Lost!

In the Tianmei Entertainment conference room, Liu Gao shook his head, his face full of frustration.

Only two votes separated them, but unfortunately, Mu Baiwei still lost. Though he had prepared himself for the possibility of losing, seeing the final vote count still made him feel unsettled.

"Alright, let's hear it. Who should take the stage next?"

Now that the result was settled, Liu Gao quickly collected his thoughts and spoke indifferently.

The heads of the various entertainment companies exchanged looks. After this round, who should they send next?

Mu Baiwei lost, and the plan to give Xingyao Entertainment a warning had failed. Instead, Liu Ruoying had successfully ascended to the throne of Heavenly Queen. What a slap in the face!

Now there were only two options left: either send out a king-level talent and let strength do the talking, or send out cannon fodder for a war of attrition!

"With the current situation, sending Qi Hua to the stage would probably be in vain. We don't know what Gu Xingyi's trump card is!" Tian Xingchi said with a bit of a headache, then continued, "Since that's the case, let's send someone else to test the waters. Let's drain Gu Xingyi's talent. From what I know about him, as long as we present an original new song, he'll definitely respond with an original new song!"

"And besides, his reputation is on the line, so he can't afford to put out anything subpar. Like I said, I don't believe his talent is limitless!"

After Tian Xingchi finished speaking, many of the company heads still exchanged unsure glances. They didn't know what to say.

Could Gu Xingyi's talent really be exhausted?

A question rose in their hearts.

Gu Xingyi's talent was simply monstrous! From the moment he appeared, every song he released was incredible. How many hit songs had he released by now?

This left everyone feeling uncertain.

But now, they had no choice but to take a desperate gamble. Aside from the war of attrition, they had no better solutions.

"Mr. Tian, then who do you think should take the stage next? We'll follow your lead!"

A company head said with a helpless expression. No matter who took the stage next, they would likely be mercilessly criticized by netizens.

After all, the last competition had raised everyone's expectations for the next round. If they couldn't maintain that level, they would definitely be torn apart by online critics.

"Heh, I know what you're worried about. Here's the plan—let's have Ji Ya, one of our company's third-tier singers, go up. She'll perform an original song to take the hit. With her as a buffer, the first-tier singers who come later won't get too much backlash!"

As soon as Tian Xingchi finished speaking, all the company heads sighed in relief.

In their companies, first-tier singers were like gold, and they really didn't want to send them out to take the heat.

Thus, Ji Ya, who was still watching the program in the lounge at Shengshi Entertainment, suddenly received the notice. She was confused as she was called to the Modu Stadium.

At the Modu Stadium, the other two competitions were still ongoing, but there were significantly fewer people watching.

The audience was still reminiscing about the song "Later" and anticipating the next match from Xingyao Entertainment.

It wasn't until Ji Ya arrived backstage at the Modu Stadium that she realized she was being asked to compete!

Her face immediately became incredibly ugly. The frog-shaped glasses she wore were crooked from her anger. Having seen the previous match, she knew exactly what kind of battle it had been—it was a contest between two queens! Now, they were asking her to take the stage. Wasn't this just sending her to be cannon fodder?

What's more, she hadn't even practiced the song she had in hand. Asking her to sing it now was sure to be a disaster!

Furious, Ji Ya quickly dialed Ma Liang, but the result almost made her smash her phone!

That damn man! He had turned his phone off at a time like this!

Earlier, when she had been lying on the bed, she had sworn that she would push herself further! And now, this?

At this moment, the results for the other two arenas were out, and the competition once again shifted to the arena where Xingyao Entertainment was located.

The audience cheered once more, eagerly anticipating who would challenge Xingyao Entertainment this time and what kind of auditory feast they would bring!

Backstage, Ji Ya could only close her eyes, take a deep breath, and shakily make her way to the stage.

At this point, she understood—it was a decision made by the higher-ups at the company, and she had no power to change it.

The stage lights dimmed, and with the audience's enthusiastic cheers, Ji Ya stood on the stage. When she opened her eyes, seeing the eager gazes of the audience nearly brought her to tears.

Oh my god! This is terrifying!

If it were her own concert, with this many people and this much enthusiasm, she would be overjoyed!

But this was a competition! And she was just a pawn!

Seeing the passionate crowd, she felt a wave of helplessness and rising resentment in her heart. She knew that from today on, she was finished!

The seed of hatred was sown deep in her heart. With empty eyes, Ji Ya picked up the microphone.

The music began to play, and then her stammering voice broke through the air.

The audience, who had been eagerly anticipating her performance, was stunned. Then, the entire arena erupted with boos.

In the official live broadcast, countless keyboard warriors began to tear her apart.

   "What the hell! I almost jumped out of my skin when she opened her mouth!"

   "Are you a demon? Why do you have the courage to get on stage? Forcing us to swallow this garbage?"

   "Damn it! I thought we were going to see a battle of gods! She opened her mouth, and I almost died! This is beyond awful!"

   "My ears! I can't take it anymore! Time to wash my ears out!"

   "The voice is okay! But... she definitely didn't come prepared, right? Entertainment industry has no shame anymore? What is this?"

   "I can't listen to this! Bro, I'm going to go be sweet with my girlfriend for a few minutes, I'll come back when Xingyao Entertainment takes the stage!"

   "??? Bro! Wake up! You won't last three minutes!"

...

The bullet comments were full of mockery, and the boos from the audience continued.

But on stage, Ji Ya seemed like she had already lost her soul, still singing as if her heart had already died.

Backstage, everyone at Xingyao Entertainment was stunned by the scene.

"What... is this??? Giving up?"

Gu Xingyi furrowed his brows. He didn't expect the entertainment companies to be this shameless!

Moreover, wasn't this just ruining someone's future?

Miao Anyun watched Ji Ya on stage, unable to hold back a sigh. In her, she seemed to see the same fate that awaited her if she had stayed at Shengshi Entertainment.

This was capital, always eating people up without spitting out the bones.

After the song ended, amidst the shouting and chaos, Ji Ya walked off the stage with a blank expression.

Gu Xingyi's eyes narrowed. He felt that what those people were doing was a complete insult to the singer! An insult to music!

"Miao Anyun, it's your turn. Let them see what real music is and what the right attitude towards music should be!"

"Got it!"

Miao Anyun nodded and stepped toward the stage.

As she passed Ji Ya, their eyes never met. Both of them wore blank expressions, yet at that moment, their hearts beat in sync, both of them feeling the weight of the moment.