The Villain Slaps The Protagonist’s Halo - Chapter 41

Chapter 41: I'll Tell You Who's the Boss

Nie Jia, on the other hand, was more laid-back, not even practicing his song before the finals. He stayed at home every day, entertaining himself, while Shi Si shifted his workspace to accompany him.

Finally, on Saturday night, the semifinals officially aired.

The show was simulcast on television and the TV station's official website. Fueled by the excitement from the past few days, the TV station hurriedly added backup servers to avoid crashes or potential hacking.

After dinner, Nie Jia and Shi Si moved to the living room to watch TV. At the same time, countless fans from all over the world silently waited in front of their TVs or computers for this talented music show's premiere.

From the preview, the public already knew that Xie Yihang's fall had displeased judge Chen Huanyin. It's common knowledge that even a tiny mistake on stage, no matter how perfect the performance, can heavily impact the outcome. So, whether DDD, who got the wildcard revival and ace return, could smoothly advance to the finals was still uncertain.

Of course, this was the viewpoint of rational audiences. The hardcore fans, eagerly awaiting the main event, were only concerned about whether Nie Fei's little angel had been bullied by Nie Jia, the supposed tyrant.

The team leaders drew lots, and Shi Yan got the last spot, prompting a barrage of "Yan-ge's bad luck" in the barrage.

After Box's performance ended, Galaxy's appearance doubled the barrage on the page threefold. Galaxy's fans were ecstatic, feeling assured of their place in the finals after the stunning performance. The feelings of the fans from the other two groups were uncertain, but after Galaxy's outstanding performance, Wei's fans from DDD felt a chill despite DDD not yet performing, just because their little angel had fallen.

The barrage was filled with curses directed at Nie Fei. If it weren't for Nie Fei swapping the "C" (probably the song or position), how could their little angel have fallen? If DDD lost the chance to advance because of this, Nie Fei would be at fault!

Barrage: "Win or lose, it's all up to your little white lotus from your home. Blatant favoritism."

Barrage: "Oh. Eye roll."

Barrage: "Double standards, what kind of idol has what kind of fans. Eye roll."

Barrage: "Oh. Eye roll +1"

Barrage: "Hahaha, my Nini is trending—Oh, eye roll, dramatic."

Nie Jia and Shi Si couldn't see the barrage, oblivious to the intense debates on the official website's comments section. Regardless of Wei's fans' agitation, Fei's fans had only one reaction: "Oh, eye roll."

It felt like punching cotton, enough to frustrate anyone alive!

Especially after Galaxy's performance, Yu Jingwei's provocation towards the camera, "DDD, get ready to die!" directly struck the hearts of Wei's fans, and the scene in the waiting room became tense. Only Nie Fei calmly retorted, "Drama queen."

The barrage exploded with laughter.

Barrage: "Haha, suddenly feel like Nie Fei is quite cute."

As a result, Hertz Era's performance was completely overshadowed by the barrage. The page was inundated with Galaxy's fans and DDD's Wei's fans. Viewers on the computer were torn; they wanted to turn off the barrage to watch the show properly, yet the drama in the barrage was equally thrilling! A glance at the barrage could improve one's insult skills by ten levels.

Only when DDD took the stage did Galaxy's fans in the live audience start booing. The screen briefly showed the three judges' awkward or displeased faces. Perhaps because Galaxy had performed so well earlier, the emotions of both Fei's and Wei's fans were tense. Deep down, they worried for their idols. Only at this moment did the barrage truly unite. No more cursing at Nie Fei or bashing Wei's fans; instead, everyone collectively scolded Galaxy's live audience. Even Galaxy's fans joined in, questioning if their live audience were insane; weren't they just inviting trouble for their idols!

Booing collectively before others took the stage?! It took people with incredible ignorance and lack of manners to do such a thing! What were the show's organizers doing, allowing anyone and everyone in?!

Then, a hum suddenly cut through, and the barrage decreased by 90%. It seemed like countless people forgot to type in that moment. The few remaining comments were full of questions, soon exploding again.

"Wow! DDD's war anthem! And it seems like it's been adapted into a completely new version!"

