After the judges had given their comments, the online voting began. All of the contestants returned to the stage after the one-hour voting period ended to await the results.
If Ji Xiao's heart attack had not been made public, Jing Yang would have been the clear winner. After hearing Jing Yang's performance, the other three contestants would accept it if that's the result, but it wouldn't be the case if Ji Xiao won in the end.
Everyone was waiting to see the outcome, whether the sympathetic side defeated the rational side or the rational side defeated the sympathetic side.
"We're nearing the end of this competition," the host said. "This envelope in my hand contains the results of this round, as well as the sum of the votes from all three rounds. I believe that everyone, like myself, is eagerly anticipating the outcome. Even though most have the same people in their minds, the outcomes are nonetheless still full of suspense. After all, will our competition maintain the actual meaning of competition for the singers? Let me now present the results to you all."
The host's sarcastic speech made Ji Xiao very uncomfortable, but all he could do was pretend he didn't understand and wait for the result to be announced like everyone else. After he saw Jing Yang complete his performance, he was even more enraged that Jing Yang had refused to help him in winning the competition. He believed that if Jing Yang wrote the song for him, he would win first place. Even though he knew in his heart that he had been defeated by Jing Yang in every part of his strength, he remained optimistic about the outcome of the competition and prayed in his heart that everything he had done would not be in vain.
The host ripped open the envelope, pulled out the card inside, and read it outloud. "The contestant who received the most votes in the third round of the Sound of Heaven Competition, who also received the most votes in all three rounds, and the winner is..."
The host took a breath, turned to face the camera, and said, "Congratulations to the winner, Chu Yang! Congratulations on your victory in the Sound of Heaven Competition! Congratulations!"
There was thunderous applause at the scene, and Jing Yang took first place, which can be said to be what the people want, and had been recognized by practically the entire audience.
Ji Xiao refrained from clenching his fists and instead clapped and congratulated along with others. The other three contestants' eyes shone with sincerity, but Ji Xiao couldn't even pretend to be sincere, and his composure was barely maintained.
Ji Xiao couldn't help but twitch when the host announced the total number of votes Jing Yang had received. He didn't expect that even after doing so many things and still losing so badly. He mistakenly assumed that those who sympathized with him on the Internet would be on par with those who backed Jing Yang, but he was absolutely wrong.
Most Internet users vote rationally, not because they lack empathy, but because they now have a higher ideological standing. They believe that empathy should not be displayed in a competition that tests one's strength and skill. Otherwise, a bad influence will develop, chilling the hearts of truly brilliant people and making them not want to participate in such tournaments in the future.
Ji Xiao and the other three candidates took a walk down the platform together, seeing Gu Mang personally present Jing Yang with the award. In addition to the trophy, there were also high bonus prizes. Every new musician wants to receive this honor.
In his heart, Ji Xiao was very unsatisfied. He thought to himself that he had given it his all, yet not only had he failed to stop Chu Yang, but instead increased his successes. He couldn't stand it any longer, and he needed to find a way to change things.
Ji Xiao and Liu Hang were in the same car on the way back. Ji Xiao kept a gloomy expression on his face, clearly in a terrible mood.
Liu Hang wanted to comfort him, but he didn't know what to say. Should he tell him that there was still a chance in the future? Or that one failure is insignificant and that he will achieve greater success in the future? Liu Hang couldn't voice these words when he realized Ji Xiao wouldn't live for another two years. Furthermore, Liu Hang was distraught, and he had no idea how to encourage and comfort Ji Xiao.
Ji Xiao was frustrated not only because he didn't win the competition, but also because of Liu Hang's attitude. He tried everything he could to win Liu Hang's heart, but he couldn't. As long as he saw Liu Hang's unwillingness to give up Chu Yang, his heart couldn't help but hate it.
The two didn't talk the entire time. Liu Hang drove to Ji Xiao's house, let him rest, and then prepared to leave.
Ji Xiao couldn't stop himself from bursting out, and the two began to argue.
Ji Xiao was already upset, but arguing with Liu Hang made him even more enraged. He was unable to stand still due to a throbbing pain in his head.
Liu Hang thought Ji Xiao was going to have another heart attack when he saw Ji Xiao's face grow pale, so he calmed down and apologized to him, telling him not to be angry.
"Go away. I don't want to see you right now." Ji Xiao held the table, turned away from Liu Hang, and waved him away. Despite his anger, he didn't want to put his relationship with Liu Hang in danger. Because he felt that if Liu Hang was completely biased towards Chu Yang, then he would have failed miserably.
" I'll take you back to your room to rest before I leave." Liu Hang couldn't bear to see Ji Xiao's slightly wavering back, so he supported him and sent him upstairs.
Ji Xiao did not resist, but because of Liu Hang's concern, he suddenly felt sad and wanted to cry.
