Chapter 19 First Round Exit "Don't you guys think she looks a lot like my sister-in-law?"...
[Promise: Hello Teacher Daqiang, I noticed my super topic suddenly gained 3,000 followers. Did you start helping me with this?]
[Promise: They posted a lot, but I don't really understand any of them...]
[Promise: What does "secretly in love with the God of War" mean? Is it referring to me?]
[Promise: The first ranking announcement will be recorded tomorrow. Although I feel I'll most likely be eliminated in the first round, thank you very much, Teacher Daqiang.]
[Promise: This is the first time I've seen a supertopic so lively^^]
After reading Yingxu's message, Shi Yao was sweating profusely. What the heck is Teacher Daqiang? Who did he get his name-giving skills from?
How could a beautiful young woman like her have such a nickname?
[AAA's Growth and Strength: Don't Call Me Teacher Daqiang]
After replying to the message, she realized why Yingxu called her that; it seemed to be because of her WeChat name...
She registered the alternate account to follow those data-boosting influencers. After all, even though she wasn't famous, she was still a female celebrity, and it wouldn't be appropriate to directly use her main account to buy data. She didn't think much about the name when choosing it, just wanted a simple and easy-to-remember ID.
[AAA to grow bigger and stronger: Fine, call it whatever you want]
[AAA is growing bigger and stronger: But to avoid any misunderstanding, I still need to say that I'm a woman.]
[AAA is growing bigger and stronger: Don't worry about the super topic for now. If you don't understand it, just stop reading it. You'll understand later, okay?]
[AAA is growing bigger and stronger: Don't worry about advancing, you'll definitely pass smoothly. Just prepare your advancement speech!]
Yingxu hasn't replied yet, probably because she's already started preparing her makeup and styling. Shiyao opened Yingxu's super topic to check the situation, and sure enough, as the other party said, she gained 3,000 followers in one night. Although this number is nothing compared to those popular contestants, it is an epic improvement for Yingxu.
Yingxu had very few fans across the internet before, and naturally there was no moderator for her super topic. Her homepage was filled with all sorts of random posts, so it's no wonder that Yingxu couldn't understand them.
[Ahhhhh, someone from Pixian County! I can't believe there's such a good-looking gem among them! How come I've never seen anyone like this before?]
[Bro, you really have a crush on the God of War? If you like someone, just go for it! Taking the initiative is the only way to get results!]
[I couldn't sleep at night and saw a CP post, but after reading it, I couldn't sleep at all. As someone who has a crush on someone, I really felt a connection. That look in their eyes broke my heart.]
[Who is this person? Some NBCS calligraphy brush dares to try and associate itself with Lin Xing? This CP post is really laughable. Don't be so far-fetched.]
[Can we have a friendly discussion? I'm a fan of this star too, and I really like this guy. He didn't try to get close to anyone at all. It was only because the original poster dug up the footage that we didn't even notice.]
[Is there a CP (couple) supertopic here? This is, after all, the idol's personal supertopic. Is it really appropriate for us to keep posting CP-related threads?]
...
Most of the posts expressed that they were shipping them, with many saying that Yingxu's eyes resonated with them, and a few saying that Yingxu was very good-looking, but it was a pity that she didn't get much screen time.
Although the super topic seemed chaotic at the moment, it had made a good start. The fact that she could gain so many fans in one night had exceeded her expectations. Shi Yao was very satisfied. She then switched to the Green Petal Show group where she first posted the message to check the backend reply data. When she logged in, she was almost shocked.
There were over a thousand replies! More than eight hundred shares, and over three thousand favorites!
This number of replies is considered very high in the Show Group. Green Leaf's daily active users are not very high, and the number of people in the Show Group is far less than those of the major entertainment groups. Although it is a bit more lively during the talent show period, it usually only gets three to five hundred replies at most. Apart from the lottery post, there are very few posts in the group that can reach such a high number of replies.
Not to mention, not only were there many replies, but the number of reposts and favorites was also frighteningly high. Shi Yao checked the repost section and found that most of them were people outside the group who did not own a house. She had an idea and immediately switched to the melon group. Sure enough, she saw a thread on the homepage that was reposting this CP post, and the number of replies had exceeded three hundred.
Wow...it's so popular?
Her original expectation was that as long as the post got more than 300 replies, that would be great; if it got 500 replies, she would have made a fortune. But she didn't expect it to be much more than that.
Influenced by her post, there has been a significant increase in posts about Promise in the Show group, with several posts receiving over a hundred replies, according to Shi Yao alone.
No wonder Yingxu's super topic gained 3,000 followers...
"Host, you're underestimating the items produced by our system. You used a beginner exposure coupon last night, so this is nothing," the system said arrogantly.
