Chapter 8.2
Editor: Jodi
After the opening performance, the official final live broadcast began.
In just ten minutes, Mu Nan and Cheng Han’s “Haze Attacks Gradually” had already gone on the hot search. The program team seized the opportunity to draw in viewers, and the number of live viewers quickly surpassed five hundred thousand, even nearing one million.
During the opening group dance of the finalists, the live viewership successfully broke one million.
Backstage, the program team was ecstatic. None of them had expected to hit their target right at the start, and this was largely thanks to Mu Nan and Cheng Han.
And for this, the celebratory champagne had already been prepared. Because for the program team, the fans’ obsession with their idols’ rankings was secondary; as long as there was buzz, they had won.
The contestants on stage were extremely nervous, while the people backstage were ecstatic.
And in this contradictory and fragmented atmosphere, Mu Nan and Cheng Han took their seats at the mentors’ table.
If the camera had panned to them at this time, over a million viewers would have noticed that these two didn’t exchange a word or even a glance the entire time.
They sat on either side of the female mentor who took a deep breath. She only felt that she’d developed gastritis from anxiety over the past three months of recording the program.
The finals were divided into two rounds, rounds that lasted nearly three hours and were broadcast live throughout.
Mu Nan was already very familiar with these contestants and had heard their songs multiple times during rehearsals, so there was no novelty, yet he still had to feign surprise and excitement for the cameras.
He let his muscle memory handle his expressions while his mind drifted. However he couldn’t fully relax, sensing Cheng Han’s occasional glances despite the person sitting between them.
The feeling of Cheng Han’s bite lingered on his lips. Cheng Han had bit with the force of a wolf, as if trying to tear off a piece of his lip.
He touched the bitten spot with his tongue unconsciously, and he didn’t know if it was a psychological effect or not, but he seemed to be able to taste the metallic tang of blood, salty and persistent.
*
Time flew by, and two hours of performances passed quickly.
Outside the arena, fans were rallying all their strength for the final voting push. Currently, the top three were almost certain: Yang Yuzhu, Shi Tao, and Ji Ye, and Yang Yuzhu and Shi Tao had a significant lead over the third place.
Thus, the only suspense left was who would be the champion. Would it be Shi Tao, whom Mu Nan favored, or Yang Yuzhu, who was favored by Cheng Han?
The voting ended, and the rankings from tenth place upward, were announced.
Each name the host read out was met with cheers from the audience, but Mu Nan knew that Weibo was even more chaotic, with bloodshed and storms of emotions.
“Let’s congratulate our third place winner—Ji Ye! Congratulations on your successful debut!”
Unexpectedly, the cheers were much smaller than before and not as enthusiastic as when the first few places had been announced.
This was because most of the people who had the ability and resources to get tickets were fans of Yang Yuzhu and Shi Tao. And so at this decisive moment when it came time to determine who was first and who was second, they were all holding their breaths as they waited, and so naturally didn’t have the time to cheer for anyone else.
The host teased, “Next, we will announce the ultimate champion who will also be the lead singer and captain of the future team. Who will it be? Stay tuned after the commercial break.”
“Oh come on! What a cliffhanger!” “No, not a commercial now.” “Can they not do this?”
The venue and the internet were filled with dissatisfied voices, and at the mentors’ table, makeup artists rushed to touch the three mentors up.
Mu Nan turned his face towards the makeup artist, and out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Cheng Han. Unexpectedly, Cheng Han was also looking at him.
However his gaze was much more direct, as he was almost staring straight at him.
Mu Nan’s heart skipped a beat, then he looked away quickly. But then he realized he was the victim here, so why should he feel guilty?
Thinking this, he glared back fiercely, but to his surprise, Cheng Han had already looked away, and he instead found himself staring into the dumbfounded face of the female mentor.
He deflated like a punctured pufferfish, then he gave her an awkward smile.
After the brief commercial break, it was finally time to announce the final results.
The host announced the ultimate champion’s name directly: “Let’s congratulate him—Yang Yuzhu!”
Mu Nan: “F*ck!”
Mu Nan nearly cursed out loud, but fortunately the cheers from the crowd were too loud and drowned out his voice.
Then realizing what had happened, he instantly felt a wave of disinterest wash over him, whilst on stage, Shi Tao was unable to hide his disappointment, because despite his maturity, he was still young and so couldn’t fully conceal his feelings.
Mu Nan was also disappointed. It seemed, that ever since he joined this program, nothing had gone right for him.
First, he fought with Cheng Han in the car, then had a conflict with his own mother, participated in this stupid program, and in the end, the winner was actually still Cheng Han’s favored contestant.
This was all so meaningless. The world was just that dull.
After the recording ended, Mu Nan took off his mic and didn’t want to talk to anyone. He told Wilder to inform the director that he had a headache, then he headed out.
However Cheng Han suddenly called out to him from behind.
“What do you want?” Mu Nan had thought he would glare angrily, however he only turned back listlessly, too tired to care.
Even towards his mortal enemy, with whom he couldn’t help but argue, he momentarily lost the will to fight.
“I’m sorry about today.” Cheng Han said as he stood in the dim corridor with the light behind him, the light causing his features to look even more chiseled.
“Oh.” Mu Nan responded noncommittally, then turned to leave again.
“My agent will discuss the PR statement with your team.” Cheng Han added.
“Whatever, it’s not my business.” Mu Nan replied.
Then as Mu Nan started to walk away, Cheng Han seemed a bit anxious, “Wait, there’s one more thing.”
“What is it?” Mu Nan asked indifferently.
Cheng Han seemed to struggle internally before finally saying, “Be careful of Shi Tao.”
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