Entertainment: A whirlwind marriage with a fairy-like mother at the start!

Yu Le carried the fish and strolled leisurely out of the vegetable market shed.

The sunlight was a bit dazzling, so he bought a bottle of chilled Beibingyang soda for one yuan from a roadside convenience store and sat on a small stool under the shade of a tree.

"Sizzle—"

When the soda bottle is opened, bubbles rise to the surface.

Yu Le tilted his head back and took a big gulp. The icy liquid slid down his esophagus, making him shiver.

Cool.

Looking at the crowds of people carrying shopping baskets coming and going, and listening to the lively sounds of everyday life, he breathed a long sigh of relief.

In my past life, I was so focused on so-called success and fame that I spun around like a top every day, without even having time to eat a proper meal.

It's so much better this way.

Arguing for ages over a few cents, agonizing over whether to braise or steam for lunch.

This is what life is all about.

As for last night's sensational performance that captivated the entire school?

That's Liu Qianqian's business. What does it have to do with him, a stay-at-home husband?

He just wanted to be a quiet, handsome man and carry on with his salted fish hobby.

Unfortunately, the tree may wish to remain still, but the wind will not cease.

The post on the Beijing Film Academy BBS was screenshotted and forwarded by busybodies that same night to "Tianya Yinlang," then the largest music forum in China.

A phenomenal performance at the Beijing Film Academy's welcome party! An original rendition of "Invisible Wings" brought the entire audience to tears! (Video included, despite its low resolution!)

This title is eye-catching enough.

At first, the veterans on the forum all scoffed at it.

"Academy party? What good stuff could there be? Just a bunch of students playing house."

"Original? These days, even kids who write limericks dare to call it original."

But when they clicked on the video, which was so blurry that even faces were hard to see, the atmosphere of the entire forum changed drastically when the clear and stubborn guitar and singing came out.

"Holy crap! This melody! These lyrics! Did a student really write this?"

"This girl's voice is so clean! It has a kind of unpolished, broken quality, absolutely amazing!"

"Damn it, I'm a grown man in my thirties, and when I heard the line 'Don't think about how they have a beautiful sun,' I almost cried!"

The post was pushed to the top of the homepage at an incredible speed, and the number of replies exceeded 10,000 within a few hours.

The names "Invisible Wings" and "Liu Qianqian" broke out of the campus for the first time, starting to stir up a small storm in the wider world of the Internet.

Star Sea Entertainment, Director's Office.

Tang Hui leaned back in his expensive leather boss's chair, refreshing the "Tianya Yinlang" page with some irritation.

As a top producer in the industry known for his ability to "turn lead into gold," he is currently worried about the number of S-level new talents his company will have for the next quarter.

The market is full of greasy pretty boys or the same old sweet-singing girls, with nothing new.

Suddenly, the title of the post, highlighted in red and bold, caught his eye.

"Ha, another clickbait headline."

Tang Hui curled his lip in disdain, but still clicked on it as if possessed.

The video started playing, and the noisy picture quality made him frown.

But as soon as the prelude began and the girl in the white shirt opened her mouth, Tang Hui's irritated expression froze instantly.

He sat up abruptly and turned the volume up to the maximum.

"Even when I'm deeply hurt, I never shed a tear..."

Tang Hui has been working in the industry for over a decade, and his ears are incredibly sharp.

What he heard was neither technique nor singing ability.

What he heard was a talent, a talent for creating strong empathy with the audience!

More importantly, it's about the girl's image!

Although the video is blurry, its cool, stubborn, and untainted quality penetrates the poor resolution and strikes a chord with the viewer!

Pure!

This is the rarest and most valuable persona in the current market!

When the music ended, Tang Hui's breathing became somewhat rapid.

Only three words remained in his mind.

It's her!

This unpolished gem, once packaged and crafted by him, could absolutely become the next queen of Asia!

Most importantly, these academy graduates are clean, simple, and easy to control.

He immediately grabbed the phone on the table and dialed a number.

"Hey, Lao Zhang, help me look up someone."

"Liu Qianqian, a student in the Performance Department of Beijing Film Academy, Class of 02."

"Yes, I need all her information, the sooner the better!"

……

In the afternoon, Liu Xiaoli was teaching a physical education class to her students in the dance studio when her phone suddenly rang.

It was an unfamiliar number.

She walked to the corner and hesitantly answered the call.

"Hello, is this Liu Xiaoli, Teacher Liu?" The voice on the other end of the phone was very polite and sweet.

"I am."

"Hello Ms. Liu, I am Mr. Tang Hui, the director of Xinghai Entertainment's production department. We would like to schedule a time to meet with you to discuss matters concerning your daughter, Ms. Liu Qianqian."

