CH 71

Chapter 71: Cheng Su: Frustrated.JPG...

There was almost no doubt that "Pick eleven" had secured its place as the most popular variety show of the year. Countless viewers got to know many talented contestants through the program, witnessing their growth. As a result, the group formation night of Eleven Girls garnered unprecedented attention.

"The production team modifying the voting system, could it be to favor certain individuals?" 

After the training session, Qiao Dai and her fellow sisters returned to the contestants' dormitory. While enjoying a late-night snack and chatting, they brought up the topic of the voting system for the group formation night.

Shi Qing lowered her voice and asked with some concern, "Dai Dai had a bad experience last time. What if some big companies want to manipulate things again, especially now that it's the group formation?"

Upon hearing Shi Qing's words, Lu Ying, who was eating her late-night snack, raised her head in surprise and furrowed her brows slightly. She responded uncertainly, "I don't think so. Dai Dai is a popular contestant. What would be the point of doing that at this stage?"

Compared to Lu Ying's optimistic attitude, Lin Xiaoxiao appeared more cautious. After pondering for a moment, she said, "It's hard to say. After all, during the last episode, Xu Mengya and the others did something similar, right? Moreover, Coco is still a new company. It's possible that some people may discover Coco's limited capabilities and can't resist the temptation to play some tricks."

Lu Ying exclaimed in realization. It occurred to her that although Coco had made every effort to help Qiao Dai handle the public relations during the incident with Xu Mengya's betrayal, they seemed overwhelmed when facing a major company like Superstar Entertainment. Even though Xu Mengya inexplicably withdrew in the end, it didn't seem to be Coco's doing. This made it possible for some to perceive Coco's lack of competence in business matters and seize the opportunity to discredit her during the group formation night.

With these thoughts in mind, everyone fell silent. They understood that Qiao Dai's momentum was unstoppable at present, but her only weakness was the absence of influential backing. If someone intended to stifle Qiao Dai in her infancy, they would undoubtedly do everything possible to bring her down before she could find a strong support behind her.

Just then, Song Yiqi happened to come downstairs and noticed the gloomy atmosphere in the living room. She walked over and asked a few questions before embracing Qiao Dai with a bright smile. She said, "What are you thinking about? If the production team had secretly signed contracts with certain big companies, they wouldn't be modifying the voting method."

Song Yiqi naturally sat next to Qiao Dai, picked up the glass of water in front of her, took a sip, and continued, "It's the anonymous votes that are susceptible to manipulation. Think about it, if you were asked to manipulate the votes right now, what would you do to avoid detection?"

Lu Ying pondered for a moment and tentatively replied, "We would probably manipulate the votes little by little, only adding a small number of votes from each account. That way, it shouldn't raise suspicion, right?"

The rest of them nodded in agreement. They believed that if the manipulation of votes was too obvious, it would be detected by others. If it was discovered that the voting accounts were just automated scripts, it would lead to the exposure of the vote manipulation. By spreading the votes across different accounts, the scrutiny would be less intense. Even if a certain account was found to be problematic, the impact would be minimal since the number of votes manipulated would be relatively small.

However, after hearing Lu Ying's response, Luan Zhen couldn't help but shake her head with a smile and said, "That's the most common method of vote manipulation nowadays, but it's actually quite easy to trace. These voting accounts are considered gray accounts by the websites, and it's easy to investigate them. So, once the voting method is based on user accounts, it invisibly increases the risk of exposure."

In fact, when Luan Zhen learned about the modification of the voting system for the group formation night to an account-based support model, she found it somewhat strange. Typically, talent shows like this had many tricks up their sleeves, and the more unclear the voting process, the more convenient it was for various capital interests to manipulate. The current approach by the production team undoubtedly increased the difficulty of behind-the-scenes manipulation.

"You're right. Fans will support their idols without any reservations because their love is genuine. Why would they be afraid of criticism? Only those who engage in manipulation would be cautious and fear being caught," Song Yiqi exclaimed, clapping her hands. She nodded in agreement with Luan Zhen's words and continued, "Although if someone really wants to manipulate the results, no one can stop them. But if the production team has agreements with certain companies, they wouldn't need to modify the voting system. They could directly lock or manipulate the votes backstage. Otherwise, why would they go through the trouble of maintaining multiple accounts?"

As she said this, Song Yiqi glanced at Qiao Dai, who was sitting beside her, and the other confused-looking people. She winked meaningfully and emphasized, "I actually think the production team is doing this to help our Dai Dai."

Among all the contestants, Qiao Dai was the one with the least background, and her management company wasn't a formidable entity in the industry. The sudden modification of the voting system might be an effort to protect Qiao Dai's interests to some extent, preventing her from being directly overthrown by capital forces.

Everyone felt relieved at this revelation, but they also reminded Qiao Dai to stay vigilant. After all, they had Xu Mengya's betrayal as a cautionary tale, and they were wary of any mischief during the group formation night.

Upon hearing their words, Qiao Dai nodded and reassured them, "You don't have to be too pessimistic. No matter what position I end up in, it's all because of everyone's love and support. I'm already very happy."

Qiao Dai's somewhat naive statement initially stunned everyone, but they couldn't help bursting into laughter.

"What's so funny?"

Qiao Dai looked up and saw everyone laughing together, feeling confused. The rest of them found her innocent reaction amusing and quickly embraced her, saying with a smile, "Our Dai Dai is still an innocent little baby. We can't let anyone bully you!"

