Chinese Entertainment King: Starting as a Fat Boy and Becoming a Singing King

According to the original plan, after the MV was released, the contract termination would be imminent, otherwise Xu Yao would not be able to release a single.

According to the contract, all rights to the release of the single belong to the company during the nine-year contract period.

In the near future, Deng Ziqi's former management company, Hummingbird Music, will issue a copyright statement via its official Weibo account, prohibiting any entity or individual from using the listed musical works for cover songs, reproductions, performances, online distribution, or other commercial purposes without the company's permission.

This involves several of Deng Ziqi's albums and many popular songs, sparking heated discussions.

This serves as a cautionary tale, and it's the main reason why Xu Yao isn't in a hurry to release a second single.

After the trending topics about Xu Yao and Liu Yifei disappeared, Xu Yao was bound to press his advantage and refused to board the tour bus.

After several unsuccessful attempts to persuade him, Sister Lin impatiently said, "Xu Yao? Get in the car."

"I'm not going."

Sister Lin was clearly angry: "Wasn't the trending topic removed?"

"Is withdrawing enough?"

Xu Yao countered with a question, his anger expressed perfectly.

"The company must issue an official statement. We must seriously pursue legal action against the rumor-mongering marketing accounts. We must immediately delete the infringing content, cease its dissemination, spread, and reposting, and issue a public apology to Ms. Liu Yifei to eliminate the negative impact."

"Otherwise, I won't go on the tour."

Sister Lin stood up from her seat and got off the bus.

"Let's go."

The tour bus left, without taking Xu Yao this time.

Standing opposite Xu Yao, Sister Lin said coldly, "Xu Yao, do you think you're someone special? That you can negotiate with the company?"

"Sister Lin, you can go look at the comments on my Weibo. How many Liu Yifei fans are cursing me? They're practically digging up my ancestral graves. If the company doesn't issue a statement, how can my Weibo function normally?"

"Those Yi family members will leave after a couple of days of cursing. Do you think they'll stay on your Weibo and curse you every day?"

"If I hadn't reminded them to remove the trending topic early, my Weibo account would be completely ruined. Rumoring a romance with Liu Yifei? You guys are so talented, you really want me to retire early."

"Xu Yao, didn't I say that in the end, the company would release a statement emphasizing that it was the work of a marketing account and had nothing to do with the company or you?"

"Then please have the company issue a statement."

"Are you deaf? Things haven't even escalated yet; is it really necessary to waste public resources?"

"Sister Lin, I've made my point very clear."

After Xu Yao finished speaking, he sat down on the steps at the hotel entrance, looking like he was determined to stick with him no matter what.

That afternoon, in the conference room of Canxing Culture.

The same few people were there, but the atmosphere was completely different from last time.

Mr. Liu sat at the head of the table, with two cigarette butts stuck in the ashtray in front of him.

Sister Lin sat opposite him, twirling a pen in her hand, much faster than usual.

"Xu Yao didn't get on the bus today." General Manager Liu's voice wasn't loud, but it was firm. "He dragged his suitcase back in front of all the trainees."

The operations director leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

"We can issue the statement. But given Xu Yao's attitude, if we issue it, he'll just make other demands next time."

Mr. Liu stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

"No need to send it."

He looked at Sister Lin.

"Zhang Bichen's single is on the agenda and will be released ahead of schedule. The music video will be filmed simultaneously with the single's release, and the budget will be transferred from Xu Yao's team. All promotional posters for the tour will remove Xu Yao's name and photo. From today onwards, the official Weibo account, WeChat account, and all promotional materials will not mention the name Xu Yao."

Sister Lin stopped writing.

"What about Xu Yao..."

"Let him sit on the sidelines," said President Liu. "Let him know that without the company, he is nothing. The company will continue to operate as usual without him. Zhang Bichen's popularity is on par with Xu Yao's, or even slightly higher, so it's perfectly legitimate for him to lead the tour."

"Spend a fortune on Zhang Bichen's schedule at the beginning of 2015. From the Taipei Arena The Voice concert, the Huading Awards red carpet performance, and various commercial performances one after another."

"Let Xu Yao know that the company has no shortage of capable people. And without the company, even if he successfully loses weight, he will still be invisible, just a nobody."

Sister Lin was silent for a while: "Why not support Zhou Shen? After all, Zhou Shen was the runner-up, and his popularity is not low."