Shi Yao certainly remembered this incident, but she was still surprised: "But I used that coupon at 2 a.m., and the duration was only three hours."
"The effects of system items are not affected by time. Host, the effects will be just as good whenever you use them." The system's voice sounded very proud.
Shi Yao gently squeezed her palm, memorizing the tip. Fortunately, she only used a basic item and selected a duration of three hours. If she had used the twelve-hour coupon from the warehouse last night, the consequences would have been hard to say.
I'll have to be more careful when using system items from now on.
With a good start, Shi Yao felt more at ease. Now that Yingxu had gained some attention, it would be easier to promote her later.
To be honest, she hesitated for a moment before deciding to choose this path as her starting point, though only for a brief time.
After all, this child seems too simple and honest. If you force him to believe that wheat bran is necessary, he might not understand and it might even have the opposite effect.
But this is also his advantage. What is the worst thing about wheat bran? It is being too deliberate. Often, what the authorities force people to eat is not very popular, while what the audience discovers themselves is highly sought after.
There would be absolutely no deliberate effort in Yingxu's demeanor, because he didn't even think about Mai.
Was his gaze affectionate? Yes, it was.
Did he see Lin Chengxing? Yes.
That's enough. As long as he makes that move, his original intention is not important; what matters is the audience's understanding.
There's nothing wrong with starting a business through CP (couple pairing), especially in this day and age.
There was a popular post on the gossip forum titled "What is the winning formula for talent shows?" The post summarized it as follows: script and fan service. Talent and looks are now secondary. Ying Xu had both talent and looks before, but because she didn't have a storyline and wasn't a "royal family" member, her popularity remained low. If you don't get screen time, no one will see you. Very few people are as bored as Shi Yao, digging frame by frame to find screen time, not to mention that even Shi Yao went there with a purpose.
If in the past, they could break the monopoly of royal families by relying on their strength, now they rely on fan service. Those popular contestants are never short of trainees revolving around them, and some even risk being called sycophants just to stick close to them.
Why? Of course, it's so I can get some screen time.
Of course, popular contestants aren't stupid; they won't just let others ride on their coattails. They will also sell their popularity, but they'll only do so with people of similar popularity, mutually benefiting from each other's popularity to maintain their own fanbase without worrying about being exploited.
It's fair to say that no popular contestant in any talent show is completely free of BL (Boys' Love) elements. Perhaps some people aren't intentionally BL-ing, but simply have a good relationship with the contestants. However, in the eyes of the show's fans, that's considered selling out.
Judging from Yingxu's comment, this kid has absolutely no idea what "wheat bran" (a euphemism for romantic pairings) is, which conveniently saves Shiyao from worrying. If there weren't so little material that it wouldn't even be enough to edit a video, this CP (couple) post wouldn't have been created at all. From now on, she won't be promoting Yingxu as a CP anymore; Yingxu's independent personality actually makes things easier.
After checking the comments under the post, the first two hundred posts were mostly filled with question marks, asking who Yingxu was, where he came from, and why they had never seen him before. There were also some Lin Chengxing fans cursing him for trying to ride on their coattails. After the two hundredth post, more and more people started to enjoy the sweet moments, and then it became unstoppable.
Shi Yao went through all the replies and found that even a dedicated CP (couple pairing) group had been created, with many posts floating around, all accompanied by a dozen or so pictures from Shi Yao's thread.
Shi Yao wiped away her tears. Even the individual fan groups for the couples hadn't been set up yet, but the CP (couple) fan groups had already appeared.
You guys are really fast at taking drugs.
Having confirmed that things weren't going in the wrong direction, with only a small number of Lin Chengxing's die-hard fans criticizing, while the majority of others were shouting "I'm shipping them!", Shi Yao felt relieved, put away her phone, and started preparing her outfit for the afternoon concert.
Chien Ming-chou's concert was at 5 p.m. Shi Yao bought a VIP ticket for the fifth row of the inner field, which also included a rehearsal service. She could enter the venue an hour earlier than the regular audience and watch Chien Ming-chou's private rehearsal.
However, she didn't plan to go. Today, she was going to pretend to be her sister-in-law. Why would her sister-in-law line up in advance just to see the private outfit rehearsal? She gets to see the private outfits every day and can even help her idol put together a private outfit.
Shi Yao leisurely got ready until 11 o'clock, took a comfortable bath in the hotel bathtub, and then asked the hotel to send her lunch. Only after eating and drinking her fill did she start getting dressed.
She didn't wear makeup, just a simple sunscreen, and wore the outfit that had been prepared last night according to the prediction of the "Number One Sister-in-Law". She put on sunglasses and a baseball cap, and carried a delicate little bag before going out.
