's claim. As a member of a boy group, he valued this aspect more than the other mentors.

After thinking for a moment, Shi Shuyao said, "I am leaning towards Huai Xu. She has made the greatest progress. Furthermore…"

"Furthermore?" Duan Mi asked.

Clicking her tongue, Shi Shuyao bluntly stated, "Her looks are on a completely different level. Wherever she stands, that's where the visual center will be. No amount of redirecting will change that."

"..."

Shi Shuyao's explanation flabbergasted everyone in the room. They never expected her to be so obsessed over beauty.

Now that two mentors had made their positions clear, Duan Mi's choice became especially important.

After all, there was only one center position.

The theme song represented the face of the show, and it would be played in every episode. Hence, the center's ability to convey emotions and strength was crucial.

Nobody could doubt the abilities of Song Yingshi and Huai Xu. Each of them also had their own unique style of performance, which made it difficult to choose between them.

But if they were talking about who could bring a smile to people's faces at first sight…

With great resolve, Duan Mi said, "I choose Song Yingshi."

…

After everything was finalized, all 101 trainees changed into their student outfits and traveled by bus to the recording stage on June 5th.

The trainees collectively stood on the divided stage, under the scorching lights and before cameras that represented the audience. They then performed "Let Your Heart Beat" repeatedly with great familiarity.

The sadness of parting was already smoothed and hidden along the way. The eliminated trainees all wore smiles as they strove to complete their shared, and only, stage. After all, since their departure was inevitable, the only thing they could do was leave with no regrets.

After recording the theme song, the trainees were initially scheduled to have their first official group divisions on June 6th, which was tomorrow. However, three of their four mentors had to attend a Summer Festival event, so the production crew had to postpone this segment by a day.

Regardless, a bus would come to the White Tower to take the eliminated trainees away at around 9 PM today. With this knowledge in mind, the VJs visited Class E's dormitories with cameras, ready to capture farewell footage.

Upon arriving on the fourth floor, one VJ noticed Song Yingshi conversing with several other trainees in a corner. Song Yingshi was his favorite trainee to film since she always looked great on camera.

Seizing the opportunity, the VJ quietly crept over and zoomed in with his camera—

"Which flower bed should I hide my phone behind?" an eliminated trainee asked anxiously.

"Right in front of the little angel statue, behind the third round stump on the left. The password is 7891, right?" Song Yingshi whispered.

"Yes, yes," the trainee nodded. "But don't look at my photo album! Also, only Li Tinghan's group is allowed to game on my phone! I don't want my rank to drop…"

"Don't worry! I'll see who dares look at your photo album!" Lu Xuewen promised, her cheeks flushed with excitement as she caressed the trainee's phone. Then, with a drooling expression, she continued, "It's just that…about this game…"

"Don't taint my account with your Gold filth!" the trainee warned, growing alert like an anxious cat.[1]

"We'll keep her in check," Song Yingshi said, reassuring the trainee.

Like a kitten with its fur smoothed, the trainee responded sweetly, "Okay. Actually, you can do whatever you want with my account, Little Shi. Even if you drop my rank, I can climb back up in no time. Also, what's your WeChat ID? Let me add you once I get a new phone."

"What are these double standards?!" Lu Xuewen cried injustice.

"Hehe." The trainee stuck her tongue out playfully.

VJ: !!!

I thought you'd be crying your hearts out, but instead, you're plotting how to smuggle phones?!

The VJ's mood shifted dramatically, and he coughed awkwardly to alert the trainees of his presence.

The group led by Song Yingshi slowly turned around at this noise. Upon seeing the camera nearly in their faces, they revealed awkward but polite smiles.

After Song Yingshi, Huai Xu, and others sent the eliminated trainees off, the production crew went through the White Tower inside and out with metal detectors before they relaxed their guard.

Meanwhile, Shi Zhi privately approached Song Yingshi with an exasperated smile, "Little Shi, how did you end up conspiring with them over such a thing? You didn't strike me as that sort of person."

Not to mention, if Song Yingshi wanted a phone, all she had to do was ask. Shi Zhi could never refuse such a simple request.

"I knew phones couldn't be brought in. After hosting so many seasons, the production crew is bound to take the necessary precautions," Song Yingshi sighed.

Shi Zhi took a sip of water and kept quiet.

In reality, the production crew hadn't taken any precautions tonight. This was mainly because none of the trainees in past seasons would hand their phones to others. The production crew never expected the trainees of this season to get along so well.

"You knew, yet you still made a fuss?" Shi Zhi asked.

"The first episode is airing tonight," Song Yingshi said.

Although the trainees couldn't access outside information and couldn't sit in front of the TV to watch the show together, they still knew about the program process and the airing schedule.

The first episode would be officially aired tonight, its content mainly focusing on the Initial Rating Performance. At the same time, the voting channels for the trainees would be formally opened.

In other words, this was the trainees first official appearance before the audience.

They would appear on screens of all sizes across the country, and their names and discussions would spread across the internet. However, nobody could say for sure whether their names would be spread in a good light.

Hence, restlessness filled the White Tower on this night, and few trainees could settle down to practice.

With a smile, Song Yingshi said, "Let's give them something to do to calm their nerves."

Shi Zhi understood Song Yingshi's point, but one thing kept bugging her, so she asked, "It seems you're not nervous."

Song Yingshi paused. A distant memory surfaced in her mind.

TL Notes:
[1]Gold: It's one of the ranks in Honor of Kings (MOBA).