The moment the call connected, Lu Zhixian almost thought his ears were going to be deafened.

"Teacher Lu! It's a hit! We're a hit!"

On the other end of the phone, Jiang Cheng's voice sounded like rock music blasting through a megaphone; he was so excited his voice cracked, and his own singing could be heard faintly in the background.

Lu Zhixian moved the phone a bit further away, rubbed his ears, and yawned. "It's early morning, what's with all the howling?"

"Early?! Brother, my dear brother, it's almost noon!" Jiang Cheng was so anxious he sounded like he was about to jump. "Quick, look at your phone! Look at the data! 'dispelling sorrow' has exploded!"

Lu Zhixian lazily unlocked his phone and tapped on Penguin Music.

'dispelling sorrow', number one on the New Song Chart.

Number one on the Soaring Chart.

Number one on the Hot Song Chart.

Number of comments: 9999+

The numbers in the play count column made his sleepiness vanish instantly.

Twelve million.

It's only been... less than twenty-four hours?

"See that? See that!" Jiang Cheng's voice was fast and urgent, like he was reciting a menu.

"Last night, a sharp-tongued content creator named 'Lao Pao Music Review' recommended our song during a livestream, and he even cried on the spot!"

"Then the tens of thousands of people in his stream went crazy, promoting it everywhere! On Weibo, the hashtag #One cup to freedom, one cup to death# is currently trending at number three!"

"Overnight, the entire internet has been looking for who 'Jiang Cheng' is, and everyone is asking what kind of divine being this songwriter named 'Lu Zhixian' is!"

"Our song has reached the top! We've swept the New Song Charts on every single platform!"

By the time Jiang Cheng finished, there was a hint of a sob in his voice.

Five years of being sidelined, five years of resentment and being down-and-out, were completely washed away in a single night.

As Lu Zhixian listened, he couldn't hide the smile on his lips.

It worked.

The first step was secured.

"Alright, stop crying. You're a grown man, what do you look like?" he teased.

"With an 80% cut, you don't feel like you're losing out now, do you?"

"No loss! It's a massive profit! Teacher Lu, you're my real father!"

"Get lost, I don't have a son as old as you."

While the two were joking around, an unknown call suddenly came into Lu Zhixian's phone—a local Jingzhou number.

"Let's talk later, I have a call coming in," Lu Zhixian said to Jiang Cheng before switching over.

"Hello, hi."

There was a two-second silence on the other end, and then a man's voice, filled with a bit of arrogance and scrutiny, rang out.

"Are you Lu Zhixian?"

Lu Zhixian raised an eyebrow. "That's me. Who is this?"

"I am Chen Mo," the other party stated his name with a natural sense of superiority. "Gold-tier composer, Chen Mo."

"Oh, don't know you." Lu Zhixian almost laughed out loud upon hearing this.

These days, people still introduced themselves like that? Were they that afraid others wouldn't know they were a big deal?

Chen Mo seemed to be at a loss for words on the other end, his breathing becoming a bit heavier.

"It doesn't matter if you don't know me; you will in the future." He quickly composed himself, his tone turning aggressive.

"I'm calling to ask you—did you write the song 'dispelling sorrow'?"

"I wrote both the lyrics and the music. Do you have any advice?"

"I wouldn't call it advice." Chen Mo sneered. "I'm just curious about that melody in the chorus, 'One cup to the morning sun, one cup to the moonlight'."

"Did you perhaps reference Teacher Li Mige's song 'People of the Past' from twenty years ago?"

Here it comes.

Fame brings trouble; he had only just made a name for himself, and someone was already coming to find fault.

Lu Zhixian's gaze turned cold. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't know?" Chen Mo's volume rose.

"Young man, don't play dumb. That melodic progression is eighty percent similar; do you dare say you've never heard it?"

"Are newcomers these days so devoid of a bottom line, relying on plagiarism and transcribing to get ahead?"

"I advise you to take the song down voluntarily and issue a public apology. Otherwise, once I've made the comparison chart, your end will be very ugly."

These words were spoken as if the phrase "I'm going to ruin you" was practically carved onto his face.

After listening, Lu Zhixian suddenly laughed.

"Are you finished?"

Chen Mo was stunned. "What?"

"I said, are you finished?" Lu Zhixian's voice was as calm as still water.

"If you're finished, I'm hanging up. My time is precious; I don't have time to listen to a dog barking."

Without giving the other person a chance to react, he pressed the end call button.

The world was quiet again.

The smile on Lu Zhixian's face vanished completely, replaced by a layer of ice.

Plagiarism?

He had been in this world for over three months, and half the songs he'd heard were trashy pop songs. How could this song from his previous life be plagiarism?

He opened his browser and typed in the words "Gold-tier composer Chen Mo."

The search results popped up.

Chen Mo, a somewhat famous composer in the Jingzhou music circle.

He had written songs for many second- and third-tier singers, specializing in assembly-line love songs with formulaic melodies and pretentious lyrics. He could produce thirty to forty songs a year, earning him the nickname "Human Music Stitcher."

Recently, he was producing a new album for Li Zhili.

Oh, so it turns out I've taken a slice of someone else's pie and blocked their path.

Lu Zhixian snorted and closed the webpage.

Arguing with someone like that was a pure waste of breath. He didn't even have the interest to post a response on Weibo.

Doubts? Controversy?

In the face of absolute strength, these things didn't even count for a fart.

He decided not to make any response.

Let the bullet fly for a while.

Then, use the next song to rub the faces of all those doubters into the dirt.

He refocused his attention back into his mind.

Lu Zhixian opened the system panel.

[Host: Lu Zhixian]

[Skill: Intermediate Music Guidance Talent (Permanent)]

[Items: None]

[Mall: Locked]

[Draw: Costs 100,000 popularity points per attempt]

Looking at those 20,000-plus popularity points, Lu Zhixian sighed.

It was still too little; not even enough for a single draw.

However, as the popularity of 'dispelling sorrow' continued to build, it shouldn't take too long to accumulate 100,000.

Lu Zhixian got out of bed, walked to the window, and looked down at the busy streets.

Jingzhou.

This city where he had lived for three months, yet still felt like a stranger.

Now, he finally felt a sliver of a sense of belonging.

He was no longer that unlucky guy who had a mountain of treasure but couldn't find the key.

From today on, he, Lu Zhixian, would use one explosive hit after another from another world to give this lifeless music industry a proper lesson.

As for that buffoon named Chen Mo?

Just wait.

When the next song comes out, it will be the end of you.