Qi Huaixuan felt immense pressure.

As someone who practiced with them every day, no one knew better than him just how strong his two teammates were.

But backing down was never in his nature. He took a deep breath and stepped firmly onto the stage.

The lights dimmed.

"They are all brave

The scar on your brow, your otherness, the mistakes you’ve made

None of it needs to be hidden

Your worn-out doll, your mask, your very self..."

Jiang Qin had considered various factors and chosen this song, "Lonely Brave," for him.

When the chorus hit, a montage of war-themed music videos played on the big screen.

The dim light cast flickering shadows across the entire stage.

[AHHH, that was amazing! I love those lyrics!]

[Love You for walking the dark alleys alone

Love You for your unbowed stance

Love You for confronting despair

The hero I imagined seems to have become real right now.]

[The sky is falling! It’s just me, so why do I have to make such a difficult choice?

I only have one real-name vote. Who on earth should I vote for?]

[Tell me about it! I want to vote for all four contestants who have performed so far!! But I’m still holding on to my vote.]

[Am I the only one wondering when all these songs performed on the show will be uploaded?]

...

During the judging segment, there wasn’t much to say.

Jiang Qin offered a few words of praise, as did the other judges. There wasn’t much to compare; they were all excellent. The competition was about who was more popular with the audience.

Finally, the voting began.

The numbers behind Qi Huaixuan shot up rapidly, almost catching up to Tang Wanqing. They were only separated by a dozen or so votes.

Even though he hadn’t won, it looked like he still had a chance.

Now, it all depended on the vote count for the final performer, Ye Jing.

Honestly, while getting a bye was lucky, it also had its downsides.

The previous rounds were a process of accumulating fans. Since he had appeared one less time than the others, he naturally had one less opportunity.

So, he probably had the smallest fanbase among the contestants.

You could tell just by looking at the audience’s light stick colors.

Perhaps tasting the success of singing in a less common language last time, he once again performed a powerful song in Italian.

Judging from the frenzied atmosphere, his song was quite effective at hyping up the crowd.

Cheers and screams erupted, and most of the audience began to sway to the beat.

During the judging, Su San was even more effusive with her praise. "A very unique song, a very unique voice. I really like singers with your style.

If you don’t have an entertainment company in mind after the show ends, you should contact me.

Our company would be very happy to welcome a singer like you."

Hearing this, Sili quickly interjected to cut her off. "I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. We’re already in talks about a contract."

"Is that so? What a shame. I hope we’ll have a chance to collaborate someday."

Ye Jing was so excited he couldn’t stop saying thank you.

The voting began.

The numbers soared.

In the end, his vote count stopped at around the same level as Tai Xingwen’s, just slightly lower.

Many casual viewers became his fans after this performance.

As a result, they still had votes they hadn’t had a chance to cast yet.

But since he was the last contestant to perform, some people who were running out of time to vote cast their ballots for him.

In the end, the top three spots were all taken by the three trainees from Jiang Qin’s group!

When this result was announced, everyone was dumbfounded.

They had expected at least two of her group members to advance, but they never thought all of them would.

This meant that the final three would still have to compete for first, second, and third place.

Jiang Qin was also thrilled with this result.

She immediately hugged the three of them in celebration.

Meanwhile, Su San’s eyes darted around before she smiled and said, "Mentor Jiang Qin, for the upcoming finals, if you’re still coaching them all by yourself, won’t the pressure be immense?

How about this? You can give one of your trainees to me. I’ll help you relieve some of that pressure."

Hearing this, Xiong Yuanyuan and the other two trainees grew tense.

Although Mentor Su San was also very capable, they still preferred to stay with Jiang Qin.

After all, Jiang Qin respected them, always asking for their input before finalizing a song.

Moreover, she never forced them to do anything, nor did she meddle with their schedules.

From both an emotional and a rational standpoint, they all preferred Jiang Qin.

Fortunately, Jiang Qin rejected her offer. "Thank you for your kind offer, Mentor Su San, but I’m already used to it.

So, I don’t feel any pressure. They’re also used to my coaching style. Switching mentors at this point would probably cause some conflict."

"Alright, if you say so. I wish you all good luck, then~" Su San shrugged and turned to leave.

The other three mentors had been listening in from the side, thinking they might also try to get a trainee if Jiang Qin agreed.

Now that they saw Su San get rejected, they said no more and left directly.

The three who weren’t sent away breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Jiang Qin found their nervous expressions amusing. "What are you afraid of? Even if you wanted to switch mentors, I would respect your wishes."

"No, no, no! Mentor, I don’t want to switch!" Qi Huaixuan waved his hands, refusing frantically.

"I don’t want to switch either!" Xiong Yuanyuan added quickly.

’In her heart, Jiang Qin was more than just a temporary mentor she met on a show; she truly saw her as a teacher.

So switching mentors was absolutely out of the question, no matter what.

Even if Jiang Qin didn’t have a song for her in the next round, she wouldn’t go to another mentor’s group.’

As for Tang Wanqing, that went without saying.

’In the current Interstellar music scene, only Jiang Qin and a few others had ancient-style songs with opera vocals for her to sing. There was no way she would leave.

She would beg and grovel if she had to, desperate to cling to this connection.

As for her pride? What was pride?’

Seeing how anxious all three of them were, Jiang Qin didn’t bring up the subject again.

After leading them to a classroom, she spoke with each of them separately about their ideas for their finale songs.

After all, time was tight, so she decided not to give them a break this time.

Besides, in the next round, they would be competitors. She would have to make them practice in three separate recording studios.

...

The five days they spent in closed-door practice were also five days of frantic online discussion among netizens.

[That was a total steamroll! Three trainees, and not a single one was eliminated.]

[Everyone’s so talented. It’s just that sometimes, that initial spark with a performer is a really mysterious thing.]

[For real. Ever since I saw that performance of Qi Huaixuan singing "Burden" in the rain, I’ve been completely hooked.]

[Actually, it’s a good thing that Tai Xingwen and Ye Jing lost. Now I can contact them and ask if they want to be my partner, hehe.]

[Sisters, leave them alone!! The Interstellar world isn’t short on single males, but it’s desperately short on talented singers like them!!]

[Let me tell you a secret: while Qin Bao was on the show, she also filmed a TV drama on the side.]

[What, what??]

[An insider secretly revealed it. It was filmed at their school. I heard it’s a school idol drama. Everyone can start looking forward to it!]