The staff backstage were also stunned.

They hadn’t expected it to be such a coincidence.

They had received instructions from above earlier.

No matter which group 5tars drew, or what the final vote outcome was, they would directly change the votes backstage to make 5tars stop at this round.

So, they didn’t rig the drawing process.

After all, 5tars had to go out this round, it didn’t matter who they drew.

Of course, they also anticipated that if 5tars lost, their fans would be unhappy and think that the program team had rigged the show.

Angry fans would definitely point their fingers at 5tars’ opponent.

So, the staff’s original plan was to eliminate 5tars this round and have another group take the blame for the program team’s rigged operation.

That way, the two fandoms would fight each other, and they could turn the public opinion into a fandom fight, thus achieving their goal of protecting their own people.

They never expected that Shining Girls would just happen to draw them this round.

It’s true that it didn’t matter who they drew.

But drawing Shining Girls was still a bit of a problem.

Although it was quite interesting to have groups from the same year go against each other, and the heat would probably rise again when it aired.

But this wasn’t within their expectations!

The staff felt regretful.

If they had known, they shouldn’t have let the contestants draw, they could have just had the big screen randomly select the groups.

"… Forget it, let’s continue."

The staff member thought for a moment, "I heard that Shining Girls is performing a really good stage today."

"We’ve already arranged for a lot of their fans to be in the venue, so it’s not impossible for them to win."

"Anyway, we’ll have control over how the stage is edited when the show airs."

"No big deal."

The staff member made up their mind.

But the people on stage were oblivious.

Especially when they saw Shining Girls and 5tars draw each other for the battle, the audience in the venue instantly went wild.

Groups from the same year, debuting one after the other.

When the shows aired, Chasing Light Girls and Shining 101 had been constantly dissing each other, it was a back-and-forth battle.

It was so exciting that they met again after the competition.

Shining Girls wasn’t too panicked.

Although 5tars was popular.

But they were still confident in the stage they were performing today.

Their stages since their debut had been either energetic girls or sexy goddesses.

But today, they were all wearing suits, they were clearly going for a contrasting, neutral style to attract attention.

After Lin Zui drew the ball and returned to the preparation room backstage, she threw the ball casually.

"Thank my luck."

She joked nonchalantly, "We won’t have to record this show soon."

Jiang Ye caught the ball, turned it around, and smiled, "That’s pretty good."

Lin Zui: "Pretty good what?"

Jiang Ye: "Think about it, once this is over, we won’t have to come here to work anymore, isn’t that pretty good?"

Her teammates agreed.

"That’s true."

"We even thought about what to eat after this is over."

"Besides, we might not lose!"

"And, most importantly."

Jiang Ye blinked, very seriously, "The appearance fee for this show wasn’t that high."

The other four: "..."

So, that’s what you really care about.

"So."

Jiang Ye gripped the ball she had drawn, her tone firm, "Let’s all work hard to complete this stage."

For them, every stage performance opportunity was precious.

Whether there was a next time or not, they had to put in their all to complete this stage.

•••

Shining Girls performed first.

They had a total of nine members, and their choreography was quite clever, they hid the members who weren’t very good, so at least from the front, it was a good-looking stage.

But Jiang Ye could tell that it wasn’t very synchronized.

This stage didn’t seem to have been rehearsed for very long, and their formations were even a little chaotic.

And they were semi-live.

But it was obvious that the backing track for some of them was very loud, making people wonder if they could actually sing live.

But this kind of stage is all about the atmosphere.

And the program team had already given their fans a lot of votes, so you could hear the audience shouting their names very loudly.

After Shining Girls finished their performance.

The lights on stage dimmed for a moment.

The screams also stopped.

To be honest, when Shining Girls’ fans were cheering for their idols.

5tars’ fans were very calm.

After all, they had seen Jiang Ye perform.

Not just during the performance, but she had even danced in a similar style during the New Year’s Eve party.

It was the same neutral style in suits, but she felt much better than them even when she was just dancing casually.

It’s not that Shining Girls danced badly.

But after seeing Jiang Ye’s stage, watching this one felt like a downgrade in terms of aesthetics.

But they were still a little nervous before 5tars took the stage.

After all, Shining Girls’ stage style was very popular, they had a significant advantage.

If 5tars went with a different style, they might not be able to compete with them head-on.

Just as they were worried, the lights on stage suddenly spread out.

Several beams of red and white laser lights flickered back and forth on the edge of the stage, giving a sense of oppressive tension.

The background music started.

