Chapter Thirty-One: Reputation Soars, Rewards in Hand!
Wang Mo replied, “President Liu, you’re not keeping someone outside, are you?”
But even if you were, it wouldn’t cost that much. What kind of standard is this anyway? Tens of thousands a month.
Liu Zhengwen responded, “You really have a foul mouth. I’m handling serious business. Lend me fifty thousand now, I’ll pay you back fifty-one thousand next month.”
Wang Mo: “But you still haven’t paid me the ten thousand from our last bet.”
Liu Zhengwen: “Did we bet? I don’t remember that.”
Wang Mo: “Ha!”
In the end, Wang Mo still lent the money to Liu Zhengwen.
Because suddenly, a realization struck him: the way the “Third Generation Fox People” video went viral in such a short period, with popularity exploding overnight, almost certainly meant someone was orchestrating things behind the scenes. Combined with the urgency and excitement in Liu Zhengwen’s voice when he borrowed money, Wang Mo boldly speculated: could President Liu himself be the man behind the scenes?
If so, then he had to lend this money. Not just lend it, but lend more.
“President Liu, I’ll lend you a hundred thousand.”
“Why are you so generous all of a sudden?”
“It’s my honor to lend you money.”
“But where did you get that much?”
“I borrowed fifty thousand from Brother Xiong and now I’m lending it to you.”
“Wang Mo, you’re a great guy, lending money for my use. I’ll remember this favor. You know, I have a daughter—sweet and pretty…”
“…”
Click!
Wang Mo turned off his phone.
Liu Zhengwen’s face appeared in his mind—so this was how favors were repaid with enmity.
…
A hundred thousand—just how much traffic could that bring to a video on Bilibili?
Wang Mo was about to find out.
In the days that followed, “Third Generation Fox People” released a video titled “Composer and Lyricist—Are They Really Just Tools?” which shot to Bilibili’s homepage, surpassing ten million views and racking up more than half a million comments.
The debate even spilled over to other social platforms: CloudNet, Weibo, Douyin, and more.
A frenzy of discussion swept in its wake.
As a result, composers—especially “Speechless”—suddenly became household names.
Countless ordinary music fans didn’t care whether a composer was merely a tool; seeing the news, they could only marvel:
“So ‘No Matter’ and ‘Invisible Wings’ were both written by Speechless?”
“He’s incredible!”
“I never thought I’d take an interest in a composer.”
“Speechless—as his name suggests, he must be quiet, introverted, steady, and doesn’t like appearing in public. He prefers to quietly showcase his talent behind the scenes. Only someone like that could endure the solitude of composing, could dedicate himself wholly to creation, and could write such an astonishingly inspirational song as ‘I Have Invisible Wings.’”
“I did a divination: this Speechless fellow has the bearing of an emperor.”
“…”
The power of the people is limitless.
Three days.
In just three days, Wang Mo finally heard that long-awaited system notification:
[Congratulations, Host! Your reputation has surpassed 100,000. Mission accomplished.]
[Reward: Bronze Treasure Chest x2.]
“Open the chests!” Wang Mo called out inwardly.
[Based on the host’s current situation, the chests will generate the most needed items… Generating… Generation complete…]
[Congratulations, Host. You have received “The Encyclopedia of Blue Star Knowledge.”]
[Congratulations, Host. You have received the song: ‘Dragon Scale of Heaven and Earth.’]
The first reward.
Wang Mo curled his lip. Clearly, the system thought his knowledge of Blue Star wasn’t up to par, so it gave him this reward.
Well, that meant he’d never make any basic knowledge mistakes again.
As for the second reward.
Wang Mo closed his eyes and let the song play in his mind.
“I set forth this great land with my pen,
The bloodline of our people stretches for thousands of miles…”
“…And this dragon scale once fell,
Clattering to the earth like shattering ice…”
He had to admit, even though he’d heard this song countless times in his previous life, reliving it now still left him exhilarated.
Majestic.
Bold.
That overwhelming sense of national grandeur and heroic spirit made his blood surge.
His heart would not calm for a long time.
“What a pity,” Wang Mo sighed inwardly after listening. If Wang Lihong hadn’t run into trouble that year, this song would have undoubtedly appeared on the Spring Festival Gala stage as the showstopper.
But even after Wang Lihong’s near withdrawal from the mainland stage, “Dragon Scale of Heaven and Earth” still became a classic live performance, widely sung and celebrated. That alone speaks to the audience’s love for the song.
Of course… that was all in his previous life.
Now, the song belonged to him—Wang Mo!
…
He set the song aside for now.
After some thought, he went to the company lounge, pulled a copy of “A History of Huaxia” from the bookshelf, and brought it back to his desk to “study” in earnest.
After a while, he noticed Su Xueyao, who had brought him coffee, standing by his side with wide eyes staring at him.
Wang Mo smiled. “Don’t be surprised. Actually… I love learning.”
Su Xueyao swallowed hard.
Wang Mo continued, “That variety show last time—it was just an accident. Do you believe me?”
Su Xueyao looked skeptical but nodded earnestly. “I believe you.”
Wang Mo asked, “Has the invitation from CCTV been confirmed?”
Su Xueyao nodded, “Yes, it’s CCTV Channel Three. But my agent says that ‘Invisible Wings’ is getting so popular that Channel One is also preparing to invite me to perform. Also, I heard from the grapevine that the Spring Festival Gala director seems interested in the song too. I… I’m a bit overwhelmed.”
“Haha.” Wang Mo looked at her and laughed. “Don’t get confused now—being invited on shows is good, but make sure to watch your words and actions. Don’t be like me, speaking without thinking and stirring up trouble.
“And from now on, don’t come to me anymore. Otherwise, either President Qian or your agent will probably want to strangle me. You’re about to get very busy with commercial activities—focus on your work.”
“Okay,” Su Xueyao agreed.
She carefully set down the coffee and left.
Taking a sip, Wang Mo resumed his reading.
Before long, Yuan Xiong arrived.
Seeing Wang Mo reading, Yuan Xiong almost thought he was mistaken. He leaned in, about to speak, when Wang Mo suddenly yelped and clutched his face in pain.
Startled, Yuan Xiong said, “What’s wrong with you? I didn’t hit you.”
Wang Mo replied, “You stepped on my invisible wings.”
“…Damn it!”
Yuan Xiong took a deep breath and pointed at the book in Wang Mo’s hands. “You’re reading?”
Wang Mo said, “Brother Xiong, why does everyone act so surprised when I read? I’ve always been a good student since I was a child. It’s just that you’ve all been distracted by my looks and overlooked my talent.”
Ah, being handsome really isn’t a crime!
Yuan Xiong ignored him and glanced at the book cover. “Oh, it’s history.”
Wang Mo replied earnestly, “Of course. I can’t let people look down on me anymore.”
“Pretty ambitious.” Yuan Xiong chuckled, then said seriously, “Come with me to an empty room.”
Soon after, the two of them entered an unoccupied conference room.
Yuan Xiong’s expression turned grave as he said in a low voice, “Wang Mo, the company has decided—you’re going to start live streaming in ten days.”