When we arrived near the venue, it was exactly four o'clock. The sound of rehearsals was playing inside the venue. The fans standing in line outside looked enviously in the direction of the venue, and some were even softly singing along to the rehearsal accompaniment.
Only people in the VIP section of the inner field are qualified to watch the rehearsal. Tickets for that section sell out instantly as soon as they go on sale. They don't have enough budget to buy tickets from scalpers at high prices.
It was a scorching summer afternoon, and the sun was blazing outside the venue. Fans lined up to enter, and a few were handing out support items. Their faces were flushed from the sun, and their hair was soaked with sweat. Some of them had even come from out of town with heavy suitcases, but they showed no dissatisfaction. Instead, they were excitedly discussing with their fellow fans, looking forward to the performance.
Shi Yao found a coffee shop, sat down to enjoy the air conditioning, and couldn't help but sigh as she looked at these sincere and enthusiastic young women.
Jian Mingzhou, you deserve to die.
She sat there for an hour, and the shop was completely empty. The area around the venue was deserted, with hardly any customers except for fans. The shop owner looked at Shi Yao curiously and, seeing that she was still as still as a mountain, kindly reminded her, "Little girl, the concert is about to start. If you don't come in now, it will be too late."
Shi Yao glanced at her phone; it had just reached five o'clock. She stood up, nodded to the shop owner, and then left the coffee shop.
The shop owner stared curiously at her back. This girl had a really good aura. Could she be some minor celebrity? He'd heard that celebrities would invite some close friends to be guest singers at their concerts. Could that girl be a guest singer?
Shi Yao had no idea that she had been sitting there for only an hour before the shop owner guessed she was a guest performer. At this moment, she was standing at the ticket gate, receiving the same curious gazes from the staff and the shop owner, waiting for them to check her ticket.
"Ticket verified. Your seat is in section A, row 5. Just keep walking straight ahead. There will be indicator lights around the area." The staff member handed the ticket back to Shi Yao and turned to make way for her.
The opening theme music had already started playing inside the venue. Seeing that Shi Yao was still walking slowly, the staff couldn't help but remind her, "Madam, the concert has already started. If you don't want to miss the opening song, you'd better hurry up."
Shi Yao, however, showed no sense of urgency and said, "No rush." Then she strolled inside at a leisurely pace.
The ticket inspectors exchanged glances, each with a hint of doubt in their eyes.
No rush?
Chien Ming-chou's opening song is the most anticipated song in every concert because it is different every time. The fan in the VIP seat not only didn't watch the rehearsal, but also casually missed the opening song. What was he thinking?
Perhaps you've seen so many shows that you're no longer interested?
Amidst the staff's speculation, Shi Yao found her seat. She had specifically bought the number one seat in the fifth row from a scalper, which was the seat closest to the stage in the inner aisle. It had no obstructed view and was considered a top-tier seat.
She originally wanted to buy a row, but they were sold out, so she had to settle for five rows instead.
Five rows are fine too. Real sisters-in-law don't care about the front or back of the seat, since they can see each other every day anyway.
Shi Yao comforted herself in this way.
Unlike the excited fans around her, Shi Yao remained motionless, staring at the stage from the moment she sat down, her arms crossed and not a trace of a smile on her lips.
What's most surprising is that she didn't even take off her hat and sunglasses!
Several fans around Shi Yao secretly sized her up several times and couldn't help but mutter to themselves.
What's up with this mysterious woman? How can someone attend a concert without taking off their sunglasses? Are they just there to enjoy the atmosphere?
Not only did he not take off his sunglasses, but he also did not interact with the audience at all. Jian Mingzhou sang and danced on stage and even walked to the edge of the stage to interact with the fans. Basically, wherever he was near the stage, the screams were particularly loud. The fans below the stage desperately raised their banners or support signs, hoping to be seen by their idol.
The fans around Shi Yao were the same. Those who could afford to buy VIP front-row small tickets for the inner field were all financially capable. They basically paid a high price to choose this seat in order to get the fans. Each of them prepared their own carefully made support board. When Jian Mingzhou approached their area, they held up their support board in one hand and their phone in the other to record, while shouting Jian Mingzhou's name loudly, hoping that his attention would fall on them.
After the fans finished their enthusiastic interaction, they returned to their seats to find that Shi Yao still maintained that aloof posture, sitting there calmly and seemingly uninterested in the interaction.
If you didn't know better, you'd think she was the idol.
The little fan next to her secretly complained in her heart, then suddenly her heart skipped a beat and she began to stare intently at Shi Yao's back.
As if she had heard her thoughts, Shi Yao suddenly turned around and stared at her. Even though she was wearing sunglasses, she still felt inexplicably nervous and quickly looked away.
Fortunately, Shi Yao didn't really want to see her. She just glanced at her, then looked away and got up from her seat.
