Chapter 16: An Apology from a Split Personality

With the release of "Nocturne," who could possibly compete? Hashim was utterly defeated, left battered and disarmed; the general audience had already rallied to Fang Xing’s side. There was simply no contest—when a song is good, it needs no other justification. Less than an hour after the show's broadcast, both "Nocturne" and "Wild Bird" surged to the top of the trending charts. It was clear that these songs were breaking out of their usual circles.

The program continued, and after the PK stage ended, it was time for the backstage interviews. This time, Hashim’s interview was aired. The segment had been conducted privately by one of the show's directors, so Fang Xing had no idea it existed until the episode was broadcast.

Watching the show with Shao Yu and the others, Fang Xing was stunned for a full three seconds when Hashim’s interview appeared.

On screen, Hashim spoke with a sorrowful look:
“I didn’t realize this would lead to a misunderstanding with Fang Xing. Around noon, he came to the rehearsal room and asked to borrow my MIDI equipment for composing.
“To be honest, I wanted to lend it to him, but at the time, our group was rehearsing and needed the MIDI equipment.
“Besides, we were only four hours away from the live performance, and we still had to run through the dress rehearsal—our time was really tight.
“So I apologized and told him I couldn’t help.
“I never expected that because I didn’t lend him the instrument, Fang Xing was unable to submit a backing track to the production team.
“I feel very sorry about that, so during the PK round, I wanted to make amends. I stood up on my own initiative and offered to lend him my guitar, even though we were competitors.
“But Fang Xing misunderstood and refused my gesture of goodwill.
“So here, I would like to sincerely apologize to Fang Xing.”

The moment this aired, it ignited a fresh wave of heated arguments.

Wu Junchen and Hashim’s fans, already hostile toward Fang Xing, seized the opportunity to flood the screen with comments.

"Lending is a favor, not lending is his right. Hashim did nothing wrong—we support you."
"This Fang Xing doesn’t fit in and is petty!"
"Fang Xing, get off ‘Star of Tomorrow’!"

However, with "Nocturne" and "Wild Bird" now released, most of the regular viewers had taken Fang Xing’s side and fired back in the comments:
"Lost the PK and now you’re making excuses."
"So arrogant before, now suddenly apologizing? Can you be less two-faced?"
"Get out. Even if I didn’t pass level four English, I know what that means. Stop pretending to be a saint."
"How is he supposed to fit in with you fans? A crane among chickens—tell me, how does he blend in?"
"Isn’t that unfair to the chickens, comparing them like that?"
...

Fang Xing saw Hashim’s interview and was so irritated he almost laughed. He had to admit, the production team really knew how to spin things. Hashim had performed even a provocation-laced, borderline insulting song like "Yield to Me," and yet a single interview was enough to wash him clean. Fang Xing couldn’t help but admire whoever had orchestrated that segment—whether it was Hashim’s management or the show itself, he didn’t know.

One thing was certain, though: if the show was determined to paint Hashim as a pure-hearted victim, there would be more to this story. Fang Xing had a hunch that even though Hashim was eliminated, there would be follow-up—otherwise, the production team wouldn’t waste time on him.

Sure enough, as the program was ending, the host, He Hao, recorded an additional announcement: there would be a resurrection round. On the "Star of Tomorrow" page on Penguin Video, a resurrection vote portal had opened. Anyone could vote for the eliminated contestants; whoever received the most votes would return to the stage in the next episode.

Among those eliminated in the first live show, none were particularly popular—except for Hashim. Unsurprisingly, he dominated the resurrection board.

...

With "Nocturne" and "Wild Bird" trending, Fang Xing’s popularity shot up like a rocket, breaking into the top ten almost overnight. This meteoric rise began to make certain people uneasy. Breaking into the top ten meant he now had a chance to make the debut group. And this was only the first live show—if his momentum continued, who knew what would happen?

After Fang Xing entered the top ten, the fans of the leading contestants grew anxious. Each fan group launched fundraising drives through the night to boost their idols’ rankings.

On Penguin Video, regular viewers could cast one vote per day. VIP members could vote ten times daily. Each fan group started pooling money to buy VIP accounts and vote for their favorites. In addition, buying the sponsors’ products could earn extra popularity votes. Thus, the popularity ranking became a money-burning competition.

The top ten contestants’ fans worked tirelessly to maintain their ranks, determined to squeeze Fang Xing out of the top ten.

...

Yet, after "Nocturne" and "Wild Bird" trended on Weibo, they went viral on Station C as well. The phenomenon soon spread to short video platforms, and finally exploded across the internet.

As a result, Fang Xing received a massive number of votes from casual viewers—even prominent content creators rallied their audiences to vote for him. This led to Fang Xing repeatedly entering and exiting the top ten, forcing the other contestants’ management teams to pull every possible string to preserve their positions.

The competition appeared fierce, but only for the teams and fans of the other popular contestants. The very person driving them into this frenzy, meanwhile, spent his days as usual—eating, sleeping, practicing his vocals, listening to music—not the least bit concerned with the struggle for votes.

...

The day after the second episode of "Star of Tomorrow" aired, the production team wasted no time organizing the song selection for the next performance. At nine in the morning, the director summoned all the trainees to the selection hall.

Fang Xing, who had risen early to finish his vocal exercises, headed straight to the hall. As he entered, he ran into several trainees, one of whom—with a head full of dreadlocks—was unmistakably Hashim.

After losing the PK in the first live show, Hashim hadn't left the training camp. In fact, right after stepping off the stage, he went straight to the director's office. When the second episode aired and the resurrection rule was announced, Hashim was immediately reinstated that very night.

Meeting at the entrance to the hall, the two locked eyes, and the tension crackled between them. Those around them could feel the hostility in their stares and sensibly hurried inside.

Fang Xing and Hashim stood face-to-face at the threshold.

“Bet you didn’t expect me to be back,” Hashim sneered, his eyes fierce—a stark contrast to the apologetic demeanor he showed in his interview. “From now on, I won’t give you another chance to beat me.”

Fang Xing curled his lips in a faint smile. “Then you’ll have to keep running from me.”

Hashim snorted, “Don’t think that just because you beat me once by luck, you’re actually better than I am. You’d better hope you don’t meet me in the next PK, or else—” He ran his thumb menacingly across his throat in a throat-cutting gesture, both vicious and arrogant.

Fang Xing just grinned, ignoring him, and walked into the song selection hall.

Inside, Shao Yu stood and waved. “Fang Xing, we saved you a seat!”

Fang Xing joined him, taking the spot beside him. Soon after, Guo Keda and a few other trainees who got along well with Fang Xing came in and automatically filled the seats around him.

Guo Keda leaned over and whispered, “That overseas guy got resurrected. The show really knows how to stir things up.”

Shao Yu chimed in, “I heard from the director that the resurrection rule was always in the plan, but it was supposed to be announced mid-competition. Hashim’s upset elimination made them bring it out early.”

Fang Xing’s expression turned cold. “As long as he dares to step onto the PK stage, I’ll eliminate him as many times as he comes back.”