The netizens commented on end!
"Spinach was eliminated!"
"The results are out!"
"It was way too close for The Clown!"
"Yeah, he"s a favorite to win the t.i.tle tonight. In fact, he"s the favorite to win, so how did he nearly get eliminated in the first round? This doesn"t make any sense!"
"Liao Yiqi was eliminated?"
"d.a.m.n, I was supporting Spinach!"
"Spinach sang so much better today!"
"Right, Spinach absolutely sang much better than Flowing Time and King of Oddity! At least today, at least this round, Spinach absolutely should not have been eliminated!"
"It"s their fault for not trying to get votes."
"Right, I think it was only Spinach and The Clown who didn"t canva.s.s for votes!"
"Ai, Spinach was already the contestant with the lowest popularity on this show. It was to her disadvantage as such compet.i.tions still depend on one"s fame to be successful. I feel so much pity for Spinach!"
"She should have asked for support and votes!"
"Exactly, both her and The Clown miscalculated!"
At the venue.
Dong Shanshan had already announced the results.
She looked down at Spinach from onstage. "We"re quite sad and sorry to see that Teacher Liao Yiqi will be leaving this stage early tonight. Could you say something for everyone before you go?"
Spinach stood up and walked onstage.
Dong Shanshan handed the microphone to her.
Spinach forced a smile. "Thank you, everyone. Getting here, reaching the grand finals, I"m very happy with my performance, really."
In the audience.
Quite a number of Spinach"s fans stood up.
"Spinach!"
"Little Qi, we"re cheering you on!"
"Cheering you on! You"re the best!"
"We love you!"
Some fans were already in tears.
Several grown men were wiping tears away as they held up LED lightboards with Spinach"s stage name on it. They were holding them high with all their strength, like they were trying to raise the boards into the sky!
When she saw this, Spinach could no longer control her emotions. Her eyes reddened as she said, "Thank you. Thank you, all of you." Pausing, she bit her lip and said, "I"m sorry that I wasn"t able to make it to the end." Spinach was a very cheerful person in private and usually had a lot to say. However, the Spinach on stage was not as talkative as she was in private. Just like before, she did not really touch on how she was feeling even after she had been eliminated, much less complain about anything.
When they heard Spinach apologizing, the fans felt even worse!
A lot of them started crying and their hearts went out to her!
Spinach exited the stage.
The other contestants also left and went backstage to prepare for the next round of the compet.i.tion. Only Wild Rose, Xiaodong, Chen Guang, Jiang Hanwei, and the other celebrity guest partners remained behind in the audience as they were not involved in the next round of compet.i.tion. Their work here was done for the day.
Backstage.
The Clown did not say anything on the way over.
Fan Wenli looked at him. "You should have been first in the first round."
Li Xiaoxian was no longer wearing her mask. "We were just discussing that if the results were based only on the songs, you"d definitely have gotten first place."
Flowing Time and King of Oddity did not say anything. They were already heading back to their own waiting rooms to change costumes. Their makeup artists were already waiting for them.
The Clown looked at both Fan Wenli and Li Xiaoxian. "Thanks."
Fan Wenli said, "You"ll definitely catch up in the second round."
The Clown chuckled but did not speak.
Fan Wenli and Li Xiaoxian also headed back to their waiting rooms.
The Clown was by himself now. He was just about to open the door and go inside his waiting room when he heard footfalls coming from behind. He turned around to look and saw that it was Liao Yiqi who had come backstage.
"Teacher Clown."
Zhang Ye looked at her. "Teacher Spinach, you"re looking for me?"
Liao Yiqi asked, "Did I not sing well?"
Zhang Ye firmly shook his head. "It"s not that; you sang great. If I"d voted, I would not have given my vote to Sunset Glow or Petal Shower. I would have voted for you."
Liao Yiqi said, "Is that so?"
Zhang Ye reaffirmed, "Yes."
Liao Yiqi smiled wanly and said, "Then why are our tallies so low?"
Zhang Ye did not answer her, nor did he know how to answer her.
"I can"t accept it," Liao Yiqi suddenly said. "I really can"t accept it."
Zhang Ye waited for her to continue.
Liao Yiqi took a deep breath. "I don"t have another chance to sing. So Teacher Clown, I"d like you to do me a favor. You must be crowned Masked King. Can you do that for me?"
Zhang Ye said, "With you gone, I"m the one with the lowest tally amongst the five remaining contestants."
Liao Yiqi was silent for a moment. Then she looked up and said, "I"d like to know if there really is no recognition for those of us who just want to sing in peace."
Zhang Ye comforted, "You"re still young. There"ll still be a lot of chances in the future."
Liao Yiqi said, "But right now, my beliefs have been shaken."
Zhang Ye understood. He knew exactly what Spinach was feeling at this moment. He was furious about her elimination from the compet.i.tion. He felt that it was unfair and also found it unbelievable. Not counting his duet with Wild Rose, Zhang Ye felt that Spinach"s song was the best one out there tonight. Surprisingly, she performed much better than the husband and wife pair of Chen Guang and Fan Wenli. Because of that, Zhang Ye did not know how he could comfort her when he was faced with this young singer who had just come of age.
One second.
Two seconds.
Zhang Ye suddenly spoke, "Don"t be shaken. Believe in yourself, and believe in what you have always thought is right."
Liao Yiqi did not say anything. She was hesitating and looked lost.
Zhang Ye looked at her. "About what you"ve asked of me, I"ll give you my word."
Liao Yiqi was startled by his words.
Zhang Ye laughed and said, "So if I become the Masked King, if I become the grand champion, you must promise me that you"ll continue to believe. There"s nothing wrong with singing in peace, OK?"
Liao Yiqi"s eyes finally lit up. "OK!"
Zhang Ye nodded. "Then it"s a deal."
Turning around, Zhang Ye pushed open the waiting room door.
Inside, the makeup artists and wardrobe a.s.sistant were having a conversation.
The female makeup artist said, "Well, I suppose that"s it for The Clown."
The male makeup artist said, "Both he and Spinach acted too high and mighty. I can tell that they"re newcomers at a glance. They"re still not used to the pace and rules of the entertainment circle. Even though such shows say that they only listen and judge the music, how many people would know how to do that? This current compet.i.tion format totally depends on the viewers" votes. How many votes can they get with just their singing alone? They definitely have to incorporate other ways to gain more support. Flowing Time and King of Oddity were fine examples of how it should be done. Their talent agencies must have strategized it for them, using those gimmicks to gain votes that other contestants would have needed to gain with two songs."
The wardrobe a.s.sistant sighed and said, "Honestly, The Clown has already fallen out of the race for the Masked King."
The female makeup artist said, "Yeah, the tallies" differences are too large. There"s no way he can catch up."
"The Clown has an advantage, though."
"That"s right."
"His advantage is that he has not taken his mask off yet. He still has a chance to do so in the second round and gain an explosion of support. But if he insists on keeping his mask on, then he"s really done for! He won"t even be able to fight for the top three spots!"
The three of them were chatting.
Zhang Ye closed the door behind him.
Only now did they realize that The Clown had come back. They did not know whether he had overheard their conversation, but the three of them looked a little guilty.
"Uh…"
"Teacher Clown."
"Let"s do your makeup."
Zhang Ye acknowledged them and sat down at the makeup table without a word!
All of a sudden, he was full of fight. He refused to have his beliefs shaken today!