Chapter 4: Youjian Entertainment

Feng Jingyu was having her terminal aggregate all the data about “Cycle” from every social media and platform. Watching the ever-shifting graphs, she felt a rush of excitement she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

“Traffic, buzz, controversy—this is what the entertainment industry is really about.” Feng Jingyu narrowed her eyes slightly. “Everything is going according to plan. Let the numbers come even fiercer.”

Her terminal abruptly interrupted her thoughts, a call request popping up. When she answered, Yu Huaiyin’s haggard face appeared on the screen, looking utterly worn out.

“What happened to you? Those dark circles are terrible. Didn’t you get any rest?” Feng Jingyu asked with concern.

“It’s nothing. I just didn’t sleep last night.” Yu Huaiyin’s expression was more grave than Feng Jingyu had ever seen, and his once cheerful tone had grown subdued.

“What happened?”

Yu Huaiyin was silent for a moment before finally speaking. “Someone from the government reached out to me just now.”

“And then?” Feng Jingyu asked.

“Aren’t you surprised?” Yu Huaiyin thought her reaction was far too calm.

“I knew from the moment I decided to do this that we’d attract attention from above. So, what did the government want to talk about?”

“The Deputy Minister of the Earth Department of External Communications wants to meet you.”

A glimmer of excitement flashed in Feng Jingyu’s eyes. “Such a high-ranking official? Well then… what about the time and place?”

“That’s up to you.”

“Hmm… Let’s meet at the street park where we first met, this Saturday at 3 p.m.”

“All right.”

After ending the call, Feng Jingyu asked her smart assistant to prepare a drink for her. As she sipped, she searched the department’s official website and found a photo of the Deputy Minister. The woman in the picture looked mature and capable, her gaze sharp and resolute—a person with a powerful inner strength and clear goals.

“Cen Lan…” Feng Jingyu murmured her name softly. “Deputy Minister Cen, I’m actually looking forward to meeting you.”

·

The sunlight at three in the afternoon was just right. Cen Lan leaned back against the bench, eyes closed, body relaxed, clearing her mind. For her, this was a rare moment of rest.

Before long, footsteps approached, followed by a crisp voice. “The weather’s really nice today.”

“It is. It’s been so long since I’ve enjoyed the sun like this. It feels wonderful,” Cen Lan sighed.

The person beside her sat down, and Cen Lan felt the slight give of the bench’s backrest, clearly mirroring her own posture.

“I love weather like this too. It feels like the sun can chase away all your troubles.” The other’s tone was light and cheerful, the easy familiarity of a friend’s conversation.

“Exactly.” Cen Lan still didn’t open her eyes; she was almost drifting off.

Perhaps five minutes passed, or maybe half an hour, before Cen Lan slowly opened her eyes and looked over. She found Feng Jingyu leaning back on the bench, asleep in the same posture as herself.

She couldn’t help but laugh aloud. Though they’d only seen each other’s photos before, there was no sense of unfamiliarity in their conversation. Smiling, Cen Lan finally allowed herself to drift into a real sleep.

It wasn’t until the sun was nearly setting that they both woke up.

Feng Jingyu stretched lazily, clearly having slept well. She turned to Cen Lan, her eyes crinkling with a smile. “So, tell me—what do you want from me?”

“We want ‘Cycle’ to reach the top ten of the Interstellar Music Chart. We’ll support you and meet all your needs. The nation will be your strongest backing,” Cen Lan replied.

“That was part of my plan all along.” Feng Jingyu clapped her fist into her palm. “But it’s like getting a pillow delivered right when you’re dozing off—I just happen to need the government’s help with something.”

“Go ahead.”

“I need an entertainment company. I’ll send you the departmental structure for it later.” Feng Jingyu pulled out her personal terminal, a sly grin—full of youthful mischief—lighting up her face, bold and endearing. “Let’s add each other as friends, Sister Cen Lan.”

Seeing Feng Jingyu’s smile, Cen Lan’s own lips curved up as well. “All right, Jingyu.”

·

Cen Lan pushed open the door. “This is your new home. I’ve had a dedicated StarNet server set up just for you, and requested the highest computational AI to help you analyze data. Here’s a private terminal; use this from now on, and I’ll take care of your old one. Also, this place is classified as Earth government property and has StarMap exemption rights.”

