Chapter 28: Do You Really Have That Much Faith in Me?

On Weibo, the posts were buzzing.

"'Little Luck' is available for download now! The lossless quality is incredible! Hurry up and download it before they start charging!"

"Ahhh! I've searched every music app so many times today, and it's finally released! I absolutely love this song—I can play it on repeat now!"

...

In the book review section, readers of the novel "Little Luck" were also sharing the latest news.

"Attention, fellow fans! 'Little Luck' is out on all major music platforms—you can download and listen now!"

"That lazy author isn’t sticking to writing the novel and actually went off to compose a song! But since the song is so good, you’re forgiven!"

...

Yu Zhile kept refreshing the 'Little Luck' page across the major music platforms. He couldn't see the download numbers or play counts, but the number of comments was rising at an astonishing rate!

At NetSoundCloud—a platform whose name could easily be mistaken for NetEase Cloud—Yu Zhile’s favorite feature was the barrage of live comments scrolling across the music interface. He clicked to display all comments, and instantly, the screen was flooded with lines of text!

And it had only been ten minutes since the upload.

He hadn't expected that, without any active promotion, so many fans would flood in within only ten minutes!

In the comment section, it was as if an army of fans had descended—refreshing the page added hundreds more comments each time.

In just this brief moment, "Little Luck" had already surpassed five thousand comments on NetSoundCloud!

At this rate, it would easily break ten thousand in no time.

...

On CoolSong Music, "Little Luck" was also a runaway hit. Though it lacked the novelty of NetSoundCloud, which had exploded in popularity in recent years, CoolSong remained a solid and powerful platform, and its traffic was by no means inferior.

After about ten minutes, the number of comments on "Little Luck" at CoolSong was also about to surpass ten thousand!

Beyond these, the two slightly less popular platforms also saw significant activity for "Little Luck"—it was clear this song had gone viral overnight!

Yu Zhile was certain it wouldn’t be long before this song would sweep through schools and echo down every street and alley.

And soon, music platforms would probably reach out, hoping to buy exclusive rights to the song so it couldn't be released elsewhere.

Yu Zhile was averse to such competition. He remembered all too well the frustration of having to install multiple music apps just to listen to his favorite singers’ songs.

Since all of Qin Haiyu’s releases had always been uploaded for free across all the major platforms, Yu Zhile had no intention—now or in the future—of signing any exclusive licensing deals.

For one, he wasn’t short on money. More importantly, his favorite singer—just like his wife—was beloved by fans precisely because her music was free for all, which earned her immense loyalty and influence.

And so, when albums were released, countless fans would rush to support her, breaking sales records time and again!

He closed the four music apps and, while his mother and wife took care of the baby, decided to use the spare moment to work on a new composition for his wife’s next performance.

Today, Yang Bing’s revised program proposal should have been submitted. If all went well and the producers were sensible, they would likely make the changes just as Yang Bing and he had discussed.

He’d also considered suggesting they take a page from Director Hong Tao’s book and announce the singers’ vote rankings, but ultimately thought better of it. If they couldn’t capture the essence, it would just turn into another flaw rather than a highlight.

“Wife, I’m going to work on a new song. If you need anything, call me or come get me.”

After hearing Qin Haiyu’s reply, Yu Zhile closed the door to his study and immersed himself in music.

By midday, Yang Bing messaged him, excitedly announcing that his revisions had been accepted by the director, and from the next episode, "I Am a Star Singer" would be revamped, introducing a revival vote for eliminated singers!

Yu Zhile smiled knowingly at the news. Everything was unfolding just as he’d envisioned.

"Congratulations! I’m sure the next episode will be well received—when the ratings and play counts go up, you’ll get your promotion and raise!"

Yang Bing replied, "Old Yu, thank you so much! Without your advice, if I’d stuck to my original plan, the show would probably have backfired and become a joke!"

Yu Zhile asked, "How many episodes are you recording this season for 'I Am a Star Singer'?"

Yang Bing explained, "Normally it's thirteen episodes. In two days we’ll record episode eight. Every two episodes, a challenger singer joins and one is eliminated. That means, before the grand finale, six singers will be up for the revival vote."

Yu Zhile understood, "So there’s about a month left to go!"

"Exactly," Yang Bing confirmed.

...

Five days later.

The National Day holiday was over, and Yu Zhile’s mother had returned to teaching.

Life for Yu Zhile’s small family of three returned to its peaceful routine. The couple teased and joked every day, the baby laughed and cried, and their home was filled with joy and envy from all around.

Saturday came again.

When the eighth episode of "I Am a Star Singer" aired, the host, Ni Qiqin, began by explaining the revamped segments.

Watching TV, Qin Haiyu exclaimed, "The show’s had a total overhaul! The judges’ panel doesn’t have voting rights, and the audience’s votes are only revealed at the end! After so many seasons, I can’t believe they changed the rules so suddenly!"

Already in the know, Yu Zhile replied, "It’s the right change! The judges’ votes were pointless anyway—nine times out of ten, they voted with bias. Take Teacher Wu, for example—no one would dare not vote for him, even if he sang off-key!"

"Now that judges’ votes are just ‘likes,’ it’s much better—it won’t be like before, when the judges’ votes basically determined the ranking."

Qin Haiyu nodded. "It does seem a lot better, especially with the audience vote revealed at the end—it keeps everyone in suspense! For the singers, it won’t be so discouraging if someone earlier gets a sky-high score."

When they mentioned the revival segment, Qin Haiyu was again surprised. "The producers really did add the revival vote, just like Teacher Wu suggested! That means I might have a chance to make a comeback in the finals!"

Yu Zhile said, "Not just a chance—you’ll definitely make it and turn the tables!"

Qin Haiyu couldn’t hide her smile; her beautiful eyes sparkled as her long lashes fluttered. "Husband, do you really have that much faith in me?"

Yu Zhile answered bluntly, "No, I just have a lot of faith in the songs I’m preparing for you!"

Qin Haiyu: "…??"