Dating Show Side Character, Getting Rich by Roasting People

CHAPTER 80: It Looks Like Our Entertainment Industry Is Really Doomed

　　With Chu Ling’s firm opening speech, the tense and exciting atmosphere of the show instantly reached its peak.

　　She set the microphone down and walked to her judge’s seat.

　　【Honestly, Chu Ling’s words were pretty spot on.】

　　【Turns out the show invited Chu Ling to test the trainees’ stress resistance, hahahaha. Only those who can survive her critique have the heart to make it in the entertainment industry, right?】

　　【Exactly, if they debut in the future, the public won’t necessarily be any kinder than Chu Ling. Might as well train them early.】

　　The first group of trainees prepared to go on stage.

　　Chu Ling leaned back in her chair, planning to enjoy the performance at her own pace.

　　She guessed that since it was the opening, the show would probably arrange something eye-catching, something to hook viewers but not too strong, otherwise the later performances would lose suspense.

　　She estimated they would be mid-to-high level.

　　The first group that appeared was a five-member team. As the music started, the five trainees in matching silver-gray stage outfits quickly moved to the fast rhythm.

　　Chu Ling glanced at their faces first.

　　Not a single one was good-looking.

　　She sighed, then turned her attention to their performance.

　　“……”

　　Then she realized, there really wasn’t anything worth noticing.

　　Her prediction had failed completely.

　　If a group of this level opened the show, she honestly felt like our entertainment industry might really be doomed.

　　The first group finished their two-minute performance, gasping for breath. The host invited the mentors to give their critiques first.

　　The dance mentor was a young former girl-group idol who debuted just a few years ago. She spoke politely: “For newcomers, reaching this level on your first stage is already quite good. You just need to refine your teamwork a little more, and it will be better.”

　　The vocal mentor nodded along: “While practicing dance, don’t forget your vocals. That’s equally important for official stage performances. Keep it up, I’m optimistic about your future.”

　　After the mentors finished, it was finally Chu Ling’s turn.

　　“You all staying quiet, huh?”

　　Chu Ling glanced at the other mentors, all of whom had friendly and encouraging expressions, and said, “Then I’ll go ahead.”

　　“What you just sang—was absolutely awful.”

　　She raised the pen she’d been holding like a prayer: “Hopefully, there aren’t too many viewers watching right now. If they just clicked in, they might think this show is all about this level and leave in horror.”

　　The trainees, still smiling from the other mentors’ encouragement, froze immediately at her words.

　　“I’m not targeting any one of you, okay.”

　　Chu Ling said, “I mean everyone here—”

　　【——All of you are trash! Speaking for Chu Ling!】

　　【No wonder it felt off watching this. They just threw some random moves on stage, and the skill level is so weak. How come not a single mentor dared to speak up earlier? All just coddling and encouragement.】

　　【But they are just trainees who’ve only practiced a little. Isn’t Chu Ling being too harsh?!】

　　【If you think she’s too harsh, check her old Weibo comment sections… Only someone with a strong heart could survive reading two-year-old comments. She knows exactly what kind of public scrutiny you’ll face after debut. She’s not wrong. If you can’t take this level, you’re not ready to debut.】

　　Chu Ling scanned the stage and continued, “A five-person group can’t even synchronize their group dance. From one glance, it’s all over the place. If you know group dance, you’ll cringe. If not, you’d think this is some kind of combat match between the members.”

　　“No one is on pitch while singing. Five people, five different notes.”

　　“And some of you are still gasping for air even after dancing for so long. I wonder if any of you have ever trained your stamina.”

　　“I don’t know how the other mentors feel about this.”

　　Chu Ling held up the F card, “But as for me, I would fail all of you.”

　　Like the other mentors, she had a scoring card in hand, meaning she had the authority to grade the trainees.

　　She wasn’t a professional judge, but as she said, she represented the perspective of an ordinary audience member.

　　At first, no one took her scoring seriously. She wasn’t a pro, so surely she’d follow the other mentors’ lead, right?

　　No one expected her to be the first to show her stance.

　　Even the other mentors froze for a moment. One laughed awkwardly to ease the tension, “Giving everyone an F… isn’t that a bit too harsh?”

　　“You can give A if you want, I won’t stop you,” Chu Ling said. “From my perspective, this simply doesn’t meet the standard to be on stage.”

　　【So strict.】

　　【I thought at least someone would get a C or D.】

　　【Of course it’s Chu Ling, famous for being harsh on others but easy on herself.】

　　The host added, “We will also have an individual performance segment. Trainees who want extra points can showcase themselves.”

　　The trainees had all prepared individual performances, but Chu Ling’s sharp critique made everyone a little intimidated.

　　Finally, the trainee in the center position stepped forward. “I want to give it a try.”

　　Music played.

　　He performed a solo dance.

　　At first, Chu Ling raised her expectations slightly, but as she watched, she thought that if it were her, she would never choose to go on stage at this level. A bigger stage means a bigger fall.

