Chapter 41: Runner-Up Again!

After the announcement of the first-place winner in the second half of the finals, Ni Qiqin realized she seemed to have rubbed Ye Fei the wrong way. The look Ye Fei had just given her was practically brimming with resentment!

Qin Haiyu was beginning to doubt Ni Qiqin's words. She asked, "Am I the one in first place? Is there another twist this time?"

"Uh... I was just trying to liven things up earlier, made a little joke. I hope Teacher Ye Fei doesn't mind," Ni Qiqin continued, "In the second half of the Season 9 finals of 'I Am a Singer,' the singer with the highest vote count is Qin Haiyu!"

Once she was certain she'd taken first place in the second half, Qin Haiyu was finally at ease. If Ni Qiqin hadn't tricked her, if every audience member had truly voted for her, then her chances of winning the championship were very high!

Ni Qiqin announced, "Now, we'll reveal the rankings and vote counts for the second half of the competition.

First place: Qin Haiyu, 500 votes!
Second place: Ye Fei, 387 votes."

Hearing this, Ye Fei's expression soured even more! What kind of numbers were these—387 votes? And what about Qin Haiyu's 500? There had to be something wrong with the voting! It was impossible that the entire audience had actually voted for her! The last time Qin Haiyu sang "A Little Happiness" and got 497 votes, Ye Fei had already thought the numbers were too unbelievable. Now, with 500 votes, she almost wanted to laugh.

Ni Qiqin continued to announce:

"Third place: Chen Yuzhong, 341 votes.
Fourth place: Teacher Wu, 298 votes."

At this, Teacher Wu smiled calmly and said, "Not bad, over half the audience voted for me. I thought I wouldn't even get half this time."

Ni Qiqin went on, "Now, let's announce the rankings and vote counts for the first half of the finals!"

She started playing with suspense again, asking, "Teacher Qin Haiyu, which ranking would you like me to announce first from the first half?"

The way she was being called "teacher" made Qin Haiyu feel a little awkward. She wasn't a senior, and was actually a year younger than Ni Qiqin. But since all the singers were called "teacher" on the show, she'd gotten used to it.

Qin Haiyu thought for a moment and said, "Just announce first place directly! Nobody wants to be left hanging anymore!"

"Alright, then I’ll announce it straight away! The singer who took first place in the first half is—Teacher Ye Fei!"

At that, all four of them stared at Ni Qiqin, especially Ye Fei. She'd already been played with earlier and was still feeling displeased. Now, hearing that first place was hers again, not only did she not look excited, she even glared at Ni Qiqin, as if trying to see if she was about to be played with again.

Ni Qiqin quickly followed up, "Now, let's reveal the singer who placed second in the first half!"

"???" Ye Fei frowned, her tone still tinged with irritation, "So first place in the first half is out? I really took first in the first half?"

"That's right!" Ni Qiqin could tell her earlier joke had genuinely angered Ye Fei, so she didn't dare repeat it. She smiled and nodded, and after confirming Ye Fei as first in the first half, continued, "The singer in second place in the first half—their name has three characters!"

Qin Haiyu rolled her eyes again, her expression a little cute.

Chen Yuzhong grew impatient and complained, "All our names have three characters!"

He almost snapped at Ni Qiqin—wasn't she just stating the obvious?

But Ni Qiqin knew she was indeed just stalling... She had to keep interacting with the singers, so she kept dragging it out, adding, "He is a male singer!"

With that, Qin Haiyu was ruled out, so she was either third or fourth in the first half.

Teacher Wu sighed, "Xiao Ni, can't you just give it to us straight?"

"Ahem, Teacher Wu, I'll announce it now!" Ni Qiqin said, "Second place in the first half is you. That just leaves third and fourth."

At this moment, Ye Fei's heart started pounding. She kept praying that Qin Haiyu would be last in the first half! Only then would her own chances of winning increase, because Qin Haiyu's votes for "Later" in the second half were just too unreal!

Qin Haiyu herself was a bit nervous as well. Although a perfect score in the second half gave her a huge confidence boost, the championship was based on the combined votes from both halves. Ye Fei was still a major contender; it was either her or Qin Haiyu for the win.

Everything depended on the gap in the first half's votes!

Ni Qiqin felt she'd dragged things out long enough. She didn't know how to stall any further, and if she kept going, one of the singers might actually get angry and throw a fit.

So she announced directly, "Third place in the first half is Qin Haiyu!"

After several seconds without any twist from Ni Qiqin, Qin Haiyu realized she really was third in the first half.

"Now, I'll announce the vote counts for the top four in the first half!"

Ni Qiqin glanced at her cue card and said, "The first half was the battle of eight finalists. We know the bottom four were eliminated, and their vote counts were close. The top four singers also had very close vote counts!"

At this, Ye Fei's heart sank—her chances of winning were shrinking again!

Ni Qiqin read from the card, "The first half rankings for Season 9 of 'I Am a Singer' are as follows:

First place: Ye Fei, 427 votes!
Second place: Teacher Wu, 409 votes!
Third place: Qin Haiyu, 402 votes!
Fourth place: Chen Yuzhong, 381 votes!"

With the vote counts revealed, Qin Haiyu finally felt relieved!

Champion! I really am the champion!

Her heart surged with wild joy. Ni Qiqin didn't draw things out any longer and continued, "Now, combining the votes from both halves, here are the final rankings for the top four!

First place: Qin Haiyu, 902 votes!
Second place: Ye Fei, 814 votes!
Third place: Chen Yuzhong, 722 votes!
Fourth place: Teacher Wu, 707 votes!"

After announcing the rankings and total votes, Ni Qiqin declared passionately, "Congratulations to singer Qin Haiyu, the champion of Season 9 of 'I Am a Singer!'"

Right after, the director came onstage to present the championship trophy. With the presentation of the trophy, this season of "I Am a Singer" drew to a close.

Yang Bing, working behind the scenes, originally thought about sneaking away to let Yu Zhile know the good news. But then he figured that after winning, his wife would definitely be thrilled to tell her husband herself, so he decided not to spoil the moment.

By the time the recording ended, it was already past five in the evening.

This recording had taken a long time; the finals were shot in two parts in one go. A lot of time was spent rearranging the stage, as each singer wanted their own unique style for their performance.

Only Qin Haiyu's stage was the simplest. She just wanted to finish recording quickly and go home, so her stage setup was very casual.

Clutching the championship trophy, Qin Haiyu took out her phone as she left the studio to head home.

She opened WeChat, but didn’t tell her husband she’d won. Instead, she tapped the voice message button and cried, "Boohoo, darling, I didn’t win the championship. I got second place again!"

Xu Ling rolled her eyes so hard they nearly turned white. Her broad face was not only full of chubby flesh, but also reeked of disdain and contempt.

As if three words were written all over her expression:

Hah, women!