Chapter 61: Group Night (Part 2)

After the theme song stage ended, the contestants quickly returned to the backstage.

Because Lei Lie and Sheng Yanyu's "all of mine" group were scheduled to go on stage first, they immediately started taking off their coats and changing clothes. For a moment, the whole backstage was as busy as a war.

Fortunately, there is no need to make major changes in makeup, so it is easy to catch up.

In comparison, the second group to appear, "Youth Travel," had a much more difficult time. While the traditional Chinese style clothing looked elegant, changing into it was somewhat troublesome, not to mention that some of the people had to have their hairstyles and makeup restyled.

Although I had a dress rehearsal once before, that was when I had more time. I still felt a little nervous during the actual performance.

Fortunately, the makeup team led by Su Xi are all veterans who have experienced many battles. In just one song, they successfully transformed the appearance of 10 contestants in the "Youth Travel" group.

After taking back the last penny, Su Xi breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately I made it in time.

As the first group to perform, "allofmine" got off to a resounding start.

Different from the "Shaonianyou" group, the "allofmine" group takes the classic boy group dance route.

However, the song "all of mine" is quite refreshing and energetic, just like a can of iced Sprite on a hot summer day, which stimulates the stomach while also being refreshing.

For a moment, the popularity of the performance soared again.

Amidst cheers, the dimmed stage lights came on again.

Small bridges, weeping willows, white horses... When the audience saw the stage scenery full of traditional Chinese charm, they were stunned at first, and then they shouted at the top of their lungs.

Amid the excited cheers of the audience, a group of young men in white clothes slowly walked out from behind the stage setting.

Jiang Mo Nan wore a white, cross-collared robe and a matching headband, adorned with jewels. His moon-white outer garment shone brilliantly under the spotlight. He clutched a sandalwood folding fan, making him look even more like a virtuous gentleman, his ears sparkling with sparkle and his hat gleaming like a star.

The makeup is even more commendable. Unlike previous idol makeup styles that tended to be Korean, this time the makeup artist stayed as close to traditional aesthetics as possible, emphasizing Jiang Mo Nan's delicate features and eyebrows, further highlighting his cool temperament.

In the audience, Jiang's fans who had been waiting eagerly for a long time held their breath when they saw Zidan dressed in white, looking like a banished immortal under the moon.

Holy shit! What kind of divine beauty is this? This makeup and outfit are so damn suitable!

Not only the Jiang fans at the scene, but also the fans in the live broadcast room were all screaming with excitement.

[Oh my god!]

[Oh my god! It’s a traditional Chinese style stage!]

[Didn't we reveal on the show that the music for the performance would be traditional Chinese music? Why are you so surprised?]

[Maybe you haven't seen the last episode yet. That's not important. What's important is that this look is absolutely amazing!]

[Speaking of which, this face is too good to be true! Just pack up and go act in a period drama! I've had enough of those ugly men in period dramas.]

[A truly handsome guy looks good in any style.]

[Gee! Why is the quality of the livestream so terrible?! I want to take a screenshot and use it as a screensaver!]

[Don't cut it off. With the director's camera skills, you can't cut it off.]

[OMG, was this director drunk? Why is he cutting to a wide panorama at this crucial moment? Are you trying to show off how big your place is?]

[Well, let’s just wait for the fans at the scene to post some fan photos.]

Unlike the usual hip-hop and pop-pop boy group dance routines, this time the choreography, based on traditional Chinese music, had a distinctly classical dance vibe. Combined with the ethereal white robes, the contestants looked even more effortlessly chic.

Then, with a swish, the paper fans held in everyone's palms suddenly opened. Ten people lined up in a row, one hand fanning, the other hand behind their backs, marching in unison to the crisp and lively bamboo flute and guzheng music.

Like a scholar full of vigor and vitality or a young knight who enjoys taking revenge, the contestants freely vented their lofty ambitions on the stage.

After a group dance, Zheng Xingye and Tao Xiaotie rapped together, and then Yi Chuheng accurately connected to the bridge of the chorus.

At the same time, Mo Bei unknowingly moved to the center of the stage, and then a high-pitched performance with a dramatic voice directly brought the momentum of the song to its climax!

This performance was dazzling and full of surprises, all thanks to the tacit cooperation between the contestants.

Not only the audience on site, but also the barrage in the live broadcast room was filled with screams and flattery.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! That high note is too good!"

"Jiang Monan, Jiang Monan, Jiang Monan..."

“This rap is so cool!”

"The dance part is amazing!"

"Xu Tingchuan is so cool!"

"This group should just pack up and debut!"

