Chapter 37: Are You Just Going to Keep Picking on Yu Wei?

"A new song?"

Qi Yuan never spent time watching variety shows, but prompted by his agent, he impatiently watched the trailer for the seventh episode of "HELLO Roommate."

Originally, he was supposed to be the one on that episode...

In the trailer, Yu Wei was typing away as usual, which matched the impression Qi Yuan already had of him.

Soon, he noticed the new song Wu Qi had mentioned. In other words, while Yu Wei was filming a variety show, he had managed to churn out a song on the side?

For a star who cherished his reputation, appearing on a variety show was like a top student sneaking into an internet cafe—it felt frivolous. Yet, here was someone who had skipped class to spend the night at an internet cafe, only to ace the exam anyway. How could that be called frivolous? Why did it seem like a creative feat?

This was completely contrary to what Qi Yuan had assumed.

"To write another one in such a short time... I really need to build a better relationship with Yu Wei. Sigh."

Listening to Wu Qi’s sour complaints, Qi Yuan finally snapped back to reality. The gap between these two new songs hadn't even been a month.

What kind of concept was that?

Although he didn't yet know the quality of the new song, the efficiency alone was enough to make one feel inferior.

Qi Yuan wasn't a jealous person, nor was he particularly petty, but Yu Wei's performance was like a mirror—sharp, bright, and unsparingly reflecting his own mediocrity and ordinariness.

If he had been avoiding the truth before, this time, he had to face the gap head-on.

To defeat an opponent, one must understand them well enough. Qi Yuan realized he still knew far too little about Yu Wei.

For instance, what exactly was he typing away at all the time?

Qi Yuan had a feeling that it might be Yu Wei's secret manual for power, a true art of cognitive development that spanned from emotional critique to practical testing and rational reconstruction.

...

"Oh my, 'love at first sight,' huh?"

Yu Wei, currently "coding like a madman," received a message from Qi Luo'an. She was clearly teasing him about the shot at the end of the sixth episode of "HELLO Roommate," where Tong Yulu opened the door for him.

"How about 'Yu-lu-jun-zhan' or 'Calamity-befalls-the-pond-Yu'? Take your pick!"

Yu Wei couldn't even be bothered to argue with her, so he casually made up two couple-names and sent them over. He had initially thought of "Luo-xia-wei-mu," but since that person was his sister-in-law, he figured he shouldn't joke about that.

"You've even thought of these? Are you really treating this show like a dating reality show?"

Qi Luo'an obviously wouldn't take him seriously. Given Yu Wei’s personality, even if he had ideas about female celebrities, it would only be to mooch off their labor.

They were worlds apart anyway. Even if something were actually going on between them, it had nothing to do with her.

"I just didn't expect you to be so blatant about typing on the show."

Even though Qi Luo'an was practically half-a-hater of Yu Wei's novels, she was deeply impressed when she saw the trailer. He was just too dedicated.

"I didn't expect the production team to film so much of it either."

Yu Wei didn't understand why the footage of him moping in his room typing was worth cutting into the show; it looked like a diary for observing a shut-in.

At least he hadn't done anything weird in the room.

"Hey, go check your reader's circle."

Qi Luo'an was bored and had been browsing the novel's discussion board, and what she found there caught her attention.

A reader named "Wanderer Hooking Hearts" had posted a thread just minutes ago, featuring screenshots from the "HELLO Roommate" trailer.

"Major discovery: Yu Wei is about to release a new song. Could it be 'The Sound of Rain' that the author wrote about?"

Compared to a fan-oriented event like the Farewell Night, variety shows had a much larger audience. It was only natural that as the trailer aired, readers would catch onto the gossip.

If Yu Wei were an ordinary singer, no one would mention it, but because of the coincidence with "Heart Wall" last time, it was obvious the author and Yu Wei had a deep connection.

The song was still owed in the book, and now Yu Wei happened to be releasing a new one—it was hard not to overthink it.

"I think you're about to be exposed."

