221: Chapter 221 First Place – Chen Yu!

The host began to reveal the rankings one by one. The noise in the backstage family and friends area instantly subsided, and everyone held their breath.

"First, I will announce the fourth place of this competition..." The host's gaze swept across the audience.

"Yan Zheng!"

Yan Zheng's expression was as steady as ever. He nodded slightly in greeting, seemingly unsurprised by the result.

"Fifth place—Du Heng!"

"Sixth place—Ling Han!"

Hearing this, Li Fang breathed a sigh of relief imperceptibly, a trace of faint confidence reappearing at the corners of his mouth.

It seemed he was firmly in the top three.

He even calculated in his mind that, if things went as expected, he should be first; his strength deserved higher recognition.

Unless the audience's ears weren't working.

"Seventh place..." The host's voice paused for a moment before clearly reading out the name.

"Li Fang!"

The composure on Li Fang's face shattered instantly. He stumbled violently, nearly falling on the spot!

He snapped his head up, his face turning deathly pale in an instant, his eyes filled with unbelievable shock and humiliation.

Chi Zhao: No copying my fall!

Li Fang was still immersed in disbelief.

How could it be seventh? How is that possible?! Was it read in reverse? I should be second!

His brain was buzzing, completely unable to accept this result.

The camera captured his moment of losing composure followed by his attempt to force himself to stay calm, which almost overflowed the screen.

The other singers whose rankings had already been announced had various expressions—surprise, realization, or calm—and no one could guess their true thoughts at this moment.

The host still wore a professional and appropriate smile.

"Now, only the last place and the top three remain to be announced."

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense, and the air seemed to freeze.

"Third place—Yun Yi!"

Yun Yi clearly breathed a sigh of relief, a look of pleasant surprise appearing on her face.

Third place was already an over-achievement for her; her psychological expectation had been fifth.

Tan Xinya subconsciously looked at Chen Yu beside her, only to find him looking calm, without a hint of nervousness, as if he were an outsider. Instead, she herself felt her palms sweating slightly.

"Second place—" The host took a deep breath, "Tan Xinya!"

Tan Xinya was stunned for a moment, then smiled with relief and clapped graciously.

But when her gaze swept over Chen Yu again, it held a bit more complexity.

"The one who won first place in this round is..."

The host dragged out the words as the camera rapidly panned across each guest's tense face, finally settling on Chen Yu's expressionless yet exceptionally captivating face.

"Chen Yu! Congratulations!"

The spotlight instantly converged on Chen Yu, as if a crown were being placed upon him!

A trace of a smile flashed across Chen Yu's face, but he quickly regained his composure.

He took a step forward and bowed deeply to the audience and the judges' panel, his attitude humble and sincere.

As for the last place, it was already self-evident.

When the camera panned to Lou Bingan, her face instantly turned as pale as paper, devoid of any color!

She... was in last place!

This thought was like a cold nail, pinning her firmly to the spot.

Her blood seemed to freeze instantly, her mind went blank, and a huge sense of humiliation and panic brought on a strong feeling of suffocation!

She had once fantasized about aiming for first place, but reality had given her the most cruel irony—last place!

[Hahahaha, I can laugh at Li Fang's expression for a whole year! From full of confidence to questioning his life!]

[Lou Bingan's face turned so white, she actually looks a bit pitiful... But she really messed up the last performance, there's no way around it.]

[Chen Yu is awesome!!! Closing the show and making a comeback to win the championship! He's got the novel male lead script down!]

[I bet fifty cents that Lou Bingan is going to pull a big move in the next episode! The 'desperate counterattack' script is being set up!]

[Li Fang: Wait for me to go back and refine my heart-clutching technique, I'll fight again in the next round!]

[Go for it, Queen Tan! Take back first place in the next round!]

[The show's effect is maxed out! We have god-tier live performances and drama-filled rankings! I'm definitely watching!]

...

The first competition finally drew to a close amidst gasps, applause, disappointment, and breakdowns.

But everyone knew in their hearts that this was just the beginning, and there would be much to see later.

The bullet chat went completely wild!

[Well-deserved!!! Chen Yu is number one!!!]

[This show is really good, with singers of all styles and even comedians, it's great.]

[If I'm not mistaken, the comedians are Li Fang and Lou Bingan! One confidently tripped, and the other's dreams were shattered!]

[Li Fang: Who am I? Where am I? I'm seventh? Hahahaha!]

[Lou Bingan is so miserable... but that final cracked note really can't be defended...]

[Queen Tan is second! She's also strong! Take it back in the next round!]

[Chen Yu: Sorry, everyone here is quite capable, but I'm taking the first place.]

[I bet fifty cents, the next episode will definitely be a bloodbath!]

Chen Yu's closing comeback victory was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, stirring up layers of ripples.

In the eyes of the other powerhouse singers, besides admiration, there was more of a burning, intense fighting spirit ignited by being surpassed by a junior!

Lou Bingan, who was on the verge of elimination, dug her nails deep into her palms. Her eyes became more complex and unwilling, even carrying a hint of ruthless desperation.

"Why... No, I must win it back!" her heart roared.

In fact, she couldn't afford to lose anymore; if she came in last again in the next round, she would be completely out, and all her efforts would go to waste.

Moreover, she had an extremely bad premonition that the negative reviews and the drop in popularity brought by this loss might trigger a series of terrible chain reactions.

Her album was still in a crucial period!

Dammit!

In the backstage control room, the chief director watched the real-time viewership ratings curve soar to the peak during Chen Yu's performance and the announcement of the rankings.

He then watched as topics like "#Voice of Nature#", "#Chen Yu love even in death#", "#Chen Yu's Comeback to First#", and "#Li Fang Seventh#" climbed and occupied the trending search lists at a terrifying speed.

He finally showed a satisfied smile of having everything under control to the producer beside him.

"The show is a success!"

The theme for the next competition had also been announced.

The host's face once again wore a mysterious and suggestive smile, her voice echoing through every corner of the studio via the microphone.

"Thank you all for accompanying us through this spectacular premiere night! But the musical journey never stops. In the next competition, we will touch upon a deeper, more personal, and more resonant theme—"

She paused for a moment, keeping everyone in suspense, before announcing it forcefully.

"Dreams!"

Lou Bingan looked at Chen Yu, who was enjoying the cheers and praise, her eyes filled with a sense of resolution.

Chen Yu, just wait, I will definitely defeat you!

I'm not doing this to prove anything else, but to prove that I was right to dump you back then!

I, Lou Bingan, will never be wrong!

Lou Bingan applied pressure with her fingers, and a nail suddenly snapped!

"Ugh! It hurts!"