Oops! I Became a Fan of My Rival Idol! - Chapter 15

The music started, and all the team members began their synchronized movements. Shen Nanqing, positioned at the center, controlled the stage, singing the opening lines of the song.

Next came the individual solo parts in rotation. Qiao Huihui danced meticulously to her part, her personal lyrics appearing in the last two lines—something she had actively requested earlier.

Sensing the camera’s direction, Qiao Huihui remembered Shen Nanqing’s teachings, maintaining a sweet smile on her face to showcase her best side.

As the song neared its end, it was her turn to sing. She swiftly moved to the center during the formation change and delivered the two lines she knew by heart—”Sunlight filters through green leaves, falling upon us, the air of love so intense~OH~”

Then, with practiced ease, she winked directly at the camera.

The barrage of comments exploded with fans losing their minds.

Ahhhh Huihui, Mom won’t allow you to date!

Today’s dose of Huihui’s sweetness is off the charts!

AWSL, I don’t want to be just a sister fan anymore—I’m switching to girlfriend fan!

That wink just melted me ahhhh!

Baby, you’re still too young to wink like that—Mom forbids it!

…

Yang Qingqing was nearly losing it. Though she had managed to get a live ticket, she never imagined she’d make eye contact with Qiao Huihui.

Clutching her camera, she double-checked before believing it was real—Qiao Huihui had indeed glanced her way, locking eyes with her for a brief moment. Thankfully, she had quick reflexes and captured the precious moment with a click of the shutter.

In the photo, Qiao Huihui looked moved, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears—a sight that tugged at every fan’s heartstrings.

Who wouldn’t want to feel seen and appreciated by their idol?

Fandom is often a one-sided devotion, but when an idol acknowledges their fans’ efforts, it makes every supporter feel validated, as if they’ve chosen the right person to stan.

Yang Qingqing quickly uploaded the photo to Weibo with the caption: Our girl almost cried when she looked at her fans.

As one of the earliest veteran fans and a moderator for Qiao Huihui’s fan community, Yang Qingqing had a sizable following among Huihui’s fans.

The moment the photo went up, fans flocked to it.

Huihui Is the One: The best girl in the world—I’m so touched too!

Little Qiao’s Stream: My heart aches for her. Coming into the competition as a rookie must’ve been so hard.

Loves Milk Candy: Enough talk—time to vote! Let’s go, sisters, charge ahead!

After all the contestants finished performing, Chu Junling announced the start of the first round of voting. The mentors would also cast anonymous votes for the performers they deemed the best. Combined with the online votes, the results would determine the new A, B, C, and D class rankings.

This round would eliminate the bottom twenty contestants, meaning the F class would no longer exist.

Online, the competition was fierce. Every fanbase was going all out—rallying friends, hyping their favorites—flooding Weibo with posts about The Dazzling You.

Trending hashtags included topics like #GuessTheTop10Rankings and #HaveYouVotedToday?

After an intense and thrilling wait, the online voting closed, and the mentors received the ranking results.

The girls gazed longingly at the statistical sheet in Chu Junling’s hands, their eyes filled with eager anticipation.

Even so, the host’s habit of keeping everyone in suspense at critical moments was a classic move. She wasn’t in a hurry to announce the results. Instead, she took her time looking at each girl, savoring the expressions on their faces.

“Are you all feeling particularly nervous?” she chuckled lightly.

“How about everyone guesses who made it into the top ten?”

The contestants exchanged glances. Naturally, everyone hoped they would be among the top ten, but they were also well aware that the A-class members were more likely to make the cut.

So, their eyes collectively turned toward the A-class members in their respective teams.

“The centers of each team are definitely in.”

“I think it’ll still be chosen from the A-class members.”

“What if there’s a dark horse?”

No one directly answered Chu Junling’s question. Instead, they whispered among themselves, speculating about the strongest candidates.

Chu Junling suddenly called out a name: “Le Xingshan, do you think you’ll be in it?”

Le Xingshan raised her head and smiled confidently. “I hope so.”

Chu Junling nodded, then unexpectedly called on someone else: “Shu Bailian, where do you think you’ll rank?”

Shu Bailian’s eyes flickered, and then she playfully stuck out her tongue. “I don’t know either, but I hope my ranking is a bit higher!”

Both of their responses fit their personas perfectly, and they more or less had an idea of their standings. Generally, if your ranking was low, the host wouldn’t actively call on you.

Qiao Huihui’s eyes darted around. Both were people she knew, and whenever Chu Junling asked someone a question, she would turn her head in that direction, her face full of tension.

Chu Junling had noticed her restless behavior early on. After all, when all the other contestants were quietly listening with their heads down, her actions stood out far too much.

“Qiao Huihui—”

“Huh?”

