Chapter 424: Number One Trending Search—Public Opinion Explodes!

Chapter 424: Number One Trending Search—Public Opinion Explodes!

Wu Chen had no interest in sitting in front of a computer watching how the song was doing. There was no need. He could predict exactly what was going to happen.

The public storm this song set off would be unprecedented. Beyond anyone’s imagining.

“Miss An, want to have dinner together? Or… do you need to work late?” he asked with a smile as she came back from her call.

“Well…” An Menglan hesitated.

He had come to Modu today, and as the “host,” she felt she ought to entertain him. Even setting their private relationship aside, their business partnership alone called for it.

Not to mention that he had just caught the traitor in her company.

But.

She truly was busy. The album’s release schedule was punishingly tight. Hosting him today had already cost her several hours, and with the audio leak hanging over them, every hour the album slipped was another hour’s worth of lost money.

“You work late. Xiaodie and I happen to be meeting a friend anyway,” Wu Chen said.

In fact, he had worked the question of overtime into his very first sentence precisely so she wouldn’t feel awkward declining.

He already knew she would be working late tonight.

“Then… I’m so sorry, Teacher Morning Mist. Dinner’s on me another day…” An Menglan said apologetically.

Wu Chen left with Zhuang Xiaodie.

He really did have someone to see. There was no point in staying at Menghua Music.

An Menglan saw them downstairs herself. She watched them get into the Bentley Continental, and only after it had pulled away did she look back.

“Miss An, what kind of background does this Morning Mist actually have?” Yu Xiaohu, who had stayed at her side the whole time, couldn’t help asking once Wu Chen had driven off.

“Didn’t I already tell you? He wrote my entire new album. He’s the most talented musician I’ve ever met,” An Menglan said, looking at him.

Yu Xiaohu’s expression turned odd.

He still didn’t believe her. No background, nothing but talent, and that was enough for her to treat him like this? How much talent would that take? Or rather, how much more than An Menglan’s?

Could such a person even exist?

But he said nothing more. She wasn’t going to tell him the truth, and he couldn’t be bothered to keep asking.

Not long after.

Tongjiang Avenue.

It was past six in the evening, the sky nearly dark. Rush hour. The road was packed.

In the Bentley Continental, Zhuang Xiaodie sat in the passenger seat, scrolling on her phone. She was watching the buzz around “Genius Superstar,” but there wasn’t much to see yet. It had only been out a few minutes.

Driving one-handed, Wu Chen picked up his phone and dialed.

It connected quickly.

“Hello, Mr. Wu,” came Peng Wei’s voice.

“I just released a new song. ‘Genius Superstar.’ Stage name Morning Mist,” Wu Chen said without preamble. “I need it at number one on trending.”

“Ah…” Peng Wei froze.

He had heard of Morning Mist, the new singer who had lately blown up online. Several paparazzi studios already had their eyes on him and were getting ready to dig.

Morning Mist was Mr. Wu? Wu Chen?

Peng Wei was stunned. His impression of Wu Chen was a man with methods, with connections, with someone powerful behind him. He had never imagined Wu Chen could sing as well.

“Problem?” Wu Chen asked.

“No! No problem at all. Don’t worry, Mr. Wu, I’ll set it up right now!” Peng Wei recovered and gave his word on the spot.

Getting something to number one on trending was easy for him.

As head of the country’s top paparazzi studio, even Peng Wei couldn’t remember how many paid online accounts Wave Studio kept. Mobilized at full strength, the online force he could command directly was frightening.

Getting onto the trending list really was easy.

Only.

Getting on was one thing. Staying there, and whether people would tear into it, was something else entirely.

Good “content” that made the trending list brought good results.

Poor content, pushed up into the spotlight, got ripped apart instead, and the backlash could be severe.

Peng Wei had no idea what Wu Chen was after. He could tell the man wasn’t short of money. Mr. Wu singing to make money? The very idea struck Peng Wei as bizarre.

It definitely wasn’t about money.

“Mr. Wu, if I may be so bold, what exactly are you trying to…” he couldn’t help asking. He was afraid of misreading the intent and botching the job.

