All the audience members, including the mentors and contestants, stared wide-eyed at the big screen in disbelief.

A tie?

How could that be?

The number of support votes on both sides had somehow reached the exact same total. Looking at the entire history of StarSong Gathering, this had never happened before!

After all, with such a massive voting base, a tie was virtually impossible.

Seconds continued to tick by, but the vote count seemed frozen. Neither side received even a single additional vote!

The allotted voting time was nearly up. The live audience subconsciously swallowed hard. Could it be? Would this match actually end like this?

Just when everyone thought it was over, all of a sudden, Xia Xiyao’s support count jumped by one!

!!!

It had stayed tied for nearly five minutes. Now, with only one minute remaining, Xia Xiyao had suddenly gained one vote!

A wave of exclamations instantly swept through the venue. It felt like everyone was on a roller coaster, their hearts pounding in their throats. The tension had reached its peak.

Could it be? Was Xia Xiyao really about to win?

The big screen started counting down: 60… 59… 58…

At that moment, whether it was the live audience or viewers watching the livestream, everyone couldn’t help but count down along with the numbers on the screen in perfect sync.

Nerve-wracking! Thrilling!

Could Gu Xingyi really beat a veteran king of the stage in this match today?

A comeback like this—this was exactly the kind of story everyone loved!

At this point, the competition didn’t even seem to be about Xia Xiyao and Miao Anyun anymore. What the audience really wanted to know was—between Gu Xingyi and King Liu, who had the stronger popularity?

“Mm~~~”

Just as everyone, full of excitement, had counted down to forty, suddenly, Miao Anyun’s vote count jumped slightly!

Another wave of shocked gasps burst out from the crowd!

It’s tied again?

But reality quickly outpaced everyone’s expectations. After that first jump in Miao Anyun’s vote count, it didn’t stop. Within seconds, it jumped again. One vote, two votes… rising steadily at a visible pace.

“???”

This obviously abnormal scene made everyone on-site furrow their brows. These voters were way too synchronized! There’s no way ordinary fans could do this!

This kind of precise, professional-looking vote increase—it felt like it was coming straight off an assembly line. It made people feel uneasy inside.

While the audience was still confused, the mentors and contestants onstage, and Ren Chao watching backstage, already understood what was going on.

Someone had hired vote-riggers!

Ren Chao clenched his fists. This was the second time! The second time someone had caused trouble on his show! And the worst part—he was powerless to stop it!

All the loopholes that had never surfaced before had now appeared in this season of StarSong Gathering!

When he invited the contestants, he had signed agreements with each of their companies, strictly forbidding fake votes! And yet now, someone was openly breaking the rules!

Ren Chao knew for sure this couldn’t be the doing of Shengshi Entertainment. The cost of violating the contract would far outweigh any benefit Miao Anyun might gain from winning. And this was only the second match of the finals—the champion was still far from decided.

It was even less likely to be YinHai Entertainment, since Xia Xiyao was their contestant.

That left Tianmei Entertainment and some small-to-mid-sized entertainment companies. Ren Chao instantly understood what they were up to. Some people just didn’t want to see Gu Xingyi rise to the top!

Even though Ren Chao had figured it out, there was nothing he could do. He was just a director. He couldn’t do anything against those companies. Not even the company backing him could take on so many vested interest groups.

This… was the entertainment industry!

“This damn entertainment industry is truly beyond saving!”

Ren Chao slammed his fist onto the table in front of him, gritting his teeth as he spoke. Then he closed his eyes and began to take deep breaths.

After finally calming his emotions, Ren Chao's eyes settled into a cold calm. It was as if he had made some important decision. He took his phone from his pocket and called his company.

On the stage ahead, the real-time voting results from the audience had already been revealed.

Miao Anyun won the match with a lead of several thousand votes. However, neither she nor King Liu had any look of joy on their faces. To win in this way—it was simply an insult to their identities as singers!

The tense atmosphere that had just gripped the scene fell into rare silence. The audience below was stunned in place.

If it had been a last-minute comeback of a few votes or even a few dozen, no one would have been surprised. There are always people who vote late. But this large-scale, perfectly synchronized wave of votes? It was just too strange!

In the livestream chat, people had already started voicing their doubts. Netizens weren’t blind—their eyes were sharp. They weren’t stupid enough to overlook something this blatantly abnormal!

“What’s going on? My heart was in my throat just now, and then suddenly this happens?”

“Another rigged result? That can’t be right! It’s not like Miao Anyun didn’t have a chance of winning! There were still a few dozen seconds left!”

“I trust in King Liu’s character. And the production team couldn’t possibly be this dumb! Someone must’ve stirred up trouble—hired vote-riggers!”

“So what now?”

“What else can you do? A loss is a loss! At least we got to watch another round!”

“Hey, don’t say that! These votes were clearly suspicious. So Xia Xiyao was just supposed to lose like that?”

“Forget it, forget it! Let’s just see how the production team responds!”

The results were already in. No matter what, as the host, Chen Xue’er had to make an announcement. She picked up the mic with a helpless expression and was just about to speak—when Director Ren Chao hurried up from backstage.

Ren Chao whispered something quietly to Chen Xue’er after coming onstage. After listening, she visibly relaxed and handed him the mic.

Ren Chao took the mic, gave a slight nod to the four contestants onstage, and then turned to face the audience.

“Hello everyone, we meet again. I’m the director of the show, Ren Chao. I’ll be the one hosting from here. The final result of the competition has come out. Although there were some waves during the voting process and the result may not be what we all hoped for, it is what it is.”

Looking at the audience below, Ren Chao spoke seriously. The broadcast director cut the feed to his camera right on cue, and the livestream quieted down—everyone wanted to know what he would say next.

“As for those extra votes that came in near the end—I think many of you already know what happened. For this to occur is a failure on our production team’s part, and a failure of the entertainment industry itself. As the show’s director, I deeply regret that we didn’t get to see contestant Xia Xiyao win the championship. But I’m also happy that contestant Miao Anyun was able to win. From my perspective, both of their performances were worthy of victory in this competition.”

“As for the result—this match still goes to Miao Anyun! In my heart, they are both champions!”

After Ren Chao finished, murmurs could be heard from the audience, but they quickly faded. Although the vote count left a bitter taste, everyone still recognized the strength of Miao Anyun and King Liu.

Once the venue quieted down again, Ren Chao continued.

“Now, I have an announcement to make—this season of StarSong Gathering officially ends here! I’m truly sorry that we couldn’t provide a better viewing experience. We promise to improve our competition system in the future. Next season’s StarSong Gathering will not have any of these issues!”

“Although this season didn’t crown a champion, I believe the real champions already live in everyone’s hearts!”

After solemnly saying this, Ren Chao bowed deeply to the stunned audience, then looked at the four people onstage with a guilty expression.

The four contestants all smiled at Ren Chao. They were honestly a bit impressed with his decision—not everyone would have the courage to make such a call!

Just like that, StarSong Gathering ended with a whimper, not a bang. There was no champion. The show wasn’t even fully aired. Something like this had never happened in the history of entertainment!

It was the most failed show—yet also the most successful.

Because this show introduced the world to the name Gu Xingyi. It brought forth several songs capable of topping the charts!

For the audience, although it ended in regret, the champion in their hearts had already been crowned.