Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Universal Entertainment Headquarters, Lounge.

Zhang Yihan sat on the sofa, scrolling up with her thumb as she browsed Weibo comments.

"Does someone who became famous by skirting the edges even deserve a comeback?"

"Is Global Times out of people? Who are they trying to disgust by putting out this garbage?"

"Zhang Yihan, get out of the entertainment industry."

She squeezed the edge of her phone.

Six months ago, seeing these words would have kept her tossing and turning all night, unable to sleep.

They would call Qin Wanhao for help.

The price was wearing a short skirt, holding a wine glass, and sitting among a group of middle-aged men, forcing a smile.

Now, having endured the torment of the villa in the western suburbs and the fear of having her fingers almost cut off, these online insults have no effect on her.

Having faced death once, the words typed on a keyboard online cannot harm her in the slightest.

All she wants to do right now is sing the song Jiang Fan gave her.

The door to the lounge was pushed open.

Tang Yingxue walked in, wearing a black business suit and high heels, and sat down opposite Zhang Yihan.

"You saw everything?"

Zhang Yihan nodded, turned off her phone screen, and tossed it onto the coffee table.

Are you scared?

"I'm not afraid. Mr. Jiang said that as long as I get through this, I will be able to stand up again."

Tang Yingxue stared at her face for two seconds.

The expression on her face changed.

The former glamorous star who only knew how to please men is gone. The woman sitting in front of her now has clear, calm eyes, showing no sign of panic.

Tang Yingxue stood up and straightened her skirt.

"Jiang Fan is right. The more dirt they have, the stronger the backlash will be. We'll use this song to slap them in the face the day after tomorrow."

"Understood." Zhang Yihan stood up and bowed.

-

Two days later, at 10:00 AM.

Zhang Yihan's "Chasing the Light" and Jiang Wei's "Nightfall" were simultaneously released on all platforms.

The online trolls from Xinghui Entertainment have been waiting for over an hour.

As soon as the song link came out, a flood of negative reviews appeared.

"That sounds awful."

"What kind of rubbish is that? Get out of the entertainment industry."

"Don't dirty my ears."

"Someone who debuted by showing off their legs deserves to sing?"

Old Li sat in the Xinghui headquarters office.

Looking at the comment section data on the screen, I picked up my coffee and took a sip.

Millions of dollars were spent on public relations, and online trolls covered all major platforms.

He has completely controlled the public discourse.

He opened Jiang Wei's song page, which had 600,000 plays and received rave reviews in the comments section.

-

Shanghai, evening rush hour.

On a crowded bus, a girl wearing headphones sat by the window.

She opened the music app.

Jiang Wei's new song is featured in the homepage's recommended section.

There's also a small icon next to it—Zhang Yihan's comeback song "Chasing the Light".

She had read a lot of negative posts about Zhang Yihan on Weibo.

With a gossip-loving attitude, she clicked on the audio, wanting to see what this female celebrity, whose scandals were rampant, could actually sing.

The piano prelude flowed out.

Clean.

There are no unnecessary embellishments.

Zhang Yihan's voice comes in.

"If you are the fireworks on the sea, then I am the foam on the wave; for a moment, your light illuminated me..."

The girl was stunned.

The voice was completely different from the glamorous star she remembered who swayed her hips on stage.

He spoke very softly, with a slight vibrato.

Start with the chorus.

"I can follow behind you, like a shadow chasing the light in a dream; I can wait at this crossroads, regardless of whether you will pass by..."

There were no fancy high notes.

The girl opened the comments section.

The latest comments have a different tone.

"This is sung by Zhang Yihan? Are you sure?"

"Damn it, I cried. Someone tell me what's going on."

"What happened to the gauze on her left hand? Did something happen?"

"The person who made her sing and dance in that borderline style should be shot. Is that the kind of voice you'd use to sing pop songs?"

"I've become a fan. No arguments allowed."

The negative reviews from online trolls are still being posted, but it's unstoppable.

Real user reviews kept climbing up, pushing the copied and pasted negative reviews to the bottom.

In just a few hours, the number of views exceeded five million.

At 10 p.m., "Chasing the Light" topped the Penguin Music New Song Chart.

Zhang Yihan's name trended on Weibo.

"Zhang Yihan's sense of brokenness", "The Chaser of Light cried", and "Zhang Yihan's comeback" were all trending in the top ten.

The fact that Star Shine spent ten million to spread negative rumors about Zhang Yihan became the most tragic footnote to her life.

"She must have been pressured by the company's higher-ups. Look at the bandage on her hand; she must have been injured."

"It's pathetic. It's disgusting that a talented singer is packaged as a porn star."

"The person who exposed those scandals has ulterior motives. He's already made a comeback and is singing new songs, and you're still bringing up old grievances?"

Jiang Wei's "Nightfall" has been stuck at three million views and hasn't moved up since.

-

Star Glory Entertainment, CEO's Office.

President Zhou smashed his phone against the wall.

Old Li stood in front of his desk, head down, not daring to utter a sound.

"Is this your plan to destroy a star?"

President Zhou pointed at Old Li's nose.

"Ten million in PR fees gave her free publicity. All those scandals have now become part of her tragic image. Were you an undercover agent she sent?"

Old Li's lips moved, but he didn't dare to reply.

President Zhou picked up the data report from the table and slapped it on Old Li's chest.

"What about Jiang Wei's songs? Their play count is barely a fraction of others'. Tell me the hell, where did that ten million go?"

Old Li lowered his head, his voice trembling.

"President, this song 'Chasing the Light' is of extremely high quality."

"High? High means you can't write songs? You've worked at Universal for eight years, and you can't even produce a single decent song?"

Old Li swallowed hard. He wanted to explain, but didn't know how to begin.

He listened to this song three times.

The piano intro provides a foundation, while the strings in the chorus bring it up, perfectly supporting Zhang Yihan's husky voice.

The arrangement has a very strong sense of layering, and the mixing of each track is incredibly precise.

There are only a handful of producers in China who can produce this level of work.

and--

Old Li became increasingly anxious as he thought about it.

When he left Universal, he took most of the core music library with him, thinking that Tang Yingxue had run out of ammunition.

The results of it?

First, their song "Calorie" propelled Star Girls to the top of the trending searches, garnering over 100 million views across the internet.

Now, with the release of "Chasing the Light," Zhang Yihan has been pulled back from rock bottom, completely overshadowing Xinghui in terms of reputation and data.

These two songs are completely different in style.

One is a catchy anthem that resonates with the lower-tier market, and the other is a high-quality emotional single.

The two-pronged approach resulted in extreme precision.

This is not something a team can do.

He suddenly realized that his decision to leave Global was incredibly stupid.

"check."

President Zhou sat back in his chair and loosened his tie.

"Investigate who Tang Yingxue has been in contact with recently. These songs couldn't have been created by her alone; there must be someone behind them."

"No matter who it is—"

President Zhou opened the drawer and took out a cigar.

"No matter the cost, we'll dig it up."