He was in college, but his songs were at the Grammys.

Thursday morning, editorial department of Qianjie Bookstore.

Xiaoqing yawned as she pushed open the office door and immediately saw Xie Ming, the deputy editor-in-chief, sitting on the sofa in the common rest area.

Xie Ming's usually meticulous hair looked a bit fluffy today, with two obvious dark circles under his eyes. He was holding a cup of strong coffee and taking small sips, but his eyes were a bit blank, as if he was recalling something.

"Good morning, Editor-in-Chief..." Xiaoqing walked over, but seeing Xie Ming's expression, the rest of her greeting caught in her throat. "What's with those dark circles under your eyes?"

Xie Ming slowly raised his head, his gaze focusing on Xiao Qing's face, and then spoke in a hoarse and resentful tone: "I was reading 'Battle Through the Heavens'."

Xiaoqing: "Huh?"

"Is there any follow-up?" Xie Ming asked directly, his eyes filled with the deep resentment of a reader who stayed up all night towards a "chapter-breaking" author, as well as an equally deep expectation. "That 'Suiyi' only submitted 50,000 words?"

Xiaoqing scratched her head: "Yes, I submitted the first 50,000 words. It was clearly stated in the document. I sent him the manuscript notification last night and also added his contact information. He accepted it, but I haven't had a chance to ask about the follow-up yet..."

"Ask now!" Xie Ming put down his coffee cup, his tone decisive. "Immediately! Right now! Ask him if he has any drafts in reserve, and publish as many as he has! We can discuss the contract terms, as long as the quality remains consistent, don't worry about recommendations!"

Xiaoqing was taken aback by the deputy editor-in-chief's unusually urgent attitude and quickly replied, "Okay, I'll go right away!"

He practically jogged back to his workstation, turned on his computer, and logged into his work QQ account.

Sure enough, the author's profile picture, whose nickname was "Suiyi," was already lit up, and the friend request had been accepted.

Xiaoqing took a deep breath, calmed herself down from the excitement she had caught from the deputy editor-in-chief, and started typing:

"Hello, Mr. Suiyi! I'm Xiaoqing, an editor at Qianjie Bookstore. The first 50,000 words of your novel 'Battle Through the Heavens' have been reviewed and approved. The work is excellent! We hope to sign a contract with you as soon as possible. Also, may I ask if you have any more drafts in reserve? Our editor-in-chief and I are very much looking forward to the upcoming chapters! [Starry eyes]"

After sending the message, Xiaoqing stared nervously at the screen.

Xie Ming, who was sitting not far away, also carried a coffee cup and strolled over seemingly casually, but his eyes kept glancing at Xiao Qing's monitor.

A few minutes later, "Suiyi's" profile picture flickered.

The reply was very simple, consisting of only three words:

"Not written yet."

Xiaoqing: "..."

Xie Ming leaned closer to the screen for a glance and then fell silent.

The two looked at each other and saw a great sense of loss in each other's eyes.

Sure enough, how could a work of this quality possibly have a large number of drafts?

The two of them sighed deeply in unison.

"Sigh~"

The synchronized sighs were particularly clear in the quiet editorial office in the early morning, attracting the curious glances of several editors who had arrived early.

"Xiaoqing, Mr. Xie, why are you sighing so early in the morning? Did you run into a difficult author?" a bespectacled female editor asked with a smile.

Neither Xiaoqing nor Xie Ming answered immediately; their faces showed a regretful melancholy.

Du Dong, the senior editor next to her, also arrived. Hearing the commotion, he glanced at Xiao Qing's screen and saw the words "Not written yet" on the chat window. He then thought of the "fighting spirit" from yesterday.

He couldn't help but smirk, but this time he didn't say anything. He just sat down, turned on his computer, and muttered to himself: See? A new author, no drafts, unstable, won't amount to anything.

"It's not that difficult." Xiaoqing waved her hand weakly, thought for a moment, and decided to drag more people "into the water".

We shouldn't make him and Editor-in-Chief Xie feel bad.

He opened the editorial department's internal group chat and sent the first 50,000 words of "Battle Through the Heavens" to the group, with the note: "Dear teachers, please take a look at this manuscript when you have time and give me some feedback. The author's pen name is 'Suiyi'."

Seeing this, Xie Ming silently returned to his office and forwarded the document to a higher-level management group that included the chief editors of each group. He only sent the document and did not add any comments.

At first, there was no reaction in the group; everyone was probably busy with their work or reviewing manuscripts.

But half an hour later, messages began to pop up in the chat window of the internal group.

Female editor: "@Xiaoqing, this 'Battle Through the Heavens' is pretty good! What happened to Xiao Yan later on? Can the Burning Technique infinitely fuse with different flames?"

