A Shocking Debut

The next day, inside the recording studio.

One night was far from enough to cure Jiao Wangshu’s cold, but the brief rest had still worked its magic. At the very least, his spirits seemed much better today.

Early that morning, Ling Tinglan excitedly resumed his ‘torture’ of him. He not only applied a natural-looking makeup to Jiao Wangshu but also styled his hair.

Under the effect of heat, Wangshu’s originally messy locks became more layered. The fluffy, slightly curled ends gave his hairstyle an airy lightness. He looked like a kitten that had just bathed and then fluffed its fur in the sun—so soft it was almost unreal.

It wasn’t just Jiao Wangshu—many trainees today had clearly put effort into their looks.

Following the show’s notoriously stingy habits, aside from stage makeup, they never provided a dedicated stylist for daily filming. Yet as idols, image management was paramount. Thus, every trainee had picked up at least a few tricks.

Today, they had pulled out all the stops. Especially when everyone wore the same uniform, leaving no room for fashion individuality, each hoped to stand out.

“I believe you all already know what we’re doing today.”

Jiang Ruyao pretended to be mysterious, but her eager tone had already revealed her intentions.

“Yes!”

“First public performance mission!”

A cacophony of voices mingled. An impatient trainee yelled out early, making the atmosphere even more heated.

“That’s right—the first public performance mission. However…”

Jiang Ruyao’s tone suddenly cooled, as she announced bad news. “However, not all trainees will have the opportunity to perform.”

“Regrettably, before we announce the first mission, we must first face our first farewell.”

At these words, the murmurs grew louder. All the trainees were shocked, because according to the show’s past tradition, the first elimination always came after the first public performance.

This meant that, no matter what, every trainee had at least one chance to appear on the first performance stage.

In other survival shows, the first elimination typically occurred right after the theme song mission. Many trainees never even got to set foot on a real stage. Moreover, the theme song style couldn’t fully showcase their personalities and charms.

A stage is an idol’s lifeblood.

The lights, the music, the styling, the atmosphere, the close-up shots on the big screen, the vitality flowing in every dynamic moment—all of these combined to mythologize an idol.

But ‘Super Star’ had always given every trainee at least one stage opportunity, a chance to be seen. That was the show’s most commendable trait.

Yet this time, no one expected the rules to change. The first elimination came far too quickly. For a moment, the atmosphere turned somber, and everyone’s expressions darkened.

“Hey… do you think we’ll be going home soon?”

Ling Tinglan whispered furtively to Jiao Wangshu. Among all the trainees, they were probably the only two who could genuinely rejoice at the word “elimination.”

“Probably not… I guess?” Jiao Wangshu hesitated. “The two of us are selling pretty well right now. Given our current popularity, we won’t be sent home this early, right?”

He paused, then added, “But it’ll be soon, I think. Remember to pick an easy song when the time comes. At least we won’t drag others down too much.”

“I know everyone is worried about their votes and rankings.”

A dull knife cuts the deepest. The sudden rule change, moving up the first elimination, was already painful enough. So Jiang Ruyao didn’t drag it out.

“Please look at the big screen.”

On the screen, names flashed one after another, with the corresponding vote counts jumping dynamically beside them.

The voting system for ‘Super Star’ was simple and brutal. Open the video app and there was a dedicated section for the show’s voting page.

Every account had to be verified before voting. In the first stage, each person could cast 11 votes per day, but only one per contestant. Unlocking VIP membership doubled their voting power, and SVIP membership tripled it.

This model was an open declaration: either go viral and earn massive casual viewer votes, or rely on fans spending money. Real casual viewers might only cast a vote or two at most—99.9% of survival shows depended entirely on fans’ wallets.

The production team knew this well. Beyond online voting, they launched offline merchandise sales bundled with extra votes, and even buying products from sponsors granted bonus votes.

These money-making schemes aimed to drain fans’ pockets completely. So it was no wonder fandom wars were vicious—these debut slots were built on cold, hard cash. Anyone who dared to distribute parts or resources not according to rankings better watch their back.

The rolling names and numbers finally settled on a stable display.

The Chinese group and International group rankings were still separate in the first stage. As expected, Ji Yan took first place in the Chinese group, with Su Xingran right behind. The biggest surprise was Jiao Wangshu in third and Ling Tinglan in fourth.

Far from being eliminated—they had already entered the debut group’s top tier.

Ling Tinglan’s face betrayed nothing, but his other hand was already tearing at Jiao Wangshu’s sleeve. “Am I seeing this right?”

Jiao Wangshu was equally stunned. He had underestimated the power of ‘rising through fan service.’

He had expected their rankings wouldn’t be too low—as pure amateurs, making it into the top twenty would have been great. He never imagined such a shock.

Entering the debut slot in the first real-time voting round? Could they actually debut? Please, show crew, stick to the script and eliminate them early.

Meanwhile, the International group rankings were also interesting. Han Yushuo temporarily held first place, while the International group’s initial center, Bian Hamin, unexpectedly ranked only fifth.

But everyone’s attention was now on the last ten contestants in each group—the trainees who were about to leave.