I'm Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten

Chapter 135: Chapter 127: The End of the Music Competition and a Stirring of the Heart (Part 2)

This way, it could be posted on the New Star Chart for netizens to rate.

After the competition ended, Jiang Xueli and Lin Zhengran sat in the audience area, resting and waiting.

Jiang Xueli lowered her head, scrolling through the New Star Chart on her phone. It showed that the voting period was only a few hours long and would end at 2 PM.

Even though it had only been up for half a day, the vote count had already reached several thousand in that short time.

Jiang Xueli was surprised. ”The votes are coming in so fast, but I have a feeling my ranking... isn’t very good. Zhengran, look!” she said anxiously, handing her phone to Lin Zhengran.

Lin Zhengran saw that Jiang Xueli only had one or two hundred votes, while the contestants from New Star and those under Jiang Jingshi already had three or four hundred.

Lin Zhengran smiled and whispered in her ear, ”Don’t worry about it. This ranking is fake, and the netizens voting are fake too. I’m guessing the rankings will be redone tonight or tomorrow, and the list of contestants will change.”

”Huh? Why?”

Lin Zhengran briefly told Jiang Xueli about the inside story he had discussed with Jiang Jingshi when they met yesterday.

Jiang Xueli was stunned when she heard this.

”Really? I was wondering who you went to meet yesterday. So it was Jiang Qian’s sister!”

Jiang Xueli felt as if she was involved in something big. Sitting in the audience rest area, she looked at the fifty-plus other contestants, watching them all stare nervously at the vote counts.

Jiang Xueli swallowed, leaned toward Lin Zhengran, and asked in a low voice, ”So you’re saying today’s ranking is just something Jiang Jingshi set up to smoke out a traitor?”

”That’s most likely it. So there’s no need to worry about the rankings at all. The real ones will probably be released tonight or tomorrow.”

”Wow, so this is a business war? This is my first time being involved in one. How exciting!”

Lin Zhengran: ”...”

Just as Lin Zhengran had thought, when the rankings concluded at 2 PM, the top thirty-five spots were all filled by people from Jingshi Music and New Star Music.

And the very moment the rankings were posted, a flood of posts and videos accusing Jiang Jingshi of rigging the competition suddenly appeared online.

Both the article views and video plays were substantial.

It was obvious someone had filmed the videos in advance and bought traffic, just waiting for 2 PM to strike.

However, these posts, which should have enraged people, had strangely little effect. Moreover, the comments below them were also very odd.

Netizen (If my mom had a rooster, she’d be my dad): ”What ranking? What rigging? I don’t see anything.”

Netizen (My dog looks like me and I look like my dog): ”Yeah, to expose a rigged contest, you at least need the rankings, right? But these rankings aren’t online.”

Netizen (I Killed Sunday, So It’s Monday): ”This video has so many views? But haven’t the competition rankings been posted online yet? Didn’t they say the rankings would only be posted online at 2 PM?”

Netizen (WTFOriginal): ”I saw the rankings! They were just posted! But they look different from the ones in the exposé. The contestants’ names don’t match up. The image in the exposé must be photoshopped, right? After all, the real rankings aren’t even out yet. This isn’t how you frame someone.”

This sudden reversal left the netizens completely bewildered. But their confusion was a minor issue; backstage, Jiang Cheng, the man in charge of managing the team from Jingshi Music, was utterly baffled.

Because this was not how he had imagined things would play out. Logically, the netizens should have been in an uproar.

But the netizens now seemed to be a completely different group of people from the ones before 2 PM.

Before 2 PM, the netizens were actively voting, and some were even asking if the competition was rigged. Jiang Jingshi had even replied in the comments to explain that it wasn’t.

But after 2 PM, it was as if the netizens hadn’t seen the rankings at all.

’And what was this about the competition rankings only being posted online at 2 PM? Wasn’t that when the voting was supposed to end?’

’Also, when was this new ranking created? How could I have known nothing about it?’

His face filled with confusion, he was about to go and investigate what was happening.

But just then, Jiang Jingshi appeared backstage with a group of people, blocking Jiang Cheng’s path. She smiled and said:

”Manager Jiang, where are you off to? I just happened to notice backstage, when did the fifteen contestants from New Star Music Studio become our people? When did you bring them under my wing without me, the boss, even knowing?”

The man named Jiang Cheng instantly broke out in a cold sweat. He looked at the people she had brought with her. ”President Jiang, this...”

