Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Inside the bus, the air conditioning vents were blowing out cold air.

The sound engineer squeezed through the narrow aisle carrying his equipment.

The heavy metal frame bumped into Jiang Fan's guitar case.

"I'm sorry," the radio operator said dismissively.

Jiang Fan didn't open his eyes, but simply pulled the guitar case closer to his chest.

Zhao Tianyu, sitting in the front row, turned his head and lingered on Jiang Fan for a few seconds.

The bus drove for twenty minutes before stopping at the Penguin Video production base.

The contestants filed off the bus and entered the internal corridor.

The walls of the corridor were covered with promotional posters from the previous season.

A huge photo of Hua Xingyu took up the entire wall, with an arrogant pose and the title "First Season Champion".

Several contestants couldn't help but take a second look as they passed by.

Staff guided them into the waiting area.

The waiting area was divided into three zones, each corresponding to one of the three tracks: Solo Performance, Appearance, and Voice.

Each area has twelve chairs arranged in a stepped triangle.

Five at the bottom, four in the middle, and two above that.

At the very top, there is only one image.

The higher the position, the closer the camera, and the brighter the lights.

The chair at the very top is the center position on the track.

The first person to sit down is telling everyone – I am the strongest.

The production team did not assign seats.

Whoever is advanced gets to choose.

This is a tradition of every season of Tomorrow's Star, and also the show's favorite appetizer.

Whoever dares to sit in the center position will have to endure the scrutiny of the entire internet.

This segment alone generated three trending topics last season.

8:00 PM.

The live broadcast signal was connected on time.

A live stream pop-up appeared on the Penguin Video homepage, and the number of viewers instantly exceeded 400,000.

The three celebrity judges are already in their seats.

Xue Zhiheng sat on the left with a smile, holding a thermos.

Hua Xingyu, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, sat on the right.

Xu Qingya sat in the middle, her gaze calmly fixed on the monitor screen in front of her.

"The players enter the arena."

The stage manager's voice came through the walkie-talkie.

The track for the "appearance" category was the first to be lit up.

Lu Ming was the first to come out.

He wore a beige knitted cardigan over a minimalist white T-shirt.

He was clean and tidy, like a male lead straight out of a Korean drama.

He smiled and waved at the camera, his steps relaxed.

Without lingering in the lower seats, he went straight to the top of the steps and sat in the chair at the very top.

The live chat exploded instantly.

"Awesome, they got to sit in the center first."

"Who's that guy? He's so handsome!"

"Lu Ming from Shenghai Entertainment, who returned from SM Entertainment, is very talented."

"Declaring sovereignty right off the bat, that's something."

Lu Ming leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping over the other contestants who were entering the arena one after another.

Seeing that the center position was occupied, those people wisely chose seats below.

The "appearance" category quickly became saturated.

Immediately afterwards, people began to enter the Magic Sound track.

Finally, the indicator lights on the Duxiu track lit up.

Zhao Tianyu was the second to walk out of the passage.

His limited-edition printed T-shirt shimmered under the light.

He walked up the steps of the Duxiu track, his gaze fixed on the empty chair at the very top.

When he passed the second row, he did not continue to move up, but sat down in the most conspicuous position in the second row.

Before the recording, his good friend Lu Ming, who had been a trainee with him in South Korea, sent him a message.

She said her direct entry spot was taken by an ordinary person named Jiang Fan.

Ask him to "take care" of things on the track.

Zhao Tianyu deliberately left the highest seat empty.

He understands these ordinary people who have no agency and have never been on camera all too well.

Facing the cameras of the entire internet, my legs would tremble just standing at the bottom of the steps.

One by one, the contestants on the Duxiu track entered the arena.

The third, the fourth, the fifth...

Everyone who comes in looks up at that empty seat high above them.

Then he quietly walked down and sat down.

The third row quickly filled up.

The fourth row was also full.

Only the chair at the very top remained, bathed in the spotlight all alone.

On the other hand, at the top of the appearance category.

