Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Shelved Virtual Project

Translator: Min Lee Editor: Tennesh

June 28, 3:21 p . m .

No . 9: “Hehe, My Dear,” 2,512,576 downloads .

June 28, 7:08 p . m .

No . 8: “Hehe, My Dear,” 2,578,394 downloads .

June 29, 12:03 p . m .

No . 7: “Hehe, My Dear,” 2,710,962 downloads .

June 30, 2:33 a . m .

No . 6: “Hehe, My Dear,” 2,800,357 downloads .

June 30, 12:45 p . m .

No . 6: “Hehe, My Dear,” 2,908,728 downloads .

June 30, 11:56 p . m .

No . 5: “Hehe, My Dear,” 3,000,923 downloads .

That night, nearly every pop music newcomer in Yanzhou stayed up all night monitoring the New Pioneers Chart .

They watched the dark horse that had entered the new talent contest the latest maintain its momentum . After crowding out No . 10, it overtook the next four songs ahead of it in three days and began to threaten the top four .

If Fang Zhao had another day, he would have taken down No . 3 and No . 4 . If he had another month, who knows what would have happened .

When the clock jumped to midnight, when the New Pioneers Chart finally flashed a symbol indicating the chart had been finalized, the throngs monitoring the chart could finally breathe a sigh of relief . It was finally all over .

Especially Chu Guang in fourth place and Rong Zheng in third . They were signed to Silver Wing Media as well . They were also fellow graduates of the same department at Qi’an Academy of Music . They entered the contest early on and were given priority by Silver Wing, but Fang Zhao’s appearance gave them a real scare .

They were almost overtaken .

Even though they still held onto third and fourth place, they both just hit 3 million downloads, not much of a lead on Fang Zhao . Just as people suspected, if the chart was live for another day, they might have been replaced in half a day .

Luckily, as far as Silver Wing was concerned, all three were newly signed composers . But the composers themselves were quite conscious of their ranking .

Thankfully, the season was over .

Over .

Or was it really over?

The beginning of a new month brought the kickoff of a new season of the new talent contest . Even though this season wasn’t as closely followed as the previous, it still marked a new round of battle .

The previous season was over and the winners and losers determined . Newcomers who performed well would gain access to better resources and better music, while those who didn’t do so well had their existing resources pulled .

Fang Zhao, the last-minute dark horse, also drew attention and generated plenty of discussion within the industry .

“Prairie Fire” was a Qi’an-based webcast popular among industry insiders . Their main focus was Yanzhou’s celebrities of all levels . This season’s new talent contest naturally fell on their radar . They even started a betting pool on the final ranking of the New Pioneers Chart .

A new edition of the show aired on July 1 .

Sharing hosting duties were the regular male and female presenters .

As soon as the show started, the lavishly dressed female host joked, “June has just passed . So many people struggled to sleep in the intense heat toward the end of the month . “

Industry insiders bitched in their heads, “It’s just a show for the voyeuristic masses, but we, the actual competitors, have been losing sleep for a long time . No wonder people say the second season of the year is the year’s most brutal . It’s the real deal—cutthroat, grounded in reality, no room for fakery . No matter how good of a bullshitter you are, the market will deliver a rude awakening . “

The host continued, “This season’s new talent contest was quite the draw . “

The male host: “Indeed, thanks to a hit song that drains all sleepiness out of you, hehe . “

The male host’s pun had music newcomers watching the show hurling their bracelets . “Hehe your ass . I get a headache from just hearing ‘hehe . ’”

The female host: “The past season of the new talent contest didn’t exactly go according to script, though it was expected that the two virtual newcomers would take the top two spots . “

The male host: “After a quiet period for Tongshan True Entertainment and Neon Culture, the two conglomerates relaunched their virtual idol projects . “

A video appeared alongside the host’s voice .

A slim silhouette wearing a white hoodie bearing a cone pattern flashed an insidious smile . A slight shift of his head could capture the hearts of thousands of teenage girls . The song “Believe in Me” started playing .

The performer was the winner of the new talent contest, virtual singer Xun Huai . He had held the No . 1 spot on the New Pioneers Chart for more than two months now . His single recorded more than 5 million downloads . Xun was created by Tongshan True Entertainment .

After Xun Huai, a shapely figure emerged . Even though she looked young, her face was impeccable . Her mischievous smile and soulful eyes were downright charming .

Following “Believe in Me” was the No . 2 song, virtual singer Fei Lisi’s “Rainbow Candy,” which was downloaded 4 . 8 million times this past season . Fei was created by Neon Culture .

“Wow, two virtual idols in a single season . Xun Huai’s star power is beyond dispute . All of my cousins are keeping tabs on him . Fei Lisi isn’t bad either . Word has it that a candy maker Neon Culture partnered with made a killing on rainbow candy this year,” the female host said in a joking tone .

“The two virtual idols were indeed strong contenders, but I was paying attention to someone else on the chart,” the male host said . “Today we received an animation created by a viewer . It’s about this year’s new talent contest . “

The viewers were intrigued . What animation?

