Chapter 14: The Music Critic Gains Steady Momentum.

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Inside a dormitory at Guoyin University, Winnie Regia, an international student from Damao, sat expressionless as she listened to music. Her beautiful cheeks and high, slender nose blended gracefully with the curve of her jawline. Her pale gold hair contrasted vividly against her fair skin, like golden silk spread across a snowy field, making her rosy lips stand out strikingly. Her heterochromatic eyes sparkled like blue-green gemstones, reminiscent of a snow elf stepping out from a fairy tale.

Yet, Winnie's impassive demeanor exuded an aura of coldness that kept others at a distance.

The headphones played a hypnotic, catchy tune.

“Brett...” she murmured, still without any expression.

The corners of her lips twitched slightly, though it was unclear if it was real or just an illusion.

She closed her laptop, wrinkling her adorable nose as if deep in thought. After a moment, she reopened the music and listened to it again, expressionless as before.

Carefully savoring it...

“...Brett.”

Trying to make out the comments beneath the track, Winnie cautiously pulled a photo from her wallet. The picture showed Li Can smiling broadly, but his impassive look resembled that of an assassin sizing up a target.

After examining it for a while, she carefully put the photo away.

Taking a deep breath, Winnie lay back on her bed, pulled the blanket over her face, and muffled her cheeks beneath it. Faintly, a string of Russian words drifted from under the covers.

---

As the song’s popularity grew, a flood of diverse comments surged like a tide.

Time passed, and the moment that thrilled Chen Meijing—gaining followers—finally arrived.

...Even if most were negative.

She was so happy.

Everywhere she looked, people were criticizing her.

Such attention and popularity were unprecedented.

Thinking of the upcoming variety shows and the songs she would sing, even Chen Meijing, who already knew the content, eagerly anticipated that explosive moment of contrast.

For a moment, she couldn’t help but dream.

“I really wonder what Can-ge’s so-called ‘steady’ third song will be like... Maybe I’ll even have a chance to create a legend myself.”

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After a few days of rest, Lin Feng returned to Xingmei Entertainment to resume work.

Entering the studio, he saw Li Can already there, leisurely observing the trajectory of the song’s reputation as if nothing had affected him.

He was even browsing forums, enjoying the gossip.

His reaction was pretty much what Lin Feng had expected.

“Hey, checking out the reviews?” Lin Feng sat beside Li Can and casually noticed the website logo.

“Melodic Summer” — the largest and most authoritative music review site in the country.

It was considered the most authoritative because of the many experts there.

It was the largest simply because it had so many reviewers.

Overall, the quality was uneven, and each critic’s artistic viewpoint varied.

On the “Melodic Summer” music review forum, it was almost constant to see critics tearing into each other, arguing, or dissecting scores in battles of words.

Whether praise or criticism, everyone had their own opinions, some even paid to write reviews.

In general, it was a chaotic scene.

The arrival of “Little Chicken Little Chicken” only added to the chaos.

In recent days, the song’s popularity spread at an astonishing speed, not only heard in busy streets, shopping malls, and squares but even in rural towns where this addictive tune had become the anthem of square dancing.

Its influence grew, naturally attracting a large number of music critics.

“Wanna take a look together?”

Hearing this, Lin Feng’s curiosity peaked.

After all, “Melodic Summer” was famous for its sharp critiques.

Lin Feng was eager to see how industry insiders viewed Li Can’s explosive new work.

Sure enough.

At first glance, the top comment made a strong impact.

[Renowned Critic Wang Fusheng: This song is utterly lowbrow, soaked in a tasteless aesthetic. I can hardly imagine the kind of person who would write such a disgusting song to insult the public. It’s a stench on history. I suggest Chen Meijing stop singing; she’s finished. Clearly, she’s gone mad chasing fame.]

“Oh wow, Can-ge, you’ve been sharply criticized. That’s quite a cutting attack.”

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Lin Feng smiled with a hint of schadenfreude as he looked curiously at Li Can.

“Aren’t you angry at all?”

“What’s there to be angry about? If he thinks it’s trash but still devours it so hard, then spits it out with a critique afterward, getting scolded a bit is only fair.”

Li Can chuckled, showing not a trace of irritation or discomfort, seeming to take it as perfectly natural.

“After all, it’s my own crap!”

“Though it’s a bit gross...” Lin Feng rolled his eyes repeatedly, “But now that you say it, he does sound pretty pathetic...”

Still, Li Can’s words made sense.

Music critics made their living by reviewing music, and the surest way to get the biggest bite was through sharp criticism and stirring controversy.

Those who got the most were precisely the “trash” like this.

Without trash to criticize, they’d starve.

Lin Feng continued scrolling down.

Surprisingly, not all the reviews were insults.

[Renowned Critic Qin Song: Hilarious! Who do you think you are, speaking for the public? Although “Melodic Summer” only judges the work, not the person... you said when reviewing his “Fantasy Impromptu” that modern times don’t need such retro aesthetics and got proven wrong, and now you’re back?!]

[Renowned Critic Li Jie: Wang Dog always acts like this; he’d die without criticism. At least as a critic, he should analyze the score first. Honestly, though “Little Chicken Little Chicken” is a bit cringe, it’s not that bad; it might not even count as cheesy. After listening more, it’s kind of addictive. I think the lyrics contribute greatly to the catchiness. If you listen to the instrumental alone, it’s actually not bad, and some animal sounds are quite amusing and creative.]

However, such comments were rare.

Many onlookers chose not to comment, simply watching the spectacle.

But, of course, there were critics like Wang Fusheng who passionately expressed their disdain.

[Renowned Critic Zhao Jinming: Are you serious? Just because it’s Li Can, you blindly praise it? This meaningless music should be thrown in the trash. This song has almost no discussion value, just a desperate act for attention. Chen Meijing doesn’t know how to hone her skills, and Li Can composes only for gimmicks and hype, utterly meaningless. It’s the death knell of pop music, pure lowbrow nonsense, a tragedy of the times!]

Such harsh criticism.

But Lin Feng wanted to laugh.

Having witnessed it firsthand, Lin Feng knew Li Can had prepared a trump card song for Chen Meijing — a stark contrast so explosive it would drop jaws.

Seeing people rush to defend or condemn now seemed rather amusing.

Lin Feng pursed his lips and summed it up perfectly.

“When you watch a monkey, the monkey is watching you too. You think you’re playing the monkey, but actually, the monkey is playing you.”