Midnight.

No warm-up, no promotion, not even a decent poster.

"bubble" was released just like that, silently.

Song: "bubble"

Vocals: Su Qing

Lyrics/Composition/Arrangement/Production: Lu Zhixian

Meanwhile, on the homepage banner of Penguin Music, a large poster refined by top designers occupied the most dominant recommendation slot.

Created with full effort by gold-medal composer Chen Mo, the annual lead single for top star Li Zhili—"Stardust".

Above the poster, a line of promotional text was marked in crimson font, like a challenge letter.

"Paying tribute to originality, rejecting mediocrity and plagiarism."

Every word carried a condescending tone of judgment.

Chen Mo sat in his extremely luxuriously decorated studio, his fingertips elegantly swirling half a glass of red wine.

On the screen, the big Vs and marketing accounts he had paid heavily for were posting uniform press releases.

He admired all of this.

"Young man, talent is worthless in the face of capital and connections."

He muttered to himself and clicked open the comment section of "Stardust".

In just ten minutes, the comments had already surpassed ten thousand.

[As expected of Teacher Chen Mo, the texture of this arrangement is so high-end!]

[Certain newcomers who only know how to plagiarize should learn well what originality and depth mean!]

[Li Zhili's voice is so dreamy, my ears are going to get pregnant!]

[Resolutely boycott tainted artists, boycott plagiarism dogs! Get out of the music industry!]

Chen Mo took a satisfied sip of wine.

In his view, that kid named Lu Zhixian should pack his bags and get out of this circle after tonight.

As for that song called "bubble"?

He didn't even have a shred of interest in clicking on it.

An out-of-date bar singer for five years paired with a greenhorn, what kind of waves could they make?

It was just an insignificant, trivial bubble under the tide of capital.

...

1:00 AM.

In the "Lao Pao Music Review" livestream room, smoke filled the air.

Old Cannon, with two heavy dark circles under his eyes and a cigarette between his fingers, had his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"Brothers, to be honest, this song 'Stardust' by Chen Mo..."

He exhaled a heavy smoke ring, his words stuck in his throat.

The bullet chat immediately started scrolling.

[Brother Cannon, just say it! Don't be a coward!]

[Is it terrible? I knew it!]

[I think it's okay; the production is very flashy, and it sounds pretty good.]

"It's not that it sounds bad." Old Cannon flicked his cigarette ash, his tone carrying a sense of dullness, "It's boring."

"The technique is very skilled, and the strings are packed tightly, but it... has no soul."

"It's like a plastic mannequin wearing gold and silver; it looks impressive at first glance, but it's dead and cold."

[What about "bubble"? Brother Cannon, listen to "bubble" quickly!]

[Right, right, right, it's that new song by Lu Zhixian!]

[Even though Chen Mo says he plagiarized, I'm still curious and want to hear what level it actually is.]

Old Cannon crushed his cigarette butt firmly into the ashtray, as if he had made a certain decision.

"Fine, let's listen to this song "bubble". I'll be honest with you all, I don't believe someone who can write a song like "dispelling sorrow" would plagiarize that industrial assembly-line stuff of Chen Mo's."

Mouse clicks play.

The intro begins.

No flashy instrumentation, only the piano.

Old Cannon's eyebrows instantly shot up.

"This intro... has something."

Immediately after, Su Qing's voice entered his ears.

The voice was low, thin as a thread, even carrying a hint of caution as if touching upon the past.

"The bubble under the sunlight is colorful."

"Just like how I, being deceived, was happy."

Old Cannon subconsciously closed his eyes.

There was no technique in this voice, only a story.

"Why pursue what's right or wrong? Your lies were based on the fact that you still loved me."

"Beautiful bubble, though but a momentary spark."

"All your promises, though they were all too fragile."

The emotions built up bit by bit, gathering strength.

The bullet chat in the livestream room visibly thinned out.

Everyone held their breath.

Until the moment the chorus arrived!

"Love is originally a bubble! If one can see through it, what is there to be sad about!"

"Even the most beautiful flower withers after blooming! Even the most dazzling star falls after flashing!"

Boom!

Su Qing's voice, which had been shelved and suppressed for five years, erupted at this moment with an energy that made everyone's scalp tingle!

Old Cannon suddenly snapped his eyes open, a bolt of electricity surging from his tailbone straight to the crown of his head!

The lighter in his hand fell onto the table with a "snap."

"Holy shit!"

In the livestream room, the bullet chat experienced a brief vacuum before completely exploding!

[I'm stunned... my skull just flew off!!!]

[This high note! This explosive power! Is this fucking Su Qing?! Is this the Su Qing who was shelved for five years?!]

[My mom asked me why I'm listening to music on my knees...]

[This is called plagiarism? Chen Mo, get out here and take a few steps! Your song "Stardust" isn't even worthy of carrying this song's shoes!!]

[It's all a bubble! Only a momentary spark! These lyrics have reached into my heart!]

Old Cannon took a deep breath, feeling his eyes grow hot.

He understood too well.

This was far more than just a love song.

"Brothers."

Old Cannon's voice trembled slightly as he picked up the microphone on the table.

