Marry a female star at a bargain price

Chapter 246, Section 247: Deputy Mayor Lin's Identity Has Been Exposed.
After persuading Cao Yuanzhi to record the song "Love Like a Tide," Lin Xiao immediately took over as the manager.

He didn't need to worry about anything after that.

Cao Yuanzhi worked as a music producer for seven or eight years and was already very skilled in arranging and producing. Even though he has now left Fei Hong Entertainment, he still has connections and relationships with people.

Borrowing a recording studio to record a song is no problem at all.

In addition, the song perfectly matched his current state of mind, deeply moved him, and rekindled his long-buried dream of becoming a singer.

With multiple buffs stacked on top of each other.

Lin Xiao wasn't worried about the final product or quality of the song at all; he was only worried that Cao Yuanzhi would be too meticulous and exhaust himself to the point of death.

Uh... "精" means spirit or energy.

The following Sunday, accompanied by Lin Xiao and Chen Jiajia, Han Xixi went to the headquarters of Fei Hong Entertainment.

The purpose of this trip is to explain my pregnancy and the arrangements for my rest in the later stages to the company's senior management.

She's now over five months pregnant, and it's time to tell.

In fact, after the Kalia new product launch yesterday, the senior management called to inquire about it.

After all, photos of Han Xixi looking chubby have already trended on social media, and netizens' first suspicion is that she is pregnant.

It's hard for those at the top not to think in this direction.

It's truly remarkable that Han Xixi has managed to keep this a secret until now. If it weren't for her former manager Zhou Hui's betrayal and the company feeling guilty towards her, they should have told the boss the truth long ago.

But it's not too late.

However, Han Xixi was a little guilty. After all, no matter how glamorous a celebrity is, they are still working for capital, at most just a slightly more sophisticated worker.

To be honest, this status is already much higher than that of neighboring South Korea.

The smaller the place, the more perverted the people become.

In South Korea, female celebrities are basically playthings of capital, which is also related to the fact that the entertainment industry is completely controlled by capital.

The Chinese entertainment industry is increasingly showing this trend.

Newcomers who want to stand out have to make some sacrifices.

This is a rule that everyone inside and outside the industry knows.

Fortunately, Han Xixi didn't need to.

On the one hand, the higher-ups at Feihong Entertainment knew about her family background and were quite wary of her father.

On the other hand, Han Xixi's sudden rise to fame was entirely due to her own abilities, without taking up any company resources.

Therefore, the company's senior management dared not have any improper thoughts about her, nor could they suppress or control her, after all, she had a genius husband by her side and had the capital and conditions to go solo at any time.

All the company can do is provide good logistical support and then wait patiently for their share of the profits.

In this situation, any entertainment company would consider it a windfall, and they would treat Han Xixi like royalty, not daring to cause her any trouble.

Lin Xiao understood this point, so he wasn't worried at all about his wife's pregnancy and his temporary retirement from the entertainment industry.

But Han Xixi couldn't help but feel anxious.

After all, she had never done anything to bully others by abusing her power, so she had no real sense of how much benefit her father's power could bring her.

In addition, after a year in the entertainment industry, I have seen many cases of artists, especially newcomers, being exploited by their companies, which subconsciously created a strange sense of guilt that "if I don't work hard to make money for the company, I will be letting down my boss."

In short: the cattle and horses have become sentient!
Because of this state of mind, she didn't dare to be honest with the higher-ups, which is why she has been dragging it out until now.

Lin Xiao happened to be in Haicheng this time, so I accompanied him there.

I entered the company at 9:10.

The young couple came downstairs at 9:27. The chairman, general manager, and vice president of the company escorted them to the elevator and shook hands with Lin Xiao to say goodbye.

Han Xixi was dumbfounded.

She knew her husband was a "mysterious musical genius" with great influence in the music industry, but she never expected him to be so approachable and respectable in the eyes of higher-ups.

She even suspected that Lin Xiao had drugged these middle-aged men.

"What's going on? I'm pregnant and need to rest for at least eight months... Not only are the leaders not reluctant at all, they all seem apprehensive. This... is completely different from what I expected?"

