Chapter 105 The Second Yellow Card
The hairstylist was the first to discover that Jin Ziran might be in contact with the outside world.
In addition to the production team arranging makeup and styling staff to create appropriate makeup and hairstyles for the trainees for each performance, the production team also regularly arranges for hairstylists to trim the trainees' hair during daily training.
"The Group" hopes that all trainees can maintain a clean and refreshing appearance, whether in performances or at other times, so overly flamboyant hairstyles are not allowed.
It was at this moment that Jin Ziran caught the hairstylist's attention.
Jin Ziran is usually very particular about his hairstyle. In addition to regular trims by his hairstylist, he will also make requests to the hairstylist separately, showing how much he values his hair.
But recently he has even refused regular haircuts, especially since the hair around his ears has grown so long that it covers them, something that would never happen to the usual Jin Ziran.
The hairstylist remembered that the director had told him to pay close attention to Jin Ziran, so he told the PD who was filming her about this little discovery.
Then it was discovered that Jin Ziran had actually received a pair of headphones.
This headset is a high-end product newly developed by Shifang Technology. Similar to a telephone, it can directly contact the outside world and is small, easy to hide, and not easily discovered.
Xu You asked impatiently, "Has the outcome been announced?"
Ying Zhuo said, "This will be announced later; I can't tell you anything at the moment."
All six were a little disappointed. Could it be that Jin Ziran would still get away with it this time, even with such conclusive evidence?
Meng Fanxi noticed the previous message and asked, "Weir Company issued a statement? What's going on?"
Based on the company's neutral stance when they participated in the competition, they assumed that the company would not get involved no matter what happened.
Ying Zhuo scrolled through his phone, looking at the current online opinions, and said, "It's probably because the CP (couple pairing) of Zhang Yang and Jin Ziran is too popular, especially since Jin Ziran belongs to Baihe Company, which Weier can't stand. Weier's statement made it very clear that Zhang Yang was tricked into signing unfair terms, and he even listed the relevant evidence. Although he didn't say it explicitly, fans directly created various analysis posts, clearly analyzing the role Jin Ziran played in this matter. Not many people can still ship them anymore."
Meng Fanxi estimated that Wei had also contributed a lot to this, which made him feel a little more at ease.
Meanwhile, Jin Ziran was summoned to the program team's meeting room again, along with the manager of Baihe Company and Jin Ziran's guardian.
Apart from a few core members of the production team, no one knew what they were talking about.
All that could be seen was Jin Ziran's pale face after the meeting ended.
Next was the recording of the second official ranking announcement, which heightened the trainees' tension once again. This time, another 15 trainees would be eliminated, leaving only 35 trainees to enter the finals.
How many teams can make it to the finals?
Meng Fanxi wasn't that nervous. They didn't need to worry about whether they could make it to the finals; instead, they were already making ample preparations for the finals.
The villa's television had already previewed some of the rules for the finals one evening.
For example, all the songs performed were unreleased new songs prepared by the production team, with diverse musical styles.
They needed to finalize their song selection in advance, and they would sit in a circle in the practice room to start discussing it.
Before they could say more than a few words, Ying Zhuo told them to head to the Mushroom Park studio immediately.
The reason is unknown.
Meng Fanxi thought it was just some routine filming or reshoots, but when he arrived, he found that it was other people who were also unaware of the situation.
The Mushroom Park studio was not rearranged and looked messy. The production team simply let them find a place to sit anywhere in the audience, and there was no sign of any mentors.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Jiang Xunzhen and Cen Qi walked onto the stage. Director Jiang held a microphone in his hand, while Cen Qi just stood to the side with a serious expression.
Jiang Xunzhen rarely called the trainees together so formally, as if she had something important to announce. The hushed conversations in the studio gradually disappeared, and it became completely silent.
Jiang Xunzhen: "I've called everyone here today because I have something to announce."
The trainees all looked up at the two people on the stage with focused expressions.
"Some of you have probably noticed that one trainee is missing." She mainly looked towards a corner where a team was located, and everyone followed her gaze to where WONE was.
There were only six people there, and Meng Fanxi noticed that Jin Ziran was not among them.
The others also gradually noticed that Jin Ziran was missing, and they began to whisper about what had happened.
The expressions of each member of the WONE team varied. Zhong Lifu and Zhang Ruizheng had somewhat subtle expressions, looking rather unwell, while Han Jia and the others had little to no expression.
Han Jia even looked relaxed and raised an eyebrow to greet Meng Fanxi when he looked over.
Jiang Xunzhen: "Jin Ziran was discovered to have used the device to contact the outside world again. After discussion by the program team, he was given a second yellow card penalty. His company, Baihe, is aware of this decision and has not raised any objections."
One of the trainees, not understanding, asked, "What does the second yellow card penalty mean?"
"Red card, huh?" another trainee replied.
“That’s right,” Jiang Xunzhen indicated that the trainee was correct. “In competitive sports, two yellow cards mean a red card. The same applies to our program. Jin Ziran has already left ‘Team Camp’.”
Several gasps rippled through the studio. Most of the trainees in the audience widened their eyes. They hadn't expected that a trainee who was very popular and ranked high on the show would actually be eliminated for violating the show's rules.
