Chapter 22 1/2

Sheng Quan only felt a vast whiteness before her eyes.

What was the lighting technician doing?

Why did she feel like all the light in the venue was shining on her?

Fortunately, the lighting technician understood when to stop. The light gradually dimmed, transitioning from dazzling to warm.

Nevertheless, even so, the ratings still experienced explosive growth at this moment.

The barrage on the live streaming platform was about to burst.

【Ah ah ah ah ah】

【I’m going crazy; I can’t believe Sheng Jie really brought a light board】

【Who is Jin Jiu?】

【6666 She really is a devoted fan】

【Witnessing history!!!】

【I told you! I told you it would be like this!】

Backstage, the stage manager looked at the skyrocketing data and almost had a crooked smile.

His subordinates had quickly pulled up information about Jin Jiu. Some came up anxiously.

“Manager, this Jin Jiu seems to have a lot of dark history…”

“Dark history?” The stage manager instantly became alert. “Did he break the law?”

“No, but I found a lot of groundless rumors.”

The stage manager instantly breathed a sigh of relief. “If you know it’s groundless, why are you mentioning it? As long as he didn’t break the law, don’t care how much ‘dark history’ he has.”

“But will this affect Sheng Dong? If Sheng Dong is affected and doesn’t come next time…”

“《Your Song Begins relies on Sheng Quan to attract so many viewers to watch the excitement. Although the stage is already set up, even if Sheng Quan doesn’t come, the show won’t immediately fall into oblivion. But it definitely won’t be as hot as it is now.”

The stage manager chuckled and glanced at him. “Do you think Sheng Quan is a reckless young person with a hot head just because she’s young? The high popularity of 《Your Song Begins》 is not only due to our operation.”

“Let me tell you, someone from such a family saying they have eight hundred schemes is being polite.”

He looked at the screen with a satisfied smile in his eyes. “In our station, we finally caught up this time.”

On the screen, the host pressed the countdown.

Jin Jiu, however, maintained a dazed look at Sheng Quan.

As the countdown ticked away, the barrage transitioned from excited spectators to confusion.

【Still not singing?】

【What’s going on?

【Damn, is he mute?】

【I searched a bit; this Jin Jiu seems to sing pretty badly】

【Sheng Quan might have made a mistake this time.

【Time is running out】

【I’m almost desperate; open your mouth already】

Sheng Quan wasn’t in a hurry, but the host was almost desperate.

Sheng Quan raised the light board with Jin Jiu’s name on it from the moment she knew it would be a memorable moment.

If Jin Jiu had the support of Sheng Quan, he could definitely advance to the finals. With the semifinals and finals ahead, having these two topical figures on the live show would undoubtedly boost the show’s popularity.

She had already imagined her future with a promotion, a raise, and a fully funded villa for cats and dogs.

However, Jin Jiu unexpectedly remained silent.

He didn’t speak, so how could he advance to the next round or the finals, and how would he get Sheng Dong to vote for him?

In the short thirty-second countdown, the host’s brain spun rapidly, desperate enough to rush over and grab the microphone to sing for Jin Jiu.

Fortunately, with twenty seconds left, Jin Jiu finally spoke.

At this moment, in his eyes, he could only see Sheng Quan.

A very smooth start.

Jin Jiu didn’t even realize that singing seemed to have already integrated into his life. Almost from the first word, he immediately entered the world of singing.

In the next twenty seconds, he sang eight sentences.

Sheng Quan listened with great intoxication. No wonder the book described the later Jin Jiu as the soothing voice of a god.

If the initial Jin Jiu relied on talent to freely release spiritual energy, then now it was like the accumulated years had turned him into a warm, intoxicating spirit.

To put it metaphorically, if it used to be like an incredibly delicious new wine bursting with flavor, now it was like a heady aged wine that left people feeling tipsy.

Sheng Quan’s smile deepened. She didn’t hide her admiration and intoxication on her face, and she raised the light board a bit higher.

The twenty seconds ended, and a warm round of applause erupted on the stage.

In the background, the chief director, Chen Weigang, waved his arms vigorously at the staff strategically placed in the audience: “More enthusiasm! Even more enthusiasm!”

However, Jin Jiu didn’t notice the enthusiastic applause that he hadn’t heard for a long time.

His entire gaze was fixed on Sheng Quan.

Even during those twenty seconds, Jin Jiu was watching Sheng Quan sing.

When he saw Sheng Quan raise the light board in support with a smile that seemed to say, “It sounds so good,” he couldn’t help but show a faint, somewhat unskilled smile at her.

At this moment, the seven years of hardship seemed almost insignificant in his heart.

The barrage had been flooding with various comments:

【Huh, it’s actually quite good.

【Who said he sings badly?】

【I knew Sheng Dong had the best taste】

【Not bad, not bad, voted】

【Although he only sang a few lines, you can tell he has a good foundation.

【Not bad at all; who’s spreading false information?】

【Sounds great, sounds great, sounds great】

Although most of the audience was just there for entertainment and not professionals, they had their own aesthetic standards. At least, they could distinguish between “good” and “bad.”

Moreover, some viewers had a filter of “rich people’s taste can’t be bad.”

During the voting session, on the big screen, Jin Jiu’s votes steadily increased, reaching a final count of five thousand.

The host let out a sigh of relief; with this vote count, Jin Jiu would definitely advance. Sheng Quan’s beautiful life with a promotion, a raise, and a house for cats and dogs was secured.

The only question was, why hadn’t Sheng Dong voted yet?

The voting time was almost up!

Perhaps knowing that the audience was also concerned about this, the camera kept cutting to Sheng Quan, who was still holding the light board and operating her phone with the other hand.

【What is Sheng Quan doing?】

【Isn’t she voting?】

【She’s talking to a man next to her, frowning, she’s frowning】

【Does anyone understand lip-reading to interpret what they’re saying?】

【The man has a work badge on his chest; he must be a staff member.

【Sheng Jie looks very speechless. What happened?】

【So, what are they saying? Speak up; I want to hear too!】

Finally, in the last second before the end of the voting time, Jin Jiu’s vote count on the big screen jumped from over six thousand to one hundred and sixty thousand.

The voting process was transparent, and even if you voted only once, it would instantly refresh on the official website. Many people operated multiple devices, watching the screen on TV, chatting on their phones, and checking detailed vote counts on tablets.

When Jin Jiu’s vote count changed, someone quickly took a screenshot of the official voting page and posted it on the gossip forum.

【Sure Victory: One hundred thousand votes】

However, people were not surprised by this result. Although one hundred thousand was a lot, for Sheng Dong, it was a routine operation.

After all, she had previously donated $10 million to the crew!

Most of the audience’s attention was on: What did Sheng Quan say to the staff?

The last contestant was just there for fun. She was thrilled to have such a big scoop up close, and even during her singing, her eyes couldn’t help but glance down at Sheng Quan.

She seemed to want to take advantage of her time on stage to enjoy watching this wealthy woman.

But maybe because she was too excited and the song she chose was an upbeat one, she integrated more emotions than usual. The expressions of the mentors were relatively satisfied.