Chapter 117: The Ant and the Elephant

Three days later, at dusk, the second live performance of "Produce 101" officially took place at the East Sea Expo Center.

This time, the scale of the stage was significantly larger than the first.

The venue, which could hold eighteen thousand spectators, was filled to capacity with young men and women from all corners of the world.

They were all fans of the thirty-six contestants, connected through social media platforms like Weibo, forums, and QQ groups. Many had arrived two days early in East Sea—firstly to meet up with online friends, and secondly to go together to watch their idols perform.

They came from Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, and even a few blond-haired, blue-eyed Europeans and Americans.

Of course, the majority were local Chinese fans.

As the cameras took their positions and the crowd of nearly twenty thousand began their countdown chants, fireworks soared into the sky, instantly illuminating the dark night.

“There is a door that only those with dreams can open!”

“There is a stage that only those who chase dreams can own!”

“If victory lies ahead, then come with me!”

Amid countless screams and cheers, accompanied by stirring music, Chen Xiuyuan strode out from the center of the stage: “Welcome to the world you have created!”

No sooner had he spoken than thirty-six young women in academy uniforms entered the stage one by one from the left and right aisles. Together with Chen Xiuyuan, they began to sing and dance to the theme song of "Produce 101."

The music ignited the atmosphere, lights spread across the hall, and the crowd’s screams grew louder and louder.

“Liao Meiqi!”

“Liao Meiqi!”

“Xie Yuqian!”

“Xie Yuqian!”

“Yu Xiaoxi!”

“...”

Fans shouted their idols’ names over and over.

On the huge screens, bright, youthful faces smiled like blooming flowers, stirring the fans to great excitement.

Unlike the previous show, where over ninety percent of the audience were male, this time at least six to seven thousand of the eighteen thousand spectators were female.

This change made the contestants even more excited and proud.

When the chorus of the theme song arrived, the entire audience sang together loudly:

“I-ant-you pick-me-up
pick me, pick me, pick me up
pick me, pick me, pick me up...”

Backstage, watching the scene through the television broadcast, Liao Yuan felt a surge of nervous excitement.

This feeling was both familiar and strange to him.

He had also held concerts before, with audiences as large as a hundred thousand, where fans were even more frenzied than those before him now. Every concert had to avoid the summer months to prevent mass heatstroke.

Each time, he had to report in advance to the police.

Local police would then notify fire services and paramilitary units, and the three parties would jointly deploy thousands of personnel to work alongside local security companies to maintain order.

After all, with tens of thousands of people, no risk could be taken.

But even so, it was impossible to stop wild fans from breaking through the barricades, rushing onto the stage, and clutching their idols’ necks without letting go.

Tears of excitement repeatedly soaked his chest, and the fans’ hands often squeezed his throat until he could barely breathe.

He used to detest such fans who abandoned everything in pursuit of stardom, always emphasizing rational fandom in public.

Yet now, seeing the eighteen thousand spectators on site, he found himself strangely nostalgic about the scenes he once found tiresome.

Those images and moments had been buried deep in his mind, long forgotten.

Now, witnessing this familiar scene, his blood boiled with passion.

Beside him, Zhang Hengge kept glancing at Liao Yuan with a strange smile.

Zhang had come to "Produce 101" as a guest entirely thanks to Liao Yuan.

Having spent seven or eight years as a trainee himself, Zhang had always kept his distance from such shows.

To him, this was a gathering place for failures.

He never believed a truly talented contestant needed a show to rise.

If one’s own skills were strong enough, a scout would surely notice.

It wasn’t something that could be achieved by a few months of training and then debuting in a group.

Even popular contestants who had already debuted, like Xie Yuqian and Yu Xiaoxi, were, in Zhang’s eyes, just fleeting stars who would vanish within a couple of years.

Until he discovered "Nobody," and the sibling duo Liao Meiqi and Liao Yuan, he suddenly thought that maybe a miracle could happen here.

So when Fu Yuntao invited him and he learned that Liao Yuan would also be there, Zhang immediately accepted without hesitation.

He was delighted.

It was truly like searching high and low with no luck, only to find it effortlessly.

Not long ago, he had personally driven to Liao Yuan’s former residence, but it was long abandoned, and no one in the industry knew Liao Yuan’s true whereabouts anymore, which he regretted deeply.

He had asked his manager to send private messages to Liao Yuan on Weibo but received no reply.

Unexpectedly, they met on this show.

Meanwhile, Han Yu felt extremely uncomfortable. He was sitting right between Zhang Hengge and Liao Yuan.

He thought Zhang was sneaking glances at him and inwardly cursed, wondering if Old Zhang was gay.

He had never heard of such a thing back in Korea.

A chill ran down Han Yu’s spine, and he sat motionless, fearing Zhang would strike up a conversation.

Finally, unable to endure the awkward tension, he took a deep breath.

To ease the atmosphere, he suddenly turned to Liao Yuan and asked, “You’re Liao Yuan, right?”

Liao Yuan gave a noncommittal hum.

Han Yu raised his eyebrows, his temper flaring inside.

But in front of the cameras, he dared not be too reckless. After regaining control of his emotions, he asked again, “You’re Liao Meiqi’s older brother?”

Liao Yuan hummed again.

“Family members participating in a talent show? That’s simply absurd.”

This remark drew the attention of other senior stars.

Cheng Yunyang, Zhan Huo, and Su Han all looked toward Liao Yuan and Han Yu.

In fact, the rift between the two had long been well known.

They hadn’t crossed paths much these past three days, so things had remained peaceful.

But now, before the official performance, everyone gathered for the first time, and the production team had coincidentally seated the two side by side...

The tension became thick and suffocating.

“You don’t need to be nervous. I, Han Yu, have never bullied anyone in this industry. To me, you’re just an ant. Do you think an elephant notices an ant?”

Han Yu turned away from the camera, speaking softly, “Tonight, buddy, I’ll make sure you understand exactly how high the sky is and how thick the earth is. Don’t think writing a few songs makes you arrogant.”

Seeing Liao Yuan silent, Han Yu assumed he was scared and sneered, “You don’t have to be afraid! If I really wanted to mess with you, would you even be here? I told you, an elephant doesn’t see ants.”

Though Han Yu’s voice was low, it was loud enough for Zhang Hengge and the others to hear clearly.

This was a blatant insult. The guests all looked toward Liao Yuan.

Would he swallow his anger or retaliate fiercely?

After a few seconds, seeing Liao Yuan remain motionless in his seat, showing no reaction, the guests shook their heads with a sigh.

Indeed, in such a situation, a wise person would choose to lower their flag and wait for the storm to pass.