The thing I regret most is that I chose to endure in the beginning.

"Ji Fanxing's singing is like the stars themselves, illuminating the sea of our hearts! Thank you for such a wonderful auditory experience! Next, let's welcome contestant number 69..."

Even Du, with all his years of experience, was moved by Ji Fanxing's voice—the lingering notes still echoing in his mind, prompting him to lavish praise as he announced the next act.

Ji Fanxing, dressed in a red dress, stood radiant and spirited, surrounded by cheering spectators. Watching her, Ji Shengxue found that vibrant red strangely piercing to the eye.

She remembered the audition for the third female lead in "Dancing in the Wind." That day, Ji Fanxing also wore a red dance dress, twirling gracefully, light and spirited, her every gesture and smile bringing the character to life as if she’d stepped from the script itself.

She won admiration from every judge present.

Meanwhile, Ji Shengxue could only watch as her little sister, who was supposed to be her supporting role, took away the spotlight that should have belonged to her...

That memory overlapped with the present moment—once again, she was overshadowed.

Watching her sister approach, Ji Shengxue felt a new, unsettling distance between them, a sensation even more intense than during the audition—a loss of control.

Her thoughts raced, but only for a split second. With all eyes on them, Ji Shengxue maintained her congratulatory smile, nodded at Ji Fanxing, and spoke gently—though her words were worth pondering:

"Fanxing, congratulations. Mom and Dad will be so happy when they hear about this."

"But next time, don’t trouble the staff. If you like this song, just tell your sister—I won’t keep it from you. Besides, practicing this song privately without proper guidance can hurt your voice."

Ji Fanxing sneered inwardly. Such pretty words. Not once had she truly given way since they were children.

"Elder sister, you must be joking. I only learned the full version of this song after hearing you sing it live; there was no need for private practice. Besides, is this song really so difficult? Does it require such painstaking guidance?"

Performing this maliciously altered song had indeed drained Ji Fanxing, and she had no patience for further pretense. With that, she stepped right past Ji Shengxue.

A flicker of frustration crossed Ji Shengxue’s eyes, but she managed a smile at her sister’s retreating figure, saying nothing more.

No one noticed the shadow in her gaze as it briefly swept over that throne...

[If I think Ji Fanxing is cool and dashing, I must be blind!]
[Exactly! You ARE blind!! Ji Fanxing! You have no heart! Why do you always torment my A-Xue!!]

Ji Fanxing sat on the throne, eyes closed, quietly resting.

Once the competition ended and she retrieved her phone, she had something important to do.

[I can't stand it! What is she so arrogant about!!]
[Maybe she’s just tired. That kind of singing is exhausting…]
[I actually admire that she can walk so much after singing like that. I’d be flat on the floor.]
[Anyone who admires someone like her must not be so great themselves!]
[Screen recorded! I’m going to savor it again! So good~]
[Hey, send me a copy!]
[Me too, me too…]

The storm stirred up by Director Li Jian’an of "Dancing in the Wind" subsided with an unexpected outcome. Immersed in filming, the instigator remained unaware that the popularity he’d tried to drum up for Ji Shengxue ended up benefiting someone else.

Half an hour earlier.

"Cut!"

The "Dancing in the Wind" crew was already rushing their schedule. Yet the newly recruited third female lead couldn’t get into character, and Director Li Jian’an was growing irritable. "How many times have I told you? This is your final stage performance—your farewell! You need to show emotion!!"

The actress, scolded to the brink of tears, hung her head, not daring to utter a word.

Seeing this, Li Jian’an worried he might push her too far and get the opposite result, so he softened his tone. "Fine, take fifteen minutes. Think it over."

The actress, as if pardoned, quickly left the set—whether to cry or to reflect, no one knew.

Li Jian’an sighed deeply in his director’s chair.

He missed his previous third lead, Ji Shengxue—beautiful, graceful, quick to understand direction; she grasped the essence of the scene in a heartbeat.

If not for her sister...

Just thinking of that little upstart made his blood boil. No wonder Old Ji bargained to swap the role meant for his younger daughter to his eldest, in exchange for hiring the renowned dance master, Teacher Qin, as the film’s choreographer.

A father always knows his daughters best. No matter how perfectly Ji Fanxing embodied the role during her audition, with her poor morals, she wouldn’t last.

In the end, after much deliberation, Li Jian’an agreed to Ji Changming’s proposal. Compared to Teacher Qin, swapping the third female lead was a minor detail.

Ironically, he’d let Ji Fanxing join the crew for training out of politeness, and she’d caused a huge scandal. Ji Shengxue got injured and withdrew, and without a third lead, the filming schedule was thrown into chaos, halting production for days.

Every day burned money!

"Our Shengxue is about to go on stage!"

The voice of dance master Qin Wanting caught Li Jian’an’s ear—he immediately pricked up, eavesdropping. She was the crew’s stabilizing force, a presence he had to keep an eye on.

"Shengxue messaged me earlier, asked me to watch. I can’t miss it." Qin Wanting favored Ji Shengxue above all her students; she’d only joined the crew to support her protégé.

She meant nothing by it, but Li Jian’an took note. Ji Shengxue was genuinely likable and had Teacher Qin’s attention—he could use this to drum up votes for her online.

And let that unruly Ji Fanxing learn a lesson.

The inaugural stage of "King of All Talents" finally concluded. Ji Fanxing immediately retrieved her phone from the backstage storage.

She sent a message to her best friend Ning Ze, who was filming deep in the mountains:

‘Ignore everything online. Call me when you see this.’

