"What the heck?"
The manager looked puzzled, but soon he was all smiles. "I came to congratulate you. Your new single, 'Brilliance,' is now the top song on the new song chart. This season, you've taken the lead!"
"Top?" Chen Zhiyu glanced at his manager. "I only just realized today that the title of this song isn't very auspicious. Do you know what a 'brief brilliance' is?"
"Pfft!" The manager was unimpressed. "Don't keep cursing yourself. We released the song at 7 AM, and it's now 9 AM. 'Brilliance' took only two hours to reach the top. That means our song is the strongest of the season. We even surpassed 'Sahara.' Zheng Liang's 'Caramel' is now in second place, with slightly lower numbers than us. As long as we maintain the lead and suppress Zheng Liang, this season's top chart is secure."
"You're quite the cynic," Chen Zhiyu said, looking dejected.
Seeing Chen Zhiyu's expression, the manager became even more displeased. "Chen Zhiyu, what's wrong with you? You've reached the top, and you're not satisfied? Are you complaining about the company sending you to compete with newcomers? Okay, I admit, the company handled it poorly, but the chief promised to arrange a concert for you. You need to buck up."
"Competing with newcomers?" Chen Zhiyu chuckled. "Who's competing with whom is still uncertain. The company might end up getting nothing but trouble. Don't pin it on me."
"What do you mean?" The manager suddenly smiled. "Are you worried about Zhao Yingge? You're truly experienced. I was also a bit concerned that we might fail, so before coming here, I checked the rankings of 'Flammable and Explosive.' It's at number ten right now, a hundred thousand miles away from your current rank. See for yourself."
The manager opened the new music chart on his phone.
After glancing at the rankings, he suddenly looked puzzled. "Huh? Why is it at number seven now? I just saw it was number ten. Did the chart have a bug?"
"Mm-hmm," Chen Zhiyu replied, unperturbed. He appeared mysterious. "I suggest you refresh it later; there might be a surprise."
"Later?" The manager almost instinctively tapped the refresh button again. Immediately, his eyes widened. "Oh my, it's at number six?"
He turned to look at Chen Zhiyu.
Even a fool would realize something was amiss.
Chen Zhiyu shrugged. "It seems like both Silverfire and Sahara have become the perfect stepping stones. Wait and see; tomorrow's news headline will be 'Champion Zhao Yingge Rises Above Two A-list Singers.'"
"Isn't that a bit far-fetched?" The manager began to doubt.
He didn't dare leave, so he stayed with Chen Zhiyu.
The two stared at each other, silent for half an hour. Finally, the manager opened the new music chart again.
"What's the rank?" Chen Zhiyu asked indifferently.
A twitch appeared at the corner of the manager's mouth. "How is it possible...? This shouldn't have happened... In just half an hour... It's now at third?"
It had reached third place?
Chen Zhiyu muttered three words: "This is madness."
The agent seemed quite impressed, "Zhao Yingge is truly remarkable."
Chen Zhiyu shook his head, "Zhao Yingge can't compete with me in terms of the number of fans. Her ability to top the new music charts is solely due to the song's quality compensating for her lack of popularity. So, the real 'remarkable' one is the composer behind this song, Xianyu!"
The agent inquired, "Can we still hold on to the top spot?"
Chen Zhiyu took a deep breath, "It depends on how fierce Xianyu can be."
The agent sighed in relief, "Are you saying we still have a chance?"
Chen Zhiyu shook his head, "Don't get me wrong. Being surpassed is just a matter of time. What I mean is, we don't know how long Xianyu can stay at the top."
...
Many in the industry were closely following this season's new song charts.
And it was for this reason that many witnessed the astonishing spectacle on the first day of the season performed by "Flammable and Explosive"!
The new music chart was in an uproar.
The guy in sixth place held his ground, trying to maintain a smile as he said to his friend, "Did you see that? It was like a song just whooshed past me."
Friend: "..."
This wasn't an isolated incident. Everyone who watched themselves being overtaken by "Flammable and Explosive" had a similar feeling.
Next.
The thoughts that arose in the hearts of the artists on the chart were all: Can Zhao Yingge really take down the two heavyweights in front of her? It can't be, right? It can't... can it?
From unwavering certainty to doubt, it took just a dozen seconds or so.
Because those who truly understood the industry could easily see that this dark horse, "Flammable and Explosive," had a high probability of making a comeback!
The industry was in shock.
Many found it unbelievable.
Before this, everyone believed that this season was destined for Starlight to fade away, and the media repeatedly ignored Starlight.
The blockade set up by two top-tier singers was not something an artist of Zhao Yingge's level could break through, right?
But the results seemed contrary to what many had expected.
Zhao Yingge effortlessly broke into the top three on the very first day!
Stepping back for a moment.
It's reasonable for Zhao Yingge to take third place; after all, she's the champion of "Rising Star," and her fame is on par with most debut artists.
But to claim third place on the very first day, and to do so with such ease, it was anything but ordinary.
Why?
"Has Zhao Yingge not become famous to this extent yet?
In theory, she should have gone through a brutal battle to barely secure third place. After all, that's how industry insiders have written their mental scripts.
So why is it happening so quickly?
If you only looked at the first-day momentum of 'Flammable and Explosive,' you'd think Zhao Yingge was a top-tier singer too—
Of course, Zhao Yingge isn't a top-tier singer.
The real reason isn't hard to analyze.
After listening to 'Flammable and Explosive,' a senior music producer in the industry chuckled and made a profound statement, 'This is truly a textbook-level music-dad-takes-off scenario. This is why composers are highly regarded in the industry.'
That's right.
Music-dad takes off.
It was the music-dad who, with his own strength, forcibly compensated for the lack of the singer's inherent popularity. That's why he created the aura of a top-tier singer for Zhao Yingge, who was far from being a top-tier singer in terms of fame.
In fact, there's no need for anyone to remind us.
Insiders are well aware of this.
A powerful music-dad has this ability.
But when everyone eagerly looked at the name behind the composer's column, they couldn't help but exclaim in unison because the frequency of this name appearing recently was a bit excessive—
'It's Xianyu again!'
Why the use of 'again'?
Because the vast majority couldn't imagine that the music-dad who single-handedly turned the tables and directly pitted Zhao Yingge against two top-tier singers was actually this newcomer composer within the industry.
Three excellent songs in a row.
Is this 'Xianyu' really a newcomer?"