Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

"I ride a white horse through three passes, changing into plain clothes to return to the Central Plains..."

A Minnan dialect tune began, followed by an even more passionate melody. The audience, still immersed in the Minnan opera, suddenly experienced a moment of enlightenment.

Xue Pinggui and Wang Baochuan!

Could the song really be written this way? It was indeed a plaintive song, but not entirely. That feeling of resilient and vehement emotion in love that transcended time and space burst forth entirely.

In the guest assembly hall, everyone listening to Pei Muchan belting out the high notes at "As long as you don't let go~" was completely dumbfounded. It took them a few seconds to snap out of it.

"Is this a plaintive song?" Zhang Yuqi mumbled.

"It's not, yet it is..." Wang Yu was also quite stunned, swallowed his saliva, and said, "This isn't a traditional plaintive song; it incorporates many elements."

"The song creation style is quite distinctive, and the singer's high notes are impressive as well," Hou Xueheng, who had just finished his performance, came over and commented.

With Hou Xueheng saying so, the 700 votes were pretty much confirmed.

Meanwhile, Lin Wanzhou was equally shocked in the rest area. She watched on the big screen as Pei Muchan sang the melodious Minnan opera in her dignified cheongsam style long dress.

"Ah, his songs are truly wonderful," sighed Lin Wanzhou softly, speaking in a voice that only Qi Ting could hear, "If only he would write songs just for me."

"It's indeed great, but that depends on you, Zhouzhou," said Qi Ting, glancing at the camera out of the corner of her eye and whispering to Lin Wanzhou, "Sister Yun's intention is to poach Teacher Xu over."

Wen Yun wasn't there; she stepped out to make a phone call.

She was often busy, even though she didn't really manage Lin Wanzhou and Qi Ting's activities. However, she was in charge of the studio's big and small matters.

The three-person studio never lacked anything, and they also worked with others for single releases. In short, whatever needed doing, Wen Yun always had friends in that line of work.

Qi Ting had also quietly grumbled about it, saying that if Wen Yun were a bit younger, she'd probably become the socialite of the Beijing circle. Unfortunately, she was a bit older and could only settle for being the flower of Xinghai.

When Wen Yun found out about this later, she punished Qi Ting severely. Although Ting Ting was thick-skinned and resilient, she felt wronged and never dared to make up stories about Wen Yun behind her back again.

"You're the one who said that, right? If Sister Yun finds out, you're spreading rumors about her again," Lin Wanzhou glanced at Qi Ting and snorted without saying more.

"Really, it's not me. I heard Sister Yun mention it inadvertently last time. She said you don't see the big picture. If you had even one percent of her cunning from back in the day, you would have poached him by now," Qi Ting insisted.

Lin Wanzhou: "...Stop talking nonsense."

"I'm not talking nonsense. Whoever talks nonsense is a little dog," Qi Ting swore raising her hand.

At this, Lin Wanzhou suddenly felt at a loss, her ears turning red.

"Ting Ting, don't badmouth Sister Yun behind her back."

Qi Ting: "???"

Huh? She wondered, what the hell did I say? Isn't this just the truth?

Lin Wanzhou cleared her throat softly and spoke earnestly.

"It's all because I'm always a step behind. It would have been better if I left Yun Yi sooner. Although he's always writing songs, he also mentioned trying to sing a few last time."

"Eh?? Teacher Xu is going to perform?" Qi Ting was utterly confused, as she had never heard Xu Qingyan sing, "When, what songs? How come I don't know about it?"

"I don't know. He said they were unsold drafts," Lin Wanzhou shook her head.

"Oh, drafts, maybe they were just for fun," Qi Ting suddenly lost interest, "But with Teacher Xu's level, he's probably just a bit better than a small-time singer, right?"

Qi Ting tilted her head, "KTV War God?"

Lin Wanzhou: "...."

In the guest assembly hall, Zhang Yuqi and the others appeared calm, even in the mood to listen and give their comments.

However, Jiang Jingsheng was restless. His score was 694 votes, currently ranking third. It could be said he was invincible under 700 votes.

This thing, well, he thought that with this number of votes, even if Pei Muchan or Lin Wanzhou made a mistake, his entry into the top four was secure.

