Chapter 72: Metaphysics (Requesting monthly votes and rewards)

"The Bridge of Destiny" has sparked heated discussions online.

Its popularity has even surpassed the meticulously promoted "Bubble" by Shengshi.

In previous years, the songs topping the charts in July and August never attracted much attention, let alone compared to the chart-toppers of other months.

But this July brought forth a phenomenon.

While other songs merely served to enhance the atmosphere and effect of their respective films, acting as mere supporting leaves, "The Bridge of Destiny" was different—it directly overshadowed its movie, rising as the real star.

It became a classic example of a supporting role turning the tables.

Human psychology is sometimes strange: one may dislike something, but due to certain circumstances, feel compelled to like it.

For some, "The Bridge of Destiny" is exactly this kind of existence.

Perhaps this genre isn't their favorite, but in order to compensate for the disappointment of having paid for a lackluster movie ticket, they suddenly find the song irresistibly catchy.

As long as it brings comfort to their hearts, any justification will suffice.

Not to mention that "The Bridge of Destiny" is already of exceedingly high quality.

As the song’s popularity surged to heights uncharacteristic for this month, Shengshi’s publicity finally caught up.

Who would have thought that the film, meant to be the protagonist, would become a mere bystander, while the supporting act rose to prominence, squeezing out the original lead?

The unexpected success of "The Bridge of Destiny" brought Shengshi some solace.

At the very least, it could mitigate their losses.

Regarding the song's meteoric rise, the proud He Xier reacted indifferently—wasn't it only natural for songs written by Li He to become hits? Nothing to be surprised about.

Responding to reporters, He Xier appeared on camera with a confident smile: "The explosive popularity of 'The Bridge of Destiny' was both unexpected and inevitable."

In the end, He Xier chose a more measured answer. If she had said directly, "It's perfectly normal for songs written by Teacher Gabey to become hits," it would have caused unnecessary trouble for Li He.

Being part of this industry, He Xier naturally knew how easily rumors could spread.

Even the slightest misstep in speech would be distorted and magnified by online media accounts.

Sharp-eyed reporters immediately caught the key point, raising a large black microphone to follow up: "Why do you say it was inevitable?"

The unexpected part was uninteresting, but the inevitability hinted at a juicy scoop. The seasoned young reporter went straight to the heart of the matter.

He Xier didn’t hesitate and answered directly: "Because I’ve always had faith in the songs Teacher Gabey creates."

She claimed to have confidence in Gabey—a bold statement, yet one that left no room for criticism.

The company had drilled interview tactics countless times before her debut; He Xier had long mastered them.

Gabey? The slow-to-react reporter was momentarily stunned.

In those two seconds, another site's reporter pushed her aside and took her place.

"Gabey has written both 'Bubble' for Jiang Qi and 'The Bridge of Destiny' for you. Does this mean Gabey has signed with Shengshi Entertainment?" This reporter voiced the question most people wanted answered.

Many had tried to contact Gabey for months, but aside from private messages on DouShou, they found no other means.

Yet Gabey kept writing songs for Shengshi Entertainment.

With only Jiang Qi’s "Bubble," it might have been a coincidence, but now with "The Bridge of Destiny" matching its quality, it was hard not to draw conclusions.

Faced with this question, He Xier simply laughed: "I too hope to become colleagues with Teacher Gabey."

In other words, Shengshi had not signed Gabey.

Actually, He Xier wanted to say Gabey had already signed with Shengshi, but she held back for the sake of future company plans.

Shengshi intended to officially announce Gabey joining together with He Luoluo when He Luoluo released his first album, thereby adding considerable buzz to the launch.

This promotional strategy had Li He’s approval.

Reporters were disappointed by He Xier’s answer; unable to dig up any juicy material, they wanted to continue, but agent Deng Qin stepped in and declared the interview over.

With He Xier's interview reported, Gabey’s name once again entered the public eye.

His dazzling achievements stunned countless netizens.

On Weibo, DouShou, DouPu, Zhidao... discussions about Gabey ignited wildly.

Weibo.

[I'm Little Orange]: "Gabey is incredible—three songs, three consecutive months atop the charts."

[Love Eating Watermelon]: "May, June, July—Gabey is playing a matching game here. Looking forward to Gabey dominating August!"

[Sparrow Who Chases Stars]: "Who is Gabey, this reclusive master of composition and lyrics? I refuse to believe such talent comes without decades of cultivation."

