Luo Xin sat backstage feeling a bit bored because all the contestants had finished performing, and now it was the program team's time to count the on-site votes.
According to the rules, whether the team or individual came in first, they would receive a good number of additional votes.
However, with the basic number of votes increasing, the small bonus was basically insignificant compared to the millions or tens of millions of votes that the top contestants received.
It might be useful for some amateur contestants at the beginning, but it was basically useless at other times.
Moreover, when the contestants were no longer amateurs on the same starting line, on-site voting was about popularity and backstage support, not actual on-site performance, and the number of votes didn't mean much.
And were there more fans of Shao Xiangchen today than anyone else?
So Luo Xin didn't have to worry about anything; it was a sure thing that Shao Xiangchen would come in first.
Only he was relaxed, while Huang Ze felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.
He always considered himself superior in ability, and although he might occasionally appear arrogant, that arrogance came entirely from his confidence in his own ability.
From childhood to adulthood, he basically never got second place in any exam.
The violin was the same. From the beginner level to now, whether it was taking exams or performing live, he always crushed everyone in his peer group.
But at this moment, he couldn't help but begin to doubt himself.
Were all those exams and competitions he participated in real?
If he got the C position this time by using dishonorable means, then everything in the past might have been...
Huang Ze was deeply frightened, and he didn't even dare to look at Luo Xin more than once, as if not looking at him would make him the same as before, not the person who got the C position on stage by using dirty tricks.
Huang Ze couldn't blame Luo Xin because Luo Xin was a victim.
He couldn't blame the program team either because they also had their own way of doing things.
He couldn't even blame his own family because they also wanted to help him "realize his dream."
In the end, he realized that the only person he could blame was himself.
Huang Ze never really cared about the ranking or whether he could get the C position in competitions.
He only participated in this competition because his mentor said that his works lacked life, so he was asked to experience different things in different areas. In fact, besides this competition, he also arranged activities such as teaching and going to the mountains to collect inspiration.
But he never told his family about these things.
He was very serious in the program because he was very devout about music, and he did learn a lot from the competition.
Perhaps it was his attitude that caused them to misunderstand him, so they did such a thing.
Huang Ze thought for a long time. Since the incident had happened, he didn't want to say that he was unaware or completely innocent.
He would take responsibility for his actions.
-----
That night, when the votes were counted, it turned out that the dance group led by Shao Xiangchen was indeed ahead in votes, and Shao Xiangchen personally won first place in the dance group, which made all the planning that Luo Xin had done worthwhile.
As for the rap group, it was finally Xun Xiao who returned to his true form, with the help of his teammate Yu Nian and others with a northeastern accent, they ignited the audience with a high-speed rap performance and won first place. It is worth mentioning that the second place was surprisingly "The Ascetic Monk". Even Tang listened to the "Great Compassion Mantra" to relieve stress before going to bed.
As for the vocal group where Luo Xin and Huang Ze were in, it's a bit embarrassing to say that they won the contest by a large margin, leaving no suspense for the program group to announce the result directly.
However, in the selection of the individual first place in the vocal group, Luo Xin and Huang Ze's votes were very close.
It's understandable that Huangze got the C position, but the reason why Luo Xin could compete with Huang Ze was purely because he added a lot of drama to himself.
When he gave the C position to Huangze, Luo Xin exchanged the autonomy of the stage setting with the program group with this condition, and even obtained a certain degree of song adaptation rights.
It should be noted that this is a treatment that not even Shao Xiangchen, the program's ratings leader, has.
After obtaining these rights, Luo Xin stayed up all night watching highlights of all the exciting talent shows from both domestic and international competitions in recent years. Only then did he come up with the final performance format, which was almost pushing the program group's limits.
According to the program group's plan, "Bloody Love Story" was originally just an ordinary performance stage, at most with lower stage lighting and black clothing. However, Luo Xin transformed it into a stage play, even changing the solo C to a dual C, which greatly enriched the effect.
