Chapter Sixteen: The Golden Melody Awards

After reaching a consensus with Lu Zheng, Chen Ling found himself letting go as well.

There truly wasn’t any solution to their current predicament. Neither of them wanted to break up, yet faced with reality, there was simply no good way out. Still, just as Lu Zheng had said, they were both young—who could say what the future would hold?

Both Chen Ling and Lu Zheng decided to let things cool off, as if his romance with Jing Tian had never occurred in the first place, hoping this would minimize the impact on both of them.

However, things did not unfold as they had imagined.

The reason was simple: the songs Chen Ling had recorded earlier had become a sensation.

Unlike Zhang Jie’s New Year’s Eve cover of “Key Words,” where only that single track caught fire, this time the entire album exploded online, becoming an overnight sensation.

Following Chen Ling’s instructions, Fan Zheng uploaded all the tracks from his album to the internet—on both Kugou and Penguin Music, even arranging for some recommendations, which only fueled the viral spread.

Although smartphones hadn’t yet become widespread, the internet certainly had. With hundreds of millions of netizens, the power of online dissemination was a force no one could ignore.

The songs Chen Ling had “borrowed” were, after all, the kind that would become massive hits in later years, topping streaming charts. Once uploaded, it was only a matter of time before they caught fire.

There was even one time when Chen Ling went for a haircut outside campus, and the barbershop was playing tracks from his album.

As these songs rapidly gained popularity, music companies and singers across the industry became restless, all trying to find out more. The information listed on the tracks credited a single person with composing, writing, and performing all of them, and the quality was so high that everyone wanted to get to know him—perhaps hoping to commission a song in the future.

Reporters, too, were intrigued by this sudden new album—a surefire hot topic. When Zhang Jie performed Chen Ling’s song on New Year’s Eve, Chen Ling had already gained some recognition. He wasn’t famous himself, but at least he wasn’t a complete unknown in the entertainment industry.

Later, when “Love Is Not Blind” announced its director and cast, and with reporters even visiting the set of “Warring States” to interview Jing Tian about her relationship with Chen Ling—even though Jing Tian denied any rumors, the two had still been the subject of gossip.

With “Warring States” being a blockbuster with a 150 million investment, the media attention was immense, especially since film still sat at the top of the entertainment hierarchy. All these factors combined meant that Chen Ling was no longer a nobody.

According to his agreement with Lu Zheng, the production crew didn’t arrange any TV appearances or offline promotions for “Love Is Not Blind.” However, there was still some online publicity, paid press releases, and as the studio’s information was disclosed alongside the film’s details, journalists knew exactly where to find Chen Ling.

Given Chen Ling’s status as a student, some reporters planned to interview him directly at the Beijing Film Academy, but were turned away by security at the gate. The academy, with its abundance of stars, couldn’t have reporters running amok and disrupting order.

Unable to get onto campus and unwilling to force their way in, the reporters’ only option was to contact Chen Ling or his manager directly.

Ordinarily, that would have been the end of it; if Chen Ling wanted, he could grant a few interviews to satisfy public and industry curiosity, and the matter would blow over. But given his current mood, he had no intention of doing so. After all, the album had been written for his girlfriend, who was now his ex. If the reporters brought up their relationship, he’d only be making things harder on himself. So he decided to ignore the press. If the songs became hits but he himself didn’t, so be it—he had the confidence to waste such an opportunity, thanks to his years of foresight.

But plans are one thing; surprises are another.

A sudden piece of news upended everyone’s arrangements.

…

On May 14th, headlines announced the unveiling of the Golden Melody Awards nominees from Taiwan. Big names like A-Mei, Eason Chan, and David Tao made the list, which surprised no one. A-Mei led the way with ten nominations for her album “Amit,” just as expected—her album had already been widely praised by critics, and with no other major albums released that year, her dominance at the awards was all but guaranteed.

What truly shocked everyone was that a newcomer from the mainland had received four nominations: Best New Artist, Best Lyricist, Best Composer, and Best Album Producer.

That newcomer was none other than the internet sensation Chen Ling.

The news quickly shot to the top of trending topics.

“Mainland newcomer Chen Ling receives four Golden Melody Award nominations for ‘If Love Forgets,’ second only to A-Mei in total nominations.”

The story was instantly picked up by every major portal. Netizens eagerly joined the discussion—after all, the Golden Melody Awards! Had any mainland artist ever been nominated before?

“This must be the first time a mainland artist’s been nominated for the Golden Melody Awards, right?”

“No, the earliest was Na Ying, sometime in the nineties, but this is the first time a mainlander has been nominated for Best New Artist.”

“Where did this Chen Ling come from? Isn’t he a director at the Beijing Film Academy? I remember he has a movie coming out soon—how did he end up involved with the Golden Melody Awards?”

“And they say he never dated Jing Tian, but the tracks on that album are obviously love duets.”

“Go listen to the title track ‘If Love Forgets’—those two definitely dated, but maybe they’ve split up now.”

The internet was in an uproar. A student from the directing department, on the verge of releasing his first film, had suddenly stormed into the music scene; the commotion online could only be described as utter chaos.

Even Chen Ling’s previously quiet Weibo account began to gain followers. He’d barely updated it, with only a few selfies and some movie-related posts from the set.

Now, countless netizens began leaving comments on his page.

“Wow, he really is a director—how did he end up crossing over into music?”

“He’s actually pretty handsome. Is he the campus heartthrob at the Beijing Film Academy?”

“Good-looking and talented—I’m a fan now.”

“I’ll buy a ticket to support his movie when it comes out.”

Fortunately, Weibo didn’t have a mobile app yet; smartphones were still rare. Otherwise, his phone would be vibrating non-stop.

Just as the discussions online were reaching fever pitch, Chen Ling finally learned the news from Fan Zheng.