Chapter Forty-Eight: Copying Myself

After the recording of the show ended, Aiting lost to Chen Hao due to a mistake on stage.

The audience present was indignant, shouting loudly, "Rigged!" But for a program that thrived on trending topics and attention, it caused no real impact, and the production team swiftly suppressed the uproar internally.

"Are you alright?" After leaving the recording venue, Chen Nian glanced at Aiting beside him and asked. No matter what, since his own artist lost the competition to a rigged outcome, as her boss, he still had to pretend to care a little.

"I'm fine, what could possibly be wrong?" Aiting wasn't affected by such a trivial matter at all; as long as she could slap Lin Xinrou in the face on stage, she was already quite happy.

"That's good," Chen Nian nodded. "I've kept my promise. If you want to terminate your contract with Dawn Media, just let me know."

"With the popularity of those three songs, and the way I've indirectly clarified the plagiarism issue for you, I think after the show airs, plenty of reputable agencies will approach you for cooperation."

Hearing this, Aiting paused in her cheerful stride, looking back at Chen Nian, thoughtful, though she quickly turned and continued walking aimlessly along the street.

"Let's wait a bit longer. Until I personally witness Lin Xinrou's fall from grace, I don't want to leave yet."

Chen Nian nodded, saying nothing more.

Thus, dressed in a black long dress, Aiting wandered the streets, while Chen Nian and Luo Xiaoyi walked side by side behind her...

Meanwhile, even though the "Who Is the Singer" production team had quickly locked down the news, some live footage still leaked online.

After listening to the comparison between "Sorrow of the Departed" and the other three songs sung by Aiting, the accusation of Lin Xinrou plagiarizing surged rapidly to the top of the trending searches.

"Damn, what is this? A fake meets the original?"

"One song becomes three, three become one? She’s milking a single song for all it’s worth?"

"Honestly, the quality of these songs is excellent, isn't it?"

"Isn't that obvious? If it's produced by Chen Nian, it's guaranteed to be top-notch!"

"This is wild. So who plagiarized whom exactly?"

...

In the boss's office at Heart Trace Entertainment, Wang Tao adjusted his glasses and tossed a stack of data in front of Lin Xinrou.

"Tell me, did you plagiarize Chen Nian, or did they plagiarize you?"

Wang Tao asked only to give Lin Xinrou a chance to explain herself. As the owner of Heart Trace Entertainment, he was perfectly clear on Lin Xinrou's actual abilities.

Aside from having a good voice, she was absolutely clueless in other musical fields. Writing songs? Lyrics? Someone who couldn’t even read sheet music—how could she compose or write lyrics?

Watching Wang Tao's serious expression, Lin Xinrou grew anxious.

When the plagiarism incident first occurred, Wang Tao had warned her: if something like this happened again, she would end up like Aiting!

Faced with her boss, her direct superior at Heart Trace Entertainment, Lin Xinrou dared not lie, but was reluctant to give up the popularity the song brought her.

After all, if she lost this opportunity, she feared she’d never get her hands on such a masterpiece again.

She wanted the song to become her signature, hoping for a chance to rise to the ranks of acclaimed singers.

Turning this over in her mind, she came up with a compromise.

"This—this song was created together with Xing Fei's mentor."

"With Xing Fei's mentor?" Wang Tao was surprised, looking up at Lin Xinrou.

The mentor behind Xing Fei was shrouded in mystery; even after mobilizing every connection in the entertainment industry, Wang Tao couldn't find a trace of this person.

Lin Xinrou was just a small-time pop singer—how could she possibly know such a heavyweight?

It was well known that Xing Fei's mentor was the only figure in the current music scene capable of holding his own against Chen Nian.

Wang Tao gave Lin Xinrou one last glance, unwilling to waste further time on the matter.

"You have three days to deal with this cleanly. If this incident affects the subsequent recording of 'Who Is the Singer,' prepare to terminate your contract with Heart Trace Entertainment!"

"Understood," Lin Xinrou nodded.

Having received Wang Tao’s instructions, she immediately left the office.

As soon as she stepped out, Lin Xinrou contacted Xing Fei.

"Fei, it’s Lin Xinrou. Can you get in touch with your mentor right now?"

"What's up? Something happened?" Xing Fei smiled gently.

"I just wanted to ask your mentor if it’s alright for me to say I co-created 'Sorrow of the Departed' with him?"

Lin Xinrou believed that as long as she could latch onto Xing Fei’s mentor, combined with her own fanbase—

She was sure to win this plagiarism storm!

"Alright!" Clearly, Chen Nian had already spoken to her in advance. Without hesitation, Xing Fei agreed.

"Really?" Lin Xinrou hadn’t expected Xing Fei to agree so readily, asking in disbelief.

"Really. My mentor said you can handle it however you see fit; you don’t need to consult us."

Receiving the answer she wanted, Lin Xinrou nodded in satisfaction, barely concealing her excitement.

"Rest assured, Xing Fei, I guarantee this year’s 'Who Is the Singer' championship will be yours!"

Xing Fei nodded, unwilling to continue entangling with Lin Xinrou, and simply hung up.

After the call, Lin Xinrou wasted no time contacting her agent.

"Hello, Sister Mei, write up a statement for me right away, buy trending spots, buy traffic, hire an army of online trolls!"

"Want to challenge me? This time, I’ll make sure Chen Nian has nowhere left to stand!"

Lin Xinrou curled her lips, her mind conjuring the image of Chen Nian kneeling at her feet, begging for mercy...

Five minutes later, Lin Xinrou promptly posted a statement on her microblog.

She claimed that "Sorrow of the Departed" was co-created with Xing Fei’s mentor.

Not only that, she dragged down Chen Nian and Aiting in her statement, implying that Chen Nian plagiarized her and conspired with Aiting to retaliate against her...

By teaming up with Xing Fei’s mentor, she pinned countless false charges on Chen Nian, painting herself as the perfect victim.

"How hateful! I thought you were some genius, but you’re just another plagiarist like Aiting!"

"One song turned into three—so you think our goddess Lin is easy to bully? Milking her for all she's worth?"

"Useless! Get out of the entertainment industry! Restore our goddess Lin’s reputation!"

As a popular singer with a massive fan base, once Lin Xinrou released her statement, Chen Nian and Aiting’s microblogs and social media accounts were instantly flooded.

Looking at the barrage of insults on his phone, Chen Nian could only smile helplessly.

Well, in the end, it was as though he and Lin Xinrou had joined forces to abuse and cyberbully himself.