Gao Jin's words struck Li Yuanjie like a physical blow, shattering his composure. What did he mean? Did he truly believe Li Yuanjie wasn't worth his expectations?
It was just one loss, and only because Li Yuanjie hadn't been vigilant enough. Gao Jin's comment was clearly dismissive, a slap in the face showing utter contempt.
Li Yuanjie clenched his fists, vowing to crush them all under his feet.
After Gao Jin took his seat, a silhouette appeared on the large screen. Judging by the figure, it was a woman.
Meng Yan announced, "Our guest on I Am a Creator today is an international artist with exceptional singing and dancing skills!"
Yang Chaoyue, one of the singer contestants, tilted her head thoughtfully. Suddenly, she clapped her hands and exclaimed, "I know! It's Mirei Mei!"
Mirei Mei, a Neon artist who had taken Toilet TV's Sisters Who Make Waves by storm, had originally been a popular otaku dance artist on a small online platform. Yet even after breaking into the mainstream Entertainment Circle, she continued to dominate with relentless energy.
"Chaoyue, you're amazing!" Meng Yan exclaimed. "Please welcome Mirei Mei!"
The woman who emerged from behind the stage curtain had shoulder-length, sun-kissed brown hair. She wore a sky-blue short-sleeved shirt paired with a matching knee-length skirt and boots, striding confidently onto the stage.
The audience erupted in cheers:
"Mei-chan, my wife!"
"Wow, they actually got her! She's an amazing singer and dancer, but she's a foreigner. Writing songs for her must have been tough, and communication could be a nightmare."
"Just as I thought, the production team is up to their old tricks again."
Overall, the audience welcomed Mirei Mei warmly. Compared to Zhang Yanzhuo, she was a hundred times better.
Replacing Zhang Yanzhuo with her would keep the buzz going, and her talent was undeniable—except for the language barrier.
Even though Mirei Mei wore a simultaneous translation headset, capable of instantly translating everything spoken around her, machine translation technology wasn't yet advanced enough to ensure seamless communication.
Some communication glitches were inevitable, and that was precisely the kind of drama Director Zhang was aiming for.
Once Mirei Mei had taken her seat, Wang Ziqiang playfully teased Teacher Bai: "Teacher Bai, let me tell you a secret. The moment Miss Mirei walked out, the same people in my section who used to chant 'Meng Yan this' and 'Meng Yan that' day and night suddenly switched to 'Mei-chan!' People's hearts are so fickle these days. They're all two-faced! Don't fall for their tricks."
"Is that so?" Meng Yan feigned disappointment as she glanced at the audience. The crowd below quickly erupted in a chorus of explanations:
"My heart belongs to Meng Yan alone! Heaven is my witness!"
"Cut the crap, buddy! You were just yelling 'Mei-chan is my wife!' I'm Meng Yan's true loyal husband fan."
"North of the Milky Way, Meng Yan reigns supreme in beauty!"
As the explanations poured forth, Meng Yan chuckled warmly, conveying her understanding. "It's only natural to admire beauty," she said, "but... in real life, unwavering devotion is what truly matters."
Seeing that the host had sufficiently engaged with the audience, it was time to transition to the main segment of the day's show.
"Last episode featured thrilling competitions. This time, we're determined to exceed your expectations. Remember when I mentioned that starting with the second episode, we'd be adopting a hybrid format of pre-recorded segments and live broadcasts? Today's show is pre-recorded, but we have a real-time interactive element that directly engages the vast television audience of I Am a Creator!"
The large screen behind them lit up with a variety of colorful bubbles, each containing a different song theme. Some bubbles were larger than others, representing different levels of popularity.
Several of the more prominent bubbles displayed song themes like "Incorporating flower names into lyrics," "Songs that capture the mood of a rainy day," and "High-energy tracks that drop a bomb on a stagnant life."
"As you can see, these bubbles represent the results of a nationwide audience vote. The larger the bubble, the more votes that theme received. Additionally, the competition format has changed this season. Teacher Bai, would you please explain the new rules?" Wang Ziqiang smoothly passed the hosting duties to Meng Yan.
"Certainly. Unlike last season's eight separate themes where creators competed independently, this season features only four! Two pairs of creators will be assigned the same theme and will face off directly against each other."
As the saying goes, "Comparing people leads to despair; comparing goods makes them worthless."
In the previous season, with distinct themes, one could stubbornly argue that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." But this time, with pairs clashing head-to-head, there would be no room for ambiguity!
"The voting window will close in approximately fifteen minutes. The top four themes with the most audience votes will become the creative prompts for this round. Until then, we're using a designated selection process. Creators will choose singers, and if the singer agrees, they're matched successfully. If not, the match fails, and the creator must choose again."
Meng Yan swiftly explained the new rules in one breath.
Wang Lingkai, seated among the singers, asked, "Who gets to choose first—us or them? Or do we all choose simultaneously?"
Wang Ziqiang immediately clarified, "During the selection phase, the top-ranked performer from the previous episode gets first pick, followed by the others in descending order of their rankings."
The camera focused on Ye Huanqiu. Compared to his previous appearance, he was dressed more appropriately this time. Though he still hadn't removed those clunky glasses, he looked significantly more comfortable.
As Ye Huanqiu stood up, he noticed Shen Tao in the audience subtly signaling him. When Ye Huanqiu had left Tomato TV last week, Shen Tao had strongly hinted that he should choose Yang Chaoyue again.
Shen Tao had even promised that if Ye Huanqiu selected her, he would guarantee Ye Huanqiu's advancement to the next round—even if his performance faltered this time.
It was a purely transactional arrangement, and Ye Huanqiu understood it perfectly. That's why he hadn't felt particularly grateful when Director Zhang and the others had vehemently supported him earlier. They weren't genuinely concerned about the contestants; they were simply protecting their own interests by safeguarding someone they found valuable.
"Perfect. This settles the score," Ye Huanqiu thought.
He turned toward the singers' seats and pointed at Yang Chaoyue. "I choose Chaoyue!"
Yang Chaoyue was stunned. She pointed at herself, bewildered. While their previous collaboration had been enjoyable, there was no guarantee of victory this time. In fact, after winning first place, the logical choices should have been either Tan Weiwei or Sun Nan, both reliable options who were practically guaranteed to avoid the bottom. Even with a mediocre song, their presence would ensure they wouldn't end up in last place.
The audience below the stage buzzed with criticism.
Audience Member A: "Is he out of his mind? This has to be scripted. Why stubbornly choose Yang Chaoyue?"
Audience Member B: "Did Yang Chaoyue's company pay him off? Why else would he insist on picking her? Sure, her last performance was decent, but that was because the song was good. Her singing was just average. Anyone else could have done just as well."
Audience Member D: "Young people shouldn't get too cocky. One win and they think they're invincible! Overconfidence is just arrogance!"
On stage, Wang Ziqiang repeated his question: "Teacher Ye, are you absolutely certain you want to choose Yang Chaoyue?"
"Yes," Ye Huanqiu said, "after our first collaboration, I felt she still had untapped potential. I want to use this second season to fully unleash it."
As he spoke, Ye Huanqiu walked over to Yang Chaoyue, and they exchanged a symbolic handshake.
Their renewed partnership was undoubtedly a major selling point for the show.
Gou Bing was already smirking to himself, while Li Yuanjie's expression remained unchanged, his face sour as if someone owed him money.