Chapter 71: The Joy of Helping Others

So that’s how it is.

Zhang Qiyang and Qin Xueyang now understood why Li Xuan would choose a song with almost no competitive edge on the “My Song” stage.

When Li Xuan spoke, Zhang Qiyang could sense a gentle homesickness in her clear eyes.

Clearly, this diva who had left her hometown at a young age to make her way inland still harbored a lingering sorrow for what she’d left behind.

It tugged at Zhang Qiyang’s own heartstrings.

He, too, was a wanderer in a foreign world, and deep down, he could not deny a longing for home, for family, for a past that he could never return to.

But Chen Ke spoke coldly, “You can always find another chance to sing ‘Penghu Bay’ for your grandmother. On the stage of ‘My Song,’ there’s no need to take this risk. I’ve heard things—Chuyu’s new girl is their secret weapon, and she’s extremely capable. Chuyu is sending her to challenge you specifically, Li Xuan. They want her to confront your authority on this show.”

Li Xuan’s heart grew increasingly conflicted.

She had planned all along to sing “Penghu Bay” for her grandmother in the next round.

She hadn’t expected Chuyu to suddenly throw a wrench in the works, and it truly annoyed her.

Qin Xueyang protested, “Just any newcomer wants to challenge Sister Xuan’s authority? What a joke!”

Xiao Wei nodded fervently as well, absolutely convinced that this challenger had no right to go up against their own goddess.

Li Xuan smiled in gratitude and handed Qin Xueyang a lychee to eat.

“Hee hee, thank you, Sister Xuan!”

But Chen Ke said, “This isn’t just any newcomer. I’ve got reliable information—Chuyu wants to turn her into the next you, Li Xuan. She’s likely to be very competitive.”

Qin Xueyang was still indignant. “Even if she’s all that, she’s still a rookie! How could she possibly challenge Sister Xuan? What are those Chuyu people thinking? If she wanted to challenge Young Master Yang, that would make more sense.”

Just as he reached for a lychee, Zhang Qiyang’s face darkened at Qin Xueyang’s words, his nose nearly smoking with irritation. He retorted, “Challenge me? Fatty Xue, don’t make me question your intelligence any further, alright? I’ve competed in three rounds of ‘My Song’ and taken three championships. You want her to challenge me? I’d give her three times the courage and she still wouldn’t dare!”

Li Xuan couldn’t help but laugh at Zhang Qiyang’s self-assured, if slightly baffling, confidence. She teased, “That’s true. Young Master Yang is even better than me.”

Chen Ke shot Li Xuan a reproachful glance, silently scolding her for going along with Zhang Qiyang’s nonsense.

Zhang Qiyang laughed heartily. “Don’t go speaking such blunt truths. Honestly, when it comes to singing, you and I are probably about equal. But in songwriting, I’m leagues ahead of you.”

Li Xuan was speechless—she’d never met a man so unabashed! Give him a little sunshine and he blazes.

Chen Ke chuckled to herself—serves you right for joining in the mischief.

Returning to the subject at hand, Chen Ke said to Li Xuan, “In any case, next week you have to bring out a truly competitive number and put that brat in her place. Don’t give her a chance. You too, Young Master Yang—go win another championship and help Dongyu make its mark!”

Strictly speaking, Zhang Qiyang was an independent musician, unaffiliated with any record label.

He wasn’t, like Li Xuan, an artist under Dongyu.

But Dongyu was his family’s business.

Whatever Zhang Qiyang did in the entertainment world, the public would always see him as representing Dongyu, or even the entire Dongfang Group.

The old Zhang Qiyang hadn’t cared much for Dongyu.

But now, he quite cared.

After all, it was family property, and he even had ambitions to turn Dongyu into a global entertainment flagship surpassing the entire Dongfang Group.

Still, at this moment, other thoughts crossed his mind.

He noticed Li Xuan’s deepening indecision; she clearly didn’t want to change her song.

Zhang Qiyang peeled a lychee, popped it into his mouth, and stuffed out his left cheek as he chewed. “After winning three ‘My Song’ championships in a row, I’m honestly getting a little bored.”

Qin Xueyang, expecting another one of Zhang Qiyang’s antics, quickly asked, “What do you mean? Planning to quit while you’re ahead?”

“Retiring is out of the question. I’m thinking of letting Chuyu’s newcomer through. She wants to challenge Li Xuan, right? Let’s give her the chance.”

Chen Ke was dumbfounded. Li Xuan, too, couldn’t figure out what Zhang Qiyang was up to.

Zhang Qiyang spat out the lychee pit and explained, “If we kick her out right away, she’ll just be turned away at the door—it won’t crush her ambition. In this business, what’s the scariest thing about an opponent? Not their talent, not their background, not even so-called opportunities, but their ambition!”

He looked at Li Xuan and continued, “Li Xuan, the reason you’ve come this far isn’t just your exceptional talent. I believe your ambition has helped you immensely. Without the ambition to dominate the music world, you wouldn’t have had the drive to weather every storm and make it to where you are today. By the same token, if Chuyu’s newcomer is full of ambition, even if you defeat her right away, she’ll still pose a challenge to you in the future.”

His words left everyone a bit stunned, especially Chen Ke and Li Xuan.

They hadn’t expected this seemingly careless young master to possess such insight and vision!

Crossing his legs, Zhang Qiyang continued peeling lychees. “That’s why I say we should let this newcomer onto ‘My Song’ and give her a proper lesson. She wants to challenge you? Let her. On that stage, trample her, suppress her, crush her—defeat her every single time! Wear down her ambition until, whenever she sees you, she has a psychological shadow, turns away at the sight of you, and in any encounter, she can’t help but fear you. That’s how you truly eliminate a threat. What do you think?”

Chen Ke’s expression didn’t change, but inside her heart was a storm.

She’d never imagined that this seemingly brainless young master could be so ruthless!

Compared to him, her own methods for striking down rivals were positively gentle.

What was even more chilling was that he spoke of such cruel things as though he were simply making conversation, utterly unbothered.

Li Xuan, too, hadn’t realized that Zhang Qiyang possessed such an iron hand.

No wonder his family had become the wealthiest in Huaguo—he’d definitely inherited his father’s ruthless ways.

Qin Xueyang was so shocked that the noodles in her mouth remained unchewed for ages.

Mumbling, she said, “You’re so ruthless! But it actually sounds really reasonable—I like your approach!”

“Ruthless? Not at all. I’m just giving that newcomer a valuable lesson. In the long run, it’ll benefit her. Without trial by fire, how could she ever get a foothold in this industry? Take me, for instance—if it weren’t for so many people badmouthing me for so long, would I be as invulnerable as I am now? ‘The breeze brushes the mountain peak, the bright moon lights the great river’—it sounds easy, but to truly achieve it is extremely hard. The same goes for you, Li Xuan. To get where you are, you must have overcome countless difficulties and setbacks.”

Li Xuan nodded unconsciously, a storm of emotion surging within her. The young master before her seemed more and more unfathomable.

“Isn’t Chutian trying to turn that girl into a new diva? Then let’s help them out. As for whether this will crush her spirit, that’s up to her own fate. If she can’t handle this kind of blow, she’s not cut out for this world.”

Then Zhang Qiyang shifted his tone, “Of course, my good intentions come with a condition, Li Xuan—you must have absolute confidence in yourself. You need the will and desire to trample and suppress your opponent, to strike her down again and again. You have to go all out, never soften, and never slip up. Don’t let it end with her striking you down instead—that would be a terrible loss.”