Because the recording process, including pre-recording practice, mentor guidance, and the final stage performance, took a long time, it will be broadcast in two parts, namely the third and fourth episodes. The fifth episode will mainly record the contestants' daily lives, such as mentors leading them in games to relax, clips of them sweating during practice, and their hard work alone in their dormitories. Then, the voting rankings will be announced, and the lower-ranked contestants will be eliminated.
So after this performance, they were able to relax a little. For the next two weeks, they simply practiced on their own and received instruction from their mentors.
Everyone returned to their dormitories. Pan Yu went to the shared restroom in the practice room with Xu Zifan and said directly, "Brother, I didn't mean to hide it from you. I just didn't tell you because I was afraid you wouldn't recognize me."
Xu Zifan said coldly, "Is that so? I think it's more than that. Where did those hormones in my house come from? Let me tell you."
Pan Yu's pupils contracted sharply, and he managed to say, "I don't know what you're talking about, what hormones?"
Xu Zifan smiled at him, but in Pan Yu's eyes, he looked like a devil. Xu Zifan said softly, "Your actions will be exposed sooner or later. This is your last bit of happiness, so enjoy it."
"Wait, brother…" Pan Yu hurriedly pulled him back when he saw him about to leave.
Xu Zifan shoved him away, saying with disgust, "Don't call me brother, it makes me sick."
Xu Zifan strode away, while Pan Yu was shocked. Xu Zifan's expression and words were exactly the same as in his previous life! In his previous life, Xu Zifan hated him so much, as if he were something dirty. But he wasn't the one who was the mistress. Why did Xu Zifan blame him?
Pan Yu kicked the wall in frustration, grabbing his hair and growling. There were cameras everywhere outside, and he had nowhere to vent his anger. He was furious; he had to go out and see if Xu Zifan had done anything. Xu Zifan had asked for leave twice, and he was genuinely uneasy.
The next day, Pan Yu asked for leave, saying he was dizzy, had tinnitus, and couldn't sleep all night, so he needed to see his family doctor. The director disliked people taking leave, and most of the contestants were obedient; if they insisted on going out, staff would accompany them. But given Pan Yu's poor performance last time and his claim of illness, the director had no choice but to let him go, assigning someone to accompany him.
Pan Yu said he was used to seeing his family doctor, but insisted on going home. Once home, he secretly asked the family doctor to give him an IV drip, which was actually glucose. Then, he made an excuse to sleep and asked his staff to go to the living room to watch TV, while he asked his mother to bring him a tablet and a mobile phone.
Once he had internet access, his first instinct was to see what netizens were saying about "The Birth of an Idol," but he was stunned when he searched his own name. All he saw were negative labels like "misaligned stage presence," "expressionless center," "demoted," and "dragd down his teammates." He frantically searched for previous news and discovered that his fans had been fighting with casual viewers, with Xu Zifan's fans, and with other people's fans, completely ruining his public image from the past year!
Pan Yu's heart sank. Clinging to a last glimmer of hope, he searched for information about Xu Zifan, only to find that Xu Zifan was covered in numerous, yet all of them were endearing! From the very first episode, these labels had established a likable persona for Xu Zifan. Crucially, by this episode, Xu Zifan had already lost five pounds, and viewers had noticed, praising his perseverance. Even those who previously criticized him for being overweight said they'd wait and see if he lost any more weight. Surprisingly, most of those who disliked Xu Zifan were actually his fans, and it's even possible that some of them became Xu Zifan's fans because they disliked his fans or had argued with them. His fans had swayed many casual viewers to Xu Zifan's side, and he was furious!
If he had known these young female fans were so stupid, he wouldn't have been in such a hurry to gain followers. At least he wouldn't have unintentionally helped Xu Zifan, which was what annoyed him the most!
With the online situation so unfavorable to him, he had no time to think about anything else. He quickly called and hired two groups of online trolls: one group to carefully help him improve his image, and the other to pretend to be genuine and smear Xu Zifan. He couldn't swallow the thought that his demotion was unfair to Bai Yuchen and the others. They were big shots, and he couldn't do anything to them, but having lived a second life, he knew plenty of gossip. They made him suffer, and he would make them suffer too!
