Stepping on one to praise another was a common tactic in the entertainment circle. Moreover, Su Ge could be considered a popular idol. Because his naturally deep-set features made him look like a mixed-race person, he had successfully broken out of his circle with a set of unedited photos during the preliminaries, gaining a large number of 'girlfriend fans'. His leaderboard data crushed that of other artists from the same period, showing signs of dominating the scene. Similarly, the hype for this elimination round was naturally high, which brought a lot of attention to Xi Nian as well.

Xi Nian hadn't been in the industry for long and had yet to produce any noteworthy work. He had only guest-starred as the second male lead in a youth film. Most of his fans were casuals, and their loyalty was generally low. Even the fans holding up signs for him in the audience for this competition were from a water army hired by the company. Seven or eight people sat sparsely in a corner, unnoticeable without a careful look.

With one minute left before the match, Xi Nian was waiting at the entrance. Su Ge, on the other hand, was surrounded by three or four assistants, who were tidying his clothes and touching up his makeup. The comparison made Xi Nian's side seem rather desolate.

Gan Xuyang, like Xi Nian, was an artist under Sun Ming. Seeing the situation, he couldn't help but feel a sense of shared misfortune. Tossing his eye-catching platinum-blond hair, he leaned over and whispered in Xi Nian's ear, "What's so good-looking about Su Ge? Are his fans blind? They can't even tell he's had so much work done on his face, yet they go on and on about his 'noble young master' persona all day. It makes me want to puke."

You could say he was being sour, or you could say he was jealous, but it was an undeniable fact.

Xi Nian rarely paid attention to such idle gossip. Hearing this, he raised an eyebrow slightly, grunted an "en," and said nothing.

Gan Xuyang didn't seem to notice his perfunctory attitude. He peeked outside the arena and pouted, "Sun Ming is too stingy. Would it kill him to hire a few more people for the water army? No, I have to call my parents tomorrow and have them come over. That'll look more impressive!"

His dozen or so fake fans from the water army were scattered around the audience, drowned in Su Ge's sea of blue support banners, looking even more pathetic than Xi Nian's.

Xi Nian crossed his arms and glanced at him. "No need."

Gan Xuyang was dumbfounded. "Why?"

Xi Nian didn't speak. He turned and walked away, letting him figure it out himself.

Today was the elimination round. As the third from the bottom in the men's group, Gan Xuyang was up against the third from the top, Meng Qianlin. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be eliminated by the afternoon. There was no need to drag his parents over, unless he could turn the tables against all odds—

But Xi Nian felt the chances were almost zero, just as netizens didn't believe he could beat Su Ge.

When the competition began, Xi Nian and Su Ge walked to the center of the arena together and stood in their respective positions. For some reason, the latter suddenly shed his arrogant demeanor from backstage and, under the watchful eyes of the public, smiled and patted Xi Nian's shoulder. "Good luck!"

Xi Nian was not only sharp-tongued but also had a terrible temper. Otherwise, he wouldn't have struggled for so long without becoming famous despite his decent acting skills. If it hadn't been for Lu Xingzhe paving the way for him later, he probably would have been lost in the crowd for his entire life.

Some things couldn't be changed just by being reborn.

Faced with Su Ge's posturing, Xi Nian didn't even look at him, continuing to lower his head and check his bow and arrows without any response.

The camera zoomed in, capturing this exact moment.

Half of the front-row seats in the audience had been privately distributed by the organizers to major news media outlets. Reporters, holding long and short lenses, scanned the arena with eagle eyes, not letting go of any shot that could create a hot topic. Without even looking, Xi Nian could guess what kind of headlines would appear tomorrow.

#18th-Tier Male Star Is Arrogant, Su Ge's Pre-match Encouragement Brutally Ignored#

#Su Ge's Strength Crushes Opponent, Who Is Suspected of Holding a Grudge and Maintains a Cold Face Throughout#

No matter which headline appeared, Xi Nian would definitely be torn to shreds by Su Ge's fans, but he didn't care.

It couldn't be any worse than his previous life.

Being ignored by him, Su Ge's expression changed imperceptibly. But as if remembering something, he smiled warmly again. At the referee's signal, he picked up his bow and arrows. When his handsome face was projected onto the big screen, the arena was filled with the screams of his fans, at one point drowning out the commentator's voice.

"Go, Su Ge!! Mommy loves you, ahhhhh!"

"Susu, fly boldly, Gezi will follow you forever!"

"You're the best! Bring home a championship!"

In the elimination round, each person shot a total of twelve arrows in four sets of three. They shot alternately in a one-on-one format, and the winner would advance to the next round. Su Ge was clearly proficient in this sport. With his legs apart, he began to nock his arrow and aim at the target. At the twelfth second of the countdown, he released his hand—

"Swoosh!"

The black arrow shaft flashed by, shooting straight towards the target ahead, and finally landed in the red nine-point ring. This was undoubtedly a great start. Thunderous applause immediately erupted around them, surging like a tide and making one's ears go numb.

Su Ge glanced at Xi Nian with a half-smile, his eyes holding a contempt that only he understood.

When it was Xi Nian's turn, the applause gradually died down, replaced by a wave of boos from the audience. It was clear that everyone still remembered his disastrous performance from last time. Faced with such a situation, anyone would have been embarrassed, but Xi Nian still chose to ignore it.

He stood on the shooting line, nocked an arrow, drew the bow slowly, and in the instant he narrowed his eyes to aim at the target, his aura underwent a seismic shift. Unlike Su Ge's superficial youthfulness and warmth, there was something more captivating about him, yet it was hard to define what it was. It was like a wildfire wrapped in cold ice, contradictory and complex.