Xi Xi was horrified.

She subconsciously thought that the leaders were just putting on a show, but in reality, they had already made a mental note of her actions.

Little did she know, what the leaders were thinking right now was: Xixi must come back after giving birth, and she must not divorce her genius husband. As long as you two are doing well, one of you writing songs and the other singing, the company will make endless money, and everyone will be happy!
The chairman thought to himself: Although Han Xixi's current momentum means she'll earn significantly less money if she takes a year off, her contract is still with the company, and she won't be leaving for several years. Plus, her songs are still generating a steady stream of revenue. The company hasn't spent a single penny on her; this money tree that grew out of nowhere—how can you complain about not making enough money? Enough is enough!
Regarding all of the above.

The leaders were genuinely not upset at all about the news of Han Xixi's pregnancy; at most, they just felt a little sorry for her.

Thus, the meeting began with Han Xixi's anxiety and ended with a harmonious farewell.

Back in the van.

After closing the car door, Han Xixi breathed a sigh of relief: "I thought the boss would make things difficult for me, but it was so easy!"

Lin Xiao laughed and said, "My wife is so cute, who would bear to make things difficult for you? It's more like I'd try to make you happy!"

Xi Xi smiled and sighed helplessly.

"Brother, although I'm not smart, I'm not stupid either, okay!"

"How to say?"

"It's obvious that Mr. He and the others only let bygones be bygones regarding my pregnancy because of you!"

Xi Xi said sternly, "You know Fang Huiru, right? She's a well-known senior in the music industry and one of our company's star singers. But she retired because of pregnancy back then, and after her comeback, the resources the company gave her were not as good as before... You can imagine how low the company's tolerance is for artists getting pregnant!"

As Xixi spoke, she looked deeply saddened.

Lin Xiao patted her head and said seriously, "Fang Huiru is Fang Huiru, and you are you. There's no comparison!"

Xi Xi asked, puzzled, "How can there be no comparison? She's a singer and I'm a singer too. She already had a stable position in the industry before she retired, but the company just abandoned her like that. I'm still a newcomer, and I dare to secretly get pregnant..."

Lin Xiao felt a little helpless listening to his wife's lack of confidence.

Indeed, this society is experiencing severe inflation.

Under the exploitation of capitalists, the bottom line for workers is getting lower and lower. Now even getting married and having children has become a "challenge", and no one thinks there is anything wrong with it.

Lin Xiao wanted to explain, but then felt it was unnecessary.

So he laughed and said, "Because Fang Huiru only made her comeback after her divorce, but you're different...we won't get a divorce!"

This answer was unexpected by Han Xixi.

She paused for a moment, then her face lit up with a smile.

Even though she knew her husband hadn't given her a proper answer, it still made her overjoyed. Her anxiety vanished instantly, and she became calm and composed.

"Um!!!"

She nodded emphatically, her smile as radiant as the sunset.

In the front passenger seat of the van, Chen Jiajia, the agent and assistant, listened to the couple's conversation with utter helplessness and speechlessness.

"Alright, alright, you two are so lucky. It's tough on me having to keep an eye on your endorsements and company resources while Sister Xi is pregnant and giving birth..."

Chen Jiajia mentally complained, suddenly feeling a heavy burden on her shoulders.

"This family is doomed without me!"

……

On Sunday afternoon, Lin Xiao took Xixi back to Ninghai.

Three days later, on the morning.

He received a message from Cao Yuanzhi—an audio file titled "Love Like a Tide".

At that moment, he was about to organize a meeting with several young cadres from the tourism development task force.

I listened to a bit of the presentation before the meeting.

The moment Lin Xiao heard the melodious piano prelude within the first five seconds of opening the audio, he felt at ease.

Thirty seconds later, Cao Yuanzhi's deep, melancholic, extremely magnetic, and affectionate voice came out.

Lin Xiao knew then that this was a sure thing.

For the remaining four minutes, he listened to the entire song with a completely calm and elegant appreciation.

In the melody, Cao Yuanzhi's voice almost gathered all his deep affection and melancholy, singing with such heartbreaking emotion and such irresistible love.

