103. The Unresolved Tender Crush

Lu Tianyu's blog post instantly ignited his fan group.

"Finally, some great news! Old Yu has finally responded!"
"So that's what he was busy with all day—recording a song."
"How should I put this? I have very mixed feelings. He was free enough to go to a concert yesterday, and today he drops a new song—one by Ji Fanxing, no less. Considering Ji Fanxing has been busy with the competition, it’s highly likely he only had one day to prepare this track."
"Oh my god, now that you put it that way, I’m even more panicked!"
"Maybe Ji Fanxing had already written the song beforehand. Can you guys have a little faith in Old Yu?"
"Ji Fanxing’s competition schedule was so intense; he had to prepare a song almost every week, and he even had to write songs for Hailan during the finals. Under those circumstances, how could a song written for our brother be anything good? I said we should have attacked Ji Fanxing from the start. Now we’re stuck in this awkward, passive position."
"Whatever, I’m definitely not going to stream or boost the stats for this song! It makes me so mad. Who is he trying to brush off with this?"
"Even if it was adopted by state media, so what? I just don't like someone like Ji Fanxing!"
"Alright, stop arguing. Just listen to it and you'll know."

Seeing the growing negativity in the group, Yan Lili, the president of the fan support club, stepped in to regain control. As a top fan, she was also feeling distressed; after a whole day of chaos, the ones who suffered most were their own people. She had been a fan for so many years, and Lu Tianyu had never let them down; she told herself she should have more faith in him.

Despite this, Yan Lili still felt uneasy. After all, the entertainment industry was murky, filled with all sorts of monsters and demons, and in recent years, scandals were everywhere. Some of her friends had seen idol after idol fall from grace. In such an environment, who could guarantee that one’s original intentions would remain unchanged? They used to mock others for such things; she just hoped they wouldn't become the laughingstock this time.

Before listening, some of the more laid-back fans even started strange rituals.
"Heavenly spirits, please let Ji Fanxing be good this time! I don't want to change my idol again, boo hoo."
"Oh God, I just want to support an idol in peace. I’m willing to lose twenty pounds of fat if Lu Tianyu is actually reliable this time. Amen."
"Oh my, the merchandise cards I bought haven't even arrived yet. I promise to eat a balanced diet every day if only this song, 'Drowning in Suspense,' sounds amazing!"

With preparations complete, everyone clicked the music link in Lu Tianyu's Weibo post simultaneously. Yan Lili clicked with a judgmental attitude. As soon as she entered, the unfamiliar page surprised her. "Huh? Did MoLe change its interface?" MoLe was the largest music platform in the Dragon Kingdom and the one Lu Tianyu usually used for releases. She squinted at the logo; it looked remarkably like the icon for the DouShou app, but the name was "Bubble Music."

"???"

Before Yan Lili could figure out what was going on, the song began.

"Da-da-da, da." A clear, rhythmic tapping sound echoed, and as the last beat fell, the prelude kicked in. The arrangement sounded a bit niche, which only deepened the anxiety in Yan Lili’s heart. It sounded strange, yet inexplicably alluring, as if she were submerged underwater, with sounds from all directions filtering through the cold water to reach her. She looked up at the shimmering surface, a powerful impulse rising within her, as if a mysterious force were pulling her.

"I advocate letting go if I cannot stop,
This battle between desire and despair.
The lingering warmth, she likes to slip out the door,
And as she leaves,
She casually turns off the lights~"

These few lines of lyrics, short and exquisite, suddenly brought clarity; it was love that was pulling her. Lu Tianyu's voice was like a breeze in early summer—soft and bright.

"So funny,
Ya i ya i ya i ya i ya i ya i ya,
Ya i ya i ya i ya i..."

The climax of the song lacked complex lyrics, consisting merely of that simple, pure humming that ran throughout. This humming sounded like a whisper from the depths of one's soul, flowing quietly until it fell into the heart's lake, stirring up ripples. The second half of the song was much like the first; the lyrics were sparse, filled with seemingly meaningless pauses that Yan Lili couldn't find a single fault with.

"Stunning." That was the only word that surfaced in her mind.

When the song ended, Yan Lili had long forgotten her initial urge to judge. She paid for the track, downloaded it in one click, added it to her player, and moved it to her "Favorites" list—all in one fluid motion. Putting on her headphones, she couldn't help but listen again and again.

At the same time, the top editor on "Little Broken Station," "Nanfeng Tingyu," was listening with glowing eyes, his mind already flashing with various clips that could be edited to this music, unable to stop himself from exclaiming, "High-class! This is high-class!"

In a high-end hospital room, Liu Ting watched her daughter, Yangyang, who was finally starting to gain weight, and leaned happily into her husband's embrace as they listened to "Drowning in Suspense."

"Fang Cheng, thank you for being willing to take my advice and use Ji Fanxing’s song for the commercial."

Fang Cheng stroked his wife's hair with affection. Over the years, Liu Ting had been exhausted by their daughter’s illness; it had been the hardest time, but fortunately, they had persevered. After rigorous verification, the medicine mentioned in that mysterious paper could indeed cure Type I Destruction Syndrome. Now, their daughter only needed to focus on recovering. He believed their family would only get better from here.

"Why thank me? 'Invisible Wings' met the requirements in both content and quality. What’s rare is that the songwriter actually opened up the copyright of the song for public welfare projects. How could someone so sincere hurt his family or sell himself out for a bit of profit? As expected, this 'Drowning in Suspense' is also excellent."

As he spoke, Fang Cheng pulled her closer, his thoughts drifting back many years. "Listening to this song, I suddenly remembered when I had a crush on you back then. You were like a ray of light, and I didn't dare to approach... I am so glad I gathered the courage to step into the light back then. Otherwise, I would be just as melancholy as the person in this song."

Liu Ting’s ears turned red, and she tapped Fang Cheng’s chest gently, though she felt a sweet sense of lingering fear. "Thank you for gathering the courage back then."

In that moment, the two sat in each other's arms, quietly immersed in "Drowning in Suspense," recalling the long-forgotten, unresolved shyness of their first love.

...

Less than ten minutes after Lu Tianyu's release, the download count for "Drowning in Suspense"—one of only two songs on the newly launched "Bubble Music" channel by DouShou—had already surpassed ten million.

In the DouShou executive conference room, Feng Teng looked at the data in his hand with satisfaction, his heart blooming with joy. The fact that Ji Fanxing had refused to meet him yesterday was pushed to the back of his mind. This was an unexpected windfall; he never imagined that a top-tier star like Lu Tianyu would release his song here after he had gone against the crowd to establish the music channel.

"Quick, increase the traffic!"

[I'm sorry, Ji Fanxing, we misunderstood you.]
[This song is truly amazing!]