The screen brightened abruptly. From the distant silhouette of four people, the focus shifted to a close-up of a pair of radiant eyes, belonging to a young man with wild black hair, making a gun gesture towards the camera.

As the war anthem played, it wasn't just the live audience but also the viewers glued to their screens who suddenly erupted in excitement!

Some details were impossible to capture in the live setting. In the close-up shot, one could almost count Nie Fei's eyelashes, seeing clearly the slight twist of his eyebrows when his powerful voice resonated through the audience. He seemed makeup-free, completely natural, yet his aura blended perfectly with the grandeur of the song.

It was as if the song was an ode to him! He was the warrior who could dominate victory on the battlefield!

In contrast, the other three were completely overshadowed by Nie Fei. Their fans hadn't even noticed them, completely immersed in the imagery painted by the singing.

Until near the end of the performance when Xie Yihang fell.

Although the fall had been widely known, countless people now stared at the screen, dumbfounded, as if they had forgotten about it. They were shocked that someone had fallen on stage, especially during such a perfect performance!

At this moment, Wei's fans couldn't say a word questioning Nie Fei's 'C' grab. With the same song but different approaches, the contrast was stark. In the past, Nie Fei had been criticized for not helping Xie Yihang up after a fall, but now not a single Wei's fan criticized him. Even the most devoted and toxic fans had to admit that if Nie Fei had interrupted the final performance to help, it would have ruined the song!

Barrage: "Haha, white lotus, the king of staged falls."

The barrage comments were flooding: "Even if Xie Bailian didn't trip, I wouldn't have reacted. Ahhh, give me Nie a call internationally!"

"Is someone cheering for him down there? What? Cheering so he can break his leg next time?"

"I wasn't a fan before. I used to think it was heartless of Nie Fei to ignore his teammate's fall. But today, I understand that not helping was the right thing. Not only did it ruin Nie Fei's perfect performance, but Xie Yi's fall and Shi assisting him cost the spot in the finals."

After this, the audience's votes nearly guaranteed Galaxy's advance to the finals. It immediately sparked dissatisfaction everywhere, on and off-screen, with cries of conspiracy. Passersby were shocked that the program team didn't edit this out. 666.

"Haha, Chen Huanyin is also shouting conspiracy! He's so cute, isn't he?"

"Nie Fei stayed expressionless the whole time, super cool!"

The program was recorded for a lengthy four and a half hours, yet the actual airing was only 40 minutes long. So, while the audience in front of their screens was still protesting, it was already time for the judges' votes.

Mr. Chen Huanyin sharply criticized Xie Yihang's lack of professionalism, and the program didn't censor a single word. Barrage comments flooded with praise, and even the die-hard fans' faces were almost swollen from cheering.

"Mr. Huanyin is amazing! No wonder he's my dad's favorite star! My dad's star is calling out for my star, haha, so excited!"

"Teacher Chen's words are truly insightful. The battle song was rearranged, but the dance wasn't. Why couldn't Xie keep up? His devoted fans work hard for him every day, but is he really trying? His dance from two years ago looks like this now?"

"I'm Chen Wei, and I've always quite liked Xie Yihang. But today, I can't forgive him. The battle song is crucial for D Group, like a soldier's gun. Xie Yihang messed up at this critical moment, losing support! Now I finally understand why Nie Fei stopped supporting him."

"Hard work? Don't be ridiculous. Fruitless effort is just self-indulgence. Seeing Xie Yihang unable to sustain even a single song due to lack of stamina, he's probably too lazy even for self-indulgence. It's all about maintaining an image and earning money."

"My Nie has been releasing songs continuously for four years and forty-eight months without pause. Less than 30 hours to rearrange and surpass the original battle song. Talking about effort in front of Nie Fei? Heh."

The reaction from the public after the semifinals was almost identical to that of the live audience. Especially when Galaxy received the highest audience votes, everyone thought D Group was overshadowed. But then, Lin Haoclear forfeited his voting rights. When the live audience collectively chanted Nie Fei's name, the die-hard fans' spirits exploded!

Nie Fei flawlessly executed a textbook-worthy reversal, single-handedly securing all the judges' votes, instantly defeating Galaxy and advancing to the finals!

