I Became an All-round Artist

"What the heck?"

The manager looked completely bewildered, but his confusion quickly turned into a beaming smile. "I'm here to congratulate you! Your new single 'Glory' is currently at the top of the new song chart. You’ve already claimed the peak spot this season!"

"Claimed the peak?" Chen Zhiyu glanced at the manager. "I just realized today that the title of this song might not be the best omen. You know what 'brief glory' means, right?"

"Don't jinx yourself!" the manager protested. "Come on, stop cursing your own success. The song was released at 7 a.m., and it’s now 9 a.m. The fact that 'Glory' reached the top in just two hours shows it’s the strongest track of the season. We've even outperformed Sand Sea. Zheng Liang's 'Caramel' is in second place, but it’s trailing behind us. As long as we maintain this lead over Zheng Liang, the season’s top song is ours!"

"You're quite the jinx," Chen Zhiyu replied, looking dejected.

The manager, noticing Chen Zhiyu’s mood, grew more frustrated. "What’s wrong with you, Zhiyu? Isn’t reaching the top enough for you? Are you still upset about the company asking you to suppress a newcomer? Okay, I admit, that wasn’t fair, but the higher-ups promised to make it up to you with an extra concert. Pull yourself together."

"Suppress a newcomer?" Chen Zhiyu chuckled. "Who’s suppressing who here? The company might end up with egg on its face, and I don’t want to take the blame."

"What do you mean?" The manager suddenly laughed. "You’re not seriously worried about Zhao Yingguo, are you? I knew you were a seasoned pro, always steady under pressure. Honestly, I was a bit concerned about a possible upset too, so before coming here, I checked the ranking of 'Flammable and Explosive.' It's currently at tenth place, miles behind you. See for yourself."

The manager pulled out his phone and opened the new song chart. But as he glanced at the rankings, he froze. "Huh? How did it get to seventh? I just saw it at tenth. Is the chart glitching?"

"Hmm." Chen Zhiyu wasn’t surprised at all. With a hint of dark humor, he replied, "I suggest refreshing it again in a bit. You might be in for a surprise."

"A bit later?" The manager, almost on instinct, refreshed the page again. His eyes widened in shock. "What the—it's sixth now?"

He whipped his head around to stare at Chen Zhiyu. Even a fool would sense that something was off.

Chen Zhiyu shrugged. "Looks like we at Shining Silver and Sand Sea have played the perfect supporting roles this time. Just wait, tomorrow’s headlines will read, ‘Bloom Champion Zhao Yingguo Climbs Over Two A-List Singers to the Top.’”

"It can't be that extreme, right?" The manager was now caught between disbelief and anxiety.

He didn’t dare leave. Instead, he stayed by Chen Zhiyu’s side, the two of them locked in a silent, tense stare-off for half an hour before the manager nervously opened the new song chart again.

"What’s the ranking now?" Chen Zhiyu asked with a zen-like calm.

The manager’s eye twitched. "How is this possible…? It shouldn’t be… In just half an hour… it shot up to third place?!"

"Already in third?" Chen Zhiyu murmured three words: "She's on fire."

The manager nodded in agreement, "Zhao Yingguo is a beast."

Chen Zhiyu shook his head. "Zhao Yingguo can't compete with my fanbase. The only reason she's dominating the new song chart is because the song itself is making up for her lack of popularity. So, the real powerhouse here is the composer behind the song—Xianyu."

The manager asked, "So, do we still have a chance to hold onto the top spot?"

Chen Zhiyu took a deep breath. "That depends on just how far Xianyu can push this."

The manager sighed in relief. "So, you're saying there's still hope?"

Chen Zhiyu shook his head again. "Don't get me wrong—getting overtaken is just a matter of time. What I’m curious about is how many days it’ll take for Xianyu to push his song to the top."

Many in the industry were closely watching the new song chart this season. Because of this, a lot of people witnessed the slaughter 'Flammable and Explosive' unleashed on the first day!

The new song chart was in chaos.

The artist sitting at sixth place tried to keep a smile as he said to his friend, "Did you see that? It was like a song just whooshed past me out of nowhere."

His friend could only respond with silence.

This wasn’t an isolated incident. Everyone who watched themselves get overtaken by 'Flammable and Explosive' felt the same way.

Soon, the thought running through every artist’s mind was: Could Zhao Yingguo actually take down those two big names ahead of her?

No way, right?

No... way?

The shift from certainty to doubt took just a few seconds.

Anyone who really knew the industry could see that 'Flammable and Explosive' was a dark horse likely to pull off an upset!

The entire industry was stunned.

It seemed unbelievable to many.

Before this, everyone thought Xingmang was doomed this season. The media had written them off time and time again.

How could a singer at Zhao Yingguo's level break through the combined blockade of two A-list artists?

But the reality seemed to defy everyone's expectations.

On the very first day, Zhao Yingguo effortlessly broke into the top three!

To be fair, Zhao Yingguo taking third place was understandable—she was, after all, the champion of Bloom, with a reputation that wasn’t far off from that of an average debut artist.

But to secure third place on the first day, and to do it so naturally, so swiftly, was almost unreal.

How was this possible?

Zhao Yingguo wasn’t that famous yet, was she?

Logically, she should have had to fight tooth and nail to scrape together a third-place finish. That’s how every industry insider’s script played out.

So how did this happen so quickly?

If you only looked at the first day's momentum for 'Flammable and Explosive,' you'd think Zhao Yingguo was an A-list singer herself—

But Zhao Yingguo wasn’t A-list.

The real reason wasn’t hard to figure out.

A seasoned music producer, after listening to 'Flammable and Explosive,' chuckled and remarked, "This is a textbook case of a 'God-tier composer carry.' This is exactly why composers hold such a revered position in the industry."

That’s right.

A God-tier composer carrying the artist.

The composer single-handedly compensated for the singer’s lack of popularity, giving Zhao Yingguo the presence and impact of an A-list artist.

No one needed to point this out—everyone in the industry already knew.

A powerful composer has that kind of ability.

But when everyone eagerly checked the credits for the composer, they couldn't help but gasp in unison. The name they saw had been popping up far too often lately—

"Xianyu, again?!"

Why "again"?

Because hardly anyone expected that the composer single-handedly turning the tide and pushing Zhao Yingguo to challenge two A-list singers would be this newcomer to the composing scene.

Three hit songs in a row.

Is this fish really a newcomer?