My agency went bankrupt before I even got on stage.

Li Xiaodong's mind always works very fast. In an instant, he had already imagined a whole storyline: from participating in the recording of a variety show—attracting a large number of fans and attention when the show airs—his popularity increases—his votes increase—breaking into the debut position—and successfully debuting in the highlight moment of the group's formation night!

All of this hinges on successfully acquiring the resource slot from Brother Fan! This wouldn't be difficult for Li Xiaodong, as he has the most substantial funds among everyone! Moreover, Brother Fan mentioned that he originally intended to sell the slot directly to him!

Waaaaah, Brother Fan is such a great guy! He always thinks of me when he gets good things! He even came up with the brilliant idea of ​​auctioning off resource slots so I could debut! And the whole auction process will definitely increase my fame and gain me more casual fans. Brother Fan isn't treating me this way just because I'm his biggest VIP client! It must be because we're such good brothers!

In an instant, a fierce fighting spirit ignited in Li Xiaodong's eyes!

At the same time, the live chat exploded!

[You Are My Hero: WTH? Did I hear that right? Lin Fan is actually auctioning off a spot in a variety show? Is he crazy for money?]

[Deep Sea Whale: Lin Fan is disgusting! How could he just auction off the resources that fans worked so hard to get through voting?]

[A clear mind brings clarity: Are you all only now realizing how disgusting Lin Fan is? How can someone like him deserve to be an idol? Disregarding the efforts of his fans and using the resources they voted for to make money—this isn't just disgusting, it's downright morally reprehensible! What right does someone like him have to participate in a talent show? We resolutely boycott Lin Fan! Lin Fan, get out of the entertainment industry!]

……

Even Lin Fan's fan club was stunned by Lin Fan's outrageous move!

Wang Lingli slowly typed a string of question marks in the group chat.

[Born Entertainment Reporter King: ???]

【Sa_Sa：？？？】

【Cute Rabbit: ? ? ? 】

[Next, at the intersection: ???]

[Splitting a durian with bare hands: ???]

[The 82 version of "Fat Otaku's Happy Water": ???]

……

In Studio One, Li Xiaodong's loud shout startled the other trainees who were in a daze.

"Me! Brother Fan! I want to participate in the auction too!"

"Me too! Brother Fan! Look here! I'm also applying to participate in the auction!"

"I also……"

Tu Jingyi couldn't help but say, "Are you guys crazy? Is this something that can be auctioned off so casually? Did the production team agree to this? Did the 'Big Ace' production team agree to this? Aren't you worried about being scolded by fans and attacked by haters after you won the bid for the spot?"

I must say, what Tu Jingyi said makes a lot of sense!

but!

"You yourself have a spot, so of course you have no idea how much those of us without spots crave this opportunity!"

"Exactly! Fan-ge already said he didn't want to debut! He didn't want to increase his popularity! That's why he gave his spot to someone else who wanted to debut and boost their popularity. What's wrong with that?"

"Right, right! An auction is just a formality, and it's a way of ensuring fairness. Otherwise, Brother Fan could just give the spots to Li Xiaodong or Chen Xianwu, people he's close to! There wouldn't be any competition for us!"

In other words, it means that Tu Jingyi is already a member of the royal family and has been pre-selected for debut. What's wrong with us buying a resource slot? You're allowed to be a member of the royal family, but we ordinary people aren't allowed to buy resources?

Tu Jingyi felt his good intentions had been taken for granted, and his face darkened: "Whatever! We'll see what you do when the fans boycott us!"

This is also an insurmountable hurdle.

Because the idol talent show culture relies on fans spending every penny of their money to help their idols debut. To be honest, all the resources and rankings are bought by fans! That's why there are so many requirements for idols in the idol industry, such as not being allowed to date.

Imagine, fans spend so much money to support their idols, only to abandon them and start dating right after their debut. Who could stand that?

Similarly, fans worked hard and spent money to vote for Lin Fan, getting him into the debut position and earning him a spot on "Ace vs Ace". But Lin Fan turned around and auctioned off that spot. How could any fan accept that?

Tu Jingyi thinks that if it were his fans, they would definitely unfollow him and turn against him in a heartbeat! The more they liked him before, the more they hate him after unfollowing him!

The person who won the spot won't fare much better. They'll definitely be attacked by Lin Fan's fans; after all, why should we give you access to the resources we bought? Their rivals will certainly seize on this and relentlessly smear them, while also leaving a negative impression of "buying resources" on the general public.

Anyway, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages! Tu Jingyi felt that he was really trying to give a good reminder, but because of his special status, people didn't like to hear his honest words and even criticized him in his words, so Tu Jingyi simply stopped talking.

Lin Fan knew what the trainees were worried about, and explained, "I've already reached an agreement with the production team on this matter, and they have given their permission. As for 'Big Ace,' since the trainees' names weren't announced in the preview, you know what that means. As for the fans..."

Lin Fan paused for a moment, then spoke with utmost sincerity to the live stream camera: "I believe in my fans, and they will understand my decision! After all, everyone knows that I don't want to debut. Right now, it's probably because I've gained some fame and trended on social media a few times that many casual fans have voted for me. But my true fans know that they would definitely agree with me giving my debut opportunity to a more hardworking trainee."

"Of course, all 21 trainees want this opportunity. If I just give it to one person, it would be unfair to the other 20. So I adopted this method to give everyone a chance."

"At the same time, I hope that the fans of these 21 trainees will not feel that obtaining resource slots through such methods is a despicable act. They are not stealing or robbing; they are simply doing their best to strive for the opportunity to debut and realize their dreams. There is nothing shameful about this."

"This is no different from fans voting for their idols to secure resources and help them debut. So I hope everyone can understand that this isn't the trainees resorting to any means to debut, but rather them seizing every opportunity they can and giving their all towards their dreams!"

"You've all seen how hard your idols work during rehearsals, how much effort they put into their dreams. I'm just putting an opportunity that should have been theirs in front of them, giving them a chance to fight for it! If this opportunity were in front of you, wouldn't you also do your best to seize it?"

"As for people saying I love money and auction off fan voting opportunities! Well, I need to clarify one thing first. My dream has always been to open a bed and breakfast and live a free and easy life, not to debut. This is my dream, the same dream as other trainees who want to debut. I believe my fans will agree that I should seize this opportunity for my dream!"

"I think this auction is actually a ceremony of exchanging dreams! I use my resources to exchange for the dream I want, and everyone uses their own resources to exchange for the dream they want. We're all doing this for the dream, so there's no question of justice. There are many transactions in the entertainment industry, and I'm putting all these transactions out in the sunlight. Isn't that exactly the kind of authenticity that this season of 'Morning Star' advocates?"

The fans watching the live stream saw Lin Fan finish speaking and then bow deeply to the camera, which represented the fans. For a moment, everyone was speechless.