The young fan kept her head down after being caught peeking, and only dared to look up again when she heard the hushed conversation beside her. When she looked up, she found that Shi Yao had disappeared!
"Why did she leave so suddenly? There were still two songs left before the song ended."
"Yeah, did they see it several times already and that's why they left early?"
"That doesn't justify leaving early. The encore is different for each show, and don't you think she's acting weird? Who wears sunglasses the whole time during a performance?"
"Exactly, and he didn't pick up his phone the whole time, he just sat there looking at it, it was really creepy."
"Moreover, when we were interacting and cheering, I felt like she was sneering at us, as if she looked down on us."
"No way... Is she sick? Who upset her?"
Fans close to Shi Yao started whispering amongst themselves when the young fan who had been caught peeking at her suddenly interrupted their discussion: "Don't you guys think she looks a lot like my sister-in-law?"
The words caused an immediate silence. After several seconds, another girl hesitantly spoke up to retort: "Impossible... How could a sister-in-law be so arrogant? This is a concert, you know. She sat right in the middle of the fans and started mocking us?"
Then another person chimed in: "What's impossible? Some wives are obsessed with catching cheaters in the act, or they just enjoy the thrill of seeing someone cheating in front of them. My ex-husband's wife was like that. She even joined the fan group and acted as a fan site manager with us. I even praised her for being diligent in following the schedule. But it turns out she's his wife. A few of us used to complain to her in the small group. She would comfort us on the surface, but then she would laugh at us to my ex-husband every day."
As soon as this person finished speaking, the atmosphere became even colder. Several fans looked rather unhappy. The thing that female fans fear most is the word "sister-in-law," especially the sister-in-law who likes to show affection by sticking her face close to her. Noticing that they had just been sitting with what seemed to be their idol's sister-in-law, the fans felt a mix of emotions.
"Yeah, I knew she was always wearing sunglasses and a hat. She was probably afraid of being recognized as my sister-in-law and having her face revealed..."
"It might not be your sister-in-law. Some rich female fans follow her to every show and can even recite the whole routine. Maybe she left early because there were too many people leaving and she didn't want to squeeze in," a slightly mature-looking curly-haired girl comforted her.
Her words immediately calmed the girls like a stabilizing force, or perhaps they were already mentally trying to find reasons for Jian Mingzhou, because as soon as she finished speaking, they all echoed her:
"Yeah, what are the chances of running into your sister-in-law? And it's quite normal not to take pictures during a performance. I have a friend who doesn't like taking pictures either; she just watches with her eyes. Is she also your sister-in-law?"
"Yeah, yeah, let's not make wild guesses. We should trust Zhouzhou. He's put so much effort into preparing for the concert."
"Exactly! He looked so cool during the rehearsal! Front row seats are great, I'll definitely buy front row tickets again next time!"
The group laughed and joked, putting aside the unpleasant incident, and resumed enjoying the performance on stage. Their expressions seemed normal, but only they knew the turmoil they were experiencing inside.
"What a pity! The ticket was so expensive and I left before I even finished watching it. Sigh!" The system sighed again in Shi Yao's mind.
Shi Yao had already gotten into the pre-arranged car and replied while flipping through her phone's photo album: "What, was Jian Mingzhou's performance so good? You were so captivated by it, you haven't fallen in love with him, have you?"
"Pah! No way, how could I possibly like him? I'm just worried about the money." The system immediately shrieked in rebuttal, "Host, your life points are still in very dangerous danger. I'm just worried about you."
"Oh, you're worried about me again." Shi Yao was too lazy to pay attention to its banter. She selected a picture that she was fairly satisfied with from her album. It was a picture she had just taken while sitting inside the venue. She opened Sweet Potato and posted a note. As usual, there was no caption, only a peace sign emoji.
The picture only shows a corner of the stage and no people are in it, but anyone familiar with stage setups will recognize it as a photo of Jian Mingzhou's concert stage.
Shi Yao switched to her secondary WeChat account and found that Ying Xu hadn't replied to her message yet. It seemed that the recording wasn't finished yet. This program recording was taking so long; it started in the morning and it was almost seven o'clock now and it still hadn't ended.
Recording this show is a real test of the contestants' condition. A group of trainees who haven't debuted yet, apart from the "royal" contestants who receive special attention from the production team, the others won't be cared for. Unlike debuted artists who have teams of makeup artists constantly monitoring their condition and touching up their makeup, if their faces get oily or their hair falls flat during the recording, they'll have to rely entirely on themselves.
Log in to the Green Petal Show account, and the homepage is no longer filled with CP posts like it was in the morning. Instead, it's filled with posts from fans of each idol, praying that their favorite will get a good ranking, or betting on which contestants will be eliminated in the first round.
