How can you ascend to heaven when you are a star?

Chapter 403 Ban?

Zhang Wen squinted at the mustachioed man in front of him. The face was unfamiliar; he was certain he had never seen him before.

Since they've never met, what could be causing this person to be so hostile towards him?
Zhang Wen's gaze involuntarily fell on Zhou Meng, who was standing to the side. Thinking of the little mustache's eager singing earlier, he quickly understood.

Jealousy is disfiguring.

This guy with the mustache probably has some other thoughts about Zhou Meng, which is why he took the initiative to interfere when Zhou Meng asked him to write a song.

Using the belittling of others to elevate oneself is a very low-level tactic.

"what?"

Zhang Wen suddenly frowned, turned his head and looked around, sometimes looking under the chair, sometimes under the table, as if searching for something.

"Teacher Zhang, what are you looking for?" Zhou Meng asked curiously, and also looked down around.

"We're looking for the dog," Zhang Wen said.

"A dog?" Zhou Meng's bright eyes were full of doubt.

This is a hotel, why would there be dogs here? Besides, everyone who came here tonight went to Jiang Li's concert, and I didn't see anyone bringing a dog.

"Yeah, I just heard a dog barking. If none of you brought a dog, it was probably a stray, a wild lapdog," Zhang Wen said seriously.

"..."

Zhou Meng was slightly taken aback, but upon hearing the last few words, she instantly understood what Teacher Zhang meant.

This isn't about looking for a dog; it's clearly a veiled insult, calling Pan Jiang a sycophant.

Zhao Tong and the others next to them lowered their heads in unison, their constantly shrugging shoulders revealing their current state as they tried hard not to burst out laughing.

As expected of Teacher Zhang, he writes great songs and his cursing is also exceptional.

Pan Jiang then realized what had happened. Being insulted in front of a beautiful woman made him furious and embarrassed. He glared at the young man and asked, "Who are you calling a simp?"

Zhang Wen looked the man with the mustache up and down, then asked suspiciously, "I was talking about a stray dog. Why are you angry? Have you seen this stray dog? Where is it?"

After speaking, he pretended to look around, but in the end, his gaze fell on the man with the mustache, his eyes as innocent as those of a recent college graduate.

"What the hell..."

Pan Jiang was about to curse when Zhou Meng stopped him.

"Teacher Pan, don't get agitated. Teacher Zhang didn't say anything about you," Zhou Meng quickly said, afraid that things would escalate.

Everyone is here to celebrate Sister Li's birthday, not to fight over her. If this leads to a quarrel, she, as the person involved, will also be implicated.

"Who is he cursing? We need to get to the bottom of this today," Pan Jiang said through gritted teeth.

He's a well-known lyricist in the music industry, having written at least sixty or seventy songs, if not a hundred. Everyone in the industry calls him "teacher" or "senior." How could he possibly swallow this insult from a newcomer?
Zhou Meng acted as a peacemaker, turning to Zhang Wen and saying, "Teacher Zhang, you didn't mention Teacher Pan, right?"

After saying that, he gave a wink.

Zhang Wen seemed not to have received the signal. He leaned back in his chair and said calmly, "I was talking about dogs. If anyone takes it personally, then they know their place."

Upon hearing this, Pan Jiang felt a surge of anger that shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

He won't even take the opportunity offered to him. This young man is too arrogant. We have to teach him a lesson today.

"Kid, do you think you're so great just because you've written a few songs?" Pan Jiang said coldly, his voice filled with disdain and sarcasm, and he deliberately raised his voice so that everyone in the private room could hear him.

He wanted to embarrass the other person so they wouldn't have the face to stay there any longer.

“No.” Zhang Wen shook his head and said, “What’s so great about being able to write songs? Who can’t write songs these days? What’s truly remarkable is being able to write a hit song and make someone famous.”

Pan Jiang was taken aback when he heard this. Although he felt that what the other person said made sense, he also felt that the other person was bragging.

Tang Yi and the Future Girls group became famous all over the country after singing songs written by each other, right?
His intention was to stop the other party from being arrogant, but he didn't expect to be fooled by the other party. How infuriating.

"Kid, don't be so arrogant. So what if you wrote a few songs? You weren't even born when I was writing those songs." Pan Jiang continued to verbally belittle him, wanting to make the other person feel ashamed and get out of the party that night.

"Really? May I ask who you are...?" Zhang Wen pretended not to know the other person's name.

“The famous lyricist Pan Jiang,” Pan Jiang said arrogantly.

"Never heard of it." After saying that, Zhang Wen looked at Zhao Tong and the others beside him. "Have you heard of this name?"

"No." Zhao Tong and the others all shook their heads.