After the song ended, the audience was still not satisfied and was still shouting the contestants' names from the audience.

After a long period of darkness, the stage lights came on again.

The contestants, wearing white trousers and sky blue shirts, appeared on the stage one by one.

This was the last performance of the group's night show, a chorus of 20 contestants - "Tomorrow's Dream".

When the soothing prelude sounded, the scene slowly quieted down.

The fans stopped screaming and cheering and began to listen quietly to this last song.

On the stage, Mo Bei held the microphone in his hand and spoke with his thin lips. His clear voice was like a gentle breeze blowing from the sea, bringing a touch of coolness to the scorching summer day.

The spotlight shone on him like moonlight, forming a bright yet soft halo. The scene was as beautiful as a painting.

Below the stage, fans silently waved glow sticks and cheering light boards, which looked like fireflies on a summer night from a distance, quiet and beautiful.

In this peaceful and harmonious atmosphere, the comments in the live broadcast room also began to become sentimental.

[55555 My tears are worthless, this song is too tear-jerking.]

Thank you for meeting you this summer.

[Nannan must debut as the center!]

A talent show is like a grand fireworks show. Although it is dazzling, it will eventually come to an end.

The audience and contestants meet through the show, and also separate through the show.

It’s like countless intersecting tracks. Although they meet, they will eventually drift apart as time goes by.

Those contestants who once shone brightly on the stage will eventually fade into obscurity after the show, like shooting stars in the night sky, beautiful but fleeting.

Maybe someone will be able to continue on this path in the future and meet new fans.

But at this moment, the group of people they met on this summer night will be frozen in their memory and become eternal.

Host Zeng Yu took the stage again.

So far, the contestants' performances have all ended.

In order to create suspense in the competition, the production team hid the specific number of votes for the contestants three days before the group formation night.

The contestants who are ranked higher may not have much suspense about their debut, but the contestants at the bottom of the debut circle are extremely volatile and unpredictable.

And now, the competition has finally reached the final moment of announcement.

The 20 contestants stood in the center of the stage, quietly waiting for the final verdict.

Not only the contestants themselves, but also the fans in the audience are worried at this moment.

During this period, each of them has been working hard to vote. Fans of contestants with high votes hope to help their fans secure their spots, while those with lower votes hope to make a final push to send their fans into the debut spot.

But since the number of votes is hidden, they don't know the difference in votes between each person and can only keep voting.

It's obvious that this is a way for the official to make money, but fans can't do anything about it. Who made their favorite people still in the hands of the program team?

Even though all their efforts were in vain and the money they invested was ultimately wasted, they still kept working hard for this glimmer of hope.

The reason is simple: they don't want to see Zidan shedding tears with a look of unwillingness on his face.

As the big screen scanned the contestants' nervous faces one by one, both the fans at the scene and the online audience were almost pinching their hands blue.

Finally, the host took the cards from the staff.

This is the final voting result as of now.

Zeng Yu glanced down and said, "Next, we'll start with number 10."

[Jung Xingye must debut!]

[No, I'm so nervous I'm going to throw up.]

[I can’t even bear to look at Choi Jun-hee’s expression, it’s too cruel.]

"The total number of votes is 8,736,921."

Zeng Yu paused. "This contestant has distinguished herself in the previous rounds of performances with her outstanding rap and lyric writing skills, showcasing her charm to the audience and producers."

As soon as he finished speaking, the faces of several contestants who were good at rap, such as Zheng Xingye and Tao Xiaotie, flashed on the big screen one after another.

A hint of disappointment flashed across Cui Junxi's face.

He officially entered the 10th place from the second round of rankings and has maintained this position ever since. He knows very well that it is really difficult to climb up. If he is not in the 10th place, it means that he will probably be squeezed out by those behind him.

Compared to Choi Jun-hee, Zheng Xingye's mentality was much better. This was probably because he had never made it to the debut position and had always been on the edge of the qualifying line, so he prepared for the worst from the beginning.

"Let us congratulate Zheng Xingye for becoming the first contestant to enter the debut position!"

Not only Zheng Xingye himself, but also his fans in the audience were stunned when they heard the result unexpectedly.

Wow, he actually made it to the debut position! ?

Fans of the other contestants at the scene were also surprised by the result. The official voting page appeared on the big screen, and the previously blocked data was re-displayed.

At this time, Zheng Xingye's fans who had already recovered suddenly burst into excited screams, but Zheng Xingye himself still had a dazed look on his face.

He pointed at himself in disbelief, "Me?"

Looking at Zheng Xingye's expression of confusion, Zeng Yu couldn't help but laugh, "Yes, it's you."

