Chapter Three: A Joyful Music Festival

It was another energetic day.
"My hands are still sore from making so many buns!"
"Well, it's not all bad," Song'er said, taking off her headphones.
"Weren't we performing there?"
"Yeah, and the buns were delicious."
"It all comes down to food!"
We reminisced about yesterday's events as we walked into the classroom.
"Good morning!"
"Finally here."
"Tell me now, Principal?"
What were they doing?
"Wh...what's wrong?"
"Could it be...something big happened?"
Jinghao feigned mystery: "Actually, it's like this,"
"You—"
"We?"
Then came a sudden piece of good news: "We're going to a music festival!"
Going to a music festival felt like a dream!
"Are we going to have our official debut performance there?" We couldn't get too excited yet, because the principal had already fooled us twice. We were afraid he'd make us stand-ins or do hard labor again!
Jinghao nodded.
We cheered with joy.
"It was your performance at the Baozi Festival that attracted the program director. I was so prescient! See? It's good you came to my class!" The principal finished with a few cold laughs.
Listening to the principal was always confusing. What did coming to the principal's class have to do with it? Didn't the debut class get to go too?
"Prepare well, this is a great opportunity."
Shiyu habitually pulled out her notebook again: "That day is our debut anniversary." Finally!
We're officially debuting!
"Won't you say you love me again? Even if I'm hurt, my tears will fall like rain..." The melody of Feiyang Group's "Genesis" played on the TV.
Xiaomin said, "This is a video of Feiyang Group participating in the Happy Music Festival last year."
Lin Lili's eyes were filled with envy: "When can we participate?"
Olivier arrived: "Listen, that's your next stage!"
Everyone's mouths gaped open, their eyes widened.
"Isn't that only popular singers can participate?" Xiaolan asked.
Xiaomin explained, "Because the theme of this grand event is welcoming future stars, and you are trainees trained by Vice Principal Oliver of Fei Meng Star, of course you are qualified to participate."
Gao Yi from the Purple Queen group asked, "Then, will Melody be going too?" She most wanted to see Shiyu's dance.
"Yes, Melody will be participating this time."
Xueyan heard this and thought, "What I lost on stage, I will take back on stage!"
Finally, they arrived at the music festival venue. It was packed with people, just like the TV station they saw when they went to the stunt double rehearsal. But the set was more exquisite. "This set is so exquisite, it truly deserves to be called a music festival!"
"It's so awesome! We're officially debuting here! Hooray!" It was my first time on a show, and I was as excited as a bird just released from its cage, having never seen the world before.
"Look over here, there are so many cameras! Do you think it will be filmed like this?" Song'er walked to the camera and imitated the photographer taking pictures.
At this moment, Doles walked over. "Seriously, don't embarrass yourself. Is this your first time on a TV show?"
They seemed to see through our naivety.
"It really is my first time," Song'er said. Those two times didn't count as being on a TV show; they were just rehearsals as stand-ins and at a food festival. The videos were just posted online and never aired on television.
"You guys have been on several shows already, that's impressive," I said, trying to flatter them. Lin Lili said haughtily, "Of course!" as if she didn't think much of it. When they arrived, they weren't as excited and curious as we were. They were already a "super popular group," like big stars, so appearing on TV once was nothing to them, and they had already seen what many TV stations looked like.
"Okay, everyone listen up. I'll go over the program schedule. The host will give an opening speech over there, and then you'll all be ready to go on stage at your own pace. Make sure you're energetic when you come on stage. Does everyone understand?"
"Yes."
"Okay, then get ready, the program is about to start."
"Has the special guest host arrived?"
"They're all in position."
"Turn the lights over there a little closer."
"Cameras in position."
"All departments, get ready. Begin!"
Unexpectedly, the hosts this time were Teacher Nanfei and Teacher Caiwen. It brought us back to the old days.
"Hello everyone, I'm Nanfei, the special guest host for this music festival."
"I'm Caiwen."
"I think everyone must be curious about why we're here. Actually, the answer lies with today's guests."
"That's right, they are the new group from Feimeng Academy."
Immediately afterwards, the four groups appeared in their school uniforms, looking pure and innocent.
"Freshly baked, we are the sweet and lovely Macarons!" The members of the Macaron group smiled sweetly, their hands supporting their chins, striking cute poses. They truly lived up to their princess titles, both cute and elegant.
