With the end of the gala, some rejoiced while others worried, a myriad of emotions lingering in everyone's hearts.
The performance of The Ordinary Road won enthusiastic applause, earning rave reviews not only inside the venue but also generating massive online buzz.
The Aikuns were completely beside themselves.
The gala was already over; even if they tried to track down the show's director, it would do no good. Yet they had a full reservoir of grievances with nowhere to vent, so they aimed their guns straight at Zhou Chen.
It was bad enough that he had stolen their idol's finale slot, but did the bastard have to show off so much, too?
These honors should have belonged to their idol!
The chance for their idol to make a splash in the industry had been stolen by Zhou Chen!
That was going too far!
Flesh and blood could only take so much.
They would guard their idol!
In their fan chat group, the Aikuns began discussing countermeasures.
Yu Jingjing, as one of the lead administrators of the Aikun fan club, bore the brunt of it!
Her boss had kept her late for overtime today, forcing her to temporarily skip her idol's stage performance with plans to catch up on it later. Who could have imagined that the production team would hit them with such a huge surprise?
Xu Kun was nowhere to be seen, and the segment had been replaced without any explanation!
If it had been some reigning superstar, that would be one thing, but it was just a no-name from the bottom rungs, a man who had climbed up by riding on the coattails of women!
Yu Jingjing simply could not stand it!
She immediately clicked on the video of Zhou Chen's gala performance, opened a blank document, and prepared to tear him apart word by word in a lengthy online tirade.
A few minutes later.
The Ordinary Road finished playing.
The document remained completely blank.
The desktop was covered in tissues used to wipe away tears.
This song! This song was simply too good!
After listening to it, she felt as though the softest part of her heart had been touched.
Her daily routine consisted of nothing but work and overtime, and the rare moments of free time she managed to carve out were spent chasing stars, participating in online fan wars and fan-on-fan brawls.
She had once dreamed of roaming the ends of the earth with a sword in hand, but now all she could do was tap away at a keyboard to fight the battles of others!
She should be living her own life!
Be true to herself!
That was it!
*Ping, ping, ping—*
A rapid series of notification alerts interrupted Yu Jingjing.
Yu Jingjing snapped back to reality.
It dawned on her, a beat too late.
Wait a minute!
Wasn't I supposed to be picking flaws and writing a hit piece?
How did I get sucked into it instead?!
I need to snap out of it!
Our idol cannot endure this kind of grievance!
So what if the lyrics were well-written? That didn't necessarily mean he wrote them himself.
Didn't people say Zhou Chen always slacked off in his boy band days? His singing skills must be trash!
With this mindset, Yu Jingjing opened the video once again.
Then, she cried even harder.
Ah, ah, ah!
How could anyone sing that well?!
She couldn't find a single flaw!
With lyrics well-written, vocals top-notch, and looks not half bad, why wasn't a guy like this famous before?
After pondering for a moment, she looked up Ten Years, the song that had previously exploded in popularity.
Unlike The Ordinary Road, which left a lingering, gentle melancholy in one's chest, Ten Years struck with a heart-wrenching agony right from the start!
It instantly transported Yu Jingjing back to the happy days she once shared with her ex-boyfriend, before all sorts of circumstances forced them to wave goodbye. Looking back now, only a sense of release remained, finally allowing her to truly understand what it meant when the lyrics said, "My tears are not shed for you alone, but for others, too."
Even if she wrung her brains dry, Yu Jingjing could never come up with lines like those!
And this very song, Ten Years, was one that Zhou Chen had publicly acknowledged as his own work, both lyrics and composition!
He was simply too talented!
Yu Jingjing wiped away her tears and opened the Aikun fan group.
To her shock, the chat was in absolute chaos!
There were quite a few people like her whose opinions of Zhou Chen had changed because of a single song.
"The Ordinary Road sounds so damn good. My chest still feels tight even after finishing it!"
"I listened to it with my dad, and he burst into tears right after... he kept praising how well-written and well-sung it was."
"Anyone with a bit of life experience will probably feel a ache in their chest after listening to this. Make sure you take good care of your dad."
"Yeah, I burst into tears the moment I finished it, too!"
"Crap, are you guys still Kun-kun's fans or not? Why are you speaking up for outsiders?"
"Exactly! Why talk up the opponent? This is the Aikun group, not Zhou Chen's fan club!"
"What even is The Ordinary Road? Isn't it just folk music? Is that really worth crying over? You guys have such low thresholds."
"Can you guys have some taste for once? Have you learned all of Kun-kun's songs yet? Have you bought his albums?"
"Could there be Zhou Chen fan moles sneaking around in this group? Surely not? Surely not? Is there really anyone who actually likes Zhou Chen?"
"Good is good, and bad is bad. This song is simply good. What's wrong with telling the truth?"
"Right? We like Kun-kun, but we still have to admit that The Ordinary Road sounds amazing!"
"What sounds amazing? It sounds awful! I don't think it sounds good at all."
"That's just your personal opinion! I think it sounds great."
