Chapter 35: Two Trophies

In the singers’ lounge, all the performers and their management teams were fixated on the current rankings. In front of televisions across the country, millions of viewers were also waiting for Luo Tao to reveal the results.

Unlike the similarly named "Tao" from a parallel universe’s "My Song," who liked to drag things out, Luo Tao's style was straightforward and efficient. Since it was a live broadcast, there was no need to build suspense with endless commercial breaks. Still, to maintain some intrigue, Luo Tao always began by announcing the less critical positions first.

This time was no exception. Luo Tao announced the fourth, fifth, and sixth place singers in one breath. They were Zhou Delin, the King of Cantonese Pop, whose performance had been average; Yue Li, the queen of love songs; and Ji Chunying, the powerhouse female vocalist. Based on tonight’s performances, Ji Chunying had definitely outshone Zhou Delin and Yue Li, but unfortunately, despite her remarkable talent, her agency was weak. This meant her reputation was always stellar, but her popularity remained low.

She received only thirty-three votes in this round—an abysmally low number. Yue Li and Zhou Delin didn't do much better. Yue Li edged out Ji Chunying by just two votes, taking fifth place with thirty-five. Zhou Delin had a slightly higher count but still only fifty-seven votes.

When announcing the rankings, Luo Tao didn’t disclose the specific vote counts. The disparity between the singers this week was too great, and he didn’t want to hurt the self-esteem of those who placed lower. After the fourth, fifth, and sixth places were revealed, Zhou Delin and the others felt a twinge of regret but were relieved to have landed in safe positions.

Now, everyone was curious: Did Zhang Qiyang make it into the top three? Given his stellar performance tonight, it seemed impossible for him to land in seventh or eighth place. But if he did, it would be a dream come true for the other singers!

Everyone at the recording site was eager for Luo Tao to announce Zhang Qiyang’s ranking, desperate for clarity.

“Next, I’ll announce the third place for tonight’s competition—” Luo Tao looked towards Lin Haoran, the Prince of R&B. “That’s right, it’s you—Lin Haoran!”

Lin Haoran received sixty-six votes, a respectable number. Being young and relatively inexperienced, he stood up politely and bowed to the others. The singers, wearing professional smiles and hiding complex feelings, applauded his success.

Tension mounted. Only the top two and bottom two positions remained unannounced. Was Zhang Qiyang in the top two, or had he fallen to the bottom?

Everyone’s eyes were glued to the screen, waiting for his name.

Qin Xueyang was so nervous that her palms were sweating. If “Gunner” Zhang still ended up in the bottom two after such a performance, she might as well start preparing his farewell performance for next week—no one would accept such an injustice!

Luo Tao continued, “Now, I’ll announce tonight’s seventh place—Mr. Tan Zhizhong. I hope Mr. Tan can rise against the odds next round and keep pushing forward.”

Tan Zhizhong received twenty-one votes, almost all from audience members over forty. For the most senior veteran singer, this was a blow to his pride. As he stood to acknowledge the room, his face betrayed his displeasure.

In fact, during the competition, Tan Zhizhong had noticed the audience skewed younger this week, likely at the program team’s design. Now, with such a poor result, he naturally blamed them. He even suspected they’d rigged things to protect Zhang Qiyang—outrageous! If this happened again next week, he’d quit the show in protest. Why should he keep playing along with their nonsense?

Now only the top two and last place were left. Among the singers, Zhang Qiyang, Li Xuan, and Zhao Lei had yet to be called.

The situation became clearer. Zhao Lei had performed first, giving it his all with a high-energy number, but Li Xuan, who followed, immediately eclipsed him. Then Zhang Qiyang closed the show with a sensational rock piece, making Zhao Lei’s earlier effort forgettable in comparison.

The results bore this out. Luo Tao quickly announced Zhao Lei as tonight’s last place finisher, offering words of encouragement. The others applauded, hoping he’d do better next week.

Out of five hundred audience members, only fifteen voted for Zhao Lei—a devastating outcome. But unlike Tan Zhizhong, Zhao Lei accepted the loss. If he had been in the audience, he wouldn’t have voted for himself either after hearing Zhang Qiyang’s explosive performance. He’d have given his precious vote to Zhang.

