Chapter 293
Rong Yu's phone kept buzzing with notifications.
She picked it up and opened the screen, only to see that her former talent show group chat had blown up.
The few of them who were close had created a private group chat. It included Rong Yu, Su Tian, Li Ying'er, Tian Tian... eight girls in total.
"Why is the song Qi Su wrote so similar to Tian Tian's lyric-writing style?"
"Tian Tian loves writing lyrics and has a lyric notebook. I remember most of her work is in this exact style."
"Although I don't want to think in that direction, how could anyone who clashes with Sister Yu be a good person? Just in case, right?"
"Tian Tian, come out quickly! What are you doing? Come out!"
Tian Tian: "I just looked at Qi Su's composition. It's not just like my style; it is exactly the same as the song I wrote... Three months ago, I went to Qi Su's studio for an interview. The HR department asked me to write lyrics on the spot, and this is the one I wrote. At the time, the examiner's evaluation was that it had a fake premise, was pretentious, and lacked substance... Three months later, the lyrics that were harshly criticized have actually become Qi Su's proudest work."
Everyone in the group chat exploded in an uproar.
"Isn't he supposed to be a genius creator? How could he plagiarize!"
"Could it be that he built his reputation as a genius entirely by copying others' works?"
"This guy is really worth digging into. Sisters, I'll go do some scouting first."
Rong Yu: "Tian Tian, can you produce any evidence on your end?"
Tian Tian uploaded a picture. It was a handwritten lyric sheet she had taken a photo of during her interview at Qi Su's studio. The bottom right corner showed the timestamp and location.
Rong Yu saved the picture.
She opened the piece written by Qi Su.
And compared them.
Out of the three hundred and sixty-one words in the entire song, only a dozen or so were different.
This was absolutely blatant plagiarism.
Ji Yanting was so angry he laughed.
He had recommended that Great-Grandma sing this song for two reasons: first, it was a mainstream patriotic theme song; second, the creator was the genius Qi Su. He felt that only a song like this was worthy of Great-Grandma.
He never expected it to be such a piece of trash.
Would someone who plagiarizes lyrics also plagiarize the composition?
Ji Yanting walked into the study, put on his headphones, and began the work of comparing the tracks...
At eight-thirty in the morning, Rong Yu and Ji Yanting arrived at the recording studio. As they walked to the door, they saw a large group of people standing there, arguing about something.
Qi Su was the first to see her. "Rong Yu is here."
The producer looked at Rong Yu critically. "You're just in time. We're discussing the public relations risks associated with the theme song."
Several people nearby chimed in.
"The movie is going in for censorship review next month, and right now the whole internet is blasting us for unprofessional casting."
"If we insist on using Miss Rong, the estimated box office loss for the opening week during the National Day holiday will be at least a hundred million."
An investor spoke coldly, "Replace her. I don't care about vocal skills or image. In short, a mainstream patriotic movie does not need a controversial artist."
Qi Su chimed in at the right moment, "I recommend a female singer. She has been in the industry for over ten years, has a clean voice, and perfectly matches the vibe of this song. She will definitely be able to sing out the grand scale of a mainstream movie. Her name is..."
Ji Yanting whispered, "Great-Grandma, this female singer Qi Su is recommending is his college classmate. The two of them are living together, but they don't publicly acknowledge their relationship."
Rong Yu understood immediately.
It turned out he wanted to save this opportunity for his rumored girlfriend. So, no matter how she performed, Qi Su would always find a way to push her out.
She was just about to speak.
But Director Fang beat her to it, saying coldly, "That audio clip on the internet was maliciously edited to amplify conflicts and deliberately start a war. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Rong Yu. I do not agree to replacing her!"
The investors frowned. "Her problem is that she loves trending on hot searches too much. This is a mainstream movie; trending frequently is not a good thing!"
The cold wind from the air conditioner blew noisily.
Rong Yu stood in the center of the recording studio, her gaze slowly shifting from the investors to Qi Su's face.
She smiled. Her voice was very light, yet it made the entire room fall silent. "Trending... indeed isn't a good thing. But the question is, is it me who likes to trend, or is there someone who insists on making me trend?"
Her eyes locked straight onto Qi Su.
Qi Su's expression changed, and he glared at her. "Rong Yu! What do you mean? You caused a controversy yourself, and now you want to shift the blame?"
Rong Yu said calmly, "Teacher Qi Su, the audio recording that caused the public uproar online was edited and uploaded by you. Yes or no?"
Qi Su froze all over.
Before he could even open his mouth to retort.
Ji Yanting had already opened his laptop and pulled up the Weibo tracking path. The final result showed that the person who uploaded the recording was Qi Su.
A few young staff members began to whisper among themselves.
"Teacher Qi Su actually secretly recorded and uploaded it. He's a genius creator, yet he would do something so low?"
"Just because he's a genius and can't accept being questioned, he maliciously edited it to get Rong Yu cursed at?"
"I really couldn't tell he was this kind of person..."
Director Fang's face was full of disbelief. "Qi Su, Rong Yu merely offered a small suggestion. Moreover, a professor from the Central Conservatory of Music also thought there was nothing wrong with Rong Yu's suggestion. As a creator, it's one thing not to humbly accept advice, but to maliciously edit this recording and upload it to the internet, causing a massive uproar... You really shouldn't have done this!"
Qi Su's face turned from red to pale, and fine beads of sweat seeped out on his forehead. "I, I just... accidentally clicked the wrong button."
"Fine, let's say you clicked the wrong button," Rong Yu's voice remained clear and lucid. "Then what about this? Did Teacher Qi Su make a mistake with this too?"
She pulled out a document. "This is the original work of rookie Tian Tian from her interview at Qi Su's studio three months ago. And this one is the lyrics Teacher Qi Su composed last month."
Director Fang took the two documents, his frown deepening.
The sound engineer couldn't help but lean over to look, exclaiming, "This... this is almost exactly the same!"
"Tian Tian debuted through Ji Entertainment's talent show. Three months ago, she hadn't signed with any agency, so she went to interview at Qi Su's studio, hoping to get a training opportunity." Rong Yu's voice grew colder bit by bit. "But Teacher Qi Su did not give her this opportunity. Instead, without her consent, he took her work. Taking without asking is stealing; it's plagiarism. Is this how the title of 'genius creator' came about?"
Qi Su flew into a rage. "Slander! This is naked slander!"
"Is that so?" Rong Yu took out her phone. "Everyone might as well listen to the voices on the internet."
Everyone present took out their phones and opened Weibo, only to see countless musicians speaking out.
Independent musician Xiaolin: "I am Qi Su's junior. He used to guide me in music creation, but soon enough, my works would become his works. I cut ties with him three years ago, but I was a nobody and didn't dare to say anything publicly. Today, the opportunity has finally come."
Arranger Chengfeng: "The work Qi Su released last year has an eighty percent similarity in composition style to one of my songs. I urge netizens to evaluate it."
Soloist Zhoushan: "A heavy metal song of Qi Su's that became popular all over Asia five years ago shares a striking resemblance with an extremely niche Nordic song from ten years ago..."
Online, countless newcomers spoke out. Their voices, like tiny streams converging into a mighty river, firmly dominated the top ten trending searches.
In the recording studio, the staff couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
"No wonder he always liked giving pointers to the rookies."
"No wonder his music style is so versatile. Turns out he was just copying a little from here and a little from there."
"I can't believe he's that kind of person. It's terrifying."
"..."