“StarMap exemption?” Feng Jingyu tilted her head.

“Except for the Interstellar Federation, no organization or individual can locate this place on the StarMap.”

Feng Jingyu nodded in understanding. “Got it.”

“If you have any other requests, just let us know. We’ll arrange everything.”

“This is great, I’m very satisfied.” Feng Jingyu suddenly thought of something else. “Just don’t mistreat me when it comes to food.”

Cen Lan couldn’t help but laugh. “How could we? You won’t be shortchanged in any area.”

“Then there’s no problem.” Feng Jingyu flopped down onto the sofa. “You decorated this place, didn’t you?”

“I did.” Cen Lan sat down as well. “Do you like it?”

“I love it.” Feng Jingyu gave Cen Lan a dazzling smile. “It’s a good thing you were the one who came. If it had been some would-be father figure, I would have gone full-on nonviolent resistance.”

“That’s unlikely. They should be quite careful in choosing the right person.” Cen Lan chose her words with care.

“But you probably weren’t their first choice, right? I bet you had to make some serious promises to get this chance. Hmm…” Feng Jingyu tapped her chin thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing you mentioned at our first meeting—getting ‘Cycle’ into the top ten.” Seeing the slight change in Cen Lan’s expression, Feng Jingyu grinned. “Looks like I guessed right.”

Cen Lan’s feelings were complicated. After a moment of silence, she finally gave a helpless smile and sighed. “Nothing gets past you.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry—I won’t let your political career go down in flames.” Feng Jingyu patted Cen Lan’s shoulder. “This answer sheet we’re handing in to the higher-ups—it can’t just be passable, it has to be excellent. That way, you can always stay by my side. After all, it’s not easy to find a partner who’s this in sync.”

Cen Lan smiled at that. “I believe in you.”

·

After “Cycle” entered the Interstellar Music Chart, its climb slowed. After all, the chart was aimed at audiences numbering in the hundreds of billions, while Earth’s population was only a few billion—the scales were simply not comparable. Now, sitting at around the nine hundredth spot, it was already the result of a global effort, with everyone working day and night.

Given the circumstances, it was no surprise that Cen Lan was under immense pressure. Colleagues close to her were anxious on her behalf, but dared not say much, for fear of adding to her burden.

Yet Cen Lan herself showed no signs of anxiety at all. She kept her usual schedule, ate normally, and behaved as she always had.

Amid this tense atmosphere, “Cycle” finally crept up to the eight hundredth spot and then stopped moving entirely.

The songs ahead of it had such overwhelming numbers that they seemed like an insurmountable mountain, daunting anyone who looked up at them.

·

Feng Jingyu sat on the sofa at home—her favorite place in this new house. Her private terminal was displaying real-time data collected by the AI. Taking a big gulp of milk tea mixed by her smart assistant, Feng Jingyu fixed her gaze on a particular number.

“This must be the upper limit of Earth’s traffic.” She had the AI highlight the number, then opened StarNet, uploaded an article she’d written long ago, and sent out a mass message. Once these tasks were done, she relaxed back into the sofa, a knowing smile tugging at her lips. “It’s time to let the aliens give us a little push.”

·

All the core employees of “Youjian Entertainment” received Feng Jingyu’s message, including CEO Cen Lan. Every one of these core staffers had been there for Feng Jingyu’s first breakthrough, and now the privileges and resources they enjoyed were on a whole new level.

Upon receiving the message, they sprang into action, breaking down Feng Jingyu’s instructions and passing them to their departments. Cen Lan immediately reported up the chain, mobilizing everyone to forward the latest article posted by Autumn Whisper on the StarNet.

The previous all-hands-on-deck campaign to boost the song’s ranking had already stirred up some grumbling among the rank and file. Now, with the new order to forward the article, unrest began to ripple through the workforce.

“What are they doing up there? Isn’t listening to ‘Cycle’ all day enough? Now we have to forward this article that’s obviously over the top.” In offices across other regions, complaints were rife.

“All right, keep it down. The Huaxia team never does anything pointless. Just do your job. The chart updates at the end of the month, and it should be over by then.”

“But there’s only a week left until the end of the month. Can we really break into the top ten before the chart updates?”

“That’s something only God would know.”