Chapter 104: The Newly Hatched Phoenix Egg
Xie Xizhao had gone to visit Fu Wenze’s younger brother, Fu Wenzhe.
A long time ago, during the filming of an MV, Fu Wenze’s storyline had required a fifteen or sixteen-year-old naive teenager. After discussing it with Fu Wenze, Xie Xizhao had recommended his younger brother to the director.
The final shoot had gone smoothly.
Since then, Fu Wenzhe had shown an astonishing level of clinginess toward Xie Xizhao.
Xie Xizhao had little resistance to children—especially those who had grown up yet still acted clingy. That day, after finishing all their practice sessions, and with their music recording scheduled for the afternoon, Xie Xizhao had discussed with Fu Wenze about paying a visit.
When they arrived, the two of them got out of the car.
Fu Wenzhe had been playing on the exercise equipment in the public area beneath his apartment building, while an auntie had been watching over him.
As soon as he saw them approaching, he immediately put down the spinning disk he had been playing with and ran over with quick steps. Xie Xizhao patted his head and handed him a gift box. He opened it.
Inside was a beautifully designed coloring book.
He looked up at Xie Xizhao, his eyes shining brightly with excitement.
Fu Wenze, standing beside them, reminded him, “Your brother gave you a gift—what should you say?”
The slender, delicate-looking boy stood there awkwardly for a moment before realizing what he needed to do. Then, he said in a small but earnest voice, “Thank you, Brother Xizhao.”
Xie Xizhao smiled and replied, “You’re welcome,” before following them into the apartment building.
As soon as they stepped inside, Fu Wenzhe ran to his room to find his watercolor pens. Xie Xizhao played with him for a while, and after confirming that he was fully engrossed in his own world, he left him with the auntie and headed to the balcony to find Fu Wenze.
The latter had a piece of candy in his mouth and was staring blankly at the sun in the distance.
Xie Xizhao wanted to startle him, so he pulled a lollipop from his pocket—the one he had just taken from Fu Wenzhe—and waved it in front of his eyes. Before he could react, Fu Wenze grabbed his hand in a quick motion. Not only did he lose the candy, but he almost lost his balance as well.
“…” Xie Xizhao withdrew his hand, looking slightly disgruntled.
Fu Wenze returned the candy to him.
Xie Xizhao popped it into his mouth and asked, “Nervous?”
Fu Wenze seemed like he wanted to say something.
Xie Xizhao bit down on the candy, crunching it as he smiled. “You’re usually not this absent-minded when you visit Wenzhe. You even had me play with him, while you came to the balcony instead. Don’t try to fool me—you’re nervous. I won’t believe otherwise.”
Fu Wenze countered, “And you’re not?”
Xie Xizhao admitted, “A little.”
And with that, the conversation came to an abrupt stop.
Neither of them spoke again as they turned to look at the brilliant morning sun in the distance. The golden dawn bathed the tightly packed residential buildings, making the whole scene appear almost dreamlike, as if it weren’t real.
—
In the final moments, everyone gave it their all.
Almost every single one of them had lost weight from the intense dance practices. Zou Yi had even come down with a high fever once but stubbornly pushed through the entire day’s training. In the end, it was Xie Xizhao who noticed and took him to the hospital.
They all carried an unspoken determination in their hearts.
But Xie Xizhao knew—it wasn’t just because of NS.
Even Yun Pan, who was usually carefree and lighthearted, had fallen into rare silence when the unexpected announcement had come out yesterday.
Their debut vows still rang vividly in his mind. Back then, they had all been full of youthful ambition, believing the future to be bright and boundless. But only after debuting did they realize—that was merely the beginning.
Harsher than the competition itself were the strict mentors who pushed them beyond their limits, and the endless, monotonous days of practice.
Then there was the meticulous scrutiny of every detail during the production of their debut album.
On the night they returned after filming the MV, Yun Pan had knocked on Xie Xizhao’s door. Looking somewhat lost, he had asked, “Brother, aren’t you tired?”
Tired, yes. But they had to keep going.
And now, after all this time, that sentiment had shifted into a different question:
‘Can we really succeed?’
It was only after giving their all that they feared losing everything. Only after pushing themselves to the limit did they begin to fear disappointment. They had made it this far through sheer determination—like students preparing for a crucial exam for half a year, finally about to receive their results.
No one was truly at ease, not even Xie Xizhao.
There was no way to dispel this tension. They could only wait for the moment when everything finally settled.
Neither of them spoke again. After a while, Xie Xizhao asked, “By the way, where did NS land on the real-time charts?”
The daily chart ranked songs based on 24-hour streaming performance, while the real-time chart reflected rankings immediately after a song’s release. Generally, unless a song was an instant viral hit or a flop, its real-time ranking was a strong indicator of its daily chart performance.
So, on the 12th, just five minutes after NS released their song, their fans had already started bragging.
Fu Wenze replied, “Twenty thousand likes in the first hour, debuted at #3 on the real-time chart, #27 on the daily chart.”
Xie Xizhao paused for a moment before saying, “That’s a great result.”
“I listened to their title track yesterday,” he added objectively. “They were much smarter with their song choice this time. It suits their style well, and it’s a good song. I think their daily ranking will go up even more.”
Fu Wenze let out a soft “mm.”
After a moment, he asked, “Shall we head back?”
Xie Xizhao nodded. “Mm.”
Neither of them spoke again.
They stood there for a while longer before heading back to the living room, one after the other, to say goodbye to Fu Wenzhe.
The child was already completely immersed in his own world. As Xie Xizhao watched the sunlight fall on his thin back, he quietly pulled the door shut behind him.
