Chapter 304

January 4th, the Weibo Goddess regional competition begins.

After several days of preparation and promotion, nearly 5,000 people have signed up or been nominated, and Weibo's total user base has surpassed 500,000.

As soon as the regional competition started, a voting war erupted immediately.

Most of the top four in the eight regions are female stars, but there are still some unusual cases.

However, as voting progressed, it became dominated by beautiful, popular female celebrities.

Beijing, a certain apartment.

Huo Siyan gathered the Teddy Sisterhood members in Beijing to carefully analyze the current situation.

She wanted to make an appearance in the Weibo Goddess competition.

She didn't dare dream of the championship—Huo Siyan had some self-awareness; her popularity and beauty weren't particularly outstanding.

So her goal was to break into the top 32, and as far up as possible, the higher the better.

Huo Siyan was so enthusiastic because the event had indeed drawn significant attention, offering a good chance to gain fame, and she loved being in the spotlight.

Another reason was that Huo Siyan realized Weibo's importance to her, so whenever Weibo was involved, she had to be more attentive and active to gain more benefits.

Among the many female stars who "voluntarily entered" the competition, Huo Siyan was the first to publicly post on Weibo to beg for votes.

Because she publicly begged for votes and was very active on Weibo, she had a decent fanbase, and currently ranked fourth in Region Four, barely making it into the top 32.

Don't think that's low—you have to see who her opponents are.

In Region Four, first place is Liu Tianxian, second is Lin Xinru, third is Jiang Qinqin, and fourth is her.

Below her are Huang Yi, Chen Zihan, Zuo Xiaoqing, Sun Feifei, Han Xue, Tao Hong, Ning Jing, Zhong Liting, Ye Xuan, Cai Shaofen, Cao Ying, and others.

Huo Siyan was lucky—her region didn't include Zhu Yin, Wang Zuxian, Li Jiaxin, or that group of Xiangjiang golden-age goddesses; otherwise, it would've been a nightmare.

Those women were active in the 1980s and 1990s, and now, in this era, they're still the childhood goddesses of many, with extremely high sentimental value.

So now, those Xiangjiang goddesses are dominating the regional competition, accounting for at least one-third of the spots.

More fortunately, the Weibo Goddess format targets Chinese and overseas Chinese, excluding those Japanese, Korean, and European-American stars—otherwise, competition would've been even fiercer.

Huo Siyan seized the initiative and had a semi-home advantage, barely securing fourth place; behind her, Huang Yi and others were closely trailing.

The regional competition still has several days left; if things continue like this, she might get pushed down.

So Huo Siyan invited all her sisters, asking them to help her gather votes.

The Teddy Sisterhood is a relatively active group of stars on Weibo, each with their own fanbase; together, they're not to be underestimated.

People like Xiong Naijin, Gan Wei, Ying Cai'er were easy to persuade—they had too little popularity to even make the top 32, so they'd happily do her a favor.

The difficult ones were Ma Yili and Li Xiaolu; as rising stars, though they hadn't made the top 32, they were close, and with effort, they still had a chance.

The Weibo Goddess event had gotten so lively that both had developed some interest.

It was a good opportunity to prove their popularity and beauty—not aiming too high, but they couldn't afford to be too low, or they'd lose face.

Especially Li Xiaolu—she also loved the spotlight; Huo Siyan wanted to make the top 32, and so did she.

And there was also Qin Lan!

As a popular Qingyi actress, Qin Lan also had a chance to break into the top 32; if they were to rally votes, they had to support their boss first—Huo Siyan had to come after Qin Lan.

Too disunited!

Huo Siyan was anxious inside—the Teddy Sisterhood's strength wasn't bad, and Weibo was a semi-home advantage; if they went all out, they could definitely secure a top-32 spot, and even the top 16 wasn't out of reach.

But everyone had their own agenda, making votes split easily; once votes split, even a guaranteed spot could slip away.

"No matter what, at least one of us Teddy Sisters must make it to the main stage, or where's our face?"

"Principally, we should support Sister Lan, but I checked her region—top four are Xiao Yanzi, Zhu Yin, Zhou Huimin, and Gao Yuanyuan, plus Yang Cai'ni, Yin Zhao, Xiao Songjia, Yang Xue, and others—the competition is brutal."

"Compared to that, my region is relatively easier, and I've already broken into the top four."

"Pick up the low-hanging fruit first—I think instead of spreading out, we should concentrate our strength and first secure my position, then consider the other sisters."

"Of course, if we really can't spare the effort, we can always wait for next year—Brother-in-law said they'll probably hold it again next year; if I don't run next year, one sister can take the spotlight—it'll be fair."

"..."

Huo Siyan chattered on, mainly trying to persuade Ma and Li.

Ma quickly backed out—she had some interest in Weibo Goddess, but not enough enthusiasm.

Huo Siyan hinted she'd speak well of her to Seeing Yan Li and Qin Lan, and Ma Yili agreed to withdraw.

Li Xiaolu was harder to deal with—she really wanted this spotlight, and ordinary favors couldn't sway her.

Huo Siyan talked herself hoarse, finally pulling her into the bedroom for a secret plan, and finally convinced Li Xiaolu.

"Phew..."

Huo Siyan exhaled in relief—only Qin Lan remained.

She already had a plan to handle Qin Lan—it was simple: if Qin Lan entered, she absolutely couldn't compete against Fan Xiaopang, whose fame and popularity were soaring.

If Qin Lan made the top 32 while Fan Xiaopang won the championship or reached the top four, Qin Lan would lose face.

If they were unlucky enough to meet in the group stage or elimination round, face-to-face, and Qin Lan got eliminated by Fan Xiaopang's own hands, the humiliation would be even greater.

