CHAPTER 121: CHAPTER 115: HALLUCINATORY MANEUVER, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?_3

"Ten million? A hundred million even! This guy is way more impressive than Song Daddy! He takes full charge of lyrics, composition, and arrangement. Let me tell you, even the big shots from the islands would have to bow and act all polite in front of this kind of god."

Whether it was a true sigh of relief or something else, once the song was released, everyone in the industry relaxed.

With a more relaxed mindset, they finally had time to discuss other matters. Many people even shifted the topic of their group chats from the album to the mysterious Youmeng.

It couldn’t be helped; the pressure from this album’s early stages had been immense. It was like a deity descending, parting the waves with unstoppable momentum, projecting an aura of invincibility.

Right off the bat, it was a classic hit. The subsequent tracks, one after another, showed no signs of decline. Who wouldn’t be scared out of their wits?

Thankfully, the quality of the songs finally seems to have dipped a bit. That’s good news; it means not all the songs are of that unshakably high quality. If this trend continues, they should get progressively worse. This had become the consensus among most people, though the outcome was often unexpected.

On the third day, at eight in the morning as always, a new song appeared. As usual, it arrived without any warning, quietly, with extraordinary calm.

Though they claimed indifference, many people still harbored uncertainties deep down. So, they couldn’t help but dutifully wait in front of their computers, ready to give this new song a listen.

What they heard, however, threw them into a state of inexplicable panic.

"The Girl With Wings"

Lyrics: Youmeng

Music: Youmeng

Arrangement: Youmeng/Chu

Producer: Guo Jingtao/Chu

When the customary information appeared, no one reacted at first, but it quickly dawned on them that something was amiss.

According to everyone’s speculation, Youmeng was only supposed to have written a few of the main hits. At most, there’d be one more of similar quality to fill out the numbers, and the rest were supposed to be sourced from the market, right? So how is this still Youmeng’s work? A person’s reputation precedes them. No matter how mediocre, songs from Youmeng haven’t been truly bad so far, have they? Could it be that all our previous guesses were wrong?

They didn’t have much time to ponder; the song had already begun to play.

"When I was still a naive girl,"

"Who encountered love but didn’t understand it,"

"From the past to the present,"

"..."

"See me fly I’m proud to fly up high,"

"I can’t rely on others to lift me up forever,"

"Believe me I can fly I’m singing in the sky,"

"Even if storms cover me, I’m not afraid to start over,"

Listening to the soft voice, gentle as a slowly flowing breeze, countless people gaped. They stared in disbelief at the playback interfaces on their computers, phones, and various devices. Some frowned deeply; others felt their hearts race uncontrollably.

"No... no way?"

"Could it be..."

Their questions were destined to remain unanswered, at least not today.

This continued until the fourth day of the album release, again at eight in the morning.

Inside Xu Qingqiu’s studio, Li Chunhua, like a general coolly strategizing from behind the scenes, asked with outward calm, "Is everything arranged?"

"It’s all set, Sister Hua. The last music video has also been completed and sent to all the music platforms."

"Good. Prepare to enjoy the show!"

As Li Chunhua clenched her fist and gently thumped it on the table, the clock struck eight. On all platforms, the album page for "Dreams and Departures" refreshed.

Innumerable visitors who clicked in stared wide-eyed at the content displayed on the page, involuntarily crying out.

"Holy shit!"

"Holy shit!"

"Are they insane?!"

"Not one song, not all of them, but two songs?"

"What the hell kind of move is this? Are they messing with us?!"

If you’re going to do a bundle release, then put everything out. If all the songs are good, then... either release them all at once or dole them out bit by bit. What’s with this—squeezing out a little one moment, then dropping two songs the next? What are they doing? What about the rest? Who’s ever seen such a bizarre approach? They’re completely breaking the rules! Are they toying with us simpletons?

It wasn’t just industry insiders who were baffled; even netizens and fans couldn’t understand it.

There was no discernible pattern whatsoever. If this was a marketing strategy, where was it? Was the strategy to have no strategy at all? And if it wasn’t a strategy, then why the irregular releases—sometimes more, sometimes fewer?

Li Chunhua, of course, wouldn’t admit that they were short on funds and rushing, or that this was happening only because the MVs weren’t ready.

But the netizens didn’t know that; they had never encountered such tactics before.

This is an album release, not a variety show! Even TV dramas wouldn’t dare to release one episode one day and two the next. No one plays it like this!

Regardless, this whole series of maneuvers left everyone utterly confused, whether they were industry insiders or not.

There was no pattern to discern, let alone guess their objective. Trying to find weaknesses or analyze their strategy yielded no clues whatsoever. The opponent was completely unorthodox, like a reckless novice felling a seasoned master with wild punches.

Be that as it may, the songs still had to be heard. Perhaps things would become clearer after listening.

Though they didn’t understand the methods, the netizens were the most straightforward. As long as the songs were good, that was all that mattered. They might not grasp the industry’s intricate workings, nor did they particularly care about them.

"’Blooming All The Way’ and ’Flower In The Wonderland?’"

"’Two flowers today? And before that, there were two wings. Are these names chosen so casually?’"

Netizens looked at the names, somewhat puzzled. But listening to the songs was paramount, so they quickly proceeded to listen, with most choosing to start with the first one listed, "Flower In The Wonderland."

"’The only pure white Jasmine Flower’"