LITTLE SEA OTTER BECAME POPULAR 94

Chapter 94

Following closely was the announcement of the re-selection list.

Almost without thinking, everyone already knew the outcome. Qiao Dai undoubtedly stood out in the group competition, securing her place in the final selection night.

“She’s through! Daidai made it through from Group Two!”

The re-selection adopted a group competition format to determine the advancement list, meaning at least three-quarters of the contestants would be eliminated in this round. Those who remained were truly the cream of the crop.

When marketing accounts saw Qiao Dai’s name on the official list, they were somewhat surprised but not shocked.

They felt a sudden jolt of fear, deleted the pre-written articles about Nina’s advancement from their computers, and quickly uploaded articles about Qiao Dai’s progression to various social media platforms.

Nina had actually lost, and to a newcomer who debuted this year!

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

Mbkdjkdt vbkp, csvb vbl xyajlvkdt ynnswdvp yde vbl sdzssjlap nswzed’v blzr cwv qllz y pvasdt pldpl sq wdalyzkvu.

Rv oypd’v vbyv vblu eswcvle Ckys Pyk’p iwyzkqknyvksd qsa yehydnlxldv; ayvbla, vblu byed’v lmrlnvle Lkdy, y tkaz taswr rksdlla yde yd kesz obs kdkvkyvle xydu qydp kdvs vbl lay sq qydesx, vs zspl ps vbsaswtbzu yde wdliwkhsnyzzu. Mbl nsdvlpv clvolld bla yde Ckys Pyk nswzed’v lhld cl elpnakcle yp lmnkvkdt; kv oyp y sdl-pkele valde.

Ckys Pyk’p qydp olal yzps pbsnjle. Gqvla yzz, vblka Pykeyk oyp y rwal dlonsxla ryavknkryvkdt kd vbl yddwyz plzlnvksd qsa vbl qkapv vkxl, obkzl Lkdy bye ryavknkryvle kd nswdvzlpp pkxkzya plzlnvksdp shlaplyp, y plypsdle hlvlayd!

Mbl tyr clvolld vblx oyp wdeldkyczu hypv.

Zlv elprkvl vbkp nbypx, Ckys Pyk caketle kv qsa yzz vs pll.

Tso nswze vbkp dsv cl vbakzzkdt!

“XYQ, yx R ealyxkdt?”

“Uyd usw clzklhl kv? Rv’p Ckys Pyk’p qkapv vkxl ryavknkryvkdt kd vbl yddwyz plzlnvksd, vbl qkapv vkxl!”

Not just Qiao Dai’s fans, but even the general public couldn’t help but marvel.

Amidst the surprised and joyful comments, only Nina’s fans’ remarks seemed so out of place and glaring.

They couldn’t accept that Nina would lose to a mere newcomer. Impossible!

“Nina didn’t lose!”

Nina’s fans were furious, blaming her elimination in the group competition on the unhealthy ecology of the domestic entertainment industry. They claimed Qiao Dai’s qualification was solely due to the backing of capital behind her, arguing there was no way Qiao Dai could defeat Nina on merit alone.

“She advanced by exploiting loopholes!”

The internet was a battlefield, and in reality, Nina was furiously throwing things around in the office. She sat down on the sofa, covering her face and biting her teeth, saying, “Intangible Cultural Heritage, Winter Olympics… She targeted these, as long as she became the Winter Olympics ambassador, how could the officials eliminate her from the re-selection!”

Even though Nina was shocked by Qiao Dai’s ice dance in “Idol All-Stars,” she still harbored a tiny hope until the re-selection list was announced, believing that with her decade of experience in the industry, she couldn’t possibly lose to a complete newcomer.

But soon, that illusion shattered.

Pain, reluctance, and grievance wrapped around her like a dense, damp fog, making her feel suffocated and heavy. Soon, this cold mist transformed into roaring flames, the angry tongues of fire consuming the remaining oxygen, turning her face red with rage.

She refused to accept defeat!

“Speechless. The shameless clinging is truly unsightly.”

“There are many stars who didn’t make it to the re-selection, but none like your Nina causing a fuss everywhere.”

People found the relentless persistence of Nina’s fans laughable.

Fans may have their biases, but these bystanders did not.

In their eyes, no matter Nina’s past achievements, they didn’t see any of it during the re-selection period. Did they expect the jury to advance her based on her performance over the past decade? If that were the case, why bother with an annual selection at all? Everyone could just line up according to their debut time to receive awards.

As the internet buzzed with debates over the re-selection results, the annual selection jury felt compelled to clarify, maintaining the integrity of the results and protecting the reputation of every star who passed the re-selection, preventing malicious defamation.

