I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

After hearing this, her expression changed, becoming somewhat strange.

She raised her voice eight octaves and said, "I just received news that our classmate Qin Yunshang's performance video on YouTube has surpassed 100,000 views."

Jia Yi: "..."

Guo Xiaoran: "..."

The silence was deafening, and the awkwardness between the two was just right.

No sooner had Jia Yi said he didn't have 100,000 views than the video with 100,000 views appeared.

After a long pause, Jia Yi finally spoke: "Uh... Look, it's been two or three days already, and the number of views has only just broken 100,000. This actually proves my point from earlier."

Guo Xiaoran nodded and said, "Yes, among our three groups, their group is the slowest to reach 100,000 views."

Lu Chujiu hesitated for a moment before saying, "But Yunshang'er's performance is a day later than ours. Her speed in breaking 100,000 should be about the same, right?"

Guo Xiaoran squinted, inwardly cursing Lu Chujiu for being so oblivious to social cues and betraying him so easily. He then said:

"It took Chu Jiu two days to break 100,000, right? She'll be quick to break 300,000 soon. Overall, we'll have to see how long she stays in the game..."

The host listened attentively to the director speaking through the earpiece, nodding repeatedly. Finally, she looked up and said:

"I just received news that Yunshang'er's performance video was only released yesterday, and it has already surpassed 100,000 views in just one day."

"Cough cough cough cough..."

Jia Yi started coughing violently, and Guo Xiaoran, who was standing next to him, quickly asked, "Have you caught a cold?"

"No...it's nothing, just a slight cough."

"Drink more water."

"Um……"

Guo Xiaoran turned her head and said, "Over 100,000 views in a day? Judging from this, the speed at which it reached 100,000 is still a bit slower than Jin Lan's..."

The host looked serious and said, "We just received the latest news that both of Yun Shang'er's videos have surpassed 100,000 views, one of which was only released two hours ago."

Guo Xiaoran: "..."

He really felt like throwing up. Could you please stop talking so heavily and panting?

I say something and you immediately contradict me. Is this some kind of game?!

"What video is it? Can I take a look?!" Guo Xiaoran's tone was somewhat exasperated. "Can you play it for me?"

The host nodded repeatedly and said, "Let's have the director switch to that video."

Soon, the live stream switched, and the contestants saw the YouTube video on the split screen.

The video was edited very simply, with no unnecessary shots. Not long after it started, Qin Yunshang on stage began to sing.

She was singing "Idol".

After listening to a few sentences, Guo Xiaoran and Jia Yi were completely bewildered.

"What is this? Why is this a Japanese song? Did Chen Liang really write this?"

"This doesn't sound like Chen Liang's production at all! This song must have been produced by a professional Japanese music team!"

The two were about to lose it. If they hadn't been proven wrong so many times before, they would have started to suspect that the production team was deliberately messing with them.

Even if the two don't understand Japanese, the song's explosive effect is enough for any musician to feel their talent.

The two of them would never believe that this Japanese song was written by Chen Liang, who had only studied in Japan.

Could it be that the production team has gone to great lengths to promote Qin Yunshang, even hiring a Japanese team to write a song for Chen Liang?

However, the others ignored the two's erratic behavior and watched intently.

As the song ended, Yu Xiaoxiao led the applause, saying, "This song is great! It's really catchy!"

He Su nodded in agreement: "Yes, it's no exaggeration to say it's perfect. The stage performance was perfect, and the lyrics and music were perfect. If it were the finals, I would definitely give it a high score."

After the song finished playing, the entire atmosphere of the live stream changed.

"It's so catchy! Is this the kind of pop song the two teachers were talking about?"

"I'm sorry, after listening to what teachers Guo Xiaoran and Jia Yi said, I had some doubts about the fairness of the program, but I now withdraw my doubts."

"Was this song also made by Chinese people? I love it, I'm totally hooked now."

"Hmph, even though Yunshang'er isn't here, she's not someone you can just try to extort money from."

