Just because I wrote "Zhu Xian," the school beauty sent me razor blades.

Time flies, and it's already mid-August.

Tianxing and Xingtu released new songs almost simultaneously, and you could practically smell the tension through the screen—basically, it was like two neighborhood aunties fighting for territory in the square, except the aunties were fighting for the sound system, while the two companies were fighting for the charts.

August 15th.

Tianxing Entertainment's official Weibo account updated on time: [Xu Nian's new single "Summer Wind" is now available on major music platforms. Click to listen →]

Less than two minutes later, Starway Entertainment also followed up with a post: [He Ying's new single "Midsummer" is released simultaneously, with lyrics and music by Chu Nan, the strongest voice in August →].

The comments section instantly turned into a battlefield.

Tianxing fans: "It's here! Xu Nian's new song!"

A fan of the show commented: "He Ying + Chu Nan, what's the point of playing against each other? Just give them an award already!"

Passerby: "Are the two families fighting? Grab a stool."

The data for the first week came out quickly.

He Ying is, after all, a top female singer that Starway has been promoting in recent years. The lingering popularity of her song "Dark Surge" from last year still exists, and she has a solid fan base. Coupled with Chu Nan's reputation and Starway's 8 million yuan promotional budget, "Midsummer" made a strong impact as soon as it was released, with more than 20 million views in three days.

In less than a week, "Midsummer" broke into the top ten of the Nebula Chart.

The performance of "Midsummer" is indeed remarkable.

There was jubilation within Starway Entertainment.

Wu Liang sat in his office, which was decorated like that of a nouveau riche, with his legs crossed and his beer belly sticking out. He looked at the data on his phone screen and laughed so hard that his face was all over the place.

"I told you! He Ying's popularity, Chu Nan's lyrics and music, and eight million in promotional spending—that's the competition! What's the point of even trying? It's a sure win!"

He picked up his phone and dialed Chu Nan's number.

"Teacher Chu! Great news! 'Midsummer' has broken into the top ten of the Nebula Chart! At this rate, the number one spot on the Nebula Chart is a sure thing!"

On the other end of the phone, Chu Nan's voice carried a hint of reserved smugness: "As expected. He Ying's singing skills and popularity are undeniable, and this song was tailor-made for her."

Wu Liang quickly chimed in, "Of course! When has a song by you, Teacher Chu, ever disappointed anyone?"

Chu Nan paused, a hint of disdain in his voice: "By the way, I checked the data for Xu Nian's 'Summer Wind' from Tianxing."

"Heh." He chuckled softly, "He didn't even make it into the top thirty of the Nebula Ranking."

Upon hearing this, Wu Liang laughed even harder: "I knew it! What's the point of Xu Nian, a second-tier singer, singing? Trying to climb the charts? She probably thinks the Star Cloud Chart is some kind of neighborhood choir competition."

On the other end of the phone, Chu Nan's voice carried a confident arrogance: "Don't worry, Xingtu will definitely take first place in the August Star Cloud Rankings."

Wu Liang's face contorted into a smug smile as he quickly chimed in, "Teacher Chu is right! Then a Golden Melody Award nomination will be a piece of cake!"

Chu Nan gave a faint "hmm" and hung up the phone.

the other side.

Xu Nian stared at the data on her phone screen, her face somewhat pale.

"Summer Breeze" has garnered 1.8 million views in just one week since its release.

This number is quite good for a regular single.

But when placed on the charts, next to Star Journey's "Midsummer" with its 20 million plays... it looks particularly shabby.

She bit her lip, her fingers unconsciously refreshing the backend data three times, but the numbers didn't budge.

"Am I not good enough...?" she murmured softly, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

Her slightly red eyes were reflected on the phone screen.

She knew how much hope Lin Yuan had for this song, and she also knew how much Fei Zhao had fought for promotional resources within the company.

But the data is there, cold and unyielding, it doesn't lie.

Xu Nian gripped her phone tightly, her fingertips turning white.

She wanted to send Lin Yuan a message, but after typing a few words, she deleted it.

In the end, she didn't send anything, but just placed her phone face down on the table and stared out the window for a while.

at the same time.

Lin Yuan sat at his desk at home, with a notebook spread out on the table and a glass of cold plum juice next to him.

He had just finished updating two new chapters of "Zhu Xian" and was leaning back in his chair, looking at the Nebula Ranking data on his phone.

"Summer Breeze" did not make the top 30.

"What's the rush?"

Lin Yuan muttered to himself, his tone devoid of any anxiety, but rather carrying a strange calmness—like an old gambler who sees an unfavorable hand but knows he hasn't revealed his cards yet.

He knew it all too well.

The path to the explosive popularity of "Summer Wind" in its previous life was never through spending money on promotion.

The real killer feature of this song is not the arrangement, nor the singing skills.

It's a scene.

It's the atmosphere.

It was an evening when you were walking along the riverbank, and this song happened to play in your headphones. The whole world went silent, and there was only the wind and you.

This kind of song initially relies on word-of-mouth to spread, and later on short videos to spread its reach.

Its breakthrough point is not how much online promotion budget there is, but whether people are willing to incorporate it into their daily lives.

"Midsummer" is a standard chart-topping song—well-produced, with solid vocals, a rich arrangement, and effective promotion. It would be a strong contender in any given month.

However, the fatal flaw of "Midsummer" is that it is too "standard".

It's so good that after listening to it, you won't remember any of the melodies.

It's like a fine Manchu-Han Imperial Feast; after you finish eating it, you can't quite put your finger on what's wrong with it, but you also can't quite put your finger on what's good about it. You won't suddenly start humming it while taking a walk, nor will you suddenly think of it while at the beach.

But "Summer Wind" is different.

The melody of this song is extremely simple, but simple things are the easiest to stick in your head. After listening to it once, you might find yourself humming it unconsciously while taking a shower.

Lin Yuan closed his eyes, and images from his past life on short video platforms flashed through his mind like a slideshow—

The sun sets over the beach, and the girl's skirt is blown up by the wind.

The evening breeze by the river, silhouettes of couples strolling side by side.

In the evening, a boy sat by the track on the playground, listening to a soft melody through his headphones.

At dusk on the rooftop, a friend was taking time-lapse photos with his phone, and the background music happened to be this song.

Every scene is the most natural GG (Goblin) for this song.

In this world, short video platforms have begun to rise, Douyin's user base is growing rapidly, and the UGC content ecosystem is booming.

Everything is ready.

All he needs to do is give it a gentle push.

Lin Yuan opened his eyes, picked up his phone, and opened the backend of Red Eggplant Literature Network.

Author ID: Akina Mountain Old Fool.

Number of followers: 127 million.

This number continues to grow. Since its serialization, "Zhu Xian" has become a super hit in the Xianxia section of Hongqiezi Literature Network, leading the way in terms of the number of readers, the amount of rewards, and the popularity of the topic.

The daily popularity of the comments section is higher than the entire site of some smaller platforms combined.

These 127 million fans are all die-hard fans who have been tormented, cursed, and cried by "Zhu Xian", but who still come back to watch the next day to catch up on the latest episodes.

Lin Yuan's lips curled up slightly.

He edited a post in the author's comments section—

July has passed, but the summer breeze has just arrived.