Chapter 79: Foolish Literary Youth

At exactly eight o’clock in the evening, Zhang Qiyang arrived at the live broadcast studio right on time.

He wore the same casual black T-shirt and ordinary jeans, with not a single unnecessary accessory on him. The truly formidable never bother to use outward adornments to highlight their inner brilliance. Zhang Qiyang wasn’t formidable, so he clutched a dazzling “I Sing” trophy in his hand, intent on blinding everyone.

With his entrance, the Zebra streaming room suddenly brimmed with energy, and the audience erupted in excitement! Led by Brother Burial Love and Third Pig, over a dozen wealthy viewers unleashed a wave of carrier fleets sweeping across the entire platform, welcoming the arrival of Master Cannon!

At that moment, many hosts on Zebra Live paused their own streams, joining the masses in the special broadcast room to witness Master Cannon’s performance. Very quickly, the number of online viewers in the special room surpassed three million!

The momentum was even greater than last week! The only difference was a slight dip in newly registered users. But seeing Zhang Qiyang single-handedly drive Zebra’s traffic to explosive levels, the Zebra team staff were thrilled.

Their million spent was truly worth it!

Dong Huan and Li Die had interviewed Zhang Qiyang once before; their relationship was clearly less awkward than the first meeting.

The two girls warmly invited Zhang Qiyang to the bar, raising their glasses in a lively toast to welcome him.

Determined not to appear as timid as last time, Li Die, after her toast, immediately turned up the charm, coquettishly inviting Zhang Qiyang, “Master Cannon, please help me explain! The online crowd keeps saying you’ve wooed me—what a ridiculous rumor! I can let them misunderstand me, sure, it’s my fate to be easily slandered. But them misunderstanding you? That I can’t tolerate. I don’t even have your WeChat; how could anything possibly happen between us?”

“Are you scheming for my WeChat?” Admiring the beauty and sipping his drink, Zhang Qiyang replied in good spirits, “If you want it that badly, I’ll give it to you later. But lately I’ve been busy; I usually don’t respond to messages before midnight. If you need me, reach out after twelve.”

“Hmm—!” Dong Huan covered her mouth, stirring up the crowd, “Looks like something’s really about to happen this time.”

Li Die was utterly flustered by Zhang Qiyang’s response.

Was he joking or serious?

Could Master Cannon actually be interested in her?

With her thoughts running wild, Li Die lost her nerve again.

Her delicate face nearly blushed, and she quickly redirected the focus, “Master Cannon, stop teasing me. Huan, didn’t you write a new song for Master Cannon to give him a proper challenge? Hurry, sing it for him!”

“Oh? Another challenge for me?” Zhang Qiyang turned to Dong Huan, who was holding her guitar.

“Don’t listen to Die, she’s exaggerating. I wouldn’t dare challenge you. It’s just that the song I sang for you last week didn’t show enough respect, so I’ve reflected and composed this new one for you. It’s not a song of praise, but rather a portrayal of how I truly see you.”

Zhang Qiyang’s interest was piqued, “Then I must listen carefully.”

Seeing Dong Huan about to perform her own song, the fans in the audience were ecstatic.

Many among them disliked Zhang Qiyang, and they clamored for Huan to “put Master Cannon in his place!”

Dong Huan herself felt a bit eager to showcase her talent to Zhang Qiyang.

She strummed a gentle, lonely guitar chord and, with utmost seriousness, began to sing her own folk ballad, “Mr. Zhang”:

“...Mr. Zhang, everyone calls you Master Cannon, such a mighty name, but are you really that kind of person...”

“...I’ve heard the rumors about you, seen them, believed them, but I was wrong...”

“...What does your flamboyance hide, what does your unruliness signify...”

“...‘Man is the measure of all things’—I don’t understand this phrase, but I know you’re a classmate with a story...”

“...Mr. Zhang, is the cigarette in your hand still burning, do you smoke for melancholy or memories...”

“...Do you remember the drinks you’ve had, did you drink for stories or confusion...”

“...You gaze at the horizon’s edge, at the red sun in the sky, do you think of the distant lands...”

“...Mr. Zhang...”

It felt like she was cleansing Zhang Qiyang’s reputation, almost like a confession; Dong Huan sang “Mr. Zhang” for five minutes straight, gentle and moving, painting Zhang Qiyang as a young man with a rich, compelling story.

Netizens flooded the chat with countless “666” to praise Dong Huan.

Brother Burial Love and Uncle Teeth sent wave after wave of carrier fleets, extolling how beautifully Dong Huan sang!

A notorious hater, who adored Dong Huan and despised Zhang Qiyang, gritted his teeth and spent a thousand yuan to launch a solitary carrier, taunting Zhang Qiyang—

[Huan is incredible! This is true original folk music! Zhang Cannon, are you convinced yet? —Jiao Shuangxi]

After Dong Huan’s earnest performance, Li Die immediately applauded and asked Zhang Qiyang, “Master Cannon, are you satisfied with Huan’s song this time?”

Zhang Qiyang replied, “Satisfied is too strong; I’d say it’s acceptable.”

Dong Huan’s face fell—she’d expected him to give her a big compliment.

Li Die rallied for Dong Huan, “Just acceptable? I thought it was wonderful!”

“I say ‘acceptable’ because it was pleasant enough. But the ‘Mr. Zhang’ depicted in her song is basically a pretentious, artsy youth—completely unlike me. Am I really that timid?”

Dong Huan asked awkwardly, “Is it really that pretentious?”

“Mm.” Zhang Qiyang nodded gravely.

Dong Huan was nearly in tears, and many of her fans felt heartbroken watching.

They cursed Zhang Qiyang in the comments for not appreciating the song, claiming he wasn’t even as good as a pretentious youth, but a triple pretentious youth!

Dong Huan’s diehard fan, Jiao Shuangxi, was so furious over her distress that he nearly smashed his computer.

Crunching his molar, Jiao Shuangxi overdrew another thousand yuan from his credit card, launching a solo carrier to confront Zhang Qiyang—

[Zhang Cannon, stop acting superior! If you’ve got it, write one yourself! Show us how impressive you really are! If you can’t, you’re an idiot! —Jiao Shuangxi]

[Master Cannon, I admit you’re impressive, but don’t be too arrogant on Zebra’s turf! This is Huan’s territory! —Only Love Huan]

Compared to the fleet from “Only Love Huan” supporting Dong Huan, Jiao Shuangxi’s solo carrier message stood out more to Zhang Qiyang—not because of the insults, but because the name Jiao Shuangxi reminded him of the infamous internet prankster “Brother B” from his past life, making him laugh.

Zhang Qiyang pointed at the screen and asked Dong Huan, “Who is this Jiao Shuangxi to you? Fan? Relative? Boyfriend?”

Dong Huan, thinking Zhang Qiyang was angry, hurried to explain, “No, no, he’s just a good audience member who loves my singing.”

“In that case, I’ll grant this audience member’s wish. Give me the guitar.”

Zhang Qiyang took the guitar from Dong Huan, looked at the screen, and said, “Jiao Shuangxi, you want to see how impressive I am? I’ll show you the proper way a formidable—not pretentious—artsy youth performs folk music.”

Whoa!

The Zebra streaming room exploded!

The onlookers were ready for drama, with some booing, some cheering, everyone settling in to see what Master Cannon’s so-called formidable youth singing folk would be like.

Zhang Qiyang strummed a slow, alluring melody, glanced at the slightly intimidated Dong Huan, and said, “With your song ‘Mr. Zhang,’ you successfully molded me into a pretentious artsy guy. I’ll answer you with a song—‘Miss Dong,’ turning you into a literary woman with a story.”