Wu Fan had just gotten ready for bed when he received a call from Yin Ping.

Before he could even say a word, he was scolded viciously by Yin Ping, completely dumbfounded. It wasn't until Yin Ping finished yelling that Wu Fan finally processed what just happened.

He, a so-called godfather of music, was being yelled at by someone who didn't know a thing? And not just anyone—but someone who'd already been thrown out?

Wu Fan couldn't help but laugh in anger. Without even bothering to explain, he decisively hung up and blocked Yin Ping.

There was no point wasting words on someone like that.

Sitting upright on his bed, Wu Fan stared at his phone. Now there was no way he could sleep. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Not because of the scolding—but because ever since Gu Xingyi showed up, his songs had lost to him twice in a row.

These days, even people requesting songs from him had noticeably decreased. Worse still, many singers, when talking about him, Wu Fan, would first bring up Gu Xingyi.

That made Wu Fan incredibly anxious. The resentment in his heart toward Gu Xingyi only grew deeper and deeper.

He didn't deny that Gu Xingyi wrote good songs—but his own songs weren't bad either! He believed their skills were on par, and the only reason he lost was because of the singers!

Feeling irritated, Wu Fan opened his phone again, planning to catch up on entertainment news. And that's when he saw it—number one on the trending chart: a Weibo post from Xia Xiyao.

Wu Fan narrowed his eyes. Her again.

He didn't even know when it had started, but the entertainment industry he once knew was gone. Now, the trending list was practically monopolized by Gu Xingyi and Xia Xiyao every single day.

Fuming, Wu Fan clicked into the post.

It was a video—and in it was the very source of all his pent-up resentment: Gu Xingyi.

Wu Fan listened in silence to the children's song Gu Xingyi was singing, his frown deepening with each second. After hearing it twice, he slammed his phone down on the bed in anger.

"Damn! Just shameless crowd-pleasing! And he dares to post something like that?"

Wu Fan felt utterly insulted. That such a simple children's song could reach the top of the trending chart? He could write something like that with his eyes closed!

What infuriated him even more was seeing people online say they could no longer listen to any other songs after hearing Gu Xingyi's. Wu Fan took that as the biggest slap in the face.

The gloom in his eyes only deepened. Then suddenly, as if struck by a thought, he picked up his phone again and made a Weibo post tagging Xia Xiyao.

"This is it? And you had the nerve to post it? Everyone says Gu Xingyi writes great music—I say it's just this level. A clown chasing cheap attention!"

After posting it, Wu Fan immediately felt a lot better. Especially when he saw his fans backing him up—his heart felt even more at ease.

See? There are people in this world who understand music! Wu Fan read through the comments from his fans and felt like he'd found his soulmates.

But that joy didn't last long.

Because soon, many netizens who were still browsing Xia Xiyao's Weibo noticed Wu Fan's post—and the reaction was explosive!

Especially Gu Xingyi and Xia Xiyao's fans. They'd been happily enjoying themselves when they suddenly got attacked—of course that ruined their mood!

So, netizens and fans from both sides rushed over to Wu Fan's Weibo and the argument exploded.

   "Just sitting at home and getting randomly hit by a pot from the sky? All Xia Xiyao did was post a slice-of-life clip, and now jealous people are crawling out to pick a fight?"

   "And tagging her too? You really think you're still the music godfather?"

   "Gotta say, Wu Fan's songs are decent too! It's just that his and Gu Xingyi's styles are different—his are more… unconventional."

   "Calling that ‘unconventional' when it's basically music from the underworld? Yeah, I'm not a fan."

   "No need to bash one to praise another. Wu Fan's creepy songs do have their own charm—honestly, they kind of freak me out a bit."

   "Who's bashing who? No one even mentioned him—he just jumped out looking to get roasted!"

   "Exactly! He lost twice in a row and couldn't take it, so now he's out here biting people!"

   "Our family's Wu Fan-gege's songs are way better than Gu Xingyi's! How many songs has Gu Xingyi even written? And how many has my gege written? Doesn't anyone have a clue?"

Amid all the online bickering, Wu Fan's Weibo post steadily climbed in popularity—and before anyone realized it, it had also made it onto the trending chart.

Wu Fan kept his eyes glued to the live stats. When he saw that his post had made it to the hot list and that quite a few people were backing him up, the gloom he'd been holding in began to fade, and his confidence slowly returned.

As for the people questioning him? He would slap them in the face with his strength!

The reason he dared to post this Weibo in the first place was because the theme for the first round of the StarSong Gathering finals was "tragedy" and "horror"—his specialty!

Wu Fan let out a small smile. He wasn't some brainless fool—if he dared to stir the pot, he had already come prepared.

Right after, he opened his Weibo again and took advantage of the hype to upload another post.

   "I know a lot of people will question me for saying this—but I, Wu Fan, don't care!

   A good song is a good song! No amount of cheap crowd-pleasing can prove otherwise! You doubt me? Then I'll respond with skill!

   First round of the StarSong Gathering finals—let me ask Gu Xingyi: do you dare accept my challenge?

   If I lose, I'll willingly give up the title of music godfather and personally apologize to Xia Xiyao!

   But if I win, I only ask one thing—Gu Xingyi must publicly admit that he's not as good as me, Wu Fan!"

Once he hit post, Wu Fan smiled again, no longer paying it any attention. He tossed his phone to the head of the bed and lay down with satisfaction.

Because he knew full well—this was the same as throwing down a challenge letter. He didn't even need to look. He could already predict that this Weibo post would explode onto the trending chart.

And sure enough, just as Wu Fan had expected, the moment that second post went up, it caused a massive stir.

A veteran songwriter formally challenging a rising star—this was a once-in-a-century event in the entertainment world!

Several media outlets were instantly shaken. They scrambled to write headlines, with speed as their top priority.

"Is a New King Ascending? Or Will the Old King Continue His Legend?"

The fiery headline was quickly pushed to the top of the trending chart. Whether they were Gu Xingyi's fans, Wu Fan's fans, or just nosy onlookers—basically everyone was now hyped for the first round of the StarSong Gathering finals!

Meanwhile in Modu, inside the celebrity apartment complex of Shengshi Entertainment—

Miao Anyun's assistant, Yu Ranran, banged on her bedroom door in excitement, phone in hand.

Miao Anyun rubbed the space between her brows, sitting up with a blanket wrapped around her chest. She looked a bit annoyed by her assistant's dramatic energy—she'd just spent the whole day rehearsing and was finally ready to rest!

"Ranran, what is it now? What's got you in such a rush?"

Yu Ranran, catching sight of her lady boss' delicate bare shoulders, swallowed hard. In her opinion, in the entire entertainment industry, looks-wise, only Xia Xiyao could even remotely compare to her lady boss!

It's just that their styles were totally different!

Xia Xiyao gave off a gentle-as-water vibe, while her boss was like a blazing flame!

She was enchanted by both!

Seeing her assistant's starry-eyed expression, Miao Anyun couldn't help but grow more exasperated. Her assistant was great in every way—except for always harboring questionable thoughts about her.

"Ranran!"

Miao Anyun raised her voice slightly, snapping Yu Ranran back to reality. Only then did she remember there was actual news to report!

"Yunyun-jie! Big news! Take a look!"

As she spoke, Yu Ranran shoved the phone screen right in front of Miao Anyun's face.

Miao Anyun helplessly took the phone and glanced at it. Moments later, her brows furrowed. She pointed at the content on the screen and said:

"I agreed to use his song for the finals? When did I ever do that?"