Chapter 107: An Internet Sensation!

The next day.

Chen Qi followed Xu Man to a renowned professional recording studio. The studio was not only equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, but its staff were also among the most skilled and respected in the industry.

Last night, when Xu Man mentioned that they would be recording here today, Chen Qi had expressed his confusion. Her own studio already had the necessary equipment—why go through the trouble of recording elsewhere?

Xu Man had mercilessly mocked his ignorance of music. According to her, her equipment was only suitable for casual listening, not remotely up to the standard required for official release. If she published a song recorded with her own setup, she’d be drowned in criticism!

Producing and releasing a song required the expertise of professionals. Chen Qi listened, lost and bewildered. To him, hearing her sing in the studio already sounded perfectly fine—he couldn't detect any flaws.

Xu Man didn’t bother to explain further, simply inviting him to come to the recording studio and see for himself. Chen Qi didn’t press the matter.

After greeting the relevant manager, they entered one of the recording rooms. Without unnecessary pleasantries, the recording began at once. Chen Qi observed quietly, as before.

By now, he had a rough understanding of the detailed process a song underwent from its creation to release.

“Feeling stops at the tips of my fingers…” Xu Man’s voice floated through the room.

Hearing it, Chen Qi frowned subconsciously. Whether it was due to the superior equipment or just his imagination, the current version did sound markedly better.

He listened and watched without betraying his thoughts. After a while, he realized recording a song was far more complex than he had imagined. The array of unfamiliar equipment alone was eye-opening. Even more astonishing was the presence of an entire team working meticulously together.

Their attention to detail was almost obsessive; things he couldn’t detect as flaws were glaring errors to the professionals, prompting repeated takes. Xu Man even sang one particular line over a dozen times without passing muster.

A while later, Chen Qi’s phone rang. The caller was Tang Yan from Daily Music.

Since Xu Man was busy recording, Chen Qi was handling the follow-up for this collaboration. After all, he was the song’s copyright holder; the final decision on the terms rested with him.

Tang Yan informed him that Daily Music had agreed to all the promotional and marketing requests Xu Man had made the previous day. They also offered two price quotes: both the outright purchase and the profit-sharing options exceeded Xu Man’s expectations.

Clearly, Tang Yan was genuinely eager to secure the deal.

As for which option to choose—outright or profit-sharing—Chen Qi personally leaned toward the outright sale, for simplicity’s sake and because he needed the money. Xu Man, however, advised that if he believed in the song, he should opt for profit-sharing, as it would ultimately yield more income.

After a moment’s consideration, Chen Qi stuck with the outright sale. Profit-sharing might bring in more money, but it would take too long—a luxury he couldn’t afford right now.

Regardless of the chosen method, all the agreed-upon promotion and publicity would be included at no extra cost.

After a brief phone conversation, they arranged to sign the contract that evening at Xu Man’s studio.

…

By four in the afternoon, Xu Man finally finished recording the entire song. Next would come production, mixing, and other post-production tasks.

Since they had agreed to sign the contract with Tang Yan, they decided to handle the post-production the following day.

Leaving the studio, Chen Qi hesitantly asked if the song might be leaked. Xu Man assured him it wouldn’t happen. Not only did the professionals possess strong ethics, but they had also signed confidentiality agreements beforehand; the studio would never risk its reputation on such a matter.

When they returned to Xu Man’s studio, Tang Yan had already been waiting for a while.

The contract terms had been settled earlier; after confirming the details, Chen Qi and Xu Man signed without delay.

Daily Music acquired the exclusive online streaming rights to “Years of Light” for three years at a price of two million.

Of course, Chen Qi wouldn’t receive the entire sum. Though he held the copyright, this version was performed and produced by Xu Man, so they would split the proceeds evenly.

“All right, I’ll head back. The initial round of promotion will launch tonight,” Tang Yan announced before hurriedly departing.

Public attention to Xu Man’s new song remained high, and releasing the news now would maximize the impact.

