Chapter 57: A Tie, A Scandal, and the Premiere of ‘Star’s Week’

The final notes of the song faded, and true to her title as the Heavenly Queen, Xie Ying delivered a flawless performance of the entire piece.

She bowed towards the judges, then swiftly exited the stage.

“Sister Ying!”

Director Feng Wang quickly emerged from the waiting area to greet her, but Xie Ying merely blocked his approach with a hand, not speaking.

“Water!”

Xie Ying’s voice emerged, raspy and strained, like a broken bellows. The melodious, resonant timbre that had filled the stage moments before had vanished entirely.

“Sister Ying, don’t worry, I’ll call an ambulance right away.”

It was then that Director Feng Wang realized the gravity of the situation. He frantically fetched a bottle of water, handing it to Xie Ying, then pulled out his phone to call an ambulance, preparing to rush her to the hospital.

If anything happened to Xie Ying’s voice, he knew he would face a massive lawsuit.

‘What score will Sister Ying’s adaptation get this time?’

‘Will it be enough to curb Zhang Ming’s arrogance?’

The judges had finished their scoring, and now it was time for the final tally. Ever since Xie Ying concluded her performance, the live stream’s bullet comments had been abuzz with speculation about her final score.

“What do you think Sister Ying’s score will be?” Li Xinan leaned closer to Lin Ziyao, asking with genuine curiosity.

Lin Ziyao’s earlier proposed solution seemed to align perfectly with the Heavenly Queen’s strategy. Xie Ying hadn’t chosen to compete with Zhang Ming on technical skill, but instead maximized the emotional impact of her song, carving out an entirely different path.

After a moment of contemplation, she offered a cautious answer: “She should be on par with Zhang Ming.”

“That’s as good as saying nothing!”

Li Xinan gave her a dramatic eye-roll. Having grown closer, the two no longer felt much of a barrier between their work and personal lives; their dynamic was more akin to friends.

“Director Chen, what do you think?”

Since Lin Ziyao couldn’t provide a definitive answer, she turned to the other person present, Director Chen.

“Haha, if it were up to me, I’d definitely let Sister Ying win!” Director Chen said, taking a sip from his teacup.

From a variety show perspective, Zhang Ming’s earlier provocations had already garnered immense attention for the program. If Xie Ying were to lose this competition now, the entire production team would be in an impossible position.

If this variety show had a script, then Xie Ying would undoubtedly emerge victorious in this round.

However, recalling that it was Xie Ying they were dealing with, Director Chen chuckled. He had worked with Xie Ying before and knew her temper well; she would never tolerate any underhanded tactics. Thus, a script was out of the question.

As they chatted idly, the judges’ final scores finally appeared on the screen.

But the moment the score flashed, everyone fell into a stunned silence.

Ninety-one points!

Xie Ying’s final score was also ninety-one points, tying with Zhang Ming.

This outcome was completely unexpected by everyone. Immediately, the live stream’s bullet comments exploded into a frenzy.

“Sister Ying’s song was clearly better, why is she tied with Zhang Ming!”

“Are you serious? Zhang Ming’s singing technique was better. Is this show rigged, discriminating against foreign contestants!”

With two contestants tying, the first focal point of the bullet comments was inevitably the judges. Many comments began to accuse the judges of problematic scoring.

Facing the overwhelming accusations from the bullet comments, Director Feng Wang certainly couldn’t ignore them. However, the most crucial task at hand was to keep the show moving forward.

He stepped onto the stage, gathered all the contestants, and publicly announced the rankings for this round. Xie Ying and Zhang Ming were tied for first place, the third spot went to a female singer from Japan, and the remaining two Chinese singers were placed fourth and fifth.

As the rankings were based on Chinese surnames, Director Feng Wang played a clever trick, ordering them alphabetically. This way, Xie Ying still appeared in first place when the rankings were viewed.

With the rankings announced, Director Feng Wang hastily ended the live broadcast. An ambulance was waiting outside the studio for Sister Ying, and they couldn’t afford to delay her any longer.

After entrusting his immediate tasks to an assistant, he accompanied Xie Ying to the hospital. Since they made no effort to conceal their departure, several reporters who had been staking out the venue quickly caught wind of the situation.

Consequently, a trending topic immediately appeared on Weibo.

“Shocking: Heavenly Queen and Director Rush Off to Do THIS After Recording Ends!”

This headline enticed a crowd of curious netizens to click. Naturally, the main content was mere speculation based on photographs, followed by a stream of meaningless drivel, culminating in the classic marketing line: ‘What do you, our esteemed audience, think?’

It was a classic move by an old marketing account.

Meanwhile, the post-show discussions for Singing Masters were temporarily irrelevant to Lin Ziyao, as the program airing immediately after Singing Masters was the second episode of Star’s Week.

Following the familiar opening, the second episode of Star’s Week began with a four-way split screen. From the layout, it was clear these were the guests’ bedrooms, captured on their very first morning after checking in.

Seeing the morning bedroom footage, Lin Ziyao instinctively tensed. Hadn’t Qin Yu said that all such shots had been deleted? How could the production team still manage to edit them in?

If the audience discovered they had slept in the same bed, it would be impossible to explain, no matter how hard they tried.

If Director Chen and Li Xinan weren’t present, she would have immediately called Qin Yu, demanding an explanation.

She watched the edited morning footage of the various rooms, her scalp tingling with anxiety.

Fortunately, the broadcast footage primarily focused on Qin Yu’s bed, and no strange sounds could be heard emanating from her. It seemed Qin Yu had kept her promise, thoroughly deleting anything that shouldn’t have been included.

“Director Chen, why didn’t you remind us about recording morning wake-up videos at the beginning? Qin Yu was the one who told me later,” Lin Ziyao complained to Director Chen.

Seeing this segment, she suddenly recalled that no one had informed her about this detail; it was Qin Yu who had mentioned it to her much later.

“Ah? I told Xiao Li to inform every guest. Wait until I get back; I’m docking his bonus.”

Lin Ziyao’s words sent a cold sweat running down Director Chen’s back. If that footage had been aired without a guest’s permission, it would have caused a huge scandal.

Poor Xiao Li, the employee, would eventually discover that the person whose bonus was being docked was himself!

By this point, the show had reached Feng Qiqi’s classic “over-the-top” performance. The bullet comments were now universally filled with “hahahaha.”

It seemed the audience was thoroughly entertained by Feng Qiqi’s performance.

“If Sister Qiqi sees this part, she’ll probably call you,” she quipped to Director Chen, watching the embarrassed Feng Qiqi on screen, who looked as if she wanted to find a hole to hide in.

Subsequently, the show’s editing showcased various amusing incidents involving the guests on their journey, such as Lin Ziyao and Qin Yu walking side-by-side and humming a tune.

It also featured Yang Tian and Tang Wenjie being surrounded by fans on the bus, who clamored for photos and autographs.

And there were the funny moments that occurred backstage when the guests were frantically rehearsing ‘Most Dazzling Ethnic Style’.

As the progress bar advanced, this episode of *Star’s Week* reached its biggest highlight.

The high-definition stage performance of ‘Most Dazzling Ethnic Style’ had begun!

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Scream for Me

BLLove–Hate RelationshipModern

Read Now →
Not interested