Chapter 10: The Troublemaking Production Team

When Gu Jingyi finished his performance and walked backstage, he received his grade badge at the corridor—a large tag clearly marked with an "A."

"Thank you!"

Gu Jingyi accepted it with a smile and immediately placed the new badge over the one he had chosen for himself during the initial self-assessment. To avoid disrupting the ongoing evaluations of the next group of contestants, he was led by a staff member to a blind spot on the side of the stage. Perhaps the producers had planned for this, as there was a small backstage interview room right beside the stage.

Gu Jingyi opened the door and stepped inside. The space was small but featured a sofa for interviewees to rest. He sat down, adjusted his posture, and gave an "OK" gesture to the cameraman who was already poised to film. The interview officially began.

"How does it feel to get the first 'A'?" Gu Jingyi read the question from the card held up by the production assistant behind the lens.

"It feels great. To be honest, my heart was still pounding violently when I walked backstage. My mind was still reeling from the afterglow of standing at the center of the stage, surrounded by countless cameras and the gazes of over a hundred people. Ever since I left the stage a few months ago, I have been waiting for this moment to arrive every single second."

Gu Jingyi’s expression was sincere. This was the first time he had spoken about his feelings in a public setting since withdrawing from *Produce 202*. Although he had only touched upon it indirectly this time, it sent a jolt of excitement through the assistant behind the camera.

*Perfect.* This segment would definitely be cut into the teaser before *Idol Producer* premiered. They already had their biggest selling point.

The rest of the interview was simple—just a basic question about whether he knew Wang Jiaer, Zhou Jieqiong, and Cheng Xiao before joining the program.

"Of course I know them. We are all friends."

The production team received satisfactory answers from Gu Jingyi for several questions in a row. The screenwriter who had entered with them looked at Gu Jingyi and smiled gently, her pen scribbling notes into a thick notebook. What she was writing down were the narrative arcs for the contestants.

Appearance, styling, camera time, scripts, capital, and persona—all these were bricks laid beneath the trainees' feet to build their paths. A talent show is like a film that is only 70% complete; trainees with no background or strength are all gambling their futures for a slim chance at success.

However, Gu Jingyi wasn't worried this time. In the fiercely competitive overseas talent shows, he had managed to turn the tide during public performances through sheer stage presence, despite an unfavorable start and the lack of a narrative arc, friendship line, or growth story. It made no sense to worry about that now on his home turf. Especially since he had entered the program with high popularity—even if he were cast as a "blood bag" (a scapegoat), it would be impossible for him to have zero screen time.

Gu Jingyi’s mind was clear. After the interview, he rose and politely said goodbye to the staff. When he returned to his seat, the other trainees were visibly excited. In a talent show, the "First A" carried more weight than just a grade. It represented the mentors' definition of an "A" and their standard for excellence. It also signified the "leader of the A-class."

Gu Jingyi sat back down, his mindset calm as he watched the remaining performances like the rest of the audience. There were 100 contestants in the *Idol Producer* initial evaluations, which meant nearly 50 stages, excluding extra performances. Even if each stage was limited to three minutes, it would take a long time to finish. Add in the introductions and mentor commentary, and each segment took about 15 minutes.

***

Perhaps it was the unprecedented pressure Gu Jingyi’s "First A" placed on the trainees, but those who followed fell into a state of nervousness. Gu Jingyi’s stage had raised the bar for *Idol Producer* to a height that was simply not where these trainees were, and by comparison, their performances appeared riddled with flaws. It was like an opened bottle of cola—the flavor remained, but the carbonated kick was gone, and the spirit had vanished. While their skills were the same as before, the resulting grades differed.

It wasn't until Cai Xukun took the stage that the quality of the performances improved slightly. Cai Xukun brought an original song, "I Wanna Get Love," which he had written and composed himself. Wearing heavy makeup, a blue velvet jacket, and a black inner layer, he executed his dance moves on stage.

Gu Jingyi looked on, momentarily hallucinating that he was seeing an old acquaintance. Even the styling and dance moves overlapped with a certain song by a Korean group. Zhang Yixing’s brow furrowed slightly as he noticed the clues.

When Cai Xukun finished, the applause from the trainees was several beats slower than usual. It was like the scene in *Reply 1988* where Dooly goes to a music show; his singing skills were actually quite impressive, but because the contestant before him was so good, he was interrupted by the judges before the song even really began, effectively ending his chances on the spot.

That is fate. Success depends on promotion, but greatness depends on luck. While Cai Xukun didn't face such an embarrassing scene, Gu Jingyi’s high-standard original performance had set a benchmark, and everyone was quietly comparing them. Even though the directing team had instructed the mentors to chat more with popular contestants, the mentors, who had been recording all morning, were suffering from aesthetic fatigue and weren't very enthusiastic.

