Pretending to Be an Overseas Contestant on a Boy Group Survival Show

*The second set of illustrations is up! If you can only see the first set, please update the app. For watermarked versions, see Weibo @A Self-Destructing Truck.

*Comments related to real people will be deleted. I didn't delete the other comments, so please don't argue in the comments section.

[Warnings are below. Anyone trying to identify real-life inspirations will be disappointed.]

Upcoming story 1: "A Field Guide to Failing at Fanservice" (original, no CP)

Upcoming story 2: "I Draw the Undercover Agent Card Every Round" (infinite-flow BG)

Upcoming story 3: "I'm as Normal as a Bug" (original, no CP)

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[Blurb]

Before he was tricked and scammed into transmigrating to a parallel world as a contestant on a boy-band survival show, Lai Yudong was a college student with no singing or dancing experience and zero talent in either.

He thought his only tasks were to pull off a medical miracle and make it to the finals, then work hard to debut in a group. But the moment he opened his eyes on the first evaluation stage, he realized how serious things were:

"Please welcome our next trainee, Miura Yuki from LYD Entertainment."

Lai Yudong: "..."

I'm screwed. I can't even speak Japanese!

The rotten System came with a live-comment feature.

Lai Yudong would open the comments from time to time, and often couldn't understand what the viewers of this season were thinking.

First-stage evaluation:

[Wow! A cool guy with a cold face!]

[This trainee has such a boss-like aura! He must be really good!]

Lai Yudong: Please stop spreading rumors.

Interacting with the other trainees:

[Help, why is he so hesitant and afraid to speak? Was that cool-guy aura just a stubborn act? Hahahahahaha]

[He's just like me, a socially anxious person www]

Lai Yudong: I am a foreigner.

During the performance:

[Can robots audition for survival shows now?]

[Petition to give this handsome guy a pair of flexible limbs worthy of his looks]

Lai Yudong: Sorry about that, I did my best.

When the rankings were announced:

[He's crying, he's crying, he's crying!]

[Waaaaah, who doesn't love a socially anxious little brother who pretends to be aloof? Nobody!]

Lai Yudong: ... (closes comments)

He's not severely socially anxious, and he's not some cold-faced big shot!

He's just a newbie who can't speak the language through no fault of his own! (giving up.jpg)

[A look at Lai Yudong's survival-show journey]

#DidLaiYudongSlipUpToday#

#WasLaiYudongEliminatedToday#

#DidLaiYudongTameHisLimbsToday#

#DidLaiYudongTrembleDuringThePerformanceAgainToday#

#DidLaiYudongCryWhenTheRankingsWereAnnouncedToday#

#DidLaiYudongManageToScrapeIntoADebutSpotToday#

…

#DidMiuraYukiDebutInTheGroupToday#

Lai Yudong: Wait, so I'm not an overseas contestant?!

|| Reader's Guide ||

1. No CP. Cover and illustrations by @Puyi, @Ruru_20, and @KITACHIman.

2. A traditional survival-show story, with a format inspired by the Produce 101 franchise, not the 999 franchise. Some details are invented. All songs are fictional. [The characters have no real-life inspirations, no inspirations, no inspirations!] Don't map them onto real people, and don't mention others in the comments!

3. The story is fairly detailed, but doesn't include extensive fan-versus-hater wars.

4. The System serves as a guide early on, then becomes background scenery. It doesn't provide a golden finger.

5. A gradual-growth story that starts from the bottom. The protagonist does not debut in the center position and is not a powerhouse performer. He's positioned as the visual and face of the group. He won't become successful overnight, and things won't go smoothly in a brainless power fantasy. Read with caution if that bothers you.

6. The survival show takes place in China. The protagonist's overseas identity is a mix-up caused by the System. Both the protagonist and the identity he transmigrated into are ethnically Chinese. Neither he nor the other trainees know this, but the viewers do. The truth will be revealed gradually in the story (chapters 24 and 77). There won't be any strange plot twists, so don't worry.

7. The viewers are ordinary people watching a variety show. This is not a broadcast across planes, nor is it Earth Online.

8. There is only one person, Lai Yudong, from beginning to end. There is no original owner.

9. The results and screenshots of the plagiarism investigation have been posted on Weibo. If you still want to spread rumors, go ahead and keep investigating.

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[Upcoming story]

"A Field Guide to Failing at Fanservice" (original, no CP)

Yu Zhuo was the most popular contestant before the survival show "Rising Star." He couldn't say debuting was a sure thing, but it was at least a safe bet.

Then a System appeared out of nowhere and gave him two tasks.

1. Debut in a group.

2. No fanservice with other men.

Yu Zhuo: "..."

What kind of toxic solo-fan System is this?

Not doing fanservice in a boy band is basically cutting off your own path to success. How is that fair?

He refused to play along.

System: "Failure will result in your forced withdrawal from the competition."

Yu Zhuo: "My first move after debuting: cut off the person I love!"

Before the competition, Yu Zhuo had thoroughly studied the company's "Guide to Boy-Band Fanservice" and hundreds of fan-written ship fics. As a top armchair strategist, his plan was to do the opposite of what everyone expected.

Whatever the comments wanted to see, he wouldn't do.

First evaluation:

A newly arrived trainee stared at Yu Zhuo with undisguised hostility. His eager gaze made it unclear whether he was after Yu Zhuo's seat in the center or Yu Zhuo himself, a walking blood bank.

[My favorite thing is a fight for center]

[I smell a rival-to-lovers story]

[Battle!]

Yu Zhuo stood up modestly. "Please, take the seat."

Choosing teammates:

Two trainees who were pursuing Yu Zhuo on their own made sincere pitches to join his team. As the team leader, he had to choose between them himself.

[Wow, a love triangle]

[Enemies-to-lovers or kindred spirits, how can he choose?]

[Whichever one he chooses, that ship's stock will soar!]

Yu Zhuo left it to fate. "Let's play rock-paper-scissors."

Interview room:

The perfect chance to get closer to the others. Yu Zhuo was determined to shut his heart off.

"There aren't any trainees I care about."

"There aren't any teams I'm rooting for."

"I'm fine working with anyone."

"I'm about equally close to everyone."

[I'm speechless]

[Are you a lone wolf or what?]

[I don't think I've ever heard him say anyone else's name]

Yu Zhuo smiled and twisted the knife. "I don't know any of them well."

After enough incidents like that, everyone knew Yu Zhuo as an aloof, independent, self-important careerist who didn't care about anyone.

In theory, no one should have bothered pursuing him anymore.

But the System's warnings about fanservice kept going off as usual.

Yu Zhuo: "Who praised me on camera this time?"

Message: Never give up. Reach for the summit.