Chapter 265 Real Time Ranking
"You could have taken the first place," Jisung shouted, causing the others to exclaim in agreement. June turned to Jisung and almost squinted at how dazzling he looked. They had similar stats in visuals right now, but Jisung had always carried it well. The difference is that Jisung had been born handsome, while June had to work hard to get to where he was right now. With the anticipation building, the time to reveal the top two visual picks had finally come. This time, the trainees' names were revealed first, and the audience was nothing short of surprised. Jisung vs. Zeth. Leo, who appeared on the screen, groaned loudly. "Zeth—I mean, come on, this guy is like a cheat code. It's just not fair." Sehun sighed in defeat. "Honestly, nobody should be born with that face and that amount of talent. And did you notice he's tall, too, and his hair always appears like it's in place? It's like he's a character from a video game."
Zeth looked humbled and a bit taken aback by the compliments. However, he grinned knowingly, already aware that he was handsome at birth. Akira shared his own perspective on Jisung, saying, "I've seen this guy with and without makeup, and honestly, he looks the same either way. It's just not fair."
"He's handsome," June briefly shared, causing a light chuckle to be heard in the dome. It was so fitting for June's character to only say two words. "You know, Jisung definitely knows he's handsome," Minx added, to which Jisung quickly denied. "He's just acting shy and modest about it! There's no way he isn't aware of his handsome looks when he wakes up in the morning." Finally, the first place was revealed, and it was none other than Zeth. Jisung sincerely clapped for his rival, already touched that he was able to get second place in a ranking like this. "He placed first again?" Moon asked. "That guy's like Jordan and Kiera. It must be annoying to have someone like him in their season, too." Jordan clicked his tongue and glared at his teammates. "So, were you annoyed that I joined our season?" "Kind of," Sunwoo smiled. "You basically took first place most of the time. But hey, this Zeth dude has been a consistent first placer since the first episode. He's definitely worse. His center position is already secured." The visual ranking clip made the audience and trainees avert their nervousness for a second. However, as Minho made his way back to the stage, the nervousness all came crashing down on them. "Did you enjoy the video clip, starlights?" Minho asked, and a resounding 'yes' was heard in the venue. "I'm glad you did," he smiled. "I have something that you might enjoy even further." With that, the LED background changed, and it now revealed the number eight. "As we speak, there's less than an hour left before the voting closes. So, we're going to show you the trainee who's on the verge of debuting and becoming eliminated—the eighth place." The trainees held their breaths. It was finally getting serious, and a lot of them wished for their name to be called. Even June was secretly hoping for it to be him. If Minjun's dad had finally found out who was manipulating the votes, then there might be a chance that June's name would be called out. Meanwhile, Lin Zhi looked as calm as ever. He tried to control his facial expression, but a smile still managed to worm its way onto his lips. "Please show us the trainee who's currently in eighth place!" Tension-filled music played in the venue, making the audience's hearts race in nervousness. The famous background music they dreaded in their homes came alive, and they were now hearing it live. It was as nerve-wracking as they had remembered. Just then, a trainee's face was shown on the large screen. Lin Zhi raised his eyebrows in surprise, acting like he didn't expect this at all. He placed his hand on his chest as if asking if the happenings were real. "Ah, shit," Bora cursed. "That fucker is in eighth place?" A mother covered her daughter's ears after Bora cursed out loud. However, the teen didn't care. She hated Lin Zhi, from his hair to his small intestines to the hairs on his big toe. Minjun frowned as he looked at the trainee's face. His dad had promised him that he'd take care of everything after Minjun told him that there might be some foul play going on in Mintellect. Minjun knew his father was a diligent man who was good at his work. However, there were also times when his promises fell through, and that was what Minjun was most afraid of. June frowned for a second, but he quickly smoothed out the lines on his forehead when a camera panned toward his way. "Congratulations, Lin Zhi." "Congrats, bro." The room was filled with reluctant praises. However, June noticed that the trainees in the upper ranks, especially his friends, didn't bother congratulating him at all. Lin Zhi smiled, wanting to bask in this moment a little longer. However, the spotlight was quickly taken away from him when Minho spoke once again. It seemed like Rising Stars was addicted to making the audience feel many different emotions at once. Just a while ago, during the signal song performance, they were screaming and jumping in excitement. Then, they laughed their asses off during the visual ranking. Quickly after, their hearts almost beat out of their chest because of nervousness. And now, the production team was determined to make them cry. The next segment was the scene the trainees filled during the Audio Visual Room, and a collective groan was heard amongst the audience. They started bringing out their tissues, already expecting the worst. June shook his head as soon as they were shown to be entering the Audio Visual Room. He just wished they wouldn't show his preliminary audition piece. "Hey," Sehun nudged his side. "Why is the camera focusing so much on you?" he whispered, subtly pointing to the camera that was supposed to film five trainees at once. June paused. Then, he heard a familiar GIRLS' EVOLUTION song play on the screen. "They're starting out with the preliminary auditions?" Zeth asked. June's eye twitched. "Cindy," he muttered under his breath.
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