Chapter 127: The One Who Gazes Up at the Starry Sky

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Shen Jianxin steadied his slightly quickened heartbeat and thought, Just as I suspected. Tang Zhichu really does have connections in the capital.

Yuhua and DY—now that was an outrageously powerful background.

But what intrigued him more was Tang Zhichu’s confidence. No matter how shrewdly he schemed, could he really make Su Yuanchao disregard his own interests and the mutually supportive relationship he had with Tianhe, and choose someone he did not even know?

Or would Yuhua apply pressure?

That was even less likely. They did not even belong to the same faction.

Su Yuanchao was also a platform representative in the online music industry. If one looked at it that way, he was more or less the client.

Yet Shen Jianxin had to admit that he was tempted. Noninterference was already an excellent condition, to say nothing of capital backing and a wider range of options.

It was genuinely difficult to refuse.

A lofty standing in the industry was one thing; making money was another.

Shen Jianxin was not short of money in the near term, but his expenses were substantial, and his younger son was only ten.

If Tang Zhichu could truly win—even if he did so through the offline channels—that would prove he had gone head-to-head with Tianhe and come out on top.

Shen Jianxin smiled and teased, “You really don’t want to live happily ever after with Chen Siyang, do you?”

Tang Zhichu laughed as well. “She’s just my wife’s family. I’ll beat them into submission first and worry about the rest later!”

“Hahahaha! Fine. If you really win this time, I’ll persuade my studio to come under your banner.”

……

Not far away, a car was parked beneath a tree.

Yuhua was watching the spot where Tang Zhichu and Shen Jianxin stood. In the front seat, Uncle Zhong, the driver, asked quietly, “Would you like me to give him a call?”

Yuhua shook his head, a multitude of thoughts running through his mind.

He did not want Tang Zhichu to lose, because he wanted to make a god of him. Still, losing one round was not necessarily a bad thing. There would be ways to manipulate what followed, and a defeat could provide the perfect opening to discuss the company with him.

Tang Zhichu wanted to win this round, but it would indeed be difficult. Even Yuhua could not see any point at which they held an absolute advantage.

“Let’s go. It’s only a minor accident. It won’t have much impact.”

……

The next day, as the first rays of sunlight spilled across the estate, people began arriving at the dining room.

Luo Xiujie was the singer with the least presence in the Wildfire Alliance.

He was an independent musician, unaffiliated with any company.

Independent musicians lived quite well in this era. There were multiple online music platforms, as well as DY, offering numerous channels through which artists could connect directly with platforms.

If you wrote good songs that suited the tastes of young people, they could spread very easily on DY.

Luo Xiujie had become popular through DY. He had two or three songs that could be considered signature works. His most popular song had received more than a hundred thousand comments on the Yiyun Music platform, and he had nearly a million followers on DY.

The moment Luo Xiujie entered the dining room, someone called out to him. He smiled and walked over.

He cherished the social connections he was making on the show. To him, this was the process of undergoing a qualitative transformation. Being a DY musician could only represent a portion of one’s audience.

The clearest sign that one had entered the industry was having friends within it.

“Xiujie, you’re late today!”

“They’ve got seafood porridge today! Highly recommended!”

……

By this point in the program, a group of people who got along well had privately formed a small alliance whose main purpose was participation.

It was somewhat helpless, but there was no alternative.

There were simply too many aspects involved in producing a song within a week. After writing the melody and lyrics, could you really just hand everything over to the band’s instructors? That would be a little embarrassing.

Still, they had learned a great deal.

Luo Xiujie glanced at the time and smiled. “I’m not late. You’re just early.”

Four people sat around the table, exchanging knowing smiles.

“Eat quickly. Once we’re done, let’s go to the studio. I want to learn about arranging from Sister Wei.”

“Me too. Sister Wei is on this round, after all. She’s genuinely wonderful. I’m a die-hard fan of hers!”

“By the way, Xiujie, shall we go together?”

“Hahaha. Sugar God is incredibly strong, but you won’t learn anything by following him. He finishes the arrangements in his own room.”

