Taking Liu Yifei back to Northeast China for the Chinese New Year has sent the entire internet into

Ten days later.

Conference room at Coca-Cola Greater China headquarters.

The quarterly marketing strategy meeting has just ended.

A dozen or so middle and senior managers, each carrying a newly printed schedule, walked out one after another.

Director Li was the last to come out and went into his office.

He placed a document stamped with three levels of approval seals on the table, and his shoulders finally relaxed.

March 20th.

First release on all platforms.

A 15-second vertical short video (GG), a brand TV commercial, and the full audio track were released simultaneously.

It took him eight whole days from the proposal to its approval.

The legal and compliance departments alone revised the wording four times.

But it's worth it.

He still remembers the feedback Mark gave him.

"This is the one."

It was approved on the first draft.

This is the first time in the history of the Coca-Cola global brand.

Director Li unscrewed the mineral water bottle and took two gulps.

The next step is simple:

We confirmed the finalization progress of Fang Yu's music video with Xingyao Entertainment and simultaneously notified all distribution channels and social media teams.

March 20th.

Load all the bullets at once.

……

The news circulated in the industry much faster than Director Li had imagined.

Coca-Cola's media buying team needs to secure homepage placements with major platforms in advance.

The platform needs to schedule.

As soon as the schedule is released, people will see it.

If it's visible, it will be spread.

That's how it is in this industry—no secret can survive three days.

Those who can survive for three days are too lazy to spread the word.

……

Two days later.

PepsiCo Asia Pacific Headquarters.

3 PM.

A conference call that was put together on short notice.

Participants spanned three time zones—

Singapore, Shanghai, Seoul.

The voice of Brand Director James Chen came through the speakers.

With a slight American Chinese accent.

"Coca-Cola has made the reservation for March 20th."

There was a two-second silence online.

The marketing manager from the Shanghai office spoke first:

"Our music video post-production will take another five days, but the mixing and mastering are already done."

"In other words," James paused for a moment, "if we work hard, we can technically make it before March 20th."

A data analyst in Seoul chimed in:

"Should we send it earlier or later to avoid this?"

"Neither."

James's voice deepened by half a degree.

"On the same day."

The online world has fallen silent again.

This silence lasted three times longer than the previous one.

The Shanghai market manager asked hesitantly:

"James, you mean... a head-on collision?"

"Yes, crash into it."

No one speaks.

Before they could even process what was happening, James laid out his logic.

"Fang Yu and Liu Yifei are currently the most popular couple on the Chinese-speaking internet."

"We can use Fang Yu, but we'll use Liu Yifei."

"If the two songs are released at different times and each follows its own promotional rhythm, the popularity will be one plus one."

"But what if they collide on the same day?"

He spoke a little faster.

"Boyfriend endorses Coca-Cola, girlfriend endorses Pepsi."

"The two brand songs clashed head-on on the same day."

"The topic itself—is nuclear bomb."

"We don't need to spend a single penny to create conflict; the entire internet will spontaneously take sides, vote, compare, and create derivative works."

"This event will dominate Weibo's trending topics, short video platforms, and music app discussion forums—all traffic sources will be filled with its presence."

"Two companies share one budget to buy ten times the exposure."

He paused for a moment.

"Whoever withdraws from the same-day competition first will lose out."

There was a complete five-second silence online.

The data analyst in Seoul was the first to react:

"But what if we lose after the comparison?"

James didn't beat around the bush.

"Winning or losing isn't the most important thing; generating buzz is."

"What we fear is never comparison."

"What we're afraid of is that no one will watch."

He tapped on the table.

"On March 20th, the whole internet was discussing whether Fang Yu's song was better or Liu Yifei's song was better."

"Regardless of which side the final data favors, how many times will the name Pepsi be mentioned?"

Two more seconds passed.

The Shanghai marketing manager spoke up:

"I have no objection."

