Chapter 89: The Show Meets a Cold Reception

September 30th.
Saturday.
The sixth round of the "My Song" challenge was about to commence.
At seven-thirty in the evening.
Except for Tan Zhizhong, who was still hospitalized, the other seven singers had all arrived in the singers’ lounge, preparing for the recording.
The challenger, Zhao Ziqi, waited in a separate dressing room, never showing herself, hoping to add an air of mystery for the audience.
Yet the seven singers already knew that tonight’s challenger was Zhao Ziqi, though most of them had little understanding of who she was or what her capabilities might be.
She was a pure newcomer launched by Chu Entertainment, never before seen in large public venues, and her occasional performances had been of little impact.
Before this night, no one in the Chinese music world had heard of her.
But Chu Entertainment believed that after this night, everyone in the music industry would remember the name Zhao Ziqi.
Li Xuan, for the first time, wore the familial deck shoes gifted by Zhang Qiyang, preparing to dedicate a more beautiful rendition of "Penghu Bay" to her grandmother on her seventy-first birthday.
Unlike her usual elaborate attire, Li Xuan dressed especially simply tonight: a fitted white mercerized shirt tucked into high-waisted beige trousers, and low-heeled light gray lambskin shoes.
The shirt was tucked into her waistband, the trousers pulled high, accentuating her willow waist and full hips with a graceful sensuality, and elongating her already long, beautiful legs even further.
Her overall appearance was poised, elegant, and grounded.
Her makeup was pure and bright, barely visible, as if she wore no makeup at all. Paired with a youthful, sleek, high ponytail, she radiated the vigor of a young woman, like an innocent and lively girl.
She was certain her grandmother, seeing her youthful look, would recall many amusing childhood memories.
Her mood tonight was entirely different from previous competitions; Li Xuan was eager to perform early, so as not to delay her grandmother’s rest.
She cared little for the outcome this round; her only wish was to make her grandmother happy.
On this night, another who cared little for results was Zhang Qiyang, seated two places away from Li Xuan, with Yue Li and Lin Haoran between them.
The production team had not seated Zhang Qiyang next to Li Xuan this time, nor had they relegated him to the farthest corner.
Tonight, Zhang Qiyang was seated third from the left, very near the center, with Lin Haoran, the prince of RnB, on his left, and Ji Chunying, the iron-lunged lady, on his right.
Neither of these singers were seasoned veterans of the music scene.
Facing a tricky figure like Zhang Qiyang, they dared not converse too much, but the requisite pleasantries were exchanged.
Ji Chunying also hailed from Xi’an, so seeing Zhang Qiyang’s song list—he would sing "Chang’an County and Chang’an Night"—she chatted briefly about their hometown, expressing great anticipation for his performance tonight.

This week, Zhang Qiyang arrived to compete with an unusually low-key attitude and appearance.
So low-key that even the production team found it unsettling.
A stark contrast to his previous extravagant styles, tonight he wore a plain white T-shirt without any logos, paired with jeans.
His casualness reached such an extent that it seemed he cared nothing for the competition or the stage of "My Song."
No singer had ever dressed so casually for a performance before.
The production team felt troubled; this young heir of the richest family would either arrive garishly dressed or as a complete nobody, making it impossible to discern his intentions.
Zhang Qiyang’s subdued manner gave Luo Tao a sense of foreboding.
For a figure as controversial as Zhang Qiyang, the more he stirred things up, the more attention the show received.
Though his antics brought trouble—like receiving penalties, or worse, damaging the show's reputation—
That was not the most frightening scenario.
What truly worried them was if Zhang Qiyang suddenly ceased his antics and behaved conventionally, as this would cause a large audience to lose interest in him.
Consequently, viewers' desire to watch the program would fade, likely leading to a drop in ratings, popularity, and buzz—the very outcomes the production team dreaded most.
In the world of variety shows, ratings are everything.
Having invited Zhang Qiyang this season, criticism was inevitable, but if attention was lost, the damage would be too great.
Seeing Zhang Qiyang so subdued this week, Luo Tao grew anxious, desperately hoping Zhang Qiyang would post something provocative on social media to reignite the episode’s buzz, as in previous weeks.
But Zhang Qiyang had no mood for banter with the trolls; he knew he came this week intending to go easy, unlikely to win the championship.
If he acted arrogantly now, he’d be inviting ridicule.
He would not do something so foolish.
This week he decided to remain low-key, perform sincerely, and leave, regardless of what people said; he would give them an answer next week.
Those who disliked Zhang Qiyang had been disgusted by him for three consecutive weeks, exhausted from cursing him.
They say three times is the limit, but the "My Song" team had managed to disgust viewers three times in a row.
Nothing is more desolate than a dead heart; many viewers who viewed Zhang Qiyang through tinted lenses had lost all hope in "My Song."
Gradually, their attention shifted; they no longer followed this show that irritated them week after week.
As a result, before this week’s episode began, the atmosphere in the "My Song" forum was far less lively than in previous rounds.
The number of posts was not even half the usual amount.
On Weibo, though a trending topic asked whether "Gun Master" could win four consecutive titles—

But this topic only ranked fifth on the hot list, far from the days when anything related to him would dominate the top spot.
All this indicated that this episode of "My Song" was likely to be met with indifference.
Sure enough.
At eight o’clock, when "My Song" officially aired, the opening peak ratings were only 1.9%!
Compared to the previous two episodes, which quickly approached 3% at the start, this was a significant decline.
Though still higher than before Zhang Qiyang joined, the sudden drop left the production team deeply unsettled.
The people at Chu Entertainment, hearing about the poor ratings, were even more frustrated.
They suspected Zhang Qiyang had done it deliberately, choosing silence when Zhao Ziqi appeared, indirectly undermining Chu Entertainment—how despicable!
Who said this guy was brainless?
He was clearly a cunning rascal!
The Chu Entertainment staff wanted to curse his ancestors to the eighteenth generation.
The production team now hoped Zhang Qiyang would stir things up, raising the show’s heat again.
So, during the first phase, when the seven singers drew lots for performance order, they prayed Zhang Qiyang would again draw the last slot. That way, everyone would have something to complain about, and the show’s buzz might be revived.
Making variety shows was much like being a celebrity: they feared not criticism, but obscurity.
"Buddha, Bodhisattva, God, Allah, all deities, please let Young Master Yang draw the last slot!"
As Zhang Qiyang stepped forward to draw lots, Luo Tao, in the control room, clutched his prayer beads and drew a cross over his chest.
Zhang Qiyang himself had no preference for his position this round.
Relaxed, he drew one card out of seven and showed it to the main camera.
The number he drew startled both the singers and the audience!
It even surprised Zhang Qiyang himself!
What sort of mishap was this?
How could it be?