No one was discussing the new post yet, but it was only a matter of time before everyone found out.

"Let them expose me. Exposure is good."

Yu Wei hadn't intended to hide it anyway. The reason he didn't explain last time was that people wouldn't necessarily believe him, and trying to prove it over and over was a hassle. This time, facts spoke louder than words.

Exchanging works would only get harder later on. Clearly, the natural growth of his novel's data wouldn't be enough. If his identity were public, it would attract more people to read, which was a good thing.

Of course, with more people, there would be more people calling him a hack...

Yu Wei didn't have time to monitor the latest trends among readers while writing, so Qi Luo'an took the time to screenshot them and send them to him, which was a huge help.

Although her tongue was as sharp as a razor, he had to admit, she was truly thoughtful.

"What a coincidence, another Yu Wei song?"

"It's terrifying when you think about it. This episode was filmed half a month ago, which lines up exactly with the days the author was writing the plot for 'The Sound of Rain'."

"What kind of background does this author have to be able to come up with Yu Wei's song a month in advance?"

"Why is this hack author so evil? Constantly picking on poor Yu Wei. Go mooch off a different celebrity, I beg you, act like a human being."

Yu Wei couldn't help but laugh after reading it. From the readers' perspective, didn't he look like someone who used others' unreleased work to brag?

That was definitely pretty evil...

But soon, another reader raised an objection.

"But this song was only written by Yu Wei during the show's recording. No one else knew what he was writing at the time, right? How could the author have known?"

Before "Heart Wall" was born, Yu Wei wasn't famous, and no one knew when the song was written. But this time was different; the show's recording schedule was public.

Calculating the time, the novel's plot was basically synchronized with Yu Wei's creative cycle. When the song title appeared in the book, the song itself was likely still a rough draft...

Even if a reader had connections, could they really know about a piece of music that was still just an unfinished draft in Yu Wei's mind?

It was possible to see a finished, unreleased work in advance, but music still in the "inspiration" phase? How could an outsider get their hands on that?

Thinking this far, the readers felt a chill down their spines. Was this mind-reading or seeing into the future?

Actually, the truth was already staring them in the face, but they were still a bit afraid to believe it.

"Uh, if it's someone with a very close relationship, like an agent or a family member or friend, maybe they were discussing the inspiration?"

"That makes sense. Maybe they talked about ideas with friends."

"No, the author was already working on the 'Dream Voice' plot after finishing 'Heart Wall.' That means he was already prepared to write the new song back then."

"If the book was written by family or friends, could they guarantee in advance that Yu Wei would definitely write a new song? Could they arrange the plot rhythm so coincidentally?"

The reader known as "Moving Company Employee" killed the argument.

Even if someone close to Yu Wei could get the inspiration for the song in advance, they couldn't guarantee when the song would be finished.

After all, the creative process of art is unpredictable. If you're in the zone, you can write it in a few hours; if you're not, you might struggle for months...

Assuming the book was written by a friend of Yu Wei's, if they didn't know when the song would be finished, they would certainly drag out the novel's plot as much as possible, waiting for the song to be completed before moving forward.

It’s like documenting someone else's life; until the person involved is finished, the person recording can only wait and see.

But the plot of this book was very coherent. If he wrote about going on stage today, he wrote about singing tomorrow, which meant the author knew the progress of the songs like the back of his hand.

Only by knowing the score could he be so unhurried.

Knowing exactly what the person was doing at every moment—this wasn't the record of an observer; this could only be a diary...

"What kind of person could be so well-informed about the creative process of a song?"

"Is it possible that this book was written by Yu Wei himself!"

The crowd fell into a long silence after reading these comments. In truth, if they wanted to argue, there were still many angles to refute it.

But there was no need, because they had long thought of this possibility; they had just been unwilling to admit it.

These comments had dismantled their denial. Even if they still couldn't quite fathom it, they had to accept the possibility that Yu Wei was the author.

It was hard to imagine that this hack writer in the entertainment industry was actually a real star...