After 5tars finished their performance, both groups returned to the stage.

From the moment 5tars appeared to the end of their performance, the audience had been shouting their names nonstop.

In comparison, the number of people shouting Shining Girls’ names was pitifully small.

Jiang Ye smiled and made a shushing gesture towards the area where her fans were holding their light sticks, signaling them to be quiet.

But what she got in return was even louder screams from her fans.

Jiang Ye: "..."

They’re so disobedient.

The mentors’ votes were still three to two this time.

So, the final decision still depended on the audience’s vote.

While the audience in the venue was voting, someone in the stands started to shout 5tars’ names, and it spread quickly.

It was a little chaotic at first.

But once they started shouting together, their voices were loud and clear, echoing throughout the entire venue.

It didn’t feel like they were attending a show on a rival platform, it felt like they were attending a 5tars concert with the same level of support.

Shining Girls’ fans also started to shout their idol’s name.

But they couldn’t compete, they couldn’t even get their voices together.

They were being drowned out by the other side in a face-to-face battle.

They were about to go crazy with frustration.

The voting ended, and the lights in the venue converged.

The results for the two groups appeared on the screen.

——【161：135】

Jiang Ye’s pupils dilated slightly.

"What a close vote."

The host smiled, "But we still have to congratulate Shining Girls on winning this competition!"

Although she had already anticipated it.

When she actually faced this result, Jiang Ye’s expression dimmed for a moment.

After a long pause, she quickly regained her smile and bowed to the audience in all directions with her teammates, her eyes were still bright, as if she was not disappointed at all.

But the audience in the stands instantly erupted.

"How is that possible?!"

"5tars lost?!"

"No way! Their stage was so good just now?! Who voted for them?"

"I don’t believe it! 5tars’ voices were so loud just now, they can’t all be in the stands, can they?!"

The outcome was decided.

The host was supposed to smile and cue the two groups to give their speeches.

But suddenly, a girl in the audience stood up, raised her hand, and shouted, "I have a question!!"

The entire venue instantly fell silent.

The girl who stood up was not very tall.

But her voice was very loud, and everyone in the venue could hear her clearly.

"Are these votes really accurate?"

"I’m in the venue, I have voting rights, I can say that everyone around me was shouting 5tars’ names."

"So, I seriously doubt the accuracy of your votes."

Tickets for the venue cost at least three times more than tickets for the stands.

Fans spend this money to come to the venue to give their idol an extra vote.

If the program team rigged the results, what’s the point of them doing that?

She didn’t have a microphone, but her clear voice reached the entire venue, "Why don’t we do this, it’s a very simple way to verify, and we’ll see if you dare."

"Let all the audience members who voted for 5tars just now stand up, so we can count them directly, and we don’t need to check your voting machines."

Jiang Ye’s heart beat rapidly with her words.

She didn’t say anything, but her hand holding the microphone was drenched in sweat.

After a brief silence, the entire venue erupted in cheers.

People immediately stood up with her.

"I have a question too!"

"Everyone heard the screams from this side just now! No one is deaf, everyone knows who’s better!"

"That’s right! I also voted for 5tars! I also think it’s strange!"

As more and more people stood up, the situation was about to get out of control, the host’s smile was starting to falter.

"Please, can these audience members stop disrupting our recording?"

"If you have any questions, you can talk about them later——"

The fans’ emotions had already been stirred up, and they immediately retorted.

"Later? What a joke!"

"They’ll already be eliminated, who’s going to watch your show then?"

"You’re obviously scared!!"

"Yes!! You’re obviously scared!!"

The director backstage saw that the situation was wrong and quickly called for security.

A few tall and strong security guards rushed to the scene and escorted the first person who raised the question and the most excited fan out of the venue.

The entire venue became even more chaotic.

"No way, they’re even escorting people out?"

"Is the program team crazy?!"

"They’re guilty, they’re guilty!!"

The few fans who were escorted out were still loudly questioning the authenticity of the program team.

The audience was discussing it all.

Those who were quick with their fingers had already posted this incident on Weibo and the forums, and they were already exploding.

【Damn! This is so dramatic.】

【So exciting, will the program team air this?】

【No way, the program team will definitely protect their own daughter.】

【If it weren’t for the fans of these two groups, I wouldn’t know how the program team would deal with this situation.】

Amidst the chaos, the host tried to salvage the situation.

"Everyone, calm down."

"5tars, do you want to say anything, hmm?"

The host frantically hinted that Jiang Ye and her group should say something to calm their fans’ anger.

But Jiang Ye watched as her fans were escorted out.

She didn’t care about being eliminated because of a rigged vote.

But she couldn’t stand them treating her fans like this.

She took a deep breath and took the microphone.

"No matter what the outcome is today."

Jiang Ye’s gaze swept across the entire venue, and she said loudly, "You guys are the best!"

All of 5tars’ fans were quiet for a second, then they went wild.

Lin Zui also took the microphone.

She wouldn’t say what Jiang Ye wouldn’t say.

But she wasn’t afraid to die, she could say it.

"Maybe a lot of people have a lot of regrets about this result."

