Huayu: Traffic is king

Chapter 82: I can’t lose if I’m playing the “good sister route”!
The moonlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting patches of light on the head of the bed.

Tian Xiwei curled up on the hotel bed, cold sweat soaking her tight strawberry-printed pajamas.

"No, Gu Jingyi! This shouldn't be your ending..."

"No. No. 5!"

A broken sound came out of her throat and Tian Xiwei sat up suddenly.

She picked up her phone and quickly opened the fan group to predict Gu Jingyi's final vote count.

With less than 24 hours left until debut night, the production team has stopped releasing any vote counts. Fans can only vote and count them manually.

After briefly browsing the chat logs, Tian Xiwei had a rough idea. Given the current fanbase, even with dozens of voting groups fully engaged in a single day, they could still amass tens of millions of votes.

The voting group was abuzz with activity, with fans lining up to claim their numbers, then reporting their votes. In less than a minute, hundreds of voting numbers had been rotated.

Tian Xiwei leaned against the headboard, staring intently at the chat logs. Only when cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck did she gradually come to her senses.

The time on her phone read 3:37 AM, the screen having gone dark from prolonged inactivity. Her bloodshot eyes were dimly lit. Less than 24 hours remained until the live audition, yet that strange dream still lingered in her mind, a nightmare she couldn't shake.

In her dream, she sat in the second row of the stands, while a young man in a silver-gray suit stood under the spotlight. The crimson numbers on the big screen stung her eyes. Huace trainee Gu Jingyi, with 3780 million votes, ranked fifth and debuted.

The cheers from the audience suddenly died down, and all the cheering lights suddenly went out. Tian Xiwei heard the uproar around her and saw Gu Jingyi, after finishing his debut speech, stumble onto the pyramid and sit down in "Seat 5." His silver-gray uniform was soaked with sweat, but his spine remained proudly straight.

At the top of the pyramid, when the members of the top debut group exchanged hugs, Gu Jingyi silently huddled in the shadows, digging his fingertips into his palms, drawing blood.

[No, why are you treating him like this?! He should have the brightest future, he should debut as the center!]
She shook her head desperately, the starlight of the cheering sticks reflected in her pupils gradually fading away. In the final shot the director cut to, Gu Jingyi gave the camera a self-deprecating smile. The teardrops pressed against his eyes had scratched bloody marks—like a bird with its wings crushed.

In the darkness, Tian Xiwei dug her nails deep into her palms, leaving many marks.

"Let us congratulate the nine-member boy group "Milk Foam Sen" selected by the national producers for their official debut!"

"Everyone—bow—!"

Following Zhang Yixing’s announcement, the theme song of “Idol Producer” “EiEi” came into being.

"Hey uhey uhey pick me, EiEi"

The catchy chorus brought the atmosphere of the entire gymnasium to a climax. On the tiered debut stage sprinkled with gold dust, nine debut trainees in silver-gray uniforms bent down in unison, taking a deep 90-degree bow.

Tian Xiwei's scream was stuck in her throat as she watched "Gu Jingyi" stand in front of the fifth seat and bow deeply.

The moment he bent his waist 90 degrees, the back of his neck pierced through the skin and jutted out. He looked forlorn and pathetic, like an eagle whose feathers had been forcibly stripped by capital.

The dream was so real that Tian Xiwei was still frightened when she woke up.

She drank some boiled water that had been cold on the bedside table for a long time, but it didn't calm her down. She started typing with trembling fingertips.

[Gu Jingyi's Donuts]: I had a dream. I dreamed that Gu Jingyi was suppressed in the votes. He didn't debut in first place, but fifth.

[Gu Jingyi's Donut]: I can't remember much else, except that he was clearly the one being voted down. He was still respectable during his debut speech on the night of the livestream. I just watched him, with a sad and resolute back, as he ascended the "Pyramid" and took seat in seat 5.

[Gu Jingyi's Donuts]: I can't remember much of what happened after that, except for the announcement of the group name in my dream. Gu Jingyi, like a puppet on a string, stood proudly in seat 5 and bowed to us. I was standing in the front row, crying until my makeup soaked. Gu Jingyi looked over and mouthed a silent, comforting "Don't cry."

Although reason told Tian Xiwei not to say anything that could easily shake the morale of the troops at this critical juncture.

But the dream was too real, she always felt that it was something that was about to happen or had already happened.

As soon as the message was released, the voting group was in an uproar.

