Chapter 46: The Astonishing Ratings That Shocked Everyone

"You're the drama queen! Hmph, I'm not talking to you anymore!" Qin Haiyu pouted, chewing her food, speaking a little unclearly, "Tonight, you can sleep on the sofa yourself!"

Yu Zhile hurriedly wrapped his arms around his wife's slender waist, grinning apologetically, "Honey, I was wrong! I shouldn't have called you drama queens—I should have said you're actresses!"

"Hit you!" Qin Haiyu gave Yu Zhile's thigh a disdainful thump and snorted, "They were clearly moved by my singing! Not drama queens or actresses!"

"Haha, I'm just joking." Yu Zhile finally turned serious, "That female judge who cries every episode is definitely a drama queen, but maybe the others were genuinely touched by your singing."

"Take out the maybe!" Qin Haiyu puffed her cheeks and continued eating her roast goose rice.

"Alright, maybe is gone!" Yu Zhile earnestly declared, "My wife made them cry with her talent! Incredible! Honey, your performance of 'Later' was so beautiful! I'm about to be moved to tears myself! Boohoohoo..."

Qin Haiyu couldn't bear to look—clearly, her husband was the real drama queen.

Then, in the next moment, something hilarious happened!

The baby, standing on Yu Zhile's thigh, saw her father "crying." She watched curiously for a bit, then suddenly burst out crying herself!

"Pfft..." Yu Zhile laughed, quickly comforting her, "Don't cry, sweetheart, Daddy is just playing with Mommy!"

Qin Haiyu was amused by their daughter, spraying a mouthful of rice as she laughed, unable to hold back, "Serves you right for boohoohooing! Great, just as we finally got her happy, you made her cry again!"

Yu Zhile was helpless—if he'd known the boohooing would make the baby cry, he'd never have dared to do it.

He had no choice but to take the baby to her little car, coaxing her for quite a while before she was cheerful again.

Soon, after all four singers had performed in the second half of the "I Am a Superstar" finals, it was time for Ni Qiqin to announce the vote rankings.

Yu Zhile watched for a moment and realized Ni Qiqin truly had that long-winded style reminiscent of Teacher Hong Tao.

But as a female host, being so drawn-out, making jokes and teasing the singers, she was bound to offend people and invite criticism.

Especially when she announced Ye Fei as first place, then added, "Beside her is Qin Haiyu," Yu Zhile noticed Ye Fei's expression instantly darkened, about to erupt like a volcano.

He remarked, "When this part airs, Ni Qiqin and Ye Fei are going to get flamed badly!"

Qin Haiyu said, "Ni Qiqin's joke was a bit much—Ye Fei's fans will probably curse her."

Yu Zhile nodded, "It's normal for her to get flamed by Ye Fei's fans, but Ye Fei's instant angry expression will also get criticized by netizens, saying she can't take a joke. But seeing her so annoyed, for some reason, I actually feel delighted! Maybe it's because she always struck me as fake and pretentious."

Qin Haiyu was surprised, "Honey, you think so too?"

Yu Zhile was also surprised, "So you think she's fake and pretentious as well?"

Qin Haiyu nodded, recounting, "When I went to record two episodes as a challenger, she barely acknowledged me the whole time. But when recording the finals, after I finished singing 'Sakura Grass' and returned backstage, she suddenly acted as if we were best friends—congratulating me, praising me, even coming over and intimately linking arms with me to sit together! So I felt a bit repelled by her—her attitude changed too drastically, too fake."

Yu Zhile analyzed, "From her behavior in the earlier episodes, you can tell she's opportunistic. When you're out of the spotlight, she can't be bothered; but when you're about to make a triumphant comeback, she rushes to befriend and flatter you. Women like her are usually calculating, narrow-minded—not suitable for close friendship."

"Mm, that's exactly how I feel, so I've always kept some distance from her." Qin Haiyu spoke, then suddenly remembered something, "Oh right! When she praised Teacher Wu's experience and singing skills as superior to ours, Teacher Wu scoffed at her, as if mocking her!"

Yu Zhile concluded, "So she's not just fake, but also low in emotional intelligence—can't speak well, can't handle people. Maybe that's why Ni Qiqin deliberately teased her, played a joke on her."

"So Ni Qiqin just dislikes her and purposely made that joke to annoy her?"

Qin Haiyu stared at the TV in astonishment, suddenly sighing, "It's terrifying! Feels like watching a palace intrigue drama!"

"Actually, the entertainment industry is just one giant palace drama," Yu Zhile commented.

...

The next morning.

Yang Bing was waiting for the ratings to come out.

After the second half of last night's finals aired, Qin Haiyu was trending again!

The song "Later" exploded in popularity overnight!

Colleagues at the station all claimed the surge in ratings during the first half of the finals was primarily due not to Qin Haiyu's popularity, but to the program's revamped format attracting viewers.

Yang Bing thought quite the opposite!

The sudden spike in ratings in the first half of the finals was mostly thanks to Qin Haiyu's popularity!

Because Qin Haiyu's "Little Luck" had gone viral—topping the new song chart, download chart, even the song heat chart, and after a month, it was still firmly in first place!

Plus, Qin Haiyu's high vote count in the revival poll proved her popularity was no less than rising stars like Chen Yuzhong and Ye Fei.

And Qin Haiyu's singing skills and stage presence far surpassed Ye Fei and Chen Yuzhong.

Any professional could easily see the difference!

Yang Bing, after all, was Yu Zhile's classmate! Like Yu Zhile, he graduated from the music department!

So for singers, he could tell good from bad at a live performance.

This season of "I Am a Superstar" was indeed disappointing in terms of guest singers—only Qin Haiyu truly sang beautifully and moved people!

It felt like the tone and quality of variety shows had been corrupted and lowered by the word "traffic."

He spent all day yesterday, repeatedly mulling over Yu Zhile's words, and finally decided to plan a music program that he believed could truly break new ground!

And he would name it just as Yu Zhile suggested—

"I Am a Singer!"

...

Yang Bing was momentarily absent-minded, but when the ratings came out, he snapped back, grabbed the compiled ratings sheet, found "I Am a Superstar," and was completely stunned!

"1.92%?"

Yang Bing rubbed his eyes, confirmed the number was indeed a 1, not a 0, and quickly hurried back to his office!