(Don’t look yet, I’m still writing the two thousand words missed from yesterday, it’ll be fixed with a title soon)
The online buzz naturally didn’t affect Wu Mu.
But it did affect the people around him.
For example, just after he finished recording a song in the studio and went out to drink some water, a figure leaped at him.
Wu Mu stared dumbfounded at Shu Mei who had pounced on him, "What are you doing?"
Her voice muffled with her head buried in his arms, Shu Mei said, "Brother, I’m sorry."
Wu Mu paused for a moment, thought it over, and then realized what she meant. He found it amusing, "What’s there to be sorry about? As a fan, you don’t always have to worry about your idol’s mental and physical health. Chasing stars is meant to make you happy. If you’re not happy and leave, what’s so strange about that? I’m not really your brother."
Shu Mei huffed, unconvinced, "Exactly!"
Wu Mu looked at her, "Then, can you let your brother go? I need to drink water."
Not only did she refuse, but Shu Mei also hugged him even tighter.
What a troublesome little fairy.
Wu Mu complained in his heart and quietly waited for a few seconds as she hugged him. Then, he flicked her lightly on the head, "Alright, let go now."
Shu Mei, nursing her head, loosened her grip, feeling a little wronged, "I wanted to comfort you, brother."
Wu Mu laughed, "I felt it, thank you, Mei."
Shu Mei had clearly come across Asano Daishi’s music review.
Asano Daishi’s reviews are very compelling, stripping away all the unnecessary details to focus directly on the theme of failure, making it particularly heartbreaking.
For someone like Shu Mei, who knows Wu Mu, it’s even more so.
The brother now is very strong, but thinking back, just imagine how much he must have suffered to change from that to now.
Just thinking about how back then she not only didn’t care but even left the fan base, guilt washed over her.
It wasn’t just Shu Mei; Wu Mu had just taken a sip from his cup when his phone rang again.
He picked it up and was surprised to find it was a video call from Lu Yao.
Wu Mu was amazed. It wasn’t unusual for Yaoyao to video call him; she often called to chat and comfort him during negative trending incidents.
But usually, she’d be a little slow. Why was she so quick this time?
The video connected, and a somewhat serious-looking Lu Yao appeared on the screen.
"Xiao Wu, when you’re feeling down, you can eat something sweet."
Wu Mu sighed, "I’m not sad."
He looked at Lu Yao, a bit puzzled, "Why do I feel like you’re a bit out of energy, Yaoyao?" Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novᴇlfire.net
Lu Yao on the screen looked even more solemn, "I have a friend, just a friend, who recently went through a breakup, and I’m sad for her."
Wu Mu was stunned for a second, "...Then let your friend eat more sweets too."
On the other side of the screen, Lu Yao suddenly burst into tears, "I did, I ate so much, I gained several pounds!"
Following Lu Yao, there were also calls from Sun Yueqing and Mo Mo.
Come to think of it, each person’s personality was different, so their ways of comforting were also different.
Lu Yao was the kind who, while chatting, would make you burst out laughing with her nonsensical antics.
Sun Yueqing was the kind who would secretly observe his expression, then casually chat, and when she felt he was probably okay, directly ask him about it.
Mo Mo was the kind who would gently share various small anecdotes from her recent life, praise Wu Mu’s new song, compliment his performances on shows, subtly telling him that the world is worth it.
As for Director Lin, he was more of a doer, directly calling or messaging to invite him out for a meal and a chat.
After hanging up on his friends’ calls, Wu Mu thought about it, decided not to rush back to work immediately, and opened Zhihu on his phone instead.
Mo Mo had just mentioned that his topic was hot on Zhihu, and he was curious about how hot it was.
As soon as he opened Zhihu, it was indeed lively, with him at the top of the hot list.
The problem title was—"What do you think of celebrity Wu Mu’s performance on the Japanese program ’Music Station’ and the subsequent reactions, and are the criticisms from his Japanese and Korean fans towards domestic audiences justified?"
A very interesting question, Wu Mu was intrigued and clicked in to check it out.
Below the question, the top-voted response already had twelve thousand likes.
It seemed to be an answer from someone within the industry.
Anonymous musician: "How do you see it? Of course, you look up to it! I can only say it’s Wu Mu, every now and then delivering a god-level live performance. This morning after watching the show, I was so excited I was trembling with only one thought in my mind, how can someone sing so powerfully, almost to a monstrous level!"
"I immediately wanted to see how everyone was discussing his song online, but was a bit disappointed to find that people’s focus had shifted to Wu Mu’s past due to that Japanese music critic’s review. Although Wu Mu’s past indeed serves as the best annotation for that song, instantly allowing one to feel the depth within the song.
"But in my opinion, his strongest performance on the show wasn’t just that song. Wu Mu has had plenty of good songs, and though this song is strong, it’s not necessarily stronger than ’Bohemian Rhapsody,’ nor ’I Have Nothing,’ and there are many other good songs like ’Star,’ ’Numb,’ and ’Mythical Love.’
"However, the singing skills Wu Mu showcased during the program were honestly the strongest I’ve ever seen! Monstrously strong! Many viewers might not be professionals, so they might not notice his singing level that day or realize what it meant.
"Let’s put it this way, Mo Mo’s singing skills are recognized as strong, right? Whereas at Mo Mo’s level, I might still imagine reaching that tier, but with Wu Mu’s live performance, really all I can do is watch in awe. How strong must one be to demonstrate such a level?"