In the tenth episode, contestants ranked 21st and below were eliminated, leaving only three groups to perform and compete again in the eleventh episode. This time, the performances were meticulously crafted in collaboration with the mentors, and the remaining 21 contestants were all outstanding trainees. The competition was fierce, and choosing teammates was crucial. Whoever shone brightly in the end would undoubtedly receive more votes, making everyone very nervous.
The mentors and contestants chose each other to form teams. Bai Xingchen looked at Xu Zifan first and said with a smile, "I choose our throne. Zifan, would you like to perform on the same stage with me?"
Xu Zifan smiled and said, "It's my honor."
Bai Xingchen led one team, Zhou Peng led another, and Yu Hai and Cheng Man teamed up to lead a third team. Bai Yuchen served as the host to manage the flow of the show. After the contestants were divided into groups, everyone went their separate ways to begin intensive practice. By the end of the program, Xu Zifan had changed his Chinese medicine several times, danced and exercised every day, and even massaged his acupoints, finally succeeding in losing weight. At 185cm tall and 80kg, Xu Zifan, having regained his standard physique, proved the saying that fat people have potential, because he is very handsome and in no way inferior to Bai Yuchen.
Their final song was energetic, but also about love, including a section where Xu Zifan and Bai Xingchen needed to dance together. After three days of practice, the team's best dancer came up with a close-up dance, not particularly sizzling, but one that perfectly conveyed the attraction and ambiguity between the two. After everyone reviewed it and approved it, Xu Zifan and Bai Xingchen began practicing the close-up dance.
Bai Xingchen is an excellent dancer, and Xu Zifan, who has been learning for so long, is also quite good. The chemistry between the two is truly heartwarming!
On the day of the final performance, the moment their hands touched, the entire audience erupted in screams! Their dance together wasn't long, mainly highlighting each individual's performance, but they were the perfect finishing touch to the song, completely igniting the crowd. During their performance, the atmosphere was at its peak!
This time, there's no need for in-person voting; the top seven will be determined solely by the final votes from the national producers. However, the audience's reaction inside the venue tells us how the audience outside is reacting. This performance is definitely going to be a success!
The episode's ratings broke records as soon as it aired. All three performances were exceptionally good, especially the close dance between Xu Zifan and Bai Xingchen, who had previously been rumored to be dating! The newly emerged "Fanxing CP" quickly surpassed the former "Yangfan CP" because Xu Zifan is now a handsome guy, and many of Bai Xingchen's fans have even become fans of the couple, since the two have been so adorable along the way.
From their initial appreciation and interaction on the show, to Bai Xingchen's breakup and subsequent dating rumors, and now their close dance as a handsome couple, everything feels so story-driven and sweet. Some fans have edited together all their interactions, adding sweet music, which is truly heartwarming. Other fans have even compiled scenes from Bai Xingchen's movies alongside Xu Zifan's, creating a surprisingly realistic and sweet portrayal of a campus romance.
CP fans naturally voted for Xu Zifan, and the rumors of a relationship between Xu Zifan and a top-tier celebrity like Bai Xingchen caused his popularity to surge again, making many people who didn't know him before recognize him. Ultimately, Xu Zifan debuted in the center position with 57 million votes, followed by Li Keyang with 26 million. The seven members, all of whom were close friends and got along well, formed "Beidouxing" (Big Dipper). Those who didn't make it into the top seven missed out on becoming the top boy group in China. However, they proved their abilities on the show, and their respective companies will still consider having them debut in other groups, although their popularity won't reach the heights of Beidouxing.
After the formation of the Beidou Star boy band, they must be active for at least one year. During this period, each member can take on their own individual gigs, but group gigs must take priority. They first recorded a song and released it while it was still popular. Then they participated in various variety shows as guests, trying their best to increase their popularity. The popularity of all seven members was rising rapidly, but Xu Zifan was still far ahead.
