Chapter 9: Simp

“After many intense rounds of competition, there are thirty contestants remaining. Each group has already selected seven members, and the two extra contestants must now face the crisis of elimination.

Your opportunity now is that you must use your abilities to convince the mentors to choose you.

If no mentor hits the ‘light-up’ button for you, then you will have to regretfully leave the show.”

“The two extra contestants are Little Stone and Little Dream.”

Little Dream stepped forward; his real name was actually Meng Shaoheng.

However, to ensure that the audience and mentors were not influenced by the contestants' true identities throughout the process, the production team required every contestant to use a nickname, and everyone addressed each other by these nicknames.

It was only after standing there that Shi Jin recalled these things.

She also remembered that, in reality, none of the groups wanted these last two contestants.

Because each group already had seven members who would represent their group in battles against members of other groups, the more members a group had, the more troublesome it was for the mentors to arrange their lineup, and the fewer opportunities the contestants had to perform and showcase themselves.

In other words, this was a talent show that was relatively focused on individual performance. While it would eventually crown a champion, runner-up, and second runner-up, it also required team members to collaborate amicably within their groups. No one liked having teammates who lacked ability.

These remaining two happened to be at the very bottom of the thirty in terms of skill.

Sure enough, after Meng Shaoheng finished his performance, the mentors decided they needed to consider it and couldn't make a decision right away.

“Shi Jin, it’s your turn.” Deng Yufei nudged Shi Jin’s arm.

Only then did Shi Jin remember that she was Little Stone.

She had almost forgotten about it.

Deng Yufei, assuming Shi Jin’s ability was still as inconsistent as ever, “kindly” advised: “Shi Jin, when you perform, try acting cute and sweet to Chu Ling; he will definitely choose to keep you. Oh, right, didn’t you write him a love letter? Take this opportunity to give it to him!”

If Shi Jin were to do that, she would not only enrage Fu Xiuyuan but would also be torn to shreds by Chu Ling’s fans.

Shi Jin remembered that in her previous life, she had done exactly that. Despite having sufficient talent, she had used this opportunity to secretly present a love letter to Chu Ling, hoping he would keep her on the show and have a change of heart in reality.

When Fu Xiuyuan found out, he was furious.

As for Chu Ling’s fans, they listed Shi Jin as their number one public enemy, and from then on, those haters followed Shi Jin for the rest of her life.

Shi Jin stood up, and the camera followed her.

In the earlier parts of the show, she had very little screen time. After all, at that time, she was single-mindedly chasing after Chu Ling while trying to break free from Fu Xiuyuan, so she often wore highly inappropriate clothing.

But today, her outfit was entirely in her own simple, casual style, making her limbs look long and slender, and her exposed ankles were dazzlingly white.

The camera would never miss content with potential for drama, so it followed her immediately.

“Little Stone, are you performing a song, or are you submitting a creative manuscript?”

In front of the camera, Chu Ling spoke with exceptional gentleness and courtesy.

The talent portion of *National Singer-Songwriter* was divided into two parts: vocal ability and songwriting. Demonstrating either one was enough to gain a mentor’s favor.

However, singers with strong songwriting abilities usually didn't have poor vocal skills; there were just differences in their vocal timbre.

Shi Jin smiled, looking very confident: “I’ll submit a creative manuscript.”