After gender swapping, my best friend and I hardcore BL (Boys' Love) became top influencers.

"I feel like I look like a giant spinach in this."

Ling Tinglan pouted and pulled at her green hoodie outfit with obvious disdain.

This is the training uniform for Class D. He and Jiao Wangshu were both unexpectedly promoted to Class D in their re-evaluation.

Jiao Wangshu paid no attention to Ling Tinglan's little complaints; he was currently immersed in the secret joy of the storyline's update.

Donghai Media has no money or background. Even if the production team intends to use the two of them to attract viewers, they won't specifically create any storylines for them, since they don't really want the two of them to debut.

The story features two seemingly useless individuals who rise to power, childhood sweethearts who support each other and grow together—it's inspiring and full of unbreakable bonds.

After the classes were reassigned, all the trainees were gathered together again.

Everyone sat on the floor; today was the day the other trainees voted to choose the initial center position for the theme song. Because *Super Star* is an Asian talent show with contestants from China, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand, two center positions would be chosen this time. One would be the initial center for the Chinese group, and the other for the international group, each recording their own version of the theme song.

After the regrouping, Class A now has a total of eleven trainees, five from China and six from abroad, which corresponds to eleven debut spots.

Ling Tinglan looked around, frowned, and said, "Why do they all look so similar? How am I supposed to vote for them?"

"Keep your voice down, or the other fans will beat you to death if they hear you."

Despite being terrified all day long, Jiao Wangshu still couldn't stop Ling Tinglan from spouting wild words.

"Hmm!"

Ling Tinglan's eyes lit up. "This one is not bad. She has a memorable look. It's a pity she's in Class B. I can't vote for her at all."

Jiao Wangshu followed his gaze and saw that he was referring to the ancient Wan of Tianhua Culture. It must be said that Ling Tinglan's instinct for being a sucker for good looks was really amazing; he picked out Zayn's "face" at a glance.

Gu Shiwan was said to come from a family of opera performers. His childhood training in opera made him stand out from the crowd. He might not have the "inhuman" beauty of Ling Tinglan and Jiao Wangshu at first glance, but he had an indescribable feeling, a special temperament of a gentle and refined young master from a noble family.

To be honest, it's quite amazing that someone like him would choose to become a trainee and participate in a talent show.

Eleven trainees from Class A stood in front of the stage, nervously waiting to be chosen.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Ruyao then said with a smile, "Before we vote, let's give a round of applause to our 'Center Stage Candidates' for another chance to showcase themselves and garner votes!"

The other trainees immediately responded, "One more! One more!"

"We won't vote if you don't perform well!"

The mentors, always eager for a good show, particularly rap mentor Han Jiang, who was very good at creating entertaining moments, immediately took the microphone and stood in the middle.

"Then let's have a battle."

Immediately, cheers erupted all around, "Battle! Battle!"

At this point, the vocal mentors also got excited, saying in unison, "I can't just let the rap competition go unchallenged; we vocalists can't lose either!"

"That's right, that's right. If we're going to compete, then everyone should compete, and our dance leaders should step up too."

Jin's Chinese still had an accent, mixed with bits of English, and he chimed in from the side.

"Then let's show what we're best at," Jiang Ruyao decided. "Who's going first?"

"PD, I'll go first."

The first to volunteer was Ji Yan, still sporting his dazzling red hair. Today, without the support of hair gel, the sparse strands of hair obediently clung to his forehead, slightly obscuring his eyebrows and eyes, making him less aggressive. However, this feeling completely disappeared when he started dancing.

Ji Yan showcased the theme song, with a cappella accompaniment, perfectly timed dance moves, precise and powerful movements, and a highly personal style...

Undisguised ambition!

He wanted to use this method to tell others that he was the undisputed center!

"Wow."

Jiao Wangshu's admiration for the strong kicked in. "Idols really do need to be ambitious to be attractive," he sighed, slightly lost in thought. "Comparison is the thief of joy! This is practically the standard for idols. Who else could he be but the center?"

Hearing Jiao Wangshu's mutterings, Ling Tinglan, who had initially thought Ji Yan was very capable, curled her lip and said, "Actually, he's just barely passable."