Shi Yao casually browsed through a few posts and found that there were quite a few comments about the nomination. He suddenly appeared in the group after the first round of voting ended, which did make the group members remember him. But it was too late. The voting had ended, and no one knew him before. Everyone basically thought he would be eliminated in the first round.
It's such a pity I had a crush on him. To be honest, his face is absolutely stunning. It's a shame I'd never seen him before, otherwise I could have at least kept him for three rounds.
If this CP post had come out two days earlier, the guy with the crush wouldn't have been eliminated in the first round.
[Coming out two days earlier might not have made a difference. After reading the post, I went to the main video to look for the guy with the crush, and then I found that the pictures posted in that post basically contained all of his scenes. It's shockingly sparse...]
[Oh God, production team, I'm begging you! Can you please let the guy with the crush stay for one more round? He's not greedy, just one more round is enough. Let him be in the same group as Lin Chengxing just once!]
[The way my crush looked at me when we were choosing teams really broke my heart. Hey, Star, look at him! Didn't you see how much he wanted to be in your team?]
[I hope Shining Idol goes bankrupt soon! I just found out my crush is actually in Class A! Can you believe it? Someone from Class A gets absolutely no screen time, and he's such a handsome guy!]
[Class A? Oh my god, I thought he was in Class F]
[He really is from Class A. I watched the theme song, and he's the only one from Class A who didn't have an ending [smile]. This show is absolutely awful.]
No wonder Cheng Xiangsong chose him in the first round; if it were F, he would definitely have been left until the end. However, his group still had very little screen time.
[Not only that, even in fancams, my face is only shown for half the time [laughing and crying emoji], he's clearly being sarcastic.]
Can you please stop calling her "secretly in love with me"? She has a name: Yingxu.
Does it matter? He's going to be eliminated anyway, and if it weren't for that crush post, who would even know him? Why can't we call him that?
Shi Yao glanced at the forum replies and found that the current situation was very favorable to Ying Xu. Before she even took any action, some fans had already noticed that Ying Xu had very few scenes, and some were even speaking out for him.
However, almost everyone assumed he would be eliminated in the first round, so the fans of the popular trainees didn't take it seriously. This is also why Lin Chengxing's fans didn't react at all when their favorite trainee was being dragged into the controversy.
Since they're going to be eliminated anyway, they're not a threat. If the voting hadn't stopped yet, they'd have to come out and "break up the couple."
Beware of being sucked dry!
However, Yi Shun's result was destined to disappoint them. Ying Xu was not eliminated, and in fact, she was not even at the bottom of the rankings. Ying's parents were very generous and bought a lot of milk tickets, which helped to raise Ying Xu's ranking to the forties.
I imagine Yingxu was stunned when she heard her ranking.
Unfortunately, this ranking in the original book did not change his outcome; instead, it hastened his elimination. The production team noticed the abnormality in his votes, cut his scenes even more, and he was eliminated in the second round at lightning speed.
Without the help of any CP (couple) posts, no fans noticed him, and no one questioned the show's unfair screen time allocation, so he was eliminated quietly. But things are different now. Ying Xu has gained some recognition among the fans of "Shining Idol," although he's far from being a top star, at least people are looking for clips of him that have appeared.
In other words, even if Shi Yao didn't continue to help with the operation, Xu would not have been silently eliminated by the program team like in the original book.
His current online presence is enough for the production team to take him seriously; even if they're just going through the motions, they'll still dedicate some time to him.
Shi Yao waited until 11 p.m., but still did not receive the promised reply.
The recording for the ranking announcement must have finished long ago, but Yingxu hasn't started filming yet. She's probably stunned by the rankings, or she's busy saying goodbye to her eliminated friends.
Since there was nothing urgent, Shi Yao simply went to sleep and decided to deal with it tomorrow.
Just as she had predicted, Yingxu was indeed in a state of chaos at the moment.
The ranking announcement took a full ten hours to record, longer than he had anticipated, almost matching the recording time of the initial stage performance. Sixty people advanced in this round, and each of them had to give a speech. In addition, the PD had to create suspense and keep people in suspense, and there was also a break for makeup touch-ups. All of this added up to ten hours of recording. With the four hours of makeup and waiting time before the recording, Yeong-hsu hadn't eaten for a full fourteen hours.
But he felt no hunger at all, because he was too shocked.
He advanced, and ranked forty-fourth.
He didn't get eliminated in the first round, nor did he barely qualify; he finished in 44th place.
Actually, after reading out the names of the 59th and 50th rounds, Yingxu had already given up hope. In his estimation, his most promising rankings were these few positions. He didn't even dare to think about the 60th and 61st positions, which were special positions that guaranteed him a full time for his promotion speech. How could a non-paying player like him possibly have that?
