Side Chick Era Over (Sharon and Carter) novel Chapter 680

Chapter 680

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Chapter 680

The moment the new rule was announced, it sparked heated discussion and wide approval.

If the popularity vote had any direct impact on the competition, it would be unfair to the other contestants. Worse, it could lead to vote rigging and other underhanded tactics.

But if the vote existed without any meaningful reward, then it would serve no purpose at all.

So the organizers devised this clever compromise.

Sharon’s performance had barely ended. Before she could even give her remarks, her popularity votes surged like a tidal wave, so

fast the voting page nearly froze. At the same time, livestream viewership spiked, the frenzy rivaling that of top-tier internet

celebrities.

After all, in an age obsessed with appearances, who could resist a young woman so breathtakingly beautiful, brimming with

elegance and poise? Her beauty wasn’t the cookie-cutter kind of an online influencer-it was striking, unforgettable, impossible

to ignore.

In the control room, the production head stared at the screen, trembling with excitement.

“Director! It’s blowing up… completely blowing up!”

The director’s name was Fabian Leon, a mid-tier, long-overlooked filmmaker in his fifties. Honest to the point of bluntness, he

despised fakery of any kind. But such a rigid personality won him little favor in the industry.

Because he refused to play the game, he had no place in the major shows, nor even the mainstream television circuit.

In this era, nearly every so-called “fair” talent show or competition was scripted to some degree. Fabian rejected that, which left

him stagnant for decades-unrecognized, underutilized, and without a single breakout work to his name.

This time, however, the stakes were different. The competition was set to face off against international players. The organizers

could not afford to send out hollow “connections” propped up by favoritism, only to embarrass the nation abroad.

You could bribe domestic judges and competitors, but never foreign ones,

A few years ago, when Zachemain’s musicians last competed against international talent, they finished dead last. The disgrace stemmed from the rot of domestic corruption: organizers, judges, and even contestants were all bought out.

At its peak, the scandal was so absurd that anyone willing to pay enough could secure a guaranteed slot in the finals.

Those so-called “champions” were hyped as prodigies, yet the moment they set foot on the world stage, their true mediocrity was

laid bare.

Back then, the tournament still followed a knockout format. Talented contestants who refused to be bought were quietly eliminated through rigged brackets.

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Chapter 680

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The rot festered for five years before it was finally exposed. When the truth came to light, the entire competition came under strict

investigation. Every guilty party was brought to trial.

Justice may arrive late, but it never fails to arrive.

In the wake of the scandal, the event’s reputation crumbled. Disillusioned, the true talents stopped entering altogether. Public

interest plummeted.

Even after the organizers replaced every judge, director, and instructor, the competition never fully recovered. The level of talent

remained lackluster… until John appeared.

This year, the organizers brought in Fabian precisely because he couldn’t be bought, because he refused to lie.

Still, after years of suppression and neglect, he had little to his name, which was why he’d been relegated to managing the online broadcast segment. The idea of rewarding the popularity vote had been his brainchild.

Now, as the music faded and the applause still echoed in his ears, Fabian felt lighter than he had in years. A good piece of music

had that effect-it could lift the heart.

He pushed open the control room door, still buoyed by the lingering melody, only to hear the staffer shouting at the top of his lungs, pointing at the screen.

“Director, look! We’ve gone viral!”

Fabian froze, not understanding.

‘Gone viral? What do you mean, gone

viral?”

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