Chapter 31: Overtaking

Everyone was enthusiastically discussing when they suddenly noticed that one of Xu Ze's trending topics had actually surpassed his "Shall We Talk About This?" in popularity.

The headline read: "Xu Ze Made a Girl Cry."

What in the world? Could Xu Ze be a heartbreaker?

The gossip-loving girls hurriedly clicked in.

The accompanying picture on the post was of a support sign, with crooked handwriting that read, "Go Xu Ze!" But beneath the sign, another line was written in a much neater hand, clearly by someone else.

Zooming in on the image, they saw: "Thank you, Wang Tingting, for cheering me on. Wishing you happiness every day and success in your studies—Xu Ze."

What? Xu Ze wrote this? His handwriting is actually quite beautiful.

But why would he write this for someone named Wang Tingting?

Everyone started reading the article, and after understanding the situation, they all exclaimed:

"Curse these clickbait headlines!"

"Aww, I never expected Xu Ze to be so gentle!"

Some people who weren’t in the know asked:

"What show is this? I have to watch it!"

"It's that 'I Am a Singer-Songwriter' competition he joined last time. The contest isn’t even over yet—they’re streaming live on Penguin and Mango. Girls, go watch!"

"Let’s go, let’s go!"

Suddenly, the two major platforms were swamped with viewers. When everyone saw Xu Ze was ranked only second in popularity, confusion set in.

"What? Xu Ze’s song is so good, but he’s only second?"

Some who hadn’t yet subscribed immediately topped up their memberships just to vote for Xu Ze.

They seldom hesitated to spend over twenty yuan on a cup of milk tea, but for a video platform membership, it was as if someone was asking for their lives—they’d always rather freeload than pay.

But for Xu Ze, they didn’t mind in the slightest. What’s a membership fee? For Xu Ze, it’s worth it!

Many even subscribed to both platforms to vote twice for Xu Ze.

"Go, go, go! Push Xu Ze to the top spot for me!"

…

On-site, the last contestant had finished performing.

The host announced a final three-minute commercial break. During these three minutes, the popularity ranking would not update, but voting would remain open.

Once the three minutes were up, the voting channels would close simultaneously, and the final popularity results would be revealed.

At this time, both livestream platforms began to lag, likely due to the sudden influx of viewers.

Fortunately, the lag lasted only a few seconds before returning to normal.

The three-minute break ended and voting closed.

All twenty contestants took the stage, awaiting the final results.

The eight contestants with the lowest popularity would be eliminated immediately.

Those most on edge were the ones ranked between sixth and tenth from the bottom before the break—their scores were close, and three minutes could change everything.

Who would stay and who would go was still uncertain.

Those farther behind or ahead had little to worry about; those at the bottom were resigned to their fate, while those at the top were already pondering which mentor to choose.

Most wanted to pick Mentor Zhang Yingjing, the most powerful and popular among the mentors, and, crucially, the most attractive. Even if she was rumored to be a bit aloof, that hardly mattered.

Meanwhile, Huang Minghao looked smugly at Xu Ze—before the break, he was in first place, leading Xu Ze by three hundred thousand votes.

Such a lead would be hard to overcome in just three minutes.

He still bristled at how Xu Ze had ignored him backstage. Being mocked or insulted was bearable; being ignored was the worst.

"Act all high and mighty, but in the end, your popularity still doesn’t match mine," he thought.

Xu Ze, however, appeared relaxed, even waving to Wang Tingting in the audience with a smile.

He wasn’t particularly concerned about his ranking—the mission was simply to advance. He was more curious about what reward the system would give for qualifying this time.

At that moment, the host strode onstage with the results in hand and announced loudly:

"The final popularity rankings for today’s twenty contestants are in. Thank you all for voting."

"Now, I will announce the results."

"In last place, number twenty, is Wang Hai, with 880,000 votes!"

"Nineteenth place goes to…"

…

As the names of the bottom eight contestants were read, the remaining contestants breathed sighs of relief.

They had secured their places in the next round.

The host continued, announcing the rankings from the bottom up:

"Next, in…"

…

"In third place is Zhu Zhengting, with 4.1 million votes!"

Zhu Zhengting nodded—this was the result he had expected.

He was now curious whether Xu Ze or Huang Minghao would take first place.

Before the break, Huang Minghao had the edge. It seemed Xu Ze simply couldn’t catch up, especially since he didn’t have a company backing him—what a disadvantage.

Still, Zhu Zhengting hoped Xu Ze would win first. That would be a recognition of his talent.

Xu Ze was the most gifted contestant of his generation Zhu Zhengting had ever encountered.

"Now, I will announce the contestant who took first place in this round!"

The stage lights began to flash wildly.

The livestream comments flooded in:

"I bet it’s Huang Minghao."

"Of course it’s Huang Minghao—his lead was huge. Xu Ze catching up in such a short time is nearly impossible."

"But I think Xu Ze deserves first; his song is so good."

"It’s a shame—a song that good and only second place."

"It’s fine—he advanced, so we’ll get to hear him again next round."

…

The host shouted theatrically, "On ‘I Am a Singer-Songwriter,’ for the second round, the contestant who takes first place in popularity is…

Xu Ze!

With 5.8 million votes in this round!

First place!"

Instantly, the audience erupted in screams, and Wang Tingting waved her support sign excitedly.

She was genuinely happy for Xu Ze.

The contestants on stage were also surprised—no one expected Xu Ze to overtake at the last moment.

Many began to offer their congratulations; after all, befriending the top contestant could only be advantageous.

Moreover, the next round would be in groups—being in the same group as Xu Ze would increase their chances of advancing.

Zhu Zhengting approached Xu Ze and said, "Congratulations on first place. You truly deserve it."

Xu Ze nodded in reply, "Thank you."

Xu Ze had a good impression of Zhu Zhengting—he seemed very polite.

Xu Ze liked polite people.