Chapter 11: Battle

Class A was already full, and the tenth “A”-ranked trainee on stage, Wang Ziyi, felt somewhat at a loss.

Zhang Yixing spoke up, “Wang Ziyi, your ranking is A. But Class A is already full. Do you want to ‘Battle’? If you voluntarily give up, you’ll be assigned a B rank. If you choose to challenge, you must defeat one of the current A-ranked contestants on site.”

“If you succeed, you will officially earn an ‘A’ rating. If you fail, you’ll be placed in Class F.”

“Please tell us your decision—”

After explaining the rules, Zhang Yixing left the choice to Wang Ziyi.

The young man standing center stage hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and made his choice: “Producer Zhang, I choose to Battle!”

The culture of “Battle” duels had deeply taken root since the early-year sensation of “The Rap of China.”

If you thought someone didn’t deserve an “A,” you could pick a challenger to face them.

Whoever lost or won, strength would speak for itself.

Under pressure, Wang Ziyi chose to Battle.

“Jingyi, he’s coming this way.”

Justin was a bit worried. The boy was only fifteen—the youngest contestant on the entire show. The thought of being singled out to battle made him nervous.

Seeing Justin’s anxious look, Gu Jingyi found it amusing.

He soothed him like coaxing a child, “Don’t worry, he probably won’t pick you to battle. You’re too young. It’d be like bullying a kid. Even if he wins, it won’t save face.”

Justin seemed to understand and nodded.

But soon after, Gu Jingyi’s large “A” ranking caught his eye again. Justin hesitantly asked, “Jingyi, do you think he’s coming after you?”

Gu Jingyi chuckled, “Hahaha, no way. I’m so strong, why would he want to challenge me? Does he want to go to Class F? Haha.”

His confident tone infected Justin, who visibly relaxed as well. The two watched the stage with casual detachment.

Gu Jingyi leisurely observed the mentors’ reactions. His gaze naturally settled on mentor Cheng Xiao.

After nine hours of initial stage recordings, from afternoon until now, the program had only paused for a 15-minute break when boxed meals were handed out. Otherwise, everyone was recording continuously.

The trainees were a bit better off; once their performance was done, they could return to their seats according to their rankings.

But for the mentors, after every group’s debut performance, they had to strictly follow the process, cue the next steps, and score the trainees based on their performances.

At this moment, all the mentors looked fatigued.

Cheng Xiao sat in the mentor’s seat, rubbing her temples.

She felt both physically and mentally exhausted and suddenly wanted to stretch and relax.

The thought occurred, but she quickly suppressed it.

She knew very well what a dangerous consequence such a move could bring given her figure.

Take, for example, the black, fully printed shirt she wore today—it would probably not hold up under such a stretch, putting immense strain on the buttons over her chest…

Gu Jingyi’s lips curled up slightly as he stared intently at Cheng Xiao’s back.

Cheng Xiao had overseas girl-group experience and was the main dancer of the group. She rose to fame through rhythmic gymnastics at the Idol Games, and her personal popularity even surpassed that of the entire group.

This made her shoulder and neck lines exceptionally elegant.

Especially now, sitting so upright, she was even more captivating.

Gu Jingyi found himself zoning out, recalling his previous role as the “man behind the mentor”—how he supported her from behind like rowing a boat.

Suddenly, Cheng Xiao felt a chill and turned, immediately catching Gu Jingyi’s subtle reaction.

With one glance, she understood this kid’s mind was full of nonsense.

She shot him a sharp look, scolding her “disobedient disciple” for showing no respect to his mentor.

If he behaved like this on stage, what would he be like offstage?

That look carried countless layers of charm.

Gu Jingyi’s lips involuntarily twitched upward, his mood lifting.

Suddenly, a figure stopped before him.

Wang Ziyi stood there, handing Gu Jingyi a “Battle Card.”

“Hello, this spot belongs to me. Will you accept my challenge? I want to battle you in rap!”

The words just left his mouth and the whole venue erupted.

“No way, is Wang Ziyi crazy? He’s not challenging Chen Linong or You Changjing from Class A, but the strongest one.”

“This battle is a foregone conclusion; there’s no comparison between him and Gu Jingyi.”

“Another contestant who didn’t prepare enough. Does he think Gu Jingyi only knows singing and dancing? In the overseas auditions, Gu Jingyi’s rap was strong too. As a trainee from YG, his rhythm and tone are on another level, far beyond the usual idol rapper.”

“There’s no contest. Meet the strongest ACE, Gu Jingyi. Compared to ordinary trainees, it’s like a laser cannon against mosquitoes.”

Hearing the “laser cannon against mosquitoes” analogy, Gu Jingyi raised an eyebrow slightly.

Though exaggerated, it vividly foretold the outcome.

Wang Ziyi’s face paled; he truly underestimated Gu Jingyi’s rap skills.

In audition shows, a trainee from a small agency like him rarely gets a chance to shine. Compared to popular trainees like Yue Hua or Fruit Sky, Wang Ziyi had few scripts during the recording.

His storyline was hollow; no friendship arcs, no background story, no growth narrative.

With such a script, it was hard to stand out.

Born in ’96, Wang Ziyi was already 21 this year—considered old for an idol trainee.

Participating in “Idol Producer” was his last gamble.

Win or lose, this was his final chance.

Choosing Gu Jingyi as his opponent and deliberately limiting the battle to “rap” was a cunning move.

If Gu Jingyi were truly defeated, it would be the biggest upset in this season of “Idol Producer.”

Wang Ziyi would rise by trampling Gu Jingyi, no longer worrying about attention or hype.

Even if he lost to Gu Jingyi, it wouldn’t be shameful.

Producer Zhang Yixing had said earlier:

—Gu Jingyi’s performance showed not just the standard for an A rank, but the upper limit of A!

Vocal coach Li Ronghao was even more straightforward, praising that Gu Jingyi’s stage presence was that of a mature artist. His emotional expression ranked among the top ten singers Li had ever seen.

Such high praise meant losing to this “big boss” wouldn’t be disgraceful.

Wang Ziyi’s camera time was also guaranteed to be uncut during the Battle segment.

With this calculation in mind, Wang Ziyi chose Gu Jingyi as his opponent.

“Of course,”

Gu Jingyi smiled faintly as he accepted Wang Ziyi’s Battle Card.