(This is the second update. You might miss the previous chapter if you read the latest update.)
The conference room was in an uproar.
Fang Juexia frowned. He took out his phone and logged into Weibo. He searched for terms related to [Kaleido's New Specialty] and found that everyone was discussing the leak of the song. He felt his scalp go numb. He couldn't believe it.
Chen Zhengyun frowned. "When did you find out? Which platform was it on? Did you contact the platform? "
The staff member placed the laptop in front of Chen Zhengyun. "We just checked and couldn't trace back to the source. However, we can confirm that a big marketing account released a song at 9: 47 in the morning in the form of a video. Just now, we found the company of this marketing account and spent money to do public relations. Now, they have already deleted it. However, their video has been downloaded by many people and is now constantly spreading. Also, the other party claimed that he wasn't the one who released it. He also reposted it. "
He Ziyan also found the video. "It's also on Bilibili. It's still very popular. Maybe it will be on the front page."
Fang Juexia clicked on it. It was the early second version of the demo. The lyrics were still in English. It was the previous composer's version.
Cheng Qiang found it very strange. "We kept it strictly confidential from the beginning to the end. The composers we worked with were also very professional in the industry. How could the song be leaked?"
Fang Juexia said, "The leaked demo was the early version, not the studio version. We're lucky. We can also exclude the sound recordist, composer, and the department in charge of the recording. The scope can be narrowed down to the staff members who were in charge of the early selection and modification of the demo."
Jiang Miao also nodded. "That's right. Calm down and think about it. We just finished recording the last song yesterday. If the person who leaked the song has enough power, they should be able to directly leak the complete version of our title song. It will have a greater impact on us."
Ling Yi was a little worried. "What do we do now? Although this demo is not a finished song, the early release has completely disrupted the plan. The number of people who buy the album to listen to the official song will also decrease. "
Chen Zhengyun thought about it and said to Cheng Qiang, "Call all the platforms and ask them to remove the infringing demo as soon as possible. Now, draft two announcements and a lawyer's letter. One will be sent out on Kaledo's official Weibo, and the other will be sent out on Star Map's Weibo to emphasize the illegal nature of leaking music. Inform the big fan clubs and forums to call on the fans to report and boycott the leaked music. Don't spread it again. "
This was already the fastest response they could make. But now, the Internet was ever-changing, and the spread of information was unimaginably fast. Needless to say, the leaked song this time was obviously prepared. More than a dozen marketing accounts released demos at the same time, all with Kaleido's trending terms. Even if one was deleted, another one would appear. It was endless on all major platforms.
Chen Zhengyun pinched his Jingming acupoint, lowered his head, and said in a low voice, "It's because they saw that you guys were about to become popular, so they purposely made an explosion at the beginning of the return period to attack everyone's performance."
Pei Tingsong twirled a pen in his hand, looking particularly carefree in the crowd. "So be it. If they want to do this, we can't avoid it. It might even become a trending topic in a while. No matter how fast we act, we can't get rid of all the cockroaches. "
Cheng Qiang motioned for him to shut up. "Xiao Pei, don't make sarcastic remarks now …"
"What he means is, why don't we take the initiative?" Fang Juexia looked at Chen Zhengyun. "Xiao Pei is right. Since the other party has already reached out to our company to steal the song, they are determined to spread this demo. They will definitely buy the trending topic to promote it. Why don't we use this opportunity to add fuel to the fire and let more people know that we are going to release a song?"
He Ziyan shook his head. "But this approach is too risky. If we follow the normal process, it's best not to release more than five days between the music release and the MV release. This way, we can maintain the popularity. In the current situation, by the time we release the trailer and the MV in early April, it will have passed the peak of novelty and popularity. No passers-by will watch it."
"You're right." Fang Juexia's expression was calm, but his words were shocking. "So we have to return early."
Chen Zhengyun looked at Fang Juexia silently. This child had already announced to everyone what he wanted to say but couldn't bear to say. In the age of the Internet, the success of a song was not only due to its own strong quality, but also due to meticulous and meticulous publicity. This was especially true for idol music, which had a relatively small audience. The first day of the publicity period was the beginning of a song's life. And a lullaby meant that the song's life cycle was rapidly shortened, or even died early.