They usually pay attention to singers, and few people pay attention to lyricists. Even if the lyricist is very famous, their answers are always the same.

One was her mentor, the other a stranger; they clearly distinguished who was close and who was distant.

Upon hearing the students' replies, Zhang Wen turned to Pan Jiang and said, "You're not as famous as you claim. It seems you've been wasting your time all these years. Maybe you should change careers instead of just trying to make it work."

"Bullshit, that's because you're ignorant and narrow-minded," Pan Jiang said irritably.

“I admit that I only know some top-notch songwriters. As for the second- or third-rate ones, I don’t know them and I don’t care,” Zhang Wen said.

“You…” Pan Jiang gritted his teeth, his fists trembling with anger.

"By the way, have you ever written any hit songs?" Zhang Wen asked curiously.

"..."

Pan Jiang was completely stumped by the question.

Although he has written many songs, none of them have become hits so far, but he doesn't think it's his fault.

His lyrics are flawless, absolutely fantastic. It's the composer who didn't write the melody well, which delayed his lyrics and caused his songs to never be nominated for a Golden Melody Award.

Seeing that the man with the mustache remained silent, Zhang Wen continued, "Have you ever won a Best Lyricist Award?"

Pan Jiang opened his mouth, but once again said nothing, his face turning as red as a monkey's bottom.

Winning the Best Lyricist award is harder than writing a hit song.

The Golden Melody Awards select ten songs each year, while the Best Lyricist Award is given to only one song each year.

"You haven't written any hit songs, nor have you ever won a best lyricist award. Is this the famous lyricist you're talking about?" Zhang Wen said with a mocking smile.

The reason he asked was simply because he had looked at the other person's skill panel and knew that the other person's lyric writing skill was only 61 points.

Although it has exceeded the professional level and reached the elite level, how is it possible to win an award with such a low skill level?

“You, you’ve never had one either, have you?” Pan Jiang said defiantly.

“I never said I was famous. Aren’t you famous? Aren’t you a senior? Haven’t you been in the industry for over 20 years? Haven’t you written many songs?” Zhang Wen kept saying.

His words were like a barrage of sharp arrows, relentlessly piercing the man with the mustache, leaving his protective aura riddled with holes, like a sieve.

Pan Jiang's face kept changing color, turning black, white, green, and purple.

He had initially felt superior to this young man, but after being told that, he deflated completely, losing all his previous arrogance and even hunching his back.

He's been writing songs for over twenty years, and not only has he never won a Best Lyricist Award, but he doesn't even have a single Golden Melody Award. What right does he have to mock others?
Hey, that’s not right!

Pan Jiang suddenly realized something. He was there to teach the other party a lesson, not to compare achievements.

"Kid, tonight's gathering was organized by Jiang Li. I don't want to make a big deal out of this. Apologize to me, and I won't pursue the matter from before. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite," Pan Jiang said coldly.

“Teacher Pan, I think we should forget about it. We’re all Sister Li’s friends, and you don’t want to put Sister Li in a difficult position, do you?” Zhou Meng said.

“Zhou Meng, I only made him apologize because I was giving Jiang Li face. Do you think he would be sitting here so calmly in any other place?” Pan Jiang said with a sneer.

We must regain our dignity today.

At this moment, a male celebrity walked over, looked at Zhang Wen, and said, "You're Zhang Wen, right? Teacher Pan is your senior, so I think an apology is enough."

"Yes, yes, let's not spoil the mood."

"There are no outsiders here, so it's not shameful to apologize."

"How about we drink three cups of wine as an apology?"

"Yeah, I think it works."

Other artists echoed the sentiment, seemingly acting as peacemakers, but in reality, they all sided with Pan Jiang. Only a few artists from Tianxi Media remained silent, but they also showed no intention of getting involved.

Seeing the reactions of those around him, Pan Jiang's eyes flashed with smugness, and he raised his chin slightly.

He has been in the music industry for so many years, written songs for more than 30 artists, and made many friends. How can a newcomer compare in terms of connections?

He looked at the young man in front of him with an air of superiority, as if to say: See? Quickly apologize, don't provoke the public.

Zhang Wen glanced at the people in the private room and couldn't help but laugh. He said slowly, "I only know how to persuade people with reason, I've never heard of persuading people with age. If whoever is older is right, then Mr. Pan, shouldn't you apologize to my great-grandfather?"

Be expected to swallow your anger? Absolutely not!

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions froze. No one had expected that this young man would be so disrespectful; he was simply ungrateful.

Zhang Wen ignored the reactions of others and continued, looking at the man with the mustache, "I'm a person who's particularly curious about everything, so I'd like to know how you can be so impolite as to broaden my horizons."

