Chapter 23

Wednesday evening was the public performance. That afternoon, the trainees began their rehearsals.

The enormous venue could seat over three thousand people. Right now it was empty except for the crew working near the stage.

Time was limited — each group had at most two rehearsal runs.

Xue Ruye's team was scheduled to go first.

Although Zhao Jinzhao was the main dancer and the center position, spending the most time in the most prominent spot — the moment Fang Yixing's voice came through the microphone, everyone's attention was pulled straight to him.

He was the uncontested focal point. Once people caught a clear look at that cool, beautiful face, they couldn't look away.

For the entire duration of the performance, Yun Zhi's gaze was fixed on Fang Yixing. His beautiful almond eyes were blazing with excited, sparkling light. It was as though he could already see a new star rising in the entertainment world — and he had played a major part in it.

Only when Xue Ruye's team finished receiving his comments and stepped off the stage did Yun Zhi stop his enthusiastic applause.

He had been about to shower his girl-friend with compliments, but time waited for no one — his teammates, hearing the director's signal, immediately pushed him up on stage.

The backing track started, and Yun Zhi snapped into the zone in an instant.

In sharp contrast to the previous team's lyrical ballad style, Wen Xiaoxiao's team had chosen a European-influenced cute dance pop number. The cheerful, upbeat intro played, and many people found their heads bobbing along to the catchy melody.

There was none of the artificial cuteness of forced, rehearsed charm — Yun Zhi's movements and expressions were calibrated to perfection, and the team's coordination was seamless.

At the finale, Yun Zhi broke into a brilliant smile toward the camera on the left, and gave the most imperceptible blink.

Xue Ruye, standing beside the camera, felt something darken in his eyes.

After witnessing her trainees' exceptional performance, Wen Xiaoxiao let her idol composure fall entirely to pieces and didn't bother picking it up. She pressed a big heart in the direction of the five still panting on stage, her adoration undisguised. "Incredible — babies, mwah, I love you all!"

Yun Zhi smiled shyly and shared a burst of excited hugs with his teammates.

Having watched the other rehearsals, Yun Zhi felt their team had a very high probability of winning the most on-site votes. Their team's ability to build and carry the atmosphere was the strongest — they could bring the audience's energy along with them.

After the rehearsal, everyone went to have dinner early. Then each team made one final round of adjustments to their performance based on their mentor's feedback, changed into their performance costumes, and settled into the dressing room to wait for the makeup and hair artists.

Thirty minutes before the show started, Yun Zhi was too nervous and made a trip to the bathroom.

Coming out of the bathroom, he was passing the cream-colored fire exit door when a hand suddenly grabbed his wrist and yanked him sharply toward the fire stairwell.

Yun Zhi cried out in fright — but he had already been pulled behind the fire door, and the person's palm clamped over his open mouth.

Without thinking, Yun Zhi opened his mouth and bit down hard on that palm.

"Hiss — are you a dog?" The voice above him fell down. Yun Zhi blinked in startled recognition — and having worked out who the voice belonged to, he bit down again even harder, as if he wanted to take an actual chunk out of the man's hand as payback.

Xue Ruye used his other hand to push hard against the back of Yun Zhi's head. Only when his strength gave out did Yun Zhi release his jaw.

"It's me," Xue Ruye said through gritted teeth.

Yun Zhi looked up at him, arranging his face into an expression of blankness, while in his heart he gave him not a shred of mercy: It's precisely because I knew it was you that I bit a second time.

"Why did you suddenly bring me here, senior?" Yun Zhi looked confused.

"Still pretending?" Seeing that innocent, wide-eyed face, Xue Ruye produced a meaningful expression. "Weren't you trying to see me? You even publicly flirted with me on stage just now."

Other people might interpret Yun Zhi's wink at the end of the stage performance as just an ending move — but not him.

Why else wouldn't he look toward the center camera, like everyone else on his team, but instead look off in his direction?

Yun Zhi hadn't realized Xue Ruye would read that deeply into which direction he'd winked. Hearing his reasoning, Yun Zhi was stunned — and then absolutely howling inside with injustice. When had he ever given any indication of wanting to see Xue Ruye?

And flirted?!

Yun Zhi had good reason to suspect that Xue Ruye wasn't only a film emperor — he was also a narcissist and a master of constructing delusions. Anyone who glanced at him twice got branded an admirer in his mind.

