Hint

After about half an hour of filming, the New York University version of the Harlem Shake was finally complete.

"As for the editing..." Ryan walked over to Elizabeth.

"It's best if you leave that to us," Elizabeth said.

"And the release..."

"We'll have to handle that too," Elizabeth continued.

"Then I'll leave it to you." Ryan nodded quickly.

Finally, Ryan gave her his phone number, and the two parted ways at the park, with Ryan heading back to the nightclub.

His performances in New York were scheduled for three days, not just one, and with the extra day spent in Harlem, Ryan wouldn't be able to return to campus until Wednesday.

In the lounge, Ryan only saw Marvin.

"Meeting you two was really..." Marvin was still brooding over what happened earlier, then he changed the subject: "But compared to that idiot, I think more highly of you, even though you've caused me plenty of trouble too."

"Check Beatport; you're in for a surprise." Marvin was sitting on the lounge sofa, one leg crossed over the other, his polished leather shoe bobbing up and down.

Ryan did as he was told, and then he saw his track "Tremor" on the Beatport 24-hour Best Sellers list. Although it was only ranked in the fifties, the backend showed that over three thousand copies had been sold yesterday. Clearly, word of mouth was spreading.

At $1.29 per copy, he had earned over four thousand dollars on Beatport alone yesterday; even after deducting the thirty percent platform fee, he was still left with a solid three thousand dollars.

"Do you need me to introduce you to an accountant? They're very professional, and you'll need to start filing for the second quarter in June," Marvin reminded him.

Ryan shook his head; Trey had already considered this, and she would have the production company's finance team help him.

"You're quite professional yourself, kid. The new song from yesterday sounded pretty good, too. I have a feeling you could surpass Deadmau5." Marvin narrowed his eyes, staring at Ryan. He had watched the live set yesterday, and as an industry insider, he vaguely sensed that this young man was different from other young DJs. Although his movements during the performance were stiff, he made up for it with high-quality EDM production.

"Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Marvin Zimmerman, and I'm currently in charge of the global electronic music division at WME. Same surname as Deadmau5, but don't worry, he's definitely not my illegitimate son," Marvin laughed.

"A big company?"

Marvin shrugged: "Electronic music is still quite niche at the moment, though the number of people paying attention is growing fast. In reality, I'm the only one in the entire department."

Ryan nodded. He was logging into the backends of other paid music download channels, but apart from Beatport, his music remained ignored on every other platform. In other words, only the core audience of electronic music liked listening to "Tremor," and those people were almost entirely in Europe.

"Maybe electronic music will suddenly become mainstream soon?" Ryan ventured.

Marvin nodded: "That might actually be the case. The audience for the Ultra Music Festival grows every year, nightclub business is booming, and DJ booking fees are rising. This industry is growing rapidly; the general public just hasn't realized it yet. Look at it this way: we're much luckier than those guys doing rock music. Electronic music will definitely produce true superstars—maybe someone else, or maybe it'll be you."

"Ryan, we can continue working together, can't we?" Marvin said suddenly. In his eyes, Ryan's potential was far greater than that of Deadmau5.

"When are you coming back?" Abigail's voice came through the phone.

It was already late at night. Ryan, having finished his performance for the day, was eating a late-night snack with Joel. They were eating American-style Chinese food—things like orange chicken, which was cloyingly sweet.

"I'll be in Nashville the night after next," Ryan said.

"That way you'll still be able to make it to my swimming competition," Abigail said, sounding excited.

"That's great," Ryan replied casually.

Little did he know, Abigail changed her tone: "What's so great about it? The competition is already over! You don't even know the actual time of the event!"

"So, how did it go?" Ryan paused; his mind had been filled with nothing but the Harlem Shake for the past two days.

"I got first place by a stroke of luck," Abigail said, looking smug.

"With this, there's a high probability I'll get the scholarship. But my face turned a bit purple after the race; that shouldn't have any effect, right?" Abigail asked, sounding a bit guilty.

As a major competition involving a scholarship, it wasn't just about stamina and technique; it was also about chemistry and technology.

"What about the others?"

"Their faces were even purpler than mine," Abigail laughed.

After offering some comfort, Abigail hung up the phone, satisfied.

No sooner had he hung up than another number called.

