Star-Crossed Aspirations Chapter 10

At first glance, Bai Tianheng's words sounded like a joke, and upon closer listening, they were still a joke.

But the same joke can have different effects when said by different people.

Tong Renyan joked about adding Ryan Blake on WeChat, and everyone thought he was joking and laughed along. But when Bai Tianheng changed his tone, the effect was completely different - the whole studio went wild.

"I want to join too!"

"I want one too! My younger brother will take the college entrance exam next year, so it's a good opportunity to ask for help from this top student."

"And me! I want to join too!"

"The production team gave me my phone back! I want to add WeChat!"

Rong Beibei turned her head knowingly: "I have to be the first one anyway!"

Ryan Blake: ...

I never thought there would be such a segment of the program group: "????"

Wait, isn’t this a talent show? How did this WeChat meme come about?

At this time, Bai Tianheng on the stage and Ryan Blake in the ladder contestant seat looked at each other from a distance across most of the stage and the contestant area.

Ryan Blake couldn't figure out what the exact feeling was. On the one hand, he felt that what Bai Tianheng had just said was a bit absurd. On the other hand, the trance and strangeness of meeting again after many years unexpectedly faded because of this joke about adding WeChat.

Ryan Blake pursed his lips with amusement: Is Bai Tianheng greeting me in front of hundreds of people?

On the stage, Bai Tianheng brought the entire show back on track.

He handed the reversal card to Chu Min.

The hall was quiet again.

Chu Min took it, lowered his head, and opened it slowly. When he saw the letters on the card, he stared in disbelief.

Bai Tianheng announced on the spot: "Chu Min, b."

Other players: "!"

Counterattack!

Chu Min was so excited that he couldn't control himself, as if he had been recognized again. He ran back to the terraced seating area, and several other boys from the same company and group all surrounded him to congratulate him.

Bai Tianheng calmly concluded: "Chu Min's singing and dancing are very good, and his personal program and stage performance are very outstanding, so I gave him my first reversal card."

Applause broke out and the other four mentors had no objection.

Next, Bai Tianheng sent out ten reversal cards one after another.

Some people fall from high levels, while others counterattack from low levels.

Finally, there is only one reversal card left, which is also the twelfth reversal card.

The whole audience held their breath.

Everyone knows that this is the last chance.

Regardless of whether this reversal card represents the level from high to low or from low to high, at least it means that this is the last spot.

Only one person is left.

Rong Beibei: "I was so nervous, even more nervous than when I was competing myself."

Shan Hao: "I'm a little bit looking forward to it." The finale is usually the most exciting.

Bai Tianheng held the reversal card in his hand and scanned the seats on the tiered platform.

The whole place was silent.

Suddenly, Bai Tianheng's gaze fixed on a certain direction: "Jiang, Zhan."

"Ryan Blake, please come to the stage."

Ryan Blake: ...

If you live long enough, anything is possible.

In the past, Ryan Blake was a class committee member in No. 3 Middle School, responsible for class discipline during lunch break. Whenever Bai Tianheng made trouble, he would say to him, "Go to the podium and sleep on your stomach."

Now, the situation has changed, and it is Bai Tianheng who calls him to the stage.

Ryan Blake walked down the stairs.

There were voices of encouragement from all around: "Keep going, top student!"

There are also criticisms.

"Demoted?"

"That's right, you can't just rely on your good looks to get a girl."

"You won't be promoted to A, right? Those sitting in A zone are all experts now."

Ryan Blake ignored the criticism and walked straight onto the stage.

The closer the distance was and the brighter the lights were, the clearer the face of this old classmate on the stage became.

Bai Tianheng hasn't changed much, maintaining the same appearance as when he was young, with three-dimensional facial features, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and a strong aura. After shedding the last bit of immaturity from his high school days, he looks more upright, and because his expression is much more restrained, his temperament has become much more stable.

He did not wear striking stage costumes like other mentors, but just a simple white shirt and black trousers. Because of this, his body advantages of broad shoulders, narrow waist and long legs were fully revealed. Once he stood on the stage, he was the focus of everyone present.

Ryan Blake: It’s strange. I never thought Bai Tianheng was so handsome before.