"We are the cool group, the Purple Queen!" As expected of the Purple Queen, Ye Xi was as cool as ever, and Gao Yi and Ju Li also had great presence; even in their school uniforms, their charm was undeniable.
It was our turn to appear. "Hello everyone," we bowed first, "We are the melody of happiness surrounding everyone, Melody!" Then, as we spoke, we struck our poses, radiating youthful energy.
"The elegant princess on stage, Dolores!" Xue Yan, even at the music festival, was as haughty as ever, but her movements were also very elegant. Among all the students at Fei Meng Academy, who was more suited to the words "haughty" and "elegant"?
"Each group has a unique personality!" Teacher Nanfei exclaimed. Indeed, Macaron was cute and princess-like, Dolores was elegant, the Purple Queen was cool, and our style... well, it should be lively, cute, and youthful. We also need to develop our own style.
"Well then, please let Teacher Caiwen explain the rules first."
"Before the official performance, the guests will have to compete in a game. The winning group will receive a stage effect card, which can be used in their later performances."
"If there are no effect cards, then they can only perform on an empty stage, right?" Teacher Nanfei said, feigning confusion.
"Also, the winning group in the final performance will receive a special Fei Meng Card." This is a "Sunny Flower Rain" series set designed by the Liu Jingyue brand, consisting of the dreamy pink and girly "Sweet Flower Shop," the hazy spring-like "Drizzling Blue Poem," and the romantic and lively "Sunny Sky Song." The combination of pink, blue, and yellow, along with the gorgeous yet fresh and cute style, is perfectly tailor-made for us. I really want this Fei Meng Card set!
"Okay, let's start the first game, 'Charades, Guess.' One person acts out a clue, and their teammate guesses what they're acting out." Teacher Nanfei began explaining the rules. "This is a game that requires teamwork. First up, let's have Dolores."
"This group is guessing expressions."
"Arrogant." "Angry." "Unhappy."
"Skip."
"What expression is this?"
"Elegant." "Helpless." "Sad." "
Skip. "
"Disdainful." "Serious." "Stomach ache."
"That's it." "
It's a real shame, Dolores gets zero. The answer to the last question is 'hungry.'"
"How should I know? I've never been hungry." A pampered young lady like Xueyan, who eats well every day, how could she possibly go hungry?
But that's no excuse for losing the game.
There are plenty of people like that.
"Okay, next up, Melody."
We cheered each other on.
"This time, the questions are all about food."
"So, let's begin."
"Okay, first up is this."
"Chicken leg! This is Kexing's expression when she's secretly eating a chicken leg." Song'er's eyes lit up.
"Correct!"
"Okay, next question."
"Ice cream!"
"It's a giant parfait!" Song'er often eats giant parfaits with Juli, of course she knows!
"Correct."
"Looks like we need to increase the difficulty."
"It must be ramen."
"Amazing."
"Congratulations to My Melody for answering all the questions correctly this round, you get a spotlight effect card."
We got an effect card!
"The next game is 'You Hammer, I Block'."
"The loser of rock-paper-scissors has to react immediately and use their shield to block. If the winner is hit by the inflatable hammer, they lose."
"The first group, My Melody's Joker Star versus Macaron's Tong Xiaoli."
"Rock, paper, scissors."...
Xiaoli won, I lost. I didn't know how to block with my shield, so I knocked Xiaoli to the ground. The other groups, including Teacher Nanfei and Teacher Caiwen, all had their mouths wide open. Maybe this is the first time something like this has happened on the show.
"Are you alright, Xiaoli?"
"Kexing, that's not how you use a shield."
"I'm sorry, Xiaoli."
"Qiao Kexing, yellow card warning."
Everyone burst into laughter. This felt so embarrassing, like being made to stand in the corner by the teacher for not being able to recite a text when you were a child.
Jinghao was watching the live stream when Pinky jumped out: "Seriously, what is Kexing doing?"
"Next, Purple Queen Juli."
This was Juli versus Xiaolan. Juli was more reliable, defeating Xiaolan in one go. She won against a different opponent. "Amazing,"
"She's simply invincible." "
Congratulations to the Purple Queen for obtaining the firework effect card."
