CEO's Sweetheart is a Super Idol-Chapter 335 - 327 Actual Purpose

Production Team

Yang Xiaoyue was naturally aware of this massive upheaval in the fandom.

She was extremely furious and almost smashed her cup.

In truth, whether these girls can debut or not depends on the negotiations with Penguin.

The voting results are an important reference, but their actual popularity also matters.

If your voting performance is poor and your actual popularity is lacking, only if your company offers terms that Penguin finds tempting will they protect you.

But, what kind of terms can move a company like Penguin?

Chen Yinghan’s company has explicitly stated that they are satisfied as long as she makes it to the top 22 finals.

However, now a major upheaval has occurred. If the Ye and Lv families go all out with their voting, Chen Yinghan has a very strong chance of entering the debut lineup.

The production team has already suppressed the votes from the Ye and Lv families; if they also sabotage Chen Yinghan’s votes, it might create significant problems.

"Xiaoyue, what exactly do the Ye and Lv families intend to do?" Sun Miao was puzzled.

"They’re threatening us." Yang Xiaoyue’s face was clouded with gloom.

"Threatening?" Sun Miao didn’t quite understand.

"Exactly. This time, our manipulation of votes to push Wang Na to second place has infuriated these two factions."

"If we continue to suppress their votes, they’ll retaliate by channeling votes to one specific contestant."

"That contestant will completely disrupt the current ranking balance."

"If that happens, our previously negotiated plans will fall apart."

Yang Xiaoyue explained, her brows furrowed deeply, as if a heavy load weighed upon her chest.

"So what? Can’t we just keep manipulating the votes?" Sun Miao didn’t seem concerned.

"Further manipulation will result in severe consequences. Who’s going to bother voting for contestants in the next season of this show? Will anyone even watch it?" Yang Xiaoyue’s words startled Sun Miao.

"What if, on the night of the finals, they suddenly cast all their votes for Wang Na?"

Yang Xiaoyue’s remark immediately made Sun Miao keenly aware of the gravity of the issue.

If Wang Na ends up in the debut lineup, the girl group will be utterly doomed.

The attitude of the show’s sponsors has already made this clear.

They would absolutely not sponsor a girl group containing someone as unconventional as Wang Na.

After all, sponsors are merely businessmen, and at the end of the day, a girl group is an entertainment product.

"Do you think the two families would really go that far?" Sun Miao still found it hard to believe. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"It’s highly probable. If their favorite idols aren’t treated fairly, they’d rather destroy the whole thing." Yang Xiaoyue felt confident in her deduction.

Fundamentally, the fans from the Ye and Lv families aren’t conventional fandom participants.

Their way of thinking must be deduced using normal human logic.

Shortly after the Ye and Lv families issued announcements, the voting data for Wang Na, which had surged on the charts, suddenly collapsed.

However, just over an hour later, all sorts of dirt on Gao Ziyi and Wang Na began to surface online.

Wang Na’s biggest scandal was this: she was the only person in the show who had blatantly stepped on someone else to rise higher—a tactic known as "eating blood-stained buns." And the person she stepped on was Lv Fangxin.

She leveraged this tactic to secure second place in the rankings.

In reality, fans from other factions were more than happy to see Wang Na step on Lv Fangxin, but the moment Wang Na secured second place, everyone’s cake was threatened.

Fans who had previously voted for Wang Na just to spite Lv Fangxin’s faction immediately switched gears and began attacking Wang Na. Male fans, in particular, had grown exceedingly disgusted with her.

Gao Ziyi wasn’t spared and was implicated as well.

The production team had quickly noticed that her utility had run its course.

Most importantly, she didn’t have many fans voting for her anyway. The high ranking she achieved after the second performance was entirely due to the production team’s manipulated votes.

Even so, her actual voting revenue had been exceedingly low.

While she had some degree of online hype, it couldn’t be converted into income.

When the production team sacrificed Wang Na, they conveniently included her in the fallout as well.

As a result, her scandals were also exposed across the internet.

Particularly damaging were accusations about her grabbing Yang Ni’s hand and stealing Qiqi’s speaking time.

Meanwhile, Qiqi was also attacked by Duan Yuxin’s fans.

This further intensified the backlash, since Duan Yuxin was widely recognized as royalty within the fandom.

