Chapter 30: Popularity Poll
The viewers in the streaming room were equally astonished.
“Wow, are we really this enthusiastic? We actually cast so many votes.”
“I contributed too. If the rules didn’t limit us to one vote per contestant, I would’ve given both my ballots to Xu Ze.”
“Me too.”
“This vote count must be the highest of the competition so far.”
“It should be.”
“Not necessarily—Huang Minghao and Zhu Zhengting are still to come. They’re both very strong contenders.”
...
After the host announced the results, Xu Ze turned and stepped off the stage. Instead of leaving directly, he approached the ponytail girl who had held up a sign for him at the very beginning.
Xu Ze looked at her gently and asked, “Do you have a pen?”
“Huh?” The girl hurriedly rummaged through her bag, flustered. “Yes! I do!”
She found a marker and handed it carefully to Xu Ze.
The live audience was curious, unsure what Xu Ze was up to, or what he was saying to the girl. Just then, they noticed a cameraman rushed over with his equipment, capturing additional angles where the main camera couldn’t reach.
The assistant outside signaled to the host not to interfere with Xu Ze.
The four mentors, watching all this unfold, were genuinely surprised. They hadn’t expected the director to accommodate Xu Ze so much.
After all, the show’s runtime was limited, and each contestant was allotted a fixed amount of time. Xu Ze had now exceeded his slot, yet the director wasn’t pressing him—in fact, seemed to be letting him do as he pleased.
This wasn’t ordinary favor; it was as if he were being treated like family.
At that moment, Wang Yihan silently mused, “Could it be that Xu Ze has gotten close to Director Yang Yin? She’s taking such good care of him.”
The boss had previously hinted that Wang should try to test the waters with Director Yang Yin, but she hadn’t even glanced at him.
After reporting his failed attempt, the boss had, unusually, comforted him, saying he’d anticipated it all along.
Many had tried to get close to Director Yang Yin, but none had succeeded.
“But now, it seems Xu Ze has managed it!”
Wang Yihan was filled with jealousy. Truth be told, even without any other benefits, he would have been willing; though Director Yang Yin was nearing forty and unmarried, she’d kept her figure splendidly.
Voluptuous and alluring, ambitious and driven—such women were irresistible to men of all ages.
Xu Ze took the pen from the girl and then gently asked for her support sign.
“What’s your name?” he asked softly.
Her voice trembled, “I’m Wang Tingting.”
Up close, she realized how flawless Xu Ze’s skin truly was.
Xu Ze nodded and carefully wrote on the blank space at the bottom of her sign:
“Thank you, Wang Tingting, for cheering me on. Wishing you happiness every day and success in your studies—Xu Ze.”
The cameraman quickly focused on the sign, capturing a clear close-up.
Reading Xu Ze’s words, the viewers felt their hearts melt.
“Xu Ze is just so gentle.”
“Gentle Xu Ze is so handsome!”
“I will always surrender to gentleness!”
“I’m so jealous of that girl—why didn’t I go to the venue! Regret!”
...
The girl took her sign, gazing at the words Xu Ze had written for her, an overwhelming sense of happiness enveloping her.
Moved to tears, she cried.
Xu Ze was startled—how had it come to this?
In his previous life, nothing unsettled him more than seeing a girl cry.
He hurriedly pulled a tissue from his pocket, handed it to her, and quickly fled the scene.
She hadn’t even thanked Xu Ze before he dashed away.
She stomped her foot in frustration—it must have been her tears that scared him off. Damn, why did she cry at that moment?
She deeply regretted it; she hadn’t even managed to hug Xu Ze.
“But… it was truly touching.”
When Xu Ze left, the host finally announced the next contestant, and the competition continued.
The contestant scheduled after Xu Ze was in despair—having to follow such a superstar, it was inevitable everyone would compare him to Xu Ze.
How could he sing under such circumstances? It’s not that his song was bad, but it simply couldn't measure up.
Sure enough, after he finished, his popularity score was only 100,000.
Based on his song’s quality and performance, it should have reached at least 300,000, but he lost 200,000, just like that.
The mentors shook their heads, pitying him.
He was simply unlucky.
The competition went on. Afterwards, Huang Minghao from Sacred Emperor Entertainment performed a rap; when he finished, his popularity reached 2.3 million, very close to Xu Ze’s 2.58 million.
Anyone with eyes could see there was a lot of artificial inflation in those numbers.
As expected, Wang Yihan gave his lock-in card to Huang Minghao.
Next, Zhu Zhengting from Tides Entertainment took the stage. With his harmless appearance, he drew screams from some female fans. After his performance, he scored 2 million in popularity.
The leaderboard kept updating in real time. At that moment, Huang Minghao’s popularity exceeded Xu Ze’s, reaching 3.8 million.
Xu Ze’s score was at 3.5 million.
Meanwhile, “Do You Know, Do You Know” surged onto Weibo’s trending list.
Many who hadn’t watched the live broadcast wondered—wasn’t this the line Xu Ze supplemented for “Like a Dream” yesterday?
Why was it trending again?
Clicking in, people discovered that Xu Ze had participated in the show and composed a song titled “Do You Know, Do You Know.”
Did Xu Ze use that line to create a song? Filled with curiosity, they began to listen.
After hearing it, everyone started commenting fervently.
“This song is incredible! I never imagined Li Qingzhao’s ‘Like a Dream’ would sound so beautiful set to music.”
“Song lyrics are notoriously hard to set to melody—Xu Ze is a true genius.”
“I suddenly feel the line Xu Ze added fits perfectly.”
“I feel the same—his addition completes the poem’s mood and expression.”
“My mom teaches Chinese; yesterday she told me Xu Ze’s supplemental line was brilliant!”
“My dad too—he’s president of our city’s literary association. Their group discussed Xu Ze’s line all night, and he confided that everyone highly praised it.”
“All I can say is, Xu Ze’s literary talent and musical creativity are both top-tier. Did you notice? The first part of his song is entirely two complete poems.”
“I noticed too—while listening, I felt I was hearing ancient poetry.”
“Do you think ‘Like a Dream’ was truly incomplete?”
“I believe so; otherwise, we wouldn’t have such a perfect supplement.”
“But didn’t Teacher Li Lianfeng say it wasn’t?”
“But the facts are here—I don’t think Teacher Li Lianfeng is necessarily right.”
“I agree.”
...