"Hmm... you aren't asleep yet, are you?" A relatively unfamiliar voice came from the other end.

"I'm having a late-night snack."

"Working so hard~"

"Aren't you doing the same?"

"I'm busy with your video. You know how it is—if the sorority has an event for eating, drinking, and having fun, everyone is always very responsive, but when it involves boring work, everyone suddenly gets very busy. Anyway, I've finished your video. Give me your email address, and I'll send it to you to take a look?" Elizabeth said from the other end.

"No problem."

Only then did Ryan put down the phone.

Joel, sitting next to him, had already stood up and was browsing Ryan's Facebook. By 2004, Facebook was already circulating among American college students, and by the end of 2004, it had surpassed one million users. It wasn't until 2006 that Facebook officially opened registration to users over 13, and by now, it had officially surpassed one hundred million users.

In other words, if something became popular among college students, it would likely spread to the entire society.

"This girl is really pretty," Joel said, looking at a selfie on Ryan's Facebook.

Ryan walked over and told him about how they had met.

"Then why don't you introduce me?" Joel said with a lecherous grin.

"She's studying in Australia, there's a fourteen-hour time difference, are you sure?" Ryan countered.

"Forget it then... but how did you two even add each other on Facebook?" Joel had identified the crux of the matter.

"She asked if I had Facebook, so I gave her my account. It's that simple."

"Shit, you even commented 'You there? Let me see those legs' under her photo. You're seriously shameless, man." Joel scoffed.

"Everyone has a pursuit of beautiful things." Ryan smiled.

"So, did she send them to you?"

Ryan shook his head repeatedly.

It's not that I want to hog the goods, brother, I'm just afraid you'll get in too deep. It's all for your own good.

Just then, Ryan's phone rang again.

"How many women call you every single day?" Joel muttered, continuing to browse Ryan's Myspace to search for pretty fans.

"Hello..." Ryan had already answered the phone on the other side.

"Still not asleep? Who are you flirting with now?" The voice on the other end of the line could be described as "chilling."

"How could I dare to sleep without waiting for your call?" Ryan responded.

"Is New York fun? Are the girls pretty?" Taylor continued to ask.

"Are you referring to the girls with beards longer than mine?" Ryan said.

"Hmph, I bet there's one lying next to you right now." Taylor expressed her disbelief.

"Joel, make some noise for me." Ryan turned the phone toward Joel.

"Ah, Ryan, you're too intense, oh, oh, come on baby." Joel said without even turning his head.

"I've already reported such a big matter to Abigail truthfully." Taylor giggled.

"Then mention what happened between us before to her while you're at it." Ryan said.

"What matter? I don't remember." Taylor dodged the question.

"Do you want me to help you refresh your memory, or should I just upload it to the internet? I'm in desperate need of followers anyway." Ryan continued.

"Are you threatening me? Go to hell if you don't upload it!" Taylor sounded as if she were deliberately trying to provoke Ryan.

"Forget it. I have a New Song now, the style is a bit unique, maybe I can attract a lot of attention with it." Ryan mentioned the New Song.

"Wake up, it's time to get up."

"It's time to go to sleep. You aren't angry about me and Abigail, are you?" Ryan probed.

"How could I be? I can't thank you enough. Thank you for giving me a New Song; everyone thinks this New Song is great." Taylor said. On the surface, she was talking about the song, but in reality, she was talking about Ryan.

"That's good then." Ryan hung up the phone.

At the same time, Nashville.

Taylor put down her phone and flipped through the Billboard magazine in her hands. Before the internet had fully emerged, Billboard's magazine business accounted for a large portion of their revenue; for many years, Billboard magazine had relied on its charts to sustain sales.

It was clearly displayed in the magazine: Taylor's Should've Said No had dropped to fourth place on the country music sub-chart. Currently ranked first was Carrie Underwood's All-American Girl, which made Taylor feel like she was facing a formidable enemy.

She decided to detonate the "bomb" she had "planted" earlier in the near future—it was the song she had given to Ryan—but the prerequisite was that Ryan had to cooperate with a tacit understanding.

Yet, as it turned out, Ryan actually had a New Song! This had become the biggest obstacle to her executing her plan.

"How are you going to get famous without me? Keep dreaming!" Taylor snorted coldly, pulled up her covers, and closed her eyes to sleep.