Chapter 30: Waiting for Your Champion’s Trophy

By the time the twelfth episode of this season’s “I Am a Star Singer” aired, it signaled that the grand finale was just around the corner. At the conclusion of this episode, the much-anticipated revival voting segment was launched in full swing as the show ended.

On the revival leaderboard, there were six singers in total. Among them were both those who had failed in their challenge rounds and those who had been eliminated after losing to a challenger.

Yu Zhile looked at the lineup on the revival board and immediately felt at ease.

“Honey, you’re definitely going to take first place on the revival board! These five singers don’t seem to stand a chance against you!” he said confidently.

Qin Haiyu replied, “You’re underestimating them! Maybe two years ago, my popularity would have surpassed theirs, but now it’s hard to say. ‘A Little Happiness’ became a hit, but it was the song, not the singer, that went viral.”

Looking at Qin Haiyu as she nursed their baby, Yu Zhile countered, “You’re selling yourself short! In any case, you’re sure to be number one this time. Just focus on practicing the two songs I prepared for you.”

“But what if I’m not first on the revival board?” she asked.

“There’s no ‘what if,’” Yu Zhile said firmly. “Whether it’s the real vote count or the producers’ intentions, you’ll be revived and go on to the finals!”

In fact, two days earlier, Yang Bing had confided to Yu Zhile that everyone on the production team felt it was a shame. Even the director sighed, saying that if only Qin Haiyu had succeeded in her challenge round, then—riding the tidal wave of popularity from ‘A Little Happiness’—the ratings might have finally broken the 1% mark.

Currently, after adjustments to the judging panel and the voting process, the show’s reputation and viewership had both improved, but ratings remained stuck at a bottleneck. The highest-rated episode so far had reached 0.98%—just shy of the coveted 1%.

Now, the only real hope for breaking the 1% ceiling rested on the final showdown. With the addition of the revival round and a new four-way semifinal before the championship, the finale would be split into two parts, giving the show two more chances to make history.

It was clear that, regardless of how the votes played out, the producers and director had already settled on who they wanted revived: Qin Haiyu, whose triumphant return with ‘A Little Happiness’ had captured the public’s imagination.

Meanwhile, late that night, the staff on duty at the music channel were glued to the results as the voting opened.

Director Zhang Qian asked, a bit anxious but hopeful, “Well? How many text messages have we received so far?”

Staring at the backend data, a staff member chuckled wryly, “Director Zhang, it’s only been a minute. It takes viewers some time to send their texts.”

Yang Bing, eager to witness this moment, had volunteered for the night shift and was also waiting expectantly for the results.

If Qin Haiyu’s votes surged far ahead, her revival and place in the finals would be a foregone conclusion. If, by some mishap, her votes lagged behind, the production team would be left with a dilemma.

The next moment, the staffer who’d just said it had only been a minute suddenly exclaimed, “Hundreds of messages just came in! Almost all are for Qin Haiyu!”

It was in the bag.

Director Zhang Qian and Yang Bing nodded in satisfaction; this was the outcome they’d hoped for.

“Sync the vote count!” Zhang Qian urged, and soon the revival leaderboard was updated live.

...

At home, Yu Zhile refreshed the leaderboard and announced, “Honey, look! In less than two minutes, you already have 897 votes! Second place only has 118, and the other four don’t even have a hundred each!”

“How wonderful!” Qin Haiyu threw him a flirtatious glance. “This is all thanks to you. If not for ‘A Little Happiness,’ my popularity wouldn’t have bounced back so quickly.”

Were she not busy nursing, Yu Zhile would have seized the chance to ask for a little reward. He refreshed the leaderboard again, delighted. “You’ve broken five thousand votes! You’re crushing the other five!”

“Let me see.” Qin Haiyu leaned in, baby still contentedly suckling in her arms.

She gazed at the leaderboard on the phone, marveling, “Not even three minutes have passed, and I already have 5,299 votes! I’m amazing!”

Yu Zhile sympathized, “The other five look a bit pitiful. You’re so far ahead, they’ll probably hold a grudge and their most rabid fans might start attacking you online.”

Qin Haiyu was unfazed. “I’m used to it. Haven’t people always criticized me? If I don’t look, it’s like it never happened.”

“Haha, that’s right!” Yu Zhile ruffled her hair and stopped checking the leaderboard—by now, the trend was clear.

He played with their baby’s little hand, watching the child nurse contentedly, and idly wondered if an infant’s taste buds were different from an adult’s. After all, he didn’t find his wife’s milk tasty, but the baby seemed to love it, often falling asleep mid-feeding.

...

The next morning.

Yu Zhile woke to find his wife and baby already up, nowhere to be seen in the bedroom, clearly out in the living room.

He glanced at his phone—6:47 a.m.—and before heading out, checked the leaderboard. Overnight, Qin Haiyu’s vote count had surpassed the combined total of the other five singers.

Counting the long string of digits, he walked out in astonishment, calling to Qin Haiyu, who was watching the baby crawl on the soft mat in the living room.

“Honey! Overnight, your votes have passed two million!”

“What?” Qin Haiyu was shocked. “Two million? That’s unbelievable! The voting hasn’t even been open half a day. Did someone rig the votes?”

“This is SMS voting; it can’t be rigged!” Yu Zhile explained. “If the other five wanted to make the finals, they’d have figured out a way to take the top spot by now.”

Qin Haiyu scooped up the baby, who was about to crawl off the mat. “So you’re saying two million people texted in to vote for me?”

“If the numbers are real, yes! Each phone number can only vote once, so there’s no way for someone to spam the system.”

Yu Zhile thought for a moment. “I’ll ask one of my friends at the station. We’ll know for sure if the numbers are real.”

He messaged Yang Bing, planning to brush his teeth and wash up, but was surprised when Yang Bing replied instantly.

“The numbers are real! I’m monitoring the backend right now!”

Yu Zhile hadn’t expected Yang Bing to be at work so early. Clearly, he’d taken the night shift and was in charge of the SMS voting.

Heading to the bathroom, he called back to his wife, “Honey, my friend confirmed it—the numbers are real! So many people voted for you!”

Qin Haiyu was visibly pleased as she smiled sweetly. “Do you think I have a shot at winning this time? It’s a bit of a regret, you know. Two years ago, when I was on the sixth season, I missed out on first place by just a few votes and ended up as runner-up.”

While squeezing toothpaste, Yu Zhile said, “As long as you have confidence in yourself and in the two songs I chose for you, the championship is yours!”

Qin Haiyu giggled, “Then I’ll bring home the trophy for you this time!”

Rinsing his mouth, Yu Zhile replied with anticipation, “Great. I’ll be waiting at home for your trophy.”