How can you ascend to heaven when you are a star?

Chapter 371 Thank you, Young Master Sun

"Zhao Tong, Zhang Jiajia, Cheng Sisi, Chen Silu, Su Jin, this is your new contract with the company. We hope you will fulfill the contract terms on time in the future."

Liu Haiyang handed the signed and stamped artist contracts to the five trainees in front of him. He originally wanted to say "pay on time," but then felt it was inappropriate. For a deputy general manager to talk about money all the time would seem too vulgar, so he changed his words at the last minute.

As Zhao Tong and the others received the new contracts, their eyes were filled with excitement and joy at the reduction of their indenture from eight years to three.

Although the money handed over to the company doubled, they still owed Teacher Zhang 40 million.

What is there to say?

Too many lice don't itch, too much debt doesn't worry.

Selling to a teacher is better than selling to a company. At least when something happens, Teacher Zhang will really stand up for them, unlike a company that will only betray them when trouble arises.

Zhang Wen, as the guarantor, also has an artist contract in his possession.

No, it's five artist contracts.

With these contracts, he could arrange for Zhao Tong and others to make money for him without any scruples.

The five trainees earned their own money to pay off their debts, and they even helped him earn money. In reality, he was the one who got something for nothing.

Not making money?

does not exist!
Tang Yi earned over ten million yuan in just six months with her song "Human World," not including her earnings from variety shows and endorsements.

Otherwise, why would the company be working so hard to release a new album for Tang Yi?
One song can bring Tang Yi so much income, and he would write five songs for the same girl group.

“Mr. Liu, our group contributes ten million to the company every year. Shouldn’t you show your appreciation?” Zhang Wen put away the contract and looked at Liu Haiyang.

"No problem, as long as it doesn't cost any money, everything is negotiable," Liu Haiyang said with a smile.

"Mr. Liu, are you really going to be a miser and not spend a penny?" Zhang Wen said.

“Teacher Zhang, don’t let my position as the company’s vice general manager fool you. I’m just an employee too. If you need manpower, like an assistant, I can arrange it for you right away. But asking me for money is something I really can’t afford,” Liu Haiyang said with a bitter face.

The boss has spoken, how could he dare to act on his own?

After hearing this, Zhang Wen secretly sneered in his heart.

They can invest in projects worth tens of millions without hesitation, but claim they have no authority to decide on publicity projects worth only one million?

Burning newspapers at gravesites is just fooling the ghosts, isn't it?
Of course, this was within his expectations. The reason he brought it up again was to make the other party feel guilty and to lay the groundwork for what he was going to say next.

“Mr. Liu, I’m not asking you for money. Our company has official accounts on various social media and short video platforms, right? When this group debuts, could you ask those accounts to post a video to promote it? That’s not an unreasonable request, is it?” Zhang Wen asked.

Since the company is unwilling to spend money on advertising, then let's help them advertise without spending any money.

As a well-known entertainment company in China, Tianxi Media still attracts a lot of attention. Even if it can't make a big splash, it can at least make a ripple in the entertainment industry.

Then he can make a move, spend money to buy some trending topics, and the publicity effect will be achieved, right?
"It's not excessive at all. Just give me the promotional posters and videos, and I'll have the publicity department distribute them," Liu Haiyang said.

The boss's meaning was simple: as long as it didn't cost the company a single penny, the other party could do whatever they wanted, so he could meet this requirement.

"Mr. Liu, is it too much to ask the company's artists to repost this?" Zhang Wen continued to ask.

If celebrities help promote the group, it will receive more attention.

It's important to know that many of the company's artists have over five million followers on Weibo, and some even have tens of millions. Even if only one-tenth or one-hundredth of those followers are interested in the group, it still brings a huge amount of traffic to the group.

"Well..." Liu Haiyang hesitated for a moment, then said, "I will tell the artists in the company. As for whether they will repost it, that depends on their personal wishes."

"You're the company's vice president. If you ask them to forward this, do you think they'd dare not?" Zhang Wen asked, frowning, sensing that the other party simply didn't want to help.

"Teacher Zhang, the artists are the company's cash cows, I dare not offend them." Liu Haiyang shrugged, looking helpless.

"..."

Zhang Wen was speechless.

That's the kind of thing they say, like a wronged young wife who's always been mistreated.

If he hadn't seen the other person slap Chen Silu, he almost would have believed it.

