Chapter 46: Hit Secured, Capturing Attention

The next morning at half past nine, in the Doule Video Music Department’s meeting room.

A slide was being projected on the screen, displaying on the left a screenshot from a music short video on Doule, and on the right, the detailed backend data for that video.

“According to feedback from our backend system, there was a dark horse in the music section last night,” reported Xu Xiaonuan, head of the Independent Musicians Project at Doule, holding the remote and addressing Zheng Qi, the director of the Music Department.

“This account named ‘Lu Zhou’ was just recently verified as a musician and given a yellow tag. Last night, he released an original song called ‘First Love’ on Doule.”

“In just one night, the video has already broken a million views, with over 200,000 likes and more than 50,000 new followers.”

“I kept an eye on the song’s performance last night and found that it was exclusively released on our platform. There’s no trace of it yet on any other music streaming services.”

At this, Zheng Qi, seated at the head of the table, raised his brows and carefully studied the data charts on the PPT.

“What was the main trigger for this surge in views? Did this video have any paid promotion?” he asked.

Xu Xiaonuan switched to the next slide, pulling up the ad promotion data.

“There’s been zero advertising investment for this video so far, but there is a clear trigger point for the traffic.”

“Last night, Ye Fangfei officially joined our platform and mentioned this account in her debut video, essentially giving it a hot start.”

“That’s one factor, but the main reason is that the completion rate for this music video is very high, and the conversion rate is also impressive.”

Zheng Qi nodded. “Play the song.”

Xu Xiaonuan switched back to the previous slide and played the video.

Everyone in the meeting room listened carefully to ‘First Love.’

“The song was written by Lu Zhou himself, produced by Pan Chengyi. When it was released, it was entered into our Doule Billion-Yuan Music Creation Reward Program.”

“I looked into Lu Zhou’s background—there’s not much information. He debuted years ago as part of a duo, which later disbanded, and there’s been little news of him since.”

“It’s uncertain if he’s currently signed to any company, but judging by the way this song was launched, it seems likely he’s an independent artist. We’re planning to reach out and clarify his situation.”

“If he isn’t signed, we can consider bringing him in. I think he has great potential.”

As the video ended, Xu Xiaonuan continued to share her thoughts.

After she finished, other colleagues in the room began to offer their own opinions—

“This melody is really catchy, potential for a major hit. It seems perfect for us to package on our platform.”

“A breakout hit overnight—if he’s truly independent, we need to move fast or someone else will snatch him up.”

“There’s a band-like vibe, but it’s just one person performing. Watching the video, he seems like a seasoned artist, not a newcomer.”

“Definitely doesn’t seem like a rookie. Must have a team working behind the scenes, right?”

“To ride Ye Fangfei’s debut traffic like that feels calculated. Is it possible he’s someone Huaxuan Music is planning to promote?”

Xu Xiaonuan thought for a moment. “That’s not clear for now, but Lu Zhou was previously signed to Jinhua Entertainment. If he really belonged to Huaxuan Music, I doubt they’d launch a song in such a rough manner.”

As Zheng Qi listened to the various discussions, he finally gave his directive:

“Contact him directly and find out. We shouldn’t miss out on promising new talent—these who join our reward program are usually independent musicians. Go and negotiate.”

“Understood, we’ll follow up quickly,” Xu Xiaonuan replied.

...

Meanwhile, at the same time, Jinhua Entertainment was also holding a meeting to discuss Lu Zhou’s song ‘First Love.’

Liu Yali, the Head of Artist Management, summoned Xu Mengdan—the agent who once handled Lu Zhou’s debut—to her office.

“Did you notice the buzz on Doule’s trending list last night?” Liu Yali asked, stirring the hot coffee in her cup as Xu Mengdan entered.

“I didn’t have time to check—I was busy all night at the Flash Boys’ fan meet,” Xu Mengdan replied, finding a seat. “Why? Was there big news in the industry?”

“Ye Fangfei joined Doule,” Liu Yali said, opening Doule and pulling up Ye Fangfei’s video, handing it over.

“Oh... and?” Xu Mengdan was puzzled. Ye Fangfei wasn’t their artist—what did her joining Doule have to do with her, to the point of being called in for this?

“Look who she tagged,” Liu Yali pointed at the phone.