The editor-in-chief of the Xianxia (fantasy/martial arts) category commented: "The world-building is novel, the upgrade system is clear, and the author has a strong ability to evoke emotions. Is the author a newcomer? The writing is quite good. What's next?"

History editor-in-chief: "Although it's not our type of article, I've read five chapters. 'Don't underestimate a young person'—that's a good line. Any others?"

Urban Fan Group Editor: "Holy crap, I'm totally engrossed! This ending is so awful! Xiao Qing, hurry up and get the manuscript done!!!"

Similar inquiries and requests for updates appeared more and more frequently in several groups, with the tone gradually changing from initial curiosity to urgency.

Du Dong looked at the constantly popping group messages on his computer, his expression turning somewhat grim.

He opened the document and patiently skimmed through it quickly.

Admittedly, this story is quite captivating, and the premise is novel.

But his preconceived notion that it "doesn't conform to the market" still lingered in his mind.

"The premise is fresh," he typed in the internal group, trying to be as objective as possible, "but whether it can be accepted by mainstream martial arts readers remains to be seen. The market still values ​​solid martial arts stories."

An editor immediately retorted, "Brother Du, the market needs fresh blood too! This book is really exciting to read!"

"Exactly! The concept of 'battle qi' is so interesting; it offers so much more room for exploration than simply describing internal energy!"

"I can already imagine Xiao Yan fighting using fighting techniques; it'll definitely be incredibly cool!"

Du Dong didn't say anything more, he just pursed his lips and closed the group chat window.

He felt a little uneasy, but also vaguely uneasy.

Could it be that I really misjudged him?

Ultimately, with Xiaoqing's active communication, Chen Ming (at random) successfully signed an electronic contract with Qianjie Bookstore.

The signing process went exceptionally smoothly. Teacher "Suiyi" had almost no objections to the contract terms, only asking about the remuneration standards and subsequent recommendation matters. He then readily signed the contract and, following Xiaoqing's advice, submitted "Battle Through the Heavens" to the "King of Immortals" writing contest being held on the website.

Although this book is neither a traditional martial arts novel nor a mainstream fantasy novel, its power system that transcends martial arts and its grand worldview make it reasonable to temporarily categorize it as a "fantasy novel".

With everything settled, Xiaoqing and Chen Ming, who was hiding in the school dormitory on the other side of the screen, both breathed a sigh of relief.

One felt like he had struck gold, while the other felt it was time to go to class.

Friday, May 1st.

For the Chinese music scene, this is one of the most exciting days of the month.

The day when the monthly newcomer charts of major music platforms are updated.

Countless record companies are gearing up to launch their carefully prepared new artists and their latest works to the market, attempting to compete for limited exposure and audiences in this war without gunpowder.

Just after midnight, the newcomer rankings on major platforms such as Cool Music, Cloud Music, and Whale Music began to be updated rapidly.

The rankings change every minute, and the number of plays, comments, and favorites for each song climbs like a race.

At the forefront, unsurprisingly, are works from three of the four top entertainment companies.

"Phantom Day" by Tingxian Entertainment, "Flying Against the Light" by Mohai Records, and "Summer Night Breeze" by Xingji Entertainment.

These three songs started their pre-release promotion half a month in advance. The singers themselves were already somewhat famous or had a lot of buzz. The promotional resources were poured in fiercely, and they immediately occupied the top three positions with a significant lead in data.

The fourth to tenth places are mostly occupied by other newcomers' works from these three companies and their affiliated labels. Occasionally, one or two songs from other medium-sized companies squeeze into the top ten, but their positions are not stable.

The song ranked eleventh on the list is titled "Big City, Small Love," and the artist is Chen Ming. The record company is Brilliant Galaxy.

This ranking is not surprising to most people who follow the lists.

Although Starry Sky is also one of the four top entertainment companies.

However, while many new talents have emerged in recent years, top-tier talents are scarce, and the team has not broken into the top ten for several consecutive months.

Although the new song "Big City, Small Love" became a minor hit a few days ago because of a campus video, the official promotion started too late. The recording was only completed on the 28th, so the promotion period was only a little over two days.

Other competitors, on the other hand, had at least one to two weeks of advance preparation.

"against my will" (sung by new female singer Su Qing), composed by Xiao Zhang from the composition department, ranked fifteenth, which is considered average.

It seems that the dazzling starry sky of May will once again be a runner-up.

However, the atmosphere in Song He's office, the general manager of Brilliant Galaxy, was not so tense.

Song He leaned back in the large boss's chair, the computer screen in front of him displaying real-time data from Cool Music's newcomer chart.

He looked at "Big City, Small Love," which was ranked eleventh, and even had a faint smile on his lips.

The company's internal WeChat group, called "Industry Trends," was buzzing with activity.

