Tokyo: The evil god doesn't want to be the top star

Chapter 234: Under the Main Stage, Everyone is an Ant
"No...I don't feel...bad...terrible, ah!"

Faced with such pressure, Assistant Director Souta leaned back as if to escape, and the office chair on casters underneath him suddenly fell to the ground.

At the same time, Akimoto Manjiro's phone rang, breaking the increasingly subtle atmosphere in the conference room.

"Yes, boss..."

Akimoto Manjiro answered the phone with a serious face.

"I know the location of the theme song main stage and the original agreement of the several companies, but..."

"Can't be changed? Got it. I'll find a way to deal with it..."

"If I can't handle it, I will resign."

He has always been as imposing as anyone, but at this moment his tone became particularly humble, and the veins on the back of his hand holding the phone were bulging.

"Resign?! ​​Director, what should we do now?"

"The votes are announced in real time. There is no way to reduce Xia Fan's votes. Even if some of the channel activity tickets are cancelled, he will still be number one..."

Seeing that Manjiro Akimoto hung up the phone without saying a word, Souta became anxious.

There is only one person who can be called "boss" by the chief director...

Even "that person" who holds the highest voice in J Company called personally to inquire about this matter. The seriousness of the matter is self-evident.

If Akimoto Manjiro was removed, he, as a member of the faction, would naturally be the second to be purged.

"Oh, right? Otherwise, let J, A, and S companies increase the budget for internal tickets and raise the data of other trainees as well?"

After thinking it over, Cao Tai suddenly had an idea and suggested.

Just as Manjiro Akimoto said before, "The audience's money is split 30% and 70% and the company's money is returned in full," most of the local trainees ranked behind Xia Fan have achieved their current popularity thanks to the "internal votes" between their own companies and sponsors.

If the investors behind the show insist that their trainees take the nine main stage positions, then they might as well go all out and increase the "internal ticket" data...

"Do you think I haven't thought about it? It's impossible..."

"Internal votes are also generated through inflated transactions. Xia Fan's vote base is too large. If we want nine people to surpass him, how much data would we have to create and how much tax would we inflate?"

"The National Taxation Bureau's big data system is not a freeloader. I'm afraid it will smell something and come here right away!"

Akimoto Manjiro shook his head in frustration.

"..."

The conference room, which contained only two people, fell into darkness and silence.

"I, Akimoto Manjiro..."

After an unknown amount of time, Akimoto Manjiro suddenly started talking to himself in a low, hoarse voice...

"I have been involved in the idol wars for many years, and have created more than a thousand idols with my own hands. I am not known by death, nor by life, and I have never failed."

"I want the center position in the theme song... I also want the consumption potential behind Xia Fan..."

"I, Akimoto Manjiro, want them all, ahahahahahaha!"

The deep and powerful singing gradually turned into crazy laughter...

"Director, is he driven crazy?"

Assistant Director Kusata, who was unaware of the situation, could only stand in the dim light, tears in his eyes, biting the corner of his clothes tightly, not daring to move.

……

The next day, the "Idol Birth Festival" trainee cafeteria.

"Hurry up, there are only five minutes left before the deadline. If any rich lady likes me, hurry up and rub the steel wool!"

"Give me twenty more votes, and I can surpass four people. Not to mention the rich woman, I can even win against the old man!"

A group of trainees were gathered in twos and threes, paying no attention to the food on the table. They were all staring at their phones, which were showing the popularity votes for the theme song.

"That's great. The guys who have already stepped half a foot onto the main stage don't have to worry about it until the last few minutes..."

"That's right. I guess they've been practicing in the past two days to prepare for the recording, right?" Many trainees' eyes would occasionally fall on the top nine trainees in the cafeteria...

In this kind of popularity vote ranking, the gap between the top ten is larger than that between the later rankings, and the competition is not that fierce. At this time, the ranking at the top is basically determined.

"Asshole, what are you looking at? Do you think it's a good thing if the rankings don't fluctuate?!"

Hirano Yuta, who ranked second in popularity, suddenly turned to the trainee at the next table and growled angrily.

"Hey, Yuta, even though we haven't officially started recording yet, there are cameras in the cafeteria."

An Ziyao, who ranked fourth, forcibly turned his face towards the plate.

"Damn it, the thought of me standing in the second center position and performing with those 'celestial dragons' who are just cheating for votes makes me feel so uncomfortable..."

Hirano Yuta buried his head, his body trembling slightly, and the disposable chopsticks in his hand made a crackling sound.

"The entertainment industry is like this. No matter how much you dislike someone, there will come a time when you need to fake-smile and collaborate on stage with them."

"If you are not satisfied, why don't you try to work together to block out his brilliance when you dance together?"

An Ziyao stuffed a piece of beef into his mouth and started chewing with his eyes narrowed.

"Time is up……"

"The deadline has come. I'm just one vote away from moving up one more place. What a shame!"

When the deadline for the live video came, the whole cafeteria became excited...

Naturally, that last bit of time was not enough to affect the rankings of the previous nine people.

As for the trainees outside the top nine, no matter their ranking, they were all filled with resentment and disappointment.

Because, the close-up shots of the theme song MV will only be given to the nine people on the main stage, and the others dancing below are just background boards...

It can be said that, below the main stage, everyone is an ant.

At the same time, a solitary figure walked in silently from outside.

"..."

The noise in the cafeteria came to an abrupt end...

Because the person who came in was Xia Fan, who ranked first in personal straight-shot popularity votes by a huge margin, more than twice that of the second place.

"I accidentally overslept... Luckily there's still food..."

Not noticing the strange atmosphere in the cafeteria, Xia Fan, with messy hair, picked up the plate and began to choose food...

Although the recording has been suspended these days, the trainees are still under semi-closed management. Before the recording of the theme song MV is officially completed, they must report before leaving the dormitory.

So, like most trainees, he was too lazy to go back to school and stayed in the dormitory to recuperate and practice silently in preparation for the recording.

"As expected of you who is number one, you are late even for dinner."

"That bastard, did he deliberately choose the statistical deadline to come?"

"It's just a theme song. The performance stage later will definitely make you admit defeat willingly..."

The other trainees ranked in the top nine immediately focused their attention on Xia Fan.

"Xia Fan, here!"

"I saved a seat for you."

When Xia Fan finished preparing the meal, his roommates Jack, Basong and others had already occupied a table in the corner and were waiting for him.

"First place, I promised to treat you to a barbecue later, and it has to be the kind with 'juice pressing service'!"

"That's right, the beef must be A5 or above, and the juicing performance must be GCUP or above!"

As soon as he sat down, he was "blackmailed" by several roommates.

(End of this chapter)