Chapter 9: Seriously Ill

"Tell me this isn’t real! Zhang Qiyang actually got first place? Is this a joke?"
"I’ve never seen a production team so sycophantic! Do they think the audience is a bunch of fools?"
"My eyes must be blind!"
"Grandpa Cannon has exploded!"
"Grandpa Cannon is formidable! He can win the championship just by singing casually, that’s true strength!"
"Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!"
"Tonight, Grandpa Cannon managed to stay in tune for once, and he actually won the championship. Unbelievable!"
"From today on, I’m boycotting 'My Song'! Like this if you support me! As long as that idiot Zhang Cannon is still on 'My Song', I refuse to watch it!"
"The most scandalous show in history has been born!"
"Hahaha! The Cannon Fodder fans are too powerful! They really pushed Grandpa Cannon to first place! I’m a Cannon Fodder, and I’m proud!"
"Grandpa Cannon is terrifying when he’s serious! He’s going to sweep all variety shows!"
"No need to watch anymore, this season’s 'My Song' will definitely go to Grandpa Cannon. Isn’t it just about throwing money around? Who has he ever feared?"
"Did the production team get kicked in the head by a donkey? How could they give the championship to that trash?"
"'My Song' is finished!"
"Anyone who keeps watching 'My Song' is an idiot! I’ve never seen such a shady show!"
"Who voted for Grandpa Cannon? Show yourself, I promise I won’t beat you to death!"
"If this championship wasn’t bought, I’ll eat my keyboard! I’ve never seen such an arrogant cheater!"
...
According to incomplete statistics, at least a dozen viewers smashed their TVs or phones that night, unable to accept the reality of Zhang Qiyang’s victory.
The 'My Song' production team was ruthlessly vilified, with hundreds of thousands of netizens denouncing the scandal and calling for a boycott on forums, putting enormous pressure on the team.
Facing unprecedented public outrage, the 'My Song' team began to waver.
Xiao Meiyun, the program director, suggested to Luo Tao that they might as well persuade Zhang Qiyang to withdraw. Didn’t he fall ill? Then it’d be best if he didn’t come back. If Zhang Qiyang appeared on the show again, it would truly be destroyed.
Many within the production team supported this proposal—Zhang Qiyang had brought too much negative impact, far beyond what they could control.
Although that night’s 'My Song' achieved a historic high viewership of 6.2%, if things continued this way, ratings would likely halve next episode and keep dropping.
Luo Tao had to consider both reputation and ratings, but immediately kicking Zhang Qiyang out would break protocol and offend too many people.
He needed to weigh his options carefully.
If Zhang Qiyang, due to health reasons, could withdraw on his own, that would be ideal.
But it seemed unlikely.

For now, they could only endure this dilemma.
From the next episode on, they would take extreme measures to prevent vote manipulation by contestants. As long as cheating was eliminated, Zhang Qiyang’s abilities would never let him survive in 'My Song'; after two rounds, he’d definitely be eliminated, and then they could restore their reputation.
After the show ended, entertainment sites and forums erupted in heated discussion about Zhang Qiyang’s "bizarre" victory, making him once again the center of attention.
Chen Ke was overwhelmed by the barrage of negative press and wanted to hold Dongyu’s vote-buyer team accountable—she’d never seen such idiotic self-sabotage.
Faced with the relentless tide of criticism, Dongyu’s team had no way to salvage Zhang Qiyang’s image; all they could do was quietly weather the storm.
Chen Ke understood just how unfavorable the situation was for Zhang Qiyang—not only for him, but also for Li Xuan, who was her signed artist and greatest cash cow. She couldn’t let Zhang Qiyang ruin Li Xuan’s prospects.
Li Xuan was furious, her face dark since filming ended, and when she reached the hotel, she unleashed a storm of complaints at Chen Ke, even cursing out Dongyu’s team and Zhang Qiyang.
Chen Ke sympathized with Li Xuan.
But what’s done is done; they had to find a way to resolve the crisis and ease the situation.
Like Luo Tao, Chen Ke considered persuading Zhang Qiyang to withdraw.
With his poor health, if Young Master Yang could leave 'My Song' with the championship title, it would satisfy everyone.
Originally, Chen Ke was to fly with Li Xuan to the capital the next morning for an event.
But after the night’s chaos, she changed plans—her assistant would take Li Xuan to the capital, while she stayed in Xingdu to have a proper talk with Zhang Qiyang.
Zhang Qiyang was seriously ill this time; the food poisoning was severe, affecting his kidneys.
The hospital had already performed gastric lavage, but he would need close observation for the next two or three days. If there was no improvement, deeper treatment would be necessary.
If it came to that, it wouldn’t be just a brief hospital stay—he might be hospitalized for a long time.
He slept until after three in the morning, when his consciousness finally returned.
Upon waking, he felt uncomfortable all over.
His body was so heavy it felt filled with lead.
Even his breathing was labored.
"Did I return to my previous life again?"
He forced his eyes open a crack.
Under the soft light, he looked around.
He found himself lying in a VIP hospital room.
On the nearby sofa, a plump young woman was curled up asleep.
It was Qin Xueyang, who had kept vigil for him all night.
Zhang Qiyang finally relaxed.

He hadn’t gone back; he was still in the body of the son of the richest man.
His mood instantly lightened.
Recalling his performance on 'My Song', a faint, bitter smile appeared on Zhang Qiyang’s pale face.
He had really exposed himself this time.
He wanted to act cool like a novel protagonist, but it backfired.
Clearly, acting cool in reality isn’t easy—there are too many internal and external factors at play.
If he wanted to master the art of acting cool, he still had a long road ahead.
The one blessing was that he hadn’t soiled the stage.
Had he done so during the live broadcast, he would have disgraced himself more than the original owner ever did.
Forget it.
Let bygones be bygones.
All roads lead to Rome; being eliminated from 'My Song' isn’t a big deal. He was now the son of the richest man, with terrifying resources at his disposal.
He wouldn’t say he’d dominate the world, but if he seized the right opportunities, conquering the entertainment industry of this world would be easy.
He had countless classic works from other universes in his mind, and even a few would let him shine here.
"Heh, experiencing parallel world travel is exhilarating! My future will surely be brilliant!"
Zhang Qiyang happily envisioned his future.
"Ding."
The phone on the nightstand chimed.
He reached for it.
The lock screen showed eighteen unread texts and over a hundred unread WeChat notifications.
Opening them, he found messages from friends congratulating him on winning 'My Song'!
Despite his arrogant and reckless nature, as the son of the richest man, he had plenty of friends and hangers-on.
Even after three in the morning, some were drinking and congratulating him on his victory.
Seeing the messages, Zhang Qiyang was dumbfounded: "I actually won tonight’s competition? How is that possible! What taste do audiences in this world have? Did I conquer them just by singing casually? That can’t be! The real-life audience seems even dumber than the ones I wrote about in my novels! Did I end up in a world full of idiots?"