Many lullabies eventually became abandoned songs.
But they couldn't just give up. This song was the painstaking effort of these children, and it was also the best opportunity for them to make a comeback. Their only way was to change the itinerary and publicity period, and save the song's life cycle as much as possible.
This also meant that the originally ample half a month's time was compressed to only three or four days. Kaledo had to rush to shoot the MV day and night, and the entire company worked hard to return before the popularity died down.
"Inform the public relations department to urgently deal with the leaked sound source. We must minimize the spread to the greatest extent. The styling team doesn't have to come to the meeting. All the costumes and styling needs to be done by 5 PM, and the MV will start shooting at 8 PM. "
Chen Zhengyun's eyes swept across the boys in the conference room. "It's 10: 35 in the morning. You have to appear in the studio at 4: 00 in the afternoon. The next few hours will be your last rest time. I hope everyone can get a good night's sleep because what awaits you next is a tough battle. Although we're not a powerful company, no matter what happens, Xingtu will always be your backing. "
Coming out of the meeting room, everyone's mood was a bit unstable. Cheng Qiang wanted to curse, but in order not to affect them, he chose to say something nice and comforted them in the car, saying that it was free publicity. He sent the six of them back to the dormitory and rushed back to the company to deal with matters.
Fang Juexia was silent in the car and did not speak. He turned on his phone and stared at the missed calls from yesterday.
Of course, the people who leaked the song knew that their only way to save themselves was to return early, but if they did so, they would run into Seven Luminaries. There was no doubt that at least for now, their number of fans could not be compared at all. Hitting a rock with an egg, the only beneficiary could only be the rock.
Perhaps, astar had already written a draft to crush them.
Combined with Liang Ruo's abnormality in the past few days, Fang Juexia was even more convinced that his judgment was not wrong. As soon as Cheng Qiang left, he went to the balcony and dialed Liang Ruo's number.
The other party seemed to have guessed that he would call, and there was a hint of regret in her voice. "Juexia, you finally contacted me."
"Long story short, tell me who did it."
The other party smiled. "Do you regret it? If you had contacted me earlier, things might have been different. "
This sentence stabbed Fang Juexia's sore spot. His throat choked and he heard Liang Ruo give him an address.
"I have evidence in my hands that can help you find out who that person is. Although your company is not big, the possibility of finding out is too small now. If you still want to find the black sheep, come to me. By the way, don't bring your phone. I don't want to harm myself by helping you. "
After all this happened, Pei Tingsong could not sleep at all. He recalled what he had seen and heard in the company over the past few days and tried to find out if there was anyone or anything suspicious.
However, for some reason, he suddenly thought of the message from Liang Ruo on Fang Juexia's phone.
When he went to Fang Juexia's room, he only saw Ling Yi who was preparing to rest. "Where's Juexia?"
"He just went out and said he was going downstairs to buy something."
"When did he leave?"
Ling Yi thought for a while. "It's been a while."
Pei Tingsong's heart sank. He asked again, "Do you have Liang Ruo's contact information?"
"Liang Ruo?" Ling Yi frowned. "Are you talking about Liang Ruo?"
"Who else could it be?"
Ling Yi sat up. "I don't, but I can ask my friend. What are you going to do …" Before she could finish speaking, Pei Tingsong left and said, "Send it to me when you find it."
Pei Tingsong went downstairs and saw that Fang Juexia's car was gone. He got into his car. As soon as he started it, he received a series of calls from the socialite Ling Yi. He put on his headphones and was about to dial when he paused. In the end, he changed Fang Juexia's number.
No one answered the phone. After Pei Tingsong drove out and dialed again, Ling Yi answered. "He didn't take his phone downstairs."
Pei Tingsong didn't believe that he went downstairs to buy things. He parked the car by the roadside. He wanted to call his sister, but after some thought, he gave up and dialed Liang Ruo's number. After calling three times, someone finally picked up.
At this moment, Liang Ruo was waiting for Fang Juexia in the hotel suite that he had booked for two days. An unknown number kept calling him. In the end, he picked up. "Hello? Who is this? "
"Pei Tingsong." The other party went straight to the point and spoke in an unfriendly tone. Liang Ruo was shocked. After thinking about it, he didn't find it surprising. "You're looking for me?"
