Chapter 62: Bearing the Blame for Strength

“Holy crap! Did I see that right? Is that Cannon Lord? He’s literally blowing the galaxy away!”
“Today, Cannon Lord is absolutely in the mode of wild, arrogant, cool, and explosive!”
“With the dazzling Xuan beside Cannon Lord, even her star power dims! It’s miraculous!”
“Have you no shame, Zhang Cannon? Dressing like this on TV—what did your family teach you? If you’re so bold, why not just wear nothing at all!”
“Trash. If it’s not ghost makeup, it’s some tacky rural style. I’ve never seen anyone so idiotic.”
“I knew it—the so-called ‘Spring Waters Awaken, Spring Forest Flourishes, Spring Breeze Ten Miles’ must have been written by someone else to whitewash Zhang Cannon. This idiot in front of us is the real Zhang Cannon! His brain is filled with nothing but filth!”
“What kind of taste is this? My eyes are going blind!”
“Looking at Cannon Lord’s presence today, a triple crown is absolutely guaranteed!”
“Cannon Lord, mighty and powerful!”
“Cannon Lord’s style today has obliterated the other singers—completely!”
“A friend once told me there’s a kind of idiot—the more you insult him, the less shame he has. I never believed such people existed, but today I do.”
“Zhang Cannon, I’ve never seen anyone more shameless than you! Please, get out of the entertainment industry! Stop insulting our intelligence and polluting our eyes!”
“No need to sing today—Cannon Lord can just take the championship directly! Cannon Lord, mighty and powerful!”
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone completely steal the spotlight from the dazzling Xuan. It’s supernatural.”
“Damn it, I’m such a big fan of Xuan, but today I can’t take my eyes off Cannon Lord. Cannon Lord, you’re incredible!”
“What’s called presence? This is presence! Cannon Lord is amazing!”
“Zhang Cannon actually has muscles? Damn, I’m going to drool in embarrassment.”
“Sister upstairs, are you blind or just ignorant? The muscles on Zhang Cannon are all painted on. He’s just a skinny rack pretending to be a muscle man—trash!”
“No, you’re the blind one. If Cannon Lord didn’t have a good body as a base, could he pull off such fierce muscle lines? Try painting one yourself! I bet you’ve got a single ab!”
“He can’t sing, but his style is smooth—Zhang Cannon, you should switch careers and become a male escort.”
“I’ve never seen anyone this brainless—insult him and he just gets more excited, truly shameless!”
“Zhang Cannon has once again proven with his actions that everyone who watches ‘My Song’ weekly is a bunch of idiots!”
“Zhang Cannon, have the guts to keep the same style—stop using ghost makeup! Last week you were too cowardly to insult people in Chinese, so you threw out a few English phrases, thinking you’re clever. You think no one knows you’re spewing garbage? Trash! We’ve already formed a committee to ban you, and from now on, wherever you appear, our cleansing committee will be there to eliminate you! We’ll hunt you to the end—never stop!”
“I’m proud to be Cannon Fodder! Anyone insulting Cannon Lord is just jealous—pure idiots!”
“Cannon Lord, after hearing your ‘Spring Breeze Ten Miles,’ I was just about to become your fan, but today you’re pushing me to turn black again!”
“Cannon Lord’s presence even made the radiant Goddess Xuan look like a maid—unbelievably awesome!”
“Zhang Cannon, stay away from my Xuan! You trash! Don’t steal my goddess’s spotlight!”

“I’ve met plenty of rich people, but never anyone as flamboyant as Zhang Cannon. Truly, the world is full of wonders.”
“To the uncles, aunties, brothers, and sisters of the ‘My Song’ production team: I, Wang Mingming, solemnly warn you—if you don’t eliminate the monster Zhang Cannon soon, I’ll lead all the students of Class Five, Year One, to boycott your show! I’m not joking—this is your final warning!”
...
While the internet raged, the complaints hotline at Star City TV was once again flooded.
Countless parents complained that Zhang Qiyang was corrupting their children.
The ‘My Song’ production team endured immense pressure, but they also increasingly felt the explosive buzz and super-high attention Zhang Qiyang brought to their show this season.
There’s a rule in the television industry: the second season of a hit variety show can never surpass the pioneering first season.
‘My Song’ faced this same dilemma and shackle.
When this season began, countless viewers complained that the line-up wasn’t as strong as the first, and that the commercial flavor was too heavy—a far cry from the pure music show of last season.
Under immense pressure, the opening of ‘My Song’ season two was very lackluster.
The average ratings for the first two episodes were only 2.25%.
Compared to the nearly 3.8% average for season one, that was a drop of more than 1.5 points.
The level of discussion was also clearly not as hot as the first season.
This cold reception distressed the production team.
But no one expected that, since Zhang Qiyang appeared on ‘My Song,’ the ratings and buzz exploded.
The peak rating in the third episode broke 6%!
The average rating reached 3.8%, matching the first season’s average.
The fourth episode, though highly controversial, broke an average of 4.2%!
This brought rare smiles to the faces of the pressure-laden team.
Today, in the fifth episode, Zhang Qiyang brought even more criticism.
But a look at the starting rating for this episode—4.38%!
Higher even than last week’s average!
Luo Tao and the other team leaders were speechless when they saw this starting rating.
Their carefully planned show, with singers giving their all, failed to win the audience.
Then, out of nowhere, a rockslide of a spoiled brat crashed in, provoking the viewers to tune in just to curse him.
Luo Tao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Regardless of their complicated feelings, the ratings were undeniably rising.

Judging by this surge, it won’t cool down any time soon.
After today’s performance, Zhang Qiyang certainly won’t be eliminated, since he took first last week. Even if he gets zero votes today, he’ll stay.
Next week is the replacement battle, with no eliminations—Zhang Qiyang is safe.
Then, in the following two episodes, he’ll still participate in the elimination rounds.
Counting this episode, Zhang Qiyang could stir things up for at least four more episodes.
‘My Song’ has already boarded the unstoppable landslide that is Zhang Qiyang—there’s no turning back now.
Luo Tao could only pray that Zhang Qiyang wouldn’t bring any more negative press to the show.
If he leaves and ruins the show’s reputation, it’ll be a disaster.
“Pray to Buddha, pray to God—please, let nothing go wrong in this episode.”
Luo Tao silently clutched his prayer beads and crossed himself in the director’s booth.
Such fickle prayers rarely work.
Sure enough, during the drawing lots segment, the production team was about to take the blame again.
As usual, the singers drew lots in order of last week’s ranking.
Zhang Qiyang, having won two weeks in a row, was first to draw.
Like a decadent warlord in a post-apocalyptic era, Zhang Qiyang appeared in the close-up, his look blinding countless eyes and capturing the hearts of naive girls everywhere.
Eight numbered cards lay on the table.
Zhang Qiyang casually flipped one over, held it up to the camera.
The staff were stunned.
The singers were speechless.
The audience exploded.
Zhang Qiyang drew, just as last time, the last spot—number 8!
This heaven-defying luck startled even Zhang Qiyang himself.
When he flashed a cold, provocative smile at the camera, countless viewers felt the urge to smash their TVs or even overthrow this dark society!