CEO's Sweetheart is a Super Idol-Chapter 282 - 275 Crisis in Voting
The next day
At the break of dawn
Meng Meixuan’s fans discovered something that nearly drove them mad.
Because someone had shared a screenshot of a message from her former company.
Specifically, it was a post from the official account of "Phantom Dream Girls," the group Meng Meixuan and Wu Zixuan originally belonged to.
Thank you to every creator who liked the ladies of "Phantom Dream Girls."
She’s working hard on the inside, we’re working hard on the outside.
Let’s all choose "Neighbour’s Child" for her.
Although this statement was released in the name of the "Phantom Dream Girls,"
the group is under Yuehua Company, which effectively means Yuehua itself intervened.
This enraged every fandom immensely.
Companies can fight behind the scenes, but stepping in publicly like this is breaking the rules.
This was no longer a "war" between fans.
This show determines which contestants debut based on fan voting.
If the company gets involved, then what’s the point of fans voting?
The company has so much money, they might as well hire people to vote directly.
This violates the rules of the competition.
As expected, once the statement was issued, it was bashed across the entire internet.
Yuehua anticipated the backlash and simply explained that this was the irresponsible act of "Phantom Dream Girls" staff members, and the relevant personnel had already been dealt with.
By breaking the rules, Yuehua prompted other companies to drop all pretense.
The boss of Tomato Company, where Fu Xiaoyu and Qiang Yueting are artists, directly dissed Lv Fangxin on their social media platform, calling her an utter disgrace to idols.
On the surface, the boss seemed to be standing up for their own artists, vehemently criticizing Lv Fangxin for "being unmotivated and unambitious yet still getting everything."
In truth, it was a veiled jab at Penguin, expressing deep dissatisfaction.
To him, Lv Fangxin was essentially Penguin’s golden child, and Penguin’s show was playing games with these companies!
If the artists from your companies want to debut, sure, but you’ll have to pay the price.
Villagers like Li Ke who saw this brazen insult towards their precious idol were fuming with rage.
They dredged up all kinds of dirt on the former and exposed him completely.
Simultaneously, they filed numerous reports against him, and the two sides clashed outright.
The storm surrounding the matter grew more intense by the day.
Meanwhile, a joint statement appeared separately on the verified accounts of Wu Zixuan and Meng Meixuan:
First of all, we extend sincere thanks to all the fans who voted tirelessly for the two ladies.
This song’s C-position is crucial for the third performance of both contestants.
After discussions between our two camps, Meixuan’s side has decided to give up on "Shiny" voting, and Zixuan’s side will continue supporting "Shiny."
At the same time, Zixuan’s camp will assist Meixuan’s camp in voting for "Neighbour’s Child."
Both contestants are colleagues and teammates under the same company.
If our two sides continue competing for the "Shiny" C-position, one of us will inevitably get eliminated.
Moreover, our fans would spend enormous amounts, yielding no real benefits.
Rather than heading towards mutual harm, it’s better to join forces.
Xiao Du felt utterly overwhelmed after reading these posts.
What kind of games is Yuehua playing here?!
What were they doing back when the song voting first started?
Besides causing chaos among both sets of fans, this also leads to tremendous financial drain.
Xiao Du didn’t believe Meng Meixuan’s fans would pour in unlimited funds.
Unless they decided to abandon the final performance ranking battle or were convinced Meng Meixuan would attract a massive influx of fans after the third performance, continually funding her campaign.
Originally, Xiao Du didn’t want to fight fiercely with Meng Meixuan’s faction, but he now had no choice but to organize the "Ye Fans" for voting again.
Meng Meixuan’s camp acted as if they were injected with adrenaline, pouring in over 300,000 in just one day.
They even released detailed statistics on their voting efforts.
"Xiao Du, we can’t do it, let’s switch songs. We can’t compete with their combined strength."
"Don’t rush. I don’t believe Wu Zixuan’s camp will really vote for Meng Meixuan’s side."
Eyes bloodshot, Xiao Du spoke coldly, though he was inwardly tense.
