Chapter 52 An Unsurpassable Lead

“Gu Jingyi, we stand with you all the way!”
“Soar high towards your dreams, Gu Jingyi!”
“Jing rules the world, Yi commands the realm!”

Gu Jingyi had once wondered how it would feel to stand on stage again, surrounded by the audience’s affection.
He thought he would be nervous, excited—but when the moment truly arrived, a miraculous calmness settled over him.

Bathed in the warm glow of the stage lights, his mind was clearer than ever before.
It was as if he was meant to belong to the stage, to be embraced and adored.

Zhang Yixing returned to the center of the stage, announcing the B group’s performance of “Can’t Stop.”

“Ah, Jingyi bro can sing even while holding the mic, and he’s this handsome—how is he even human?”
“Amazing! I wish we could ever be this skilled.”
“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him a boss; Gu Jingyi single-handedly raised the show’s bar.”

From his spot backstage, waiting for the results of the showdown, Gu Jingyi heard the trainees’ excited chatter.
Jeffrei forced a businesslike smile, but there was a stiffness to it—he hadn’t had a chance to win from the start of this battle.

The B group had taken the stage, and the cheers and screams from the crowd didn’t cease.
Zhang Yixin, feeling the awkward tension, quickly spoke to break the atmosphere.

“Alright, now performing: ‘Can’t Stop’ by the B group.”

The crowd’s reaction was lukewarm, and the B group trainees wore uneasy expressions. Their carefully prepared self-introductions seemed suddenly unnecessary.

Back in the dressing room, the trainees couldn’t stop talking about Gu Jingyi.
His performance today was truly astonishing, especially that breathtaking moment in the second half of the song—it was hard to imagine how much his popularity would surge after broadcast.

Perhaps after this episode, a clear hierarchy with one dominant star would be established.

The trainees often glanced at Cai Xukun, trying to read his thoughts from his expression. Maybe from now on, no one could challenge Gu Jingyi’s dominance.

Cai Xukun’s face was expressionless, but the tight jaw and subtle discomfort betrayed his feelings.
No matter when, he always felt overshadowed by Gu Jingyi, living under his shadow.

...

After the B group’s performance, the audience’s response was underwhelming. Before long, the B group finished their showcase and stood in the waiting area for the audience votes.

Both groups were in the same room, the atmosphere tense.
The A group members were full of energy and fighting spirit.
The B group members looked disheartened, sensing the crowd’s lack of enthusiasm. Their minds were scattered, and their performance suffered.

---

The audience had finished voting, and Zhang Yixing appeared center stage to announce the results.

“Bang!”

With a sudden sound effect, the large screen behind lit up. The names of the ten members appeared in two columns, along with the voting results.

[Zhu Zhenting: 97, Gary: 8 (Dance)]
[Zheng Ruibin: 13, Han Mubo: 22 (Vocal)]
[You Changjing: 23, Ling Chao: 33 (Vocal)]
[Lin Chaoze: 18, Wang Zihao: 6 (Dance)]
[Fan Chengcheng: 32, Xu Shengen: 9 (Rap)]
[Justin: 43, Qin Feng: 21 (Rap)]

The total votes shown were 138 to 99!

“Ah?”

Justin glanced at the tally. Although the A group was clearly winning, the gap wasn’t insurmountable.

But the votes for the two center positions hadn’t appeared yet. The A group members looked at Gu Jingyi with admiration.
Meanwhile, Jeffrei forced himself to watch the screen.

What if—just what if there was a shocking upset?
Maybe the fans of the upper ranks would all rally together and stop voting for Gu Jingyi.

If Gu Jingyi won, it wouldn’t be glorious.
If he lost, it would be even less dignified.

Whether he rose by stepping on Gu Jingyi’s shadow or not, if he won, the company would push press releases hyping him alongside Gu Jingyi.

Jeffrei was scheming in his mind, but reality dealt him a harsh blow.

[Gu Jingyi: 327, Jeffrei: 26 (Vocal)]

The numbers struck like a sheer veil—blindingly stark.

Both as center positions, Jeffrei’s votes weren’t even a fraction of Gu Jingyi’s.

Some B group members glanced and quickly looked away.
The disparity was so overwhelming it felt like a public execution.

Jeffrei’s head spun, nearly unable to stand. Though he knew this battle was a losing one and that there would be a gap, he never imagined it would be this vast—he didn’t even have a tenth of Gu Jingyi’s votes.

He had held onto the hope from Cai Xukun’s 85 votes, thinking maybe Gu Jingyi’s tally wouldn’t be too high.

---

[What on earth is the production team doing?]

Jeffrei cursed inwardly, pushing away teammates who tried to support him, seeing their help as vultures feeding on his misery.

The production team felt wronged too—they weren’t trying to suppress votes.
They even edited in the “first A” to highlight Gu Jingyi; weren’t they brave enough to manipulate votes?

But before the performance, the documentary “Gu Jingyi’s Donut” went viral with the line, “This is his fifth year,” and Gu Jingyi’s words, “There was a time I was close to my dream, then I woke up,” became a fan-favorite catchphrase, known by countless girls in the fandom.

Even just one “first A” edit caused Gu Jingyi’s fans to erupt online. The related trending topics piled up, and removing them would be costly.

Before the concert, “Gu Jingyi’s Donut” and over a dozen major fan sites publicly confronted the show “Idol Trainee.”
They vowed to verify every vote from the first round. If the production tried to suppress votes, they’d have to be smarter about it.

The Kiwi platform even called the production team, pressing them to tear up the original script where Gu Jingyi and Chen Linong would tie in votes.

“Ahh, Jingyi bro is so strong!”
“So handsome, truly the Emperor Jing!”
“This is incredible! Over 300 votes!”
“More than our entire group combined...”

At the same time, the A group members cheered.

The A group’s total votes were 553 to 125, a complete and crushing victory.

After all groups finished performing and the fans left, the production team called all trainees to the front area. Zhang PD took the stage to announce the eight winning groups and the overall vote rankings.

Gu Jingyi took the highest votes with 327, Chen Linong followed with 210.
Cai Xukun garnered 87 votes, ranking ninth, while Zhu Zhenting had 97 votes, placing sixth.

Seeing Gu Jingyi’s vote count, Cai Xukun was no longer smug.

If life were a movie and Cai Xukun the protagonist, Gu Jingyi was undoubtedly the villain—each appearance effortlessly breaking down the hero’s defenses.

Looking at the 327 votes, Cai Xukun’s pride faded.
With such a large lead, no one could stop Gu Jingyi from reaching the top.

At some point, Cai Xukun had lost even the hope of competing with Gu Jingyi.
Against such absolute strength, everything else felt futile.

The first round results were out—some rejoiced, others despaired.

But soon Zhang Yixing brought good news: several episodes had already been recorded.
Next came a week-long break or entertainment time...