Chapter 89: The Unveiling of the October Storm Rankings

In a daze, Jiang Yan seemed to understand at last. She realized her earlier judgment had been somewhat biased. She recalled how, when she first found that notebook on Su Chen's desk, she had flipped through a few pages absentmindedly. Upon seeing a few lines of straightforward lyrics, she had secretly scoffed, dismissing them as mere throwaway songs.

But now that she thought about it more carefully, even if one were to take a song from the Top Charts, strip away its melody, and simply recite the lyrics, the result would likely be little better. Lyrics are certainly important, but more often, it is the melody that breathes soul into a song.

With this realization, a pang of regret struck her. Why hadn't she taken a closer look at the sheet music back then? She couldn't help but wonder what kind of song it might have been. She stood in place for a long moment, wrestling with herself countless times. In the end, she forcibly suppressed the urge to ask Su Chen for another song and set off for the company to arrange the necessary steps for changing her track.

One must not be greedy! That was her principle. When guarding a treasure, it was all the more important to let it flow slowly and steadily.

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On September 28, Jiang Yan announced the title of her new album: "Next Stop, Diva."

The moment it was released, it set off a storm online.

"Oh my god, goddess, you finally revealed the name of your new album! There's so much implied in this title."

"'Next Stop, Diva'—a little bit bold, but I love it!"

"Hope this time you really reach the top, just like the title says! Praying for you!"

"Go for it! We'll always support you!"

...

Unlike Luo Jiaxing and Qu An'an, the name Jiang Yan carried its own natural traffic. Within just two hours of the announcement, the topic shot to the top of Weibo's trending list. For several days afterward, it remained firmly in first place! This was an achievement even many superstar singers could not attain.

"Hmph! How arrogant. Just because others call you little diva, you actually think you're the real diva now?"

"Pride comes before a fall, mark my words!"

"I used to like you, but now I think you're worlds apart from our idol!"

"Our idol never fights or competes, she just quietly does her own thing. Just for that, you're not even in the same league as she is."

...

Jiang Yan's move seemed to hit a nerve with Xi Siyuan's fans. A swarm of people flocked to her Weibo, flooding the comments. Some ridiculed her with biting sarcasm; others hurled outright insults.

The comment section descended into utter chaos!

...

Amid this atmosphere of doubt, the October Charts battle officially began.

At midnight on October 1st, Jiang Yan's new album "Next Stop, Diva," Xi Siyuan's new album "Fly," and Qin Pei's five singles—"Worldly Smoke," "Sunset and Evening Breeze," "A Dream You Can't Wake From," "Bird and Cicada," and "Decency"—all launched simultaneously.

One hour later, Jiang Yan's album sales surpassed 500,000 copies. Xi Siyuan's album hit 380,000.

At 15 Huaxia coins per digital album, in just one hour, both artists had earned over five million.

These numbers were nothing short of staggering!

Under the enormous influence of the two, Qin Pei's single sales appeared somewhat lackluster by comparison. In the first hour, her five songs combined barely reached one million downloads, translating to less than two million in revenue.

Though this was a clear improvement over her past results, it still lagged nearly halfway behind Jiang Yan and Xi Siyuan—an outcome rooted in the disparity of their fan bases.

The first day was always when the gap was widest. However, if the quality of the songs was high enough, the difference might shrink in the days to come. Overall, this result was within expectations.

But in the eyes of netizens, it looked quite different.

"Hahaha! Looks like Qin Pei's finished this time, huh? Everyone said October was the kill zone, but she just had to jump in. Look where that's landed her!"

"That reminds me of a joke: someone watched two people argue on the street, got excited and joined in, only to get beaten by both!"

"Don't be so mean, maybe Qin Pei already feels bad enough. Do you have to mock her? Can't you laugh in private?"

...

The internet was awash with sarcasm and ridicule.

"You're not angry?" Guan Mei asked curiously as she watched Qin Pei scrolling through her phone with great interest.

"Why would I be angry? I'm thrilled!" Qin Pei replied. "This result is something I never even dared to dream of before. And the most important thing is—this is only the beginning!"

Her eyes shone as she spoke. She had studied Su Chen's past chart battle records. Almost every time, he managed a stunning comeback when least expected. This time's results were no worse than any of Su Chen's previous efforts.

So she had no worries at all. The mocking tone of the netizens was nothing to her; in a few days, everyone would see who the real joke was.

Guan Mei, seeing Qin Pei's composure, nodded in relief.

"I was worried you might get upset. As long as you're not! These people are just letting off steam online, cursing for the sake of it. They amount to nothing. There's no need to stoop to their level."

Qin Pei smiled and shook her head. "Of course not!"

On October 1st, daytime data exploded. Jiang Yan and the others all saw a significant boost in numbers. Especially Qin Pei: after the initial rush of core fans, everyone entered a level playing field. Thanks to prominent recommendations, there was a dramatic surge in the morning. By noon, her five singles had combined for over three million downloads—more than half the results of Jiang Yan and Xi Siyuan.

Yet, against the dazzling backdrop of Jiang Yan and Xi Siyuan's releases, this achievement wasn't particularly eye-catching. Jiang Yan's new album remained firmly at the top, with Xi Siyuan close behind. The two chased each other like this all afternoon.

Just when everyone assumed the first day's results would end in this fashion, an unexpected twist occurred that evening.

With less than an hour to go before data collection closed, Xi Siyuan's album sales suddenly skyrocketed. If the sales were charted minute by minute, one could clearly see the line shoot up at this moment. In just ten minutes, she overtook Jiang Yan, seizing the number one spot.

Finally, at midnight on October 1st, as everyone watched with bated breath, the first day's rankings for the October Charts were revealed.

Xi Siyuan's new album "Fly" soared to the top with 1.2 million sales. Jiang Yan's "Next Stop, Diva" followed with 1.09 million. Qin Pei, in the end, had a combined total of 3.5 million sales across her five singles.

In an instant, the online tide turned, with criticism of Jiang Yan sweeping across the internet.