novelraw Chapter 272 - 265: 6 Songs
Chapter 272 - 265: 6 Songs
Beside Li Ke was a large coffee pot, filled with dark, strong coffee.
He had no plans of sleeping tonight.
Because he knew that after the second public performance ended, the black fans would definitely bombard "Village Flower" with hate, and he was already prepared for a "battle to the death."
The support club had already sent out notices across all groups, requesting all "villagers" to control the comments over the next two days. Furthermore, it was leaked that the Meng family’s fans were about to step into the fray.
When it came to Meng Meixuan’s fans, Li Ke felt a deep hatred, as if he wanted mutual destruction.
They clung to Village Flower like maniacs, relentlessly throwing hate.
In Li Ke’s opinion, the Meng family’s fans were simply jealous of Village Flower’s popularity and how far she had broken out of her circle.
There were many people like Li Ke in the chat groups.
Worrying day in and day out, fighting for their "idol" across multiple platforms, liking, controlling comments, reporting all day long.
Some people were so devoted to casting votes for their idols that they chose to eat only one meal per day, drinking tap water when thirsty.
Although Li Ke hadn’t reached that point, his formerly comfortable lifestyle had also taken a hit, now adopting an austerity mindset.
Ever since he started voting for Village Flower, he hadn’t bought a single new outfit nor dined in a high-end restaurant. Nearly all his money had been poured into the voting campaign.
He truly admired the "big bosses" in the chat groups, throwing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars into the effort.
Round after round of crowdfunding, card purchases, and ballot casting had turned him into a gambler of sorts.
Each day, he believed that with just a little more effort and investment, he could turn the tide and help Village Flower debut.
Things were progressing as he had envisioned. Viewing the various data analyses and voting results posted in the groups made him indescribably excited.
Every time he saw Village Flower crying, his heart ached terribly. He felt compelled to protect her, to cherish her, even if the entire world abandoned her.
With his heart filled with frustration, he vowed to fight to the end.
Like Li Ke, Xiao Du and Mu Yunchu were also preparing for battle.
Xiao Du had already drafted a meticulously worded, data-supported article to expose Penguin’s manipulation of votes.
However, when the program aired, he was stunned.
The number of likes for Ye Yuwei’s group had changed—it wasn’t the same data he saw when he attended the event live.
The enraged Xiao Du recalculated the likes, and according to the voting rules announced by Penguin, everything was flawless this time.
"Dammit!" Xiao Du couldn’t suppress his fury.
"How could this happen? Did they find loopholes during the editing process?" Mu Yunchu frowned.
"No, their editing process is only about reviewing content. These like numbers must have been determined before the show started airing."
After thinking for a while, Xiao Du continued, "That day, I was too impulsive. I shouldn’t have stormed off; they must have been alerted."
"Xiao Du, what do we do now?"
"Let’s watch the online sentiment after the performance airs!"
Feeling regret, Xiao Du sighed. This could’ve been a great opportunity to strike back at Penguin.
"Xiao Du, take a break! You haven’t rested properly these past few days. Leave the rest to me," said Mu Yunchu, distressed by Xiao Du’s physical state.
"...Alright then. I feel like I really can’t keep this up anymore."
Xiao Du realized he was indeed exhausted and lay down on the bed nearby.
"What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll cook."
"Let’s order takeout. You’re tired too."
Xiao Du didn’t want Mu Yunchu to overexert herself.
"It’s fine. Ordering takeout all the time isn’t good for health; those things aren’t hygienic."
Mu Yunchu’s gaze was gentle, like a mother caring for her child.
The nearly three-and-a-half-hour program concluded amidst a flood of bullet comments.
Various pieces of information about this performance began appearing on major platforms.
Much of the criticism aimed at Meng Meixuan stemmed from her taking the main C-position. Other than Meng Meixuan’s fans, almost everyone else was accusing Penguin of favoritism.
Meng Meixuan’s fans, however, were smug, boasting everywhere and confidently asserting that their "idol" was secure. They even mocked their sworn rival Lv Fangxin.
These actions not only enraged Village Flower’s fans but also angered Wu Zixuan’s and Ye Yuwei’s fanbases.
Wu Zixuan’s fans naturally wanted to fight for the C-position, while Ye Yuwei’s fans, after enduring a nationwide backlash and subsequently overturning their public image, also got ambitious about the C-position.
In truth, aside from Lv Fangxin’s fanbase, Ye Yuwei’s fanbase was now formidable as well.
Furthermore, Ye Yuwei’s fans had always been unhappy about Penguin’s preferential treatment of Meng Meixuan. They believed their "idol" was the true all-around ACE.
Previously, due to various events, Ye Yuwei’s fanbase had been keeping a low profile and avoided any "arena battles."
This time, however, they seemed reinvigorated, launching a full-scale push for their idol across the internet.
These four fanbases almost continuously clashed, dominating 80% of the topics surrounding the show.
Still, others had their moments too.
For instance, Li Shihan’s reputation took a sudden positive turn online.
Many sympathized with her decision to concede the C-position, and rumors from behind the scenes praised her for being kind-hearted and maintaining good relationships with every contestant. Naturally, under such circumstances, no one would attack her.
But even this became fodder to criticize Lv Fangxin.
While Lv Fangxin had also relinquished the C-position to Liu Feiyu during the performance, black fans claimed that Li Shihan’s decision was a sign of generosity, while Lv Fangxin’s was out of incompetence.
In reality, within a proper girl group performance, the C-position is typically reserved for the strongest member.
However, Lv Fangxin’s team was merely a one-time collaboration, so every member wanting to be noticed by the audience naturally fought for the C-position, without worrying about the overall performance.
Lv Fangxin wasn’t the actual C-position this time, as she gave it to Liu Feiyu for the sake of team cohesion and delivering a complete stage performance.
After the second public performance, Wang Na suddenly surged in online popularity.
Her name was buzzing across group chats, Weibo, QQ groups, and other platforms.
Her pictures were edited into fun and creative visuals, perfectly appealing to trend-chasing individuals from the 90s and 00s generations.
People who read the "promo essays" written about Wang Na felt that she represented someone authentic, self-assured, and aligned with young people’s lifestyles and forms of expression.
Especially inspiring were her symbolic ties to the "independent woman" image championed by modern media, resonating with many naive young girls.
In reality, this exposure was the result of collusion between Penguin and Wang Na’s company to artificially inflate her presence.
Otherwise, someone as unknown and invisible as Wang Na could never attract so many profit-driven self-media platforms to promote her.
No matter how talented or beautiful you are, it’s impossible to dominate self-media entertainment headlines overnight and become a major topic.
Even Lv Fangxin had to gradually gain media attention after gaining traction within fan circles and thanks to the increasing popularity of the show.
At the end of this episode, Tian Jiaxuan announced six original songs.
The C-position for these six songs would be awarded to contestants among the top 36.
In other words, if fans wanted their favorite contestant to obtain the C-position for a particular song, they’d have to vote for her and select the song, with the highest vote-getter securing the spot.
This voting method by Penguin frustrated many viewers.
Since it essentially required fans to cast two types of votes for their idols: ranking votes for advancement and song-specific C-position votes.
Despite the dissatisfaction across fanbases, everyone still had to vote.
After all, this was the final public performance before the grand finale.
To ensure their favorite contestant could shine more brightly and affirm their fanbase’s strength and popularity, everyone was determined to fight for the C-position even if it meant exhausting themselves.