Chapter 26: Preventing Problems at the Source

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At Xinghai Entertainment, recording studio, the recording of “Confession Balloon” was proceeding smoothly.

The singer called in for the session was Xinghai’s own leading talent, second-tier singer Zhao Wenji.

Upon hearing that President Peng had summoned him to record a song, he immediately turned down several engagements and came over.

“This song isn’t bad. Who wrote it?”

Outside the recording room, Zhao Wenji’s manager, Sister Hong, was speaking with a slightly portly man. He was He Nan, Xinghai’s star producer.

Since Peng Jiaxin was recording a song, Xinghai had naturally sent over its very best.

“A fellow named Chen Fan.”

With Zhao Wenji’s distinctive voice complementing the lyrics, He Pengnan could already imagine the song becoming a massive hit.

“Chen Fan? Never heard of him.”

“Exactly. But anyone capable of writing a song like this must have a solid foundation.”

“Can we bring him over?”

“You’ll have to ask President Peng about that.”

“How strange. Why can’t we register it?”

Nearby, He Nan’s assistant scratched his head in frustration.

“Still no luck?”

“No. It keeps showing an error.”

“Could he have already registered himself?”

This world placed extraordinary emphasis on authenticity. To prevent fraud, every person was allowed only one account on any online platform, and that account could be used only by its rightful owner.

The moment borrowing or stealing an account was discovered, the lightest punishment was a permanent ban.

This law effectively prevented the emergence of one person commanding an entire army of fake identities.

As a result, anyone who wanted to become famous in this world had to rely on genuine ability.

As for Chen Fan, he had probably already uploaded his own songs online and completed real-name verification, which was why the assistant had been unable to register an account for him.

“Just as I thought. How could a composer capable of writing a song of this caliber possibly remain unknown?”

He Nan wore an expression that seemed to say, “Now that makes sense.”

He took out his phone and called Assistant Ye.

Assistant Ye, who was chatting with Uncle Li on the way home, suddenly received He Nan’s call and raised an eyebrow.

Had something gone wrong with the recording?

She quickly answered. He Nan’s voice came through.

“Assistant Ye, could I trouble you to have this young man, Chen Fan, come to the company?”

“Did something happen?”

“No. It’s mainly a matter of copyright. This young man already has his own account, so there’s nothing we can do on our end. Alternatively, should we register the song under my name for the time being?”

If the copyright was not properly registered, the finished song could not be released.

Under the strict laws of China, any song without properly registered copyright was barred from every music platform.

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Assistant Ye refused decisively. If it had been any other composer, registering the song this way to save time would have been understandable. But the composer of this song was President Peng’s husband!

“No.”

He Nan did not take offense. He merely urged her:

“Then I’ll have to trouble you to hurry. The college entrance examinations are coming up soon. If we release a confession song during this period, it’s bound to become a huge hit!”

He Nan was a man with ideas. At present, every major music platform was being dominated by “The Young Heart That Chases Dreams.” So they would take a different route and release a song for confessions immediately after the college and high school entrance examinations, during the period when young people were at their most restless and excitable.

With the timing, circumstances, and public mood all perfectly aligned, it would be difficult for this song not to become popular.

Moreover, given the song’s quality, it could certainly carve out a piece of the music world, which had been ruled by ZJ for nearly a year.

Everyone knew that ZJ released only one song a month. Though ZJ had never stated it explicitly, this had already become the consensus throughout the music industry.

For that reason, He Nan was extremely confident.

Wait... What if they paired it with a breakup song and launched both at once? Wouldn’t that make the effect even better?

Those whose romances progressed a little faster might finish listening to “Confession Balloon” and then immediately return for the breakup song.

One person could make money twice.

The more He Nan thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

Heh heh heh. Young boys and girls, it’s time you learned about the wickedness of society!

“All right, I understand.”

After hanging up, He Nan immediately contacted several composers at the company.

“The requirements? Write a breakup song. Make it as sorrowful as possible—preferably with the same level of emotional devastation as ZJ.”

The composer on the other end fell silent.

Buddy, why don’t you listen to yourself for a moment?

Comparable to ZJ? If I could write a song like that, would I still be here working myself to the bone?

...

Meanwhile, Assistant Ye also got in touch with Peng Jiaxin.

“He’s already registered?”

“Yes. So we may need to trouble your husband to make a personal trip to the company.”

The company would prepare everything needed for the copyright registration. Chen Fan merely had to show up for identity verification; it would take only a few minutes.

“All right, I understand. I’ll contact He Nan directly later. You should get some rest.”

“Thank you, President Peng.”

After ending the call, Peng Jiaxin looked toward Chen Fan, who wore an expression of deep gloom.

One of the defining features of a Western restaurant was that the plates were enormous while the portions were pitifully small. The food might have tasted good, but to Chen Fan, it was barely enough to fill the gaps between his teeth. How could he have any interest in savoring it?

Yet everyone around him seemed to find it perfectly reasonable. They were all dressed impeccably, carrying themselves with effortless elegance.

So this was what people called high society.

It was clearly beyond his reach. Better to remain an ordinary man.

Seeing Chen Fan’s conflicted expression, Peng Jiaxin found it rather amusing.

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So even you can be constrained by the atmosphere.

She pushed her thick-cut A5 wagyu steak toward Chen Fan.

“Here, you can have it. I’m dieting lately.”

“Thank you, my beloved wife.”

“Chen Fan, do you have your own music account?”

“Of course. Why?”

“The copyright for ‘Confession Balloon’ requires you to go to the company and verify your identity in person.”

“Can’t you just register it under your name?”

Chen Fan said it without a care.

Peng Jiaxin rolled her eyes at him. He was being offered a chance to make money, and he still refused to take it.

“You created the song with a friend. How could it possibly be registered under my name? Stop stalling. What’s the account called?”

“Um... I forgot.”

He could not tell her the account name. If he did, how could he continue quietly slacking off and writing novels?

More importantly, Chen Fan knew his own limitations. He was merely an ordinary transmigrator without any special advantage, apart from having a somewhat better memory. He had only a limited stockpile of songs and stories in his head. If he used them all up someday, wouldn’t he end up like Xia Luo?

It was better to remain behind the scenes, quietly doing as little as possible. If he ever wanted to retire, he would not have to think about anything—he could simply disappear.

“?”

How could anyone forget something like that?

After swallowing two thick-cut A5 steaks, Chen Fan finally felt somewhat full.

“That friend of mine? I met him online. At first, we only played games together. As time passed, we became familiar with each other, and that was when I learned he was also a musician.”

“But what does that have to do with your forgetting the account password?”

“Ahem. It’s been too long.”

“At the time, I thought I understood a little about music. Combined with my talent for writing novels, I figured I wasn’t much worse than him, so we created ‘Confession Balloon’ together.”

“As for why we created the account, he said that when the song was released, he would add my name to the credits. But I waited a long time and never saw him release the song. Eventually, I forgot all about it.”

Peng Jiaxin pressed a hand to her forehead. What a pair of idiots.

“What’s your friend’s name?”

“Um... If I remember correctly, it should be ZJ.”

“Oh, ZJ...”

As Peng Jiaxin mulled it over, she gradually realized something was wrong.

“Who did you say?”

“ZJ. That’s what he told me, anyway.”

Chen Fan lied without the slightest change in expression. In fact, he was already considering having another piece of steak.