Chapter 18: The Hype from a Music Blogger

A-Cheng gave the song sung by Yi Yunxue a high rating and showered its creator, Chen Jiang, with excessive praise. After finishing the video, he immediately began editing. Just then, he received a notification from the music review blogger group. Taking a look, he saw someone asking for his opinion on Yi Yunxue’s new song. He replied truthfully: "Hype it up, I think this song is truly incredible." Seeing that A-Cheng, the most authoritative voice in the circle, held the song in such high regard, the other group members breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright then, it’s safe to hype it up!"

Meanwhile, at Tianxing Entertainment, the head of the operations department—the same young man who had previously led the effort to hire internet trolls to smear Yi Yunxue—was following the request of the General Manager, Mr. Lin, to evaluate the quality of the song. After listening to it once, he fell into deep contemplation. What beautiful lyrics, what a wonderful melody! It reminded him of the past—his school days, the first time he met his first love. Back then, they were so wonderful, but after entering society, he had to face reality. His first love hadn't done well in school and eventually married a boy from her village with the same vocational college education. He, on the other hand, graduated from a 985 university, entered the company, and ultimately, for the sake of promotion, married the general manager's daughter, who was ten years his senior. He had already accepted his fate; after all, even though Mr. Lin’s daughter was a bit old and plain-looking, she was better than those bloated, ugly alternatives. Yet, listening to this song today, he felt regret. It stung… The song was truly excellent, and the lyrics struck a chord deep within. "Damn it, why did I smear her before?" he lamented.

Just then, the office door pushed open. His father-in-law, Mr. Lin, walked in. His expression was somber, and he finally let out a sigh. "You’ve heard the song?"

"Han Mei has lost this time."

"Should I arrange for more trolls, Dad… Mr. Lin?" the young man asked cautiously.

"No need. Yi Yunxue has connections behind her; we can't afford to offend her with underhanded tactics. Let it be." He waved his hand. He thought to himself, "It’s not a big deal anyway. If Yi Yunxue leaves, so be it; if Han Mei loses, it’s fine. There's no real loss..." It was just a matter of losing face. "Where exactly did this Chen Jiang come from?" he wondered, unable to fathom it.

He did not know that his wife was currently storming toward his office in a rage.

As the music gained momentum, "Encounter" climbed higher and higher on the new song charts. While the song "Waiting for You" also saw slow growth, it ultimately hovered between fourth and fifth place. Listeners aren't stupid; everyone knows whose song is better and who sings it better. When the major music reviews were published the next day, they gave "Encounter" a massive push. Under everyone's gaze, the song rose to the top of the new song chart. Music review bloggers praised the song to the heavens while constantly disparaging "Waiting for You," sung by Han Mei. Many netizens commented that while the song was good, the person singing it was a pile of trash. Everyone was looking forward to cover versions of the song. Initially, when Tianxing Entertainment discovered that a large number of reputable music bloggers were smearing Han Mei, they didn't sit idly by and quickly identified A-Cheng as the ringleader. But after an investigation, the matter was dropped without a trace.

"Encounter" reached the number one spot on the Penguin Music new song chart at 9:00 AM on the second day after its release. Chen Jiang had just finished washing up when he heard the doorbell ring. As he opened the door, a soft figure threw her arms around him, shouting excitedly, "Chen Jiang, Chen Jiang, our song is number one!"

"I know, I know. Don't be so excited… Let go of me first, let’s go inside and talk!" Chen Jiang caught the distinct scent of the girl, his heart pounding. Unfortunately, Yi Yunxue was wearing thick clothes, so he didn't feel the same sensation as last time.

In the living room, the two sat on the sofa. Chen Jiang poured her a cup of hot tea. Yi Yunxue clutched the cup, her face flushed. The atmosphere was a bit awkward. "Oh god, what was I doing just now? Why did I hug him!" she thought, feeling incredibly shy. "Um, I was just a bit excited, sorry," she apologized.

"It's fine, I understand. The song hit number one—it's good news!" Chen Jiang said calmly. "By the way, what place is Han Mei’s song in?" he asked, suddenly remembering they had a competitor.

"She dropped from fourth to eighth," Yi Yunxue said. "You wouldn't believe it, those music review bloggers scolded her so badly. They said the song is great but the person is... well, netizens even commented that she sang it like garbage… haha!" Yi Yunxue couldn't help but laugh.

"They're right to scold her, who told her to go against you!" Chen Jiang agreed.

Yi Yunxue looked at Chen Jiang and said, "Chen Jiang, this is all thanks to you. You don't know, those music review bloggers online are praising you to the heavens! They're saying you're either a legendary veteran using a pseudonym or a genius who appeared out of nowhere."

"They're all guessing who you are."

"And there are many netizens who tried to dig up your information after watching those videos, but they found absolutely nothing."

Hearing this, Chen Jiang froze. He fell into deep thought. He had initially assumed that as a songwriter, no one would pay him much attention. He hadn't expected this to happen. Let them dig if they want; there are so many people named Chen Jiang… and he hadn't left any traces in the music industry anyway. Once this wave of popularity passes, no one should be paying attention to him anymore.

[Yuedian Editor Daxian]: Jianghe, the editor-in-chief said your book will be on the main page promotion next Wednesday for two days.

[Yuedian Editor Daxian]: Your book's official launch is also on Wednesday, which coincides with the Sanjiang recommendation. The platform might also prepare a "first-order" campaign for you since your follow-up readership has exceeded ten thousand. Three major recommendations will bring you a lot of traffic.

[Yuedian Editor Daxian]: Your follow-up readership reached over sixty thousand the day before yesterday, and you know you only have seventy thousand total collections! It's truly terrifying. I'm counting on you to take me to the top, boss.

[Jianghe]: No problem, you got it!

[Yuedian Editor Daxian]: (Kneeling and begging for the boss to carry me)

Main page promotion? What kind of recommendation is that? Chen Jiang was a bit confused, but he was too embarrassed to ask the editor such a low-level question, as it would look bad. So, he opened the group chat the editor had added him to earlier.

[Jianghe]: Bosses, I'd like to ask, where exactly is the main page promotion located?

[Mengxiang Qianding]: Boss, you got a main page promotion? Awesome! But I haven't seen you speak in the group before.

[Fusheng]: Who is this big shot? Already on the main page promotion? Is the boss a "ten-thousand-order" author?

[Wufeng]: Holy crap, it's you, Boss Jianghe! I didn't expect you to be in the group!

[Wufeng]: (Screenshot) Boss, this is the main page promotion.

Chen Jiang took a look. It turned out to be the large, scrolling cover recommendation at the top right of the second page on the mobile app.

[Jianghe]: Thanks.

[Mengxiang Qianding]: What? Jianghe? Boss, are you the author of "Mysteries"?

[Fusheng]: Holy crap! It's that big shot! He got a main page promotion even before the book launched? Terrifying!

The group suddenly became lively because of Chen Jiang’s message. Chen Jiang had no interest in chatting with them; having received the answer he wanted, he exited the group chat interface.