Chapter 64: A Scene from the Novel

After drawing lots, all the singers except for Tan Zhizhong returned to their designated waiting rooms. Tan Zhizhong forced a smile onto his face, his mood weighed down as he prepared to go on stage for the competition.

He’d seen through the “My Song” production team by now—East Entertainment had completely bought them off! This was a full-blown campaign to smear Chu Tian’s name for good!

He stood alone, unlike Li Xuan and Zhang Qiyang, who acted as a pair of bandits, able to gang up on their opponents. But next week, when Zhao Ziqi arrives and stuns everyone—hmph! Let’s see how cocky East Entertainment will be then!

Tan Zhizhong pinned all his hopes for revenge on the week to come. But that depended on whether he’d even make it to next week.

Summoning a smile, he stepped onto the stage as the first contestant to perform. Seeing the audience before him, Tan Zhizhong nearly spat blood in frustration!

Of the 500 Cantonese-speaking audience members present tonight, the majority were young people! What was the “My Song” team trying to pull? Last week’s crowd was already skewed toward the younger demographic, and this week was no different! Were they deliberately setting him up to fail?

In truth, the production team hadn’t meant to sabotage Tan Zhizhong; it was simply a coincidence that they’d had two consecutive weeks of youthful audiences serving as judges.

Initially, Luo Tao didn’t intend to repeat last week’s pattern of a predominantly young panel. However, when recruiting this week’s audience, the team encountered some issues. They had arranged a partnership with a travel agency to bring in several Cantonese-speaking tour groups to visit Xingdu Satellite TV and serve as live audience members for the Cantonese special.

But in the end, only half of the agreed tour groups could attend; the others cancelled due to scheduling conflicts. The outreach staff spent days scrambling to find other Cantonese-speaking tour groups, but it was impossible to organize on such short notice.

Left with no choice, the team recruited students from various universities in Xingdu, forming an impromptu group to fill the seats for the recording. Fortunately, Xingdu had a substantial number of Cantonese-speaking students, allowing them to reach the required 500 audience members for the special. These students made up at least half the crowd.

Some of them couldn’t even speak Cantonese fluently. Still, eager for excitement and a chance to see stars, they joined in the recording.

This week, the proportion of young people in the audience was even higher than last week. Seeing this setup, Tan Zhizhong’s spirits sank. But he could only grit his teeth and perform.

In Rest Room 8, Zhang Qiyang entered and immediately shrugged off his mink coat.

“I'm dying of heat! Turn down the air conditioning!” Qin Xueyang tossed him a black T-shirt, then went to lower the AC temperature.

“Hurry up, put on some clothes, don’t catch a cold.”

“I'm not wearing it—it’s too hot. If I put it on, my makeup will smudge, and then I’ll have to touch it up again. What a hassle.”

Qin Xueyang, unusually undeterred by inconvenience, said, “Just touch it up, then! What are you doing shirtless?”

“No one’s going to cut to me anyway. I could be shirtless—or even naked—and nobody would see.”

Qin Xueyang rolled her eyes and glanced outside the door. Sure enough, no roaming cameraman had followed them in.

The “My Song” production team really was something else. At this stage, each singer should have backstage footage. Except for Zhang Qiyang—he didn’t get any coverage. It was blatant discrimination against the singer!

Qin Xueyang was indignant, but considering Zhang Qiyang’s knack for drawing controversy, she could understand the producers’ reasoning and let it go.

“I don’t get you. Why are you dressed like this tonight?” Qin Xueyang watched as Zhang Qiyang stood under the blasting AC, sweat pouring down his back, his leather pants nearly glued to his legs. She felt hot just looking at him.

Zhang Qiyang’s outfit, along with the lighting effects planned for his stage appearance, was inspired by Eason Chan’s look in the “Exaggerate” music video. In that MV, Eason wore military attire, the light casting his face half in shadow and half in brightness, mirroring the fractured persona he embodied while singing the song.

