Describing Jiang Kui as a âsmall singerâ is actually a bit harsh.
Even if she isnât an A-list artist right now, Jiang Kui can be at least considered a borderline A-list singer who could easily attain a higher rank with a little push from her company. In terms of her status within the music industry, sheâs already very high â
If anyone doesnât understand, we can use Chen Zhiyu as a unit of measurement for comparison.
The current Jiang Kui is almost on par with four-fifths of Chen Zhiyu before he became the perennial runner-up.
Sheâs got the fame.
Sheâs got the talent.
But to some extent, itâs not wrong to categorize Jiang Kui as a âsmall singerâ.
Because the point of comparison for Jiang Kui isnât Chen Zhiyu, itâs the leading singers represented by Fei Yang!
Xian Yu and Maestro are worthy of comparison. The Battle of the Gods competition in December last year was the perfect proof.
But what about Jiang Kui?
How does she compare to the leading singers?
So when the industry saw Starlightâs official announcement, they were collectively dumbfounded, and metaphorically, their glasses shattered all over the ground.
Something must be wrong.
How could Jiang Kui be on the list for the mighty Battle of the Gods?
With all the top singers present, who could Jiang Kuiâs petite figure possibly hold her ground against?
Suddenly, discussions started brewing within the industry:
âWho the heck is Jiang Kui, canât the top-tier music company field a top singer?â
âWhat clout does Jiang Kui have to be this brash?â
âIs there some shady background stuff with Starlight?â
âIf Xian Yu was kidnapped by Starlight, blink twice.â
âStop guessing, nobody would dare force Xian Yu to do anything in Starlight, unless theyâve gone completely bonkers. Given Xian Yuâs status, he could cherry-pick any top singer within or even outside Starlight. The only plausible assumption for choosing Jiang Kui is that Xian Yu himself wanted to play this way!â
âHas he gone mad?â
They are crazy for involving Jiang Kui in the Battle of the Gods. This is as absurd as involving Sun Yaohuo in the Battle of the Gods, even though I concede that Jiang Kui does have strong singing skills.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âThe big shots of the Battle of the Gods might be shocked too.â
ââ¦â
Blunt words, sound argument.
Unless every senior executive of Starlight has water in their brains, no one would force Xian Yu into anything.
If they dared to play this way, in less than an hour, countless music company executives, even chairmen, would personally invite Xian Yu to their companies!
With offers of courtesy and respect beyond measure.
That is beyond doubt.
So, it must be Xian Yuâs own decision.
Starlight might even be the victim.
Because they donât dare to dictate Xian Yuâs actions, they ended up allowing Jiang Kui, a somewhat out-of-place singer, to be listed on the roster for the Battle of the Gods. Otherwise, which company would arrange such a unreliable lineup?
When Starlight announced this news, netizens also began discussing:
âWhat is Xian Yu trying to do?â
âHeâs not collaborating with top singers for the Battle of the Gods?â
âI only realized today why they say Xian Yu loves to promote newcomers â heâs using even the Battle of the Gods to promote people!â
âHeâs really going all in to promote newcomers.â
âCould this be Xian Yuâs subtle way of providing himself with an escape route? Arrange for Jiang Kui in the Battle of the Gods â if he wins, it shows how capable Xian Yu is; if he loses, Xian Yu can easily pin the blame on Jiang Kui, claiming that he didnât partner with the top singers, and hence had an inherent disadvantage.â
Some speculated maliciously.
The fact is, from the moment Starlight announced a collaboration between Jiang Kui and Xian Yu for December, such malicious conjectures were bound to arise.
But such conjectures are destined to be unpopular.
Immediately, people began to retort:
âThough the movie âHachikoâ directed by Xian Yu the old rascal is truly a love-hate experience, the Battle of the Gods is not necessarily about winning the top spot. Even Maestro doesnât have that much pressure, let alone Xian Yu.â
âXian Yu isnât that petty.â
âWhy donât you interpret Xian Yuâs move as absolute confidence? Because he has so much faith in his new song, he believes that he can achieve good results even without collaborating with the King of Singing or the Queen of Singing.â
âBut this is the Battle of the Gods.â
âSo what if itâs the Battle of the Gods? Xian Yu has been champion once before, and last yearâs win was undisputed. Itâs understandable if he wants to ramp up the challenge this year.â
ââ¦â
Jiang Kuiâs appearance was too strange.
There were all sorts of interpretations.
However, just as some industry insiders had imagined, the big players who were participating in the December Battle of the Gods were shocked by the news from Starlight.
Huh?
Normally, those who could participate in the Battle of the Gods were experienced warriors who had seen far more trials and tribulations than ordinary folks. After so many seasons of ups and downs, what havenât they seen before?
But this, they had not seen before.
It was like everyone was already rubbing their hands in anticipation of savoring a big, delicious fish head soup, but the kitchen ended up serving up a tiny fish fry.
Whereâs the fish head soup we were promised?
Even a cat would find such a small fry too little, okay?
We didnât even need a single shiver of excitement, because we could already taste the blandness in advance!
Pfft!
Glamorous Entertainment Company.
Fei Yang saw Starlightâs announcement on the Tribal activity feed. He initially intended to slam his fist hard on the desk, but the force ended up taking a twist, landing on the soft leather of the chair:
âWhatâs the meaning of this, Xian Yu!â
Despite the thud on the chairâs cushion being far less authoritative than it would have been on a desk, Fei Yangâs anger was plainly visible: âIs he belittling me, by selecting Jiang Kui for the challenge?â
âWho knows what composers are thinking.â
Neon, also at Glamorous Entertainment today, casually said.
She glanced at Yin Dong, with a hint of double entendre.
Neon was considered a top-tier lyricist in the industry, but her collaboration with Yin Dong this time was full of hiccups. She had submitted countless revisions of lyrics, all of which Yin Dong didnât like, which further pushed back her hairline due to endless nights of work.
This was indeed a silent expression of discontent.
Why are music composers so highly regarded?
I am a lyricist, too!
When will lyricists finally raise our head high!
Make these composers beg for us lyricists to intervene!
Yin Dong appeared oblivious to Neonâs discontent, he casually said:
âYou have become overly fixated on Xian Yu. Of course, I also want to defeat Xian Yu, but my ultimate goal is not so much him as it is the December championship.â
Fei Yang paused, then nodded vigorously:
âNo matter what Xian Yu is thinking, as long as I win the December championship, Iâll be happy. Xian Yu will pay the price for his rashness and arrogance!â
âMmm.â
Yin Dong, as always, was poker-faced.
Neon at the side shrugged: âComposing and singing are your matters, decisions I canât make. The only thing I can guarantee you both is that the lyrics I write will not be the weak link. They will be the finest lyrics at the December Battle of the Gods!â
âI have complete faith in Teacher Neonâs songwriting.â
Fei Yang showed a smile: âOf course, I also have utmost confidence in Teacher Yin Dongâs composing as well as my singing.â
Fei Yang made a slight adjustment to the script in his mind.
He was still going to take first place, but Xian Yu probably wouldnât be able to secure second place.
This made Fei Yang feel regretful.
He even felt a pang of loneliness.
A fist that had been wound up for nearly a year ended up punching a ball of cotton. Naturally, Fei Yang would feel both lonely and regretful. In fact, many major figures in the upcoming December Battle of the Gods had the same feelingâ
Where was the glory in such a victory!
ââââââââ
ps: Thanks to âSmile Againâ for the second Alliance Hierarch. I may not be able to add more chapters recently, but Iâll keep track of the debt here. Once Iâve fully recovered, Iâll immediately add the chapters. Thatâs it for today.