Under the official account of "King of Mask Singer," over a thousand new comments were added in just ten minutes.

This account, with fewer than ten thousand followers, welcomed its first batch of viewers as the show aired.

"Does your production team have some kind of hidden agenda?"

"Exactly! You dare say that 'Jasmine Flower' isn't Xu Qingqiu? This is too fake!"

"If you're going to make a show, do it properly. It's no fun if you can't play fair."

"The judging panel's acting is terrible, and the production team is full of shady dealings. This is completely pointless."

"Zhang Jingyao couldn't even guess? How is that possible? He probably knows more singers than your entire production team, and he didn't guess a single one?"

As the show progressed, an increasing number of viewers flocked to it.

Most viewers were still engrossed in the show. However, those who had guessed wrong and couldn't swallow their pride, or were particularly confident, simply couldn't let it go.

They consistently felt the production team was playing tricks. It wasn't that they believed they had guessed wrong, but rather that the production team was being dishonest and unfair.

Clearly, 'Jasmine Flower' was Xu Qingqiu, but the production team wouldn't admit it.

Her name and performance were so similar; it felt like a blatant insult to everyone's intelligence.

The events here quickly attracted many curious online onlookers.

"What's this? What happened?"

"What are you talking about? What show is this? Is there a scandal?"

"Time for popcorn! Can some kind soul please explain this to me?"

Soon, a helpful netizen began explaining below.

"This is a new show, a masked singing competition to crown the King of Songs. It includes a segment where you guess the singer based on their physique and singing style. If a singer's identity is guessed before their scheduled performance round, they are eliminated."

"The current round of competition has concluded, but there was also an ongoing contest. If you guessed a singer correctly before they were eliminated, you could win a prize. For instance, this blog post details the prizes."

"Currently, many are guessing that the 'Jasmine Flower' contestant is Xu Qingqiu. However, the production team denies this, leading everyone to suspect a cover-up."

With this netizen's explanation, everyone finally understood what was happening.

"Oh, is that what's going on? Thanks, kind person! But is it really Xu Qingqiu?"

"I don't know. The production team says it's not."

"Then why not just ask Xu Qingqiu?"

"Hey? Right!"

This netizen's remark seemed to spark an idea, and many people immediately rushed to Xu Qingqiu's studio account, while others went to Xu Qingqiu's personal account.

Although her personal account was merely for show, the studio's account was buzzing with activity.

"Xu Qingqiu, is that 'Jasmine Flower' you?"

"You wouldn't be in cahoots with the production team, would you?"

"I used to think you were an honest singer. I didn't expect you to be involved in shady dealings too! So shameless!"

In fact, both the production team and Xu Qingqiu had anticipated this situation.

After all, Chu Tian had long seen through the little tricks Qin Xiao intended to play. How could they not have a contingency plan?

Less than half an hour into the uproar, the production team released an announcement.

[Regarding the controversy among netizens, the production team offers the following clarifications:]

[First, the show's proceedings are fair and just, with no underhanded dealings.]

[Second, all stages of the show are notarized. The notarization record and number are provided below. Anyone with doubts can verify these at any time.]

[Third, if you still have questions, please continue to follow the show. You might find some unexpected surprises.]

Surprises? What surprises? Could it be that they had really guessed wrong?

When this announcement appeared, many netizens couldn't help but frown. They wondered if they had genuinely guessed wrong or if this was merely a smokescreen by the production team.

After all, the notary offices in this world have high credibility. The production team wouldn't make such a claim if they weren't confident.

It wasn't just the production team. Right after their explanation, Xu Qingqiu's studio account also posted a message, one after the other.

[Hello everyone, I am Xu Qingqiu. First, I want to state that I am not 'Jasmine Flower.' I have no connection to her. If you wish to hear me sing, please follow major music platforms. My new song, 'How Is It,' will be released tomorrow at 10 AM. You're welcome to listen!]

This statement contained a touch of cunning: she denied being 'Jasmine Flower' but didn't deny participating in the show. She even seized the opportunity to promote her new song.

However, most people didn't notice this subtlety, as no one would typically overthink the wording to that extent.

Of course, Chu Tian must have taught her this tactic; others wouldn't be so calculating.

"Hmm? Xu Qingqiu also released a statement? Could we really have guessed wrong?"

"Both sides have denied it, and there's the notary office... It probably isn't her, right? Then who could it be?"

"Eh? A new song to listen to? 'How Is It,' right? Just released an album, not holding a concert, and now another new song? Productive as a sow, President Xu is awesome!"

"LOL, Xu Qingqiu is too clever, isn't she? Making a statement while also seizing the chance to advertise—she's truly maximizing this publicity!"

First, a controversy ignited by a group of people drew in countless online spectators, creating a massive buzz. This was followed by successive announcements from the 'King of Mask Singer' production team and Xu Qingqiu, rapidly amplifying the show's popularity.

"Is this another new show? Its first episode is already mired in controversy about shady dealings? What on earth?"

"And Xu Qingqiu? What's she got to do with it? How did she get dragged into this and even manage to advertise without being on the show?"

"Hahaha, is Xu Qingqiu an innocent bystander in all this? But it seems she's not losing out, LOL! What kind of play is this?"

"First time I've seen someone get accused, then advertise while explaining themselves. You guys really know how to play the game."

"This show sounds interesting. Is it still on? I'm going to check it out."

"Me too. I want to see which Singer is causing all this commotion."

Unfortunately, these people were a bit late, as the show was nearly over. However, another wave of viewers quickly poured in.

It's unknown which resourceful netizen managed to watch the show via internet TV, but memes were already circulating before the broadcast even finished.

"'Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter! Has everyone guessed who it is? .jpg'"

Below it was another meme. The image showed the judging panel craning their necks towards the stage, with several lines of text slanted across a blank area:

'Who is this? Who is THIS? And who am I?'

The text, combined with the judging panel's utterly baffled expressions, was hilarious.

Seeing this meme and recalling their own expressions at the time, others couldn't help but burst out laughing, their composure shattered.

It perfectly mirrored their own reactions—too damn fitting for the moment.

So, one by one, they quickly saved the meme and then rapidly moved to other platforms to spread it far and wide.

That evening, this image was ubiquitous online.

By the time the show ended, a seemingly nonsensical phrase had suddenly topped the trending searches.

#Who is this? And who is THIS? And who am I?#

This series of three questions hung on the trending list, leaving many people completely baffled.

What the heck is this? What kind of bizarre trending topic is this? When they clicked in, they finally understood.

Zhang Jingyao's small head and profoundly puzzled expression were particularly comedic.

Some people even went to his Weibo page to ask if his neck had gotten any longer.

Whether his neck had actually grown longer remained unknown. However, after this whole ordeal, 'King of Mask Singer' had definitively made its mark. Its popularity skyrocketed, propelling it into the top ten of the variety show popularity rankings.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.