Chapter 24
The record company, upon receiving the call from Yu Congyan’s assistant, was so excited that the manager jumped up from his chair, bumping into the table and almost spilling his coffee: “What? Are you saying Yu Corp is interested in collaborating?!”
Manager Liu immediately gathered his team and prepared to head out to discuss the collaboration. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Their company had been on the verge of bankruptcy for a while. Now, with a major client finally appearing, they had to seize this chance!
“Everyone, give it your all, our future depends on this!” Manager Liu encouraged his team.
The team members were also full of energy; this was a project that could determine the fate of their company!
As they reached the entrance, they saw a low-key but luxurious car parked outside.
The chauffeur and bodyguards, dressed in suits and sunglasses, looked intimidating.
“Did…did we offend someone recently?” Manager Liu, having never witnessed such a scene, was hesitant to step outside.
“Are you Manager Liu? We’re here to take you to Yu Corp.” A bodyguard opened the car door, gesturing for the group, who were trying to maintain their composure, to get in.
They closed the doors and drove off swiftly.
Judging by the serious expression of the CEO’s assistant when assigning the task, this wasn’t a simple matter.
After a speedy drive, they finally arrived at Yu Corp. They were all still stunned by this sudden opportunity.
Manager Liu was ecstatic. Could it be that heaven, seeing his years of diligent work, had finally given him a chance to soar?
“This way, please. CEO Yu is already waiting for you in the conference room.” The CEO’s assistant had been waiting downstairs, not wasting a single moment.
The group, feeling flattered, entered the CEO’s office. The efficiency was vastly different from their usual experiences.
Was this project so important that the CEO had to meet with them so quickly?
A few months ago, the company had sent representatives to Yu Corp to seek an explanation for their rejected project.
They were young and fearless then, but the following months proved Yu Congyan’s judgment was correct.
“Why this sudden collaboration? Has your company adjusted its investment strategy?” Manager Liu asked curiously.
Unexpected windfalls were rare, especially for an ordinary company like theirs, which relied on a few basic investments to survive.
“Your previous projects were decent but lacked innovation. Our group’s investment in that area is already saturated, so we didn’t pursue it further.” Yu Congyan pushed a document towards him.
“This is the proposal for the new project. I have an additional requirement.”
He pointed at the proposal on the table, signaling for them to read it first.
“These conditions are too generous…” Manager Liu felt like he wasn’t holding a proposal, but a golden ticket. With the support of Yu Corp, their company’s future was secured!
Manager Liu was determined, even if CEO Yu asked them to increase production fivefold, he would lead his team to work day and night to complete the task. They couldn’t fail this time!
“CEO Yu, whatever your requirements are, we will do our best to fulfill them!” Manager Liu said firmly.
He was holding the future of his entire company in his hands!
“I need your team to be on standby at all times until the program ends.” Yu Congyan said.
“???”
Manager Liu, who was prepared to go to great lengths for Yu Corp, was now told he was assigned as an off-site guest, and if Xia Wansheng needed anything, they had to be available as music consultants for the CEO.
That’s it?
Manager Liu almost jumped up and protested that this was an insult to his professionalism, but his assistant reminded him that the funding would arrive tomorrow.
Manager Liu sat back down.
“Don’t worry, we will complete the task!”
Whatever CEO Yu wanted to do must have a deeper meaning, it was just beyond his current understanding!
Since Xia Wansheng had completed his task early, he happily took the camera crew out to watch the sunset.
Leaving the others to continue working on their compositions.
The contrast between the others’ anxiety and Xia Wansheng’s leisurely enjoyment was stark.
“Isn’t this a travel vlog?” netizens commented.
“The scenery in the mountains is so beautiful, it really has that tranquil sunset vibe.”
Compared to the others’ struggles, Xia Wansheng seemed too relaxed and happy. New viewers, coming from the other guests’ scenes, were suddenly struck by the beautiful scenery.
Because of this contrast, many viewers, originally intending to watch the other guests, shifted their attention to Xia Wansheng out of curiosity.
The faint chirping of birds could be heard in the mountains.
“That should be a turtledove.” Xia Wansheng pointed towards the top of a tree.
