Chapter 75: Killing the Chicken to Warn the Monkey

After his brazen boast, Zhang Qiyang truly won the championship. His outrageous behavior struck a nerve with many, slapping the faces of all the haters with resounding force. The die-hard supporters of Zhang Qiyang, like Copernicus overthrowing the geocentric theory, felt they had discovered a singular truth; they reveled in triumph, cheering wildly for Zhang Qiyang in the "My Song" forum and celebrating his consecutive victories.

Yet, they remained a minority. Far more people were deeply outraged that Zhang Qiyang had won with a baffling song like "Exaggeration," as if their intelligence had been insulted. The curses poured in endlessly, threatening to turn the "My Song" forum into a landfill.

Zhang Qiyang took the tablet from Qin Xueyang, refreshed the forum homepage, and was greeted with a screen full of doubts and abuse. Thankfully, amid the sea of insults, there were still a few voices supporting him—

“Grandmaster Zhang, mighty as ever! Crushing the competition with pure skill!”

“Grandmaster, you’re so unmatched tonight! You make us supporters proud, haha! I’m a fan and proud of it!”

“Clap clap clap! Where are those who wanted to slap Grandmaster Zhang’s face? Come forward and receive a slap from ‘Exaggeration’!”

“Today I finally understand why you’re so flamboyant, Grandmaster. Suddenly, you seem so small and yet so grand! From today, I’m a fan! If you perform like this again next week, I’ll support you for life!”

“Grandmaster, your song moved me to tears tonight. Truly, I’ve never been so touched by music before.”

“I ask you, who can steal Grandmaster’s championship? Who?”

“Greetings from Xi’an! Warm congratulations to Grandmaster Zhang for his dominant victory!”

…

Reading these messages, Zhang Qiyang felt a deep sense of comfort.

But sadly, they represented only a small fraction of the forum. That night, over 90% of the posts were like these—

“Why didn’t Delin win? Explain!”

“Are all the live audience deaf? Even if the championship doesn’t go to my idol Xuan, it should at least go to Delin! How could that trash Zhang win three times in a row? If you believe there’s no rigging, you’re naïve!”

“Everyone saw it—today, Teacher Tan Zhizhong was so angered by the show’s corruption that he fainted! Teacher Tan is a true hero!”

“Trash Star Capital TV, shut down already! Every week you bring nothing but frustration—unforgivable!”

“Anyone who keeps watching ‘My Song’ is an absolute fool! This show reeks of corruption. Such a waste for real singers.”

“Xuan, please quit ‘My Song’! Watching you being disgusted by Zhang every week breaks my heart!”

“Singers, follow Teacher Tan’s example—just faint! Don’t let Zhang infuriate you anymore! I swear, if I ever compete with him, I’ll be just as furious as Teacher Tan!”

“The Alliance of Hao Ran hereby declares: from this day forward, we are enemies of trash Zhang and his foolish fans! We’ll insult you every time we see you until you’re all gone!”

“Is the production team brainless or blinded by money? How much dirty money did you take from the richest family? Letting Zhang run wild, don’t you fear ruining your reputation?”

“Does anyone know where Zhang lives? I can’t take it anymore—even if I end up in jail, I’ll be a hero and rid the people of this pest! If you support me, send me a red packet on WeChat, my ID is PY****”

“I pledge my blood to Xuanyuan! Teacher Tan is genuine! He’s fighting the corruption of ‘My Song’ with real actions—I’ll be a fan for ten thousand years!”

“A perfectly good season of ‘My Song’ was supposed to be a battle between Xuan and Delin, and Zhang ruined it—infuriating!”

“I’m genuinely curious: how do the live audience’s ears work? Zhang’s ‘Exaggeration’ is not even a match for Delin’s little toe, yet so many voted for him. I’m speechless!”

“Can’t you have some backbone? Stop watching ‘My Song’ and save yourself some grief! Tell me, can you?”

“Good news: Shanghai TV is launching a music show similar to ‘I Am a Singer.’ No more suffering from Star Capital TV. I don’t believe Zhang will go to another show and disgust people. Wherever he goes, I’ll curse him—no reason, I just hate him!”

“I just received reliable insider news from a friend at the TV station: Teacher Tan fainted today because Zhang angered him. Before recording, Zhang insulted Teacher Tan in front of everyone—so disgusting! This guy is an uncultured piece of trash! I really don’t understand how his family became the richest.”

…

Upon seeing the latest so-called insider news, Zhang Qiyang’s expression grew grim.

The people from Chutian moved fast—they were stirring trouble already. These bastards really don’t want to live!

Qin Xueyang leaned against Zhang Qiyang, scrolling through the forum with him.

Seeing Zhang’s face change, Qin knew he was about to get angry and quickly changed the subject, grabbing Zhang’s phone and pulling up Wang Dazhong’s “clap clap” face-slapping post, telling Zhang: “That mangy dog is barking again—why don’t you slap him?”

Zhang Qiyang hadn’t known Wang Dazhong had mocked him on Weibo.

Seeing many fangirls crying under the post and lots of supporters mocking Wang Dazhong, Zhang Qiyang couldn’t help but smile.

He reposted Wang Dazhong’s Weibo, commenting, “Clap clap clap clap! Is your face ruined yet? Does it feel good?”

This was his first post after winning the championship, taking the opportunity to slap Wang Dazhong’s face and, by extension, all the haters.

Wang Dazhong had just set a personal record, finishing with an internet celebrity in nineteen seconds, and was boredly browsing Weibo in bed.

He happened to see Zhang’s taunting post.

Wang Dazhong was furious!

In a rash moment, he cursed back on Weibo: “Idiot! Your day of misfortune will come—just wait!”

Zhang Qiyang saw Wang’s angry response and replied with a grin: “When my misfortune comes, I’ll drag you down with me. Meeting me is your greatest misfortune, idiot!”

Unsatisfied with just one post, Zhang sent another provocative message: “Even if you call me daddy, I won’t let you off, idiot! I want you to understand just how foolish it is to mess with me!”

Wang Dazhong, incensed, fired back: “Screw you! Are you ever going to stop?”

Zhang retorted: “I’ll never stop with you, so what? Idiot! If you’re not afraid, bring it on!”

Qin Xueyang watched in astonishment, asking, “Are you out of your mind? Why bother arguing with him?”

A sly glint flashed in Zhang’s eyes as he replied, “Just diverting everyone’s attention, so those fools from Chutian don’t get to make a fuss.”

Qin thought for a moment, then brightened: “Oh, I get it. You want to spark a feud with Wang Dazhong so everyone focuses on your argument and forgets about Tan Zhizhong, right?”

Zhang added, “It’s also a warning to those who try to use me—their fate will be as miserable as Wang Dazhong’s. No matter who it is, if they provoke me, they’ll regret it.”

Qin laughed and gave Zhang a thumbs up. “This move to kill the chicken and scare the monkeys is ruthless! Wang Dazhong is doomed tonight.”