Shortly after ending the call, Lin Rui was about to continue typing furiously on his keyboard when there was a loud knocking on the office door.

The visitor was Xiao Li, who was in charge of the company's logistics. He stood outside the door looking a little reserved.

"What's up?"

“Teacher Fusheng, there is a Mr. Ren outside who wants to see you. He says he is the principal of Xiazhou Conservatory of Music.”

Lin Rui was taken aback at first, then his expression became quite interesting.

He then remembered that he had arranged to meet Ren Hetai and go back to his dorm to pack his luggage, but he had been busy rushing to finish his manuscript yesterday and had completely forgotten about it.

If it were anyone else, Xiao Li really wouldn't dare to come and bother them.

There are far too many people who want to meet Fusheng, including many superstars. Under normal circumstances, such a thing would never reach Lin Rui's ears. Most likely, he would be easily turned away by everyone or nipped in the bud.

However, Ren Hetai's situation is different. He introduced himself as the principal of Xiazhou Conservatory of Music, and it was already an open secret within the company that Lin Rui was studying at this art school.

After secretly verifying Ren Hetai's identity, Xiao Li didn't dare to act on his own and went to Lin Rui's office to ask for instructions.

Where is Principal Ren?

"In the downstairs lounge."

"I'll go down now, you can go ahead and get busy."

"Okay, Teacher Fusheng."

Lin Rui put down his work for the time being, quickly went downstairs, and pushed open the door to the lounge.

Ren Hetai was sitting on the sofa drinking tea. When he saw Lin Rui come in, he immediately smiled and said, "I didn't see you yesterday, so I guessed you must be very busy. I just happened to be passing by and brought your graduation certificate with me."

"Thank you, Principal Ren."

Ren Hetai said that, but Lin Rui didn't take it seriously.

Even if, as Ren Hetai said, he was just passing by Tianrui Entertainment, who would carry a student's graduation certificate around all the time?

"Thank you for the Eight Schools Tournament."

Ren Hetai's words came from the bottom of his heart.

The quality of the song "Tomorrow Will Be Better" is beyond doubt, after all, it has already received official recognition and praise.

In Ren Hetai's mind, Lin Rui's willingness to bring out a work of this caliber was already an immense favor.

"Principal Ren, you're too kind. I just wanted to do something for the school."

Ren Hetai did not elaborate on this issue; at this moment, a hint of hesitation appeared on his face.

"Principal Ren, there are no outsiders here, so please speak frankly."

Lin Rui also guessed that Ren Hetai's trip was not just about delivering graduation certificates.

The word "floating life" certainly carries immense weight in Xiazhou, but Ren Hetai is, after all, the head of Xiazhou Conservatory of Music, an official figure. It would be unreasonable for him to condescend to give something to a student.

"I only heard the news last night."

“I have close friends in both Nanzhou and Taizhou. Last night they talked to me about you.”

"They said that many people would come forward to target Tianrui in the January rankings."

“Especially you, you are their primary target.”

As Ren Hetai spoke, he observed Lin Rui's expression. Seeing that the latter showed no surprise, he couldn't help but chuckle: "It seems you already knew."

"President Xu has already mentioned it to me."

"Principal Ren, I'm quite curious, shouldn't things like this be done in secret?"

Why make it known to the whole world?

Lin Rui really didn't quite understand the intricacies of this matter.

If it were him, he would definitely plan carefully before acting and would never easily reveal his true intentions, so as to catch the other party off guard.

But the third and fourth regions are doing the opposite, which is obviously telling their opponents, "We're about to bully you, so you'd better be prepared or you'll end up crying."

"Two aspects."

"This first place is for the sake of fairness."

fair?

When everyone gangs up and the majority bullies the minority, you call that fair?

Although Lin Rui remained calm, Ren Hetai could still see what Lin Rui was thinking. He didn't point it out, but explained, "The fact that the eight states are jointly targeting Tianrui Entertainment is unfair in itself. In order to ensure that they won't be criticized afterward and to avoid being stopped by the China Literature and Art Association, they released the news."

"The intention is very simple: to tell you openly that we are going to deal with you, and to give you a month to prepare."

"This is an open strategy. Otherwise, do you think Chairman Xu would have gotten wind of it so quickly?"

A calculated scheme?

After a moment's thought, Lin Rui sorted out his thoughts.

The other party only spread rumors and did not force him to fight, but he had no choice but to meet them head-on.

Unless he is included, the entire Tianrui Entertainment has given up competing for the January rankings.

"And what's the second reason?"

"Make our position clear."

Ren Hetai took a sip of tea, a confident look of self-assurance appearing on his face.

"To prevent the situation in Vietnam and Taiwan from happening again, it would be better to be generous and open about your deeds rather than trying to cover them up."

"You may not know this, but the word 'floating life' has become quite popular in the third and fourth regions."

"This would be a great thing for anyone else, but it might not be for you."

Lin Rui frowned slightly: "Why?"

"It still comes down to the four words I just mentioned: clearly state our position."

Ren Hetai put down his teacup and explained, "Now, the name 'Floating Life' has risen to the level of a competitor in the third and fourth regions. So let's think about it: once the official rankings for the four regions are updated after New Year's Eve, and your name happens to appear on the list, do you think the public's reaction will be support, curiosity, or resistance?"

Lin Rui's expression darkened slightly.

Regional issues have always existed. In this kind of situation, you really can't blame those who do dirty tricks behind the scenes; they're just good at understanding human nature.

On the issue of the word "fleeting life," these guys have never deliberately smeared it; on the contrary, they have been constantly praising and promoting it, and have been building a positive image.

But the more this is the case, the more likely it is to arouse the sense of shared hatred and indignation among the states.

Because the word "floating life" is known to them as a competitor, that's enough!

So even if it involves unfair competition, you really can't find a reason to report it.

As Ren Hetai described it, this was an open conspiracy, a conspiracy aimed at him and at Tianrui Entertainment.

But he couldn't afford to be stage-frightened.

Once Lin Rui understood this, he felt relieved.

He had initially felt that making such a big fuss was a bit bullying, but now, his last trace of shame had completely vanished.

Since you're doing the first day of the month, don't blame me for doing the fifteenth.

After dropping Ren Hetai off at the company building and watching him leave in a car, Lin Rui took out his phone and quickly typed a message.

"I will climb to the very top, and survey all the mountains below."

The moment Lin Rui posted this text on Weibo, the post was pushed to the top of the trending topics list at an almost visible speed!

However, there was no follow-up for a long time afterward.

But the onlookers in China, Vietnam, and Taiwan were not worried at all; they knew this was just a prelude to an impending storm.

The main event is about to begin!

Not only those in the first region, but also those in the third and fourth regions, were secretly following the latest developments of the event through their respective channels.

Half an hour later, Fusheng's Weibo account was active again!

The onlookers who had been waiting patiently were now completely excited!

Song: "Jiangnan"

Singer: Fusheng

…