Chapter 22 A Thorough Investigation into Zhou Qiang

This was probably the best sleep Su Chen had gotten in the past three days.

Thinking back, these last three days had been a bit absurd for him. The first day, he was blackout drunk and cared for by someone else; the second day, he was the one taking care of someone who was blackout drunk. Only last night did he finally sleep in the apartment he rented.

As usual, upon waking, Su Chen reached for his phone and opened TikTok. After two days of fermenting, Su Chen's TikTok followers had surpassed two million. The video he posted last night of that southern girl singing and playing guitar had already amassed over two hundred thousand likes, garnering widespread praise from netizens.

Oxygen Through Headphones: I really love this style! Please, Chen, release the full version!

Aili Aili With My Heart: Chen, you're amazing. You made me and my dog cry!

Su Chen: "......"

"Netizens these days are getting more and more unpredictable..."

Su Chen chuckled and continued scrolling through the comments, quickly coming across one that was relatively objective.

Japanese Style Girl Baka-chan: I was moved the moment I saw the song's title. The 1563 progression in the accompaniment has a touch of sadness, and paired with the bright lyrics, it’s easy to feel those explosive adolescent emotions and the stark contrast with the faint sense of control over reality... I’ll say it again, Su Chen, you’re my god!

Judging by the comment alone, this fan at least knows a bit about music theory.

Su Chen mused, "Folk music isn't exactly mainstream, but it seems people in this world really like it... Hmm, I guess I should post a few more songs in this genre."

The following comments were much simpler, most just summing it up with the words "sounds good." Some made comparisons with songs by other singers, like Wang Qi's new track "Midnight Whiskey."

Worldly Cake Maker: After listening to "Southern Girl," I went to check out "Midnight Whiskey," which has been really popular on Weibo these days. All I can say is, can Wang Qi and Zhou Qiang, those two losers, stop trying to get involved?

Confronted with such emotional comments, Su Chen raised an eyebrow and replied: Brother Qi and Teacher Zhou are veterans in the music industry. Their combined efforts on the new song are certainly not something I can compare to. I hope everyone reviews with reason.

After replying, Su Chen immediately liked the comment.

"By the way, today is the first. 'Midnight Whiskey,' along with my scheduled releases of 'Queen' and 'Actor,' should all be up on Penguin Music now..."

Su Chen said this as he switched to Penguin Music and opened the Rising Chart and New Song Chart.

On the charts, all three songs were present, but "Queen" and "Actor" firmly held the first and second spots, leaving "Midnight Whiskey" far behind in third. In fact, judging by the data, "Midnight Whiskey" was about to fall out of the top three altogether!

He opened the comments section for "Midnight Whiskey," which was a showcase of linguistic artistry. From "against the heavens" to "paratrooper," from "what is this junk" to "Sima Dongxi," every word greeted Wang Qi and Zhou Qiang with scorn. Even Wang’s formidable fan base couldn’t surrender fast enough, completely overwhelmed by the sea of criticism.

Disappointed Patient: Let’s not even discuss what kind of junk they’re singing—what kind of trash are these lyrics? A glass of whiskey at midnight, paired with my sea of falling petals, only then can the princess be snatched into the passenger seat and the car driven past dawn? Incredible—one line covers drunk driving, drug use, and kidnapping all at once!

Kidney Store: We need to investigate the princess in the lyrics. If she’s from a KTV, the author at least needs to add prostitution to the mix. Snatching girls is the only way—no tips paid!

Boy and Hedgehog: Wang Qi’s half-dead singing style, combined with Zhou Qiang’s melodramatic lyrics and composition, I can only say—they’re a perfect match.

Reading these comments in the morning, Su Chen couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Music belongs to its listeners. If it sounds good, it sounds good; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. With this level of quality, how did they dare publicly diss Su Chen?

Over the years, Starry Entertainment had played the game of capital in the entertainment industry, but this was probably the first time they’d encountered such a vast gap in quality—so large that no amount of money could reverse the public opinion!

To be fair, was "Midnight Whiskey" truly unlistenable? Not really. But if you feed someone chaff every day, and then they happen upon a rare delicacy, would they ever go back to eating pig slop?

Thus, the momentum Starry tried to build for "Midnight Whiskey" was completely swallowed up by Su Chen.

Opening Weibo, Su Chen found, as expected, that today's trending topics were almost entirely dominated by "Midnight Whiskey" and himself.

"The Worst Song in History: 'Midnight Whiskey'," "Netizens Report Zhou Qiang for Investigation," "Are Wang Qi and Zhou Qiang’s Faces Swollen Yet?" "‘Queen’ and ‘Actor’ Are So Good!" "Music Genius Su Chen"...

Meanwhile, as Su Chen laughed heartily, Xu Fangyuan was being scolded miserably.

"Xu Fangyuan, is this how you planned to step over Su Chen for your own advancement?!"

In the conference room, Zhang Yong roared at Xu Fangyuan, "Now look—trying to steal a chicken and losing the rice instead. The whole internet is laughing at us!"

"The board initially asked you to approach Su Chen, and you refused. You claimed you had a way to kill two birds with one stone—is this your so-called win-win strategy?!"

"You can’t even handle a newcomer. Do you have any shame left?"

Xu Fangyuan’s face alternated between pale and flushed.

"I... How was I supposed to know the gap between 'Midnight Whiskey' and 'Queen' and 'Actor' would be so huge!"

Standing at the back of the conference room, Zhou Qiang’s face was dark as he argued, "From a professional standpoint, my song definitely outshines Su Chen’s. It's those netizens who lack taste!"

"You shut up!" Zhang Yong roared.

"Damn it, songs are written for people to listen to! If nobody likes your song, who are you writing it for—pigs?!"

"I..." Zhou Qiang was speechless.

Just then, the office door was knocked, and Zhang Yong’s secretary walked in. Zhang Yong was about to vent his anger when he noticed two police officers following behind her.

"Sorry to interrupt. We’re from the Hangzhou City Police Department. We received reports from netizens that your employee Zhou Qiang is suspected of drunk driving, drug use, kidnapping, prostitution, and other illegal activities, so we’d like Mr. Zhou to cooperate with our investigation," said the lead officer.

Standing against the wall, Zhou Qiang barely had time to react before he was taken away by the police, leaving Wang Qi on the other side swallowing nervously in fright...

At the head of the conference table, Zhang Yong, bowing as he saw off the officers, looked as though his glare could kill.

He suppressed his temper and said to Xu Fangyuan, "From now on, just focus on managing Lin Yanran. I hope you don’t cause any more trouble!"

Xu Fangyuan moved her lips, then finally nodded.

Zhang Yong finished speaking and turned his gaze to Wang Qi.

"And you!"

"This month, Hunan Satellite TV has an audition show called 'Tomorrow's Star.' Go polish yourself up and participate!"

"Yes, Director Zhang..."

Wang Qi was on the verge of tears.