Yan Yu's Suggestion

A week had passed without him noticing since recording those two songs.

Senior Hu Wei had chatted with him on Carrier Pigeon almost every day, checking in on him and discussing music.

Through their conversations, Song Dao also came to understand more about his personality.

He was already prepared to give A Lifetime of Loneliness to him.

Hu Wei's vocal tone was far too similar to Zhang Yu's!

Although Shiyilang was not by his side, he was fortunate enough to have this system-equipped cheat instead.

Song Dao had considered a question before: if old songs from the nineties were released anew today, would they still become just as popular?

After all, people had far too many entertainment options nowadays.

It was like back when rental bookstores could be found on every corner of every city. No one could have imagined that one day, they would be eliminated by the times.

The owners of newspaper stands had never thought that they would one day have to close down either.

But there was one thing.

Whether on Earth before or in this parallel world now, most people's playlists were always filled mostly with old songs!

Those songs carried their youth and memories, for one thing. For another, classics were classics.

Good songs were simply good songs!

He believed that beautiful melodies would never go out of style.

Perhaps because of his involvement, the originally stagnant music scene of the Xia Kingdom in this parallel world would be infused with vitality once again.

And burst forth with brilliant new life.

Just as many had hoped when Lin Fei first became famous, the Chinese music scene would successfully live out a second life.

Today was also the sixth day since Sad City had been uploaded to the Penguin Music platform.

Everyone said Song Dao had failed to seize that enormous wave of traffic.

But in reality, he had not missed out on any of the benefits.

Without any promotion at all, it had received a flood of praise the moment it went online!

Unlike the simple, straightforward criticism in See Through, Sad City could clearly resonate with far more people.

Because those hurt by love had never been only men.

This song, which both men and women could relate to, conveyed more of a struggle beneath the sadness.

It was very easy for people to empathize with it.

And in this regard, women were clearly better than men.

So aside from the mainstream audience, Song Dao once again received a flood of praise online.

The comments sections were mostly filled with this sort of thing—

"Brother Dog is awesome!"

"I hereby crown Brother Dog the King of Simps. (doge)"

"Jingcheng's Number One Deep Lover truly lives up to his name. (laughing tears)"

"I was crying while listening, but your comments made me laugh again..."

Chen Xu was a programmer.

She worked at a major internet company in Yuezhou.

The workload was intense, but the pay was good. In this city, she was considered highly paid.

Just half a year ago.

She had broken up with the boyfriend she had been with for five years.

What followed was the torment of breaking up and getting back together over and over again.

It left her covered in emotional wounds.

There was nothing much to say about the story—just the same old clichéd melodrama.

Her boyfriend had been keeping his options open, and after finding a suitable replacement, he had not immediately proposed breaking up.

Instead, he gave her the cold shoulder and emotionally manipulated her.

He even had the nerve to complain that she was not ambitious enough, did not spend enough time with him, and was neither gentle nor considerate enough.

In short, he found every excuse to make trouble.

At first, Chen Xu had not noticed anything unusual. She had even felt somewhat guilty inside, thinking her boyfriend had a point.

She was a very traditional girl. Once she committed to someone, she wanted to spend her whole life with him.

So she tried every way she could to appease him.

The latest phone models, high-end graphics cards, all kinds of designer clothes, belts, shoes...

She even took out the money she had saved for a down payment and bought her boyfriend countless luxury goods.

Even her male coworkers said there was something wrong with her head.

They joked that if they had known she was like this, they would have chased her like crazy long ago.

But she was not truly stupid.

She quickly sensed that something was wrong with her boyfriend, but faced with all his carefully woven lies, she forced herself to believe him.

Until she returned early from a business trip one day and caught her boyfriend in their love nest with an old woman who was old enough to be his mother.

Chen Xu could no longer endure it and proposed breaking up.

Less than a week later, her boyfriend called her crying on a rainy night, saying he had been foolish for a moment and now knew he was wrong.

Her heart softened, and she agreed to get back together with him.

Yet just a few days later, she discovered that this scumbag was still tangled up with that woman and keeping in touch with her.

Chen Xu could not understand it. If the other woman had been a young, pretty girl, she might have accepted it, but what kind of feelings could he possibly have had for an old woman more than a decade older than him?

Over the next few months, the two of them went through countless rounds of breaking up and reconciling.

