Chapter 76: All Is Understood Without Words (Requesting Monthly Votes)

After Zhang Yang agreed to let Li He personally sing this song, Li He immediately entered a state of intense practice. Day after day, he went in and out of the rehearsal room.

Many singers at Shengshi Singer Department noticed a new, unfamiliar face suddenly appearing in the rehearsal rooms. Some newcomers who didn’t know the inside story started asking around, and their moods nearly collapsed.

Damn! You’re a songwriter—shouldn’t you be composing? Why are you here competing with us singers for our livelihood?

Quite a few artists even went to observe Li He during his practice, but all left with strange expressions. Coupled with the uproar currently unfolding online, everyone secretly worried for Ding Zhong, praying he had a broad enough mind not to get caught up in petty matters.

Young people nowadays are not to be trifled with! Especially those songwriters whose talent is off the charts. If you provoke an ordinary person, at most you’ll get a few curse words. But provoke a songwriter, and he’ll retaliate with a song specifically crafted to jab at you—without a single vulgar word in the whole piece.

After Ding Zhong posted on Weibo and DouShou, with support from Brilliant Entertainment and other companies behind the scenes, the news quickly shot up the trending charts.

Li He was absorbed in practicing, but the netizens didn’t know that. Everyone was waiting for Gabe’s counterattack, yet for three days straight, Gabe’s DouShou account remained silent.

Even He Luoluo, He Xier, and Jiang Qi showed no reaction.

Netizens were utterly confused.

What’s going on? How come Gabe’s side has no response at all?

Countless netizens flooded the latest videos on Gabe, He Luoluo, He Xier, and Jiang Qi’s DouShou accounts, posting comments and questions.

[Add One]: “Teacher Gabe, is your internet down? Are you going to fight back or not? If you stay silent, we can’t organize any fighting power!”

[He Xier Is The Best]: “Xier, your Gabe teacher’s being attacked—come out and retaliate! Who knows, maybe if Gabe’s in a good mood, you’ll get another song.”

[Conscientious Citizen]: “The shameless one has been silent for a long time—did someone finish him off? Is he still alive? Show yourself!”

[Qi Qi’s Little Wife]: “If Qi Qi doesn’t come out to work soon, Gabe’s going to be snatched away by He Xier.”

Although the four didn’t make any clear statements, their fan groups were united. Apart from the occasional friction between Jiang Qi’s and He Xier’s fans, everything was harmonious.

The four fan groups quickly organized a counterattack, launching an assault on Ding Zhong’s Weibo and DouShou accounts.

On the first day, their momentum was overwhelming, exuding an arrogant confidence as if the whole world was beneath their feet.

On the second day, they fought fiercely, still winning ground. Since Ding Zhong was primarily a lyricist, his fanbase wasn’t large, so the four groups achieved impressive results.

By the third day, the fans began to lose heart. They fought energetically, but their idols hadn’t responded at all.

By the fourth day, the four fan groups couldn’t withstand the barrage from the wider public and were routed, utterly defeated.

Just as they felt isolated and helpless, Gabe’s DouShou updated.

Immediately after, He Xier, He Luoluo, and Jiang Qi simultaneously reposted Gabe’s latest short video.

The news of Ding Zhong inviting Gabe to a song duel had simmered online for four days. With the four fan groups fighting the Gabe defense battle for three days, the hype was now at its peak.

Gabe’s DouShou account was drawing attention from all sides.

At that moment, as Gabe updated DouShou, the platform’s officials immediately gave it a top recommendation, pumping it into the traffic pool.

Those closely following the matter received Gabe’s update notification right away, and even casual viewers stumbled upon his new short video.

When Gabe’s DouShou updated, Ding Zhong clicked in immediately.

In truth, Ding Zhong was more anxious for Gabe’s reaction than anyone else. After all, several companies were pushing the hype and traffic; if Gabe accepted the challenge, Ding Zhong’s own lyricist work would get much more attention.

It would be a big step toward becoming a “lyric master.”

So, when he received the update, Ding Zhong was excited.

Finally, a response.

Even if it was a refusal, it didn’t matter—the hype had already reached a fever pitch.

Quickly, Ding Zhong opened Gabe’s newly updated short video.

He glanced at the caption and frowned.

“Recently, my luck’s been pretty good—winning every game I play, which gave me inspiration for this song.”

Ding Zhong frowned deeper.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a response to the song duel?

This video was different from previous ones: instead of a strip of white paper and pure music, it was a cartoon animation.

