According to the latest song selection rules, the opportunity to choose songs this time would be based on individual votes from the current round. The top ten contestants would automatically become team leaders and take turns picking their preferred team members in order of rank.
In other words, only the top ten would have the right to choose; everyone else would be passively chosen.
Netizens were thrilled by this rule—after all, it would prevent all the strong contestants from clustering in the same team and would make the show more exciting.
"I can't wait to see the rankings! I wonder if Miss Li Yuan can hold on to the top spot."
"Seems a bit uncertain, honestly. A lot of beautiful girls did really well this round."
"I voted for Jiang Yuqi. I said some awful things about her before, and I really regret it. This time, I had to support her."
"Exactly! A good sister like her doesn't deserve all that online hate. I'll definitely help her debut!"
"I won't lump the two things together, but I've always been a fan of Jiang Yuqi's looks anyway—so either way, she's still getting my vote."
Even the production team noticed that Jiang Yuqi's vote tally was far ahead of the others.
In fact, her sudden rise in popularity this round was largely due to the smear campaign—ironically, it gained her a lot of sympathy and new fans.
When the host announced the results, all the contestants were visibly shocked: Why wasn't Li Yuan in first place? How did Jiang Yuqi end up winning?
True to their dramatic flair, the show cut the camera to Li Yuan. She still wore a confident smile and even applauded Jiang Yuqi, offering her congratulations.
Netizens were delighted by the display of harmony.
"Miss Li Yuan is so gracious. She's genuinely happy for someone else's success and didn't lose her composure over not getting first."
"Well, she is on camera. Even if she was upset, we wouldn't see it."
"Sigh… To some people, no matter what others do, it's always wrong. Can't we just look at things with optimism for once?"
"I still believe Miss Li Yuan is a calm and mature girl. It's just one ranking—we can take the loss."
When the camera cut to Jiang Yuqi, she gave a modest smile and delivered her acceptance speech:
"A lot of unexpected things have happened recently, but thankfully, the truth never stays buried. Thank you to the fans who've supported me, to the production team for giving me this chance, and most of all, to the teachers who helped us grow and the teammates who've fought alongside me. I hope we can keep moving forward together in the future!"
"Waaah! I'm so touched by baby's speech. I'll definitely keep supporting her!"
"Even though I stan someone else, I have to admit—this girl's got a silver tongue."
"Our girl thanked everyone… except herself!"
Jiang Yuqi's poised and emotionally intelligent speech won over the entire crowd, drawing warm applause. Following her, the second- to tenth-place contestants also gave their acceptance speeches.
Among them, Li Yuan took second place, but what pleased her even more was that Fu Yueran had risen to eighth.
As her friend, Jiang Yuqi was genuinely happy for her. When Fu Yueran gave her speech, Jiang Yuqi clapped with extra enthusiasm.
This sweet moment wasn't missed by their CP fans. That very night, someone clipped the scene and posted it in the big Fu-Jiang CP fan group. Many fans squealed about how sugary the "dog food" (i.e., fluff) was.
The song and teammate selection process was pushed to the next day, as it was already 10 p.m. and both staff and contestants needed to rest.
That night, the long-silent system suddenly spoke up again:
"Host, didn't you get the phone recording between Zhang Maosheng and the police chief? Why not post it online?"
Jiang Yuqi replied,
"You're still too naive. The phones they used weren't registered under their real names—no direct link. And it's just a recording; they could always claim it was fake or AI-generated. It's not enough to bring them down."
"No wonder you've been holding off. But what are you doing lately? Don't tell me you're staying up every night for nothing!"
"I've already found something. Zhang Maosheng's company accounts are a mess—there's clear evidence of tax evasion. But more importantly—he was involved in a deadly accident during a resort development a few years ago. Four people died, and it was all covered up by that same Chief Li."
Unfortunately, the most critical video evidence was still being restored. It would likely be ready by tomorrow at the earliest.
The next morning, a video titled "Money and Power Collusion: Four Deaths Covered Up" spread across the internet like wildfire.
One of the main figures, Zhang Maosheng, was already well-known: Anshi City's richest man and head of the city's charity foundation.
The video showed the two men—Zhang and Chief Li—in a private club, arms around companions, making chilling remarks:
"Chief Li, I owe you for the resort incident. Please accept this small token of my gratitude."
"Brother Zhang, that was no small matter—four lives were lost! It took everything I had to suppress that case."
After that, Zhang could be seen slipping a check into Chief Li's hand. They continued puffing away on cigars like nothing had happened.
The video shot up to the top of trending searches. Zhang Maosheng had long been featured in local finance magazines and government websites, even hailed as a "charitable entrepreneur."
"Charity? More like a murderer hiding behind a good image!"
"The authorities better investigate this thoroughly—four people died!"
"These two are like the local kings of Anshi—abusing power and crushing lives."
The video was signed by "A Justice Warrior Who Can't Stand Cyberbullying." And they weren't done—more leaks followed.
These included:
Evidence of Zhang Maosheng's tax evasion
Audio recordings of his conversations with Chief Li
Files related to Zhang Kexin's earlier case
Jiang Yuqi released them all in one go, leaving no room for the enemy to respond.
The recordings alone might not have been enough to bring Zhang down—but now, with this mountain of proof, he and his allies were like fish on a chopping block, with no way out.
Just as Jiang Yuqi planned, netizens were left reeling by the nonstop bombshells. No one expected this "Justice Warrior" to have such detailed and damning evidence.
"Wow, this whistleblower is amazing—exposing such darkness takes real guts."
"Zhang Maosheng and Zhang Kexin really are two of a kind—both criminals to the core."
"The national authorities better step in. This is damaging the government's image!"
The national police authority quickly issued a concise but powerful statement—and at the end, they specifically thanked the user named "A Justice Warrior Who Can't Stand Cyberbullying."