What's more, his agent had revealed that the show producers intended to keep him in the top four. But who could have imagined that Pei Muchan would perform beyond expectations again? It was so frustrating!

Where did Pei Muchan get such a song? A Minnan opera, plaintive in nature, blending traditional and modern music, with the widely-known historical background of Xue Pinggui and Wang Baochuan.

Good grief, this buff is fully stacked, plainly aiming for the crown.

If Hou Xueheng's revealed song sounded like it was meant for a coronation, then Pei Muchan's is clearly going for the championship, featuring high notes where needed.

It has melody, it has lyrics; it's full of depth and meaning.

I can't take it, I just can't take it! So talented, why even come on a show like this? With such lyrical and musical talent, hurry up and get on the Spring Festival Gala, seriously...

Jiang Jingsheng's company only thought of using this program to push his fame up another notch, but who would have expected to get third place twice in a row last time, leaving him without any spirit left.

"That performance from Sister Pei... how many votes will it get?" He looked up and asked.

"I don't know, but it's definitely... over seven hundred, right?" With one sentence, Wang Yu cut off the little hope Jiang Jingsheng had in his heart.

Seven hundred... Then he could only rank fourth, and there were still two more singers left to perform.

Wen Shuanghua doesn't need to worry, her abilities are limited at best, she might just get a little over six hundred votes. No matter how hard she tries, she will surely be eliminated by the program team.

The diva Zhang Yuqi had given up a long time ago, getting a score of six hundred and fifty-some votes this time, her face devoid of any look of regret. Instead, she seemed carefree, as if just waiting to get off work.

If Pei Muchan really gets seven hundred votes, and Lin Wanzhou also scores over seven hundred later, then he can only be eliminated in fifth place.

Thinking this, he clenched his fists tightly.

As the song ended, Pei Muchan stood on stage, her expression slowly becoming calm. The female host walked up gracefully, lavishing praise before getting straight to the point.

"Now let's have our eight hundred audience members vote for Pei Muchan's performance of "Riding the White Horse." If you liked her performance, please cast your vote for her!"

As her words trailed off, the number of votes on the big screen behind her surged instantly, shooting up rapidly to four hundred votes. According to the usual pattern of live voting, it generally rises to five hundred before the increase slows down.

But something unexpected happened when the count reached four hundred thirty, the tally on the screen suddenly stopped moving.

Pei Muchan, with her back to the big screen and facing the camera, kept a calm demeanor. It was only when she noticed the host's face looking a bit off that she turned to glance over her shoulder.

The number was stuck at four hundred sixty votes, implying that most of the votes had already been cast.

But if they were all in, why was it only four hundred something?

"What's going on?" Wang Yu looked up, his expression bewildered as he looked at the big screen, "Four hundred sixty votes, doesn't it usually pause for a few seconds after five hundred?"

"What's this situation, is the voting system stuck?"

He turned to look at the others, but found Zhang Yuqi turning her head away, not responding. It took her a couple of seconds to speak up, her words contrastingly different from what she had just said.

"Maybe the audience had a different expectation for this song. Personally, I quite like it."

What the heck?

Hou Xueheng glanced at the big screen, his brows slightly furrowed, but he remained silent.

"Maybe it's a technical issue."

In the green room.

Wen Yun came back. She was urging Lin Wanzhou to get ready to go on stage. As soon as Wen Shuanghua went on, Lin Wanzhou would have to wait in the passage, getting into her best state.

Turning her head to look at the screen, she too was a bit stunned.

"What's with these votes?"

"It must be a technical issue, right? I see the votes are still going up," Qi Ting said, not too concerned about Pei Muchan's results, "The program's voting system was jerky last time too."

"So many votes in limbo? Was her song that controversial?" Wen Yun said.

Only Lin Wanzhou's expression changed. If Pei Muchan was eliminated, Xu Qingyan definitely wouldn't come to Jianye. She took out her phone and sent a message to Xu Qingyan.

"What's happened to the votes?"

Xu Qingyan was still standing in the passage, waiting for Pei Muchan to come off the stage, and was somewhat confused upon seeing the message.

"What do you mean 'what's happened'?"