The latter half of the night.
Many people were awake.
As if by unspoken agreement, everyone was refreshing Weibo.
By three in the morning, some could no longer stay awake and fell asleep with their phones in hand.
The night on Weibo seemed calm, yet there was an indefinable tension.
Finally, morning arrived, and the netizens became animated.
"Damn it, I refreshed listening to the rain's Weibo all night waiting for news!"
"Haha, I haven't slept a wink."
"Peace out, looks like listening to the rain won't take the challenge."
"It's understandable, after all, love songs are Chen Shuhao's signature, and this time there are three ace producers competing for the top spot."
"The intensity on the charts right now, it's the right choice for listening to the rain to stay out."
"But, without listening to the rain, something feels off in my heart..."
"Heh, how funny, listening to the rain is probably afraid of losing, thinking they've beaten Chen Shuhao once and can claim godhood?"
"Listening to the rain is indeed great at ancient style, but for love songs, you still have to look at Chen Shuhao."
"I have to admit, Chen Shuhao's singing skills are better than most first-tier singers, this time he's really surprised me."
"Exactly, his duet with Ruan Mianmian is really beautiful."
"The songs from the other three ace producers this time are also very good, giving me a sense of gods battling."
"Qin Feng's singing skills have amazed me. After all these years, his improvement is very noticeable. If he releases another hit song, he might have a chance to be nominated for Heavenly King at the Entertainment Awards."
"No need to jump to conclusions, maybe listening to the rain was delayed by something."
"Heh, listening to the rain's fans continue to fantasize."
"..."
Regarding listening to the rain's absence,
Discussions were rife online.
And whenever listening to the rain's fans spoke up for him, they were met with various taunts.
For a while, the fans dared not comment online.
...
Dingsheng Entertainment.
Chairman's Office.
Qi Shenghua was reclining on the sofa.
Opposite him sat the music god Chen Shuhao.
In front of them, freshly brewed coffee was placed.
Qi Shenghua was beaming, feeling a sense of vindication.
Chen Shuhao, sitting opposite him, had a slightly solemn expression.
"Haha, Shuhao, relax. Judging by old man Lin Chaoyang's personality, if listening to the rain were to release a song, his Dynasty Entertainment would have already posted on Weibo. It seems they are not confident."
Qi Shenghua smiled and took a sip of coffee, savoring its rich aroma.
So many years.
Dingsheng Entertainment had always been overshadowed by Dynasty Entertainment.
Even after he'd spent immense effort to poach the music god, their first month was a failure, losing the top spot to listening to the rain.
And this month, neither Dynasty Entertainment nor listening to the rain had announced any new releases.
Qi Shenghua was certain that listening to the rain would not be releasing a song.
Therefore, his mood was exceptionally good.
If Chen Shuhao secured the top spot on the new song chart this time, his tarnished reputation would be greatly restored.
After all, he'd lost in the ancient style, but in love songs, Chen Shuhao still held dominance.
"I just feel that this song hasn't met my expected results."
Chen Shuhao shook his head.
Before releasing the song, he hadn't perceived any issues.
However, the current situation was a bit far from his expectations.
Although the number one spot should be secure, Chen Shuhao was not entirely satisfied.
"As expected of the music god, demanding so much of yourself."
Qi Shenghua praised him with a smile.
In his heart, he was already planning how to use online trolls to build momentum for Chen Shuhao and disparage Dynasty Entertainment and listening to the rain.
...
Xinghui Entertainment.
Su Yu was indeed facing trouble.
He had initially thought that with Lin Yanyu's skill, the recording would be finished last night.
However, he had miscalculated.
"Su Su, it's all my fault..."
Lin Yanyu stuck out her tongue sheepishly and said softly.
"It's not your fault. You can't sing that feeling because you haven't experienced it."
Su Yu said with a wry smile.
The duet song he had prepared this time was the one from the previous lucky draw, "Coral Sea."
This song belonged to the melancholic category of love songs.
The lyrics expressed that feelings should not be forced.
"Seabirds and fish in love, just an accident."
That sense of helplessness, sadness, and reluctance.
Lin Yanyu tried several times but couldn't interpret it.
This was because she and Su Yu were too sweet together.
Every time she sang, she would unconsciously lean towards that sweet emotion.
The resulting recordings sounded a bit strange.
In the end, the recording plan had to be temporarily shelved.
As the two returned from the company, Lin Yanyu wanted to find that feeling more.
After resting for a night, she came to the company again early in the morning to record the song.
"Su Su, I will definitely succeed in getting into the right state this time!"
Lin Yanyu declared with confidence.
"Mhm, keep going!"
Su Yu cheered her on.
After saying that,
The two entered the recording studio again.
...
This time, it went very smoothly.
Lin Yanyu underwent about half an hour of psychological preparation and gradually found that state.
She immediately began recording.
Both were very satisfied with the final product.
"Su Su, are you the bird or the fish?"
