Esports world champion, debuted as the center of a talent show

Why is Mi Lan giving him such a hard time? Who owes him money?

- [His teammates are all a burden, Lanbao has already been very tolerant, okay?]

What's Deng Sushui doing here? Does he even know how to sing, dance, or rap?

Why is the camera keeping circling around these few rooms? I want to see more of that handsome guy surnamed Jiang.

- [Isn't it a well-known fact that the draft is a springboard for royal families?]

- [Wasn't there a scandal about Ahn Joon-young looking down on idols? Why is he involved too?]

The heated exchange of comments between fans of different groups intensified until the camera focused on Jiang Zhiyu for over ten seconds, giving him a close-up reaction shot. Only then did the comments from casual viewers praising his good looks dispel the tense atmosphere.

The staff at the control panel finally breathed a sigh of relief and switched the live stream back on.

In talent shows, the more contestants who already have a fan base, the more intense the initial fan conflicts will be, and the higher the show's popularity will rise accordingly.

However, arguments and conflicts starting from the seat selection stage are something no one on the show wants to see, as it is detrimental to the subsequent operation of the show, such as fostering brotherhood and creating a romantic pairing.

The pyramid-shaped seating area gradually filled up, and the seat selection process ended.

Snapped--

The studio lights went out, plunging the venue into darkness, and the previously quiet conversations fell silent.

A spotlight pierced the darkness, its silvery beam landing precisely on the figure in the center of the stage.

This is actress Yu Lan, the host of this year's "Shining Project".

Yu Lan is a leading contemporary actress, renowned for her striking beauty and superb acting skills, and has won the Best Actress award multiple times. Her appearance as a host on "Shining Project" is simply to repay a favor to the program's director, Hong Liu.

"Dear trainees and viewers, welcome to 'Shining Project'. I am your host, Yu Lan."

Under the spotlight, Yu Lan bowed to the pyramid seating arrangement and the live broadcast camera, a smile playing on her lips, appearing poised and elegant.

"The dreams of youth are the brightest stars. Tonight, we begin our journey of chasing the light, with the stage as our guide and our original aspirations as our guide."

"First of all, let's give a warm round of applause to welcome our four mentors this year!"

The contestants erupted in applause, and then four very different people appeared on stage.

They are—

Legendary singer Tang Zhuo, XM's all-around stage idol boy band leader Guan Liu, top rap label manager Wu Xiangyang, and national first-class dancer Yu Qizhen!

Talent shows can't be without the routine speeches from the mentors, but to the trainees' surprise, this time it wasn't Wu Xiangyang, who seemed the most intimidating, who made the harsh remarks, but Guan Liu, who looked like a nice guy.

Guan Liu's hair was slightly curled and a soft light brown. His expression was gentle, with a smile on his lips, but his words were ruthless: "This is a battlefield without gunpowder, a fierce competition to narrow down the ninety-nine from ninety-nine. There are no players here who are just coasting along or filling in the numbers. Strength is your only passport."

The harsh words left the studio for a moment, but were quickly dispelled by spontaneous applause.

Yu Lan glanced around at the pyramid-shaped seating area. Each young face was filled with ambition, excitement, nervousness, and anticipation, each with a different expression.

She chuckled softly, "Alright, without further ado, let's get straight to the point. Please welcome our first trainee to the stage tonight."

Beside him, Yao Wei lowered his voice and leaned closer to Jiang Zhiyu; "Brother Jiang, what did you prepare for your first stage performance? Is it convenient to tell me?"

"Singing and dancing".

Jiang Zhiyu's cool voice, devoid of much emotion, uttered two words that surprised Yao Wei, causing her eyes to widen in astonishment.

Yao knew that Jiang Zhiyu had an excellent singing voice. Although the other party had never sung publicly, his friends and teammates in the e-sports circle had mentioned more than once: "River is as ruthless as a devil when playing games, but his singing voice is like an angel's. The contrast is amazing."

He still couldn't understand why Jiang Zhiyu, who had just won the world championship a month ago, was now sitting with him at the talent show live broadcast.

I originally thought Jiang Zhiyu would just sing a song on stage at most, as a way to relax and cross over into a new field. I never expected that he would actually challenge himself to sing and dance.

As a loyal fan of River, Yao Wei has always unconditionally trusted his idol.

"Wow, you're amazing, bro! How can you do everything? Are you a god?" He looked at Jiang Zhiyu with sincere eyes, his tone full of undisguised admiration.

This wasn't the first time Jiang Zhiyu had faced such blatant adulation. After the competition, he was even called "Daddy R" by fans in public on several occasions. He thought he was already used to it.

But being confronted with Yao Wei's straightforward emotions, Jiang Zhiyu still felt a long-lost sense of embarrassment.

His ear tips turned slightly red uncontrollably. He tried his best to maintain a calm expression, and coughed lightly with his fist: "I practiced folk dance with my friends for a while when I was a child. I was just so-so."

This conversation was captured live by the camera during a break in the trainees' performance.

- [It's okay, even a vase is fine (drooling)]

—【However, it's not easy for a pretty face to debut.】

— [What does this mean? Aren't singing and dancing basic skills for idols? How can this be praised?]

Jiang Zhiyu and Yao Wei were unaware that the live stream chat had started to explode because of their two sentences of conversation, and a slightly awkward silence fell between them.

On stage, a trio from the same company was performing, and one of the contestants was being harshly criticized by Guan Liu for singing off-key and dancing weakly.

Guan Liu showed no mercy, unleashing her full power: "Your name is Zhuang Sheng, right? Are you sleepwalking on stage? As far as I know, you've been practicing on this stage for half a year, haven't you? Did you put your heart into it even once during those six months?"

Zhuang Sheng's eyes were red-rimmed, and he bit his lower lip tightly, remaining silent.

"Guan Liu is so strict. I know Zhuang Sheng. He's just not very good at singing and dancing. The company forced him to come." Yao Wei carefully considered his words and dutifully continued to serve as Jiang Zhiyu's exclusive commentator.

His eyes darted around before he belatedly realized that he had been so engrossed in talking that he had left his teammates hanging for quite a while.

"By the way, Brother Jiang, let me introduce you." Yao Wei pointed to the boy who had been silent for a long time next to him, "This is my teammate from the same company, his name is Bian Zi'ang."

"Zi'ang, this is my brother Jiang, an independent trainee." He then turned to Bian Zi'ang and said.

Jiang Zhiyu nodded to Bian Ziang: "Hello, I am Jiang Zhiyu."

"Hello, Bian Ziang." Bian Ziang paused, then asked curiously, "How old are you this year? You don't look very old, but Yao Wei calls you brother."

"Seventeen, I'll be eighteen after my birthday."

Yao Wei, standing to the side, widened his eyes and poked his teammate's side with his finger: "What do you know, Bian Zi'ang! This is a term of respect! Do you understand what a term of respect is?!"

Someone quietly interrupted their conversation; it was a staff member reminding the trainees to prepare to go on stage.

"Jiang Zhiyu, get ready, you're next."