Aside from the melody, Lin Xiao thoroughly enjoyed the listening experience, knowing that it was Lao Cao, not him, who was suffering in love.

The song is over.

Lin Xiao opened his eyes, grabbed his phone, and went straight to the conference room.

"Let me play a song for you before we start the meeting!"

Lin Xiao spoke with a smile.

At the conference table, several young cadres looked increasingly worried because of the approaching National Day holiday; their eyes were not only devoid of light, but almost unfocused.

His entire being screams: Misfortune!

But now, upon hearing Lin Xiao's unusual opening remarks, everyone's eyes lit up instantly.

Listening to music? That's weird, it feels like watching a movie during evening self-study in high school!

Then, amidst the expectant gazes of everyone, the group listened to the song "Love Like a Tide," and heard about Cao Yuanzhi's torment and struggle in love.

Their eyes brightened, and the lost light returned to them.

"Lin Town... what song is this?" asked Zhou Baoping, the propaganda officer.

"This song is so good!" Sun Simiao exclaimed, her small eyes sparkling.

"My love is like a tidal wave..."

As Leng Tao pondered the lyrics, the light in his eyes grew clearer and brighter. With an incredulous voice, he asked, "Lin Zhen... the tide in these lyrics, could it be our Tide River?"

Upon hearing this question, the others belatedly realized what was happening and looked at Lin Xiao in disbelief.

Lin Xiao smiled calmly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

The group became even more anxious.

Even the older Zhou Baoping couldn't stay calm now, and said in a panic, "Township Leader Lin, did you specifically find this song for our Chaobai Town's promotional video?... Who sings this? I've never heard it before. Have any of you heard it?... Wait a minute, such a beautiful song, it's impossible that none of us in this room have heard it before... Who is this singer? Their voice is so emotional and captivating, but I don't think I've ever heard it before..."

As he asked questions and guessed, the thoughts of the young people at the table followed his lead, dodging and weaving, making them a little dizzy.

At this moment, Sun Simiao suddenly shouted.

"Ah!!" The sudden shout startled everyone.

Leng Tao said unhappily, "Si Miao, are you crazy?!"

Sun Simiao didn't have time to argue with him. Instead, she was so excited that she stammered, "Linlinlin Town... Could it be that because I suggested writing a theme song specifically for our Chaobai Town last time, and then... this song came about?"

Sun Simiao's reminder immediately brought the others to their senses.

The pupils of the group widened in shock.

However, the situation has progressed to this point, but it is not enough to convince everyone of this.

That's just too outrageous.

Writing songs is not that easy, and Sun Simiao proposed this idea last Thursday, and it's only Wednesday now.

In less than a week, not only was the song written, but the production was also completed, and even a version sung by a professional singer was freshly released.

Even those who aren't professionals know that this procedure is extremely complicated.

It's simply impossible for it to be that fast.

Moreover, everyone just listened to the whole song. Apart from the word "tide" in the song title, which has something to do with the Chaoshui River, the rest of the content is all about love and romance, and has absolutely nothing to do with the tourism promotion of Chaobai Town.

Calling it the theme song is a bit of a stretch.

So when they heard Sun Simiao's bold guess, no one dared to believe it. They all stared at Lin Xiao with wide eyes, waiting for his answer.

The room was eerily quiet.

Then, amidst everyone's expectant gazes, Lin Xiao smiled calmly and nodded.

In an instant, everyone gasped, their brains struggling to process what was happening.

"Lin Zhen, is it really... really a newly written theme song?!" The little girl, Sun Simiao, couldn't believe it.

"How can this be false!"

"This... is terrifying!"

Sun Simiao was already a little confused, after all, this was very illogical and impossible no matter how she thought about it.

The others were also shocked.

Leng Tao went even further and asked directly, "So Lin Zhen, are you... really Han Xixi's husband, that mysterious genius musician, Ma Yao, who wrote 'Human World' and 'Legend'?"

Sun Simiao quickly added, "And 'Warm,' 'Darkness,' and 'Walk Together in the Rain,' I love these three songs so much!"

