"Xiao Yue, Lv Fangxin surprisingly doesn’t have any support group." Sun Miao returned to the broadcasting room.
"The data is absolutely not faked. Lv Fangxin’s fans are from all over the country, and they’re all individual fans. Even the IP addresses from their vote submissions don’t match," Yang Xiaoyue frowned.
If it weren’t for the fact that Lv Fangxin’s data had gone through strict audits, Yang Xiaoyue would have suspected that her company was manipulating things behind the scenes.
"Xiao Yue, I want you to send a few more people for interviews. Try to talk to more of Lv Fangxin’s fans and find out how they started supporting her. I need to understand this."
"...Alright, I’ll send so more people," Yang Xiaoyue thought for a mont. Lv Fangxin was crucial to the show. Despite the current manpower shortage, she decided to dispatch more staff.
After over an hour of investigation, Sun Miao finally understood everything.
It turned out that most of Lv Fangxin’s fans were not traditional idol-followers at all. These people had proper, steady jobs and weren’t interested in celebrities.
The reason they were supporting Lv Fangxin now was because she resonated deeply with their emotions, and thanks to her incredibly captivating appearance.
The emotional resonance ca from these fans feeling weary of the endless scheming and deception in the world—they were tired of the complexities of the mundane.
Seeing this pure, earnest, and amusing young girl chasing her dreams struck a chord with them.
Add to this Lv Fangxin’s face, which looked like it ca straight out of a comic book template, and it stirred the hearts of these older n.
This discovery made Sun Miao and Yang Xiaoyue extrely excited—it showed that their show had transcended typical boundaries.
It had broken through the barriers of idol fan culture and reached the wider audience.
"I think the strategy for Lv Fangxin needs to be adjusted," Sun Miao remarked.
"I think we should wait until after the performance. This performance is practically a do-or-die battle," Yang Xiaoyue spoke with a faint tone, but the seriousness in her voice was unmistakable.
Li Ke was entering the broadcast hall for the first ti.
Looking around, the venue was packed with people, and the stage was rather extravagant.
The ceiling was filled with a maze-like array of tal fras holding floodlights and beam lights. There were countless lamps—impossible to quantify.
At the front of the stage, multiple caran stood with six caras, plus an enormous crane-mounted cara. Even on the electronic screens behind the stage, caras were positioned.
The audience seats were full of people wrapped in towels, dressed in matching outfits. Their pockets were stuffed with three glow sticks, along with handheld signs and banners.
Before entering, the staff had strictly checked their personal belongings.
Only a portion of fans were allowed to bring LED signs inside, along with strict instructions and warnings.
This was because LED signs, if used improperly, could explode or catch fire. Additionally, oversized signs could obstruct the view of people sitting behind, disrupting the experience.
LED signs were typically allowed only during personal concerts of singers, and even then, their use was directed by specialized staff—it wasn’t a free-for-all.
The fans allowed to bring signs in this ti belonged to organized fan groups—essentially the fan clubs of popular trainees.
From this episode onward, the program team had truly started giving differential treatnt to each trainee.
Those who didn’t command attention had no one to bla but themselves—ultimately, it boiled down to their inability to attract audiences and contribute heat to the show.
"Hey buddy, are you here to cheer for Lv Fangxin?" Suddenly, a chubby man patted Li Ke on the shoulder.
"Yes, I am! How did you figure it out?"
"I can tell by the fact that you didn’t bring anything—not even water bought at the entrance—for cheering for the village beauty."
"Why?"
Li Ke was quite curious at this point, wondering how the other person could tell.
"Because people like you are always first-ti star-chasers. When cheering for the village beauty later, you won’t have any water and your throat will give out after a few shouts. Plus, the program lasts more than five hours."
Li Ke was dumbfounded at the man’s words. "Brother, there are 16 groups competing here, and each performance lasts about 8 minutes. Adding in the hosts and everything else, the event should take just over two hours!"
The man chuckled, "Trust , it’s going to be longer. Hurry and buy so water! Get more than one bottle."
Li Ke thought about it and decided the man had no reason to deceive him. "Alright, I’ll go buy so bottles. What are you up to now?"
"I’m going to notify the other ’Flower Fans’—otherwise they’ll struggle later." The chubby man muttered, "By the way, here, take this."
"Uh...Brother, what is this?"
