0713: You who shine in the parallel world

As the five members of the "Countless" group stood up to greet their older brothers in the backstage lobby and prepared to leave for their final stage preparations, Yu Yu suddenly stood up and rushed towards them...

Cai Guoqin beside him.

"Teacher Cai, enjoy the stage! As the only singing and acting performance in this show, I'm really looking forward to your performance. Just watching you rehearse, I know it's going to be a fantastic piece!"

The four guys who were originally planning to welcome Yu Yufei were stunned on the spot: "Wait a minute, aren't you? Hello? You're so close to Teacher Cai, what are they then?"

When Cai Guoqin saw Yu Yu rushing towards him, he didn't react at first. But after so many years in the entertainment industry, he quickly understood what Yu Yu was doing. He reached out and hugged Yu Yu, saying that the performance was everyone's achievement. But before he could finish speaking, Yu Yu grinned and said:

"Teacher Cai, you are the anchor of this stage. With you here, the stage is secure. As for the others? Let them do whatever they want."

"Hey, hey, you scoundrel who started betraying us as soon as you went solo, are you trying to disrupt our morale and sow discord by saying these things before the match?" Zhang Yuan put his hands on his hips, feigning vigilance.

"He trusts you all very much, so there's no need to worry about saying anything more."

Cai Guoqin smiled and explained for Yu Yu. He knew that Yu Yu's brothers could understand what he meant, but that didn't mean that after the program was recorded and broadcast, the audience in front of the screen would also understand their tacit understanding.

Yu Yu knew why Teacher Cai said that. Although he didn't care much about online comments and was capable of controlling public opinion, Cai Guoqin's elder-like concern and care still touched him. He said seriously:

"Don't say that, Brother Qin. Doesn't that mean I don't trust you? Each of you has done a perfect job in rehearsals. As long as you bring that same energy to the stage, there won't be any problems."

Wang Yuexin raised her chin slightly with a hint of arrogance and smugness, pulled Yu Yu over and gave him a tight hug: "That's more like it."

"Let's go, see you later." Chen Chusheng called his team members out to assemble, waving to Yu Yu before leaving.

Yu Yu raised her hand to watch them leave, then returned to her seat in "Suspended".

Ma Boqian, who had come over for a visit, was sitting next to He Zhancheng. When he saw Yu Yu return, he quickly moved aside.

After Yu Yu sat down and took a sip of water, Guan Zhibin hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice, "Cyrus, if, I mean if, you hadn't left the 'Countless' stage, would things have been better?"

"Why would you say that?" Yu Yu looked at him.

"Because you two are so in sync and understand each other so well. It feels like, how should I put it, John and I stole you away from them?"

Steal? What kind of adjective is that? Yu Yu chuckled.

"Huh? You're wrong, Kenny. I chose to form my own group. You guys chose me." Yu Yu patted Guan Zhibin on the back. "It's just a pity I couldn't lead you to first place in the first half."

Guan Zhibin immediately retorted: "What are you saying? You and we created a stage that I will never forget. Without you and John, I don't know I could have achieved this."

"See, that's settled." Yu Yu shrugged. "Every song has its perfect singer. It's not always the perfect partners who can create the best songs. The three of us were strangers from the beginning, but we still managed to create a wonderful chemistry."

"They are the same. Whether I am there or not, each of them is an excellent musician. That is what makes our group unique. Whether we are together or apart, we are still a beautiful sight. Whether it is Teacher Cai or my brothers, the past two weeks have proven that they were destined to be a band. That's great, isn't it?"

Seeing his brothers shine on stage was something that made Yu Yu very happy; whether he existed or not was not important to him.

Guan Zhibin sighed with a mix of emotion and envy: "Oh, I really envy you guys, having a group of brothers who have been with you for over a decade."

In fact, similar thoughts to Guan Zhibin's—that things might have been better if Yu Yu hadn't left the 0705 team—have been considered by others as well. In particular, Wang Yaoqing, who was unanimously defeated and returned backstage after his stunning performance of "Suspended," had thought about similar issues.

If he hadn't encouraged and egged Cai Guoqin on to join "Countless," would Xianyu, who hadn't left the 0705 team, have been "activated" and transformed into a siren to deliver a devastating blow? Without Yu Yu's "Suspended," the threat level instantly decreased by more than half, and the mediocre "Suspended" was completely unworthy of concern.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in this world. The brothers who originally intended to break up 0705, the biggest threat team to this year's Pixnet, probably never dreamed that their actions would directly create two of the most threatening stages for themselves in the first performance.

As the stage lights on the broadcast screen gradually dimmed and the cheers of the fans below the stage subsided, Yu Yu, sitting in the bright backstage lobby, watched the familiar figures on the stage with her bright, star-like eyes sparkling with joy.

"Countless" is a stage performance with a storyline. This kind of stage is somewhat similar to a mini musical. Its storyline is based on the trope of split personality that has been overused in many films and TV dramas. It doesn't matter if the plot is old-fashioned. In the stage performance, "singing" is always the first priority.

