Chapter 37

As temperatures gradually rose, a hint of summer was already in the air. The little gardenias Zhao Yu had planted on her balcony had bloomed. She picked a few and tucked them into her pocket before heading out to attend the Shining Girls debut night.

The car pulled into the training camp and slowly drove through the VIP lane. Along both sides of the road were posters cheering on the various trainees. Zhao Yu looked out the window—everywhere she turned, there were fans holding up support signs, ready to welcome the birth of tonight’s champion.

It felt familiar yet distant—a life she had already lived through.

Lin Zhinan also sighed. “Time flies so fast. It feels like we just debuted as a group not long ago.” Thinking about Zhao Yu’s first domestic performance tonight, she grew excited again. “You know, the biggest regret I have about leaving the group is that our fourth album had just dropped when we disbanded. I never even got a chance to perform it live. We practiced for so long, shot MVs in so many countries… Ah, well. You’re performing a song from that album tonight—it’s like you’re fulfilling my dream for me.”

After Shining Five disbanded, their newly released fourth album naturally fell by the wayside. Later, when Zhao Yu terminated her contract with the Korean agency, she managed to secure the rights to her own lead track from that album. It was now her personal single.

When the announcement came out that Zhao Yu would be performing the fourth album’s lead track as a special guest at the Shining Girls debut night, the general public didn’t have much of a reaction—but Zhao Yu’s fans and former Shining Five group fans were practically in tears.

Regardless of the reasons, the disbandment had always been a lingering heartbreak for them.

Especially since it happened on the very day the fourth album dropped. After the group split, the album was pulled from all major platforms. Many fans never even got the chance to buy it, let alone see a live performance.

Now, Lin Zhinan had retired from the industry, Kristin had vanished without a trace, and only Zhao Yu, Lin Xiuxi, and Heya were still active. But Lin Xiuxi had shifted her focus to acting, and Heya had gone abroad for further studies. Of the legendary national girl group that once stood at the top, only Zhao Yu remained on the stage.

For her return to the domestic stage, she chose the lead track from the fourth album—both a farewell and a new beginning.

Staff members bustled about back and forth. The trainees who had made it to the finals were all backstage doing their hair and makeup. After arriving, Zhao Yu went straight to rehearsal.

After two run-throughs and a few minor adjustments, everything was confirmed. Zhao Yu headed to the private green room the organizers had prepared for her.

Her stylist had also arrived with tonight’s stage outfit and makeup kit. Since she wasn’t scheduled to perform until after the trainees’ solo stages, she had plenty of time. She ate a light salad for dinner and then began her makeup.

Lin Zhinan went out for a stroll and came back with several girls trailing behind her, nudging each other hesitantly. The moment they entered and saw Zhao Yu, their eyes lit up.

They were some of the Shining Girls trainees—and they were her fans.

In the world of singing and dancing, people always admired strength. Xia Yuan was like that, and so were these trainees who had poured their sweat into the practice rooms. Zhao Yu had come from the same trainee survival show background as them. To have reached her current heights, with both skill and a solid body of work, made her someone to envy and look up to.

Zhao Yu took photos with them, signed autographs, and encouraged each one to do their best tonight. One girl got so emotional she started crying, grabbing Zhao Yu’s hand and saying, “No matter if I debut tonight or not, I will never give up on the stage!”

Zhao Yu wiped her tears and said, “You look truly beautiful when you hold on to your dream.”

At 7 PM, the livestream officially began.

Half an hour earlier, the stream had already surpassed three million viewers. As the broadcast kicked off, numbers continued to surge wildly. Online discussions about the trainees’ debut night performances lit up one trending topic after another, as if they cost nothing.

The bullet comments were equally heated. For every fan, there was a hater. Every time a trainee took the stage, fans and anti-fans went at it in the comments:

– X’s fans keep hyping her vocals, but that was a trainwreck
– Kiwi, if you’re making that much money off fans, can’t you afford better sound equipment?! The audio quality is terrible! So much noise!
– Lmao, blaming the equipment for bad singing. Classic.
– Can’t wait for the ethereal fairy Zhao Yu! OVO!
– J’s rap had me dying. So cringe.
– The sound is way too dry. The livestream audio really isn’t doing them justice. Anti-fans, chill out. For a fully live, open-mic performance with dancing, this level is already impressive.
– SuSu, go for the C position!!!
– U1S1, I think L’s stage presence is way more explosive than SuSu’s. SuSu can’t hold the C position.
– YuYu, I’m here!! Hehe, kisses to my wife, waiting for you~!
– Yeah, sure, SuSu can’t hold it, but yours can. If you have time to trash-talk, go vote for your fave. Oh wait—SuSu’s votes are already in a league of her own. An undisputed C position.
– Su’s fans being all passive-aggressive, who are you even targeting?
– The megacelebrity’s usual move. No one else deserves to be on stage except the megacelebrity.
– Su only has her looks going for her. In terms of skill, she can’t compare to #23. Did her solo stage just now flop that hard? Fans, are you really that blind?
– Your journey is the sea of stars! Looking forward to Zhao Yu’s domestic debut!

