After the celebratory banquet, it was unclear how Li Zhentao had negotiated with the company.
The next morning, before Wen Ying and the others had even boarded their flight, Li Mengjiao was whisked away to sign a contract. As Wen Ying had suggested, it was a single-album deal with only two additional clauses:
First, Li Mengjiao was required to participate in Mango TV’s National Day Gala. This was the only “commercial performance” demand outside of album promotion, as it marked the first collective appearance of the contestants after the competition. Both the champion and third-place winner would be performing, and it wouldn’t do for Li Mengjiao, the runner-up, to be absent.
For any future performances, the company would notify Li Mengjiao, and whether she chose to participate would be negotiated separately. Each performance would come with remuneration, the specific amount depending on the organiser’s offer. If Li Mengjiao accepted a performance, the company would take a “management fee” for each event.
Wen Ying knew the company wouldn’t lose out. This was a loose management contract, stipulating a commission percentage but imposing little restriction on Li Mengjiao herself. If she wanted to earn money from commercial performances, the company would profit as well. If Li Mengjiao was determined not to make money, the company had no leverage over her.
Second, if Li Mengjiao changed her mind and wanted to sign a management contract, under equivalent terms, she would have to prioritise signing with this company. Only if the company explicitly declined to sign her could she negotiate with other management agencies.
When a big shot like Li Zhentao took action, his skill was evident. The album contract he secured was largely in Li Mengjiao’s favour.
Of course, to finalise this deal, Li Zhentao had made significant concessions on the album revenue split. Still, he felt it was well worth it, and the matter was, for the time being, satisfactorily resolved.
Li Zhentao was deeply grateful to Wen Ying. “Mengjiao is lucky to have a friend like you. You’ve thought of everything for her sake, and I, as her uncle, don’t know how to thank you.”
“Oh, come on, it’s just a small thing. No need for thanks. Mengjiao’s even willing to lend me money. Isn’t it normal for friends to look out for each other?” Wen Ying replied.
Li Zhentao wanted to express his gratitude, but Wen Ying didn’t take it seriously. Her concern for Li Mengjiao was genuine, with no expectation of reward. Lawyer Wen wasn’t without ambition—without some ambition, she wouldn’t have saved enough for a deposit on a riverside flat in Shanghai in her past life. But as a reborn person with a head start in this life, Wen Ying would fight for what she wanted herself. She had no intention of exploiting a few teenagers.
She befriended Qin Jiao, Li Mengjiao…, and the others because they suited her temperament. This was, admittedly, influenced by their family backgrounds, which made them more mature than their peers. Even Li Mengjiao, who seemed the most naive, wasn’t truly so—her “naivety” was only relative to Qin Jiao and Geng Xiao. Among her high school peers, Li Mengjiao was far from naive.
Wen Ying didn’t take it to heart, but Li Zhentao was earnest in his words.
He also appreciated the concern shown by Qin Jiao, Wang Shuang, and the others for Li Mengjiao, keeping their support in mind.
For Qin Jiao, Wang Shuang, and the other three, Li Zhentao didn’t feel the need to focus on repayment. These kids were childhood friends, bonded by the close relationships between their parents’ generation. Li Zhentao, Qin Xianming, Wang Jun, and the Tang and Geng families were tightly knit. When one needed help, the others would step in, forming a mutually beneficial alliance that propelled their businesses and careers forward.
Wen Ying, however, was an outsider who had, by chance, entered the circle of these families’ younger generation. Her family background was ordinary, and Li Zhentao and the others had never expected to gain anything from the Wen family. After confirming Wen Ying’s character, Li Zhentao wanted to give her family a leg up.
For someone like Li Zhentao, reciprocity was paramount. Wen Ying’s care and help for Li Mengjiao stemmed from genuine friendship between the younger generation. Li Zhentao wanted his daughter to have more friends like Wen Ying. Where Li Mengjiao might overlook things, the adults couldn’t pretend to be oblivious—Li Zhentao felt compelled to make up for it.
With a touch of sympathy for the less fortunate, Li Zhentao thought seriously for a long time before saying to his wife, “Expressing gratitude with money would taint the children’s friendship. Wen Ying is a strong-willed girl. As long as her family is willing to invest in her, her future achievements will be remarkable!”
Li Zhentao figured that with such an outstanding daughter, Wen Ying’s parents, unless they were utterly foolish, would surely nurture her carefully.
The crux of the matter was that sometimes, even when parents gave their all, due to various practical constraints, their efforts paled in comparison to the resources enjoyed by children whose parents barely tried.
It was an uncomfortable truth, but a truth nonetheless. More than twenty years after the reform and opening-up, the post-80s generation was competing not just on personal ability but also on the accumulated wealth and connections of one or two generations of their families.
The Wen family might be lacking, but that didn’t mean Wen Ying was.
If the Wen family were well-off, Wen Ying would undoubtedly fare even better.
Li’s wife’s eyes lit up. “That’s easy to arrange!”
She whispered a few words in Li Zhentao’s ear, and he nodded repeatedly.
“Your suggestion is excellent!”
After Li Mengjiao signed the album contract and attended the press conference, she flew back to Chengdu with Wen Ying and the others that same day.
Xu Mei was supposed to leave as well, but Fu Jing hinted that she should stay in Hunan an extra day.
“Your parents don’t often come to Hunan. Why not take them sightseeing?”
Xu Mei caught the hint.
That evening, back at the hotel, Fu Jing sneaked into Xu Mei’s room and dropped a bombshell: “Li Mengjiao signed a contract, and it’s completely different from yours!”
Pan Li was indeed resourceful, having somehow obtained a photocopy of the contract.
However, Pan Li refused to hand the photocopy to Fu Jing, so Fu Jing had to skim through it quickly, memorising the clauses by heart before relaying them to Xu Mei.
The contract the company offered Li Mengjiao was far too generous!
Fu Jing advised Xu Mei not to get too upset. “Even if you know, pretend you don’t. Just stick to the plan—you don’t need to do anything. Leave the rest to me.”
Xu Mei nodded absentmindedly.
It took her a while to calm down.
The company’s differential treatment meant that the assistant assigned by the company wasn’t entirely trustworthy either. Paid by the company, they would naturally side with it.
Without Fu Jing’s help, Xu Mei felt too vulnerable.
It wasn’t that Fu Jing needed her—it was that she needed Fu Jing.
She hadn’t fully entered the entertainment industry yet, but Xu Mei was already sensing its complexities. If she remained as naive as she’d been at school, she’d never survive in this circle.
There were many things Xu Mei should have discussed with her boyfriend, Qin Yi, but she feared damaging her image in his eyes.
By entrusting them to Fu Jing, Qin Yi would remain in the dark.
Xu Mei sincerely pleaded with Fu Jing, “If you go back to school, what am I supposed to do on my own?”
Fu Jing laughed, “Don’t be silly. Even if I’m back at school, we can still talk on the phone. If you run into trouble, do you think I’d ignore you?”
Xu Mei’s heart instantly settled.
“You’ve helped me so much, and I can’t repay you yet. But when I—”
“Shh, don’t talk like that between good friends!” Fu Jing interrupted.
In her mind, Fu Jing thought that Professor Fang’s assistant was definitely up to no good. But one thing he’d said was true: the worst thing was to lack value. As long as her role in Xu Mei’s life was irreplaceable, Qin Yi could forget about sending her away with a plane ticket.
