Matthew Lucas NovelWhen I Gave Up Music, My Girlfriend and Her Lover Panicked

After I announced my exit from the music industry, the public response was overwhelmingly positive. The only person who voiced his objection was my girlfriend's rumored lover, the up-and-coming songwriter Lucas Zacker.
He put on a show of sincerity in front of a crowd of reporters.
It's all a misunderstanding. Matthew is an irreplaceable talent in the music industry. I sincerely hope he returns to the stage.
I shut off my phone and turned a blind eye to his public plea. In my past life, one of my songs had been identical to his supposedly original single. As such, netizens accused me of plagiarism, cursing me and wishing death upon my family.
Frustrated, I posted the entire creation process online, but it couldn't stand up to the timeline. His new song had been released ten minutes ahead of mine.
Just because of the ten-minute difference, netizens sent me photoshopped mourning portraits of myself and even went so far as to come to my house and vandalize it with paint.
The relentless cyberbullying went on for years, and it drove me into a deep depression. My parents exhausted their life savings trying to clear my name, only for crazed fans to set our house on fire, causing my parents to burn to death.
In the end, when his song won an award, I jumped off a building.
But who would have guessed that when I opened my eyes again, I was reborn on the very day the new song was set to release.
Chapter 1 Beginning
"At exactly noon today, your new song will be released. Don't stress. With how good it is, the Best Songwriter award at the Golden Melody Awards is practically yours!"
Anthony patted my shoulder reassuringly. I was breathing heavily as if I had just woken up from a nightmare.
Glancing around at the familiar living room and Anthony's concerned expression, I finally realized that I had been reborn on the day of my new song's release.
"You've worked hard these past nights writing this song, so I won't schedule any promotions for now. Get some rest," he added, starting to leave.
"Wait a minute!" I called out, stopping him at the door.
I shifted my gaze to the clock on the wall, watching the minute hand tick forward. When the minute hand hit ten, I unlocked my phone and found Lucas Zacker's Twitter account.
Just like in my past life, he had posted a link to a music platform, accompanied by the caption: "My original solo track 'A Flicker in the Dark' awaits your listen."
I clicked the link, and the familiar sound of the male vocals filled the room.
"What the? Isn't this your new song?" Anthony exclaimed.
He stepped forward to grab my phone. "The melody and the lyrics are exactly the same as your original work. How could Lucas be the one to publish it first?"
"Someone from the recording studio must have stolen your song. Give me a moment. I'll have them investigate this immediately!"
I stopped him and shook my head. "Ask the company to cancel the release of the new song."
In my past life, I had released the exact same song as Lucas', and the moment it went live, I was branded as a plagiarist. In order to clear myself of the accusations, I posted the creation process, but no one cared.
"Plagiarist! How dare you steal someone's work and still deny it?"
"Faking evidence to cover up your crime, huh? Must've taken some effort to make it look convincing."
"The entire family of this copycat will burn in hell! Support Lucas in defending his rights. He should sue you until you're left with nothing!"
My manager, Anthony, and the studio producer testified on my behalf, but the online attacks didn't stop. Instead, he was dragged through the mud alongside me.
Then, my actress girlfriend, who had always refused to make our relationship public, went live on social media. During the livestream, she openly declared her love for Lucas and fiercely condemned me for plagiarism.
Instantly, I was utterly devastated! I had shared my song with her first, but she betrayed me, who was her actual boyfriend, by stabbing me in the back and siding with Lucas.
After her public condemnation, her fans rallied against me and flooded my social media accounts with endless hate.
Singers and actors I once worked with avoided me like the plague, desperate to distance themselves from me. Anyone who didn't publicly denounce me faced the wrath of Lucas fans.
Just as they wanted, I was blacklisted from the music industry. The Songwriters' Association revoked my membership, and even my previous awards were stripped away. Under immense pressure, my agency terminated my contract.
From then on, every time Lucas released a song, I was dragged out online and ridiculed. Netizens sent me photoshopped mourning portraits of myself. Some even came to my house and vandalized it with paint.
Years of online abuse led me to develop severe depression. My parents exhausted their life savings trying to clear my name, only for crazed fans to set our house on fire, causing my parents to burn to death.
The day Lucas won the Golden Melody Award for his "original" song, I jumped off a building.
But to my disbelief, when I opened my eyes again, I found myself back at the moment before it all began. Fate had given me a second chance. This time, I was determined to uncover the truth behind it all.
Chapter 2 Plagiarism
"The company invested a fortune in this single, and you want to cancel it just like that? I can't explain this to the higher-ups!
"Look, I'll investigate the song theft for now. In the meantime, you need to write a new song as soon as possible to make up for it."
After Anthony left, I sat alone on the couch, lost in thought for a long time.
Lucas had always been close to my girlfriend, Winnie Summer. They grew up together and had been practically inseparable ever since they were children.
After graduating from an international music academy, Lucas entered the entertainment industry with Winnie's help. With her, a renowned actress, as his backer, he signed a contract with Haven Entertainment, the country's biggest entertainment company.
As soon as he debuted, he sang the theme song for an internationally acclaimed director's film.
That was a privilege that I, her actual boyfriend, had never enjoyed. Winnie was always so good to him that I was always jealous and sulking.
However, she justified it every time by saying that her family and his family go way back. She also said that if she didn't help him, people would talk. To avoid putting her in a difficult position, I forced myself to turn a blind eye.