Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

The hair dryer whirred, drying off the damp roots of his hair.

Xu Qingyan had the typical look of a "young poplar," with a cool, pale complexion and more prominent veins on the back of his hands than most. Even without much grooming, he still looked better than others.

A small patch in the middle of his round-necked short-sleeve shirt had gotten wet, and he nonchalantly dried it off as well.

He put down the hair dryer and turned to ask.

"All done?"

The screen of his phone lit up, displaying eleven o'clock at night. The two of them had been in contact a lot recently, and even sharing a room in the middle of the night wasn't awkward.

The bright lights in the living room illuminated Pei Muchan's soft contours, giving her an aesthetic charm. Her cool eyes and voluptuous figure, along with her youthful body, exuded a vivid grace.

She put away her phone and looked up.

"I want to discuss tomorrow's show recording with you. I know the chances of advancing are slim... but I still can't let it go without giving it my all."

At her words, Xu Qingyan gave Pei Muchan a look.

He was somewhat surprised by her approach, almost thinking her concerns had something to do with him leaving. His heart had nearly gone numb before leaving the house, relieved that it was indeed something serious.

"Hmm, let me think." He casually lay down on the other couch in the living room, stared at the coffee table for a moment, then said, "The show's advancement rules are from eight to six."

"Aside from you and the two challengers from last episode, the others can bring in guests. If they don't control the votes, there's still a chance."

"I've thought about that too, but it doesn't seem very likely." Pei Muchan furrowed her brows and bit her pale fingers unconsciously, pondering for a moment before saying.

"The live voting by eight hundred audience members is real-time, so manipulating the votes is less likely."

Her statement wasn't wrong, even if someone had backstage access. But because the audience voting was real-time, there would always be people deliberating till the last moment, an unpredictable factor.

Either the contestant performed mediocrally, prompting a wave of audience members to hesitate at the end of the voting period. If the operators noticed things weren't going well, they might actively add votes to the underdog.

But at the last moment, that wavering group of audience members cast their votes. With the totals combined, a singer with mediocre performance might suddenly outpace someone who performed well.

Should that become a fiasco, it would be quite awkward.

Not to mention being caught out, they'd have to claim there was a bug in the voting software, forcing the competition to pause for "repairs." After which, a solution must be discussed internally, losing face and reputation.

Moreover, "I Am the Singer King" claims absolute authenticity, priding itself on letting the singing do the talking. A scandal would severely tarnish its brand.

"That's true, unless they replace the entire audience with their own people, but that would be even more trouble." Xu Qingyan continued to elaborate on the topic.

"Since the voting is fair, you just need to be better than two people to advance."

The living room fell silent for an instant.

"Who got eliminated today?" She asked.

"Xu Ou and Yu Zhongyi, of the five who advanced, two are idol singers." Xu Qingyan said, "The rocker Guan Fengchen could also be a breakthrough point; he tends to get carried away easily."

"The challengers Zhang Yuqi and Wang Yu, and the veteran Hou Xueheng, they all have a generational appeal and a dedicated fan base, making them tough opponents."

Pei Muchan nodded intently, having watched the first two episodes of "I Am the Singer King" and not too surprised at the eliminations of Xu Ou and Yu Zhongyi.

"What about Wen Shuanghua?"

"It's hard to say; her fan base composition is somewhat complex, and her performance is consistently solid." He actually wanted to say he didn't understand what Wen was singing, it just felt bombastic.

Singers from Singapore who fluently speak Mandarin are not uncommon, but Wen Shuanghua's fluency is average. Coupled with her rich and generous figure, she gives off the impression of a foreigner at first glance.

"Yeah, they can bring guest performers, which is the most troublesome aspect." She sighed.

The rules clearly stated that the five guest stars who progressed could bring guests, but the challengers could not. After all, the others had advanced, as if going through a second round of competition.

Among the challengers, Zhang Yuqi was a diva, and Wang Yu was also a veteran in the Chinese music scene. Both of them had natural popularity, leaving only Pei Muchan truly weak, helpless, and pitiable.

"We can generally assume, you just need to get more votes than Guan Fengchen and Qi Yingying to advance." Xu Qingyan took a long breath, slowly analyzing.

"Guan Fengchen will definitely stick to rock, and Qi Yingying, being less experienced, is likely to sing love songs. Regardless of who they bring to bolster their performances, it's just amplifying their strengths."

At this point, the direction to fight hard in the contest became quite clear. It was not too difficult to surpass rock and love songs by continually enhancing the stage performance edge of "Late Marriage."

After all, the quality of "Late Marriage" was evident, and the focus just needed to be on refining its stylistic presentation.

"Okay." Pei Muchan showed an understanding expression, then, as her gaze lowered, she suddenly continued, "There's one more thing, I'm worried I won't sing well."

Xu Qingyan was about to stand up for a drink when he stopped mid-movement.

"Not sing well?"

"Yes."

"That's not right, I've heard you sing it once, and it was quite good." He sat back on the sofa, "Where did you not sing well? But, asking me this question..."

He suddenly felt embarrassed; he was good at musical arrangement, but singing... in KTV he might be a War God, but against a professional singer, he was utterly outclassed.

"It lacks a certain charm in emotion." Her eyes were cool as she looked straight at him, "There's a sense of strained contrivance, as if trying to express sorrow where there is none, which doesn't feel quite right."

"So, I want to know what you were thinking when you wrote the song..."

When he wrote the song?

A moment of perplexity flickered in Xu Qingyan's eyes. He had used a classic version for the arrangement, one with the most rhythm and charm. In addition to that, there were adapted versions, with a changed tune and some added lyrics.