As soon as the competition ended, Bai Xingchen took Xu Zifan to meet Director Shao. Xu Zifan's acting skills were undoubtedly excellent. Director Shao was initially giving Bai Xingchen face, but after watching Xu Zifan's performance, he was pleasantly surprised and developed a fondness for talent. He directly changed the fourth male lead to the third male lead.
For a newcomer to land the third male lead role in a film directed by a renowned director like Shao is already an exceptionally high starting point. When this news broke, many were astonished, with some even suspecting he had powerful connections. However, because Bai Xingchen, an award-winning actress, had repeatedly praised Xu Zifan's acting skills on television, many, with a mix of skepticism and belief, accepted that Xu Zifan was indeed a good actor. Xu Zifan's fans were ecstatic, feeling incredibly proud to be fans of such an idol. Especially after watching him transform from an overweight boy into a heartthrob, the feeling was one of shared hardship and positive reinforcement!
After a busy period, Xu Zifan breathed a sigh of relief and had some free time. He hadn't forgotten about Pan Yu, whom he hadn't dealt with yet. He remembered that Pan Yu would plagiarize other people's songs. As soon as the original owner was reborn, Pan Yu wrote them down as manuscript evidence, so he couldn't prove it. He let it go, but he could still get the plagiarism accusation from others.
Xu Zifan developed a mini-program that records lyrics and music posted anywhere online. This way, whenever Pan Yu releases a new song, the program can compare it against the original to see if there's any plagiarism. That's all he can do for now; he can't do anything more advanced yet. He'll probably have to wait until he's more famous and has a wider network to achieve that.
He also provided new clues to the police station: if Pan Yu wanted to drug him, he would first need to obtain the drug. Where could Pan Yu get the drug? The Pan family's family doctor became the primary suspect. Furthermore, since the Pan family had no...
Could there be another "home" for Pan Yu, given these clues? If we investigate further, is it possible to find some leads?
Sometimes the police leave cold cases unsolved, as their manpower is limited and they have other cases to investigate. But Xu Zifan came to urge them, and also raised another point—he still suspected Pan Yu of harming him—so of course they had to investigate. What made Xu Zifan most relieved was that Pan Yu hadn't set his sights on Xu's mother, and the Pan family didn't take Xu's mother seriously, nor did they intend to contact Xu Zifan; the two sides remained separate.
With the groundwork laid by the police, Xu Zifan no longer hid his weight loss when asked about it in subsequent interviews.
"I gained so much weight in the past three months because of excessive hormone intake. The doctor's diagnosis shocked me, and I called the police immediately. However, because the person who frequently came and went from my room was my friend, it was difficult to find evidence, and the investigation stalled. I went to check with them a few days ago, and the police are still doing their best to investigate. I hope to get good news soon. The person who harmed me must hate me very much. The perpetrator should be brought to justice."
The host was also taken aback, "Excessive hormones? My God, how much would that take to gain weight so quickly!"
Xu Zifan shrugged. "The doctor said that if I had gone any later, it might have been life-threatening. Luckily, a fellow contestant reminded me to go to the hospital for a check-up, and thankfully it wasn't the worst yet. I could still be saved, otherwise I can't even imagine the consequences."
The interview immediately caused a huge uproar upon airing. Even the most typical celebrity gossip never involves death, but Xu Zifan's case not only endangered his life but also involved deliberate poisoning! Who hated him so much that they wanted him dead? He was so poor back then, and his mother was just a school cafeteria worker; how could it have come to the point of drugging him?
Some people seized on Xu Zifan's statement, "The person who comes in and out of my room is my good friend," and immediately connected it to Pan Yu! Didn't Xu Zifan initially consider Pan Yu a good brother? Later, Pan Yu became increasingly suspicious, and it was only then that they learned he was Xu Zifan's half-brother—that's hatred! Especially since Pan Yu is a despicable person, the more they suspected him, the more convinced they became that it was him.
Pan Yu had just self-funded the release of an album, which was currently charting, when Xu Zifan's interview thrust him into the spotlight.