The cameraman, skeptical, moved the camera and, as expected, saw a turtledove hidden among the branches, preening its feathers.
Having completed his task early, Xia Wansheng was completely relaxed. He had been worried about the difficulty of the program, but it turned out to be quite manageable, not even one-tenth as difficult as Old Man Feng’s devil training.
That training wasn’t pleasant. Even Xia Wansheng’s senior brother, the youngest principal player in the national orchestra, had struggled for over two months, ultimately failing.
He had almost broken down. He had arrived thinking he was exceptionally talented, but in the end, he almost begged his teacher to stop.
But the results of the training were undeniable. The young principal player, in a later interview, said with deep emotion: “If it weren’t for Old Man Feng’s devil training, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Old Man Feng had also asked Xia Wansheng if he was interested in a career in music, as his last disciple, he naturally had the qualifications, and with the master’s support, his future would be much smoother.
Unfortunately, Xia Wansheng wasn’t interested. He just wanted to complete this mission and go home.
He had long abandoned his passion for music, and now, having the chance to pick it up again in this book, felt like a dream.
Xia Wansheng returned after watching the sunset, just as the other guests were frantically calling their off-site teammates.
“I still feel like something’s off, just a little bit.” Xu Yiran, who had already filled several pages with discarded drafts, looked over with messy hair.
It seemed everyone was encountering difficulties. The off-site lifeline, originally intended for Xia Wansheng, had become everyone else’s savior.
They looked at Xia Wansheng with disbelief, “How did you finish so quickly? Any tips?”
She had thought Xia Wansheng was simply skilled when she saw his result, but after starting her own composition, she realized his success had seemed too effortless, misleading her.
The program team naturally wouldn’t give them easy tasks. If everyone finished quickly, how would they film the program?
Especially since Shao Huan had repeatedly emphasized his songwriting skills, the program team had specifically invited professionals to design the challenges, ensuring they would take at least several hours.
“The key is to listen and practice more.” Xia Wansheng glanced at Shao Huan, who was still hard at work, and gave a sincere answer.
Shao Huan was still persistently trying, staring fiercely at the computer screen, grinding his teeth.
He had confirmed that Xia Wansheng was a talentless hack, how could he complete a task he couldn’t?
There must be evidence of cheating, he just hadn’t found it yet.
Shao Huan put on his headphones, carefully listening, trying to find plagiarized parts in Xia Wansheng’s melody.
But after searching for a long time, not only did he not find anything, but his own progress was also disrupted.
He couldn’t believe it, but he had to admit the truth.
He had boasted that he could easily complete the task, imagining the applause and accolades he would receive.
But in the end, Xia Wansheng had taken all the glory.
An awkward silence hung in the air.
The netizens naturally wouldn’t miss this opportunity to mock him:
“Wow, it seems Shao Huan has finally admitted defeat.”
“My second-hand embarrassment is acting up again, hahaha. Shao Huan, if you can’t beat him, don’t challenge him, how many times do you have to lose before you learn?!”
Initially, no one had taken their competition seriously, thinking it was just two amateurs fighting.
But now, Xia Wansheng’s display of talent was extraordinary, suggesting he had been hiding his abilities.
This made Shao Huan, whose skills were barely comparable to Xia Wansheng’s before, look even more foolish.
He was only as good as a master pretending to be an amateur, yet he had boasted about easily defeating him.
It was pure humiliation.
The staff, who had been anticipating a good show, whispered among themselves: “Judging by this, could Shao Huan’s musical genius persona be fake as well?”
“Definitely fake, he clearly can’t compare to Mr. Xia, and he’s still trying to save face.” The assistant shook her head and sighed.
She had actually believed it before, truly brainwashed by the marketing.
Shao Huan hadn’t recovered even after the small competition segment ended.
Before nightfall, according to the program schedule, the guests were supposed to interact with the villagers and experience the local culture, but before they could leave, a group of uninvited guests approached them, trying to sell their services.
They were the villagers who had been paid to make things difficult for the guests yesterday. The program team had suddenly changed their attitude, only informing them that the collaboration was terminated, naturally causing dissatisfaction.
But the program team stated they had signed agreements and could take legal action if they caused trouble, so the villagers wouldn’t benefit.