Jiang Jingshi took out a few photos and handed them to him.

”You took my money, then conspired with another company to set me up. You’ve got some nerve. A friendly reminder: slander and defamation can land you in prison. I’ve already called the police. Get ready to spend the next three years inside, you traitor.”

Jiang Jingshi’s plan was simple. Since Jiang Cheng wanted everyone to think the competition was rigged, he would surely hire people to artificially inflate the votes for his own team once the rankings were released.

So, Jiang Jingshi decided to beat him at his own game. She created a fake list of contestants, hired a group of fake netizens to vote, and had her subordinates mislead Jiang Cheng into thinking it was all real.

As for the new list—the real one that Lun Jie had given her, which Lin Zhengran had also reviewed—it would be posted online after 2 PM.

That way, it would be foolproof.

But after all this maneuvering, there were naturally some changes to the subsequent stages of the competition.

On the afternoon of the 6th, the fifty real qualifying contestants were brought back to record their performances.

Only then were they officially entered onto the New Star Chart.

The chart’s duration was also changed, now lasting for a full half-month.

The final results would be determined by netizen votes after that half-month period.

On the afternoon of the 6th, after finishing her recording, Jiang Xueli stood next to Lin Zhengran, looking at the new, real New Star Chart. ”Zhengran, look! I’m in the top twenty!”

Lin Zhengran was very confident in Jiang Xueli. ”It was just posted, so it’s not accurate yet. Let’s see what the rankings are tonight.”

”Okay!”

Suddenly, a message popped up on Lin Zhengran’s phone.

It was from Han Wenwen.

”Zhengran? It’s almost evening on the 6th. Is Lili’s competition over? When are you coming to see me?”

Lin Zhengran gave a simple reply: ”Still busy right now. I’ll call you when I’m done.”

Han Wenwen replied with a ”jealous fox” sticker. ”Alright, I’ll keep waiting then. Zhengran hasn’t even called me once these past few days.”

Seeing Lin Zhengran messaging again, Jiang Xueli asked curiously, ”Who are you texting?”

Lin Zhengran was brutally honest. ”My girlfriend.”

Jiang Xueli’s face instantly filled with jealousy. She looked away, assuming he meant He Qing. ”Fine, but can’t you talk to her when you get home? Even though I agreed you could have two of us... I’m not even home yet, and you’re doing this right in front of me...”

Lin Zhengran put his phone away and looked at the jealous Jiang Xueli.

He reached out and patted her head. ”You’ve worked hard these past two days. After the ranking results are out, I’ll take you to the zoo.”

Jiang Xueli blushed and looked at Lin Zhengran, saying softly and coyly, ”The results aren’t out yet. I might not win the championship.”

”You’ll definitely win. And even if you don’t, I’ll still take you.”

Jiang Xueli was momentarily dazed, but she quickly wanted to prove herself. Clenching her small fists, she declared with great confidence:

”What do you mean you’ll take me even if I don’t win? If I don’t win the championship, I’ll be too embarrassed to go myself! Don’t you worry! I will definitely win!”

Just then, Jiang Jingshi approached from a distance with a group of people. Seeing Lin Zhengran laughing and chatting with Jiang Xueli, she felt a strange emotion stir within her. ”Brother Zhengran.”

Lin Zhengran and Jiang Xueli looked toward Jiang Jingshi.

Lin Zhengran: ”Jiang.”

Jiang Jingshi looked at Lin Zhengran. ”This competition got a little messy, but the outcome was good. In the end, seven of my members made it onto the New Star Chart. We’ll just have to see who takes the championship this time. Thank you for your help.”

”Don’t mention it, Jiang. Of course, everyone wants a fair competition. I was just doing my part to ensure that.”

”Mm. Well, I’ll see you in half a month when the results are out. I have other business to attend to, so I should go. Goodbye, Brother Zhengran.”

”Goodbye, Jiang.”

After saying their goodbyes, Jiang Jingshi turned, left, and got into her car, which immediately drove off into the distance.

’Even though I know she’s Jiang Qian’s sister... my woman’s intuition is telling me that this Jiang Jingshi is being way too gentle with Zhengran...’

Meanwhile, in the car, Jiang Jingshi watched Lin Zhengran through the rearview mirror.

Her slender fingers tightened their grip.

A faint blush appeared on her face.

’I really don’t want to say goodbye to you.’