Chinese Entertainment King: Starting as a Fat Boy and Becoming a Singing King

Xu Yao politely said, "Sister Na, this is my family matter, so I can't disclose it. I'm sorry. Besides, performing on the Spring Festival Gala is every singer's dream."

Na-young suddenly remembered Xu Yao's words on the Voice of China champion stage: "Sister, don't break your promise."

Could this person be related to his sister?

However, since the other party wouldn't say, Nayoung decided not to ask.

Nayoung stacked the lyric sheet and the handwritten proposal together and put them in her bag.

"Xiao Yao, I'll think about it."

"Thank you, Sister Na."

Nayoung walked to the door, and before opening it, she glanced back at him.

When will your number-one single be released?

"It'll be done soon. The company said the later stages are finished."

"Okay." Nayoung nodded. "Let me know when you post it, and I'll share it on Weibo for you."

The door opened, and light from the hallway flooded in.

Na-young walked out, and the door closed behind her.

Xu Yao was left alone in the tea room, with only two cups of cold tea.

Xu Yao sat down and took his first sip of herbal tea since entering the room.

Don't worry about the future, just do your best.

Now, we can only wait for news from Nayoung.

Xu Yao took out his phone and saw a WeChat message from Zhou Shen: "Brother Yao, when are you coming back? The venue for tonight's performance is a street food stall, and the organizers are treating us to barbecue after the rap performance!!!"

This was followed by a string of drooling emojis.

Xu Yao typed two words: Immediately.

A few days later, Xu Yao's debut single, "Loneliness Is Not Good," was released simultaneously on major music platforms.

The company provided limited promotional resources; there was no homepage recommendation on music platforms, no banner placement, but they did purchase media press releases on Weibo.

The official Weibo account of The Voice of China also posted a pinned promotional message.

Xu Yao still has the audience base he built up on The Voice of China.

The tear in the finals, the moment he tore open his shirt to reveal his muscles, are still etched in many people's memories.

On the first day after the song was released, the tone of the comments section gradually changed.

It started as a routine check-in for a small number of fans.

"Xu Yao's debut single! It's here!"

"I've been following him since The Voice of China, and Yao Ge has finally released a song!"

But by that evening, the comments began to shift in favor of the song itself.

"I'm sorry I'm not a bad boy, I'm sorry I don't know how to coax girls, I'm sorry I don't have a sports car or a mansion..." Xu Yao is singing about an ordinary boy's inferiority complex in love.

"Desperately trying to gain attention, all for love, hoping to one day show off our affection—this lyric is so true. Liking posts from someone you like on social media, carefully crafting messages before sending them, setting every post to be visible only to them. Turns out, we're all the same."

"I'm not a bad boy, I just don't know how to comfort girls. It's not that I don't want to, it's that I really don't know how. Every time we argue, I'm at a loss for words. When she gets angry, all I can say is 'Don't be angry,' and then she gets even angrier."

"I don't have sports cars or mansions, but I've given you everything I could. I brought you an umbrella on rainy days, late-night snacks when you worked overtime, and a handwritten letter on your birthday. These things aren't worth much, but they're all I have."

"When Xu Yao wrote this song, was he still thinking about his ex who binge-ate after their breakup?"

Someone extracted the line "I'm just a fool who loves you" from the lyrics and added a crying face.

This comment was pushed to the top and received over a thousand likes.

Some people even dug up photos of Xu Yao during the blind auditions for The Voice of China.

Weighing over 250 pounds, standing under the spotlight, he sang a song with the cover images of "I'm Ugly But I'm Gentle" and "Loneliness Is Not Good" put together, and posted a Weibo post: "From 'I'm Ugly But I'm Gentle' to 'I'm Just a Fool Who Loves You,' Xu Yao has always been singing the same story."

This Weibo post was shared thousands of times, and the comment section was full of people breaking down in tears.

On the third day, a new topic emerged in the comments section.

"Have you noticed that Xu Yao's love songs are never about 'how great I am' or 'how amazing I am'? They are always about 'I am not good enough, but I have tried my best'?"

"Because this is what most people's love is like. It's not about a domineering CEO or a prince charming; it's about an ordinary person clumsily liking another ordinary person."

Someone wrote a long comment: "My girlfriend and I have been in a long-distance relationship for three years. She's in Beijing, and I'm in Guangzhou. Every time we meet, it takes a long time to save up money, and every time we part, I cry like a baby at the airport. My friends ask me why I don't find someone closer, and I say, because it's her, because I met her. Xu Yao's song made me realize that there are so many people like me, clumsily persisting in liking someone."

"So this song is called 'Loneliness Is Not Good,' not 'Loneliness.' Because loneliness isn't felt when you're alone, but after we've separated."

Within a week of its release, the song had over a thousand comments.

There were no fans controlling the comments, after all, there weren't many die-hard fans.

