Chapter 49: Ghostly Wailing and Wolf Howling¹?

“Hello, Mr. Zhou…”

“I am the owner of a game company, as well as a freelance creator…”

“I am very aware of the current environment you are in, Mr. Zhou Yang…”

“This is a grand era. In such an era, many people are immersed in the spotlight of the stage and the glitz of vanity, even if that vanity is as fleeting as a bubble…”

“I have seen many stars who were once brilliant. They were so dazzlingly arrogant that they stood at the very peak of their fields…”

“I have also seen their fall. No matter how brilliant a star is, when they fall, they still streak across the night sky like a meteor, leaving behind nothing but a lingering sigh…”

“However, I know that Mr. Zhou Yang is not such a person…”

“Many people on the internet are guessing what you’ve been doing during this year or so without releasing an album…”

“There are even many netizens discussing whether you will end up like several of your predecessors, gradually reaching the end of your wits before fading away…”

“But I know that you have been meticulously polishing your album. You hope your new work will surpass your previous ones and take your career to the next level. I can even imagine that every day, you face countless submissions from all directions, full of expectation, only to be disappointed time and time again…”

“I think what they write might be quite good, but it’s certainly not the tone you’re looking for…”

“…”

The disc was inserted into the computer.

Soon, a young man popped up on the screen.

The young man stared into the lens with a very calm expression. His words were neither humble nor overbearing, yet his voice possessed a certain impact.

At the same time, his expressions were rich. After every sentence, the sincerity in his eyes was almost unbelievable.

Zhou Yang watched Zhang Yang.

He was a bit puzzled.

Who was this person?

What was he trying to do?

While Zhang Yang’s single-player game had been popular for a while, it hadn’t radiated across the entire mainland². It hadn’t even truly left the circle of single-player gaming, let alone reached Taiwan.

A freelance creator?

Was this person submitting a song?

“Turn it off. It’s probably just another fan sending something to get attention or asking for an autograph,” his manager, Li Ziwen, said with a frown halfway through the video.

Ever since Zhou Yang became famous, their company had received all sorts of bizarre things over the years.

Roses, gifts, and snacks were considered normal.

The most exaggerated things sent were personal underwear and bras, with requests for him to sign them…

Wasn’t that enough to give someone a brain hemorrhage?

“Let’s watch a bit more… This person seems to have something about him…”

Zhou Yang shook his head.

He paused Zhang Yang’s video.

Then, he searched for Zhang Yang’s name and his game company online…

To his surprise, quite a few news items about Zhang Yang popped up instantly.

The earliest news…

Was a video of Zhang Yang standing in an internet cafe giving an awards speech.

“This is a game!”

“But at the same time, this is E-sports!”

“It is just like physical sports in reality. The only difference is that it exists on the internet!”

“I hope that one day, many of our people can stand on the competition stage and, under the gaze of the world, compete on the same level as friends from all nations!”

“We will have opponents, and they will be strong!”

“We will have teammates, battle teams, and clubs just like in football. We will have our own honors, dreams to fight for, and loud battle songs!”

“…”

“…”

In the internet cafe, Zhang Yang stood with immense confidence, facing everyone with grand passion.

After briefly watching the video, Zhou Yang confirmed that this guy wasn’t a scammer or some random fan.

After checking the download numbers for the guy’s game and his various experiences, Zhou Yang suddenly felt that this guy’s journey over the past few months was indeed quite spectacular.

“This man sounds like a lunatic. Playing games is just playing games, why drag ‘E-sports’ into it?” Li Ziwen shook her head.

“No, I think this person has some interesting ideas. Regardless, let’s listen to the second half of the video. There might be a surprise.”

“Fine, you watch it then. I’m going downstairs to handle other matters. We have a few international brands to get in touch with next…” Li Ziwen clearly had little interest in Zhang Yang. After a glance at the video, she turned and left.

“Mm, alright.”

Zhou Yang continued watching the video.

“Mr. Zhou, I will be presenting an original song. If I were to just send you the sheet music, it would seem like I lack sincerity, and it would be easy for you to overlook it…”

“So, I’ve decided to just sing it a cappella in the recording studio. I hope you can turn the volume up a bit and take a minute to listen!”

“…”

When he saw this, Zhou Yang stared at the screen with interest, subconsciously turning the volume up a notch…

Though he knew it was highly unlikely to be anything good…

For some reason!

He actually felt a small spark of anticipation.

Finally, he saw Zhang Yang on the screen clear his throat…

“The spar-rows~ out-side the win-dow~ are gos-siping on the pow-er line~

You say this~ sen-tence has a very sum-mer feel~ing…”

After Zhou Yang heard it!

His face instantly drained of color!

Then…

“What’s going on? What is that thunderous noise? Is that something a human can actually sing?”

The manager, who was handling business outside, was also startled by the sudden, booming sound.

She pushed open the door…

She saw Zhang Yang on the screen, completely intoxicated by his own performance, looking extremely self-satisfied as he began swaying his head back and forth.

Her eyes widened.

She was actually a bit terrified!

What on earth was he singing…

…………………………………………

July 10th.

Another sleepless night.

Chen Weiwei, the boss of Bluebird Technology, climbed out of bed and checked the messages on her phone.

Zhou Yang’s side still hadn’t replied to her.

She felt a wave of disappointment.

It seemed her company was simply too small, and Zhou Yang had no intention of responding to her at all.

Most likely…

This endorsement deal was going to fall through.

Even if it was a rejection, he could have at least sent a reply, couldn’t he?

Was her company not even worth a simple acknowledgment?

Although Chen Weiwei was disappointed, she didn’t lose heart. She got out of bed, washed up, grabbed a bite to eat, and threw herself into the busyness of a new day.

Around noon.

Her assistant, Liu Ying, brought some discouraging news.

Word was that Lianzhong Computer had offered an endorsement fee of ten million…

Ten million was a massive premium for an endorsement.

Hardly anyone could turn down that kind of money.

It was almost certainly over.

Just as she shook her head to clear her thoughts, her phone rang.

“President Chen…”

“Ah? Hello, Sister Wen…”

“President Chen, if you want to talk about an endorsement, then let’s talk about an endorsement. Why on earth did you send over a recording of Zhang Yang singing a cappella to scare us?”

“Huh? What’s on Zhang Yang’s disc?”

“It’s him singing a cappella! He’s completely tone-deaf, yet he seems to think he sounds great!”

“What?” Chen Weiwei was utterly stunned when she heard this.

What the hell was Zhang Yang playing at?

“You could have just had Zhang Yang send over the sheet music and lyrics. The song is already registered, and we aren’t going to infringe on any copyrights. Was it really necessary to go through all the trouble of going into a recording studio to sing it himself? Anyway, let’s talk more when we arrive on the mainland.”

“Wait, you’re coming over now?”

“Yes. Zhang Yang’s singing was a bit like a ghost wailing, but our Zhou Yang thinks the song is quite good… So, we’ll take it!”

“????”

(End of Chapter)

Translator’s Notes