Chapter 72
Chu Yuanqing climbed the steps and sat in the top row, alongside five A-Class contestants, each possessing unique skills. Bathed in numerous gazes and stares, she could only keep a straight face and pretend to be indifferent.
Fortunately, Dream Weaver Rabbit wasn't late.
The mascot appeared in the audience via Virtual Projection precisely at 12 o'clock.
Its gaze met that of the six contestants at the top, its crimson eyes narrowed slightly, and a signature smile curled at the corner of its lips. Then, it lowered its gaze, snapped its fingers, and, with a wicked grin, erected its holographic projection in front of everyone.
The Dream Weaver Rabbit happily greeted everyone and said:
"Everyone, how did you sleep last night?"
"Although 90% of you are probably losers who can't sleep, if you actually can't sleep and make mistakes in the Public Performance, the Program Group will also be in a lot of trouble."
The Dream Weaver Rabbit chuckled mischievously and continued:
"So, I'll share some good news with you all today."
"First, among the two domestic 'Flash Dance' shows, the Sea Capital node, where you are, currently has the highest popularity. Due to the stage performance during the Second Evaluation going viral, it has almost doubled the data of the Capital node in all aspects."
"In other words, the traffic diverted to each of you here will also increase accordingly. Some of you have already achieved the amazing feat of gaining nearly ten million followers in a week."
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire audience erupted in uproar.
Even with a nation backing it, this data is still somewhat exaggerated.
Given the typical pace of talent shows, the second episode probably wouldn't even have aired yet. To gain so many fans based solely on the first episode and the live stream, who can imagine how many more fans this person will gain?
This is the kind of career path that's about to propel someone to the top tier of the domestic Entertainment Industry right from their debut. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they've defied fate and soared to new heights.
As for the stage performance going viral, everyone knows the answer: it's almost certainly related to Chu Yuanqing's god-like performance, with the remainder being Little Sakura's [Flow State]-level stage performance.
Dream Weaver Rabbit continued:
"Secondly, after the Public Performance, the Program Group will grant everyone half a day of free time outside the underground base, limited to Zhelong Town. During this time, you are free to call your immediate family members."
This news was like a bombshell, eliciting quiet cheers from a group of pretty young women.
Upon hearing this, Chu Wangshu's heart pounded, and she couldn't help but clutch her skirt with her small hands. Her eyes were lowered, filled with a mixture of intense anticipation, nervousness, unknown fear, and longing for her father, creating a bittersweet feeling.
The girl was conflicted and troubled, and muttered to herself:
"Dad, what will your reaction be?"
"Will I be able to speak frankly with him this time? If only... I could have Xiao Qing come and keep me company."
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At the same time,
Chu Yuanqing didn't know what she would say to her daughter, but she knew she was really panicked!
Oh my god, what happened to the completely closed-door talent show?
Free time and calls with family? Why are we suddenly being so lenient? It doesn't fit the style of Flashdance at all!
Reject! Reject it!
You vicious red-eyed rabbit, I won't allow you to undermine the professional ethics of an idol!
Chu Yuanqing barely managed to keep her expression straight, but the more she thought about it, the more panicked she became, muttering to herself.
What to do? If it were just a phone call, she could take the phone out, use magic to adjust her voice to her original tone, and talk to Xiao Shu, pretending to be in the past.
What if this free time allows participants to meet with their agents, parents, relatives, and friends, while other contestants are hugging and cuddling with their parents, leaving their Little Cotton-padded Jacket standing alone in the cold wind...?
Just imagining this scene is pitiful and tragic!
In the past, she could have been ruthless, but after the change in her Life Form, her father's habitual silent love seemed to have changed along with his gender, becoming closer to her mother's, more compassionate and gentle, and he was reluctant to make his child sad.
Chu Yuanqing was very distressed.
Although theoretically this problem could be solved with magic, the stage for the Second Evaluation also happened to expand the source of magic.
The problem is that simply using magic to weave a shell to cover oneself and creating a freely moving and extremely realistic clone are two completely different levels of magic consumption. At present, it can only last for a maximum of 5 minutes, which is not even enough time to drink a cup of coffee.
Chu Yuanqing grew increasingly melancholy as she thought about it. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and her youthful and exquisite face appeared pitiful, like ripples spreading across spring water, stirring the hearts of onlookers who couldn't help but reach out to soothe her sorrow.