Who knew he was ranked forty-fourth!
When the PD called out his name, he thought he was hallucinating. It wasn't until his roommate jumped up and hugged him excitedly that he realized he had really advanced.
As he walked onto the stage, he heard curious questions from other trainees beside him, asking who he was. The PD was also not very familiar with him. The other trainees all had their share of jokes, but he was the only one without.
But he didn't care. His mind was filled with the fact that he had actually advanced. No matter how badly the production team treated him, all he could think about at that moment was joy.
When he was giving his acceptance speech, his mind was a complete mess. He couldn't even remember what he said. It was probably just some random stuff, but it didn't matter anyway, since it would all be cut out.
He then sat blankly in his seat, watching the other contestants move up to his seat one by one. During the intermission, makeup artists came in to touch up the makeup of the popular contestants, while the other contestants who weren't eligible for touch-ups also took out pre-prepared blotting papers and powder compacts from their pockets for simple touch-ups.
Yingxu hadn't prepared in advance. The forty-third contestant next to him saw him standing there in a daze and kindly offered to lend him her powder compact. However, she found that his base makeup was flawless and there was no shine at all, so she reluctantly withdrew her hand.
Yingxu remained in a daze throughout the entire ranking announcement recording. The sudden advancement was too much of a shock for him, and he couldn't regain his ability to think clearly. It was only when he thought about the next stage performance that he managed to muster his energy to listen carefully to the speeches of the advancing contestants and try to remember their characteristics.
To his shame, although he has been in the factory for more than a month, he can only remember a handful of people. He is socially awkward and has a very limited social circle. He is not a popular player and no one takes the initiative to socialize with him. The only people he can remember now, besides a few roommates and teammates from the first public performance, are the few he often encounters in the practice room.
And they were all eliminated.
In an instant, Yingxu lost everyone he knew. Realizing this, he suddenly felt lost and confused, his gaze drifting absently as he looked at the contestants standing below the stage. He carefully observed each contestant who walked up, trying to remember their faces, wondering which ones would become his future roommates and teammates.
Most of the contestants didn't notice Yingxu's gaze, and walked to their seats with either the joy of advancing or the regret of their rankings. Only one contestant was a bit strange.
That seemed to be a contestant with high popularity, as he was ranked fourth, which was already a high position among the debut positions, a position that Yingxu wouldn't even dare to dream of.
Yingxu noticed that the fourth-ranked contestant... seemed to be named Lin Chengxing. He kept staring at him as he went upstairs, his gaze complicated and mixed with... embarrassment? Yingxu was stunned. Could it be that his gaze was too direct, making the other person feel embarrassed?
Yingxu quickly looked away, and only turned to secretly observe again after the other person had stepped over the step he was on. As a result, he ran into the other person's gaze again, and the other person turned around too!
Yingxu noticed that this time, in addition to the previous complexity, there seemed to be more... uh, aggrieved look in the other person's eyes?
Wronged?
Ying Xu was bewildered. Why did he feel wronged? He hadn't done anything to offend him. He racked his brains for a long time, confirming that he had no prior interaction with this contestant named Lin Chengxing before he felt relieved. But at the same time, he was even more puzzled. This contestant's eyes seemed to hold a lot of stories, as if he had something to say to him. Why was that?
One of them is a popular contestant who has secured a high position in the debut lineup, while the other is a nobody who has received no attention. They had never crossed paths before, so why would Lin Chengxing want to talk to him?
Yingxu originally thought that he would sit in his seat a little longer after the recording ended to see if Lin Chengxing would come over and talk to him. However, as soon as the recording ended, he was surrounded by his roommates and completely forgot about the matter.
When he got back to his dorm, he realized that he seemed to have forgotten something.
"See? I told you, Yingxu, you're our dorm's only hope. You really lived up to my expectations, well done!" The dorm leader patted Yingxu's shoulder hard, his eyes red, clearly having just finished crying.
The other roommates also congratulated Yingxu. One of them, seeing Yingxu's stunned expression, felt a little bitter and couldn't help but ask curiously, "I didn't expect you to have so many fans, Lao Si. You're number forty-four, that's really high. Speaking of which, you really have a connection with the number four."
Yingxu was the youngest of the four in the dormitory, so they sometimes called him "Old Fourth". However, the dormitory head felt that the number four was not a good number and usually didn't allow him to be called that. Hearing what that person said, he looked over in disapproval.
Yingxu failed to detect the hidden sharpness in her roommate's words and honestly replied, "I didn't know I would rank so high. I don't have many fans." After saying that, she suddenly paused, as if she remembered something.
Wait a minute, it seems he does have fans. This morning he checked his fan page and found he had gained 3,000 new followers!
