“I agree.”
Wen Ying swiftly signed her name on the confidentiality agreement.
“If my script is adopted, it’s only fair you pay me, but if it’s not, there’s no need for a consolation fee. If my skills aren’t up to par, how could I accept money?”
Wen Ying was no longer the person she was right after her rebirth, when she bet with her parents to earn her tuition and tutoring fees. Back then, she desperately needed start-up funds and wouldn’t pass up a chance to earn 500 yuan. Thick-skinned or not, she’d have taken the 500 yuan.
Now, Wen Ying wasn’t so short of money. The 2000 yuan reward she was happy to accept, as it recognised her writing ability, but the 500 yuan “effort fee” she didn’t want. She wasn’t lacking 500 yuan for meals!
The mere 500 yuan was just a step Yuan Fenghui offered Wen Ying, and since Wen Ying didn’t want it, the assistant didn’t insist.
After Wen Ying signed the agreement, the assistant handed her a cassette tape and the song lyrics. Without thoroughly listening to and understanding the song, Wen Ying couldn’t write an MV script.
Wang Shuang, who had been clueless earlier and didn’t understand Li Mengjiao’s cryptic hints, finally got it.
Wen Ying was actually writing the MV script for Li Mengjiao’s lead song!
“You’re too amazing, is there anything you can’t do?”
Wang Shuang had always thought Wen Ying’s talent was in making money through business, not that she could earn money by writing.
Both being academic underachievers, Wen Ying’s excellence put a lot of pressure on Wang Shuang!
What should he do? With Li Mengjiao’s album production, Wen Ying could help, but he couldn’t. Li Mengjiao already often looked down on him, and if this continued, wouldn’t his status in her eyes sink even lower?
Wait, no, why was he so concerned about Li Mengjiao’s opinion?
They were childhood friends, and Li Mengjiao often teased or belittled him, which he never cared about before. They bickered, but their friendship was solid, and those “girlfriends” could never compare to Li Mengjiao.
He never cared about these things before, so why did he suddenly care now? Wang Shuang didn’t dare dwell on it.
Wen Ying waved the song list, “I have to thank Teacher Yuan for giving me this chance. I can’t guarantee success yet, so don’t praise me too soon.”
Wen Ying was modest on the surface, but inwardly she was confident she’d succeed.
Soon, Li Mengjiao began recording the lead song.
Yuan Fenghui was too busy to pay attention to Wen Ying and the others, focusing entirely on Li Mengjiao.
While Li Mengjiao was in the recording studio, Professor Fang and her group approached.
Beside Professor Fang was a middle-aged man in a camel-coloured jacket and glasses, looking refined and scholarly.
“Not bad, quite good.”
Yuan Fenghui inwardly cursed her luck but forced a smile, “Station Chief Duan, what brings you here?”
Station Chief Duan.
So this man was Professor Fang’s husband, the deputy station chief of the provincial station, and naturally Professor Fang’s backer.
Station Chief Duan acted as if he was unaware of the tension between Yuan Fenghui and Professor Fang, shaking hands with her naturally.
“Producer Yuan, I’ve long heard of your reputation. Why didn’t you visit the station while in Rongcheng? It’s the weekend, and I rarely get a break, so I came to support my wife’s work.”
At Station Chief Duan’s level, every day could be a weekend if he wished.
Though he could rest daily, Station Chief Duan would never do so. If he stopped managing affairs at the station, his deputy chief position would become nominal. A man cannot be without power for a day, and Station Chief Duan still aimed to climb higher, so how could he relinquish his authority?
He was here to back his wife.
That was one reason.
Another was that Station Chief Duan wanted to poach Yuan Fenghui from Xiang Province to Rongcheng.
The two goals seemed contradictory, but Station Chief Duan handled them with ease.
First, he’d suppress Yuan Fenghui’s arrogance, then poaching her would be feasible.
Yuan Fenghui withdrew her hand.
“Oh, how does Station Chief Duan plan to support Teacher Fang’s work?”
Station Chief Duan smiled, “How else? I’ll put my old face on the line, pulling strings everywhere to make Xiao Xu’s album as perfect as possible. When my wife’s work goes smoothly, our family life is harmonious. Producer Yuan, you understand, right?”
Yuan Fenghui wanted to say she didn’t understand.
Yuan Fenghui had been married briefly years ago, but it lasted less than a year due to irreconcilable differences, and since then, she only dated without marrying, choosing to focus on her career.
She suspected Station Chief Duan was deliberately provoking her, hitting where it hurt!
Wen Ying, watching from the side, glanced at Station Chief Duan, then at Professor Fang, Pan Li, and the others.
Pan Li could barely hide her smugness.
She sneaked a glance at Wen Ying.
Wen Ying shot her a glare, and Pan Li instinctively flinched, stepping back and nearly bumping into Station Chief Duan.
Wen Ying’s eyes flickered.
This positioning was interesting.
Pan Li was too close to Station Chief Duan, instinctively hiding behind him as if seeking his protection—
Shouldn’t Pan Li be seeking Professor Fang’s support instead?
“You’re joking. Husband and wife are one, Teacher Fang’s work is your work. If you’re here to help her, how could I object?”
Yuan Fenghui said with a smile, as if unbothered.
But inwardly, she was furiously cursing Professor Fang as useless.
Unable to win on her own, she pushed her man forward.
Couldn’t she survive without a man?!
