I Became an All-round Artist

Over the next few days, the new song chart for this season saw “Flammable and Explosive” solidify its position at the top. The song began to widen its lead over the second place.
Meanwhile, the comment sections on various music platforms were buzzing with activity, as discussions around "Flammable and Explosive" skyrocketed.

The song had become a hot topic:

• “I think this song should be called ‘What the Hell Do You Want from Me?’”
• “Another possible title could be ‘Death to Misogynists,’ or ‘Conflicted Misogyny,’ or maybe even ‘Who Do You Think I Am?’”
• “Is this folk? Rock? The vocal style is so unique!”
• “This song is addictive! Downloaded and saved immediately!”
• “Take a look, everyone! This is how society expects women to behave. I’m fuming under the hot sun! When will women finally stand up for themselves?”
• “Wait, are we really turning song discussions into feminist rants now?”
• “The song feels like it’s about a man who claims to love a woman but constantly hurts her emotionally. He looks down on her but still needs her around. Basically, he’s a jerk!”
• “Actually, I think it speaks to what many men want: an ideal woman who’s both pure and teasing, capable of being both a lady and a homemaker, cute and playful, yet strong enough to fight off a homewrecker.”
• “Look, we’ve caught a classic misogynist! What a dream world you live in.”
• “I went to a karaoke bar today, and I heard this song playing in several rooms.”
• “…”

While industry professionals praised the song for its composition, the general public was more focused on the lyrics. Many felt that the song captured a certain reality about gender dynamics in society.
However, this didn’t create a conflict—both aspects were equally appreciated.
Since Xianyu (Lin Yuan) had written both the lyrics and the music, there was no room for debate over which was better.

Moreover, some fans had started editing video clips from various movies and shows, using "Flammable and Explosive" as the background music. To their surprise, these videos gained a lot of traction.
Many content creators, known as "uploaders" on various video platforms and forums, followed suit.
One standout video was a montage of iconic female characters from different films. As the legendary scenes of these “goddesses” appeared, the background music from "Flammable and Explosive" played, creating quite a stir online.

• “This edit is fire!”
• “I’m seeing the beauty of the world here!”
• “The song as background music fits perfectly.”
• “Ahhh! What’s the name of this song?!”
• “Calm down, it’s called ‘Flammable and Explosive.’ Look it up!”
• “I wasn’t a fan of the song at first, but after watching this video, I finally get it. Downloading it now!”
• “The song adds so much flavor to the video!”
• “This must be the proper way to experience the song.”
• “As everyone knows, when ‘Flammable and Explosive’ plays, the goddesses take the stage.”

These videos greatly boosted the song’s popularity.
Often, when a song is used as background music, it can elevate a simple video edit, giving it a new and vibrant life.

This is similar to how, in some movies and TV shows, the background music cues the audience that the climax is approaching.
The spread of a song is related to its quality, but it’s not entirely dependent on it.
Lin Yuan’s previous two songs weren’t necessarily weaker in quality than “Flammable and Explosive,” yet when it comes to download numbers, this one clearly takes the lead.

While “Flammable and Explosive” was rapidly gaining traction, the editors at Qinzhou Publishing’s Silver Blue Library were too busy to enjoy listening to music or watching videos.
They were buried in reviewing submissions for this year’s Supernova Awards.
Perhaps because writing novels had become a more popular career choice, the number of submissions this year was higher than in previous years.
As a result, the editors had been swamped with manuscripts for days.
Each editor's desk was filled with energy drinks and a constant stream of coffee to keep them going and meet the submission deadline.

Yang Feng was one of the editors reviewing for Silver Blue Library.
After days of reading through countless novels, he was feeling mentally exhausted.
Even coffee and energy drinks were losing their effectiveness.
In order to stay alert, he took a quick break and headed to the restroom for a cigarette.
Several other editors, in the same boat as Yang Feng, were also taking a break, and in the haze of smoke, they started discussing their recent reads.

“Have you found anything worth recommending?”
“Not yet, but I’ve come across a few promising ones. I’ll finish reviewing all the manuscripts first and then take a closer look. Don’t want my favorite to get cut during cross-review.”
“Every year, Supernova feels like a gamble.”
Each editor was given a few recommendation slots, and if a recommended manuscript was eventually chosen by the chief editor, it counted toward their performance metrics. Naturally, they were careful with their choices.

At that moment, one of the editors said, “Most of the submissions this year are still dominated by the ‘otherworldly adventure’ genre. Since so many people are writing it, picking the best one isn’t easy.”
This comment resonated with everyone.
With so many entries in the same genre, finding a standout novel was becoming a challenge.
“Well, it’s a classic genre.”
“Yeah, but most people are just following market trends. Hardly anyone has their own unique voice.”
“Still, this genre is where bestsellers often come from.”
“Exactly. It’s only natural that so many people are writing it. Personally, after reading so many ‘otherworldly adventures,’ I’m still not tired of them.”

Yang Feng didn’t join the conversation.
After finishing his cigarette, he returned to his desk to continue working.
Most of the editors were focused on the popular “otherworldly adventure” genre when selecting manuscripts, but Yang Feng had a different perspective.
While he liked the genre, he felt that the sheer number of novels in this category had led to a lack of originality. After reading so many, he was getting tired of them.
Now, he was eager to find something different.

Unfortunately, finding a unique manuscript wasn’t easy. Popular genres were popular for a reason—readers loved them.
Even editors, driven by performance and sales considerations, had to focus on promoting these hot genres.
And it wasn’t like the newcomers submitting their work didn’t know this.
They understood that writing in trending genres increased their chances of getting picked. Sticking to their own style and resisting market trends was something only a few could afford to do.

After reviewing countless manuscripts over the past few days, Yang Feng still hadn’t found one that truly satisfied him.
It wasn’t that no one was submitting fresh, innovative stories—there were some, but the problem was that these unique ideas often lacked strong storytelling and entertainment value.
Yang Feng would rather pass on those.
He wasn’t going to lower his standards just for the sake of originality, nor was he going to outright dismiss the popular genres.
At the end of the day, a good story was what mattered most.

After fifteen minutes, Yang Feng finished reviewing another manuscript.
Rubbing his tired temples, he grabbed a small bottle of medicated oil and dabbed some on his head.
This was one of the secret weapons many office workers used to combat fatigue.
Of course, there was an even more extreme method involving the oil, but it wasn’t for the faint-hearted—those who tried it often ended up embarrassing themselves in public.

Feeling a bit more refreshed after applying the oil, Yang Feng opened the next submission.
The title caught his eye: "Prince of Tennis."
To clarify, the author had added a subtitle: "The Tennis Prince."