……

Guo Xiaoran took out her phone and, with trembling hands, searched for the song she had just heard. The song immediately appeared on the homepage.

He stared at the video information over and over again, confirming that the song had been released the day before yesterday, and felt a little relieved.

The speed at which this song has surpassed 100,000 views is actually not bad, indicating that its performance in the Japanese market is not as terrible as imagined.

There's still a chance to turn things around!

What he didn't know was that the video was submitted by Xiao Qing; she had previously submitted it to the wrong section, resulting in very few views.

Lu Qingxuan changed the video's viewing area and the number of views skyrocketed within three hours.

The host added, "Well, besides this song, Qin Yunshang also has another song that has over 100,000 plays, and it's still rising rapidly."

Guo Xiaoran quickly said, "Take that song out and let's take a look too."

Chapter 473 Dying Knowing Why

The host felt that constantly switching between off-site broadcasts was not good for the live broadcast and could easily cause viewers to leave.

After hesitating for a moment, Guo Xiaoran and Jia Yi urged him repeatedly, "Hurry up and play that song!"

Yu Xiaoxiao chuckled to herself from behind: "Host, let's play that song as they requested. They want to know why they're dying."

He Su said, "Actually, I'm also quite curious to see which of Yun Shang'er's songs can get such a high number of plays. Could it be 'I Remember'?"

"It can't be 'I Remember,' can't you understand the meaning of this song by looking at the lyrics?" Yu Xiaoxiao said.

“It can’t be that Ah Zhen has fallen in love with Ah Qiang, can it?” He Su laughed.

“This song definitely has the potential to be a hit. If Shiina Apple and the others were to provide accompaniment, it would be a massive success,” Yu Xiaoxiao said. “But I doubt we were able to get them to perform live…”

While everyone was speculating, the director had already switched the split screen to the brand new video.

Seeing the video title on the split screen, Yu Xiaoxiao squinted and read it aloud:

"Set off...fireworks?"

This title is a typical example where you recognize each word individually, but when put together, you have absolutely no idea what it means. It sounds like you're about to light a cigarette.

The video started playing, and after the intro, Qin Yunshang began to sing. It wasn't until a while later that everyone realized what was happening.

"This is a Japanese song! It's another Japanese song!"

Yu Xiaoxiao's previous doubts were easily resolved.

This song is neither "I Remember" nor "Learn to Meow," but rather another new song.

But a new problem arose: Chen Liang wrote two Japanese songs in one go. Where did he get so much talent?

"Is this another new song? Where does Chen Liang find so much time to write new songs?" Jia Yi asked Guo Xiaoran in confusion.

"..."

Guo Xiaoran remained silent, staring intently at the small screen.

He's only curious about one thing now: just how good is this song?

From the time the production team announced the final round of the competition to the time the contestants began their performances, only two days had passed.

The original purpose of the final round rules was to allow contestants to switch styles and sing different songs. These two days were for contestants to rest and practice, not for songwriters to compose music.

Two new songs in two days? How is that possible?

At this moment, the song is entering its chorus:

The light burst forth with a 'bang'

Fireworks came into view

"Summer must not be over yet."

"Untie the knot of ambiguity in our hearts, and then connect us tightly again."

May this night never end.

When Qin Yunshang sang this part, her clear voice, combined with the exquisite arrangement, made everyone who listened feel a buzzing in their head, followed by a tingling sensation down their spine.

Although I couldn't understand Japanese, I could still feel a kind of gorgeous sadness, just like standing on the beach on the last night of summer vacation and watching fireworks rise in the dark distance.

I want to preserve this tender moment, which was destined to be lost, forever.

It sounds good.

The director thoughtfully added a small split screen to the live broadcast, showing close-ups of the contestants' faces on the small screen while the video was playing.

As a result, Guo Xiaoran's focused and shocked expression was right next to the scene of Qin Yunshang singing this chorus, making the whole scene very narrative.

Taking a screenshot of this scene and adding the text "How the hell is this song written so well?" below it would look perfectly natural.

Viewers in the live stream noticed this scene, and the chat exploded with comments:

"This song is so good! I'm begging for a download link!"

