Chapter Forty-Four: The Frenzied Download Count

The action taken by Huaxia Music Network was swift. Within half an hour, a notification was prominently displayed on the website’s homepage, announcing that all songs had officially been released. It was accompanied by the site’s review: Amidst the storm of controversy, singer Lin Qihua uses a series of remarkable and captivating songs to show us that facts speak louder than words. After listening to these tracks, one can tell that this is indeed a singer of extraordinary talent. His creations span heavy metal rock, folk, ballads, and more, with styles that vary widely. Yet they share a common thread: they are heartfelt. Each song tells a moving story, expressing an uplifting attitude. Yes, though it’s rock, when you listen to his brand, you feel not despair or hysteria, but inspiration and motivation.

Listening to “Swing Together,” you find yourself dancing along; with “Li Bai,” you are tempted to raise a glass in celebration; “Cheers, Friends” makes you want to invite your friends for a drink; “Little Luck” brings back memories of your sweet and innocent first love; “Has Anyone Told You” reminds you of those nights crying alone in bed; “Dreaming Back to the Tang Dynasty” makes you yearn for that flourishing age; “Blue Lotus” inspires the urge to embark on a spontaneous journey; and “Love is a Happy Bullet” has you quietly wishing someone far away well: “If you’re happy, then the sky is clear.” Yes, his songs always evoke different emotions and insights. These are truly heartfelt songs. The highest realm of singing is to move people, to touch the audience with rich emotion. That is heartfelt, and Lin Qihua has achieved it. How fortunate that he appears in the music world, and how fortunate he was not buried in a group. Now, even just performing in a bar, he’s created so many classic tracks. When he returns to the big stage, what wonders will he show? Let’s wait and see. We sincerely invite every listener to experience Lin Qihua’s music, and feel the emotions that belong to everyone.

On every smart device equipped with the Huaxia Music app, a new notification popped up: Lin Qihua brings a host of classic songs to Huaxia Music, offering you the most beautiful melodies. Open it now to experience these moving songs.

Huaxia Music Network commands half of the Mandarin music software market, so one can imagine the vast user base it possesses. At this very moment, as major entertainment media are denouncing unethical journalists, Huaxia Music Network and Lin Qihua have undoubtedly seized the momentum for silent marketing. The results were clear: most users immediately opened the app, entered Lin Qihua’s dedicated music zone, and, seeing the array of new songs, clicked to listen out of curiosity. They quickly found themselves captivated, downloading and saving the tracks to their devices. Downloading a song cost only one yuan, affordable for nearly everyone.

Consequently, in a short time, the backend of Huaxia Music Network showed downloads for tracks like “Dreaming Back to the Tang Dynasty” skyrocketing like a rocket, instantly reaching tens of millions, and this was just the beginning. The staff at Huaxia Music Network were unsurprised—this was the power of the platform. A single push could affect hundreds of millions of users, and with the quality of the songs, tens of millions of downloads were only the start.

Indeed, as evening fell, downloads soared again: twenty million, thirty million... By midnight, the two highest downloads, “Little Luck” and “Dreaming Back to the Tang Dynasty,” had both surpassed fifty million, with other songs performing admirably. Even the seasoned Han Yu was astonished, “This is the treatment reserved for top-tier stars releasing new singles—unprecedented.”

Of course, luck played a large part in these numbers. Besides Huaxia Music Network's powerful platform, the entertainment spotlight was currently focused on Lin Qihua. Public interest and curiosity about him had reached a peak, and expectations for his songs were high. With attention and excellent music, such results were entirely logical.

“Good heavens.” When Lin Qihua received the news, he was also unable to contain himself—a single song had reached fifty million downloads. Since he was both the composer and performer, with a fifty-fifty revenue split with the site, just “Little Luck” alone had earned him nearly twenty million yuan. The other songs each brought in over ten million. Overnight, he had become a millionaire—something others would scarcely believe.

Most crucially, he had fulfilled his initial goal. With these songs as guarantees of quality, who could still believe he was released by his company due to incompetence? As long as listeners accepted this, the slanders against him would lose credibility. Rumors would collapse on their own, and he would achieve his goal of clearing his name. Yes, Lin Qihua’s ultimate aim was simply to clear his name. To return to the big stage, he had to be free of stains. This was the greatest harm caused by Chang Le’s news article. To achieve his aim, Lin Qihua cleverly collaborated with Sister Mei, devising this strategy, leveraging her powerful resources to clear his name. In turn, Sister Mei further promoted the bar and gained dominance in public opinion. Chang Le and his article stood in their way, so they had to be removed—nothing more.

