Chapter 30: Unveil
"Team B, please stand here on stage for the announcement of our first winner in today's challenge." Jiang Su calls the other team after He Yan's team evaluation.
Lu NanXiao's team went to the stage again nervously and the crowd stayed silent too.
"Before announcing, I will remind again about the rules. Each group that wins will have the double points from the losing team and the mentors will pick their favorite trainee from each group to receive the special points. These special points will be announced later after the group performances. In addition, there'll be additional points added for the whole team who have the higher points of winning." Jiang Su explains again.
"Mentors, please announce your pick."
Everyone looks at the mentors with anticipation and expectation. Even the trainees sitting in front felt like they couldn't wait for the announcement anymore. What's more about the two groups on the stage? They all felt as if something was blocking their throats that they couldn't breathe properly due to extreme nervousness.
Which team will be the first to pick? The crowd waited as if they were sitting on the tip of needles.
Fortunately, the mentors didn't make them wait for too long and Lin Yu finally speaks.
"Our pick in Angel's theme is... Team A!"
"!!!"
"WOOHHH!!" The crowd immediately cheered, especially for Team A's group. The trainees sitting in front stand up and applaud enthusiastically while He Yan's team huddles together for a tight embrace.
"W-We won!" A teammate happily said while his face still had the expression of being totally surprised by the announcement.
Xing Ren chuckles at the cute reactions of the group. "Well, we did it."
He Yan happily tapped Liang Jin's shoulder repeatedly. "It's all thanks to your idea, Brother Jin! It's really great!"
Liang Jin flush in embarrassment. "I-It's not entirely me. We all did a great job!"
He Yan's group looked at each other and cheered again while hugging in joy. Meanwhile on the other side, Lu NanXiao's team sighs in disappointment and could only pat each other to comfort. Some trainees who's in the lower class begin feeling bad premonitions inside their hearts. They did not win this round, which meant that they wouldn't have that double points.
Will they be one who'll be eliminated soon? Just that thought made them feel as if a huge burden struck inside them.
Just by imagining themselves out this early made some trainee's eyes reddened. Will they not have a chance to redeem themselves?
Looking at the dejected team, Jiang Su could only sigh at them. "Teams, please step aside and go back to your seats."
He Yan's team happily greeted their group's on the side while Team B's group remained silent. Seeing the contrast, Jiang Su knew that this is the cruel truth that everyone will face sooner or later. Pity is not needed in this competition. All you have to do is to work harder than everyone else to survive.
This is how their circle works. Training is hard and early rejections like this might be a big blow but Jiang Su thinks that the real fight is when they'll officially enter the industry. Every time, countless idols from various teams will fight just to be higher than anyone else. Even if the songs that they'll release are not that great, it's actually okay than being out of the picture.
They'll do anything just to not let the people forget them. Everyday is a survival.
And this competition is just a single step that they must overcome.
He just hopes that this failure will make them stronger. If not, then maybe they're not fit for this field.
Jiang Su threw this thought at the back of his mind and smiled at the audience as if nothing happened. Well, he really doesn't have to think about others. He just needs to do his work properly and support these young men wherever fates lead them.
"Let us now proceed to the next theme!" Jiang Su clicks the randomizer and everyone watches it and picks the next groups to perform.
After a few seconds, Jiang Su's eyes lit up upon seeing the result.
"Let's welcome the next teams under the theme... Devils!"
Devils... Jiang Su looked at the trainees who stood up and felt a faint excitement inside him. What he truly anticipates is about Team A. He wanted to know the results of Shen Lou and Qin An's collaboration.
After all, he already noticed that these two are the greatest dark horses in this competition. Shen Lou has been the crowned king while Qin An is like a mysterious being whom everyone couldn't wait to unveil.
Like an uncrowned king.
So Jiang Su wondered if these 'kings' would work better together? If it is, then there's a high possibility that they'll be worth seeing in a team who'll debut soon. But if not, then they can only wait and see who'll be the top in the end.
The crowd immediately raise their brows in interest upon seeing Shen Lou and Qin An standing close together. Even if the two didn't speak, just the fact that they stand together and even have the harmonious aura around them made everyone wonder how these two seem close to each other.
These two didn't clash but instead go well together? Some trainees sigh in disappointment.
He Yan on the side waves widely at the two. Seeing his childhood brother and his new brother standing next to each other made him smile in relief and joy. Since they are getting along together, then he can be sure now that sooner or later he'll also be close to Qin An! After all, he's Shen Lou's 'brother', Brother Lou's brother is his brother too, right?
He Yan grinned at that thought. The first time he saw Qin An, he really wanted to be his friend because of his beautiful face. Now that he knows him better, it's not just friends but best of friends! Who wouldn't? Qin An is a good person even if he acts too indifferent!
He Yan can still recall how the latter took care of him even if Qin An was really stiff at that time. After his mental riot, the doctors said that to be safer, only someone who won't be affected by his riot can get close to him. The doctors can but they are worried because there's still a high possibility that they'll get 'infected' and will have riot too, thus only Qin An who doesn't have mental power can freely get close to him without worrying anything.
At that time, He Yan was so weak that he couldn't move that much. If it weren't for the nutrient solution, he feels like he'll wither like dried leaves. Qin An fed him with the food that his family sent and would occasionally wipe his sweats. He was the only one whom he could communicate with, so He Yan was really happy even if his head was aching painfully.
However, even if he wanted to last that long, he knew he didn't have the right because they needed to practice for this challenge. He Yan felt that Qin An is still distant but not too much.
So he couldn't wait to spend time with the young man again!
'It would be better if we will be a group too!'
On the other side, Qin An is calmly standing without an expression while waiting for their time to perform. After such time, the progress of their team is worth it. He knew that they had a high possibility of winning this round too, like He Yan's team.
"Then, let's welcome the performance of Team A!" Qin An came back to his senses when he heard Jiang Su's announcement after seeing the results of the randomizer.
"Everyone, please relax yourself as much as possible and do better than what we practiced." Shen Lou's solemn words made the team nod intently. Everyone saw the determination to win in each other's eyes so they immediately prepared.
Qin An felt a light pat on his shoulder and when he turned his head, he met Shen Lou's eyes. The latter didn't say anything but looked at him with firm eyes so he just nodded and patted his shoulder too for encouragement.
The light went dim again and they quickly went to their position.
Qin An took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
When the lights shone again, his eyes no longer had the usual emotionlessness.
Qin An is actually not comfortable about this song. Save Me is about a devil longing for its own freedom.
Is this what he was in his previous life? Even if he forgot some important memories, he knew that maybe he longed for this life that's why he wished for the Judge to make him a human.
Even if he forgot the reason, since he chose to be this way or whatever the reason is, he knew it.
Qin An is the real devil who craved freedom. That's why throughout the journey of practicing, he felt like the shackles inside him loosen.
He's finally learning not to restrain himself.
So today, just like what's the quiet wishes of everyone, tonight is when they'll finally see a layer of Qin An's veil unveiling.
****
The author has something to say: "...." - me after two days of not writing again. Ugghhh!!! Whyyyyy?!!! The start of my class is coming so I think it'll be harder for me to update so I was thinking about writing myself more than a chapter in a day but yeah, two days of absence haha 💆
And I'm sorry for this chapter is it's quiet boring and I didn't write what I said in the previous chapter 😬 I had a hard time writing again after the continuous absence 🤦 the fillers— 😩