Come Upstairs with Me

The post Lin Fei made on Shuibo had an enormous impact!

On the day it was posted, it surpassed a million likes and drew hundreds of thousands of replies, with three topics making Shuibo's top ten trending searches.

And on the very afternoon Song Dao met with Hu Wei, its influence had already spread to other social media platforms.

On Audio-Visual, the platform with the biggest traffic, countless people went wild!

Many savvy bloggers immediately edited together all sorts of videos from Lin Fei's explosive rise to fame back then.

Others reposted those analysis posts from Zhi Fou, using Monkey Reporting to the Commander's voice to produce and publish them.

They firmly rode this wave of traffic.

At present, two topics had already entered Audio-Visual's top twenty trending searches.

One of them ranked second.

That was the power of a Heavenly Queen!

Even after retiring for so many years, she still possessed such terrifying influence.

Song Dao, a student who had just graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music, became even more popular as a result.

That earlier song had been popular, but its reach had still been somewhat narrow.

So now, many people were asking: who was Song Dao?

Why had Lin Fei, who had retired for so many years and barely ever spoken online, come out to support him?

"Could this guy be Sister Fei's boyfriend? She didn't say anything even after suffering so much injustice herself back then, but now she's speaking out for someone else? I really don't believe they have no connection!"

"What boyfriend? I can tell at a glance you've never heard of Jingcheng's Number One Deep Lover!"

"I'm dying, Brother Dog really is deeply devoted."

"Can someone explain?"

"An incredibly talented, handsome guy who treated his girlfriend amazingly. He spent over a million on her during four years of college without even touching her once. After graduation, his girlfriend found herself a better catch and kicked him to the curb. From then on, everyone 'honored' him as Jingcheng's Number One Deep Lover!"

Eight o'clock that evening.

Ma Shen started his stream right on time.

A huge number of netizens immediately flooded into the livestream.

Though he was only a second-tier singer, Ma Shen was far from unknown.

The people he often hung out with were all major figures in the industry, so in the eyes of his fans and plenty of casual viewers, Ma Shen was practically first-tier.

He was the kind of artist who could appear on the highest-level variety shows, hold his own concerts, and even put on multiple shows in a row.

Having been in the music scene for decades, he had now become a big shot himself.

On ordinary days, his streams drew fifty or sixty thousand viewers, sometimes over a hundred thousand when things were good.

But today, less than ten minutes after he went live, one hundred sixty to one hundred seventy thousand people had already poured into his stream.

"Sister Fei said it herself: as long as people like it and it can resonate emotionally, it's a good song! As for everyone else—if you don't like it, who the hell are you?"

"Who the hell are you?"

The moment those four words appeared, hundreds or even thousands of people began spamming them across the chat.

The screen was flooded with them, a truly spectacular sight!

Ma Shen's long face instantly stretched even longer.

With a cold chuckle, he said, "Who the hell am I? I'm not bragging, but I understand music better than 99.999 percent of the nearly two hundred thousand people in this stream right now!"

"His songs simply have no musicality!"

"No aesthetic beauty!"

"Not sophisticated in the slightest."

Ma Shen was a smart man. He knew who he could insult and who he couldn't, so he turned a blind eye to the chat being filled with Lin Fei's name.

"You don't need to keep cursing me here either. Let's make a bet, right in front of all one or two hundred thousand of you. Do you dare?"

"I'm saying See Through Love, See Through You is a tasteless, lowbrow pop song, and Song Dao doesn't have any real skill."

"Don't say this veteran of the music industry is bullying a newcomer. Let's use one year as the time limit. I won't ask him to win an award—that'd be making things too hard for him. Isn't he releasing songs on Tencent Music?"

"As long as he gets even one song into the top hundred of the Hot Song Chart or the Popularity Index Chart within the next year, I lose!"

"If even one song makes the top three of the Soaring Chart, New Song Chart, or Original Ranking, I lose too!"

"He's only popular because of hype around the topic. To put it bluntly, he doesn't even count as an internet celebrity. How many days can he stay popular?"