Zhang Qiyang’s chosen style and filming approach for tonight were even more extreme than Eason Chan’s MV. He was determined to sing himself into madness, to deliver a delirious performance of this song, leaving an unforgettable, iconic “Exaggerate” image in the world of Chinese pop.

“Hand me my phone—I need to post on Weibo again.”

Zhang Qiyang arranged his discarded leather jacket, military cap, heavy chain, and oversized sunglasses on the coffee table, clearly preparing to take close-up shots of his extravagant attire.

“Are you trying to grab attention again?” Qin Xueyang still remembered the outrageous Weibo post Zhang Qiyang made during last week’s competition—it had stirred up countless reactions.

“If the production team won’t give me screen time, I’ll have to create my own presence. Otherwise, no one will watch my performance... If someone asks, I’ll answer, but no one comes... I look forward with helplessness, eager to speak, but there’s nowhere to be heard...”

Humming “Exaggerate,” he snapped a series of flamboyant photos with the military jacket and cap.

Choosing the shot with the best exposure, Zhang Qiyang posted a Weibo with a dramatic flair: “Is this look exaggerated enough? Tonight, I’ll seize my third championship trophy in the most exaggerated way possible! All you arrogant cannon fodder, get ready to pop champagne and celebrate with me!”

Seeing Zhang Qiyang’s brazen Weibo post, Qin Xueyang’s blood pressure shot up—she clutched her forehead, nearly fainting.

“You’re insane! Posting this kind of Weibo!”

“I want those who love me to be ecstatic, and those who hate me to be driven to the brink.”

Qin Xueyang stomped her feet anxiously. “Wait until you win before driving your haters crazy! If you post such an arrogant Weibo now and don’t take the trophy, you’ll get humiliated! I’m begging you, big brother, while no one’s seen it yet, quickly delete it!”

“Delete it? Why bother? Worst case, I get slapped in the face. Let’s see who slaps whom in the end!”

Zhang Qiyang was intentionally offering up his face, daring others to strike. When they try, he’ll swing back with all his might, smacking them down one by one—let’s see who’s cocky after that!

Perhaps he’d written too many web novels in his previous life, but now he was bringing those plot twists into reality. Who knew how things would turn out, but the thrill was intoxicating.

His goal was to live this life as brilliantly as the novels he once crafted.

As expected, once that attention-grabbing Weibo was posted, it immediately sparked massive controversy! He utterly stole the spotlight from other celebrities, showcasing his presence to the fullest.

In other waiting rooms, assistants scrolled through Weibo and spotted Zhang Qiyang’s championship boast, quickly sharing it with their singers.

Several singers scoffed at Zhang Qiyang’s claim. Everyone knew the Cantonese special was arranged to welcome and establish Zhou Delin’s dominance.

In the realm of Cantonese songs, who could possibly topple Zhou Delin, the towering figure?

Zhang Qiyang’s Weibo was utterly arrogant to the point of ignorance!

Chen Ke, waiting with Li Xuan backstage, was among the first to see the post. She showed it to Li Xuan, laughing and shaking her head.

Li Xuan was initially surprised by Zhang Qiyang’s boast, but was soon amused by a comment beneath it, which had garnered thousands of likes.

That netizen vividly described Zhang Qiyang’s exaggerated attire in the photo: “Rural finance non-mainstream, bumpkin disco fool! (Liked 3,882 times)”

In the past, Li Xuan might have agreed that Zhang Qiyang looked just like a bumpkin disco fool tonight.

But having gotten to know him better, and discovering the hidden sides of this heir to the richest man, she now saw his deliberate bravado in a new light. Li Xuan’s anticipation for Zhang Qiyang’s performance of “Exaggerate” only grew.

She was eager to see what kind of flamboyant and stunning act this young master, who was anything but superficial and surprisingly profound beneath the surface, would deliver tonight!