Before leaving, Liu Hang helped Ji Xiao lying down on the bed. His heart was also uneasy. He felt he had already hurt Chu Yang for Ji Xiao, and now he hurted Ji Xiao again for Chu Yang. It was completely wrong, and he felt a little bad for not being able to control his feelings.
After laying down, Ji Xiao closed his eyes and considered the next countermeasures, but his body and brain were probably too fatigued from the pressure, and he fell asleep soon after.
Ji Xiao slept soundly all night, but he had no idea it was the calm before the storm; Tranquility was an illusion, and stability was only temporary.
A piece of news was suddenly reported on the Internet by a large media early the next morning, and it was then retweeted by other media. Netizens initially had no idea what the content was about, and it was only after reading it numerous times that they realized what was going on.
The major point of the story is that Ji Xiao underwent heart replacement surgery in another country a few years ago. But he didn't just hide the facts; he also feigned to have a heart attack to gain sympathy and win the competition by selling sorrow.
This incident was brought to light because the family of the individual who gave his heart to Ji Xiao had received news of Ji Xiao feigning a heart attack on the Internet. Unable to stand the fact that he had misled the public, he called the local media to report him.
The media did not immediately report the incident after receiving the report. It was only after a sufficient amount of evidence had been gathered that it was made public.
The proof provided by the donor's family members, as well as the 'evidence' gathered by the media, plainly proved that Ji Xiao had undergone heart replacement surgery a few years earlier.
The unexpected exposure of the news caught Ji Xiao's family off guard, and they were unable to respond for a while. All they could do was watch the news develop, and more and more people became aware of it.
The phone woke Ji Xiao up while he was still sleeping; he grabbed it up quickly, but all he heard was his assistant talking quickly on the phone, which he didn't understand.
Ji Xiao's assistant was worried, and he had no idea that Ji Xiao had undergone heart replacement surgery, so when he heard the news, he was astounded. He couldn't tell even after talking for a long time, so he had no choice but to let Ji Xiao read the news online.
Although Ji Xiao didn't fully get what the assistant said, he did hear the words "surgery exposure" and "donor," which gave him a dreadful feeling. He quickly got up and turned on the computer. He hadn't had time to read the comment after seeing the article. He was merely dizzy and nauseous, and he felt like passing out.
After Ji Xiao had calmed down a bit, he called his parents with shaky hands and requested them to deal with this situation as soon as possible, using their relationship to withdraw the news and prevent the matter from spreading further, or his career as a singer would be over.
"What the hell is going on?" Ji Xiao said loudly to his father. "Didn't you speak with the donor and provide them with benefits? Why did they suddenly come out to expose me to the media?"
"I have people looking into it," Ji Xiao's father said. "We haven't been able to contact the family members who exposed you, and we haven't been able to locate them, so we don't know why they did this."
"Then figure out a way to refute the rumors and take down the news!" Ji Xiao hastily said.
"I've asked people to do it, but only a few small media outlets can be bought to remove it, and several other major media outlets refuse to do so."
Ji Xiao's father felt helpless as well. He couldn't figure out what was wrong. Everything became pointless all of a sudden. He asked Ji Xiao, "Have you offended someone who should not have been offended?"
Ji Xiao held his forehead. He was so confused right now that he couldn't remember if he offended someone who shouldn't have been offended in the first place. He could only speak loudly, "What's the point of bringing this up now?! Dad, hurry up and help me figure out how to deal with this!"
"I'm doing everything I can to help. However, you must be mentally prepared because there is almost no way to refute the evidence presented by the media." Ji Xiao's father comforted him and said, "Being a singer isn't a big deal. Couldn't you just do something else if you want? Our family owns a huge business after all."
"I only want to be a singer; I don't want to do anything else!" After shouting, Ji Xiao hung up the phone and smashed it on the ground.
Ji Xiao gripped his hair with both hands as he considered his father's words. Who exactly did he offend and want to punish him like this? After thinking about it, he could only think of Jing Yang, but he believed that Jing Yang lacked the ability to do so.
Ji Xiao did some psychological preparation for himself and had gathered the courage to read the comments below. All kinds of accusations and abuse flashed across his screen, and after reading a few comments, Ji Xiao couldn't take it anymore and felt the urge to destroy the computer. But he knew that even if he destroyed his computer, he wouldn't be able to make those comments disappear right away.
Ji Xiao waited for his father to give him good news, but his bad premonition became stronger with each passing day. But, for some reason, he felt that the revelation that he had feigned a heart attack during the competition was only the start of a dreadful journey ahead of him.
Ji Xiao smacked his head hard in an attempt to clear his mind out of the thought that had caused his hair to stand up. He kept repeating himself in his heart, No, no, everything will be alright; his life could not end tragically, it's just because he was too nervous and thought too much. Regardless of the outcome of this case, he had a strong family behind him that he could rely on.