Ye Xi and Gao Yi smiled at each other.
"The next game is Who is the Candy Eater. The rules are simple, it's about who eats the most candy."
Four people: Peach, Kexing, Gao Yi, and Daijiali.
"Everyone, get ready!"
"Ready—Go!"
"Stuff, stuff like crazy! We're going to devour the candies at an astonishing speed!"
Soon, Ke Xing, Gao Yi, and Dai Jiali were all eating slower and slower, only the macaron captain, Peach Princess, was still speeding up. Was this the legendary gluttonous princess?
"Peach Princess wins!"
Her signature "macaron-style" smile flashed across her face.
"Next up is rearranging the 3x3 grid."
Shi Yu and Gao Yi. How could they be so destined!
Both contestants were incredibly fast, truly worthy of being top students at our Fei Meng Academy. Looking at the numbers "9.15" and "9.15" on the screen, they had completed it simultaneously!
"Then both of them get effect cards!"
Shi Yu and Gao Yi jumped up; this was the best outcome for them.
"Let's take a look at the results for each group now."
"Macaron is third, Purple Queen is second, and Melody, with five effect cards, is first."
"Although Torres is currently at the bottom, there's still a chance for a comeback, so stay tuned!"
"Torres at the bottom? Are you kidding me! If this continues, my stage performance will lose to Melody and the others!" Xueyan was furious; she couldn't tolerate this result. She was unwilling to lose to Melody.
"Xueyan, there's still a chance! If you answer the final question correctly, you can take someone else's effect card." Lin Lili told her some good news.
"Great, then let's snatch all of Melody's!"
"Okay, okay, great!"
"Go get ready."
"I'm going now."
"I can't believe we actually have five cards. I'm really amazing today, long live Kexing!" I happily muttered to myself.
"With five effect cards, the effect of the official performance is guaranteed!" Song'er also felt like she was dreaming.
Just as we were getting excited, Pinky suddenly exclaimed, "That's not necessarily true! Don't forget there's still the final quiz game!"
We thought, "This is it!" But then we remembered we still had Shiyu on our side. She was a very good student. "It's okay, it's okay, we have the super-achiever Shiyu here!"
Shiyu said smugly, and the three of us exchanged a smile. Whether our effect cards could be stolen this time depended on Shiyu's skills!
"We're doomed, we can't beat Song Shiyu and Gao Yi." They were determined to steal all five of our cards, but being poor students, they didn't know how to win. "Weren't you very confident just now?"
"How could I be!"
"Okay, okay, I got it. The questions are all here, I'll bring them over right away."
"What's this? Let me see."
"What's wrong? This is—" They seemed to have seen something. They thought, "We can cheat and beat them now."
"Welcome back! Next up is the segment the audience has been waiting for. Alright, everyone, are you all ready? It seems you're all eager to try."
"This round is a spinning quiz. If you answer correctly, you can take away the effect cards from other combinations. This is a great opportunity to turn the tide."
"The first question is math."
"What is the answer to the math problem shown in the picture—"
"This…this is way too difficult!"
Just as Shiyu was about to write down the answer, Daijiali suddenly stood up. She was just looking at the answers, not thinking at all. "It's 4941053."
"Correct."
"Dolores can take the effect cards from other combinations. Which one do you want to choose?"
"We'll choose Melody's Spotlight effect card."
"Melody, ranked first, has had her card taken. The Spotlight effect card is transferred."
"Our cards..."
"Come on, Dolores, please choose the type of the next question."
"We choose Common Sense." This should be the simplest... no, the easiest answer to remember.
"What is the radius of the Earth's equator in kilometers?"
Shiyu's eyes gleamed, as if she knew the answer. But Lin Lili
stood up again. "I'll go, about 6378.2 kilometers."
"Lin Lili's answer is correct, points awarded."
"Then I'll choose Melody's Smoke Screen effect card." Maybe if this continues, we'll be at the bottom. No, we really will be at the bottom.
"You guys are pretty good, I didn't expect that."
"Actually,"
"Carrie,"
"That's because we studied hard,"
Carrie actually misspoke, she should have said "cheated hard."
"That's it."
"It's the observatory."
"Correct."
"Dolphin."
"Correct."
"Cinderella."
"Correct." "
Dolores chooses a card."
