Chapter 100: Encounter

As the live broadcast of *Music PK Arena* aired, the internet exploded.

“Everyone, go watch *Music PK Arena*! Lin Feng just outplayed Zhou Ziqian by one million! Haha, I’m dying laughing.”

“Stop accusing Lin Feng of plagiarism. The truth is out. Lin Junjie, the author of *The Eyes That Love to Laugh*, is actually Lin Feng’s pen name. Lin Feng just presented all the evidence live on the show.”

“I knew it! There’s no way Lin Feng would stoop to such dirty plagiarism. Keep supporting Lin Feng! Everyone, vote for him on *Music PK Arena*!”

“I used to think Zhou Ziqian was decent, but I never expected him to be so low. First, he accused Lin Feng of plagiarism, then offered a million-dollar bounty. But as Lin Feng said, Lin Junjie is just his pen name. Sigh, I’m officially done with Zhou Ziqian.”

“I agree with the comment above. Zhou Ziqian is so annoying, tricking everyone with fake evidence. Yesterday, I even went to Lin Feng’s Weibo to scold him. No more. I’m going to apologize to Lin Feng now.”

“Wait, I’m coming with you to apologize…”

“…”

With the plagiarism scandal resolved, public opinion swiftly shifted. Lin Feng’s Weibo comment section was flooded with apologies, while Zhou Ziqian’s was filled with curses. Some of his fans even announced they were turning against him.

A devoted fan wrote: “As your hardcore supporter, I’m truly heartbroken this time. I don’t know what others think, but I feel like you used us as pawns, making us attack Lin Feng with so-called evidence, tearing him apart. But your ‘evidence’ is a joke! How can you treat your fans like that? Now everyone calls us brainless. Honestly, we were—otherwise, we wouldn’t have believed your one-sided story and attacked Lin Feng. From today, I’m no longer your fan. I once loved you, so I won’t hate you, but from now on, I’m just a passerby…”

This heartfelt message echoed the feelings of most of Zhou Ziqian’s fans, who expressed their support. As a result, his core fan base dramatically dwindled.

At the live *Music PK Arena* venue:

“Zhao Jie, the real-time viewership ratings from the State Broadcasting Bureau just came in,” a staff member holding a report hurried over to Zhao Tong at the edge of the stage.

“How are our ratings?” Zhao Tong asked.

“One point two! And that’s from ten minutes ago at the start of the show,” the staff member replied.

“Over one at the start?!” Though mentally prepared, Zhao Tong was still surprised.

Though *Music PK Arena* is a well-known variety show in the country, it had been running for over three years. At its peak, it maintained ratings above one for twenty consecutive weeks. But now, past its prime, it hovered around 0.7, with no episodes breaking one for over half a year.

“There’s a lot of online buzz about our show now, so I expect the ratings to keep climbing. It might already have hit 1.5 by now,” the staff member added.

Zhao Tong nodded. “Keep an eye on the Broadcasting Bureau’s feedback and notify me as soon as there’s an update.”

“Got it,” the staff member replied and left.

Zhao Tong’s gaze shifted to Lin Feng and Zhou Ziqian, creating on opposite sides of the stage. She thought to herself, it would be great if every episode featured such headline-making rivals.

On stage, after finishing their songs, Chen Xi and Lin Wen switched places.

Lin Wen walked steadily to center stage, a confident smile gracing her delicate face under the spotlight.

The prelude of *Encounter* began to play softly.

Then came Lin Wen’s clear, pure voice:

“I heard winter’s departure,
I woke up in some year and month,
I thought I’d wait and hope,
Yet the future cannot be arranged because of this.”

After just a few lines, the audience was captivated. The melody was unique—gentle, light, yet extremely pleasant. Lin Wen’s vocal tone perfectly matched the song, seizing everyone’s attention from the first note.

Hearing Lin Wen’s performance, Zhou Ziqian, who had been brooding over the theme of “countryside,” involuntarily lifted his head, staring at her in astonishment. He then whispered to Sun Hao, “Do you know who that girl is? Singing backup for Lin Feng? Doesn’t she want to stay in the industry?”

“I heard from the production team that she’s Lin Feng’s younger sister,” Sun Hao replied.

“His younger sister? Didn’t expect Lin Feng to have a sibling with such an outstanding voice. Looks like we’re going to lose this round,” Zhou Ziqian said with concern.

“Don’t be so sure, Zhou. Although she sings well, I don’t think she’s better than me,” Chen Xi protested at the thought of losing this round.

“Hopefully, but your singing isn’t as good as hers,” Zhou Ziqian said with a frown, already placing the blame for a potential loss on Chen Xi.

In truth, he knew that if they lost this round, it was because his own composition wasn’t as strong as Lin Feng’s *Encounter*. Lin Wen’s vocal skills were good but not dramatically better than Chen Xi’s. Ultimately, this battle was about the quality of the songs themselves.

On stage, Lin Wen continued singing:

“On a cloudy evening, outside the car window,
Someone waits in the future,
Looking left, right, and forward,
How many turns must love take to arrive?”

“I wonder who I’ll meet and what words we’ll share,
How far away is the one I’m waiting for?
I hear the wind from the subway and the sea of people,
I stand in line holding the ticket of love…”

When she finished the entire segment, the audience erupted into enthusiastic applause.

Her pure voice, the gentle melody, and her flawless performance fully immersed the audience in the world of *Encounter*.

Especially since the song itself painted vivid imagery, listeners naturally envisioned scenes as if the song were coming alive before their eyes.

On the large screen behind the stage, 402 audience members had already cast their votes—surpassing Chen Xi’s 298—even before the song had ended.

Outside, the online votes had exceeded 110,000, closing in fast on Chen Xi’s 170,000.

“The in-house votes have already surpassed Chen Xi’s,” Sun Hao frowned, reporting to Zhou Ziqian’s team.

“Ha! There are still the online votes; I don’t believe he’ll beat 170,000!” Chen Xi puffed out his chest indignantly.

Sun Hao shook his head and asked Zhou Ziqian quietly, “Teacher, do you think Lin Feng’s *Encounter* is plagiarized? I can’t believe a basketball player could compose such delicate music.”

“Whether it’s plagiarism is uncertain, but the song’s quality is undeniably good,” Zhou Ziqian said grimly. He had expected to crush Lin Feng once the real competition began, but now he faced losing in the very first round.

“Teacher, if we lose this round, I have to win the next. Should we consider using paid supporters?” Sun Hao whispered.

Zhou Ziqian frowned, remained silent for a moment, then nodded. “Fine, but be careful not to leave any evidence.”

…