Zhou Baoping chimed in, "Wasn't the recently popular 'The Magic of Love' also one?"

"This isn't it!"

Sun Simiao solemnly corrected, "The song 'The Magic of Love' was co-written by Han Xixi and her husband, and the lyricist and composer is credited as Lin Haha... However, if the netizens' speculation is true, then Ma Yao is Han Xixi's husband, which means Ma Yao and Lin Haha are the same person..."

Sun Simiao cautiously deduced logically, muttering the names of the two men while keeping her eyes fixed on Lin Xiao, hoping he would have mercy on her and give her the truth so she could die a quick death!

Lin Xiao remained silent, determined to stifle these guys who weren't working properly and were openly gossiping!
At this moment, a cadre named Liu Qian suddenly shouted.

"what!"

This shout startled everyone again.

Zhou Baoping patted his chest and said, "What's wrong with you women today? You're all so easily startled!"

Liu Qian is a few years older than Sun Simiao and isn't as carefree as a young girl.

Realizing she had disturbed everyone, she looked apologetic and hesitated whether to speak.

"Sister Liu, what's wrong?" Leng Tao asked.

"I……"

Liu Qian stared at the notebook in front of her, her expression hesitant, glancing at Lin Xiao several times.

Seeing that Lin Zhen didn't intend to interfere, she mustered her courage and said, "I randomly wrote down the names Lin Haha and Ma Yao, and suddenly realized... 'Ma Yao' put together forms the character 'Xiao'. And the name Lin Haha is clearly meant to correspond to Han Xixi... which means that Han Xixi's husband must have the surname Han... If Lin Haha and Ma Yao are really the same person, then the surname is Lin, and the character 'Xiao' is used as a stage name..."

Liu Qian didn't finish her sentence, but the answer was already crystal clear.

After listening to her analysis, the young people quickly wrote down the two names in their notebooks. They all gasped in shock, almost sucking all the air out of the office.

Lin Xiao sat in the main seat, feeling a bit of a headache.

I did think that these two names would make netizens guess my real name, but it doesn't matter, since no one knows "Lin Xiao" anyway!
He never expected that his true identity would be exposed during a company meeting by these young people who weren't focused on their work and were openly gossiping.

Lin Xiao had no choice but to accept his defeat.

Now that things have come to this, I can't blame myself for being careless. After all, I chose the pen name "Ma Yao" back then simply because I was lazy, and when I wrote the name "Lin Haha," I was only focused on flirting with my wife. I never imagined that these two names would become evidence that exposed my true identity.

What he didn't expect was...

I didn't fail because of carelessness, but because of the rule within the system that you must bring a pen and notebook to meetings!

This can only be described as destiny!
Now, with everyone watching, it wouldn't be right for Lin Xiao to deny it any longer.

However, acknowledging this did indeed deviate from the meeting's topic.

Faced with everyone's eager eyes, he said, "What are you looking at? Don't pry into other people's business!"

“Cut~~”

Everyone was disappointed, but they also knew that the matter was almost settled, and the evidence before them was enough to close the case.

Their pupils continued to dizzy, completely unable to process the bombshell revelation that the renowned, mysterious, and talented musician was right beside them.

Of course, what they couldn't understand even more was why Lin Zhen, who was so talented and had married such a beautiful celebrity wife, would still be the deputy mayor of a rural town!

Shock, doubt, speculation, excitement...

A mix of emotions swirled in the meeting room, so much so that despite Lin Zhen's half-day of work planning, not a single person listened.

This meeting lasted half an hour longer than usual.

After the meeting, everyone took on their respective tasks, with Leng Tao bearing the heaviest burden.

There are less than 10 days left until National Day.

He was to edit the promotional video according to the lyrics and melody of "Love Like a Tide" within two days, and then spend the next week spreading and disseminating the video online to ultimately achieve the desired promotional effect.

It's both simple and difficult.

The simple thing is that this song is really good. In today's era of short video self-media, good works will quickly gain market recognition, and the cost of becoming a hit is getting lower and lower.

However, the problem is that a love song like "Love Like a Tide" is really not suitable as the theme song for a tourism promotional video.