Fans who had bought the digital album recognized it.

It was 《Secret》.

The camera zoomed in.

The spotlight shone on the five of them gathered in the center of the stage.

Tan Meng and Shen Zhiyi were half-squatting, Lin Zui and Cheng Zhen were leaning against Jiang Ye.

And Jiang Ye was standing in the center.

She was wearing a leather military cap, and had scars painted around her eyes and mouth.

As the camera moved towards her, she lazily raised her eyes, raised her hand, and made a silencing gesture.

The camera gave her a close-up.

The audience saw on the big screen that she was wearing a pair of black fingerless gloves, her slender, delicate hands and the rough gloves together had a tension that made people’s blood boil.

Sure enough, the fans in the audience were instantly excited.

"Ah, ah, ah, help, I’m dead!!!"

"Battle damage!!! It’s battle damage makeup, oh my god!!!"

"Damn, damn, damn, I’ve been dreaming of battle damage for so long, I’m finally living my dream!!"

"You’re so cool!! Sister, please step on me!!!"

The music entered the next phase.

The five of them scattered.

Their makeup, outfits, and shoes were all different, but they were all wearing leather boots, and for a moment, the sound of their boots hitting the stage floor was loud and synchronized, like well-trained soldiers calling out their horns to the music’s introduction.

The audience couldn’t help but gasp.

So synchronized.

This time, their sharp dance moves were even more powerful.

If the last time they had just reached the level of synchronization, this time, they were like a fierce, swift wind sweeping across the stage, giving a more intense visual impact.

This time, the opening was by Shen Zhiyi.

She was considered a visual member of the group, with delicate and beautiful features.

But with the battle damage makeup, she was less innocent and more wild, even a slight curve of her lips was enough to make people’s hearts skip a beat.

It wasn’t just her.

Most of 5tars hadn’t performed in this style before.

It was like few people could imagine what Cheng Zhen’s battle damage makeup would be like, but as Shen Zhiyi turned around and Cheng Zhen came to the center of the stage, her beautiful high notes and flawless dance moves, paired with her cool and cute expression management, made the mom fans in the audience go wild.

And when it got to the pre-chorus, it was Jiang Ye’s solo part.

As soon as she raised her eyes, the entire audience couldn’t help but hold their breath.

Jiang Ye’s battle damage makeup was stunning.

Her fair face was smudged with a little dirt, the red bloodstains around her eyes, cheekbones, and mouth were like flowers blooming in the snow, a beautiful and dull pain.

She looked like she had walked out of the ruins, her whole being had a beauty born from a mixture of ash and blood.

It wasn’t just cool, her eyes held a kind of toughness and fortitude, and her singing and dancing pushed the emotions of the entire song to a climax.

After finishing her part, Jiang Ye pulled on her fingerless gloves and suddenly drew a gun from her waist.

The audience couldn’t help but gasp again.

The gun was definitely a toy gun, but in Jiang Ye’s hand, it felt like a heavy real gun.

To the beat of the music, Jiang Ye raised the gun in her hand, focusing on the sight above.

The camera zoomed in, giving a close-up of her.

Jiang Ye’s gaze suddenly turned to the camera.

With a playful wink, she pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

The drumbeat in the background music slammed into the audience’s hearts.

Jiang Ye rubbed her cheek with her thumb and quickly returned to her team with the gun.

The other four also drew the guns at their waists and used them as props for a synchronized dance.

The audience instantly felt like Jiang Ye had shot them in the heart.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, Jiang Ye!!!"

"Let’s just admit that Jiang Ge went all out today!!!"

"Wuwuwu, you’re so cool, I can’t take it!!"

The next second.

The five of them put away their guns in unison, to the same beat.

Jiang Ye pointed the barrel of the gun and blew on it lightly, then looked at the camera and smiled.

She was bathed in silver light, like a flower blooming out of the ashes of a cliff.

The beautiful and fierce stage demon.

She was back.

It was a stage with a different style from their usual girl group performances.

5tars was cooler, more extreme, and more outstanding than Shining Girls.

Clashing styles isn’t scary.

The one who’s bad is the one who’s embarrassing.

This time, the audience’s shouts of 5tars’ members’ names shook the ground, it was like a tidal wave sweeping across the venue, clearly several times louder than when Shining Girls left the stage.

Backstage, the staff looked at each other.

They had thought it wasn’t a big deal.

But now, it was a big problem.

"Oh, no…"

"If we rig the votes and eliminate them, won’t the fans beat us up when we go out?"