Chapter 43: No Money Left for Formula
Two days later.
The ninth season finale of "I Am a Singer" began airing.
Yu Zhile watched the television and remarked, “The production team is really asking for trouble this time! Split the finale into two episodes, and after the first half airs, viewers are definitely going to curse them!”
Qin Haiyu, cradling their restless baby in her arms, said, “Luckily the second part of the finale is airing tomorrow night. If they dragged it out until next week, they'd be roasted for sure. I don’t understand why they don’t just combine it into one episode. It might run longer, but surely that's better than splitting it up?”
Yu Zhile analyzed, “If I’m not mistaken, they’re doing it to squeeze out a final boost, see if the ratings can climb a bit higher.”
Qin Haiyu nodded in understanding, “No wonder they split the finale. No wonder Ni Qiqin talks so much in the last episode—turns out they're deliberately stalling for time, padding out another show!”
“Smart, as expected from my wife!”
Yu Zhile patted the baby’s head, and Qin Haiyu complained, “Honey, you’re praising me, so why are you patting the baby?”
Yu Zhile was amused. He switched and gently patted his wife’s head, and Qin Haiyu squinted her eyes in delight, like a kitten enjoying its owner’s touch, utterly adorable.
As they watched "I Am a Singer," Qin Haiyu was the first to take the stage and sing. Halfway through the song, she asked, “Honey, does it sound good?”
“Mm, it's wonderful!” Yu Zhile answered from the heart. This song, "Sakura Grass," was indeed beautiful, and he felt after tonight it would explode in popularity overnight, just like “Little Luck.”
Then Qin Haiyu said, “By the way, I slapped Zhang Dahua’s face in the show!”
Yu Zhile suddenly got excited, “What happened? What did that jerk do to you?”
Qin Haiyu couldn’t help laughing, “Not literally! When he was putting on airs, I put him in his place.”
“Oh, you startled me!” Yu Zhile breathed a sigh of relief. “How was he showing off? Why did you have to shut him down?”
Qin Haiyu said, displeased, “Hmph, he badmouthed you! He claimed the lyric ‘coins flying over the hills’ was randomly filled in just for rhyme, and wondered if it was meant to show off wealth. Then he tried to act smart, saying if you changed ‘coins’ to ‘petals’ it would have more artistic meaning! So I got annoyed and put him in his place!”
Yu Zhile asked curiously, “How did you do it?”
Qin Haiyu pointed at the TV, “Look, it’s starting to air now! I thought they’d cut this part, but the production team actually kept it!”
On the screen, the judge named Zhang Dahua was praising the arrangement of “Sakura Grass,” then, just as Qin Haiyu had said, brought up the lyric issue!
Qin Haiyu retorted, “That lyric wasn’t randomly filled in, nor is it about flaunting wealth! ‘Fireflies twinkle, coins fly over the hills!’ These lines together compare the glittering fireflies at night to gold coins! It’s a metaphor for my husband’s hopes and dreams for the future, and his hard work to support the family!”
Hearing his wife’s distinctly displeased voice coming from the TV, Yu Zhile felt strangely moved.
As a celebrity, a public figure, confronting another public figure in such a manner is a surefire way to offend and attract criticism.
But Qin Haiyu did it anyway!
Simply because Zhang Dahua spoke ill of him, Qin Haiyu confronted him, publicly putting him in his place!
Yu Zhile patted his wife’s head and praised her, “Well said! That jerk deserved it! Pretends to know everything—changing ‘coins’ to ‘petals,’ ridiculous!”
Qin Haiyu added, “Honey, since the production team didn’t cut this segment, Zhang Dahua’s going to get roasted by a lot of viewers. We’ll have made an enemy.”
“No worries. He’s just a minor celebrity who can’t rise above mediocrity. No talent, no backing—if we offend him, so be it.”
With that, Yu Zhile took out his phone, opened Weibo, and started typing.
Qin Haiyu looked on in surprise, “Honey, are you going to call him out on Weibo?”
“Mm.” Yu Zhile said calmly, “Now that I know, I have to do something! If I let my wife stand up for me while I swallow my pride, what kind of man would I be?”
