A week later, the third episode of the show was officially broadcast, showcasing the contestants selecting their songs, their interactions, training sessions, and finally, the second public performance.
On the show, Yu Shuman was exactly as she was in real life. She didn't put on any persona; she was simply herself. Most of the time, she ate with Qin Ran, but for filming purposes, Yu Shuman occasionally joined other contestants for meals.
The meals were provided by the production team, consisting of boxed lunches. Even Ling Miaohan, the show's frontrunner, had to eat the same meals. Ling Miaohan's acting skills were decent; even though she generally avoided boxed lunches, she didn't show any discomfort on camera, eating as if she did this regularly.
However, when faced with a large piece of braised pork, she subtly pushed it aside, clearly not used to such rich food.
Qin Ran could understand. Ling Miaohan's meals were specially prepared by her team, all tailored to her preferences—light and low in oil. Suddenly seeing such a fatty piece of pork was bound to make her cringe.
In contrast, Yu Shuman seemed unbothered, picking up the meat with her chopsticks and eating it without hesitation. In today's world, many people don't enjoy eating fatty meat, especially the oily, greasy kind found in fast-food boxes. Qin Ran didn't like fatty meat either.
But Yu Shuman didn't mind. Her high level of physical activity meant that the rich meat helped keep her full. During her high school and college years, working part-time to support herself, she couldn't afford to waste any food, much less a piece of meat that could easily cost five or six yuan. Throwing away the fatty parts after eating the lean meat was simply not something Yu Shuman would do.
Seeing her devouring the meal with gusto, one of the other contestants, a folk dancer, asked, "You're eating the fatty meat? Aren't you worried about gaining weight?"
Yu Shuman swallowed the meat and replied, "No, I won't. I burn it all off with my workouts." Yu Shuman truly wasn't overweight and didn't restrict her diet. Her secret to maintaining her figure lay in ensuring her energy expenditure exceeded her intake. As long as she followed this formula, she wouldn't gain weight.
The amount of exercise she did was something most people couldn't keep up with. When Qin Ran first met her, she knew that even during the intense high school years, Yu Shuman would wake up early to run laps around the school track. This habit continued into her college years. If she weren't stuck in the filming base, she would probably still be running every morning.
Even with Qin Ran monitoring her, Yu Shuman couldn't push herself too hard.
Yu Shuman was telling the truth, but the barrage of on-screen comments didn't believe her. Some viewers even posted "facts":
[100g of braised fatty pork contains about 500 calories. This piece alone must be around 50g, right? Not to mention the other foods and rice she's eating. This meal alone is nearly 500 calories. How is she going to burn that off?]
The barrage of comments seemed to agree, but the production team quickly inserted a short segment to show viewers exactly how Yu Shuman managed to burn off those calories. Every morning at 6:30 a.m., she woke up, had breakfast, and then went straight to the vocal room to practice singing. After about half an hour, she would do some morning exercises.
Once she had broken a sweat, she would wipe her face, hydrate, and return to practicing her singing.
After singing practice, she moved on to dance rehearsals. By the time she was done, it was time for lunch. After lunch, she took a short nap, and upon waking, she resumed vocal training under the guidance of a vocal coach, followed by more dance practice. After individual practice, she would join her group for team practice. When that was done, she had dinner, and after dinner, she would head to the gym provided by the show. She didn't do intense workouts at night, just a slow walk on the treadmill to wind down.
Her entire day was packed with activity, leaving little time for rest.
Even though Qin Ran had ordered her to scale back her schedule, the intensity and amount of exercise still shocked many viewers. Yet, there were still some who insisted on arguing:
[It's just a persona for the show. I don't believe she actually works out like this every day!]
Seeing these comments, Qin Ran nearly entertained the thought of hiring a hitman. It took all her self-control to remind herself that they lived in a society governed by laws, so she couldn't just go around doing things like that. The truth was that the more famous Yu Shuman became, the more such skeptics, and even outright haters, she would attract.
Not only Yu Shuman, but even Ling Miaohan, the protagonist of the novel, had many haters. But with her genius hacker brother in the story, anyone who dared to troll or attack her online was quickly dealt with. Qin Ran could also employ similar tactics. With enough money, she could easily hire a hacker on the dark web to do her bidding.
But there was no need for that.
Qin Ran was confident that Yu Shuman wasn't the type to be affected by such petty online comments. She knew that to progress, one couldn't just listen to praise. Both positive and negative feedback would help Yu Shuman grow stronger.
