RAAS ### Chapter 26: Music Home
### Chapter 26: Music Home
Weekend. The night view of Beijing was a dazzling sight from above.
After working overtime until nearly 8 PM, Song Xueqi rushed home, kicked off her high heels without changing clothes, and tossed her bag onto the sofa before frantically searching for the remote control. She finally relaxed after successfully turning on the TV.
She glanced at her watch. There were only a few seconds left until the show started!
Song Xueqi, a 25-year-old editor at an entertainment newspaper, was particularly fond of the recently aired talent show "Music Star" on Beijing Satellite TV. Every weekend, she watched it religiously and then wrote detailed reviews about the contestants for the entertainment section of her newspaper the following day.
Among the contestants, Song Xueqi's favorite was Li Qing. It wasn't his clean-cut, handsome appearance that attracted her but his song "Angel Wings," which had become incredibly popular across half of China.
Lately, Song Xueqi found herself humming the melody of "Angel Wings" whenever she had a moment. Her colleagues, influenced by her, had also started humming the tune. Li Qing had not let her down. His song, which had entered the top ten of the national radio song request chart a week or two ago, still held a strong position on the list.
This was a significant indicator.
For many artists, being on the national radio song request chart not only increased their fame but also served as an early indicator of album sales. Many record companies spent substantial amounts to get their artists' songs onto the top ten of these charts because a top ten song could drive an album's sales, often reaching gold record status.
Achieving a top ten spot without any deliberate chart-topping efforts or promotion suggested that with proper promotion, the song might even reach the top three. A top three spot on the chart meant a high likelihood of a platinum record.
Li Qing's steadily growing fame suggested he was on the brink of breaking into the music scene. Despite his relative obscurity, he had begun to attract the attention of performance companies interested in booking him for events. However, due to his lack of a manager and clear contact information, these companies had to send their invitations to his contract company, Yuanzheng Media. Given Li Qing's strained relationship with Yuanzheng Media, it was no surprise that these invitations went unanswered.
Nevertheless, Li Qing's reputation continued to grow like a snowball.
In the Beijing circle, many young people had started to learn more about Li Qing through "Music Star."
Song Xueqi had been particularly busy lately, even working overtime until 7 or 8 PM, a rare occurrence given her usual 5 PM end time. Eager to catch the latest episode of "Music Star," she hurried home.
Thankfully, she made it in time.
At 8 PM sharp, the weekly episode of "Music Star" began.
Song Xueqi, munching on an apple, watched the show intently. According to the preview, this episode would feature the star Cold Ling, who rarely appeared on variety shows, adding to Song Xueqi's excitement. Combined with her favorite contestant Li Qing, this promised to be a perfect mental feast.
Cold Ling was set to sit on the judging panel as a guest, providing decisive opinions in case of disputes among the four regular judges during the contestants' PK (performance knockout) battles.
The atmosphere in the studio instantly ignited with Cold Ling's appearance, with fans screaming, shouting, and clapping fervently. Her popularity was evident even through the director's few camera shots.
Song Xueqi felt a rush of excitement, clapping alone at home upon seeing Cold Ling.
The show reciprocated the audience's enthusiasm with an exceptionally entertaining episode. The opening battle between contestant No. 01 Zhou Ding and No. 06 Xu Song delivered a musical feast. Following contestant No. 02 Zhou Xiaoqiang's underperformance and No. 03 Feng Jing's stellar showing, Song Xueqi, who had been gradually relaxing, suddenly found her nerves tightening.
When the host announced Li Qing's turn, Song Xueqi knew her favorite "Music Star" contestant was about to perform!
Li Qing, who had advanced with his original song "Angel Wings" in the preliminary rounds, was about to surprise her again. Would he cover a popular song or present another original piece?
Her anticipation was palpable.
The answer came quickly. As soon as Li Qing took the stage with his guitar, Song Xueqi realized he was performing another original song!
Tomorrow's content was now secured...
Song Xueqi thought.
Then, as Li Qing strummed his guitar and sang the opening line, "Life is like a big river, sometimes calm, sometimes wild," Song Xueqi felt a jolt of electricity through her body, making her shiver.
She widened her eyes.
Rock?
Song Xueqi held her breath, listening closely. As she heard the lyrics, "I want to fly higher, dancing like the wind, breaking free from the embrace," her shock intensified, sending shivers down her spine.
This form of rock was new to her. Unlike the violent, dark rock songs prevalent at the time, Li Qing's "Flying Higher" took an unconventional approach with themes of motivation and perseverance.
The audience's reaction was unexpectedly enthusiastic!
Song Xueqi smiled, convinced that "Flying Higher" would soon match the success of "Angel Wings" on the national radio song request chart.
She felt like she was falling in love with Li Qing all over again.
Recently, she had bought a cassette recorder specifically for moments like this.
After recording "Flying Higher," she was ready to play it on repeat when she heard contestant No. 05 Xie Sixue's song on TV.
The song was called "Song of Dreams."
The poetic lyrics and Xie Sixue's slightly cold demeanor immediately captured Song Xueqi's attention. Among the contestants, Xie Sixue seemed to be one of the top-tier performers.
However, compared to Li Qing, she seemed a notch below. Listening to "Song of Dreams" didn't stir the same emotional waves in Song Xueqi as "Flying Higher" did. She instinctively felt it was a good song, but nothing more.
She remembered Xie Sixue from the previous episode, where both she and Li Qing advanced together.
"Under the starry sky, in that place, spring has arrived," "Under the starry sky, across the sea, achieving my dreams," "In the storm, can you hear my song?"
The lyrics were poetic and elegant, but that was it. Song Xueqi's blind adoration for Li Qing made her feel that "Flying Higher" was ten times, no, a hundred times better than "Song of Dreams."
Besides, the song didn't quite match her taste.
So, when Cold Ling expressed her preference for Xie Sixue's "Song of Dreams," Song Xueqi was completely stunned.
"How... how is this possible! Li Qing's song was clearly better. How could he lose?"
As a long-time follower of "Music Star," Song Xueqi knew what losing this PK battle meant.
It meant that Li Qing would never appear on this stage again, and his music would vanish from the audience's ears forever.
This was something Song Xueqi couldn't accept.
"Scandal! There must be a scandal!"
"Even Cold Ling is siding with that b****!"
"What kind of background does Xie Sixue have? Why do I smell a deep conspiracy..."
"Ugh, will I never see Li Qing again? What's the point of watching 'Music Star' then?"
"No, I can't stand this anymore!"
Song Xueqi angrily threw the apple core into the trash can, stormed into her bedroom, and turned on her computer. Using the era's slow 1M broadband, she logged onto a forum called "Music Home."