Xinghai Entertainment?

Liu Xiaoli's heart skipped a beat.

These four names carry immense weight for anyone aspiring to a career in the entertainment industry.

Xinghai is one of the top three entertainment giants in China!

How did they find themselves?

"It's... something about Xixi?" Liu Xiaoli's voice was a little tense.

"Director Tang greatly admires Ms. Xixi's talent and believes she has unlimited potential. He would like to discuss the details of the contract signing with you in person."

Sign the contract!

Happiness comes so suddenly!

Suppressing her excitement, Liu Xiaoli arranged to meet at a coffee shop the following afternoon.

After hanging up the phone, she looked at herself in the mirror, her cheeks flushed with excitement, and for a moment she felt a little dazed.

My daughter... is she really going to make something of herself?

The next afternoon, at the agreed-upon coffee shop.

Liu Xiaoli specially wore a fitted dress she had kept at the bottom of her wardrobe, put on light makeup, and arrived twenty minutes early.

She nervously stirred her coffee, her heart pounding.

Suddenly, a deep engine roar came from outside the window.

A gleaming black Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan came to a smooth stop in front of the coffee shop.

The car door opened, and a middle-aged man wearing a well-tailored dark suit and gold-rimmed glasses stepped out.

His powerful aura as a successful person drew everyone's attention involuntarily to him in the coffee shop.

The man walked straight up to Liu Xiaoli and gave her a very friendly smile.

"Sister Xiaoli, this is Tang Hui. Sorry to keep you waiting."

His way of addressing her instantly bridged the distance between us.

Liu Xiaoli stood up somewhat awkwardly: "Hello, Mr. Tang."

"Don't be shy, have a seat." Tang Hui took off his suit jacket, his every move exuding a confident and commanding presence.

Instead of getting down to business, he started talking about Liu Xiaoli's past.

"I'm a big fan of yours, Xiaoli. Your performance of 'Spirit of the Peacock' on the Spring Festival Gala back then was absolutely stunning, and I still remember it vividly."

These words made Liu Xiaoli overjoyed, and her tension and wariness vanished instantly.

The man in front of her was not only a producer at a large company, but also a "confidant" who appreciated her.

Once the atmosphere had warmed up, Tang Hui changed the subject.

"Back to Sisi, this child is a gem." He looked at Liu Xiaoli and exclaimed, "I've listened to 'Invisible Wings' at least twenty times. Talent, genius, brilliance! I dare say, given a platform, she'll be the next superstar!"

This high praise made Liu Xiaoli stand up straight with pride.

Tang Hui observed her expression, took out a thick document from his briefcase, and pushed it in front of her.

"Sister Xiaoli, this is the S-level newcomer contract our company has prepared for Qianqian."

Liu Xiaoli lowered her head, and when she saw the contract amount marked in bold on the first page of the contract, her breath caught in her throat.

Signing fee: RMB 200,000!

Two hundred thousand!

In 2002, this amount of money was an astronomical sum for an average family.

It would be enough for the mother and daughter to move to a spacious and bright new house, so they would no longer have to squeeze into that dilapidated old neighborhood.

Liu Xiaoli's fingers trembled slightly.

Tang Hui took in her reaction and continued to escalate the situation, his voice filled with seduction.

"This is just a small gift. After signing the contract, the company will immediately provide Sisi with a top-notch production and promotion team. We've already started preparing her first album, and we guarantee she'll be a household name across the country by next summer!"

A grand blueprint unfolded before Liu Xiaoli, so beautiful that she almost felt dizzy.

She thought of the grievances her daughter suffered in the United States, and of the hardships she had endured over the years of struggling on her own.

It seems that all of this is about to end.

but……

Her reason was still making a final struggle.

The contract was complex and dozens of pages long; she couldn't understand it at all.

What if there's a trap inside?

Seeing her hesitation, Tang Hui leaned forward slightly and his tone became earnest.

"Xiaoli, I know your concerns. But you have to trust my expertise, and even more so, you have to believe in Xixi's potential."

"Opportunity is more important than anything else for an artist. Today Xinghai is here, tomorrow it might be another company, but they can't give us the same resources and sincerity."

He paused for a moment, then delivered the most devastating blow.

"If you miss this opportunity, you'll never have another one. For Sisi's future, you should think this through carefully."

Liu Xiaoli's heart was in complete turmoil.

Looking at Tang Hui's sincere face, at the glaring "two hundred thousand" on the contract, she thought of her family's financial situation and the bright future he described for her daughter.

To sign or not to sign?