There were no marketing accounts stirring up trouble; almost all of them were genuine listener comments.

Many people say they "listened to the song on repeat all day" and "felt a lump in their throat every time they heard the chorus."

Some people call this song a "backup love song," but many more say it's "not about being a backup, but about the innocence and romance of everyone who believes in love."

Xu Yao scrolled through the comments section, reading them one by one.

It didn't trend on social media or become a viral sensation.

But it's enough that a song can make strangers willing to tell their stories.

It takes time for the market to develop its effects.

On the third day after the single's release, Nayoung kept her word and shared Xu Yao's single "Loneliness Is Not Good" music video.

The number of comments on the Weibo post started to jump after it was retweeted.

First it was a few hundred, then a thousand. I watched as the number of reposts jumped from three thousand to five thousand, and the comments section poured out like a floodgate had been opened.

"Sister Na reposted it at 2 AM?? That shows she really likes it."

"Nayoung rarely works in the early hours of the morning, this song must be really good for her to stay up all night."

"After listening to that, that line, 'When can we go on a date and hold hands? I want to spend Valentine's Day with you. Why did you say you had to leave?' completely broke me. Is this Fatty Xu's emotional journey after being dumped?"

"Isn't Xu Yao from Yang Kun's team? Why did Na Ying retweet it first?"

This last comment was pushed to the top and received over two thousand likes.

Someone replied below: "Sister Na: Yang Kun's student? Now he's mine."

Someone else chimed in: "Yang Kun: ??? These are my lyrics."

By 10 a.m., QQ Music had also started responding.

Assistant Xiao Zhao sent over the screenshot, and Xu Yao opened it and glanced at it.

"Loneliness is not good" entered the top 100 of the new song chart, ranking 87th.

Eighty-seventh place isn't high, but for a newcomer without homepage recommendations, banner placements, or any platform resources, making it into the top 100 already indicates that the song has gained popularity.

Xiao Zhao sent another message: "Brother Yao, it's also in the popularity index chart, at ninety-three."

The popularity index chart looks at the week-on-week growth rate of play counts. In other words, the play count of this song is increasing, and it is increasing faster than most songs.

Xu Yao typed two words: Received.

Then I put my phone next to my pillow, closed my eyes, and prepared to sleep.

It's not that I'm unhappy, it's just that I'm so damn sleepy.

He has been on tour for four consecutive days, and there is another show tomorrow. The company really treats its trainees like donkeys, making them pull the millstone all the time.

Yang Kun's Weibo post was shared a full ten hours later than Nayoung's, but it received much more attention and support.

The caption read: "Look closely, this is my student, the annual champion of The Voice of China, @XuYao. From the moment he sang 'I'm Ugly But I'm Gentle' in the blind auditions, I knew this kid could make it. His debut single, 'Loneliness Is Not Good,' is entirely original, with lyrics and music written by himself. I listened to it three times, and every time I felt, 'This song is about me when I was young!' Everyone should listen to it! You'll regret it if you don't!"

He was followed by three thumbs-up emojis, three cheering emojis, and his signature hashtag "32 concerts".

The comment section exploded.

"Hahahaha, Yang Kun is getting anxious! Na Ying stole his job!"

Yang Kun: This is my student!!! (Very loudly)

"Naying transferred at 2 a.m., and Yang Kun transferred at 1 p.m., which is 11 hours late. We're in a panic."

"Kun-ge: Na-young, why didn't you tell me before you shared my student's song?"

"A live reenactment of 'The Voice of China' mentors vying for contestants. They're grabbing people during blind auditions and even when they release songs."

Xu Yao: My mentor was Yang Kun. Na Ying: Not anymore.

"When Sister Na reposted it, she didn't even mention the name 'Yang Kun,' but Brother Kun's first sentence was 'This is my student.' It's hilarious."

Someone below chimed in: "Yang Kun called overnight: Sister Na, you're being unfair."

Someone else chimed in: "Nayoung: What do you mean 'yours' and 'mine'? Aren't they all from 'The Voice'?"

Xu Yao couldn't help but smile as he looked at the comments; these netizens were truly talented.

This is a good thing. It's not the kind of paid online commentary that's supposed to sound good; it's genuinely playing with memes and spreading them spontaneously.

The joke about Na Ying and Yang Kun vying for contestants on the show "The Voice" was seamlessly adapted into a Weibo repost, and they even created a complete storyline for it.

Na-young struck first, and Yang Kun, realizing what was happening too late, panicked and tried to make amends overnight.

This kind of meme is more effective than any marketing campaign; its spread is a stroke of genius.

(P.S.: Some readers have said that there's too much backlog and the progress is slow. During the new book period, I can't update too many words to get past this stage. I'm mainly listening to advice and thanking everyone for their suggestions. The MV is now online, and Fatty Xu has started his counterattack and contract termination strategy.)