If this were back in the day, Tawanna might not have taken Gu Qiuyi seriously.
After all, Gu Qiuyi’s standing in the music world was several tiers below hers.
Currently, the most globally influential singers mostly hail from Europe and America, a result of decades of cultural export dominated by English, much like Hollywood’s grip on worldwide cinema, sitting firmly at the top.
Gu Qiuyi was the darling of the Chinese-speaking world, but her influence naturally waned in non-Chinese regions.
Tawanna, though, was a different story.
She wasn’t just huge in English-speaking countries, she had massive sway in every corner of the globe, arguably the most successful singer in today’s globalized era.
But right now, she was all about winning Gu Qiuyi over.
She wasn’t entirely sure what the deal was between Gu Qiuyi and Ye Chen, but from the tone and expressions during their phone call, she could tell Ye Chen valued her deeply.
Since Ye Chen cared, she had to care too.
Gu Qiuyi had come prepared to meet her idol, never expecting said idol to be so courteous, so she humbly replied, “Miss Sweet, I’ve admired your name for ages, I was your fan even before I debuted!”
Tawanna flashed a warm smile, “We’re both singers, peers in a way, and since you’re a friend of Mr. Ye, that makes you my friend too, so please, no need to be so formal!”
With that, she eagerly invited them, “Mr. Ye, Miss Gu, let’s head to the room to talk, I’ll have breakfast brought up, we can chat over a meal.”
Gu Qiuyi quickly said, “Sorry to trouble you, Miss Sweet.”
Tawanna put on a mock-serious face, “If Miss Gu keeps being so polite, I’ll get upset, it’ll feel like you don’t see me as a friend.”
Gu Qiuyi smiled, “No, no, it’s an honor to be friends with Miss Sweet.”
Tawanna winked and grinned, linking arms with her, “Just call me Tawanna, no need for ‘Miss Sweet.’”
With that, she pulled Gu Qiuyi along like a close sister, heading into the room.
The presidential suite at Buckingham Palace spanned over 400 square meters, massive and luxurious.
Tawanna ushered them to the dining area, and once they were seated, she couldn’t wait to say to Gu Qiuyi, “Miss Gu, it’s truly an honor to have you as a guest at my Yanjing concert, as for the appearance fee, we’ll fully respect whatever your agency demands.”
Gu Qiuyi waved it off, “Being your guest is my honor, how could I charge a fee?”
Tawanna chuckled, “Sometimes us artists have to follow the commercial arrangements of our companies, some agencies don’t let their artists perform or guest-star for free.”
Gu Qiuyi smiled, “No worries there, my agency’s fully owned by my family’s business, so I call the shots.”
Tawanna beamed with delight, “That’s fantastic, it makes things so much simpler, we can plan this show however we like, I’ll be honest, past guest arrangements were usually just a mid-show break, I’d rest backstage while the guest performed, then I’d come back for the second half, no real onstage interaction.”
She added, “This time, I really want to do more with you, maybe we could sing one of my songs together, then one of yours, and in between, you could do a few solo numbers, what do you think?”
Gu Qiuyi laughed brightly, “I’m all in, I pretty much know all your songs by heart.”
