Chapter 45: I Tend To Kill My Old Friends
“I thought I was just catching a little thief, but I ended up poking the hornet’s nest.”
They’re all music tailors…
Chen Chen’s song “Scarlet” is actually pretty okay; two or three lines of melody are a bit similar, but there’s no solid proof, and saying it’s the source of inspiration is beyond reproach.
But these few who came to Yu Wei’s book review section to recommend themselves are much more serious; hardly any lines in their songs are original—they’re pieced together from a hundred different sources.
For this kind of song that everyone wants to beat, if he writes it into the book, the readers should call the police…
No more writing internet celebrity songs!
Yu Wei quickly considered it; if he continued writing internet celebrity songs, the selected ones would only follow suit, giving birth to a second and third Chen Chen, and then the nature of this book would change.
He is writing a book, not selling goods; his book is not a springboard, nor a traffic fame-and-fortune field. Chen Chen was clever on her own, but other internet celebrities should go back where they came from…
As long as he keeps writing internet celebrity songs, this book will still have internet celebrities eyeing it. To completely cut off their thoughts, he must use some proper music.
Only with a threshold can they stop and stare.
More importantly, he can’t always pick internet celebrity songs to abuse vegetables either; there are so many good music pieces, and using them to compare with internet celebrity songs is somewhat overkill.
“I still need to write some singer works.”
All previous song selections were scrapped; Yu Wei could only select anew.
Originally, if they hadn’t come to advertise, he might have randomly selected their songs, but they insisted on coming in person to be conspicuous persons; now there’s no chance, right?
See, getting anxious again…
“It’s really hard to choose.”
Yu Wei isn’t afraid of offending people; after all, whether writing novels or being a star, there’s competition, and how can one interact without offending anyone?
He just doesn’t want to offend people too much; level up and fight monsters also needs to be done step by step, not pulling boss aggro right away and getting insta-killed.
Better to pick some that won’t offend people first, then proceed step by step later.
Yu Wei suddenly realized that he really matched what the book friend said; he was on the path to beating the entire entertainment industry, and he was even making a strategy guide…
The reader’s move is too ruthless.
“Got it, I can start with acquaintances so I won’t offend anyone, right?”
Writing someone else’s song into the book and interrogating it harshly would definitely offend people; if other colleagues found out, they’d probably die of anger.
But if it’s acquaintances, it’s fine; everyone knows he’s writing a book, and some are even reading it. Acquaintances won’t take it to extremes; even if a bit offended, it’s easier to talk.
He kills acquaintances.
Kill acquaintances first, just to test the waters of the entertainment industry; once everyone gets used to it, then switch to strangers…
“Who to kill first—no, who to write first?”
Thinking of killing acquaintances, the first one Yu Wei thought of was Tong Yulu; sharing the novel in Moments was simply unforgivable, but unfortunately, this guy has no individual singles at all—it’s in an untargetable state.
Or maybe because she always wants to connect with him on the program, but has no works, so of course she’s anxious?
None of the current new-generation artists have many representative works; among the acquaintances Yu Wei knows, only three have individual singles: Zhang Lingye, Qi Yuan, Chi Leying.
Chi Leying’s singles are all cover songs, which aren’t good to write either—easy to accidentally hurt the original author…
“Old Zhang, what the hell are you singing?”
Originally, he wanted to select Zhang Lingye; this guy not only has them but three songs. But as soon as he clicked the first one, Yu Wei couldn’t hold it; the song was too awful, even awfully oni.
Who would have thought that thick-browed, big-eyed Zhang Lingye would sing such an abstract song? Listening one more second would really make you explode.
The next two aren’t bad, but the songs are very ordinary, and the playback volume is extremely low—works that no one except fans cares about.
Not up to much!
Yu Wei writes real-world songs precisely to make it easy for readers to immerse; for such obscure songs, to readers, it’s no different from making one up.
“I can only rely on you, Yuan Shen!”
Since his debut, Qi Yuan has always had great resources; he has five individual singles alone, though four of them are also fan-oriented works, not popular enough.
The only one that can truly be called a representative work is “Same Dust,” with decent popularity—it even took first place on the monthly chart in its debut month.
The popularity is about one-third of “Scarlet,” but the song quality is much higher than internet celebrity songs; after all, it’s a professional team.
“It’s decided—you!”
Aiming right for the professional team.
Qi Yuan has a decent relationship with him, so it won’t tear their face over one song; this is already the least offensive choice he can think of…
The two words “Same Dust” mean blending into the mundane; this song focuses on the ordinary, with a gentle melody that builds layer by layer, very atmospheric—absolutely a fine work in the hands of a new-generation singer.
The only flaw is that the lyrics are a bit empty and grandiose, always praising the ordinary but without anything that can resonate with regular people.
One can only say that these song producers are still too far from true mortals.
Today’s chapter is already posted, but considering the move tomorrow, he decided to write an extra one, so he won’t be stuck on time then.
