Ethan's fingers hovered above the piano keys, pausing slightly, as if gathering strength.
The next moment, his fingertips descended, and a clear, lively, and free-flowing melody flowed out like a mountain stream, instantly soaking everyone's eardrums through the high-quality sound system.
Immediately after, his highly recognizable voice rang out, carrying a carefree and unrestrained infectious power, opening into a song about a wanderer who's crossed countless roads and borders, who doesn't care about sun or wind, who finds beauty in the smallest things along the way.
As soon as the singing began, the audience instantly fell silent, followed by an even greater commotion!
"Damn it! What kind of song is this? So good!"
"Never heard of it! Is it a new song?"
"Original? No way, right? Are the melody and lyrics really that good?"
"Ethan wrote it? Damn! Unreal!"
Doubt, amazement, and disbelief mixed together.
This song had a catchy melody and lyrics that struck straight to the soul, filled with a yearning for freedom and dreams.
...
The verses that followed carried the same spirit — turning your back on other people's opinions, chasing the horizon without worrying which direction is "right," welcoming the beauty of a sunset even when it's tinged with sadness, tuning out the noise and hypocrisy of crowded cities, and holding onto that unguarded, childlike sense of freedom.
As the lyrics progressed, more and more students became immersed.
A poor student working part-time to save money to see the world, a rebellious teenager tired of their parents arranging their own path, a top student struggling under academic pressure... The desire to break free from constraints and pursue the true self in the lyrics struck precisely at the softest corners of countless young hearts.
Many people swayed gently to the rhythm, their eyes sparkling with resonance.
Ethan's singing and the music blended perfectly. With his eyes closed, his fingers danced across the keys, and his thoughts seemed to drift away with the music.
Reborn and returning, holding a fortune, seemingly glamorous and prosperous, the cautious attitude toward changing his fate's trajectory, the exhaustive planning for the future, and the loneliness hidden deep in his heart with no one to confide in — all these moments were transformed into the song, giving it a deeper layer.
One song ended.
The crowd fell silent once again.
After several seconds, it erupted like a long-accumulated volcano!
The applause, cheers, and whistles were fiercer and longer than ever before, sweeping across the night sky like a tsunami!
The roar nearly overturned the stage!
"Awesome!"
"Ethan! Ethan! Ethan!"
"Encore! Encore! Encore!"
Many female classmates screamed with excitement, their eyes shining with fervor, as if they were seeing a real idol!
This effect was simply outrageous!
Ethan himself never expected that a school anniversary performance would make him wildly popular at NYU in this way!
His speech videos, guitar performance, and piano clip were rapidly spreading across countless students' phones.
However, standing on the thunderous stage and bowing slightly, the first thought that flashed through Ethan's mind was different.
This is an excellent business opportunity!
A gleam flashed in his eyes: A golden opportunity!
"This is ready-made, explosive heat!"
He quickly calculated in his mind: "Tomorrow is the day 'Vibe' officially goes live! We have to seize this trend!"
Get the school's official HD full gala video, along with clips of his own speech and performance!
This would be the core material for explosive dissemination.
Next, these highly topical and infectious videos would be featured as the first major content released after Vibe went online!
Directly place ads on the platform.
Taking advantage of this wave of the "Ethan craze" sweeping through NYU and sure to spread outward, they'd capture the Twitter market, quickly attract the first batch of core users, achieve viral user growth, and make a splash!
...
The party had just ended.
Ethan didn't even bother to chat with the classmates who had rushed over to take photos, and quickly walked toward a relatively quiet corner backstage.
Without hesitation, he took out his phone and dialed Laura, his tone calm and decisive: "Hey, Laura. The plan has changed! Tomorrow, the launch goes ahead as planned, but with an added top-priority task. Get ready to come by and pick up video footage right away! The content is extremely crucial! Also, notify all departments to prepare for the traffic spike! The first shot for Vibe has to be thunderous!"
...
The next day.
Ethan drove the understated black Audi A4 away from the NYU campus.
His destination was the landmark building located in the heart of Midtown — the Redwood Capital building.
Inside the car, Ethan's phone screen kept flashing notifications.
Keywords like "Ethan," "gala livestream," and clips from his performances were flooding the posts on campus forums, anonymous communities, and even some local news accounts.
The heat ignited last night was like scorching lava, surging beneath the surface of the internet.
Ethan's gaze was as sharp as an eagle's; this overwhelming heat was the tailwind he had to precisely capture and turn to his own use today!
Without any hesitation, he pressed the Bluetooth call button on the steering wheel and dialed Laura's number.
"Hey! Did you get the video material?" Ethan's voice came through the car's speakers, steady and powerful, cutting straight to the core.
On the other end of the line, Laura's voice was clearly hoarse — the mark of intense late nights — but even more pronounced was the excitement tense on the strings: "Got it! After the gala, legal personally brought your authorization letter to the school's PR department and obtained the official master-grade HD video source file! Original materials, highest quality!"
No need to say more — Laura's condition said it all.
Last night, Ethan's urgent command about the "traffic flood" was like a battle horn, instantly pulling the entire team into the highest level of combat readiness.
In the brightly lit office, no one was asleep.
...
Ten minutes later.
The car entered the building's ground floor garage, where the dedicated parking space had already been reserved.
Ethan parked the car and walked steadily toward the private elevator.
"Ding!"
The elevator doors slid open to both sides, releasing a wave of intense caffeine, the heat from electronic devices running, and the unique "battlefield atmosphere" of intense mental labor.
There are 130 advance chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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