It was not until Song Dao's See Through Love, See Through You came out recently that she suddenly had an awakening.

Only then did she realize: her boyfriend might not have liked that old woman at all—he liked money!

Because when they had gotten back together, he had once told her that the old woman was single and lived in a huge villa.

She had five or six cars at home and was absurdly rich!

Only then did Chen Xu finally wake up and make up her mind to break up with that man.

She submitted her resignation to the company.

She did not want to remain in this bustling metropolis any longer.

She had saved up some money over the years and planned to return to her hometown, buy a home, and find some decent job.

She no longer looked forward to love or marriage.

She was a key employee at the company, so her superiors were desperately trying to persuade her to stay.

After all, she was not even thirty-five yet and was still very useful.

She was actually hesitating too.

From the time she graduated from university until now, this city had preserved too many traces of youth that belonged to her and him.

Her entire social circle was here.

If she really left, she was indeed Reluctant to Part.

Her boyfriend... more accurately, her ex-boyfriend, had texted her again today. Since she had blocked his calls and Carrier Pigeon, he could only contact her through text messages.

He was still begging to get back together.

He said that this time, he truly knew he was wrong—

"She wasn't rich at all. The house was rented, and the cars were rented too. She specialized in romance scams to deceive ignorant men like me..."

"She didn't just deceive me. She deceived many others too."

Her ex-boyfriend said the woman had even scammed him out of the few tens of thousands he had in savings, leaving him completely broke, and now she had disappeared.

Chen Xu looked at the messages, finding them both pathetic and laughable.

Pathetic because she had found herself a man like that and even doted on him like he was a treasure.

Laughable because she had failed to see through him for so many years. She had been a complete lovesick fool—she really had been a little stupid.

Expressionlessly, she blocked the number that had sent the messages, then opened her favorites folder on Audio-Visual.

She wanted to listen to See Through Love, See Through You a few more times.

To remind herself that she absolutely could not soften her heart!

Knock, knock, knock!

A series of knocks sounded outside.

She ignored them.

Instead, she put on her headphones.

Then she saw countless people spamming the same message in the comments—Jingcheng's Number One Deep Lover had released a new song!

Jingcheng's Number One Deep Lover and Brother Dog were both nicknames netizens had given Song Dao.

There was no malice behind them. They were mostly just teasing him.

Chen Xu had never called him that, though.

Because she herself was not any better than him.

She had graduated from a prestigious university, was decent-looking, and earned a good income.

Yet she was a female simp!

Song Dao had failed to sleep with someone, while she had been slept with.

And she had been slept with for so many damn years!

She soon saw the title of Song Dao's new song in the comments.

"Sad City?"

She immediately opened Penguin Music and easily found the song on the recommendations page.

She tapped play.

After a soft piano intro—

[Regarding the story between the two of you, you always have a far-fetched explanation]

[I no longer want to hear your poisonous vows, because this is not the first time]

The voice was clear and gentle, carrying a trace of sadness.

Chen Xu instantly lost herself in it.

[You carefully weave your lies; I don't want to be hurt by you again]

[I've long grown used to your stale old lines. If I turn back now, is it too late?]

Chen Xu's defenses crumbled.

Song Dao, why were you being so cruel?

Wasn't See Through Love, See Through You enough? You had to keep stabbing her in the heart too?

Had he seen her miserable experiences or something?

This song fit her current state of mind far too well.

The person outside had not left yet.

Every so often, he knocked on the door a few times, accompanied by her ex-boyfriend's tearful pleading.

"Why had I never thought his puppy-dog act was especially disgusting before?" Chen Xu asked herself.

If she did not leave this city, she would never truly be able to escape this man, or this heartbreaking... failed relationship!

[I want to forget the vows we made in the past]

[Try to get used to the days without you]

[It is time to say goodbye to this sad city]

[Everything will, will begin anew]

Song Dao's voice flowed through her headphones, sad and beautiful, as though he were gently advising her, this heartbroken person.

Leave, say goodbye, get used to it!

As the drums, guitar, and bass came in, the song's emotions rose layer by layer.

Chen Xu could not help but be overcome with sorrow. Tears streamed down her face as grief consumed her.

From silently shedding tears, to quietly sobbing, and finally, unable to hold it in any longer, she buried herself beneath the covers and burst into loud tears.

