171: Chapter 171 Does One Become Influenced by One's company?

Lu Li's expression gradually turned serious.

After the prelude of "qingyu" passed, Lin Zhihan's voice came out from the phone's speaker.

Her voice was clear and bright, her breath support was very steady, there were no problems whatsoever with her technique, and it could even be said to be quite outstanding.

The arrangement had indeed been put through a lot of effort.

The fusion of the guzheng, flute, and electronic drum beats was very smooth, and the production standard was clearly the work of a top-tier team.

Moreover, these instruments were all live-recorded, which was much more luxurious than Lu Li and the other two who could only use a small amount of live recording and a large number of synthesizers.

Before long, after Lu Li finished listening to the first verse, his brows furrowed slightly.

He turned his head to glance at Shen Qingxue.

The two people's gazes briefly intersected, saying nothing, and simultaneously turned back to continue listening.

The whole song wasn't long, around three and a half minutes.

However, the structure was regular, having all parts of an essay's structure, and no obvious flaws could be picked out.

But that was all.

When the last note fell, the living room fell quiet for two seconds.

Lu Li put his phone on the coffee table, leaned back against the sofa's backrest, and let out a long breath.

"What do you say?"

Shen Qingxue didn't answer immediately, remaining silent for a few seconds before speaking slowly.

"This song... the quality is better than I imagined, it's a bit unexpected."

She paused and continued speaking.

"Arrangement, production, and singing all have no obvious shortcomings; Starlight Entertainment really spent a fortune this time."

"Moreover, this song is a bit different from most assembly-line traditional-style songs on the market; she put effort into it, and this song indeed has its unique points."

Even though the other party was a person from Starlight Entertainment, she did not hesitate to give her own pertinent evaluation.

Lu Li nodded; he agreed with this point.

Before transmigrating, he had heard too many so-called traditional-style songs, the vast majority of which piled up ancient poetry and applied template melodies.

They sounded very "traditional-style", but in reality, they were extremely hollow.

Even the mainstream traditional-style music of this world was the same.

But the song "qingyu" was different.

Although it couldn't be considered a classic that would go down in history, at least it was sincere.

There was emotional input, details were polished, and it had its own ideas.

However, considering that this was a song created by Starlight Entertainment spending a lot of money, it was also understandable.

It was impossible to spend money and still end up with an assembly-line product.

"To be fair, we've really encountered a rival this time."

When Lu Li said this, there was even a trace of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

Shen Qingxue turned her head to look at him, somewhat surprised.

"It looks like... you seem quite happy?"

"Of course I'm happy."

Lu Li rested his hands behind his head and crossed his legs, his tone relaxed.

"Think about it, if the opponent is too weak, winning wouldn't be very interesting. Now that the opponent's quality has come up, winning will give a sense of achievement."

"Moreover, for a song like "east wind breaks", I certainly don't want those random nobodies coming to cling to our clout."

Shen Qingxue stared at him for two seconds, then withdrew her gaze, the corners of her mouth curving slightly.

"That makes sense."

"That goes without saying."

Lu Li straightened his posture from the sofa, picked up his phone, and glanced at the time.

"There are forty minutes left, our "east wind breaks" should also be going online. By the way, aren't you worried?"

Shen Qingxue glanced at him.

"I am indeed a bit worried, because this song really made us feel pressure, so..."

"Wait... so what?"

Shen Qingxue suddenly smiled slyly.

"So after "east wind breaks" is released later, whether the popularity can surpass Lin Zhihan's "qingyu" will depend on you. After all, you're the boss."

Lu Li was stunned for a moment, then patted his chest.

"That's a must!"

In the next forty minutes, the two people sat on the sofa, each scrolling through their phones, but neither spoke again.

The living room was so quiet that only the occasional message notification sound from their phones remained.

On the surface, Lu Li was browsing the comments, but in reality, he had always been paying attention to the data growth of "qingyu".

The comment section was already in an uproar.

[Sounds great! This song is truly amazing!]

[Lin Zhihan's voice has such great texture, truly living up to being the newcomer strongly backed by Starlight Entertainment.]

[To be honest, this song is a bit lacking compared to Shen Qingxue's "hair like snow", but not by too much.]

[Are you serious upstairs? A song of that level like "hair like snow" doesn't even come out once a year, okay?]

[No pulling down or stepping on either side, each has its own strengths, I like both anyway.]

[Anyway, I think "qingyu" sounds better than "red dust inn".]

[Hehe, as long as you're happy.]

After reading, Lu Li put his phone on the coffee table, leaned back on the sofa, and closed his eyes.

He didn't know what he was thinking about, his fingers tapping irregularly on his knees.

Shen Qingxue turned her head to look at him, unable to resist teasing.

"Nervous?"

Lu Li opened his eyes and glanced at her.

"Nervous isn't quite it; I'm just wondering how the other side will react after our song goes out."

Shen Qingxue thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"Hard to say, but high probability it won't be too friendly."

She paused and continued.

"We snatched their popularity, so they will definitely find a way to counterattack. However... whatever, it's already done, what is there to be afraid of? At worst, we end up with nothing."

Lu Li looked at her and suddenly smiled.

"The way you say that sounds just like something I used to say."

Shen Qingxue was slightly stunned, then smiled playfully.

"Mmm... probably because, close to vermilion, one gets stained red."

"Great, so I'm that vermilion?"

"You can also be something else."

"For example?"

Shen Qingxue turned her head to look at him, then calmly spat out a single word.

"Pig."

Lu Li: "..."

He almost couldn't hold back his impulse and wanted to press Shen Qingxue down on the sofa and spank her bottom as punishment.

Fortunately, reason overcame everything.

Otherwise, it would be chaotic and restless again later just like last night.

Seven fifty-nine.

Lu Li picked up his phone, took a deep breath, and opened the release page.

The audio file for "east wind breaks" had already been exported in advance, the cover image was also ready, and the promotional text had been edited well ahead of time.

He turned his head to look at Shen Qingxue.

Shen Qingxue nodded slightly at him.

Lu Li turned his head back, his fingertips hovering above the publish button.

"Three, two, one..."

"Publish!"

He pressed the publish button.

The moment the prompt that the video was successfully published popped up, Lu Li put his phone on the coffee table, leaned back against the sofa, and let out a long breath.

"Alright, now we wait and see."

Shen Qingxue didn't speak, but her gaze remained fixed on the phone screen.

After less than thirty seconds, the phone began to vibrate, prompting that there were new messages.

Seeing that the timing was about right, Lu Li picked up his phone and familiarly opened the comment section.

[It's here, it's here, it's here! Finally waited for this moment!]

[Front row, front row! I'll reserve a seat first!]

[Melon seeds, drinks, mineral water~ Make way everyone, pull your feet back!]

[Before listening to the song, let me scold first: Lu Li! If you ever let the Goddess sing such heartbreaking songs again, I'll be the first to settle scores with you!]

[Upstairs, you haven't even listened to the song yet, how do you know if it's heartbreaking or not?]

[This kid Lu Li writes songs without discretion; just looking at the song title is useless. Anyway, I'm getting my tissues ready first.]