Although Qiao Dai's words sounded somewhat naive, they helped the girls who were originally somewhat anxious to relax.

Yes, no matter what step they reached, the love from the audience was genuine. Compared to the anxiety, resource battles, and hidden conflicts, the sincere affection received from fans was the most fundamental and precious reward, wasn't it?

As they looked at Qiao Dai, they couldn't help but think that it was no wonder she had come this far.

Regardless of whether she was in a favorable or unfavorable situation, she always remained consistent and didn't let external disturbances bother her. With such an attitude, how could she not become popular?

In addition to the contestants of "Pick eleven" discussing the voting method for the group formation night, many fans were also discussing related news on various online communities and forums, with Qiao Dai's name being mentioned the most.

Having the same viewpoint as the contestants, many fans were concerned about Qiao Dai's lack of strong company support after experiencing Xu Mengya’s betrayal. They worried that she might face the same fate as the previous contestants from big companies during the group formation night.

【Heartbroken. It would be great if our Dai Bao had a powerful management company.】

【Please, which rich daddy has the foresight to take a look at our Dai Dai!】

【Everyone, please go vote for our cute Dai Dai, or I'll kneel down and beg you to do so. Take a look at our child!】

Originally, these posts were just for the amusement of Qiao Dai's fans. But who knows who took screenshots and circulated them. The people who started these posts wanted to mock Qiao Dai's fans, calling them poor and saying that even before the group formation night, they were already predicting a bad outcome for their favorite contestant. It seemed they were aware of the reality and wanted to prevent the outside world from having high expectations for Qiao Dai's chances of becoming the center.

【Haha, take a look at how Qiao Dai's fans talk about her. They seem to be self-aware. Let's stop spreading rumors about Qiao Dai being the predetermined champion, shall we?】

Qiao Dai is currently a hot topic. Any post with her name in the title easily attracted thousands of comments. With the group formation night approaching, most viewers who saw a post mentioning Qiao Dai and would click on it, thinking it was a normal discussion thread. However, they were surprised to see the original poster mocking Qiao Dai for not having a background and suggesting that they should lower their expectations for her success.

【? Is the original poster suffering from some kind of obsession or addiction? When did not having a background become a point of ridicule?】

[Come on, tell us which idol with a background you're a fan of? Is it because your idol can't surpass Qiao Dai that you're here to sarcastically belittle and ridicule her? Oh, so it seems that having a background isn't important after all. After all, even those with backgrounds have fallen, haven't they?]

[Stop talking. I'm going to support Qiao Dai. Are ordinary people not worthy of becoming the center? Do they have to be the chosen ones of capitalists to win?]

The original intention of the person who started the post was to mock Qiao Dai as an insignificant contestant from the countryside without a background. They believed that such contestants might have temporary popularity, but without the support of a powerful company, they would soon fall and ultimately, it would be the candidates favored by capitalists who would become the center.

In this way, even if Qiao Dai eventually won the competition, the person who started the post could sarcastically claim that Qiao Dai used her background-less image for hype and had secretly collaborated with capitalists all along. This would make the fans who believed in the story of an ordinary girl's counterattack feel deceived, leading some of them to abandon their support or even turn against her... In any case, the only one at a disadvantage would be Qiao Dai.

However, the direction of the post now contradicted the original poster's expectations. No one followed the main post's tone. Even if someone tried to deceive others by using an alternate account, they would quickly be exposed because their style was different from the other users in the thread.

[Here they come, it seems our Dai Dai is truly popular. Otherwise, why would someone come to criticize us? Let me guess, is the next step to say that Dai Dai is actually using the story of an ordinary person's counterattack to deceive fans?]

[Even if Qiao Dai has capital, so what? Are exceptional people not deserving of being recognized by capital? She's so outstanding that if I were a rich parent, I would choose her too! What's wrong? Can't I choose the best if I have money?]

More and more people joined the thread, and soon someone on Weibo directly countered the original poster, saying, [Who says Qiao Dai doesn't have a background? We, the fans, are her biggest support!]

The accompanying image was a screenshot of the blogger's bank balance with a seven-digit figure, attracting countless onlookers to visit and follow. The blogger visibly gained a significant number of fans.

Following that, more fans engaged in a confrontation with the original poster, claiming that they were Qiao Dai's "capital," accompanied by proof of their various assets. This made the onlookers unable to help but marvel, [Wow, so the largest high-quality youth dating platform in the country is actually Qiao Dai's fanbase!]

[I'm a fan of the same idol as the tycoons. Round it up, and I'm also a rich person!]

[It's not a loss to be a fan of our Dai Dai. She’s the choice of the country's most outstanding youths. You deserve to have it!]

The original poster had intended to create a negative association with Qiao Dai's image, but to their chagrin, they unintentionally highlighted the positive aspect of Qiao Dai having a high-quality fanbase. As they saw many onlookers marvel at Qiao Dai's achievements and eagerly consider joining her fanbase, the person who started the post was undoubtedly furious, ready to flip their keyboard out of anger.

As Cheng Su opened his social media feed, he noticed that his friends were eagerly joining the online discussion, mocking the original poster. They proudly claimed to be fans and supporters of Qiao Dai, boasting about being her capital and backbone.

Reading several of these messages in succession, Cheng Su's indifferent expression gradually turned displeased.

Silently sitting in his chair, the man let out a dissatisfied grunt. He felt frustrated.

When would he be able to let others know that he also liked Qiao Dai and was just as capable?

Moreover, he was even more outstanding than the others.

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