The situation continued to ferment. After so many listeners enjoyed the songs, Lin Qihua’s talent was highly recognized. On their own media platforms, they strongly recommended their favorite tracks and voiced their opinions, declaring that this was undoubtedly a gifted singer. Someone who could write such moving songs could not possibly be of bad character. As for journalists, how could they malign such an artist without evidence?

With netizens spontaneously recommending the music, downloads soared further. Three days later, “Little Luck,” the song with the highest downloads, officially broke the one hundred million mark, reaching platinum status and climbing into the top three on the download charts. The two ahead were new releases from superstar singers—a testament to its value.

Hard facts delivered the final blow to Chang Le. The next day, Red Bean Entertainment Network’s headline read, “A Statement Apologizing to ‘Tang Dynasty’ Bar and Mr. Lin Qihua.” The statement declared that their reporter Chang Le, without sufficient evidence, had slandered “Tang Dynasty” Bar and Mr. Lin Qihua in his report, causing extremely negative impact and violating laws and professional ethics. “Tang Dynasty” Bar is a premium venue dedicated to pioneering new bar culture and music leisure. Mr. Lin Qihua is a devoted musician of exceptional talent. Red Bean Entertainment Network offered a sincere apology, willingness to compensate for losses, and requested forgiveness from both the bar and Lin Qihua. As for Chang Le, he was suspended and ordered to reflect, pending further action.

Attached was Chang Le’s personal letter of apology, officially representing Red Bean Entertainment Network’s regret.

That afternoon, “Huayi” Company issued a statement, saying Lin Qihua was a talented singer and artist who emerged from their training camp and debuted under them, and was the pride of the company. His departure was a loss, and they deeply regretted it, wishing him continued creative success and hoping for future collaboration.

Liu Feng managed to keep his position; Guo Shao did not abandon him and intervened on his behalf. Yet those in the know realized that unless Liu Feng could truly prove he was better than Lin Qihua, his career would be very difficult. The artist department would not let him off easily, nor would his peers respect him.

That evening, “Tang Dynasty” Bar announced on its official website that it and Lin Qihua accepted the apologies from Red Bean Entertainment Network and Chang Le, and no compensation was needed. “Tang Dynasty” Bar would continue its mission to create entertainment leisure bars. Besides the main location in Sandao Bend, new chain branches would open within the year in Xiangdao, Langqiao, and other places. All fans of “Tang Dynasty” Bar were warmly invited to visit and help shape a new music leisure bar culture. In the future, “Tang Dynasty” Bar would cooperate more closely with the entertainment industry, hosting fan meetups, launch events, small concerts, film premieres, and major entertainment activities to build a comprehensive new bar culture. Stay tuned.

The statement signaled the official end of a public opinion battle that began on New Year’s Day and concluded after Lantern Festival. Sparked by Chang Le’s news article, “Tang Dynasty” Bar fought back, employing various strategies to strike directly at the source, causing Red Bean Entertainment Network’s defeat and achieving its goals. The methods used left Lin Qihua awed and deeply respectful.

“Now, the goal has truly been achieved,” Sister Mei said with a smile to Lin Qihua. “‘Huayi’ is sharp, their PR is spot-on, so they avoided entanglement. But our objective was met. You can now openly pursue your music, upload songs, and participate in programs. Likewise, you can negotiate with interested companies without worrying about ‘Huayi’ suppressing you or other companies hesitating because of them.”

“Thank you, Sister Mei. I’ve really learned a lot,” Lin Qihua sighed. “It’s like turning clouds into rain with a flip of the hand.”

“Heh, I’m not that capable, just following instructions,” Sister Mei shook her head. “Next, the bar will enter a new wave of growth. It’s a pity you’ll eventually return to the big stage.”

Lin Qihua was silent.

“Don’t mind it. The key to the bar is customer recognition and service quality. With you, performances are more exciting, but even without you, it’s not the end of the world. There’s no need to feel guilty.” Sister Mei looked at the young man before her and smiled gently. “Work hard. If a superstar emerges from our bar and comes back to visit us now and then, we’ll have something to brag about.”

“I will work hard,” Lin Qihua replied firmly.