The group is mostly made up of executives, agents or senior producers from major entertainment companies.

[Tingxian Entertainment - General Manager Zhao]: "@Mohai - General Manager Wang @Xingji - General Manager Sun, it's the three of us again this May. Looks like the situation isn't going to change anytime soon. [Smile]"

[Wang, General Manager of MoHai Records]: "General Manager Zhao is too modest. The sales figures for your album 'Phantom Day' are absolutely phenomenal. [Clenches fist in greeting]"

[StarTraces Entertainment - General Manager Sun]: "General Manager Wang's 'Flying Against the Light' is not bad either. We're just here to accompany him and learn from him. [Grinning face]"

[Other Company A]: "Please, three bosses, have mercy and give us a piece of the pie!"

[Other Company B]: "Exactly, the newcomer rankings are getting more and more competitive."

As we chatted, the topic somehow shifted to the rather quiet starry sky that day.

[Tingxian Entertainment - General Manager Zhao]: "@Brilliant Galaxy - General Manager Song, why are you so quiet today, General Manager Song? Your song 'Big City, Small Love' is doing pretty well in the rankings, it has a good chance of breaking into the top ten. [Smirking]"

[Mr. Wang of Mohai Records]: "Mr. Song has a large and powerful family business, he probably wouldn't care about this small list. [doge emoji]"

[StarTraces Entertainment - CEO Sun]: "CEO Song, are you planning something big again? Give us a hint!"

The group chat was immediately filled with agreement and teasing, with the words carrying a subtle hint of the industry leader's disdain for its former competitor's current slight decline.

Song He looked at the messages flashing on the screen, his smile unchanged. He picked up his phone and calmly typed a reply:

"@Everyone, bosses, please stop making fun of me. I have no choice. The company is currently facing a talent shortage, and I'd like to find some good prospects, but unfortunately, I'm unlucky and can't compare to you guys. [Sigh]"

After the message was sent out, the group chat was filled with replies like "President Song is being modest" and "Your luck is really that bad?", making the atmosphere seem even more "harmonious".

Song He put down his phone, his smile deepening, a sly glint in his eyes.

He was well aware, of course, that the pre-release publicity resources for "Big City, Small Love" were indeed inferior to those of the other companies, which was an objective fact.

But the core of the "seed route" has never been the initial onslaught.

The first day is all about warming up and initial traffic.

Starting the next day, the competition came down to the song's reputation and the spontaneous spread of the word by listeners.

It's time for the Brilliant Galaxy publicity department to step up their efforts!

He has absolute confidence in the quality of "Big City, Small Love".

That kid named Chen Ming, the talent and completeness of that song, and his impeccably clean singing skills.

Song He could almost see how, after the first group of listeners attracted by the promotion finished listening to the song, the spontaneous positive reviews, sharing, and repeated listening would snowball, pushing the song's ranking to climb quietly and steadily upward.

He looked at the list again.

"Big City, Small Love" fluctuated slightly between eleventh and tenth place, but the number of real-time comments following the song was growing at a faster rate than other top ten songs.

Although the base is small, the momentum is good.

Almost at the same time that Song He sent that message of weakness, in the general manager's office of Tingxian Entertainment.

Mr. Zhao frowned slightly as he looked at Song He's reply in the group chat.

He knew Song He too well. This old rival was never one to back down easily, much less to so "truly" expose his "predicament" in public.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

He immediately opened Cool Music, found "Big City, Small Love" ranked eleventh, and clicked play.

The clean guitar intro flows out, followed by a warm and clear male voice...

A few minutes later, the song finished playing.

Mr. Zhao didn't speak, but his fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, his expression becoming more serious than before.

He then opened the comment section of the song.

The latest comments are still being updated:

"Found it in a campus video! The official version is even better!"

"I've been listening to this song on repeat all morning, I can't get rid of it!"

"The voice is so clean, the song is so sweet, it instantly brightens my mood!"

"I've already recommended it to my roommate, and she loves it too!"

"This is what campus romance should be like! It's so much better than those melodramatic love songs!"

The number of comments is indeed growing much faster than other songs in the same ranking range, and the positive review rate is extremely high.

Mr. Zhao closed the page, leaned back in his chair, and looked deep into his eyes.

It seems that the newcomer rankings for May may not be as uneventful as the three companies had anticipated.

The dazzling starry sky, or rather, that newcomer named Chen Ming, seems to be accumulating a force that should not be underestimated.

A true dark horse!

Outside the window, the May sun shines brightly.

The undercurrents in the world of music began to quietly stir.

Meanwhile, on the phones of countless ordinary listeners, a song called "Big City, Small Love" is being added to playlists, set to repeat, and shared with friends...

The real contest may have only just begun.