Chapter 21: Magnanimity!

On the way back.

Suddenly, Garen’s phone rang in his pocket. Glancing at the caller ID, he saw an unfamiliar number. After some thought, he answered, “Hello?”

“Hello! Is this Mr. Garen?” came a man’s voice from the other end.

“Yes!” Garen replied. “And you are...?”

“Oh, hello, hello! I’m Wang Cheng, music director at Five Star Music Network.” The man introduced himself. “Recently, your songs have been very popular on our site. We have a live music segment and would like to invite you for a residency to stream your performances. Would you be interested?”

“No,” Garen responded flatly. “I’ve already signed with a company and don’t plan to go into live streaming.”

“Haha, Mr. Garen, I’m aware of that.” Wang Cheng replied, “Our live broadcasts come in several formats. For you, it wouldn’t require sitting in front of a computer; we’d stream your usual performances. Please consider it—what do you think?”

Garen paused to think more seriously. “I see... That’s not a problem, but you’ll need to contact my company or my agent.”

“Of course, of course!” Wang Cheng agreed, though he felt a pang of regret. The proposal he submitted took more than half a month to get approved by his company. Had it been granted earlier, perhaps things wouldn’t be so complicated now.

He then asked, “Mr. Garen, could you give me your agent’s contact number?”

“Sure,” Garen nodded, then held his phone to the ear of Wu Chaoyang, who was driving. “Wu, he’s asking for your number.”

“139...” Wu Chaoyang readily recited his number, then added, “The surname’s Wu, and I’m responsible for all of Garen’s affairs. If you need anything, contact me directly from now on.”

He had heard most of Garen’s conversation and understood the gist—regardless of whether cooperation was possible, it was best to discuss first.

No sooner had Garen hung up than another call came in almost instantly. The caller ID: Chen Yingying.

He immediately put on a smile, and as soon as he answered, Chen Yingying’s laughter rang out. “Superstar! It’s getting harder to reach you—your line’s always busy!”

“Oh, come on!” Garen chuckled helplessly. “Stop teasing me. I’m nowhere near that yet!”

“Still acting modest? I just checked online! Now there are news articles about you all over the major portals!”

“What?” Garen was startled. “It’s already online? What are they saying?”

“Take a guess!” Chen Yingying giggled.

Garen protested, “Alright, you won’t tell me? I’ll hang up and check for myself!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you!” she laughed. “But you’d better brace yourself.”

Garen’s face lit up with excitement. “Go ahead, I’m ready. Tell me how they’re praising me!”

“Haha, just don’t feel too discouraged when I tell you!”

“What?” Garen was puzzled. What did she mean?

“There are lots of articles about your rescue, but only a few small sites mention your name. The big portals all refer to you as ‘TV theme song singer,’ and some even list you as ‘on-site staff.’ Hahaha!”

“What?” Garen sank into gloom. This was even more marginal than a bit part!

Wu Chaoyang, driving, overheard and couldn’t help commenting, “Garen, don’t get discouraged. It’s no big deal. Besides, I’ve hired some PR operatives—on microblogs, forums, and message boards, they’re already working!”

Garen barely heard him, still lost in playful banter with Chen Yingying before hanging up.

“Was that your girlfriend?” Wu Chaoyang asked as soon as the call ended.

Garen nodded, then shook his head. “Not yet! She’s coming over during Golden Week, and I want to confess my feelings then.”

Wu Chaoyang chuckled, “Honestly, you two are fine as you are. If you get involved right after debuting, it might attract gossip—not ideal.”

“That won’t do!” Garen shook his head. “I don’t see anything wrong with it. Besides, scandals are only shameful if there’s something to hide. We have nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Well, it’s up to you! Anyway, the entertainment industry doesn’t care much about such things anymore. Artists are people too. If you don’t have a girlfriend, audiences might even suspect there’s something off with you.”

With that, Wu Chaoyang started laughing and shared some amusing stories from showbiz.

They were still chatting when Garen’s phone rang again. This time, it was Wen Tao.

Garen hesitated slightly before answering. Since leaving the bar, they hadn’t contacted each other, so Wen Tao’s sudden call surprised him.

Still, he picked up. “Wen Tao!”

“Garen! You’ve made a name for yourself now!” Wen Tao said with a laugh. “I just checked microblogs—tons of posts about you. Even the official account of Capital City News posted about it.”

“Oh? Really?” Garen was surprised. Capital City News was a local paper in the capital, and though its microblog wasn’t hugely influential, it was still a publicity channel.