The production team was actually willing to spend that much.
Meng Fanxi remained silent, indicating that the production team was determined to completely eradicate this trend of private contact with outsiders.
As for their confidence, it probably comes from the program sponsorships that are still being added to date.
Jin Ziran left the show just like that, and probably no one except his teammates saw his expression when he left.
However, they weren't particularly interested in knowing.
Of course, being a six-star eternal star is great, but it's not foolish enough to be happy indiscriminately. With so many people around, if you're not careful, some of your actions might be caught by the trainees and staff present, and then leaked after the show is over, damaging your image.
Therefore, from the perspective of the production team, the team with six eternal stars was actually the most stable team after hearing the news, with serious expressions and deep thoughts that made it hard to tell what they were thinking.
Jiang Xunzhen cleared her throat. The above content was not the main point that had brought everyone here. She continued, "At present, only the production team and you know about this matter. We will announce to the public later that Jin Ziran has withdrawn from the program due to some issues, but we will not disclose the specific reasons."
"One reason I called you here is to warn you not to have any more thoughts about contacting the outside world. After the finals, I won't care how you use your phones. If you think the broadcast content was badly edited, come directly to us. I can assure you that the production team has a clear conscience about the broadcast content. As for whether the audience is satisfied with your performance, you should ask yourselves."
The trainees fell silent.
"There is another reason, which is the real reason for Jin Ziran's withdrawal. You cannot disclose it to the outside world. The official statement is that she withdrew due to other matters. If you disclose it without authorization, we will pursue your corresponding legal responsibilities."
Jiang Xunzhen spoke so confidently, probably because the initial contract contained relevant clauses.
Everyone left Mushroom Park with their own thoughts.
Meng Fanxi and the others suppressed their excitement and patiently completed all the practice tasks for the day.
Upon returning, they immediately gathered in the storage room.
In the storage room, everyone had lost their composure and looked very relaxed.
Lin Ruohe said, "Finally, we don't have to worry about that person causing trouble behind our backs. We can focus on preparing for the finals."
Xu You's eyes and brows were beaming with joy, "I've been holding it in for so long, I can finally laugh out loud, hahaha..."
Meng Fanxi was amused by Xu You's funny expression.
While happy, Ren Yuchen couldn't help but worry, "Won't he cause trouble again after he gets out? What if he teams up with his uncle again?"
Meng Fanxi had thought about this before, but he estimated that it wouldn't cause too much of a stir. "This is not something we should worry about. We have a clear conscience all along. If he tries to distort the truth outside, I believe Brother Ye will be prepared to deal with it."
"Moreover," Meng Fanxi paused, then analyzed, "Will's attitude seems to have changed somewhat. If there is a situation that is really unfavorable to us, Will might step forward."
Lin Ruohe agreed, "That's right. Just because the company doesn't want us to debut as a group doesn't mean they want us to be slandered by others. The company will definitely step in if there are situations that Wei Ye can't handle."
Now they can finally relax and fully focus on preparing for the finals.
The second ranking was announced on a cloudy, foggy day, and the trainees who were ranked in the middle and lower ranks were nervous and solemn.
The setup for this ranking event was largely the same as the last one. Due to Jin Ziran's withdrawal, only 14 people were eliminated this time.
The order of the rankings will be announced as always: first the mid-tier teams, then the top teams, and finally those on the edge of elimination.
In the rankings of Meng Fanxi and the other six, Gu Huailang dropped one place to seventh, Ren Yuchen and Xu You remained unchanged, and Zhang Yang dropped one place to third.
Meng Fanxi improved to second place, not far behind Lin Ruohe who was in first place.
They weren't too bothered by their current rankings; instead, they were quite concerned about An Yi, who had previously held sixth place, and who had taken over Gu Huailang's position.
The effect of promoting the CP was so significant that it improved from tenth to sixth place, and Gao Xinyi's ranking also improved from twenty-fifth to the top twenty.
Wu Jianian, Lu Ning, and Zhong Chu all stayed. Zhong Chu narrowly made it to the finals, but Fan Na was the one who was blocked from advancing and ranked thirty-sixth, thus stopping in the finals.
Fan Na didn't have many regrets. He felt lucky to have made it to the third round of the competition. All the trainees who were eliminated in the finals would return to Mushroom Park, so he felt as if he hadn't been eliminated at all.
When he gave his elimination speech, he specifically said, "Fanxi, I will vote for you after I get out!"
A warm smile appeared in Meng Fanxi's eyes: "Thank you."
After this ranking, only Eternal Six Stars, Seven Sons of All Things, Zero, and Paradox remain intact.
Since Jin Ziran withdrew, the WONE group is not considered a complete team, even though the remaining six members were not eliminated.
With fewer and fewer people participating, competition has become more intense, especially as more and more people have discovered that creating a "CP" (couple pairing) is a way to quickly boost popularity.
On the night the rankings recording ended, as always, the rankings were hotly discussed on the forum.
Wei clicked into the post and saw that the rankings of each gossipmonger were roughly the same. The sixth place in the list made him frown.
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