"Amazing, that's a super reversal!" After saying that, we turned all the remaining cards to Dolores.
"This reversal is so unexpected, right?" Yes
.
"Sure enough, no one knows the result until the very end."
"Next, it's time for the stage performance."
"Let's take a break, see you in the stage segment later."
"Performers, go prepare."
Dolores was still cheering, his voice unusually shrill.
"We're number one!"
"Our stage effects will definitely be super gorgeous this time, Xueyan, you can give it your all!"
"Only the best stage is worthy of my performance." Xueyan loves the magnificent stage the most.
"We're doomed."
"There's no stage effect at all, how are we supposed to perform later?"
"I say, are you getting discouraged by such a small thing?"
It was Jinghao.
"Have you forgotten what you learned at the Baozi Festival?"
"How can this be the same as the Baozi Festival? This is our first time performing on TV, what if—"
"Look at this." Jinghao opened a photo of a stage performance.
It's the Stardust group! But where did this photo come from?
"This is an early photo from the music festival."
"This stage is too simple." Song'er felt uncomfortable.
"Back then, things weren't so fancy, an empty stage was all we needed." Jinghao nodded.
"But even so, Stardust gave a perfect performance and gained super popularity."
"So, stage effects aren't everything."
"That's right, no matter what stage it is, it's all the same. There's only one thing we need to do."
That is to perform well.
"Everyone, thank you for waiting, the music festival performance is about to begin!"
First up was the Purple Queen, who sang their new song "Fantasy Journey". The stage effects perfectly matched their song; the interweaving of starry skies and fireworks created a beautiful, fantastical atmosphere, sparking a captivating synergy with their exquisite singing and dancing. Combined with their glamorous costumes, it was a visual feast.
Next up was the equally distinctive princess-themed group, Macaron. They sang "Departure to the Star Kingdom," their rainbow-colored skirts fluttering as they danced, colorful bubbles weaving a beautiful dream. Coupled with the princesses' sweet voices and charming dance moves, it was filled with a sweet, dreamlike feeling.
"Next up is the dream group that achieved a miraculous comeback! Let's welcome the elegant princess, Dolores!"
"Fantastic!"
Their new song, of course, was the adorable "Fun," which had topped the new song request charts. While the singing and dancing remained unchanged, the stage effects weren't as "glamorous" and "dreamy" as Xueyan had imagined. Instead, spotlights, fireworks, and smoke swirled around chaotically, obscuring Dolores' performance; all that could be heard was the singing and a blur of white lights tinged with red, yellow, and green.
"It's so dazzling!"
"The effects are too chaotic!"
"I can't even see what Dolores and the others are dancing!"
No one praised the stage's magnificence.
Principal Gao Wei and Oliver were watching the show. He sighed in front of the screen, "Effects are just embellishments; too many become distractions."
"That's right."
"The performance is almost over. Now, please welcome Melody to the stage!"
It was our grand finale. We sang "Heart's Delight" once again, full of sunny attitude. Even without any special effects cards, we gave it our all. It's just a music festival, after all. Isn't it much better than the previous stunt double rehearsals and the dumpling celebration?
"It's really good. Although it's simple, it feels very comfortable."
"Without special effects, the performance stands out even more."
"It feels like the old music festivals."
No one said anything like, "This stage is too plain." Although there were no special effects, the music festival stage was beautifully set up in its true form. It didn't need any embellishments to be beautiful enough.
"The newcomers all performed very well this time!
" "The best performer here?"
"That's our number one today!"
"My Melody!"
We got first place!
"What? Last place? Our stage was clearly the most glamorous."
But, will the audience really like such a "glamorous" stage?
"My Melody, your performance successfully moved the audience. Here's your prize: the Liu Jingyue Sunny Rain series set.
" "Thank you, teacher."
We went back and sat on the bench watching the news.
"It's all news about the music festival!"
"So many people left us messages of encouragement!"
"The music festival's publicity is really amazing!"
"We'll definitely get a lot of invitations in the future!"
"It's only just begun, it won't be that smooth sailing."
"Can you stop being so serious?"
Pinky cried out.
Kyung-ho always ruined the atmosphere with his words.
"But we did pretty well, right?"
"Yes, I agree."
"Look who taught us!"
"That's right, it was me.
" "Yeah, right, it was me!"