"Come on up to the stage and give your speech."

This rapper, who is known for his unrestrained personality on stage, showed excitement and helplessness for the first time.

He took the phone with trembling hands and coughed twice, "Um... I'll just say a few words."

"I'm very happy and surprised. I thought I had no chance of debuting this time, but I didn't expect to get such a good result."

"I want to thank the fans who have supported me and voted for me along the way. If it weren't for you, I might not be here."

As he spoke, the tall and strong man from Northeast China bowed to the audience and said, "Thank you!"

The players whose names were not called suppressed their disappointment and applauded to congratulate Zheng Xingye.

Zheng Xingye’s fans were celebrating happily, while fans of other contestants who were at the bottom of the debut circle were furious.

[Holy crap! It's not Choi Jun-hee? This is too fucking outrageous!]

[It’s a shady deal! Absolutely a shady deal!]

[I was wondering why Zheng Xingye has so many scenes in recent episodes. It turns out the production team is already promoting the royal family.]

[I feel bad for Choi Jun-hee, who was snatched away from the debut spot by his best friend.]

[They're all competitors, so how can they be good brothers? Just because they act gay on a show, you guys take it for real?]

[Honestly, I wasn't even that surprised when Su Yi was announced as the 10th place. How did Zheng Xingye, who was 13th, get to the front?]

Seeing some netizens raise questions, Zheng Xingye’s fans immediately became unhappy.

[How did it get to the top? Of course it was because of our fan group voting! Could it have just fallen from the sky?]

[Exactly, do you know how much we've invested in this period? I'm practically drained of blood!]

[That's right! If you have time to question us, why not share your voting screenshots and compare why your family is so useless?]

Rappers' fans are naturally not to be trifled with, and when they get into arguments, they're full of diss comments. Someone even posted a graph of the voting results in the comment section.

After a while, those who questioned were silenced by fans, and the barrage and comment sections returned to harmony.

Not to mention talent shows, dark horses occasionally appear in competitive sports. Zheng Xingye's ranking is not far from the debut position itself, and his performance in the last two rounds of performances has been quite eye-catching. With his strong performance, the production team has given him more screen time. With the support of his fans, it is possible that he will debut.

For a moment, the barrage was filled with messages congratulating Zheng Xingye on his successful group debut.

Of course, this was just happening in the livestream. Some fans on Weibo were already arguing with each other.

However, since the ranking announcement is still ongoing, most people are still waiting in the live broadcast room.

At the host's signal, Zheng Xingye walked onto the stage in a daze and sat down in the seat representing his position.

Like the show's logo, the debut seats are also round. From a distance, the silver-white color scheme somewhat resembles a spherical space capsule from a science fiction movie.

Not only are the seats circular in shape, but the order of the 10 spots for debut is also circular.

The ranking numbers are arranged from small to large, from top to bottom, and from left to right, forming a circle, which at first glance looks like a Ferris wheel.

One of the ten debut spots had already been taken. The chances of advancing had dropped another 10%, and the lower-ranked contestants in the audience couldn't help but clench their palms red.

"Now let's announce the ninth place."

The atmosphere at the scene began to become tense again.

The only exception was Zheng Xingye's fans. They had initially held low hopes, but after finally securing a spot in the debut group, they relaxed completely. They also took the rest of the ranking results more calmly. After all, who came in first or last was irrelevant to them.

Zeng Yu glanced at the contestants, then smiled and said, "This contestant has played center in previous group performances. He possesses outstanding vocal skills and a unique voice."

This ambiguous statement made the contestants even more uneasy. After all, many of them had played center in group performances, and many of them were also good singers. As for the unique voice, the other party did not specify what kind of uniqueness it was, which made it easy to put themselves in the shoes of others.

Cui Junxi couldn't help but take a deep breath.

At the same time, the live broadcast room barrage also began to flood the screen -

[Can't you hurry up? It makes my stomach hurt.]

[Choi Joon-hee Choi Joon-hee Choi Joon-hee…]

[Please, Choi Jun-hee must debut!]

While the netizens in the live broadcast room were either praying or grumbling, Zeng Yu on the stage finally continued to speak.

"The total number of votes for the ninth place is 9,146,988."

Upon hearing this, there was an uproar at the scene. The difference between the tenth and ninth place was more than 410,000 votes?

"Yes, the vote margin between 10th and 9th is actually very close."

Zeng Yu smiled and said, "Congratulations to Choi Jun-hee! You're the second contestant to form a group tonight!"

As soon as the words fell, the scene was silent for a moment, and then erupted into excited shouts.