[Ahhh, sweet sister. What should I do? Considering the dog show crew's style, this really doesn't seem fake.]
This is a "cute fan" who is chasing stars for the first time. He doesn't know anything and is easily led astray.

[I had anticipated the vote count would be suppressed, so I just tried my best to keep pumping up votes for Gu Jingyi. When the vote count is so high that no one can match it, even if the production team really wants to do this, they have to consider their own strengths, right?]
[Sister Tiantian, calm down. This is China, not South Korea. We will definitely protect Gu Jingyi and won't let our child be bullied on our own turf!]
[Does the production team dare? If Gu Jingyi wasn't the center position, then we'll jointly petition for a thorough investigation of the vote count and send the production team to jail together!]
These are veteran fans who have followed South Korea’s 101 talent show and have some experience with the process.

After reading these replies, Tian Xiwei finally regained some spirit.

She appeared in the fan group again, did her best to appease the people, and then clicked to quit.

It was just that the emotions before were too intense, and Tian Xiwei couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard she lay down.

She simply stood up and started voting.

However, the entries #Gu Jingyi was forced to debut# and #Gu Jingyi, dream# still became trending searches.

A passerby spoke out, "Yeah, I understand that fans want the best for their idols. But it's really not necessary for Gu Jingyi to be suppressed in votes, right? Honestly, at this point in the show, the Idol Producer IP can do without anyone, except Jingdi."

"If Gu Jingyi doesn't debut with the new group, then the new group loses its meaning. Talent shows should be about people choosing, not capital choosing people."

"Gu Jingyi's family's concerns are completely understandable, okay? According to the rules of the 101 talent shows, if your support colors are red and black, you're likely to fail to debut. If your support colors are gold or yellow, you're likely to be suppressed in votes. Those with the words "C position debut" in their profile pictures are basically suppressed in the rankings."

"Gu Jingyi is the only contestant on 'Idol Producer' who uses black and gold as his support colors, and his entire fan circle changed their profile pictures to 'Gu Jingyi debuts in the center position', right?
I remember their team discussed changing their support colors before the finals, and the fan circle even changed more than a dozen managers overnight. In the end, they stubbornly held on and chose to fight the rules of the draft with their own strength.

This is obviously a fan of the show who is quite philanthropic, liking every handsome guy equally. She knows everything about the fan circle and directly goes out to popularize science.

"Ah, then if Gu Jingyi really gets suppressed in the votes this time, his fans will definitely be devastated and completely defeated. They will probably hate their fans for choosing such a hasty support color that suppressed his luck."

This is the reply from a passerby, I really empathize with him.

Some rivals also began to fish in troubled waters. "Tsk, are you starting to play the victim now? This Gu Jingyi donut has appeared several times. If she's not a fan, who else is? Huace is helping again, right? 666, what a good way to abuse fans."

"I see. The company is starting to go downhill."

This made some real passers-by unable to bear it, and they began to explain the value of Gu Jingyi's title as "the first double-luxury male artist born after 95" and his current popularity data.

But after talking for a while, a question popped up in their minds, "Strange, where are the Concubines Jing? Normally, wouldn't they have jumped out by this time?"

The "Jing Fei" fans have no time to care about it. Even the most innocent "Meng Meng Fan" knows it through the popularization of the big fans.

There was a case where the original C position had too stable votes, so the fans just laid low and gave up. As a result, the C position on the final night was directly taken by "No. 4" Somi.

The lessons of the past were still fresh in their minds, and Gu Jingyi's fans held their breath. They would not let up until the very last moment of the show.

Wukesong Stadium
The debut night was a concert, and even though it hadn't started yet, quite a few girls had already gathered. They were already sitting outside the venue, carrying cheering sticks, banners, and light boards, waiting for their tickets to be checked in.

Cunmei appeared with a camera on her back and a mask on.

"New here? Have you voted today? If you vote for our Kun Kun, you can get a free burger."

"You can vote for our Orange, too. New here, we have pizza here!"

Cunzi didn't wear any support items, and was immediately wooed by the top players. Only Gu Jingyi's "Jingfei" remained aloof. This is the sense of security and style brought by the fan-sharing giant C!
"No, I voted for Gu Jingyi."

Cunmei waved her hand and walked directly to Gu Jingyi.

She didn't understand why she came today. Maybe she was really a fan of Gu Jingyi.

"Are you a fan of Jingyi too? Come, remember to get the cheering stick."

When Cunzi walked to Gu Jingyi's formation, the "Jing concubines" who had just maintained a "cold" style also became enthusiastic.

