Chapter 125: Song of the Five Rings

Zhang Qiyang shot Qin Xueyang a helpless glance, too lazy to even bother looking down on her intelligence.

Little Frog asked with interest, "What 'Song of the Fifth Ring'? The Olympic rings?"

Qin Xueyang, busy arranging the late-night snack, spat, "I wish it were the Olympic rings! He wrote a song about being stuck in traffic on the Fifth Ring Road!"

Chen Ke laughed, "You can write a song about that?"

Zhang Qiyang continued writing his piano score and explained, "When the mood strikes, I can turn anything into a song. This 'Song of the Fifth Ring' is just something I scribbled for fun."

Qin Xueyang complained, "Scribbling for fun is one thing, but why did you have to post it on Weibo? And you had to drag me down to be embarrassed with you!"

Li Xuan immediately reached for her phone and asked Zhang Qiyang, "You posted your new song on Weibo?"

"No, I released it on EastNet; I just mentioned it on Weibo. Those haters wanted to see how down-and-out I've been lately, so I released a new song to tell them that I’m doing incredibly happy! Much happier than them. Even being stuck in traffic on the Fifth Ring Road makes me happy, ha."

Zhang Qiyang laughed as he said it. The song had indeed come to him that night while he was feeling frustrated, stuck in traffic on the Fifth Ring on his way to EastNet.

Since so many people on Weibo were claiming he couldn't rap, he decided to serve them a little appetizer by borrowing from the work of a prominent Chinese rap figure. He’d tease them for now, and come the weekend, he’d make them feel the real sting.

Chen Ke called out to Little Frog, "Go to EastNet, download Young Master Yang’s new song, and play it."

Little Frog didn’t need to be told twice; he had already shifted his seat to the computer. He logged onto the EastNet website and entered "Cannon Master’s" homepage. The first new song at the top was the recently released "Song of the Fifth Ring."

"Wow! The listen count is so high! It’s already broken 600,000 in just an hour! Cannon Master, your influence is terrifying!" Little Frog was stunned by the staggering play count.

Qin Xueyang, however, griped, "His influence is all negative; people don't actually spend money to buy his songs. Look at Sister Xuan—any song she releases gets hundreds of thousands of downloads! The song she released last Sunday, 'At Least There’s You,' sold 280,000 copies in 24 hours! The total sales have probably passed 500,000 by now! Now look at our great Young Master Yang—all his songs combined haven't reached 200,000 in sales! His highest-selling track didn't even hit 50,000. He’s not even in the same league as Sister Xuan!"

Li Xuan found it hard to imagine that an assistant would dare to be so disrespectful to Zhang Qiyang! Feeling embarrassed by the comparison, she tried to save face for him awkwardly, "It’s not as exaggerated as you say. Not all of my songs sell hundreds of thousands. I have works with low sales, too."

"Even your lowest-selling work has sold more than our Young Master Yang’s highest-selling one! That’s popularity for you!"

Zhang Qiyang finished the piano score, set down his pen, stood up, and stretched his back. He retorted to Qin Xueyang, "Stop propping up your goddess just to step on me. Didn't I just have you record a song with me? Look at that cynical, pathetic attitude of yours. You’ve been nagging all night—are you done yet? I already bought you a lollipop, didn't I?"

Qin Xueyang, fuming, grabbed a fried chicken leg and bit off a huge chunk, chewing it skin and all as she complained to Zhang Qiyang, "If you’re going to make me record a song, make it a decent one! It’s either 'Lifetime of Jerking Off' or 'Song of the Fifth Ring.' Are you sure you’re training me to be a singer? I think you’re just messing with me!"

Little Frog, who was currently downloading the song on EastNet, turned back and asked in surprise, "That song on Young Master Yang’s Weibo last week—you sang that? Your voice sounds completely different!"

Li Xuan was also surprised, "Your voice is unexpectedly good. You have potential, really."

Being praised by the Queen of Pop made Qin Xueyang quite shy. She happily chewed her chicken leg and said, "I practiced in the school choir before, so my speaking voice and singing voice are different. I sing in the bel canto style."

Zhang Qiyang looked at her with disdain, "Don't get cocky. You’re still a long way off if you want to be a singer."

Qin Xueyang got annoyed the moment Zhang Qiyang spoke, huffing, "I know I’m a long way off, but stop messing around with me! Every time you design shoes for Sister Xuan, they’re stunning, ethereal masterpieces! And what about mine? Nothing but broken shoes that show off my big toes! What exactly are your intentions?"

Zhang Qiyang was amused by her indignant expression. It was clear that this chubby girl actually cared quite a bit about becoming a singer.

Chen Ke, however, was quite surprised; she hadn’t expected that Zhang Qiyang was grooming Qin Xueyang to be a singer! Recalling the song "Lifetime of Jerking Off" that Qin Xueyang sang last week, the timbre was indeed unique—a rare, magnetic female voice. Such a voice definitely had massive potential for a singer.

Chen Ke began to look at Zhang Qiyang with newfound respect. This wealthy young master not only possessed incredible talent himself, but his eye for talent was also unique. To be able to unearth a hidden gem like Qin Xueyang—he might actually build something great in the future!

"Ha! It’s downloaded!" Little Frog prepared to play the song.

Li Xuan and Chen Ke both set aside what they were doing and pricked up their ears, curious to hear what kind of song Zhang Qiyang and Qin Xueyang had recorded that could make her this angry.

As Little Frog hit play, a powerful, rhythmic drum beat exploded from the speakers.

Zhang Qiyang’s angry rap began: "I drive my car onto the Fifth Ring! I drive my car onto the Fifth Ring! Hurry up and drive the car onto the Fifth Ring! I don't care about anything! I just have to get on the Fifth Ring!"

The group was taken aback. This song was a rap?

Zhang Qiyang’s opening, filled with angry, slightly humorous rapping, sounded like a man driving wildly and desperate to get onto the ring road—it was incredibly catchy!

But then, suddenly, a bizarre vocal performance that Li Xuan and the others could never have imagined appeared.

Following Zhang Qiyang’s angry rap, Qin Xueyang actually sang in a comical, almost traditional Chinese opera style:

"Ah~~~ Fifth Ring, you have one more ring than the Fourth. Ah~~~ Fifth Ring, you have one less ring than the Sixth. Eventually, one day, they will build to the Seventh. What to do if they build to the Seventh? You'll have two more rings than the Fifth..."

"Pfft, hehehehe." Little Frog couldn't hold it in; he was laughing like a dog. Li Xuan and Chen Ke also covered their mouths, laughing.

The lyrics were pure comedy! No wonder Qin Xueyang was angry; anyone hearing these lyrics and this vocal style would assume it was sung by a total clown!

To combine angry rap with ridiculous, traditional-style vocals—how wild did one’s imagination have to be to come up with such a combination?

Little Frog gave Zhang Qiyang a vigorous thumbs-up, signaling his deep admiration for this seemingly ridiculous but actually stunning design.

Seeing everyone laughing at her, Qin Xueyang was miserable—she was so angry she almost blew a bubble of snot! She glared fiercely at Zhang Qiyang and tore into her chicken leg to vent her frustration. If Zhang Qiyang ever tricked her into recording a song like this again, she would fight him to the death!