Chapter 30: 030: All Eyes on Hangzhou
As the finals approached, everyone was busy.
Ye Yiqian, Lin Shuang, Ji Minjia, and Ding Ding locked themselves in their hotel rooms, repeatedly putting tapes into the recorder.
Listening to songs, choosing songs, singing…
Over and over again.
From dawn till dusk.
It wasn’t until Tuesday’s bell rang that the four of them fell into a deep sleep, exhausted.
…
Meanwhile.
Fans following the Super Girl competition were also entering a grand carnival moment.
Since the live broadcast ended yesterday, many people were still immersed in the competition atmosphere, some discussing with colleagues at work, others chatting with classmates at school.
Some even battled on Tieba and forums all day.
The entire Super Girl Bar was in chaos, with people campaigning for votes, cursing, declaring war, discussing, watching the excitement, and mocking… The tense atmosphere before the finals was everywhere.
Zhang Liangying Bar
Every refresh revealed over a dozen new posts.
Among them.
There was a battle post from Li Yuchun’s fans—
“Trash Zhang Liangying, only knows how to rely on men!”
“If you have the guts, meet us in the finals, and we’ll show you how Li Yuchun defeats Zhang Liangying!”
“Without Shen Qing, what is she worth?”
“Her singing is far worse than Li Yuchun’s, she should go home and farm already.”
“…”
There were also campaign posts from Zhang Liangying’s fans, and some boastful posts showing off singles and ringtones.
Every post had many replies.
The most lively was the post pinned by the bar owner: Only Love Liangying! Liangfen, please mobilize all your connections to cast your precious vote for Liangying!
“Only love Liangying! I’ve already asked over 30 relatives and friends to vote for Liangying, Liangying will win!”
“All 56 people in my class support her.”
“Beat the tomboy, Liangying, you are the most beautiful!”
“Liangfen, you must keep going. Whether Liangying can win the championship depends on you.”
“Ahhhhh… I really want to know what Liangying is doing now. I haven’t seen her for a whole day, and I still have to endure more than five days, boohoo…”
“Liangfen, let’s go to Hangzhou on Saturday for the campaign event organized by Zhejiang University’s Tianci Music Society. Are you going? If you are, leave your QQ, let’s form teams now!”
“…”
In Li Yuchun Bar, He Jie Bar, Zhou Bichang Bar, Zhao Jingyi Bar, Huang Yali Bar… the same scene was unfolding, with fans being even crazier than the contestants.
…
The next morning, Tuesday.
Shen Qing and Zhang Liangying practiced “Until the World’s End” and “Rain Butterfly” multiple times on the hotel’s top floor.
It wasn’t until the sun was high in the sky that they returned to their rooms.
But as soon as they finished showering, they received a call from President Yu of Tianyu.
Damn it!
It’s here.
Shen Qing knew that Tianyu would definitely make Zhang Liangying sign a contract before the finals. They wouldn’t allow someone unsigned to enter the national finals.
“President Yu, we…”
“Shen Qing, listen to me. If you don’t sign, it’s hard to guarantee that you won’t be eliminated in the Hangzhou Division finals. You understand what I mean, right…”
The finals this weekend would have notaries from the Zhejiang Provincial Notary Office participating throughout. The text message votes would be under their supervision, so there shouldn’t be any major issues.
Shen Qing wasn’t worried about Zhang Liangying not making it into the Top 3.
Even if she was sent to the PK Stage by the three judges, Zhang Liangying had a high probability of winning.
But the national finals were different.
The preliminary elimination rounds wouldn’t have notaries from the notary office. They could report any text message vote count they wanted.
Moreover.
If Tianyu were even more ruthless, they could change the elimination rules, and Zhang Liangying might be eliminated in the first round for having the ‘lowest votes’.
This is the entertainment circle…
There’s nothing you can’t imagine that they wouldn’t dare to do, no matter how unscrupulous.
This was precisely what Shen Qing was worried about.
Although Zhang Liangying could make a name for herself without winning Super Girl, debuting as the champion would make her future path much smoother and provide more resources.
“President Yu, Zhang Liangying actually wants to sign, but she feels that ten years is a bit long and wants to change it to three years.”
“Three years is impossible, Shen Qing. Today is the last notification. I’ve given you enough time to consider, and you’ve seen what happened to He Zuoyan…”
“…”
After hanging up the phone, Shen Qing put away the recording pen.
That guy surnamed Yu was truly shameless.
But he encountered Shen Qing, who was prepared. It wasn’t certain who the hunter was.
Zhang Liangying: “Qing, what should we do? Should we sign?”
Shen Qing: “Of course! The other 14 contestants who entered the national finals have all signed. If you don’t sign, you’ll likely be eliminated in the first round.”
Zhang Liangying: “They are too wicked.”
Shen Qing: “Don’t worry about these things. Just focus on singing well. I’ll handle the rest.”
Shen Qing’s plan was now very clear: first sign this ‘invalid contract’ and get the benefits and resources that were due from Tianyu.
As for breaking the contract after the finals, there was no need to worry. With the recording as a threat, and loopholes in the contract, Tianyu was bound to lose.
Was Zhejiang University’s legal team just playing around with you?
…
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, it was Saturday.
For several days, the atmosphere in Hangzhou and Chengdu had become increasingly tense, with news of fans taking to the streets to campaign for votes appearing frequently.
There were even scenes of two groups of fans arguing.
A male fan from Chengdu, in front of the media cameras, cried profusely, denouncing the Liangfen for bullying them.
Hmm? Li Yuchun has male fans? That’s indeed rare!
“Yesterday, Zhang Liangying’s fans were too much, bullying us Yumis. We Yumis have been enduring it.”
“Today, for Li Yuchun, we have no choice. We’ll fight, we’ll stand up for Li Yuchun even if we die!”
While the fans were busy rallying for their idols, the contestants’ parents and relatives and friends were also not idle. They had all arrived in Hangzhou or Chengdu, preparing to participate in the finals.
The 10 contestants from the two divisions had not rested since Tuesday, almost every day rehearsing and practicing in the studio, or filming videos outside.
Even Zhang Liangying’s mother had filmed three or four short videos.
Since Zhang Liangying was busy in the studio, she asked Shen Qing to take Zhang Guiying for a stroll around West Lake. Zhang Guiying liked Shen Qing more and more.
She was just short of asking: When are you and Liangying going to get married?
…
At 8:30 PM, Shen Qing, Zhang Liangying, and Zhang Guiying sat in the hotel room, quietly waiting for the Chengdu Division finals to begin.
Zhang Liangying: “Shen Qing, who do you think will win the championship in the Chengdu Division?”
Shen Qing: “It should be Li Yuchun. She has many fans. Be careful when you meet her in the finals.”
Zhang Liangying: “Hehe, I’m not afraid of her. I have Shen Qing, does she have that~”
Zhang Guiying chuckled.
She hadn’t seen her daughter’s proud little demeanor like this for many years.
Soon.
The Chengdu live broadcast began.
Hosts Li Xiang and Hu Xiao took the stage to introduce the judges and competition rules.
The three judges today were He Jiong, Shun Zi, and Chang Kuan. The Top 5 contestants were Li Yuchun, He Jie, Feng Jiamei, Wen Yao, and Zhang Li.
The results were as expected. Li Yuchun overwhelmingly crushed everyone else with the highest text message votes, winning the championship.
The runner-up was He Jie.
Third place was Feng Jiamei.
The end of this live broadcast signaled that the Super Girl 2005 division finals were drawing to a close, with only Hangzhou yet to begin.
The eyes of the nation, following Super Girl, all turned towards Hangzhou.
