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

"Huh? Does that mean there will be not only a performance stage this time, but also a mentor collaboration stage?"

The trainees below were buzzing with discussion.

They weren't surprised that the third performance would feature a mentor collaboration stage, as this format has been common in previous talent shows.

To their surprise, the mentor collaboration stage performances were also included in the voting.

After all, everyone knows that there is a huge gap in the fan base between the mentors and the trainees.

The mentors all bring their own popularity and audience, and if their popularity is added, it can easily influence the voting results of fans.

When trainees collaborate with popular mentors, their chances of winning the collaboration stage increase significantly, which is actually very unfair to others.

Therefore, choosing a mentor has become extremely important for trainees.

The trainees have different thoughts, and with only three mentors performing, it seems PD Kang won't be participating this time either...

Jiang Ruyao smiled and turned to signal to the other three mentors.

Then a background music suddenly started playing, and the three mentors started dancing to the music without any frame of interruption.

This unexpected move completely stunned the trainees present.

They all seem so professional on ordinary days, how come they've suddenly started doing abstract things now?

Jin is a dance master, and his dance skills are beyond question; Han Jiang comes from the underground battle scene, and his rapping style is also very rhythmic.

But now, the two of them insist on pushing Qi Sheng, who can't dance at all and doesn't have a very outgoing personality, to the very center to lead the dance.

They're all so mean, each one more so than the last.

Even after all that, these two people still didn't let him go.

Han Jiang held up the microphone and used his special talent to turn the rap into a shouting game;

"This is the AKA mentor collaboration stage—"

"First up to us is the prince of love songs, Qi Sheng!"

"Come to his stage and live a beautiful life!"

While the Korean player was shouting an embarrassing slogan, Jin wasn't idle either.

Seeing that Qi Sheng was constantly looking for an opportunity to escape, he made full use of his agility.

Their agile movement completely blocked all of Qi Sheng's escape routes.

The key point is that after these two finished their banter and started asking for votes, when it was their turn to do so, they just used a dry sentence: "Welcome trainees to choose my stage," and that was it.

This made Qi Sheng even more furious. He insisted on bringing the two of them back and making them stand in the center of the stage and dance for him.

Unfortunately, those with thin skin can't beat those with thick skin—especially the agile ones with thick skin.

The three of them tried to catch the chicks like eagles for a long time, but still came up empty-handed, which amused everyone else present and made them burst into laughter.

They've had their fun and made a ruckus. Although the mentors are laughing and joking, the trainees should keep their heads in check.

Among the three mentors, Qi Sheng is probably the most popular, followed by Han Jiang, and then Jin.

Jin's professionalism is beyond doubt, but compared to the other two, he doesn't appear in public as often, which puts him at a disadvantage off-stage.

The mentors had just finished working on the abstract concept when they showed them all the songs they had prepared for the mentor collaboration stage.

Well, none of these three songs are easy to listen to.

Qi Sheng chose "Silent," the title track from his new album. Although the song is called "Silent," it is actually quite "noisy" and is a great test of singing skills. Han Jiang brought out "Signal," a song he wrote himself. It was an early work of his and is very attitude-driven.

The last song was one of a batch of catchy pop songs that the show's production team had previously acquired in a bundle. It's called "Gu" (蛊). While its quality certainly doesn't compare to the first two songs, it's still a popular song on short video platforms. In terms of widespread popularity, this song might even rank first.

Jin choreographed a completely new dance routine for this song, instantly raising the stage difficulty to hell level—they'll die after the whole routine, right?

Now, the trainees who want to win will definitely want to choose the group that sings in unison, but the trainees who don't want to win don't seem to be able to choose Jin's group either.

Ling Tinglan and Jiao Wangshu, who "don't want to win": ...

"Considering everything, does this mean we only have 'Signal' left?"

Jiao Wangshu made a face, "But it seems like neither of us are really good at rapping, right?"

To be honest, they had considered joining the rap group during the second round of performance evaluations, but they all knew that it was very difficult to rap well, especially on a stage with a powerful rapper like Han Jiang.

Moreover, the current situation doesn't seem to leave them with any choice.

Before the trainees could even process what was happening, they saw the three mentors, each holding a booklet, whispering amongst themselves.

PD Kang added with a smile, "The choice of mentors for the stage this time is entirely in the hands of each of us mentors."

"In other words, which stage you ultimately get to depends on whether the mentors need you or not."

a bolt from the blue!

Ling Tinglan and Jiao Wangshu looked at each other in silence. They were still lost in thought, hoping that a mentor would take them away someday.

So the two of them simply shrugged and allowed everything to flow away.

Some trainees tried to garner votes, and Lev especially wanted to join the group with the Korean contestants. He knew about it back in the second performance, and their style was a perfect match for him.

Seeing that Professor Han was still playing with his pen and hadn't circled the name yet, the impatient Professor Han was even mixing Russian, Japanese, and Chinese in his speech.

"Хань Цзян (Korean general) Sensei (teacher), you choose me!"

He shouted with such vigor that his strange accent made Han Jiang, who was trying to maintain his cool demeanor, laugh so hard he couldn't stand up straight, instantly destroying the image of the cold-faced mentor.

In the end, Lev's wish was granted. He said with a smile, "You've worked so hard, I had to choose you."

Lev ticked his name and went to stand there excitedly.

Then Han Jiang circled several more names, most of which were trainees who performed well in the rap position during the second performance position evaluation. At first glance, everyone thought that "The King" group had been reorganized.

Qi Sheng's selection process was similar. He first picked a few big vocalists, but because he was very confident in his own abilities, he was also very picky in this regard. He stopped after barely selecting three or four people, and started scribbling on the paper, looking like he was still thinking seriously.

Only Jin has been hesitant to make a move.

His eyes swept across the group of trainees below, and suddenly landed in a certain direction.

Ling Tinglan looked up as if sensing something, and immediately met his gaze—

I don't think so... right?