The one-minute countdown ended, and the sound of fireworks filled the air.
"Ah! It’s us! It’s us!"
Lai Ruoxuan scread like a madwoman.
Duan Yuxin stood frozen in disbelief, tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks.
The others were overjoyed, feeling as though they had never experienced such happiness in their entire lives.
On the other side, Luo Qijia and her team mbers were ashen-faced, unable to utter a single word. It felt as if a heavy boulder had been placed on their chests, their throats filled with bitterness and suppressed sobs.
Long Zitao invited the two victorious groups to co up to the stage, along with the four ntors.
"Tonight, we will also announce the most popular mber from each team!" Long Zitao announced loudly.
At that mont, all the girls were extraordinarily excited. Being the most popular ant a spot in the debut lineup.
"First, let announce the ’Junwei Team’s’ most liked mber. And she is...?" Long Zitao left everyone in suspense.
All eyes turned to ng ixuan, as she was undeniably popular based on the audience’s reactions, and the team had also seen her high rankings online.
"The most liked mber of this team is ng ixuan!" Long Zitao shouted.
Amid applause and a mix of emotions from the crowd, ng ixuan stepped forward and bowed to the audience.
As a mber of the losing team, Wu Zixuan, waiting backstage, also applauded for her teammate. However, her face showed no trace of a smile; instead, it was filled with complicated emotions.
"Thank you, everyone. I truly didn’t expect to receive this honor. There are so many amazing girls on our team," ng ixuan said modestly, winning imnse goodwill from the audience.
"And to my sisters who couldn’t be on stage with us tonight—you are amazing too. Thank you!" Tears welled in her eyes as she bowed again to the crowd.
Long Zitao, smiling, picked up the cue card and continued, "So, who is the most liked mber of the other team?"
This ti, there were many guesses, as no one on Ye Yuwei’s team had an overwhelming advantage in popularity. However, the nas called out most often were hers and Li Shihan’s.
"The most liked mber from this group is Qiang Yueting!" Long Zitao raised both arms as he announced.
Hearing her na, Qiang Yueting was so shocked that she could hardly believe it; her popularity had surpassed both Ye Yuwei and Yang Ni.
Though, in truth, it wasn’t all that surprising.
Ye Yuwei’s competition with Ju Lin had been much tougher overall, so many neutral votes had gone to the other side, and Ye Yuwei’s win was by a narrow margin.
Li Shihan’s team had faced Wu Zixuan, and it was widely believed that the show manipulated the vote count to let them win. Naturally, the "most liked" spot wouldn’t go to her.
None of the others had as much buzz as Qiang Yueting, so the title went to her.
"Thank you. Thank you so much. I will continue to work even harder. I really want to debut; I want to keep singing and dancing for all of you," Qiang Yueting kept bowing repeatedly.
Sitting in the audience, Xiao Du felt furious that her "idol" wasn’t the one nad as the most liked. Instead, it went to this "ugly woman" with a slightly chubby face. Inside, she was boiling with anger.
Her cold, piercing eyes were locked onto the big screen. "Qiang Yueting, you’re not even worthy," she sneered silently.
At this mont, Yang Xiaoyue invited Hu Binbin to represent all the ntors in delivering a speech.
"Whether it’s here on the stage of 101 or in the future in the industry, there’s no such thing as a perpetual winner. No one can guarantee they will always win." At this point, Hu Binbin’s gaze landed on Qiang Yueting.
"Take you, for instance—you were always in Class B before, yet today you beca the most liked. This proves that everyone must keep striving. Keep it up!"
Tian Jiaxuan followed up with, "Here’s a quote for everyone to rember: ’There’s no such thing as miracles, only accumulation.’"
Everyone was deeply moved by Tian Jiaxuan’s words, and applause broke out collectively.
Luo Junxiang then added, "I’m not soone who likes to give complints. Today’s performance by all of you is just the baseline. I believe you can do even better. I hope you’ll beco even more remarkable in the future."
Long Zitao glanced at the two and said, "Today, the ntor whose team holds the higher total votes will be declared the winner."
Qiang Yueting’s heart began racing uncontrollably. She knew her popularity might not surpass ng ixuan’s, but she still held onto a sliver of hope.
ng ixuan, anwhile, was extrely tense. Having been placed so high by others, the thought of falling from that place terrified her.
"And now, let announce..."
Everyone fell silent simultaneously. Other than the sound of machinery, the entire venue was eerily quiet.
"The winner is—ng ixuan!" Long Zitao bellowed.
"Ah! Ah!"
All the girls from Junwei’s team burst into cheers and screams, their tears streaming down. This was a day they would rember for the rest of their lives.
When they returned backstage, they were still animatedly discussing everything that had just happened.
More than six hours had passed—it was already past midnight—but not a single person felt the least bit tired.
Yang Xiaoyue asked Hu Binbin to console their team.
Back in the waiting room, the eight-team mbers of Hu Binbin’s defeated group sat in silence, with Long Zitao present as well.
From ti to ti, his gaze drifted to Ye Yuwei. Even at this mont, the girl maintained her upright posture, sitting neatly in her chair.
"Do you all enjoy this kind of stage?" Long Zitao asked aloud.
"Yes, we do!" all the girls responded in unison.
"Then you will have to keep working hard. Losing today isn’t that big of a deal; we still have the next stage." Long Zitao spoke with sternness.
Every girl stayed quietly seated, listening intently.
"You all should consider yourselves very fortunate. Back when I was a trainee, losing once ant there wouldn’t be a second chance."
"But you all still have one. What you need to do now is let go of everything just now and start considering what to do tomorrow."
Long Zitao’s gaze swept across every girl’s face.
Their spirits were reignited by his words. Yes! They still had the audience voting outside the show to rely on. They might not truly have lost yet.
"To be honest, I’m not great at consoling people. I don’t even enjoy being consoled myself. To , there’s nothing comforting about losing—losing is just losing," Hu Binbin said sharply and candidly.
"But since the production team wants to say sothing, I’ll tell you this: If we perform well enough, even if we lose, the audience will still cry out in our defense."
Hu Binbin, in fact, was dissatisfied with the results. He believed his team deserved to win the final showdown.
The trainees sitting there nodded in agreent. They, too, were unconvinced by their defeat.
"Moreover, the true treasure you’ve gained here is the friends who share your sa artistic vision," Hu Binbin added with a aningful smile.
"You’re absolutely right, ntor! We haven’t really lost." The group of girls cheered up again.
"Well then, seeing you all so happy, I’m off to congratulate the winning team." Long Zitao laughed as he stood to leave.
But instantly, the girls beca upset, feeling a bit sour inside, as though sothing precious was being taken away from them by soone else.
"ntor, you can’t leave!"
"Yes, ntor, please stay!"
Over fifty pairs of tearful, longing, and heartbroken eyes stared at him pleadingly.
Long Zitao was montarily dumbstruck. This was the first ti he’d ever felt this kind of adoration.
"But the girls over there won. I have to at least go check in with them."
"That’s not fair!" Imdiately, all the girls slumped, their excitent replaced by dejection.
As Long Zitao turned around, however, his face revealed a mischievous grin.
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