Seoul echoed this sentiment:

"The data model has been tested, and the social media mention rate for releases on the same day is estimated to be seven to eight times that of releases at off-peak times."

"Then it's settled."

James's voice returned to calm.

"March 20th, the same day as Coca-Cola."

"Notify Liu Yifei's team."

……

Just as the two beverage giants were gearing up for the "clash of the century" on March 20th.

On the same afternoon.

Chaoyang District, Beijing.

Starry Entertainment Artist Apartment.

Fang Yu was squatting on the balcony, using a chopstick to pok at the last bit of frozen wood ear fungus he had brought back from Mohe.

The sunlight shone on the woven bag, making it feel warm and cozy.

He muttered as he flipped through the wood ear mushrooms:

"No, it needs to air dry for another two days. This thing can't get damp..."

The phone was lying quietly on the plastic stool next to me.

He had no idea.

At this very moment, business elites spanning three time zones have just finished a war without gunpowder over his two songs.

Fang Yu flipped the last piece of wood ear mushroom over.

He stood up, brushed the crumbs off his hands, hummed a little tune, and went inside to pour himself a glass of water.

The March sunlight outside the window bathed the floor, gentle and quiet.

The years are quiet.

The people working for him are in a state of chaos.

……

That evening.

East Fourth Ring Road of Beijing.

Liu Yifei's apartment.

The living room was brightly lit.

Liu Yifei sat cross-legged in the corner of the sofa, a music theory book resting on her knees.

She held a pen in her right hand and unconsciously curled the end of her hair with her left.

My phone vibrated.

Sister Hong.

She clipped the pen into the book as a bookmark and picked up her phone to answer the call.

"Yifei, Pepsi just sent a message."

Hong Jie's voice didn't reveal any obvious emotional fluctuations, but her speaking speed was half a beat faster than usual—which, for Hong Jie, was already considered nervousness.

"They decided to release their song on the same day as Coca-Cola."

She paused, then relayed the brand's original words.

Pepsi's original quote was: "We're not afraid of comparisons, we're only afraid of having nothing to talk about."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Sister Hong thought Liu Yifei was thinking of a solution and was about to start analyzing the pros and cons.

Liu Yifei spoke first.

"OK"

Just one word.

Sister Hong was stunned for a moment.

Aren't you worried?

"What are you worried about?"

"I'm worried..." Sister Hong carefully chose her words, "comparison."

"After all, the songs from Fang Yu's side are definitely of high quality."

"Coca-Cola's production budget for him was also quite high."

"If we then conduct a nationwide vote and compare the data—"

"Sister Hong."

Liu Yifei interrupted her, her voice tinged with amusement.

"I have confidence in this song."

Sister Hong opened her mouth.

She suddenly remembered the three professional assessment reports.

The three top music directors unanimously agreed.

Pepsi's brand team approved it on the first try.

It seems... there's really nothing to worry about.

"Okay." Sister Hong breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll coordinate with the brand to adjust the promotional schedule and expedite the release of the materials."

"Yes, thank you for your hard work, Sister Hong."

hang up the phone.

Liu Yifei opened WeChat.

Fang Yu's dialog box.

The last message was from noon—

He took a picture of himself squatting on the balcony drying wood ear mushrooms, and captioned it "Working people are the most glorious".

Liu Yifei responded with an eye-rolling emoji.

Let's look at it again now.

She couldn't help but laugh.

The two giants are making waves outside.

This person is drying wood ear mushrooms at home.

Liu Yifei's fingertip hovered above the input box for two seconds.

Then type.

The red and blue teams are going to fight on the same day. Guess who will win?

Thirty seconds later.

The phone lit up.

Fang Yu replied with a voice message.

Liu Yifei clicked on it.

That familiar voice, with a hint of Northeastern accent, rang out, its tone arrogant and irritating:

"win?"

"No matter who wins, I win."

"This is like Qin Shi Huang touching an electrical wire—he's won so badly he's completely lost!"