Chapter 130: Teacher, Please Grant Me Your Guidance

This episode of "Entertainment Night" was sharper and more pointed than the last, aiming directly at the bedrock of Lin Qihua’s career: his creative talent. If these songs were proven not to be Lin Qihua’s original work, but rather written by someone else, there was no doubt that he would be plunged into a dead end, never to recover.

As soon as the show ended, the media began to hype the topic, ensuring that everyone following the recent turmoil knew that a new piece of evidence had emerged: Lin Qihua was not the creator of those classic songs as everyone imagined. On the contrary, he had obtained these songs through unknown means, registered the copyrights under his own name, and donned the mantle of a "creative genius" to shine on the stage of "The Singer."

"However, true gold fears no fire, and the truth cannot be hidden forever. Tonight, someone has finally stood up bravely to expose his true face, restoring a real Lin Qihua for you. It turns out he is not as gentle and refined as we see, not as sunny and approachable as we see, and not as talented as we see. He is merely an ordinary artist with a bad temper, a lecherous streak, and decent singing skills. Most importantly, he shamelessly used dirty tactics to package himself as a talented singer-songwriter to boost his own career. We must ask: can we still trust such an artist? Can we still like such an artist? Can we still allow such an artist to remain in the entertainment industry?"

It is fair to say that this exposé struck at the very heart of the matter. If Lin Qihua could not produce the necessary evidence to prove his innocence, and if someone stood up to claim they had written those songs, Lin Qihua would undoubtedly be finished.

Even though no one had come forward yet, the fans, guided by media opinion, were already wavering. Liu Feng was right: if he didn't have this talent before, how could such a massive transformation occur in less than a year? Many fans had quietly unfollowed Lin Qihua. The backend monitoring data showed a straight downward trend, proving that fans were losing their patience and growing suspicious. If Lin Qihua did not take a stand, these numbers would continue to plummet.

The netizens, who had previously settled down, were stirred up once again. They charged to the front lines, mocking Lin Qihua on every platform and calling for him to be driven out of the industry. Many even collectively petitioned on the official social media platform of the Pop Music Association, requesting the organization to intervene, investigate, and ban him. Others flocked to the Huaxia Cultural Copyright Management Department, demanding a re-examination of Lin Qihua’s original works so that the real creators could stand up and prove their authorship, revealing the truth to the public.

This time, the storm was truly fierce, far beyond the previous incidents that had little impact. If handled poorly, it would be a total catastrophe.

Inside the Galaxy Entertainment building, Yu Fengqin, He Li, and others looked at each other in dismay. They had not expected their opponents to be so shameless as to directly question Lin Qihua’s creative talent. How should they respond? Original work is original work; how else could it be proven?

Just as they were worrying, they heard Lin Qihua laugh softly. "Are you all too nervous? Are you scared?"

"You're still acting relaxed, but what can we do now?" He Li scolded.

"Relax," Lin Qihua said, tapping the table with a smile. "The Pop Music Association will not act rashly without clear evidence. Do they not know the facts? The truth will come to light eventually. A couple of superstars aren't enough to make them commit such an obvious injustice. Besides, it’s not as if we are doing nothing, so don't worry. I'll say it again: they have no evidence."

"As for the second point, that is even more of a joke. It shows they are out of moves and are just making wild guesses to stir things up. They don't stop to think: if I were really a fraud, fine, but what if I really have this ability? Wouldn't they be shooting themselves in the foot? Is copyright registration that easy? Would the Copyright Office give me a certificate without sufficient proof? Just watch, don't worry."

"But the storm outside is so intense, and we have no way to stop it."

"That is why we should make our move now."

"What should we do?"

"How about this?" Lin Qihua said with a confident smile. "The opposition is currently fueling the fire; why not add more oil to the flames and let it burn completely? They will reveal their tails eventually."

"Are you sure?" Yu Fengqin's eyes brightened.

"I am," Lin Qihua nodded.

"Good, I'll arrange it immediately," Yu Fengqin said, invigorated.

