Chapter 132: The Chorus

Liao Yuan stepped out of the recording studio, approached Lou Wenxing, and picked up his phone to check the rankings on the Caiyun Music app.

Most rankings on the Caiyun Music platform are updated in real-time, once every hour.

The first is the Surge Chart, where "Fairytale Town" ranked first with a growth rate of 1079%. This chart tracks the songs with the fastest daily ascent among all works under the Caiyun Village banner.

The second is the New Song Chart, where "Fairytale Town" stood in fifth place. This chart calculates the popularity of the top 100 new songs released within their first month.

The third is the Original Chart, which requires the artist to compose their own lyrics and music; therefore, "Fairytale Town" was excluded.

The fourth is the Hit Song Chart, which tracks the most-played online songs under the Caiyun Village platform over the past week, updated weekly.

The fifth is the Artist Chart, which uses the same statistical method as the Hit Song Chart and is also updated weekly.

Currently, thanks to the heavy promotion on the homepage of the Caiyun Village website and app, the popularity of "Fairytale Town" continued to climb. Coupled with the endless stream of "haters" and curious passersby arriving from various links on Weibo, the song had surged to the top of the Surge Chart in just one night—all thanks to the accidental clicks of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of users.

But gold will always shine.

After being exposed to such massive traffic, "Fairytale Town" saw new rankings every time the charts refreshed each hour. By noon the next day, it had bypassed the new singles of several well-known artists, leaping into fifth place on the New Song Chart. As for the Hit Song Chart, since it updates weekly, "Fairytale Town" was not yet visible there.

Liao Yuan clicked on the "Fairytale Town" page and found that the hot comments section was entirely dominated by haters stirring up trouble, all of them disgraceful.

"Trash song, ruining my youth."
"Old Dog Liao insulted my idol. From now on, we are enemies; I’ll have your head, you old hag!"
"Although the song sounds okay, the composer and lyricist is actually Liao Yuan? Sorry, blocked!"
"Song Baining’s voice is indeed good—she’s got the makings of a diva—it’s just a shame she chose the wrong partner!"
"A song recommended by the thief Liao, and you say it's good? Heh! I don't believe a word of it! You old bastard, you're rotten to the core!"
"Are you guys finished yet? I don't know who this 'thief Liao' is, but setting that aside, this song is actually pretty good!"

Compared to the hot comments section, the latest comments section for "Fairytale Town" was a completely different scene.

"This song is addictive; I've had it on loop at least a hundred times since last night..."
"It sounds so good!"
"The opening is stunning!"
"The line about Little Red Riding Hood having a red cloak that suppresses her urge to turn into a wolf is excellent."
"Damn, whose song is this? It's so good!"
"Support, support, support!~"
"It’s so good it’s practically heaven-sent!"
"I'm listening to this song while walking to and from work, and while I eat... I'm completely obsessed!"
"Just got back from KTV, damn it, they don't even have this song yet!"
"Good songs deserve support! Infinite loop playback, sharing it immediately!"
"Keep it up, don't mind the trolls, I'll support you forever!"
"This song and this voice—a perfect match!"
"At first it felt like a warm song, but as I kept listening, I felt a strange sadness. In the end, it just feels like life is exactly like this—first simple, then helpless—yet we still hope to live life like a poem. Sigh!"

After reading the comments for a while, Liao Yuan handed the phone back to Lou Wenxing and asked, "Have you contacted Xiaobai? Is she here yet?"

"I sent her a message on WeChat," Lou Wenxing replied quickly. "She said she’ll be here soon."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door opened. Song Baining ran into the studio, breathless, and stammered, "I... I'm late!"

Liao Yuan glanced at her and said, "It's fine. Take a rest, then let's start recording."

"Mr. Liao..." A moment later, Song Baining hesitated. "Is 'Fairytale Town'... a hit?"

"What do you think?" Liao Yuan smiled.

Song Baining tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Do you know why I was so late? I was blocked in the hallway by classmates from my dormitory building."

"That exaggerated?" Lou Wenxing said, surprised. "You weren't hurt, were you?"

"No," Song Baining replied. "I had to sing 'Fairytale Town' on the spot before I could manage to escape."

Liao Yuan nodded. "'Fairytale Town' has become a minor hit. For a newcomer to reach the top of the Caiyun Music Surge Chart on the first day is something that was basically impossible in the past, but it's not yet a true, massive sensation."

Song Baining paused and said, "Mr. Liao, can you help me rent an apartment? I don't want to live in the dorms anymore. You can deduct the rent from my salary."

Liao Yuan agreed. He then urged Song Baining to hurry up and record. "You're in a good state. Let's strike while the iron is hot and record the final song, 'Years of Rush.' After that, we'll start on new material."

"New songs?" Song Baining was stunned.

Liao Yuan said, "The company is currently communicating with Caiyun Music, preparing to sign a revenue-sharing agreement. I’m going to write a few more songs to round out a full digital album for you. If all goes well, it will be officially released in a month."

Song Baining was excited. "Can I..."

"No," Liao Yuan said firmly. "Record first, then practice the new songs."

Song Baining let out an "oh" and obediently entered the recording studio.

Since signing with Little Yellow Fish, Song Baining, who had previously been resistant to entertainment companies, suddenly found that she seemed to enjoy this state of being. Recording, listening, practicing... If she could immerse herself in the career she loved every day, how wonderful that would be.

It is worth mentioning that in addition to "Fairytale Town," Song Baining had successfully recorded "Red Mountain Fruit" yesterday. Therefore, out of the three songs Liao Yuan had given her, only "Years of Rush" remained.

But beyond that, Song Baining also had one song that she had been constantly thinking about: "By the Shores of Lake Baikal."

However, ever since they parted that day and she received the sheet music, every time she practiced "By the Shores of Lake Baikal," she felt a deep sense of loss. She discovered that no matter how hard she tried to perform it, she couldn't seem to surpass the version Liao Yuan had sung. This situation began to make her resist singing the song.

It wasn't until "Years of Rush" was finished and Liao Yuan suggested they record "By the Shores of Lake Baikal" together that she looked up, dazed: "Sing together?"

"Yes," Liao Yuan nodded.

Song Baining’s cheeks flushed slightly, her eyes drifting away. "Why?"

"They are all forcing me to debut, so I agreed. Actually, I’ve given it serious thought. The company can't operate with just you alone. Your contract terms are too harsh—not taking commercials or commercial performances means the company won't make much money. But since there are no other artists in the company besides you, to prevent the company from going bankrupt early, I’ve decided to take the stage myself."