Chapter 172: I Cannot Accept This Outcome

Not long after Chen Qi’s appearance was exposed, the major entertainment media outlets once again descended into a frenzy.

They were thrilled!

They were exhilarated!

It had been a long time since they had felt this happy.

One explosive topic after another made them feel as though New Year had arrived!

With just a single episode, they could practically complete an entire month’s worth of work!

At that moment, the entertainment reporters’ fondness for Chen Qi skyrocketed.

If there were only a few more celebrities like him, why would they ever have to worry about finding eye-catching material?

And so, headlines such as “Chen Qi Competes in Person,” “Host, Judge, and Contestant All at Once,” and “How Will This Program Guarantee Fairness?” began appearing one after another.

All kinds of attention-grabbing headlines fiercely bombarded viewers who had yet to discover the show.

“A lifetime of love—what have I to fear from wind and flying sand...”

The thrilling scene from the promotional clip finally appeared on television.

When Chen Qi sang that line, the camera cut to the audience.

The delight in the audience’s eyes was entirely genuine. Their expressions were practically identical to those of the viewers watching at home.

“Whoa—”

Then came the cheers from the promotional clip.

Cheers loud enough to shake the heavens!

After finishing the song, Chen Qi, slightly out of breath, bowed toward the camera.

“Thank you, everyone. I’m singer Chen Qi.”

When viewers saw him say this with a perfectly straight face, many of them twisted their features in disbelief.

Did he have no shame?

Did he have no shame at all?

He was supposed to remember that he was a director!

It was one thing for him to play an incompetent host just to刷刷存在感—but he had actually gone onstage to compete with the others?

Wasn’t he aware that he was only creating trouble for himself?

No matter what the final result was, people were bound to accuse the show of being rigged!

The trolls and haters alone would curse him until he began doubting his entire life!

The unreliable netizens who had noticed this ridiculous man ever since Unexpectedly all looked at Chen Qi with sympathy.

They were not worried about him. They were simply sympathizing with him.

They were more than happy to watch Chen Qi court disaster!

If something like that really happened, then given Chen Qi’s personality, there would probably be another entertaining spectacle to enjoy.

As for the possibility of backstage manipulation, they certainly did not entertain such thoughts.

Chen Qi rigging the competition?

Impossible!

His abilities were there for all to see. He had no need to resort to such underhanded methods to elevate himself.

His perspective was far too broad for that!

But if someone said he might openly snatch votes...

Well, yes. That was exactly the sort of thing he could do!

“...The second contestant will take the stage shortly.”

After tossing out that line, Chen Qi hurried offstage.

Perhaps because he had just sung such a good song, even the viewers who had previously disliked his hosting style now found themselves feeling that it was not so bad after all.

This simple approach to hosting was actually rather nice.

The television screen switched to the backstage area.

The viewers saw Song Qiqi, who was preparing to go onstage, walking toward Chen Qi.

“Would you believe me if I told you that you simply couldn’t find a seventh singer?”

Hearing Chen Qi offer such a perfunctory excuse, many viewers instinctively showed looks of disdain.

You couldn’t find a seventh singer?

Did you even believe that yourself?

Of course not!

Almost no one believed him.

Anyone who did was an idiot!

Song Qiqi then took the stage and began to sing.

When the lights onstage came on again, viewers at home also saw the shock and delight on the faces of the audience and the backstage guests.

“Qiqi?”

“My God!”

“She came too!”

Hearing Qin Mengxue and the others exclaim backstage, the viewers laughed heartlessly.

This was fun!

Far too much fun!

The viewers had already learned, when the contestants drew lots to determine the order, that the guests had not known one another’s identities beforehand.

And this arrangement really did add a great deal of appeal to the program.

On the television screen, the camera once again shifted from the stage to the members of the band.

The viewers at home instinctively quieted down and listened in silence.

Before long, Song Qiqi’s heavenly voice traveled through the television into millions of households.

“Wow!”

The viewers, already overwhelmed time and again, only now realized that the show’s audio equipment was almost absurdly good.

Ultra-high-definition visuals, breathtaking sound, and guests of such caliber...

Chen Qi’s program was truly overflowing with sincerity.

One song!

Two songs!

Three songs!

The singers onstage changed one after another.

The cheers from the live audience rang out in wave after wave.

Every singer delivered a performance powerful enough to shock the entire venue.

Whether it was the stage production or the band’s playing, every aspect stimulated the audience’s senses to the fullest.

Countless viewers were left deeply shaken.

Many could not even remember how many times they had cried out in astonishment while watching the program.

The stage design, the lighting, the band’s performance, the individual musicians...

And so on.

Almost every singer who appeared had at least one moment that made the audience exclaim involuntarily.

