Should the album revenue be donated?
Hey, hey, hey, who’s the reborn one here?
When Li Mengjiao told Wen Ying about this, Wen Ying cautiously asked, “Do you know how much you could earn from your first album, I mean, with the new split ratio that Teacher Yuan renegotiated?”
Li Mengjiao shook her head.
“More than what I earn from endorsements?”
Wen Ying didn’t know how to answer that.
In the short term, it definitely wouldn’t surpass endorsement earnings, but albums have long-term potential.
In May 2003, China Mobile launched the ringback tone download service. In just over a year, it had over 20 million users, with a market size exceeding 1 billion yuan. By 2005, China Mobile had rolled out the service nationwide and was heavily promoting it. Though the 1 billion market revenue paled compared to the 20 billion SMS business, the ringback tone market was booming, with a bright future ahead!
A ringback tone download cost 2 yuan. Wen Ying knew that this year, a hit song would exceed 15 million downloads, signaling the quiet arrival of the digital music era.
In a decade or so, portable music players and CDs would gradually be phased out, physical records would vanish, and new songs would be released as digital albums!
Wen Ying wasn’t sure if the songs from Li Mengjiao’s debut album would become hit ringback tones. But she was certain that the album’s revenue wouldn’t be limited to its current physical sales.
“So, you really need to think it through,” Wen Ying reminded Li Mengjiao.
Li Mengjiao thought seriously, “If I hadn’t become famous, would Manager Guan ever share ringback tone revenue with me?”
“Of course not!”
Businessmen chase profit, and Manager Guan was among the pettiest.
Under the original contract, Manager Guan would’ve squeezed every cent of Li Mengjiao’s share!
Li Mengjiao waved her hand, “Then let’s pretend Manager Guan never changed the contract. Donate it. Teacher Yuan says it’s fine, you say it’s fine, I trust you both!”
Yuan Fenghui worried that Manager Guan might later expose the renegotiated split, accusing Li Mengjiao of bullying.
Though Yuan Fenghui had her own countermeasures, she didn’t want to be bitten by a cur like Manager Guan.
If Li Mengjiao didn’t want the revised revenue and donated it, and Manager Guan still made a fuss… Wen Ying chuckled at the thought.
“You don’t even care, so why should we? If you want to donate, go ahead!”
To defeat a petty person, you either need another petty person or someone with a pure, open heart.
Manager Guan was unlucky to cross paths with teenage Li Mengjiao, a carefree girl who never lacked money or love and didn’t cling to personal gains.
…
Many speculated that Li Mengjiao might drop out to become a full-time artist. Her Class 16 homeroom teacher, Lin Lin, was concerned and had a talk with her.
The big star Li, sporting dark circles, swore loyalty to Teacher Lin, “Teacher Lin, I won’t drop out. My dad says if I don’t get into a top university, he’ll break my legs. My mom’s taken all my earnings for safekeeping. Wen Ying says a star without education will be looked down on…”
With an increasingly packed schedule, Li Mengjiao struggled to balance her career and studies, doing practice questions between filming. Her efforts barely kept her grades from slipping too far, too fast.
Improvement? Out of the question.
The students at this provincial key school weren’t pushovers, and their intelligence matched Li Mengjiao’s.
When questioned by Lin Lin, Li Mengjiao’s forehead seemed to scream “MISERY,” making Lin Lin laugh.
—Your dad says, your mom says, Wen Ying says, don’t you have your own thoughts?
But this was fine. Knowing her future plans was enough. It’s not that Lin Lin looked down on the entertainment industry, but teachers always believed knowledge was the most reliable. Fame now didn’t guarantee lasting success. A solid education and a formal degree were a fallback.
Compared to Xie Qian, Li Mengjiao was a slacker, but against average students, she wasn’t too bad.
If she maintained her current level, she’d be fine for the college entrance exam.
Given her trajectory, she’d likely aim for an arts program. Those schools and majors required both academic and professional scores.
Lin Lin decided to have a thorough talk with Li Mengjiao’s parents. In principle, the school encouraged diverse development. If Li Mengjiao was suited for the entertainment industry, the school wouldn’t stand in her way.
Wen Ying pitied Li Mengjiao’s struggles, truly a case of bearing the crown’s weight. She had to ask Xie Qian for help, “Since last year, she’s never stopped acting or vocal lessons. Shouldn’t we help with her academic subjects?”
Xie Qian glanced at Wen Ying.
Who’s helping whom?
Wen Ying couldn’t help much, only Xie Qian could.
Xie Qian had been tutoring just Wen Ying, a slacker. After helping Wang Shuang with some problems, Wang Shuang shamelessly latched onto him. Now Li Mengjiao was added… but it was manageable. Top students excelled in unique ways, but slackers shared common flaws.
Poor knowledge organization.
Weak foundations.
Lacking comprehension.
These issues were evident in Wen Ying, Wang Shuang, and Li Mengjiao.
Wen Ying’s level was clear to Xie Qian, having tutored her since last year’s middle school exams.
For Li Mengjiao and Wang Shuang, he just needed to review their past test papers, see where they lost points, and he’d gauge their levels roughly.
Wang Shuang was the slacker among slackers. Xie Qian issued him an ultimatum, “After Tianjiao’s first drama wraps, don’t go back to the company. From now until senior year starts in September, if you don’t catch up on your basics, you won’t have enough time in the final year.”
Senior year included new material, and teachers would review first- and second-year content.
Xie Qian didn’t know what Wang Shuang did in his first year, but his level was abysmal.
Learning is like building a house, a weak foundation makes it hard to build higher.
Progressing from easy to hard, if you can’t grasp the simple, how can you tackle the complex?
Among the three slackers, Wang Shuang had the worst foundation and the least time, being a grade ahead and facing the exam sooner.
Wang Shuang didn’t dare defy Xie Qian’s ultimatum.
Wang Jun had hired tutors for Wang Shuang, but whether it was psychological, Wang Shuang felt they weren’t as good as Xie Qian… He decided to obey, planning to cram his neglected studies after Tianjiao’s drama wrapped, before senior year began.
When Wang Shuang told his dad, Mr. Wang was happier than if he’d earned 5 million.
Whoever could make Wang Shuang strive was Mr. Wang’s favorite person.
Mr. Wang wanted to give Xie Qian a big red envelope to show gratitude, but Wang Shuang stopped him, “Xie Qian doesn’t need money. You’re tainting our friendship!”
—Oh, you silly kid, not needing money is one thing, not showing gratitude is another.
Mr. Wang never lacked phones.
He sent Xie Qian the latest model.
Not just Xie Qian, Wen Ying, Li Mengjiao, and the others all got one.