"It sounds terrible. I don't care what you think, I care what I think!"
"Where are the group admins? Kick out everyone who isn't an Aikun."
"Yeah, seeing them is really annoying!"
"The urgent issue right now is that Kun-kun's performance got replaced. The capital behind Zhou Chen is way too powerful!"
"True! If we fans don't do something, the idol is going to get bullied by them even more in the future!"
"That's right! Let capital and Zhou Chen know our strength. Kun-kun will definitely support us if he finds out."
"Totally, boycott Zhou Chen!"
"Boycott Zhou Chen!"
"Boycott Zhou Chen!"
"..."
Watching the group chat get flooded with these messages, Yu Jingjing couldn't help typing out a reply: "The show was changed at the last minute; it might not have been Zhou Chen who stole the spot. Who knows, maybe our idol had something come up, and Zhou Chen just came to step in and help out?"
"What is that supposed to mean? Are you implying that if the idol had something to do, he would deliberately keep it from notifying us? It's obvious he was suddenly replaced!"
"Our idol is backed by us Aikuns. If Zhou Chen didn't do it on purpose, would the production team have replaced the idol?"
"Right! The idol announced his schedule ages ago and everything was locked in. What could possibly have come up? The production team is trash, and Zhou Chen is even bigger trash!"
"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, are you a Zhou Chen fan in disguise? A fence-sitter?"
"So disgusting. Do you have any idea how much grief the idol has suffered?"
"Still speaking up for Zhou Chen! Admin, kick her!"
"..."
Yu Jingjing never expected that a simple, reasonable guess on her part would instantly provoke public outrage. Just as she was wondering how to explain herself, she abruptly discovered that she had been removed from the chat group.
At the same time, Yu Jingjing noticed that an hour had passed since the gala broadcast ended, yet aside from the five minutes when Zhou Chen started singing, Weibo was completely dead silent regarding The Ordinary Road!
Instead, negative gossip about Zhou Chen and stories about Xu Kun's dedication and hard work on stage were pushed onto the trending searches side-by-side.
#Golden Rooster Awards Show Lineup Switched#
#Zhou Chen Kept by a Sugar Mommy#
#Xu Kun Prepared for Golden Rooster Awards a Month in Advance#
#Xu Kun Sang Himself Hoarse Rehearsing#
#The Ordinary Road Performed Without Rehearsal#
These trending topics only served to imply that the parachute entry Zhou Chen must have powerful backers behind him; otherwise, how could he possibly have defeated such a "hardworking and dedicated" singer?
With such swift and ruthless methods at play, Yu Jingjing, who had spent enough time mingling in the industry, refused to believe that someone wasn't pulling strings behind the scenes.
Every piece of gossip, old and new, had been dug up and recycled.
Some accounts didn't even care whether it was true or false; they just slapped together a random chat screenshot and claimed he had stolen Xu Kun's resources.
Given Xu Kun's level of singing, did his resources even need to be stolen?
If he didn't have this pack of fiercely combative fans standing behind him, it would be a miracle of the universe if anyone bothered giving him resources at all!
Having tasted fine cuisine, Yu Jingjing had long since looked down on the stale chaff that was Xu Kun.
Meanwhile.
Inside a certain hotel.
"Ha! You dared to provoke Xu Kun's fans and still expect to soar to the skies? Zhou Chen, keep dreaming!"
Watching Zhou Chen get hounded and cursed at by Xu Kun's fans, Ye Nan felt utterly euphoric.
That'll teach him to put her on his block list!
Even if he came crawling to her for help now, she wouldn't agree!
Feeling entirely satisfied, Ye Nan turned to Zhao Min and gave her earnest instructions:
"Minmin, you must practice this new song well. I spent a fortune buying it for you."
"I'll sing it well," Zhao Min nodded, carefully studying the sheet music.
"Good. After today, I'll seize the moment while Zhou Chen's reputation is at rock bottom and his buzz is highest to drop some hints about your impending divorce. Once the new song drops, we'll officially announce your separation. That way, this new track is guaranteed to blow up." Ye Nan arranged everything meticulously, brimming with confidence.
"But this new song still falls short of Zhou Chen's Ten Years and The Ordinary Road in terms of lyrics and composition," Zhao Min said, deeply disappointed, though she knew this was the best quality track she could secure in the current climate.
A trace of resentment flashed across Ye Nan's eyes. "Damn that Zhou Chen! He's got two songs that good in his hands, yet he wouldn't even think of giving you one!"
"But it doesn't matter. Even with great songs, so what? In our circle, star power is never determined by good music."
"Just focus on singing, Minmin. I'll handle everything else. Nobody is going to stop you from climbing to the top!"
Indeed.
What good was having one or two great songs in this industry?
Without popularity, there was no fan support; without fan support, once the momentary heat faded, all that remained was biting cold.
Only by knowing how to hype yourself up and leaning on powerful backers could you stand forever at the absolute peak!
The hesitation in Zhao Min's eyes instantly vanished.
Her ambition burst forth entirely.