The next day, the Pop Music Association remained silent, but the Copyright Office gave its own response: "Songs registered with the Copyright Office undergo strict verification, including the retention of drafts, networked authentication, and identification measures to ensure that the songs are original and free of plagiarism. Without sufficient evidence, we cannot conclude that there are issues with Lin Qihua’s works, nor can we deny that these works are his creations. If someone comes forward and provides sufficient evidence, the Copyright Office will verify it according to relevant regulations and provide a final judgment. Until then, the Copyright Office will not respond further."

The response disappointed many, but it was within reason. As a copyright registration unit, the office handles countless disputes every year. The fact that they responded at all was only because the matter had become so massive, but they could not provide an answer without verification. Ultimately, it boiled down to one thing: someone must stand up and provide evidence, or it is all just rumors.

Everyone was waiting for the real creators to stand up, report Lin Qihua, and ruin his reputation. But by the second day, no one had. By the third day, still nothing.

On the fourth day, someone finally stood up—not to claim they were the creator, but to calmly offer an analysis. It was a well-known songwriter named Qu Ping, who posted his views on his social media platform: "Recently, many have questioned Lin Qihua's creative talent. Although no one has stepped forward to report him, I believe that by analyzing his songs, we can see certain problems. Today, I want to analyze one of Lin Qihua’s signature songs, 'Little Luck.' The original singer is indeed Lin Qihua, and his performance is quite good, with his own style. However, we can spot a hint of inconsistency. Yes, from a male perspective, it has a certain feel, but the song is clearly expressed from a female perspective—the feelings of a young girl's first love and heartbreak. Given Lin Qihua’s age and experience, how could he write such insights? You must know, can a young man truly fathom the mind of a girl? This is the biggest point of suspicion. Based on this, it is reasonable to suspect that Lin Qihua is likely not the original creator of 'Little Luck.' But who is it? That is impossible to guess."

Hardly had his voice fallen when another well-known songwriter, Yan Jun, emerged: "Following Teacher Qu’s topic, I would also like to offer an analysis of Lin Qihua. 'Love is a Happy Bullet' is undoubtedly a very good song, but such an insight into love cannot be written by a young man. It reminds me of the style of Teacher Han Dongli. If it were her, it would be understandable. However, Teacher Han is not the type to do thankless work for others; I suspect there must be someone else."

Teacher Han Dongli, whom he mentioned, responded that afternoon: "You flatter me. Although I would love to claim this honor, I must tell everyone: it was not me. I am also puzzled. If someone else wrote this song, they could have reaped both fame and fortune through copyright and download splits—one could say they would be 'lying down and counting money.' Yet, they chose to do the work for a young artist. It is hard to understand. Could it be that he has a background that is impossible to refuse?"

"In addition, let me provide a critique of Lin Qihua. The two teachers above discussed specific songs; what I want to say is that, generally, a creator's style is relatively fixed—whether romantic, tender, rock, or jazz, there are always traces of personal characteristics. No matter how it changes, it stays true to its core. But Lin Qihua does not. In every one of his songs, one can see an inconsistency in style. This doesn't make sense. Can a young creator handle such different styles so easily? Of course, I am not denying it, but I am curious: does such a genius really exist?"

The comments from these three well-known songwriters quickly drew widespread attention. The questions they raised were exactly the ones the public had. Under such scrutiny, netizens became even more convinced that Lin Qihua was a fraud.

The media treated this like a treasure, reporting incessantly and interviewing other music critics and songwriters, asking them to analyze and comment, and speculating on who the "true" creator might be. After all, there are not many creators capable of producing songs of such caliber, so if they kept looking, they would surely find them.

Unfortunately, there were still no results.

However, this was enough. It was enough to convince everyone concerned that Lin Qihua could not possibly have created so many songs of such wildly different styles. And with this consensus, that was enough.

That evening, Lin Qihua’s official social media platform released another announcement: "I have carefully studied the comments of the three teachers and express my admiration for their rigor, but I cannot agree with them. To prove my innocence, I, Qihua, boldly challenge the three teachers to a bet. I humbly ask for your guidance."