The distance in Yun Zhi's polite words was unmistakable. "Xue-laoshi, you've misunderstood me. You're a senior we greatly respect — I would never have the presumption to think of you that way."

Xue Ruye: "Understood."

Yun Zhi: He got the explanation? He can leave now, right?

He tested a step toward the exit, only to be blocked by Xue Ruye.

"Understood — you're thin-skinned. You do things but won't own up to them." Xue Ruye braced one hand against the wall, blocking Yun Zhi in, the corner of his mouth tilting up in an amused smile. "Well, what can you do — I like you even more like this."

Yun Zhi blinked at him with innocent eyes. How did you get to 'like' from that???

Xue Ruye was simultaneously carrying on a relationship with Senior Zhao Jinzhao, had been trying to get his hands on Fang Yixing, and now liked him as well?

Xue Ruye particularly enjoyed the dazed look on his face — like a frightened little kitten. He couldn't help sighing. Yun Zhi was practically built to his exact preferences. His current little lover had slightly less of Yun Zhi's purity and slightly more of his own particular charm — Xue Ruye couldn't bring himself to give up either of them.

The main issue was that Zhao Jinzhao was refusing to agree to a permanent mark, and it would be a real waste to release someone before he'd gotten everything he wanted.

Xue Ruye reached into his jacket pocket, produced a card, and pushed it into Yun Zhi's hand without giving him a chance to refuse. "You haven't signed with a company yet, have you? My studio can take you. If you behave, the work and the pay will both be generous. This weekend, eight in the evening — will you come?"

He raised an eyebrow, waiting for Yun Zhi to give him a nod.

Yun Zhi was furious. Even though this wasn't the first time he'd encountered coercive casting couch behavior, he still couldn't stay calm.

But given his current position, Xue Ruye was someone he couldn't afford to antagonize.

Yun Zhi took a deep breath to push the anger back down, and said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "Senior, I should be honest with you — I haven't differentiated yet. I'm afraid I can't make it."

He bowed his head and performed a disappointed look, just waiting for Xue Ruye to have no choice but to let him go.

Hearing that he was an undifferentiated Omega, Xue Ruye was genuinely surprised.

Pinning an Omega and not being able to mark them was a pure test of an Alpha's willpower. Forcing himself on one would only result in serious self-inflicted injury. Xue Ruye was extremely reluctant — but had no choice except to back off.

He looked displeased, but knew this was not something he could blame Yun Zhi for.

"No matter," he said, and stuffed another card into Yun Zhi's hand. "This is my studio's contact information. Get in touch once this competition wraps up."

On commercial appeal alone, Xue Ruye could already sense that Yun Zhi's future value would be enormous. He might as well keep him in reserve at the studio, and wait until Yun Zhi had differentiated before acting.

Yun Zhi tightened his fist around the two cards and placated him for now. "Of course, Xue-laoshi. I'm heading back out — the performance is about to begin."

Before Xue Ruye could respond, Yun Zhi had slipped out under his arm like a flash.

Yun Zhi pushed open the dressing room door. Wen Xiaoxiao immediately rushed over, fussing over him like a mother hen. "Baby, why were you in the bathroom for so long? Is your stomach bothering you?"

Yun Zhi had just escaped from the hands of a pervert gong and his heart was still pounding.

"Nothing's wrong. Thank you for your concern, Wen-laoshi."

"What a good kid." Wen Xiaoxiao's hand darted out to give Yun Zhi's soft hair a quick touch, and with a sigh of contentment she led the group to the trainees' backstage waiting area.

Outside the performance venue, the last batch of fans were running frantically through the entrance. Inside, fans were already seated in orderly fashion, pulling out support posters in various colors and glowing light boards, determined to be the most dazzling section in the whole arena.

"Do you think Zhizhi will like the yellow light boards we made for him?"

"We'll use these for now, and ask him next time we get the chance. Zhizhi is so cute — I'd make him light boards in literally any color, hahaha."

Two girls from Yun Zhi's fan support club were chatting together. A few girls in the rows behind them, holding blue light boards, tapped them on the shoulder.

"Are you Wonton fans?"

The two Wontons nodded, glanced at the light boards in the back row, and grinned. "Starlights! What a coincidence."