Qiao Huihui abruptly raised her head to look at Chu Junling, who had suddenly called her name, her eyes filled with confusion.

“As the only non-celebrity among the contestants, where do you think you’ll rank?”

Where would she rank…

It was only then that Qiao Huihui realized that what seemed like a very ordinary question actually required careful consideration when answering. If she answered too high, she might be seen as arrogant; too low, and she’d come across as timid. A moderate answer would be safe but unremarkable, easily blending in with the crowd.

She didn’t have much confidence in herself, mainly because she had initially approached practice with a slacking mindset. Although her attitude had since changed, the results of not putting in enough effort couldn’t be faked—they probably wouldn’t be very good.

Thinking of this, she inexplicably felt a pang of sadness, feeling like she had let down the fans supporting her from below the stage. Pressing her lips together, she said dejectedly, “I hope this ranking is the one my fans have in mind for me. But if I don’t make it this time, I’ll definitely work harder next time.”

“Oh?” Chu Junling seemed surprised. She asked, “Then what is your own dream? What do you truly think in your heart?”

Faced with what seemed like a question meant to delve into her innermost thoughts, Qiao Huihui was unusually at a loss. For the first time, she openly shared her thoughts—

“I want to apologize to my fans. Honestly, my initial dream had nothing to do with the stage. Signing up here was just for fun, treating it as a unique experience in life. I even thought I’d be eliminated during the preliminary rounds, but unexpectedly, I made it into Class A. During practice later on, I figured I’d just coast along in the team, as long as I didn’t drag anyone down…”

“But when I stepped onto the stage today, I realized I actually have so many fans now. Everyone was looking at me with such anticipation, loving me so passionately. Suddenly, I found the meaning of my existence on this stage.”

“I hope to stay longer, to shine and burn bright for my fans.”

By the end of her speech, her voice was trembling with emotion, not to mention the fans below who were utterly moved.

They raised their light boards high, tears streaming down their faces, the flashing words clearly visible: “Qiao Huihui, we love you!”

Chu Junling was also stunned for a moment by her words. To lighten the heavy atmosphere, she deliberately teased with a smile, “Huihui, your words were so brutally honest. Aren’t you afraid your fans might leave?”

Qiao Huihui shook her head. “No, I’m not. Everyone is independent—they have the right to like me or not.”

The fans couldn’t bear it and screamed from below—

“We won’t leave! We’ll love you forever!”

“Huabu walks together for life, whoever leaves first is a dog!”

“For Hui, we go crazy! For Hui, we go wild! For Hui, we’d smash through walls!”

Hearing this, Qiao Huihui couldn’t help but laugh at the quirky slogans. Her voice came through the microphone, “What’s ‘Huabu’?”

“Ahhh! That’s us! Huihui, your fanbase name is ‘Huabu’!” the fans eagerly replied.

Qiao Huihui nodded, smiling at them. “Mm, got it. Thank you, Huabu sisters!”

The fans nearly collapsed on the spot—who could resist such a soft, sweet voice? This little treasure only strengthened their resolve never to leave.

Chu Junling glanced at Qiao Huihui’s profile, thinking to herself that although the girl claimed to have no dreams of the stage, she was unexpectedly talented. Not just in singing and dancing, but even in winning fans—she did it effortlessly.

An idol lives and dies by their fans.

For any idol, besides having strong skills, maintaining a solid bond with fans and the ability to retain them is crucial for longevity.

The director’s instructions came through her earpiece—it was time to announce the results. She unfolded the ranking list and hushed the crowd.

“Now, we’ll announce the rankings, starting from 80th place upwards.”

In an instant, the contestants held their breaths, gripping their fingers tightly, both eager and afraid to hear their names.

“80th place, Li Jiani. 79th place…”

She read down the list, bringing joy to some and sorrow to others. Those certain to be eliminated had already begun crying. By the time she reached the highly anticipated top 10, the room was so quiet only the sound of breathing could be heard.

“10th place, Liu Qi. 9th place, Yang Lele. 8th place, Zhang Xinxin. 7th place, Jian Luobai. 6th place, Xia Niao. 5th place, Shu Bailian. 4th place, Xiao Ninglu.”

Qiao Huihui’s small face was serious, her heart pounding with nervous anticipation as she waited for the results. Only the top three spots remained. Part of her feared she might have been eliminated, yet a faint glimmer of hope still lingered…

“Third place—Qiao Huihui. Congratulations!”

With a thud, the final shoe had finally dropped. She let out a sigh of relief, excitement bubbling up as an unconsciously silly grin spread across her face.

“Second place—Shen Nanqing!”

“First place—Le Xingshan!”

“Congratulations to all of you!”

Chu Junling set down the microphone and clapped sincerely for them.

“You were all amazing, girls. The future is bright!”