Rebirth from the Ashes Chapter 487 - Think Twice Before Playing Nepotism

Chapter 487 - Think Twice Before Playing Nepotism

Sympathy.
Su Ruowan turned as white as a sheet.
The rest of Su Ruowan's team members were anxiously waiting for Mr. Yun Xiao's decision when their hearts sank to the pit of their stomachs.
The mentors were put on the spot. This was especially true with Fang Yao and He Sumo who had the tendency to think with their hearts and not their heads. They were feeling embarrassed by Mr. Yun Xiao's frank and unreserved remark.
It was only the start of the verbal assault.
Shen Xi paused for a moment before adding, "Think twice before playing nepotism."
This was not spoken in general but directed to a certain somebody, and that somebody was none other than Su Muyan, Su Ruowan's brother!
Su Muyan had intended to change his attitude and work on his relationship with him since he was Mr. Xixi. Following this claim, Su Muyan found him the same downright repulsive person as before.
He was in a dilemma whether to refute and remain silent towards the jarring statement. Either way, people would mistake him for showing favoritism.
The production crew's minds were blown by the comment. Jesus. He sure laid it on the line. If Mr. Yun Xiao was merely Mr. Yun Xiao, people would criticize him for being unreasonable and unnecessarily strict.
Come to think about it, Mr. Yun Xiao belonged to Cosmos Entertainment and would be considered practicing nepotism for casting his vote for Ye Weiyang.
However, Mr. Yun Xiao, as Mr. Xixi, carried more weight in authority and words. No one would dismiss his opinion.
The way they saw it, the two teams on stage were neck-to-neck. Su Ruowan's team and Ye Weiyang's team were comparable in dance. Nevertheless, the mentors would not see it the same way as the production team.
On stage, Su Ruowan's eyes welled up, tugging at the public's heartstrings with an unyielding image. Thinking on her feet, she pondered how to wiggle her way out of it.
Nothing came up in the end. It was a lose-lose situation for her one way or another. Hence, Su Ruowan kept her mouth shut and gazed at the mentors in a polite, gentle, and calm manner as she waited for the verdict.
She knew the questioning scene would only be limited on set. The production team would not be dumb to release the potentially biased footage to the viewers.
"Who knew it'd be a tie for the first team battle with both teams coming neck-to-neck? That was quite a duel." Gu Yang was the first to break the silence and deftly changed the subject.
Dumbstruck by Mr. Yun Xiao's bold statement, the host was at a loss for words. He was thankful to Gu Yang for jumping in and saving his skin. The host then took over. "Mr. Gu Yang is right. It was a spectacular showdown, but there has to be a winner and loser in any kind of competition. We'll leave it to the live audience to decide!"
A revote was out of the question as it would only affirm Mr. Yun Xiao's claims about personal sentiments and favoritism involved in the supposedly impartial show.
The mentors, host, and production team heaved relief. The program would go through editing before its broadcast, and certain scenes would never see the light of day such as Mr. Yun Xiao's remark.
To their dismay, Mr. Yun Xiao was not swayed by the direction the show was heading. Adding to the host's words, he continued. "I have a favor to ask the audience if we're leaving the decision-making power to them."
Shen Xi glanced at Gu Yang as he spoke.
The look she gave him made Gu Yang want to crawl into a hole. There was no need to be a stickler in variety shows.
The group match was not an elimination round. The purpose was to highlight the individual's performance, whether good or bad, in a group setting.
Ye Weiyang and Su Ruowan undoubtedly stood out the most during the group match. At the end of the day, the individual ranking was what mattered in the competition while group matches were only to give prominence to the more outstanding trainees.
As the leader among the mentors, Gu Yang could not dismiss Mr. Yun Xiao's question. Although breaking out in cold sweat, Gu Yang kept his cool and inquired with a smile, "Who is the favor for?"
Shen Xi turned to the first row in the audience stand. "Who will you cast your vote to, Mr. Qi Xiu?"
Qi Xiu was having a blast playing the part of an audience member. He was pleased to be given an idle role on the show. Cued out of the blue, he replied with a smile, "I don't have much experience at dancing. I'm afraid I can't comment from a professional standpoint."
Shen Xi continued. "Let's move to your specialty then. Can you comment on the teams' singing?"
Qi Xiu pondered for a moment before commenting, "If we're speaking on overall singing performance, I'd pick Team B. Team B has great control over the pitch and breathing timing. Of course, Team A did a good job too."
Brewing with resentment, Su Ruowan's heart sank. What was the point of asking them? Since they were all from Cosmos Entertainment, they would be biased towards their agency's trainees!
At this very moment, she hated her own helplessness, Su Muyan's concession, and Su Yi who basically gave the show away to another investor.
Things would not come to this if he did not forego funding to the program. She would not come face-to-face with such a blatant humiliation!
The mentors, host, production crew, and trainees were caught off guard by the direction of things. Mr. Yun Xiao nodded and solemnly declared, "Thank you, Mr. Qi Xiu, for your crucial vote. With the polls now at 4 to 3, it's time for the live audience to decide."
That was one hell of a plot twist. Anyone with eyes could pick up on the battle of wits between Gu Yang, the host, and Mr. Yun Xiao.
In a mere blink of an eye, Gu Yang and the host joined forces to bring balance back to the show with a tie, but Mr. Yun Xiao engaged in the tug of war and tipped the scale against them.
He requested help from the audience, and with the audience member being a prominent figure like Qi Xiu, no one would oppose the outcome. Mr. Qi Xiu could be said to be unrivaled in the whole of China for his accomplishment in music.
The vote in his hand could be counted to decide the fate of the competition.
Unable to call the shots, the host turned to Su Botao, the chief director for help.