"This is so hard..."
"I just can't seem to get this move right..."
"We only have less than three hours left before the evaluation. What do we do..."
The rehearsal room was thick with tension.
One girl even burst into tears, and a crowd quickly gathered to comfort her.
Rong Yu remained expressionless, continuing to practice her dance moves.
She had never formally studied dance, but her physical agility was excellent—no move, no matter how difficult, seemed to faze her.
But—
In the live stream:
"LOL, have you noticed how Rong Yu dances like a robot?"
"She’s not technically wrong, but it’s just so stiff."
"Mechanical and rigid—is this even dancing?"
"I’m dying of laughter."
The girls who had been crying moments ago glanced at her, moving as if performing military drills, and suddenly burst into giggles.
Rong Yu: "..."
Her face tightened. "Stop crying. The evaluation is almost here. Everyone, get over here and practice—ten reps, then five minutes of rest!"
Su Tian walked over. "Sis Yu, can you teach me this floor move? Once I get it, I’ll show you how to make it look more fluid..."
Rong Yu slowed down and demonstrated.
The girls followed along.
But the move was too challenging to execute perfectly.
Rong Yu adjusted each of their legs one by one.
"Good, hold that for ten seconds. Don’t move..."
The moment the ten seconds were up,
the girls collapsed onto the floor.
"Get up. Again!"
Rong Yu nudged them with her foot, forcing them back up to continue the routine.
"Sis Yu, you’re such a tyrant."
"Sis Yu, aren’t you tired?"
"Sis Yu, help me! How do I get my leg over my head...?"
Somehow, the girls had started calling her "Sis Yu," even those older than her. She had quietly become their anchor.
By the time He Qiqi returned to the rehearsal room at 8 p.m., having mastered the entire dance on her own, there was only an hour left before the evaluation.
Seeing her teammates sprawled on the floor in bizarre poses, she had already learned to keep her composure.
The team competition was just for bonus points—what really mattered was individual popularity. As long as she performed well, she could secure her spot in the top three.
She steadied her nerves, her expression softening as she approached Su Tian. "You’re doing this move wrong. It should be..."
Su Tian frowned. "Sis Yu told me to focus on mastering the basics first..."
He Qiqi smiled. "Rong Yu isn’t a trained dancer. Her advice might not always be correct."
"I think Sis Yu’s teaching is solid," another girl chimed in. "At least I know what to aim for."
He Qiqi kept her smile. "Is that so? Show me."
The girl, annoyed but deferring to her as team leader, demonstrated.
He Qiqi’s eyebrows twitched.
This... this was way too stiff.
"No, that’s completely wrong!" She couldn’t help but adjust the girl’s arm. "It should flow like this—"
"Ow! That hurts!" the girl yelped. "Sis Yu said we should focus on getting the moves right first, then work on fluidity..."
Sis Yu this, Sis Yu that—always Sis Yu!
He Qiqi’s patience was wearing thin.
She shot a glance at Rong Yu, whose movements were just as rigid.
Where did she get the confidence to coach anyone?
Fine. If they wanted to be a bunch of amateurs, so be it. Being team leader wasn’t that great anyway.
He Qiqi turned and walked out again.
Su Tian muttered under her breath, "She’s never around when we need her, but the second we don’t, she’s nitpicking. What kind of leader is that?"
"Su Tian!" Rong Yu barked. "You haven’t even mastered the move yet, and you’re slacking off? Again!"
For Rong Yu, the evaluation was important, but the live performance a week later mattered more.
While they were still together, the priority was mastering each move. They could refine fluidity and synchronization later, during the seven days of individual practice.
An hour flew by—evaluation time.
Thirty seconds of singing and dancing.
The ten girls formed their positions, with He Qiqi at the front and Rong Yu to the side. The music jumped straight to the climax.
"He Qiqi stands out so much!"
"Rong Yu isn’t bad either."
"But the group is a mess—uncoordinated, stiff, chaotic transitions..."
"The only one who shines is He Qiqi. Isn’t she the leader? Why is she only focused on herself?"
"Seriously, I feel bad for Qiqi. She works so hard and still gets hate..."
"..."
The evaluating mentor, Cui Yuan, frowned deeply. "Who’s the leader?"
He Qiqi stepped forward.
"Your team’s performance reflects poorly on your leadership," Cui Yuan said coldly. "This is a group competition, not your solo act!"
He Qiqi’s eyes reddened instantly. "Professor Cui, it’s not that I didn’t try to teach them. They only listen to Rong Yu. I... I couldn’t do anything..."
Su Tian immediately spoke up. "Professor Cui, that’s not true! He Qiqi—"
"Enough," Cui Yuan cut in. "A team without unity will never excel in competitions. My advice is for all ten of you to spend time together after today’s recording—build chemistry. That’s more urgent than rehearsing."
He wrote three words on the evaluation sheet: Failed.
Once the evaluation ended, the second round of recordings wrapped up, and the cameras shut down one by one.
He Qiqi’s pitiful expression vanished. "The evaluation proved what we’re capable of. There’s no point wasting more time on teamwork. Right?"
Rong Yu looked up. "I disagree."
If she was going to do something, she’d do it right. Giving up wasn’t in her nature.
He Qiqi smirked. "Fine. Keep at it, then. I’m leaving."
She needed to find a professional dance coach to polish her moves. She had to stand out completely among these amateurs.
Team competition or not, this was a survival show—individual scores were what counted.
She turned and strode off.
Su Tian was fuming.
The other girls looked equally resentful.
Rong Yu didn’t care.
"Listen up," she said. "I’m assigning tasks. Stay if you’re willing to follow. Leave if you’re not."
No one moved.
Rong Yu nodded in approval. "Starting tomorrow, everyone must post proof in the group chat—100 practice runs daily."
"A hundred?!" Su Tian’s eyes bulged. "Sis Yu, is it too late to quit?"
"Too late." Rong Yu grabbed her collar. "The more we drill, the more it becomes muscle memory. Unless you want to embarrass yourselves on stage next week?"
The girls shook their heads vigorously.
"Good. You’ve worked hard today. Dismissed."
They scattered instantly.
For some reason,
Rong Yu gave off the vibe of a strict school principal—intimidating yet reassuring.
With her leading the way, no challenge seemed insurmountable.
As soon as Rong Yu stepped out of the recording studio, a staff member escorted him to a private elevator, which took him straight to the top floor.