Cunzi only turned around like this, and she had a lot of Gu Jingyi's peripherals. She had a few more "support hairpins" on her head and a few more light boards on her body.

She really wasn't interested before, but now...

“Thank you, sisters. You are so nice.”

Cunmei blinked her big eyes and smiled obediently.

"You're welcome. As long as you're also a fan of Gu Jingyi, we'll be good friends~"

"Jing Fei", the first one to send support items to Cun Zi, was touched by her cuteness. The rich fan was in a good mood and gave her a lot of food.

"Thank you sister~"

She smiled sweetly, her beautiful eyes full of laughter.

She finished her food quickly, and under the pretext of throwing away the trash, she walked over to another fan who was wearing a mask and looked a little "socially anxious".

"Sister, why are you wearing a mask all of a sudden? Are you allergic to pollen?"

Cunzi's approach made the "sister's" face freeze for a moment. Gu Xuanxuan really regretted why she came to watch her brother's debut night.

Who knows? This is a real-life version of "hide and seek".

After the third episode of "Idol Producer" was broadcast, her desk was filled with snacks and gifts given by girls when she went to class.

Everyone knows that she is Gu Jingyi's sister. Girls in the same school try to get close to Gu Xuanxuan every day just to get a little information about Gu Jingyi from her.

This really annoyed a certain top student, and all these people were his fans. He couldn't scold them, and he couldn't be mean to them.

Even the attendance at the "debut night" as family members was caused by two unreliable yet sweet middle-aged couples.

The couple was going on their honeymoon, and the task of welcoming their son fell on the shoulders of Gu Xuanxuan, the "resentful sister".

She had to take a flight here and disguise herself by wearing a mask and contact lenses.

He sneaked into the fan circle in the guise of a "little transparent" person, intending to fish in troubled waters and stay there for a while.

Everything was fine, but the appearance of this extremely pure-looking girl broke Gu Xuanxuan's peace.

She always felt as if she was being stared at by something scary.

But when he looked up at Cunmei again, the girl's eyes were full of sincerity and concern.

"Why aren't you talking? Are you feeling down again? I have some medicine for pollen allergies here, would you like to take some?"

Cunmei rummaged through her bag, took out a box of medicine and handed it over.

[Damn, she's so gentle! How could I have thought of her like that just now? This is such a huge misunderstanding!]
Guilt instantly rose in her heart, and Gu Xuanxuan felt a little embarrassed.

She took the allergy medicine and accidentally touched Cunzi's finger while passing the box.

The nails that had not been trimmed in time also touched her fingers, leaving a mark.

"Sorry," Gu Xuanxuan was a little embarrassed.

She is so socially anxious that she is almost confused. Why has she been making a fool of herself all day?

"It's okay," Cunmei's beautiful eyes were filled with tenderness. She curled the corners of her mouth, making people feel like they were bathed in spring breeze.

"Are you also a fan of that...Gu Jingyi?"

Gu Xuanxuan asked a little uncomfortably, this sister is too gentle and looks like a fairy.

Don’t be a fan of that guy. It’s weird to be friends with your own brother’s fans!
"What about me?" Cunzi hesitated for a moment. She glanced around and noticed no one was looking.

He covered Gu Xuanxuan's ears with his hands and whispered in her ear, "No, I'm not. I'm just a proxy photographer. I don't have any fan base, I just take photos of whoever is popular."

"This is a secret between you and me, don't let them hear it. Sister, I've already given you my biggest trump card. You won't betray me, right?"

Liu Haoyu's words instantly stirred waves in Gu Xuanxuan's heart. She patted her chest and said very loyally, "Of course, I'm not that kind of person!"

"I'll tell you a secret. I'm not a fan of Gu Jingyi either. If I didn't have a compelling reason to come, I wouldn't be here! Who wants to queue up here? It's noisy and tiring."

Gu Xuanxuan was only 16 years old after all, and after being guided by Liu Haoyu, she quickly spilled all her thoughts.

The two girls exchanged secrets in a short time and suddenly became closer to each other.

"Let me tell you, the Conan movie has recently aired..."

"Yeah, yeah, I don't know when Shinichi and Ran will finally get married..."

"You play this too? You're so classy!"

“It’s packaged!”

After chatting for more than half an hour, Liu Haoyue even knew what type of person Kuchazi liked.

"All fans, get ready to enter!"

When the staff appeared at the door, ticket checking began.

But after entering, Gu Xuanxuan and Liu Haoyue sat together very "naturally".

Before their debut night even started, the two of them even added each other on WeChat.

(End of this chapter)