Chapter 12: Wait a Moment
Three days later, the song would go live, and “I Am a Singer” would air in eleven days.
Liuyun planned for her song to take next week’s number one spot on the weekly chart, creating hype first, then riding that wave on “I Am a Singer” to secure a good ranking.
“Dominating the charts won’t be so simple,” Shen Xian smiled faintly and stepped into the recording studio to begin recording.
An hour later, he uploaded the finished song to his short video account.
He added a caption: Hello everyone, I’m Postman. This is my third original work. I hope you enjoy it!
Song title: “Wait a Minute”
Performed by: Postman.
Lyrics: Postman.
Composer: Postman.
Arranger: Postman.
Mixing: Postman.
On Earth, “Wait a Minute” was a classic internet hit. Back then, it was wildly popular domestically, even crossing borders and winning over foreign fans. It played in every street and alley, becoming one of the biggest internet hits after “Ten Thousand Reasons,” and creating a legendary myth in the music world.
In the video, he remained hidden in shadow, his face indistinguishable, even his silhouette barely visible.
Only his slightly husky voice slowly emerged:
If time forgot to turn, forgot to take something away
Would you still be standing on the day you said you loved me
And then, in some corner of the world
There would be a home for us
You said my embrace would make you feel warm
If life had no regrets, no ripples
Would you never have a day when you said goodbye
Perhaps a youthful heart is too soft
Unable to bear the wind, unable to weather the waves
If I could return to yesterday
I would compromise with myself
I’ll wait another minute, maybe the next minute
See your evasive eyes
I will not let sad tears cover your face
I’ll wait another minute, maybe the next minute
Able to feel your heartbreak too
That year, I would not let farewell become forever
...
This was Postman’s third release, and it immediately drew considerable attention.
“Postman’s dropped a new song!”
“‘Wait a Minute’? Let me listen first.”
“Wow, this is beautiful!”
“The melody flows so smoothly, the male voice is so magnetic. Why does my first listen feel oddly familiar? I search my memories for sad love songs, only to find that what’s familiar is the hurt in my own heart!”
“It’s clearly the first time I’m hearing it, but why do I feel my DNA stirring?”
“That’s right, it’s my first listen too, yet this song brings back memories of my youth!”
Within an hour of posting, the video was flooded with likes and shares!
In the second hour, likes surpassed the hundred-thousand mark!
By the third hour, likes and shares broke through a million!
It became the fastest-growing video in terms of likes and shares since the Douyin platform was founded!
Postman’s follower count soared as well—by the next morning, it had exceeded five million!
Gaining five million followers in just a few days was astonishing!
The queen of love songs only saw Shen Xian’s update the following day.
“‘Wait a Minute’?” The queen sat on her sofa, closed her eyes, and quietly listened to the song.
After just a few lines, tears streamed down her face: “What must you have experienced to write such a heartbreaking love song?”
Shen Xian had given her “Reluctant to Leave,” sung “After I Leave” and “Fallen,” and now composed “Wait a Minute.”
Every song was soul-wrenching, heartbreak incarnate.
She was swept up in his powerful love song aura—a man’s broad emotional landscape, a rough yet delicate expression of love—which brought a vivid image before her eyes.
A boy says to a girl, “Wait for me a minute, I have so many things I want to tell you.”
But the girl still refused.
After a long while, Zhou Wan opened her eyes, liked the video, and started sharing: “Postman’s talent is terrifying. This song reached the depths of my heart. I’m sharing and liking it manually—I really love it.”
The queen’s influence was equally formidable.
With her shares and comments, the song swept across the entire short video platform.
Countless clip accounts began using the song as background music, pairing it with touching captions and stories.
In just one day, “Wait a Minute” climbed to number one on Douyin’s music platform’s hot song chart!
Second and third place on the chart alternated between “Fallen” and “After I Leave!”
Shen Xian’s inbox was flooded with messages.
“Postman, may I do a cover of your song? I’ll pay for the rights.”
“Postman, I love this song. I think there should be a female version. May I cover it?”
Shen Xian ignored all of them.
Almost at the same time, several popular domestic music apps began vying for the rights, hoping to launch Shen Xian’s new song—NetEase, CoolCat Music, Fat Goose Music, and others.
Shen Xian simply said he’d consider it and would grant rights if necessary.
Red Queen Entertainment.
Liuyun and Chen Feng sat together, contacting the distribution department and the copyright divisions of the major apps, preparing to launch their new song.
Liuyun was puzzled; by experience, whenever she announced an upcoming release, copyright departments would quickly reach out to negotiate rights.
But two days had passed since her announcement and no one had contacted her.
Chen Feng called a department head at Fat Goose Music: “Why haven’t you reached out about Liuyun’s new song rights?”
The department head complained, “Ah, don’t even mention it. All the copyright teams have been scrambling for Postman’s new song these past days—we forgot about you guys. Sorry, just wait a bit. Once I secure Postman’s song, I’ll launch yours!”
“Postman?” Chen Feng and Liuyun exchanged worried glances.
Could Postman have released a new song?
They had chosen this timing to avoid the heat from Postman’s “Fallen” and “After I Leave.”
Who could have guessed Postman had released yet another song?
Chen Feng and Liuyun had been busy recording and hadn’t paid attention to the short video platform lately.
“You haven’t heard yet?” The department head seemed to sip his tea, “Go listen to it, check the platform—it's crazy! I’ve never seen a song spread and grow so fast!”
Hearing this, Chen Feng and Liuyun opened the short video app.
Right as they launched it, the first screen was Shen Xian’s video singing in darkness.
Seven million likes, three million comments, eight million shares!
The posting timestamp: just twenty-four hours ago.
Liuyun gasped.
They listened to the song. When it finished, both fell silent, then exchanged a look, seeing helplessness and shock in each other’s eyes.
“What should we do? Release the new song or not?” Liuyun asked with a bitter smile.