The villagers had backed down then, but they were still very unhappy.
Losing the money they were supposed to receive was frustrating for anyone.
They had been waiting for a long time, and finally, seeing the program crew leaving the guesthouse, they immediately surrounded them.
After a few pleasantries, they revealed their true intentions, “Brother, let me tell you, our restaurant uses the best ingredients. Since you’ve come all this way, you must try our local specialties.”
The villagers tried to pull them towards their restaurant, using their numbers to force a sale.
The program team initially thought they were just trying to promote their restaurant. After all, with so many people, it would be a considerable expense if they chose to dine there.
“We’ll go and take a look.” A staff member said.
The other guests were busy writing, only Xia Wansheng was free. The director approached him, asking if he wanted to go along, they could include this segment in the behind-the-scenes footage.
“Sure.” Xia Wansheng didn’t refuse.
It would be good to walk around and see if there were any local specialties.
The group set off with their equipment. The villager leading the way proudly said: “Our restaurant was the first one in Yao Village, people often come from far away just to dine here!”
His words were full of pride and praise for his restaurant and dishes.
They walked for a long time, stopping occasionally, but still hadn’t reached their destination.
Xia Wansheng, with his worker’s intuition, felt something was wrong.
This place was too remote, and they had unknowingly entered a circle of villagers.
But everyone was still chatting and laughing, seemingly friendly.
The restaurant’s environment was quite nice, a typical idyllic scene, fitting the theme of traditional culture.
“This is our territory, all familiar customers, we know everyone around here!” the villager leading the way quickly introduced.
He then instructed others to prepare the food.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xia Wansheng quietly pulled the director aside, “Their attitude seems a bit off.”
Normal people wouldn’t be so calm after being rejected. Not yelling and demanding compensation was already considered generous, there must be something fishy going on.
“It’s fine, they were quite cooperative during our previous discussions, we have agreements, don’t worry.” The director patted Xia Wansheng’s shoulder reassuringly.
The dishes were quickly served. Although they looked decent, the taste was terrible.
“…” Was it too late to leave now?
They exchanged glances, realizing things weren’t that simple.
The villagers watched their every move, stopping them as soon as they showed any sign of leaving: “You haven’t finished eating yet, where are you going?”
“Exactly, didn’t we agree to collaborate? Now you’re going back on your word, are you trying to renege on the deal?”
They couldn’t let the duck fly away!
“You’re selling substandard goods, trying to extort money!” a staff member condemned their actions.
But the villagers became even more indignant: “You’re so rich, what’s wrong with paying a little more?!”
In their eyes, these people who appeared on television were all suckers with plenty of money. Not taking advantage of them would be a loss.
“You came here with such a big fuss, disrupting our business, what’s wrong with asking for a little compensation?!” The more the villagers spoke, the more righteous they felt.
If they were luckier, they wouldn’t have to deal with these people!
Seeing the escalating tension, the crew naturally didn’t want to suffer a loss, so they reluctantly paid, not wanting to cause a scene and create negative publicity for the program.
But the villagers, seeing the cameras, were still nervous and tried to stop them from filming.
The equipment used by the program team was expensive, and they naturally didn’t want the villagers to damage the hundreds-of-thousands-yuan cameras.
This ignited the fuse.
“They must be secretly filming, don’t let any of them leave!”
The villagers tried to snatch the cameras, seemingly convinced that the crew would retaliate after this.
Although they wanted to extort money, they didn’t want their faces plastered all over the screen.
During the scuffle, a camera was knocked to the ground.
Tens of thousands of yuan in repair costs!
Xia Wansheng felt his heart bleed.
A cameraman beside him refused to let go of his camera, but outnumbered by the villagers, he fell, and the camera crashed to the ground.
Just as Xia Wansheng was about to check on him, he was shoved hard by a villager who was still agitated.
It wouldn’t have been a problem, but the dirt road was uneven.
As he fell, his wrist instinctively hit the ground, scraping against the rough surface, reopening the already healed wound, which started bleeding profusely.
Xia Wansheng’s phone rang at an inopportune moment. The caller ID showed “Yu Aotian.”
They had been out for too long, and Yu Congyan was worried something might have happened to Xia Wansheng.