Her fans even criticized Qiqi’s singing, calling it mediocre.

However, Duan Yuxin’s already sparse fan base quickly withdrew their posts and disappeared entirely.

From Qiqi’s fans’ perspective, this was a clear reflection of how the production team disrespected them.

All the humiliation of losing their center spot in the third performance and their speaking time being stolen boiled over completely.

Qiqi’s fan base was actually quite large.

Most of her fans were immersed in the anime and comic culture and weren’t particularly interested in girl groups.

However, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t vote for their idol, manage public opinions, or seek retribution.

This debacle by the production team evoked a sense of injustice among fans from other factions.

Almost every fan started sympathizing with Qiqi and condemning the production team.

Gao Ziyi became the unified target of attack.

Meanwhile, another major incident unfolded: Jiang Mengqi, who was widely regarded as likable within the show, was hit with scandals.

The nature of her scandal was particularly bizarre; she was accused of being submissive, and there were allegations that her tattoos were problematic.

She was also criticized for allegedly having an unusual relationship with Yang Ni and being a troublemaker back in school.

All these rumors were accompanied by photos and previous social media posts as evidence.

Fortunately, Jiang Mengqi’s company quickly stepped forward to refute the allegations.

Most notably, Jiang Mengqi made a wise decision in her life—she had removed the controversial tattoo before joining the show.

It was clear to anyone with discernment who had orchestrated it.

With bloodshot eyes, Xiao Du observed the drastic shift in online discourse, and he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh—the past few days had drained him of his energy.

"Xiao Du, I didn’t expect the production team to abandon Wang Na and Gao Ziyi so quickly." Wearing embroidered pajamas, Mu Yunchu poured him a glass of whiskey.

"It’s not just a one-time show; there’s a second season, and they need to think about its future. Ultimately, what Penguin needs are exceptional girls who can generate traffic."

Xiao Du accepted the glass and downed the spicy liquor in one gulp.

Mu Yunchu refilled his glass and nestled into his embrace.

"As for the companies, having their contestants debut means securing future interests. Once debuting, they can seize resources and profit directly—far better than wasting time at home."

"There’s one last battle left. We have to see it through; Yezi must debut in a top position."

"Xiao Du, your health is deteriorating. Take some rest these next few days; let me handle the rest."

Xiao Du glanced at the beauty in his arms and pondered for a moment. "Alright, it’s been exhausting."

Mu Yunchu gently stroked Xiao Du’s hand and murmured discontentedly, "This time, it’s really a lucky break for Chen Yinghan. We basically handed her over 300,000 for free."

"That expense was unavoidable. Fortunately, Lv Fangxin’s fan association could see through the situation; otherwise, going solo would’ve been much tougher." Xiao Du chuckled.

"I heard Galaxy is rallying to secure a debut slot for Lu Bingbing." Worry clouded Mu Yunchu’s face.

Xiao Du sneered, "Galaxy is nothing but a loose group of sand. The general election has reached its critical stage; how could they possibly have the money to secure Lu Bingbing’s debut slot? Besides, Lu Bingbing doesn’t even have casual fans—she’s worse off than Gao Ziyi."

"Xiao Du, who do you think will replace Gao Ziyi? Li Shihan, Chen Yinghan, or Liu Feiyu?"

"I can’t say for sure, but my guess is Jiang Mengqi has better odds."

"Jiang Mengqi?"

"Yes, don’t forget the company supporting her. If Gao Ziyi managed to make it to the finals with a comedic persona that brought traffic to the production team, then why Jiang Mengqi?"

Xiao Du’s words got Mu Yunchu contemplating.

"While Jiang Mengqi is cute and dances well, she doesn’t generate much buzz. Making it to the top 22 finals without the production team’s intentional push seems implausible."

Xiao Du continued, "Moreover, why did her scandals break out just now, when Gao Ziyi is being dragged down across the internet?"

Mu Yunchu responded, "Reaching the finals indicates that their company may have reached an agreement with Penguin. Jiang Mengqi getting blackened could only mean a ’second choice’ scenario."

"Exactly. That’s the most logical inference. But Jiang Mengqi’s rankings after three performances weren’t near the top; her chances of breaking into the debut lineup in the final battle are slim too."

While Xiao Du and Mu Yunchu discussed these matters,

Various companies were actually engaging in final negotiations with Penguin.