Amidst all the fighting in the bullet comments, the Yu Mei Ren (Zhao Yu’s fans) stood out like a refreshing, out-of-place stream of harmony.

When Zhao Yu took the stage, it was nearly 9 PM. The atmosphere was electric. There were Yu Mei Ren in the audience, but most were still fans of the various contestants.

Pink light-up signs were scattered like stars across the stands, not particularly conspicuous among the sea of colors. But when the host announced Zhao Yu’s name, a wave of support so powerful it shook the entire venue erupted.

After all, these were fans who’d come from the Korean entertainment scene—if there was one thing they wouldn’t slack on, it was fan chants!

A single pink spotlight slowly focused on the rising platform.

A tall, slender figure stood with her back to the audience, her long lavender hair cascading down her back, partially obscuring the tassels hanging from her black camisole, accentuating her narrow waist and shoulders.

When the music started, she turned her head, raised a finger to her lips with a smile toward the camera, and the black choker around her pale neck glistened under the light—strikingly alluring.

For the first time, domestic netizens truly grasped just how dangerous that waist was.

The dangling tassels swayed with her dance. Her impossibly slim waist—sometimes sharp and clear, sometimes blurred—gleamed under the shifting lights, pale and luminous, yet occasionally revealing taut, powerful lines.

The audience barely even noticed the backup dancers. During the interlude, she walked toward the extended stage in black rhinestone stilettos, each long stride like a high-fashion runway. Her presence was fierce, every step seeming to land right on the viewers’ hearts.

Before Zhao Yu appeared, the bullet comments were still full of fan wars. One minute later, the entire livestream was going crazy for the ethereal fairy:

– Is that waist even real??? Zhao Yu is killing me!!!
– This face is way too aggressive! I’m dying in her beauty!
– No wonder she was Shining Five’s center. This level of skill, vocals, and stage presence is top-tier in the country.
– Mom’s asking why I’m kneeling in front of the computer watching a fairy dance.
– If I could touch my daughter’s waist just once in my lifetime, I’d die without regrets.
– It’s the lead track from the fourth album QAQ Group fans are crying tears of gratitude. Thank you, main dancer, for fulfilling our dream.
– Is it too late to become a fan now?!
– Who was it earlier that blamed the show’s audio equipment?? Zhao Yu is here to fix the sound system!!
– Fully open mic. I’m convinced. Compared to this, the earlier trainees looked like they were just playing around.
– Hurry up and add Zhao Yu’s name!!! I want to vote for her!!! Tonight, I bow to no one but the special guest!
– Peach, did you invite Zhao Yu just to crash your own show?
– Lmao, inviting someone to crash your own party. Does the production team have no clue about their own girl group’s abilities, or did they just underestimate Zhao Yu that much?
– Gotta say, every girl group in this country should be looking up to Zhao Yu as their standard.
…………
……

When Zhao Yu appeared, the livestream viewership had reached six million. This was her first stage performance since returning to the country, and once again, she proved her prowess.

Online discussions about the debut night had all become testimonials of people converting to Zhao Yu fans. Stage enthusiasts were asking the ultimate question: With a goddess of this caliber—both in skill and looks—why on earth was I wasting my time following a survival show?!

Before, she was in Korea, so it wasn’t easy to follow her. But now she’s back in China, starting fresh—what are we waiting for?!

Jiang Yu had once said that her domestic popularity was an illusion, fueled only by the buzz from the disbandment. But now, at this very moment, she had finally turned that illusion of popularity into real, solid fame with her talent.

The reason domestic girl group survival shows kept getting hotter every year was that the domestic market was starving for female idols who could both sing and dance. Over the years, various companies had launched plenty of them, but something always felt lacking—either the looks and physique weren’t there, or the skills fell short.

When it came to singing-and-dancing artists, the audience’s first thought was Shen Junyi and Huo Xi, or Xia Yuan and Li Yao.

But after tonight, Zhao Yu’s name had finally entered the public eye.

She was filling a massive gap in the domestic market.

What’s more, she already had a massive fan base. She wasn’t a newcomer—she was a returning champion. She had once stood on the mountain’s peak, and she was bound to reach it again.

After the debut night, Zhao Yu’s performance across all major charts took a giant leap forward.