Xu Mengdan took the phone, her eyes naturally drifting to the video description. After reading it, her expression froze.

Lu Zhou???

She looked up in confusion. “When did Lu Zhou get involved with Ye Fangfei?”

“You ask me? Who else would I ask?” Liu Yali raised her chin. “Check out Lu Zhou’s Doule account next.”

Following instructions, Xu Mengdan opened Lu Zhou’s profile and watched his only video. A few minutes later, she looked up again, even more baffled.

“What do you think of the song?” Liu Yali asked.

Xu Mengdan blinked in a daze. “Uh, it’s pretty good.”

She’d only heard it once and wasn’t a professional music critic, but she felt it was pleasant and memorable.

“Do you think any of the five members in the Flash Boys could write a song of this caliber?” Liu Yali pressed further.

That question truly stumped her.

Xu Mengdan played the music video again, only to feel even more uncertain.

She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Don’t think so?” Liu Yali raised an eyebrow.

Xu Mengdan said nothing, sensing trouble.

Liu Yali took a sip of coffee and retrieved her phone, speaking slowly:

“You were Lu Zhou’s agent when he debuted, and you were also in charge of monitoring the Flash Boys’ trainees during selection. No one in our company should know Lu Zhou better than you.”

“That’s why I’m asking you—if Lu Zhou has this level of skill, why didn’t you ever highlight his strengths?”

Her tone grew serious.

Was this an accusation?

Xu Mengdan felt wronged—she didn’t want to be saddled with an unjust charge.

“Lu Zhou always had a balanced skill set—dance, vocals, instruments—he was quite well-rounded, but back then his performances weren’t especially outstanding.”

“Or rather, he never fully showcased his strengths.”

“You were there at the Flash Boys’ final selection. I was disappointed too when he didn’t make the top five.”

“As for songwriting, he never mentioned it before. I managed so many people, I honestly didn’t pay enough attention to his abilities. That’s my oversight.”

After explaining, she admitted her share of responsibility before Liu Yali could criticize her.

Liu Yali studied her for a moment and let it go.

“It’s a shame. The direction we gave him was clearly wrong—we never gave him a chance to show his full potential, which led to our eventual parting.”

“He’s not suited for group development; he should go solo.”

Liu Yali paused, choosing her words carefully before continuing:

“I’m considering re-signing him and giving him a new career track. Since you’re close to him, could you reach out?”

Xu Mengdan hesitated for several seconds, then said, “But Ye Fangfei boosted his song’s traffic... Could he have already been signed by Huaxuan Music?”

Liu Yali laughed at this.

“Impossible. Have you ever seen a Huaxuan artist release a song without any promotional buzz at all?”

“And besides, Ye Fangfei is one of Huaxuan’s top stars—her joining Doule is a major move. What kind of rookie could possibly get Huaxuan to have her boost his release?”

“Are you suggesting Huaxuan would do something so foolish, or that Lu Zhou has such powerful connections?”

Xu Mengdan fell silent.

She knew Lu Zhou’s background—it was utterly ordinary. If he had those kinds of connections, he wouldn’t have spent years at their company without ever making a name for himself.

But she was still confused—none of this made sense.

“But... in reality, Ye Fangfei did boost Lu Zhou’s song,” Xu Mengdan muttered.

Liu Yali compared the timestamps on Doule. “If you look closely, you’ll see Ye Fangfei posted her video tagging Lu Zhou first, and only over two hours later did Lu Zhou upload his song.”

“And when Ye Fangfei posted, she didn’t even mention Lu Zhou’s song; she just said he was a temporary photographer. Judging by the comments, most of her fans actually think he’s just that.”

“My guess is Ye Fangfei didn’t know about his song in advance—he probably made a last-minute decision.”

“So, he’s likely acting alone now.”

“As for how he knows Ye Fangfei or managed to get her to boost his traffic, that’s anyone’s guess.”

“You reach out to him first. We were his old company, after all. This shouldn’t be too hard.”

Xu Mengdan could only agree reluctantly under the pressure.

What they didn’t know was that Huaxuan Music had already taken notice of Lu Zhou.

Ye Fangfei had informed her team in advance that she would tag the creative provider of her debut Doule video.

Her team was used to her charitable acts supporting struggling newcomers and didn’t object (not that objections would have mattered anyway).

