It wasn't just at the Rose Bar—many bars on Taiyi Street noticed that their regular customers had dropped by a fifth today.
The only ones unaffected were the bars that had B-level females working, or those with several C-level females.
But these two types of bars had one thing in common: they were expensive!
Although many people saw the trending topic on StarNet, most were more focused on how well Jiang Qin sang.
They were just lower or middle-class males living in the city, so practical benefits were what mattered most to them.
As a result, only a few curious people, or those who simply liked listening to music, went to the Moonlight Bar.
The majority of people still obediently went to their usual bars, ordered a suppressant flavored like beer, and waited for that faint bit of comfort.
But even with just a small crowd, it was enough to pack Moonlight Bar.
After all, it was a bar that could hold twenty thousand people!
Yuwei was at the entrance helping collect the entry fees, his smile never faltering.
"Boss, is your little female singing those two songs again tonight?"
"Not necessarily. What she sings is Ms. Jiang's choice. Our bar doesn't interfere."
After all, they hired a soothing specialist, not a resident singer!
Singing was just one of Ms. Jiang's unique methods of soothing. As long as she was soothing, whether through singing, dancing, daydreaming, or even playing games, it didn't matter.
"Can't you talk to her? We came specifically to hear a live concert," one customer insisted.
Yuwei helplessly reminded him, "Sir, this is a bar, not a concert…"
"I know it's a bar, but the C-level group soothing isn't really necessary for us. You might as well just do a concert! That way, the crowd would probably be bigger."
The two songs had only been uploaded for an hour, but the view count had already surpassed ten million.
Though that wasn't much for the Federation's population of nearly a trillion, at least a third of them lived on barren planets or in areas without signal.
And when you excluded the elderly, the young, and those who didn't like music or the internet, ten million views in an hour was impressive.
What's more, that number was still growing rapidly.
Online comments flooded in:
[It's hard to believe these high-quality songs were actually written by a Federation singer.]
[Actually, you're wrong. She's not a singer—she's a soothing specialist!]
[Right, there are very few beastman females willing to step into the entertainment industry. Some films even have males playing female roles.]
[Well, C-level females aren't exactly rare in our Federation, but a singer with this kind of quality is a real rarity.]
[The little female should leave the bar and become a composer or singer. It'd be a good way to slap the Empire in the face.]
[Every year, the Empire takes away so many starcoins from us. It's not like our Federation's entertainment industry is doing well.]
From songs to television and films, nothing from the Federation could compare to the Empire.
The main issue was the universe-war-themed dramas. The Empire's productions were all cutting-edge, and thanks to their wealth, they had real performances.
They even spent big bucks redesigning their equipment to make it look more impressive.
It was truly exciting.
Unlike the Federation, which always trailed behind, eating the leftovers and blindly following trends.
Over time, the discontent had only grown louder.
Main Star.
At the Tianwen Entertainment Company, a man with long, water-blue hair tied behind him sat with his eyes closed, quietly listening to music.
As the head of the composition department, Lan Yuyan always made time to listen to the songs on both the Federation and Empire's music charts, no matter how busy he was.
Today was June 25th. Generally, any artist hoping to make the monthly chart would have released their songs by mid-month.
By the end of the month, hardly anyone would release new songs, saving their releases for the next month's rankings.
After all, who would be foolish enough to try to compete with the play counts of the entire month with just five days left?
But unexpectedly, today he had found such a "fool."
"Jiang Qin? A new artist?"
At first, Lan Yuyan had wanted to mock this person for their poor timing and lack of planning, but as he watched the two songs rapidly climb in ranking, he stopped thinking that way.
He decided to listen closely to see what kind of charm these two songs had to make people—tired of the entertainment industry's fatigue—repeatedly listen to them.
Of course, it was also possible that this was a newcomer being hyped up by capital, in which case the play count would be artificially inflated.
He first clicked on Anonymous Comfort.
Just three hours after the release of the two songs, it had already cracked the top 100, and it was still steadily climbing.
[I no longer shed tears...]
The first line of the song immediately made Lan Yuyan realize that this was a blessed little female, likely a beastman with mermaid genes.
Her voice was ethereal and clear, as if her ears were enveloped by soft clouds.
Especially the lyrics—they struck straight into the heart.
It reminded him of his own youth.
Back then, he had been incredibly stubborn. He wouldn't turn back until he ran into a wall. If there was something he wanted to do, no matter how much it hurt, he would make it happen.
But in the quiet of the night, he would silently lick his wounds.
The warmth in the lyrics was something he had once longed for but could never attain.
He had never been comforted, nor had anyone ever blessed him. To get to where he was today, he had bitten through his teeth and broken his own back.
After listening to the song once, Lan Yuyan silently spent two starcoins to download it, listening to it two or three more times before he could calm his emotions.
At that moment, his heart held a vague fantasy about Jiang Qin, this little female.
She must be a very gentle, cheerful, and warm female to have written such a song…
With a certain fluttering feeling in his chest, Lan Yuyan clicked on As Desired.
He had even higher expectations for this song, which was ranked above Anonymous Comfort.
You are the distant road,
And I am the child, walking in your eyes...
Listening quietly, Lan Yuyan felt a mix of emotions after hearing As Desired.
He didn't deny that it was a beautiful song, but what he loved more was the beauty described in the lyrics.
In the history of the galaxy's development, there had once been times of peace.
Back then, technology wasn't as advanced, and people used matches, lighters, and other burning tools. Every household ate white rice, vegetables, fruit, and the meat they raised.
However, these peaceful times lasted only for a century in history.
With the development of technology, environmental pollution grew, and their home planet began to self-purify. All the plants and animals mutated wildly, natural disasters became frequent, and humanity's living space was constantly shrinking.
There was no choice—so their ancestors had to abandon their home planet and migrate to other planets.
But even the universe wasn't safe.
In addition to humans, many other species lived in this vast cosmos.