His features were cold, his expression untamed. When Xi Nian's side profile was projected onto the big screen, some who met his sharp gaze felt their breath catch for a moment.

There was a thirty-second preparation time for each arrow.

At the twentieth second, Xi Nian hadn't moved. The audience had already begun to whisper among themselves.

"What's he doing, still not shooting."

"Maybe he's worried he'll miss the target."

"I really don't know what he has to be so arrogant about. He completely ignored Su Ge's greeting just now. Isn't he just jealous that Su Ge is stronger than him?"

At the twenty-third second, Xi Nian finally made a move. He slightly lowered his aiming point, and at the same time, the three fingers of his right hand holding the string quickly relaxed. The long arrow shot out with a soft whoosh, heading forward—

With a dull thud, the thirty-second timer ended right on time.

The audience sitting closer followed the arrow's path and saw an arrow in the inner circle of the ten-point ring in the very center of the target, its tail still trembling slightly.

Some people were sitting far away and couldn't see the target clearly, but they heard it when the score was announced over the broadcast: "Number nine, Xi Nian, first arrow, ten points."

Upon hearing this, everyone's first reaction was that it was impossible. Even putting aside Xi Nian's previous misses, his scores in the last ranking match had hovered between five and six points. How could he possibly hit a ten-point ring in one shot, and the inner circle at that?

At this moment, only one reason could explain this: Xi Nian got lucky.

Su Ge obviously thought so too. He pouted slightly where the camera couldn't see and began to shoot his second arrow at the referee's signal. However, perhaps he was too eager to win, his aiming point shifted too much, and this time he only managed to graze the edge of the eight-point ring.

The broadcast announced the score: "Number three, Su Ge, second arrow, eight points."

Hearing this, Su Ge's hand holding the bow slowly dropped to his side, his expression a little unnatural, even though his fans were still cheering for him enthusiastically.

When it was Xi Nian's turn, scattered applause sounded from the surrounding area. The number of people paying attention to him was clearly greater than in the previous round, but their gazes were mostly scrutinizing, wanting to see if his previous ten-point shot was just a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse.

Xi Nian was inherently competitive, whether it was in acting or anything else. Even for this competition that had made him a laughingstock in his past life, he had to polish every detail to perfection, leaving no room for criticism.

He probably never expected that the archery he had learned out of a desire to win in his past life would one day be useful.

Xi Nian drew his bow and nocked an arrow. This time, he only took fifteen seconds. Under the gaze of countless pairs of eyes in the arena, the black-shafted arrow with a white fletching shot out with a swoosh, once again hitting the ten-point inner circle without deviation. The shift in his aiming point compared to the first time was completely negligible.

The broadcast automatically announced the score: "Number nine, Xi Nian, second arrow, ten points."

"Whoa—"

Before the words had even faded, the crowd exchanged glances. The first time could be called dumb luck, but the second time couldn't possibly be luck again, right? What kind of miracle drug did Xi Nian take? It had only been a few days since the last ranking match; this improvement was too ridiculously fast!

Some people still stubbornly attributed it to luck.

"Tsk, his luck is way too good, two ten-point shots in a row."

Others who couldn't stand Su Ge's fans retorted, "Why is it luck? Can't it be skill? Is it so hard to admit that someone is better than Su Ge?"

"Hah, that's hilarious. There are twelve arrows in total, and Su Ge has only shot two. The match isn't even a quarter over. On what basis do you say Xi Nian is better than him?"

When the entertainment circle started to tear into each other, the force was no less than a battlefield filled with gunpowder smoke. Su Ge had no mind to care about the discussions in the stands. He continued to draw his third arrow. Although his face was calm, he was faintly unsettled, clearly puzzled by Xi Nian's rapid progress.

This time, Su Ge concentrated, extremely serious, and only released the arrow at the twenty-seventh second. As if he had gotten his feel back, it hit the ten-point ring with a swoosh.

When the score was announced, he let out an imperceptible sigh of relief and glanced at Xi Nian. This time, there was no disdain in his eyes, but the wariness of facing a formidable enemy.

Su Ge's fans, however, did not notice their idol's tension. They only felt that this ten-point shot had reclaimed their home-field advantage, and continued to scream and applaud: "Go, Su Ge!!! The champion is definitely yours!!"

Compared to Su Ge's unease, with his back damp with sweat, Xi Nian appeared far too calm. His expression hadn't changed from beginning to end. He simply drew his bow at the referee's signal. Dressed in his sportswear, the smooth lines of his muscles were faintly visible, revealing truly broad shoulders and a narrow waist.

Meanwhile, the half-hearted fake fans from the water army who were originally sitting in the audience had somehow become interested. They all sat up straight, vigorously shaking the 'Xi' character light signs in their hands, and cheered him on with great dedication: "Go, Xi Nian! Hit another ten!! Go, ahhhhhh!"

Their voices were quickly drowned in the noise. Su Ge's fans heard them and shot them a scornful glance, almost laughing out loud, thinking to themselves, 'Do they really think Xi Nian is an Olympic champion?'

Even an Olympic champion couldn't guarantee hitting a ten with every arrow, so who the hell did Xi Nian think he was?

However, before they could voice their thoughts, the man on the field quickly shot his third arrow. As always, it carried an unstoppable momentum. Before Su Ge's fans could even see the target clearly, the familiar broadcast voice sounded in their ears.

"Number nine, Xi Nian, third arrow, ten points."