Entertainment: A song that brought his deceased wife back to life.

It's 11 p.m.

Penguin Music headquarters, top-floor office.

Ma Dongteng stared at the security monitoring panel on his computer screen, unaware that his coffee had gone cold.

A set of abnormal data was displayed on the panel.

In the past two weeks, three groups of overseas funds with unclear origins have used different shell companies to acquire the copyrights of Mingyue Qingfeng's early singles that were leaked overseas at a premium in the global digital music copyright trading market.

The purchase price is three to five times higher than the market price.

The methods were sophisticated—each transaction used a different channel and a different currency, and even the settlement cycles were deliberately staggered. If it weren't for Tencent's security department's AI system automatically triggering an anomaly alert, these transactions would never have surfaced.

Ma Dongteng pushed his coffee cup aside and pulled up the traceability report of the fund flow.

The three funds were ultimately transferred into the same offshore trust account.

Account registration location: Cayman Islands.

Beneficiary information: Encrypted.

Ma Dongteng leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers on the table.

Someone is hoarding Xu Qing's copyrights.

Paying three to five times the premium to acquire expired singles is not commercially viable at all; the only purpose of doing this is control.

By controlling the copyright, one can block the song's distribution channels, control adaptation licenses, and even hold performance permits in hand. Once enough is accumulated, one can turn the tables and seize Xu Qing's lifeline at any time.

They laid the groundwork early and kept it well hidden.

Ma Dongteng picked up his phone, intending to send a message to Xu Qing.

I hesitated for two seconds, then put it down.

The chain of evidence is incomplete right now, so telling him won't help. We'll wait until the Ministry of Security has clarified the beneficiaries of the offshore accounts before making any decisions.

Ma Dongteng archived and encrypted the report, then turned off the computer.

I walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the night view of Beijing.

"Who's watching you, kid?"

-

three days later.

Penguin Music's Class A recording studio.

Xu Qing sat behind the mixing console, headphones hanging around her neck, with a mixing interface for a new song on the screen in front of her.

Saying Goodbye

The recording took only one afternoon.

Xu Qing exported the final compressed version, copied it to a USB drive, and stuffed it into his pocket.

When I walked out of the recording studio, the sound engineers inside were still standing there, stunned.

"This song..." the recording engineer murmured to the air, without finishing his sentence.

I've been recording for twelve years and I've seen all kinds of songs.

But when that song finished playing in the headphones, the recording engineer found that the back of his hands was covered in goosebumps.

-

It was exactly 8 p.m. that evening.

"Said Goodbye" was released simultaneously on all Tencent Music platforms.

Zero publicity. Zero pre-launch promotion.

The official account of Mingyue Qingfeng only posted one update, consisting of four characters and a period.

"Said goodbye."

There wasn't even a cover image, just a plain black background.

But once those four words were put there, the entire Chinese music industry couldn't sit still.

The song's play count started to climb the moment it went live on the page.

When the prelude begins, the piano's single notes burst forth one by one, creating a spacious and cold atmosphere.

The cello's long notes came in from below, muffled and heavy.

The lines of the violin section gently intertwine with the piano melody.

Before the intro was even over, the comment section was already flooded with messages.

[The moment the intro starts, tears are already welling up.]

I knew it was over the moment I heard the first note on the piano; I wouldn't be sleeping tonight.

Voices came in.

"It's getting cold, it's raining, and you're gone."

Xu Qing's voice was very low, each word tinged with a restrained hoarseness.

"I understand now, what I loved is lost."

There were no fancy techniques. Just throwing out sentences one by one.

"The fallen leaves are floating on the lake, asleep."

"I want to let go, but I can't; tears are falling."

The piano's arpeggios lay beneath the vocals, so soft they were almost inaudible, leaving only the outline of a harmony. The cello's sustained notes pressed down on the low frequencies, vibrating muffledly.

The tone of the comments section has started to change.

Damn, I couldn't hold back after just the first verse.

Who understands the meaning of "wanting to let go but unable to"? Who understands?

[Isn't it supposed to be six characters?]

[I'm working overtime, this song is playing in my headphones, and it suddenly reminds me of my ex. Damn.]

The chorus is coming.

The string section was layered up, with the violins coming in, the violas coming in, and then all the cellos taking their places.

The bass line began to move, and the light slapping of the hi-hat seeped in from afar.

"Look, can you see it or not?"

"I pretended the past didn't matter, but I found I couldn't do it."

Xu Qing raised her voice slightly above the words "cannot be done," just enough to convey the sense of powerlessness.

Then the chorus came crashing down.

The piano transitions directly from arpeggios to block chords, at maximum volume. The entire string section unfolds simultaneously. A complete drum pattern slams in, with the bass drum and snare drum alternating in rhythm.

"I said goodbye only to realize I'd never see you again."

"I can't just lose your smile like this."

Xu Qing's voice was no longer restrained; all her emotions were released.

The lipstick is sitting on the corner of the table, but neither of us can find it.

"What if the roles were reversed? Would that be a good idea?"

The comment section crashed.

I'm fine, I just got a whole river in my eye.

"The lipstick is lying on the corner of the table, but neither of us can find it"—what has the person who wrote these lyrics experienced?

[I listened to this on the subway, and I cried so much that the old man next to me handed me a tissue. Sir, if you can see this, thank you.]

So what exactly is Mingyue Qingfeng made of? Was his heart soaked in other people's tears?

The second chorus.

"I said goodbye only to realize I'd never see you again."

"Can you just endure the pain without shedding tears?"

"You promised to stay with me until we grow old, but where can I find eternity?"

"Let's hug again, even for just a second."

The strings fade away, leaving only the guitar and piano melodies in the interlude. Then comes the dramatic moment: all the instruments are removed, leaving only the piano.

Xu Qing's voice suddenly became very soft, so soft that it was almost speaking.

"Your smile, your kindness, keeps replaying in my mind."

"My hands, I can never forget the warmth of your hands."

The only sounds in the recording studio were his breathing and the piano.

My heart is shattered, and I can't get back the heartbeat I used to have.

"I'm trapped in the past; I have no way to escape."

Then—the entire piece is in a higher key.

All the instruments came in at the same time.

The strings are at full power, the drums are pounding to their limit, and the piano block chords are at their peak intensity.

Xu Qing's voice rose a full half tone.

"Saying goodbye only to realize we'll never see each other again!"

"Can't you just bear the pain and not shed a tear?!"

"You promised to stay with me until we grow old, but where can I find forever?"

"Let's hug again, even for just a second!"

The last word fell.

The strings recede layer by layer. The drums fall silent. The bass quiets down. The guitar is the last to leave.

In the end, only the piano from the beginning remained, playing the simplest broken chords, fading away note by note.

4 minutes 42 seconds.

The song has ended.

The comment section was completely flooded with comments.

[I've listened to it seven times already as I'm writing this comment, and I cried every single time. I suspect my tear ducts have been taken over by the bright moon and gentle breeze.]

My ex-boyfriend is getting married today, and I'm listening to this song on repeat in my rented apartment for the eighteenth time. I wish him happiness. Or maybe I shouldn't; I hope he goes bald.

Does anyone else, like me, have a face flash through their mind the moment they hear the line "The lipstick is on the corner of the table, but neither of us can find it"? If so, please die right now with me.

[This song should be listed as a controlled item; its impact is too great.]

[I'm a 38-year-old construction worker who listened to this song on the scaffolding and cried for twenty minutes. My coworkers asked me what was wrong, and I said I got sand in my eyes. They said, "You're wearing safety goggles."]

【Bright Moon and Gentle Breeze, are you a devil?! !!!】