“I just want it to catch fire faster. Push the buzz as hard as you can. Don’t worry about the consequences,” Wu Chen said. He understood what Peng Wei was worried about.

And he was telling the truth.

He knew that even with no one promoting it, “Genius Superstar” would blow up across the entire internet within a day. But that wasn’t enough for him. He needed it to explode faster. He wanted the biggest possible storm online in the shortest possible time.

After hanging up with Peng Wei, he dialed another number.

That one connected quickly too.

“Hello, Mr. Wu! Hahaha! You finally called, Mr. Wu. I was starting to think you’d forgotten old Mao!” Mao Rusong’s booming laugh came down the line.

Under Gu Ruibo’s influence, the man had all but enshrined Wu Chen like an ancestor.

“Boss Mao, I’m in Modu,” Wu Chen said with a smile.

“Oh! When did you get in? You should have told me! I’d have come to pick you up and laid on a proper welcome banquet!” Mao Rusong was deference itself.

“I’m already in the city. Pick a place. Let’s talk about the company,” Wu Chen said.

“Sure, sure, sure! I’ll set it up now and call you right back. Just give me a moment, Mr. Wu… Oh, right, Mr. Wu, should I give Brother Gu a heads-up? Or will you call him yourself?” Mao Rusong agreed and asked in the same breath.

“I’ll call him,” Wu Chen said.

“Got it! I’ll hang up for now and call you back in a bit!”

The call ended…

Wu Chen called Gu Ruibo next.

He was naturally closer to Gu Ruibo. The partnership between Wu Yurong, Lei Cheng, and Gu Ruibo was already underway, every side quietly laying its groundwork behind the scenes.

It was a deal worth tens of billions of yuan.

Wu Chen himself wouldn’t touch that money, but from Gu Ruibo’s point of view, Wu Yurong’s share was effectively Wu Chen’s.

Shared interests were often the strongest bond there was.

Not to mention how close Gu Ruibo was with Li Ruotai personally.

The reason Wu Chen had called Mao Rusong first was that Mao Rusong had once given him forty-five percent of Chenghai Entertainment, a company under his control. Chenghai was currently valued at about two hundred million yuan, which made the stake worth roughly ninety million.

Those shares were registered under Zhuang Xiaodie’s name.

Wu Chen had brought her back to Modu with him this time, which meant it was time to put her path into show business on the agenda.

They needed to talk.

…

At around seven-thirty that evening, Mao Rusong hosted a welcome dinner for Wu Chen in a top-floor private room at Canghai Grand Restaurant in Pudong District. Gu Ruibo was there too.

They ate and chatted.

Wu Chen didn’t mention An Menglan. He only talked about Chenghai Entertainment and his idea of setting up a company in Modu, and he didn’t spell it all out.

He didn’t need to. As long as Mao Rusong and Gu Ruibo knew, setting up that company would go off without a hitch from start to finish.

Whatever came up, Wu Chen wouldn’t even have to say a word. Someone would smooth it over.

In truth, he didn’t need anyone. He could smooth over anything himself.

But.

He wouldn’t be based in Modu for the long term. Zhuang Xiaodie would. She needed people here to protect her and clear the way.

…

A little after eight that evening.

Menghua Music, the president’s office on the top floor.

Behind the desk, An Menglan stared wide-eyed at her computer screen, so nervous she had unconsciously lifted a finger toward her mouth to bite it. She could hardly believe what she was seeing on Weibo.

Morning Mist’s New Song Genius Superstar.

Number one trending across the entire internet.

The buzz had exploded.

In second place was the news of a celebrity wedding: two first-tier stars tying the knot, the day’s biggest headline. Its search heat stood at around eight million.

The number-one topic, “Morning Mist’s New Song Genius Superstar,” had reached a staggering forty million.

At numbers three and four were “Genius Superstar” and “Morning Mist New Song Controversy,” both above seven million. At the current rate, they would soon break into the top three.

When they did, all three top trending searches would be about Wu Chen’s new song.

And in sixth place, at five million, was “How Fast Does Morning Mist Rap?” It, too, was climbing fast.

It was an unprecedented frenzy of public attention.

It had completely exploded.