Chapter 140: Beat The Drowning Dog
Wearing a hood as he walked out of the venue, Zhang Lingye actually felt as if he had been in another world. Being able to witness such an epoch-making battle, this trip was not in vain.
More importantly, his brother won…
Although Qi Yuan was also a brother, he was representing Chen Ping this time after all. Comparatively, Yu Wei winning was even more delightful.
What era is this, Number One Person and all that—he couldn’t be bothered with such nonsense. His brother won, and that made him happy!
Zhang Lingye was grinning widely when he turned and saw the new message from Yu Wei.
“Tomorrow, you’re scheduled to fight Qi Yuan. Get ready.”
His smile froze the instant he saw the message, the upward curve of his mouth not even having time to retract.
Me fighting Qi Yuan, for real?
The previous Qi Yuan, Zhang Lingye reckoned he still had the strength to fight him, but now, the guy had preliminarily transformed, with his strength achieving a qualitative leap.
Especially after just watching two god-tier stages, how could he have the face to fight in the arena against him? If he lost, wouldn’t he be laughed to death by a million Yu Yuan fans?
Yu Wei had obviously arranged this on purpose. That kid was sly…
Preemptive fear wasn’t Zhang Lingye’s style. Since it was already arranged, then let’s battle. He wasn’t some soft persimmon either.
Losing while standing tall isn’t shameful!
As on-site audience members spoiled the results, the news of Chen Ping’s loss spread quickly. Netizens who had just gotten the gossip all thought it was fake.
He’s not even in his twenties yet, losing a competition—what a joke!
But after inquiring carefully, it turned out it was true. Everyone knew about Qi Yuan’s background too—a junior bringing out an elder’s posthumous work, which had high credibility.
There were only a few guests on the program, and Su Xinnan was obviously impossible—she wasn’t even in the music field, so naturally out of consideration.
Meng Han and Yu Wei, one old and one young—who was the dragon slayer after all?
There were on-site audience members directly revealing it was Yu Wei, but this kind of thing could easily lead to netizens spreading rumors erroneously. A few pretending to be audience members claiming Meng Han won, and no one could tell the difference.
Netizens’ discussions stalled for a moment. Rational analysis: if someone really beat Chen Ping, it should be Teacher Meng…
As an iconic figure in Chinese rock music, with over 30 years in the industry, he had created over 200 works and won 44 music awards, including Best Male Singer at the Annual Billboard and Best Producer at the Chinese List.
Although there was still a significant gap compared to Old Master Chen, if it was him, everyone would definitely accept it more easily.
Yu Wei was still a bit too fast.
Everyone absolutely recognized his musical talent, but he was just too young, having risen to prominence for less than half a year.
A rookie shattering the Number One in the Music Scene’s invincible golden body—it sounded somewhat unbelievable no matter how you put it.
“Did Teacher Meng Han finally succeed in revenge?”
“Back then Chen Ping bullied the young with age, now Teacher Meng whipping the corpse isn’t normal?”
“Too hellish, brothers. Is whipping the corpse used like this?”
“No one thinks Yu Wei could win?”
“If you said in ten or twenty years Yu Wei could replace Chen Ping, I’d believe it. But now, not at all.”
It wasn’t that everyone didn’t believe in Yu Wei, but seniority was there. The entertainment industry still valued seniority a lot. Many people didn’t even have a single decent work to show, yet they became teachers at a certain age anyway.
Yu Wei, settle down for a few more years.
Discussions on this matter remained high, which was absolutely the result the Music Blind Box program team loved to see. The fuller the sense of anticipation, the higher the program’s popularity would be.
It was foreseeable that this episode’s immortal fight highlight would absolutely become the most vividly inked stroke in music variety show history.
Just as netizens were guessing what kind of masterpiece Teacher Meng Han had brought out to win the competition, a few steadfast comments insisting Yu Wei won appeared.
“It was definitely Yu Wei who won. If not him, I’ll eat it!”