In the end, Huang Ze, the main C, won the individual first place in the vocal group by a narrow margin over Luo Xin.
Luo Xin congratulated him sincerely.
Revenge is best served immediately.
He felt that he had said enough on stage to Huangze, who was innocent and well-protected.
Moreover, thanks to Huang Ze, Luo Xin couldn't guarantee that the original version would have been better than the current one, so he counted his blessings.
For all of the above reasons, Luo Xin was no longer angry with Huang Ze. After all, Huang Ze already had more popularity than him, so this result was reasonable.
However, for Huang Ze, this congratulation sounded like a real mockery, and he forced a smile while feeling mixed emotions.
After a night of excitement, everyone was physically and mentally exhausted. They were also anticipating the next day's elimination recording, which made them feel even more tired. As a result, they didn't go to the convenience store or eat any late-night snacks. Instead, they all went back to sleep.
Luo Xin, despite feeling sleepy, still managed to complete his daily data tasks with determination. However, he went to bed much earlier than usual.
Meanwhile, the fans who had finished watching the program began a new round of crying and howling, as well as exposing secrets.
The program was once again being discussed on related forums.
"Breaking News!!!! The second male stage of '001' was so stunning! It's the best second male stage in the entertainment industry in the past decade, and we're not exaggerating!"
This was a serious compliment with a little bit of bias towards their own idol.
"The second male stage exposed how many people are bad at singing and dancing. They can't even keep up with the top performers."
This is a professional troll who stirs up trouble and spreads brainwashing propaganda.
"I couldn't take pictures, so I can only describe it verbally. Damn, the concentration of handsome guys in '001' is too high! I'm going to drown in my own drool tonight."
...This is just a typical infatuated fan.
"U1S1, the stage of '001' is going to be explosive this time. You'll know when you watch the competition. Welcome to join the discussion [with spoilers]."
This is the official promotion of the program.
Major online platforms have serious discussions about the stage and contestants, but at the end of every program, there's always a "watercooler" conversation. People are used to it and don't think much of it. Occasionally, they even join in the fun.
But this time, a bizarre green post stood out among the discussions about the show. It was short, had no context, didn't name names, nor did it provide any details. It didn't even mention the name of the show. However, it suddenly became a hot topic on the forum, and various Weibo marketing accounts even shared screenshots of it, sparking a heated debate on Weibo.
It gave the program a lot of attention.
-----
Initially, the post was shared in a CP group of an internal entertainment forum. Therefore, all the replies were from CP fans, who had their own fantasies:
"It must be Xinyoulin and Xixi! I've seen them flirting for a long time. They're such a cute couple. Let them show their love and let's move on."
"Clearly, it's He Guangtong and Xincheng. They're perfect for each other. Please get married immediately!"
"Is no one shipping ALL? The only omega among a bunch of alpha teammates, and he's left out in the cold. I'm already fainting!!!"
"Can I say something? Does anyone ship Shao Xiangchen and Luo Xin? We're so cold that we don't even have a CP name."
However, as the saying goes, CP fans have a twisted mind.
Therefore, in the eyes of the fans, this post was a cheap and unhealthy way to scrutinize their idols. They also accused the poster of trying to ride on their idols' popularity. This was unforgivable!
The radical fans, who were undercover in the CP group, quickly responded with sarcastic comments, turning the peaceful post into a mess.
But that wasn't enough. They then posted the thread on a well-known entertainment forum, hoping to get more people to join the bashing. However, no one cared about the CP fans' comments, which lacked any fighting power. Instead, they found another angle and turned the post into this:
"Hahaha, are you guys serious? Did you really kiss on stage?"
"Kongtong +1"
"Am I the only one curious about who kissed whom?"
"You superheroes are amazing. You even dared to kiss in public. Is the next step doing it? Scary, scary."
In a few words, it turned out that someone had kissed on stage, and the topic continued to spread, causing a commotion for over ten pages and making it to the homepage of a forum.