At the same time, the director turned the camera to Cui Junxi. The boy in the camera was stunned at first, and then covered his face with a mixed expression of sadness and joy.

After a long while, when the contestant's emotions had calmed down, Zeng Yu handed him the microphone and asked him to give a speech.

In the video, Choi Junxi's eyes were still a little red, but he still managed a smile: "To be honest, I originally thought I would miss the debut position tonight. It's you who have brought me to where I am today. Thank you!"

As he spoke, he bowed deeply to the audience and said, "In the future, I will definitely become a better person and live up to your expectations."

Online, all those fans who had previously been clamoring about the dark side suddenly fell silent.

Not only did Choi Jun-hee not fall out of the debut position, she even moved up one place compared to the previous round. This made their previous curses seem ridiculous.

[Where are the people who just said that Jung Byeong-ye stole Choi Jun-hee's debut spot? Why aren't they speaking out?]

Do they dare to speak out? They say Zheng Xingye stole their brother's debut spot, but their own team ended up with a higher ranking. They also climbed up by stepping on the corpses of others.

[That is, do they have the nerve?]

After all, it was their own fault first, so Choi Jun-hee’s fans couldn’t confront others and just kept silent without responding.

Zheng Xingye’s fans vented their anger with a few sarcastic remarks, and the matter was put to rest.

Although it is a good thing that the misunderstanding has been resolved, it is not a good thing for fans of other players who were originally ranked around this level.

The further you go, the greater the difference in votes becomes, and the smaller the changes in ranking become. Can their family continue to rise?

No matter how worried the players are, the ranking must continue.

"The number of votes for the 8th place is 9,983,203."

Zeng Yu paused for a moment, as if thinking about how to describe this player. Then, quickly, he organized his words.

"This contestant has outstanding dancing skills and participated in the group's choreography in this round of performances."

As soon as these words were spoken, the qualified contestants all raised their heads and looked over nervously. The fans in the audience also breathed softly.

"Let us congratulate Zhong Gaoyi for becoming the third contestant to advance to debut on tonight's group formation night!"

Zhong Gaoyi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he heard Zeng Yu's announcement.

In fact, his ranking had fluctuated within this range before, so he was not too surprised when his name was called.

But even so, he was still very happy.

With bright eyes, he grasped the microphone and bowed to the audience. "Thank you to all the fans who support me. I will definitely work hard!"

[People who watched the previous episode said that Zhong Gaoyi's work was really tough, and he almost went bald choreographing the dance for "Youth Travel."]

[As a fan of Zhong, I do feel bad for our little Zhong, but I wouldn't say he's bald.]

[Hahaha, our Xiao Zhong has really thick hair!]

Next up is number 7.

When Tao Xiaotie was called onto the stage, fans noticed that although his expression was still as calm and cute as usual, the child's steps had obviously become much lighter and seemed to be jumping.

The fans in the live broadcast room were all melted by this cute scene.

[The cub is so cute! Like a little bunny!]

[Ah ...

[Natural style is the best!]

After that, the 6th and 5th were Yi Chuheng and Xu Tingchuan respectively.

Yi Chuheng is an extrovert and lively person. When his name was called, he did not hide his joy and thanked his fans with a smile on his face.

Xu Tingchuan, on the other hand, appeared much calmer. When he gave his speech, he simply said, "Thank you."

Regarding this scene, netizens who were watching the live broadcast couldn't help but sigh that this is too cool, he is the best at saving words!

Of course, some netizens were dissatisfied with Xu Tingchuan's performance.

[Fans worked so hard to get someone to a high position, but in the end they wouldn't even say a word. Isn't that outrageous?]

[That's right. What are you so arrogant about? You act like someone owes you money all day long.]

Xu Tingchuan’s fans immediately responded to this kind of unfriendly comments:

[Don’t be upset on behalf of the fans, they are very satisfied!]

[The fans who voted didn't say anything themselves, so why are you guys barking here?]

That's right! We like him like this. Much better than those chatterboxes all day long!]

[I ordered it. Everyone has their own preferences, but we just like cool, handsome guys!]

The online bickering didn't affect the atmosphere at the event. In reality, Xu Tingchuan wasn't as indifferent to fame and fortune as the outside world assumed.

At this moment, he was trying hard to suppress the corners of his mouth from rising.

After all, once you smile, you're no longer cool.

He wants to live his life in a cool way!

The remaining 4 debut spots are basically set in stone.

The remaining contestants whose names have not been called now clearly realize that there is no chance for them to reach that position.

Even though they already knew this, they still couldn't help but hope that a miracle would happen.

