Chapter 182 You are actually quite nice, aren't you?

Reviewing the previous five rounds of the game, the other four players had been extremely excited and chatted animatedly, while Yuan Xiaxia seemed to have remained silent throughout.

After the game ended, everyone was bragging about their brilliant performances, yet Yuan Xiaxia still maintained her silence.

Sensing that she might be feeling awkward, Lin Yu chose to leave the lobby.

"By the way, Mengbai, you have a good relationship with Xiaxia. When the time comes, make sure to invite her along. We're all friends, so there's no need to avoid each other."

Realizing the situation as well, Xu Mengbai nodded in agreement.

Communication between girls was much easier.

She gladly took on this heavy responsibility!

...

At night.

The audition talent show broadcasted right on time, and the popularity of the livestream instantly soared to over a million viewers. The tickets for the live audience had been sold out a week in advance, leaving not a single empty seat.

After the two hosts took the stage, the usual commercials and sponsor shout-outs followed. Once the introductions were done, they explained the competition rules and welcomed the judges onto the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the competition rules are here! They are finally here! They are marching in with the rules for eliminating contestants!"

"The rules for this competition are as follows: contestants will perform in collaboration with the judges, and the performance scores will be jointly evaluated by all the judges. Of course, the most crucial part remains the external audience score."

"You could say this is a battle of numbers and scores."

"Of course, I hope everyone entrusted with the power to score will maintain a fair and impartial mindset."

"The voting power belongs to the audience in the livestream. Starting when the competition begins, a scoring meter will appear in the top right corner of every viewer's screen."

"Once the competition starts and a contestant finishes singing, viewers can cast their scores immediately. The scoring data will be displayed on the LED giant screen at the venue in real-time."

The livestream chat instantly went wild, with viewers frantically typing the names of the contestants they supported.

The screen was practically dominated by the names of Wang Fei, Lin Yu, Xu Mengbai, and Si Shaozhe, making it almost impossible to find Yuan Xiaxia's name anywhere.

Yet, the outcome of the game had actually been predetermined from the very beginning.

On the LED giant screen, the names of the six contestants appeared, each followed by a score tracking bar that would turn blue as the points increased.

The host glanced at the LED screen and then said with a smile, "Next, the power to decide the performing order will be handed over to the audience in the livestream!"

"You only have one minute to vote, so please make your decisions as soon as possible!"

"Now, let's shift our focus to the LED giant screen!"

The scoring counters began to climb rapidly, with supporters eagerly rushing to push their favorite contestants up the list.

Yuan Xiaxia stared at the scoring meter in utter bewilderment, her own score completely driven to the back of her mind.

Suddenly, she noticed something was terribly wrong.

Wait a minute, Bai Yichu had already withdrawn from the show—why were people still voting for her?!

Couldn't they give those points to her instead?! Give her a chance to perform early so she wouldn't be subjected to such humiliation!

If the other four contestants performed first and she had to go last with the lowest score...

Wouldn't that be utterly mortifying?!

A low score wasn't terrifying; what was terrifying was getting a low score *and* having to go on stage last as the bottom-place finisher!

When others perform last, it's always the grand finale of the best acts; performing last with the worst act means losing every ounce of dignity you have left!

Is it too late to withdraw from the show now?

Lin Yu looked at the live scoring system and then glanced at the flustered and chaotic Yuan Xiaxia beside him.

He raised an eyebrow.

Don't worry.

It'll be fine.

Then, with just thirty seconds left on the clock, Yuan Xiaxia's score suddenly skyrocketed, surging past the first four contestants in an instant!

When the timer finally sounded...

A look of utter shock washed over Yuan Xiaxia's face.

Huh?

The number one spot was actually hers?!

[The task you asked me to do has been completed.]

At that exact moment, Ji Ya's text message popped up on Lin Yu's phone.

As she watched the synchronized live broadcast of the show on television, a comforting smile could not help but spread across her face.

So *that* was why Lin Yu had contacted her ahead of the show to get her ready and instruct his fans to cast their votes for Yuan Xiaxia!

He was actually a pretty decent guy after all!

Everyone knew that, judging by Yuan Xiaxia's raw strength and agency background, she was undeniably destined to finish dead last in the competition.

If she were forced to perform last on top of that—

Where would a young girl's dignity even go?

...

"First place, Yuan Xiaxia!"

"Second place, Si Shaozhe!"

"Third place, Wang Fei!"

"Fourth place, Lin Yu!"

"Fifth place, Xu Mengbai!"

"Next, let's welcome our judges to the stage to perform the opening song of the show!"

With that, the host stepped off the stage.

All the contestants walked backstage to take a short rest.

Because of what had just happened, Yuan Xiaxia's mood eased up slightly, but the crushing pressure of having to perform first quickly returned, leaving her struggling for breath.

Xu Mengbai stepped forward and gave her a gentle hug.

There was a tacit understanding between girls.

Without needing to say a single extra word, the comfort reached straight into the heart.

Three minutes later, the male judge who would be dueting with Yuan Xiaxia remained on stage. He turned around and smiled warmly at Yuan Xiaxia as she ascended via the elevator lift.

The moment their hands met, the audience in the venue erupted into cheers.

The music swelled, and Yuan Xiaxia exchanged a deeply affectionate gaze with the male judge before starting to sing a romantic ballad.

The live audience instantly became immersed in the melody, not making a single sound that might disrupt the romantic and ambiguous atmosphere.

The other contestants waiting backstage watched the performance on stage with rapt attention.

In truth, Yuan Xiaxia's capabilities were not weak at all.

Any contestant who managed to survive down to the final few rounds had already watched several others get eliminated along the way.

Without a certain degree of real talent, it was simply impossible to last until now.

At first, Yuan Xiaxia took the female vocal part, delivering it with extreme gentleness that instantly brought sweet romance to mind. Then, the male judge seamlessly interpolated a rap verse while Yuan Xiaxia elevated her pitch into harmonious backing vocals.

Their voices blended in an extraordinarily harmonious way, flowing together like a mountain stream, as if they were naturally meant to be paired.

The audience in the hall found themselves growing more and more captivated the longer they listened, with some even unable to resist swaying their hands along with the rhythm.

Yuan Xiaxia was fundamentally a high-pitched singer, having even performed dolphin cries in previous rounds. However, her vocal timbre was relatively singular, and those dolphin cries hadn't given her much further advantage in the subsequent matches.

Even so, making it this far could still be considered quite fortunate.

Moreover, this time she had clearly prepared for the competition with far greater care. Despite her initial nervousness upon taking the stage, she rapidly adjusted her state the moment she began singing, syncing up with the male judge and slipping effortlessly into a flawless stage performance.

One had to admit that being an artist meant your psychological pressure had to be pushed to the absolute maximum.

In the lounge.

Lin Yu exchanged glances with the other contestants.

"Xiaxia's performance is truly unexpected. It looks like everyone has brought out their absolute best state for these final few rounds!"

Xu Mengbai gently clapped her hands, her face beaming with eager anticipation.

As her good girlfriend within the show, she genuinely hoped that her 'dear sister' would deliver the performance of a lifetime.

Free of any trace of jealousy, she was simply cheering purely and wholeheartedly for her friend.

The rest of the group looked at Xu Mengbai with expressions of profound agreement and approval.

In this industry, finding a girl with such pure intentions was truly a rare sight.

One had to know that the female-against-female competitive mindset was notoriously fierce among women.

No matter the circumstance, that dynamic always existed.

Yet Xu Mengbai's sincerity was evident to everyone.

How exceptionally precious!