"Do you know why I'm even willing to mention him? Fuck, anyone saying I'm riding his traffic is a goddamn idiot!"

Ma Shen sneered as he unleashed a tirade at the people cursing him through the screen.

"The reason I'm willing to mention him and criticize him a little is because, even now, he hasn't started streaming to ride this wave of attention that never should have belonged to him in the first place!"

"Otherwise, was he even worthy of having his name mentioned by me?"

"So I said, as long as he meets that condition, I'll bark like a dog three times in the livestream, then apologize to him and say 'I was wrong' ten times!"

"If he starts streaming by then, I'll go to his livestream and tip him one million Audiovisual Coins to apologize for being blind and failing to recognize talent!"

Ma Shen was a very smart man.

It was hard to rise in this day and age without being smart.

Cui Luo's attempt to ride the hype was far too obvious, but he was different—he did it with class!

With that bold declaration, his straightforward, outspoken persona was instantly reinforced.

The popularity in his livestream soared!

The fans who had always supported him were fired up on the spot.

They fought fiercely with Lin Fei's fans.

All kinds of gift effects kept flashing across the screen.

Without filtering them out, it was practically impossible to read the comments.

Meanwhile.

Cui Luo was streaming as well.

Unlike Ma Shen, who had wisely avoided mentioning Lin Fei, Cui Luo didn't care about any of that. He brought up her name every three sentences.

Lin Fei's public response nearly made him laugh himself sick.

The Heavenly Queen had actually lost her composure!

She hadn't stepped forward back then, yet now she suddenly showed up?

This was practically a tidal wave of traffic crashing right onto his head.

And that was indeed the case.

Though his stream wasn't as explosive as Ma Shen's, the number of viewers on Cui Luo's side had also surpassed one hundred thousand that night.

Even though the overwhelming majority had come to curse him out.

Why would he care about that?

He only wished the storm would rage even harder.

"Publicly backing him? Heh heh, should I call it birds of a feather flock together, or say they're two of a kind?"

"Let's go with the former. After all, she did leave her mark on the music scene. Even if she was only a shooting star, she shone brilliantly once, didn't she?"

"I've always been fair in my words. I've always approached problems with an attitude of seeking truth from facts."

"I judge matters, not people!"

"If someone's singing skills are good, then they're good. If their songs suck, then they suck!"

"Right?"

"Good is good, bad is bad. I don't care whether she's some so-called Heavenly Queen or a newcomer to the music industry. I treat everyone equally!"

"Brother Shen made a statement? Hahaha, I know Brother Shen. We've had drinks together! He's a real straightforward guy. Since he's already said it, then as his little brother, I've got to follow suit!"

Cui Luo was thrilled!

He automatically converted every attack and curse from Lin Fei's fans in the comment section into symbols of money.

He cheerfully said to the camera, "I'm not as loaded as Brother Shen. I can't fork out a million Audiovisual Coins. Even if I could, I wouldn't want to tip some small-time influencer who got famous by dissing his ex-girlfriend. If I lose, I'll donate ten thousand yuan to a charity!"

"How about that? Let tonight's video be proof. Your Brother Cui isn't the kind of person who only knows how to ask you all for gifts every day. I've got a heart for charity too. It's settled, then. If I lose, I'll donate ten thousand yuan to Tencent Charity!"

"What was that? Ten thousand is too little? Come on, friend who said that, get on the mic and turn on your camera. If the amount you've donated this year exceeds ten thousand yuan, then however much you donate, I'll donate double. How about it?"

"Where are the mods? Find that guy for me. He ran off? Tch, he's nothing! Don't go standing on the moral high ground and judging people for no reason!"

"Forget the dog barking. Brother Shen keeps dogs; I don't. I'm allergic to small animals. But if I lose, not only will I donate, I'll also go to his livestream and connect with him so I can apologize to him face-to-face!"

"I'm riding his hype? By then, how many people will even remember him? It'd be more like he's riding mine!"

It was another lively night.

Aside from those two who had jumped out first, Lin Fei's sudden statement after so many years drew many more people into the fray.