At this moment, with the announcement of the Center position imminent, many fans in the Live Broadcast Room, which had started early, were already going crazy upon seeing this scene:
"Waaaah, that damned red-eyed rabbit! All she does is stab my Qing Bao in the back! She must have heard that she could talk to her family and realized what was going on with her???"
"Pinch Mommy?! I'm furious! How dare you make Qing Bao sad! I'll Dream Weaver Rabbit to pieces!"
"I get emotional just imagining it. It was the same when Qing Bao first participated in the competition. All the other contestants were talking to various people on the phone, but she was all alone, without friends or family, making the decision by herself. How lonely must that be???"
"I'm a new fan who joined later. I watched the replay of that live stream, and Qingqing even comforted Yue Bao before getting up to leave. Otherwise, her entry time would have been even faster???"
"Because she has nothing, she has no scruples. Qing Bao is exactly like that. She has nothing to lose, so naturally she doesn't hesitate. But for those who like Qing Bao, this is really too heartbreaking."
"It's unimaginable how much color will fade from Qing Bao's heart once she loses the stage and her dreams."
"Chu Yuanqing is very strong. She will definitely swallow her pain and process her sorrow alone. Or perhaps she will simply feel relieved, accept ordinariness, and calmly walk into the vast sea of people, leaving us with a dream from which we will never meet again."
A large number of Yuan Xiao Fan began to imagine the scenarios themselves.
Some were sobbing and wiping away tears; others were overflowing with maternal love, wanting to give Chu Yuanqing a home; still others regretted not calling all their relatives to give "Yuanqing's Rampage" a thumbs up; some even imagined a tragic ending and wrote fanfiction while crying, making the scene quite chaotic.
On the other side, the players on the field continued to cheer.
These pretty girls are all quite young. Under the high pressure of <Flash Dance>, they are constantly on edge. Plus, the underground base never sees real sunlight, so they can't help but cheer when they hear this news.
After letting them make a ruckus for a while, the Dream Weaver Rabbit clapped its hands, revealed an inciteful smile, and whispered:
"So, are you all starting to look forward to the time after the Public Performance ends?"
"But before that, we need to get back to the main topic and decide on the three Center position for the Public Performance stage."
"The number of likes on your videos on Douyin has been recorded as of noon."
In other words, the final result of the battle for the Center position has been determined.
"However, for the sake of fun and entertainment, the videos on the official FlashDance account stopped displaying likes as early as 9:00 AM."
The Dream Weaver Rabbit snapped its fingers, and like a cosplayer of the Treasure Vault, golden ripples of light projected behind it. It smiled expectantly and called out:
"Therefore, the fifty million viewers in the Live Broadcast Room will now join you all in witnessing the final results of this selection process."
As soon as he finished speaking, countless golden bullets, resembling swimming fish, surged out from the ripples, forming a vast ocean of golden waves that, in a daze, submerged all the contestants present.
Splash, splash.
The extremely realistic sound effects and the five-dimensional cinematic lighting and shadows make the barrage of comments incredibly stimulating.
What's even more unsettling is the terrifying and manic power of the bullet comments themselves.
It's important to know that Yuan Fan isn't alone; other contestants also have their own fan groups with "Pi" in their names, such as Yue Pi, Ying Pi, Mo Pi, Ning Pi, Zhu Pi, Li Pi...
When these brilliant minds gathered together in one room, the sheer power they unleashed was immense, so powerful that it took a massive, united effort from their devoted fans to clean up the environment and bring the atmosphere back to a semblance of normalcy.
Hmm, probably.
"Qing Bao, hurry south to govern my land!"
"The security scanner kept beeping all day, and the security personnel searched for ages but couldn't find any metal. Finally, they realized it was all because of my Qing Bao's iron will???"
"I really want Qing Bao to hold a concert at my workplace, so she can repeatedly visit my elementary school???"
"Are you guys kidding me? You're always spouting useless nonsense. If you love someone, you should prove it with actions, not with sweet talk and empty words. The person who truly Qing Bao is already sitting on their phone!"
Chu Yuanqing is an old relic out of touch with the times, but even if you don't understand some of the crazy comments, his aura of defying the heavens still hits you hard, making you feel dizzy and almost faint.
How terrifying! How can the internet be so scary these days?