“Of course! Just check microblogs and you’ll see!” Wen Tao said cheerfully. “I never expected it—seems like only yesterday we were together, and today you’ve become such a sensation!”

“Haha, you’re exaggerating, Wen Tao. The media is just blowing things up,” Garen replied.

Wen Tao continued, “Well, I’m happy for your success. I saw the news. I heard your first EP is about to release. If so, you’re the first among us to schedule a release date. Soon we’ll be looking up to you!”

“Come on, Wen Tao! We’re brothers, no need for idolizing.”

“Ah, Garen...” Wen Tao suddenly sighed. “Don’t blame Shi Li for earlier events. I only found out recently—she had some conflicts with Liu Xiahui before, so she wasn’t targeting you. Don’t take it to heart.”

Garen laughed to himself, not at Wen Tao but at Shi Li. Still, he said aloud, “No worries, Wen Tao! It’s all in the past. Let’s not dwell on it.”

“Yes, right! It’s past now!” Wen Tao could tell, but appreciated Garen’s courtesy. “Garen, I won’t say much more. You’re sure to surpass us all one day! Keep it up!”

“Thanks, Wen Tao!”

They chatted a bit longer before Garen hung up.

He opened his microblog app, and instantly the notification sounds surged like waves. After some effort to turn off alerts in the settings, he found over five thousand messages mentioning him.

Of course, some were from hired PR accounts, but even so, the numbers were impressive.

His previous posts saw a surge in comments, shares, and likes, and his follower count broke three thousand.

Garen noticed a post from a famous influencer featuring a live video of “The Brightest Star in the Night Sky.” Not only were the lyrics attached, but the post read: Today I had the honor of attending the premiere of “That Graduation Year.” When a fan of Huang Daming attempted suicide, it was this singer named Garen who saved the fan’s life with an original song. Though he’s an unknown artist, he possesses a great heart. Let’s give him a round of applause!

This influencer had over a million followers, and the post quickly drew significant attention, with more than 100,000 reposts and 2,000 comments.

“This song is so moving. Who is the original singer?”

“Didn’t you read the poster’s words above? It’s by a singer named Garen, an original piece…”

“Garen, let me try summoning you with my spell!”

“Oh wow! This is going viral!”

“Is this a publicity stunt? Since when does the poster get involved in such things?”

“Nonsense! I just saw it in the newspaper—this really happened!”

An online singer chimed in, reposting and commenting: “I know this Garen. Five Star Music Network hosts several of his original tracks. They’re excellent!”

“Upvote! Support compassion!”

“I heard all the interlude and theme songs in ‘That Graduation Year’ are sung by Garen. This guy is talented!”

“What? Wasn’t the theme song supposed to be sung by Huang Daming?”

“You’re behind the times. Huang Daming is an actor, and compared to a professional singer, he’s not in the same league!”

“Get lost! My idol could never be worse than a newcomer! What a joke!”

Suddenly, hordes of Huang Daming’s die-hard fans swarmed in, sparking a flame war.

Many of his fans traced the discussion back and started attacking “The Brightest Star in the Night Sky.”

“What a terrible song! No skill at all, guitar playing sounds like street busking!”

“Yeah, the song’s just mediocre.”

One of the influencer’s fans retorted, “Mediocre? Write me a mediocre song, then! You probably don’t even know do, re, mi!”

Thus, Garen’s own fans joined the fray. Though fewer in number, many had followed him from Chili Music and Five Star, true loyalists.

Among them, one with the username “Boiling Fish” left frantic messages everywhere, but always just one phrase:

“Life never stops! Battle never ends!”

“Life never stops! Battle never ends!”

“Life never stops! Battle never ends!”

“……”

Garen looked over the colorful comments, both amused and touched.

Many people tagged Garen, asking him to say something. His fans, in particular, were somewhat overwhelmed; after all, Huang Daming’s fanbase had been cultivated for years, with numbers and fervor far beyond Garen’s.

After some thought, Garen realized he had nothing substantial to offer, nor was he fit for the battle. So he wrote a single line on his microblog:

When others slander me, it’s better to tolerate than to argue.
When others insult me, it’s better to transform than to defend.

After posting, Garen closed the app, leaving behind a stunned online crowd.

Someone was the first to comment under the post: “Magnanimous!”

Immediately, netizens seemed to agree, lining up in the comments with just two words: Magnanimous!