Chapter 41
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Chapter 41: Chu Yuanqing, So Frightening!
At the same time, inside the staircase classroom.
The Grade A players in the upper circle had noticed and shifted their focus to Chu Yuanqing in the C-level Area.
Kirimi Miyuki’s exclusive ticket stood at 39%, while Chu Yuanqing’s was at 33% – a mere 6% difference. Given the suspected bond between the two, this gap in votes was practically negligible.
In other words, Chu Yuanqing’s popularity at this stage placed her among the top ten overall, even in the top five, surpassing two-thirds of the Top A players.
Without her as a stepping stone, Kirimi Miyuki could never have become the ultimate winner!
This stunned everyone.
Despite benefiting from two rounds of first-place rewards, Chu Yuanqing’s Grade C evaluation should have destined her to remain in the lower-middle ranks of the “Dazzling Stage” hierarchy, theoretically unworthy of being seen as a true competitor.
Yet she had successfully used the outside world’s attention to break conventional thinking, crushing the pride of being a Grade A player.
It could only be described as terrifying.
As people grasped this reality, they naturally began to reassess the situation.
Chen Yining looked at Chu Yuanqing intently, her eyes flickering before she looked away, acknowledging the other’s determination to perform first and following the rule of winner takes all.
The theme song selection and even the opponent’s million-vote lead were now settled facts – there was no use regretting or agonizing over it.
But the competition for Carry Center had only begun.
Ji Shuzhu remained indifferent. As a choreographer who had memorized and performed countless dances, none of the eight theme songs could expose her weaknesses.
As for the Carry Center competition?
Ji Shuzhu’s innate hypermnesia had made her a rare genius choreographer, but it had also erased her budding emotions, sparks of miracles, and the possibility of reaching the highest level of Heart Flow.
In essence, her foundation for stage charisma was overshadowed by her Super Memory Syndrome.
She might become the world’s top dancer in the future, but becoming the top idol at the center of the world would be nearly impossible.
Therefore, Ji Shuzhu cared little about becoming Carry Center. She had come to “Dazzling Stage” to find the ideal Carry Center.
As long as she reached the end of this global idol project, she would eventually meet the destined person who shone brightly enough to ignite the emptiness in her heart.
Xie Qingxuan’s expression remained neutral, her eyes as calm as an ancient well.
From the start, she hadn’t cared which song became the theme song. As Dream Weaver Rabbit had said, idols must overcome any unreasonable obstacles.
If she failed simply because the theme song was “Candy,” it would only reveal her own limitations.
And with such limitations, how could she dare to trample on someone else’s dreams?
If she stopped here, she might as well die.
In the Grade B group, Chu Wang Shu was slow to react. When she first saw the rapidly rising total ticket sales, her mind was preoccupied with wondering if her father was watching her on TV now that “Dazzling Stage” had become so popular.
The little girl felt both nervous and conflicted, thinking how nice it would be to have a cellphone. She had sent someone a text message before the competition and was desperately curious about how her father would respond.
At the very least, he shouldn’t oppose it, right?
Otherwise, she would have withdrawn from the competition long ago.
Chu Wang Shu had never imagined her father would be angry about it.
Though he had always been listless and quiet, even cold and indifferent, deep down he was gentle. Even at his most exhausted, he had never shown anger toward anyone.
Yet paradoxically, Chu Wang Shu wanted to see him get angry for her sake, to show more vibrant emotions toward her.
That’s why she had defiantly joined such a major survival reality show.
Now her feelings were a tangle of fear, a hint of revenge, and intense, contradictory guilt.
This burning mix of complex emotions had made her slow to react when “Candy” was announced as the theme song, but when she finally realized what had happened, she sincerely rejoiced for the other person, clapping like a little seal.
On stage, Dream Weaver Rabbit clapped and announced:
“The theme song has been announced. Starting tomorrow, contestants of each level will receive training on ‘Candy’ in their respective practice rooms.”
“You’ll have one week total. Grade A contestants can choose to livestream for four hours each day, limited to the practice room, with no additional conditions for starting or stopping the stream – complete freedom.”
“Grade B follows the same rules, except livestreams are limited to two hours.”
“Lower-ranked contestants will not have permission to start their own live broadcasts.”
“Please note that this rule will remain in effect until the end of the show.”
As these words fell, both the room and the live broadcast erupted in commotion.
“Gosh, is ‘Dazzling Stage’ trying to create a class system? I’ve never seen such extreme differentiation in a talent show before.”
“Honestly, it was already ridiculous giving each Grade A and B contestant their own luxurious practice room. Now they’re deliberately creating a monopoly on live broadcasts – isn’t it obvious this will cause a popularity gap between Grade A, B, and lower-ranked contestants?”
“Under these rules, Grade B and below won’t have any chance to debut at all. They’re destined to fall further and further behind.”
“Damn, is this a warning? If they don’t seize the chance for a higher secondary rating, they’ll definitely be eliminated later due to the huge popularity gap.”
“Survival of the fittest – the strong will always prevail. What else is there to say?”
The audience’s opinions were divided.
Fans of Grade A and B contestants found the show’s rules perfect from their beneficiary perspective.
It was significant that only 40 contestants were in Grades A and B combined. Now the remaining 128 contestants had become mere stepping stones and sacrifices. The stark numerical contrast was too extreme, and the latter group’s fan base could never be satisfied.
It was a simple truth that being top-rated didn’t always equal being most popular.
Apart from Chu Yuanqing, who stood out as a complete amateur, many lower-rated contestants already had substantial followings before joining.
These included online celebrities with millions of fans, beauty and makeup influencers, contestants with strong backing, rising stars from well-promoted entertainment companies, and influencers who had appeared in TV shows and major variety programs.
The combined fan bases of these contestants could easily rival those of the upper circle and cause significant upheaval.
Compared to the enthusiastic fans in the live broadcast room, contestants who had received minimal screen time from the start and hadn’t achieved high ratings felt even more devastated.
These trainees, already disadvantaged by zero exposure and emotionally manipulated by various conversations, grew more anxious upon seeing the theme song vote count, feeling increasingly marginalized.
Initially, the prospect of starting live broadcasts had offered some comfort. They had hoped it would increase their popularity and decrease the gaps between contestants. But Dream Weaver Rabbit had cruelly shattered this illusion, causing such an emotional plunge that it nearly broke their self-control.
Zhou Qianqian couldn’t help but stand up. She poured out all her pent-up resentment and anger, questioning in a righteous voice:
“We entered this competition knowing we might never become idols again. Why must our first-round performances be hidden from public view? Why must the treatment during evaluations be so drastically different?”
The trainee’s eyes reddened as she continued, pressing her lips together:
“Yes, I understand winners deserve rewards, and ‘Dazzling Stage’ has its rules.”
“But can hard work alone make up for the huge gap in resources like the virtual reality system and advanced technology devices?”
“With such significant differences in treatment, higher-rated contestants will not only progress faster than us, but even the evaluation standards will rise accordingly.”
“In this situation, how can lower-rated individuals catch up to higher-rated ones? How can they achieve a higher rating in the second evaluation? How can this be considered a chance for a fresh start?”
