Chapter 27: After the Song of Enmity

Whether "My Song" will permanently close the SMS voting channel remains undecided by the production team. However, for the two episodes featuring Zhang Qiyang, they are certain to shut down the SMS channel. They no longer wish to let the show suffer harm. This decision is not only to prevent Eastern Entertainment from rigging votes for Zhang Qiyang, but also to guard against other singers' companies frantically casting votes. Last week's rule-breaking by Eastern Entertainment left a terrible impact in the industry. The parent companies of other singers were furious. After all, vote-rigging is not difficult—everyone knows how it's done! Companies like Chutian Entertainment behind Tan Zhizhong and Jinshan Entertainment backing Lin Haoran are even more influential than Eastern Entertainment. If Eastern dares to break the rules, why should they remain law-abiding citizens? They cannot allow their own singers to suffer losses.

Judging by last week’s performances, every singer delivered noteworthy results. Normally, the focus and discussion among viewers would center on each singer’s abilities, with everyone getting their share of attention and topic. But last week, Zhang Qiyang descended like a villain, with Eastern Entertainment fueling the fire behind the scenes, using despicable tactics to steal the spotlight from all other singers. Throughout the entire week, no one talked about the other performers; everyone discussed Zhang Qiyang’s conduct, erasing the hard work of the rest on stage. This infuriated the singers and their parent companies. Their purpose for pushing singers onto this show was not to fulfill dreams or spread beautiful music to thousands of households. They sent their singers to "My Song" to boost exposure and popularity, thereby raising their value and earning more money for the company. The singers themselves have no lofty ideals; everyone is here to increase their worth and rake in cash!

Now, though, the hot topics and exposure they crave have all been snatched away by Zhang Qiyang. How could they tolerate this? The production team received word this week that at least three record companies plan major moves to counter Zhang Qiyang and reclaim the spotlight for their singers. The team cannot let such bad habits spread further, so they resolutely closed the SMS voting channel. This decision dashed the calculations of all those with ulterior motives.

Since the incident was triggered by Eastern Entertainment and Zhang Qiyang, the announcement focused all attention on him. Teams who had spent the week preparing for a big vote-rigging campaign now blamed Zhang Qiyang—he could draw public attention when he cheated, but when others want to cheat, they’re unable, and he’s stolen the initiative. They truly detested this troublemaker! The staff of these teams stewed in anger, hoping their own singers would shine this week and completely defeat Zhang Qiyang, so that the rich young master would finally be ousted, no longer stealing everyone’s thunder.

The singers themselves, however, were quite calm, even a little amused. With the voting channel closed, they were curious to see what tricks Zhang Qiyang could pull now.

At 7:50 PM, there were ten minutes left before the opening of "Singer." Assistants came up for last-minute makeup touch-ups. Li Xuan slipped off her black jacket, revealing a fiery red, sensual off-the-shoulder gown beneath. It was a strapless, form-fitting evening dress that accentuated her tall, slender figure, making her appear exceptionally elegant and alluring. Her snow-white shoulders and radiant arms were fully exposed. A layer of shimmering powder dusted her skin, and under the lights, her complexion was as translucent and pale as snow.

Sitting beside Li Xuan, Zhang Qiyang could distinctly feel the captivating aura radiating from her. To be fair, Li Xuan’s beauty ranks among the top in this world’s entertainment industry, far surpassing many award-winning actresses and young stars. She doesn’t have the typical oval face common among celebrities, but rather a refined square face with a pointed chin—a face reminiscent of the otherworldly Gao Yuanyuan. Her features bear a striking resemblance to Gao Yuanyuan as well. Within those autumn-tinted eyes lies a constant, limpid gaze, veiled by a strong, burning desire that makes her unforgettable at first sight.

Such a beauty, clad in a grand red-carpet-worthy evening gown and seated next to him, would surely inspire awe and admiration in any ordinary man. Fortunately, Zhang Qiyang had spent several years in the entertainment industry, meeting and interacting with all types of stunning women. He’d encountered top-tier beauties like the otherworldly Great Round and Fan Bingbing. He’d developed a certain immunity to superlative beauty. Sitting beside Li Xuan, feeling the intoxicating fragrance wafting from her hair, Zhang Qiyang didn’t feel particularly moved—instead, he was rather awkward.

His previous self had once spoken ill of Li Xuan, making their relationship awkward. In truth, his predecessor hadn’t really mocked Li Xuan, but had mindlessly exposed her real name. A discussion online about the contrast between celebrities’ stage names and real names prompted some curious netizens to comment on Zhang Qiyang’s Weibo, asking which celebrity had the most rustic real name. Without hesitation, the original Zhang Qiyang replied that Li Xuan’s real name was the most rustic, revealing it as Li Xiuhua. It was the first time Li Xuan’s real name had been exposed to the public, which infuriated her, as well as Chen Ke and the Eastern Entertainment team.

They had been diligently crafting Li Xuan’s image as a super goddess, but Zhang Qiyang’s act caused her regal image to suffer a dramatic decline. Fortunately, Eastern Entertainment’s PR team responded swiftly and efficiently, preventing Li Xuan’s real name from spreading widely. Still, many fans now knew her real name was Li Xiuhua. Because of this incident, Li Xuan has always harbored resentment and dislike for Zhang Qiyang. Among the singers present, everyone disliked him, but the one seated closest—this song queen—perhaps disliked him most. Though she and Zhang Qiyang exchanged a few polite words and laughter, he could sense the awkwardness in her attitude; even her smile was stiff, making him uncomfortable as well.

He was eager to enter the recording phase, so everyone could draw lots and retreat to their own preparation rooms, no longer forced into awkward proximity.

Finally, the uncomfortable period passed.

At eight o'clock sharp, the fourth episode of "My Song" officially began recording!

On the stage, host Chen Zixuan first introduced a minor change in this episode’s competition rules. Viewers at home, hearing that the SMS voting segment was canceled, reacted dramatically. Many applauded, gleefully mocking Zhang Qiyang and predicting he’d end up at the bottom this week. Some felt dissatisfied—they could no longer participate directly by voting for their favorite singers, which deprived them of one of the show’s greatest pleasures. These viewers vented their frustration on Zhang Qiyang; if not for his antics last week, they wouldn’t have lost the fun of engaging with "My Song." They truly hated this scoundrel!

The vast majority of viewers hoped Zhang Qiyang would quickly leave, restoring a clean stage to "My Song." The diehard fans stubbornly supported their idol, noisily defending Zhang Qiyang’s character everywhere.

Amidst this clamorous atmosphere, the fourth episode of "My Song" formally began.

First, the singers drew lots to determine performance order. Everyone knew that with only the live audience voting, those who performed last gained an advantage. Even the newcomer Zhou Delin hoped to draw the eighth slot and kick off his journey with a strong start.

But to their dismay, as last week’s winner, Zhang Qiyang was the first to draw lots—and immediately pulled out the number eight performance card! He would be the last to take the stage tonight! When Zhang Qiyang smugly held the number eight card up for a close-up, millions of viewers exploded once again!

To many, this was nothing short of blatant manipulation!