163: Chapter 163 preview released, anticipation is at its peak.

Lu Li finished reading, handed the phone back to Shen Qingxue, and let out a scoff.

"Just this?"

Shen Qingxue took the phone, lowered her head to glance at that trending search again, and her brows furrowed slightly.

"I looked into this person named Lin Zhihan; she is a newcomer recently signed by Starlight Entertainment. Her vocals are decent, but she lacks any distinctive features."

She paused and looked up at Lu Li.

"It's just that pushing her out to sing traditional Chinese style music right now, with the timing calculated so precisely, makes it hard not to overthink."

Lu Li leaned against the sofa with his hands behind his head and thought for a moment.

"Are you saying that Starlight Entertainment is coming for us?"

"Mm."

Shen Qingxue nodded, her expression solemn.

"We post traditional Chinese style songs on Douyin, and they promote traditional Chinese style songs across the entire network. We sing traditional Chinese style in the competition, and they also push newcomers to sing traditional Chinese style."

"This is no coincidence. Once the hype is stirred up, the popularity will be terrifyingly high—possibly even more exaggerated than ours."

Hearing this, Lu Li couldn't help but laugh.

"So what? The quality of our songs is right here. Can they really flip the sky upside down?"

Hearing this, Shen Qingxue immediately gave a wry smile.

"The problem is, what if they deliberately choose to release songs at the same time to divert our traffic? You have to know that we don't have promotional resources; from this step alone, we've completely fallen behind."

"No matter how hard-hitting the song's quality is, without promotional resources, it might just end up as a niche song appreciated only by a few."

Shen Qingxue's tone turned serious.

"Starlight Entertainment's resources are beyond anything we can compare to. They have the best promotional channels, the most internet trolls, and the most mature hype teams."

"If they really want to go head-to-head with us, we won't necessarily get the upper hand."

The living room fell silent for a few seconds.

Lu Li straightened his posture, his previously playful expression turning serious at this moment.

"Then do you mean we should avoid their timing? Postpone it?"

Shen Qingxue shook her head.

"We need to advance it."

Lu Li was slightly stunned.

"Advance it?"

"Mm."

Shen Qingxue put down her water cup, leaned forward slightly, and her gaze fell on Lu Li's face.

"Since Starlight Entertainment wants to go head-to-head with us, then we'll fight them."

Her tone was resolute, and her eyes carried a sharpness Lu Li had never seen before.

"We still have four high-quality traditional Chinese style songs unreleased, and their quality speaks for itself. As long as we choose the right timing, I don't believe we'll be suppressed by a newcomer."

Lu Li stared at her for two seconds and suddenly smiled.

"This is the Shen Qingxue I know. So when do you say we release them?"

Shen Qingxue thought for a moment and then spoke.

"Starting tomorrow, we'll release your red dust inn first, and then the two of us will release one song a day in order."

"Tomorrow?"

Lu Li was slightly stunned.

"So urgent?"

"We have to be urgent."

Shen Qingxue picked up her phone and flipped through the calendar.

"The day after tomorrow is Friday, which is the time with the highest web traffic. Moreover, Starlight Entertainment's new song will most likely be released on Friday as well."

She paused and looked up at Lu Li.

"If we can release it a day earlier than them and raise the expectations, we might just seize the initiative."

Lu Li leaned back on the sofa, thought about it, and then nodded.

"Fine, your brain works faster than mine anyway. You call the shots."

"Since that's the case, let's release a teaser right now," Shen Qingxue said after thinking for a moment.

Lu Li nodded.

Releasing a teaser now was indeed a good choice.

"Right, how should the caption for the teaser be written?" Lu Li turned his head to glance at Shen Qingxue.

Shen Qingxue thought for a moment and said, "Just say that following hair like snow... a new traditional Chinese style song will officially launch tomorrow night at eight."

Lu Li nodded, took out his phone, and tapped on the screen a few times.

After finishing the caption, he handed the phone to Shen Qingxue.

"Take a look, how is it?"

Shen Qingxue lowered her head to glance at it, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly.

"It's fine."

Lu Li grinned and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Then I'm posting it."

"Post it."

Soon, his fingertips pressed down, and the video was successfully published.

"Alright, let's sit back and wait."

Lu Li placed the phone on the coffee table and quietly waited.

The living room remained quiet for quite a while.

Until Lu Li felt that enough time had passed, he reopened his phone to check the reactions in the video's comment section.

[Holy crap? The moment I clicked in, it's information that Lu Li is releasing a song?!]

[Wait wait wait wait, Lu Li is singing? Did I read that wrong? Wasn't he always behind the scenes?]

[Lu Li's singing is actually not bad either. Furthermore, to some extent, I feel that the few songs he sang are no less inferior to the goddess's singing.]

[Hahaha, I've finally waited for Lu Li to open his mouth. I was almost dying of waiting! His songs only have those few lines; it's simply not enough to listen to!]

[Looking forward to it, looking forward to it, looking forward to it! I'm setting an alarm for eight tomorrow night!]

[By the way, am I the only one who noticed the two words "traditional Chinese style"? hair like snow has already achieved legendary status; can this song surpass it?]

[Don't step on one while praising another upstairs; they were all written by Lu Li, so the quality is definitely guaranteed.]

Lu Li flipped through the comments one by one. Seeing a comment praising him, the curve of his mouth grew wider and wider.

Tsk tsk tsk, it seems the netizens' eyes are still sharp.

They really all have good taste.

"Look, the reaction is not bad at all. The netizens are all praising me."

Shen Qingxue leaned over to take a look, and the corners of her mouth also curved up slightly.

"Mm, it's better than expected."

She paused and added another sentence.

"However, don't celebrate too early. The real test is tomorrow; after the song is released, the netizens' evaluations will be the key."

Lu Li waved his hand with a confident expression.

"Rest assured, I know what I'm doing when it comes to the quality of this song."

Shen Qingxue glanced at him and didn't say anything more, because what she was thinking was the same as Lu Li.

...

Over the next half hour, the teaser's popularity climbed once again at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The discussions in the comment section grew increasingly heated, and the number of shares was also growing rapidly.

Lu Li leaned back on the sofa, crossing one leg over the other, sipping yogurt intermittently.

Simply delightful!

Shen Qingxue sat across from him, also scrolling on her phone.

Her expression wasn't as overt as Lu Li's, but the slightly upturned corners of her mouth still betrayed her.

"Hey, look at this one."

Shen Qingxue suddenly spoke up and turned the phone screen toward Lu Li.

Lu Li leaned over to take a look; it was a comment.

He read it out word for word.

[By the way, isn't Starlight Entertainment also going to release a new traditional Chinese style song? The time seems to be Friday? Is this about to turn into a head-on clash?]

Underneath this comment, there were already hundreds of replies.

[Holy crap, now that you mention it, it really is!]

[This is getting interesting. Shen Qingxue seems to have come out from Starlight Entertainment, right? Is she about to butt heads with her former agency?]

[Lin Zhihan? It seems I've never heard of this person. Can she compare to Shen Qingxue?]

[Don't rush; Starlight Entertainment's resources are no joke. Once the publicity spreads out, who wins and who loses is still uncertain.]

[But the quality of Lu Li's song-writing is right there; hair like snow is the best proof.]

[That's because Shen Qingxue sang it well. If Lu Li sings it himself, it might not necessarily be the same, right?]

[To the person above, I don't like hearing you say that. Although Lu Li's singing skills are inferior to Shen Qingxue's, they aren't that far off.]

The comment section became as chaotic as a pot of porridge.