From the morning onward, news about *The Wind Rises* flooded the internet. Haiyin Entertainment sprang into full action, with major media outlets unching a frenzy of promotion.
At 11:55 a.m., Xu Nuo sat in the director’s office. Zhao Yuan had already ordered takeout, and the three of them—Xu Nuo, Zhao Yuan, and Qin Bangyan—stared at the NetCloud Music page on the screen.
The food had gone cold, but none of them touched their chopsticks. Zhao Yuan kept refreshing the page.
Elsewhere, Lin Wanqing stared at her computer, her knuckles white from clenching her fists, a thin yer of sweat beading on her nose.
Liu Shun kept comforting her. “It’s fine. This song’s quality is top-notch.”
“I know, Sister Liu,” Lin Wanqing said. “I’m just a little nervous.”
Chen Xiaoman was doing the same, refreshing her page over and over.
Her new song, *The Story of July*, was released to go head-to-head with Lin Wanqing. Both targeted the graduation season, singing of youth, and Chen Xiaoman even had a slight edge in promotional resources.
This was make-or-break.
At exactly noon, NetCloud Music’s website gged briefly before recovering in under thirty seconds.
The homepage carousel began looping links to both songs.
Xu Nuo pulled out his phone, bought a copy, and pyed it.
Lin Wanqing’s grasp of the song was impeccable—her transitions between high notes and falsetto were seamless, practically perfect.
By 12:10 p.m., *The Wind Rises* hit 100,000 sales, nding at 24th on the new song chart.
A starting point that was many artists’ peak.
Qin Bangyan, seasoned as he was, wasn’t too shocked by the result.
In the early stages of a song’s release, companies organized chart-boosting efforts, and the intensity depended on the song’s potential.
This result didn’t mean much yet—there was a lot of artificial inftion.
Zhao Yuan gasped. “Such high sales right out of the gate? That’s incredible!”
Xu Nuo smiled faintly. “Basic stuff, no big deal.”
Lin Wanqing didn’t rex one bit, her eyes glued to *The Wind Rises*’ sales while asking Sister Liu to monitor *The Story of July*.
Sales mattered, but crushing Chen Xiaoman was just as crucial.
Direct showdowns like this were rare, usually only happening in head-to-head competition or when there was bad blood.
Fans’ purchasing power was limited—few would buy two songs in the same style at once.
The pie was only so big; how much you got depended on your skill.
Lin Wanqing and Chen Xiaoman were direct rivals, and they had a history of animosity.
At 12:10, the two songs’ sales were neck-and-neck, ranked 24th and 25th.
With each refresh, their rankings climbed in a tight chase.
By 12:30, sales broke 200,000.
The growth seemed to slow a bit.
It was a workday, though—office workers had just clocked out for lunch, and the midday break hadn’t even started.
In Mr. Qin’s office, their stomachs growled in unison.
“Let’s eat, let’s eat. We can check the numbers ter,” Qin Bangyan said, rubbing his belly and urging them to dig in.
The three scarfed down their cold meal.
At 1 p.m., the new song chart shifted dramatically.
Sales spiked.
*The Wind Rises* broke 500,000, while *The Story of July* hit 600,000.
Xu Nuo was a bit surprised. He clicked on Chen Xiaoman’s song to listen. The intro kicked in—it wasn’t bad.
After it finished, Qin Bangyan offered his take. “This song’s decent. Released at a different time, it might’ve had a shot at the top. Still, it falls short of *The Wind Rises*.”
“Mr. Qin, then why’s it outselling?” Zhao Yuan asked, puzzled.
Xu Nuo gnced at her. “Because sales don’t always reflect quality.”
He casually opened the fan leaderboard and nodded at Zhao Yuan to take a look.
“What’s wrong with it?”
Qin Bangyan watched silently from the side.
“The top buyer got 2,000 copies.”
“This one bought 1,314.”
“This one, 520.”
From the top spot to the top hundred, no one bought fewer than a hundred.
Zhao Yuan’s jaw dropped, realization dawning. “These are fans boosting the charts—one person’s buying that many?”
Xu Nuo nodded. “Fan chart-boosting props up early sales, then draws in more buyers—like advertising. If the quality holds up, it’s a solid strategy.”
He pulled up *The Wind Rises*’ fan leaderboard.
The top ten were numbers like 1,314, 999, 520—symbolic figures—but noticeably fewer than the other song.
By the top hundred, purchases leveled off to normal amounts.
“Looks like Sister Lin didn’t organize a fan push, so sales are gging. Should we tell her to rally her fans?” Zhao Yuan asked.
Xu Nuo shook his head. “Fan power’s limited. Unless you’ve got a massive following, a million or two in sales is about the ceiling. Now’s when the real fight begins.”
Qin Bangyan chimed in. “Xiao Xu’s right. There are exceptions, though—like some fresh-faced idol hitting ten million purely on fan hype.”
“…” Xu Nuo was speechless.
Damn, idols were the same everywhere. You could trust their fans’ dedication, but their taste? Never worth dissecting.
If you did, Xu Nuo could only give a thumbs-up and say, “Bold pate.”
Lin Wanqing slumped on the sofa. “Sister Liu, we’ve been overtaken.”
Liu Shun patted her back, whispering comfort. “It’s okay. It’s only been an hour. Let’s wait and see. If it doesn’t pick up, we can organize the fans?”
“No,” Lin Wanqing said, lips pursed, eyes defiant.
Liu Shun’s heart ached, unsure how to console her.
Her feud with Chen Xiaoman went way back—since their debut, they’d cshed. Before this release, Chen Xiaoman had bragged she’d take first and prove her dominance.
Liu Shun sighed. “Should we ask Mr. Wang for more resources?”
“Let’s wait a bit longer.”
---
Tianyi Entertainment.
Chen Xiaoman radiated triumph. “Sister Li, order coffee for the whole office. My treat today.”
Basking in the office’s fttery, she glowed with confidence.
A head-to-head showdown, and she’d won. From now on, she’d have the upper hand over Lin Wanqing wherever they met. Maybe no tangible gain, but the satisfaction was intoxicating.
She could already picture Lin Wanqing shrinking back at their next encounter.
With that thought, she grabbed her phone and posted on Weibo.
“I’m off to nap. Sister Li, keep an eye on sales.”
On Weibo, a post shot up the trending list with simple content:
“Strength speaks for itself.” Attached were screenshots of *The Story of July* and *The Wind Rises* sales.
The provocative post set Weibo abze.
“Badass! Strength and swagger!”
“She’s staking her cim over Lin Wanqing.”
“Chen Xiaoman: ‘Lin Wanqing, I dare you to respond.’”
“Am I the only one who thinks this is overblown? Those sales look fishy—bought and paid for, right?”
“I’ve got money, I’ll spend it how I want. What’s it to you?”
Weibo erupted, but Lin Wanqing’s account stayed silent.
Xu Nuo sent her a message, telling her not to worry.
No one had more faith in this song than him. A yearly gold hit didn’t earn its name for nothing.
(End of chapter)