“Idol Annual Popularity Selection Jury Official: For a qualified idol, it’s not about making the audience appreciate your style, but impressing them with your talent, turning them into followers of your style.”

The jury didn’t single out any contestant but responded to the so-called “unhealthy culture within domestic entertainment,” indicating that a qualified idol should lead fans to discover a better world with their talents, rather than complaining about fans not appreciating them.

Although the official statement from the selection didn’t name Nina, members of the jury didn’t hold back, directly addressing some of Nina’s fans’ comments on social media.

“The annual selection has always aimed to bring more outstanding idols to the public. There’s no seniority or precedence here. Qiao Dai advanced because the jury saw in her an irreplaceable sparkle. But Nina, where is your sparkle? We don’t see you.”

This statement left Nina’s fans mortified. They never expected the officials to personally respond, even less so for jury members to publicly share their views, almost criticizing Nina.

The jury’s “We don’t see you” was tantamount to stamping Nina as lacking commercial potential. An idol without a sparkle, invisible to the public, how could she stand in today’s entertainment era? This was devastating for Nina!

Nina’s manager was panicking, staring at the computer screen, considering mobilizing the company’s PR team to cool down the situation and contacting that jury member to delete their post, when her gaze suddenly froze, and she slumped in her chair as if a tightly drawn bow had snapped, signaling her assistant that it was no longer necessary.

“There’s no need.”

#OfficialMediaIdolsShouldTakeOnMoreSocialResponsibility#

Seeing the official media article, the manager knew Nina was truly finished.

Nina had been criticized as a “spiritual foreigner” for her derogatory remarks about domestic entertainment, accused of only returning to China for profit after fading overseas.

Although the company continuously attempted to whitewash Nina, the manager was aware of her deep-seated disdain for domestic entertainment, making it impossible to hide her discontent and disdain from public view.

Hence, after Nina’s several passive-aggressive incidents, the official statement that “idols should take on more social responsibility” came out.

More social responsibility?

This was essentially saying Nina brought a negative influence and needed to reflect and examine herself!

At this point, there was no need for PR.

“Yay for official support!”

“With official media stepping in, it looks like Nina is really done for.”

Nina’s consistent derogatory remarks towards domestic entertainment had long irked the public. Seeing her criticized by official media, netizens felt extremely satisfied, applauding the clear message to capital interests that domestic entertainment does not welcome stars like Nina who idolize foreign cultures over their own.

Meanwhile, amidst the uproar over the re-selection list, Qiao Dai was busy recording a promotional video for the Winter Olympics with other ambassadors, oblivious to the external commotion.

Dressed in a red sports outfit, Qiao Dai appeared on the snow slope with her snowboard, her figure cutting through the snowy landscape with unstoppable momentum, making the vibrant red stand out in the icy northern expanse.

Through the camera lens, the snow appeared whiter, the red fiercer, like blood that never freezes, a spark that could ignite a prairie fire, stirring the viewers’ emotions and boiling their blood.

At this moment, a sense of pride and self-esteem spontaneously arose in the hearts of all the members of the filming crew.

The red of the motherland will be known to more people!

“Everyone has worked hard!”

In this Winter Olympics promotional video, all the Olympic ambassadors will showcase different ice and snow sports. Qiao Dai was fortunate to be featured in both ice and snow segments, specifically figure skating and snowboarding.

Although it was impossible to reach the professional level of athletes within just a few dozen days, relying on her excellent physical condition, Qiao Dai made rapid progress in both figure skating and snowboarding, making her more than capable of shooting the promotional video.

The filming location was Changbai Mountain, now in the skiing season, and the weather in the north was extremely cold. Despite wearing thick clothes, it was hard not to shiver.

Qiao Dai removed her helmet and goggles, revealing a face reddened by the cold. Seeing this, the director and staff didn’t bother with formalities and directly waved her off, saying, “Go back to the hotel and rest. You’ve been working hard lately, Qiao Dai. Let’s have dinner together tonight to celebrate.”

Qiao Dai’s snowboarding was the last segment to be filmed, so once it was done, everyone started to pack up. They didn’t keep the other stars involved in the filming, as it was freezing cold and getting sick would be terrible.

“Qiao Dai, are you coming back with us?”

The other stars participating in the filming asked Qiao Dai if she wanted to leave together as they saw her walking towards the parking lot from the end of the snow track. Just as Qiao Dai was about to thank them and say she’d wait for her manager, a familiar voice called out from a distance—

“Qiao Dai.”

Qiao Dai paused, lifting her head to see Cheng Su stepping out of a car, calling her name.

Perhaps it was the cold weather or something else, but Qiao Dai’s cheeks turned slightly red. She shyly tugged at her mask and whispered, “Thank you, I’m okay.”

Cheng Su had come to take her back.