How to become an ACE of a top boy group

With four days left before the official competition after reaching the perfect proficiency level, Luo Xi's main task was to work on the four competition choreography pieces on the proficiency list—"The Night the Stars Fell," "Abraca," "Spring, With You," and "Love"—from proficiency to perfect level.

After Song Chuchu's communication with her teammates improved, she stopped pressuring Li Longxuan and also relaxed her tone when speaking to Song Wenchen and Zhang Muze, which eased the atmosphere of the entire practice room considerably.

The practice these past few days has gone very smoothly because Song Chuchu was already able to dance all the choreography very well. With him around, it's like having a reliable dance teacher. He can answer all the key points of the movements one by one, and he can also point out and correct every shortcoming.

If Luo Xi's ability to elevate her dance to perfection is due to her dance background, then the team's ability to perform the choreography perfectly is largely thanks to Song Chuchu.

Gradually, Luo Xi and the others came to recognize his position as captain. Even Li Longxuan, who had never said anything good, said one day, "You really have to be the captain. No one else can be the captain."

"Of course!" Song Chuchu's confidence soared after receiving so much affirmation, and she began to understand and affirm others, including Li Longxuan. "Although you were slow and procrastinating, your final result was quite good. I was too skeptical of you before. You do have talent in this area. And I shouldn't have pushed you before. I was a bit disrespectful to you at the time."

"Also, Song Wenchen and Zhang Muze... I shouldn't have said that to you." Song Chuchu seemed to be saying something difficult to say. "These past few days, we've practiced really well. I think if we keep working hard, we can definitely get first place. And... Luo Enxi..."

Song Chuchu's voice grew softer and softer until it was drowned out by the cheers of everyone: "Good! Go for it! Take first place!" "Go! Go!"

=

=

The time spent practicing intensively passed quickly, and the day of the official competition arrived.

After Luo Xi and the others finished their hair and makeup, they went to the back of the lounge designated by the staff.

The other three groups were all in the lounge. Song Wenchen and Zhang Muze greeted people they knew. To Luo Xi's surprise, Qin Feng actually took the initiative to come over and greet her and started an awkward conversation.

The stage can be seen through the display screen in the lounge. The stage is square and placed in the middle of the room. The overall lighting is brighter, and instead of the dark tones often used in shows, a bright style design was adopted this time.

Because the dance, rap, and singing competitions are held simultaneously on three different stages, and only twenty people are competing, this stage is smaller and simpler than the previous ones. Looking at the panoramic view on the screen, Luo Xi even felt it was smaller than Song Chuchu's personal practice room.

Several judges sat on each of the four sides of the square stage.

The camera pans across the judges, revealing a total of eleven judges for this competition. Among them, Luo Xi has met AMM, who qualified for the competition; Lin Ka, who participated in the previous individual song selection competition; and Lunaki, the riddle-maker who spoke to Luo Xi after checking on their teaching in the practice room. As for the other choreographers, Luo Xi has only seen their names on Weibo and other platforms, but has never met them in person.

Everything was ready in no time, and the host, Zhu Qi, walked onto the stage and said to the camera:

"Hello, fellow recommenders! Welcome to this treasure trove of practice rooms, where students are battling for their individual positioning and dignity in the dance competition! I am your host for tonight, Zhu Qi!"

Zhu Qi is a regular male host on a Japanese-American variety show, known for his humorous and witty hosting style.

He started by telling a joke about the online claim that he has the ability to be in two places at once and is always around during his work hours, which made the judges laugh before he began to introduce the rules of today's competition.

"It's not just me who has it tough; our talented trainees today have it tough too. Although the show gave them songs to sing and dance for the competition, it didn't give them specific songs. They need to react immediately to the songs playing on stage and complete their performances!"

"The final judging power lies with our professional dance judges around the stage—each judge will choose their favorite stage and cast two votes for it, and deduct one vote from a stage they feel they regret. The team with the most votes will be the best group, and each member will receive 20% of the second round of elimination points!"

"The best team vote will take place after all four teams have finished their performances, while the best individual from each team will be selected by the judges immediately after each team's performance..."

While the host explained the rules, staff members went into the lounge and had the four groups waiting to go on stage play rock-paper-scissors to determine their order.

Song Chuchu lost the rock-paper-scissors game, so Luo Xi and the others went first.

Song Chuchu was immediately a little unhappy; he was angry with himself.

Luo Xi noticed that Song Chuchu was nervous and took the initiative to comfort him, saying it was okay. He said that since he was the first to go on stage, they could put pressure on the people who came after him and make them nervous.

"Besides, didn't you say we've practiced very well and are ready to be number one? Just relax and create our perfect stage."

Song Chuchu nodded and took a deep breath to regulate her breathing.

After the host introduced the first person to come on stage, the staff called out Luo Xi's and the others' names and invited them to come on stage.

Song Wenchen put his hand down, and the others followed suit, pressing their hands together to cheer each other on. Song Chuchu was stunned for a moment, but Luo Xi made him press his hand down.

They shouted "Go for it!" together and then went on stage.

This time, their outfits consisted of short trench coats and jeans with a natural and trendy style, decorated with silk scarves. Their makeup was simple and refreshing, because they were unsure which choreography they would be performing, so they chose a style that wouldn't look too out of place.

Stand in formation and the music starts playing—OG's "Love"!

They immediately realized what was happening and formed the corresponding choreographic formation.

With a cool and relaxed stance, and following the old-school and R&B guitar sounds and the rough, rough bass, Luo Xi effortlessly and gracefully jogged to the center position in the first line, swinging his arms and kicking his legs forward, then bringing his hands back to his waist. While taking steps to the left and right, he raised his hands and swung them outwards and back, crossing his hands in front of his chest and brushing the ground with his heels. Then, he raised his hands, turned to the side, bent his left arm, pointed to the ground with one finger, and turned around, changing his hand movements. He then turned around again, completing the movements of the second line while shifting from the center to the right.

Song Wenchen, who also moved to the center, completed his movements precisely. One after another, they changed positions. During the dance break, Song Chuchu's powerful and stylish dance won the applause of the teachers.

Then Zhang Muze, and then Li Longxuan, completed a series of smooth movements with perfect timing, perfect positioning, perfect teamwork, and a perfect stage was born.

This dance on stage was the first perfect dance after Luo Xi's rebirth, and she danced with great enjoyment.