The performance had ended, and Mirei Mei had returned to the stage. Yang Chaoyue stood to the right, while Mirei Mei took her place on the left.
Wang Ziqiang noticed Gao Jin seemed eager to speak and promptly handed him the microphone. "Teacher Gao, you look like you've been holding back for a while. Is there something you'd like to share?"
"Yes, I was deeply moved while listening to the song earlier," Gao Jin replied. "Regardless of the outcome, I must acknowledge that Mr. Ye has truly surpassed me in his creative prowess. I humbly concede. While it's regrettable he couldn't be here in person, I want to give him a heartfelt thumbs-up."
Everyone was at a disadvantage, but Gao Jin knew that if their roles were reversed, he couldn't have matched Ye Huanqiu's performance. Ye Huanqiu's effortless communication with Mirei Mei, thanks to their shared language, was particularly impressive.
Moreover, given Ye Huanqiu's exceptional talent, Gao Jin believed the outcome of this competition would likely have been the same even if they had swapped singers.
"It seems Teacher Gao deeply values talent," Wang Ziqiang said, raising his hand dismissively. "Very well... let's now entrust the decision to the audience." He wisely avoided engaging further with Gao Jin's heartfelt remarks.
Mirei Mei stood on the left, Yang Chaoyue on the right.
The voting channels opened for both, but the earlier fervent campaign to vote against Mirei Mei seemed to have gained little traction.
Mirei Mei's vote count plateaued at around 3.8 million, while Yang Chaoyue's vote tally surged past 5 million and continued to climb steadily.
The audience gasped at the staggering numbers. Backstage, Shen Tao rushed the latest viewership ratings to Director Zhang in the control room.
"Teacher, you have to see this!"
Noticing Shen Tao's excitement, Director Zhang focused intently on the data report in his hand.
The peak viewership rating had reached 0.93% during Yang Chaoyue's emotionally charged performance of the chorus, with an average rating of 0.68%.
"Excellent, simply excellent," Director Zhang thought, pleased with his strategic decisions. These ratings would give him the leverage he needed to secure further funding from the network.
No other rival show had gained such momentum, especially considering it was only the second episode. Director Zhang felt a surge of self-satisfaction.
On stage, Yang Chaoyue's final vote count reached a staggering 5.33 million! She was the only contestant to surpass 5 million votes and the highest-voted act of the day.
Mirei Mei applauded graciously. Though she didn't fully understand the Chinese lyrics, their earlier clash had made it clear she had lost—outmatched in both song choice and her command of musical expression.
"Sister Chaoyue is amazing! She's reached the top again!"
"Damn it, did you all betray me and vote for One Leaf Knows Autumn and Yang Chaoyue? You... oh wait, I voted for Sister Chaoyue too. Never mind then!"
"The song is just plain good, no denying it. Her first-place finish is well-deserved. As for One Leaf Knows Autumn skipping the show, my opinion hasn't changed. What's the point of talent if you're impolite?"
"Exactly! No matter how brilliant you are, if your character's lacking, how far can you really go?"
"Alright, enough with the backhanded compliments! Let's celebrate Sister Chaoyue's victory. If you're so bitter, why doesn't your favorite team win next time and show us all what they've got?"
The audience's verbal sparring never let up for a moment.
Now that the rankings were revealed, Yang Chaoyue claimed first place, followed by Tan Weiwei in second, Sun Nan in third, Mirei Mei in fourth, Cheng Xiao in fifth, Chen Yihan in sixth, Liu Ning in seventh, and Wang Lingkai in eighth.
In the second episode, Wang Lingkai's production team was eliminated.
Though Li Yuanjie managed to climb to fifth place this time, his expression remained sour. After rigging the previous episode to barely snatch seventh, he now found himself riding on Cheng Xiao's coattails to fifth, despite the absence of underperforming singers on his team.
Though he secretly felt Cheng Xiao deserved no credit, the undeniable truth was that he had only placed fifth.
He couldn't help but feel a sliver of relief that Ye Huanqiu hadn't shown up, sparing him the sight of that smug face.
After Wang Ziqiang and Meng Yan delivered their closing remarks, the second episode of I Am a Creator officially came to an end.
As soon as the cameras stopped rolling, everyone retreated backstage. Meng Yan took the initiative to add Yang Chaoyue as a friend, and Yang Chaoyue was naturally delighted to gain a new friend, especially since Meng Yan seemed genuinely interested.
Yang Chaoyue also sent Ye Huanqiu a message: "Did you see my performance? I won again! What do you think?"
Soon, a reply came: "You're a true heroine! Totally badass!"
Yang Chaoyue's smug grin was undeniable.
Meanwhile, Chen Yihan sent Uncle Xu a brief text: "You can proceed."
Just as social media was buzzing about Yang Chaoyue's latest victory, a new hashtag suddenly shot into the top five of the trending topics: "Shocking twist: The truth behind One Leaf Knows Autumn's absence revealed!"
The post claimed it was from a recently resigned staff member at Tomato TV—the same person who had reminded Ye Huanqiu about the recording schedule when he was late.
At the time, everyone mistakenly believed Ye Huanqiu's late arrival was a sign of arrogance, when in reality, it was due to the production team's internal mismanagement.
Chen Yihan entrusted Uncle Xu with handling the matter, and he happened to contact the soon-to-be-departed employee. Through their exchange, the employee gained an advantage while also revealing the truth.
Ye Huanqiu's contract with I Am a Creator clearly stipulated his working hours as 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, allowing him to leave whenever his tasks were completed.
This incident also cleared up the previous misunderstandings surrounding Ye Huanqiu. The employee publicly shared his former work ID, allowing anyone interested to verify his employment history.
Riding the momentum of the show's latest victory, Ye Huanqiu's popularity skyrocketed. Those who had previously criticized him vehemently rushed to delete their posts, while others performed impressive public about-faces.
As for the remaining die-hard detractors, they were inconsequential; such relentless negativity was simply their natural calling.
With the sudden surge in attention, Director Zhang and his team found themselves in hot water. He immediately ordered Shen Tao to investigate, and they confirmed the employee's identity and recent resignation.
Now, netizens flooded social media demanding answers: If the production team knew Ye Huanqiu had been adhering to his contract, why had they remained silent while marketing accounts smeared the Creator's reputation unchecked?
Earlier, I Am a Creator had used its battle with Nuocheng Company to rally public support. Now, all that goodwill had been squandered.
"Was Ye Huanqiu behind this?" Director Zhang asked Shen Tao.
"No, the company behind this trending topic isn't from Demon Capital. It's a Multi-Channel Network Company from Minland, which isn't even Ye Huanqiu's hometown."
"Then why are they helping him?"
Shen Tao had no answer.
With no other options, they had to focus on damage control. Shen Tao's calls and messages to Ye Huanqiu went unanswered. Ye Huanqiu never took work calls during his breaks, and their relationship was purely professional—a mutual exploitation.
Meanwhile, in his cramped apartment, Ye Huanqiu did nothing as his public image underwent a complete transformation. He went from being rebellious and arrogant to talented but morally bankrupt, and now he was being hailed as the epitome of the modern worker: strictly adhering to his contract and refusing any extra work beyond its scope.
He had done nothing and won effortlessly.
It was like Qin Shi Huang touching a live wire—he was absolutely rolling in wins!