CHAPTER 404: CHAPTER 280: YOUMENG? CHU TIAN? THE GOSSIP HAS ARRIVED_2

"Alright. Youmeng immediately crafted a new album for Xu Qingqiu. And how awesome was that album? Anyone who’s heard it knows it’s a classic—the only divine album in ten years.

Fans regarded it almost as a sacred relic. People in the industry scrambled to get their hands on it. Even several Veteran Kings and Queens of Singers, who had long retired, expressed their astonishment online. They openly admitted it was worthy of its divine reputation and even directly asked to purchase it for their collections.

Not only that, but because of the injury incident, Xu Qingqiu had also released several new songs in a row, purely to slap the show’s producers in the face. Then, another divine album was released, which completely disgraced ’The Sound of Nature’ show.

Although this approach didn’t cause much trouble for the producers, at most, it damaged their reputation. The hype was only slightly affected, so it seemed like it wasn’t a big problem.

But this move directly boosted Xu Qingqiu’s online popularity a great deal, not only instantly compensating for the loss caused by leaving the show but even going a step further.

After all, as everyone knows, ’The Sound of Nature’ is notoriously blatant about its behind-the-scenes manipulation, with unsightly greed exposed for all to see. If Xu Qingqiu hadn’t left, who knows how long it would have taken for her to become popular again.

Of course, it’s also possible Xu Qingqiu has a powerful backer. The timing was just too perfect. And while this move might have seemed risky, the effect was immediate."

Seeing the conversation veering off topic again, netizens who had been squatting in the comments section watching the live broadcast couldn’t sit still.

"Hold on, hold on, focus on the key point, talk about Youmeng, we’re here for the new gossip, why bring up old news?"

"Hey wait, don’t interrupt, keep going, I haven’t heard this part, I want to hear it. Which network’s show is that?"

"If you haven’t heard, go search for it online later. Big Bro, keep going, back to the main topic!"

The netizen who had just started getting to the exciting part of the story sighed, having no choice but to continue.

"Alright, back to the main topic."

"This Youmeng, from the time they appeared to now, in less than half a year, has written almost twenty songs for Xu Qingqiu. A lot, right? But that’s not the point.

The point is, out of these twenty-plus songs, not a single one is mediocre. The worst are rated above excellent; none are even close to just passing—all top-quality, can you believe that? It’s like they’re on a cheat mode.

According to external speculations, either these songs are carefully selected, or this ’Youmeng’ is just a prodigy; anything less than excellent can’t be considered a finished product in their eyes.

No one knows for sure since ’Youmeng’s’ appearance, as the outside world doesn’t even know whether they are male or female, let alone their age, or what kind of relationship they have with Xu Qingqiu.

Word in the industry is that, to date, every music company at home and abroad, from Asia’s pop stars to third-rate singers, has sought out this person. However, they all failed miserably.

It seems that the only person who can contact Youmeng directly is Xu Qingqiu; no one else can.

And those attempting to reach Youmeng through Xu Qingqiu, without exception, have also been rejected.

Hahaha, that’s their cash cow, their secret weapon. Who wouldn’t hide and protect such a treasure? You’re asking them for their lifeblood. Why are you so shameless?"

Some of the netizens burst into laughter at this point.

"The epitome of shamelessness, amazing."

"If it were me, I wouldn’t tell you either. Why should I?"

"It’s like someone having some groundbreaking black tech at home, and you run over asking if you can just have it. Is this something a human being does?"

Many netizens started mocking those music companies and singers for their shamelessness, but others were even more puzzled about the relationship.

"So, what exactly is the relationship between Xu Qingqiu and Youmeng? Why do they only write songs for her?"

And this question hit the nail on the head; it was something many netizens and people in the industry were also wondering.

"I don’t know, I truly don’t know. Think about it, when nobody even knows if Youmeng is a man or a woman, how could we possibly know their relationship?

Many say it’s a patron collecting songs from all over to support Xu Qingqiu. But with so many excellent works, such large-scale song collection would have surely raised some rumors, yet so far there’s been none.

Others say it could be a legendary composer who retired and can’t conveniently come out of retirement, so they assumed a pseudonym to write songs for her.