Not only are the lyrics and promotional content completely unrelated.

What's worse, the song is too sad and tear-jerking, completely contradicting the positive promotional message of tourism.

It's easy to fix if the lyrics don't match.

As long as the video editing is good, the song only needs to play a supporting role; it doesn't necessarily have to be related to the lyrics and visuals.

But at least it should be a positive, upbeat, and lively melody.

That's the right way to match!
Honestly, "The Magic of Love" is a better choice as background music for a promotional video than "Love Like a Tide".

Leng Tao wasn't the only one who thought so; everyone else thought so too.

Leng Tao had absolutely no idea how to make this video or how to edit it.

Faced with everyone's doubts, Lin Xiao held a different view.

"It's precisely because they don't match that they're attractive, generate buzz, create hype, and attract traffic!" Lin Xiao said.

Everyone was stunned when these words were spoken.

“I don’t understand…” Sun Simiao shook her head, the little girl looking distressed.

"There's a kind of video with a plot twist online, I don't know if you've seen it. It starts with a serious conversation, acting very affectionate, but then there's a big twist at the end, giving you an unexpected plot development that turns tragedy into comedy!"

Lin Xiao described it very seriously.

Zhou Baoping hurriedly said, "I've seen it. There's a blogger who became famous by making these kinds of videos. His videos are very simple, just at a barbecue stand, eating and chatting with a group of friends. He takes advantage of his drunkenness to talk about his sad past, crying his eyes out, and then there's a high-energy plot twist at the end..."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Others have also come across similar funny videos, and there is indeed a large market for them. As long as the plot twist is well-executed and funny enough, the number of likes is very high.

However, no one understands what this has to do with the promotional video for Chaobai Town.

Lin Xiao suppressed a mischievous smile and said, "The tourism promotion strategy I'm thinking of is similar to the formula of these plot twist videos. Plot twists are all about creating a sense of contrast between the beginning and the end, and we can do the same with our promotional videos. 'Love Like a Tide' is a very sentimental and sad song, but instead of pairing the videos with emotional scenes, we'll pair them with various tourist attractions and scenic spots in Chaobai Town. Wouldn't that create a sense of contrast?"

When Lin Xiao said that, everyone was momentarily stunned, and they began to understand what he meant.

"For example!"

Lin Xiao got excited and said seriously, "At the beginning of the promotional video, the four big characters 'Love is like a tide' will be displayed, and then an aerial view of the Tide River will be shown. Then, each line of the lyrics will be paired with a suitable scene. For example, the first line 'I don't ask why you shed tears' can be paired with a clip of tourists crying in fear while rafting, and 'Don't easily try the taste of indulgence' can be paired with a scene of people enjoying a delicious meal at a night market..."

With just a few words of guidance, everyone quickly grasped the leader's intentions, and their ideas began to emerge.

"I think I understand..."

"So, if that's the case, could 'drinking late at night' be paired with a clip of a rice wine factory assembly line?"

"So, 'traveling through thousands of mountains and rivers' means Laoyashan Mountain and the reservoir?"

"If you're going to do it this way, then 'this will break my heart' means you'll build that newly constructed broken porcelain wall in Xiaguan Village?"

"For the 'wandering at night' scene, just throw in the newly created campsite footage!"

"..."

Once everyone opened their minds, the atmosphere in the meeting room immediately changed.

Just moments ago they were all dejected and quiet as virgins, but now they are all lively and boisterous, moving like crazy rabbits.

As a result, the serious literature inside the room instantly turned into a large-scale prank, with all sorts of exaggerated and bizarre scenes coming up.

There's no limit to how crazy it can get.

Lin Xiao sat there, watching everyone's quick wit and brainstorming, and smiled shrewdly.

"Great, the world has finally gone mad the way I wanted it to be!!"

He squinted, leaned back, and concealed his achievements and fame.

Amidst everyone's lively and enthusiastic conversation, Leng Tao sat there with his notebook in hand, frantically taking notes, almost to the point of tears.

"I can't remember them all, I simply can't remember them all..."

(End of this chapter)