"What? This isn't good enough? If his skill level is only average, then what are the two of us?"

Jiao Wangshu muttered softly, "I wonder who was 'boxing' with me on stage back then..."

"What did you say?"

Ling Tinglan raised an eyebrow. "I said it's bad, and that's it. I think he's not even as good as that pink-haired guy standing in the back!"

Jiao Wangshu looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a boy with slightly wavy pink hair and delicate features. His hair color was a little lighter than the pink training uniform worn by Class A, which made him look even more like a doll.

Just then, as if sensing the unfamiliar gaze, Jiao Wangshu's eyes unexpectedly met the boy's clear eyes.

Jiao Wangshu was startled and felt inexplicably guilty for being caught gossiping behind someone's back. She quickly changed the subject and turned to Ling Tinglan, saying, "You really know how to choose. He is Su Xingran from Orange Wind Entertainment. He is currently ranked second and is going toe-to-toe with Ji Yan, who is ranked first."

"I reckon the final center position in our group will either be Ji Yan or him."

"Then I'll vote for him!" Ling Tinglan made the decisive decision.

Just then, Ji Yan turned around and handed the stage over to Su Xingran, who was about to give a campaign performance. The two even gave each other a high five to cheer each other on as they passed each other.

The camera immediately zoomed in; even a fool would know that this scene would be 100% cut into the final cut.

Jiao Wangshu was so envious she almost shed pearls; she racked her brains all day to sell bromance, but in the end, she couldn't compare to the official promotion.

It's common knowledge that talent shows inevitably involve pairing up couples, and pairing up is the way to generate the most traffic and the fastest way to monetize. Currently, there are dozens or even hundreds of couples in "Super Star," but the "Lingjiao" couple, consisting of Ling Tinglan and Jiao Wangshu, and the "Yanxing" couple, consisting of Ji Yan and Su Xingran, are the most popular.

Ling Tinglan and Jiao Wangshu gained popularity purely based on their looks, while Ji Yan and Su Xingran's situations are more complicated.

They are of similar age, both backed by large companies, both have a strong fan base, and both are equally talented and good-looking. They are both 100% certain to debut in the end. It can be said that they are not competing with their respective fans for a debut spot, but for the final center position.

As each other's biggest rivals, Ji Yan and Su Xingran seem to get along quite harmoniously, but their respective fans are in for a lot of fun, each regarding the other as their biggest enemy.

The first episode hasn't even aired yet, and these two fan groups have already been fighting countless times on various forums, online communities, and online groups. If any fans start shipping the "Yanxing" CP, they'll only be blocked by both sides' anti-fan groups. They say hate lasts longer than love. It's hard to say whether toxic solo stans truly love their idols, but they definitely hate the opposing fan group's fans.

But the more this happened, the more people rebelled. A bunch of people rushed in, shouting "The nemesis is the wife!" They started drinking sugar amidst the raging battlefield, which only made the couple's popularity soar.

The production team doesn't care about that. They want to generate traffic and promote the people they want to promote. They are single-mindedly trying to make this couple the official "American Empire" pairing.

What else can we do? Even if the solo stans are unhappy, they can't lead the charge right now, can they?

The process of creating a CP (couple pairing) – attracting fans – purifying the fanbase is currently stuck at the fan attraction stage. For now, we can only express our rejection of CP pairings. Some people are secretly creating alternate accounts to support the pairings. We'll only find out who the true fans are when we reach the purification stage.

That said, the campaign performances here ended very quickly.

The first thing to do was to vote for the center position in the international group's theme song. The voting rules were that whoever you supported for the center position should stand behind them.

Six foreign athletes stood in front with their eyes closed.

Jiao Wangshu stood directly behind Chunshan Cou. He remembered that this contestant had received a B on his first stage performance, but was promoted to Class A in the second evaluation. During his campaign performance just now, he danced a street dance, which made Jin so happy that he jumped up.

Ling Tinglan also stood there.

However, the final center of the international group was a contestant from South Korea—Byun Ha-min. He was very tall, but his appearance was a little ordinary. It's not that he was bad-looking, but he had a very classic Korean look, the kind of member that you'd find in every boy group.

Next up is the voting for the center position in the middle group.