　　After finishing, the trainee bowed to the camera, seemingly satisfied, and instinctively glanced at Chu Ling with two seconds of pride before quickly pulling back.

　　Chu Ling clapped.

　　“Brave,” she said.

　　“But that’s all you’ve got.”

　　“It can be seen that your level is indeed a little higher than your teammates, but the difference is about 40 points and 55 points. Being the center in this group is considered a bit of a stretch, but it's still not up to par. Keep up the good work.”

　　The center trainee froze.

　　Even the system couldn’t help commenting, “You’re way too harsh.”

　　“Hmph, I’m the kind of bad person who’s been rained on herself and now tears everyone else’s umbrella apart.”

　　Chu Ling clicked her tongue with the system, “Besides, their performance really is that bad.”

　　【I swear, Chu Ling’s critique is the most accurate.】

　　【The other mentors were just giving polite compliments, but Chu Ling actually said the truth.】

　　Even though the other mentors’ comments were mostly encouraging, when it came time to score, they were subtly influenced by Chu Ling and ended up giving low marks as well.

　　Chu Ling said quietly, “……”

　　You know as well as I do that they really aren’t good enough.

　　The next few groups of trainees went on stage, and Chu Ling became more and more skilled at delivering her critiques as the performances got worse and worse.

　　Faced with a completely boring stage that had zero highlights, Chu Ling muttered: “Five minutes of my life wasted.”

　　Faced with a stage where the skills were embarrassingly bad, she sighed: “How did your company decide to send you to this competition? Did you really have no one else?”

　　Faced with a stage full of flashy interactions, trying hard to look impressive and even earning some praise from the other mentors, Chu Ling rolled her eyes: “A performance that's all about hype and no talent is like a pile of sand. One breeze and it’s gone in two steps.”

　　When a trainee got teary-eyed and said how many nights they had spent working for this stage, Chu Ling couldn’t help but cut them off: “Don’t tell me you’ve worked hard. First, I didn’t see any results. Second, if this counts as working hard, then maybe you really shouldn’t be eating this career at all.”

　　【Chu Ling is ruthless, hahaha】

　　【Still the same anti-cheesy expert from back then, can’t stomach any nonsense】

　　【Honestly, I don’t care about the trainees, I’m enjoying this. This is exactly the kind of judge we need for a survival show!】

　　It wasn’t that she was cruel.

　　The truth was, these trainees simply weren’t good enough.

　　Chu Ling had originally thought maybe only one or two groups would perform badly and that things would get better later. She had even planned to throw in a little encouragement, but it turned out there was no point.

　　Eventually, even the director had to remind her over the headset: “Enough, you need to leave a few compliments here and there. If every single trainee gets scolded, it’ll kill the audience’s desire to pick anyone. That defeats the purpose of the show.”

　　Chu Ling nodded but muttered to the system: “I’ve already been giving them face, okay? I just can’t make money by lying to my conscience.”

　　System: “……”

　　“Teacher Chu Ling.”

　　Then, while she was critiquing a new group, finally one of the trainees who had been scolded raised his hand. “I think this is unfair.”

　　Chu Ling raised an eyebrow with interest: “Unfair, how?”

　　“All the professional mentors didn’t point out so many problems, but you just said we’re worthless,” the daring trainee said. “Who are we supposed to listen to?”

　　The tone sounded sincere, but the words carried a sneaky edge.

　　【Daring to go against Chu Ling!】

　　【Doesn’t he know Chu Ling’s ‘house collapse’ rule? Hahaha, how dare he!】

　　Chu Ling arched an eyebrow: “You mean my opinion doesn’t count because I’m not a professional?”

　　“Sorry, when an audience critiques my acting, they don’t need to know how to act. Just like now, when I critique you, all I need is eyes and ears to see and hear for myself.”

　　The trainee hesitated, but quickly said: “I just think you should give us a chance to grow. You don’t have to speak so harshly. Even though we’re not performing well now, I believe in the future… we’ll prove ourselves with skill. We’ll show that we deserve to debut.”

　　Chu Ling: “……”

　　With skills like yours, what do you even have to debut with?

　　Is this your ‘don’t underestimate youth’ phase?

　　“Ah, with skills like this, you want to debut? Well, it’s not impossible.”

　　She smirked. “As long as you’re good-looking, that’s enough. Some groups will always leave a spot for a pretty waste of talent.”

　　She squinted, studying the trainee, then let out a small laugh. “So, do you think your face even meets that standard?”

　　【Hahaha, if you want to be the visual, at least you have to look good!!】

　　【Only someone like Chu Ling could get away with saying singing and dancing don’t matter as long as you’re pretty and can attract fans instantly!!! No one else try this.】

　　“Do you know why I’m sitting here? I told you before, I’m not a professional, but I do have normal aesthetic judgment.”

　　Chu Ling continued, “Do you even know what it means to be an idol? To be a celebrity?”

　　“That means when you step out of here, the only thing making you money is your stage presence.”

　　“Do you really think your current skills are worth the income you want? Worth people spending money on you?”

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