In the plot of "Countless", Cai Guoqin plays a seemingly calm and restrained psychologist who is quite shrewd, so most of the time he does not make any movements or show any emotional outbursts.

After watching their entire rehearsal, Yu Yu was absolutely certain that Teacher Cai's casting was absolutely correct. As long as he didn't let it leak out, his appearance as a refined gentleman with big eyes and thin lips, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, would be very convincing.

However, if he were to vent his emotions, although Yu Yu said that Teacher Cai's acting skills were on par with his own, he secretly felt that Teacher Cai was still a little inferior.

Sheng Ge is even worse. Who can distinguish between calm, anger, sadness, and collapse solely by the force with which they grip the armrest of a chair? And Yuan Yuan, even if his timid demeanor is considered closed off and internally draining, his internal struggles still lower his intelligence, right? Hao Ming's act of flipping a table to express anger isn't very convincing either, since good looks don't carry much weight. Yue Xin's aggressive personality is more like a Pomeranian that shouts everywhere but can't actually knock someone's head off.

These people are all inferior to him...

After a barrage of scathing criticism, Yu Yu was given a friendly "care" by the four people, and then he behaved himself.

He's not exactly honest either.

"Ignoring their acting skills, they sang really well."

As the broadcast showed countless audience members applauding and cheering enthusiastically for the wonderful performance of "Countless," Yu Yu proudly clapped and commented. Guan Zhibin, who was also involved in both film, television, and music, thought he had misheard. He turned around and looked at Yu Yu in disbelief, then at the five people bowing to the audience on the screen. Unsure, he glanced at Yu Yu again.

"Do you think their acting is bad?" Guan Zhibin asked in a low voice.

“No, their acting is very good.” Yu Yu shook her head.

Guan Zhibin breathed a sigh of relief, his speech quickening: "That's true, Teacher Cai is really steady, and the look in Chusheng's eyes when he stood up just now even scared me..."

“They’re just a little bit worse than me.” Yu Yu and he spoke at the same time.

Guan Zhibin paused, still clearly remembering how Yu Yu had arrogantly claimed during rehearsals that his acting wasn't as good as his, and how his buddies had clamored for him to go on stage. His acting, even more "tacky" than Teacher Cai's, was still something he thought was perfectly fine...

Yu Yu looked at him: "Hmm? What did you just say?"

"It's nothing, as long as you are happy."

On the screen, Cai Guoqin happily explained the origin of his dramatic addition to "Countless" because his score on the initial stage performance in 0705 was exactly 925 points, which happened to be his lunar birthday. What a coincidence!

It's quite a coincidence, but Teacher Cai, why don't you take a look at Qi Sijun next to you? You accidentally revealed his initial stage score, which is still under wraps. Poor little Qi is almost shattered and has to awkwardly laugh to cover it up.

When the final voting moment arrived, Guan Zhibin was even more nervous than when he was waiting for the results of "Suspended Drowning" than he was when he was on stage campaigning for votes. He held tightly to Yu Yu and He Zhancheng's arms.

Yu Yu wasn't as exaggerated as him. "No Time to Regret" and "Countless" are two completely different stages, each with its own brilliance. However, when facing his brothers' team, Yu Yu would only be biased and think that "Countless" was the best, just like his brothers thought that "Suspended" should have been first in the half.

But Yu Yu now understands that the key to the final vote count does not lie with the audience, but with the production team.

Yu Yu's outstanding performance made them fear losing control and hastily suppress her. "Countless" is just at this critical point. They can choose to do some small things or do nothing.

He sat calmly in his seat, waiting for the program team to make their choice. His legs were crossed and his toes were slightly twitching. He paused slightly when the results were announced, and then jumped up with Guan Zhibin and He Zhancheng, clapping enthusiastically.

"Countless" defeated "No Time to Regret".

"Countless" took first place in the second half.

If "Countless" scores higher than "Up and Down the Mountain," then "Countless" will become the TOP 1 performance of the night, and all the members' stage photos will be displayed on the honor wall in the corridor.

However, the final result will not be announced on stage; it will be recorded during the reality show segment after the event ends.

The first performance came to a successful close. All the brothers returned to the dressing room, took off their performance costumes, changed into comfortable Piggy T-shirts, and went back to the hall where they were originally grouped and sat down according to their groups.

First, we will announce the two MVP members for this event. One will be chosen from "Up and Down the Mountain" and "Countless" based on personal preference. The MVP for "Up and Down the Mountain" is Ma Boqian, while the MVP for "Countless" is Chen Chusheng.

The announcement of the first stage performance was quite ceremonial. A drone circled the venue and finally hovered above the winner, "Up and Down the Mountain," where a banner was unfurled and colorful ribbons and congratulatory messages were dropped.

The final stage scores were also displayed on the big screen. Yu Yu had to take a good look to see how many points they had narrowly lost by.

"Up and Down the Mountain" scored 854 points, and "Countless" scored 852 points, which is not much different.

"Suspended" scored 849 points, and "The Night Asks the Day" scored 851 points.

That was a perfect shot, no wonder you're a master of point control.