Taking the elevator from the World Trade Center down to the parking lot, Zhou Chen was paying for parking when he realized his phone was still in airplane mode.
This was a habit he had picked up while recording songs.
He tapped to turn off airplane mode and got ready to scan the code for payment.
The moment his phone reconnected to the network, it erupted with a flurry of chimes and notifications.
A call came in immediately.
To his surprise, it was Tang Tang.
The two of them had only exchanged contact information privately yesterday, and she was already reaching out today?
The moment he answered, Tang Tang's melodic and excited voice came through:
"Why couldn't I get through to your phone just now? Were you busy?"
"It's nothing, I just came over to tell you—"
"Zhou Chen! You're blowing up!"
"Lin Hongfei actually posted a Weibo about you, did you see it? He actually posted a Weibo about you!"
"Oh my god! Is that kind of treatment usually reserved only for heavenly kings and divas?"
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, my friend actually knows such a badass figure!"
"Ahahaha..."
Tang Tang's unbridled, laughter-filled voice echoed through the earpiece.
This young woman really was quick to warm up to people.
Zhou Chen couldn't help the twitch at the corner of his mouth. Recalling what she had said, he checked the situation on his phone while still on the call with her.
Text messages and direct messages across various platforms had already filled his notification bar:
"Hello Mr. Zhou, I am the head of Kuma Music, and I'd like to secure the exclusive agency rights for your upcoming release *Ten Years* and its related album. We can discuss the price!"
"Hello Mr. Zhou, I am the head of Tencent Music, I'd like to talk to you about the exclusive agency rights for your new song..."
"I am the head of NetEase Cloud Music, we are very interested in your new song..."
"Hello Mr. Zhou, I am an agent from Jiaxing Entertainment, sincerely inviting you to visit and discuss cooperation..."
"..."
They were either after the exclusive copyright for his new song, or had caught some gossip and wanted to poach him.
After all, secrets never stay hidden in this industry.
Since he had already signed the divorce agreement with Zhao Min, those in the know must have gotten wind of it long ago, even if nothing was official yet. That was why they were sending messages now to test the waters.
Besides, since he had already admitted in public that he held the copyright to *Ten Years*, testing the waters didn't cost them anything.
Ignoring these messages, Zhou Chen clicked into Weibo and was shocked to find his name back on the trending search list.
This time, he wasn't alone—he was paired with Lin Hongfei.
An industry-gold-standard producer had stepped in to offer commentary.
A single Weibo post had been rocketed onto the trending list within five minutes flat; not even paid promotion could buy that kind of speed.
He hadn't expected Lin Hongfei's industry influence to be even greater than he imagined.
"Did you see it? That's what it means to be recognized by the strongest producer in the industry!"
Tang Tang's voice was full of admiration. She just knew Zhou Chen wouldn't stay trapped in a small pond, and *Ten Years* would only be the starting point of his soaring career.
And as for her, she could somewhat consider herself to have given Zhou Chen a helping hand, right?
So could she...
"You definitely didn't call me just to talk about this, did you?" Zhou Chen asked with certainty.
Having her thoughts guessed, Tang Tang let out a hearty laugh, "Hehe, you caught me!"
"What do you want?"
If not for the massive traffic in Tang Tang's livestream room, Zhou Chen wouldn't have shot onto the trending list in an instant, and she had kept promoting him ever since.
For someone who had helped him, Zhou Chen was willing to return the favor.
"I want you to authorize me to cover *Ten Years*." Tang Tang made her request without standing on ceremony. After a brief pause, she deliberately teased him, "Can I? Copyright Brother~"
Zhou Chen: "..." For a split second, I suddenly don't want to anymore.
Who was Copyright Brother!
He was a member of the Authentic Copyright Guardian Alliance, alright?
Tang Tang chuckled, "Thanks a lot! This young lady will definitely remember your great kindness—I'll never forget it!"
"You're welcome."
Zhou Chen smiled; chatting with Tang Tang really did lighten his mood.
With tens of millions of followers, Tang Tang covering his song could only help spread it even further, no matter how he looked at it.
That evening.
Tang Tang directly released her cover of *Ten Years*.
She became the second person across the entire internet to perform the song.
In the first minute of its release, clicks surpassed ten thousand.
In five minutes, one hundred thousand.
These were views contributed entirely by Tang Tang's loyal, active fans.
Following right after, the view count—which they originally thought might slow down—suddenly surged at a terrifying pace!
One million after half an hour, and straight to ten million within an hour!
Even as a streamer with tens of millions of followers, Tang Tang had never experienced such a terrifying momentum!
They weren't here for her; they were here for *Ten Years*!
The only other full version of *Ten Years* available on the entire internet!
"Ding! Checking in."
"The female version is here!"
"It sounds great, but that's because the melody and lyrics are so good."
"Oh my god, Copyright Brother actually authorized it."
"Tang Tang's singing skills are already great, but the male version is still more of a classic."
"..."
Any topic even remotely connected to *Ten Years* shot up like it had a rocket strapped to it.
Seeing Tang Tang reap the benefits, others couldn't sit still either and rushed to post their own covers on their accounts.
It wasn't just top internet celebrities in the entertainment section like Feng Momo and Chen Fafa who were covering it; even streamers from other sections couldn't help but jump in and grab a mic. Even if they couldn't sing, *Ten Years* had to be playing as their background music.
In short, they were dead set on riding the coattails of the hype surrounding *Ten Years*!
