I Became an All-round Artist

Stay calm.
I must have seen it wrong.
Definitely wrong.

Chen Zhiyu steadied his nerves, even giving himself a small encouraging smile. He looked again, and quickly turned his face away—
His expression collapsed.
This is so frustrating!

How could it be Xianyu's song?

Chen Zhiyu felt utterly defeated. His manager had previously told him that Xingmang’s replacement singer for Jin Shuyu wasn’t worth mentioning, and this little-known singer, Sun Yaohuo, really wasn’t. The issue wasn’t the singer; it was the songwriter.
Xianyu!
The one person Chen Zhiyu feared the most!

He would rather face Jin Shuyu. At least then they could compete based on their abilities.
But Xianyu was something else entirely.
This guy defied all logic!

Am I going to fail again?

Chen Zhiyu felt panic welling up inside him. But after a tense ten seconds, he managed to calm down.
He suddenly sighed in relief, even starting to feel a little ashamed of his earlier panic. "I’m a top-tier singer after all. Xianyu can’t keep ignoring the difference in status between singers forever. No way this happens again.”

The reason for his fear was simple.
He was so scared because the last time he went up against Xianyu, it had been a disaster.
Seeing that name just brought back bad memories.
What he was afraid of wasn’t Xianyu, but those painful memories.

How poetic.

In reality, there was no need to be afraid.
Back then, Zhao Yinggong may not have been top-tier, but with the success of Bloom, she had enough recognition to at least be considered a figure. Xianyu’s song wasn’t wasted on her.
But Sun Yaohuo?
He had no fame whatsoever.
If Chen Zhiyu saw him on the street, he wouldn’t even know who he was.

This was it.
Time to turn things around from where they went wrong before!

Chen Zhiyu felt his confidence return. He casually straightened the mouse cord, then grabbed the headphones next to him. "Let’s see what you’ve got this time, Xianyu. Don’t disappoint me.”

He clicked play on Red Rose.

The song opened with a standard piano melody—something very typical, the kind of tune he could play effortlessly.

Nothing special.

Chen Zhiyu smiled faintly.

But then, as the piano paused, a deep, rich voice began to sing:
“In dreams, you dream of waking from a dream, of red, imprisoned by fate. All that's left is the numb pain, indifferent now.”

Still nothing special.

Chen Zhiyu’s smile remained, but stiffened slightly as the lyrics continued:
“When I hold you from behind, I long to see his face instead. It’s ironic—I don’t understand but hope you do.”

Still nothing special!!

His smile was now frozen in place, refusing to fade, even as the chorus hit:
“Is happiness too heavy to bear? Used too much, it no longer itches, no longer hurts. Overripe and hollow red eyes, drained, finally hollow, forever incomplete.”

Still nothing spe—!!!

Chen Zhiyu’s eyes widened in frustration, his expression breaking apart as the song’s lines hit him like a blow:
“What you can't have always stirs restlessly, while the favored ones flaunt their arrogance. The red of the rose is a fragile dream, slipping through fingers, lost again.”

Not... not special…

Chen Zhiyu couldn’t take it anymore. He yanked off his headphones and covered his ears.
Just then, his manager walked in, smiling brightly.
"Zhiyu, enjoying the song?"

He was clearly confident. To celebrate, the manager had brought in two glasses and a fine bottle of red wine, arriving right on time at midnight. Since they were close, he even had a key to Chen Zhiyu’s place.

"Enjoying the song?"

Chen Zhiyu looked like he had been hit by a truck, pressing his hands tighter over his ears. "I’m not listening, I’m not listening, I’m not listening!”

"...???"

The manager was baffled. Somehow, this scene felt weirdly familiar.

"Get a grip."
The manager frowned.

Chen Zhiyu slowly calmed down and removed his hands from his ears, giving his manager a hard look.
“You said there weren’t any big names in this round.”

“There aren’t any big names.”
The manager sounded very sure of himself.

Chen Zhiyu sighed, realizing there was no point in arguing. He silently put his headphones back on and replayed Red Rose.

“It’s... really good.”

This time, after listening, Chen Zhiyu downloaded the song and added it to his playlist.

“What... are you doing?”
The manager’s mouth twitched as he watched in disbelief. He suddenly had a bad feeling.

“This is what we call in the music world... surrender.”
Chen Zhiyu raised his hands in mock defeat.

“...”
The manager was speechless.

Chen Zhiyu continued as if speaking to himself, “I was so naive, really.”
He lifted his defeated eyes, empty of hope.
“I thought I could get lucky because no top-tier singers were competing this time. I didn’t expect a master songwriter would show up instead.”

The manager sighed, now understanding what had happened. “No chance?”

“There’s a chance.”
Chen Zhiyu replied, “Just stay out of his way.”

He pointed at the songwriting credits behind Red Rose.

The manager’s face changed as he saw the name “Xianyu.”
In that moment, he recalled the dread this name had once caused him.

No wonder the atmosphere had felt so familiar earlier. They had been dodging Xianyu for months, only to run headfirst into him again.
What rotten luck!
First, it was Jin Shuyu, and now Xianyu—just like that, the game had gone up several levels in difficulty.

“Next time, I’ll make sure to find out who’s competing beforehand!” The manager swore, his voice firm.

“Next time?”

“Next time for sure!”

“I don’t believe you anymore.”
Chen Zhiyu said mournfully, “You’re cursed.”

The manager sighed, “Actually, I brought a present for you. It’s just outside, and I’ve got this wine. I thought we’d celebrate reaching number one.”

“…”
Chen Zhiyu didn’t want to talk anymore.

The manager went to the door and dragged in a box.

Chen Zhiyu glanced at him. "What is that?"

“A fish tank. You said cats were too much work, so I figured fish would be easier.”

“Get out!”

Suddenly, Chen Zhiyu felt an overwhelming sense of injustice.
He shoved his manager and the box out the door with all his might.
"I’d rather starve! Jump out the window! Anything but keeping fish! Never in my life!"

“Why not?”
The manager asked, but then smacked his forehead as realization dawned, and the air between them grew heavy with awkward silence.

After a long pause, the manager spoke:
“So... you’re afraid of fish.”

Chen Zhiyu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Do you think you're being funny?”

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