120: Unfair?

Lu Qingyu: "The average score given to Qi Mingze by the Investor Delegation was 2.4. I gave him a 3; I didn't intentionally lower his score."

Wang Tong: "But you gave everyone else a 5 before, yet you only gave Qi Mingze a 3. Isn't that unfair?"

Lu Qingyu: "So you're complaining that I gave you all too many points before? How about I re-score everyone based on your actual strength?"

Hearing this, the singers on stage immediately looked at Wang Tong nervously. They did not want Lu Qingyu to re-score them.

If it were really based on normal skill levels, some would get a 5, while others might get a 1 or even a 0. The score gap would become massive. For contestants separated by only one or two points, their rankings would change, and there was no telling who would end up being eliminated.

Wang Tong: "Even if you didn't intentionally lower Qi Mingze's score, his performance was better than Zhang Xinyu's. To put it bluntly, the main reason is that Zhang Xinyu is an artist under Qingcheng Entertainment."

Lu Qingyu: "I am!"

Lu Qingyu was blatantly biased toward Zhang Xinyu. When Zhang Xinyu heard Lu Qingyu say those three words, "I am," he was also stunned, feeling a strange surge of emotion in his heart.

Lu Qingyu admitted it so candidly that instead of making people feel he was in the wrong, it made them think he was incredibly cool.

[Oh my god, the younger brother's eyes are so bright.]

[Lu Qingyu is really so frank.]

[I don't think he's in the wrong either. He invested so much money; what's wrong with looking out for his own people?]

Lu Qingyu: "I do indeed want Zhang Xinyu to stay on this stage, but I also believe that Zhang Xinyu's performance was no worse than Qi Mingze's."

Qi Mingze stood on stage, his eyes full of resentment.

Everything Wang Tong said was exactly what he wanted to say. Why did Lu Qingyu give everyone else a five and only give him a three?

Hearing Lu Qingyu say that Zhang Xinyu's level was not inferior to his own, Qi Mingze became indignant again!

He couldn't beat Wang Tong, but he couldn't beat an internet singer either?

The audience below loved the drama. Qi Mingze's fans felt their idol was being treated unfairly and suddenly started shouting "Rigged!"

One person shouted a few times, and immediately other fans followed suit. Wang Tong's fans joined in the chorus as well.

The Director backstage panicked. It was only the first episode; was it really going to be this intense?

The Director wanted to shut down the livestream for emergency handling.

However, the show that was supposed to end at ten o'clock suddenly saw its ratings skyrocket. A massive crowd of onlookers flooded into the livestream room.

The Director couldn't bring himself to do it. Wasn't this a god-given fortune?

The Director's small, nearly shriveled brain whirred at 800 revolutions per second. He then grabbed a microphone and said to the Host:

"Extra round, extra round! Let the dissatisfied contestants initiate a challenge match."

The Director's voice came through the Host's earpiece. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Thank goodness; if the Director hadn't spoken up, he would have faced an embarrassing career-defining disaster.

Following the Director's instructions in his ear, the Host said:

"Everyone, please remain calm. Since this is a competitive match, there will be winners and losers. However, to ensure everyone is fully satisfied with the competition system, we also have a challenge mechanism."

The singers looked at the Host. They hadn't heard of this mechanism before; it was definitely a last-minute addition.

The Host continued: "Each of the ten singers on site has one opportunity to initiate a challenge. If you are dissatisfied with the current rankings, you can use this opportunity to challenge anyone you wish."

"If the bottom two singers challenge any of the top eight and succeed, they will take that singer's place and remain on stage."

As the Host finished speaking, the other singers were also delighted. This was equivalent to giving everyone a second chance.

Qi Mingze looked at the Host in surprise and immediately raised his hand: "I want to initiate a challenge. I challenge Zhang Xinyu."

"Very well, then—"

"I want to challenge as well."

Before the Host could finish, another voice cut in. Everyone's gaze followed the sound to Wang Tong.

[??? What is Wang Tong doing? He's first in this round; who is he going to challenge?]

[He's not going to challenge Zhang Xinyu too, is he?!]

[No way, no way, this show is starting to go crazy.]

Wang Tong slowly took a step forward. He raised his microphone, but his eyes were fixed on Lu Qingyu.

"I also want to challenge Zhang Xinyu!"

The other singers on stage discreetly took a step back, hoping this crossfire wouldn't affect them.

Wang Tong was currently blinded by anger. He was the first-place winner of this round; logically, only others should be challenging him. Eliminated contestants wanting to advance would usually only challenge singers whose rankings and votes were close to theirs, rather than seeking a beatdown from Wang Tong.

Therefore, this challenge mechanism was useless for those who could maintain a top-five ranking.

Wang Tong was doing this solely to express his dissatisfaction with Lu Qingyu and the people from Lu Qingyu's company.

Qi Mingze's strength was not much different from Zhang Xinyu's, so it might not be a sure win if he went up alone. But it would be different if Wang Tong went up. He believed he could definitely eliminate Zhang Xinyu from this show with certainty.

The Host looked at the Director again. In just these two minutes, the Director felt white hairs sprouting on his head.

After a moment's thought, the Director gave some instructions to the Host through the earpiece.

The Host said again: "Wang Tong, your current rank is 1st place. If you successfully challenge Zhang Xinyu, you can maintain your current rank. However, if you fail, you will also be eliminated."

Wang Tong sneered inwardly. With just Zhang Xinyu, he thought he could shake his position?

He knew that by participating in this show, he had already offended Lu Qingyu, so he might as well let the matter ferment further.

#Singer Wang Tong Resists Capital Cheating#

He thought this topic was pretty good; at least it would give him an image of someone who doesn't fear power.

"I have no objection."

Wang Tong agreed to what the Host said.

Host: "Does anyone else want to initiate a challenge?"

The others were so scared they took another step back, shaking their heads like rattle drums.

Forget about us, we're quite satisfied with the current results.

“Sun Yuan, what about you? Do you want to initiate a challenge?”

Sun Yuan, the contestant ranked tenth in this round, also shook his head.

"No, no, I'm quite satisfied with this result."

Although he was in 10th place, at least his ranking wasn't controversial.

The Host said: "In that case, we will give the three guests on stage one hour to prepare their songs. The countdown begins now."