This is an intention to make them self-reliant!

Fine, if you don't want to help, then don't.

He didn't expect the other party to be of much help.

"Mr. Liu, we'll be going now. We still have to record a song this afternoon," Zhang Wen said.

"Okay." Liu Haiyang responded, then looked at the five trainees beside him, clenched his fist, and said, "Keep it up, good luck."

When Zhang Wen saw this, he rolled his eyes.

Isn't this just making sarcastic remarks?
They're not even willing to give us oil, how can we add more?
It would be better to tell the company's artists, "Hurry up and retweet this."

Zhang Wen chuckled twice, then turned and left the other person's office.

Zhao Tong and the others did not respond to President Liu, but simply followed silently behind Teacher Zhang.

In the past, people had no choice but to bow their heads when they were under someone else's roof. Now that General Manager Liu has made it clear that he doesn't care about them, why should they go out of their way to please him?
Instead of wasting time on that, you'd be better off flattering Teacher Zhang.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Liu Haiyang lowered his hand again, comforting himself: Nobody saw, so it's not embarrassing.

Zhang Wen led the five trainees back to the record production department. Just as they were about to return to the recording studio, they saw someone walk out of the next room.

It is Hongjie's son, Sun Di.

"Teacher Zhang? What brings you to the company?" Sun Di's eyes lit up immediately when he saw his godfather.

As for why he doesn't call him "uncle," the two are close in age but not related by blood, so it's just too difficult to say it.

“So it’s my eldest nephew. I brought people here to record a song.” Zhang Wen pointed to the recording studio in front of him.

"Record a song? What song? Did you write it?" Sun Di asked curiously.

A few days ago, he overheard his god-uncle writing a song for Yang Liling and was so impressed that he almost knelt down on the spot, feeling that he could never write such a song in his entire life.

Now that they heard that the other party was bringing people to record a song, they immediately became interested.

“Yes, I wrote it,” Zhang Wen said.

"Uncle, can I go in and listen? I promise I won't tell anyone." Sun Di excitedly stepped forward, pleading incessantly.

Since Tang Yi finished recording his album and started promoting it all over the country, he suddenly had a lot of free time. He didn't have any specific work to do every day and could only help out others.

Now that there's another opportunity to learn, of course I can't let it pass me by.

Zhang Wen's face showed a look of disgust.

They call him "Teacher Zhang" when they don't need him, but "Uncle" when they do? I really want to punch them. Wait a minute!

At that moment, a flash of inspiration suddenly appeared in Zhang Wen's mind.

Believe it or not, there really is something we can do to help them.

"Alright, since you're my nephew, come on in." Zhang Wen patted the other person on the shoulder, then pushed open the door and walked into the recording studio.

Wang Qi was catching up on sleep at the table when she heard the door open, and immediately sat up alertly.

Upon seeing that it was Zhang Wenhe, a trainee, who had entered, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he rubbed his face vigorously with his hands and said with renewed energy, "Let's continue."

After a morning of guidance, Zhao Tong and the others understood their respective roles and tasks in the song. They rehearsed together several times and finally began the official recording.

The five of them stood in the recording studio, wearing headphones. Although they had memorized the lyrics perfectly, they still chose to hold the sheet music just in case.

It was clear that all five girls were nervous, but that was understandable, since it was their first time recording a song and they were afraid of not singing well.

Soon, the accompaniment began.

The five people's expressions immediately became serious, and they closed their eyes to focus their attention.

As for the sheet music in my hand, it's just a psychological comfort.

As expected, Wang Qi called for a stop after only two lines.

"Chen Silu, adjust your voice, don't let it shake so much."

"I'm sorry, Teacher Zhang."

Through the glass wall, Chen Silu bowed repeatedly in apology, then coughed twice and cleared her throat.

It wasn't that she didn't want to sing well, she was just too nervous, and her throat felt like it was choked.

Zhang Wen saw the problem and moved closer to Wang Qi, speaking into the microphone: "Everyone, don't be nervous, relax. It's just recording a song. If you sing it wrong, you can re-record it. It's not a concert. You're all getting nervous too early."

Wang Qi then said, "Relax a little, don't be so tense. It's normal not to sing well. Even the best singers have a hard time recording a whole song in one take."

After hearing this, Chen Silu nodded gently. The other four also felt much more relaxed after hearing the comforting words from the two teachers.