“Latest intel: Yu Wei won the competition with a perfect performance, the undisputed kind.”
Others were baffled hearing this. Yu Wei? Impossible. Where did these people get their info to be so confident?
“Found out from peeping Qi Yuan Super Topic. They’re all ranting about why it’s Yu Wei, why Yu Wei. The entertainment industry is done…”
That made sense.
At a time like this, no one’s info was reliable, as they could all be netizens. But Qi Yuan fans’ words were absolutely credible.
Because they truly had a grudge against Yu Wei.
The enemy is the one who knows you best. Something that makes enemies gnash their teeth must be real news. The group who hated Yu Wei the most had admitted this result, so it was clearly true.
Everyone rushed to the Super Topic to check, and sure enough, Qi Yuan fans were already throwing tantrums, rolling on the floor, and threatening to unfollow. They couldn’t accept this result.
They treated the whole situation seriously, only to lose the competition because of Qi Yuan. Who would have thought the ending would be like this!
Crying from listening to the opponent’s song was one thing, but in the end, they even had to publicly count votes. Wasn’t that humiliating enough for these fans?
In the end, this song turned out to be Old Master Chen Ping’s, a bottom-of-the-box thing that still couldn’t beat Yu Wei, instead boosting his fame. This was a devastating blow to Qi Yuan fans.
They could no longer see any hope of Qi Yuan winning it back…
“Should’ve realized it earlier. The moment you chose to defend Yu Wei, I should have known everything was over.”
“You’re great, really. Full emotional value and very fan-pampering, handsome and in good state, but I know these aren’t what you want. Goodbye, keep going strong.”
“Standing on the high platform too long, have you forgotten that under the starry glow sticks are living people and true hearts?”
#Qi Yuan Unfollow quickly topped the trending search. This colossus standing out from the crowd among male group idols was finally pierced by this incident.
It wouldn’t go to all fans running away, but a major loss of vitality was certain. At least the most aggressive ones left quite a few, sharply reducing Yu Yuan combat power.
Qi Yuan had finally produced a good work. This should have been their time to hold their heads high, but Yu Wei’s performance was better, which they couldn’t accept.
Most importantly, fans could feel that Qi Yuan valued his friend Yu Wei more than them—have him but not me, have me but not him. Those who hated Yu Wei would definitely leave.
Comparatively, his fans unfollowing was already tactful. They didn’t cause trouble, step back, or turn into black fans to tear into him.
They were just disappointed, which was clear from the unfollow comments.
Seeing Qi Yuan fans’ replies, Yu Wei felt a bit emotional. Chasing for so many years, now saying goodbye to it all—not easy.
Emotional as he was, he definitely wouldn’t empathize, let alone sympathize. Comments only represented the fans’ own stance and didn’t mean they were right.
The other teammates who got blasted had words to say too. People had to be responsible for their actions; the path was their choice, so they couldn’t blame others.
Yu Wei wouldn’t mock coldly, but that was it.
He had more important things to do today. Hurry up and write out the fake competition between Qi Yuan and Zhang Lingye. This was the last match of the first round; revival matches would start after.
“Old Zhang is gonna get a bargain.”
Yu Wei had originally thought this match would be earth-shattering, after all, it was an grudge situation. Fans from both sides would definitely tear the sky apart.
Who knew that at this plot point, Qi Yuan’s fans started unfollowing. Zhang Lingye had basically stepped in dog shit luck, with a huge winning chance.
After all, previously his strength and fan count were both inferior to Qi Yuan’s. Normal development would be a sure loss, who knew such a situation could arise.
The two’s videos came very late. Zhang Lingye sang “Map of Mountains and Rivers”. His rap skills were good; surprisingly suitable for this song.
Qi Yuan chose Yu Wei’s first song “Heart Wall”, because to him, this was where the dream began.
‘Like and Vote: Qi Yuan.’
