CHAPTER 285: CHAPTER 213: NOT A SINGLE FIGHTER IN SIGHT

Seeing this, the others could no longer hold back. Everyone had been preparing for so long, and the investments were huge.

Initially apprehensive about the first promotional clash, their influence was later minimized by a series of damaging moves from Chu Tian.

Their fighting spirit was at its peak; further delay would only see it wane, then extinguish completely. After holding back for so long, if they didn’t release their albums now, their companies might as well close down and become a laughingstock.

So, no matter what, the albums had to be released this month.

But nobody had anticipated a surprise contender like Cheng Yaojin appearing midway. Everyone had been fighting for so long; how could someone just show up to reap the benefits? There was no such thing as a free lunch.

Like floodgates opening, companies jumped out one after another to announce their new albums.

[Huamei Records: Pan Meichen’s new album "In Love" out at 12:00 PM!]

[Idol Mutual Entertainment: Jiang Haoyue’s new album "OBSESS" is now online! The tour is about to start, are you Mooncakes ready?]

[Chidori Records: Lin Yang’s latest album "Voice of the Maple Forest" goes live at 02:00 PM, stay tuned!]

...

In an instant, apart from Li Xiang and Qin Xiao, practically all the singers who had been trending recently seemed to have coordinated their releases, jumping out all at once.

As for those two, it was unclear if they were backing out or waiting for a new opportunity.

Looking at the current situation, the entire internet was already in complete chaos.

Fans, as if they had lost their minds, were everywhere promoting their idols, wishing even passing dogs would buy a couple of albums.

"Ah! Brother, slay me! Your new song is amazing!!!"

"Jiang Haoyue, I’m your fan!!"

"Swaggering cool boy, you’re my eternal true love! Waiting for the moment you stand at the peak—not a single hater will get away!"

"Boohoo~ If one day the hospitals are filled with girls, please don’t laugh at them, because that will be the day Jiang Haoyue gets married..."

"Jiang Haoyue, the eyeliner on your new album cover is about to bewitch me to death!"

Viewing these cringeworthy fan comments, passersby almost wished they could go wash their eyes, exclaiming inwardly, How terrifying!

Only those who were strong had the leeway to counterattack, but their fighting power was already diminished by ninety-nine percent.

"What the hell is this? Are they performing some kind of ritual?"

"Oh my god, my ears are about to go deaf! Is this supposed to be music? Even Old Man Zhang yelling at his sheep at the village entrance sounds better, right?"

Unsurprisingly, what followed was an ultimate battle between fans and trolls.

And this was just one corner of the internet; other places were equally unsettled.

"This new album by Yu Xin seems quite good; it sounds nice."

"Too old-fashioned. What’s so good about such slow-paced music?"

"To be honest, the whole album has a consistent style. It’s just that the lyrics feel incomprehensible. What are they even whining about?"

"I just listened to Pan Meichen’s "In Love," and I feel it matches my taste better; the song’s not bad."

"Pan Meichen’s is indeed okay, but only the title track is worth listening to. Forget the rest. Someone who didn’t know better might think it was produced by some amateur picked randomly from a music platform."

"Indeed. Today was bustling with releases, but in the end, I found only a few songs worth listening to. It’s not even comparable to the satisfaction from one of Xu Qingqiu’s albums back in the day."

"Don’t even get me started. I listened to the new albums from both Jiang Haoyue and Lin Yang. One relies entirely on the music, maxing out the rhythm, while the other is full of Japanese-style melancholy—a prime example of groaning without ailment."

The internet was buzzing with activity, but the results weren’t quite satisfactory.

"How is it going? What are the stats now?"

Since returning, Xu Qingqiu had gone into the practice room to regain her form. With a concert coming up soon, she needed to get her feel for performing back.

She also had songs to rearrange and needed to familiarize herself with them in advance, so she couldn’t waste a minute.

Chu Tian was, of course, the main force behind the song rearrangements. He had a clear grasp of the situation, managed it with ease, and even found time to come out and chat with Li Chunhua.

Li Chunhua glanced at him, pushed the tablet in her hand toward him, and said, "Take a look. Things have gone completely wild."

"Gone wild? Who’s so impressive?"

Hearing ’gone wild,’ Chu Tian paused. In his past life, he’d often heard about someone becoming a huge hit, or some work ’slaying the charts,’ so he subconsciously thought a dark horse had emerged somewhere.

But when he looked down, he saw that things had indeed gone wild: fans fighting fans, fans fighting trolls, fans fighting passersby—the battles were fierce and relentless.

The entire internet was like an exploding powder keg—an unbearable sight.

"It’s been over 24 hours since the releases started at noon yesterday. Currently, Jiang Haoyue has the highest sales, breaking 100,000 within a minute of going online and exceeding 400,000 in 24 hours."

"That impressive?"

To say he wasn’t surprised would be a lie. These numbers were absolutely dominant. Top-tier celebrities truly lived up to their name with such drawing power.

"Yes, it’s very impressive. Some fans directly bought over 3,000 copies, and there’s a large group who bought over 1,000 each. Fans accounted for the vast majority of those 400,000 sales. The money really comes easy that way."

At this, a mocking smile flashed across Li Chunhua’s face.

She knew very well how quickly money could be made this way. She also knew this method was much simpler, more convenient, and faster than earnestly honing one’s abilities.

However, Li Chunhua was a rather traditional agent at heart. She believed that only works and talent could truly prove a singer’s value.

This was one reason she had left Baise Entertainment to follow Xu Qingqiu: their ideals didn’t align. Another reason was that Baise Entertainment hadn’t appreciated her old-fashioned thinking and had made no effort to keep her. Otherwise, with her abilities, other companies would have snatched her up long ago.