The faces of the five young boys on stage changed instantly. They looked a little tired after their performance, and their helpless expressions made Yu Li's heart ache.
"Oh, they're quite cute," a woman said, "System: ... " She was being a bit of a rogue, so she was blocked!
"What about Yu Li, their mentor?" Jing Zhao threw the question to her, and Yu Li hooked the corner of her mouth.
"Both singing and dancing were good, but there was a small problem. You're at an age full of youthful energy, and just a little physical exertion made you sweat all over. That's not good."
"Hehe, Yu Li is right. If there's a chance to hold a concert in the future, this little bit of physical exertion won't do," Jing Zhao replied, preparing to give a rating. Suddenly, Sun Ruobing, who was standing beside him, spoke up."This is a stage for the new generation. What we want to see is their uniqueness, but they just followed the templates of their predecessors in singing and dancing. I think they should go to an imitation show!"
Although Sun Ruobing was criticizing the students, her tone was directed at Yu Li, refuting her opinion.
Jing Zhao and Wang Yang looked at each other, speechless.
The director was excitedly patting the cameraman's shoulder. "Quick, quick, film this. It's all a highlight."
Yu Li agreed with Sun Ruobing's opinion, but she felt that her demands for these students were a bit too high. "Director Sun, I think you may not have understood the meaning of this program. We want to watch these students grow up. If they come in with the best level, do you think they still need this stage to debut?"
Audiences have a strong attachment to these idol development shows, and most of the contestants who are able to be pushed by major entertainment companies have some sort of background.
Even if they don't successfully debut after the show, gaining some fame is still a boost in the entertainment industry.
"I was invited by the show as a mentor to ensure fairness and transparency. If Mentor Yu Lili doesn't have the ability, she shouldn't mislead them," Sun Ruobing stood up for herself and challenged Yu Lili.
"Alright, you can all take your seats in the contestant area. After all the contestants have performed, we will proceed with the evaluation," Jing Zhao quickly changed the subject. He had been in this industry for many years and had seen many female celebrities fight behind the scenes, but this was the first time he had seen it happen in front of him.
During the evaluation, Sun Ruobing constantly criticized Yu Lili. Anyone could see that the two female mentors had a bad relationship.After all one hundred contestants had taken their seats, Jing Zhao handed the evaluation to the director, and the results would be announced on the big screen later.
The twelve contestants who received an A grade could choose their preferred mentor, while the rest of the contestants would be chosen by drawing lots.
Yu Lili was the last to perform after Jing Zhao, Wang Yang, and Sun Ruobing. She was going to perform "Butterfly Transformation," the tragic love story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. She had already changed into a looser outfit, and Yang Jie came from the front of the stage to the dressing room to do her makeup.
"What's wrong?" Through the mirror, Yu Li could see the gloom on Yang Jie's face.
Yang Jie looked extremely unhappy. "That Sun Ruobing is so ungrateful. Do you think she's trying to steal your limelight?"
"No," Yu Li could tell that Sun Ruobing was just being stubborn. How could someone with that kind of temperament listen to the team's arrangements?
Yang Jie pursed her lips in displeasure. "Well, just don't take it to heart."
"I won't," Yu Li was very satisfied with her makeup in the mirror, but felt like something was missing. She asked the makeup artist to add a few more strokes of flower petals between her eyebrows.
"Yu Li is getting ready to go on stage," the director came over to inform them, and Yu Li got up to prepare for her performance.
After Yu Li left, Yang Jie finally snapped out of her daze and hurried after her. Oh my god, was she just stunned by Yu Li's face?
After the other three mentors finished their performances, they returned to their seats to rest.
The stage lights went out, and as the music began, a beam of light shone on the center of the stage. With the appearance of a woman in red, all the students and the three mentors in the audience were momentarily stunned.
Everyone had the same thought in their minds: was this Yu Li?
The woman's movements were graceful and elegant. With the melancholic music, she performed a series of difficult moves, captivating everyone's attention, both on and off stage. It was as if Yu Li had transported them all into the story.
As the final note sounded, Yu Li spun around on one leg, arms slowly swaying, and the lights went out.
A few seconds later, the stage lights came on as expected and someone started applauding, causing a thunderous round of applause to erupt.
Even those who rarely cry were wiping away tears.
Yu Li bowed and smiled before heading towards the mentors' table. However, Jing Zhao suddenly called out to her, "Wait, Mentor Yu Li."
The staff immediately handed Yu Li a microphone.
"Mentor Yu Li, you really amazed us just now. Have you studied dance before or did you just learn it for the show?" Jing Zhao wanted to ask if she had just learned it for the show, but he had to be careful with his words.
"As the saying goes, one minute on stage, ten years off stage. I started learning ethnic dance when I was four years old and have been doing it for fifteen years now." Yu Li's words caused a gasp from the audience.
Fifteen years? What kind of concept was that? Sun Ruobing had only been dancing for ten years.
"Mentor Yu Li is really hiding her talents!" Jing Zhao was also amazed.
"No, no, my personal information online says that I can do ethnic dance," Yu Li replied.
Most of the people present began to understand the show's intentions. It turned out that Yu Li had real talent.
The director: "..." What the hell? He swore he didn't know that Yu Li could dance. He had originally wanted to use her to attract attention.
Yu Li sat down, and Sun Ruobing looked at her with a strange expression, her eyes filled with complex thoughts.
The ratings of the contestants were announced. Four of the twelve A-level contestants chose Jing Zhao, three chose Wang Yang, three chose Sun Ruobing, and only two chose Yu Li.
As expected, everyone still prefers to follow a mentor with strength. The dance that Yu Li just performed doesn't mean anything, after all, her online reputation is not good.
As for the remaining BCD-level students, the mentors divided them up by drawing lots, and the program recording was completed.
Yu Li was the first to leave the recording studio in a nanny car, lying exhausted in the car, her mind empty as she looked at the scenery outside.
Yang Jie was brushing Weibo next to her, and unsurprisingly, Yu Li was on the hot search again.
"#Shocking! Yu Li has learned ethnic dance for fifteen years#"
"#New Generation 2019 first recording#"
"#Yu Li and Sun Ruobing confront each other#"
Clicking on these hot search items, there was no substantive content, probably released by the program group.
"I want to act." A thunderous voice came, scaring Yang Jie so much that she almost threw her phone away.
"What did you say?" Yang Jie asked uncertainly.
Yu Li: "I want to act."
"Miss, can we just settle down for a while? I think this program should wash away a lot of your bad reputation. Let's wait until all the programs are recorded before we talk!"