Chapter Sixty-Five: You Can Write Songs?

Since Dai Xinhua herself did not wish to leave, Le Zhengling had no other choice. After her attempts to persuade her friend proved fruitless, she stayed behind to keep Dai Xinhua company. She couldn’t possibly leave her best friend here alone.

Le Zhengling sighed, walked over, and sat beside Dai Xinhua at her drawing spot, watching as she earnestly sketched one picture after another. And then...

One after another, she drew all sorts of feminized characters on the paper.

“Damn it!”

Over at the dining table in the living room, Luo Tianyi was staring angrily at her computer screen. She had finally found a moment to check up on her own recent fan rewards, only to discover utter chaos in the comment section.

Just who was the bastard behind all this?

“What’s wrong, Tianyi?” Luo Chen walked over, puzzled. Could there be some new negative news online?

Although they had just turned down Stardust Platform, surely the other party wouldn’t retaliate so soon, right?

But when he got closer, Luo Chen realized it wasn’t what he’d expected at all. Judging by the situation, it seemed a top-tier streamer had deliberately sparked a war of words in the comments.

“A rookie will always be a rookie. Dreaming of reaching platinum in one step?”

“Exactly, keep dreaming. You think you can pressure Stardust Platform now? Do you really think you’re a big shot?”

“You bunch of Shadow-dogs, go kneel and lick somewhere else.”

“Huang Ying’s been washed up for years. Is she jealous of our goddess Luo?”

“Please, it’s just a music video about eating. What, is this the only song she’ll ever release in her life?”

...

Luo Chen frowned as he scrolled through the chaos below the video. Which streamer was bored enough to mobilize their fans to mock a newcomer?

After all, Luo Tianyi had amassed quite a following by now. There were only a handful of streamers who could dominate the comments under her work. Even if Luo Chen tried to rally his own fans, he couldn’t guarantee the same outcome.

But this name, Huang Ying, sounded familiar...

Luo Chen took over the computer from his sister and typed the name into the search bar on Stardust Platform, then hit enter.

Platinum Streamer: Huang Ying
Alias: Shadow
297 uploads
7.3 million followers
Live dates...
...

Luo Chen suddenly recalled—when he’d researched the Stardust Platform, he’d come across detailed information on Huang Ying, one of the platform’s pillars.

But what was such a big shot doing picking on his sister? Did he have nothing better to do?

Luo Chen scrolled through the updates on Huang Ying’s profile, searching the comments for a clue. It turned out that, lately, many fans had noticed that both the pure-hearted little angel from the meme section and the music prodigy Luo Shui Tianyi were still unsigned. Speculation had begun to swirl: were they dissatisfied with the Stardust contract and holding out for better terms, which explained the lack of updates?

After all, the share of fan rewards changes drastically after signing a contract.

This had sparked a round of mockery from Huang Ying, who criticized newcomers for aiming too high and trying to become legends overnight, and so began the battle between the two camps of fans.

Normally, Luo Tianyi’s fans wouldn’t have been overwhelmed so badly, but with only a single work to her name, even its success couldn’t silence critics. Some trolls even claimed her talent had already run dry.

If the insults were directed at Luo Chen himself, he might just laugh them off. But if they involved his own sister, that was a different story.

“Huang Ying? If it's him, that’s going to be tricky, isn’t it?” Yan He, noticing the commotion, walked over and spoke up. Anyone who followed Stardust Platform had heard of him; as one of its mainstays, Huang Ying’s influence was far beyond what mere newcomers could match.

Luo Chen gave a wry smile. If only Huang Ying knew that the platinum contract he coveted was, in someone else’s eyes, nothing but a worthless scrap of paper—how would he react?

According to the profile, Huang Ying was quite the prideful character. Should he find an opportunity to take him down a notch?

“Tianyi, haven’t you thought of any new songs these past few days?” Yan He turned to look at Luo Tianyi, who was still grumbling. It had been nearly two weeks already—hadn’t she come up with any ideas?

“Well... I’m still thinking,” Luo Tianyi replied. In truth, she hadn’t thought about it much. She hadn’t even spent all the reward money from last time.

“It isn’t that easy to create an original, outstanding song—not to mention you’re not professionals,” Le Zhengling remarked knowledgeably. She knew well that a song that could take the nation by storm was no simple feat, and even among professional songwriters, only a handful ever produced true hits.

“Actually, if you want an original song, I do have one.” Luo Chen hesitated for a moment, then offered candidly. After all, there was no risk of copyright claims in this world, and no one would question it if he passed it off as his own.

“You can write songs, Luo Chen?”

The girls around him froze, then all turned their eyes on Luo Chen. Even Dai Xinhua, busy with her drawing, looked over.

Facing their suspicious, incredulous, curious, and delighted expressions, Luo Chen steadied himself. He was confident he could keep his secret.

“It’d better not be something you just made up,” Le Zhengling said skeptically. She was still a bit put out with Luo Chen because of the whole Dai Xinhua incident.

“Don’t worry, the quality is absolutely guaranteed.”

Having witnessed firsthand how these songs had triumphed with audiences in his previous life, Luo Chen had every confidence. And with Luo Tianyi herself singing, the impact in this world could only be greater.

“Then we’ll leave it to you, Luo Chen!” Luo Tianyi was delighted. She had faith in her brother; no self-respecting brother would ever sabotage his own sister.

“Mm, but while I remember the lyrics, the melody is only in my head...”

Luo Chen could recall the lyrics perfectly, but he had no experience arranging music, nor did he have the right equipment at home.

“As long as you can sing it once and show us the tune, I have both the staff and the tools,” Le Zhengling said, a hint of challenge in her tone as she watched Luo Chen’s confident expression.

As the heiress of the Le Zheng Group, the country’s largest musical instrument supplier, she naturally had access to all the professionals and facilities she needed.

Besides, how could a truly high-quality song be created so easily? Not to mention, someone who didn’t even know how to arrange music—how could he possibly write anything good?

If he didn’t have real ability, she certainly wasn’t going to waste her effort on any of this.

Thanks to the readers Shou Hu Ni Xiao, the author team, Gluttonous Jelly, and Ling Nian for the 100 Starting Point Coins—much appreciated. Finally, as always, I ask for your recommendations!