Pan Yu edited and sent out emails. One email claimed that Bai Yuchen had been secretly dating a woman outside the entertainment industry for three years and had been deceiving his fans. The other claimed that Yu Hai had undergone plastic surgery, and that his double eyelids and high nose bridge were all fake, and that his old photos were incredibly ugly. After saying these two things, he was still not satisfied. He remembered that Bai Xingchen was about to break up with her boyfriend. In his previous life, he had read gossip that Lin Haodong had an ambiguous relationship with the female lead in a drama, and the two of them were heavily criticized. Although some people said that Bai Xingchen looked like a vixen and was probably not innocent, most people were still on Bai Xingchen's side.
Pan Yu felt that the timing and the mix of truth and falsehood in gossip were crucial. He thought about it carefully and realized that Bai Xingchen's appreciation and lavish praise for Xu Zifan were different from her praise for all the other contestants—that was suspicious. In the email, he wrote that Bai Xingchen had sexually harassed Xu Zifan, which was discovered by her boyfriend, Lin Haodong, who couldn't tolerate it and broke up with her.
It's definitely true that Bai Xingchen and Lin Haodong broke up; entertainment reporters who pay close attention can find clues. But as for Bai Xingchen and Xu Zifan, who can say for sure what's going on? There was once a pretty female celebrity who cheated on her husband with an unattractive man, shocking everyone. With such a precedent, and Xu Zifan being quite handsome, just a bit overweight, what's so strange about Bai Xingchen being attracted to him? Some people will definitely believe it.
These revelations might affect the show, but Pan Yu's top priority right now is to suppress Xu Zifan. He's already given up hope of debuting in the center position; idols need a good image to be liked by fans. Even if Xu Zifan exposes that he's an illegitimate child, he'll still be heavily criticized for playing the victim.
Many people disliked the idea of him being born out of wedlock, seeing it as a cardinal sin. Pan Yu felt extremely indignant and began to consider whether becoming a singer-songwriter would work. After all, he knew a lot of songs, not just all of Xu Zifan's songs, but also those of other singers; surely this could pave a way for him? Wasn't Zhou Peng that type?
After finishing all that, Pan Yu finally felt a little better. He sent a WeChat message to his mother, telling her to keep an eye on the staff member and make sure he didn't enter his room. Then he removed the IV, changed his clothes, put on a baseball cap, and climbed out the window. He lived in a small villa, and he had deliberately chosen to get the injection in a first-floor guest room so he could escape. He was still worried about the hormones in Xu Zifan's room, so he drove quickly to Xu Zifan's house to see if there was anything he could do.
While Pan Yu was busy outside, Xu Zifan wasn't idle at the training camp either. Knowing that Pan Yu had taken leave, he inquired with the staff. This is where the advantage of having a good impression of him became apparent; he learned that Pan Yu not only went to see a doctor, but also went home to see his family doctor, and even that Pan Yu was receiving an IV drip while the staff member who accompanied him was idly playing mobile games.
Xu Zifan's sudden revelation wasn't just to cause Pan Yu's performance to falter, but also to provoke Pan Yu into requesting leave. Rebirth had instilled in Pan Yu arrogance and confidence, making him feel he could control many things. He feared Xu Zifan would find evidence, so he figured he'd have to do something after leaving. Therefore, after Pan Yu left, Xu Zifan contacted Chen Jing, asking her to help contact the police.
The police had previously contacted him, saying they had found out who his father was, and coincidentally, his friend Pan Yu was his half-brother. They asked him if he knew anything about it. He naturally said he didn't know, and then asked the police not to alert Pan Yu, saying he had a way to make Pan Yu give himself away, and now it was time to go find him.
Police received the information and dispatched two groups of officers: one to investigate the Pan family home, and the other to search the area around Xu Zifan's house. Pan's mother was very surprised to see the police arrive, asking, "What brings you here?"
"Hello, a man named Xu Zifan was drugged. We have found out that he is the son of your husband and his ex-wife. Please assist in the investigation."
Meanwhile, the police also found Pan Yu. "Hello, we now suspect that you are involved in the case of Xu Zifan being drugged. Please come with us to assist in the investigation."
Pan Yu was horrified. "Why are you arresting me? What drugging? I don't know! I still have to participate in the competition. I'm a celebrity. You can't arrest me without evidence. This will cause great damage to my reputation. I need to see a lawyer!"
"You are allowed to contact a lawyer, but now, please come back with us."