The girl's expression was indifferent, her eyes filled with disdain, and she couldn't help but flick away all the comments with her hand, which in turn attracted a flurry of expectant and frantic comments such as "Qing Bao, hurry up and call me," "Qing Bao, look at me," and "Qing Bao, touch me."
I'm furious! Where are my millions of little black treasures? Come out and save them! Hurry up and curse me with all your foul language to get rid of these monsters!
She'd rather see a screen full of profanity and slang than see this weird stuff!
Unfortunately, it wasn't the haters who came out to clean up the mess, but rather a large group of Little Yuan Xiao who came to arrest the crazy commenters:
"I'm sorry, Qing Bao, it's all the mothers' fault. Even with all our efforts, we only managed to get 8.97 million likes by 9 o'clock???"
"Don't be sad, Qingqing! The Yuan Xiao Group will definitely help you debut!"
"Waaaaah, don't be ashamed, baby. You deserve a better stage, you deserve greater honors, you've never been unworthy of the Center position. In our hearts, you are the best idol ever!"
As if they had all made a pre-arranged meeting, countless Yuan Xiao began to unfold their stories here:
"For over a year since I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, every doctor's reaction during my consultations was a sigh. But after seeing your performance on stage, I felt like the world had color again. Even during my next consultation, the doctor praised me, saying I was very strong. But actually, I'm not strong at all. It was your stage that saved me???"
"Chu Yuanqing, people say that idols are like the moon, shining brightly because of the love of their fans. But you just need to stand there. Your personal charm, like the sun, is like light, illuminating the world with warmth. For the first time in three years of severe depression, you made me taste happiness."
Charlotte's soul was deeply moved.
Chu Yuanqing possesses a unique Savior -like charisma.
The chemical reaction of these two elements actually healed many viewers like a magic potion, prompting them to spontaneously share their stories during the segments where the main character could see the comments, all in an effort to help her overcome her inferiority complex and stand tall on stage.
All these comments are like drops of ink, steadfastly writing a sentence.
--Chu Yuanqing, your presence on the stage is not meaningless.
Chu Yuanqing was somewhat dazed.
Although it went against her conscience to the point of being utterly rebellious, in a fleeting hallucination, she still recalled the answer she gave to a certain Disaster God on his deathbed.
"I want to see everyone's happy smiles, and on the path that goes against the truth and is against the gods, there are many people behind me who are smiling, so... these people who are willing to sacrifice themselves to look forward to a future with smiles on their faces must not be wrong."
Are idols something like that?
No, no, no.
Now is not the time to think about that! The important thing is, where did my haters go?
Chu Yuanqing patted her cheeks, her eyes filled with confusion as she scanned the countless bullet comments that resembled Light Dust. She couldn't find many of them that were insulting, and a bad premonition began to brew in her heart, a kind of unknown fear quietly growing.
No way, no way, I can't really not have any haters, can I?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible! It must be that Flash Dance deliberately blocked the abusive comments, which is why only positive ones appear after a large-scale filtering process.
That's right, it's just survivor bias!
Chu Yuanqing shook his head vigorously, immediately denying it.
Fans interpreted this as Qing Bao being overly insecure, unable to believe she would receive so much support. They couldn't help but feel sorry for Qing Bao lacked and how receiving so much affection made her doubt herself.
At this moment,
Like a gambler clutching at the last straw, Chu Yuanqing's cute little face was serious and solemn as she nervously looked at the Dream Weaver Rabbit below the stage.
That's right, no matter how much the comments say, you can't believe it. As long as you're not one of the three Center position, it means your reasoning is correct and there's nothing seriously wrong.
Dream Weaver Rabbit clapped its hands and smiled:
"Please look at the big screen and silently count down!"
After he finished speaking, the projection screen expanded, and the numbers on it began to move.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6...
As everyone gradually held their breath, the numbers officially reached zero, and the list of those in the Center position was revealed:
[Main Center position: Chu Yuanqing, 11.79 million likes]
[Secondary Center position: Chen Yining, 8.71 million likes]
[Secondary Center position: Kiriwake Yayoi, 7.61 million likes]
Next, here are the statistics for the remaining three A-Class players:
[Xie Qingxuan: 6.79 million likes]
[Tang Liuli: 5.96 million likes]
[Ji Shuzhu: 5.79 million likes]
Regardless of the contestants' reactions, the highly sensitive viewers immediately erupted in the Live Broadcast Room with their comments.