Mr. Liu glanced at her: "Didn't you know those two have a good relationship? They flattered Zhou Shen, and then Fatty Xu said something, wouldn't Zhou Shen join in the commotion?"

There was a moment of silence in the conference room.

The operations director lowered his head, opened his notebook, and then closed it again.

"I told you long ago, Xu Yao has been a constant source of trouble since the competition. He should have been eliminated. What were you doing? How did you let him make it to the championship stage?" The more Liu thought about it, the angrier he became, and he couldn't help but curse a few more times.

The operations director began, "It was Teacher Yang Kun who granted him many privileges, such as the right to choose songs. Contestants on 'The Voice of China' don't usually have this right, but Xu Yao was an exception. Otherwise, Xu Yao would have been eliminated long ago."

Mr. Liu remained furious: "Then starting next season, Yang Kun will be permanently removed from the list of mentor candidates. Let future mentors know that not cooperating with the production team? What are you doing taking my money then? Where is your professional ethics?"

"I understand, Mr. Liu, I will do as you say."

Sister Lin didn't say anything more.

She inserted the pen into the pen holder with a soft click.

That evening, the official Weibo account of "The Voice of China National Tour" released a new set of promotional images.

The nine-square grid features Zhang Bichen's photo in the center, surrounded by other trainees.

Xu Yao's name also disappeared from the text.

In the subsequent tour schedule, the title of "Most Popular Champion of The Voice Season 3" appeared before Zhang Bichen's name, but not before Xu Yao's name.

They used the title of overall popularity champion to mislead the public and began to cultivate a leading figure for the tour.

Some people in the comments section noticed this.

"Where's Xu Yao? Wasn't he on the poster before?"

"His single hasn't been promoted on Weibo anymore, and the pinned post from before has been removed."

"Wait, isn't Xu Yao the champion? How come Zhang Bichen is leading the pack?"

"The inside information has been kept under wraps."

"The champion is being sidelined? The Voice of China is truly amazing."

"Zhang Bichen is also pitiful, being pushed out as a pawn."

Then, before these comments could gain traction, they were all deleted.

Online trolls started stirring up trouble, promoting Zhang Bichen, the most popular champion of The Voice of China Season 3, as the undisputed choice for the center position on the tour.

Xu Yao came across this Weibo post while browsing his hotel room.

Is this the company-level decision-making and counterattack?

To hide oneself away?

It can only be said that there were absolutely no surprises; everything was exactly as planned.

Dream Voice's three-pronged approach to dealing with critical students: blacklisting, suing, and demanding hefty compensation.

My phone lit up; it was Zhou Shen calling.

"Brother Yao."

Xu Yao answered the phone but didn't say anything.

"What happened?"

Zhou Shen's voice was very low, like he was making a phone call secretly in the toilet.

"I saw you didn't get on the bus today, and Sister Lin looked livid the whole way. Later, your name disappeared from the posters. Did you have a falling out with the company?"

"It would be good if it could be broken."

There was silence for a few seconds on the other end of the phone.

Zhou Shen asked nervously, "Brother Yao, are you going to terminate the contract?"

Xu Yao held his phone without saying a word.

"How much money?" Zhou Shen asked. "I have savings now."

Xu Yao leaned against the headboard and suddenly smiled: "How much savings have you accumulated during this tour?"

"Let me tell you, I'm rolling in money." Zhou Shen's voice suddenly lit up, like he was showing off a treasure. "I've saved almost 100,000 yuan now. And I've even sent money home. If you terminate the contract, I'll transfer it all to you."

"Forget it," Xu Yao said. "If I terminate the contract, it'll probably cost at least seven million."

"Seven...seven million?" Zhou Shen's voice rang out sharply. "That high?"

Xu Yao didn't speak. Seven million was still the lowest estimated price; it could potentially reach around nine or ten million.

"After all, I am the champion. If the termination fee is too low, it would be disrespectful to the show's producers."

Zhou Shen remained silent for a long time.

"Then...then let's not terminate the contract." His voice weakened. "Just hang in there. It's only eight years. Once we get through it, everything will be fine."

"Brother Yao, you can't earn seven million in your whole life. Eight years from now, we'll still be heroes."

This almost made Xu Yao burst out laughing, and he didn't explain much.

Xu Yao naturally had a palm strike that seemed to come from nowhere, allowing him to terminate the contract at a low cost.