Lin Yanyu had cried while singing, her eyes were red, making her look incredibly pitiable.
"Silly girl, that depends on you."
Su Yu looked at her with heartache, drew her into his arms, and then said softly.
"Why... why?"
Lin Yanyu was stunned for a moment.
"If you are the sky, I am the seabird; if you are the sea, I am the fish."
Su Yu looked at her pretty face and said earnestly.
"Wuwuwu... Su Su, you're so good."
At this moment, Lin Yanyu couldn't hold back any longer, she threw herself into Su Yu's arms and hugged him tightly.
The recording engineer nearby felt their public display of affection make his scalp tingle.
A sour feeling rose from the bottom of his heart.
So jealous!
Hiss... my teeth are starting to ache!
He quickly put down the monitoring headphones, copied the audio, pulled out the USB drive, and hurried out.
He felt that if he stayed a few more seconds, he would be "acid-poisoned" to death in the recording studio.
...
When Su Yu and Lin Yanyu came out of the recording studio,
Zhao Yuan was already waiting outside.
"Finished?" she asked with a teasing expression.
"Finished..." Su Yu nodded with a smile.
"By the way, Su Yu, I wanted to discuss something with you." Zhao Yuan said seriously.
Su Yu was taken aback: "What is it?"
Zhao Yuan handed the document in her hand to Su Yu: "Take a look, are you interested in this?"
Su Yu took it and raised an eyebrow: "Ace City Competition?"
He continued to read.
This Ace City Competition was a competition between ace producers of various cities, organized by city.
The duration of the competition was longer than any variety show.
Starting next month, there would be two matches each month, with the finals in December at the end of the year.
The overall champion would be nominated as the fifth Music God of the Chinese music scene by the Annual Entertainment Awards.
"Annual Awards..." Su Yu's expression turned playful.
It seemed that this awards ceremony had a bit of a grudge with him before.
Last year, only "Blue and White Porcelain" from his songs made it onto the charts.
Su Yu looked at everything with indifference, but he had a good trait: he held grudges.
"What do you say, shall I sign you up?" Zhao Yuan added with a smile after seeing him finish reading, "With your current popularity and reputation, your opponents from Shuangqing City would probably just concede the spot to you without a preliminary round."
Su Yu pondered for a moment and then asked, "In this competition, will I be behind the scenes or on stage?"
"On stage." Zhao Yuan continued, "But you won't have to perform, as you can bring singers with you to compete."
"Can bring singers..." Su Yu raised an eyebrow.
He wasn't surprised. After all, many producers were good at writing songs but not at singing. If they couldn't bring singers, the competition couldn't proceed naturally.
"This competition sounds fun!" Lin Yanyu seemed interested.
She could already imagine listening to the rain leading a group of singers to compete against those ace producers.
Perhaps, if the competition got heated, the head coach himself would step onto the stage and stun everyone with a song.
Thinking of this, Lin Yanyu became even more excited!
She shook Su Yu's arm and coquettishly said, "Go, okay? You're so amazing, you'll definitely win a championship!"
Su Yu smiled wryly, "Uh... a championship can't be eaten."
Su Yu was hesitant.
After all, the exposure of listening to the rain's identity would bring a lot of trouble.
Currently, the listening to the rain Weibo account had a fan base comparable to Heavenly Kings and Queens. If his identity were revealed, paparazzi, antis, and his defeated competitors could all make his life a mess.
This time, to avoid revealing his identity, he had used the name Su Yu for the singer of "Coral Sea."
This was because the identity of listening to the rain had only sung one rap song, "Compendium of Materia Medica."
He had deliberately imitated Jay Chou's enunciation, which was completely different from singing love songs. Even if a few people noticed the similar timbre, it was useless. He would simply deny it, and no one could do anything about it.
At this moment, Zhao Yuan suddenly spoke up and said with a smile, "General Manager Lin said that if you participate in the competition, he will fully sponsor your wedding with Miss Lin, and your honeymoon travel expenses will also be covered."
Both Su Yu and Lin Yanyu were stunned.
"Who... who is going to marry him..." Lin Yanyu's face instantly turned red.
"This father-in-law is really something, covering the wedding and honeymoon. Very generous, very generous indeed." Su Yu chuckled and continued, "Since it's his request, then I'll agree."
"Alas... I really just want to be low-key..."
...
After leaving the company,
The blush on Lin Yanyu's face had not yet faded.
"By the way, I forgot one thing."
Su Yu suddenly stopped.
"What is it?"
Lin Yanyu asked doubtfully.
"Post a Weibo."
Su Yu took out his phone and waved it.
[New song "Coral Sea" will be officially released tonight at 6 PM. Singers: Lin Yanyu / Su Yu.]
"My fans have been too stifled these past few days, let them get a taste of victory in advance."
Su Yu said with a light smile, holding his phone.
His words made Lin Yanyu show a hint of surprise.