Chapter 74: Dustin Everett’s Breakdown

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Dustin Everett’s Breakdown

The moment this X post went live, it was like a bomb dropped into a calm lake, instantly setting the entire internet ablaze.

[Ho... holy shit! SG? Orion Hawthorne’s mysterious composer is SG??]

[For real? Don’t mess with me! SG is Dustin Everett’s mentor, so why are they composing for Orion Hawthorne?]

[Could it be someone with the same name...]

When Dustin Everett saw Orion Hawthorne’s X post, he froze completely.

’How... how could this be!’

’How could Mentor possibly compose for Orion Hawthorne!’

’It must be someone with the same name!’

Unwilling to believe it, Dustin Everett posted on X again, his hands trembling:

[Dustin Everett V: Heh, first you imitate SG’s musical style, and now you’re even imitating the name? What a clumsy tactic!]

Dustin Everett’s fans immediately came out to defend their idol.

[I’m gonna puke, this is so disgusting! They’re even copying SG’s name!]

[Everyone knows the great SG only took our Dustin as an apprentice. SG doesn’t even have time to write songs for him, so how could they possibly write for some unrelated person!]

Dustin Everett’s panicked heart gradually calmed. ’That’s right, Mentor has been so busy lately they haven’t even had time for me. How could they possibly have the free time to write songs for someone else?’

’It must be someone with the same name. It has to be!’

Dustin Everett opened his chat with SG, ready to complain: ’Mentor, someone is using the same name as you to ride on your coattails...’

He had just finished typing the words, but before he could send them,

a notification popped up on his screen: Your special follow, SG, has posted on X.

Dustin Everett froze. ’Mentor hasn’t updated their X in so long. Why post now?’

He had SG set as a special follow.

He immediately clicked on it.

He saw that SG’s verified account, which hadn’t been updated in over half a year, had publicly reposted Orion Hawthorne’s new song with the comment: It was a pleasure working with you.

CRASH.

Dustin Everett’s face turned deathly pale, instantly drained of all color. With a tremble of his hand, his phone fell to the floor.

Meanwhile, on the internet, SG’s X post was like a thunderclap from the heavens, once again setting the web ablaze.

In an instant, netizens swarmed SG’s X post.

[Master! Master! You finally released a new song! "Black Faith" is an instant masterpiece!]

[Master, why did you suddenly write a song for Orion Hawthorne?]

Other netizens rushed to Orion Hawthorne’s X post.

[Orion, Orion, you’re the best! Please, you have to answer me, did you get to see what SG really looks like? Someone who writes songs that amazing must be a very experienced, middle-aged person, right?]

#SGFinallyReleasesNewSong, #SGTellsOrionHawthornePleasureWorkingWithYou, and #OrionHawthornesMysteriousComposerIsSG immediately shot up the trending list.

The #SGTellsOrionHawthornePleasureWorkingWithYou hashtag, in particular, shot straight to the top of the trending list and went viral.

X’s servers were on the verge of crashing.

The netizens’ discussions never stopped.

[Judging by Dustin Everett’s reaction, it seems like he didn’t know SG wrote a song for Orion Hawthorne either?]

[Of course he didn’t. Dustin Everett just posted on X calling out Orion Hawthorne’s composer for imitating SG. Just thinking about it is so awkward...]

[SG used to really dote on their apprentice, Dustin Everett. They took him in when he was at his lowest and always stuck by him. But now they’re writing for Orion Hawthorne. Did Dustin do something to disappoint SG?]

[Whatever, I’ll definitely support SG’s new song! Off to buy Orion Hawthorne’s new EP!]

[I only bought 100 copies of Dustin Everett’s new album because I supported him by extension, since he’s SG’s apprentice. Turns out I fucking bought the wrong one? I’m going to buy Orion Hawthorne’s now!]

In an instant, the massive fanbase brought by SG flooded the purchase links for Orion Hawthorne’s new song.

The sales for Orion Hawthorne’s new song grew even faster than before, climbing at an unprecedented rate.

As time ticked by, sometime in the evening, netizens who were watching the sales numbers discovered that Orion Hawthorne’s new EP had sold 3.35 million copies!

Dustin Everett, on the other hand, had sold 1 million copies.

Orion Hawthorne’s new song sales had surpassed Dustin Everett’s!

And they were still climbing at a rapid pace, leaving Dustin Everett further and further behind. It was only a matter of time before total sales surpassed one hundred million!

[Holy shit, he actually surpassed him! We’re witnessing history!]

[Beating Dustin Everett’s ten songs with just three... it’s unbelievable!]

[SG’s influence is just too massive. I bet two-thirds of the buyers were just here for SG.]

[Without SG, Dustin Everett is nothing!]

At that moment, Dustin Everett was in a dark, unlit room, curled up motionlessly on the sofa, frozen in a single position.

His mind was completely blank. ’Mentor wrote a song for Orion Hawthorne, but not for me...’

’I clearly asked Mentor to write a song for me, but they never once replied.’

’I must have really made Mentor unhappy...’

In an instant, Dustin Everett was overwhelmed by immense panic. He fumbled for his phone and, with trembling fingers, sent a message to SG:

[Mentor, did I do something to make you unhappy?]

[Mentor, why did you write a song for Orion Hawthorne...]

[Mentor, if I did something wrong, I’ll definitely change. Can you please just talk to me?]

However, after waiting for several minutes, there was still no reply from SG.

’Is Mentor... going to ignore me forever?’

’Are they going to abandon me?’

At the thought of this possibility, Dustin Everett felt his world crumbling.

When he was at his most pitiful and desperate, on the verge of suicide, it was SG who took him in as an apprentice. It was SG who gave him hope, a second life, and his honor.

But now, SG was going to abandon him.

Dustin Everett’s breathing grew ragged, and a cold sweat broke out on his palms and the soles of his feet. He typed again with trembling fingers:

[Mentor, can I... meet with you? Any time and place you choose.]

Dustin Everett stared at his phone without blinking. Suddenly, DING! His eyes lit up. Mentor had finally replied!

SG replied: "Okay."

Dustin Everett was so excited he shot to his feet.

’Mentor is still willing to see me. That means there’s still a chance to salvage this.’

’When I see Mentor, I have to find out what I did wrong, and I have to fix it!’

Dustin Everett suddenly felt alive again. He stopped listening to the pirated version and instead went to the official platform to buy Orion Hawthorne’s three songs.

He had to support his mentor’s compositions.

However, when he saw Sienna Everett’s X post supporting Orion Hawthorne, Dustin Everett’s expression instantly turned cold. ’That backstabbing bitch. The sight of her makes me sick!’

’Why won’t she just die!’