Pan Jiang was furious, but then he was secretly pleased. This time, the other party had not only offended him, but also the other people in the private room. This had angered everyone. How could he have the face to stay here now?

Still so young, doesn't he realize the consequences of angering so many celebrities?

“Kid, do you believe that with just one word from me, no one will sing your songs anymore?” Pan Jiang threatened.

Zhang Wen narrowed his eyes. Was this an attempt to blacklist him?
That's really wishful thinking!

"I don't believe it!" Zhang Wen shook his head and said.

Even if the other party has extensive connections, they can't affect the artists of Tianxi Media, right?
Besides, the entertainment industry is a place where profit comes first. Would someone give up a hit song just because of a friend's words?
It's important to understand that the benefits of a hit song are enormous; some singers can live off just one song for their entire lives.

Otherwise, why would so many singers ask him to write songs?
Eight million plus copyright revenue sharing—this price is at the top level in the entire music industry.

Pan Jiang gritted his teeth. He hadn't expected this kid to be so stubborn and fearless in the face of a ban.

To be honest, although he knows many celebrities, it is actually quite difficult to completely blacklist someone.

Let alone a famous lyricist like him, even a superstar would find it difficult to blacklist someone.

But now that we're in this predicament, wouldn't backing down be like slapping ourselves in the face?

He gritted his teeth and said coldly, "Just you wait, I'll show you the consequences of offending us."

With just one sentence, Pan Jiang brought everyone else present on his side, the meaning of which was clear: you all come and help to blacklist this person.

Zhang Wen smiled nonchalantly and looked at Zhou Meng beside him, asking, "Didn't you ask me to write a song? I'll write it, do you want it?"

Zhou Meng was startled, her eyes filled with surprise, but then she seemed to remember something and turned to look at Pan Jiang and the others beside her.

Sure enough, everyone was watching her, waiting for her decision.

If I accept, it will create distance between me and these friends; if I don't, this is a song written by a hit song generator, and if I refuse, I will never have the chance to get it again.

Pan Jiang noticed Zhou Meng's dilemma and, to avoid being embarrassed on the spot, grabbed her arm and said, "Zhou Meng, let's not take his song. It's just one song, right? I'll write ten for you later. I know a lot of lyricists, so I'll have them write songs for you."

Zhou Meng was still hesitating; she was prioritizing quality over quantity.

What's the point of writing so much if you don't have a good song?
Before Zhou Meng could answer, Zhang Wen looked at the other artists present, picked a singer, and asked, "Wu Xinyou, I'll sell you a song, do you want it?"

Wu Xinyou was taken aback, not expecting to be asked about himself. He had just thought Zhou Meng's stance was not firm, but now he felt that this was a rare opportunity.

After hesitating for a moment, and thinking that it was more likely that the other party was just saying it casually to embarrass Teacher Pan, he refused, saying, "No!"

Pan Jiang, who had been on edge the whole time, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

so far so good.

"Heh, no wonder you're not very successful in the music industry. You've been given opportunities, but you can't seize them," Zhang Wen said with a sneer.

"You..." Wu Xinyou's face turned bright red, and he couldn't utter a second word for a long time.

This beam can be regarded as knotted.

Zhang Wen ignored Wu Xinyou and looked at the others, starting to call out names again.

"Yao Feifei, what about you? Do you want some?"

"what?"

Yao Feifei trembled. This question was even more difficult for her to answer because she was an artist under Tianxi Media.

If she answers no like Wu Xinyou, wouldn't that be helping outsiders bully her own people? If this gets back to the company, how will she get along with her colleagues in the future?
"I...I have a stomachache, I need to go to the restroom." Yao Feifei clutched her stomach and hurriedly left the private room.

Pan Jiang became smug again, believing that no answer meant no.

"My stomach is a little upset too." Liu Yuqing imitated Yao Feifei as she left the private room.

The reason is simple: she is also an artist under Tianxi Media and did not want to be called out by Teacher Zhang, so she chose to leave early.

Just then, Jiang Li, who had changed her clothes, walked in from outside and asked in confusion, "What happened to Feifei and Yuqing?"

"My stomach hurts," Zhang Wen said.

"Why does your stomach hurt? Did you eat something bad?" Jiang Li asked.

"I don't know, maybe it's just the change in environment." Zhang Wen said, then changed the subject, "Sister Li, I recently wrote a song, do you want it?"

"Yes, of course I want it!" Jiang Li immediately said, her face full of joy. "I'll take as many songs as you write."

"..."

The private room fell silent instantly.

Pan Jiang's lips twitched incessantly; the slap was both swift and painful.

……

(End of this chapter)