Chapter 112: Wang Mo’s Astonishment—This Works Too?

That evening.

After finishing dinner, Wang Mo sat on the sofa with Yuan Xiong, watching television together. The scene felt both cozy and strange.

While watching a variety show, Wang Mo suddenly let out an "oh." On the screen, the host was asking a singer, "Ranran, as a singer, have you participated in the currently trending 'Digital Life' song challenge by Wuyan?"

The singer replied without hesitation, "I definitely had to take that opportunity! But my Cantonese is too poor; I just couldn't get it right. Fortunately, the lyrics to 'Digital Life' are almost entirely numbers, which is very simple. So, for the past few days, I’ve been learning the Cantonese pronunciation for '0-9.' Once I’ve mastered them, I’ll definitely go back and challenge 'Digital Life' again."

The host raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Could you demonstrate the Cantonese pronunciation of 0-9 for us right now?"

"No problem." The singer paused for a moment and began: "Ling, yat, yee, saam, sei, ng, luk, chat, baat, gau, sap..."

The pronunciation was actually quite standard; it was clear they had put in some effort.

Watching the show, Wang Mo laughed. "That’s interesting. My song actually got a singer to start learning Cantonese."

Yuan Xiong chuckled as well. "If it weren't for your Cantonese song 'Digital Life,' why would they bother?"

Wang Mo nodded. "That's true."

Yuan Xiong continued, "If it were a standard Cantonese song, few people would be willing to try because the lyrics are too complex. But your 'Digital Life,' while having an off-the-charts difficulty level, has surprisingly simple lyrics. As long as you memorize the Cantonese pronunciations for the digits 0-9, you can sing 80% of the song. That’s why so many singers and netizens online are so eager to try it."

Wang Mo blinked. "There are millions of people participating in the 'Digital Life' challenge across the web. Even if 50% of them already know Cantonese, that means the other 50% don't, right? Doesn't that mean they’re all going out of their way to learn Cantonese numbers? Looking at it that way, my song has had a significant impact on the publicity and promotion of the Cantonese language..."

As he spoke, Wang Mo suddenly stopped.

Beside him, Yuan Xiong seemed to have realized the same thing. They locked eyes, both considering the same possibility.

"Let’s check the internet!" Yuan Xiong said, quickly grabbing his phone.

One look was all it took. The two discovered that in just a few short days, the trend on the internet had gradually shifted.

Of course, the popularity of the "Digital Life" challenge remained at the top. However, a topic that was virtually identical had abruptly appeared on major social media trending lists, gaining an astonishing amount of traction.

The topic was: [How do you pronounce 0-9 in Cantonese?]

On Weibo, this topic had reached tens of millions of views, with the comments section burning with activity.

"Finally, it's here."
"This is amazing! To the brothers and sisters providing the dubbing, I love you."
"Hahaha, once I learn these, I'm going to try singing 'Digital Life' right away."
"Come on, read with me: Yat, yat, yat, one is yat."
"Although I don't know Cantonese, I can at least learn a few numbers."
"For Wuyan's song, I’m going for it!"

On Douyin, the topic was [Teaching you Cantonese number pronunciation step-by-step].

As Douyin’s traffic far exceeded that of Weibo, the number of participants was staggering. Thousands of netizens uploaded their learning progress.

"Can someone from Guangdong listen and tell me if my pronunciation is standard?"
"I don't know."
"Don't worry about that, just focus on learning yat, yee, saam..."
"Alright, I've conquered the ten numbers. Next up: conquering 'Digital Life'."

Meanwhile, all sorts of short videos about Cantonese began to pop up. Various self-media creators and influencers had spotted the opportunity and were capitalizing on the trend to drive traffic.

The content included:
[Cantonese is the second-largest language in China]
[Cantonese once had the potential to become the national language of China]
[Cantonese has nine tones and six variations, far more complex than Mandarin]
[Why is Cantonese so popular?]

Content introducing Cantonese culture began to appear widely across social platforms, riding the wave of the "learning Cantonese number pronunciation" craze. Every single one of them generated significant traffic.

Looking at the situation online, Wang Mo felt his throat go dry. "This actually worked?"

...

"This actually worked?"

Far away in Guangdong, the official "Cantonese Culture" office was in disbelief. The director and the staff expressed the same astonishment, their faces unable to hide their excitement.

At the beginning, when Yunhai Media proposed having Wuyan find singers for "Digital Life" across the web, they hadn't thought much of it and simply agreed to Liu Zhengwen’s suggestion as a matter of routine.

When the challenge later swept the internet and the song’s fame skyrocketed, the members of "Cantonese Culture" were thrilled. The more the song spread and the more people attempted to sing it, the more attention was drawn to Cantonese. It was, in itself, a form of publicity. At that point, they were already leaning toward designating "Digital Life" as their promotional anthem.

But they never expected the real surprise to come later.

They never dreamed that while the "number song" challenge was trending, it would accidentally ignite a craze among netizens to learn "Cantonese number pronunciation." Even if the netizens were only interested in a few numbers, the underlying publicity for the Cantonese language was immeasurable.