Of course, Lin Haoclear didn't make it to the hot searches that day. The hot searches were dominated by Nie Fei, and the topics changed with the progress of the program. That night, Nie Fei was destined to gain countless new fans, including many die-hard fans who were now clamoring to give their hearts to him.

But this resulted in a barrage of criticism from the non-die-hard fans.

"Haha, now you want to switch camps? Sorry, our Nie Yi fanbase doesn't accept rubbish like you, thanks. Don't come to leech off our Nie Nie's popularity."

"Poisonous fans wanting to switch camps, ridiculous! Poisonous fans don't deserve to switch! Nie Nie doesn't need fans like you, don't come crawling!"

"Let's be clear, the die-hard fans are now clamoring to switch because Nie Nie brought glory to DDD tonight, right? The fanbase is all excited at this moment, but the non-die-hard fans are feeling bitter! For four years, Nie Nie's fame and benefits from writing and composing were all distributed among the other three, only to be his turn at the end. Now, DDD wants him back only because they're losing."

"Now you all see clearly? This is D Group's ace! Our Nie Nie can single-handedly dominate the stage even with three hangers-on. He should have received this recognition long ago!! Poisonous fans have no right to like him, don't tarnish him with your cheap affection, just get the hell out!!"

"Hugging the comment above. As a four-year non-die-hard, I felt incredibly proud when everyone cheered for Nie Nie, but not even a bit happy. My heart is full of bitterness. Nie Nie has really been through a lot to get to this moment! He deserved all of this a long time ago!"

"A mere five-year-old poisonous fan still boasting about the fanbase's spirit every day, ridiculous. What spirit explosion? As a non-die-hard, I don't feel any doggone spirit. I see a bunch of vampires, hoping for DDD to disband or Nie Nie to leave. D Group doesn't deserve him, and poisonous fans definitely don't deserve to like Nie Nie!"

These non-die-hard comments quickly spread across the internet that night. The non-die-hard fanbase had always been powerful, even though their numbers were far fewer than the combined followers of the other three. But this time, they completely dominated major platforms, leaving some die-hard fans speechless in front of their screens.

As the program progressed, other topics soon rushed to the top of the hot searches, like He Chentian publicly calling out Xie Yihang. Xie Yihang had been crying since coming off stage. A misunderstanding with Nie Fei had escalated due to a comment from Shi Yan, and Chentian's emotions were clearly out of control, pointing and scolding Xie Yihang so fiercely his eyes seemed to spew fire.

Chentian, watching this scene at home, was also stunned for a while. He didn't expect the program team not to cut this segment. Even though everything he said was from the heart, was it appropriate to air that scene?!

Chentian's eyes hurt. He opened Weibo, and indeed, the internet was boiling over.

If the die-hard fans had wanted to support Xie Yihang using the excuse of his gentleness and kindness before, their Chentian had just slapped them in the face with a set of "Dragon Subduing Palms." The non-die-hard fans seized the opportunity, and even some sensible die-hard fans began to distance themselves.

"Spirit of the group? Doesn't exist. It's just a fantasy cooked up by die-hard fans, haha. Giving Chentian a thumbs up, he scolded so satisfyingly!"

"Chentian's scolding is straightforward. Xie Yihang's behavior is truly... While others engage in a dispute due to a misunderstanding, he masks his words and acts maliciously, pure evil."

"An adult who can't explain things properly, deliberately or not, is so malicious. I'm done being a fan.

Xie Yihang has been disappointing for a long time, suspecting he's been pretending all this while."

"Want to know how many times Nie Nie has been hurt by Xie Yihang's poisonous mouth."

Chentian's private messages on Weibo exploded. Many fans, in excited words, tearfully asked him if his actions on the show were just a spur of the moment, if D Group's spirit remained intact, if the little angel was still the warm and kind little angel, if everything was just the devilish editing of the program?

There were countless messages and comments of this nature. Chentian had initially wanted to say something to salvage whatever he could, but as he saw the message asking about how many times Nie Nie had been hurt by Xie Yihang's poisonous mouth, a heavy feeling of despair overwhelmed him. He moved his finger and retweeted:

Chentian's Verified Account: Countless times. //Has my Nie released a new song today: Want to know how many times Nie Nie has been hurt by Xie Yihang's poisonous mouth.

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