It was an unprecedented experience.

Many viewers asked themselves whether they had not watched plenty of music programs before, yet not one of them had ever given them a feeling like this.

Compared with other singing shows, The Singer was clearly operating on an entirely different level!

Only after watching this program did many viewers realize that the same song could sound completely different when performed with different equipment.

Without anyone noticing, the show had already become number one in their hearts.

It was the best music program they had ever watched, without exception.

After the final singer finished performing, viewers in front of their televisions were left wanting more.

Those ninety minutes had passed far too quickly...

The television screen then entered the voting segment.

As they watched the live audience cast their votes, viewers at home instinctively compared the singers they had just seen and silently singled out their favorite performance.

During this interval, the internet had already become utterly chaotic.

Aside from the countless cries of shock and amazement, many people were also speculating about the results.

At the same time, countless others were worried about the fairness of the program.

They had not forgotten that Chen Qi, the director, was also one of the seven singers.

“Do you think Chen Qi will give himself first place?”

“Seriously speaking, I wouldn’t have the slightest objection if he took first this week. The song Under Heaven deserves the top spot!”

“Exactly. It would be completely understandable if he came in first this week. Although his vocal performance wasn’t as strong as those major stars, he sang a brand-new song. That alone earns him a lot of extra points!”

“Yeah, he’ll probably take first place this week. What I’m curious about now is who will get the fewest votes!”

“Nearly every performance this week was at blockbuster level. If we judge by the performances alone, it’s difficult to rank them. If you really want to compare them, you’d have to look at fame and how widely their songs are known. The more famous someone is, the more votes they’re likely to receive. The more widely their songs are sung, the more votes they can get too.”

The netizens debated enthusiastically.

Interestingly, they almost unanimously believed that Chen Qi would take first place in the opening episode.

Before long, the voting results were ready.

The viewers, who had relaxed slightly during the voting period, once again turned their attention to the television.

Then they saw Chen Qi freeze after looking at the results.

“???”

The viewers were equally confused.

What was that expression supposed to mean?

Was there something wrong with the results?

As the camera switched angles, the viewers saw that the six singers were wearing equally bewildered expressions.

“To be honest, this ranking is quite unexpected, even to me personally.”

When Chen Qi said this in a somewhat complicated tone, the curiosity of the viewers was stirred up just as strongly as that of the guests at the venue.

At that moment, they wished Chen Qi would simply display the voting results in front of the camera!

The suspense was agonizing!

But what they never expected was that this was only the beginning. The real torture was still to come.

Chen Qi’s way of announcing the rankings opened an entirely new world for the audience!

The internet was filled with exasperated cries.

Some impatient viewers even felt an urge to reach through the television, drag Chen Qi out, and beat him senseless.

This was too much!

It was seriously too much!

You couldn’t keep people in suspense like this!

His deliberately drawn-out method of announcing the results even left many middle-aged men, famous for their composure, unable to sit still.

One moment they stood with their hands on their hips, the next they crossed their arms, and then they shifted into yet another position...

At last...

Five of the seven singers had been announced.

When sixth place was revealed, many netizens looked utterly stunned.

No way. Qin Mengxue had come in last?

It couldn’t be!

Although they felt that it would be absurd for any of the major stars to come last, Qin Mengxue receiving the fewest votes was still far beyond their expectations.

“Damn, I suddenly can’t accept this result.”

“Qin Mengxue got the fewest votes? Did those audience members vote with their feet?”

“I feel so sorry for Qin. This is completely unfair!”

“No wonder Chen Qi said the result was unexpected. So that’s what he meant!”

“Everyone, calm down. Maybe... Chen Qi got the fewest votes?”

“Could you be any more innocent?”

“The person on the fifth floor has clearly never been out in the real world.”

“Chen Qi getting the fewest votes? You’ve really got some imagination! If Chen Qi actually got the fewest votes, I’ll eat my keyboard!”

“Don’t come here trying to scam people into feeding you again. You’ve been caught several times already!”

The netizens were all expressing their intense dissatisfaction.

“Qin Mengxue!”

But at that very moment, first place was announced.

And then...

The entire world fell silent.

The netizens who had just been railing furiously all opened their mouths in shock, their faces filled with utter disbelief.

The person who had promised to eat his keyboard stared at the television in terror, so astonished that his jaw nearly hit the floor.

They were all dumbfounded!

Qin Mengxue?

Qin Mengxue had come first?

Chen Qi had really received the fewest votes?

Damn!

How was that possible?

How could Chen Qi have allowed such a thing to happen?

It made no sense!

It made even less sense, didn’t it?

Then Chen Qi announced his own vote count with an awkward yet polite smile.

Twenty-three votes!

Nearly half as many as the sixth-place contestant.