Chapter Four: What Song Is This? I've Never Heard It Before.

"Doesn't really feel like a newbie. Nice work, keep it up, I'm rooting for you."

This was the first review for *Why Does the Celebrity Care So Much About Ratings?* A single sentence was enough to make Yu Wei feel like his life was flashing before his eyes.

He had been writing web novels for years. While he certainly wanted to make money, gaining recognition from readers was the original reason he started tapping at his keyboard. The appearance of a positive review signaled that his book now had a genuine reader—it was a good start.

"What song should I choose?"

As a veteran of the entertainment-themed genre, Yu Wei had listened to plenty of music. Even without a system, he could write down many lyrics; creativity was not a concern. He was experienced enough to know which songs could be used and which should be avoided.

Readers of entertainment novels about singers place particular importance on the song selection. The core of a "literary copycat" story relies on immersion—if you write about obscure, unknown works, who is going to read it?

However, one cannot blindly choose mega-hits either. For classics like Jay Chou’s songs or the *Chinese Paladin* soundtracks, readers have essentially developed aesthetic fatigue. Writing them well earns no special merit, but writing them poorly invites backlash.

Internet viral songs are even more of a minefield to be avoided. While they are popular, a protagonist copying them makes him seem tasteless.

In the past, Yu Wei would research every song, weighing pros and cons, trying to select Chinese classics that hadn't appeared much in similar works. But there was no need for that now. In this world, no matter what he wrote, the readers had never heard of it. Since they hadn't heard anything, it meant he could write anything. He didn't need to overthink it this time; he just wanted to write what he liked.

"I'll go with this one."

Yu Wei quickly made up his mind: JJ Lin’s "Wall of Heart." It was a song he frequently kept on repeat. The guitar melody was fantastic, and he had always wanted to learn it to play for others, but it was too difficult and he never had the time to study. In the end, he lacked the determination. But now, Yu Wei had the chance to master the song perfectly.

Honestly, he chose this song simply because he wanted to learn to play it. That was exactly what a system should be for—satisfying the user's own needs. A system that forces the protagonist to do this and that is just a novelty toy, where the protagonist only gets a bit of pleasure if they obey. He didn't care how others wrote their stories; Yu Wei preferred a higher degree of freedom. A system could exist, but it shouldn't overshadow the protagonist; constantly issuing tasks felt like a compliance test.

Just like the rating system in his book, it was essentially a guessing game. The protagonist could play it however he wanted.

Glancing at the time in the bottom right corner of his screen, Yu Wei sped up his typing. He had to finish the singing scene within the next two days, or it would be too late. The last time he had worked this hard was when he was saving up to build his PC—he’d wake up and go straight to work, his fingers practically smoking.

He was on fire!

[Zhang Shaoyang watched as Wei Yu finally took the bait. Even on stage, he couldn't hide the smirk at the corner of his mouth. He knew this song had been highly controversial when it won its award, but he hadn't expected this kid to actually dare to give it such a low rating in public. If he didn't deal with him, there were plenty of others who would! The song's creator, Teacher Ding, was right there in the venue. He was notorious in the entertainment industry for being difficult and petty. Wei Yu giving the song a 3.6 was essentially a slap in the face. If "Firecracker Ding" could keep his cool, he wouldn't be called "Firecracker Ding"...]

[As expected, a second later, the gold-medal producer in the corner couldn't sit still. With a straight face, he sneered, "So my song is 'average,' is it? I suppose someone who looks down on my work must have a much better representative piece, right?"]

Actually, Yu Wei didn't like writing too many mindless villains; they were as annoying as flies. But given the time pressure, he had to resort to this tactic to push the plot toward the protagonist’s performance, using the villain to heighten the dramatic tension. However, the two characters he wrote were actually based on real people—a sharp-tongued host and a high-and-mighty music critic. It just went to show that in reality, some people were often even more mindless and annoying than those in novels.

Next was the protagonist's turn. As for a better work, he certainly had one.

[Wei Yu looked at the "Wall of Heart" he had obtained from his previous rating. With this song in his hands, it was certainly good enough to be a critique! However, he didn't rush to show it off. Instead, he made a few excuses to play it cool, making the song's debut feel more justified. "I do have a song, but I don't think many people would be interested, so I won't waste everyone's time. Maybe another time."

