Chapter 3

"The company spent a fortune on this single. You can't just cancel it like that. I won't be able to explain this to the higher-ups!"

"How about this—I'll investigate the song theft, and you quickly write another song to turn in."

After Johnston left, I sat alone on the sofa thinking for a long time.

Simons was my girlfriend's childhood friend. They grew up together and had always been very close.

After graduating from a music academy abroad, Simons entered the entertainment industry through Julia's connections.

With the seasoned Julia as his backer, he signed directly with SKY Entertainment, the largest entertainment company in the country.

Right from his debut, he sang the theme song for an international director's film.

These were all privileges I, the legitimate boyfriend, had never enjoyed.

Because Julia treated him so well, I was always jealous and resentful.

But Julia said her family and Simons' family were old friends, and it would look bad if she didn't help him.

Not wanting to make things difficult for her, I turned a blind eye.

Little did I know that Simons had always been the one she desired but couldn't have in her youth.

My hands kept moving as I continued searching through Simons' Twitter for clues. Finally, I discovered something suspicious in a post from a month ago.

On August 26th, Simons posted a photo with the caption: Creative inspiration flowing.

I enlarged the photo and examined it carefully.

Suddenly, my head buzzed!

The draft paper on his desk showed the same creative thought process as mine.

Even the lyrics I had deleted were identical, word for word!

I wrote the lyrics based on my personal experiences. There was absolutely no possibility of plagiarism or borrowing.

Could it be that Simons, like me, had experienced that earthquake?

No, impossible!

Simons and Julia were both from the north. How could they have been living on that southern island?

But how else could I explain our identical manuscripts?

While I was racking my brain unable to figure this out, Johnston called again.

Unsurprisingly, there were no leads on the song theft.

I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Johnston was right. The company had spent big money promoting this new song. Besides Twitter trending topics, there were LED screen advertisements in major shopping districts. The upfront investment was at least several million.

To minimize the company's losses, I could only work harder to create another new song.

Rushing into my studio and picking up my long-absent guitar, my hands trembled involuntarily.

This time, let me become Nemesis and write about the injustice I suffered in my past life.

I didn't believe Simons could have the same rebirth experience as me!

In two days, I finally finished writing the lyrics and melody for the new song after staying up all night.

Using another spare phone, I recorded a simple demo and immediately sent it to Johnston.

After listening, Johnston excitedly sent five emojis.

"Rock? Anthony, you're a musical genius! How many more surprises do you have that I don't know about?"

Before I could reply, Johnston sent a voice message: "I've booked the recording studio. I'll pick you up in an hour."

When we left the recording studio, the sky was gradually brightening.

Johnston loosened his shoulders. "Christmas break is coming up soon. Your song will probably be released around January 3rd. What do you think?"

I didn't rush to reply to Johnston. Instead, I asked about Simons' recent situation.

"I have a friend at SKY Entertainment. He said Simons hasn't been to the company lately. No one knows what he's up to."

After releasing a new song, he should have been touring the country for promotions, but there wasn't any activity from him. It was too strange.

To avoid any more accidents, it was good to observe ahead of time.

I took a deep breath and agreed to the company's proposal to delay the release.

After returning home, I finally got the most restful sleep since my rebirth.

I was awakened again by Johnston's knocking.

"Anthony, this is bad!"

"Simons released another song, and it's... identical to the new song you recorded early this morning!"