After a brief self-introduction, the next contestant took the stage.
Normally, this segment would be longer, but Wang Zheng disliked unnecessary fanfare. After his introduction, he sat down.
The host continued to introduce the next contestant.
"Alright, Teacher Wang Zheng's participation in the program in Mei Country to promote Long Country's traditional culture has generated immense buzz. I've seen Teacher Wang Zheng's topic of discussion exceed one hundred million."
"There are three contestants in this competition. The next contestant is someone who is highly anticipated. We have many, many fans of this contestant here today. I'm sure you all know who it is. Let's welcome Ji Rufeng!"
In reality, half of the fans in the audience had already switched their allegiance. Although Su Yang wasn't an artist, his brief appearance outside had captivated countless fans.
The number of Ji Rufeng's fans who had switched sides was evident from the audience's reaction.
Moreover, the barrage of comments that were previously cheering for Ji Rufeng had dwindled to a mere trickle.
Only a few die-hard fans remained, spamming the comments section. However, the program had rules against spamming, and those accounts were subsequently banned from the live stream.
As a result, the live stream's comments returned to a more normal state, with viewers engaging in conversations.
[It's so much better without Ji Rufeng's fans spamming. I feel much happier.]
[As a Ji Rufeng fan, I have never spammed.]
[The person above, doesn't your ID say Su Yang's fiancée?]
...
The order of appearance on stage was determined by the submitted list. The other two companies had already submitted their lists, but Su Yang's list was only submitted after his arrival.
Backstage, after Wang Zheng left, Ji Rufeng's respectful smile vanished from his face.
Su Yang had seen Ji Rufeng mentally curse Wang Zheng, which only made him feel more disgusted.
A minor celebrity, who became famous through an opportunity, failing to seize it properly...
Ji Rufeng had indeed seized the opportunity, otherwise, he wouldn't be acting this way.
But there was something inherently wrong with him. Su Yang felt that this person truly... should fade away quickly and stop being so disgusting.
At this moment, Su Yang felt that even looking at Ji Rufeng would dirty his eyes.
After Wang Zheng left, Ji Rufeng stared at Su Yang countless times, cursing him in his heart. Su Yang was aware of all of this but paid him no mind.
The outcome would be known at the end.
It remained to be seen who would be smiling in the end.
It remained to be seen if Ji Rufeng could continue his act.
Before going on stage, Ji Rufeng glanced at Su Yang again. This time, Su Yang did not avoid his gaze.
Perhaps surprised that Su Yang would suddenly look back, Ji Rufeng faltered when their eyes met.
He thought to himself, "What is Su Yang pretending for?" but outwardly, he still smiled at Su Yang.
Su Yang had never encountered such a disgusting person.
However, this time Su Yang did not completely ignore Ji Rufeng. Like Ji Rufeng, Su Yang gave him a faint smile.
Upon seeing Su Yang smile at him, Ji Rufeng inexplicably felt a chill run down his spine.
Su Yang's smile held a profound meaning that Ji Rufeng couldn't decipher.
He was being urged to enter the stage through his earpiece and had no further interaction with Su Yang. Ji Rufeng turned and left.
"Husband, why are you still smiling at him?" Yang Mange asked, seeing Su Yang's actions with a hint of confusion.
Su Yang let out a soft snort and replied, "With people like that, you have to confuse them, make them unsure of what we're thinking, just like they are themselves."
Yang Mange didn't quite understand his words.
People in the industry were very familiar with such individuals. Perhaps when Ji Rufeng wasn't as famous before, he didn't interact with many people, and not many knew what kind of person he was.
But as someone at the level of a boss in the entertainment industry, Yang Mange could tell what kind of character this was at a glance.
Furthermore, after Ji Rufeng became famous, Yang Mange had people investigate his background and knew that Ji Rufeng would do anything in private.
He was merely putting on a facade.
But an actor was an actor, and sometimes his performance was so convincing that even Yang Mange couldn't see through it.
For instance, when he first met Yang Mange, Ji Rufeng's extremely humble greeting had surprised her.
However, after hearing Su Yang's explanation, Yang Mange understood what kind of person Ji Rufeng was.
"Hi Rufeng, long time no see."
"Long time no see, Liangli jie. Long time no see, everyone."
Having received professional training, Ji Rufeng greeted the host and then addressed the cameras, interacting with his fans.
He still had some influence, and half of his fans hadn't been swayed by Su Yang. As Ji Rufeng appeared, many comments about him flooded the chat.
However, the number was significantly reduced.
[Hi! Ex-husband! Hahaha]
[Hahahaha, calling him ex-husband is hilarious.]
[Ji Rufeng is really handsome. Although Su Yang is also handsome... I still prefer Ji Rufeng!]
...
The comments weren't exactly serene, but they were much better than before.
Ji Rufeng knew backstage that his fanbase had significantly dwindled due to Su Yang's appearance. This had angered him greatly and was the initial reason for his ill feelings towards Su Yang.
People like him couldn't accept such things, believing that these were the fruits of their labor and shouldn't be lost so easily.
But he didn't realize that this was the nature of fans: loyal fans were fleeting trends.
It was rare to find someone who consistently followed and supported the same celebrity idol for decades.
And why was he a top流量 (liúliàng - traffic/popularity)? Why was it called 流量? These things were inherently unstable and could never be fixed.
Unless there were outstanding works.
There were simply too many good-looking people. For example, after Ji Rufeng appeared, and then Su Yang came out, a direct comparison clearly showed that Ji Rufeng was not as good-looking as Su Yang.
Fans who were attracted by looks could easily turn to admire someone more attractive when they encountered them.
Ji Rufeng couldn't accept this.
Therefore, he would fail. He was bound to fail.
"You are the pride of our Long Country's entertainment industry. Rufeng, you are truly at the peak of your fame. You have fans everywhere. Can the fans here give Rufeng a big greeting?"
The host had been busy preparing the live stream's flow and was unaware of the changes happening outside and online. He didn't know that half of Ji Rufeng's popularity had already shifted to Su Yang, so he asked the fans in the venue to cheer for Ji Rufeng.
Indeed, all the fans in the venue had come for Ji Rufeng.
Almost everyone held light sticks or similar items related to Ji Rufeng. However, when the host called out, less than half responded.
The cheers were much weaker compared to when the host was interacting with Ji Rufeng earlier.
And it felt somewhat sparse.
"Our fans in the venue must be hungry waiting for Rufeng. Why are the cheers so quiet? Everyone holding Rufeng's light sticks, please light them up so our live stream viewers can see!"
The host genuinely believed the fans were quiet because they were hungry waiting for Ji Rufeng. Ji Rufeng, standing beside him, heard the sparse cheers and felt his heart sink to the bottom.
It had only been three months since he became famous. He had only enjoyed the benefits of fame for three months, and was he already fading so quickly?
This was truly disheartening for Ji Rufeng.
At the same time, Ji Rufeng felt immense resentment.
He picked up the microphone, smiled, and called out to the fans in the venue, "Little lobsters! Can I hear your cheers?!"
"Okay!"
The audience members who hadn't switched sides were still very enthusiastic towards Ji Rufeng.
However, it was evident that about half of the audience was now completely uninterested in Ji Rufeng.