From what she knew, Dong Xuan hadn't even made the top ten in her region—she didn't know if Dong Xuan had similar concerns, but using this as a reason, Qin Lan would likely withdraw and support her.

With the entire Teddy Sisterhood behind her, even the top 16 wasn't out of the question.

Thinking of this, Huo Siyan gathered her sisters to strategize and glanced at her region's ranking.

She was only two hundred votes behind fifth-place Huang Yi; second and third weren't far ahead of her—there was still hope to push higher.

Only first-place Liu Tianxian had nearly as many votes as the combined total of second and third—leading by a landslide.

And not just dominating her region—in the overall ranking across all eight regions, Liu Tianxian was in the top five.

The other four were Xiao Yanzi, Fan Xiaopang, Zhang Baizhi, and Cai Yilin.

Fan Xiaopang had been heavily marketed for her beauty over the past two years, and Weibo was her home turf—if she hadn't deliberately held back, she'd be the biggest favorite in this Weibo Goddess competition.

Xiao Yanzi and Liu Tianxian were both extremely popular nationwide; in a popularity-based voting contest like this, they held a clear advantage.

Bai Zhi has also long been a favored leading lady of Xiangjiang, with high exposure and popularity; even after becoming a mother, she remains formidable.

Cai Yilin, as today's most popular queen of the music industry, has an exaggerated fanbase and excels at this kind of voting and ranking game.

These five are currently the strongest contenders; while we can't say they're guaranteed top four, they are certainly serious challengers.

Weibo goddesses: first compare fan numbers, second compare public goodwill.

The former is more important, because it's a fixed voting bloc—stable daily votes, and capable of recruiting others to vote.

Like those Hong Kong film goddesses—Qiu Shuzhen, Zhu Yin, Li Jiaxin, Zhou Huimin—or Jia Jingwen, Jiang Qinqin, Gao Yuanyuan, Chen Hao, universally recognized beauties within the industry.

They may have excellent public goodwill, but ultimately they're past their prime or lack sufficient fan numbers; making it into the main tournament is possible, but winning the title is far too difficult.

Meanwhile, the current darlings like the Four Maidens and Two Bing—even with some controversy—securely advance to the top thirty-two thanks to their massive fanbases and solid public support.

Even beyond Fan and Zhao in the top five, Zhou and Zhang are both in the overall top ten; Li Bingbing ranks twelfth, and the lowest-ranked Xu Cai'nv is still nineteenth.

Huo Siyan felt a pang of bitterness thinking of this, and couldn't help checking her overall ranking.

She dropped another spot, now at twenty-ninth, and the one at twenty-eighth was… Wang Ou?!

When did this little flirt climb up so fast?!

Huo Siyan panicked—she wouldn't make the top thirty-two, but she wouldn't let this flirt tower over her; she had to rally votes, immediately.

…

Zhichun Road, Weibo headquarters

"This idea for the overall ranking isn't bad—add a bonus later."

Seeing Yan Li watched the bustling Weibo feed, feeling pleased; his original plan had only been regional rankings to select the top thirty-two.

An employee in the content department suggested adding an overall ranking outside the regions, selecting fifty, with the top thirty-two names enlarged and bolded—this instantly elevated the competitive atmosphere by more than one level.

These fans and gossip netizens not only followed who would break through in the regions, but also took time to care about the overall ranking, voting and rallying votes desperately.

Meanwhile, the overall ranking made things more intuitive and gave extra exposure boosts to celebrities with high rankings.

When Bai Zhi reached number one, Xiangjiang media even reported it, and Weibo followed up by contacting her to open a Weibo account.

That's right—if performance is good enough, even artists uninterested in Weibo will open or reactivate their accounts.

Backend data shows that Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Huimin, both in the top ten, frequently log in to lurk; Zhou even votes for herself daily.

"Keep negotiating with Cai Yilin and Liu Tianxian—both the top four and top eight must register accounts; even if they don't use them, they must have them."

Seeing Yan Li added, not insisting every top thirty-two register a Weibo account, but those with high rankings definitely must.

If we host a top four interview or championship award ceremony and can't @ anyone, it'll be too embarrassing.

If they absolutely refuse to cooperate, don't blame Seeing Yan Li for pulling strings.

He considered Weibo's interests—he didn't want to promote his own people to avoid self-indulgence, nor did he want to kiss cold asses by promoting a Weibo goddess who didn't want to be one.

"If necessary, contact Yi'an's side and apply some appropriate pressure."

Seeing Yan Li's words were practically an order: if Weibo can't persuade them, let Yi'an go—persuade them with threats.

Female stars might ignore Weibo, a fledgling platform, but they won't offend a rising film and television giant.

Seeing Yan Li felt a slight disappointment toward the Weibo goddess title; though influential, it hadn't yet reached the breakout level of a blockbuster variety show.

This is understandable—Weibo still has few users, limited reach, voting is weaker than talent shows, and it's the first edition.

Build the reputation this year, continue next year.

As Weibo rises and the event's influence spreads, each edition will be stronger—perhaps becoming Weibo's key traffic weapon against other platforms.

"Hmm, has someone been sent to Liu Tao's wedding?"

Seeing Yan Li checked the time and asked; someone replied: "Went yesterday—besides the normal arrangements, there's also a filming crew, treated at documentary level."

"Hmm."

Seeing Yan Li nodded: "Release footage as soon as you get it—don't wait. Weibo values immediacy; the filming crew's material can be edited later into a special feature."

"Rest assured, we've already started preheating and pushing streams since yesterday."

"Good. I'll add even more heat."

Seeing Yan Li smiled, stood up, and put on his coat: "Pick a few good-looking photos of me to post—or I'll deduct your bonus."