Wonton was the fan name voted by Yun Zhi's fans the night before. Fang Yixing's fan name was Starlights. The Starlights felt their aloof idol probably wouldn't like this fan name — but the Starlights were apparently as opinionated as their idol and didn't care. They were calling themselves Starlights and that was that.

"Zhizhi and Fangfang are best friends — let's vote for each other! Let's get them both into the top three this round!" The pigtailed Wonton made an excited fist.

"Absolutely." The Starlights agreed readily. Their idol genuinely enjoyed being around Yun Zhi, and they had a soft spot for Yun Zhi themselves. Joining hands with the Wontons to help their idols debut together was only right.

The Chaoyangs nearby couldn't help grumbling quietly.

Since the show's official account had released the trainees' promotional photos, the Chaoyangs had clocked Yun Zhi — who had a similar vibe to Zhao Jinzhao but surpassed him in both looks and presence. They had initially assumed this Omega was just a pretty face out to draw attention, but the very first episode had slapped them with the battle stage between Zhao Jinzhao and Yun Zhi.

Now Yun Zhi was the Chaoyangs' number one rival, and they were absolutely determined to get Zhao Jinzhao's vote count ahead of Jin Yunzhi's.

Unfortunately, the only way to get tickets to the public performance was through the official Weibo lottery, and the number of Chaoyangs who'd won tickets was honestly not that many.

Hopefully Zhao Jinzhao would deliver a strong enough stage this time to flatten Yun Zhi.

Zhao Jinzhao's team had drawn the first slot.

The screams never let up — especially when Fang Yixing opened his mouth, with a voice that brought people to their knees, sending a good chunk of the audience spiraling. The Chaoyangs watched the reactions around them, feeling both pleased and anxious. Pleased because they felt first place for their team was secure. Anxious because Zhao Jinzhao was being effortlessly upstaged by Fang Yixing.

But when the third team's stage began, they had nothing left but anxiety.

Yun Zhi's team's overall stage presence was visibly the best of the first three groups, and particularly Yun Zhi in the center — every micro-expression, every pitch and tiny movement pulled at the audience's emotions. On top of that, their stage was designed with numerous small details intended to create an immersive experience for viewers.

The screams crested higher and higher, and the Wontons and Starlights were beside themselves.

They were seeing Yun Zhi perform up close for the first time, and genuinely wished it could go on forever. The Yun Zhi on stage was radiant — as if the stage were where he was simply born to be.

All six stages ended. The six mentors led their respective team trainees onto the stage, and together with the audience below, they held their breath and watched the vote counts for each team fluctuating on the big screen.

The numbers slowed in their jumping, and finally locked in.

Yun Zhi had the highest on-site vote count — first place!

Fang Yixing, second!

Almost simultaneously, the Wontons and the Starlights erupted in screams.

Yun Zhi's other teammates also ranked surprisingly high. Their team's overall performance was undeniably the best of the night, so of course they had the most votes.

Yun Zhi was overjoyed — but it wasn't the moment to show it too openly. He could only turn his head and quietly convey an expression of barely contained happiness in Fang Yixing's direction, toward the neighboring team.

Fang Yixing's eyes curved softly. He shared the joy with him.

Zhao Jinzhao, in third place for on-site votes, was somewhat subdued — but not entirely because of his ranking. Even during rehearsal he could already see that Yun Zhi and Fang Yixing's performance surpassed his, so a lower score was only fair. He had never been particularly prone to jealousy toward people who were genuinely skilled.

What saddened him was that when he had returned from the hospital at noon, Xue Ruye hadn't asked him a single word about how he was feeling. He had long sensed that he was often overlooked, and it made him feel more and more that perhaps Xue Ruye didn't care about him at all.

If he didn't like him, then why had he agreed to his pursuit in the first place?

National producer Yang Zhuo, reading from the numbers on the big screen, announced each trainee and team's vote counts and rankings one more time.

"Congratulations to mentor Wen Xiaoxiao's team, who received a total of 3,498 votes from the national producers on site! First place in the group round!"

There were three thousand national producers in the arena in total, each with only two voting opportunities for the entire event. Wen Xiaoxiao's team had outpaced all other groups by a significant margin.

Wen Xiaoxiao led her five little darlings in delivering their thanks to the national producers in the audience.