Unless someone crossed the line by slandering or spreading falsehoods about Yu Shuman, Qin Ran wouldn't intervene. Let them talk. Yu Shuman would prove them wrong with her future success. But if they did cross that line, Qin Ran wouldn't hesitate to bring the full force of the law down on them.
As the episode continued, it became clear that despite the naysayers, Yu Shuman had gained a lot of fans. Many viewers posted comments like, [I love her! Such a disciplined girl is so admirable!]
When the ancient-themed song "Dance of the Sands" began playing and Yu Shuman was the first to take the stage, the comment section exploded with adoration, full of comments about how stunning she looked. Among the many comments, one long message stood out, explaining the elements used in Yu Shuman's costume and makeup. The viewers were many, and those with a keen eye for detail weren't few. Someone noticed the unique elements and immediately began educating others in the comment section.
[I'm moved! Whenever Dunhuang is mentioned, it's always about the Feitian element, and that's been overused. But in the styling of "Dance of the Sands," there's not just Feitian, but also elements from the Deer King and Hu Xuan Dance. The choreographer clearly did their homework on Dunhuang culture, and the choreography for all three elements is distinct. I'm sold!]
Thanks to this detailed comment, hardly anyone questioned Yu Shuman's styling or its authenticity. After all, in today's world, something that appears cultured and sophisticated is seen as far cooler than something that isn't. Even those who didn't initially understand the references went online to research them before returning to share their newfound knowledge.
[Yu Shuman is amazing! The headpiece looks so heavy, yet she dances with such energy. I'm in love!]
The solo dance portion didn't last long, and soon it was Ling Miaohan's turn. Qin Ran didn't fast-forward, but just as Yu Shuman was striking her final pose, the screen was flooded with comments like "High-energy alert! The goddess is coming!" which was a bit annoying.
There were so many of these comments that they completely obscured Yu Shuman's face during her close-up shot. Qin Ran, her face darkening, paused the video, turned off the comments, and then took her time admiring Yu Shuman's beauty before continuing.
As she watched Ling Miaohan's performance, she couldn't help but think: Is this it? Is this what they call a goddess?
Qin Ran couldn't help but feel that this comment would end up being screenshotted and mocked online.
After the performance, Qin Ran rewound to Yu Shuman's scenes and rewatched them, this time without comments on. Once satisfied, she switched back to the fan group chat, where she noticed someone had posted a link.
[One vote from you, one vote from me, and our goddess debuts tomorrow!]
Underneath the link, the fan had added a catchy slogan.
Qin Ran clicked on the link and realized it was for an online popularity vote. Each account had 20 votes per day, which could be distributed among different contestants. She quickly logged in with both her main and secondary accounts, casting a total of 40 votes for Yu Shuman. Afterward, she checked the rankings and was pleased to see that Yu Shuman was in third place.
As for the first place? Unsurprisingly, it was Ling Miaohan.
But it was a massive lead—Ling Miaohan was ahead by 100,000 votes over the second place. Qin Ran, seeing this, couldn't help but roll her eyes: Come on, the voting just opened, and you're already ahead by 100,000 votes. Who's going to believe that isn't rigged? Yan Li also messaged her, asking if they should buy votes to boost Yu Shuman's rank.
Qin Ran hesitated for a moment but ultimately declined. Having seen the early production plans, Qin Ran knew that the online popularity vote wasn't actually important. It was just a gimmick to create a buzz, leading to a solo poster and a promotional vlog for the winner. It wouldn't affect the final rankings, and it would only take time away from Yu Shuman, who was already busy with her training.
If Ling Miaohan wanted to overexert herself, she could go ahead.
Besides, if they bought votes, it would definitely be discovered. Nowadays, fanbases were as sharp as hawks. Trying to buy votes without getting caught? Impossible!
Returning to the fan group, Qin Ran saw that someone had already posted a guide on how to switch accounts to vote. Qin Ran wasn't very familiar with these things, so she carefully followed the instructions step by step. As she did, she couldn't help but think: These fans are way more experienced in this stuff than I am.
Realizing she'd have to repeat this tedious process every day, and for many days to come, Qin Ran felt a headache coming on.
Even back in the day, when she voted for her favorite characters in popularity polls, she was never this dedicated! She only had one account back then.
Fan culture is terrifying.
Qin Ran thought: So this is what fan culture is like?!