"Who the hell is looking for you? Where's Fang Juexia? Did you call him away? "
Liang Ruo smiled. "He revealed everything to you so quickly. He wasn't like this in the past."
Pei Tingsong hated hearing Liang Ruo talk about the past. He had never been involved in Fang Juexia's past.
"Where are you? Tell me honestly. Don't force me to get someone to investigate you."
"Fine, I'm afraid of you. Who asked you to be the young master? You can kill me with a flick of your finger." Liang Ruo told him the address generously. "I have to thank you for coming to find me. You didn't use your impressive background to crush an ant like me."
As he spoke, there was a knock on the door. Liang Ruo said with a smile, "Aiya, Juexia is here."
"You!"
Liang Ruo didn't hang up. Instead, he put the phone in the pocket of his bathrobe and went outside to open the door.
It was indeed Fang Juexia standing outside the door. His face was cold, as if he didn't even want to step in. "Give it to me. I won't tell anyone about you."
"Come in." Liang Ruo tugged at him, but Fang Juexia raised his hand to break free and walked in.
"I know you won't tell anyone about me. I also know that you don't have your phone now." Liang Ruo closed the door. "I know you too well."
Fang Juexia didn't want to listen to him. His patience was running out. "Don't waste time on useless things."
"What do you mean by useless things?" Liang Ruo sat on the sofa. "Juexia, your time isn't the only precious one. My time is precious too. Do you know how many paparazzi are watching me? In order to talk to you properly, I booked this place many days in advance and kept contacting you. But you didn't even want to say a word. "
Fang Juexia looked away and stood there without saying a word.
Liang Ruo also stood up. "I don't ask for much. You just need to stand here and listen to what I want to say, and I'll give it to you. "
"Go ahead."
Liang Ruo seemed to have drunk some wine. His whole face was red. He took a breath. "I like you. I've liked you since a long time ago, when we were still trainees." Seeing Fang Juexia frown, Liang Ruo smiled. "You don't know, right? There are too many things you don't know. Back then, I wanted to debut with you so much. Every day, I dreamed of standing on the stage with you. Yes, my talent wasn't good. Not to mention you, I couldn't compare to many other trainees. Even if you comforted me and encouraged me, I knew that I wouldn't be able to debut. "
"I was so anxious that I couldn't take it anymore. Guess what happened in the end?" He shrugged. "Director Sun said that he could help me and asked me to look for him. I didn't know what he meant by help. I only wanted to debut with you, so I went."
As he spoke, Liang Ruo began to smile bitterly. "When I woke up and was lying on his bed, I found out how he helped me."
Fang Juexia was a little surprised. He didn't ask too much about the reason at that time.
"I was very scared. But Director Jin told me that I could definitely debut. For this sentence, I sold myself. But I don't know why other people found out. You know it too. " Liang Ruo suddenly shed tears. He wiped them away in a panic. "When you found out, I felt that I was done for. I didn't dare to face you. I didn't expect you to report it to the higher-ups because of me and stand up for me. "
At that time, the head of astar wasn't someone with the surname Jin. Fang Juexia just couldn't stand the fact that the higher-ups laid their hands on trainees. Everyone else didn't care about it. They felt that as long as the fire didn't burn them, they could endure it. But Fang Juexia couldn't. He knew that it was easy to break if you were too rigid, but he couldn't give up on himself for a so-called future.
"When I found out that you stood up for me, I went to look for Director Jin. I kept pleading. You don't know what he did to me, but I endured it because he told me that as long as I was obedient, he would let you debut smoothly. He just wouldn't support you as much. "Liang Ruo's eyes were getting redder." But I didn't expect you to leave on your own. "
He laughed, his voice trembling. "I looked for you many times after that, wanting to explain things to you. But you, you didn't seem to care. "
Fang Juexia was a person who could quickly extricate himself from any relationship or emotion. This was a skill he had trained in the dark since he was young. But in the eyes of others, he was too cold.
"Later, I realized that debuting without you by my side was really boring. Everyone knows that I sold my body to get to where I am. Even if I signed a confidentiality agreement, they still mocked and ridiculed me off-camera. I couldn't even stay in the dorm. Since everyone thinks that's how I got to where I am, I'll be the devil. No one will be comfortable. " Liang Ruo sighed. "I've said a little too much. A few days ago, Director Jin was drunk. That's when I found out that he wanted to expose you. I knew that if I told you this in advance, I would be done for. I hesitated for a few days, but I still wanted to tell you."