Message sent successfully.

Ji Fanxing let out a long breath. Though she could no longer prevent her friend from getting into trouble on her behalf, she could at least avoid further calamity.

After the performance, the contestants were to stay on the island for a night before official training began.

As the King, Ji Fanxing didn’t have to squeeze onto the bus with everyone else. A dedicated van was arranged for her.

A day of recording had left everyone exhausted. Seeing Ji Fanxing enjoying VIP treatment, some contestants felt a twinge of envy.

A few imagined that if they’d fought for the King’s seat, they too would be enjoying special privileges. But recalling Ji Fanxing’s performance, they immediately fell silent.

Ji Fanxing had earned her place by strength. If any of them had been in her spot, they’d probably only have made a fool of themselves.

As soon as Ji Fanxing got in the car, her phone rang.

"So soon?"

She was surprised—according to her memory, Ning Ze never finished filming so early. If he had, she wouldn’t have waited until the next morning to find out last time.

Sure enough, the caller ID read: Mother.

"Fanxing, I watched your performance—you did wonderfully! You really surprised me."

"Mother..."

She hadn’t expected her mother to call and praise her. Such a scene had never occurred in her memory, and she was caught off guard.

"I saw it on TV. You have a single room tonight, right? Shengxue is injured and it’s not convenient for her—be sure to give your room to your sister, okay?"

Hearing this, Ji Fanxing’s heart settled. So this was the real reason for the call. Her mother was adept at mixing a compliment with a demand.

Neither parent ever doted on her.

She truly pitied her former self.

Ji Fanxing replied coolly, "Mom, it’s the program’s rule. The room is mine—I won’t give it up. If Ji Shengxue wants it, she can beat me on stage."

"What nonsense is this?!" Her mother hadn’t expected Ji Fanxing to refuse and scolded her, "Why do you always take things from your sister?! Her song, her role, and now even her room?! How could I have a daughter like you?!"

Her words made Ji Fanxing laugh in exasperation. Did everything good in life have to belong to the elder sister? Even what she earned through her own effort had to be handed over if her sister wanted it?

She had won the role of the third female lead in "Dancing in the Wind" through her own efforts. She forced herself to lose ten pounds in half a month to fit the role of a dancer, and spent every spare moment locked in her room refining her dance and acting—the turn of her head alone practiced countless times.

And the result?

The moment Ji Shengxue showed interest in the role, what she had fought so hard to obtain was transferred to her sister’s hands the very next day...

Ji Fanxing spelled it out for her mother:

"My greatest regret was choosing to give in back then."

"From now on, not even a single room, not even a strand of yarn—what’s mine is mine, and I will never yield again!"

"You—!"

Ruan Lin hadn’t expected this response and was left speechless for a moment.

"Mother, if you still consider me your daughter, please don’t say such unreasonable things again."

With that, Ji Fanxing hung up, unwilling to continue.

In her previous life, Ji Shengxue never actually squeezed into a five-person room. Now, her mother had only come to her because a better option had fallen through.

"Heh." Ji Fanxing’s lips curled in a mocking smile.

Her mother truly couldn’t stand to see the favored eldest daughter suffer in the slightest.

The car drove for over an hour before reaching their destination.

The program had chosen Robin Island, not far from the city center—rumored to be a private island owned by an investor.

For the five episodes of "King of All Talents," aside from the official stage performances, most of the next month would be filmed here.

The island was fully equipped and brightly lit.

At night, the sea breeze intertwined with the sound of waves against the rocks, bringing a sense of relaxation.

But that good mood vanished for most contestants when they saw their accommodations.

Except for the bathroom and balcony, the forty-square-meter rooms each contained five beds. Spacious enough when empty, but once everyone moved in with their belongings, chaos reigned.

Especially among the girls—each had brought at least two suitcases, and with five people moving about, the space felt even smaller.

With the camera crew squeezing in to capture reaction shots, the live broadcast feed from the room looked even more dramatic.

Ji Shengxue’s fans were especially distressed:

[Our A-Xue is injured! How is she supposed to live here?]
[This awful show! How can they treat A-Xue like this? A-Xue, let’s just go home!]
[Don’t panic! I caught the room assignment just now in a screenshot! A-Xue’s at the end—her room only has her and Song Qing!]
[Wonderful! A-Xue really is the chosen one!]

Unlike the chaos of the five-person rooms, as the King, Ji Fanxing stayed in a luxurious villa—complete with a 24-hour personal butler, a private kitchen, and anything she wanted to eat was just a word away.

The cameraman followed Ji Fanxing, showcasing the villa in all its glory. Compared to the "tragic" five-person rooms, fans in the livestream started to resent their own idols for not fighting harder.

[Boohoo, my Hao-ge was just too slow—she snatched it first.]
[I’m starting to think Ji Fanxing is really something—she can take the heat and reap the rewards.]
Only Ji Shengxue’s most rabid fans seethed with resentment:

[Does Ji Fanxing even have a heart? She ought to give the villa to our A-Xue!]
[Exactly! She hurt her own sister and should atone for it!]
[Look at how Qingqing does everything for A-Xue—why is Ji Fanxing so cold-blooded?]

But the truly rabid were a minority; most viewers remained rational:

[Come on, these are the program’s rules. If Ji Shengxue wanted special treatment, she should’ve won it herself.]
[Yes, yes! The whole universe belongs to Ji Shengxue!]
[A-Xue is strong and independent. Please don’t bring her more hate!]