Chapter 12

Before the rankings were announced, Yu Yan was so nervous that sweat began to bead on his forehead, his hands clenched tightly into fists at his sides.

Jiang Ran's lips were pressed tightly together as well, his eyes fixed unblinking on Xi Shu beside him.

Ye Zexi was the most relaxed person in the group. He even leisurely waved and greeted the fans below the stage.

From time to time, screams from the fans below could be heard.

Sharp-eyed viewers in the livestream noticed this.

"Ye Zexi! He still has the mood to greet his fans? I'm dying of nerves!"

"Hahaha, Ye Zexi has such a great mindset! It's fine—he's so confident, so we should believe in him too."

Xi Shu did not deliberately keep everyone in suspense and quickly announced the top four contestants in the group.

First place went to Ye Zexi, second place to Jiang Ran, and Yu Yan came in third.

Ye Zexi finally withdrew some of his attention. The moment he turned his head, he saw Yu Yan beside him visibly let out a breath of relief. But before Yu Yan could relax completely, Xi Shu's next words made his heart leap back into his throat—

"For the winning group's PK rules, first place will face third place, and second place will face fourth place. Contestants ranked in the top four by group vote, please step forward."

Upon hearing the matchups, Yu Yan's face went pale in an instant.

If he had not been wearing makeup, Ye Zexi was certain that the fans and viewers would have thought he was about to faint.

Survival of the fittest—that was the cruelty of competition.

Rules were fixed, but people were not. Ye Zexi curved his lips faintly.

Xi Shu explained the format to the audience once more. Just as he was about to announce that the competition would continue, Ye Zexi suddenly spoke up—

"Host, may I ask a question?"

Xi Shu looked at Ye Zexi and nodded. "Of course."

Ye Zexi smiled, thanked him first, then asked, "I'd like to know what happens if a contestant forfeits during the PK?"

Xi Shu did not quite understand why Ye Zexi was asking, but he answered anyway. "According to the rules, the contestant facing him in the PK will automatically advance into the top twenty-five."

As he spoke, Xi Shu smiled. "I don't think anyone would voluntarily give up advancing—"

The next second, Ye Zexi cut him off with a smile. "Then fine, I forfeit."

"What?" Xi Shu's smile froze on his lips.

The barrage filled with question marks.

"What's going on?"

The fans at the venue were dumbfounded too.

"What happened? Why would he suddenly forfeit?"

He Jinyun, one of the guest mentors, was the first to react. "Let me confirm that I didn't hear wrong. Ye Zexi, did you just say you wanted to forfeit?"

Ye Zexi nodded. He looked completely at ease, but his words struck everyone as utterly unbelievable. "Yes. I've decided to give up this PK and let Yu Yan advance."

"Why?" Xi Shu could not hold it in anymore. His mouth hung open in shock as he stared at Ye Zexi in confusion.

Yu Yan, standing beside Ye Zexi, found it even more unbelievable. Was he dreaming?

Why had Ye Zexi given up advancing? Why had he let him advance instead?

Why?

Jiang Ran wanted to ask even more. He had not heard wrong, had he?

Ye Zexi had voluntarily given up advancing?

This unexpected incident had cropped up, but fortunately, He Jinyun reacted quickly. "Ye Zexi, once you make the decision to forfeit, you can't change it. Have you thought this through?"

Ye Zexi smiled. "Of course."

The entire venue fell silent.

Viewers watching the livestream could even faintly hear people whispering below the stage. "Why? Why is Ye Zexi forfeiting?"

Only then did the fans react.

"Forfeit?"

"What's going on?"

"No way, Ye Zexi was about to advance. Why?"

"Why can't I understand this? Isn't advancing good? Or does Ye Zexi not want to advance at all?"

"I have a terrifying guess. Could it be that Ye Zexi thinks competing is too tiring and wants to go home to inherit the family fortune?"

"Take that back!"

"Pah, pah, pah! That performance was so amazing just now—how could he be going home to inherit the family fortune?"

The internet was abuzz with discussion, and the fans were even more lost and helpless.

But there was no taking back spilled water. Ye Zexi had already chosen to give up this opportunity, so the advancement slot naturally went to Yu Yan.

Even after Yu Yan sat down in the advancing contestants' area, he still looked utterly bewildered.

Tang Jing happened to be sitting beside him. Yu Yan instinctively asked, "You... Tang Jing, do you know what's going on with Ye Zexi? Why did he give me his chance to advance?"

Tang Jing's expression was equally complicated. He shook his head; he did not know either.

Yu Yan suddenly went pale, looking thoroughly frightened. "He, he, he doesn't have a crush on me, does he? I don't like men!"

Tang Jing: "?"

After a long pause, Tang Jing finally said with difficulty, "You're overthinking it."

Even so, Yu Yan remained deeply worried.

It was not until the losers' group elimination round began and Ye Zexi took the stage again that this question was answered.

Chapter 12

Before the elimination round, there was a drawing segment that would determine the type of performance each pending contestant in the losing group would have to give next.

Ye Zexi drew a dance track.

The instant he saw the draw, Ye Zexi's brows furrowed slightly before quickly relaxing.

He could not help muttering to himself, My luck's a little bad. I have to dance again.

Tiring.

But when that moment was caught by the camera, the audience got a different impression—Ye Zexi was worried about his next performance!

"I remember Ye Zexi chose the vocal track before, right? Can he really handle a dance song?"

"Probably? After all, No Money No Talk had dance moves too, and Ye Zexi did great!"

Even so, quite a few people were still worried.

Seeing his friend beside him frowning deeply, Shan Zeyu could not help joking, "It's fine. What are you worried about? At worst, you can go act in dramas."