79: Chapter 79 The Only Chinese Musician

At 8:00 AM on the day of the cover release, the official Forbes website was the first to release the full cover story.

The headline read: "Chen Mo: The 21-Year-Old Changing the Music Industry."

The subheadline read: "From suffering cyberbullying in China to becoming a global pop music star, he earned 55 million USD in one year."

Chen Mo was woken up by a call from Scott in his Los Angeles apartment; he reached for his phone and saw Scott's name on the screen.

There was something in Scott's voice that Chen Mo rarely heard—not excitement, but a certain suppressed emotion.

"Open your phone."

Chen Mo opened his phone.

Forbes notifications had flooded social media; on the cover, he was wearing a white T-shirt, sitting by the window with the Empire State Building lit up behind him.

He stared at the photo for a while, then placed his phone on the nightstand, rolled out of bed, and went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water.

The morning sunlight of Los Angeles leaked through the gaps in the curtains and landed on the marble countertop.

The phone began to vibrate incessantly.

The number of likes for the Forbes cover on Instagram surpassed two million in the first hour.

The most liked comment in the comments section was in Chinese, only seven characters long: "Those who scolded him back then must have shut up by now."

The number of likes broke 300,000 in forty minutes.

The second most liked comment was in English, from an account verified as a music producer: "55 million, not an inheritance, not an investment, not a family business, but earned by a twenty-year-old from scratch in one year."

The third most liked comment was only four characters: "He deserves it."

Ed Sheeran sent a photo; he had posted a screenshot of the Forbes cover on his Instagram story, drawn an ugly arrow next to Chen Mo's profile, and written "My boy" at the other end of the arrow.

Chen Mo reposted it with the caption: "You'll be on it next year too."

Ed Sheeran replied instantly: "If I'm not on it next year, you're buying me pizza."

Chen Mo replied: "If you are, you're buying me."

Ed Sheeran replied: "Deal."

Taylor didn't post on Instagram; she sent a private message: "So proud of you."

Shawn posted on Twitter: "I've played basketball with him; the arc of his shot is just like the curve of his income—both are going up."

Charlie reposted, adding: "I've been crossed over by him; I can testify to that."

Ed Sheeran rolled his eyes: "You guys are just nitpicking!"

At noon, Chen Mo received a video call from Xiuying.

The screen lit up, and Xiuying was sitting on the sofa at home in Changsha, with the old-fashioned TV and the green dill on the windowsill in the background.

Her eyes were red, but the corners of her mouth were turned up.

"Your dad has been showing off outside all day, telling everyone he meets, 'My son made it onto that Forbes thing.' I told him not to go around saying that, and he said—'My son is on the cover of Forbes, why shouldn't I be able to say it?'"

Xiuying's voice trembled a little, but she was smiling.

Chen Mo leaned against the kitchen countertop, the glass of water in his hand already cold, and laughed: "Let him talk; as long as he's happy."

Xiuying brought the phone closer, her face filling the entire screen. She looked at Chen Mo for a long time before saying with heartache: "You've lost weight."

"Mom, you said I lost weight last time too."

"Because you get thinner every time."

After hanging up, Chen Mo placed his phone on the countertop.

The morning sunlight of Los Angeles had completely covered the kitchen, and the stainless steel in the sink was reflecting the light.

He looked down at the Cartier on his left wrist; the second hand was moving.

In the past, he always wore a watch, afraid of missing time, but now, he could allow time to slip away a little bit.

Dior's official Twitter was the first to post congratulations, featuring the advertisement shot of Chen Mo in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles—in a black suit, his figure reflected in seventeen mirrors simultaneously, with morning light pouring in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, gilding his profile.

The caption read: "Light doesn't need to shout to be seen. Our brand ambassador, 21 years old, Forbes cover."

Pierre replied below using his personal account, attaching a behind-the-scenes photo of Chen Mo playing a Steinway in the desert.

The wind had messed up his hair, his fingers rested on the keys, and the black body of the Steinway reflected the light in the sunset.

The caption was: "Wildness isn't about standing in the desert; it's about having the wind listen to you. 21 years old, Forbes cover, the wind is just right."

Cartier's congratulations were posted three minutes after Dior's.

The image was a close-up of Chen Mo's left wrist, with the Alberto Santos-Dumont watch on his wrist, featuring a white dial and Roman numeral hour markers.

The background was the window at the Forbes cover shoot location, with the Manhattan skyline blurred into a patch of warm gray light.

The caption read: "Time chooses those who are worthy. Chen Mo, 21 years old, Forbes cover, every second counts."

Mercedes-Benz's official Twitter posted a screenshot of the advertisement shot in the Palm Springs desert.

The silver-gray CLA was parked in the middle of the desert highway, with Chen Mo standing next to the car, facing the end of the desert, and the sunset stretching his shadow long.

The caption read: "To those who never stop. Chen Mo, 21 years old, Forbes cover, the road is still long."

