I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

"Are you referring to Aihua Company? Their CEO's surname is Lu."

"Let me explain to everyone, the Lu family is @#！￥%..."

……

Hearing their strong reactions, Langlang spoke up:

"Don't panic, there's no need to be so sensitive. The fact that you can contact me now means that the Lu family is no longer a threat."

Xu Xiangxiao asked, "Why?"

"Didn't you see the news?" Langlang said on the other end of the phone. "JX-Langlang's 20-album compilation is about to be released!"

"Really?" Cui Dayou exclaimed in surprise, and everyone quickly looked down to take out their phones.

Jiang Xinhai's phone was broadcasting live, and Xu Xiangxiao's phone was on the phone. The two of them were running around like headless flies, asking everywhere, "Where? Where is the news?"

"Found it!" Qin Yun Chu held up her phone and said, "The neoclassical album 'From Afar to a Closer Place' is about to be released..."

She read aloud from the news on her phone: "The album compilation featuring Zhichi Tianya, Langlang, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, which has caused a sensation in the global music industry, is about to be released. The album will be produced and distributed by the newly established Zhichi Tianya Music Company..."

After reading it aloud, she looked up in shock: "It's really been released."

"So close yet so far, is this... a tacit admission that 'so close' and 'so far' are both his pseudonyms?" He Ling said, slightly shocked.

Jiang Xinhai and Xu Xiangxiao stood there, both deeply moved.

Whether they are close at hand or far away, JX is one of that person's identities. Having stayed in the private music archive for so long, the two of them already knew it.

However, none of them truly mustered the courage to confront this matter, and Chen Ya never publicly expressed his opinion.

Now that the phrase "so close yet so far" has been used together for the first time and has been openly presented in the public eye, they realize that they have been deceived by this person from the very beginning.

And they scammed me terribly.

"Where can I place a reservation? I want to reserve 10 sets," Cui Dayou suddenly broke the silence, asking Langlang, "Can I get them from you in advance?"

Langlang smiled wryly: "I don't have any either, and I reckon I'd have to pay for them myself if I wanted them. It seems like production capacity is really tight."

Their conversation brought Jiang Xinhai and Xu Xiangxiao to a halt, and Qin Yunshang suddenly asked:

"Teacher Langlang, even if these records are released, it has nothing to do with the Lu family you just mentioned, right?"

After she finished speaking, everyone realized that it seemed to be true.

They were all so engrossed in the breaking news that they didn't think carefully about the underlying logic.

Now that I think about it, what logical connection is there between "because the record was released, I can mention the Lu family name at will" and "because of the record release"?

That makes no sense at all.

“Oh, sorry, my question,” Langlang said with a smile, “I forgot to tell you that after JX and I returned to China, before we parted ways, he said something to me.”

"What did you say?" Xu Xiangxiao asked.

"He said that the day our record is released will be the day the Lu family collapses," Langlang said cheerfully. "I believe him, so the Lu family should be collapsing soon now."

Qin Yunchu and Qin Yunshang looked at each other in bewilderment.

This is simply illogical.

Aihua Entertainment has always been the largest entertainment company in China. And the Lu family is the head of this company.

In addition, the Lu family's branches have entered various industries and occupy leading positions in each.

How many employees does Aihua, this behemoth, support? How many artists' livelihoods are tied to it?

The Lu family is not something that can be brought down so easily.

"Let's be cautious," Qin Yunchu said. "Teacher Langlang, could you please tell us what happened when you returned to China, and why your album wasn't officially released until today?"

Langlang took a deep breath and said, "It's really difficult to explain this matter without mentioning the trashy Lu family."

"..."

have to.

Qin Yun Chu had initially thought that she might be able to get away with what had just happened.

Now she realizes that this lousy livestreaming room is doomed to fail sooner or later.

"Simply put, we brought those 20 master tapes back to China, intending to release what could be called great music in China."

"I was full of confidence, thinking that I would have no more obstacles on my way to becoming the greatest pianist. But I didn't expect to run into a wall as soon as I returned to China."

"It was only then that I realized that the distribution of records in China was incredibly troublesome. All the distribution channels were controlled by Aihua Company, and if you wanted to distribute records through Aihua Company, you had to sign a contract with them."