After greeting Qi Yuan, Yu Wei started the new round of plot.
……
“The door isn’t locked?”
Zhang Lingye knocked with no answer; the touch under his knuckles felt light and unusual. With a slight push, the apartment door slid open on its own.
Seeing this, Qi Yuan behind him hurried up, but only saw the living room empty and clean, with only a split-open cardboard box in the corner silently hinting at the haste of someone who had vacated the place.
“He seems to have moved out?”
Seems? Clearly he has.
Zhang Lingye held his forehead, feeling dizzy; he had never felt so speechless in his life. He waited two days at the recording studio door for Yu Wei without seeing him, and now visiting the door, the guy had moved.
When you’re unlucky, even drinking cold water clogs your teeth…
Sure enough, he shouldn’t have believed Qi Yuan’s nonsense from the start; perfectly avoiding all correct answers is unmatched.
Qi Yuan, who wanted to “bump into” Yu Wei even more, was instead calm now; he looked around the slightly cramped empty room, his mood complex.
He actually didn’t live in the artist apartment for many days; after forming the group, he just went through the motions and moved out—the others were similar.
Only Yu Wei stayed alone in such a small room for four years, yet even so, he never lost his fighting spirit and instead soared straight up.
Just this ability to endure loneliness and embrace the ordinary—he’s far inferior!
Qi Yuan looked around, as if sensing traces of creation in every corner of the room—not knowing how many songs’ inspiration was born here…
“Let’s go; what’s there to see when the person’s moved out.”
Zhang Lingye stood at the door with inexplicable irritability; what was this, heroes cherishing heroes? Making him, the NPC, feel out of place.
Qi Yuan nodded, about to leave, when his phone vibrated in his pocket—Yu Wei’s novel had updated.
“You even turned on update notifications.”
“Let’s read the new chapter before leaving.” Qi Yuan ignored Zhang Lingye who had walked two steps out and sat down to read by himself.
“No hope.”
Zhang Lingye neither left nor stayed, simply leaning by the door to glance at the new chapter—and was shocked at first sight: the protagonist’s opponent’s song was actually “Same Dust.”
Isn’t that Qi Yuan’s breakout hit?
He’s all too familiar with this song; back then he and Qi Yuan were opponents, and the comment section always had rival fans mocking him face-to-face by mentioning this song.
“Holding individual single ‘Same Dust,’ number one on monthly listening index that month, multiple platforms multiple charts multiple listings, four consecutive magazine [instant sell-out] & [sold out] double king, popularity off the charts, super popular!!”
Too many tears to mention…
Yu Wei plans to interrogate Qi Yuan’s song?
Great thing, huge good news; Zhang Lingye even felt the thrill of great revenge—bullying with power, huh? Meeting Yu Wei makes you behave.
Qi Yuan read slowly, as if savoring every word; he still didn’t know what was coming next.
Zhang Lingye was gloating when he turned the page and saw his own song—that uniquely styled oni music.
The book wrote that when Zhang Ye brought out this song, the whole audience laughed themselves silly, and he was ultimately eliminated…
“Holy shit.”
And mine too?
Yu Wei: No free rides.
Only after finishing the book did Zhang Lingye notice Yu Wei’s message; Yu Wei had @’d him twice in the old group chat yesterday, but he’d muted that group long ago…
Classic: mute class group after graduation.
He wouldn’t take the blame for this cursed song; back then on a variety show, he met a senior industry veteran who saw his talent and vowed to write a song for him.
Zhang Lingye believed it, and then received this thing…
Once the thing was in hand, whether to sing it wasn’t up to him; not singing would seem ungrateful and disrespectful to the senior, plus the company kept pushing, so he had no choice but to sing.
Once the song dropped, he got group-mocked; luckily the internet has no memory, and the incident faded from public view, becoming a harmless black history.
Now great, Yu Wei dragged it out for public execution… with his novel’s popularity, this song of his will probably become new oni material tomorrow.
Not a big problem; songs are released to be heard, doesn’t matter one or two more. Besides, Yu Wei greeted him—adding some laughs to his book is fine.
All buddies!
The unhurried Qi Yuan finally reached the “Same Dust” part, but he just paused for a second, then patiently continued reading.
“How are you not reacting?”
Zhang Lingye wanted to see his reaction, but Qi Yuan brushed past it so lightly—turns out only he doesn’t check the group?
“I know; I saw the group and agreed.”
A couple days ago with the “Scarlet” thing, Qi Yuan saw it all; that internet celebrity singer was cunning, deftly resolving the contradiction and framing Yu Wei’s behavior as guidance…
That was only because Chen Chen was too weak, so he subdued without fighting; if it were him, he’d have fighting power.
Last time was just a test; this is Yu Wei’s true first battle, and he is that significant first step.
He’s been waiting for this opportunity a long time!
He thought for a moment and replied in the long-silent group chat.
“Waiting for your song.”
Sure enough, only he is fit to be his opponent!