Now, with things as they were, Zhao Lei was eager to see Zhang Qiyang win the championship and take down Li Xuan, the proud diva, flying the flag for mainland rock. Zhang Qiyang was certain to be in the top two now—but would he be first or second? Surely this bastard couldn’t win two weeks in a row?

Many hoped not to see that happen. Viewers at home were even more anxious, pinning their last hopes on Li Xuan to turn the tide and quash Zhang Qiyang’s arrogance.

As Luo Tao turned to Li Xuan, her heart leapt into her throat. She could accept losing to anyone—except that scoundrel Zhang Qiyang!

Zhang Qiyang himself felt a bit nervous. He hadn’t expected the live audience to be so receptive tonight. The song he’d chosen was extreme—non-rock fans might not appreciate it. He’d picked it to defy his critics and hadn’t expected to win; he just wanted to sing his heart out.

Now, with a real chance of winning again, things were getting interesting.

Zhang Qiyang looked expectantly at Luo Tao. Their eyes met, both exasperated—neither wanted to go on. Luo Tao knew the announcement would shake the world.

Unable to delay further, Luo Tao forced a smile and added, “The vote difference between our top two tonight is extremely close—only three votes apart.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Xueyang’s heart nearly exploded, her pulse racing to 180. When Luo Tao named Zhao Lei as eighth, she’d almost reached for her heart medication. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected Zhang Qiyang to be vying for the championship against the unstoppable Li Xuan!

Even with Zhang’s unprecedentedly sensational performance, she couldn’t believe so many people supported him. The world was changing too fast for her to keep up.

Could Zhang Qiyang, once the public enemy, now be rising to the very top? Come on, Gunner! As his most ardent little supporter, Qin Xueyang clenched her chubby fists, praying with all her might for Zhang’s victory.

Beside her, Chen Ke was praying to every deity for Li Xuan. Chen knew exactly how much Li Xuan despised Zhang Qiyang. Ever since Zhang exposed Li Xuan’s real name, he’d been a thorn in her side. Being forced by the company to compete on the same stage as him was torment enough. This week, she’d pulled out all the stops, determined to win. If Zhang snatched the championship from her now, Chen could already picture Li Xuan’s furious rampage back at the hotel—and a week of sour moods ahead, just when several important events loomed. Chen desperately hoped to spare Li Xuan this humiliation.

But fate is fickle—what’s yours is yours, and what isn’t, no amount of longing will win.

Under everyone’s breathless gaze, Luo Tao announced the winner with a forced smile: “The champion of tonight’s competition is Zhang Qiyang! Congratulations on winning first place for two consecutive weeks. I hope you continue to excel in future rounds. Second place tonight goes to Li Xuan.”

Zhang Qiyang received 138 votes, Li Xuan 135—just a three-vote lead. Zhang had snatched the championship!

As the result was announced, many staff in the lounge wore looks of utter disbelief and frustration. They felt Li Xuan’s performance had been at full throttle—if not for her early slot, she surely would have beaten Zhang. Clearly, he had stolen the title from her!

Several singers, hearing the outcome, applauded Zhang with genuine admiration. They all felt Li Xuan’s loss was a real pity.

The instant Luo Tao named Zhang as champion, Li Xuan, who’d been holding her bladder all this time, almost burst with outrage. Her face turned green. Yet, as a diva, she forced herself to smile as if at an award ceremony, stood, and applauded Zhang, congratulating him on his back-to-back wins.

Zhang Qiyang could barely conceal his satisfaction as he stood to receive the applause. Meeting Li Xuan’s glare, he could almost see the twenty thousand tons of fury burning behind her dazzling eyes. If it weren’t illegal to hit someone on air—and if it would boost her popularity—Li Xuan would gladly use her red high heels to stomp him into oblivion.

With a bitter smile, Luo Tao personally handed the champion’s trophy to Zhang and, as usual, invited him to say a few words.

Zhang feigned modesty, addressing the other singers: “First, thank you to all my seniors for letting me win. Honestly, tonight I just sang a song I wanted to sing. I didn’t think too much about the results. To have the audience’s validation and to win first place—this is really the icing on the cake for me. … Oh? I just remembered—I won first last week too. You haven’t given me that trophy yet, Director Luo. Can I take both trophies home today?”