Volume One, Chapter 23: Two Songs Officially Released

Su Ling had always believed that Jiang Yu, this young man, had boundless potential. Frankly speaking, investing in such a talented individual at the current revenue split was absolutely worth it. But the issue was, the company wasn’t hers alone—there were other shareholders who would never agree. The only way to silence them was for Jiang Yu to achieve something extraordinary.

“‘Idol: Two and a Half Years’?” She mused. Intriguing. More importantly, it was the perfect stage for building popularity and avoiding the pitfall of a hit song with an unknown singer.

Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow and a hint of a smile played on his lips. “Aunt, when does it start?”

“In just a couple of days!” Su Ling replied, her smile blooming as she realized Jiang Yu had agreed.

“You rascal, I’ve never met a young man as tough as you.” Su Ling laughed. “I’m looking forward to seeing what you can do. I hope the contract will turn out just as you wish.”

“Thank you, Aunt.” Jiang Yu’s gratitude was genuine. Su Ling had shown remarkable sincerity. The four major video platforms—Ai, You, Teng, and Mang—were the giants of the domestic market, dominating ninety percent of the industry. Su Ling talked about the slot for ‘Idol: Two and a Half Years’ as if it were effortless, but Jiang Yu knew it wasn’t so simple. Many people would do anything to get a chance like this, and now Su Ling had handed it straight to him.

Since he had decided to participate, he couldn’t afford to lose face. Winning the championship wouldn’t be unreasonable. With a treasure trove of talent within him, if he couldn’t win, he might as well end it all with a block of tofu.

“All right, let me remind you—your two songs are trending right now. You should upload them. If the heat passes, you’ll miss out big time.”

Jiang Yu slapped his forehead, nearly forgetting his main task. It was time to upload the songs. “To show my gratitude, Aunt, how about we split these two songs seventy-thirty?”

“You really never take a loss, do you?” Su Ling laughed. “Fine, I’ll help you get these songs out there. Come with me to the recording studio now.”

With Su Ling’s help, “Bare-Faced” and “At the Crossroads of the Phoenix Flower” were recorded and uploaded to all the major music platforms.

The results far exceeded their expectations. Within one day, the songs climbed rapidly on the trending charts. In some shopping malls, both were already playing. People who had no idea what was going on found it strange—everywhere they went, those two songs were playing.

In KTVs, at post-graduation reunions, the songs became must-sing anthems.

More and more people listened, and the two songs dominated the charts, holding the first and second spots.

Meanwhile, at the Penguin platform—

A staff member rushed in, flustered. “Director Liu, Director Liu!”

A middle-aged man looked calm. “What’s the matter? No need to panic, speak slowly.”

“Director Liu, please look at this.” The staff handed him the printed backend data.

Director Liu glanced at the sheet and saw that the top two songs were both sung by someone named Jiang Yu. Not only that, the numbers far surpassed the third place, which belonged to the superstar Hua Brother. This had never happened before.

Director Liu frowned, his tone serious. “Is Jiang Yu some new internet sensation? Did his fans artificially inflate the votes?”

Such issues were common enough—sometimes fans of trending idols would boost data to improve their idols’ rankings. Seeing the results, Director Liu’s first thought was just that.

But the staff shook his head. “All the data are genuine. Jiang Yu isn’t an internet idol; he’s just a newly graduated college student.” He pulled out his phone and showed Jiang Yu’s previous performances at a bar and at the graduation gala.

“A remarkable young man!” Director Liu’s eyes lit up. “Which company is he with?”

“Huayue Entertainment.”

“So it’s Director Su.” Director Liu nodded, pressing play.

As the melodious music rang out and faded, Director Liu’s face broke into a smile. “Great song! This young man will definitely be a superstar.”

It seemed the partnership with Huayue Entertainment needed to be moved up the agenda. But before that, Director Liu decided to thoroughly verify Jiang Yu’s data. If there was any fraudulent voting, it would ruin his own reputation.

At the same time, another trending search dominated the charts.

“Campus singer Jiang Yu’s two songs sweep the charts on all major music platforms.”

Although it wasn’t the top search, it firmly stayed in the top ten and sparked intense discussion online.

“Damn, who is this Jiang Yu? I’ve never heard of him, but the top two songs are both his!”

“Amazing! Even the kings and queens of pop can’t beat him.”

“I need to check out what’s going on.”

“Do you still believe in the data? Isn’t it all fake? Must be some capital backing another pretty boy—boring.”

Some trolls, without even hearing the songs, started spreading rumors.

Meanwhile.

In the office of Star Entertainment, Li Gang’s face was dark with rage. He roared, “How dare he! He went to Huayue Entertainment!”

He had approached Jiang Yu personally, only to be rejected. Now, the man who had turned him down had joined a rival company—how could Li Gang bear it?

Beside him, Li Jiang looked helpless, while Zhao Yiyi stood quietly, not daring to utter a word.

The latest entertainment news was already on his computer.

#Godly campus singer Jiang Yu, two songs sweep the charts on all major platforms.#

The top two spots belonged to Jiang Yu—no superstar could achieve such results.

Seeing the news, Li Gang’s expression grew darker. But after reading the trolls’ remarks on Weibo, he pondered for a moment and dialed a number.

“Hello, Director Liu, how are Jiang Yu’s songs topping the charts with such high numbers?”

“We’re investigating. Rest assured, if the data is fake, we’ll give the public an explanation.”

Hearing the word “investigating,” Li Gang’s eyes lit up.

Music platforms rarely investigate data. If they were using that word, it meant they already had evidence. It was almost certain that Jiang Yu had manipulated the numbers.

In reality, data fraud was common when hyping up newcomers, and Huayue Entertainment doing such a thing was hardly surprising.

Li Gang had listened to Jiang Yu’s songs and admitted they were exceptional.

But the numbers were simply outrageous—first and second place, millions of votes ahead of the veteran superstar Hua Brother. It didn’t fit the current market!

Li Gang’s eyes flashed as he glanced at his staff.

“Tell our talented people to post on Weibo. Also, contact the major influencers and critics we work with.”

“Yes, Chairman Li.”

He had been rejected so decisively—how could he let Jiang Yu have it so easy?