OnePlus's official Twitter featured a profile view of Chen Mo at the London launch event.

The caption read: "The one who lights the lamps. Chen Mo, 21 years old, Forbes cover, every light sees your efforts."

Pechoin was the last to post, featuring a still of Chen Mo and Jay Chou on the advertisement set, with the blue tin box placed on a wooden table in an attic room, and the light and shadow of the old Shanghai wharf outside the window.

The caption read: "Chen Mo, 21 years old, Forbes cover, the pride of the nation."

In the afternoon, Chen Mo accepted a video interview with domestic media in the recording studio. On the screen was Zhou Lin, a reporter from CCTV International Channel, sitting in front of a blue background board in the Beijing studio, holding the interview outline.

"How will you spend your income of 55 million USD?"

Chen Mo leaned back against the chair of the mixing console and said: "A portion for taxes, a portion for savings, a portion for my parents, and the rest to buy more time to write songs."

Zhou Lin followed up: "Netizens are now calling you the 'Pride of the Chinese.' How do you view this title?"

Chen Mo was silent for a few seconds.

Outside the recording studio window, the Los Angeles sun shone through, casting the shadows of palm trees onto the curtains.

"I don't want to be the 'Pride of the Chinese'; I just want to be Chen Mo. But if my success can make more Chinese kids dare to dream, then that's enough."

Zhou Lin wrote a line on the interview outline; the sound of the pen tip pressing on the paper came through the microphone, and she looked up.

"Chen Mo, you are twenty years old this year, but when you speak, you don't sound like you're twenty."

After the interview ended, David poked his head out from behind the mixing console, with his monitoring headphones hanging around his neck.

"That photo on the Forbes cover, the one with the white T-shirt—did you just dig that out of your laundry bag?"

Chen Mo said it was brought by the stylist.

David leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.

"55 million USD, wearing a frayed white T-shirt to shoot a cover—Chen Mo, you are the most outrageous person I've ever met."

"That one was also custom-made," Chen Mo said.

That evening, Chen Mo posted a photo on Instagram.

Next to the Forbes cover was a cup of coffee and an open notebook. On the notebook was his own handwriting; it wasn't lyrics, but today's date and a line of text: "September 15th, Forbes cover, continue tomorrow."

The caption was only one sentence: "5500 is a number, not the finish line. Continue writing songs tomorrow."

Three minutes after posting, over 100,000 comments flooded the comment section.

The most liked comment read: "He put a cup of coffee and a notebook next to the Forbes cover. The whole world is praising him, and he is thinking about what to write tomorrow."

The second most liked comment read: "55 million is a number; 'continue writing songs tomorrow' is Chen Mo."

The third most liked comment was only two characters: "Continue."

Lay Zhang posted a paragraph on Weibo: "55 million is a number, not the finish line. He made it onto the Forbes cover today, wearing a frayed white T-shirt, and his caption was 'Continue writing songs tomorrow.'"

"I remember the words he said on 'Go Fighting!'—'It's better to write songs than to be angry; it's better to write songs than to be famous; it's better to write songs than to be on Forbes.'"

Chen Mo replied: "Continue dancing."

Lay Zhang liked it instantly: "As expected of my idol."

Lu Han reposted with two words: "Continue."

Huang Zitao replied below: "Brother, what's wrong with you lately? Whoever you are, get off my brother!"

Lu Han was speechless: "Who was talking to you?"

Scott's call came in at 10:00 PM.

"Forbes sent over the complete data. Twelve hours after the cover story was published, the global readership surpassed 120 million. It's the highest readership for a single-person cover in the history of 30 Under 30."

He paused for a moment and said: "The readership for that Time Magazine cover was 80 million."

Chen Mo held the phone, his voice flat and without fluctuation, and made a joke calmly: "I'm used to it."

Scott let out an 'old money' laugh and said: "The people at Forbes asked if you would be willing to shoot the cover for 30 Under 30 again next year—not as an honoree, but as a special feature. They said they want to follow your year."

"If you agree, that's fine."

What was his past self doing? He probably would have still been studying finance until he was sick of it, doing things he didn't like—he would never have felt happy.

He remembered when he was working part-time at a restaurant in his past life; one night, it was very late, and the owner's family was huddled around the TV eating boxed meals, while the news on TV was broadcasting the Forbes Rich List.

The landlady was gnawing on a chicken leg and said, "The people on this list earn enough in one day to last us several lifetimes."

In this life, he made it onto that list, and was even the cover personality, as a Chinese musician.

— —

Some might ask, since Chen Mo's family is rich, why did he still have to work part-time?

Think about it: his dad didn't support him doing music. If he hadn't succeeded at the beginning, that would be one thing, but he also made his dad pay breach-of-contract penalties. How could his dad feel good? Wouldn't he have to discipline him a bit?

Thanks to all the babies who support me, whether you're a boy baby or a girl baby, may you all make a fortune!

6 is my lucky number.

That's all.