His feint worked. Now, it wasn't just Ding Ang and Zhang Shaoyang who wanted to hear it. Many in the audience had their appetites whetted—was this song just posturing, or was it the real deal? Someone in the crowd started egging him on, and other celebrities followed suit, creating a stir just for the sake of the drama. They didn't really want to hear a song; they just wanted to watch the show and see what Wei Yu was up to!

"Since so many people are interested, I'll take a few minutes of everyone's time. This song is called 'Wall of Heart.' I hope you like it."]

Writing to this point, Yu Wei skillfully ended the chapter, stopping just before the climax. It left readers hanging, heightening their anticipation for the next chapter like a withdrawal symptom. A novel's cliffhanger is like a video buffering at the most critical moment—how could he stop there?

He knew that manipulating readers' emotions was shameless, but it worked. His editor had taught him to leave a "hook" at the end of a chapter. A hook was meant to snag the reader's heart and leave them wanting more, but it couldn't be pulled too hard, or they would run away in frustration. But Yu Wei had his own interpretation: if the chapter is cut, the author’s own "hook" might be lost too! A mature web novelist should know how to protect their own interests.

Yu Wei opened the system panel. There was no information on "Wall of Heart" yet. As he had guessed, the work could only be redeemed after it had been performed within the novel's plot. Just having the title appear wasn't enough. Tomorrow's chapter was crucial; he just hoped the data required for redemption wouldn't be too high. Failing was not easy.

An hour after he updated the new chapter, a blunt comment appeared at the end:

"Trash."

A fine assessment. Using "trash" as a mirror, one can see the rise and fall of the plot—it seemed this reader had a very high opinion of him... which was obviously impossible. Getting scolded was normal; Yu Wei was used to it after all these years. But what bothered him was that the person calling his writing "trash" was the same person who had left the first positive review!

Was this transition from fan to hater a bit too fast?

"This is 'An Shi Lei,' nice nickname, I’ll remember you!"

If you don't love it anymore, don't hurt it. Turning into a hater after being a fan wasn't just a critical hit—it was true damage. A single chapter had changed a reader's opinion of the book. Was this a distortion of human nature or a decline in morality?

Yu Wei knew exactly why he was being scolded. As he had said, entertainment novels rely on immersion. He had spent so long setting the stage for "Wall of Heart," but the readers in the Blue Star world had never heard of it! How could they be immersed if they had never even heard the song? This wasn't just an obscure song; it was a song conjured out of thin air.

He had spent all that time building it up, only for the author to be self-indulgent. The readers were completely lost. Not only did they feel like they had wasted their time, but their mood for reading the book was ruined. If he didn't get scolded, who would?

To the unsuspecting Blue Star readers, a song appearing in a "copycat" novel that the author had made up was no different from being fed a mouthful of trash. In a cultivation novel, you can make up a technique and it's fine—nobody has actually cultivated immortality, so whatever you say goes. But in an entertainment novel, it doesn't work. Everyone has actually listened to music. You can't just make something up and claim it's good; who would buy that? Writing a novel and actually creating music—that was diagnosed as an excess of self-consciousness.

Before going to sleep, Yu Wei checked the backend. There were already a dozen sharp critiques at the end of the latest chapter.

"What song is this? Why have I never heard of it?"
"The author must have copied the wrong song, it should be 'South Wall'."
"The author must be high, how could he get this wrong?"
" 'South Wall' is also a piece of crap. If the author really writes that song, I'm dropping the book. Of course, if it’s a song you made up, I’m dropping it too."

He only had about twenty followers, and over a dozen negative comments—it was clear how annoyed the readers were. If this continued, his remaining readers were going to bolt.

But Yu Wei was truly helpless. He had to write the song, and it was hard to explain. "Actually, this song will come out in a few days, I just wrote it early"—no web novelist would say that without being laughed at by the readers.

If you are writing an entertainment-themed power fantasy and you actually try to write music, and you aren't doing a "try not to laugh" challenge, then you've already lost. Even if Yu Wei were a reader, he wouldn't believe it. If you had that level of talent, why would you be writing a web novel? Are you kidding me?

Since he couldn't explain it, he stopped trying. He just sincerely posted a plea for readers to keep following the story:

"The crowd was huge just now, so I’ll kneel before you all: please keep following. New chapters will come, and the music will come too."

Nothing else, just a matter of practice.