Chapter 35: A Pleasant Surprise Arrives (Adorably Asking for Monthly Votes)

The advertisements for Jiang Qi’s debut album in June were everywhere, saturating every possible channel.

Weibo, DouShow, variety shows…

Jiang Qi and her album “Foam” could be seen everywhere.

Not only were her fans’ expectations sky-high, but even casual onlookers became curious and began to look forward to it.

After all, with such a massive promotional campaign, the quality of the songs couldn’t possibly be that bad. If they were, it would make Shengshi Entertainment look utterly foolish, as if they had nothing better to do with their money.

At the same time—

Brotherhood Entertainment.

Both the publicity and artist departments were in a state of mild panic, anxiety visible on every employee’s face.

Yin Mengna, who had debuted at the top of the new artist chart in February, sat there with a cold look on her pretty face, her chest heaving with frustration.

Her assistant stood quietly by her side, not daring to say a word.

“Ming isn’t here yet?” Yin Mengna asked in a calm tone that barely concealed her irritation.

She had been waiting here for over half an hour, but her agent, Zheng Ming, still hadn’t arrived.

The sudden and overwhelming promotion of Jiang Qi’s debut album had caught her completely off guard, leaving her agitated.

The assistant hurried to explain, “Ming is in a meeting with the company, and the publicity team is adjusting the campaign plan. Don’t worry, Sister Na.”

She, too, was deeply annoyed. Shengshi Entertainment was breaking all the rules, starting their new album promotion two weeks ahead of time.

Having been in the industry for several years, she was well aware of how things were usually done. When singers release new singles to compete for the charts, promotions typically begin only in the last week of the previous month.

A week of concentrated promotion is just right; if the time is stretched out, the public’s anticipation might wane or even turn into resentment.

Brotherhood Entertainment had also scheduled Yin Mengna’s new song campaign to start next week.

But Shengshi’s unexpected move left everyone in the industry baffled. No one could figure out what it meant.

Promoting two weeks early doesn’t guarantee more buzz. The key is to time the push perfectly for maximum impact.

Right now, Jiang Qi’s debut album was the talk of the town, with overwhelming heat and attention.

But by the time the album actually dropped in June, the buzz would inevitably cool by nearly half.

Soon enough—

Zheng Ming, an unremarkable-looking man in a suit, hurried over. “Nana, don’t worry. The company’s decision is to wait and see for now.”

“To wait?” Yin Mengna frowned slightly, clearly unhappy about being overshadowed by Jiang Qi.

She had debuted as the top newcomer in February, while Jiang Qi had launched her career that same month by winning a talent show.

Both were number one, both debuted in February—comparisons were inevitable.

Most people, after comparing the two, concluded: Yin Mengna was not as good as Jiang Qi.

This was because few companies bothered to compete for the newcomer chart in February. It was a month teeming with established pop kings and queens fighting for the main chart, grabbing all the attention. No one cared about the newcomer list.

Yin Mengna, still an independent musician at the time, didn’t know these unwritten rules. Like He Luoluo, she rushed headlong and took the top newcomer spot for February.

That success led to her signing with Brotherhood Entertainment.

Still, Yin Mengna was undeniably talented, managing to steal significant attention from the main chart even in such a competitive month.

But the general public didn’t know any of this; to them, the February newcomer chart was meaningless.

Jiang Qi, although also a February debut, came from a talent show and didn’t need to compete for charts at all.

“We’ll wait for Jiang Qi’s surprise at 6 p.m.,” Zheng Ming explained. “After that, we’ll decide whether to revise our publicity plan or stick to it.”

Also, if Jiang Qi’s “surprise” was just more album promotion, Brotherhood could simply copy the tactic.

Yin Mengna wasn’t clueless, though she was a bit unwilling: “Alright.”

No one enjoyed being constantly compared, especially when always cast as the lesser one.

Zheng Ming tried to reassure her: “I’ve heard Jiang Qi’s lead single ‘Foam’ wasn’t written by Shengshi’s in-house writers, but bought from outside.”

“No idea where she found it—it can’t be that great.”

“Nana, don’t worry. Your new song ‘I Love You but You Love Her’ is written and composed by our gold-medal team. Its quality will crush ‘Foam’.”

If they ignored their own ace songwriters in favor of outside material, it either meant Jiang Qi had lost her mind, or that “Foam” was such a knockout that it outshone everything the in-house team had created.

But Zheng Ming would never say the latter aloud; that would be boosting the competition and undermining themselves.

While Brotherhood tried to guess Shengshi’s game, Jiang Qi’s friends in the industry were just as baffled.

Chen Xueling, Jiang Qi’s close friend, only heard the news the next day. She immediately called Jiang Qi, asking if Shengshi was neglecting her.

“Don’t worry, Shengshi treats me very well and is giving me all the resources I need. Just remember to watch my new DouShow video this afternoon.”

“Seriously, don’t forget. It’s really important.”

Jiang Qi emphasized it repeatedly, afraid her friend might forget and she’d lose the upper hand.

She still remembered how Chen Xueling had tricked her—calling in the middle of the night just to make her listen to a half-finished version of “Ease My Sorrow.”

Chen Xueling had gone to bed happy, while Jiang Qi suffered, tossing and turning until the early hours before finally falling asleep.

This time, let’s see how you beg me… Jiang Qi lifted her chin with a sly smile, already plotting how to torment her friend when she came pleading for the full version of “Foam.”

“I ought to learn from Teacher Jiabei,” Jiang Qi thought confidently.

At that moment, she felt she understood Teacher Jiabei’s delight.

Chen Xueling joked, “What, are you about to announce a relationship? Would Shengshi even allow that?”

“It’s much more surprising than a relationship announcement,” Jiang Qi replied, not minding the teasing. As long as she could put her friend at a disadvantage, she didn’t care about a few jokes.

What was a relationship reveal compared to the joy of dropping a half-version?

Arts Institute of Lu Province.

He Luo messaged his best friend Li He: “Hey Li, is Jiang Qi releasing a half-version too?”

“Yup,” Li He confirmed.

He Luo hesitated: “Should I share Jiang Qi’s half-version ‘Foam’ short video?”

If he were still his old self, he wouldn’t hesitate.

But things were different now. Sharing Jiang Qi’s new song video would look to outsiders like he was helping promote her album.

He wasn’t even signed to Shengshi yet.

Plus, would he get in trouble for sharing it?

That would be a bit much.

“Of course you should share it. When you released the full version of ‘Ease My Sorrow’, Jiang Qi helped plenty,” Li He reminded him. “Just say ‘Jiabei’s new song’ in the caption. Nothing more.”

Time slipped by quietly.

With all eyes on her, Jiang Qi updated her Weibo and uploaded a new DouShow video.