Chapter 140: Truly Inventive Ways to Court Death

Chen Qi spent over three days buried in work. Throughout this period, Su Xiaoxiao, Qi Qi, and Zhang Yichi remained by his side, providing significant assistance.

Following these days of working closely together, the relationship between Chen Qi and his fledgling team had become somewhat more harmonious, and their interactions felt far more natural. At the very least, when they sat together, no one felt the tension, awkwardness, or unease that had been present before.

Likewise, through these days of companionship, Su Xiaoxiao and Qi Qi had gained a deeper understanding of this boss, who was only two years their senior. They all agreed that he was quite different from the type of boss they had imagined back in school. They found him to be authentic and easy to get along with.

Once he had grown more familiar with Qi Qi and Zhang Yichi, Chen Qi formally discussed their work status with them. As the studio currently had nothing on its plate, they would not have formal roles until the new program launched. However, he promised that when the time came, he would take them to visit a renowned industry post-production team so they could learn from their experience. In short, he was quite satisfied with the two people Su Xiaoxiao had worked so hard to recruit, and he was happy to provide them with various opportunities to learn.

Qi Qi and Zhang Yichi naturally had no objections to this. They had chosen Chen Qi’s studio, and the fact that their boss was pleased with them was enough. Future work opportunities would surely follow.

After three days of busyness, Chen Qi had finally listed all the necessary preparations and the specific flow of the program. He had prepared nearly a hundred songs alone and had drawn up a list of over thirty singers he hoped to invite. He had also consulted with the manager of a recording studio regarding top-tier equipment and the associated session musicians. Now, it was time to put his plans into action.

"Xiaoxiao, you all go to these music companies and sign the contracts," Chen Qi said, assigning tasks to the trio. He had already negotiated the usage and adaptation rights for nearly a hundred songs with the relevant companies; now, they just needed to go and sign the paperwork. With the music industry currently in a slump, securing these rights had not been difficult. The music companies were easy to deal with—when it came to usage and adaptation rights, they would sell them for almost anything.

"Understood," Su Xiaoxiao replied, then set off with Qi Qi and Zhang Yichi. While they didn't strictly need to go, they felt that since they were idle anyway, it would be good to get some exposure, so Chen Qi let them go.

After they left, Chen Qi took out his phone and dialed Xu Man’s number. Everything was ready; it was time to talk to the singers.

His first choice was still Xu Man. Although he knew the difficulty of convincing her and the slim chance that this rising star on the cusp of diva status would agree, he still wanted to try.

"What is it?" Xu Man answered quickly.

"Are you at the studio?"

"On my way to the airport. Why?"

"The airport, huh..." Chen Qi thought for a moment and asked, "What time is your flight?"

"Eleven-thirty."

Chen Qi checked the time; there were nearly three hours left until 11:30. "Let's meet and talk; I'll come to the airport to find you." With that, he hung up and left the studio. Having little hope for a positive outcome, he could have handled this over the phone, but having been cooped up in the studio for days, he wanted to step out for some fresh air.

Forty minutes later, he arrived at the airport and saw Xu Man, who was dressed fashionably. Judging by her outfit, she was likely heading to an event.

"What could be so important that you had to chase me to the airport?" Xu Man asked, watching him curiously from the car and signaling for him to get in.

Chen Qi didn't stand on ceremony; he climbed in, found a comfortable position, and said, "It's nothing major. I’m preparing a music program and wanted to see if you’d be interested."

"A music program?" Upon hearing those words, Xu Man’s eyes widened. She stared at him, looking both shocked and bewildered. She wasn't a fresh graduate like Su Xiaoxiao or Qi Qi; having spent years in the entertainment industry, she knew better than anyone what a mess the current music market was.

*You're doing a music program in this environment? You must be crazy!*

"Yes, a music program." Chen Qi nodded earnestly, entirely unsurprised by her reaction.

"You..." Seeing that he didn't seem to be joking, Xu Man let out a dry laugh, unable to find the words. Like Zhao Qingqing before her, she was at a loss for what to say. After a long pause, she shook her head with a wry smile, eyeing him as if seeing him for the first time. "The internet users were right—you really are finding new ways to dig your own grave every single day!"

Chen Qi rolled his eyes at her.

"Not interested. Not interested at all," Xu Man refused point-blank, sparing him no face.

"..." Chen Qi was speechless for a moment. "I haven't even told you what kind of program it is yet."

"I'm not interested in any format. Participating in a music program in this climate is thankless work; calling it counterproductive wouldn't even be an exaggeration." Xu Man waved her hands dismissively, then looked at him with amusement. "I don't have your ability to pull victory from the jaws of defeat every time. I don't want to ruin a career that has finally started to show some signs of life." She wasn't afraid to speak her mind in front of him.

Chen Qi remained silent.

"And if I'm not mistaken, you're planning to launch this program very soon, right?"

Chen Qi nodded.

"Then it's even more impossible. Even if I were interested, I wouldn't dare agree. My schedule is already booked for the next three months."

Chen Qi paused, momentarily stunned. He had forgotten about that. Riding the wave of "Beyond the Light Years," she was currently one of the most popular stars in the music scene, and she was practically drowning in offers for events and endorsements.

"Fine, if you're not interested, forget it." Knowing there was no chance of her participating, he didn't want to waste any more breath. He opened the door to get out. "I'm off." He waved goodbye.

Watching him walk away with such nonchalance, Xu Man suddenly felt a flicker of curiosity. She called out, "Hey, what is the format of your program anyway?"

"You'll know once it launches. You'll definitely regret it by then," Chen Qi said, looking back at her with a grin. "Don't say I didn't give you a chance!"

"Huh?" Xu Man looked at him in bewilderment. Regret what? Regret not joining the show? *Stop kidding around!*

"Heh..." Seeing the undisguised disdain on her face, Chen Qi chuckled, waved at her one last time, and strode away.