Eventually, it was anonymously exposed on Weibo that in a popular talent show, two high-profile contestants had kissed on stage, causing the production team to turn off the lights in shock. The news had been blocked.
Weibo is a platform where fans, anti-fans, studios, and talent agencies are present, making it a complex environment. Therefore, people from different circles had something to say about this sensational headline, expressing their opinions.
Various clarifications and mudslinging also flooded the comments section, making the situation even more exciting.
Of course, everyone knew that the "popular talent show" referred to in the post was "Super Idol 001." With all the commotion, the CPs who were supposed to be confined to their small circle appeared in front of everyone.
Speaking of the CPs in "Super Idol 001," the hottest one was the pairing of Luo Xin and Shang Lin, known as "Xin You Lin Xi."
Their classic combination of queen and loyal dog helped each other out of their respective slumps and reached the pinnacle together. When one stood on the mountaintop, the first thing they thought of was to pull the other up. Finally, they reunited on stage, making a fool of themselves and working hard together. One word, adorable!
The second most popular pairing was Wen Tongbai and Shao Xiangchen's "He Guang Tong Chen."
As a double-king combination, they focused on strength and were both opponents and the closest people to each other. They shed sweat and tears together, dominating the stage, and only had eyes for each other.
There were also seniors and juniors from the same company, who started off unfamiliar but eventually became close. They comforted each other when one cried, stayed up late to teach each other dance moves, and found joy in their friendship.
Classic frenemies were also formed when they were grouped together. They initially thought poorly of each other's skills, but were eventually impressed by each other's professionalism. They went from fighting to becoming the best of teammates.
With only a few dozen people, the number of CPs was so numerous that it was impossible to count, not to mention the ones that were broken up or reversed. It was truly amazing and overwhelming.
As Luo Xin had hoped, the popularity of the CPs brought a surge of fans to both parties. For example, Luo Xin's popularity had risen to the top 20 on the real-time popularity rankings, despite his most recent performance being the awkward stage of "Qi Tian Da Sheng" that he didn't want to watch again.
However, with so many popular CPs, even the yet-to-be-launched "Xing Xiang CP" was drowned out in the tide of CPs, and couldn't even create a ripple.
Luo Xin, who was busy with the competition and analyzing data for Shao Xiangchen, didn't realize that his CP journey had barely begun and seemed to be ending already.
-----
Goodbyes are always part of competitions. When the time comes, everyone has to leave.
Luo Xin was very open-minded about this. He wasn't well-liked and wasn't the type of contestant who socialized much, so he didn't know many people. This made him very calm when facing elimination, and he even had other things to think about.
This is how an amateur personal trainee with a non-celebrity background rolls.
As usual, they should start announcing the qualifiers from the last ones.
Many contestants who were on the edge of elimination last time were already praying, visibly nervous.
Luo Xin looked around, wondering if it was just his imagination, but he didn't see Huang Ze?
Just then, the mentors appeared.
Lin Jiawen didn't seem as easygoing as usual, and the other mentors weren't joking around either. They looked very serious.
The contestants below involuntarily quieted down and nervously looked up at the stage, afraid of hearing bad news.
Without wasting much time, Lin Jiawen picked up the microphone and said, "Today is the day of departure for many of you contestants, and I believe you all know that. But--"
She quickly changed the subject and smiled, "Not all goodbyes are sad."
"Today, I want to share some good news with all of you. One of our contestants is about to leave us."
Many people thought they misheard when they heard this. How could this be good news?
Lin Jiawen continued, "Congratulations to contestant Huang Ze. He has been accepted into the prestigious E Country Music Royal Classical Academy. Due to academic reasons, he unfortunately cannot continue the competition. However, being able to study at such a prestigious institution is also a very happy thing."
After speaking, she led the applause.
In the applause of the other contestants, Huang Ze, whom Luo Xin had not seen until now, finally appeared and slowly walked out from backstage.
He was going to withdraw from the competition.
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