Having had their fill of food and drink, everyoneâexcept for Hao Jianârubbed their bellies and had a contented look on their faces.
Blessed, so blessed!
The sky was getting dark, and because it was such a rare occasion that everyone went camping together, none of them felt sleepy. They laid on the grass and casually chatted with each other, gazing up at the stars from time to time. It was incredibly relaxing.
College life was good!
âOH F*CK!â
Little Gen, who had been playing with his mobile phone, cried out in shock all of a sudden. He sat up immediately and said, âF*ck man, Chen Xiaoyan is eliminated from Chinaâs Top Voice?!â
âWhat?!â
Everyone was still wide awake, and they quickly sat up and browsed through their phones.
âF*ck, itâs true! Why is Chen Xiaoyan eliminated when she has such a good voice, something shady must be going on!â
âF*ckinâ hell, this garbage show should eat a pile sh*t!â
âTheyâre all stupid c*nts! How could they eliminate someone like Chen Xiaoyan, theyâre digging their own grave!â
âIs Chinaâs Top Voice going crazy?!â
The girls could not hold in their anger.
The semi-final of Chinaâs Top Voice was ongoing that day, and only two out of five contestants could advance!
However, Chen Xiaoyan was the best among the eliminated trio! However, the two that advanced had nothing to show in terms of their singing skills.
Ye Lingchen frowned slightly. He did not go and watch the show live and it surprised him that Chen Xiaoyan was eliminated.
The news had already spread on Weibo, occupying most of Weiboâs trending searches.
âChen Xiaoyan was eliminated!â
âDirty tricks in Chinaâs Top Voice!â
âHong Na does not acknowledge Chen Xiaoyanâs voice!â
Clicking on one of the trending searches, Chen Xiaoyanâs sullen mood was obvious from the photography. She was despondent when stepping off the stage.
In addition, the comment section exploded. There was a flood of comments lambasting and boycotting Chinaâs Top Voice.
At that point, a classmate had already clicked one of the leaked videos.
Hong Na sat in the judgeâs seat. Her face was unsavory and she said, âYour voice isnât any good but your arrogance is incredible. If you canât show the most basic of respect to others, thereâs no way you will get my approval. This stage is not yours. Please leave!â
As a public figure who was still live on the show, the sentence was much too unkind and extremely ruthless. It caused the atmosphere to heat up immediately, with the audience making their dissatisfaction heard. Still, the matter had been decided.
Gao Wen sighed. âHong Na is obviously targeting Chen Xiaoyan! Chinaâs Top Voice has one rule. When entering the finals, the judge has the right to use their veto, but that right is generally not exercised. But Hong Na, she made sure that Chen Xiaoyan was directly eliminated.â
âA right to veto? Thereâs such a thing?â
âWhat kind of stupid rule is that? Chinaâs Top Voice is a load of crap!â
âI donât care about that; Iâm just worried about what will happen to Chen Xiaoyan!â
All of them were Chen Xiaoyanâs fans, surprisingly. They each did their best to vent out the injustice on behalf of Chen Xiaoyan and their faces were red with anger. âDamn it, sheâs really eliminated. I wonât ever watch Chinaâs Top Voice again!â
âYeah, this is too fake, the video of Chen Xiaoyan during the competition is already being shared around. It was the same new songâthe one Y wrote for her!
âIf itâs another new song from Y, then itâs definitely another classic!â
âY is talented! Ah, ah, ah! Come on, hurry up and play it!â
âI found it too. The name of the song is Light Years Away. Everyone, hush!â
They all kept quiet and let the music gradually fill the night sky.
âFeeling the fingertips touching my hair
How a moment freezes time
Remembering a pair of eyes looking steadily at me
...
Fate had us meet beyond a chaotic world
Destiny made us fall in love in amidst crisis
Maybe in the future, lightyears away
Everything is uncertain, but Iâm willing to wait for you.
... â
Chen Xiaoyanâs voice was ethereal and powerful while the lyrics were contagious. It did not take long for everyone to be captivated.
This song was magnetic, and after the music was over, everyone could still hear it playing on repeat inside their minds. It was practically impossible to resist humming the tune.
âIt sounds amazing! I really canât believe two pieces of sh*t eliminated such a good song!â
âDamn, Iâm about to cry. How can such a good song be eliminated? Chen Xiaoyan must be suffering right now.â
âItâs too unfair. What masterpieces did Hong Na write? Her voice isnât even half as powerful as Chen Xiaoyanâs, but she used her right to veto to reject Chen Xiaoyan?!â
âMost importantly, Chen Xiaoyanâs song was an original creation. Y wrote that song. And it doesnât matter which Y, theyâre all my number one idol!â
âNo, I want to support Chen Xiaoyan and Y. I want to contribute something to my idols, no matter how small my contributions may be!â
âYes, let Capitalâs TV station see our united resolution!â
âYeâzi, come along too. One word: execute!â Xiangâs fighting spirit was soaring high.
...
After a night of simmering, the hullabaloo intensified instead of dying off. Hordes of people voiced their dissatisfaction on behalf of Chen Xiaoyan.
However, many cyber troopers began appearing on Weibo to attack Y and Chen Xiaoyan. They supported Hong Na and helped to wipe her slate clean.
[Miss Na! You are no doubt the most amazing female singer! I support you!]
[Itâll be a joke if the face of Chinaâs Top Voice isnât qualified to teach her junior a lesson!]
[I remember Y saying that seniors are meant to be surpassed by their juniors! Arrogant, much? You think youâll be where you are without Miss Na?]
[Miss Na maintains her self-respect. Chen Xiaoyanâs attitude is a sign of disrespect toward her. Doesnât that give Miss Na the right to teach her a lesson?]
...
Ye Lingchen scrolled through Weibo and was surprised that Chen Xiaoyan did not send him any private messages.
After a moment of contemplation, he decided to send her a message.
[You there?]
The screen showed that she was typing, but she then deleted the text. She typed again and then deleted her text again. It was evident that she was confused. In the end, she finally replied.
[Iâm sorry...]
What pained her most was not the elimination, but the feeling of being unable to face Ye Lingchen.
She felt that she had not done justice to Yâs new song and was afraid of disappointing him.
[You did very well. Chinaâs Top Voice is just a platform for you to show your talent. You sang my song perfectly. Thank you.]
[Really?]
[Yes, really!]
[You donât blame me at all?]
[Not at all!]
...
At the same time, those behind the scenes of Chinaâs Top Voice were under tremendous pressure.
âDirector Zhou, what should we do? Our show has sparked public outrage!â
âThe right to veto was a rule that existed since the beginning of the show. If we do a U-turn now, itâs a slap to our own faces. Weâd be offending Hong Na too!â Director Zhou had a displeased expression. âWe canât afford to offend either side. Itâs already reached this point, so we simply do nothing and pretend we donât know anything.â
âDirector Zhou, I think itâs better to have a repechage or something, or at least apologize to Chen Xiaoyan...â
Director Zhou was silent for a moment before shaking his head. âThatâs not a concern anymore. The elimination is already done. Just let it stand.â
He hardly expected Hong Na to use her right to veto on Chen Xiaoyan. If he knew that earlier, he would have scrapped it altogether.
As things stood, it was already too late to say anything. He was caught in the crossfire and neither side warranted ingratiation. It was not worth it at all to offend Hong Na just for Chen Xiaoyan. It would be better to bury his head in the ground like an ostrich and just wait for everything to pass...