Mu Yunchu handed him a cup of tea, her lovely face full of worry.
"Xiao Du, we have to prepare enough funding. I suspect this voting battle isn’t purely fan-driven."
"I think so too, but if the voting reaches a certain financial threshold and they’re still pressing us, I plan to give up on fighting for this song."
Mu Yunchu froze and frowned.
"Xiao Du, if we don’t secure this C-position, Yezi’s screen time might be reduced by Penguin. They might also assume we lack purchasing power, which could severely impact Yezi’s chances of forming the group."
"This is all just speculation. Even if it’s accurate, we can’t become Penguin’s endless funding machine. We simply don’t have the resources."
"...Xiao Du, then what’s our bottom line?"
"120,000 maximum. Beyond that, we won’t vote anymore."
Xiao Du’s tone was resolute, and his hands clutched tightly.
"Now, we need to put pressure on both Penguin and Yuehua."
"Pressure?"
"Yes, I’ve analyzed Meng Meixuan’s voting data, and there are serious issues." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Xiao Du displayed a chart on his computer as he spoke.
"Take a look. Two hours ago, votes from Meng Meixuan’s side were over 3,000 per minute. Now, they’re under 200."
Mu Yunchu scrutinized the curve on the voting chart screenshotted from the song voting platform.
"Her camp is using bots to vote."
"Exactly, these votes are either rigged by bots or provided by Penguin. Their goal is to lock us in, extracting not only money but also traffic."
Xiao Du was furious. Ye Fans had been voting nonstop for 24 hours straight since the song voting began, managing only 200 votes per minute.
He didn’t believe Meng Meixuan’s active fan base could surpass his faction.
For context, even the most active faction, Lv Fangxin’s camp, could only generate around 500 votes per minute.
"Xiao Du, should we post these screenshots and analyses online?"
"Yes, release everything. Make sure all ’Sky Idol’ fans know this show is rigging the results. They claim it’s about fan votes and empowering creators to shape their favorite idols, but it’s all deceit."
Xiao Du was now burning his bridges, knowing financial competition with a company-backed contestant like Meng Meixuan was futile.
Penguin Headquarters
Wan Kai and Yang Xiaoyue sat with grim expressions.
"I didn’t expect Yuwei’s fans to be this audacious," Yang Xiaoyue broke the oppressive silence first.
"This issue must be handled properly; otherwise, it’ll put us in a highly disadvantageous position."
Wan Kai’s voice was low, brimming with anxiety.
Xiao Du was completely unaware that his efforts had caused harm and fear for Wan Kai.
Xiao Du’s intent was merely to prevent unfair competition.
But his actions had already started threatening Wan Kai’s fundamental interests.
Wan Kai aimed to build the show into a brand.
It was supposed to continuously generate idols and stars for the company.
Other senior management members of the parent company had already questioned Wan Kai’s ability to take control of the show’s operations.
"Mr. Wan, a few charts alone won’t prove anything. We can counterattack," Yang Xiaoyue said, worried but confident in her ability to keep control.
Wan Kai didn’t respond, instead falling into deep thought.
At that moment, the secretary knocked and entered the room.
"Mr. Wan, the Digital Department just called, saying the platform we use for voting on Sky Idol’s C-position has crashed."
"How did it crash?"
"The Digital Department declared it was due to malicious vote manipulation, which caused platform congestion."
Wan Kai was immediately flustered, and Yang Xiaoyue was taken aback.
"Why didn’t the Digital Department submit a report? Why are you relaying it verbally? Where are they?"
"Mr. Wan, it’s already 11:30 PM," the secretary reminded him quickly. His words brought some clarity to Wan Kai’s rage.
Given the late hour, except for those on necessary duty shifts, everyone else had left work. Who would compile a report at this time?
"Then why didn’t the Digital Department manager call me directly to report?"
"Mr. Wan, your phone is unreachable."
Wan Kai looked at his phone in confusion, realizing he had accidentally turned on airplane mode.
"Get the team here immediately to meet me when they arrive," Wan Kai said, sitting back down.