Yang Zhuo gave them a satisfied nod, then turned to Xue Ruye. "Ruye-laoshi, you must have many unforgettable memories from your week as a guest mentor. What stood out to you the most?"

Xue Ruye was only serving as a guest mentor for one episode — drawing viewers with his star power — and tonight would be his last appearance on 101 Days: Omega Idol Cultivation Plan. The production team naturally couldn't let him exit quietly.

Xue Ruye smiled. "Looking back, I realize every minute I spent here was meaningful — it probably reminded me of who I was a few years ago. Back then I was full of drive, with dreams, daring to create and compete. These kids are all very brave. Their futures will be bright."

Moisture shimmered in his eyes, caught by the camera. Many people were moved.

Thunderous applause filled the arena.

After the performance was done, the mentors departed and the audience filed out. At the same time, the online voting channel temporarily closed.

Yang Zhuo led the thirty trainees back to the training hall, letting them rest briefly to recover their energy. In a while, he would combine the online votes and on-site votes to determine who stayed and who went.

In this round, the bottom five trainees would be eliminated.

Factoring in both on-site and online votes, Yun Zhi's overall ranking dropped by one position. Zhao Jinzhao's massive online fanbase sent his vote count surging past both Fang Yixing and Yun Zhi, and he took first place.

Yun Zhi was satisfied with the results. After all, both he and Fang Yixing were nobodies with no backing or resources, and with only one episode aired their fan base was still relatively small. Maintaining a position in the top three alongside Fang Yixing already exceeded his expectations.

Yang Zhuo: "The top three trainees will need to complete an assignment given by their fans tomorrow afternoon — a fan reward. Please look forward to it!"

Yun Zhi nodded obediently. His fans were so adorable — they definitely wouldn't give him anything too difficult, Yun Zhi thought innocently.

That night, the official account posted the top three rankings from the first public performance of 101 Days: Omega Idol Cultivation Plan, along with the announcement of the fan rewards.

@101DaysOmegaIdolCultivationPlan: [Photos] The rankings from the top three trainees' first public performances are fresh off the press~ National producers, please enjoy! Our thoughtful production team wants to ask what fan rewards you'd like to see — the top 3 will present whatever is chosen~ [Emoji]

The official account opened three dedicated reply sections under their own post for viewers to submit ideas for each of the three trainees' fan rewards. The suggestions with the most likes would be selected by the production team.

The next day, when Yun Zhi heard the director announce the "assignments," he felt a headache coming on immediately.

Were his cute, lovely fans really the ones who had come up with this?

The director was snickering quietly to himself. He had merely gone in anonymously and subtly nudged the comments in a direction — and those fans had gone ahead and liked it in droves. Fans these days really had a mischievous streak.

What the viewers and Starlights assigned to Fang Yixing: Please have Yun Zhi sit on your back and do thirty push-ups.

What the viewers and Wontons assigned to Yun Zhi: Please have Fang Yixing lie beneath you and do thirty face-to-face push-ups.

Yun Zhi: [subway, old man, looking at phone]

Did both groups coordinate this in advance?

Having a laugh, were you?

Yun Zhi looked down at his own fragile little frame with concern and concluded that thirty push-ups was beyond him. Before he even hit ten, he'd definitely collapse straight onto Fang Little Beautiful O. Then they'd be head-to-head, face crashing into face, teeth knocking against teeth — deeply undignified.

And the assignment given to Fang Little Beautiful O was also quite unreasonable. He wasn't born with the natural robust build of an Alpha — if Yun Zhi sat himself down on top of her, his girl-friend's back would very possibly snap.

Yun Zhi glowered at the director, then leaned close to Fang Yixing's ear. "Yixing, you can't actually do this, right? I'll go negotiate with the director and get them to swap it for something else."

Fang Yixing had been perfectly unbothered until he heard that. His brow lifted slightly. He said with absolute certainty, in a low and cool tone, "I can."

**Author's Note:** It's here, it's here! I started writing this novel on pure enthusiasm, no drafts saved — I had no idea this many adorable readers would show up! Going forward I'll update daily, but the update time isn't fixed. Usually in the evenings, since I have work during the day. As I always say — early-to-bed sweethearts, don't wait up. Just read it when you wake up the next morning~