"But it doesn’t matter, you know your own performance, the people who voted for you know, heaven knows, earth knows, we know, you know, that’s enough, thank you!"

The fans’ cheers became even louder.

Host: "..."

He thought the fans were the ones who were tough.

But the idols were even tougher than the fans.

Can they still record? How can they still record?

Security escorted a few more fans out.

The host forced a smile and, amidst the noise in the venue, read the words on his cue card.

When they were saying goodbye to 5tars.

Everyone saw them bow one by one as they walked off the stage, their eyes shining brightly, their heads held high, they didn’t look like they had been eliminated at all.

It felt like they were the winners of the show.

The host couldn’t help but shiver for a second.

The staff backstage were also a little confused.

"These fans have so much power?"

"… Ah, no, do you think we shouldn’t have changed the votes?"

"What are you talking about, we shouldn’t have changed the votes? What would we do if the person in charge asked about it later?"

"Forget it, forget it, we’re just taking orders and doing our jobs, we won’t be the ones taking the blame if something happens later, let’s go, let’s go."

•••

When the recording was over.

5tars walked out of the venue.

Jiang Ye looked at Tan Meng and Cheng Zhen, who were both dejected, and smiled, "Not happy?"

Tan Meng: "… No."

"What do you mean ‘no’?"

Cheng Zhen puffed out her cheeks, "Just say it if you’re not happy. I’m saying it, I’m not happy."

"Actually, it’s okay that we didn’t win, I just can’t stand it."

"So many people were speaking up for us then, why didn’t we succeed in the end?"

For a moment, she thought that the program team would really change the votes because of the pressure.

The shouts for 5tars were so loud.

So loud that she felt excited too.

Lin Zui was used to this kind of operation, she didn’t think it was a big deal.

It’s normal to come to someone else’s show and have the outcome decided by them.

But Cheng Zhen and the others had just debuted and were facing the real entertainment industry, so they had this youthful feeling of "why should this happen?"

"After all, it’s their show."

Shen Zhiyi comforted them gently, "It’s not good to offend them."

"… Forget it."

Jiang Ye sighed, "Let’s just let it go, maybe it’s a good thing that we were eliminated."

"We’re all going home to rest, we have other schedules to attend to later."

It’s impossible to say that they weren’t sad.

But this is the reality of the entertainment industry.

After all, it’s their show, they can’t really eliminate their own daughter and let them win.

Besides, if they really changed the votes and made a big deal out of it, the program team’s reputation would be ruined.

Jiang Ye and her group walked to their van, and as they were about to get in, they heard someone calling their names.

They turned around.

Not far away, the station sisters and fans who had stayed behind were shouting their names with megaphones.

When they turned around, they raised their light sticks.

The gold and white light sticks formed a sea of light in the night, as bright as day.

The fans who had been escorted out earlier also held megaphones, stood on their tiptoes, and shouted at them, "Don’t! Be! Sad! You guys were amazing tonight!!!"

"We’re not playing with them! We’re going home!!"

Jiang Ye had been very open during the recording.

But at this moment, she suddenly felt a lump in her throat.

So many people were willing to stand up for them during the recording.

Now that they had been eliminated, there were still people waiting for them to go home and comfort them.

It doesn’t matter if they didn’t win.

Because they know, the people who love you are the real winners.

Jiang Ye didn’t have a megaphone.

But she made a megaphone shape with her hand and answered loudly, "Okay! We’re going home!"

Jiang Ye thought that this incident was over.

Although some fans went back and posted about it on Weibo and various fan forums on the day of the recording.

It made a splash, but it didn’t blow up.

After all, they didn’t have any proof.

What if there were really a lot of Shining Girls fans in the venue and they just didn’t shout?

It’s not right to just assume that there was rigging.

So, it wasn’t until half an hour after this episode aired.

Someone suddenly posted a long Weibo post in the show’s super topic, which caused a huge stir.

The person who posted the Weibo post included a lot of tags.

The most prominent one was #IdolCenturyWarRigged#.

【I’m a 5tars fan who attended the recording of the fifth episode of Idol Century War, and I’m questioning the result of the fifth episode, where Shining Girls went against 5tars.】

【I actually questioned it during the show, but the program team’s security guards escorted me out, and I didn’t get any evidence.】

【It doesn’t matter, I counted the votes after the show.】

【According to the program team’s rules, there should be three hundred people in the venue.】

【5tars ultimately received one hundred thirty-five votes.】

【According to my count, there were one hundred and two 5tars fans in the venue, and I contacted all one hundred and two of them, here is the evidence.】

【Then, I contacted some of the fans of other groups in the venue, except for Shining Girls, through other groups, and these are the votes for 5tars, here is the evidence.】

【If there are any other fans who were in the venue, please DM me, and I will add them.】

【But based on our incomplete count, there were at least one hundred forty-five votes for 5tars in the venue that day.】

【So, please respond to us, Idol Century War program team.】

【Where did these ten votes go?】

【Oh, by the way.】

【Retweet this Weibo post and you’ll get a thousand yuan.】