Twenty minutes later, at Liangyin Music Shop.
Lin Chudong sat on a piano bench, surrounded by five people who were grilling him like a suspect.
"Spill it. The whole truth."
"Brother Fei, honesty will earn you leniency. If you resist, things will only get worse. Don't even think about trying to tough it out."
Lin Chudong was speechless. "What am I supposed to say?"
"Your relationship with Lin Qiqi!"
"There's nothing between us."
"Like we'd believe that!"
Lin Chudong sighed. "Quit messing around. This is just a publicity stunt to stir up rumors. You all knew the plan; it just went a little off track. Lin Qiqi suddenly took matters into her own hands, but she ended up helping me in her own way. Remember that we owe her one."
Wang Zhi asked in a low voice, "Brother Fei, you really don't have anything going on with her?"
Lin Chudong replied, "If I did, do you think I'd still be starting a band with you?"
Wang Zhi froze, then pulled a long face. "Brother Fei, that was kind of hurtful."
"Good. Now go practice your bass!"
Everyone shrugged. Apparently, there really wasn't any juicy gossip, so they hurried off to practice.
Liang Yin sat in front of the computer, keeping an eye on the news on Weibo.
"Da Fei, just as expected, you're trending."
They'd anticipated this result. Getting onto Trending Search had been the whole point. But this time, things had gone even crazier: Da Fei alone occupied three of the top ten trending spots.
"Da Fei and Lin Qiqi rumored to be dating—is the nation's goddess falling for a musical prodigy?"
"Da Fei crashes Li Dan's wedding, singing 'The Guest' and laying bare his humiliation."
"Musical genius Da Fei!"
Lin Qiqi was still the bigger star, after all. The rumor about her and Da Fei had shot straight to number one.
The other two were hovering at ninth and tenth.
The whole internet was abuzz with the story, which had become the hottest topic of conversation that day.
"What did Da Fei do to deserve all this? I'm changing careers—I'm becoming a singer and winning my wife back!"
"Quit bragging. Do you have even half as much musical talent as Da Fei? Take a look in the mirror!"
"Damn, what do you think? Should I sing 'The Guest' at Da Fei and Lin Qiqi's wedding someday?"
"Don't be shameless. What do you have to do with my wife?"
"She'll be Da Fei's wife from now on. Boohoo, like I said, I'm the real clown here. I'm even more devastated than Da Fei!"
"Does no one care about Li Dan and Zhang Yao? Those two are probably fighting right now, aren't they?"
"Getting into a fight over Da Fei on their wedding night? Now that's something."
"I bet Lin Qiqi couldn't stand watching today, so she stepped in and challenged Li Dan! You don't want Da Fei? Fine, I do!"
"That's pretty badass. No wonder she's my wife!"
"But how could she be dating Da Fei? And why is it that when I picture them together, I'm not even that upset? Why do I kind of ship them?"
"No, no, no. I absolutely can't ship them. I'm boycotting Da Fei!"
"You're going to boycott a musical genius who wrote 'The Guest'?"
"I..."
"Seriously, Da Fei's musical talent is undeniable. Why did Shen Jianbin, that idiot, kick him out?"
"Have you noticed Da Fei's gotten even more incredible since going solo? Every song is a smash, and he's showing up in public more, too. Da Fei's the real musical genius. Shen Jianbin can just sit there and regret it."
"..."
The online discussion was everywhere, but there wasn't much negativity.
For one thing, Da Fei and Lin Qiqi were only rumored to be dating. They hadn't made anything official, so fans were still waiting to see what happened.
For another, "The Guest" was such a powerhouse of a song. If it had been released under ordinary circumstances, it wouldn't have caused such a huge stir.
But singing it at a wedding had made it the perfect fit for the occasion. The impact had been immense.
Da Fei's popularity had surged, and Liang Yin Band's fanbase had grown by more than a hundred thousand in just a few hours.
Liang Yin was very pleased with the results.
"Da Fei, do you think we'll finally get some gigs out of this?"