He took out a flash drive from his pocket. "There are some recordings in here. I recorded his WeChat voice messages while he was asleep. There should be screenshots, but if I send them to you, I might really die. He mentioned some people in the voice messages. You should be able to find out. "
Fang Juexia held the flash drive with mixed feelings. He didn't know what to say. He had almost forgotten the details of what happened that year, but he never regretted leaving that company. Even though no one helped him after he came forward, even though Liang Ruo seemed to have silently accepted the unspoken rules and poured all the dirty water on him, Fang Juexia gritted his teeth and endured it. He didn't explain because he knew that once he did, Liang Ruo would pull him out.
This was already his last act of tolerance.
"Okay." Liang Ruo smiled. "I've finally told you these things. I didn't dare to say it these two years, and I didn't know how to tell you. Don't worry, I confessed to you because I felt too uncomfortable holding it in. I don't need any response from you. You're too good. I don't deserve you at all. "
He took a step closer. "I'm not a good person, but I'm not as bad as everyone thinks. Juexia, thank you. "
Fang Juexia finally spoke. "I didn't do anything."
"You did. You helped me a lot. You're the best and kindest person in the world. We probably won't cross paths in the future. "Liang Ruo reached out." Can you hug me one last time? Just like before. "
He looked at Liang Ruo's red eyes. In the end, Fang Juexia couldn't bear to harden his heart. He reached out and hugged him. It was a very short hug.
"Thank you."
A satisfied smile appeared on Liang Ruo's face. He glanced at the time, walked to the door, and opened it. Fang Juexia felt strange. When he looked over, he saw Pei Tingsong standing outside the door. He was wearing a hat and a mask, and his eyes were indifferent.
He was a little surprised. "Pei Tingsong …"
"I was the one who told him the address." Liang Ruo looked at Pei Tingsong. He took out the phone from the pocket of his bathrobe and hung up the call. "It's over. I'll return this one-sixth to you."
Fang Juexia then realized that Pei Tingsong had heard their conversation. His heart suddenly clenched. He didn't do anything, but he felt panicked.
Pei Tingsong didn't get angry. He was unusually calm. He walked to Fang Juexia's side, grabbed his wrist, and led him out of the hotel. He didn't say anything along the way, which made Fang Juexia feel even more uncomfortable.
When they reached the underground parking lot, Fang Juexia wanted to break free from his hand. "My car is over there."
"Take my car back. Let Xiao Wen drive your car back later." After saying that, he opened the door of the passenger seat and let Fang Juexia in. He went around and got into the car. He said coldly, "Fasten your seatbelt."
"What's wrong with you?" Fang Juexia didn't move. He just looked at him sideways.
Pei Tingsong saw that he didn't move. He leaned over to help him fasten his seatbelt and then prepared to start the car. But Fang Juexia pulled out the key. "You're not in the right mood now. It's not safe to drive." He didn't understand what was wrong with Pei Tingsong. What Liang Ruo said just now had angered him. "Why are you angry?"
Pei Tingsong leaned against the back of the driver's seat. He was annoyed. He pulled off his mask. "I'm not angry."
"You're angry." Fang Juexia's tone was firm. He couldn't figure out what was going on. "If there's anything you're not satisfied with, you can say it. You can even mock me and scold me like you did in the past."
Pei Tingsong smiled bitterly and looked at him. "Fang Juexia, do you really think I can go back to the past?"
Fang Juexia was stunned. When he saw the look in Pei Tingsong's eyes, he felt an inexplicable pain in his heart.
