As Wang Ziqiang and Meng Yan stepped onto the stage, the spotlights blazed to life.
"Welcome back to I Am a Creator!" Wang Ziqiang announced. "It's me, Wang Ziqiang. To our viewers at home, it might feel like we just said goodbye, but three full days have actually passed."
"Speaking of which, Teacher Bai," Wang Ziqiang turned to Meng Yan, "let's test your memory. Put down your cue cards. Can you still recall the eight themes chosen on Monday?"
Meng Yan looked stunning as always in a floral plaid dress cinched at the waist with a black belt, accentuating her impossibly slender figure—a waist you could practically encircle with one hand.
"Brother Wang, you underestimate me!" Meng Yan replied. "I not only remember them all, but I also know which artist is performing each theme."
"Then please, begin your performance."
Meng Yan set aside her cue cards and recited the themes in one breath, like a skilled performer rattling off a traditional Chinese patter talk: "They were: 'Heartrending Memories' (Sun Nan), 'Innocent Youth' (Liu Ning), 'A Song for Beautiful Landscapes' (Chen Yihan), 'Ode to China' (Yang Chaoyue), 'Cool Summer Breeze' (Zhang Yanzhuo), 'Unbreakable Family Bonds' (Tan Weiwei), 'Makes You Want to Dance' (Cheng Xiao), and 'In Praise of Friendship' (Wang Lingkai)."
The audience erupted in thunderous applause, and Wang Ziqiang joined in, shouting his approval: "Impressive, Xiao Wang! I was blind to Teacher Bai's talent all along—she's absolutely incredible!" He punctuated his words with an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
The host deftly steered the conversation toward the contestants' outfits, hinting that their attire might relate to their upcoming performances. Chen Yihan's natural-style dress, for example, perfectly complemented her beautiful scenery theme. Cheng Xiao's dance-ready outfit, on the other hand, exuded a sensual allure that sparked the audience's imagination.
The host prolonged the segment by interviewing each contestant about their wardrobe choices and recent training routines, stretching out the recording time.
When it was Yang Chaoyue's turn, Meng Yan smiled warmly and asked, "Chaoyue, you look so vibrant today! How has your training been going these past few days?"
Yang Chaoyue eagerly seized the opportunity to speak, grabbing the microphone. "I've been practicing until past eleven every night," she declared, "Yihan can vouch for me!" The camera panned to Chen Yihan, who nodded with a smile to confirm Yang Chaoyue's claim.
However, to some, this appeared as a desperate attempt for attention. Li Yuanjie watched with cold amusement, while biased audience members muttered venomous comments.
"She's still working so hard? Don't be ridiculous! No matter how much she practices, she'll always be hopeless."
"Let's not be hypocritical. You all mocked my brother for training twenty-five hours a day, even with a fever of 106 degrees. Yet, even then, he's still better than someone like her, who's terrible at both singing and dancing."
"That's too harsh... At least her attitude is good. Her performance just needs improvement..." One rare voice spoke up for Yang Chaoyue, though without much conviction.
On stage, Meng Yan skillfully steered the mood, encouragingly saying, "Effort is what truly matters! Let's give her a round of applause."
Scattered applause rippled through the audience, lukewarm but enough to save Meng Yan's face.
With the comedic banter winding down, it was time to get serious. The order of performances for the next stage hadn't been decided yet.
Director Zhang, eager to inject more drama into the variety show, had written the instructions for determining the performance order on Wang Ziqiang's cue card.
"Creators," Wang Ziqiang announced, "now that you've all completed your tasks on time, you can discuss the performance order. After all, these songs are your creations, so you decide the order in which the singers take the stage."
After all, the show was called "I Am a Creator," not "I Am a Singer."
The others remained silent, but Li Yuanjie was quick to speak. "We were actually discussing the performance order backstage earlier, and everyone was being quite humble. Just as we were deciding who should go first, we ended up waiting for over ten minutes. Since One Leaf Knows Autumn has finally arrived, perhaps he should just go first? He must be a very busy man."
His words were a thinly veiled jab at Ye Huanqiu, implying he was arrogant and deliberately late.
Ye Huanqiu had no idea what Li Yuanjie was barking about, but it was clear the man held a serious grudge. He reveled in the sight of people seething with resentment yet powerless to strike him down. Watching others writhe in impotent rage before him was a guilty pleasure.
"To apologize for my tardiness, I'll go first. Consider me the sacrificial lamb!" Ye Huanqiu offered, neither arguing nor making excuses, meeting all accusations with a smile.
Li Yuanjie's punch landed squarely on cotton, making him look like the petty gossipmonger with a narrow mind.
Director Zhang thrived on this kind of volatile tension; it kept the audience hooked.
The final performance order was set: Yang Chaoyue would open, followed by Liu Ning, Tan Weiwei, Wang Lingkai, Zhang Yanzhuo, Sun Nan, Chen Yihan, and Cheng Xiao.
Among the singers, Yang Chaoyue took deep breaths to calm her nerves. She flashed a thumbs-up to Ye Huanqiu, seated opposite her.
Ye Huanqiu returned the thumbs-up, signaling that she was fully prepared.
"Playing the fool... Can two trash cans ever produce a flower?" Li Yuanjie's undisguised contempt for the upcoming performance was clear. With the audience's attention already drifting to the next act, he feigned illness and requested backstage access. He refused to subject his ears to such torment; ignoring it was the best course of action. Gou Bing's presence on stage would suffice.
Ye Huanqiu remained oblivious to Li Yuanjie's departure, having no time to waste on such petty figures.
Many in the audience shared Li Yuanjie's sentiments.
Audience Member A: "Is she trying to make us sick? Going full throttle right from the start... Thank goodness I didn't eat; otherwise, I'd probably throw up!"
Audience Member B: "I brought earplugs in advance. I'll just block out the noise and focus on her looks."
Audience Member C: "I'll bet my ticket right here: if Yang Chaoyue actually puts on a good show, I'll cast every vote for her and then eat the voting machine!"
The like-minded audience members seemed to have found kindred spirits.
Yang Chaoyue's final glances swept across the stage, landing on Ye Huanqiu and Chen Yihan, both of whom offered warm, encouraging nods.
The stage set transformed into a bamboo forest, and several martial monks in Zen robes joined the performers, ready to set the mood.
"Wow, they're really pulling out all the stops!" Gou Bing muttered, inheriting Li Yuanjie's penchant for pointless remarks. "A bad student always has too many stationery supplies."
With all preparations complete, Director Zhang in the control room suddenly asked Shen Tao, who had just walked in, "By the way, did you review the song this group submitted?"
"...No, I had my team check it. They said it was pretty good."
"Pretty good?"
Director Zhang, like Shen Tao, remained skeptical. Regardless of whether Yang Chaoyue's performance was a hit or a flop, her group was generating the most public buzz. Capturing the right shots was a guaranteed win.
Yang Chaoyue gave the music team backstage an OK sign. The performance was about to begin.