And right after that, the first episode of Path of Thorns dropped.

This variety show was one of the most anticipated of the year. Six of the eight guests brought huge fan bases of their own, while the two seniors, Ruan Fengdi and Chu Erping, rarely appeared in variety shows, making the general audience very curious about them.

Before the broadcast, netizens had already leaked that Zhao Yu was paired with Shen Junyi in the first episode. Given past experiences, the Yi Ren (Shen Junyi’s fans) were on high alert, and the Yu Mei Ren were also anxious, worried that the production team might edit things to force a CP.

Until the first episode aired—both sides breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

Their interactions in the show were perfectly normal, not a single overstepping move. The production team also had no intention of using them to push a CP narrative; the editing was very straightforward. In fact, Zhao Yu had more interactions with Zheng Wanyi than with Shen Junyi.

Throughout the day, Zhao Yu diligently worked to earn money for their team, while Shen Junyi followed her around like a fool, doing nothing but counting money.

The bullet comments were dying of laughter:

– Zhao Yu’s exasperated expressions are hilarious.
– It’s like a big shot leading a dumb little sidekick. The big shot hustles to make money, and the sidekick cheers her on while clutching the little wallet.
– Baby’s love for money is totally my trait.
– The golden retriever is so cute! I want to ruffle him! Thanks to the beautiful sister for not being annoyed by our family’s goofball lmao.
– I came here after watching the debut night stage—I didn’t know Zhao Yu was this adorable off-stage! I thought she’d be just as fierce in real life.
– Can’t wait for their collaboration on So Busy!!! Ahhh, I’m trying so hard not to skip ahead!
– So Busy is super hard! My brother should be teaching his teammates, right? Can’t wait to see Teacher Shen’s live demo QAQ
……

After a full day of filming, the guests gathered at the campsite plaza to rest. The camera lingered around each tent. When it reached Zhao Yu’s tent, she had already left the camp and was walking some distance away.

The post-production caption read: Let’s secretly follow her and see!

The camera trailed Zhao Yu’s tall, slender silhouette to a flowerbed, where she sat down and pulled out her phone. Through the phone’s audio, the Yi Ren immediately recognized it:

– It’s So Busy! She’s watching the original video!
– So she’s planning to learn it? But this dance is really hard—no offense to the beautiful lady.
– She looks so well-behaved sitting there watching it seriously!!!
– Call your teammate over to help! He’s been carried all day; now it’s his turn to carry you! Don’t go easy on him, make him teach!
– Paging Shen Junyi, do you copy? Do you copy?
……

The bullet comments buzzed with jokes and banter. Then, in the middle of it all, Zhao Yu propped her phone against the flowerbed, stood up, stretched, and started dancing.

Wait—she just started dancing???

At first, she was a bit rusty, but the more she danced, the more fluent she became. No stage, no lights—just a loose set of casual clothes—and yet she was still utterly captivating.

The audience, who had been told by fans that this song was incredibly difficult:

– That’s it? That’s it?
– She’s a literal goddess.
– A three-minute So Busy crash course???
– She must have danced this before, right? Her movements feel familiar, though she did adapt some parts.
– How does she make every song her own?! If I remember right, So Busy has a heavy masculine energy, but she made it so sexy!
……

Zhao Yu practicing So Busy by herself left a huge impression on netizens. It wasn’t just the dazzling brilliance of her debut night stage—her fundamentals were clearly rock-solid too.

But no one expected the even more mind-blowing part that came later.

In the second half of the episode, the guests wrapped up their two-day money-making mission and moved into stage rehearsal.

The footage of Zheng Wanyi getting wrecked by the dance video was naturally included. She didn’t even go back to the hotel to rest—she stayed alone in the practice room until late, wrapped herself in a small blanket and dozed off in a chair for a few hours, then got up before dawn to keep practicing.

Her fans were heartbroken.

Then Zhao Yu showed up. She gave Zheng Wanyi her breakfast, took her phone, watched for a while, and after Zheng Wanyi finished eating, started teaching her the dance.

Netizens: ???

– That breakfast took maybe ten minutes, right?? What level of skill lets you learn a dance in ten minutes??
– Thanks for the invite—it’s called champion level.
– I’m convinced. Officially convinced this time.
– We didn’t get Teacher Shen’s teaching session, but we got Teacher Zhao’s. My life is complete.
– Ahhh, Pea (Zheng Wanyi’s fan name) thanks the beautiful sister for helping out! Our Wanyi is just an actress, this is her first time on stage, so please go easy on her!
– This sister is kind of A…
– Yeah! I was thinking the same… wanna…
– You guys are too cowardly. Watch me!!! Zhao Yu, come at me!!!