The video was released, and with company promotion and platform traffic support, it went viral, hitting the headlines and gaining millions of followers overnight.

Letting an unknown “temporary photographer” ride this wave of traffic for free, Huaxuan Music initially didn’t mind—but they never expected that this so-called “temporary photographer” was actually a musician.

The man shamelessly launched his song at the exact peak of Ye Fangfei’s debut video’s traffic.

Releasing a song to ride a hot trend is normal for any struggling artist, but what irritated Huaxuan Music was that not only did he ride Ye Fangfei’s traffic, his song actually caught fire overnight.

Huaxuan Music suddenly felt like they’d spent a fortune dressing up someone else’s child for a wedding.

To add insult to injury, a new trending topic appeared on Doule’s hot search: #YeFangfeiLuZhouFirstLove#.

The traffic just kept coming, more outrageous by the minute.

“You’ve been used by your friend Lu Zhou,” said agent Tang Tang, laying out the sequence of events to Ye Fangfei.

“Oh,” Ye Fangfei replied lazily as the makeup artist worked on her face. “You put it that way, he actually seems pretty savvy.”

“He’s used you to promote his song, and now, thanks to that, the two of you are trending together. Even more ridiculous, some netizens are shipping you two. Can you tolerate someone riding your coattails this blatantly?” Tang Tang was astonished.

Ye Fangfei smiled faintly. “I gave him the traffic of my own accord. If he can take advantage of it and even drag me onto the trending list, I have to admit he’s got some skills.”

Tang Tang was speechless.

The makeup artist was shaping Ye Fangfei’s brows, and Ye Fangfei remained still.

“I listened to his new song and really liked it. He’s talented. It’s a shame he never got his break all these years—his previous agency really let him down.”

Ye Fangfei recalled the night at the Pink Cottage by the pool, when Lu Zhou was working on arrangements at his laptop. She’d advised him to hone his strengths before seeking fame; dabbling in everything was no way to stand out in show business.

Now, it seemed she’d underestimated him.

“Have the platform remove any trending topics speculating about our relationship,” she instructed.

“That’s already been handled—rumors about your love life are something I know you won’t tolerate.”

“Then there’s no problem. Why are you all still so hung up on this?”

This minor issue didn’t faze Ye Fangfei at all.

“You just said his old agency buried his talent?” Tang Tang caught on belatedly. “Did he terminate his contract?”

“He did, I think. He mentioned it—used to be signed with Jinhua Entertainment, I believe,” Ye Fangfei recalled.

“So he’s an independent musician now?” Tang Tang’s eyes lit up.

“Probably, but I’m not sure—we aren’t that close. Why do you ask?” Ye Fangfei looked puzzled.

Tang Tang started typing on her phone, replying, “If Lu Zhou’s independent, our company could evaluate him, and if he fits, we could sign him directly. That way, this traffic doesn’t go to waste—it stays in the family.”

Ye Fangfei was at a loss for words.

“His song riding your popularity has already drawn the company’s attention. At first, everyone thought he was already signed, so they were just annoyed. If he’s actually a free agent, that’s even better.”

Ye Fangfei could only sigh.

“By the way, you must have his number, right? Can you give it to me? I’ll let the company arrange a meeting,” Tang Tang paused, awaiting her reply.

Ye Fangfei waved her off. “I don’t. The show doesn’t allow us to share personal contact info—it’s against the rules.”

Tang Tang couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re the investor—are you really worried about breaking the rules?”

“It’s about professional ethics. As an artist, I follow the rules. Besides, I might not care, but he might.”

“Fine... I’ll report it to the company and let them handle it.”

After sending her message, Tang Tang glanced up at Ye Fangfei and muttered, “I still can’t believe you’re on that dating show—it all feels like a dream.”

“Just wait until it airs—my workload will probably explode,”

Ye Fangfei laughed. “Good luck! I didn’t want to go either. If you could talk my parents out of it, I wouldn’t have to do this ridiculous show.”

Tang Tang was helpless. “How is this my fault?”

“You’re my agent—aren’t you supposed to take care of everything for me?”

Tang Tang was incredulous. “Then why do you always ignore my advice?”

Ye Fangfei winked at her with a smile. “Because I’m rebellious.”

Tang Tang could only sigh in resignation.