Chapter 13: "Scandal"

The discussion around "Tomorrow's Star" was raging fiercely on Weibo, with three topics among the top ten trending searches. The show was a huge hit, and the production team was secretly laughing behind their screens.

Fans of Wu Junchen, having realized the mentors couldn't criticize anymore, began attacking Fang Xing's character. "This person called Fang Xing actually tried to steal our brother's lyrics just to get more screen time—shameless!" "Who does he think he is? He's at the bottom of the popularity chart!"

At first, Fang Xing really was ranked in the bottom ten on the "Tomorrow's Star" popularity chart on Penguin Video. However, after the first half of the second episode aired, his popularity started to climb thanks to the hot topic involving Wu Junchen. Although Wu's fans were cursing him everywhere, passersby disgusted by their behavior would vote for Fang Xing out of spite. Moreover, his performance on the public stage was undeniably superior to Wu Junchen's, though only Wu's fans pretended not to notice.

Anyone with a modicum of music appreciation could tell that Fang Xing's singing was much better than the others. Even ordinary viewers, after hearing the mentors' professional comments and then listening again, could perceive the difference. As a result, Fang Xing’s ranking soared, reaching the thirties overnight.

Once he reached the thirties, his progress slowed, since most of the top ranks were filled by returning contestants who had high initial popularity. The first half of the second episode, released on Friday, only featured fourteen public performances. The subsequent PK segment would be in the second half, airing Saturday night. Therefore, none of Fang Xing's PK songs were showcased yet. His only few moments on screen were the lines he sang in "That Girl."

To the average viewer, there was nothing particularly impressive about him; the mentors’ praise seemed excessive and made him appear overrated. However, Penguin Video had released a preview for the second half of episode two. In the two-minute trailer, they included an interview clip with Fang Xing.

Fang Xing, with a stern expression, looked into the camera and said, "One face for the world, another behind the scenes—why bother being so fake?" Because it was only a brief trailer, the context was missing, so it was unclear whom he was referring to.

After watching the preview, some fans began to assume the remark was about their idol, launching a new wave of attacks. Wu Junchen's fans started digging into Fang Xing's background. Soon, they unearthed some "dirt."

"This Fang Xing is a senior at Eastsea Music Academy—no wonder Chen Chaonan praised him, he's praising his own student, shameless!" "So there's this kind of corruption!" "Is it really appropriate for a teacher to praise his own student on the show?"

Once this "scandal" began circulating, students from Eastsea Music Academy began clarifying on Weibo.

"Science Fact 1: Fang Xing's major at Eastsea Music Academy is Vocal Performance."
"Science Fact 2: Chen Chaonan supervises graduate students majoring in Vocal Performing Arts Research. He only teaches one undergraduate course, which is 'Multivoiced Solfège and Ear Training' for the Musical Theatre major."
"Conclusion: Chen Chaonan has never taught in Fang Xing’s major. Fang Xing only sees him in the big lecture hall during semester opening public classes. Chen Chaonan probably doesn’t even know who Fang Xing is."

Since there was no real evidence behind this "scandal," and Eastsea Music Academy was too solid to challenge, Wu Junchen's fans failed to stir up any trouble and withdrew.

...

On Friday night, Fang Xing was dragged by Shao Yu, Guo Keda, and a few others to watch the second episode of "Tomorrow's Star" together. Afterwards, the debates exploded on Weibo, but Fang Xing only glanced at a few comments before losing interest. Shao Yu and Guo Keda, however, engaged in heated arguments with certain fan groups online.

The person explaining Eastsea Music Academy's curriculum on Weibo was Shao Yu. He was actually a graduate of the Musical Theatre major taught by Chen Chaonan. Because of this, Chen Chaonan’s feedback on him during the show was always brief.

...

Time quickly slipped into Saturday night. The second half of episode two of "Tomorrow's Star" was about to be released. The previous night and all day today, netizens and fans had been quarreling non-stop online. The show was highly topical, attracting many curious viewers.

However, most casual viewers thought the fans made a lot of noise, but the songs themselves were mediocre. So far, none of the first public performances had become a breakout hit.

As eight o'clock neared, reservations for the second half of episode two exceeded one million. Ni Hongdan was among them.

Because she had publicly supported Fang Xing in the face of backlash the previous night, her Weibo was flooded with attacks from a certain fan group. Yet, this brought a surge of traffic, increasing her followers by tens of thousands—more than she had gained in the past year, although many were haters.

Since having her child, she had grown indifferent to haters; as long as they brought traffic and helped earn more for Qiqi’s formula, even haters were welcome.

Last night, many accounts sent her private messages urging her to delete her supportive post for Fang Xing. Nevertheless, she stuck to her professional standards as a vocalist, believing Fang Xing’s singing was excellent, and held her ground.

When Chen Chaonan and Liang Yusong, the two mentors, echoed her views in their comments, it proved her point, marking a small reversal.

The preview for the second half of episode two included shots of Fang Xing singing and playing guitar and piano. The clip was brief, showing only a snippet of the piano intro. Yet, based on her professional knowledge and a woman’s intuition, Ni Hongdan sensed a major turnaround was coming tonight.

She checked the time.

It was 7:50 p.m., ten minutes before the second half of episode two of "Tomorrow's Star" would air.

She thought for a moment, then quickly typed out a Weibo post:
"After hearing three bars of the piano intro in the preview, I can only say the skill is impressive. My intuition tells me tonight will bring a dramatic reversal."

Within ten minutes of posting, she had three thousand comments.

At eight sharp, the second half of episode two was released on schedule.

The show opened with the host announcing the rules for the PK segment. Wu Junchen requested to compete in place of his teammate. The host praised Wu Junchen for his deep camaraderie; his teammates gathered round, hugging and encouraging each other. Another wave of tears was harvested from fans, who began crowdfunding votes for Wu Junchen.

While Wu Junchen and his teammates were displaying brotherly love, Fang Xing stood expressionless in the corner of the shot, looking out of place. Fans took screenshots of this scene and posted them on Weibo, sparking another wave of discussion.

The show's focus then shifted, spotlighting Fang Xing and Hashim. The highlight of the PK segment became their showdown.

Before the two sang their PK song, the program aired interviews with both, briefly explaining their disagreements. After watching, the audience realized: Fang Xing’s remark about "one face for the world, another behind the scenes" wasn’t aimed at Wu Junchen, but at Hashim.

Many fans began posting comments:
"Since you weren’t targeting Junchen, we’ll let you off for now."

Then, the production team edited in all three of Fang Xing’s responses to interview questions:

"Let the work speak for itself."
"I’m just a singer—I don’t really understand music."
"If you have the guts, slander me for a lifetime."

Each answer was unconventional, immediately sparking a flurry of viewer interaction.

"Didn’t you say let the work speak? Where’s your work? Where is it?"
"At least you’re self-aware—admitting you don’t understand music."
"Dream on. Who has the time to slander a nobody?"