Chapter 133 - 128 Perennial Runner-up 1
Lin Yuan’s judgement was not wrong.
In the subsequent rounds of the competition, Xia Fan’s advancement was unstoppable, and she even made it to the final four, attracting attention from many sectors –
There was one thing that even Lin Yuan did not see coming.
Xia Fan turned out to be the rare type of competitor who excels in huge competitions!
She was usually a girl who would want to rush to the bathroom when nervous. However, the tense and heated atmosphere of the competition seemed to stimulate Xia Fan’s potential, making her performance better and better with each match!
However…
As the competition progressed to this stage, Xia Fan got busier and busier, so much so that she was spending less and less time chatting in the group. Her most recent appearance was simply a hurried comment: “The organizers won’t let us use our smartphones, they’re afraid we’ll leak details of the competition.”
That’s very normal.
The competition needs viewers, knowing the results in advance would take away all the suspense. So at times like this, competitors usually have no access to their phones.
Jian Yi and Lin Xuan were discussing the competition show “Bloom” in the group chat every day.
“Each of the top four competitors is very strong.”
“Indeed, they are all very strong, but I think Xia Fan’s toughest opponent in this competition is Tang Yue. Tang Yue’s innate ethereal voice is fantastic!”
If she can beat Tang Yue, Xia Fan can win the championship!”
“I feel Xia Fan is no less than Tang Yue. Tang Yue’s singing skills are slightly weaker than Xia Fan’s, and she got to the top four because of her vocal advantage.”
“One could only say they each have their own merits. ”
Lin Yuan was also following the competition, so he knew who Tang Yue that his sister and Jian Yi were discussing was.
This girl was also a competitor in “Bloom”.
Among the competitors this time, Tang Yue currently had the highest popularity and support, with Xia Fan in second place. Just based on the overt data, Tang Yue had the best odds of winning the championship.
“Just have to see how the competition goes tomorrow night.”
It was now the end of July, and on August 1st tomorrow, the championship battle of “Bloom” would take place!
Lin Xuan even wanted to go and watch the competition live.
However, everyone had work to do, and moreover, the finals were happening in another city. Even if they went to the venue, they might not be able to get in touch with Xia Fan, so they all had to give up on it.
Meanwhile, at Brilliant Silverlight Company…
As a top-ranked singer, Chen Zhiyu didn’t have the mood to follow a talent show –
Even though he was defeated by Zhao Ying Ge, the champion of the last season of “Bloom”.
One must always look forward.
Let the past be the past.
Chen Zhiyu had already put the shadow of “Red Rose” behind him, and he was preparing to make another dash for the charts –
His goal!
Number one in August!
Originally, the frequency at which Chen Zhiyu released new songs was not so high.
However, having had to settle for second place twice when releasing new songs made Chen Zhiyu develop a peculiar obsession with the championship of the season!
I must get first place once!
In fact, Chen Zhiyu could have released a song in July, but there were four top- ranked singers having showdowns in July, so Chen Zhiyu decided to avoid it.
He wasn’t some daredevil who was keen on clashing head-on.
August was fine, there was only one top-ranked singer competing with Chen Zhiyu. To everyone, that person was all too familiar –
Starlight’s top singer, Jin Shuyu!
In other words, this was the long-awaited “Battle of the Yus”!
Who would’ve expected that, after Jin Shuyu and Chen Zhiyu brushed past each other in June, they would encounter each other yet again in August. When both sides publicly declared their intentions to vie for the championship of August, the industry was greatly amused:
“What a coincidence, isn’t it?”
“Is it really the Battle of the Yus?”
“Hahaha, the Battle of the Yus might come late, but it never fails to arrive! ”
“It seems that Chen Zhiyu and Jin Shuyu are unfinished with each other!”
“Feels like we’re back in June again. But this time, there’s no Xian Yu to stir things up. The two top singers can have a good fight in August.”
II II
Chen Zhiyu paid no mind to the industry’s teasing.
With him and Jin Shuyu both being top-ranked singers, and their popularity being almost equal, it was all about the quality of their songs.
Chen Zhiyu was not afraid!
Because Chen Zhiyu was very confident about the quality of his song this time. Although the songwriter this time was a newcomer, not a top-tier one, and was even only a sophomore in the Composition Department of East Art…
That newcomer was very talented, and Chen Zhiyu knew that the song would be a hit as soon as he heard it!
The company was also very supportive of Chen Zhiyu’s chart battle this time. After all, Chen Zhiyu had come second twice, and both times he had lost to non-top-ranked competitors, which made it somewhat embarrassing.
As June came to an end…
The media were jokingly saying that Chen Zhiyu was the “perennial runner- up”.
This was not a good reputation for a top-ranked singer.
To completely wipe off the “perennial runner-up” label, Chen Zhiyu had to win the championship.
This battle was a must-win situation!
However, learning from the previous experience, Chen Zhiyu had specifically asked his agent to do some investigation this time.
Nothing much, just to make sure if there would be any “Fish” in August!
“I swear, there really isn’t one this time!”
For caution’s sake, the agent spent three days investigating before telling Chen Zhiyu the results: “I said last time that I would definitely check properly next time. Do you believe me now?”
“Phew.”
Chen Zhiyu breathed a sigh of relief: “If there’s no Xian Yu, I’m not worried about having a direct showdown with Jin Shuyu. This is a war of us top-ranked singers!”
“Yes indeed.”
The agent sighed: “That ‘Fish’ really is troublesome. Every time he collaborates with some unknown little singer and gets us into a mess, this time without him, you will definitely make a clean sweep!”
Chen Zhiyu felt a sudden jolt in his heart: “Don’t jinx it!”
The agent didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Aren’t you being too cautious? Don’t you think that your song is a match for Jin Shuyu’s? You should know that the company reserved this song especially for you. The quality is top-notch!”
Chen Zhiyu nodded: “Indeed.”
The agent spread his hands: “See, this round is already sealed… umph!”
Chen Zhiyu covered the agent’s hand with his own: “Please, no more jinxing!”
He was already killed by the agent’s jinx twice.
Chen Zhiyu was really scared of his agent’s mouth now.
Even without Xian Yu this time, to be on the safe side, Chen Zhiyu had to keep his agent’s mouth shut to prevent him from jinxing again.
Crashes often result from misinterpreted remarks.
It was a lesson learned from the previous two times.
A few seconds later, Chen Zhiyu let go of his hand.
The agent said helplessly: “I get it.”
He felt that Chen Zhiyu was being overly cautious.
A round that was already in the bag shouldn’t be handled so carefully. Even if he won, it wouldn’t be satisfying enough.
It seemed that the shadow Xian Yu had left on Chen Zhiyu was quite large. He hoped that time would heal everything.
“I’m leaving then.”
The agent found it uninteresting and left with a wave of his hand.
Chen Zhiyu nodded, thinking to himself: “Jin Shuyu probably deliberately avoided the fierce competition last month, that’s why he eventually chose to release his song in August. Since we’re on the same page, let’s use this opportunity in August to settle the score!”