Chapter Fifty-Seven: Entering the Dominant Ranking Mode

“Whew.” The middle-aged man sat down, exhaling softly. “Alright, let’s talk sitting down. I was a bit impulsive just now.”

“Thank you, Mr. Chen.” The two department heads relaxed. Although they didn’t understand why their boss was so determined to crush Galaxy Entertainment, they were well aware of the company’s recent booming business. While they also understood that this method was improper and would likely cause trouble in future dealings with other companies, if Starshine Entertainment wanted to rise swiftly, this was indeed the best and fastest way.

“So you’re saying that everything we’ve done so far has been in vain?” Mr. Chen’s face was full of unwillingness. “Are we just going to watch Galaxy Entertainment and that woman escape our trap?”

“It’s not all in vain,” the head of the Artists Department replied cautiously. “It’s an undeniable fact that Galaxy Entertainment’s strength has taken a major hit. Without any top-tier stars, the impact is huge. Without regular appearances and stable income, it’s hard to survive. Lei Jing alone can’t hold up the whole company. What’s concerning is that I noticed a new recruit has joined Galaxy Entertainment. It’s probably his arrival that caused this sudden change.”

“Oh? Who?”

“Lin Qihua,” the head of the Artists Department said bitterly. “I had a mole in Galaxy Entertainment, always keeping an eye on their situation. But the very first day Lin Qihua joined the company, he rooted the mole out. Now he’s been sidelined and isn’t allowed to be involved in anything. But this much is clear: it was this person who wrote the song for Lei Jing, derailing our plans. Whether he’ll keep doing this is our biggest risk now. If every artist can get songs from him, not only will they continue to have financial resources, but it’ll further boost both the company’s reputation and their artists’ popularity. At that point, things will be out of our control. After all, for artists, popularity means everything.”

“So what can we do?”

“Nothing.” The head of the Artists Department gave a wry smile. “He hasn’t officially returned to the stage—he’s just writing songs. We can’t do anything to him in terms of public opinion. And as for copyright, the China Music Library has already approved everything, so we can’t question it. Besides, if we try to make a fuss about that, we’ll only give him more exposure and free publicity for his comeback.”

“In any case, keep a close watch on him. Find a way to deal with him. If he’s the one who ruined my plan, I won’t let him off easily,” Mr. Chen said angrily.

“Understood.”

Of course, Lin Qihua had no idea he was already on someone’s blacklist. Every day, aside from helping a few artists polish the details of their work, he was completely absorbed in his own practice. The day of his return was drawing ever closer, and he couldn’t afford the slightest lapse. Even though summer had come and the practice room was stifling hot, leaving him drenched in sweat at the slightest exertion, he never resented the sweat shed in pursuit of youth and dreams.

Meanwhile, the artists were also starting their own battles.

Lei Jing arrived in Xiangzhou, stepping onto the stage of the Music Center and once again shaking the audience with her wild voice. “Brilliant Summer Years” climbed even higher on the New Songs Chart of China. The charts were ranked monthly, and after a month, a song would be removed from the new releases list. Lei Jing had already squeezed out the previous weekly champion and was now charging towards the monthly crown.

In the second week, the three young girls of the Vivi Group took the stage at Music Bank. Amid deafening cheers, they dazzled the audience with “SUPERSTAR,” winning that week’s championship and catapulting themselves into the top five of the monthly chart.

The next day, viewers who’d seen the show couldn’t help but hum a few lines from the song: “You are electricity, you are light, you are the one and only legend.” The song had clearly struck a chord with the public.

With their versatile style and brimming vitality, Lin Qihua believed that given time and opportunity, these three girls would inevitably become a first-tier girl group, their future boundless.

In the third week, Lei Jing continued to stun audiences on the Star Songs stage of Blue Ocean TV, while the Vivi Group took over and conquered the Music Center stage.

The handsome young Li Yaohui finally had his debut performance at Music Bank. His heartfelt rendition of “In My Palm” quickly captured the hearts of a legion of female fans, making for a successful debut. Although he only took fourth place, it was already an excellent result—a great start for his upcoming career.

In the fourth week, Lei Jing headed south to perform on the Voice of Music at Southern TV, a melting pot of diverse musical cultures, where the audience’s tastes were notoriously discerning and hard to please. Even so, Lei Jing once again impressed with her unique charm. If not for the coincidental release of a new song by a singer from Hong Kong, she would have had a great shot at the championship. Meanwhile, the Vivi Group’s luck was even better—they continued their strong streak and took the top prize on Star Songs.