Ding Zhong’s interest was piqued, and he tapped the tablet to watch.

The screen began to play.

In a cartoon desert, a little character jumped out from behind a giant cactus. Despite being a cartoon, his face was strikingly handsome.

As the character appeared, three rusty cartoon nails floated down from the sky.

Music started.

Though the visuals were quirky—the character running while the three rusty nails chased him—Ding Zhong listened seriously.

“Did you all miss me…”

Ding Zhong nearly fell off his stool.

What was with this cheeky opening line?

Before he could react, the video continued.

“Hey, stop showing off,
Come join the group, stop obsessing over monsters,
Now that I’ve got my sights on you, where are you going?
Watch my nimble moves as I dodge the defense towers,
Sometimes I chat with Zhuge Liang about history,
Sometimes I can’t help but channel Li Bai and get rebellious,
Even if Sun Shangxiang’s singing wins my heart,
It can’t stop me from carrying the whole match—
Here, taste my sword…”

Ding Zhong’s frown deepened.

He doubted Gabe wrote this—neither the composition nor the lyrics matched Gabe’s usual level.

This sounded more like an internet pop song.

Internet pop songs were despised by all serious songwriters.

How could Gabe write something like this?

“Diving towers isn’t just a hobby, it’s my obsession,
Do I need to repeat ‘Gather mid’ again?
Show off if you like, but no taunting—that’s my bottom line,
My favorite ‘Chicken Dinner’ friends are waiting for my new song,
He’s moved to King’s Canyon for a game,
So since Li Gabe isn’t here, I’ll explain for you,
To reveal the love and stories of King’s Canyon to everyone…”

Was this really a song inspired by playing too many games?

Ding Zhong felt existential doubt.

To write this kind of song, Gabe must be young.

But how could someone so young have written “Gone With Sorrow” and “Foam”?

Ding Zhong was losing interest; this song wasn’t worthy of his serious analysis, even if Gabe wrote it.

It seemed the companies had overestimated Gabe.

But he didn’t exit; it was short, so he decided to watch for entertainment.

Truth be told, the cartoon was nicely animated.

“Hahahaha, you can’t beat me,
Too bad, I’m just this strong,
Hahahaha, you can’t catch me,
Lalalalalalalalala,
Hahahaha, you’ve been defeated by me,
Everyone come at me, I’m not afraid at all…”

Ding Zhong’s mouth twitched.

He realized this was mocking him.

The earlier lyrics depicted the game, but it all set up for this punchline.

“You’ve been beaten by me”—wasn’t that referring to how Gabe had crushed his songs twice already?

Now Ding Zhong watched the cartoon.

Damn.

He barely resisted the urge to smash his tablet.

Three rusty nails, a handsome cartoon character…

Ding Zhong’s expression darkened.

“Hahahaha, you can’t outplay me,
Lalalalalalalalala,
Don’t rush—watch how I slay monsters this round,
I’ll teach you spiral maneuvers and counter moves,
My textbook techniques will leave you amazed,
My teammates are stunned, their confidence ignited,
Once I seize the boss, I’ll lead you out of misery,
Give me a bit of ‘toxic milk,’ this feeling is colorful,
Top up my state, then lead the team to attack,
My overwhelming confidence drives me to charge ahead,
Even the cool and beautiful Gabe teacher
Has to compete with everyone for godlike status,
Side paths can’t fend off the strong,
All who’ve challenged me are fallen souls,
Haha—let me ask, who else is left?”

In a fit of rage, Ding Zhong hurled his tablet across the room.

“Arrogant!” he thundered, stomping with anger.

Employees from Brilliant Entertainment quietly moved away, not daring to speak.

After a long while, Ding Zhong stood up, heart aching as he picked up his shattered tablet, pain twisting in his chest.

He had never met anyone like Gabe.

So damn cheeky.

I just challenged you to a song duel—this is normal in the songwriting world.

If you’ll accept, just say so. Is it necessary to release a song just to mock me?

What, are you just showing off your songwriting skills?

Ding Zhong was about to lose his mind.

This guy was too much.

At that moment, a bespectacled composer hurried over, concerned. “Old Ding, are you okay?”

He’d seen Gabe’s update too, and was so angry he nearly smashed his own phone.

He could only say: Gabe was just too much.

If he was already like this, how could Ding Zhong, the actual target, not be furious enough to tear down the building?

Ding Zhong said nothing, only silently held up his spiderweb-cracked tablet.

Everything was understood without words.

—

PS.
Posted first, edits later