What irritated Yuan Fenghui more was yet to come. Station Chief Duan’s claim of pulling strings wasn’t a joke.
Xu Mei’s production team was upgraded.
The additional 300,000 yuan budget, Yuan Fenghui now knew where it was spent.
Xu Mei hadn’t even recorded her song yet and was already shooting the MV for the lead track!
Station Chief Duan had secured a top-tier mainland filming team for Xu Mei, one that worked with A-list mainland singers. 300,000 yuan wouldn’t realistically cover their fees, so Station Chief Duan must have called in major favours—
The top-tier filming team wasn’t all. There was also a renowned makeup and styling artist.
If Xu Mei’s looks were originally a seven, after this stylist’s touch, she now scored a nine when she appeared before everyone.
A nine by entertainment industry standards, in real life, she was a stunning beauty who commanded attention!
This clashed with the company’s positioning for Xu Mei, which leaned toward an intellectual image. Intellectual beauty was more about temperament, not meticulously crafted, striking features.
Professor Fang had spared no expense!
Yuan Fenghui finally furrowed her brow.
Xu Mei, looking at herself in the mirror, was momentarily dazed.
She didn’t know she could be this beautiful.
A makeup artist with a reputation in the industry had a magical touch, especially since Xu Mei was far from plain to begin with.
The makeup was so perfect that after shooting the MV, Xu Mei was reluctant to remove it.
Such a skilled stylist didn’t come cheap, and not just anyone could book them.
Fu Jing adjusted Xu Mei’s skirt, suppressing her jealousy, and whispered, “You’re so beautiful and stunning today, forget a talent show, you could win a beauty pageant!”
Xu Mei’s natural attributes were indeed impressive. Back in school, when everyone went bare-faced, Xu Mei stood out, which was why she dated Qin Yi.
Though she entered the industry via a singing talent show, compared to her peers, Xu Mei’s looks were also striking.
During the competition, the makeup artist styled multiple contestants, with no time to meticulously enhance Xu Mei’s beauty.
Today was different. The stylist was dedicated solely to Xu Mei.
Praised by Fu Jing, Xu Mei’s cheeks flushed, but she didn’t stop her.
Beauty is beauty, why not praise it?
Li Mengjiao finished her test recording and came out of the studio, spotting Xu Mei and her team setting up for the MV shoot.
Seeing Xu Mei treated like a star, surrounded by attention, Li Mengjiao blinked in confusion, “I just went in to record a few songs, and Xu Mei looks like a different person!”
So Xu Mei was shooting her MV today.
Li Mengjiao’s confusion stemmed from not understanding the situation, but Li Zhentao misunderstood.
Li Zhentao exchanged a glance with his wife and pulled Yuan Fenghui aside, “Teacher Yuan, has the situation changed? My wife and I aren’t in the industry, we don’t know directors or makeup artists, but if you have any new ideas, as parents, we’ll do our best to cooperate.”
Li Zhentao was a bit frustrated.
Professor Fang bringing her husband, Station Chief Duan, had a hint of showing off.
How others produced their albums was none of Li Zhentao’s business, but this display felt like a deliberate jab at his daughter, Li Mengjiao.
Li Mengjiao’s carefree nature wasn’t just her mother’s doing; her father was fiercely protective too.
He might lack industry connections, but Li Zhentao had plenty outside the industry.
If Professor Fang insisted on outshining them, Li Zhentao was ready to confront her head-on!
This time, Yuan Fenghui didn’t immediately dismiss Li Zhentao.
“Mr. Li, let me make a few calls to check the situation, and we’ll discuss what to do once I know more.”
Yuan Fenghui stepped aside to make calls.
After a while, she returned with a strange expression.
“The filming team was indeed personally arranged by Station Chief Duan, but the makeup artist wasn’t.”
The makeup artist was connected through a second-generation rich kid from Xiang Province, Young Master Cao.
Xu Mei was quick to seize opportunities. Her first album wasn’t even out, yet she’d already connected with this second-generation from Xiang Province.
As for what price Xu Mei paid to get such a renowned makeup artist through Young Master Cao, Yuan Fenghui didn’t care to dig deeper.
This incident showed Yuan Fenghui that Xu Mei was more ambitious than she’d thought.
This wasn’t great news.
Yuan Fenghui wasn’t worried about the album production but about the idol drama set to be filmed after the New Year.
The promise from General Manager Guan might waver under Xu Mei’s manoeuvring.
Yuan Fenghui was determined to have Li Mengjiao play the female lead. The lead role in an idol drama was the most attention-grabbing, perfect for building a fanbase. If Xu Mei snatched it, Li Mengjiao’s popularity would lag behind Xu Mei’s… The idea of Li Mengjiao playing a supporting role to Xu Mei was unthinkable for Yuan Fenghui. Her protégés played leads, setting the tone from the start to boost Li Mengjiao’s status quickly!
Rely on General Manager Guan’s promise?
General Manager Guan was driven by profit.
If Xu Mei’s album sold well, General Manager Guan might not care as much about signing Li Mengjiao. He might not care, but Yuan Fenghui did. General Manager Guan could pass on Li Mengjiao, but Yuan Fenghui had to sign her.
In Taiwan, who played the lead or supporting role depended not only on an actor’s status but also on the investors behind the scenes.
Li Zhentao’s words sparked an idea in Yuan Fenghui.
“Mr. Li, let’s set the album aside for now. Do you have any friends interested in investing in TV dramas?”
