Chapter 86: As Expected, That Old Fox Had a Trick Up His Sleeve

She unlocked the door with her key, and the room inside was shrouded in darkness.

The girl switched on a lamp, then walked into her own bedroom.

The walls were covered with posters of Zhang Yang, but at that moment, her composure finally broke. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

She grabbed the posters from the walls and tore them down in a frenzy.

Not just the posters—every fan album, every piece of merchandise she had collected was ripped down and thrown into the garbage bin.

Afterward, she uploaded the audio recording to her computer and saved it onto a flash drive as well.

She made several backup copies, and only then did she finally break down and weep aloud in the chaos of her room.

...

The song “Someone Like Me” didn’t climb the charts very quickly at first—after all, Chen Nan didn’t have a dedicated fanbase hustling for votes.

But just two days later, everything changed.

Thanks to Lin Ze and a few others spreading the word, and some strangers who had chanced upon the song, its ratings began to soar. Glowing reviews poured in.

More and more people discovered the song, and a growing number of folk singers began to cover it.

Not only did it resonate with middle-aged men and women who felt unsuccessful in their thirties and forties, but also with young boys and girls navigating the pains of growing up.

Word spread like wildfire—the momentum became unstoppable.

In the past few days, Zhang Huai had called Zhang Yang to make sure he wasn’t wandering about and was staying at home.

Only then did Zhang Huai feel a little more at ease; lately, nothing at his company was going smoothly.

Competitors were targeting his business from all sides, and he had to be extra cautious.

If his son got caught up in trouble again and something was exposed, he couldn’t withstand the backlash if everyone decided to bring him down.

Besides, they’d bought too many fake followers recently; for now, they couldn’t buy any more.

Internet users were easy to sway but not fools—the barrage of online insults had already aroused their suspicions.

Watching the explosive growth in the data, Zhang Huai picked up his phone and dialed a number.

The call was answered quickly, and Zhang Huai greeted respectfully, “Mr. Shi.”

“What is it? Why are you calling me?” came the response from Mr. Shi.

“Sir, I wonder if you’ve checked the song rankings lately,” Zhang Huai said with a sycophantic chuckle. “Didn’t you promise to secure the top spot this month?”

“Hmm? Yes,” Mr. Shi replied indifferently. “Isn’t the song already number one?”

“Take another look—there’s a song that probably hasn’t used fake followers, and it’s already climbed to number two. It’s just a step away from the top…”

---

Mr. Shi let out a cold laugh, not believing a word—he thought Zhang Huai was just being alarmist.

How could a song written by someone like Shi Gu be so easily surpassed?

He didn’t hang up but opened his computer and checked this month’s new song chart.

The rise of Zhang Yang’s song had slowed to a crawl, with barely perceptible growth.

In contrast, the song just below was seeing a terrifying surge in numbers over the past couple of days.

At this rate, in four days at most, his song would lose its crown.

“So what do you propose?” Zhang Huai pressed, “This song is by Lin Ze too—if this goes on, won’t Lin Ze have the final say in both lyrics and composition?”

Hearing this, Mr. Shi felt a surge of irritation—he knew Zhang Huai was trying to provoke him, but the thought of losing to a young man was intolerable.

He’d lived a long life—how could he not have the experience to write great songs?

Could that youngster really compare to him?

“I know what you mean. Coincidentally, I have another song already written, just as good—if not better, than the last,” Mr. Shi replied icily. “The last one cost you one and a half million, but since it didn’t achieve the expected effect, I’ll give you a discount—fifty thousand off.”

“Ah?” Zhang Huai feigned hesitation. “But what if this one still can’t secure first place…”

“Don’t try to bargain with me. If you can’t afford it, I’ll just sell it to someone else. As long as my song tops the chart, I win.”

With Mr. Shi’s words hanging in the air, Zhang Huai quickly agreed.

After hanging up, Zhang Huai sneered.

Write a new song in just a few days? As if. It was probably just another song he’d written long ago, keeping the best for himself and selling him a mediocre one.

He was just waiting for this song to reach number one before offering the real deal at a sky-high price.

Old fox.

Soon, Mr. Shi sent the new song over.

Zhang Huai played the demo. As he listened, Mr. Shi sent another message.

“This time, don’t let your son sing it. Listening to the last one, I almost thought it was AI-generated.”

Zhang Huai’s face darkened.

The whole point of buying your song was to help my son rebrand himself—otherwise, why bother?

If not my son, who else in this company has his level of popularity and can actually sing?

He thought briefly of Li Xiangyu, but lately, Li had been acting strange and unpredictable.

And such an expensive song would be wasted on an outsider.

No, this song still had to go to Zhang Yang. With this as his second release after rebranding, his path would be set.

Unless…

He considered finding someone with a voice similar to Zhang Yang’s to sing in his place.

Zhang Huai lapsed into deep thought.

...

“Everyone, tomorrow we’re welcoming a special pair of guest performers!”

After the evening’s event wrapped up, everyone was finally about to greet the last day.

This week had been truly enjoyable, and tonight, Lin Ze had even organized a fan gathering.

Fans came to sing their idols’ songs—most sang Lin Ze’s, followed by Ji Chen’s.

Years ago, Chen Weiguo had performed the theme song for a TV drama; tonight, one of his fans sang that very song.

“Who are the guest performers?” someone asked.

“They’re not a couple yet, but they’re coming to experience the show’s atmosphere,” Director Zhang replied with a smile.

This pair had agreed to appear for free, and both were quite big names.

One of them was especially popular at the moment.

But no one knew who they were.

Just like that, the week of peaceful living by the Ear Sea was drawing to a close. With the quirky creation show over, more and more people were spending time in the livestream, savoring the slow rhythm of seaside life.

Step outside and you’re at the shore, living and playing with friends.

Here, you could witness couples growing from youth to middle age, and from middle age into old age—three stages of love.

Everyone loved in their own way.

Even those who once swore to remain single forever now found themselves yearning for love.

Bringing beauty into people’s lives—that is the true value of an artist.