Volume One: Debut at the Pinnacle Chapter 20: Scoundrel! You Will Regret This
Li Manru nodded in satisfaction and smiled, asking, “Hehe~ It’s nothing serious, I just wanted to ask, Ajing, those two songs of yours, ‘The Brightest Star in the Night Sky’ and ‘Birch Forest,’ did you compose them yourself?”
“That?” Upon hearing this, Chen Jing looked troubled, hesitating as if he wanted to speak but held back.
“If you can’t tell me, then forget it,” Li Manru said, employing a tactic of retreat to advance.
The trick worked as expected. Chen Jing seemed suddenly provoked and quickly replied, “It’s fine, since Manru has asked, I must tell you.” Then, he lowered his voice and feigned mystery, “I’ll tell you, but don’t let anyone else know.”
Li Manru leaned her head closer to Chen Jing, nodding expectantly, “Mm-hmm, go ahead, I promise not to tell anyone.”
“Actually, I had a dream. I dreamed I was in another world, where these two songs were sung by others. When I woke up, I remembered them and wrote them down.” Chen Jing said this with utter sincerity.
“Huh?” Li Manru stared at Chen Jing in bewilderment, while Chen Jing gazed back with genuine conviction, his face practically spelling out, “I’m not lying.”
“Heh… hehe… is that so?” Faced with Chen Jing’s earnest expression, Li Manru was at a loss for words. Who was he trying to fool with such a story?
Chen Jing nodded sincerely, “Mm, remember, don’t tell anyone.”
“Alright… okay.” Could it be true? There are many strange people and events in this world. Looking at Chen Jing, who didn’t seem to be lying, Li Manru was uncertain.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now, Manru.” Chen Jing prepared to leave.
“Oh, go ahead.” Li Manru’s mind was still spinning, unsure whether Chen Jing was deceiving her.
Chen Jing turned to leave, curled his lip, and left Li Manru standing there, lost in self-doubt.
People are like this; sometimes speaking the truth makes them less believable.
That evening, Chen Jing received news from the company agreeing to his partnership with Li Qingwei. Just as Lin Xi had said, although the company wanted to use this to exchange resources, Chen Jing’s prospects were more important than any resources.
When Chen Jing told Li Qingwei the news, Li Qingwei jumped for joy.
He then thanked Chen Jing sincerely over the phone, “Boss Jing, thank you.”
Chen Jing chuckled, “It’s your own hard work.”
On the other end, Li Qingwei shook his head and said gravely, “Great favors are beyond thanks. If you need anything from me in the future, just say the word. If I ever refuse, I’ll reverse my own name.”
“Enough, enough. What do you think this is, a gangster film?” Chen Jing said helplessly, “Just make sure to practice singing well, then come to my company in a few days to record the full version. That’s all, I’m hanging up now.”
That night, ‘Birch Forest’ was released as scheduled. The previously released ‘The Brightest Star in the Night Sky’ had already climbed to fifth place on the most popular music charts. As a result, many people searched for Chen Jing because of that song, then discovered ‘Birch Forest.’
Chen Jing checked the results after the release and found they were quite good, with listeners offering rave reviews.
“One song tells a poignant, beautiful story—this is truly remarkable.”
“It’s so heartbreaking. Why can’t lovers ever end up together?”
“This is real love.”
“This song has deep meaning and substance; I like it even more than ‘The Brightest Star in the Night Sky.’”
“Nonsense, I don’t deny this song is great, but ‘The Brightest Star in the Night Sky’ is every bit as good. It’s the best.”
“So what if it’s good…”
And so the comment section turned into a debate over which song was better. Chen Jing didn’t mind; having a moderate controversy was a good thing. After all, both songs were his, and whether people quarreled or not, it was all within the family.
Seeing the positive response, Chen Jing stopped paying attention and sent the completed manuscript of ‘The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber’ to Huaxia Publishing House. They had collaborated twice before, and since Chen Jing found the partnership pleasant, he had no intention of changing publishers.
It is worth mentioning that Huaxia Publishing had just finished releasing ‘The Legend of the Condor Heroes’ and had started publishing ‘The Return of the Condor Heroes.’ As soon as it was released, ‘The Return of the Condor Heroes’ was met with enthusiastic praise from readers, especially those martial arts fans who followed from ‘The Legend of the Condor Heroes’ and considered it a perfect sequel.
This time, Chen Jing decided not to sell the full copyright of ‘The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber’ to Huaxia Publishing. He only sold them exclusive publishing rights.
No sooner had he sent the complete novel than he received a message from Zhou Qing, the editor at Huaxia Publishing.
“Mr. Chen, someone is asking if you’d sell the screen rights for ‘The Legend of the Condor Heroes.’ How do you want me to reply?”
Chen Jing thought for a moment and replied simply, “Not selling for now,” then put the matter aside.
It wasn’t the right time yet, and Chen Jing didn’t need money, so he wasn’t in a hurry to sell the copyright.
The next morning, just after returning from his run and preparing to shower, Chen Jing received a call from Lin Zitan.