Recording resumed.

In order to present the song perfectly to the audience and to showcase the vocal characteristics of the five members, segmented recording was adopted. That is, recording one segment at a time, and re-recording if the effect was not good, until the audience was satisfied.

Time flew by during the repeated recording sessions; the short 4-minute song ultimately took three hours to record.

It wasn't until they took off their headphones that the five trainees realized their backs were already soaked with sweat.

Zhang Wen noticed that his eldest nephew's eyes were fixed on the trainees in the recording studio, so he nudged him with his shoulder and asked in a low voice, "Is it good-looking?"

"Yes, it looks good," Sun Di said reflexively.

However, she regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth, especially after turning around and seeing her god-uncle's teasing expression, her face flushed red instantly.

"What I mean is, it sounds good. They sing well, but your songs are even better," Sun Di hurriedly explained.

It's better not to explain; explaining only makes it seem like you're trying to cover something up.

"Hehe, I understand." Zhang Wen put his arm around the other man's shoulder and said with a half-smile, "Young people are full of vigor, it's normal. As a man, it would be abnormal if you didn't like to watch."

Upon hearing this, Sun Di's face turned even redder, like a naive child, and he kept explaining, "I really meant the song..."

“Yes, the song is good, and the person is good-looking,” Zhang Wen said.

"..."

Sun Di was speechless. If this god-uncle wasn't only a few years older than him, he would have really wanted to call him a "lewd old man".

Zhang Wen was very satisfied with Sun Di's reaction.

As a rich second-generation, he must have been in contact with many beautiful women, and many of them would have taken the initiative to throw themselves at him.

Under such circumstances, the other party was still attracted to Zhao Tong and others, whether because of the person or the song, which made him full of confidence in the debut of the five girls.

“In another two weeks, they will debut as a girl group. The song we just recorded is their debut song. Do you think they will become popular?” Zhang Wen asked.

"Yes, definitely." Sun Di said without hesitation. Regardless of how the five members look, this song alone is guaranteed to make whoever sings it a hit.

"Have you heard of the show 'Super Trainee'? Those girls were rigged and eliminated in the first round. As young people of the new era, how can we bow down to evil forces? We must fight back against this show and make them regret it, don't you think?" Zhang Wen continued to ask.

"Yes, we must give them a good slap in the face." Sun Di clenched his fists, his expression serious, as if he were determined to fight against the conspiracy.

“But now we’ve encountered a problem. Because the group was formed in a rush, we haven’t had time to design their image yet. We can’t let them show up in their plain clothes without makeup, can we? Nephew, you’ve been abroad, studied, and even had some international education. Do you know any image consultants? Could you introduce me to one?” Zhang Wen asked.

Sun Di paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Uncle, you've come to the right person. Have you forgotten what my family does? My mom has not only fashion designers but also image consultants. One phone call is all it takes."

"Really? Nephew, you've really helped me a lot." Zhang Wen looked delighted, then turned to the five trainees who came out of the recording studio and said, "From now on, Young Master Sun will be in charge of your image design. Hurry up and thank him!"

what?
Sun Di was completely stunned.

He only mentioned that his family's company has fashion designers and image designers, but he never said that he would be responsible for the image design of these trainees in the future.

He studied music, okay?

His dream is to become a top-notch music producer like Wang Qi.

"Uncle, I..."

Just as Sun Di was about to explain, he saw the five trainees bowing deeply in unison.

"Thank you, Young Master Sun."

Looking at those beautiful faces and hearing the repeated greetings of "Young Master Zhao," Sun Di unconsciously swallowed and quickly said, "No need to thank me, no need to thank me. It's my honor to be able to help Teacher Zhang and you all."

After saying that, he gave what he considered a gentlemanly smile.

However, to others, this expression looks a bit silly, like the foolish son of a landlord.

"Nephew, now that the song has been recorded, let's go to your company," Zhang Wen urged.

"Huh? So urgent?" Sun Di glanced at the clock on the wall; it was already past 4 PM. "Can't we do it tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, there are so many tomorrows. Besides the image design, there are many other things to do. Let's go." After Zhang Wen finished speaking, he pulled the other person out, while also giving Zhao Tong and the others a look, signaling them to hurry up and follow.

Upon receiving the signal, Zhao Tong and the others immediately gave chase without the slightest hesitation.

……

(End of this chapter)