Lu Ming rested his chin on his hand, his gaze sweeping across half the studio as he watched the movements of the Duxiu track.

When Lu Ming saw Zhao Tianyu sit down in the second row, a barely perceptible smile flashed in his eyes.

He knew from his time as a trainee in South Korea that Zhao Tianyu loved playing cat-and-mouse psychological games.

Leaving the hottest spot in the center empty is the perfect trap to dig for "Jiang Fan".

An ordinary person with no background or fans faces the cameras.

They would definitely be standing helplessly at the bottom of the steps, caught in a dilemma.

Ultimately, they became a laughing stock on the entire internet.

This is an unspoken understanding among these "higher-ups".

The comments section also started to erupt:

Why isn't Tianyu sitting in the center position?

"It's clearly a trap, to see who dares to go up and get themselves killed."

"Apart from Tianyu, anyone who rides on this track will get sprayed with bullets."

The eleventh contestant enters the arena.

There are twelve people on the solo track, and one more is needed.

Footsteps echoed from the end of the passage.

Jiang Fan walked out slowly, carrying his guitar on his back.

Black shirt, black trousers.

Compared to the contestants covered in logos, he seemed to come from another world.

The camera zooms in on his face.

Jiang Fan's gaze swept over the tiered seating area.

The four rows below were completely full of people.

Only the top spot is left.

Jiang Fan snorted coldly.

"A trick only a bunch of kids play."

He did not slow down.

Stepping onto the first step, I passed Zhao Tianyu, who was sitting in the second row.

He reached the highest point, turned around, and sat down.

He casually leaned the guitar case against the chair leg.

He leaned back in his chair, lowered his eyes, as if he had come here just to rest for a while.

A brief silence fell over the studio.

Zhao Tianyu's smile froze on his face.

That's not how the script was written.

This person should be standing at the bottom of the steps, hesitating, at a loss.

How could he sit down without even looking up?

Lu Ming's fingers, which were supporting his chin, tightened slightly.

What a fool! He actually dared to sit up there.

An ordinary person who got the spot by luck not only didn't show any fear, but instead took the carefully designed trap for granted as a rightful throne.

Lu Ming took a deep breath and quickly adjusted his expression for the camera, but there was a hint of coldness in his eyes as he looked at Jiang Fan.

"idiot."

He uttered two words silently, in a voice only he could hear.

The comments section also went completely out of control instantly.

"???"

"Who's this guy?? He's sitting in the center position right off the bat??"

"Zhao Tianyu looks so good, hahaha."

"Is this guy crazy? Has anyone told him what that position means?"

"Oh no, this is the first time I've ever been so nervous on my debut stage."

Li Cheng was backstage, holding a cup of coffee and watching the live stream.

When Jiang Fan sat down in the top chair, he almost spat out his coffee, then burst into laughter: "You little brat, you've really made your old man proud!"

On the judges' panel, Xue Zhiheng looked at the expressionless young man at the highest point.

Is this the Jiang Fan that Li Cheng recommended?

"That's quite interesting."

Hua Xingyu adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, looked at the highest point of the Duxiu track, and frowned slightly.

People from Shenghai had informed him in advance.

Our company's spot for Lu Ming was taken by this amateur named Jiang Fan.

Looking back now, he's still a troublemaker who doesn't know the rules.

Xu Qingya unconsciously lowered her legs, which had been crossed.

The tip of a high heel tapped softly against the edge of the stage.

She stared intently at the monitor in front of her.

She was too far away just now, and only felt that the outline looked somewhat familiar.

Jiang Fan walked up the steps one by one and finally sat down at the top.

Xu Qingya's breath suddenly caught in her throat.

Her usually calm and aloof eyes were now churning with an undisguised storm.

Xu Qingya stared intently at the high-definition close-up transmitted from camera 003 on the monitor, her fingers gripping the armrest of her seat tightly.

That nonchalant expression perfectly matched the figure in my memory.

It turned out to be him!

The security guard she had been searching for so desperately but had never heard from...?

Now he's actually carrying a guitar and sitting at the top of the "Rising Star" solo track?