[Proud Little Sun]: "Singer: How to top the charts? Company: Just sing Gabey's songs."

[Strolling Along]: "Gabey composed and wrote all three songs himself—what kind of talent is this? I’m blown away."

[I'm Little Detective]: "I just noticed something. In April, He Luoluo sang Gabey's song and sniped An Chuxia's debut; in July, He Xier sang Gabey's song and crushed An Chuxia again. I wonder what psychological shadow this gives An Chuxia."

[When Coughing]: "Upstairs, that's chilling when you think about it. Did An Chuxia offend Gabey? Every time she releases a song, Gabey appears. That’s some unbeatable luck."

[I’m Telling the Truth]: "Maybe An Chuxia once dumped Gabey, otherwise why would he go so hard, giving her no breathing room?"

[I Don’t Believe]: "That’s too much—Gabey is clearly at least forty, and An Chuxia is much younger. They’re a generation apart."

[Me Too]: "Leaving aside any love-hate drama between Gabey and An Chuxia, it just shows An Chuxia’s luck is rotten."

[Moon Shy]: "Actually, An Chuxia’s 'Embrace' isn’t bad; it’s just that the matching film was even better. But 'The Bridge of Destiny' is different—the supporting film 'Guardian' feared the song wouldn’t be hyped enough, so it even poked fun at itself just to boost the song’s popularity."

[Little Curved]: "Legendary bad movie, divine song series."

[Little Grass]: "Sometimes, when a movie is too good, it’s a mistake."

An Chuxia looked at the trending topic and was so upset she nearly cried.

Even she wondered if she had somehow offended Gabey—why did every song release coincide with his? It was too bizarre.

"Sister Li, should I burn incense at a temple before releasing my next song?" An Chuxia was in utter despair.

Xu Li comforted her: "It’s just a coincidence, not some mystical fate. This is the twenty-first century; believe in science."

An Chuxia was on the verge of collapse: "Sister Li, I really think it’s supernatural."

She suspected her next song release would collide with Gabey again.

"It’s not Gabey targeting you, it's just that Gabey's output is ridiculously high." Xu Li’s expression was odd. "Three consecutive months, each with a new song, dominating the charts. You’re just unlucky to have bumped into him twice."

June’s Yin Mengna didn’t fare much better.

Xu Li had listened to her song; if it hadn’t been up against the unreasonable "Bubble," it could have competed with other contemporaries.

An Chuxia looked at her agent with certainty: "Sister Li, does that mean if I want to top the charts, I have to sing Gabey’s song?"

According to netizens’ reasoning, the answer was a definite yes.

"Your 'Embrace' is also high quality—composed by Xiang Qi, lyrics by Ding Zhong, and Ding Zhong is a gold medalist. Gabey is human, not a god; if a master composer and lyricist stepped in, Gabey would have to bow." Xu Li quickly retorted—such thinking mustn’t be allowed.

If Gabey were a contracted lyricist-composer with Brilliant Entertainment, it might be reasonable, but the key is, they still haven’t managed to contact Gabey.

It’s infuriating.

Why can Shengshi get Gabey’s songs, but not us?

Thinking deeper, the ordinary-looking Xu Li suddenly noticed a frightening detail.

"Chuxia, isn’t Shengshi’s Jiang Qi and He Xier managed by the same agent?" Xu Li didn’t want to believe it, hoping to hear a different answer from the unlucky An Chuxia.

An Chuxia propped her chin, her delicate brows quivering: "I think so. When Jiang Qi attended events, the agent by her side was the same one who accompanied He Xier during interviews."

An Chuxia laughed and teased her agent: "Sister Li, why are you asking about her? Although that agent is quite good-looking, but..."

Halfway through, An Chuxia suddenly realized.

After a moment, she said bitterly: "So, Sister Li, Gabey is actually targeting you?"

Not me.

The unlucky one is the agent, not An Chuxia.

The assistant next to them spoke timidly: "Why must Gabey be targeting us and not just coincidence?"

As soon as she finished, An Chuxia and Xu Li both looked at her with unfriendly eyes.

The assistant, unsure what she’d said wrong, quickly lowered her head, trying to minimize her presence.

Didn’t you realize Sister Li and I are desperately trying to avoid the supernatural coincidence of running into Gabey... An Chuxia felt exhausted, worried for the assistant’s future.

Such a simple girl—what will become of her?

