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

Sanxiang City.

The recording site of the fifth episode of "Peak Concert".

As the last note faded, the stage lights went out instantly.

In the darkness, the large screen directly in front of us slowly lit up.

In this ranking, names appeared one after another from top to bottom.

Hua Yu sat in the audience, his eyes fixed on the screen.

When his name appeared in the second-to-last position, he froze.

Second to last.

The next step is the elimination zone.

This result was like a blow to the back of his head.

"The Ultimate Concert" is his most important card this year.

The company invested heavily, and the entire team's schedules and resources were all put into this program.

Hua Yu himself was seething with anger.

He wants to win an undisputed championship and firmly establish himself as the "leading figure of the new generation".

But the result?

He spent two whole weeks working on the arrangement for this stage, which he considered to be extremely avant-garde and high-class.

However, when it came to the live voting, they were easily overshadowed by one more popular and catchy song after another.

Hua Yu couldn't understand it.

In terms of the complexity of the arrangement, his was the most complex of the entire event.

In terms of the brilliance of his high notes, he is definitely in the top three.

Why won't the audience buy it?

……

Backstage lounge.

The atmosphere in the room was very tense.

The staff walked quietly when they came in and out, and even the sound of closing the door was much quieter than usual.

Hua Yu sat on the sofa, unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, and took two gulps.

The icy water slid down my throat, but the tightness in my chest didn't dissipate at all.

The door to the lounge was gently pushed open.

The assistant walked in, holding a tablet in his hand, his expression quite troubled.

Hua Yu put down the water bottle and asked a question before he could speak.

"Has the company released a press release?"

He rubbed his temples, his voice revealing little emotion.

"How are the trending search statistics?"

"It doesn't matter if the on-site ranking is low."

"In the chorus, I used blues modulation and jazz chord progressions."

"Shouldn't there be some discussion among professional music critics online?"

The assistant swallowed hard.

"Brother Yu, the press release has been issued."

"but……"

He paused for a moment, unsure how to phrase the second half of his sentence tactfully.

"Neither of the two trending topics slots the company bought managed to get us to the top."

"It's been suppressed."

Hua Yu raised her head.

"Were you suppressed?"

His voice deepened.

"Did the production team not provide any support in terms of viewership, or is it a rival company causing trouble?"

"Neither."

The assistant, steeling himself, handed the tablet to him.

"The entire entertainment industry's traffic pool has been almost completely drained by one company in the past two days."

Hua Yu took the tablet and his gaze fell on the trending topics list.

Three out of the top ten spots were occupied by the same name and the same company.

#Cai Kun's First Stage Performance: Unanimous Votes, Grade A#

#BecauseYouAreSoBeautiful# Daily Views Exceed 10 Million#

#Fang Yu single-handedly created Cai Kun's debut stage#

"Cai Kun?"

Hua Yu frowned.

He wasn't surprised at all that Fang Yu's name appeared on the trending searches.

That guy's presence in the Chinese entertainment industry lately is basically like the sun—even if you don't look up, it still dazzles your eyes.

But who is Cai Kun?

When did such a person emerge in the entertainment industry?

Hua Yu didn't ask any more questions and directly clicked on the stage video in the trending searches.

A middle-part hairstyle, overalls, playing basketball—a catchy, addictive style.

He watched it from beginning to end without fast-forwarding even a second.

After the video ended, he scrolled down to read the comments section.

The assistant stood beside him, even deliberately keeping his breathing quiet.

A long time passed.

Hua Yu then flipped the tablet over, screen down, and gently placed it on the coffee table.

"Lyrics, music, choreography, styling..."

"Did Fang Yu do all of this by himself?"

The assistant carefully considered the wording.

Xingyao has not issued an official response.

"However, Cai Kun said on the show that this song was tailor-made for him by a senior colleague in the company."

"Even the styling and stage design were arranged by that senior."

"With the current roster of Star Glory..."

"Besides Fang Yu, there shouldn't be anyone else who could do that."

Hua Yu fell silent.

He leaned back on the sofa and stared up at the ceiling.

My mind raced, and only two things remained.

I spent two whole weeks working on the arrangement, but in the end I was pushed down to second to last in the audience voting.

Fang Yu casually put on a debut performance for a trainee who had no reputation, and that very night he made it onto three trending topics.

One person gave it their all and almost made it into the elimination zone.

No one showed up, yet their names have already dominated the trending topics.

The difference... is really quite large.

……

to be frank.

Hua Yu had already considered this idea when the guest performer segment for "Peak Concert" was announced.

If we could invite Fang Yu—

Based on that guy's portfolio, live performance skills, and his outrageous ability to attract attention.

The chances of winning are almost a certainty.

But at that time, Hua Yu didn't open his mouth.

On the one hand, pride is the obstacle.

"Peak Concert" is his home turf.

He didn't want the honor he had fought so hard for to end up becoming Fang Yu's personal show.

Even if they win first place, all the discussion will be about the guest performers.

on the other hand.

On the day the Mohe concert concluded, the two did verbally agree that they would play music together in the future if they had the chance.

But aren't there plenty of polite platitudes in the entertainment industry?

Hua Yu has seen it all before: a warm hug when parting, followed by being turned off and ignored.

Therefore, Hua Yu chose to rely on herself.

He firmly believes that highbrow music has an audience and that he can still win.

But now.

Reality gave Hua Yu a resounding slap in the face.

The question is no longer "Will Fang Yu steal the spotlight if he comes?"

But -

Given Fang Yu's current level, can he still persuade him to come?

The news had already spread within the industry.

Fang Yu has secured a nomination for the theme song of the CCTV documentary "The Forbidden City".

People even went directly into the non-public areas of the Forbidden City to take photos.

The ticket alone has completely removed him from the label of "popular singer".

With Cai Kun's emergence on this stage, things completely changed.

Everyone has come to realize one fact.

Fang Yu is not only a singer and songwriter, but also a behind-the-scenes manipulator who can send unknown newcomers to the top of the trending topics.

From today onwards, the number of people who want to ask Fang Yu to write a song could probably stretch from the Fifth Ring Road in Beijing to the broadcasting building in Hunan Province.

And Hua Yu?

He was just one of those people in that long line who couldn't even open his mouth while waiting in line.

……

The lounge was so quiet that you could hear the faint hum of the air conditioner vents.

Hua Yu remained silent for a long time before finally picking up the phone that was placed next to her.

Unlock and open WeChat.

Find Fang Yu's profile picture and click on it to enter the chat box.

His fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment before slowly typing out six words.

"Do you have some time recently?"

Just that simple sentence.

He stared at it for two seconds, his thumb hovering over the send button, but he didn't press it.

A few more seconds passed.

Hua Yu then deleted those six words completely.

I locked my phone and sank into the sofa.

Forget it.

If I can hold on for one more period, I can manage.