It wasn't that Cai Xukun’s performance lacked merit, but with Gu Jingyi’s "pearl" cast before them, their standards had shifted. They found the English lyrics mediocre and the rap lacking a memorable hook. The dance melody was also average, especially the part where he tacked on a dance break immediately after the lyrics, which felt like performing for the sake of showing off, violating the spirit of the performance. Furthermore, his outfit, which was identical to that of a main dancer in a popular Korean group, was a significant point against him. Compared to Gu Jingyi, he just seemed a bit "greasy."

When it came time for feedback, the mentors seemed forced to perform their roles. Looking at each other, Rap mentor Ouyang Jing spoke first. He was a true rapper who didn't rely on the "fan economy," nor did he have to worry about offending people like the other mentors who had returned from overseas.

"Your stage was relatively complete, but there were flaws in the transitions. It felt like a hodgepodge where it was hard to tell the focus."

Coming from a rap background, Ouyang Jing was "real." In fact, these were the most tactful words he could find. The subtext was that he was a jack-of-all-trades but master of none. Cai Xukun’s face turned sour, but he forced himself to bow and say, "Thank you, mentor."

Zhang Yixing stepped in to control the situation, politely praising Cai Xukun’s balanced skills. He then let Zhou Jieqiong and Cheng Xiao say a few words, though they were quite polite. Whether intentional or not, Li Ronghao, the mentor with the small eyes, was not asked to comment on this performance.

Finally, Zhang Yixing regained control. He smiled politely and admitted frankly:

"Our feedback might be a bit subjective. Perhaps it's because these are all original tracks, so it’s natural to compare them to Gu Jingyi’s performance earlier, which sets a high requirement for you."

"As for the original song, considering your age, Teacher Li Ronghao and I will refrain from commenting further for now."

***

Original work was an advantage, but under the shadow of the previous comparison, it became a disadvantage. However, considering stage presence, expression management, and comprehensive factors, Cai Xukun’s displayed strength was enough to qualify for the final group. After consulting with the other mentors, Zhang Yixing gave Cai Xukun an "A" grade.

Yet, the cheers for this "A" were significantly quieter than those for Gu Jingyi. Wang Linjie, who also brought his own hip-hop popularity, was caught on camera curling his lip in disdain.

After Cai Xukun came Chen Linong from Legend Star Entertainment, who had been training for six months. He performed "Girl," a lighthearted song that suited his expression management, making it a decent performance for a trainee. During the additional performance segment, the production team played "Rumors" instead of his prepared accompaniment.

This was a refreshing and playful free-style pop song that had been popular for over two years. Coincidentally, in his previous life, this was the exact song Gu Jingyi had chosen for his debut on *Produce 202*. At 18, Gu Jingyi had perfectly showcased his singing, dancing, and rapping on that stage, earning the "First A" in an overseas show as a foreigner. Although his performance had been edited down to a mere ten seconds when the show aired, fans later cursed the production team into releasing the full version when he staged a comeback to take first place in the public performance. "Rumors" became a classic, hailed by fans as a "summer of orange sweetness."

Gu Jingyi looked at Chen Linong. The big boy in the pink shirt and bunny tie was indeed quite cute. The company that operated the group after *Idol Producer* had deep ties to the Taiwanese capital behind Chen Linong. Were they trying to build hype for him in advance?

A chill flickered in Gu Jingyi’s eyes. If they wanted to cling to his popularity, they had better know who they were dealing with. If Chen Linong wanted to step on him to get ahead, he had better be prepared for the backlash of being called a shameless climber.

Cheng Xiao, at the mentor’s desk, looked at Gu Jingyi with concern. She didn't offer any opinion during the extra performance feedback. Instead, she watched Zhou Jieqiong act coy and bashful toward Chen Linong, smiling in a way that looked cheap. That was just Cheng Xiao’s personality; as a nineteen-year-old girl, she had her own principles and pride. She would never wag her tail for scraps of meat. That was the trait Gu Jingyi admired most about her.

In the end, Chen Linong received an "A" and left the stage smiling. At the same time, the seven members of Yuehua, who had been waiting, stepped onto the stage. Wearing uniform suits, their appearance alone was striking.

After their performance, Zhang Yixing asked each of them about their "B" grade self-assessment. Then, entering the individual assessment phase, Fan Chengcheng made many amateur mistakes under pressure. He forgot his lyrics, and even after a mentor prompted him, he made even bigger errors. He ended up with a "D" and cried backstage. Meanwhile, Justin and Zhu Zhengting, who were close to Gu Jingyi, and Ding Zeren, whom he had met once, all received "A"s.

As the process went on, the seats in the A-class became fewer and fewer. By the time the last contestant finished and Wang Ziyi secured his "A," the entire A-class section was full, leading to the most exciting part: the "Battle" segment.