103: Hey, why are you looking at his entry?

The director hesitated for a moment, then clicked on it.

The first video that popped up was a clip from the MV for "flammable and explosive." It was only 20 seconds long, featuring a few edited shots. I have to admit, the storytelling and visuals were both excellent.

The director felt a bit depressed.

It seemed Yue Qingzhu was truly about to make a comeback.

He opened the comments section.

"Wallpaper! I'm going to use her as my lock screen wallpaper."

"✧(◍˃̶ᗜ˂̶◍)✩ Sister, you're killing me!"

"That look from the mirror made my heart stop; it's unrealistically beautiful."

"Does anyone else get her doll look? She looks like a porcelain doll, a face crafted by modeling software, ahhh!"

"I'm going to do a makeup tutorial! ˃ᵕ˂ I'm going to cosplay that doll look!"

"Just finished watching it on Penguin Music, it's filmed so well."

"Holy crap, Chen Fang filmed this video?!"

Seeing the comment about Chen Fang filming the video, the director's grip on his phone tightened.

Chen Fang?

Him again?

Did he really break his seal, damn it?

The director's breath hitched. He froze for a moment, then closed his eyes and recited internally once more:

"It's fine, it's fine. Think about the people at Jia Kang Entertainment who suggested terminating his contract. Replacing Yue Qingzhu isn't a big deal, it's not a big deal..."

Damn it, how is it not a big deal! Sigh!

The director frowned and rubbed his chest.

Forget it, I'm done looking. Time to sleep!

...

Under the same sky, Yue Qingzhu sat in the nanny van heading to the company, happily reading the comments section. She also saw the netizens discussing the fact that Chen Fang was the director of the video.

"Chen Fang is so good at filming?!"

"He writes lyrics and composes music, and he also films videos? As expected of my Chen Fang!"

"Chen Fang, what's your relationship with her?!"

"They're collaborating, obviously. Are you a hater, OP? It's normal for them to collaborate since they're in the same entertainment company. Clearly, Chen Fang has many shining qualities that his new company has unearthed."

"Thanks to Jia Kang for the grace of terminating the contract!"

"Tang Xiaoyu: Teacher Chen is so good at filming?! Then I'll ask him to film for me next time! ᐢ˃ᵕ˂ᐢ"

"Little Tang, you should avoid suspicion. You still dare to ride his coattails?!"

"Tang Xiaoyu: Just kidding."

Yue Qingzhu stared at Tang Xiaoyu's message, her brows slightly furrowed.

Why should the sect disciple she invested in film an MV for Tang Xiaoyu?

He wants to be a director; of course, he should be making movies in the future! Why should he film videos for you!

Yue Qingzhu pursed her lips. "Hmph."

Her assistant, He Yuanyuan, turned her head and saw her looking indignant and annoyed. "What's wrong, Sister Qingzhu? Are there negative reviews?"

Yue Qingzhu snapped back to reality, sat up straight, and pretended nothing had happened. "No."

The assistant squinted and leaned in, a flash of mischief in her eyes. "That's not right, Sister Qingzhu. What exactly are you looking at?"

Yue Qingzhu tucked her loose hair behind her ear, picked up her phone, and faced the screen towards He Yuanyuan with a calm expression. "The comments section."

He Yuanyuan glanced at the screen. "Teacher Tang? Are you and Teacher Tang close?"

"Not close. I just... just think that everyone should be focusing on me in the video, not Chen Fang!" Yue Qingzhu turned away, not intending to continue the conversation.

He Yuanyuan muttered, "Then why are you looking at his trending topic? Look at the comments section of the hot search. As the lead, your popularity is much higher than his."

"I..." Yue Qingzhu turned her head, her gaze darting away for a moment, then she looked at her indignantly. "Can't I gossip? Don't you gossip about colleagues? Dare you say you haven't checked my social media feed? Hmm?"

"Fine, fine, fine." He Yuanyuan scooted to the other side.

She hadn't even said anything; why was she so agitated?

Half an hour later, Yue Qingzhu walked into the company lobby and arrived at the elevator entrance, waiting for the elevator to come down.

She had only been standing there for a while when she heard two girls chatting around the corner—

"Have you watched the 'flammable and explosive' MV?"

"Watched it, watched it. It's so beautiful; every frame could be a wallpaper."

"Right? It's really a pity that Sister Qingzhu is a singer."

"I feel like she usually just looks okay."

"You call that just okay? You must have looked at too many retouched photos. Even among celebrities, she's in the top tier. It's just that she rarely wears makeup, and even though she has a sweet-looking face, she always pulls a long face, hiding her strengths and exposing her weaknesses."

"Chen Fang is truly good at filming; he forced her into a cold and glamorous style. Ah, watching it makes me feel like I need to drink some herbal medicine."

Yue Qingzhu felt wonderful listening to this.

But as she heard the two people's footsteps getting closer, she felt a little panicked. They wouldn't come over, bouncing up to talk to her, would they?

Seeing the elevator door open, she didn't care that the elevator indicated it was going down; she pulled He Yuanyuan inside.

"What are you hiding from?"

"I don't want to form useless bonds."

Yue Qingzhu crossed her arms, stood against the corner, and stared at the floor display.

Alright, in reality, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to hold back her laughter amidst their gasps of "wow."

He Yuanyuan pursed her lips and sighed helplessly. "Bonds," really? How chuunibyou.

"I think Teacher Chen is right; you should interact with more people. If you want to learn songwriting, you need inspiration."

"Oh."

"Why don't you find a variety show to participate in?"

Yue Qingzhu blinked. "Uh, we'll see."

...

Meanwhile, in a high-end French restaurant next to the company.

The third-place artist on the charts, singer Zheng Ran from Shibei Sea Entertainment, was eating in a private room with his lyricist, composer, Manager, and other team members.

The pan-seared lobster and foie gras with fig jam on the table emitted an enticing aroma.

They were eating so well because this was their celebration banquet. A strong start; they had shot straight to third place in just one morning!

The Manager forked a piece of sea bass and dipped it in some bass sauce. "The second-place song lacks quality; it's all relying on his fame to hold it up. We should be able to reach second place eventually."

Just as he was about to put the fish in his mouth, his phone suddenly rang.

The Manager happily answered the call.

However, a message quickly came through the speaker—their song "Secret" had fallen to fourth place.

The Manager's smile froze on his face, and the fish on his fork suddenly didn't taste good anymore.

The singer Zheng Ran was a bit dazed. Didn't they say at noon that his play count and download count were double that of the fourth-place spot? How did it just disappear?

Seeing the Manager hang up the phone, Zheng Ran quickly asked, "Who overtook us?"

"'flammable and explosive.'"

The composer immediately opened Penguin Music and put on her headphones.

Half a minute later, a look of amazement flashed in her eyes.

This truly sang to the bottom of her heart!

She really wanted to say that losing to it wasn't unfair!

But looking at the grand meal on the table, she forced the words "it's not unfair" back into her stomach.

She took off her headphones, and just as she was about to close the screen, she caught a glimpse of the poster for the second-place song on the music app's homepage.

Heh, you'll have to come down too!

She pursed her lips, turned off her phone, and continued eating.

The others also didn't say anything; the atmosphere in the private room had clearly become somber.

Only the sounds of smacking lips and clattering cutlery remained.