But that brings us back to the question of why they only write for Xu Qingqiu and what their relationship is, which has always been a mystery.

And after searching throughout the industry, among the living big shots, it doesn’t seem like anyone has the capability—whether it’s style, consistency of work, or efficiency—to match.

There’s another contradictory point to this affair, which leads us to the next key figure about to enter the stage: yes, Chu Tian.

Many people speculate that Xu Qingqiu was taken under the wing of a wealthy patron, someone who wanted to turn her into a cash cow and a superstar. But then Chu Tian became a critical figure.

Just at a recent concert, Xu Qingqiu actually made a public announcement of her boyfriend. Can you believe it?

A singer, a young singer, a young and beautiful singer, just so casually went public with her boyfriend.

The incident caused a huge uproar at the time. It escalated to the point where fans started leaving mid-concert, leading to the embarrassing scene of some defecting and even turning hostile.

But this couldn’t stop Xu Qingqiu’s decision. She still chose to announce her relationship and even had her boyfriend sing a song on stage, showing off their love in front of everyone, with tears shed on stage.

If she had a financial backer, how would they allow such a public announcement of a relationship, and even let Chu Tian show his face?

A lot of people then said, maybe this Chu Tian is the patron?

Investigations were made into this as well. This Chu Tian is just Xu Qingqiu’s assistant. He was previously a trainee at the same company as Xu Qingqiu, and they’ve known each other for nearly ten years.

According to Xu Qingqiu, they had harbored feelings for each other all along, but their journey to love was filled with hurdles. They’ve only recently gotten together. You could almost call them childhood sweethearts, which makes it unlikely that Chu Tian is the patron.

Not only is he not the patron, but he’s even suspected of mooching off her. This is because, up to now, this guy named Chu Tian is still working at Xu Qingqiu’s studio. It’s said that former colleagues have complained about him just loafing around, yet Xu Qingqiu still pays him a hefty salary.

Others speculated, isn’t this just a ploy to promote someone? Stir up a little scandal, promote a newcomer? After all, Chu Tian is so handsome. Surely they want to capitalize on this event for more popularity. Maybe one day they’ll break up, but by then he’d be well-known and could make more money.

Many people thought this prediction was correct. However, after that, there was no more news about Chu Tian. He did indeed sing a song, and his Singing Skills weren’t bad. But anyone who heard it knew his voice was quite ordinary and nothing special.

With no distinctive voice, as a singer, he naturally wouldn’t have an advantage. His acting skill is unknown, but his looks are indeed striking. Maybe he’ll go down the acting path.

Unfortunately, all these speculations turned out to be wrong. Chu Tian disappeared just like an ephemeral blossom, never to be heard from again. This made it clear it wasn’t a ploy to promote someone.

Up till now, it’s been a huge mystery, with not just the visible Xu Qingqiu but also the mysterious characters Youmeng and Chu Tian emerging from behind the scenes.

Who exactly is Youmeng? Male or female? Old or young? What’s their relationship with Xu Qingqiu?

What’s so special about Chu Tian that Xu Qingqiu would have fancied him, and why has she been so fixated on him for so many years? Is Xu Qingqiu love-struck? Hardly seems like it, right? Is it that a first love leaves too deep an impression? Or does Chu Tian have some secret that no one knows about?

In any case, the relationship between these three is incredibly complicated. I just don’t get it."

After this netizen finished speaking, the comment section went quiet for a good few minutes.

All the netizens watching were frowning and pondering hard. What on earth is the actual relationship here?

"A love triangle? Doesn’t seem like it!"

Some even started thinking of conspiracy theories but still came up with nothing.

"Damn, I came here for the drama, how did it turn into a mystery?"

"Emmm, is this not a detective show?"

"Isn’t there any influential figure inside the circle who could spill some beans? Isn’t it said that it’s hard to keep secrets in the industry?"

"We don’t have those kinds of connections though. Anyone who does, maybe go ask around?"

"Connections? The only person I know in the entertainment industry is probably Big Face Zhang."

"Hahaha, Big Face Zhang... yeah, Big Face Zhang! How about we ask him in his live stream tonight?"

"I’m in, I’m in! I want to see what Big Face Zhang has to say. Doesn’t he claim to be the King of Connections? He should know, right?"