Not long after Lin Fei posted that Shuibo, before it had even blown up, Dong Yu—who had always followed her—had already reposted it.

She only wrote four words—Supporting my sister!

To many members of Crimson, this was also the strongest proof that Lin Fei had been smeared back then.

Because even now, Teacher Dong's daughter, Dong Yu, still followed Lin Fei and had unhesitatingly taken her side.

If that still couldn't count as evidence, then what could?

It wasn't just the music industry. Many celebrities from the film and television industry were also asked about it during their livestreams, or brought it up themselves.

Those in the entertainment industry were especially sensitive to something like traffic.

The truly capable people created their own traffic. Those who weren't quite as capable had to learn how to seize it.

For example, when a certain dance went viral, it wouldn't be long before a whole crowd of first-, second-, third-, fourth-, and fifth-tier celebrities could be seen imitating it in all sorts of ways...

Overall, the people in these mainstream circles were far from friendly toward Song Dao, this young Singer-Songwriter.

For one thing, only one celebrity had publicly supported him so far: Lin Fei.

At most, Dong Yu could be counted too.

But she wasn't even in the music industry—just an actress of modest standing.

And Lin Fei had already retired from the industry!

Rather than side with her, they might as well side with Ma Shen.

For another, the entertainment industry's hierarchy of disdain was crystal clear.

Internet celebrities were definitely at the very bottom.

Internet influencers, online singers, web novelists...

Whenever many people mentioned them, they would unconsciously, involuntarily show a hint of contempt.

Any emerging thing needed time for people to adapt, and that process was often rather long.

What surprised many people was that—

This enormous wave of traffic, which had practically topped the trending lists across every platform, this windfall of unimaginable proportions—

Song Dao had actually turned it down!

"I'm a little curious what you were thinking. Don't tell me you really don't want to become famous?"

The following morning.

Song Dao went to Yan Yu's Life is Messy Studio to record songs.

The beautiful big sister asked the question many people had been extremely curious about the moment she saw him.

"Who doesn't want to be famous?" Song Dao replied.

Just not famous like this.

"Then why won't you show your face?" Yan Yu looked curious. "Have you not even checked your follower counts on Audio-Visual and Shuibo?"

"I did. Five hundred and sixty-eight thousand plus on Audio-Visual, and two hundred and seventy-five thousand plus on Shuibo." Song Dao gave precise figures.

Yan Yu was somewhat speechless. "Then why aren't you streaming? Do you know how many people are desperate to see you right now? To hear you sing, interact with you, talk to you?"

"I don't feel like streaming at a time like this," Song Dao answered.

Yan Yu looked at Song Dao but did not ask any further questions.

All of a sudden, she felt that she understood this young, handsome Junior Brother a little better.

Clearly, he did not want to ride this kind of hype at a time like this.

Even if the traffic belonged to him, he did not want it!

"That's truly rare. Good-looking and talented, yet so clear-headed at such a young age, knowing exactly what you want..."

Song Dao looked at her helplessly. "Stop sounding so old-fashioned. You're only a few years older than me. If we walked together, people might even think you were much younger than I was."

"I like hearing that. You can praise me a few more times!"

Yan Yu was delighted by the flattery. Looking at Song Dao, she asked with a smile, "So, what new work has Junior Brother brought for his big sister today?"

In truth, she had not held out much hope.

Although she knew Song Dao was talented and created quickly.

There were doubts over when Always Been Quiet had been written, but See Through Love, See Through You had long since been verified by that all-powerful group of netizens to have taken only three days!

Even those who looked down on Song Dao had absolutely nothing to criticize about that.

"There are two songs to record today. I'll sing one myself. We'll talk about the other later—let's arrange it first and just record a demo. Same rule as always, Senior Sister, help me keep it secret."

Song Dao said it as naturally as could be.

Two songs?

Yan Yu looked a little stunned.

Her sexy red lips parted slightly, and her eyes widened.

Subconsciously, she brushed back her hair and tucked a lock of wine-red hair behind her ear.

Her stunningly beautiful face was turned toward Song Dao.

"Really?"

"Mm."

"Come on, upstairs with me!"