The night before the college entrance exam results were released, I redeemed my Peking University ad

"No, I didn't! Don't talk nonsense!"

"Hey, what's there to be shy about with your father? I recognized you right away!"

Li Kui's voice was resolute, carrying a confidence that said, "I would recognize you even if you were ashes."

"No, Kui Zi, listen to me..."

"What are you saying? I didn't expect you to sing so well!"

"Uh... singing?" Ji Bai opened his mouth, but the rest of the sentence got stuck in his throat.

"Yeah! They sang on our school's main stage, that was fucking extravagant!"

Ji Bai: "Hmm...you mean this?"

"What else? What do you think it is?" Li Kui said loudly.

"By the way, I saw some comments saying 'top scholar' and 'great emperor,' what's going on?"

Ji Bai slowly exhaled, instantly switching from a state of readiness to standby mode, his voice calm and completely different from before:

"you do not know?"

"Know what?"

"Goldbach's Conjecture has been proven, didn't you know?"

"I think I've seen this before, what's wrong?"

"Didn't you look closely at that person's name?"

"Let him yell whatever he wants, what the hell is it to me?"

Ji Bai: "I feel like you know something, you idiot!"

"Alright, stop talking nonsense and go check out Douyin (TikTok), you're really in trouble!"

"I hung up, I'm off to chat with the guys in the back row!"

Life, it boils down to two words: be water, my friend!

……

After hanging up the phone, Ji Bai casually opened Douyin (TikTok).

The first thing you see is a video of him sitting on the stage that day, playing the guitar and singing "The You of the Past".

The image quality is so blurry, it looks like a photo taken with a Nokia phone ten years ago.

But that's how TikTok works; often, the blurrier the video quality, the higher the popularity.

This video, which has been shared countless times, has received hundreds of thousands of likes.

The comments section was even more lively:

"Holy crap! The Emperor has this trick up his sleeve?"

"Oh no, oh no! He's good at studying and can sing too! How am I supposed to compete with the Emperor for girls?!"

"Don't cry upstairs! The Emperor is busy filming videos in the sea right now!"

"Stop messing around upstairs, that's obviously fake!"

"That guy wearing the hood is obviously an adult; high school students don't last that long!"

High school student: I feel offended!

"Can I borrow one to talk?"

……

After reading the comments, Ji Bai suddenly wondered if he had misunderstood something.

No normal person would actually believe they've gone to make adult films.

"So, that's why the shock level skyrocketed?"

Ji Bai exclaimed how close it had come to disaster.

Luckily, my best friend called me.

Otherwise... cough cough,

However, as I said before, the shock comes not from "how amazing" it is, but from "how revolutionary" it is!

This line of thinking is correct!

Moreover, if he really goes into the sea...

The system might just be upgraded the very next day!

Hold on, hold on!

We must broaden our horizons and not stray from the right path!

Ji Bai took a few deep breaths and deleted a certain indescribable thought.

Just then, the phone rang again.

It was an unfamiliar number calling.

"Hello, is this Ji Bai?"

A capable yet sweet mature woman's voice came through the receiver, displaying just the right amount of enthusiasm.

"Yes, I am. And you are?"

"Hello Ji Bai, I'm Wang Nan, an agent from Xingyao Entertainment. I heard your original song performed on campus online, and it was truly amazing!"

"May I ask what the name of this song is?"

"That would be very presumptuous!"

"..."

"Haha, just kidding, this song is called 'The You of the Past'!"

"The Name 'Once Upon a Time'? What a wonderful title! Ji Bai is truly a promising young man!"

"Not only are you academically gifted, but your creative talent is also outstanding! I've been a manager for over ten years and have seen countless campus singers, but none of them have your kind of talent. If this song is properly packaged, it will definitely be a hit!"

"Just say what's on your mind," Ji Bai interrupted, not wanting to listen to formalities.

"Student Ji is indeed straightforward. Then I'll get straight to the point."

Wang Nan's tone became serious: "Our company wants to acquire the full copyright of this song for 100,000 yuan, a one-time buyout."

"This price is already the highest level of sincerity for amateur original works. Many songwriters in the industry who have been writing lyrics and music for several years cannot get this amount."

Ji Bai: "...Haven't you ever seen money before?"

Wang Nan paused, seemingly surprised by the reaction of a high school student, then quickly smiled and raised the price again:

"Two hundred thousand! Two hundred thousand to buy out the deal, that's truly the highest level of sincerity we can offer."

"Haven't I ever seen money before?"

"..."

After these words were spoken, there was a complete silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds.

When Wang Nan spoke again, her tone had lost its previous warmth and was now tinged with a sense of superiority.

"Student Ji, it seems you don't recognize me. Let me reintroduce myself. I am Shen Yizhen's personal agent."

"Yi-Zhen listened to this song and really liked it. He wants to include it as the title track on his next album, so you can name your price: 500,000 for the entire copyright. How about it?"

Shen Yizhen is a top-tier male celebrity with tens of millions of fans.

Wang Nan's words revealed obvious pride, as if having her artist take notice of this song was an immense favor.

Ji Bai raised an eyebrow, showing no reaction: "Not interested."

Wang Nan was completely stunned.

She even brought up Shen Yizhen's name and offered a high price of 500,000, but this young man was completely unmoved.

The previous politeness and courtesy vanished instantly; her voice turned cold, carrying a condescending, lecturing tone:

"Ji Bai, I advise you to think carefully before answering. Whether a song can become popular or not is never just because it sounds good."

"Publicity resources, platform recommendations, chart ranking voting, and variety show exposure—which of these doesn't require real money to be invested?"

"It's good for young people to be proud, but don't take yourself too seriously. There are plenty of talented people in the industry, but without resources and connections, most of them will end up being buried."

"If you keep this song to yourself, it'll only circulate within your school at most. Once it leaves the school gates, who will know who you are?"

"Yizhen is a top star. As soon as he opens his mouth, the song can spread all over the country overnight. As the original author, your fame will also rise accordingly."

"Countless original songwriters in the industry are desperate to have Yizhen sing their songs, but they don't even have the chance. It's an honor for this song, and an honor for you, to be chosen by Yizhen!"

She got more and more carried away as she spoke, adopting an attitude of "I'm doing this for your own good," as if Ji Bai would be ungrateful if he didn't agree.

As Ji Bai listened, he smiled.

pleasure?

He doesn't even respect tenured professors at MIT, so how can a popular young idol singing his songs be considered an honor?

"Thank you, but I don't need that honor!"

Wang Nan: "..."

In her fifteen years in the industry, she had seen arrogant people, but never anyone this arrogant.

The woman laughed coldly, her anger turning into a mocking laugh. She retorted, "Young man, don't be so arrogant! Today you ignore Yizhen, tomorrow…"

Snapped!

Ji Bai hung up the phone immediately.

……

In the dressing room backstage at a concert, Wang Nan stared at her phone, which had just been hung up on, her face alternating between pale and flushed, her teeth grinding together.

"It's like a rock in a toilet, smelly and hard! It's shameless."

In front of the makeup mirror, Shen Yizhen was having her eyeliner applied by the makeup artist with her eyes closed, her tone nonchalant: "If you don't agree, that's fine, it's no big deal."

"Yizhen, you don't particularly like this song, so why did you save it as a surprise song for tonight's concert? If it's not copyrighted..." Wang Nan frowned.

Shen Yizhen opened her eyes, glanced at her in the mirror, and a nonchalant smile curved her lips:

"Just because it's not copyrighted doesn't mean I can't sing it? At worst, I'll just pay him a copyright infringement fee at market price afterward."

"Consider it a reward from me."