Chapter Seven: Watching Over My Younger Brother

“What an absolute idiot! If you don’t want to sing, then don’t! Isn’t this just playing games with people?”
“Cannon is so badass—he’s telling everyone: if others can sing a song, so can he! But he’s not playing their game! He’s out, goodbye!”
“Cannon, you’re awesome!”
“Push Cannon into the top three, fellow fans, charge!”
“The rally call has sounded—doo doo doo doo! All supporters, vote for Cannon!”
“Cannon is doing performance art again tonight! Incredible!”
“I’ve never seen someone so trashy!”
“All the tough guys are here—if everyone chips in a dime, we can hire someone to deal with that loser! He’s infuriating!”
“This jerk manages to disgust everyone every time he shows up—unbelievable.”
“Cannon? Might as well rename him ‘Runner’ from now on! Never seen anyone so cowardly, running off in fright, haha!”
“Cannon, what are you doing? How could you lose your nerve? How could you run away in the middle of the show? I was just about to vote for you!”
“Are you all blind? Cannon didn’t lose his nerve—he’s just too cool for this show! He’s deliberately messing with you all!”
“By the way, the song Cannon sang tonight, ‘Night Star,’ is actually pretty good. Why didn’t he finish it? Is he really so above it all? Not interested in the stage of ‘My Song’ at all?”
“I thought Cannon had changed, but in the end, he’s still the same Cannon—just one word: too cool to have any friends!”
...
Backstage in the singer’s hall, Zhang Qiyang’s serious singing surprised the six original singers, and his sudden departure surprised them even more.
The camera returned to the singer’s hall; the six were stunned, not knowing what had happened.
Fortunately, staff soon came to explain that Zhang Qiyang had an upset stomach and couldn’t hold it any longer, so he left for the restroom. This reassured the singers a bit; otherwise, they would have really thought Zhang Qiyang was disrespecting the stage of ‘My Song.’
Except for the rock star Zhao Lei, the others all expressed their concern for Zhang Qiyang, whether sincerely or not.
The heavy weight in their hearts finally dropped—Zhang Qiyang performed like this, surely he wouldn’t make it into the top three, right? At last, they’d survived this round.
On site, the fifteen-minute voting period began.

The SMS voting channel for the outside audience was also opened.
Viewers at home could now vote for the singer who left the strongest impression on them tonight.
Just like the live audience, each phone number could only vote for one contestant.
Qin Xueyang and Chen Ke both rushed backstage to check on Zhang Qiyang the moment he left the stage.
Qin Xueyang stayed outside the men’s restroom.
At that moment, Chen Ke received a call from the capital.
Seeing the caller ID, Chen Ke respectfully found a secluded corner to answer.
The call came from a luxurious villa nestled in the mountains in the northwest suburbs of the capital, in Hot Springs Town.
The caller was Zhang Qiyang’s older sister, Zhang Qiyuan.
Three years older than Zhang Qiyang, Zhang Qiyuan is currently the private assistant to Zhang Zhenhua, the richest man, helping him manage the massive assets of the Eastern Group. She is a woman of great power, though very low-key.
Few people know the richest family has such an accomplished daughter.
Everyone’s focus is on the disappointing Zhang Qiyang; as for Zhang Qiyuan, the public knows little, and the media rarely report on her.
In fact, the richest family is very protective of their privacy. If not for Zhang Qiyang insisting on entering showbiz three years ago, most people wouldn’t even know Zhang Zhenhua had such an eccentric son.
Even now, many don’t know Zhang Qiyang’s mother died in a car accident.
All this information was tightly guarded, and no media dared dig into it.
The elite circles and those well-informed naturally know the family’s situation.
As a top agent in Eastern Entertainment, Chen Ke knew a bit about the richest family.
She understood that Zhang Qiyuan was likely to become the successor to Eastern Group, her power surpassing even the current head of Eastern Entertainment.
Naturally, Chen Ke wanted to get close to such a super heiress. But with her status, she had no chance of meeting Zhang Qiyuan.
That is, until a year and a half ago, when Zhang Qiyuan personally approached her, asking her to look after Zhang Qiyang. From then on, Chen Ke established contact with Zhang Qiyuan.
When Zhang Qiyang first entered showbiz, he didn’t care about anyone, declaring himself an independent musician, refusing to associate with any entertainment company.

The richest family was furious at his actions; Zhang Zhenhua ordered that no one was to help Zhang Qiyang, letting him make his own way and see what he could achieve.
No one expected that once Zhang Qiyang entered the industry, he became a wild tiger unleashed, stirring up not only the entertainment world but also the upper circles, causing chaos that nearly drove Zhang Zhenhua mad.
Since then, Zhang Zhenhua never spoke to his son again, acting as though he never had him.
Zhang Qiyuan didn’t want her father and brother to be so estranged, so she secretly intervened, instructing Eastern Entertainment to form an artist team to help Zhang Qiyang plan his career.
Since Zhang Qiyang was determined to pursue showbiz, she decided to pave the way for him, giving him the best opportunity to shine and enjoy being a star.
The person she sought out was Chen Ke; she asked Chen Ke to devote extra attention to Zhang Qiyang.
Chen Ke managed top stars like Li Xuan, whom she had single-handedly brought to fame. She was skilled at promoting artists and had extensive connections. If Zhang Qiyang were willing to cooperate with her team’s publicity, leveraging his status as the son of the richest man, he would have made it big long ago.
Unfortunately, Zhang Qiyang didn’t appreciate it—he disliked others planning for him, preferring to act on his own whims. Thus, he never accepted Eastern Entertainment’s advice, doing everything his own way, leaving Chen Ke helpless.
But since Zhang Qiyuan had asked her, Chen Ke couldn’t ignore Zhang Qiyang, and so she could only follow behind, cleaning up his messes, occasionally offering advice when he was in a good mood. If he listened, fine; if not, she wouldn’t press. Her role was simply to solve his troubles as best she could.
Serving such a young master cost Chen Ke years off her life; if not for Zhang Qiyuan’s constant requests, she would have quit long ago.
That night, Zhang Qiyuan watched Zhang Qiyang’s competition on ‘My Song,’ and was surprised.
His song, ‘Night Star,’ moved her deeply. She sensed it brimmed with longing for their mother; during several moments, her nose stung with emotion.
She thought Zhang Qiyang was gradually changing, but who could have guessed that her troublesome brother would leave the stage halfway through, disappearing abruptly, leaving Zhang Qiyuan utterly exasperated.
She called to find out exactly what had happened.
Chen Ke explained in detail about Zhang Qiyang’s poor health tonight.
When Zhang Qiyuan heard he had performed while ill, leaving because he couldn’t bear the stomach pain, she felt a surge of sympathy for her brother.
“Sister Coco, could you help Qiyang get another chance to perform? I think he did really well tonight; he seems to be changing. I don’t want him to quit halfway.”
Chen Ke understood her feelings but replied awkwardly, “You mean… ask the production team to let Young Master Yang sing again?”
“It’s probably too late for a re-performance; the live audience is already voting.” After a pause, Zhang Qiyuan said, “Can you find a way to let Qiyang stay on this stage?”