My agency went bankrupt before I even got on stage.

Lin Fan raised an eyebrow, realizing that Li Yingqi wasn't welcoming him. But Lin Fan didn't care. Wasn't it better if she didn't welcome him? Just like his fans didn't care about his wishes, why should he care about her opinion?

Lin Fan grinned, showing eight teeth, just as he was thinking of teasing Li Yingqi, when Zhuo Yuanquan suddenly left his line and gave Lin Fan a bear hug!

He carried her back while dragging her towards his own group, saying, "Brother Fan! Come here!"

Lu Bingyang also came to help, just like when he and Gao Yan had helped lift Lin Fan off the bed. He and Zhuo Yuanquan each supported Lin Fan's armpits and legs, saying, "That's right! Brother Fan! Our team needs you!"

"Hey, no!" Lin Fan struggled. "No, it's not that. I don't want to debut. It would be difficult if I went to your place!"

Li Yingqi's face immediately darkened upon hearing this: So you came to my team not to ride my coattails, but to ruin my performance!

If Lin Fan knew what Li Yingqi was thinking, he would definitely retort: ​​"You won't mess it up, after all, besides you and that Tu Jingyi, those two royals, your team also has other innocent students."

Lin Fan wouldn't stoop so low as to drag other trainees into this and ruin their performance just to vent his anger. But if he doesn't ruin it, it's okay for him to just coast along, argue with the captain, or annoy the center, right?

Unfortunately, Zhuo Yuanquan suddenly appeared and dragged Lin Fan away, saying, "Brother Fan! I'm serious! Come to my team! We'll compete fairly, we need you!"

Lu Bingyang's voice was almost distorted as he pleaded in a low voice, "Yes, Brother Fan, we need you! Please help us!"

Oh dear, those words! Lin Fan felt inexplicably uncomfortable! Lin Fan was the kind of person who responded better to gentle persuasion than force, and he couldn't stand being spoken to in such a soft tone!

Previously, when NetEase Music suppressed Lin Fan's data, Lin Fan only felt angry that his money had been withheld, and didn't feel sad or upset. After all, being sad was useless; that's how society is—if you're weak, you have to be prepared to be beaten. However, when Lin Fan learned about all the things his fans had done to speak up for him and to seek justice for him, he found himself unable to bear it.

So whether it was Jiang Jie from NetEase Music or Wu Zhong who came to apologize to Lin Fan and offered him a better contract, Lin Fan never considered returning to NetEase Music to release songs on their platform.

And now.

Zhuo Yuanquan, who had consistently topped all the charts in Morning Star with both skill and popularity, inexplicably only managed to secure second place. He must be feeling incredibly frustrated. Yet, even so, he still managed to say something like, "It was a fair and square competition."

There's also Lu Bingyang. Lin Fan has always seen how hard this kid works. Every day, he's always the first one to arrive at the training room and the last one to leave. Even in the dormitory, he always makes the most of every minute to practice songs and dances. He has never slacked off or complained.

But today, Lu Bingyang pleaded with Lin Fan, saying he needed him.

Lin Fan's heart softened immediately: "Okay, I know! Don't lift me anymore, I can walk by myself! Sigh, I'm just such a soft-hearted person, so soft-hearted that I want to pinch my cheeks a little more!"

Zhuo Yuanquan and Lu Bingyang chuckled and readily let Lin Fan go. The three of them stood together behind the sign for the same song.

The 10th place winner was Li Xiaodong. Without even thinking, he stood directly behind Lin Fan and declared, "Brother Fan! I'm sticking with you!"

Lin Fan sighed, "I never thought I'd become someone's sugar daddy, someone who won't let go of me!"

Li Xiaodong blinked: "I was thinking of upgrading to VIP..."

Lin Fan immediately changed his tune: "Dear patron, are you comfortable clinging to this big leg? If not, we suggest you try the other leg and see how it feels!"

Zhuo Yuanquan and Lu Bingyang were amazed! Sure enough, there's always someone who can subdue another; the only thing that can control Brother Fan is Li Xiaodong's financial power!

……

Soon, all the trainees had made their choices, but a rather strange phenomenon occurred on site.

Li Yingqi's group had 6 members, all of whom were ranked in the top 9. Each of them had some kind of cooperation with their respective management company.

The other three from the top nine, Zhuo Yuanquan, Lu Bingyang, and Lin Fan, also formed a team, vaguely rivaling Li Yingqi's team.

The remaining trainees were scattered across different tracks. But the situation is now very clear: they're sticking together.

Lin Fan has never cared about rankings, popularity, buzz, or lists. He also sleeps during his personal live streams, so he's not very clear about it. In fact, the atmosphere at the big company has undergone some unspeakable changes without anyone noticing.

Trainees forming cliques, management companies forming cliques, and debut positions being predetermined by favorites – these are trends that talent shows ultimately cannot avoid.

The producers of this show went to great lengths to create it, only to promote a bunch of idols who have no connection to them, burning through their own budget to light the way for others? Who are you kidding!

Are talent agencies sending their top trainees to these shows just so the production team can exploit them, cash in on their fans, and use their individual popularity to benefit other trainees? Are you kidding me?!

No matter how noble the production team and the management company may sound on the surface, their true motivation is profit! Their ultimate goal is to maximize their own gains!

That's why this situation has occurred.

Not only did the students at the scene notice this, but the fans watching the live stream also noticed it.

[LovesCakes: It's here again! The iconic scene of them huddling together that always happens during the third performance! It's happened again!]

[My relationship with love is a mess: I'm used to it by now! Morning Star has run for so many seasons, and every season has been like this. So many people have been disgusted by this behind-the-scenes manipulation and simply dropped the show.]

[An older woman's girlish heart: You can't say that! Who doesn't admire the strong? Li Yingqi is ranked first, isn't it normal for others to want to ride his coattails? Those who accuse others of forming cliques just because their own idols aren't performing well are just sour grapes!]

[Born Entertainment Reporter Wang: Ladies in front, if you're blind, I suggest you don't compare these! Otherwise, I'm afraid the data will be thrown in your face and you won't even see it.]

[Dancing on the Grave: Those who say others are jealous, have you even looked at the rankings? Not to mention Zhuo Yuanquan is number one on every list, even my Fanfan is consistently in the top five! And that other guy? Where did he come from? Can you even find him on the list?]

……

However, the fans' protests were useless; the show's bizarre tactics never stopped because of the fans' protests. Not only did they not stop, they even used the opportunity to stir up another wave of enthusiasm among the fans, encouraging them to work hard to boost the charts and data while they were standing up for their idols.

This is what's known as "torturing the fans."