#Tragic An Chuxia# became a trending topic, picked up by idle netizens.

Due to its popularity, An Chuxia’s movie ending song "Embrace" also gained traction, jumping from fifth to third on the charts.

This unexpected windfall nearly stunned Zheng Mingdan, whose appearance was unremarkable.

It was too incredible.

In July’s competition, Brilliant and Shengshi had different situations; both companies had singers perform movie ending songs.

But Shengshi’s He Xier sang for her own company’s film, while Brilliant’s An Chuxia sang for another company’s film.

In terms of promotion, Brilliant didn’t need to pour resources into Star Emperor’s movie; they only needed to promote An Chuxia’s "Embrace."

Thanks to Brilliant’s heavy promotion, An Chuxia’s "Embrace" landed in fifth place on the charts.

But because of a single Weibo topic, netizens eager for drama pushed An Chuxia up to third place.

Netizens wanted to see if Gabey’s dominance over An Chuxia was truly supernatural. Many decided, even if they paid to download without listening, they’d support An Chuxia.

Xu Li stared at the jaw-dropping ranking: "If things continue, we have little chance for first place, but second is very possible."

Thanks to the netizens.

An Chuxia was unsettled: "Sister Li, I told you—it’s a supernatural issue."

Xu Li didn’t understand: "What do you mean?"

How did this get tied to mysticism? It was just the result of netizens’ efforts, nothing mystical.

"Sister Li," An Chuxia rolled her eyes, utterly hopeless, "In April, I was second as well."

First place was He Luoluo, who sang Gabey’s "Dispelling Sorrow."

Both times, Gabey took the top spot, and she was second.

"Don’t overthink it," Xu Li was starting to feel uncertain herself. "Just coincidence, coincidence."

By the end, even she doubted science; it was almost too coincidental.

The assistant timidly piped up again: "Chuxia, Sister Li, it must be coincidence. As the saying goes, things happen twice, but not thrice. It’s only happened twice."

"Shut up," An Chuxia and Xu Li said in unison.

The assistant lowered her head again—she hadn’t said anything wrong. They were just picking on her.

A few days later, An Chuxia’s "Embrace" knocked "Spark" out of second place and claimed the runner-up spot.

Netizens who didn’t believe in mysticism grew even more excited.

Look!

Second place already—soon it might dethrone "The Bridge of Destiny."

Just as "Embrace" took the second spot, a DouShou short video went viral.

The video featured someone wearing a horse mask, with eerie, sinister background music, declaring:

"The top two spots on July’s music charts are confirmed: the champion is He Xier and Wen Haohao’s 'The Bridge of Destiny,' the runner-up is An Chuxia’s 'Embrace.' Don’t ask how I know—refer to April’s rookie chart. You’ll find your answer there."

So netizens checked April’s rookie chart and saw the champion was He Luoluo’s "Dispelling Sorrow," and runner-up was An Chuxia’s "Longing for Love."

Comparing with today’s chart...

Hiss!

A terrifying force called mysticism seemed to envelop Gabey.

[Little Horse]: "Songs written by Gabey are destined to be hits. Don’t ask why—just mysticism."

[Pink Envelope]: "Colliding with Gabey means certain defeat. Don’t ask why—just mysticism."

[Veteran Reader]: "I think Gabey is a cultivator with a system. Don’t ask how I know—just mysticism."

[I Love Bathing]: "Upstairs is awesome. Don’t ask why I know you’re awesome—just mysticism."

Brilliant Entertainment.

The ordinary-looking agent Xu Li had an odd expression. She looked at An Chuxia for a long time, finally squeezing out: "Maybe you should post on Weibo and ride this trend. After all, half of the mysticism comes from you."

I really don’t know whether to laugh or cry... An Chuxia was confused. What does it mean, "half the mysticism is because of me"?

Just listen.

Is that even human language?

But An Chuxia didn’t refuse. If a topic can bring her popularity without harm, she doesn’t mind riding the wave.

Soon.

An Chuxia finished editing her Weibo post and wanted to tag Gabey, but after searching for ages, she couldn’t find his Weibo.

Only then did she remember—Gabey doesn’t have Weibo, only DouShou.

Xu Li suggested: "You could also record a short video for DouShou."

Sister Li, are you serious... An Chuxia wondered if she’d misheard; Xu Li was never like this before.

After recording, An Chuxia posted on both DouShou and Weibo.

—

PS. Post first, edit later.