Chapter 126: A Huge Sum Received

Leaving the studio, Chen Qi, with nothing else on his agenda, headed straight back to his rented apartment. On the way, he couldn't help but marvel at how wonderful it was to live so close to work. A stroll of just over ten minutes would get him there, saving him the hassle and cost of transportation altogether. At this rate, he would save a massive amount of time every day. What a steal!

The moment he opened the door to his apartment, his phone buzzed with a bank notification. A deposit of five million yuan had just cleared into his account! Staring at the message, Chen Qi froze for a second before a realization struck him. He quickly unlocked his phone and searched for the Music Billboard.

Although the text message did not specify the sender, he did not need to guess. The only person with whom he shared a five-million-yuan transaction was Xu Man. He hadn't paid much attention to the song's performance lately, but since Xu Man had sent the money, it must have topped the charts. Sure enough, *Light Years Away* had claimed the number-one spot on the Music Billboard.

Chen Qi smiled and did a quick online search for related news, only to discover to his surprise that the song had reached the top two days ago. What was more, it had rocketed from tenth to first place in a single day. Rave reviews flooded the internet, with many hailing it as the best song to come out in the last two years.

After skimming through the articles, Chen Qi smiled faintly and put his phone away. He had previously looked into this chart, the most authoritative in the music industry, and found its rules rather intriguing. Generally, the Billboard only tracked songs released within the past year. However, if there weren't enough high-quality tracks to fill the list in any given year, the older songs would remain on the chart indefinitely until new, worthy tracks bumped them off.

Currently, apart from *Light Years Away*, the other nine songs on the top ten had entered the chart two years ago. This meant that over the last two years, the sluggish music industry had failed to produce a single decent song that resonated with the public. Music fans and industry professionals had taken the principle of "quality over quantity" to its absolute limit. They would rather let the chart be filled with old classics than yield a spot to those superficial hits boasting hundreds of millions of fake clicks.

With *Light Years Away* entering the fray, the former champion dropped to second place, and the oldest song in the top ten was finally pushed off the list. Consequently, Chen Qi found himself quite intrigued by this prestigious and quirky chart. More than once, he had fantasized about a future where he would replace every single song on this chart with titles he was familiar with. When it came to dominating the charts, he believed he had a natural talent.

Just then, his phone rang. It was Xu Man. Her call was primarily to inform him about the wire transfer. She explained that she had intended to send it a few days earlier, but because she couldn't liquidate that much cash immediately, it had been delayed by a couple of days. Even though she had just parted with a small fortune, Chen Qi could still hear the sheer joy in her voice.

Xu Man was incredibly busy these days. Thanks to the explosive success of *Light Years Away*, her popularity had soared to the absolute peak of the entertainment industry. Offers for commercial performances, brand endorsements, and television appearances flooded in without pause. She had squeezed this call in during a brief break in her recording schedule. Having nothing better to do, Chen Qi had initially thought of tagging along to the TV station to see how things worked behind the scenes, but he dropped the idea upon learning that she was filming out of town.

After hanging up, Chen Qi went back to his own affairs. For the next few days, he remained cooped up in his rented apartment. He had to admit that moving into a spacious place had done wonders for his mood. He spent his time cooking, doing some writing, and whenever he felt tired, he would pour a drink and stand on the balcony to enjoy the breeze while catching up on the news of this world. Occasionally, he would zone out, let his mind wander, and ponder his next steps. His days were remarkably cozy.

Thanks to his low profile, his online buzz quickly faded. Those who had jumped on the bandwagon to claim he would exploit the viral incident at the 4S dealership to make a quick buck were thoroughly embarrassed by amused netizens, becoming the butt of a major joke. Chen Qi, however, couldn't care less about any of it. Before he knew it, five days flew by. On the sixth day, Su Xiaoxiao called to let him know she had reported back to her university.

She mentioned that she was a bit busy with the start of the semester, but things would settle down in a few days. She promised to manage her time so she could work at the studio without falling behind in her classes. When Chen Qi curiously asked about her class schedule, she explained that starting this semester, they barely had any classes left. Most of her classmates were already looking for internships. Speaking of internships, a thought struck Chen Qi, and his eyes lit up.

He remembered his need for a visual effects and post-production team. After pondering for a moment, he asked Su Xiaoxiao to keep an eye out for students majoring in VFX and post-production who were looking for internships. He could offer them a place to intern, and if they performed well enough, he would offer them full-time positions with salaries well above the market rate.

"Sure," Su Xiaoxiao agreed readily, asking if he had any specific requirements.

"No, just use your judgment. Whoever you think fits the bill is fine." Since it was only an internship for now and not a formal hiring process, Chen Qi didn't want to set the bar too high. He could observe their capabilities during the internship. Consequently, he was quite flexible with the headcount; as long as they had the technical skills, he wouldn't mind taking in ten or twenty of them.

"Got it," Su Xiaoxiao said. Chen Qi exchanged a few more pleasantries before hanging up.

A moment later, Xu Bunian called. The preparations for *A Cool Fish* were nearly complete, and they had decided to begin shooting the day after tomorrow. Hearing this news, Chen Qi instantly perked up. After waiting for so long, the movie was finally going to start production!

"Have the actors all been cast?" he asked.

"Not yet. We're still negotiating with a few. Director Zhou wants to start shooting and cast the rest as we go. He said this film has so many roles that it won't affect the initial schedule." Xu Bunian paused, adding in an amused tone, "That's his excuse, at least. Personally, I think he's just been away from the director's chair for so long that he's itching to get started."

Hearing this, Chen Qi couldn't help but chuckle.

It made sense. An up-and-coming director who had barely begun to show his potential had suffered a devastating setback that nearly drove him out of the industry. Now that he had finally secured another chance, it was only natural that he was impatient.

"What about the locations? Are they all locked down?"

"Yes, the locations are all set, and all the permits have been sorted out."

"Alright, got it." Chen Qi didn't press for details over the phone. After confirming the location for the first day of shooting, he hung up.