He posted directly: “@Zhang Dahua, fireflies twinkle—meaning only in the dark of night can you see such a sight! If you replace ‘coins flying over the hills’ with ‘petals,’ how would you see petals flying over the hills in pitch black night? If you don’t understand metaphors, don’t pretend to be smart and attack someone else’s work! This doesn’t make you look impressive, just foolish!”
After posting, Yu Zhile set his phone aside. Qin Haiyu worried, “Honey, isn’t it bad to call him a fool? Now we’ll really make an enemy of him.”
Yu Zhile replied, “It’s fine. If we offend him, so be it. He has no backing, no talent. He loves to roast people? Well, now we’re giving him a taste of his own medicine.”
Qin Haiyu nodded, “Fine. Anyway, lots of people in the industry have clashed with him, and we’re just about music, not the entertainment circle. We’ll never cross paths, and he started it anyway.”
After roasting Zhang Dahua, Yu Zhile continued watching the show, but he had little interest in the other singers. He only cared about his wife’s performance. Now that he’d seen it, the show held no further appeal.
Soon, Yu Zhile’s Weibo post started attracting attention.
A swarm of comments appeared, roasting Zhang Dahua:
“@Zhang Dahua, what an idiot! Doesn’t even get metaphors, yet tells others how to write lyrics?”
“@Zhang Dahua, did you learn language from foreigners? With skills like that, how do you qualify as a judge?”
“The worst part of the show is inviting Zhang Dahua as a judge! Watching that fool makes me want to puke! The production team is clueless, inviting an amateur as a music judge!”
“Any show with Zhang Dahua, I won’t watch! No emotional intelligence, no talent! How do idiots like him become celebrities and get invited to so many programs?”
...
Xu Ling messaged Qin Haiyu: “Wow! Your husband just roasted Zhang Dahua on Weibo!”
“Honey, Xu Ling sent you a message!”
Yu Zhile handed his wife her phone, then played Xu Ling’s voice message.
Qin Haiyu replied, “It’s fine, so what? That guy deserves a scolding! By the way, Lingling, keep an eye out for any suitable endorsement deals. Let me know if something comes up.”
Xu Ling responded, “What’s up? Money tight? You never used to be so proactive about endorsements!”
Qin Haiyu said, “No money for baby formula! Help me look out for ads and let me know if any fit.”
Xu Ling replied, “No money for formula? I don’t believe you! But with the finale airing, your popularity is back, so you won’t have trouble getting endorsements. I’ll start checking tomorrow.”
Qin Haiyu hugged the baby, who could now stand for a short while, pressed her forehead to the baby’s and cooed, “Little rascal, mommy has no money for formula. What should we do?”
“Ya!”
Qin Haiyu suddenly pointed at her collar and complained, “Honey, the baby’s tugging at me!”
Yu Zhile watched the baby’s tiny hand pulling at his wife’s collar, leaned in and joked, “Go for it! Baby, go for it! Pull a little more!”
Qin Haiyu rolled her eyes, “What are you two up to? It’s not like you haven’t seen, touched, or fed before!”
Yu Zhile laughed at his wife’s reaction, grasped the baby’s little leg and said, “She’s eight months old now. In two months, we’ll start teaching her to walk!”
Qin Haiyu said, “I heard some babies start learning to walk at nine months, but ours can’t even stand yet! Silly baby, why are you so silly?”
...
The next morning.
In the office of the Music Channel at Dongfang Satellite TV.
“The ratings should be out by now, right? This time we should break the one percent mark!”
“Hard to say, but tonight’s finale will definitely have high ratings!”
“I agree! After last night’s broadcast, our show was trending several times! Qin Haiyu’s ‘Sakura Grass,’ Teacher Fan Lei’s elimination from the top eight, and Zhang Dahua being roasted by Qin Haiyu’s husband—all these hot topics will bring us a lot of attention!”
At that moment, Yang Bing returned with the ratings report and announced excitedly, “Everyone, this episode has set a new ratings record!”
...
PS: I won’t split updates anymore. From now on, two chapters will be posted together at eight in the evening. Since it’s cold, I’ll mix the midnight updates into the evening batch, so you get two chapters at once and won’t complain they’re too short! The only pity is, your midnight recommendation votes might go to some other flashy competitor—boo hoo...