Pei Tingsong lowered his eyelids and looked up at him again. "I'm not right now. I don't f * cking know what's wrong with me. I'm just very angry, very …" He couldn't continue. He paused and exhaled. "You came to look for him alone. You didn't even bring your phone. Aren't you worried that something will happen to you? You trust him that much? "
Fang Juexia was speechless. He tried to explain. "No, at that time, I …"
"Why didn't you tell me in advance? Do you know how much effort it took me to find this place? Do you know how much I was afraid that something would happen to you? I almost bowed down to my sister. My hands were shaking when I was driving. Why, why did you … "Pei Tingsong smiled as he spoke. His smile was bleak." Am I so unworthy of your trust? "
This sentence somehow pierced Fang Juexia's heart. He was very sad. He was clearly a person who didn't like to explain, but now, because of Pei Tingsong's emotions, he was desperately searching his mind for an explanation. "No, Pei Tingsong, listen to me. I had just finished a meeting, and I was very nervous. When I confirmed that this matter had something to do with Astar, my first reaction was to deal with it. And you know, that's my personality. I … "
He realized that every word he said was very weak, so he couldn't continue. He just didn't want Pei Tingsong to be sad. As he spoke, Fang Juexia's voice started to tremble. "Can you … not think that way?"
Hearing him say this, Pei Tingsong suddenly couldn't be angry anymore. He buried his head in the steering wheel and felt like a shameless lunatic. He had just listened to a confession that had nothing to do with him, and he suddenly broke down without any warning. He just didn't expect that Liang Ruo really liked Fang Juexia, and it was that kind of like.
How could he like Fang Juexia?
Why could he like him?
Just like that, he silently listened to the other party's sincere confession, listened to their past, and the hug that ended. He could do nothing, just like a bystander who had nothing to do with it. He carefully accumulated so many beautiful fragments related to Fang Juexia, and more and more, as if he could maintain it forever, holding the "friendship" between them high and never falling.
But when he heard Liang Ruo's words, he suddenly realized that he was the stupidest fool in the world. He self-directed and acted out the so-called pure friendship, and endured the small torture of being close to him. He didn't even know what he wanted.
The beautiful fragments were accumulated in his heart, and they were stab by stab wounds. For so many days, he was capricious, his emotions were pulled, his heartbeat was affected by Fang Juexia's words and actions, the torment of being controlled by desire, insomnia, shame, anger, and anxiety. Everything was deepening and accumulating, and at this moment, he finally found the source.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Fang Juexia's heart was hanging in mid-air. He wondered if Pei Tingsong still misunderstood his relationship with Liang Ruo. "I didn't expect to hear that when I came over. I've already said before that I don't care about the past anymore. Even if I listen to the details of the past again today, it won't change anything. "
At this point, Fang Juexia felt that he was really crazy. He didn't even want to explain the rumors about him being raped. He actually said so much to Pei Tingsong here, and did so many things that didn't conform to his logic. He suddenly didn't want to struggle anymore. He just wanted to get out of the car and get some fresh air, so he lowered his head and unfastened his seat belt.
With a click, the belt loosened. But his hand was held by Pei Tingsong.
"Don't go." Pei Tingsong lowered his head. "I'm sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. You don't have to explain this to me. It's my fault. I was angry at you just now. "
This was the second time he heard Pei Tingsong formally apologize to him. This naturally rebellious child seemed to always apologize to him.
"You didn't get angry." Fang Juexia corrected his choice of words and held his hand. "You were just sulking."
"I'm very angry in my heart. You just don't know." Pei Tingsong said in a muffled voice, "So I still have to say sorry."
Pei Tingsong raised his head and looked at him. "There's one more thing. If I say it, you might think that I'm crazy or have been provoked. It's okay, because I figured it out in the past three minutes. I don't want to hide it and pretend that I didn't see it clearly. "
All of this was too absurd. He could have come to his senses at any time, but it had to be now. Their team was facing the greatest impact. A tough battle was imminent. Everyone was tense. This was a moment where even a straw could cause them to collapse.
Pei Tingsong moved away the boulder in his heart.
Looking at Fang Juexia's clear eyes, Pei Tingsong cursed. He wiped his face and raised his head to look at him. "Fang Juexia, everything I'm going to say next is serious. You have to believe that I'm not joking or pranking you. ok？”
Fang Juexia did not know what he was going to say, but he still nodded.
Pei Tingsong's words were sincere. "I, Pei Tingsong, chose a point on the number axis today. It was not a random choice. It was a very serious decision. I don't know if it's a rational number or an irrational number. To be honest, I don't care. But I have an obligation to tell you. "
He raised the hand that Fang Juexia was holding. "It's this point."
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