Chapter 81: Switching Tracks—"Nocturne" Versus "Young and Reckless"

After a week of preparation, Pine Stone Records released Fang Xing’s debut single. The single comprised two songs: the arranged version of “Nocturne” and “Wild Bird.”

Because the single was released to rally support for the upcoming finals of “Tomorrow’s Star,” everything was rushed. There was little time for promotion before it went live.

Immediately after the single dropped, Pine Stone Records purchased banner ads on all major music platforms. Manager Qiao Yinghong also secured a front-page splash ad on Penguin Video by exchanging resources, spending very little money. Because of this, Fang Xing had to film a short advertisement for Penguin Video.

With every major online platform working in concert, it took only an hour for both songs to surge onto the New Releases chart of the Music Storm Rankings. Three hours after release, both tracks appeared at the bottom of the Hot Songs chart. “Nocturne” ranked highest, temporarily at number 36, climbing one spot every ten minutes.

The Pine Stone Records management team had Fang Xing register a Weibo account, which they managed on his behalf. After the single’s release, Fang Xing’s Weibo posted an update and tagged several well-known music critics, including Ni Hongdan.

As soon as Ni Hongdan heard the arranged version of “Nocturne” had dropped, she immediately reposted it, helping with promotion, and wrote a review praising the arrangement. She declared, “I thought the piano version was already wonderful; I didn’t expect the arrangement to add so much more to ‘Nocturne.’”

The arranged “Nocturne” quickly spread across major online platforms, taking over short video music apps. Streamers in the Stellar Showcase section of Orca Live began covering the arranged version en masse. Two months after its initial popularity, “Nocturne” exploded again, trending on social media.

Once the arranged “Nocturne” trended, it began to fuel its climb on the Music Storm Rankings. Its position soared, and by the afternoon of the second day, “Nocturne” had broken into the top ten of the Hot Songs chart.

There are two main metrics for the Hot Songs chart on the Music Storm Rankings: sales and plays. Because “Nocturne” had gone viral two months before, many listeners had been waiting eagerly for the arranged version. With its release, there was no need for word-of-mouth to build; in fact, anticipation had been building for two months. Listeners rushed in to buy it without hesitation.

As a result, “Nocturne’s” sales figures on the Music Storm Rankings rose at a staggering rate.

On major music platforms, buying a single song cost three yuan. This time, Pine Stone Records bundled Fang Xing’s two songs together for just five yuan.

Additionally, VIP members of the major music platforms could stream both songs for free. These plays were included in revenue sharing based on playback data. The VIP play model was similar to a subscription: members could play songs during their subscription period and would need to renew to continue. Purchased songs, however, could be played without a VIP subscription.

“Nocturne” broke into the top ten of the Hot Songs chart, showing no signs of slowing. At that time, Wu Junchen and Liu Yichen’s songs, “Youthful Recklessness” and “Here We Come,” ranked fifth and seventh, respectively.

When “Nocturne” broke into the top ten, things got interesting. A new topic appeared on Weibo’s trending list:

“On a New Track: ‘Nocturne’ Battles ‘Youthful Recklessness’ Again—Who Will Prevail on the Music Storm Rankings?”

The topic’s repost count soared as countless playful netizens joined the discussion. It was too entertaining to pass up.

Just a week before, Wu Junchen and Liu Yichen’s new singles, “Youthful Recklessness” and “Here We Come,” had been defeated by Fang Xing’s “The Wind Rises” and “Young China’s Voice.” Now, on a different chart, “Nocturne” was chasing down “Youthful Recklessness” and “Here We Come” on the Hot Songs chart.

Netizens joked in the comments:

“To be fair, ‘Youthful Recklessness’ lost to ‘The Wind Rises,’ but it’s never lost to ‘Nocturne.’”
“No doubt, ‘Youthful Recklessness’ hasn’t lost to ‘Nocturne’ yet. This is Chao Yin Culture’s chance to prove itself.”
“But is proving yourself really possible?”
“Waiting for ‘Youthful Recklessness’ and ‘Nocturne’ to clash!”
“Let the battle begin!”

The arranged version of “Nocturne” came in swinging, breaking into the top ten on its first day—without any pre-release hype, after only a week’s preparation by Pine Stone Records. Even so, “Nocturne’s” chart performance exceeded many expectations.

In the comments on major music platforms, fans discussed:

“‘Nocturne’ is just too strong. I thought the piano version was already beautiful, but the arrangement is even more intense.”
“I’ve waited two months just for the arranged version. I’m buying it!”
“This single has two songs. ‘Wild Bird’ is great too.”

“Wild Bird” followed closely, reaching twelfth on the Hot Songs chart.

That afternoon, Chao Yin Culture noticed “Nocturne” had broken into the top ten—and it had only taken a day, several times faster than Wu Junchen and Liu Yichen’s “Youthful Recklessness.” Coupled with the trending topic of “Nocturne” versus “Youthful Recklessness” on Weibo, conversation exploded. Countless netizens and fans watched the Music Storm Rankings.

If Chao Yin Culture lost again on a different chart, it would mean they had never won against Fang Xing.

Chao Yin Culture’s boss, He Hongtu, fumed with nowhere to vent, and issued a strict order to the operations department: “We must defend our Hot Songs ranking. We absolutely cannot lose to ‘Nocturne.’”

The entire company mobilized, rallying fans to crowdfund for chart votes.

On Weibo, Wu Junchen and Liu Yichen’s fans began sharing everywhere, pooling resources and voting like it was a life-or-death battle.

“We absolutely can’t lose this time!”
“Our idols only have us left—we can’t let them lose again.”
“On ‘Tomorrow’s Star,’ it was those unprofessional judges’ votes that cost Chenchen and Yichen the win. On the Hot Songs chart, it’s up to us!”
“Mobilize everyone you know—get more phone numbers to buy singles. Sales weight is high, and plays matter too.”
“I’ve got two phones now, playing ‘Youthful Recklessness’ and ‘Here We Come’ on repeat twenty-four-seven.”

With the fan-driven fundraising campaign in full swing, “Youthful Recklessness” and “Here We Come” began climbing the Hot Songs chart. By the third day, “Youthful Recklessness” had reached fourth place.

Yet “Nocturne” jumped three spots to seventh.

Moreover, the two songs’ data began to diverge sharply. “Nocturne” had far more plays than sales, while “Youthful Recklessness” had far more sales than plays—a significant gap. The numbers showed many accounts had purchased “Youthful Recklessness” but never played it even once.