How lucrative the music industry is in this era might be beyond many people's comprehension.
To put it bluntly, some hit songs can effortlessly earn a small fortune with just one track.
Take ringtone downloads, for example—there are countless singles that have raked in tens of millions in revenue, not to mention other income streams.
However, most of these profits ultimately end up in the pockets of entertainment companies, with only a fraction trickling down to the artists themselves.
Before Xue Qian’s new album took off, his former company didn’t pay him much attention. But as his album skyrocketed in popularity, certain people began to grow envious.
Especially when they noticed that the timing of Xue Qian’s contract termination coincided with the album’s release—how could the company simply let such a massive windfall slip through their fingers?
Lin Yu’s visit had two main objectives.
First, someone had put in a word—specifically, the backer behind Ding Yingyao—hoping to pressure Xue Qian and prevent him from overshadowing Ding Yingyao’s spotlight.
In truth, the person behind Ding Yingyao was none other than the "old baby" Xue Qian had previously rejected, also known as Sister Liu, whom Xue Qian’s manager Wang Lixing had frequently mentioned.
One could say her love had turned to resentment.
Xue Qian might have been naive, but Ding Yingyao knew how to play the game.
Second, Shangyu Entertainment was furious, convinced that Xue Qian had played them, and now they wanted to regain control of this newly minted cash cow.
However, Lin Yu was destined to leave empty-handed.
Xue Qian stood firm, outright rejecting all their demands.
If Shangyu wanted to take him to court, he was ready to fight.
If Shangyu did sue, the case would likely be filed in Bright Pearl City, as the original contract didn’t specify jurisdiction, and by default, lawsuits are typically held in the defendant’s place of residence.
As Zhao Tianyi put it, "This is my turf..."
In the end, Lin Yu stormed off, his face dark with anger—he hadn’t expected Xue Qian to dare humiliate him like this.
What followed was predictable.
Shangyu launched a smear campaign, churning out hit pieces, hiring trolls to spread them far and wide, mobilizing influencers to amplify the noise, and even enlisting paparazzi to stalk Xue Qian around the clock, twisting facts and fabricating scandals.
Finally, they leveraged their industry connections to blacklist him.
If Ding Yingyao’s earlier attempts to tarnish Xue Qian’s reputation were child’s play, Shangyu’s full-scale assault was in an entirely different league.
The intensity and ruthlessness of their tactics were on another level.
Before he knew it, Xue Qian was "exposed" in a scandal involving illegal substances—though only those involved knew the truth.
Already burdened with fabricated scandals, Xue Qian was now painted as public enemy number one.
Even when he ventured out wearing a mask and hat, paparazzi still recognized and tailed him, making his life unbearable.
Some were especially brazen, shrugging off warnings because they had powerful backers—money talked, and they’d do anything for it.
One day, while out alone, Xue Qian encountered two particularly aggressive paparazzi with dyed blond hair.
While most kept their distance, these two shoved their cameras right in his face.
Their taunts were deliberately provocative, aiming to provoke him into a reaction that would make for sensational footage.
Their tactics worked—even Xue Qian’s patience wore thin, and he lashed out, kicking one of them square in the groin.
The other paparazzo, hot-headed and furious at seeing his buddy writhing in pain, abandoned his camera and lunged at Xue Qian.
"You’re dead, you piece of trash! How dare you touch my brother?!"
Xue Qian wasn’t about to stick around. He bolted, shouting over his shoulder, "Keep filming me and see what happens!"
The paparazzo gave chase, snapping photos mid-sprint and hurling obscenities.
"Stop running! If you don’t, tomorrow’s headline will be ‘Disgraced Singer Assaults Innocent Man’—let’s see you recover from that!"
Xue Qian seethed—he’d never met paparazzi this shameless, chasing him down while still trying to film.
This had to be Shangyu’s doing.
Fuming, he changed direction and dialed a number.
"Brother Ma, I’ve got paparazzi on my tail."
As he spoke, the paparazzo behind him hurled an empty liquor bottle snatched from a nearby store.
CRASH!
The bottle shattered inches behind him.
Xue Qian’s blood ran cold—this guy was playing for keeps. Then again, maybe that kick had been a mistake.
Soon, Xue Qian found himself cornered in a dead-end alley, bent over, gasping for breath.
The two paparazzi closed in, one walking with an awkward, pigeon-toed gait—a comical sight.
"Run now, huh? Should’ve just cooperated! Know who you’re messing with? We used to run the streets!"
"Sixth Master, Six Leaves—that’s me!" He struck a gangster pose.
But Xue Qian had regained his composure. Eyeing the two, he said calmly,
"You two follow the news, right? You know the world needs peace?"
"Chasing me like this, digging up dirt—doesn’t it weigh on your conscience? Don’t you have families? How would they feel?"
"Here’s the deal: Kneel, apologize, and swear you’ll never do it again."
To his surprise, the two dropped to their knees instantly. "We’re sorry! We won’t do it again!"
Xue Qian nodded in satisfaction, then called out to the crowd of black-clad men behind them, wielding batons. "Brother Ma, they’ve caused enough trouble. Take them away."
With a wave of his hand, Brother Ma ordered, "Take them."
The paparazzi screamed in terror, "You said peace! We want peace!"
After his association with Wanlong Hui, Xue Qian had grown bolder.
In the following days, he repeated this routine: Luring paparazzi in, letting them take the bait, then having Brother Ma’s crew haul them off to the police station.
Finally, they’d be assigned Zhang Dawei, Tianyi Law Firm’s star lawyer, for their defense.
Speaking of Zhang Dawei—he was Zhao Tianyi’s college classmate.
In their past lives, both had been famous, though for entirely opposite reasons.
One was famous for getting clients acquitted, while the other was notorious for ensuring his own clients ended up with harsher sentences whenever he took a case.
Originally, Zhao Tianyi had no intention of keeping Zhang Dawei on board—this guy had almost been put on a nationwide wanted list by the relatives of his own clients.
But Liu Yutong insisted he stay.
A talent like this, if handed over to their rivals, would only make them stronger—no, scratch that, it’d be more like adding "sentences" to their arsenal!
