I was slacking off on a dating reality show when the female guests treated me like a treasure chest.

Chapter 122 The Core of Traffic

Upon hearing this, Su Xiao was stunned and remained speechless for a long time before slowly regaining her senses. She then shook her head vigorously.

Lin Ran found it amusing and asked with a smile, "Is it that you don't know how, or do you?"

Su Xiao hesitated for a moment, her cheeks burning, unable to utter a single word.

She dared not make promises lightly, much less deny them casually. If she said "no" now, she was certain she would regret it later. She never wanted to do anything that she would regret.

For a moment, the two sat there, staring at each other, and the atmosphere became awkward.

Seeing the two locked in a stalemate, Chen Nian chuckled helplessly and turned to Su Xiao, whispering, "Don't pay attention to her. You know, she's not always the sharpest tool in the book."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and gently tapped his head, indicating that Lin Ran had a unique way of thinking and loved to joke.

Su Xiao suddenly understood and nodded thoughtfully.

But the next second, Lin Zai on the other side stood up and gave Chen Nian a crisp flick on the head.

"How could you say your sister isn't smart enough in front of outsiders?"

Chen Nian rubbed his aching forehead, looking helpless: "Alright, alright, stop teasing Su Xiao."

Lin rolled her eyes at him, but was secretly surprised. Su Xiao's flustered and shy reaction just now was definitely not ordinary. Could it be that this girl really planned to confess to Chen Nian in the final segment?

In just one month, she noticed that Chen Nian had become much more talkative. He was no longer the taciturn boy who only knew how to write songs. Lin Ran picked up her wine glass, took a sip, and then stopped joking around and got down to business.

"Later, you verbally agreed to sell that song to Liu Ting, right?"

Chen Nian nodded slightly. He had already finalized this matter with Liu Ting, but a formal contract had not yet been signed, and further offline coordination was still needed.

"Has the price been agreed upon?" Lin Ran pressed.

Chen Nian shook his head: "Not yet. I was planning to wait until the show ended and then go back to you for advice."

Lin Ran lowered her eyes and pondered for a few seconds before offering a top-tier solution in the industry: "We will follow the collaboration standards of top songwriters in the industry. The first installment will be a one million yuan advance payment, and all subsequent copyright revenue will be settled quarterly, with reconciliations every three months."

This standard has already reached the pinnacle of the Chinese music scene.

There are no more than five songwriters in the entire internet who can achieve the treatment of "a million-dollar first-run fee for a single plus continuous quarterly royalties".

Even top-tier songwriters cannot guarantee that every song will be a masterpiece. Creation relies heavily on inspiration and is not something that can be produced casually.

Chen Nian had only a vague understanding of industry rules, but when he heard about the million-dollar advance payment and the continuous stream of subsequent royalties, his eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately nodded: "Let's negotiate with Liu Ting according to your standards. I believe this song is absolutely worth the price."

Lin Ran sighed softly and said truthfully, "When I left, many senior executives in the company were still thinking of having me persuade you to leave this song for an artist within the company."

Chen Nian shook his head without hesitation: "I have already made an agreement with Liu Ting that we cannot go back on our word."

He then added, "Also, regarding the piece I wrote for Su Xiao, could you please help her promote it after she returns to China, and coordinate the publicity and packaging resources?"

"Just this one?" Lin Ran raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "I remember you performed more than two songs on the show, right? What about 'We' and 'Chrysanthemum'? I remember you said that was also a song."

Upon hearing "Chrysanthemum Terrace," Su Xiao's eyes lit up. She and several other girls had all heard Chen Nian sing this song; it was an incredible piece.

Chen Nian scratched his head and said, "The arrangements for the other two songs are not yet complete, so we don't plan to finalize them in a hurry."

"Chrysanthemum Terrace is quite special. The musical style and singing style have a very high threshold, and I can't find a suitable singer. In addition, I don't have any ideas for the next song for the time being, so I'll put it aside for now."

"Our song is in the folk style. Looking back at Li Tian and Qi Feng, whose temperament is more suitable? They are both interested."

"What about dusk and Haikou?" Lin Zai made a special trip here to help Chen Nian sort out and revitalize all the song resources produced during the festival, so as to help him firmly establish himself in the music scene.

She only provides professional advice and does not interfere with Chen Nian's final decision. She only hopes that these works will benefit him for life and that he can live comfortably on royalties alone.

After careful consideration, Chen Nian shared his plan: "I think these two songs are pretty good, and I plan to give them to the company first."

"Selling it to anyone is the same as selling it, so why not sell it to the company? It'll be a good thing. I've been with Xinghe for three years. You must have said a lot to get me here. You decide on these two songs."

Upon hearing this, Lin Zai glanced at him in surprise, then nodded slightly.

Both Huanghun and Haikou are of a high standard, enough to steadily produce a top-tier singer. Leaving them to the company is fine; they can just help secure more benefits for her later.

As night deepened, the three, slightly tipsy and having enjoyed themselves, returned to the hotel.

After saying goodbye and returning to their rooms, Chen Nian maintained his daily self-discipline. Even though he was slightly tipsy, he did a few sets of push-ups. After the simple exercise, he took a shower, washed up, and lay down on the bed.