"Their contract was incredibly harsh, almost like a slavish indenture. It stated that once signed, the record's revenue, after deducting distribution fees, would be split 55/50."

“I asked them what exactly the ‘deduction of channel fees’ meant, and their explanation was that they need to spend a lot of money to promote our records through channels, and this is considered their cost.”

"They said that we 'just' create music and can make a lot of money, while they have to work hard to operate and promote it and spend a lot of costs. So it's normal to deduct their necessary operating and promotion costs when splitting the profits."

"Isn't that outrageous?"

Wang Feng rubbed his forehead and said, "That's just how the environment is now. Channels, promotion, and traffic are all in the hands of big companies. It's too difficult for creators to survive."

Langlang became agitated as she spoke: "In their eyes, the inspiration and talent of creators are completely unimportant, not a cost. They're like leeks growing in the ground, ready to be harvested at will. What's wrong with calling such a company a garbage company?"

After he finished speaking, Wang Feng quickly tried to smooth things over: "Teacher Langlang, don't get agitated, let's calm down..."

Although Wang Feng kept trying to persuade them, the viewers in the live stream already knew what kind of people the Lu family were after hearing Lang Lang's words.

"Aihua Company is utterly inhuman, and the Lu family is a bunch of beasts. They write music, we listen to music—it's a mutually agreeable arrangement. Aren't they just middlemen? What's so great about them? Why are they acting so arrogantly?"

"No wonder Zhou Qian complained on Weibo every day before, and almost developed depression. He said that his studio was driven to the brink of ruin by Aihua. At the time, I thought he was being too dramatic, but now I realize how naive I was..."

"These are just the ones that have been exposed. Who knows how many more aspiring musicians have fallen in front of Aihua Music..."

……

Xu Xiangxiao asked with some concern, "Teacher Langlang, since it can't be released domestically, why not release it overseas?"

Langlang said, "What a coincidence, that's exactly what I asked JX. Do you know what his answer was?"

Everyone asked, "What was your answer?"

He said that it was already a pity that these songs could not be born in China because of the domestic environment. If the records were still released overseas, they would have no blood relationship with China at all. To refute the claim that "there is no music in China", the records must be taken from China to the world and foreign musicians must be able to recognize the Chinese characters on the records.

After he said this, the viewers in the live stream were silent for a moment.

They were all moved by JX's words.

Qin Yunchu said, "I understand. Aihua's conditions are too harsh. JX would rather not release these records than release them abroad. If you want to hear this music, you can only listen to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra's tour. So there is still no information about this music on simplified Chinese websites, because it is difficult for Chinese people to hear the names of these songs, right?"

"That's how it is," Langlang said. "Actually, everyone should understand that it's not that JX is greedy, it's just that Aihua and the Lu family have gone too far. The harsh conditions they've set are not just the one I just mentioned."

"Anything else?" Qin Yunshang asked, her dark eyes darting around.

"Yes, they also stipulated that they own all the usage rights to the music, such as using it in the soundtracks of various film and television works, or as accompaniment or adaptations for their boy bands, without needing the original author's permission..."

Xu Xiangxiao didn't want to listen anymore. The more she listened, the angrier she became. She said indignantly, "This is too much! What do they take musicians for?"

Langlang said very seriously, "That's why I say Aihua Entertainment is a garbage company. Their corporate culture is that they don't take creators and artists seriously. They think that artists and stars are nothing more than their dogs. They can make as many as they want famous."

"That's too arrogant." Jiang Xinhai's mouth twitched.

Qin Yun Chu suddenly said, "Hey? I just realized that JX's record labels are from a newly established company?"

Jiang Xinhai and Xu Xiangxiao also noticed this.

“And the name is ‘咫尺天涯’ (Zhǐchǐ tiānyá), meaning ‘close at hand yet worlds apart’,” Jiang Xinhai said. “In other words, he bypassed Aihua and established a new company?”

This seems like a very ordinary thing, but it also seems to contain infinite meaning.