“Ah, Sugar God really is amazing. Three songs, three completely different approaches to arranging. The more closely I study them, the more stunned I am. He’s practically a monster!”

“When people like that appear, all we can do is witness them.”

As they ate, the conversation grew livelier.

Luo Xiujie chimed in from time to time. He felt more deeply than the others, because every time Tang Zhichu finished one of his own works, he would also go and help the other members of the alliance.

Luo Xiujie had listened in before. Tang Zhichu’s talent was beyond question. The song Yun Miao had produced in the previous round had also benefited from Tang Zhichu’s input on the arrangement.

It was precisely because Luo Xiujie was part of the Wildfire Alliance that everyone’s attitude toward him had gradually improved, allowing him to make quite a few friends.

“This round has Sugar God facing Shu Yuan. What do you all think?” someone suddenly asked.

Everyone looked at one another. Some shrugged, others curled their lips, but none of them dared discuss it in any depth.

The subject was somewhat taboo.

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Luo Xiujie spoke up at once. “I’m definitely backing Brother Tang.”

“I’m backing Sugar God too, but… this round is difficult.”

“Why?” Luo Xiujie asked.

No one answered. Then Luo Xiujie’s phone vibrated. He took it out and saw that it was the group chat created by the few people who were closest to one another.

Some things were inconvenient to say aloud, but they could discuss them in the group.

“Senior Su Yuanchao and Senior Sun Zhe were classmates in middle school. After Su Yuanchao joined Yiyun Music, the copyrights for works under Tianhe Entertainment were opened up to Yiyun. Yiyun has a Star Music project, which is essentially a section dedicated to promoting newcomers. A great many songs by idol singers under Tianhe are included there…”

In short, the message conveyed only one thing: Su Yuanchao and Sun Zhe had a very close connection.

“Xiaolin, you should retract that message,” one of the slightly older musicians said.

A young man nodded and withdrew the message.

The older musician continued, “Some things are best kept to yourself. It’s better not to say them, and certainly not to discuss them. Put yourselves in their shoes and you’ll understand that this is normal. If you were in their position, you would do the same. But that doesn’t change Sugar God’s place in our hearts. He really is someone we can regard as a goal in the present day.”

Luo Xiujie was still absorbed in the message he had just seen. As an independent musician, he knew that the industry had unspoken rules, but when he encountered them for real, he felt a dull pressure in his chest.

Why should it be this way?

He Yuan Shu was not without ability. Couldn’t they compete openly?

Wasn’t this simply looking down on oneself?

Luo Xiujie curled his lip. “I’m only finding out about all this now. This is just too…”

The same older musician interrupted him. “What’s so remarkable about that? There are even more outrageous things. I stopped being surprised a long time ago. You get used to it. You all like Sugar God, don’t you? Even setting his work aside, isn’t this alone worth admiring?”

“Do you really think he doesn’t know about these things? A person who isn’t even a player in a dating show can interfere with the entire game. That shows he understands perfectly well what is happening. Yet he still chose to face it head-on without backing down.”

“To be honest, before yesterday, I admired him only for his talent. After yesterday, my opinion of him rose another level. I didn’t fall asleep until two in the morning, and I don’t even know why. I was inexplicably moved.”

“We all hope to reap what we sow, to live freely, joyfully, and honorably. But when faced with circumstances beyond our control, will you still have the courage to confront them? That is what we need to learn and reflect on. We should learn from Sugar God, and we should also learn from Shu Yuan.”

Everyone stared blankly for a moment. Learning from Sugar God made sense, but why did Shu Yuan enter the discussion?

Luo Xiujie pondered this. “Actually, he doesn’t want things to be this way either, does he? But his position means he can’t afford to take the risk?”

The older musician smiled. “Exactly. Before becoming dragons, everyone gazes up at the stars. But after becoming dragons, who would still be willing to share that brilliant sky?”

This time, however, Luo Xiujie did not agree.

“I understand,” he said, “but I still despise it.”

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