Chapter 102: The Biggest Winner

Chapter 102: The Biggest Winner

Chen Feng only snapped out of his daze after Zhong Lei finished her ten-minute performance.

Two major reasons hit him so hard.

First, the sheer quality of the song “Self-Combustion” was truly powerful, enough to make him lose his cool.

Judging by Chen Feng’s current ability to appreciate music, he believed “Self-Combustion” was absolutely not inferior to “Baptism of Fire”.

He figured others would probably agree; this was still a timeless classic, sturdy enough to withstand the test of time and be celebrated for a thousand years.

This was both understandable and unexpected to him.

In his eyes, Zhong Lei seemed like an endless, inexhaustible gold mine.

Even if he dug it all out with one swing of his pickaxe, the gold inside would bubble back up like fresh water rushing into a good roadside well.

Second, he grasped the story the song was telling.

The guitar intro alone plunged Chen Feng instantly into the atmosphere the music painted.

He could almost see a mighty figure striding out of raging flames.

The figure looked a bit hazy, hard to see clearly, yet its steps were firm.

Listening at first sparked curiosity – why did this person brave the flames only to walk back out?

So initially, Chen Feng worried that this song might be just a bland, poor imitation, repeating the theme of “Baptism of Fire”.

But as the mood changed again and Zhong Lei began telling the story with lyrics and a new melody, Chen Feng understood the difference between “Self-Combustion” and “Baptism of Fire”.

Compared to “Baptism of Fire”, the character in “Self-Combustion” had stronger motivation, a clearer purpose, with an undercurrent of sacrifice.

It carried the feeling of being willing to set oneself ablaze, to defy the rules, all in order to save something.

The essence of “Baptism of Fire” was rebirth for oneself, while the essence of “Self-Combustion” was sacrifice for others.

This spirit of sacrifice was clearly pointing directly at Chen Feng himself.

As Chen Feng listened pondered and dissected the song, Zhong Lei mentioned that she had been brewing the idea for this song ever since she first saw the dashcam footage of the car coming from behind.

She was deeply moved by Chen Feng’s bravery, but also acutely aware of the danger he had faced.

Zhong Lei believed that if Chen Feng had made even a slight mistake back then, he would have fallen off a car going over 150 km/h, and would certainly have died.

So this song was her tribute to Chen Feng.

Chen Feng felt he didn’t deserve it, but he had to accept it.

His only regret was that this time, he truly couldn’t copy it.

“Well? What do you think?” Zhong Lei prompted, a hint of anticipation in her voice.

Chen Feng turned the question back. “Don’t you already have the answer?”

Her confidence was surging now, unstoppable.

Just like in the first timeline Chen Feng experienced, once she had created her first signature song and gained market acceptance, she never doubted herself again.

This time, it was even stronger; she had reached the peak of confidence without needing anyone else’s approval.

“No, I really want your opinion.”

“It’s excellent, no less than any song I’ve written for you.”

“Thank you. That’s the highest praise I wanted.” Zhong Lei put down her guitar, her voice trembling slightly with excitement. “Thank you, Chen Feng. I always believed I could do it before, but I never dared to say it out loud. I wasn’t afraid of being laughed at; I just didn’t want to disappoint myself if I committed and then failed.”

Chen Feng shook his head. “You were worried over nothing. I always knew you could do it.”

“I can do it. I haven’t failed my own pride. But without you, I definitely wouldn’t have reached this point now; it would have taken years more, right?”

Chen Feng thought for a moment. “In a way, you could say that.”

“Thank you for guiding me, and thank you for the superior you paving the way ahead. Over this period, I’ve absorbed your creative ideas like crazy, studied like mad. It was you who inspired me to write this song. Thank you, really, truly, thank you.”

After saying that, Zhong Lei dashed up the stairs, her footsteps echoing.

Chen Feng stood frozen, tears welling inside him. His emotions were too complex for words.

He was stunned by Zhong Lei’s terrifyingly fast growth – turning what took years into just months of progress. He was equally stunned by her candidness.

She actually admitted to absorbing his ideas.

After all, Zhong Lei was an intensely proud person.

Her evolution at such an incredible speed stemmed precisely from her refusal to lose, her unwillingness to forever just sing Chen Feng’s songs.

But now, she admitted she was absorbing someone else’s creative ideas – something that had never happened in any of the past timelines Chen Feng had experienced.

Chen Feng panicked.

Continuously taking advantage of the same person, and problems were beginning to surface.

What a silly girl.

You weren’t absorbing my ideas at all; they were all yours to begin with!

This served as a wake-up call.

Chen Feng decisively decided to bring Zhong Lei into Star Peak Entertainment too. First, he could manage her schedule, protect her safety, and prevent accidents like that car crash. Second, he could oversee her artistic career, ensuring things didn’t spiral out of control and shielding her from other disruptions.

Although Chen Feng could review Zhong Lei’s whole life each time he crossed timelines, there was always a one-month gap between jumps.

If something happened during that gap period, Chen Feng couldn’t fix it.

The next day.

This day was destined to be a perfect feast for ordinary listeners.

Chen Li and Ou Junlang’s new album, Lu Wei’s new single “Gift From Heaven”, and Zhong Lei’s single “Baptism of Fire” were all released simultaneously.

Something earth-shattering happened in the music world.

In just one day, “Gift From Heaven” climbed to the top spot, with “Baptism of Fire” hot on its heels. Further down, “Monotony”, “Night Has Grown Deep”, and songs from Chen Li and Ou Junlang’s album took turns appearing on the charts.

On the second day, “Baptism of Fire” successfully climbed to the number one spot. Later, Lu Wei’s many devoted fans rallied and launched a counter-offensive, reclaiming the top position.

Regardless of how the artists got along privately, their fans fought intensely.

So, during that day, the top spot changed hands repeatedly as the two songs fiercely battled, their statistics neck-and-neck.

One went down, the other came up; they traded places enthusiastically.

Of course, no matter how these songs competed against each other, to outsiders, it was just a battle between works all associated with Chen Feng.

He was the biggest winner.

On the charts of the two major platforms, Q Music and KuGe, he occupied all the spots in the top sixteen.

Besides one-time copyright fees, massive streams of royalties kept flowing in constantly.

After deducting all costs, channel expenses, the artists’ cuts, and the company’s controlling share, Chen Feng roughly cleared a net income of about 100,000 to 200,000 yuan daily.

At the same time, a flood of business proposals poured in like snowflakes from across the country and even the globe.

These requests covered things like borrowing melodies for movie soundtracks, using songs for promotional events and shows, allowing cover versions or adaptations, and more.

These business deals also promised steady, ongoing income.

For example, if Star Peak Entertainment authorized a movie to use Zhong Lei’s “Baptism of Fire” as its theme song, they would get a cut of the box office profits once the film premiered.

After the movie ended its theatrical run and moved to online pay-per-view, was re-aired on TV, or sold on DVD, Star Peak Entertainment would still get royalties.

The same applied to songs used in TV shows, whether theme songs or background music.

Another example: licensing a song to an advertising company. That company could extract the melody to use as background music for commercials or promotional songs. Every ad made would generate a fee paid to Star Peak Entertainment.

Then there were royalties from KTV plays, licensing the accompaniment for karaoke apps…

With proper copyright management in place, creating good music meant money flowing in from everywhere.

Genuinely talented creators who put effort into original work, don’t rush cheap stuff, and respect their audience deserve to prosper, not struggle.