As a result, these streamers—who already had massive fanbases and their own traffic—brought even more attention to *Ten Years* while riding its coattails, while the organic popularity of *Ten Years* fed traffic right back to them...
Because of this cycle, *Ten Years* became hotter and more viral by the day, eventually reaching a point where virtually everyone had heard it and everyone could hum a couple of lines!
This led to the bizarre situation where, even though Zhou Chen's single *Ten Years* hadn't even been officially released yet, it occupied the number one spot on every single music platform.
The music platforms themselves were dumbfounded!
Having spent a long time in this industry, they had seen all sorts of things, but this... dammit, they had never seen this before!
Yet at the same time, they saw the massive commercial value of *Ten Years*!
One after another, they resolved that no matter the cost, they had to secure the release authorization for *Ten Years*!
They absolutely could not give their competitors an opening!
***
Meanwhile.
Zhou Chen stretched lazily and casually set his musical score aside.
Just as he was getting ready to rest, his phone rang.
Picking it up, Zhou Chen saw it was actually his good buddy, Gao Yu.
The two of them had been college classmates.
Only, Zhou Chen had been in the vocal department while Gao Yu was in directing.
Gao Yu was quite talented and had already made a small name for himself in the industry before graduation.
Now he had been invited to serve as the chief director for the industry's Golden Rooster Awards. Logically speaking, with the Golden Rooster Awards about to open, Gao Yu should be at his absolute busiest—how did he have time to make a phone call?
"Hello? How does a busy man like you have time to call me?"
"I saw the news online. If I didn't call you, you fucking wouldn't have thought to call me, would you? What the hell is going on!" Even amidst his busy schedule, he had caught wind of some rumors.
Zhou Chen said nonchalantly, "Just singing a song."
"What do you mean, just singing a song? What's the song about? Could it be that you and Zhao Min... actually broke up?" he probed.
"We signed the divorce agreement. As soon as the cooling-off period ends, we'll go pick up the divorce certificate." Facing Gao Yu, his good brother, Zhou Chen didn't hide a thing.
"Holy shit! You actually came to your senses? I kept telling you that woman was no good. At first she seemed decent enough, but once she got a little bit of fame, she lost it and started getting full of herself..." Gao Yu ranted on and on, "Brother, congratulations on escaping a sea of bitterness!"
Zhou Chen chuckled softly. Hearing the name Zhao Min brought complete peace to his heart; it felt like something from a past lifetime.
Gao Yu continued, "Since you're divorced, come over and give me a hand."
"Huh?" Was there any causal connection between the two?
Gao Yu cursed, his tone dripping with exasperation at Zhou Chen's lack of spine: "Fuck me, the guy headlining the opening ceremony—Xu Kun—got locked up in a detention center for soliciting a woman! Even though it hasn't hit the news yet, the SARFT is definitely not letting him perform. I'm losing my mind over here trying to scramble!"
"If you've got time, come bail me out."
After half a month of hard work, right when they were about to cross the finish line and reap the rewards, boom—they were back to square one.
Fortunately, the idol's performance slot was just one item.
This was a dire emergency, the two of them were good friends, and it was also a great opportunity to show his face in front of the assembled stars and the public. Other singers would claw and scrape just for a chance to get up there, so how could Zhou Chen refuse?
Besides, he understood that despite Gao Yu's frantic attitude, he wasn't strictly limited to Zhou Chen.
This was his buddy giving him a chance to turn the tables!
"Thanks, brother."
"What are you standing on ceremony for? Call me Daddy and we'll call it even."
"Get lost!"
"Hehehe..."
That very evening, Zhou Chen flew to the city hosting the Golden Rooster Awards opening ceremony.
The next day, he handed the song he had prepared over to Gao Yu.
"New song?"
Gao Yu took the paper Zhou Chen handed him and looked it over. His initially relaxed and carefree expression instantly turned stunned the moment he saw the lyrics above. "You wrote these lyrics?"
Without answering, Zhou Chen simply asked, "Can I sing this at the Golden Rooster Awards?"
Gao Yu's eyes lit up with excitement: "Yes! Of course!"
His musical attainment might not match Zhou Chen's, but as a director, whether through the lens or through words, he had to possess an eye for beauty.
The lyrics of this song didn't even need to be sung; just reading them could flood a person with memories.
It made Gao Yu think of how he had walked step by step to his current position within the talent-packed directing department.
Along the path of refusing to fall behind and unwilling to lead a mediocre life, there were bumps, pain, and struggles, yet he had gritted his teeth and pressed forward in silence.
In the end, when others asked about it, there was only one sentence: that's all in the past, turned into a story—do you want to hear it now?
"The title of this song—"
Gao Yu's gaze fell on the heading. "*The Ordinary Road*."
"This is the song! I won't let you change it."
This song would definitely strike a chord with everyone present!
He wanted everyone to know Zhou Chen's true strength.
Zhou Chen wasn't some freeloader just coasting along in Wind and Moon Legend, not a parasite, not a deadweight!
He had simply fallen in love with a girl and put aside his own dreams just to fulfill hers!
He had given his all and sacrificed everything!
It was a pity.
That girl had hurt him so deeply!
Having known each other for so many years, how could Gao Yu not understand Zhou Chen?
The emotions he poured in were never fake; the pain with which he sang *Ten Years* was real!
Since Zhao Min wanted to step on him, he, Gao Yu, would make sure to pull Zhou Chen right back up!