What’s even more strange is that, perhaps because he has been paying attention to Bai Tianheng’s movements for so many years and recently photoshopped a photo of him at the airport, in Ryan Blake’s eyes, Bai Tianheng is not a stranger at this moment, and the trance-like feeling of reunion after a long separation quickly disappeared.

The closer he got, the clearer he could see the person in front of him, and the more Ryan Blake had the illusion that he "saw him not long ago, and I see him again today."

In contrast, Bai Tianheng looked relaxed and his eyes were calm. His expression was no different from that of the previous eleven trainees who received reversal cards.

After Ryan Blake walked up to him, Bai Tianheng didn't even say a word and directly handed over the Reversal Card.

Ryan Blake paused, looked at the card, and reached out.

One card, two hands, one is Bai Tianheng, the other is Ryan Blake.

Then, Ryan Blake held the card but didn't pull it.

Ryan Blake: ...

If it were any other instructor, Ryan Blake would at most be confused as to why the instructor didn't let go.

When it comes to Bai Tianheng, Ryan Blake just feels that the formula is too familiar---

When Bai Tianheng was in his third year of high school, he had to attend classes in fits and starts due to filming and preparing for the film and television academy entrance exam, and his homework was delayed a lot.

Every time after the exam, when he corrected the papers, six or seven times out of ten he would copy the correct answers from Ryan Blake's paper.

After copying, I handed the paper back and kept holding it several times without letting go.

Ryan Blake couldn't pull the paper at first, and even asked him to let go. But after so many times, Ryan Blake was too lazy to say anything, and just pulled the paper directly. When it was torn, he threw it back and asked Bai Tianheng to glue it together for him.

Bai Tianheng always stuck to him with a sour face, looking disgusted, and threw the paper back after sticking it, saying: "What would you do without me?"

Ryan Blake at that time: ...

Ryan Blake at this moment: Mr. Bai, you are no longer the elementary school kid you used to be, let go!

The reversal card is broken, can I still throw it in your face and ask you to continue sticking to me?

What else could Ryan Blake do? He could only remain calm, smile faintly, and pretend that he knew nothing as he continued talking.

Fortunately, this time, Bai Tianheng let go.

Ryan Blake successfully obtained the reversal card.

As soon as he got the card, Tong Renyan, who was on the judges' panel, said, "The last reversal is sure to be exciting."

As the great mentor, Bai Tianheng stands on the stage with absolute control.

He said: "Upgrade is A, downgrade is CDEF, all are possible. Teacher Tong said it should be explosive, do you think the answer must be between A and F?"

Shan Hao raised the microphone and said, "What's the point of the last reversal card if it's not exciting? Aren't the finales meant to be exciting?"

Bai Tianheng set a trap: "Then Mr. Hao, guess first, is it a or f?"

Shan Hao reacted quickly: "I won't guess." He would not fall into Bai Tianheng's trap. Who knows if there is a tiger trap waiting below.

Bai Tianheng: "Where is Teacher Tong?"

Tong Renyan: "You ask me? Ask Ryan Blake."

Tong Renyan and Shan Hao had both been cheated by Bai Tianheng at the drinking table before, so they were most afraid of him setting a trap for them, as they would be guaranteed to have blood all over their faces if they jumped into it.

These two also jumped out of the pit with painful experience and jumped out of intuition. When Bai Tianheng threw out the af choice, neither of them took it. Tong Renyan even kicked the ball directly to Ryan Blake himself.

A or F, your own level, you can guess it yourself.

So everyone in the audience looked at Ryan Blake, including Bai Tianheng.

Ryan Blake: ...

This question is really difficult to answer.

a, why? What strength does he have?

f, so much downgrade, a disgraceful result.

It was hard to choose any answer. With so many people watching, it would be embarrassing if I didn't answer well.

If he had to answer...

Ryan Blake: "I think it's b."

Bai Tianheng raised his eyebrows and said something similar to what he had just said to Chu Min: "The level remains the same, so I let you go on stage for fun?"

Ryan Blake reacted quickly and said, "Maybe? Maybe there are only eleven spots that need to be reversed, and there is one extra card, so... just fill it out for fun?"

This witty answer made everyone laugh.