…

At seven that evening, Daily Music plastered Xu Man’s high-definition posters across every page of their player.

On the posters, four words stood out—reserved yet bold.

She’s back!

Below those words, Daily Music clearly indicated the release time for the new song: Monday, ten o’clock in the morning.

The campaign was massive. Coupled with Xu Man’s recent trending news about her struggles to find a collaboration platform, the publicity immediately attracted enormous online attention.

Seeing Daily Music’s near-monopolization of promotional space, netizens were stunned.

What was going on?

Yesterday, she was rejected by Nine-Nine Music; today, she was embraced by Daily Music?

Was the song actually good, or bad?

The internet exploded.

“Wow, does all this advertising come free?”

“Weren’t we told she couldn’t find a platform?”

“This level of promotion doesn’t look like a song struggling for a partner!”

Netizens buzzed, astonished by Daily Music’s overwhelming campaign. They couldn’t recall the last time a new song received such fanfare.

If Xu Man and Nine-Nine Music hadn’t publicly confirmed the situation, many would have suspected the media was spreading false rumors.

And if Daily Music hadn’t been the collaborating platform, people might have thought Xu Man and Nine-Nine Music were colluding for low-level marketing.

So, what was really happening?

Everyone was baffled.

And they weren’t alone. Executives at major music platforms received the news immediately.

Like the netizens, they were dumbfounded by Daily Music’s audacious move.

Had Daily Music gone mad?

This song had already been rejected by Nine-Nine Music—didn’t they know what they were signing?

It was almost a death sentence for the song; what was the point of acquiring it?

The executives, incredulous yet amused, speculated that Daily Music might have been blinded by the song’s high level of attention and signed it without regard for quality.

On reflection, it seemed plausible.

Though netizens were convinced Xu Man’s new song was almost certainly terrible, they hadn’t actually heard it. Once the song was released, Daily Music could still reap a wave of traffic.

Had they sacrificed reputation for clicks?

Promoting such a bad song—what difference was there between this and self-sabotage?

Among these platforms, Xiao Hang of Nine-Nine Music was the most perplexed by Daily Music’s actions.

Upon hearing the news, he was momentarily at a loss.

“This can’t be true, can it?” he muttered in disbelief.

He had already learned through his own channels that after leaving Nine-Nine Music, Xu Man had called other platforms, but they had all declined.

What method had she used to persuade Daily Music?

He couldn’t help but check Daily Music’s website. Sure enough, Xu Man’s new song was advertised prominently on every page.

Xiao Hang was thoroughly confused.

If Daily Music simply released the song, it would make sense—after all, it was attracting some attention. But such an extravagant campaign was truly baffling.

“Could it actually be a good song?” Xiao Hang suddenly wondered.

But he quickly dismissed the thought.

A newcomer with no prior experience in songwriting—how could she possibly produce a good song?

If great songs were so easy to write, the music industry wouldn’t be in its current state.

After some thought, he reached the same conclusion as the other platforms: Daily Music was courting disaster.

Then, he couldn’t help but laugh.

…

Not long after Daily Music launched the promotional ads, major media outlets picked up the story. More and more netizens and industry insiders became aware.

Many remarked that the music scene hadn’t been this lively in ages.

Nobody expected that Xu Man’s single, still unreleased, would cause such a stir.

Though the public’s reaction was mostly negative, the sheer scale of the commotion was surprising.

While some sympathized with Xu Man, many of her peers were eagerly waiting for her to make a fool of herself.

With so much attention, if the song turned out to be mediocre, her embarrassment would be monumental.

One misstep, and she would fall from grace—possibly never to recover.

Unlike these insiders, most everyday netizens, despite voicing varied opinions online, harbored a small sense of anticipation.

Xu Man’s last song had indeed been poor, but since she’d never been embroiled in scandal, most people still had a good impression of her.

Many loyal fans hoped this new song would surprise them. The odds seemed negligible, but until its official release, a sliver of hope remained.

After all, what if?