Chapter 95: First Round of Stage Voting on Group Formation Night

"The Star of Tomorrow" continued its live broadcast on the night of the final sprint to form the group.

After all five teams had completed their performances in the first round, He Hao began to announce the results:

"The first round of performances for the group formation sprint night has concluded. We won't keep you in suspense or wait until the next episode to reveal the results; we'll announce them right here, live.

"The voting channel is still open, so those who wish to cast their votes, please do so quickly.

"Our voting portal is on Penguin Video's 'The Star of Tomorrow' section, accessible on both mobile phones and computers.

"The fate of the five teams rests in the hands of viewers across the nation who are watching the live broadcast.

"The voting channel will officially close after a ten-second countdown. Ten, nine..."

As He Hao announced the imminent closure of the voting channel, the big screen began to replay the performance stages of the five teams.

"Three, two, one! The voting channel is now closed."

He Hao declared the closure of voting, waited for a moment, and then said, "The production team is finalizing the vote count. Once the tally is complete, it will be displayed on the big screen."

After another two minutes, He Hao announced excitedly, "Alright, the director just informed me that the vote count is finished. Please display the results on the big screen.

"Which team's votes should we reveal first? Let's see.

"The results of the first round will be announced in reverse order of their performance.

"First up is Zheng Chengyi’s team, with their stage 'Night Rain in Xiaoxiang', earning a total of 6.17 million votes—a very impressive number."

The big screen revealed the votes in reverse order of appearance.

The production team's intention was clear: since Wu Junchen and Fang Xing’s teams performed first, their results would be announced last, heightening the suspense.

He Hao continued, "The next team is Wang Mengqi’s, whose stage 'Waters of Jiangnan' received 8.77 million votes, surpassing 'Night Rain in Xiaoxiang' and taking the lead."

After revealing the results for three teams, it was finally Fang Xing’s turn.

"Next, we will announce Fang Xing’s team’s results for the first round. How many viewers across the country voted for Fang Xing?"

He Hao looked up at the screen, where the name of Fang Xing’s stage, 'The Red Operatic', appeared, and beside it, the vote count began to rise from zero.

One million, two million...

The votes soared rapidly, quickly overtaking the previous leader’s 8.77 million and claiming first place.

Yet even after taking the lead, the votes for 'The Red Operatic' continued to surge relentlessly.

In the blink of an eye, the tally surpassed ten million.

He Hao, his voice trembling with excitement, said, "Ten million votes—'The Red Operatic' is now in first place tonight, but the numbers are still climbing fast: eleven million, twelve million..."

The votes for 'The Red Operatic' kept skyrocketing, showing no signs of slowing.

None of the previous three teams had reached the ten-million mark.

Not only did 'The Red Operatic' reach ten million, it kept climbing.

"Fifteen million votes, and still climbing—clearly the audience loves this song. Eighteen million, and it’s not stopping. At this rate, could it break twenty million?"

He Hao’s excited tone heightened the atmosphere, making the audience and fans increasingly tense.

Yet the feelings of ordinary viewers and diehard fans were quite different.

Wu Junchen and Liu Yichen’s fans watched the ever-growing number, nervously clenching their fists.

The higher the tally, the harder it would be for Wu Junchen’s team to surpass it.

He Hao stared at the numbers, exclaiming, "Nineteen million, nineteen and a half million, still growing... Twenty million! 'The Red Operatic' has surpassed twenty million votes tonight!"

Ultimately, the total stopped at 21.09 million.

After revealing 'The Red Operatic’s' votes, only Wu Junchen’s team remained.

All attention focused on the members of Wu Junchen’s group.

In the waiting area, Wu Junchen, Liu Yichen, and their teammates watched the screen with serious expressions, whispering:

"Can we beat Fang Xing’s team?"

"Hard to say—the rankings are close."

"Over twenty million votes... It’s really uncertain. Who would’ve thought Fang Xing’s team could get so many?"

A trainee from Trend Sound Culture picked up his phone, opened the popularity ranking for 'The Star of Tomorrow', held it up and said, "Now there’s a huge gap between first, second, and the rest."

The others looked over, their faces grave as they saw the numbers.

Two months ago, when 'The Star of Tomorrow' first aired, the rankings looked similar—first and second were separated from the rest.

But back then, Wu Junchen was first, Liu Yichen was second.

Now, Fang Xing had taken second place.

And third place, Liu Yichen, had become just another casualty buried beneath the gap.

Only Wu Junchen and Fang Xing remained locked in a fierce battle for the top.

He Hao continued announcing, "Now, for the most thrilling moment—we will reveal the final vote count for Wu Junchen’s team’s 'Peach Blossom Love.'

"Will 'Peach Blossom Love' break twenty million votes? Can it surpass Fang Xing’s 'The Red Operatic' to become tonight’s champion of the first round? Let’s wait and see."

At this point in the live broadcast, the atmosphere reached its peak.

The live channel’s barrage of comments exploded, covering the entire screen.

["Junchen will surely win—forget twenty million, I bet even thirty million votes couldn’t stop him."]

["That’s right, the number of viewers has already surpassed forty million; with one vote each, that’s forty million votes."]

["Exactly, and our fans never vote less than ten times each—twenty million? We’ll easily break forty million!"]

Yet some sarcastic viewers were clearly unimpressed by the fans’ comments:

["Heh heh heh... Don’t speak for me—who says I vote every time?"]

["Press ALT+F4 to claim ten extra popularity votes."]

["Unbelievable! Such an old trick... With some fans’ intelligence, someone’s bound to fall for it!"]

...

Amid the flurry of live comments, He Hao began announcing the final tally for Wu Junchen’s team.

Starting from zero, their votes quickly surpassed ten million, then fifteen million, racing toward twenty million.

Wu Junchen and Liu Yichen’s fans at the venue screamed themselves hoarse: "Wu Junchen first! Wu Junchen first!"

However, as the tally neared twenty million, the growth slowed.

The final number settled at 19.6 million.

He Hao sighed, "What a pity. Wu Junchen’s team finished with 19.6 million votes—just shy of twenty million.

"The final results are in. Tonight’s first round popularity ranking is...

"First place: 'The Red Operatic'—21.09 million votes.

"Second place: 'Peach Blossom Love'—19.6 million votes.

"Third place: 'Waters of Jiangnan'—8.77 million votes.

"In the second round, these three teams will compete.

"But tonight’s final group formation depends not only on tonight’s vote count, but on the entire season’s voting data for 'The Star of Tomorrow.'

"So, viewers watching from home, if you hope your favorite idol will debut, you can vote at any time up until the group announcement this evening."