Chapter 103: It Would Be a Shame Not to Become an Actor!

After nearly half an hour, Chen Qi finally stopped what he was doing.

“It should go like this here,” he said, pointing to a particular spot on the sheet music, softly humming a phrase.

Xu Man followed with a hum and nodded gently, as if she too noticed that the revised version sounded noticeably better.

“And here,” he continued. “And here. And here.”

As he pointed to different places on the sheet music, he sang out the effect he envisioned.

Once all the issues had been identified, Xu Man’s production team quickly made the changes. They had long received instructions from Xu Man: for this song, whatever Chen Qi said about how to sing it, that’s how it would be sung; wherever he wanted changes, they would change it.

So, when they heard his suggestions, the production team offered no objections and cooperated fully.

After the revisions, Xu Man sang through the piece again.

To Chen Qi, this version felt significantly better than the previous one, but his pursuit of perfection made him feel there were still flaws.

So, they revised again, and sang again.

Version three.

Version four.

Version five.

By the time they listened to the sixth version, Chen Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At last, this version matched the one from Earth perfectly!

Feeling a bit overwhelmed from their busy work, he checked the time and was startled.

Unknowingly, night had fallen.

He glanced at Xu Man and her team; their faces glowed with excitement, showing not even the slightest trace of fatigue.

They were genuinely exhilarated.

As professionals in the music industry, they could clearly feel that with each revision, the song was improving.

More importantly, it had been a long time since they had produced a song of such caliber.

After hearing the sixth revision, they now had high hopes for this piece.

“It’s already this late?” Xu Man exclaimed at the time, startled. “Alright, let’s wrap up for today—everyone head home.”

Her team responded with a hint of reluctance as they left.

“I should get going too,” Chen Qi said, standing up.

“I’ll arrange someone to drive you home,” Xu Man offered.

“No need, no need, I’ll just grab a taxi,” Chen Qi replied, waving his hand. “What’s tomorrow’s plan?”

“We’re going to talk cooperation with the music platform.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow,” Chen Qi said, not lingering, and walked straight out.

…

The next day.

Around nine in the morning, Chen Qi returned to Xu Man’s studio and accompanied her to a music platform called 99 Music.

Last night, he had carefully researched the music market in this world.

Just like on Earth, here almost every major internet company owned a music website, and the scale and investment were substantial.

According to the information he found, the top five music websites held similar market shares, and competition among them was fierce.

Xu Man was heading to one of these giants, 99 Music.

Curious, Chen Qi asked why she chose this one. Xu Man explained she had signed a two-year partnership with the platform.

For two years, any new song she released would grant them priority agency rights.

In exchange, 99 Music would provide significant promotional and publicity resources.

Yet, when mentioning these so-called promotional resources, a hint of sarcasm and a cold smile appeared on Xu Man’s face.

Chen Qi looked at her, puzzled and wanting to ask more, though unsure how.

Noticing his hesitation, Xu Man, perhaps feeling they now shared the same camp, briefly explained her conflict with 99 Music.

It turned out that after her previous song unexpectedly flopped, 99 Music, having poured substantial effort and resources into its promotion, demanded she compensate part of the promotional expenses due to their losses.

However, the contract clearly stated she provided the content, while 99 Music handled promotion and publicity. So she refused.

Perhaps realizing their claim was weak, the matter was dropped, but their formerly amicable partnership faded away.

Since that song, they hadn’t been in touch.

“…,” Chen Qi was stunned by her account, asking, “If things have already soured like this, why go back to them?”

“Our agreement still has two months to run. During this period, their priority rights are unavoidable. I can’t just wait two more months, and honestly, neither of us would want that.”

Chen Qi chuckled, “So what was the point of telling me all this? So I can feel just as frustrated?”

Xu Man smiled, her tone suggestive, “Relax, this collaboration won’t work out anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Chen Qi looked at her, confused.

Xu Man didn’t elaborate, simply saying, “Just wait and watch the show.”

Chen Qi glanced at her sidelong and didn’t press further.