There was no way around it; the participation rate was massive. It had swept the entire internet! And because it was a spontaneous act by the netizens, the engagement was incredibly high. This craze had even triggered self-media creators and influencers to actively promote "Cantonese culture."

"My god, this is incredible."
"It's just unbelievable."
"I never would have dreamed of this."
"This level of publicity is something we couldn't achieve even if we threw tons of money at it."

All the officials at "Cantonese Culture" felt breathless. Finally, the director took decisive action. After regaining his composure, he said in a deep voice, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We must join in immediately and add fuel to the fire. First, contact our members and have them donate funds to expand the impact of this event. Second, immediately announce to the entire web that 'Digital Life' is the promotional song for 'Cantonese Culture.' Third, partner with Douyin, Weibo, and major music platforms to launch a 'Cantonese Culture' promotional campaign, with the 'Digital Life' challenge as the core. Announce that anyone who can sing the song in its entirety will receive an exquisite gift. Fourth, invest ten million into a prize pool. Any netizen who participates in the 'Cantonese 0-9 Learning' activity can enter the lucky draw."

After a period of organic development on the internet, the official "Cantonese Culture" finally made its move.

...

"Cantonese Culture" didn't have much money, but many of its members were incredibly wealthy. After hearing the director's request, they easily raised over twenty million to fund this cultural promotion.

The official involvement turned what had started as a spontaneous internet frenzy over a Wuyan song into something strategic and organized.

Watching "Cantonese Culture" forcefully step in, everyone was stunned.

"Holy crap, was Wuyan’s recruitment of singers for the song actually a marketing ploy?"
"Just from one song, Wuyan triggered a storm of publicity for 'Cantonese Culture'?"
"I’m dumbfounded. This was actually an official event all along?"
"Alright, I admit it. I really didn't see that it had been planned from the start."
"It's incredible. We all became pawns, and we were even happy about it."

Seeing "Cantonese Culture" step forward and take control, countless people suddenly realized that this event had been premeditated.

Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!

Usually, many netizens had no interest in official activities, especially those from an organization like "Cantonese Culture"—they wouldn't even give them a glance. But no one expected that "Cantonese Culture" would do the exact opposite: they didn't reveal their identity at first, instead letting Wuyan start the incident, stir up a frenzy with a song, and then reveal their involvement only at the perfect moment.

Such a promotional strategy. Such an exquisite plan. It was truly breathtaking.

Within the industry, many were amazed.

"A promotion for Cantonese culture actually showed signs of being a classic campaign."
"Involving all the netizens and even a host of professional singers, drawing them in step by step—this planning is just too good."
"An official promotion that’s more exciting than a commercial case study."
"I’m in awe. Until the very last moment, I really didn't know it was a 'Cantonese Culture' event."
"Who could have thought of this?"
"Which genius came up with such an incredible plan?"

"As far as I know, the officials at 'Cantonese Culture' definitely don't have that kind of talent."

"Then who was it?"

While expressing their amazement, people became even more impressed by the person who had orchestrated it. But no one knew which mastermind was behind it all.

Suddenly, someone spoke up: "Since no one at 'Cantonese Culture' has that capability, could it be a strategy Wuyan thought of?"

Wuyan?
Huh?
Wuyan!

Instantly, many in the industry felt their heads buzzing. The more they thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

"It’s highly likely to be Wuyan."
"Exactly, Wuyan really has this kind of ability. Has everyone forgotten the integrated marketing campaign for Gao Niu?"

Mentioning Gao Niu, even those who were still skeptical felt a chill run down their spines.

"It’s definitely Wuyan."
"Wuyan personally planned the promotional campaign for Gao Niu’s new product, driving their stock price up by over ten billion. Only he would have the ability to make a niche department like 'Cantonese Culture' go viral across the entire web."
"Yes, only Wuyan has such god-like talent."
"The more I think about it, the more shocked I am. Just who is this Wuyan? He’s way too powerful, isn't he?"

The industry's speculations began to spread widely, and soon reached the ears of the "Cantonese Culture" team.

Hearing this news, everyone was bewildered. The director rubbed his temples in confusion. "Could it be... that everything was truly orchestrated by Wuyan behind the scenes?"

Another person said with certainty, "It’s very possible. Wuyan has the ability."

The director asked, "But why would Wuyan keep it from us?"

The person who spoke earlier replied, "Maybe he was worried that someone might leak the plan, so he did it this way."

The director thought about it blankly for a while and could only nod, accepting the speculation.

At the same time, at Yunhai Media, Liu Zhengwen and Yuan Xiong were also staring at Wang Mo, their faces filled with shock.

After a long silence, Liu Zhengwen finally spoke: "Wang Mo, tell me the truth. Are the rumors online true? Was it really you who planned all of this?"

Wang Mo replied blankly, "I don't know."

At this moment, he felt a profound sense of absurdity.

This actually worked?