A video soon followed .

A slick, fat mouse marked with the number 10 darted forward, huffing and puffing, trailed by a group of cats . Each cat had a different fur pattern . It you looked closely, you could see that both the mouse and the cats were emblazoned with company logos .

People who had followed the new talent contest understood immediately and flashed a knowing smile .

Isn’t this a depiction of the chart movements toward the end of the season?

In the animation, a group of cats were chasing a fat mouse .

“Mine . “

“It’s mine . “

“F*ck off, y’all . The mouse is mine . “

“Y’all make way . I’m about to make a major move to take down the fat mouse . “

As the cats quarreled, a cheetah whisked by like the wind, passing the cats and laying claim to the fat mouse with an emphatic stomp . It kept on running, fading into a speedy silhouette .

The reaction of Neon Culture staffers in the newcomer department who saw the cartoon: “… . . . “

Fang Sheng’s agent: “… . . . “

As people around him heaped looks of scorn, pity, and cynicism, a ghastly pale Fang Sheng trashed his second bracelet .

In contrast, Silver Wing staffers were chuckling . They were used to being ridiculed by Neon Culture . Now the tables had turned .

Even though they missed out on the top two spots, Silver Wing releases finished in third, fourth and fifth place . Add to that No . 8 and they accounted for four of the top 10 . Four .

It was an outcome they never would have imagined .

Du Ang was ecstatic after tracking the New Pioneers Chart until midnight . He wore a silly smile until the next morning, despite being whacked by his wife with a pillow . He was going to be promoted, promoted .

Singer Bei Zhi was also too excited to fall asleep after seeing the final ranking .

“I’m a star now!” Bei Zhi stared at the chart without blinking . “He, hehe, hahahaha!”

A change of fortunes often follows the depths of despair . A mishap might be a blessing in disguise .

Bei’s three roommates were amazed by the reversal .

The four newly signed singers were housed in a company dorm . Unlike the composers, the singers had nothing to hide from each other . They took the same classes and vocal lessons .

Bei Zhi’s three roommates knew he’d gone through a rough patch after signing . He was in no shape to sing . They’d thought that Bei Zhi would be cut loose before his contract ended, but who would have guessed that Fang Zhao would come to the rescue . By June, Bei Zhi had recovered and gotten the call from Du Ang . He’d lucked out .

“I’m a star, hahaha!” Bei Zhi burst into a frantic dance in his room .

“That’s right . I need to thank Fang Zhao . ” Bei Zhi raised his arm to call Fang Zhao . If now wasn’t the time to kiss up to such an auspicious patron, then when? He was a rookie singer . Cultivating ties with composers was standard procedure . That way he would keep getting good songs . Good songs sent his stock rising .

It wasn’t all celebration . Sometimes woe followed triumph .

Du Ang was miserable after getting promoted the next day .

Du Ang used to be in charge of rookie composers . Now he was in charge of all of Silver Wing’s composers . His predecessor had quit after leading the failed virtual idol campaign last year . Now, Du Ang took over his portfolio .

The promotion was a good thing . But Du Ang stopped smiling after seeing his to-do list .

Silver Wing launched virtual projects every year, but they rarely received much support . As far as the Silver Wing bosses were concerned, they could prioritize other singers, their virtual idols could be second-rate, but they had to have them . A conglomerate like Silver Wing couldn’t be dissed for not being able to create virtual idols . Whether or not they became huge stars was a different matter .

But after last year’s failed full-court press, the virtual idols team was in shambles . Staff either transferred to other projects or jumped ship . The department was a ghost town .

The higher ups were at wit’s end . However hopeless the mission, they charged the team leaders with figuring things out . They had to have at least one virtual idol project a year . If no actual work had been done, they still had to pull something out of their asses . As long as they came up with something . Quality was not an issue .

Still, to fail miserably was a major loss of face .

After being passed around, the hot potato had landed on Du Ang’s desk . His new position had been left unfilled for some time, so everyone had pretended the problem didn’t exist . Now that Du Ang had taken over, the other managers could rest easy .

“Old Du . ” Ya Erlin, the head of the arrangement department, gestured toward his colleague with his fingers .

“Don’t ‘old’ me . I’m only 40, at a time when the average life span is 180 . I’ve only lived less than a quarter of my life . I’m still young,” Du Ang said without lifting his head .

Ya Erlin ignored the comment . “Old Du, what’s the point? You’ve risen up the ranks, only to suffer . “

Could he afford to take on the virtual idol project?

Du Ang tried telling his superiors—virtual idols weren’t his specialty . But no one wanted to take the project . His bosses told him that, since he was filling the open post, he had to suck it up .

Du Ang wanted to spit blood . If he had known, he would have passed on the promotion . He would have applied for a transfer after someone took over the virtual idol project .

Hindsight was always 20/20 .

The manager lying in the hospital was a harbinger of things to come .

A disgruntled Du Ang could only pass the buck to the composers he supervised . He wasted no time in offering incentives .

“Whoever is willing to take this on will be fast-tracked for promotion . “