Chapter 26: He Has No More Trumps, A Joint Effort to Seal His Fate!
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Xu Qingfeng had made the situation sound dire, but he was not exaggerating.
In the cutthroat world of business, opportunities were always fleeting, and the victor would never give the defeated a second chance.
If FlashView failed to seize this opportunity and allowed its competitors to dominate the market, bankruptcy would not be far away.
Music was a key. Xu Qingfeng held one in his hand for the moment, while the other platforms did not—but that did not mean they would never discover it, or that they would not discover it soon.
Once Glowlight, Funpoint, and Lively became embroiled in a chaotic struggle, could FlashView win the war?
Everything was still unknown.
“What kind of partnership are you looking for?” Lin Chen asked after a moment of thought.
Xu Qingfeng snapped his fingers. “Shares.”
“That’s impossible.”
Xu Qingfeng took a sip of water and smiled. “Nothing is impossible. Without me, FlashView might become a successful short-video platform. With me, it may have a chance to become a giant.”
Lin Chen was about to argue, but Xu Qingfeng raised a hand to stop him. “Talk is cheap. Whether I’m right or not, President Lin will know the answer tonight. You can take your time reading the proposal. I still have to record a song shortly. Once it goes live, I’m sure you’ll gain a clear understanding of what music can do.”
“Very well.”
“Oh, right. I plan to borrow your company’s office for a livestream tonight. Would that be convenient?”
“No problem.”
Xu Qingfeng did not press Lin Chen any further. Lin Chen was a decisive man, but when shares were involved, anyone might hesitate to agree too easily.
After leaving the office, Lin Qinghe asked curiously, “You have that much faith in the company?”
“Don’t you?” Xu Qingfeng countered.
“Of course I do. But you may not realize that taking shares isn’t a guaranteed profit.”
Xu Qingfeng nodded. “For other people, perhaps. But not for me. I never do anything unless I’m certain of the outcome.”
Lin Qinghe’s eyes shifted. Quietly, she sent those words to Lin Chen.
In the recording studio, Xu Qingfeng’s session went remarkably smoothly. Tears Behind Bars was not a particularly difficult song, and with his improved singing ability, he handled it with ease.
“You sing pretty well. Was yesterday’s performance actually live?”
Xu Qingfeng replied, “Do I really need to lip-sync for something like that? How little do you think of me?”
Lin Qinghe gave an awkward smile. “It’s not that I look down on you. It’s just that, well… you know how the internet is.”
Xu Qingfeng’s expression did not change. “There isn’t a single true word on the internet.”
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After Tears Behind Bars was recorded, FlashView immediately issued an announcement and arranged for the song to trend.
#Xu Qingfeng’s FlashView Singing Debut#
#The Official Version of Tears Behind Bars Is Now Live#
FlashView arranged two trending topics for a single song. It promoted the song not only on its own platform but also paid to put it on the trending list of Weibo.
For now, Weibo remained the premier platform for gossip and spectacle. It had to be put to good use.
At the same time, people in the entertainment industry who had been keeping a close eye on Xu Qingfeng quietly breathed a sigh of relief. For the past few days, they had been envious, jealous, anxious, and frightened.
They envied Xu Qingfeng’s more than five hundred thousand viewers and over three hundred thousand in gifts. That was only his first day. If he continued streaming for two hours a day, his income would soon surpass theirs.
Higher income and easier work—who wouldn’t be envious?
What frightened them was the possibility that Xu Qingfeng might suddenly expose them. Fortunately, during his first livestream, he had merely mocked the already-imprisoned Convict Chen and Convict Li, without dragging anyone else into it.
“The Mad Dog had nothing to lose before, so of course he bit anyone he could,” someone speculated.
“That makes sense. When you get right down to it, wasn’t he just after money?”
“Thank goodness FlashView has put that Mad Dog under control.”
“Now it’s our turn to strike back.”
The reason they feared Xu Qingfeng was that his actions seemed completely devoid of logic. He had not been seeking money or fame, but had appeared to be venting purely for the sake of venting. People like that were the most terrifying.
Now that he had a weakness and wanted to make money, everyone else finally had the confidence to oppose him.
Want to make money? Then earn it on your knees!
More importantly, the accusation of tax evasion had already been played.
Zhou Zhengyi had long since come to hate Xu Qingfeng. “You’re really going to let a walking time bomb like him livestream? If this continues, he’ll destroy the entire entertainment industry.”
Phantom expressed his agreement. “Exactly. The entertainment industry doesn’t need a cancer like him.”
“I agree. Xu Qingfeng must be completely blacklisted.”
The grudge between Xu Qingfeng and the entertainment industry was even greater than anyone had imagined. The moment he had fired off those indiscriminate attacks, the feud had already been sealed.
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More than fifty billion in taxes—not money, but their lives.
A single series of moves by Xu Qingfeng had driven numerous companies straight into bankruptcy, while even major corporations like Starshine had suffered severe damage.
The entertainment industry was not that large. Once these people joined forces, they represented nearly half the industry. A new wave of attacks against Xu Qingfeng was coming.
Xu Qingfeng had to die.
While Xu Qingfeng was still recording, Weibo began to erupt.
Those he had directly offended, those who had already held grudges against him, and celebrities acting on their companies’ instructions all began to strike.
Young heartthrob Jiang Wei posted on Weibo:
“Heh. Singing? Some people really have no idea of their own abilities. Don’t you know what level your singing is at? Have you managed to fool even yourself? For someone like that, all I can say is: go drink some rat-tail juice.”
Wang Yao wrote:
“This is the kind of person who has corrupted the entertainment industry. Completely useless, and yet someone like this is still allowed to livestream? I have no idea what that platform is thinking. Do they want traffic at the expense of morality?”
“What a sign of declining standards. If someone like this can livestream, is the problem with the platform or with the audience? In my opinion, it’s both,” another veteran actor fired off.
“What is the point of a livestream like this? Apart from insulting people, what else does it offer? Our young people are at a crucial stage in forming their values. Is it appropriate for them to watch something like this? And singing? Please. Who doesn’t know how badly this man sings?”
“There is no doubt that this is harmful to young people and ordinary users. We strongly demand that the platform ban him.”
“The internet has always said that his singing is terrible. As a singer who once worked with him, let me say something fair: this man has no vocal ability at all. You can’t call something poor when it doesn’t even exist, can you?”
For a time, Xu Qingfeng once again became the target of everyone’s attacks.
The success of FlashView’s livestream debut had left many people jealous and uneasy. They tried to force Xu Qingfeng to submit by exerting overwhelming public pressure.
In the office, Lin Chen watched as people on Weibo united in condemning Xu Qingfeng. Then he glanced at FlashView’s rapidly rising download figures and fell into thought.
“Well, this is something. Why are they advertising for us?”
What would happen when more than a dozen celebrities simultaneously posted criticism of the platform? Naturally, users would rush to watch the spectacle. And to watch it, they had to download FlashView.
Xu Qingfeng’s Weibo account was still suspended. Whether people wanted to watch the drama or report him, they had to download FlashView.
It was free traffic.
That one round of maneuvering, combined with the release of Tears Behind Bars, sent FlashView’s downloads soaring. Although the increase was not as rapid as on the first day, it was still more than encouraging. FlashView gained over six hundred thousand additional downloads, and its growth curve rose sharply.
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