EFB Chapter 67 The Most Deadly Place
Chapter 67 The Most Deadly Place
Zeng Hao didn't say anything, but pushed the third appendix to the contract on the table over.
Chen Li picked up the attachment, turned to the second page, and his gaze swept down to a certain line.
He read it twice, then flipped back to the first page to confirm before looking at Zeng Hao again.
The assistant who was standing next to him also came over to take a look, and his expression changed visibly.
"How is the penalty calculated?" Chen Li put down the contract, his tone relatively calm, "is it calculated as twice the estimated total revenue for the unfulfilled period?"
"Yes." Zeng Hao nodded.
The basis for calculating the estimated total revenue is—
"The market valuation confirmed by both parties on the day of signing," Zeng Hao added. "Article 7 of Annex 3 clearly states that the valuation will be reassessed annually based on actual earnings, with the highest value within the past two years being used."
Chen Li found the seventh clause, read it word by word for about twenty seconds, then closed the contract, placed it on the table, and pressed his palm on it.
"Mr. Zeng," he changed his approach, his tone softening, "we're not here today to discuss breach of contract, but to discuss cooperation. If Sunshine Entertainment also values Tencent's resources, the two sides can absolutely—"
"Xue Zhijian's contract still has nineteen months left," Zeng Hao interrupted him, his tone flat. "After nineteen months, it's up to him where he wants to go. Within nineteen months, cooperation is negotiable, but poaching is out of the question."
Chen Li removed his hand from the contract, picked up the water glass next to him, and took a sip. The movement was quite slow, taking about eight seconds.
After putting down his water glass, he opened his briefcase, put the documents he had brought back inside, stood up, and extended his hand: "Okay, Mr. Zeng, let's go back and study it again."
The two shook hands, neither too hard nor too lightly.
Chen Li walked towards the door, but halfway there, without turning back, he only said, "I hope there will be opportunities for cooperation again in nineteen months."
"Have them contact Xu Wen," Zeng Hao said.
Xu Wen escorted Chen Li and his group to the elevator. When he returned, he couldn't suppress his excitement. He pushed open the door and stood there, his expression somewhere between wanting to applaud and holding back.
"Gone?" Zeng Hao asked.
"He's gone." Xu Wen nodded. "That Chen Li sighed before getting out of the elevator; he sounded quite helpless."
Zeng Hao put Attachment 3 back into the folder: "Where is Xue Zhijian?"
"In the recording studio, there's a new song mixing that needs to be checked this afternoon."
"Tell him that the negotiations with Tencent have fallen through."
Xu Wen took out his notebook and wrote it down, then looked up and asked, "Are you just going to say it like that?"
"Um."
Xu Wen responded and was about to turn around when his phone suddenly vibrated.
He glanced down at the screen, his expression instantly changing. He turned the phone over to Zeng Hao and said, "On YiNet, 'Ugly Monster' just reached number seven on the hot song chart! The priority trigger notification has also arrived. Sister Liu said the settlement will be completed this week. With this payment, the account balance will be over 45 million."
Forty-five million.
Zeng Hao reopened the hot song chart, and at number seven, the play count under the title "Ugly Monster" was still jumping in real time, and the number was rising quite fast.
"Have Sister Liu keep a close eye on the payment collection."
Xue Zhijian arrived in the evening, saying he was just passing by and didn't mention the penguins.
After drinking a glass of water at Xu Wen's desk, Xu Wen relayed the news that "the talks with Tencent have fallen through." Xu Wen simply grunted in response, glanced at the trending songs chart, and then waved his phone screen at Xu Wen.
"Seventh." He said calmly, but couldn't suppress the smile on his lips. "My previous album only reached ninth place at best."
"It's seventh this time, and it's still rising," Xu Wen said with a smile.
Xue Zhijian put his phone back in his pocket, stood up, and gestured with his chin towards Xu Wen: "Is your boss here? I'll go say hello."
Xu Wen pointed to the inner room: "It's here."
Xue Zhijian pushed open the door and stood there for a few seconds: "President Zeng, thanks for the Tencent thing."
Zeng Hao didn't look up, still flipping through the documents in his hands: "It's about the contract."
"I know it's about the contract," Xue Zhijian smiled, "but I still have to say thank you."
Without waiting for Zeng Hao's reply, he quietly closed the door and left.
The sound of him talking to Xu Wen could be heard in the corridor, followed by Xu Wen's laughter, and then silence returned.
...
The recording schedule was crumpled and pressed on the table. Zeng Hao casually folded a corner of the paper into a small triangle, but didn't put it in the drawer.
The production team sent over a plain A4 sheet of paper, densely packed with text. The names of the eight singers who would be starting out this season were listed in a row, with the recording information for the first episode at the bottom.
January 7, 2016, Changsha, HBS Headquarters Center.
Xu Jiaying's name is the seventh one.
While others were looking at the cast list, he was looking at the script.
He knew better than anyone what she would sing in the first episode.
Lost Sandbar.
She wrote the lyrics and composed the music herself, and these are old songs that have been sung in Taiwan for many years.
It's not the kind of commercially produced song that comes off an assembly line; the emotion seeps out from the bones, not just something performed on stage.
This kind of thing can't fool anyone, especially not the five hundred people in the audience.
With a single listener's attention and a quick thought, the outcome is decided on the spot.
In the first round, she secured first place.
But the real show isn't over there.
In the second episode, "Cultivating Love," they dropped directly to sixth place.
That's the most critical part.
It's not that she sang badly, it's just that her song choice was a disaster.
The previous episode had the audience's emotions soaring, but the next one was a complete letdown, shattering their expectations.
In the last two episodes, they hovered between third and fourth place, neither rising nor falling, which was the most frustrating.
What truly solidified her position was her performance of "Lilian" in the fourth episode.
She took Song Dongye's song, rearranged it, stripped away the original decadent spirit, leaving only the deepest, quiet, and obsessive obsession.
It doesn't resort to sentimentality, screaming, or feigning misery; instead, it stabs right into people's hearts, one cut at a time.
The online comments will explode, saying that this episode is what "I Am a Singer" should be like, and that we've finally found someone who can truly sing.
That was the window of opportunity for brands to skyrocket in prices.
This is not the first episode.
The vast majority of brands are just easy targets; once the first batch becomes a hit, they rush in to grab it, driving prices sky-high.
Once its ranking drops in the second period, it runs faster than a rabbit.
Those who truly understand the field wait until after the fourth phase.
Once popularity was stable, reputation was established, and the casual customer base was fully expanded, the price negotiated at that time was more than double that of the first phase, and the subsequent renewal rate was also ridiculously high.
Zeng Hao picked up a pen and casually drew a line in the blank space of the schedule: After the 4th session, within 72 hours.
The handwriting was messy, but the meaning was very clear.
...
Xu Wen pushed open the door just as he was about to leave work, clutching a greasy takeout bag in his hand. As soon as he entered the room, the aroma of fried chicken swept through the office like a bandit.
"Teacher Xu called this afternoon." He tossed the takeout onto the corner of the table, took out his phone and scrolled through the messages. "The production team gave her some advice on song selection, suggesting that she sing 'The Brightest Star in the Night Sky' for the first episode. They said it's catchy, familiar to the general public, a safe bet, and won't be a disaster."
Zeng Hao didn't even look up: "What does she mean?"
"She said she wanted to sing 'Lost Sandbar.' She asked what our opinion was."