He was terrified, thinking that someone had accidentally bought followers for his super topic. But after looking at the surge in posts in the super topic, he felt it didn't seem like it. Although he couldn't understand those posts, he could tell that they were talking about him.
He seems to have gained a lot of fans overnight.
Yingxu immediately thought of Shiyao and quickly sent her a message. Unfortunately, Shiyao didn't seem to be up yet. He waited until it was time to put on makeup but still didn't receive a reply. He had no choice but to turn off his phone and put the matter aside for the time being.
A day had passed, and the other party must have replied long ago. Yingxu quickly took out her phone, and her eyes lit up when she saw the reply, but then she looked a little confused. Shiyao did not explain the matter.
He didn't miss her last words; she said he would definitely advance.
How did she know?
He did advance, and with a relatively high ranking for him. Was this within the other party's expectations?
During our conversations over this period, she consistently appeared confident and her tone was very firm. He had been wondering why, but now it seems she was indeed very sure of herself.
Who exactly is she?
Yingxu's fingers, which were resting on the keyboard, paused. After a few moments of hesitation, he ultimately did not type out what he wanted to say, but instead changed his sentence.
[Promise: I advanced, to forty-fourth place.]
[Promise: Thank you.]
After sending that message, he felt inexplicably melancholy. He was overjoyed at advancing to the next level, but he didn't know who to share it with.
He participated in "Shining Idol" without his family's knowledge. His parents did not support him becoming a trainee. He had previously learned singing and dancing under the guise of being interested in learning street dance. Every time he secretly practiced dance at home, he felt like a thief.
Signing up for "Shining Idol" was something he had thought about for a long time. From the first round of auditions to receiving the recording notice, he did it all by himself. The only person around him who knew about it was his former dance tutor. He also called his tutor during the segment on the show where he called his family.
He came to the Yuyang Film and Television Base for seclusion, telling his parents that he had something to do at school and needed to undergo closed training for a period of time. Fortunately, his parents didn't think too much about it, otherwise it would have been difficult to fool them.
It was already close to midnight, and the dance teacher must have been asleep. After much effort, Yingxu finally managed to find the other party's business card, but after thinking about it, she decided to give up and not bother the teacher.
Yingxu sat on the bed, lost in thought, her phone screen still lit up, but she couldn't find anyone to share her joy with.
Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate once, then several times in succession.
[Congratulations on AAA's growth and success!]
[AAA's growth and strength: I told you you could do it!]
[AAA's growth and success: You're welcome, this ranking is due to your own efforts, not mine]
[AAA is growing bigger and stronger: Forty-fourth place is nothing, you'll definitely be in a debut position in the next round of advancement]
The faint sadness lingering in Yingxu's heart was instantly dispelled by Shi Yao's playful teasing, and her peach blossom eyes curved into crescent moons.
Teacher Daqiang is still as humorous as ever.
Oh right, Teacher Daqiang said not to call her Teacher Daqiang. He raised his head and thought about it carefully, then lowered his head and carefully typed a line on the screen.
[Promise: Thank you, Sister Daqiang.]
He was truly grateful to have someone who was willing to listen to him, share his joy, and encourage him at this moment. As for what the other person said about debuting, he took it as a joke.
[AAA's growth and strengthening: ...]
What is it about this child that makes him so fixated on the nickname "Daqiang"?
Shi Yao likes to keep her phone on silent when she sleeps, but she turned it on again after missing the message from Yingxu this morning. After all, she was the one who told people to keep their phones on, but she was the one who failed to do so.
She had only been asleep for less than half an hour when she was woken up by her WeChat ringtone. Shi Yao forced herself to open her eyes and reply to a few messages, but seeing the other party's reply, she thought she might as well go back to sleep.
She really wanted to argue again not to call her "Sister Daqiang," but she felt that if she did, the other person would probably give her a new nickname, "Daqiang x," since the child seemed quite serious.
Fine, Daqiang it is.
She's big and strong, how can she not be considered one?
Shi Yao readily agreed to spoil him and accepted the title that left her speechless with complaints.
[AAA is growing bigger and stronger: You're going to record the second public performance song selection tomorrow, right? You must be exhausted after recording for so long today. Get some rest and be in good shape; you can't have any skin problems on camera!]
[Promise: Okay.]
[Promise: Goodnight, Sister Daqiang.]
[AAA is growing bigger and stronger:]
[AAA grows bigger and stronger: Good night :)]
I really want to block the name "Daqiang" from Yingxu's mind!
...
The concert was still scheduled for 5 p.m. on the second day. Just like the day before, Shi Yao chose to enter late. This time, the staff at the entrance recognized her and didn't remind her to hurry up.
