Chapter 71: Stirring the Rhythm

The female host nodded: “Good, and we hope Luo Quan will continue to strive!”

After offering Luo Quan a brief word of encouragement, the female host walked over to Cao Mufeng and handed him the microphone.

He is this year’s most popular young singer in China; despite his youth, he has been in the industry for years, with a massive fanbase and considerable spending power.

Last year, one of his albums sold several million copies—even though it was a 20-yuan digital album, virtually no singer in China still sells physical albums these days.

Before Luo Quan’s emergence, Cao Mufeng held the title of “Leading Figure of China’s New Generation Singer-Songwriters”; he possesses strong vocal skills and some compositional ability, but many of his songs are too detached from mainstream aesthetics, and his stage performances are overly exaggerated, earning him frequent criticism from the general public.

Still, he is among the few musicians in China with genuine ideas and high-quality work.

For the past couple of years, no one knows what he’s thinking—he’s been producing mostly experimental songs with bizarre styles; though his fans adore him and praise him daily, this has only worsened his public image.

Many veteran musicians say a talented musician might be heading down a wrong path.

But Cao Mufeng himself doesn’t care—he is an extremely self-centered person; whether writing songs or singing, he only wants to express his inner thoughts and couldn’t care less about others’ opinions.

On the other hand, he is extremely proud; in his eyes, the songs of China’s so-called musicians are nothing but mindless pop trash—popular for a moment, then replaced by newer trash within one or two months—while he aims to create music that will be remembered by the world.

His heart is as lofty as the sky, yet his fate is no thicker than paper.

Of course, compared to those singers who only know how to plagiarize and Sinicize, Cao Mufeng is incomparably superior.

“This year has been another fruitful one for Mufeng—he’s won awards at the Golden Bell Awards, Golden Melody Awards, and the Huaxia Song Chart. What do you have to say about these achievements?” The female host smiled warmly.

Cao Mufeng is usually introverted; such occasions are typically handled by his manager, but since he came up alone this time, he hesitated slightly before answering: “First, I want to thank my fans who have supported me all along—without your support, I couldn’t have written so many songs, nor achieved what I have today. Thank you so much.”

“In the days ahead, I will continue creating actively, striving to better blend experimental music with pop music, making it more aligned with mainstream aesthetics.”

Cao Mufeng’s fans immediately flooded the screen with messages like “I love you, Mufeng! I’ll support you forever! Mufeng is number one in the world!”

“Mufeng is far too humble, attributing all your achievements to your fans,” the female host offered a hollow compliment, then her eyes gleamed with intent. “Mufeng, as a singer-songwriter long favored by senior artists, you are undoubtedly among the most outstanding young musicians today.

As a new-generation songwriter, what are your thoughts on Luo Quan? Could you share them with us?”

As soon as these words were spoken, expressions on stage and in the audience shifted.

In today’s era, traffic dominates everything—gaining traffic requires attention and popularity, and the fiercest clashes between two stars and their fans generate the most attention and popularity.

As China’s largest media platform, Sina Weibo understands this well and has orchestrated countless celebrity feuds to boost traffic.

In most cases, this kind of traffic benefits the celebrities, so everyone happily plays along, making Sina Weibo increasingly brazen.

In fact, provoking celebrity conflicts to generate popularity has become a routine promotional tactic on Weibo—one of the main reasons the public dislikes it.

Clearly, the female host had long set her sights on Luo Quan and Cao Mufeng, aiming to stir up a feud between them.

What excitement is there in a dull award ceremony? Only when two stars openly fight does it become a spectacle—the very thing netizens love most, for gossip is human nature.

Faced with this question, Cao Mufeng paused, then fell into thought.

It wasn’t because Luo Quan was standing beside him and he couldn’t speak freely—in fact, he had quite a few things he wanted to say to her.

He had listened to all of Luo Quan’s songs—they were excellent, with lyrics and melodies reaching top-tier quality; she was a talented singer, but her talent was at the level of top Japanese pop, not Chinese pop. In his view, being able to write great Japanese songs didn’t mean she could write great Chinese songs, and he especially disliked songs about love and romance—they were too petty.

So, Cao Mufeng believed Luo Quan’s best song was “Yi Liao Bai Liao.”

In the entertainment industry, Cao Mufeng was infamous for his low emotional intelligence; he had often embarrassed guests and hosts on variety shows with his blunt remarks.

The female host of this Weibo Night show knew Cao Mufeng’s personality well—she deliberately asked him to critique Luo Quan, revealing her malicious intent.

Cao Mufeng did not disappoint her expectations; after a moment of silence, he spoke: “Luo Quan is a highly skilled and talented singer, but most of her songs focus on love and romance—I’m not fond of them.

I also heard she went to Japan after junior high, so her Chinese proficiency is probably not high; if she wants to break into the Mandarin music market, she needs to study Chinese seriously.”

Luo Quan’s lips twitched; she thought, this guy is so blunt—he knows perfectly well the host is provoking him, yet he still plays along like an idiot.

Still, Cao Mufeng’s remarks carried no real malice—he was simply voicing his personal opinion as an outsider, and since he didn’t know her true Chinese level, his skepticism was understandable; she wouldn’t get angry because of it.

But this female host was truly vile—the kind who deserves to have a son without a backside!

She could imagine her own fans and his fans were already raging in the comments.

Luo Quan wasn’t angry, but her fans wouldn’t be as magnanimous as she was, and Cao Mufeng’s fans wouldn’t be as straightforward as he was either.

I’ve been dragged into another wave of hype—what have I ever done to deserve this...

Luo Quan sighed softly, then snapped back to reality—only to find the female host walking over as if nothing had happened.

The host, with a smug expression, asked: “Luo Quan, what are your thoughts on Mufeng’s comments?”

Everyone perked up, eyes fixed on Luo Quan.

Though they despised the host for openly stirring up conflict, they also loved watching two singers openly clash on stage—this was exactly the kind of spectacle they craved.

Facing the expectant gazes of so many, Luo Quan took a deep breath and offered a graceful, polite smile:

“Chinese is my mother tongue—it’s etched into the core of my soul, unrelated to educational attainment. I humbly accept all valuable criticism, and I confidently accept all praise!”