Back at the villa, their busy day began.
They hurriedly ate a meal, making sure to fill their stomachs as much as possible. As soon as they finished, the entire TP team drove to A City’s television station to record their first music show performance.
The recording took seven or eight takes.
In the end, TP selected the version they were most satisfied with.
There was no time for dinner.
Because they had to rush to the next music show recording.
On the plane to the next city, everyone nibbled on some bread—what they drank the most, however, was coffee.
Three hours later, the plane landed.
Surrounded by reporters and fans, TP boarded their waiting van.
Then, it was another nearly two hours of stage recording.
By the time they finally stepped out of the television station, it was almost 9 PM. Yun Pan was already in a daze.
Under the glow of the city lights, they stood in the backstage waiting room, exchanging glances, but no one dared to check their still-vibrating phones.
After a long silence, Zou Yi let out a sigh.
“I’ll do it,” he said.
He pulled out his phone, glanced at the notifications on the lock screen, and then unlocked it.
His fingers froze mid-air.
As if under a spell, everyone else stiffened at the same time, completely motionless.
Zou Yi slowly looked up and locked eyes with Xie Xizhao, who was absentmindedly fiddling with the dice in his pocket.
Xie Xizhao’s palms were slick with sweat. The small die nestled in his hand radiated a faint warmth, as if offering him silent comfort.
Xie Xizhao looked at Zou Yi, silently asking for confirmation.
Zou Yi met his gaze and gave him a firm nod.
Xie Xizhao closed his eyes for a brief moment.
In the stillness of the room, he heard Zou Yi’s voice—striving for composure yet still trembling slightly.
“Twenty-three thousand likes in the first hour, debuted at No.2 on the real-time chart. Congratulations, everyone. We’ve taken our first step to success.”
*
No one had expected this result.
Until now, the general impression of The Phoenix was that they were a highly capable group, but just how capable remained unclear. At this moment, the numbers spoke for themselves.
A real-time debut at #2—placing them nearly on par with the peak of the senior group that emerged from Super Rookie Season 2, a group that had dominated the industry for two solid years. More than that, they had surpassed Newstar, the hottest top-tier idol group currently making a comeback.
Almost the instant their ranking was revealed, screenshots of the charts flooded the internet.
[Holy sh*t, am I seeing this right?! Is this our freshly hatched little phoenix egg?! #2 on real-time charts—TP is insane!]
[This is unreal… The only reason they’re not #1 is because the top spot is occupied by a national-level solo artist who completely outshines idols in general. Meaning, among all idol groups, TP just destroyed 99% of the competition. AND they just debuted?! This is history in the making!]
[srsly tho, this is just real-time. All it proves is that survival show fans are loyal.]
[Mmm-hmm, of course. Our ‘small, unremarkable’ TP, with only 23,000 die-hard active fans, is just a little nobody group. Meanwhile, your oh-so-elite real-time #3, whose song had no major competition and still started dropping in rankings by the second hour, is TOTALLY a national TOP boy group. Sure. By the way, TP’s ranking is still climbing.]
[LMAO, you’ve been in the industry for two years and still can’t hit the top? And now you’re losing to a freshly debuted rookie group? Stop trying to leech off their success and get lost.]
[AHHHHH!!! TP is insane, the fans are insane, our boys are INSANE! This result is so incredible and makes me so proud—I feel like crying!!!]
TP fans, who had been anxious just the day before, were now reveling in their moment of glory. The hashtag #TPDebutsatNo2 shot straight to second place on the trending charts. The comments section was flooded with promotional posts, and the fan community was buzzing like it was New Year’s Eve.
Amidst the overwhelming excitement, the real-time rankings refreshed for the second hour.
TP was still holding strong at #2.
This development even caught the attention of mainstream entertainment forums, where casual observers and industry insiders alike started to take notice. New discussion threads flooded the homepage.
[They’re still at #2 in the second hour? This level of stability isn’t just top-tier—it’s unprecedented. Even their senior group wasn’t this steady.]
[I thought survival show groups were past their prime? Someone explain where these guys came from?! I just checked the music charts and saw an unfamiliar group name out of nowhere—wait, this is THAT rookie group?]
[Can someone compare the total album sales between NS and TP? I honestly thought NS was secure in their position, but judging from these rankings, they might actually lose to TP in digital sales. What about physical album sales? I need numbers! I’m here for the drama!]
[Taking bets—how long can TP hold out? Can they break into the Top 20 on the daily charts? Their chart trajectory looks solid right now.]
[NS fans, instead of being passive-aggressive under every neutral discussion thread, maybe go calculate your group’s album sales? You’re getting outsold by a rookie group, and you’re still yapping here?]
Speculation threads and gossip posts popped up like mushrooms after a rainstorm. But among all the discussions, a particular new post quietly surfaced, slipping into the conversation like a ghostly whisper.
[Not to exaggerate, but I suggest every casual observer here take just three minutes to watch TP’s debut MV. Once you do, you won’t be saying things like ‘TP might barely break into the Top 20’ or comparing them to some overhyped PR-manufactured group anymore.]
[This debut song is truly great. So great, in fact, that putting TP and NS in the same conversation feels like an insult. Seriously.]
[Now I understand why, the moment Xie Xizhao debuted, people were calling him the ‘Purple Star’ of the survival show circuit. If the rumors are true and he was one of the main creative leads behind this project, then he is—without a doubt—a genius producer. Damn. This is insane…]
[And then there’s ‘Rift’…]
[Mark my words—‘Rift’ is a guaranteed Song of the Year contender.]
[If it’s not, I’ll eat shit while doing a handstand.]
