43: Chapter 43 National Team Entrance

"Free? It's actually free!"

"I just paid for an annual VIP subscription, and you're telling me this song is free? Jiang Fan, give me my money back!"

"Making it free across the entire internet, this level of vision..."

"It made me cry. This song should be free, because a hero's life is priceless."

Within ten minutes after midnight, the comment sections of the three major platforms were completely overrun.

Li Cheng stood by the hotel window, the light from his phone screen reflecting on his face.

He switched back and forth between the real-time playback data on the backends of the three platforms several times; every time he refreshed, the numbers jumped higher.

Tencent Music: 1.27 million streams.

NetEase Cloud Music: 890,000 streams.

KuGou: 640,000 streams.

The three numbers were still climbing simultaneously.

Li Cheng did the math; based on the industry average, if this wave of organic traffic had used a paid model, it would be worth at least two million by dawn.

He chased this thought out of his mind and shoved his phone back into his pocket.

Exchanging ten million for this level of nationwide reputation—doing the math, it wasn't a loss.

Shen Nian sat on the sofa, holding her phone in front of her knees, her thumb constantly scrolling down.

In the comment section, someone dug up the news report about yesterday's fire at the Nanshan Chemical Plant in Pengcheng; the photo of the twenty-three-year-old firefighter, paired with the lyrics of "lonely warrior," was spreading across various social media platforms.

She turned to look at Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan was sitting on the windowsill with one leg propped up, holding a half-finished bottle of mineral water, staring blankly at the night view of Pengcheng.

"Jiang Fan, thank you," Shen Nian said softly.

Jiang Fan turned his head and glanced at her.

"What are you saying that for?"

Shen Nian blushed and lowered her head. "Nothing... I didn't say anything."

12:15 AM.

Weibo's servers experienced a massive surge in traffic late at night.

The first to move was the official Weibo account of the National Fire and Rescue Administration.

"Who says only those standing in the light are heroes? Saluting the ones who walk against the tide."

Attached image: A black silhouette walking against the tide amidst the flames.

Three minutes later, the official Weibo of the Chinese military followed suit.

"Who says those covered in mud aren't heroes? Saluting those who hold their posts in ordinary positions."

Attached image: The silhouette of a border guard patrolling in the wind and snow.

Then came the China Daily.

"An anthem written for the nameless."

Attached image: Soldiers on the front lines of flood control, covered in mud, carrying sandbags.

The Communist Youth League Central Committee. The Ministry of Public Security. China News.

...

In less than half an hour, thirteen central and official media outlets had spoken out one after another.

The copy format was highly consistent, and the background music was entirely snippets of "lonely warrior."

Li Cheng swiped open the first notification, and when he saw the blue verified checkmark for "Chinese Military," the cigarette at the corner of his mouth fell, burning the back of his hand without him even feeling it.

He finished scrolling through all thirteen official Weibo posts.

Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, he had seen the massive crowds drawn by top-tier celebrities and the power wielded by capital.

But he had never even heard of a spectacle like the national team getting involved.

"Jiang Fan," Li Cheng said, his throat dry, "do you know what this means?"

Jiang Fan twisted open the mineral water bottle cap and took a sip.

"It means that Shenghai Entertainment's ban order is now nothing more than a piece of scrap paper."

— —

Magic City, top floor of the Shenghai Entertainment building.

Cao Qiming looked at the matrix of official media on his tablet and threw it on the table.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes in exhaustion.

The legal director pushed the door open and handed over a document.

"CEO Cao, Liu Qingyang has been taken in. He took the fall for the yin-yang contracts and forced transactions, just as you said. The tax bureau's fine notice has also been issued."

"How much?"

"Including late fees, 350 million."

Cao Qiming's temples throbbed twice.

Shenghai Entertainment's net profit for the first half of the year was wiped out in one stroke.

"Pay it. Clear Shenghai Entertainment of this matter."

The legal director nodded. "I'll arrange for finance to process the payment. Also, regarding the ban order on Jiang Fan sent to all channels, now—"

"Withdraw it."

"Let him jump around for a few days." Cao Qiming pressed his temples. "Cutting off an arm can stop the bleeding; Shenghai Entertainment's foundation is still there. Once the limelight passes—"

Before he could finish, the door was burst open for the second time.

The PR director rushed in, his face pale.

"CEO Cao! Something huge has happened!"

"Did Liu Qingyang flip on us?"

"It's not Liu Qingyang! It's Hua Xingyu!"

The PR director handed over his phone.

The screen was playing a secretly recorded video.

The footage was dim, and the location was a KTV room in a luxury villa.

Hua Xingyu was disheveled, dragging several girls onto the sofa.

Cao Qiming only looked for three seconds before the color drained from his face.

Plagiarism issues could still be washed away with capital.

But these things in the video—

"It was leaked from an overseas site half an hour ago and has already been reposted to Weibo and Tieba." The PR director's voice was trembling. "It's spreading across the whole internet."

"Suppress the trending search!"

"We can't! The Tomorrows Star production team issued an announcement five minutes ago, permanently canceling Hua Xingyu's status as a Star Mentor and removing all related footage overnight."

The internal phone rang.

Cao Qiming pressed the speakerphone.

The voice of the business department director came through—

"CEO Cao, the seven brands Hua Xingyu endorses have all sent letters simultaneously, demanding unilateral termination of contracts and claiming damages for breach of contract. The total amount... is 150 million."

350 million in fines.

150 million in breach of contract damages.

Overnight, Shenghai Entertainment lost 500 million in cash flow.

"Issue a statement. Terminate all contracts with Hua Xingyu. The company was unaware and will fully cooperate with the police investigation."

If a chess piece is useless, throw it away.

— —

The next day. Penguin Hotel, 1208.

Jiang Fan came out after a shower, drying his hair as he sat on the edge of the bed.

His phone had piled up with a bunch of messages, and he scrolled through them one by one.

The expose post about Hua Xingyu's video had already exceeded 200 million views.

The last one was a document forwarded by Xu Qingya.

"Tomorrows Star" Grand Final format update notice.

Hua Xingyu was removed, and the Star Mentor scoring system was canceled.

The Grand Final was changed to real-time nationwide voting; each audience member gets three votes, and the one with the most votes wins.

Finally, there was a voice message sent by Xu Qingya.

"I'll arrive tonight. Wait for me."

— —

9:30 PM.

Xu Qingya pushed open the door to suite 1301; Jiang Fan was already inside.

Her movement to lock the door behind her was quick.

Turning around, before she could say a word, she was grabbed by the waist and pulled over.

The moment their lips touched, his other hand turned off the room lights.

The room plunged into darkness.

Xu Qingya's shoulder strap was pushed down her shoulder.

Her back pressed against the floor-to-ceiling window glass, and the chill made her gasp.

"The window again," she said, gritting her teeth.

"You can say no."

"...Shut up."

later, the two moved from the window to the bed.

Xu Qingya's low ponytail had long since come undone, her black hair spread across the white pillow.

The sound of breathing, and the occasional syllable escaping from between her lips, filled the entire room.

...

The system panel popped up silently—

[Total Lifespan Value gained: 4000 points] (Deep Compatibility × 4)

[Remaining Lifespan Value: 8800 points]

[Remaining Lifespan: 8 days]

Jiang Fan closed the panel.

Xu Qingya lay on her side, her head resting on his arm.

Moonlight shone on Xu Qingya's face, her skin translucent and fair.

The fine lines at the corners of her eyes had completely disappeared.

A thirty-year-old woman, looking no different from someone in her early twenties at this moment.