Chapter 37: Chu Yourong

The two went to that same ridiculously expensive Japanese restaurant.

This place, how to put it—aside from being expensive, it really had no flaws.

The ambiance was great, and the food was delicious.

This time Chu Yourong treated, and Zhang Xian didn't hold back; the two spent over two thousand on the meal.

When Zhang Xian was full, Chu Yourong brought up the real matter: "'Decency' launches in three days—did you see the preview?"

"Yeah, I saw it."

"After this song launches, I might announce the breakup, but it'll depend on public feedback."

"I don't understand this stuff—do whatever you want, just don't expose me."

Zhang Xian only wanted to lie flat quietly and enjoy a leisurely, carefree life.

Now that he had a system, there was no need to show his face to earn money, but he still took the launch of 'Decency' seriously, because whether this song succeeded or not determined how much money he could make.

So far, Chu Yourong, this No. 2 Lying Flat Assistant, hadn't made him a single penny!

What kind of assistant is she if she can't help him earn money!

At the same time.

Rongshu Entertainment.

Several executives were in a meeting.

"Chu Yourong's new song releases in three days—should we strike back?"

"I think we absolutely must strike back, or they'll think Rongshu Entertainment is a soft target!"

"Yeah, we need to give her a lesson—make her know she's nothing without Rongshu Entertainment!"

Everyone voiced agreement.

"Director Du, do you have a specific plan?"

President Yu Kai looked at Du Yue, the Operations Director seated to his left.

With the times evolving, the internal structure of entertainment companies has changed significantly from earlier years.

In the past, entertainment companies valued content most, because only by producing great content could they nurture artists and generate profits.

Now it's different—so long as the content is decent, strong marketing can still bring in big money.

Thus, the status of the Operations Department has risen sharply.

"To strike Chu Yourong is simple—set the release dates for Xu Yao and Sun Jiaren's new songs for the same three days from now!"

"Both their songs are already finished with post-production anyway; they were scheduled for release this month—just moving them up a few days."

Xu Yao and Sun Jiaren are both Rongshu Entertainment artists and members of the Moonlight Girls, Chu Yourong's former teammates.

After the Moonlight Girls became popular, the company had the members "go solo," but this wasn't true soloing—it meant assigning each member different tasks based on their style and strengths, so the company could earn more money.

The Moonlight Girls had seven members; if they always performed as a group, even high appearance fees wouldn't add up to much.

But if they were seven individual artists, even if each one's appearance fee was lower than the group's, the total of all seven would far exceed the group's.

They could take on different jobs, do different work!

So, a year after the Moonlight Girls became popular, they rarely performed together anymore; everyone pursued their own path.

Of the seven members, four still focused on music—Chu Yourong, Sun Jiaren, and Xu Yao were three of them.

Sun Jiaren's style was similar to Chu Yourong's, and their fanbases overlapped heavily; Xu Yao was a vocal powerhouse, the team's main vocalist, Main Vocal!

"Explain your specific idea."

Yu Kai lightly tapped his fingers on the conference table.

"Sun Jiaren and Chu Yourong have similar styles, and this single is also a sweet-girl concept. Chu Yourong announced she's getting married—perfect chance to run a campaign, steer the narrative, and draw all her fans over!"

"As for Xu Yao, no need to explain—her talent speaks for itself. Push a professional-domination narrative, and throw in some digs at Chu Yourong's terrible singing!"

"With both of them striking at once, two-pronged, Chu Yourong's new song will be a joke!"

Du Yue laid out her strategy simply; in her view, as an experienced "operations boss," this battle was certain to win—there was no possible way to lose!

And her confidence stemmed from her deep understanding of Chu Yourong—the ancient saying "know your enemy and know yourself, and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles" applied perfectly.

To her, Chu Yourong as an opponent was nearly transparent—how could she not be easily manipulated?

"Good!"

"Do it exactly as you said!"

"This time we win big—and show every other artist in the company who's got other ideas: the fate of those who leave Rongshu Entertainment and oppose us!"

Yu Kai's expression was solemn.

"President Yu, rest assured!"

"The results will come soon!"

Du Yue was supremely confident.

Soon, Sun Jiaren and Xu Yao updated their Weibo accounts, announcing new songs releasing in three days.

"What? Three days later? Didn't Chu Yourong also announce her new song for three days from now?"

"Again three days? Why are all the songs dropping in three days—is it some lucky day?"

"Are the Moonlight Girls members fighting each other? All three releasing songs on the same day!"

"Chu Yourong already left the group—clearly, her old company is targeting her!"

"What targeting? What, only Chu Yourong gets to release new songs, and no one else can?"

"Poor Rongshu—her new song's up against Sister Xu—she'll get crushed to dust!"

"..."

Chu Yourong's announcement of her new song releasing in three days had already been out and wasn't news anymore, but when Sun Jiaren and Xu Yao suddenly announced new songs on the same day, it immediately sparked online discussion.

After Sun Jiaren and Xu Yao announced their new songs, Du Yue's marketing team went into action.

"Sister Yao is mighty—she's personally cleaning house!"

"Chu Yourong is getting married soon—she'll be a married woman already; our Jiaren is still pure!"

"I used to agonize over choosing between Sun Jiaren and Chu Yourong; now no need to agonize—married women, get out of the idol circle!"

"The traitor already dropped a new song? Clearly this was planned all along!"

"Moonlight fans, remember: the team now has six members—boycott the traitor!"

"......"

Du Yue had a mature operations team that collaborated with various entertainment KOLs and water army groups; she only needed to give a direction, and her subordinates would follow her intent.

Her maneuver indeed worked brilliantly, for those capable of independent thought were few; most people followed the crowd—when others cursed, they cursed too; when others praised, they praised too.

Thus, under the water army's guidance, the comment section of Chu Yourong's Weibo post announcing her new song was completely overrun—seven or eight out of ten comments were insulting her; some entertainment bloggers on Douyin also engaged in praise-one, bash-one critiques.

It seemed like in an instant, Chu Yourong's reputation collapsed, and she instantly became the "traitor" everyone denounced.

Seeing this marketing campaign succeed spectacularly, Du Yue, watching her computer screen in the office, gloated—and already began imagining how she'd report her success to President Yu Kai.

But she overlooked one thing: Chu Yourong's new song release, originally scheduled for three days later, had drawn little attention—now it was known to nearly everyone, and the topic #ChuYourongNewSong had surged to trending.

In other words, while enduring the torrent of abuse, Chu Yourong also gained a flood of traffic.

Whether this traffic could be converted into positive feedback would depend on how the new song performed upon release!