Chapter Thirty-Four: King Wan Is Rather Idle

Three days after the new semester began, Ren Qian made a special trip to Brother Liang’s place, intending to record “Long Time No See,” “Guardian Angel,” “Brooding,” and “Farewell to Ideals.” He had never considered uploading these songs to music platforms before, not until yesterday when a manager from Wangyi Music called to negotiate with him.

The manager wanted to collaborate, offering to purchase the rights to stream his songs (that is, to have him upload his original tracks to Wangyi Music Box, while the company would promote them for free, though fifty percent of the paid download profits would go to the company).

After this conversation, Ren Qian finally realized that while he could do without signing with a label, he couldn’t go without a platform to promote his music.

Weibo’s influence, after all, was limited and one-sided.

Relying on Weibo alone to hit forty million sales was nothing but a pipe dream.

Besides,

Downloading songs from Weibo was a hassle—lyrics had to be scrolled manually, and after the song finished, you had to click again to replay, as it wouldn’t play automatically.

So, Ren Qian decided, for the sake of all the praise he’d received from Wangyi, to partner with them. He would record the songs he’d performed and upload them to Wangyi Music Box right away.

However, upon arriving at Brother Liang’s place, he discovered the recording studio had been turned into a convenience store. Brother Liang had already moved out without even leaving a message.

Ren Qian was at a loss for words—he hadn’t even had the chance to say goodbye.

……

Since the day before yesterday, when “Dream of the Red Chamber” premiered in the primetime slot on Imperial Central Television, Weibo had been flooded with posts about it.

The girls in the show seemed to have walked straight out of the novel;

The visuals were exquisitely beautiful and captivating;

The details were refined and true to the original.

These qualities, even though only four episodes had aired, had already whetted everyone’s appetite for more.

Moreover,

Its classically elegant cinematography gave the illusion of reading the original novel—both aurally and visually, it was a delight.

Netizens hailed “Dream of the Red Chamber” as the undisputed masterpiece of the year!

Hundreds of people praised the plot, the aesthetics, the actors, the attention to detail—yet, amidst this chorus, an unexpected wave emerged.

With no organization, in countless times and places, from all corners, people began to sing the praises of the show’s intoxicating music, its theme and ending songs.

“I really love that godly song at the beginning—‘Counting bit by bit, round and round’—but there’s absolutely no information about it online. Is there no official soundtrack? I desperately need it—help!”

“I wasn’t planning on watching ‘Red Chamber,’ but while flipping channels I accidentally heard the opening song. Isn’t it just wonderful?! I only caught it partway through, so I went back and watched the rerun the next day—twice wasn’t nearly enough! Director, can we please have an original soundtrack? Please, may good fortune follow you always.”

“All the songs in ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’ are beautiful! My absolute favorite is the opening ‘Stone Record’—heavenly music, it brought me to my knees. The lyrics are so profound, conjuring vivid imagery—once or twice just isn’t enough! And the lyrics perfectly encapsulate the entire novel, inviting endless imagination. The rest of the songs are also steeped in classical charm—absolutely enchanting!”

“Am I the only one who noticed this amazing fact? The theme song, ‘Vain Longing,’ was both arranged and performed by Ren Qian. That ethereal opening track, ‘Stone Record,’ was also his work, and even ‘The Song of the End’ was arranged by him! All of the music in this show was created by one person—Ren Qian.”

“The moment I heard that opening Cantonese song, I knew it was my immensely talented Qian God! Who else but Qian God would be so passionate about singing in Cantonese? Personally, I think Cantonese enunciation is especially suited for singing—it has a unique flavor.”

“Who is this Qian God? Hmph, never heard of him. Don’t exaggerate—don’t be so clueless.”

“Don’t take ignorance for granted! You don’t even know Qian God… what a disgrace.”

“I went through the cast list several times before I finally confirmed it—the music and themes were all made by Ren Qian alone! If these really are his work, let’s all go worship him together.”

Director Wang of “Dream of the Red Chamber” posted:

“The netizens guessed right—all the music for the entire series was composed by my young friend Ren Qian! And his musical talent is truly astonishing. Though these songs were all produced in a single day, each one fits the original novel perfectly, with compositions and lyrics of the highest quality—one would never guess they were rushed, but rather, they seem like masterpieces an artist spent years crafting. Moreover, Ren Qian is an easygoing and genuinely good person. If not for his generous help, our ‘Red Chamber’ might have been left with a painful regret. My heartfelt thanks again! As for an official soundtrack—go ask Ren Qian yourself. Ren Qian.”

With Director Wang stepping forward to clarify, the topic reached yet another peak.

His use of ‘young friend Ren Qian’ suggested the composer was quite young. Young, supremely talented—who else could it be but the recently celebrated ‘Qian God’?

Once the truth was deduced, netizens erupted, flocking to Ren Qian’s Weibo to pay homage.

“Qian God, please accept my humble kneeling.”

“Kneeling to Qian God. In a single day—just one day!—he composed the score for a thirty-five-episode drama, and every song is top-quality. Especially that first one—after hearing it, I couldn’t sleep at night. Could you possibly be any more amazing?”

“Worshipping Qian God!”

“Qian God, please record the single ‘Guardian Angel’! Every day I can only watch that video on Weibo and get hyped—just on data, I’ve spent three hundred yuan!”

“Qian God, I must say—your name may have ‘modest’ in it, but you shouldn’t be so low-key! How can something this awesome go unsaid? Let your fans brag for you everywhere, especially in front of Wan Feng, that old king—let’s blow him away! See if he dares act high and mighty again.”

“Worshipping Qian God!”

“Worshipping Qian God!”

As this wave of adoration continued to surge, Ren Qian’s popularity on Weibo soared even higher.

If “Boundless Skies” had merely drawn some attention to him from netizens;

If that New Year’s Gala video had given him a bit of notoriety;

If, after Lin Ruowan’s album became a hit, Ren Qian caught the tailwind and dominated two of the top three trending topics on Weibo, thus earning begrudging recognition;

Then this time, single-handedly composing the score for a television drama finally made him an overnight sensation.

After all, in the public’s subconscious, singing a TV drama’s theme song is far more legitimate than being an internet singer.

What’s more, “Dream of the Red Chamber” aired on CCTV’s prime time, with a vast reach, beloved by young and old alike—it was impossible not to attract attention.

However... there’s truth to the saying, “The higher the tree, the more wind it catches.”

After more than a month of silence, King Wan Feng resurfaced to reclaim the spotlight.

In a move begging for disaster, he posted on Weibo, targeting Ren Qian:

“I was shocked to hear that someone could be entrusted to compose and write the theme song for a classic television adaptation. My heart nearly skipped a beat. Has the crew fallen on such hard times that they can’t even hire a decent musician? How can a crew lacking even basic equipment, with such a careless attitude toward art, possibly create a good show? Heartbreaking. It’s all just a sign of declining standards and lost values! Alas.”