Why was such a contract approved in the first place? Her compensation was only eight million. Even if a penalty for breach of contract was paid, returning the eight million would at most increase it by 20%-30%, ten million at the absolute most. How did it come to eighty million?

No! It's not a contract breach; it's a breach of the confidentiality agreement?!

She quickly figured it out. This wasn't unprecedented; it was usually the big companies taking advantage of their platforms and traffic to harvest the smaller ones.

For example, if a company had cash flow issues but wanted to snatch up resources to start projects, what would they do? Someone would come up with a method: using the company's name to start a virtual or low-end project, then scale up the investment. Of course, they wouldn't actually put in money, mainly by getting other people to invest. In the end, the project would either be left unfinished or poorly executed. The project funds would be moved from one hand to the other, winding up inside the company. Or they might even try to bankrupt the other party to earn compensation.

This approach was also applied to talent agencies. They would cast a wide net to sign trainees or scout for rich second-generation kids. They'd pull them into the company for training, lock them in with long-term contracts, and ultimately profit from the fees for breaching contracts. This was quite common, but it was essentially the big fish preying on the small, bullying the weak to profit unscrupulously. To be honest, the tactics were shady and utterly lacking in integrity. However, they were legal, or one might say the current laws had certain loopholes.

She just never expected it to happen to her, that she would become the fish being eaten.

Qin Xiao didn't know how long the phone conference went on, nor its final outcome.

But on Xie Ning's side, from her return that day until the next, a series of phone conferences involving Baise Entertainment, Ye Zhonghuai, and then the CEO of Habes went on sporadically for two days.

In the end, the only news Xie Ning brought Qin Xiao was: "Don't even think about dropping out of the competition. Just perform well, try to advance if you can. The company will also look for ways to buy votes for you. If that doesn't work..."

Xie Ning didn't finish explaining what would happen if that didn't work. But the answer was quite clear: if all else failed, she could only wait for natural elimination and her unmasking.

And she, Qin Xiao, as an eliminated contestant, the loser of the first program, would make a gloomy exit just as her album was launching.

As for the company buying votes, she initially clung to a sliver of hope, but that quickly turned to despair.

The reason was simple: they had been informed during the initial recording about when the guests needed to make their schedules available. All of this was stipulated in the contract, set half a month in advance. The production team, to allow for unexpected circumstances, required guests to reserve three days for recording, assuming no special issues arose. The original notice was for recording one episode, with another expected the following week. This gave Baise Entertainment a window to operate.

Since they couldn't control the production team, they decided to manipulate the audience instead. As long as everything was arranged beforehand, controlling audience votes would be simple. There was no need to aim for the King of Songs title; as long as she advanced from the initial lineup in the third show, she wouldn't face elimination even if she lost eventually.

Unfortunately, while Baise Entertainment had planned well, they never anticipated the production team's last-minute notice: record two episodes in three days, with consecutive recordings on the first and second days, and the third day reserved for any contingencies.

This move not only caught Baise Entertainment off guard but also severely rattled Qin Xiao's composure.

As a result, she was completely out of sorts during her performance that day.

That was why she sat in the green room with an ashen face, not only because this was her second failure to secure an initial win, but also because she would have to face Xie Ning's interrogation back at the hotel.

No wonder Qin Xiao was in a foul mood.

Unfortunately, her current mood was not her limit.

「The next day, the recording of the third episode of the show proceeded relentlessly.」

The intense competition, the succession of surprises and setbacks, Xie Ning's merciless scolding from the previous night, and the overwhelming talent of her competitors—layer upon layer of pressure weighed down on Qin Xiao. Eventually, during her final performance, she buckled.

The immense pressure left her gasping for breath. She, who had always had a smooth journey thanks to Ye Zhonghuai's appreciation and help, completely collapsed.

During her performance, she cracked on two consecutive high notes, her low notes were hoarse and stuck in her throat, and her voice was dry and off-key.

Her entire performance fell apart. Even Wei Liangxiao hadn't anticipated this scenario.

This was no longer just Qin Xiao's problem; it was a production accident. The entire segment couldn't even be broadcast. The audience was there to watch a back-and-forth struggle, not an overwhelming rout.

So, the recording had to be paused to allow Qin Xiao a moment to compose herself before she sang once more.

This time, there were no major issues, but also no surprises. The entire song was bland, devoid of any emotional fluctuations. At least the performance was complete; the rest would be up to the sound engineers in post-production.

As for Qin Xiao? Besides elimination, there was no other outcome.

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