An adult's breakdown could happen in an instant.

But after breaking down, she would never look back again.

Song Dao was looking at the data.

See Through Love, See Through You—

Soaring Chart: thirteenth. New Song Chart: eleventh. Original Ranking: tenth.

Non-member downloads: 149345!

Sad City—

Soaring Chart: sixteenth. New Song Chart: fifteenth. Original Ranking: twelfth.

Non-member downloads: 104406!

After the two songs continued to gain momentum, their downloads and purchases had surged. See Through had finally broken into the top ten!

Song Dao was extremely satisfied with these results.

If he showed them off, they would practically blind people.

Not to mention the far larger number of member downloads, as well as the platform's advertising revenue share.

Altogether, it was another considerable income.

These were results he had achieved without any backing or connections whatsoever!

Above him were the popular newcomers launched by those major companies.

Their member and non-member download numbers were still far beyond his reach.

After all, they had big companies backing them and could throw money around like crazy.

He couldn't. He was still counting on these two songs to make money!

Forget not having the money—even if he did, he wouldn't do that.

My songs are meant to make money!

As Sad City became popular, Song Dao, who had released two hit songs in quick succession, finally became an online celebrity in recent times.

His follower count on Audio-Visual broke through one million.

There were also more and more opinions about his music.

While the vast majority of netizens praised him, even more so-called mainstream musicians stepped forward to criticize his songs.

It was still the same old line—catchy songs with no musical substance, not sophisticated enough, too shallow, assembly-line products.

The songs were influencer songs, and the person was an influencer too.

No matter how well they sold, they were still low-class!

Song Dao was also considering his options.

In truth, the best approach was to join a capable company.

Not only could he earn more under the company's management, but someone would also be there to shield him from the storm.

But as a newcomer, choosing the right company wouldn't be easy.

He felt somewhat frustrated.

He wanted to live more easily.

But in life, how could anyone take it easy without strength?

If he wanted strength, he had to fucking fight for it.

Fortunately, his luck had been good ever since he transmigrated.

Just when he got sleepy, someone brought him a pillow.

Yan Yu, who had remained in contact with him lately, had probably noticed the online chatter as well.

She called him specifically.

She suggested that Song Dao join a professional music company.

The reason was simple.

With Song Dao's talent for songwriting, he could write many songs in the future and develop different singers. There was nothing wrong with going it alone in that regard.

But the problem was that Song Dao was a singer himself!

Once his persona was defined by those mainstream voices, it would be hard to shake it off later.

"You've probably noticed it too. Penguin Music has already given you a lot of support, but reaching the top ten on the Soaring Chart, the New Song Chart, and the Original Songs Chart is basically your limit."

"Yes, your limit. It may not be the limit of the songs themselves, but if you keep fighting alone, then that'll be the shared limit for both you and your songs!"

Yan Yu greatly admired Song Dao and spoke bluntly.

"Although you studied music, you don't know this circle very well, so you may not have noticed that more people have been stepping forward to criticize you lately, and none of them are insignificant."

"This isn't a good sign. It's definitely not because they're overflowing with justice."

"If this kind of talk is allowed to keep spreading, what happened to Sister Fei back then may very well be what you'll face next!"

"You've blocked some people's path!"

"The music scene is indeed stagnant, but that doesn't stop those major entertainment companies from pushing out new artists every year."

"They give them all sorts of ridiculously impressive titles and pile awards into their hands."

"Then they start cashing in."

"For them, the simplest move is to push those people's songs onto these three charts."

"The major entertainment companies originally had an unspoken understanding. When you pushed, I wouldn't; when everyone pushed together, how the chart spots would be divided had all been discussed in private."

"But now, you're like a catfish charging into a school of sardines, smashing through everything and about to take two top-ten spots. Song Dao, that has seriously affected their interests!"

"They spent a great deal of money, only for you to squeeze them out. If they want to climb back up, they'll have to invest even more."

"Anyone would be unhappy with you."

"So my suggestion is to find a professional company with relatively flexible terms and, most importantly, enough backing."

"Negotiate a profit-sharing arrangement you can accept. Treat the portion of your profits you give up as buying yourself some insurance."

"You won't actually lose out. The revenue from a song run by a company will definitely be different from one that isn't."

"Not every song will be like these two songs of yours."

"You can't treat a phenomenon as the norm."