Chapter 515: The final decision lies with...
Huang Minzhe clenched his jaw at his sight. He was still furious over how he was insulted and humiliated and had to lay low because of him.
He was so mad that he wanted to crush him by tampering with his entry into the competition, but his manager didn't let him. At this point, anybody would become suspicious of him for taking revenge.
But he swore to take down in this competition and regain his glory he lost.
Heh! After this, you will have no choice but to leave modeling Yukito! I will make sure of it, he sneered.
Huang Minzhe noticed Wang Ling staring at him, and that just annoyed him even further.
"What are you doing oogling him in front of your boyfriend! Even others are noticing! So useless!" he angrily whispered.
Wang Ling faltered. "N-no. How can I? I came here to cheer you."
"Then act like that!"
She bit her lip in embarrassment.
But she couldn't help it. Yukito looked so calm and handsome that so wished to stand at his side now.
But it was no use. She was Huang Minzhe's girlfriend.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the prestigious Platinum Age Fashion Show!" the emcee said as he took the stage.
"Yayyyyyy!" Everybody loudly cheered and clapped.
"We have a total of five hundred and forty registrations out of which only the top two who clear all the challenges can reach and win the title. The winner will win a million dollars and brand ambassadorship of the most popular and most expensive men's watches brand – SuperiorD!"
"Woohooooo!"
"Our esteemed judges will judge all the performances of our models and will make their decision to choose the best two to reach the finale!"
Huang Minzhe smirked.
For him, the judges were not a problem. He had already bribed some of them though it cost a lot of his fortune. The win was in his bag. But he purposely told them not to eliminate Yukito until the last stage because he wanted to let him taste the victory and then crash!
He would be near to his goal, but the loss would take him instantly down.
And then, Yukito's career would be over!
The emcee announced. "But but but! There is a small change in the final round of this competition."
He frowned.
Huh? A change? I wasn't told about it.
"The final winner in the question-answer stage wouldn't be chosen by the judges."
The crowd whispered.
"If not the judges, then who?"
"Who will decide the winner?"
The emcee continued, "The final decision lies with you - the audience!"
"What?"
"Us?"
"How it possible? We will decide the winner?"
Huang Minzhe froze
Huh? The audience?
"When you registered to enter this show, you were given a device along with your ticket, right? You didn't know it at that time, but it's your voting device to choose the winner of this competition. Till the final round, the judges will select the participants who pass.
But the top two finalists will have to win your hearts to win this show. In the final round, one question will be asked to the finalists. You have to vote that finalist whose answer you loved the most, and it touched your heart. The participant with the majority of votes wins!"
Everybody was shocked.
"T-that's awesome!"
"We can vote the winner!"
"Of course, I will vote for Yukito!"
"Omg, whatever happens, I will only vote for my Minzhe!"
The crowd got excited, and loud discussions ensued in the hall.
The emcee continued. "Of course, the Management also knows the downfall of this method. If there are more fans for one particular model, they can be biased towards that model and vote for them irrespective of anything else. Hence, we have also invited some neutral set of people in proportion to all of you here who don't favor any particular model."
"Despite that, we at the Platinum Age Fashion Show want to implore the audience sitting here to please vote only based on the merit and whose answer you truly love irrespective if he is your favorite model or not. If he or she touches your heart, then please press the button for him or her. This is not just a test for the models but also all the audience. The biggest decision lies with you, and hence we wish that the outcome be fair and unbiased."
The audience finally calmed down, and after listening to him, they understood the gravity of their responsibility. It was a huge one, and a model's future depended on it.
Of course, if their favorite idol won, it was for the best, but just in case if they found their rival's answer more appealing, then it was their duty to be fair in voting.
"After the finalist's answers are recorded, we will give everybody one minute to cast their vote. Results will be displayed instantly on the board, and the winner will be announced!"
"Yayyyyyyy!!!!"
"In the name of my idol Yukito, I promise to be fair and square!"
"Me too!"
"I will only vote whose answer I will love the most important!"
Huang Minzhe was dumbfounded as hell.
Audience!! This is horrible! When did the setting change? The Management made such a huge change in deciding the winner but why wasn't I told!?
If it's left to the audience here, then there would be just a fifty percent chance of my winning! That means everything depends on my answer to gain the maximum votes! If I don't impress them, then I won't win!
What the hell!
He began to sweat. Suddenly, his chest tightened in nervousness. Just a moment ago, he was sure of his win, but this voting thing ruined everything for him!
No, I have to do something. I cannot let the judges eliminate Yukito in the early phases because everybody is sure that it would be
a face-off between him and me. If he gets out, then it would raise suspicions.
But…what if he gets out without anybody doubting the judges' decision? What if Yukito screws up in front of everyone?
That way, nobody would doubt us! He smirked.
The emcee announced. "Since all the instructions are clear, let the Platinum Age Fashion Show begin!"