“Morning, Zitan. What brings you to call me so early?”
Lin Zitan exclaimed excitedly, “Ajing! Ajing! Your song is in the top three!”
“Hm?” Chen Jing was puzzled.
“It’s ‘The Brightest Star in the Night Sky’—it’s in the top three of the most popular music charts!”
“Uh, that fast?” Chen Jing was surprised. He thought it would take at least a week for momentum and play counts to accumulate before reaching the top three.
Lin Zitan said proudly, “Of course! Actually, it’s thanks to Sister Lin Xi. After ‘Birch Forest’ was released last night, she immediately had someone post the video of you singing ‘Birch Forest’ in the Huaxia Voice auditions, then promoted it a bit. The views exploded! Just now I checked, and it’s already over three million plays.”
Chen Jing was enlightened and couldn’t help but marvel at Lin Xi’s keen sense for trends. With just a little maneuvering, she achieved unexpected effects.
In the following days, ‘Birch Forest’ became popular, and ‘The Brightest Star in the Night Sky’ gained even more traction. All of a sudden, Chen Jing’s fame soared.
One morning, while Chen Jing was warming up his voice at the company, he received a call from an unfamiliar number.
“Hello, is this Chen Jing?” The voice on the other end was distinctly cool and feminine.
“Yes, this is. And you are?”
“I am Xie Weiyu.”
“Hmm…” Chen Jing thought for a moment. He didn’t recall knowing this person.
“You… you don’t know me!” On the other end, Xie Weiyu sounded incredulous.
“Uh, heh… hehe…” Chen Jing laughed awkwardly. He really couldn’t remember any interaction with a girl named Xie Weiyu. Should he ask the readers to flip back and check?
Xie Weiyu fell silent for a moment and then said with resignation, “I’m the runner-up from the first round of ‘Huaxia Voice,’ Xie Weiyu.”
Chen Jing quickly pretended to have a sudden realization, “Oh, it’s you! No wonder the name sounded so familiar.” The so-called runner-up—he’d only watched two episodes of ‘Huaxia Voice,’ including the one he appeared in. Who knew who the runner-up was?
Not giving Xie Weiyu a chance to respond, Chen Jing immediately changed the subject, “What can I do for you, Miss Xie?”
Xie Weiyu took a breath and said seriously, “You know the rules for the second round, right?”
“Yes.”
“Are you interested in teaming up with me? Not only are we the first and second place from the first round, which would make for plenty of buzz, but I’m also a new artist promoted by Huafu Entertainment. If we team up, first place in the second round will be ours for the taking. I’m sure you won’t refuse to partner with me.”
Hearing Xie Weiyu mention being runner-up, Chen Jing immediately knew why she was looking for him. Unfortunately, had he not already partnered with Li Qingwei, he would not have refused such a win-win proposal, but he had a teammate now.
Chen Jing feigned difficulty, “Uh, actually, I would love to team up with you, Miss Xie, but unfortunately—” he said with regret, “I already have a partner.”
“You already have a partner!” Xie Weiyu exclaimed in surprise.
“Yes.”
“Who? Who could be better than me?” Chen Jing thought to himself—if someone overheard, they’d think this was a breakup call.
He replied helplessly, “My teammate is Li Qingwei.”
“Li Qingwei! The last qualifier from the first round?” Xie Weiyu couldn’t believe it. Usually, people remember the first and last places, and she happened to remember who the last one was.
“Yes, him.”
“You’re not lying? How could it be him? Does your company know?” She knew Chen Jing was an artist at Jingrun.
“They know, and they approved.”
“This…” Now it was Xie Weiyu’s turn to be baffled. What was Jingrun Entertainment thinking?
“So, sorry.” Chen Jing shrugged.
Xie Weiyu narrowed her eyes, “You’re not considering switching to me?”
“We’ve already agreed, so I won’t change. I’m sure you’ll find someone even better.” Chen Jing replied in a tone reminiscent of a heartless man.
Xie Weiyu exhaled sharply, then said decisively, “You’ll regret this decision,” and hung up.
Without caring whether Xie Weiyu was angry or not, Chen Jing put away his phone. He didn’t care about runner-ups or Huafu Entertainment.
Hardly had Chen Jing resumed his vocal exercises when he was interrupted again, this time by Lin Zitan.
“Ajing, someone’s here to see you.” Lin Zitan, now not only Lin Xi’s assistant but practically Chen Jing’s secretary, managed all his affairs.
Chen Jing looked at Lin Zitan in surprise, “Who?”
“A contestant from ‘Huaxia Voice’: Gu Tao, the seventh female contestant who ranked just ahead of you in the first round.”
“Oh.” Chen Jing remembered her; he thought Gu Tao’s singing was impressive.
“What does she want with me?”
Lin Zitan replied playfully, “Guess.”
Chen Jing shook his head, “Is she here to ask me to team up again?”
“Bingo!”
(A salute to Jin Yong’s ‘The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber’)
Author’s note: Anyone who reads without voting is a heartless man. No one disagrees with me, right?