The last newcomer, Song Yujia, made her debut at Music Bank with the high-difficulty song “Bubbles,” pouring all the emotions of a girl’s heartbreak into her performance. A few incredibly challenging high notes crushed the competition, winning her the weekly championship and earning her the title “Queen of Powerhouse Vocals” right out of the gate. Her prospects were limitless, and the media lavished her with unanimous praise after the show.

The ever-sensitive media quickly drew a conclusion: Galaxy Entertainment seemed to be employing a strategy typical only of major companies—having their singers avoid direct competition with each other, releasing singles separately to maintain sustained buzz and attention, with each act complementing the others. Everyone noticed these artists were all from Galaxy Entertainment, and with a full month of relentless promotion, both the artists and the company enjoyed skyrocketing exposure and attention. It was a brilliant strategy, but anyone could attempt it. Why was Galaxy Entertainment able to succeed?

The answer was simple: high-quality works. Whether it was Lei Jing or the newly debuted Song Yujia, the songs they performed were all of exceptional quality, with massive potential for popularity. They dominated the wireless download charts, and after the previous month’s champion dropped off, their new releases swept the top spots on this month’s new songs chart—an immense show of strength. This was the true foundation for their successful strategy.

Looking at the songwriters for these tracks, one name kept appearing: Lin Qihua. This name was already familiar to most. At the start of the year, he was at the center of a massive media storm, and his signature work, “Little Happiness,” still ranked in the top ten on the wireless download charts. Now, it appeared he had officially joined Galaxy Entertainment. Even before his comeback, he had already gifted the company an extraordinary advantage—a clear sign of his confidence. No one could say how, at such a young age, he was able to write songs so perfectly suited to each performer. But one thing was certain: with his arrival, Galaxy Entertainment’s strength would soar. The pressure and setbacks they’d faced earlier would vanish into thin air. As other artists rose in prominence with next year’s chart updates, and with Lin Qihua’s own return to the stage, there was every reason to believe that Galaxy Entertainment would usher in a brand new era. The world watched with bated breath.

This review attracted widespread attention, and Lin Qihua’s name once again became a hot topic. His image as a “prodigy” grew ever more entrenched in the public’s mind.

Galaxy Entertainment’s performances were far from over. In the second month, at the press conference for the film “Our Youthful Days” directed by Liao Chengping, Xiao Xiao appeared in a white dress, delivering a stunning performance that took the entire country by storm overnight. She then made a powerful debut on Music Bank, launching a whirlwind campaign that immediately snatched the monthly championship.

“This is killing me.” Compared with the ecstatic fans, singers from other companies were feeling nothing but frustration. After waiting so long to release a single, they now had to compete with such a phenomenon—it severely diminished their impact.

Xiao Xiao’s version of “Little Happiness,” together with the blockbuster success of “Our Youthful Days,” continued to heat up throughout August, eventually surpassing Lin Qihua’s own version with over 300 million downloads—a level of mania rarely seen.

“A phenomenon-level performance.” This was the media’s verdict. “In 2077, no singer is hotter than Xiao Xiao.”

But there was one who disagreed: Lei Jing. After completing her nationwide tour, she returned to Music Bank, where in the first week she poured all her dedication and longing for her dreams into “Perhaps Tomorrow.” The following week, she performed “All Things Grow,” a dynamic showcase of song and dance that proved she was every bit Xiao Xiao’s equal, her popularity quickly catching up.

“Galaxy Entertainment—Twin Stars Shine.” The media, which had already settled on its previous conclusion, was forced to revise its assessment, placing the two on equal footing. They described them as the twin stars standing side by side at the heart of Galaxy Entertainment, both equally brilliant and dazzling. “One returns to her true self, singing with abandon; the other is pure and heartfelt. Add in the Vivi Group, exuding the subtle aura of a top-tier girl group, and two other promising newcomers, and Galaxy Entertainment’s future looks boundless.”

With such exposure and ever-increasing attention, all of Galaxy Entertainment’s artists saw their fan numbers soar at a dizzying rate. The happiest of all was the young beauty Song Yujia, who had just opened her official social media account and already boasted nearly a million followers—her days filled with laughter.

While the outside world buzzed with excitement, Galaxy Entertainment was busy with another matter: September was approaching, and Lin Qihua was finally about to make his comeback. This was a major event for the company. In He Li’s eyes, no amount of attention was too much, for Lin Qihua was an invaluable treasure—the true key to Galaxy Entertainment’s rise.

Because of this, even Lei Jing and Xiao Xiao, who were in the midst of nationwide promotional tours, returned in full force to witness the historic moment of Lin Qihua’s official signing and comeback.

At last, Lin Qihua was able to meet his fan club, “Morning Stars,” having a rare face-to-face exchange with his supporters before his return to the stage.