Tong Renyan looked at Shan Hao meaningfully: Ryan Blake is good, he can avoid any trap set by Bai Tianheng.

Bai Tianheng looked at Ryan Blake seriously for a few seconds, raised his wrist, checked the time, and said meaningfully: "It's early morning now, finish the recording early so that everyone can go home and sleep early."

Ryan Blake: "Not B?"

Bai Tianheng raised the corners of his lips: "Of course not."

Ryan Blake hesitated.

It’s not b, it can’t be a, it can only be a downgrade, could it really be f?

Looks like it's going to be embarrassing.

Ryan Blake looks casual on the surface, but he is actually a bit arrogant in his heart. Even if he is not the best, he cannot be the worst.

It's really embarrassing to give it an F rating, especially since it will be broadcast to hundreds of millions of people.

Of course, if he really had to be given an F, he would accept it, and he would not think that this was an old classmate who deliberately gave him an F to embarrass him - not really, Bai Tianheng has never been that kind of person.

Ryan Blake lowered his head and opened the reversal card. The bright red letters gradually came into his sight - his wrist suddenly paused.

Bai Tianheng: "The stronger the people, the more work they have to do. You should work harder and climb a few more steps."

There were loud noises everywhere.

"A! It's A!"

"Oh my god! Dark horse!"

"It's amazing that even the great mentor recognized him!"

Ryan Blake looked at the letters on the card and never expected that he would reverse from B to A.

B was already a very high evaluation given to him by Tong Renyan and others because they were overly optimistic about him. Bai Tianheng actually upgraded him directly to A?

Is this the arrangement of the program team?

Or did Bai Tianheng watch his performance backstage and really think he could get an A?

Or is this simply a friendship bonus representing the friendship between old classmates?

Ryan Blake stood on the stage, dazzled by the bright red A in his hand. He felt very nervous and was not sure about himself.

At this time, Bai Tianheng spoke again amid the amazement of everyone and before any doubts were raised.

"I just said that this is my personal vision and decision. It may not be completely correct, but as a great mentor, I have this right."

"I personally think that Ryan Blake's stage performance is definitely worthy of an A."

The Grand Master has said so, so even if there are objections, who would speak out directly?

Just at this moment, someone shouted: "Why!"

As soon as Bai Tianheng, the great mentor, finished his explanation, the crowd started to ask, "Why?" The attitude of doubt was self-evident.

From the instructors to the trainees, everyone at the scene turned their heads following the sound.

Ryan Blake has good ears and eyes and locked onto him at a glance.

Bai Tianheng had already seen the direction Ryan Blake was looking at with his peripheral vision, but he did not look directly at him. He just raised his eyes calmly and turned his sight towards the triangular stepped seats. He glanced calmly, and his tone could not tell whether he was happy or angry: "Who shouted."

The whole place was silent.

"Me." A boy raised his hand.

Only then did Bai Tianheng look over.

He was a boy with purple hair and H!p-hop style clothes, looking a bit cool.

He was in area F, with his hands raised and a look of dissatisfaction on his face, and stood out from the crowd.

His name is Jiang Dazhou. He just came on stage not long ago and took the reversal card from Bai Tianheng, dropping directly from C to F.

He spoke up, which surprised many people, but not unexpectedly.

In Jiang Dazhou's position, having dropped from C to F, he certainly couldn't accept that the reversal card obtained by Ryan Blake, who was not good at singing and dancing, was an upgrade rather than a downgrade.

Tong Renyan raised the microphone and asked Jiang Dazhou directly: "Are you not convinced?"

Jiang Dazhou: "Yes."

Tong Renyan said sharply: "Because you believed that Ryan Blake would be demoted, but he wasn't?"

Jiang Dazhou: "Yes."

Tong Renyan: "Why do you think it's a downgrade?"

Jiang Dazhou hesitated and said nothing.

There were so many other trainees at the scene, many of whom were more capable than him, but none of them spoke. He spoke, but it was an impulse, and he didn't have the courage to continue.

Jiang Dazhou had some concerns and hesitated.

Rong Beibei encouraged him: "It's okay. Since you have raised your hand, just say what you think. We will listen to what you say and see if it makes sense."

Jiang Dazhou was still hesitating.

