Volume One, Chapter 11: On-Site Haters Stirring Up Trouble!

"How can they do this!"
"Why should it be like this!" Upon hearing this, the sweetness faded from Yingying Ren’s face, replaced by bitterness.
Even Hongyan Song, beside her, could only sigh and shake her head.
She knew all too well that when the headquarters made a decision, no one could change it.
This matter was now set in stone.
Such is the sorrow of an artist.
Even if you made a song famous, if the rights aren’t yours, if they belong to the company, you can only obey!
"I’d like to know, which artist has Jiuzhou Entertainment assigned this song to?" Su Le asked, his curiosity piqued.
At his question, both Yingying and Hongyan turned their gazes to Tianxiong Chen.
But unexpectedly, Tianxiong looked back at Su Le.
Instantly, a suspicion arose within Su Le’s heart.
"Lu Yaoyao?" he asked, eyes narrowed after a moment.
Tianxiong nodded, then replied, "Moreover, she’s holding a concert tonight as well and will be performing ‘Big Fish’. It seems she’ll officially announce it at the concert."
"‘Big Fish’... from now on, that song will become her signature piece!"
At these words, Yingying Ren and Hongyan Song were both furious.
But Su Le didn’t seem much affected.
"So that’s how it is. Fine, if we can’t sing it, then we won’t."
"Yingying, don’t lose heart. Didn’t I write you a new song? And the copyright hasn’t been sold!"
Astonishingly, Su Le was still comforting Yingying!
This left Tianxiong Chen filled with admiration.
He had expected Su Le to become enraged upon learning the news, perhaps even to take back the two new songs and leave.
But to his surprise...
The outcome was entirely different.
A remarkable man!
This is what it means to be a man!
A real man!
Such composure, Tianxiong was deeply moved.
"Alright, Brother Su, I’ll listen to you," Yingying said.
"Even without ‘Big Fish’, tonight we’ll hold a flawless concert. We can’t let those people from Phoenix Media have a laugh at our expense!"
Yingying clenched her little fists, pouting adorably.
"Exactly! I think this whole thing is aimed squarely at us!"
"And I just checked Weibo—Lu Yaoyao, that shameless woman, actually announced in advance that she got the rights to ‘Big Fish’ and will sing it tonight. How sneaky! This way, our fans are bound to get upset."
Hongyan, phone in hand and reading Weibo, gritted her teeth in anger, trembling with fury.
"Let’s not worry about all that!"

"‘Big Fish’ is just the beginning, not the pinnacle!"
"The two songs I’ve given you are every bit as good. It’s all up to how you perform them!"
"It’s almost time. Get ready to start," Su Le said, clapping his hands to encourage everyone.
"But without ‘Big Fish’, what about the closing song?" Yingying hesitated, just before going on stage.
Tianxiong Chen and Hongyan Song also looked anxious.
If ‘Big Fish’ wasn’t performed at the end, the fans on site might create chaos.
They could already picture the scene spiraling out of control.
"But you still have me, don’t you?" Su Le suddenly flashed a brilliant smile, as if in that moment the sunlight shone upon his handsome features.
His white teeth and bright eyes radiated powerful confidence, warming everyone’s heart.
"That’s right, the genius who wrote ‘Big Fish’ is here—what do we have to fear?"
"Yingying, Hongyan, let’s get started, go hype up the crowd!"
"As long as Su Le is here, you can give it your all!" This was exactly the reassurance Tianxiong Chen had been waiting for, and he clapped his hands in excitement, his face beaming.
"President Chen, I feel like your unhappiness just now was all an act!" Yingying, about to go on stage, suddenly turned back and said earnestly.
Tianxiong quickly walked over, poked her forehead with his finger, grinning, "Don’t say things like that—I don’t want to hear it. Take it back and get on stage."
Yingying broke into a sudden smile, as if she’d already guessed the truth.
And beside her, Hongyan Song couldn’t help but stifle her laughter, stealing glances back at Su Le.
At that moment...
Su Le also felt something strange, as if something was off, though he had no proof.
At the concert venue, the place was packed!
Banners and light boards bearing the name ‘White Elephant Idol’ filled the stadium.
Most of the fans seemed to be here for White Elephant Idol.
But there were also some who looked indifferent, even expressionless.
"The Eastern Group is so shameless! Yaoyao just announced on Weibo that she’ll sing ‘Big Fish’ tonight and already got the rights—why haven’t they taken down the ads?" a plump girl grumbled, mouth full of greasy chicken.
"Exactly, it’s a joke! I can’t believe how shameless they are. They clearly lost the right to perform the song, but still won’t remove the advertisements. It’s so obvious they’re just trying to ride the hype!"
"I think they’re just trying to use the hype to promote that Ren Yingying, some totally unknown singer!"
"When it comes to chasing popularity, there’s nothing they won’t do!"
"I don’t care anymore. I want to see if they dare perform ‘Big Fish’ tonight. If they do, I’ll throw eggs!"
"They won’t. Yaoyao has already declared that from today, the song is hers alone!"
Many fans were discussing.
To be precise, these weren’t fans of Ren Yingying or Hongyan Song, but die-hard followers of Lu Yaoyao.
They’d bought tickets just to see a spectacle.
After all, ever since Eastern Group had success with ‘Big Fish’, they hadn’t produced any other notable works.

Especially Ren Yingying and Hongyan Song—they didn’t have any hit songs and were never particularly popular.
They just sang old, outdated tracks.
Yet here they were, holding a concert, which to many seemed like a joke!
If they ended up singing one song for two hours, it would be hilarious.
Most of the audience was there to cause trouble.
If Yingying performed ‘Big Fish’ tonight, those audience members were ready—their bags were full of eggs.
Some of these haters were already live-streaming on Weibo!
Knowing all this, Hongyan Song and Ren Yingying were both nervous.
After all, this was their first concert, and the venue was filled with thirty thousand people.
"Don’t be nervous. We can do this!"
"We can’t let Brother Su down!"
Yingying, seated in her wheelchair, cheered herself up.
"I’m not nervous. What’s there to be nervous about? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The songs Su Le wrote for us mustn’t go unnoticed!" Hongyan clenched her fists, her eyes determined.
At eight o’clock, the concert officially began!
As Hongyan Song and Ren Yingying entered, the lights shone down and the crowd erupted in cheers!
But the excitement lasted only a moment before settling down.
Many began to wonder aloud.
"Where’s White Elephant Idol?"
"Yeah, weren’t they supposed to appear tonight?"
"Could it be just a publicity stunt? They tricked us into buying tickets, but won’t let the person show up?"
"If that’s the case, we want a refund!"
"That’s right! If we don’t see White Elephant Idol, we’ll all ask for our money back!"
The audience was already buzzing, with many haters fanning the flames.
One person led the way, shouting from the front row, "If you’re not singing ‘Big Fish’, then bring out White Elephant Idol! We’re tired of your old songs—what’s left to hear?"
"Bring out White Elephant Idol!"
"We want to see White Elephant Idol!"
"‘Big Fish’, ‘Big Fish’, ‘Big Fish’!"
In that instant, the thirty thousand-strong stadium split into three groups, each with their own chant.
Some were there for ‘Big Fish’.
Some were there for White Elephant Idol.
And some, the haters, just to stir up trouble.
On stage, Hongyan Song and Ren Yingying picked up their microphones, only to set them down again in frustration.
Even the background music that was about to start had to be reluctantly switched off.