He secretly calculated that, just as Lin Ran had said, as long as he perfected the arrangement of all the songs he had and officially released them, the continuous royalties would be enough to ensure that he could live a comfortable life without worrying about food or clothing.

But at this moment, he is no longer satisfied with the status quo. Now he has mastered the entire process of arranging and composing lyrics, so his goals are naturally higher and farther.

Luxury cars and villas—he'll have them all! For the rest of his life, he'll live the life of a self-made millionaire, indulging in all he wants.

Having figured all this out, Chen Nian felt clear-headed and fell asleep peacefully.

Meanwhile, on their return flight, Tang Xi and Wen Jingran were scrolling through trending topics on their phones.

Looking at the endless stream of program clips and popularity rankings on the official Weibo account, the two had their own thoughts, especially Tang Xi, whose cheeks were puffed out, feeling very depressed.

She was very dissatisfied, as the combination of Su Xiao and Chen Nian consistently ranked first in the entire network in terms of votes.

She knew that the two were colleagues and that the audience preferred the atmosphere of such a tacit partnership. However, her and Chen Nian's duo was only ranked fifth. Even though their votes were steadily increasing and they were about to overtake the fourth place, there was still a considerable gap between them and the top two.

The only thing that gave her some comfort was that her name and Chen Nian's name would firmly occupy the top spot on the entire internet's trending search list.

The thought of confessing her feelings for Chen Nian in front of millions of viewers made Tang Xi blush with shyness.

She never imagined that she would so boldly reveal her true feelings at the end of the series.

Afterwards, she repeatedly scrolled through all the online clips of her interactions with Chen Nian, becoming more and more moved with each viewing, without feeling tired at all.

Silent all night.

The next morning, Chen Nian finished his morning exercise, went out to wake Su Xiao, and the two went to the music competition venue together to continue today's rehearsal.

With only one day left until the grand finale tomorrow night, the two are well aware of the significance of this competition after learning about it yesterday.

The Sydney International Music Competition brings together street musicians from all over the world, making it a highly competitive event with a large number of talented musicians.

As special guest performers, they face considerable pressure as they have to be scrutinized by a global audience and industry professionals.

Su Xiao took a deep breath. If it weren't for Chen Nian's song "Listen to the Sea" for her, she would definitely be nervous, anxious, and at a loss.

But now, with this excellent song and Chen Nian by her side to protect her, all her anxiety and unease have vanished, leaving only anticipation.

Soon after, the two arrived at the venue and began rehearsals.

Meanwhile, the EV International Fashion Show, one of the world's three major fashion shows, has entered its final preparation stage.

Zhou Yu and Qi Feng are currently refining their positioning, catwalk, and stage presence. Today's show is a true global spectacle.

As one of the world's three top fashion shows, EV Fashion Show is not only broadcast live on multiple online platforms, but also brings together countless fashion icons, film and music artists, and industry capital from around the world.

Time passed slowly, dusk fell, and the much-anticipated Sydney EV Fashion Show officially began.

The red carpet event was a star-studded affair, with industry heavyweights making appearances one after another, leaving viewers in the live stream speechless. No one expected that this year's EV Sydney event would gather so many top industry figures.

As night fell, the fashion show officially began. Following EV's traditional procedure, the first to appear were the brand's contracted senior supermodels, followed by specially invited celebrity guests.

The moment Zhou Yu and Qi Feng stepped off the runway side by side, the official live stream of "Heartbeat" was instantly flooded with a barrage of comments.

The two were dressed in haute couture clothing from EV's core concept collection for the year, a testament to the brand's top-tier resources.

In previous years, only top supermodels from EV's lineup could wear the flagship concept models. Such preferential treatment has made their fans ecstatic.

As night fell and the stars and moon shone brightly, the grand show, which lasted for a full two hours, came to a successful close.

Unsurprisingly, Zhou Yu and Qi Feng swept the internet the moment they appeared on the runway with their stunning catwalk performance, dominating entertainment headlines and fashion hot searches.

Everyone in the industry was shocked and amazed that an ordinary dating reality show could actually leverage top resources from the music, film, and fashion industries—a true miracle.

Immediately, countless domestic entertainment companies were tempted to replicate the same dating reality show format in an attempt to create a hit variety show.

However, many seasoned industry insiders have already seen through the essence of the matter.

From the moment "Heartbeat" became a hit, people have been analyzing the logic behind its success, and in the end, everyone has come to the same conclusion.

At the heart of all the viral moments, trending topics, and traffic, there is one person.

Chen Nian, a creator at Xinghe Entertainment.

Wherever he is involved in a scene, segment, or stage, the viewership and popularity will inevitably surge.

What's most absurd and inexplicable is that while there's no shortage of talented songwriters in the industry, no one dares to consistently produce hit songs on a variety show, writing them on the spot, each one a masterpiece, and each one a viral sensation.

His output is no longer ordinary songs; each one is a masterpiece worthy of being sung for many years.

This core trump card is an absolute barrier that no variety show or company can replicate. It can only be said that Heartbeat Rhythm really got incredibly lucky!