Bai Tianheng threw out two words: "Speak."

Everyone can see that on this stage, Bai Tianheng, as the great mentor, has the strongest aura.

He didn't even need to say anything and easily pried open Jiang Dazhou's mouth.

Jiang Dazhou pursed his lips, raised his eyes, and looked at Ryan Blake next to Bai Tianheng: "I think this is not a college entrance examination variety show. We don't need to judge by whether or not someone is a top student."

Everyone: "!"

That’s too bold!

"He thinks the instructor gave Ryan Blake a B grade because of this?"

"No, I think the face is the most important thing."

"So many people present did not approve of the song Ryan Blakeqing sang?"

"Admit it. In terms of pure strength, Ryan Blake is not that strong. He shouldn't be in B, let alone A."

The recording room for the primary assessment is actually not very big. Although there are many people, everyone knows that today is a live recording session, and no one dares to talk nonsense in front of the camera or the microphone.

No one talks nonsense, which means that most of the words that are said can be heard clearly.

Amid these discussions, Jiang Dazhou became bolder.

He stood in the contestant's seat and looked at Ryan Blake on the stage: "Before I turned around, I was C, and now I am F. Before you were B, and now you are A. Since you are better than me no matter what, and I am not convinced, if you have the ability, then battle with me!"

The other trainees exclaimed, "Wow---!"

A battle after the first review?! So exciting?

Jiang Dazhou is so bold!

Ryan Blake was surprised. He had specially watched the recent talent show variety show before and knew there would be a battle segment.

But don't people usually fight when the program requires it or when the instructor calls them out? How is it different from fighting in person if you just stand up and express your dissatisfaction and apply for a battle?

Without waiting for Ryan Blake to speak, Bai Tianheng calmly asked Jiang Dazhou: "Who is the one who is ready for the battle?"

Ryan Blake was stunned and turned to look around. The whole place was quiet again.

Bai Tianheng: "This session is not over yet. I haven't announced the following competition process and rules. You don't even know if there is a battle in the rules. What is there to battle?"

Jiang Dazhou: ...

Everyone: ...

Bai Tianheng's aura was half open, and he looked in front of him: "Besides him, who else is not convinced?"

No one said anything.

Jiang Dazhou finally couldn't hold it in anymore, staring with grievance: "Then why did I drop from C to F?"

Bai Tianheng looked at him and said slowly, "Just now I called you to the stage and asked you if you knew the reason. You nodded and I didn't tell you. So you just nodded and didn't know what your problem was?"

Jiang Dazhou: ...

Bai Tianheng didn't need any prompts, and didn't even pause to recall. He said directly: "You are a trainee selected by Yueshang Fanzhou. There are five people in the group. You are the center. You sang and danced to the song "Orc Planet". In the chorus of the third sentence of the chorus, you didn't make any sound, but only moved your mouth. You didn't keep up with two beats when locking near the end."

Jiang Dazhou's expression changed suddenly.

Bai Tianheng: "The four mentors are watching the scene, and they have to evaluate everyone in the same group at once. They can't stay on one person for too long, so it's inevitable that there will be omissions. I noticed your problem and re-evaluated you. I just asked you if you knew your problem, but now you stand up and ask me why you were demoted?"

Jiang Dazhou's face turned pale.

Bai Tianheng was rude, but unlike Tong Renyan who was always harsh in his words, he didn't need to criticize anyone with a cold face. He just said those words calmly and freely without even frowning.

Jiang Dazhou was left speechless.

Bai Tianheng: "Before you question others, you should first examine yourself."

Because of this sentence, the whole audience fell silent again.

Ryan Blake turned his head and looked around - he knew there were cameras on the stage and he couldn't keep staring at someone under the camera, but he still couldn't help it.

Bai Tianheng also turned to look at him and said in a mentor's tone: "When people question you like this, you should also examine yourself."

Ryan Blake: "?"

Bai Tianheng looked calm, turned his head, and stared at the front of the stage. He casually commented, "Look at yourself more. It's ok to be tall and handsome, but why can you sing and dance? It's ok to be able to sing and dance, but why are you the top scorer in the college entrance examination and a top student in University A?"

Everyone: "???????"