Chapter 123: "First Place"

“The second place this episode is Xu Yan, congratulations.”

Wang Chong finally chose to announce the results directly. A little delay can raise ratings, but too much delay is dangerous—when emotions are high, lives can be harmed with frightening ease. The last time, Ning Wei had delayed as usual and got himself blasted by a lot of people on Weibo for dangling everyone by the throat. So Wang Chong had learned: a brief pause is enough.

The moment he called out Xu Yan’s name as second place, the mood of the two contestants changed in an instant.

When Xu Yan heard she had come in second, her composure collapsed. She had expected this outcome, but when it arrived in front of her, she still couldn’t quite hold herself together. It meant that in her first showdown she had lost to Zhang Yuan.

Xu Yan had prepared nothing that surpassed Zhang Yuan, and though she was unhappy inside, she still had to keep her face for the cameras. At second place she wore a cheerful smile and posed as if she were satisfied.

Some were relieved, some gloomy. As Xu Yan’s disappointment grew, Zhang Yuan was privately thrilled in her heart. If Xu Yan was second, then there was no doubt at all that Zhang Yuan was first.

After Zhang Yuan confirmed her first-place result, her joy was natural, but she showed nothing on her face. Instead she kept a calm expression and even comforted Xu Yan. She did not feel she was doing anything wrong.

In her heart Zhang Yuan understood that if their places had been reversed, Xu Yan would have reacted the same way. It was that obvious.

Wang Chong also knew Xu Yan would not be happy after her score was announced, but there was no avoiding it. Once the rankings are set, someone is always first and someone must end up at the bottom. In a competition based on talent, no one can complain about another person—there is only what one can do.

After announcing Xu Yan, Wang Chong quickly congratulated Zhang Yuan, because she was clearly the spotlight of this episode. The next wave of promotion would focus on Zhang Yuan and Zhou Ran.

“I now announce that the first place of this episode is Zhang Yuan!”

As soon as Wang Chong spoke the top name, Zhang Yuan seemed visibly overcome. Though she already knew she would be first, hearing the official announcement still moved her.

In her previous appearance, Zhang Yuan had recorded Heavenly Sound with Zhou Ran. In that show, Zhou Ran had finished her off completely, because first place had always been his; Zhang Yuan had had almost no chance at all.

This time, this first place could be counted as her first victory in quite a while. When she got the results, she turned immediately to Zhou Ran, who sat beside her, because she knew his help had played a major part.

Without the song Zhou Ran had given her, Zhang Yuan’s ranking in this round would likely have swapped with Xu Yan. With another producer, it would be hard to create a song matching the quality of “Later” in just forty-eight hours. Even if an original could be made in that time, its quality would not be guaranteed.

Without Zhou Ran, Zhang Yuan believed she might have been among those who simply sang cover songs. Without a strong original, a cover is often the safer route; originals can add points, but they can also lose them just as easily.

On top of that, Xu Yan’s song this round was genuinely high quality. If it weren’t for Zhou Ran’s “Later,” it was almost certain she would have won this round as well, because beating it in forty-eight hours would have been extremely difficult. The song clearly showed careful preparation.

When Zhang Yuan turned to him, Zhou Ran nodded and thanked her with a few quiet words.

In the lounge, everyone was praising Zhang Yuan. Only Xu Yan stayed behind, gloomy and silent. Yet she recovered quickly. Losing to Zhang Yuan once is no disaster—there are plenty more episodes, and more chances for a direct face-off. She could come back next time.

Zhang Yuan caught the look in Xu Yan’s eyes and understood it at once. Next time, all right—who is afraid of whom? With Zhou Ran on my side, how could I be scared?

Seeing everyone in the green room settle into a rough rest, Wang Chong moved on to announce the theme for the next round.

At once the room grew quiet. They all knew this was the important part.

He said, “The theme for the next episode is Youth, Inspiration, and Love. In choosing songs, you must include all three.”

From then on the room buzzed with discussion.

Each one of those themes alone was easy enough, but putting all three together was a different level of difficulty, because none of them could be left out.

“How is it? Think it’s possible?” Zhang Yuan asked Zhou Ran immediately.

After hearing Wang Chong, Zhou Ran thought for a moment and already knew his answer.

To reassure her, he gave Zhang Yuan a look that said, I’ve got this.

Zhang Yuan relaxed as well. After this round, she truly grasped the importance of original songs.

In fact, everyone else also realized this. Some even wanted to try composing originals, because they had all come here to get better rankings. If original songs offered a better chance, they would surely take it.

Chapter 123: “First Place.”