"I take back what I just said. Tonight isn't some battle of the gods; tonight, a god has descended to the mortal realm to clean up the trash."

"If this song "bubble" doesn't win the Golden Song Awards' Song of the Year, I, Old Cannon, will eat this microphone in front of the entire national audience!"

...

At 6:00 AM, a young person squeezing onto the morning peak subway took off an earbud and looked blankly at a stranger opposite who was also looping the same single; the two smiled at each other, both with bloodshot eyes.

At 10:00 AM, in the cubicles of office buildings, white-collar workers slacking off were frantically forwarding the same link in WeChat groups, with the caption: "Listen, everyone go listen! If it's not good, you can hit me!"

The top spot on the Weibo hot search list quietly changed hands.

#bubble Burst#

The following tags were filled with praise.

#Su Qing's High Note Reaches Godhood#

#Who Exactly Is Lu Zhixian#

Countless passersby attracted by the hot search clicked the link, listened to the song, silently forwarded it, and then shared their own short-lived love stories.

Moments and short video platforms were completely taken over overnight by that line, "It's all a bubble."

That soul-piercing sense of brokenness allowed everyone who had been hurt in love or hit a wall in life to find themselves.

12:00 PM.

The Penguin Music New Song Chart refreshed.

1st Place: "bubble". Plays: 15 million. Comments: 30,000+.

2nd Place: "Stardust". Plays: 4 million.

In this war without smoke, Lu Zhixian used a song called "bubble" to pin Chen Mo's so-called "gold-medal production," which he was so proud of, along with the capital and connections behind him, to the ground and grind them to pieces.

...

Inside Chen Mo's studio.

"How is it possible... how the fuck is this possible!"

Chen Mo stared intently at the computer screen.

That washed-up female singer he viewed as an ant and that newcomer he slandered as a plagiarism dog had actually climbed over his head in just one night!

The phone rang incessantly, the names of company executives flashing on the screen.

He didn't dare to answer.

With trembling hands, he opened Weibo, attempting to let out a final roar to reclaim a shred of pathetic dignity.

[Chen Mo V: Music is not just about hitting high notes; it needs substance and depth. A work like "bubble" that purely relies on screaming to attract attention is just noise and has no artistic value. The aesthetic taste of today's audience indeed needs to be improved.]

The listeners who were originally just quietly listening to the song and silently crying were completely ignited with rage.

It's one thing that you're bad, but you're blaming us listeners instead?

Five minutes later, amidst the chaos, Chen Mo started a livestream.

He wanted to "educate" this group of netizens who didn't understand music.

However, the moment the camera turned on, he regretted it.

A hundred thousand people flooded into the livestream room instantly.

There wasn't a single question or word of support on the screen.

Only dense lines of...

[It's all a bubble! All your promises!]

[It's all a bubble! All your promises!]

[It's all a bubble! All your promises!]

Chen Mo's face turned from green to purple, then from purple to white.

"You... you are cyberbullying! I am a gold-medal composer! I..."

The bullet chat interrupted him mercilessly.

[Gold medal? Made of bubble, right? Shatters at a touch.]

[Stop pretending. Is it that hard to admit someone else is better than you?]

[After listening to "bubble" and then your "Stardust", it's as bland as plain water.]

[Lu Zhixian hasn't said a word from start to finish, yet he slapped your face swollen with one song, while you're still here blabbering on. Clown.]

"A bunch of rabble! What do you know about music! I'm a professional! I'm..." Chen Mo's psychological defense line completely collapsed, and he suddenly stood up from his chair, roaring at the camera with a distorted face.

Just then, a golden bullet comment with a "V" verification tag drifted lightly across the center of the screen.

[Lu Zhixian V: Teacher Chen, don't get excited. You're right; the audience's aesthetic taste indeed has improved.]

The bullet chat in the entire livestream room came to a halt.

The man himself is here?!

Chen Mo saw it too, and his roaring stopped abruptly.

Lu Zhixian's bullet comments continued, unhurriedly.

[Lu Zhixian V: Oh, by the way, you said "bubble" is a bubble. But looking at it now, it's quite resilient. On the contrary, your "Stardust" is more like a bubble—it pops with a single poke.]

Heart-piercing! Every sentence pierced the heart!

The audience in the livestream room went wild!

[Murder! God Lu is committing murder!]

[Hahaha! You're the bubble, your whole family is a bubble!]

[You've taken all the spotlight! I'd call this a finishing blow!]

Chen Mo pointed at the screen, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

Just then, his private phone rang; it was the call he least wanted to answer, from the company's largest shareholder.

He instinctively wanted to hang up, but his hand shook, and he accidentally pressed answer.

A cold and majestic voice passed through the microphone, clearly spreading throughout the entire livestream room:

"Chen Mo, your contract is terminated. From now on, you have no relationship with our company. Additionally, regarding the losses for Li Zhili's new album, the legal department will contact you."

"Beep... beep... beep..."

The call ended.

In the livestream room, the overwhelming bullet chat vanished.

Replacing it was a screen full of [Satisfying].

Chen Mo slumped in his chair, his face ashen.

Total defeat.

A complete and utter defeat.