Chapter 95: Chapter 95: Band Theme

As everyone had guessed, Jiang Qin and Yue Ji snatched up three-fifths of the remaining two-thirds of the votes.

The mood was somber.

The later a composer was scheduled to perform, the greater the psychological pressure they felt.

If they wanted to surpass those with high vote counts, they had only one option: achieve an incredibly high score.

But… that was easier said than done.

Then again, that’s just how cruel competitive shows are.

For some to remain on this stage, others had to leave.

The netizens watching the livestream were saddened by the sight, and some fans even began cursing the show for its awful format.

[Damn, we complain every year, but this damn production team just refuses to change.]

[Exactly. This garbage voting system—do you really think it’s fair? And who the hell thought randomly drawing the performance order was a good idea?]

[If you ask me, they should just order them based on their scores.]

[You say that, but you wouldn’t be happy if they actually ordered them by score. After all, if Jiang Qin and Yue Ji went on first, they’d probably pull in fifty million votes.]

[Their scores are always high, never dipping below 92, which leaves no room for the later performers to surpass them.]

[It still comes down to skill. The high-scorers who performed later still managed to climb the ranks, even if they were short on votes.]

[How come none of you are mentioning how the themes and the paired singers can totally screw you over?]

[Several composers who normally get good results were eliminated because they got dragged down by bad partners and themes they weren’t good at.]

[So they need a top-tier superstar for a partner, need to go first, *and* need a theme they’re familiar with? What’s the point of competing? They might as well just go home and wait for the trophy to be delivered.]

…

「Blue Star.」

As a music student, Jiang Ruming had been required by her professor to watch the show.

Afterward, she had to discuss her impressions and analyze the top-ranking songs.

So, she had been forced to watch Jiang Qin take first place for three episodes in a row.

Seeing Jiang Qin take first place yet again, she was overcome with complicated emotions.

Recently, some of her classmates had started looking at her differently—with mockery and a veiled disdain.

She had even overheard some ugly comments. Her greatest fear was coming true: people were comparing her to Jiang Qin.

And concluding that she didn’t measure up.

“Genes really are a matter of fate. Even after being stranded on a Barren Star, Jiang Qin is still that brilliant.”

“In comparison, Jiang Ruming seems decent enough on a normal day, but she’s nothing compared to Jiang Qin, who’s already qualified to be on an Empire-level show.”

“I heard she’s actually an orphan. Lady Jiang Yulian took pity on her and decided to take her in, especially after losing her own daughter.”

“Her father is Lady Jiang Yulian’s brother. I looked into it—he’s just a common male.

And her mother was a low-grade female from a Garbage Star.”

“Gods, no wonder I always catch a weird smell when I’m near her. It’s because her genes are so inferior.”

“If Jiang Qin hadn’t disappeared, letting her become the young lady of the Jiang Family, she’d probably still be picking trash on some Garbage Star right now.”

“Hey, don’t say that. She’s still the young lady of the Jiang Family, for crying out loud. And she has her good points… at the very least, she’s decent-looking…”

Jiang Ruming felt like she was about to collapse just thinking about those comments.

But she had to grit her teeth and stay in school. More importantly, she had to graduate successfully, or her future options would become even more limited.

Although her mother treated her well, she held no real power and wasn’t particularly sharp.

She was the type to be content as long as her partners kept her life lavish and comfortable.

Jiang Ruming couldn’t rely on her for anything.

Therefore, Jiang Ruming had to pave her own way.

At this thought, she could only swallow her humiliation and continue watching the show, knowing she would have to write a review lavishing praise upon Jiang Qin.

***

’With the show turning out like this, are they sure it won’t get taken off the air?’ the host thought helplessly.

The same person winning first place every episode—and a Bronze Level composer, no less—was a real slap in the face.

“Thank you to our fifty singers for bringing us the spectacular performances of our fifty composers’ works.

And now, let’s announce the composers who have successfully advanced to our fourth episode!”

“First up, we have the winner of our third episode! That’s right, it’s a familiar face, our friend Miss Jiang Qin and her partner, Miss Yue Ji!

Let’s welcome them to the stage with a round of applause.”

The winner was always Jiang Qin; only the partners changed.

“In second place, trailing by only 0.2 points, is Mr. Jones and his partner…”

“Third place goes to Mr. Karl and his partner, Mr. Cang Hong.”

To be honest, many of the songs that came later were actually superior to the one Karl had composed.

They simply lost out on votes and had to settle for lower rankings.

If Karl hadn’t been the first to perform, third place would have absolutely not been his.

Miss Finland didn’t seem adept at the dark-style songs, so she and her partner only secured thirteenth place.

As for the composers from the Federation, Xini placed 25th, just barely making the cut.

Antonio placed 28th.

The other composer from Tianwen was unfortunately eliminated. His style didn’t match the theme, causing him to lose a significant number of points.

All three composers from Star Entertainment advanced.

Aside from Antonio, the other two composers from Four Seas were eliminated.

Their pieces weren’t particularly outstanding, and they performed late, so they didn’t receive high scores, and their vote counts were pathetically low.

The show was now left with only 30 composers and 100 singers.

The singers weren’t eliminated; after all, they were on the show for the exposure.

If they were lucky, they could get picked every episode.

After the season ended, if any of the songs they’d sung had a good public reception, their agencies would even step in to help them negotiate for the performance rights.

…

The wheel on the large screen began to spin, and everyone who had been lost in thought snapped back to attention.

Under everyone’s tense gaze, a single word slowly appeared: Band.

The host looked surprised. “Oh! The theme for the next episode is ’Band.’

This is the first time the theme ’Band’ has appeared since the show started, isn’t it?”

His co-host chimed in, “That’s right, it is the first time.”

“It looks like our audience is in for a treat next episode, because all 150 of our singers will be taking the stage!”

“Because the theme is ’Band,’ the number of partners assigned to each composer will be changed from one to five.”

Everyone was stunned.

’Five partners?’

’Forming a band and getting in sync in just three days?’

’God, what kind of demonic theme is this?’

While others were still reeling in shock, Cang Hong had his eyes squeezed shut, making a wish.

’Lord Mainbrain, you have to assign me to Miss Jiang Qin!!!’

When he heard the host announce that the results were in, he didn’t dare to open his eyes.

He could only nervously crack one eye open to peek at the names listed behind the first-place composer.

Yina, Hugh Dean, Cang Hong, Durant, Chu Rou…

Cang Hong’s eyes flew open, and he excitedly checked the list over and over again!

’Waaah… Lord Mainbrain really does spoil me!!’

Yue Ji, who had also hoped to partner with Jiang Qin again, was deeply disappointed.

She wanted to sing another of Jiang Qin’s songs, not just out of personal preference, but also because Jiang Qin had the highest probability of winning and generated the most publicity.

Unfortunately, they would be rivals again in the next episode.

A person like Jiang Qin.

Having her as a teammate was incredibly reassuring, but as an opponent… it was utterly disheartening…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep