Chapter 48: Blog

Back when "Blue Lotus" had set the folk and rock circles at each other's throats nonstop, some people had already raised doubts.

Could Cheng Chen, who had written the lyrics and composed the music for "The Wolf Fell in Love with the Sheep" and "Fairytale," really create a piece like "Blue Lotus," whose style and intent were entirely different?

Though the lyrics of "Blue Lotus" weren't full of flowery language, its plain words seemed to reach straight into the depths of the soul, singing out a great wisdom that appears foolish — unstained despite rising from the mud.

At the same time, the lyrics carried a hint of Zen flavor, awakening those who had lost their sense of direction, leaving them suddenly enlightened.

The song had none of the electric bass's stinging chord tones, using only the guitar's crisp sound and a not-too-loud drumbeat as accompaniment, which better brought out the singer's world-weary voice.

The line "The moment you lower your head, you discover the road beneath your feet" sang out countless life philosophies.

This kind of music that inspires people to think and invites deep reflection was, in essence, utterly different from Cheng Chen's other four songs.

But at the time Cheng Chen was at the height of his fame, and no one believed or paid attention to such doubts — until today…

The moment he saw the blog post's title, Cheng Chen broke out in a cold sweat, thinking Xu Wei was about to sue him.

But on second thought, the timing didn't add up.

He skimmed through the article roughly.

The post was published anonymously, and the article analyzed in detail the fundamental differences between Cheng Chen's four love songs and "Blue Lotus."

From this it drew the conclusion that this song was not, as the published song information claimed, written and composed entirely by Cheng Chen.

This post had a very high view count and had been bumped and pinned, with netizens leaving a unanimous stream of critical comments.

"The quality of 'Blue Lotus' is very high — I don't believe the singer of 'The Wolf Fell in Love with the Sheep' could have created it!"

"Anyone who could write a song with this kind of mood would still go write a vulgar song like 'The Wolf Fell in Love with the Sheep'? Boycott this ghostwritten garbage singer!"

"Are the folk circle and the rock circle both blind? Squabbling for half a day over a garbage singer who used a ghostwriter, wasting public resources!"

……

Actually, singers having others ghostwrite lyrics and music was an extremely common thing in the entertainment circle; industry insiders saw nothing strange in it, but audiences and fans could not accept it.

After all, it was the kind of thing that badly ruined one's reputation with the public and hurt fans' feelings.

After browsing through it, Cheng Chen roughly understood — it was nothing more than a rumor-mongering affair.

"Don't worry, Director Wang, my lyrics and music are fine — it's all just gossip."

Cheng Chen said with a smile to Wang Rui.

"Mm, best not have any hiccups."

Wang Rui nodded, his expression easing considerably.

"Criminal Police" had just locked in Cheng Chen's "Lonely Brave" as its theme song, and preparations to record it had already begun.

If something went wrong with Cheng Chen at this point, no matter how stunning "Lonely Brave" was, Wang Rui would not use it.

After all, "Criminal Police" was a "serious drama."

Cheng Chen returned to the set to film, and by the time they wrapped it was already around eight in the evening.

His phone showed several missed calls; Cheng Chen called back, and Wang Tianxiao's slightly weary voice came through:

"Did you see the blog post?"

"Mm, can you trace who posted it?"

Wang Tianxiao shook his head and said:

"Can't trace it — the other side used an anonymous account, but we can initially confirm it's definitely tied to 'Beijing Entertainment News.' They reposted it the moment it went up on the blog, and the way they… the way they set the rhythm is exactly the same as before."

Cheng Chen fell silent — that "Beijing Entertainment News" again.

Wang Tianxiao continued on his end:

"I've already used connections to warn the 'Beijing Entertainment News' side, but they still haven't given us a response."

For this kind of rumor-mongering and slander online, most stars and artists, when they encountered it, chose to handle it coldly.

According to regulations, fabricating and publishing information that defames another's reputation, if browsed over 5,000 times,

or reposted over 500 times, constitutes the crime of defamation, punishable by up to three years' imprisonment, detention, or control.

But in reality, even if rights were successfully defended, it was only an apology and deletion of the post, or compensation — no one had ever actually gone to jail for it, so the cost of breaking the law was low, emboldening some people.

Moreover, rumor-mongers weren't afraid of being fined at all — every time they spread a rumor they could attract a flood of fans, and with fans they could land ad deals, so by then a fine was nothing but a drop in the bucket to them.

Besides, gathering evidence and fighting a lawsuit was another time-consuming and exhausting affair; by the time the verdict came down, who knew how many years it would be.

"Mm, get ready — I want to release two singles soon. I'll send you the lyrics and music later; help me register the copyrights…"

"New songs again?"

Wang Tianxiao asked in surprise; as for Cheng Chen's pace of releasing songs, she could only sigh in admiration.

"Mm."

Cheng Chen nodded.

As for "Beijing Entertainment News" repeatedly poking at him, he had long since grown impatient.

He had to teach this shameless media outlet a lesson.

……

The next day, Cheng Chen opened a blog account.

The account name was simply Cheng Chen, and Wang Tianxiao had communicated with the blog's staff to get Cheng Chen officially verified.

This was a small change Cheng Chen had suggested to the blog's staff, and the blog side adopted it immediately.

Cheng Chen's profile was as follows:

Cheng Chen (Officially Verified), singer, actor; representative works "The Wolf Fell in Love with the Sheep," "Blue Lotus," "Fairytale"…

After Cheng Chen's blog account was opened, it quickly attracted a lot of attention.

"Real or fake? Is it really him?"

"Upstairs, didn't you see the official verification after his name? It's definitely real!"

"And he still has the nerve to show up on the blog — ghostwritten garbage singer, get off the blog, get out of the music scene!"

"Front row, is that you, Your Majesty? Cheng Chen, I especially love your 'Love Before BC'!"

"LMAO, the person upstairs wandered into the wrong place, didn't they? 'Love Before BC' is Zhou Jielun's song. But I support the second floor — that trash singer should get out of the music scene!"

"Grabbing front row, I'm first floor…"

In just one short hour, Cheng Chen's blog had already received five hundred comments.

One should know that blogs only just made their way into China this year, with blog registrations numbering only in the tens of thousands. Yet in just one short hour, Cheng Chen had already received five hundred comments — one could see how great his influence was.

Of course, most of them came just to watch the show, and to leave a couple of comments cursing Cheng Chen.

……

Beijing Entertainment News editorial department.

"You did well this time. Keep up the effort."

Editor-in-chief Fang Dong Cheng was browsing the blog in high spirits. The headline on the computer screen read boldly:

"'The Mysteriously Explosively Popular Singer, Suspected of Hiring a Ghostwriter for His Lyrics and Music.'"

By now, this blog post already had nearly ten thousand views and over a thousand comments.

"It's all thanks to your cultivation, Editor-in-Chief, hehe."

A bespectacled man in his mid-twenties said with an ingratiating smile.

"Mm, also that last interview with Gao Yuanyuan — you weren't discreet enough. You actually got filmed on-site by someone.

This caused the company no small loss. Credits and demerits cancel each other out, so I won't hold you accountable this time."

Editor-in-chief Fang Dong Cheng looked at the short little man before him and said with a smile.

"Yes, thank you, Editor-in-Chief, thank you, Editor-in-Chief."

"Mm, go on."

Fang Dong Cheng continued browsing the blog, only to discover a piece of information in the comments section.

"Cheng Chen has opened a blog too?"