Chapter 21: Definitely Paid Shills (Please Support the New Book)

When the music ended, the notes faded away. An Chu Xia’s small mouth remained slightly open, unable to close for a long time, her emotions surging as her eyes glistened red. The cheerful little assistant had also bowed her head, tears swirling in her eyes.

A long silence passed.

“Sister Qin, I’m a little scared,” An Chu Xia said bitterly. “Disappear Sadness” nearly made her cry. The lyrics were simple, but pierced straight into the heart, expressing emotions impossible to resist. The straightforward words paired with a gentle melody seemed almost magical, capable of delving into her soul and uncovering the secret memories she had buried. The most terrifying thing about music is that you can always find your own reflection within it.

An Chu Xia saw herself in “Disappear Sadness,” and so she was afraid.

“Yearning for Love” was also excellent—a song composed by a top composer at Splendid Entertainment, with lyrics written by a master lyricist. As for the legendary composer and lyricist, she wasn’t influential enough yet to have them intervene.

Splendid Entertainment had plenty of resources to promote her, but An Chu Xia was still anxious.

“Disappear Sadness” was climbing the charts at an alarming rate, its popularity infuriating many, including numerous celebrities.

Deng Qin shook her head slightly. If it were any other song, she wouldn’t worry, but “Disappear Sadness” was too formidable. It was a song destined to become a sensation.

“I’ll have the company suppress the hype around ‘Disappear Sadness’ and ramp up the promotion for ‘Yearning for Love,’” Deng Qin said.

An Chu Xia nodded gently, saying nothing. She knew well: how could the heat of “Disappear Sadness” be suppressed so easily? Its rise wasn’t due to recommendations or marketing, but to the countless netizens who were both captivated and irritated by it. With official music oversight, underhanded tricks were impossible—like vote-rigging. Anyone daring to cheat would see their singer banned the very next day—not by a company, but by the official music platform. Once banned, a singer’s career in showbiz was effectively over; they’d best head home for dinner early.

All Splendid Entertainment could do was intensify the promotion of An Chu Xia’s new song. They couldn’t even intercept He Luoluo’s recommendation, because he hadn’t recommended anything at all. Secretly, they could hire a few internet trolls to smear “Disappear Sadness” in its comment section. Beyond that, there was nothing more they could do.

…

As “Disappear Sadness” climbed the charts, burning with popularity, its comment section came alive again.

On the Daily Music platform’s comment section, a topical comment shot quickly to the front page.

The account that left this comment was named “A Little Red Thread,” who wrote a lengthy essay of several hundred words about “Disappear Sadness.”

“Everyone’s probably heard ‘Disappear Sadness’ by now; even if you haven’t heard the full version, you must have come across the chopped-up version on TikTok, the one that drives people crazy.”

“I’m one of them, and the chopped version of ‘Disappear Sadness’ had me itching with frustration—I even wanted to give He Luoluo a beating.”

“I have to admit, the chopped version is really good. In the world of folk music, it’s a top-tier masterpiece, and I genuinely love it.”

“But the full version... heh, honestly, I can’t praise it.”

“The moment the full version was released, I bought and downloaded it immediately. The opening is even more stunning than on TikTok, and the accompaniment is more polished.”

“When I bought it, over three thousand people had already downloaded it.”

“That’s normal; after all, ‘Disappear Sadness’ is hugely popular on TikTok. To attract over three thousand downloads in such a short time speaks to its strength.”

“I happily paid, plugged in my two-thousand Summer coins headphones, ready to listen to this song that had tormented me for days.”

“But after listening to the first half—the part with lyrics featured in TikTok—the latter part made me question my existence. I wondered if I’d misheard.”

“The second half, I can only say, is a complete mess. The lyrics are totally disconnected, only a fool could have written them.”

“I suspect the lyricist poured all their talent into the first half to build hype, and ran out of ideas for the rest.”

“Even after finishing, my mood couldn’t settle. So I wrote this, hoping everyone won’t be fooled, won’t let He Luoluo steal our hard-earned money.”

“As for people like this, I’ll be a lifelong hater.”

At the bottom of the comment was a screenshot of the download purchase for “Disappear Sadness.”

Once posted, the comment was quickly boosted by a swarm of hired trolls, soon climbing into the top five.

…

“Hmph!”

In a shabby rental room, the walls covered with photos of entertainment celebrities—some studio shots, some candid—sat a disheveled middle-aged man by the window in an old computer chair, dressed in cheap denim jeans and jacket, puffing out white smoke from his mouth.

With his right hand, he held a half-burned cheap cigarette between his index and middle fingers, while his left hand scrolled through his phone.

A notification chimed—“ding dong!”—and Old Black, the middle-aged man, quickly opened the message. In his excitement, the hand holding the cigarette slapped the table.

Seeing the bank balance notification, Old Black couldn’t help but grin.

He muttered to himself, “He Luoluo, you can’t blame me. You’ve got no connections, no backing, and you trespassed into the industry’s unwritten rules, the ones big companies all respect. Someone wants to take you down; you brought it on yourself.”

No backing, yet daring to infringe on others’ interests—it was inevitable he’d be targeted.

As a seasoned troll leader, Old Black had foreseen this, even investigating who’d taken the big job.

But what surprised him was how massive the order was—Splendid Entertainment was truly generous.

All this for a newcomer—was it worth it?

Whether it was or not, Old Black neither knew nor cared. Big companies were flush with cash and naive; he was happy to earn more.

Old Black reclined in his battered chair, its legs creaking softly, content in his daydreams.

“With this money, I can rent a bigger place, eat at a restaurant, buy some clothes, and maybe find a girlfriend.”

In that moment,

Old Black felt the world was wonderfully full of hope.

Grateful to He Luoluo.

Old Black was a troll leader—once he posted, other trolls quickly boosted his comment. The replies soon accumulated over ninety-nine.

He smiled as he opened his own thread, seeing the first reply, which only had two words:

[Blind Black]: “Moron!”

Old Black was stunned.

This guy just insulted him outright.

As a professional troll, Old Black promptly reported and blocked the offender. No need to waste energy on such people—not worth it.

He kept reading.

[No Feelings]: “Are you deaf?”

[Hehe Yo]: “Truly, the more famous you get, the more haters come out. The trolls have arrived.”

Old Black grumbled as he scrolled further.

[Strange Strange]: “Who is this guy? Did he grow up on mutant milk powder? With that intelligence, he dares to show off.”

[Good People Peaceful Life]: “No need to curse, folks. The poster must have drunk expired milk powder—something’s wrong with the brain.”

[Little Pony]: “Hate He Luoluo if you want, but trashing ‘Disappear Sadness’ is just too much.”

He kept scrolling—all replies were insults aimed at him.

Damn!

Old Black angrily smashed his keyboard, exiting the comment section.

Infuriating.

Where did all these trolls come from?

Even with five years of trolling experience, Old Black was so enraged his keyboard cracked in several places.

He was frustrated enough to cough blood, but powerless; he could only leave the comment section—out of sight, out of mind.

If I don’t see it, I won’t know anyone’s cursing me… Old Black patted himself on the back for his years of trolling wisdom.

But just after exiting, he noticed a new comment above his own, recently boosted.

The poster was called “Helpful Citizen.”

And this person had tagged him… Old Black, curious, clicked in.

——

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