"The production team should be more sensible and quickly upload this song to music platforms. I want to download it now!"

"I'd heard Yunshang'er was amazing before, but I always thought it was just marketing. Today I'm completely hooked, she's really good."

"Was this song written by Chen Liang? Is he really Chinese? Why does he write Japanese songs so well?"

"I thought Chen Liang was the kind of person who was neither talented nor virtuous after listening to Guo Xiaoran and Jia Yi's conversation, but after listening to this song, I feel that it's not like that at all."

……

"Uchiage Hanabi," or rather, its original name was "Uchiage Hanabi," is also an anime song.

This song is the theme song for the animated film "Fireworks," adapted from the original work by Shunji Iwai. The full title of the anime is "Fireworks in the Sky, Should We See Them From Below or From the Side?".

Even during the promotional PV stage, this animated film had already garnered widespread attention, mainly due to its all-star cast, which can be described as a galactic battleship.

First, there's the original work. Author Shunji Iwai's debut novel, "Love Letter," was his peak upon release and has maintained his illustrious reputation to this day.

Next up is the general director, Akiyuki Shinbo, a renowned genius director in the industry. His works, such as the "Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei" series and the "Monogatari" series, are considered masterpieces of stream of consciousness. After achieving instant fame, he directed "Puella Magi Madoka Magica," winning numerous awards.

The music was composed by Satoru Kousaki, a long-time collaborator of Akiyuki Shinbo, but he became famous even earlier than Shinbo. He was responsible for the music of the Haruhi Suzumiya series, and the group song "GadKnows" is an anthem that got countless people into anime. In addition, "Platinum Disco" and especially "Renai Circulation" are hit songs that have become popular in China. These two songs were his works when he collaborated with Shinbo on the Monogatari series.

As for the voice actors, in addition to Mamoru Miyano and Kana Hanazawa, who are well-known to otaku, popular stars such as Suzu Hirose, Masaki Suda, and Takako Matsu have also been invited to lend their voices.

The year before this film was released, Makoto Shinkai's "Your Name" was a box office smash, bringing Japanese animated films back into the view of Chinese audiences after Hayao Miyazaki, naturally leading to high expectations for this film.

As a result, this seemingly invincible galactic battleship capsized.

Akiyuki Shinbo taught domestic audiences a lesson about stream of consciousness; celebrity voice actors proved that voice acting is a profession that requires expertise and cannot be crossed over casually; the ending of the anime left viewers confused.

Ultimately, the film received a shockingly low score of 5.5 on Douban, a classic case of starting strong but ending weak, turning out to be a major upset.

However, the film's failure marked the beginning of the song "Uchiage Hanabi's" phenomenal success.

Upon its release, the song topped the charts in both plays and downloads, and the following year, it won the Gold Record Award for Best Downloaded Song of the Year.

Even today, six years later, this song still ranks second in terms of views among all Japanese songs on YouTube.

Other film and television music either comes alive because of the plot, or the two complement each other perfectly.

Only the song "Uchiage Hanabi" is a song that carries the movie along with the music.

Because of the song's popularity, its composer, Kenshi Yonezu, has gradually come into the view of Chinese audiences.

Kenshi Yonezu's personal experience is quite legendary, making him arguably the most successful musician to rise from humble beginnings to the public eye.

Kenshi Yonezu has had autism since childhood and was out of place at school and at home. By the time he was 20, the total time he spent talking to his father was less than an hour.

Later, he became obsessed with rock music and started trying to write his own songs. If there were a real-life version of "Lonely Rock," it would be a reflection of his life.

In 09, at the age of 18 and in high school, he released a VOCALOID song on Niconico under the name "Hachi".

The term VOCALOID refers to writing songs for virtual singers like Hatsune Miku to sing. In three years, he wrote numerous legendary and iconic songs, earning him the nickname "Master Ba" in China.

After that, he started making albums under his real name, and then his life took off. At the height of his popularity, he had four of the top five most-viewed Japanese songs on YouTube.