Even if a new company is established, it will not be able to avoid the pressure from Aiwa Records, and it will not be able to gain any revenue from records. It may be even more dismal than signing with Aiwa, and it will be meaningless.

Since JX has chosen to establish a new company to release records, what does that signify?

Jiang Xinhai and Xu Xiangxiao both saw amusement in each other's eyes.

Qin Yunchu frowned.

She still didn't quite believe what Chen Ya said, that "the day the record is released will be the day the Lu family collapses."

She also came from a prominent family. Precisely because she herself was from the Qin family, she was even less inclined to believe that the Lu family would fall so easily.

How could such a behemoth just collapse like that?

Suddenly, she heard Qin Yunshang gasp in her ear: "Wow! Something terrible has happened!"

Everyone asked, "What's wrong?"

Qin Yunshang stared at her phone and read aloud from it:

"The official Weibo account of the Huaguo Daily has posted! They have released a list of blacklisted celebrities with bad reputations, and Li Xingliang and Yingzi are at the top of the list!"

"what?"

Everyone crowded around, their eyes fixed on Qin Yunshang's phone.

On her phone screen was a Weibo post from the China Daily, which stated that vicious competition in the entertainment industry, including the purchase of online trolls to defame each other, was rampant, and that the company would crack down on such activities and ban a number of disgraced celebrities.

The top two on the blacklist are Li Xingliang and Yingzi.

The post below also specifically listed Li Xingliang and Yingzi's misdeeds.

The image below the Weibo post is a chat log from Li Xingliang's fan group. The chat log contains information about how, during the previous competition between Jiang Xinhai and Li Xingliang for the top trending topics, fan leaders instigated smaller fans to spend money to hire online trolls.

[Sisters, does anyone have any money left? I only have a few dollars left! Sisters, let's fight! Xingliang is going to fall off the list!!!]

I've run out of pocket money, my dad's in the hospital, and he has a large sum of money in his bank account. I'm planning to steal their bank card, but I don't know the PIN.

[I asked my parents for money to support my idol in the music charts, but they refused. They even like Jiang Xinhai's new song! They're a bunch of bastards! Why aren't they dead yet? If they were, I could inherit their fortune, and I'd give it all to my brother.]

...And in the comments section of these group chat logs, the group owners and administrators not only didn't stop it, but also kept praising it:

[Awesome! No wonder you're best friends!]

【Our glittery fans are just that awesome!】

[Worth learning from. Also, if any sisters have money, please transfer it to me so I can hire online trolls.]

……

Yingzi's incriminating evidence was a chat log in which she and someone called "Secretary Gao" discussed how to suppress JX's anger.

Yingzi: [Could we have the online trolls create a topic about JX being unpatriotic?]

Secretary Gao: [Why?]

Yingzi: [I've been cultivating a patriotic persona all along, and the online trolls stirring up this topic will help solidify that persona.]

Secretary Gao: [You should contact the operations department yourself.]

Yingzi: [Okay, I'll take that as a yes.]

……

After reading these two records, the comments section was filled with outrage.

"Damn it, Li Xingliang would do anything for money, and I even supported him before!"

"I've given up hope, I'm completely unfollowing him..."

"Utterly inhumane!"

"No wonder JX has been getting attacked all the time, it turns out it's because Yingzi hired online trolls."

"Can Yingzi just die for once? I just watched the live stream. JX is working tirelessly for Chinese music overseas, and she's stabbing him in the back for her own selfish gain!"

"Yingzi is absolutely disgusting!"

"Bro, where did you watch the live stream? I want to check it out too."

……

After seeing this explosive revelation, everyone standing in the music archive finally understood why Yingzi and her apprentice had been taken away.

They've already reached the level of being blacklisted; these two are completely finished.

Qin Yun Chu belatedly realized that today, Lei Ya had just traded Li Xingliang away and made Hai Ya Company pay an exorbitant penalty for breach of contract.

Haiya Company had just sent the person over, and in less than a day, he died. I wonder what the people at Haiya Company are thinking.

They definitely won't let this go; they might even skin Li Xingliang alive.

Qin Yunshang whispered, "Sister, Yingzi doesn't seem to be in such a serious situation, does she? Why was she arrested so easily?"