‘Like and Vote: Zhang Lingye.’
‘Votes tallied at the same time tomorrow.’
Actually, Qi Yuan’s singing skill was better, but after the chapter update for their competition, Zhang Lingye’s votes led by a landslide.
Zhang Lingye’s fans had been holding back a breath for years. They couldn’t win before; this time against a bunch of defeated remnants, could they still not win?
Gotta beat the drowning dog while it’s down!
Yu Wei had no time to watch their fun, because Qi Yuan fans’ news authenticity was too high. Now everyone knew he won this episode.
Netizens’ messages flooded in, all seeking confirmation. It was really Yu Wei’s new song that beat Chen Ping—who’d dare believe it?
“Holy crap, already Number One Person? Bro, you’re even more badass than your novel protagonist.”
“Not quite Number One Person, but hard strength absolutely enters the hall. Music scene teachers, wait for Yu Wei to come slay!”
“Support. I admit Chen Ping is awesome but he’s gone now. The new era needs someone to take over. I vote Yu Wei.”
“Looks like Chen Ping can’t afford to lose. Lost and not coming out to say a word?”
This guy’s an iron netizen. If he really came out to say something, no one would be happy…
If it was Meng Han who beat Chen Ping, everyone could accept it, but since it was Yu Wei, skepticism was inevitable.
Don’t underestimate the era filter. In many people’s eyes, past things are always better than present ones. In their minds, Chen Ping was the well-deserved god.
Their mind’s god lost—strange if they could accept it.
“Probably Qi Yuan’s performance dragged him down. Even good works don’t help.”
“Program team threw away all shame to hype Yu Wei, directly using Old Master Chen as a stepping stone. Worthy of the veteran artist’s pioneering?”
“6, we fans are just old, not dead. So eager for a successor?”
“How much did on-site audience get paid to vote against their conscience?”
“Or maybe no taste, never had the good stuff.”
Yu Wei read it and didn’t feel angry. Many people were like this, firmly believing their own stance, inadvertently pushing conspiracy theories or belittling others.
He’d seen similar comments in many places and fields. People can’t be absolutely rational; having biases and filters is perfectly normal.
Yu Wei was the same.
And these people weren’t attacking him; they just believed Chen Ping wouldn’t lose, leading to some associations and extrapolations.
Such things were hard to avoid. Like Yu Wei’s self-positioning, he just focused on doing his own thing well; others would judge naturally.
“First, write out the first chapter of ‘Malice’.”
All asking if he could become Number One in the Music Scene, huh? Fine, release a novel first.
…
Seeing his huge advantage achieved so easily, Zhang Lingye almost couldn’t believe it. Who knew the matchup would turn one-sided?
Specially scattering Qi Yuan fans before the competition, making his win pressure-free. Was this also in Yu Wei’s calculations?
Knew his brother wouldn’t harm him.
Zhang Lingye harbored no malice toward Qi Yuan, but toward Yu Yuan fans, he itched with hate. This once-in-a-lifetime revenge moment absolutely couldn’t be missed.
Gotta beat the drowning dog while it’s down!
Zhang Lingye was grinning widely when he suddenly noticed Qi Yuan’s votes sneaking up a huge chunk, faintly showing a catching-up trend.
What the hell?
He instinctively opened Weibo to peep Qi Yuan’s Super Topic. They were still talking about unfollowing, but the topic had clearly shifted.
“F**k, Yu Wei fans mocking us is one thing, now octopuses wanna dog riding human power too?”
“Everyone, after this match, then scatter. Treat it as putting a final period on this time.”
“Even if us Yu Yuan scatter, not something octopuses can touch porcelain. Teach them how to be human one more time.”
Zhang Lingye instantly got it. His fans kicking while down was too ruthless, reigniting their fire. This final unity had no love for the main target, only hate for the enemy.
Yu Yuan activated deathrattle!
“WTF, won’t I get counter-killed after beating the drowning dog?”