The ones who feel the most uncomfortable are Chang Jun’s fans.

When the show first aired, his ranking was very high, but as the show progressed, his ranking plummeted. However, Chang Jun himself did not do anything negative that would cause him to lose fans, and this feeling of powerlessness is the most heartbreaking.

This only proves one thing: all the stock-buying fans and passers-by who were optimistic about him at the beginning were attracted by other players and switched to others.

This is what is called having general popularity but no die-hard fans.

But only Chang Jun himself knows that things are not that simple.

In fact, his agency was against his participation in the show from the very beginning.

Although some unknown young actors have gained traffic by participating in talent show variety shows, some have exposed their shortcomings through participating in talent shows, which has had a negative impact and caused them to lose fans.

In the company's view, participating in such a program would only consume his own popularity to attract traffic to the program, which would not bring him much benefit.

After all, he is already a well-known child star in the circle. As long as there are no unexpected results in the upcoming art exams and college entrance exams, he will be able to continue on the path of becoming a leading actor in the future.

On the other hand, while talent shows can bring temporary popularity, they can also have negative consequences. If negative information is uncovered during the show, the company will have to spend money and effort on public relations to whitewash the situation.

Of course, more importantly, the company had already accepted several scripts for him and arranged the upcoming filming tasks. If he debuted as a group at this time, the subsequent filming would probably be wasted.

The company absolutely does not allow such a situation.

It is precisely because of this that the amount of footage of Chang Jun was reduced in the later stages of the program, in the hope that his ranking would drop.

And they succeeded.

Most of the contestants who made it to the end of the show were strong and good-looking. Although Chang Jun was a child star and had a certain audience appeal, he also lacked freshness.

Not only because the audience is already familiar with his face, but also because of his unremarkable personality.

Because he has been in the entertainment industry since he was a child, his personality is more mature and less like a child than his peers.

The most fatal thing is that one lacks the youthfulness that should be possessed at the youngest age.

This is why fans often talk about the beauty of new artists being attractive. The so-called beauty of new artists doesn't refer to the freshness of their looks, but rather to the positive and upbeat spirit of the artist, untainted by the trappings of their current or established circles, and the raw, genuine, and alive feeling of a fresh newcomer. These are qualities that mature artists lack.

At this time, if the audience meets a new contestant who is about the same age as him, and whose appearance and skills are comparable to or even better than his, they are likely to be attracted to him.

In a ranking that has become a foregone conclusion, the result is obviously no longer important.

But after all, it is the live broadcast of the group’s formation night, so fans of those contestants who are sure to debut will continue to wait.

There were no surprises, Bai Li was still in 4th place, and Lei Lie was still in 3rd place.

The announcement of the remaining 1st and 2nd place should have been a foregone conclusion, but at this moment, someone suddenly started posting on the live broadcast room's bullet screen:

[Sheng Yanyu debuts as center! Defeat Jiang Mo Nan!]

Faced with such a crazy guy, Jiang's fans would definitely not tolerate him and would report him immediately.

Although the production team had hidden the vote count during this period, Jiang Mo Nan had already been in first place by a huge margin before this. In addition, they had been voting desperately these days.

If he still can't get the C position, there must be something fishy going on with the show. After all, since the first round of rankings, Jiang Mo Nan has never fallen below first place!

Just when the fans were upset by the madman just now, Zeng Yu on the stage finally spoke -

"Guess who will be number one?"

Facing the smiling face of the bald host, a bunch of people cursed wildly in the barrage of comments in the live broadcast room——

[Guess what! We are just kids, why are we still guessing?]

[Hurry up! I don’t even take this long when I poop.]

[Anyway, I'm putting this out there, Jiang Monan will definitely debut as the center!]

The cursing and swearing from netizens on the barrage of comments failed to affect the atmosphere on the scene. Only the vote counts for the first and second places popped up on the big screen on the stage.

[Holy crap! The first place actually got 23,789,966 votes?]

[Second place received 17,893,782 votes, a huge difference of over 5,890,000 votes from first place!]

[This vote difference is incredible! What a huge gap!]

The difference in votes between the other debut candidates ranged from a few hundred thousand to one or two million. The difference in votes between the first and second place was terrifying.

I remember that in the last round, the difference between Mo Bei and Sheng Yanyu in the rankings was less than two million. I didn't expect that this time it would almost triple!

This is too scary!

Amidst everyone's shocked gazes, the host slowly spoke, "Congratulations to Jiang Monan for winning the final C position on 'Youth Project'!"

"Congratulations to Sheng Yanyu for making his debut in second place!"