Chapter 92: Qin Pei’s Path to a Comeback

“It seems the October Billboard results are already set in stone—there won’t be any more changes!”
“That’s not necessarily true. There’s still half a month left. Maybe there’ll be a reversal!”
“Based on historical data, half a month is usually enough to predict the final rankings. Even if there are differences at the end, they’re negligible.”
“I agree with the previous point—after half a month, all the factors like resources and song quality have already peaked. The overall trend is determined.”
“I can’t agree with that. Miracles do happen in this world, don’t they?”
“...”

While everyone debated the outcome of the battle between Jiang and Xi, few noticed that Qin Pei’s five songs remained steady as ever, gradually climbing in numbers.

-------------------------------------

In an old neighborhood in Luocheng, a burly man squatted on his balcony. He smoked a cigarette as he grabbed a nearby bottle of beer, downing several gulps. His bloodshot eyes betrayed many sleepless nights.

His name was Xiao Lin, and he’d only recently been released from prison. More than a decade ago, in a nightclub, the girl he secretly loved was harassed by a group of thugs. He tried to intervene, but failed. When those men tried to drag her away and force her to drink, he, emboldened by alcohol, grabbed an ashtray from the table and struck. That single blow cost him twelve years.

He still remembered the autumn he was incarcerated—the leaves falling, the streets filled with chunky, brick-like cellphones. Now, upon release, everything was touchscreen smartphones.

While in prison, she visited him a few times every year. The last time was this August. She told him she was getting married. He smiled and wished her happiness. After a brief conversation, he turned and left. He never told her about his sentence reduction or that he’d soon be released.

Over the years, he’d worked sewing machines, dug in mines, and stitched shoe soles—his heart worn smooth by hardships. But once outside, insomnia haunted him night after night. Each time, he’d squat on the balcony, smoking and drinking, sometimes for an entire night.

Recently, he’d gotten her address through someone else and secretly went to see her. Seeing her happy, he felt happy for her too. Yet, a stubborn longing remained, one he couldn’t let go of.

Tomorrow was her wedding day. After that, he’d have no direction at all. He couldn’t understand why, in the end, he was still alone.

Buzz! His phone vibrated. Putting down the beer, he pulled the phone from his pocket. A music platform recommended a song:

“Mortal Fireworks”

“Everyone in this world is but a firework—cherish it while you have it; be grateful when it’s gone!”

Boom! That sentence struck him right in the heart. With trembling fingers, he opened the link and downloaded the song without hesitation.

“In the world’s brief fireworks, you once blossomed,
Etched into a few hearts, then lived on in solitude...”

As he listened, tears streamed down his face. He sat there for a long time before finally standing up and going out.

Downstairs at her place was quiet, but the lights upstairs shone brightly. He squatted in a nearby greenbelt, smoking and playing the song on repeat.

By six in the morning, dawn was breaking. Firecrackers sounded in the distance—the wedding procession had arrived. From today on, she was someone else’s bride. He would be alone from now on.

He stood, stubbed out his last cigarette, and walked away. At that moment, he suddenly felt at peace.

Back home, he picked up his phone. With clumsy fingers, he left this comment under “Mortal Fireworks”:

“Perhaps loneliness is life’s main melody. The road is still long; I won’t be disappointed anymore.”

Similar stories unfolded in other song comment sections, and in countless corners of the world.

“Flowers of Jiangnan have withered; from now on, I live in solitude!”

“The world’s fireworks are beautiful, but I won’t return in the next life.”

“How can a single song move me to tears, when I don’t even know where my sorrow comes from?”

“Actually, you chose your script for this life in heaven before you came, just because in this script... there was someone you wished to meet!”

“...”

A thousand listeners, a thousand faces—each person had their own feelings about the music. Each was sharing their own stories and emotions.

As of October 19th, Qin Pei’s five songs had accumulated more than 200,000 comments in total. Though these songs had faced much criticism elsewhere, it couldn’t be denied: they easily stirred people’s emotions. Perhaps that was why they’d become viral hits online.

On October 25th, downloads of “Mortal Fireworks” surpassed ten million, pushing it directly to third place on the charts, even knocking the “Next Stop, Queen” album out of its spot.

Soon after, the second, third... all five of Qin Pei’s songs stormed onto the Billboard, occupying positions three through seven. Meanwhile, Xi Siyuan’s new album “Fly” was squeezed down to eighth place.

The entire internet was in an uproar! The unnoticed underdog quietly climbed the rankings at her own pace, even defeating second-tier singer Xi Siyuan. No one had seen this coming.

“Qin Pei is a true dark horse—she managed to stand out in such a tight spot. Unbelievable!”

“Did any of you pay attention to her data before? When did she start climbing?”

“After mid-October, I thought the rankings were locked in and barely checked anymore. Then I saw the news today, went to look, and got the shock of my life! So exciting!”

“If this pace continues and rankings are based on singles, Xi Siyuan might not even hold onto a top ten spot!”

“Teacher Tang Guo is truly formidable—we should have seen this coming! We just got distracted by the hype around Jiang and Xi’s competition.”

“...”

With public attention, Qin Pei’s song data surged again. No one had expected the final days of October would be dominated by the heat around Qin Pei and Tang Guo.

At Star Orange Entertainment, Qin Pei was so excited she kept refreshing the numbers. Checking the charts had become her greatest joy these days.

Though she had full confidence in Su Chen, and had expected to make the list, the reality was far more exhilarating than she’d ever imagined.

After October, her career might really take off.

Of course, there were both winners and losers. In recent days, Xi Siyuan had lost her composure more than once. As the end of October drew near, her mood shifted from anger to fear. If... in the end, she was defeated by Qin Pei—not to mention any loss of value—she’d become the industry’s biggest laughingstock for a long time.

But now, with the end of the month approaching, the resources allocated to her by the company were exhausted. Nothing more could be done.

Finally, under the gaze of the entire industry, October came to a close.

Because the ranking of songs within albums needed time to be counted, the final ranking would be released at noon on November 1st. Insiders, however, could already guess the outcome.

According to the rules, songs in albums would be split and ranked as singles. For example, in Jiang Yan’s new album, except for the two songs composed by Su Chen, the rest would be ranked based on album sales.

But if a song from the album was also released as a single, like “Next Stop, Queen,” its single downloads and album sales would be combined for ranking.

So, based on the numbers at midnight on October 31st, a simple calculation could predict October’s Billboard situation:

Jiang Yan swept the top three.
Qin Pei rose as the dark horse.
Xi Siyuan’s reputation suffered.

If anyone had said this at the beginning of October, no one would have believed it!