Lin Chudong said, "Hard to say. I checked recently, and the music festivals aren't happening until after the Mid-Autumn Festival. The nearest events are the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala and Magic City TV Station's variety show, Singing Huaxia. We're not likely to get on either of those."
Their popularity had certainly surged. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, getting on a music festival lineup shouldn't be hard.
But Lin Chudong wasn't aiming to stop at music festivals. He wanted a much bigger stage.
He'd just reached out to a few people, but no one had replied.
He knew some people who worked at Magic City TV Station, too. Unfortunately, the person he'd contacted hadn't gotten back to him.
Maybe the TV station didn't care about this kind of buzz. Even if Da Fei was popular online, they didn't need him to boost their ratings.
"By the way, did you give Li Dan and Zhang Yao what I asked you to?"
"Yeah. We gave them a song score and ten thousand yuan from the band."
"Okay. Take it out of my pay."
"No need. It counts as a band expense."
Lin Chudong didn't press the matter. Just then, Tian Yingxiong sent him a message on WeChat.
Tian Yingxiong: When the hell did you and Lin Qiqi get together? You didn't even tell me. That's cold!
Lin Chudong: You put on that poor-man act last time, and my Qiqi even donated money to you. Give it back.
Tian Yingxiong: ? Are you messing with me?
Lin Chudong: Any connections for the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala? Get me on.
Tian Yingxiong: Do you think I can get on? I'm begging you to get me on!
Lin Chudong: Then begone.
Tian Yingxiong: ...
Besides him, even Su Yulin messaged Lin Chudong.
Su Yulin: Is it true?
Lin Chudong: You mean what?
Su Yulin: Obviously, you and Lin Qiqi.
Lin Chudong: It's fake. That was only our second time meeting.
Su Yulin: Oh.
Just after he finished chatting with them, Lin Qiqi suddenly sent him a message.
Lin Qiqi: Are you asleep, Da Fei?
Lin Chudong: Not yet. Has your agent contacted you? Do we need to handle this urgently?
Lin Qiqi: No. I usually go to bed after nine, so they won't disturb me.
Lin Chudong was stunned. Was her status really that high?
Ordinary performers, even popular ones, would get an earful from their agencies over something like this.
Lin Qiqi had gotten caught up in a dating rumor, and her agency hadn't even called her. The reason was that they didn't want to wake her?
Now that was what you called a rich heiress!
Just look at how easy she had it as a celebrity.
Then look at him, struggling to drum up publicity with a fake dating rumor. The difference was huge.
Lin Chudong: Then go to sleep. It's getting late.
Lin Qiqi: I didn't get to hear you sing today. You have to make it up to me next time.
Lin Chudong: Okay.
Lin Qiqi: Good night.
Lin Chudong set his phone aside and glanced at the Red Treasure Chest the system had given him. There were still more than three days left, which would bring it right up to the start of the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala.
He hoped it would give him a few Lucky Cards. Maybe that would turn things around.
Just then, someone suddenly pushed open the door and walked in.
"Is this Liang Yin Band?"
Liang Yin came downstairs and asked, "Can I help you? Are you here to buy an instrument, or...?"
When Lin Chudong saw the visitor, he quickly stood up.
"Director Sun?"
The visitor was none other than Sun Xuan, the chief director of Magic City TV Station's Mid-Autumn Festival Gala!
Meanwhile, Shen Jianbin and Sun Jie were drinking together. They often grabbed late-night snacks at the company, eating, drinking, and smoking. They were just musicians, after all, so they didn't need to protect their voices.
"Da Fei's shameless. He's stirring up dating rumors, and his popularity's climbing again."
Shen Jianbin snorted. "Once his popularity picks up, some small variety show is bound to reach out to him."
"But it doesn't matter. That'll happen after the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala. We'll bring out our killer song at the gala and let Wu Bo make a splash first. That'll put Da Fei back in his place."
"Besides, with the reputation of their pathetic band, there's no way they'll get on the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala."
Before you continue