Kang Jinxian’s eyes remained fixed on the screen, her fingers clenched into a tight fist.
This was a brief yet prolonged moment, the entire venue was filled with tension, everyone holding their breath, eyes glued to the big screen.
By now, the situation was very clear: Mai Zheng’s votes were more than double those of the second-place Xue Chengcheng. Xue Chengcheng and Kang Jinxian were neck and neck, with no clear leader between them.
It seemed Mai Zheng’s championship was firmly secured.
The host announced a ten-second countdown, and the whole audience began to count down loudly. When they reached three, something miraculous happened: the yellow column representing Kang Jinxian shot up at an unbelievable rate, surpassing Mai Zheng’s column in almost an instant.
The moment was so abrupt that by the time everyone realized what had happened, the countdown had already ended.
The voting channel closed, and no one’s votes increased any further.
On the big screen, the previously certain victor, Mai Zheng, was surpassed by Kang Jinxian in the last three seconds, and adding to Kang Jinxian’s earlier votes, the champion was undoubtedly born without any need for more thought.
However, no one felt joy; instead, they all found it strange and uncomfortable.
Mai Zheng’s votes had been steadily increasing, far ahead of the second and third places, how could Kang Jinxian, who was far behind, have overtaken him in the last three seconds? It was truly incredible.
Kang Jinxian’s lips curled up, and her eyes sparkled with triumph.
She had said it all along, the championship was hers for the taking.
The host was an old hand, reacting very quickly, "Next, let’s move to a commercial break."
However, as his words ended, murmurs of discussion began to rise around the venue.
"The manipulation is too obvious, they’ve obviously taken the audience for fools...."
"Even Xue Chengcheng sang better than Kang Le, how does she deserve the championship?"
"Exactly, the cheating is just too egregious."
In the control room, a staff member monitoring the text message voting system exclaimed incredulously, "How could this happen?"
He looked towards Yuan Pan standing behind him, "In the last three seconds, the votes skyrocketed, and the IDs are all garbled; this is clearly malicious vote rigging."
Yuan Pan’s brow was deeply furrowed. This was a serious issue affecting the credibility of both the television station and the program team. The show was nationally followed, and it was being broadcast live. One mishap and his entire reputation could be ruined here.
At that moment, an assistant came running with his phone, "The station manager’s call."
In just a few minutes, numerous viewers had called in to complain, accusing the TV station of deceiving the audience by pre-determining the winner and creating a negative social impact. Calls had reached the station manager, and if mishandled, he, as the director, could lose his position too.
The station manager instructed him to thoroughly investigate the matter and provide the audience with an explanation. He was told not to fear the problem but to be brave in taking responsibility, as it is the duty of a media professional. He was also reminded that if he wanted to stand out in the next election, this issue needed to be handled well.
After hanging up, Yuan Pan’s brow remained deeply furrowed.
He truly hadn’t expected such a trick at the last minute. Kang Le, who seemed so gentle, was actually playing these deceptive games, virtually killing him.
Being a man who could not tolerate wrongdoing, he wouldn’t hold back any longer.
While she should have been announced as the winner, suddenly, the broadcast went to commercials. Kang Jinxian thought it was to create suspense and add intrigue to the show, so she was content with the approach.
She even shot Xue Chengcheng a smug glance.
Xue Chengcheng stood quietly, a soft smile perpetually on her face.
All of this was captured by the cameras.
Online, however, a complete uproar had erupted. It was clear someone was manipulating the votes. Mai Zheng’s fans were unsettled, as were the rest of the viewers. With such blatant deception, how could the public accept it? In a short time, calls to punish the TV station and the program team flooded the internet. The loudest voices claimed that Kang Le was a predetermined champion by the TV station and program team, hence they were making fools of the audience. The official social media accounts for the television station and program were quickly besieged, with terms like "champion fraud" topping the trending searches.
The TV station and program team declared they would not carry the blame for this.
The advertisement couldn’t last longer than a minute, and this ad wasn’t even in the budget; the station took a loss. A minute later, with no directions from the director, the host had no choice but to step on stage, facing countless pairs of eyes in the audience to announce the result.
"The champion of this year’s ’The Most Beautiful Voice’, congratulations to Miss Kang Le." As the host’s voice, high and exhilarated, filled every corner of the venue, Kang Jinxian stood at center stage in a gorgeous gown, as proud as a princess, her face lit with the joy of victory, waving to the audience below.