Li Ke stared dazedly at the piece of white A4 paper with "Village Beauty" printed on it as an impromptu banner.
"Just use it as a cheering banner! There wasn’t ti to make proper ones."
"So, you’re a newbie too?"
Only then did Li Ke realize this chubby man wasn’t so experienced superfan—he was just as clueless as him.
"Yeah, I only just learned this stuff after coming here. Then I rushed to print this at a nearby shop. Printing here is ridiculously expensive—one sheet cost ten bucks!"
Li Ke instantly felt indignant, "That’s highway robbery! We should report that shop after we leave."
While fans eagerly prepared themselves, the competing trainees were just as tense backstage.
Though everyone displayed cheerful enthusiasm, internally, every fiber in their being was taut, and the pressure felt suffocating.
Fan Lei had never felt so nervous before.
She had a strong sense that this might be the last ti she perford on the sa stage as the sisters she had lived and fought alongside for years.
She felt scared—unsure how to face it. Ever since she’d left school to join the girl group over three years ago, she hadn’t truly stepped into society.
She had a deep-seated fear of the outside world. All she wanted was to be an idol, singing and dancing.
She gazed enviously at her leader, Zhu Riri.
When they tried on performance costus for rehearsals, everyone else only had one outfit to wear, but Zhu Riri, who held the center position, could choose from several styles.
She had once enjoyed such treatnt herself, but now...
"Attention everyone! All units ready! Countdown has begun," Yang Xiaoyue’s voice unexpectedly bood from the speakers.
The lively laughter suddenly stopped, and everyone’s expressions flickered with different emotions under the bright lights.
But as caras turned towards them, their faces instantly transford into youthful and energetic smiles.
This was the plight of idols—in public, they were rely masked puppets.
Li Ke’s surroundings darkened abruptly, and then the stage burst into dazzling light as Long Zitao stepped out, smiling radiantly, with heavy makeup and his signature headband.
The crowd below erupted into screams, and among the chaos, banners for him were even visible.
This infuriated so fans of other trainees—it was a girl group competition, so what were the fans of a ntor doing here, stealing the show?
"Welco everyone to the ’Heaven-Sent Idol’ stage! Today, we’ll use head-to-head duels for performances. The winning team will receive a special reward." Long Zitao spoke excitedly.
Here, he felt a long-lost sense of passion, like revisiting his days in his youth group.
In recent days, he and the other four ntors had invested themselves completely into the program. Since he was the program’s initiator, he couldn’t guide the trainees in singing and dancing, which he regretted.
Instead, he took great care of the girls in their daily lives, buying them small gifts and offering encouragent to those struggling under pressure.
Thanks to this, almost all the trainees had grown fond of him.
"Alright, now let’s warmly welco our ntors to the stage," Long Zitao gestured with both hands, and the spotlight lit up the ntor seats.
Tian Jiaxuan and Hu Binbin greeted the audience with waves, while the playful Luo Junxiang and Zhang Wei livened things up with so antics. The stage buzzed with excitent.
"Hello everyone, I’m Tian Jiaxuan. Hello everyone, I’m Hu Binbin. Our team na is ’Take You Ho Team’—ti to send you packing!"
The audience erupted in exuberant cheers—it was unclear exactly why, perhaps they had simply been swept up in the lively atmosphere.
Li Ke instinctively joined in the wild cheers, his blood pumping.
"Hello everyone, I’m Luo Junxiang. I’m Zhang Wei. Our team na is ’Junwei Team’—Junwei Classic Label!"
Li Ke nearly burst into laughter upon hearing this na—it sounded eerily like the title of so health spa.
"Alright, the ntors have locked in their team nas. Now, let’s see the lineups for each group!" Long Zitao turned toward the big screen.
With impactful visuals on display, the screen showcased the matchups for the two competing teams, complete with song titles, nas of the group mbers, and the designated center positions.
"Next up, the ntors will select groups from their respective teams to compete," he explained.
"Before that, the ntors will flip a coin to decide which team sends their perforrs first."
Long Zitao tossed a coin onstage—though whether it was deliberate or not, he failed to land it properly on the first try, losing it completely. The crew had to bring him another coin to continue.
anwhile, the girls sitting in the prep room were filled with a mixture of tension and exhilaration, barely able to contain their eagerness. For many of them, it was their first ti performing before such a massive audience.
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