Before entering the venue, Shi Yao specifically checked the situation of Jian Mingzhou's fan circle on social media and found that it seemed to be stable for the time being. However, when searching for the nickname square, she saw a few fan accounts that were upset and complaining about their sister-in-law.
It seems there is still some impact, but the frontline fans and big fans are working together to cover it up and prevent the smaller, more casual fans from knowing the truth about the crisis.
It's alright, she slowly added fuel to the fire.
Shi Yao's seat for the second day was in the sixth row of the VIP area on the right side of the main stage, near the aisle, almost directly opposite her seat from the previous day.
Actually, she could have bought a front-row seat the next day, but after yesterday, she didn't want to buy one anymore. She found that sitting a little further back, closer to where the fans were, would be more effective.
Once inside, she did not remove her sunglasses or hat, just like yesterday. She leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed and a cold expression on her face, only giving a fleeting smile when Jian Mingzhou occasionally glanced over.
Unlike yesterday when she was completely unprepared, today some of the fans sitting around Shi Yao seemed to have heard about what happened yesterday, and there were quite a few people secretly observing her. Shi Yao was satisfied, and the smile on her face was even more genuine.
To the fans around her, her smile seemed somewhat eerie, as if she were showing off.
Shi Yao timed it precisely, and got up to leave when there were only two songs left. She could feel a noticeable commotion in the VIP areas on both sides after she got up.
The fans were whispering among themselves.
Jian Mingzhou on stage was a little confused. He didn't know what was going on below the stage, but he could feel that the fans today were obviously not as enthusiastic as yesterday, especially the fans in the front row of the inner field. Yesterday, almost everyone had a support sign, but today there were half as many people holding them.
Strange, could it be that he got tired from chasing the weightlifting for two days in a row?
He sang for two days straight and he didn't even complain of being tired.
Back at the hotel, Shi Yao, as usual, selected a picture, opened the Sweet Potato app to post, then chose a movie to watch, while waiting for dinner to be delivered. After watching the movie, she took a bath and went to sleep soundly.
The first thing Shi Yao did when she woke up the next day was to log onto Weibo and stalk Jian Mingzhou's fan circle.
As expected, after one night, many more fans used alternate accounts to break their composure, and it wasn't just alternate accounts. Although the main fans tried to hide it, the Shanghai concert lasted for three days, and many fans attended. There were bound to be a few who couldn't resist and used their main accounts to break their composure, which was then discovered by the smaller fans, and the fandom started to stir.
However, the matter was quickly suppressed by the major fans. After all, it was only being spread by word of mouth among some offline fans, and there was no concrete evidence of pictures or videos. The smaller fans were easy to appease and soon stopped worrying.
However, those fans who actually went to the offline event, as well as Jian Mingzhou's core fan circle, were not calm. Most of them tried to maintain stability on Weibo, but then turned around and opened WeChat groups to rant and complain.
Shi Yao had a sudden inspiration and opened the Weibo account of the No. 1 Sister-in-law, and sure enough, she saw the other party's new post.
The other party also seemed to be stalking the fan circle intensely, and noticed the "sister-in-law incident" immediately. The new Weibo post was not as calm as usual, but rather somewhat impatient, and he posted three insults in a row.
Shi Yao smiled slightly, knowing that everyone was anxious, but she wasn't.
Don't panic, there's still one day left.
"Boss, I'm going to use an attention-grabbing buff today. It will take effect during the security check later, understand?"
"Okay, host."
Shi Yao's seat today was not in the inner field. She bought the best seat on the first floor of the stands, the first row on the right side near the small stage. Sometimes the lights from the venue would sweep across the area, and the view was excellent whether looking directly at the stage or at the big screen. The price was not cheaper than the front row in the inner field.
This is the best spot she carefully selected after two days of analysis and personal experience. It's a spot that everyone can see immediately, and with the eye-catching buff that follows, she's sure to become the focus of the entire event.
The security checkpoint staff were idly staring blankly. As tour staff, they had listened to Jian Mingzhou's performance countless times outside the venue, and their ears were practically calloused from hearing it so much.
That mysterious lady didn't seem to come today... Oh, she's here!
The staff member caught a glimpse of Shi Yao, who was wearing sunglasses, walking slowly towards them from a distance. For some reason, seeing her today made the strange feeling in their heart even stronger.
Why is that?
He couldn't take his eyes off Shi Yao until the tickets were checked and she disappeared from his sight.
Finally, he realized what was strange about the other person today.
That mysterious lady seems to be attracting a lot of attention today?
Author's Note: This is now a paid chapter! Pretty long, right? (Proudly puffing out his chest) Thank you all for your subscriptions and support! There will be red envelopes dropping in the comments!
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-06-06 23:56:05 and 2024-06-07 23:56:20!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Luo Sishi (10 bottles); Yi Yi Shijie (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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