Chapter 31: "Candy"

Inside a room in Sea City apartment building.

"Shaha, Miyuki! Honey Qing!"

Xu Ling lay on the soft big bed, holding her phone, secretly peeking at Chu Yuanqing’s fan club.

Her face had no makeup on, with dark circles under her eyes, lips curved up in a silly smile, looking foolishly kind and flirty like a college girl, showing love and mischief.

Hmm, this fan who only supports Kirimi Miyuki, after taking a few photos, hurried back home without stopping, and watched a full eight hours of live streaming without missing a beat.

During this time, she not only set up Kirimi Miyuki’s fan support group and topic page, posted carefully prepared promotional materials on various platforms and fan support groups, but also edited videos of Kirimi Miyuki and Chu Yuanqing’s performances, showing impressive initiative.

What’s more, she now manages the Chu Yuanqing fan support group due to the "love me, love my dog" mentality, and has also joined forces with Kirimi Miyuki’s fan support group.

However, due to some fan circle rules.

Xu Ling is a big fan of Kirimi Miyuki. When she saw someone familiar from the circle join the group, she decided to give up her position as the group leader to avoid suspicion. She quietly became a regular member and had fun with everyone in the group.

The group chat is very active with messages popping up every minute, keeping the fans engaged.

"Oh no, has Honey Qing unlocked all the assassin’s passive skills? No wonder she’s sitting in the corner of the waiting room."

"This character design is so anime-like. Even with a mask on every day, she still exudes such a strong presence, right?"

"Haha, why is there only one photo of the maid? It’s not enough to satisfy our curiosity!"

"Well, that photo was taken from the staff picture wall by the manager. Let’s hope for some fan feedback! Honey Qing’s maid outfit is amazing!"

The group members chatted freely about topics that would make the main character blush. After repeating "amazing" dozens of times, they continued to imagine scenarios.

"I never knew Honey Qing had it so tough. No wonder she talks to Chu Wang Shu like a little hedgehog."

"Boohoo, thinking about how young she is, living all alone and working hard to support herself. It breaks my heart!"

"Who said she couldn’t do it! With no dance background, she handled the pressure well and completed the performance on stage. It’s truly touching."

"Dream Weaver Rabbit deserves the harshest criticism!"

Xu Ling coldly sneered and agreed:

"Haha, if that mysterious reward is disappointing, I’ll definitely grab its rabbit ears!"

The group discussed passionately the cooking methods of spicy rabbit heads, before getting into a serious discussion:

"Honestly, I can probably understand why Honey Qing made such a decisive choice to participate in the competition. Given her circumstances, pursuing the dream on ’Dazzling Stage’ is likely her only chance."

"Yeah, who on reality shows in the entertainment industry doesn’t have some background?"

"For Honey Qing, missing this opportunity would be like losing her dream, so she boldly decided to compete!"

"Honey Qing is really courageous! A 23-year-old admires her."

At that moment, a group member who clearly supports CP spoke up:

"Just thinking about it, Xiaowangshu is also an amateur, from a single-parent family with poor conditions. No wonder she became good friends with Honey Qing."

Fans of another idol harshly criticized:

"Speechless. Even though Xiaowangshu is a friend of Qing Qing and I really like her, out of respect, can we not bring her up in Qing Qing’s fan support group?"

"Didn’t the previous group owner cut themselves off because they only supported the main idol, Sakura Girl?"

After a tumultuous fight and argument, the topic finally returned to:

"Today the official website will choose the theme song, which song do you think suits Honey Qing best?"

"Objectively speaking, Honey Qing’s dancing skills are really lacking. I think it’s better to choose a song with simple choreography."

(Translated by Gravity Tales 馃槂)

"Then how about voting for ’Candy’? It’s a sweet song with simple choreography. Imagine Honey Qing dancing in a little dress, it’s so sweet!"

The group leader stepped forward to speak:

"Among the eight songs, this one is definitely the simplest. But for safety and to reach a consensus, let’s have a group vote first, and then make an announcement."

Even though Chu Yuanqing’s fans felt pressured, considering the current situation, it would be difficult to sway the fans of the other popular contestants. However, they knew they had to take action first to see how things would turn out.

So, similar things were continuously being mentioned in the fan support groups that were gradually forming, as well as in the online forums.

It was clear that due to the overwhelming popularity of "Dazzling Stage".

Despite Chu Yuanqing only recently appearing in the public eye, she had already gained a group of fans who were sincerely looking forward to her debut and were even willing to actively support her.

"’Candy’?" Xu Ling said thoughtfully.

Kirimi Miyuki also suited sweet songs very well.

Or rather, she was the only contestant who had proven on stage that she was suitable for sweet songs.

Imagine if "Candy" became the theme song of "Dazzling Stage", then Kirimi Miyuki will gain an advantage and compete with Xie Qingxuan for the chance to be the center of the theme song "Carry".

So now, in this fan support group for the "sakura girl", the fans have also decided to vote for this theme song.

On the contrary, Xie Qingxuan and other contestants considered unsuitable for sweet songs, will most likely avoid "Candy", and their fan base will decide which song to vote for based on the main fan preference.

In other words, this is a tug-of-war between fans from different sides, even including casual audience members.

- The final day is only 24 hours away!

The official "Dazzling Stage" undoubtedly continues to adhere to the law of the jungle.

Although this theme song voting may seem ordinary, the most likely winner will undoubtedly be the contestant who attracts the most fans during the live broadcast!

However, nothing is absolute.

Whether it’s Ji Shuzhu, Xie Qingxuan, or even just Grade B Tang Liuli, these contestants who had a large number of loyal supporters before the competition, as well as potential fans, have a much stronger foundation than amateurs like Chu Yuanqing who had a sudden burst of popularity.

Besides other things, the efficiency of organizing fan voting alone is not on the same level.

On the other hand, in similar historical votes, there have been instances where fan voting differed from the main trend, resulting in unexpected outcomes that tricked the main participants.

It can only be said that there are many variables involved.

"Dazzling Stage" does indeed promote survival of the fittest, but it still contains elements of unavoidable luck.

As Xu Ling thought deeply, a bright idea struck her mind, leading her to open a folder filled with treasured files on her computer.

Inside were hundreds of photos exported from her camera, mostly unedited raw images, with only a few enhanced by a soft glow filter, capturing treasures from a serendipitous downpour on that day.

Xu Ling logged into her Weibo account, muttering to herself:

"If I post these, the buzz should increase with the support of new CP fans, perhaps boosting the ranking of ’Candy’ even higher."