Forty minutes later, their car pulled into a building marked “99 Music.”

After getting out, Chen Qi followed Xu Man like an assistant.

Their contract had specified: he was only involved in production; details of platform partnerships were not his concern.

He had come purely to broaden his horizons.

Soon, a staff member led them to the office of Xiao Hang, general manager of 99 Music.

“Director Xiao!”

“Miss Xu!”

The two greeted each other courteously, showing no sign of past friction.

Chen Qi, observing from the side, couldn’t help but smile.

How interesting!

After some polite conversation, Xu Man stated her purpose.

“You want to release a new song?” Xiao Hang seemed surprised at her request, though it wasn’t clear if his reaction was genuine or feigned.

“Yes. I had someone write a song, and I think it’s pretty good.”

“Someone else wrote it? Who?”

“A newcomer. This is their first song.”

“A newcomer?” Xiao Hang instinctively frowned, then quickly relaxed. “Is it finished?”

“It’s finished, but I’m not fully satisfied yet—we’re still revising. Director Xiao, I came today to ask the company to start arranging promotion and publicity. I plan to release it next week. Once the song is finalized, I’ll send it for you to listen.” Xu Man spoke with lively enthusiasm.

“Next week?” Xiao Hang echoed.

“Yes.”

He regarded her thoughtfully, then fell silent.

Xu Man looked at him with a blank expression.

Chen Qi, watching her performance from the side, marveled inwardly.

Such acting talent—it’s a shame she’s not in movies!

After a moment’s deliberation, Xiao Hang finally spoke. “Promotion and publicity aren’t a problem, but before we prepare, we need to add an extra clause.”

“An extra clause?” Xu Man was momentarily taken aback. “What clause?”

Xiao Hang smiled, “If your song doesn’t achieve the expected results, you’ll cover the promotion and publicity costs yourself.”

“What did you say?” Xu Man stared at him in disbelief.

“I have no choice,” Xiao Hang sighed heavily, looking troubled. “You know the music market is bleak now. I’m under a lot of performance pressure.”

“But our contract terms were settled long ago. Are you breaching the agreement?” Xu Man asked angrily.

“No need to exaggerate,” Xiao Hang waved his hand. “If I recall, our contract only states that 99 Music has priority agency rights. It doesn’t require us to sign every one of your works!”

Xu Man’s gaze grew complicated, the earlier enthusiasm gone.

“Of course, if you don’t like my proposed clause, you can approach another company,” Xiao Hang said with a fake, infuriating smile. “But let me remind you, in this market’s winter, other platforms may not want to work with you either—your last song did real damage.”

Xu Man laughed softly, somewhat rueful. “Director Xiao, isn’t this a bit too pragmatic?”

“We’re businessmen. We won’t knowingly lose money.”

“What if this song turns a profit?”

Xiao Hang remained silent, clearly unconvinced.

Her last song—written herself—had made no waves; how good could a newcomer’s song be?

He strongly suspected Xu Man, seeing her popularity plummet, was grasping at straws.

Xu Man looked at him bitterly, “Director Xiao, you haven’t even heard my song yet.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Xiao Hang waved dismissively. “I know you’re in a tough spot and eager for a comeback, but to be blunt, your odds are slim.”

“You’ve even reached the point of buying songs from absolute newcomers. Frankly, you’re gambling. You’re panicking,” he continued, looking down on her.

Xu Man lowered her head, silent, defeated.

After a long pause, she slowly lifted her head and said mockingly, “Director Xiao, your analysis is logical. I should have more self-awareness and not trouble you further.”

Xiao Hang smiled, but didn’t reply.

“Sigh…” Xu Man let out a long breath. “Since you’re so pessimistic, let’s not force a collaboration and risk more losses you can’t explain upstairs.”

“Thank you for understanding, Miss Xu.”

“In that case, I’ll need you to provide a written statement canceling this cooperation.”

At this, Xiao Hang was noticeably stunned. “You still want to continue?”

Xu Man smiled wryly, “The song’s been written, the money paid—I have to try. Otherwise, the loss would be too great.”