Official backing from two major entities emerged.
In an instant, the netizens who had been vehemently criticizing fell silent.
The comment section of the studio's account was filled with a single, unified message.
"We apologize!"
As for Ku Ying Media and the other thirteen music platforms, their faces were likely green with envy.
Who could have imagined that simply releasing a song would attract the reposts and endorsements of two official giants?
The captions and comments containing veiled criticisms were immediately deleted.
The five music platforms that had partnered with Gao Fei, seeing the official endorsement, immediately reposted on their social media accounts.
The platform operators also set the song "Chizi Xin" as their software cover and featured it on the front page of each application.
The official support finally quelled the public outrage.
...
Yihe Tianfu Residential Community.
The boss of Yuanfei Studio and his three staff members finally breathed a sigh of relief as the netizens' attacks ceased and turned into fervent support.
"Xiao Fei, in the future, it's best not to ride the coattails of official heat. Even though it's related to you, the impact can be profound," Lawyer Zeng reminded him.
Agent Jin Qiqi nodded in agreement.
If it weren't for the official intervention to absorb the scolding, Gao Fei would likely have been overwhelmed by netizens tonight.
"Never again, never again, don't worry!"
Gao Fei glanced at the time, it was already eight in the evening. "Work is mostly done. How about we go out for some food and drinks? My treat!"
"Alright!"
The three nodded and immediately packed up.
Half an hour later, Night Market City.
"Ah, Xiao Gao is back! Come sit in my shop and have a couple of drinks, big brother's treating!"
"Brother Xiao Fei, come hang out at big sister's shop. Food and drinks are on the house!"
"Young Gao, Uncle Rong just got two wild large yellow croakers today. Uncle Rong is treating tonight and will help you wash away the bad luck of these past few days!"
As Gao Fei and his companions appeared in Night Market City, the vendors greeted them with overwhelming enthusiasm, each wanting him to dine and drink for free at their establishments.
He wasn't one to take advantage of freebies and politely declined the invitations, ultimately choosing to sit at Uncle Rong's place, where the wild yellow croakers were.
Besides wanting to eat the large yellow croakers, Uncle Rong's food stall was one of the franchisees of Yuanfei Catering.
After all, it was better to support one's own.
Once seated, Gao Fei struck up a conversation with Uncle Rong, the owner of the food stall.
He learned from their chat that Sun Yaoguo and Ma Youwang had previously tried to instigate Uncle Rong and others to revolt against the catering company, demanding he hand over the secret recipe and monopolize the night market business.
However, the franchisees who refused to go along with them had all turned down Sun Yaoguo's invitation.
According to Uncle Rong, while the ten thousand yuan franchise fee was a bit high, with Gao Fei's fame and the deliciousness of the exclusive secret recipe, they could recoup their investment in two months and start making substantial profits by the third.
The two thousand yuan for the secret recipe cost was equivalent to just one night's earnings.
Moreover, Sun Yaoguo and Ma Youwang and their ilk were part of a criminal syndicate. Even if they had successfully revolted and obtained the exclusive secret recipe, the consequences would likely have been worse, not better.
Who had ever seen people from the underworld monopolize an industry and then engage in charity?
Therefore, they saw no reason to lose out on significant gains for a small profit.
As they talked, various delicacies were laid on the table, and Gao Fei returned to his seat.
Night Market City usually reached its peak business around eleven o'clock, and at this hour, there were only a handful of customers.
So Gao Fei didn't have to worry about being recognized.
The four from the studio began to eat. Jin Qiqi, who had never experienced a food stall before, exclaimed with delight after her first bite of a dish. When she tasted the barbecue made with the exclusive secret recipe, she praised it profusely.
"Boss, with your exclusive secret recipe, why don't you open a factory and go big?" she asked as she ate.
Gao Fei took a bite of the wild yellow croaker and explained, "There's a saying, 'rarity breeds value.' If I were to open a factory and mass-produce the secret recipe, it would indeed be very profitable.
But once the secret recipe becomes widely available in the market, the franchisees would be the first to go out of business, followed by a flood of counterfeit products.
I'm not short of money now. Why not make the secret recipe a specialty of Fengyun City? Perhaps next year, my company can become one of the city's top ten emerging enterprises!"
Gao Fei didn't dwell on the secret recipe matters, as he had other commercial plans for it.
After eating their fill, it was almost ten o'clock.
Jin Qiqi patted her slightly bulging stomach and checked her phone. "Boss, there's news about your new project. The other party has agreed to your terms and you can sign the contract now!"
"Alright, I'm full anyway. Let's go back and finalize the new project, and our studio can have an early New Year's break!"
Uncle Rong had initially intended not to charge them, but as Gao Fei was leaving, he insisted on paying for the meal.
Upon returning to the villa in the residential community.
Zeng Keming and the legal counsel from the new collaborative project company conducted a video call to finalize the contract terms.
Once everything was settled, both parties signed the contract, followed by faxing and completing the signing.
While the new project was being signed, Gao Fei also received other news.
Within three hours of the new song's release, downloads exceeded twenty million, while clicks and plays surpassed fifty million.
Moreover, the song's music video had directly surpassed the eighty million mark.
And the five music platforms he collaborated with had each seen a ten million increase in their app downloads within just three hours.
With this terrifyingly immense traffic, Gao Fei was now undoubtedly the number one online traffic magnet.
As for the music platforms that had not collaborated with him, and Ku Ying Media, which had been shrewdly excluded, they were on the verge of tears as they saw the data continuously being reported by their operations teams.
This was the closest they had ever been to going viral, but they had missed out entirely due to the contract terms.
The owners of the five music platforms were likely smiling in their sleep tonight.
An increase of ten million app downloads within three hours, coupled with various song data points that were rapidly approaching one hundred million, translated to a massive influx of wealth.
Gao Fei was not overly surprised by the song's performance data.
Given his current popularity, coupled with the enthusiastic promotion from the military's endorsement, failing to reach one hundred million within three hours would have been considered mediocre.
His primary focus was now on the new project!
"Sister Jin, who is the owner of the website collaborating with us on the new project?"
"The website owner? A second-generation heir who's clueless and just lazing around," Jin Qiqi replied, looking at the contract clauses. "He's also a fan of yours. Just wait, I suspect after twelve o'clock, this kid will start promoting you."
Gao Fei didn't press for details but reminded her, "This time, absolutely do not include my name, otherwise, we won't have official bigwigs to speak for us!"
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing! Besides, that person already has his own traffic!"
...
At midnight, in Kyoto, at the Paradise Club!
A man in his early thirties, of average appearance, with his hair styled in a seven-three split, was drinking and dining with his cronies in a private room.
Surrounding them were young girls, aged around twenty-one or twenty-two.
On the stone table where the alcoholic beverages were placed, a thousand yuan bill was tucked into the mouth of each bottle.
The girls had to finish a bottle of wine if they wanted the money.
The man and his friends were playing a novel game!
As the man was shaking dice and grabbing a pair of shapely legs, his phone alarm suddenly rang, and he immediately stopped his actions.
His friends looked at the ringing alarm and asked with a chuckle, "Old Wang, setting an alarm? Are you planning to go home on time to inherit your family fortune?"
"Brother He, if you're really going to inherit the family business, I'll have to invest ten million in your project!"
Wang He glared at his friends and jokingly retorted, "Get lost, get lost! Inherit what family fortune? My dad gave me five hundred million, and I haven't even finished starting my ventures yet!"
"Then why are you setting an alarm?"
"I'm getting ready to send a Weibo post to my little idol, promoting his new novel!"