I became a music industry godfather by writing confidantes.

Chapter 099 Eyes 1 Smiling and charming

At the dinner table, Yang Du's second uncle and aunt showered him with praise, even bringing up small things like getting two 100s in his second-grade exam and being named a "Three Good Student."

Then, the topic inevitably turned to his cousin Yang Ting, who was already in his senior year of high school.

Second Aunt Lin Sujuan picked up a piece of dried bamboo shoot and sighed with some worry.

"I really don't know what to say to him. Logically, as a high school Chinese teacher, your brother should have a natural advantage, but he's terrible at Chinese. He just finished his monthly exam before National Day; he got 146 in math, but only 90 in Chinese!"

As she spoke, the second aunt glared at Yang Jun.

Unfortunately, Yang Jun was a high school math teacher.

But he clearly didn't grasp the heartache in his wife's words; instead, he shamelessly gloated, "What does this mean? It means I have good genes, hehe."

Yang Du immediately saw a small flame ignite on his second aunt's head: "What's so great about it? You think getting 90 points in Chinese is something to be proud of? Let him try reciting 'The Song of the Pipa' if he's so capable!"

The second uncle was taken aback for a moment, then turned to Yang Ting and winked, encouraging him, "Carry one for your mother, don't let her look down on you."

Yang Ting couldn't fight city hall, so he had no choice but to put down his chopsticks and bite the bullet to speak.

"At the head of the Xunyang River, seeing off a guest at night... Maple leaves and reeds rustle in the autumn breeze... The host dismounts, the guest remains on the boat..."

Despite some bumps along the way, things went smoothly until, just as Auntie's expression softened, Yang Ting got stuck.

"After much anticipation, she finally appears... A single glance from her face is enough to captivate a hundred hearts..."

The dinner table was immediately filled with joy.

Yang Du couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Hahahaha!"

Enraged, Second Aunt was about to hit Yang Ting on the head with her chopsticks: "A smile that could launch a thousand ships? You really have the nerve to put Yang Guifei on a boat, huh? Did Emperor Xuanzong even agree to that?"

After laughing, Yang Du suddenly paused, stunned.

"The Song of the Pipa"?

The Ballad of the Pipa!

That's brilliant! How come I didn't think of that before?

"Come on, Xiaoting, have some swimming crab. Eating is important, you can study slowly. Make a little progress every day." Weng Shuying put a steamed crab on Yang Ting's plate and said, "This was sent by Dudu's friend. It's especially plump and delicious. Eat it while it's hot."

Yang Du snapped out of his daze and nodded with a smile.

These swimming crabs were sent by Lin Xu. His hometown is Qinggang in Inner Mongolia, and local specialties have been a constant source of them ever since the novel "Red Rose".

After dinner, and after seeing off his second uncle's family, Yang Du returned to his room, opened his laptop, and held a remote meeting with Yuan Xiuqing.

Yang Du is on vacation, Yuan Xiuqing is working overtime, and everyone is still at Qiuniu Studio.

"Qiuniu Studio is packed with visitors today, people I know and people I don't know. I can't handle it all by myself, so I called Chen Chen over to work overtime too."

"What a mess!" Yang Du realized he had become a bad boss who was still exploiting his employees even on holidays. He quickly said, "Triple pay, extra triple pay."

Yuan Xiuqing remained unmoved, like a ruthless reporting machine: "The great success and response of 'The Lone Warrior' and 'Today is Your Birthday' are inseparable from the stage of the National Day Gala. To be more precise, they are inseparable from the support of Director Huo of Beijing Concert Hall, Director Li of CCTV, and Director Yan."

"Such official endorsement is rare and hard to come by. Now that we've made contact, it's necessary to consider whether to transform this one-off cooperation into a long-term, stable relationship."

"If you are willing, Mr. Yang, we can undertake more national-level gala projects in the future, which will be of great benefit to enhancing your overall level, that is, your so-called status in the industry."

Yang Du was well aware of this, and the first thing he did after getting up in the morning was to send a message to Huo Xintong and the others to express his gratitude.

"After the National Day holiday ends and I return to Beijing, I will take some time to visit them one by one. Please prepare some gifts such as cigarettes, alcohol, and tea for me."

"Okay." Yuan Xiuqing said decisively, "The second thing is about the previous incident."

She was referring, of course, to the incident before National Day where Jiang Yinglan, Liang Bin, and other academics launched an attack.

"With the two songs, especially the patriotic song 'Today is Your Birthday,' and the praise from the Kwang Hwa Daily, previous arguments have lost their luster."

"Jiang Yinglan has fallen silent, and Liang Bin's article in 'Literary World' has also been deleted. I asked around and it turns out that it was directly removed from the database, on the orders of the newspaper's leadership, who felt that he shouldn't have taken such a clear stand."

"There are currently two options: first, press the advantage; second, temporarily put the matter on hold."

"However, given your current stature and achievements, continuing this entanglement would only lower your image. Besides, netizens are already relentlessly criticizing you every day, so there's no need for us to directly intervene. After all, we also need to consider our public image. Therefore, my suggestion is to let things cool down for now."

"Alright, you handle this."

That's what he said, but Yang Du had already written Liang Bin's name down in his little notebook, and he would write him into Zhiyin next time.

"OK, now for the third and most important thing." Yuan Xiuqing opened the folder beside her. "President Yang, in just five months since your debut, you've produced several number-one singles, including 'Flammable and Explosive,' 'Painted Heart,' 'Red Rose,' and 'Bubble,' plus two songs performed at the National Day Gala, which were featured in the Guanghui Daily..."

"Now, it's no exaggeration to say that the public and the industry have raised your expectations for the future to a level that other musicians can hardly reach." Yuan Xiuqing paused for a moment, then concluded, "This is both a good thing and a bad thing."

"The good thing is that all the attention, market resources, and singers' collaboration intentions will naturally tilt towards you."

"But the downside is that if your next work, especially one produced after the National Day holiday, is merely good but not amazing, then that feeling of unmet expectations will be amplified infinitely by the media and the public..."

Yang Du thought about it and realized that this made sense. He even came up with a title: "Probably something like 'Yang Du's Talent Has Run Out' or 'A Genius Producer Who Was Only a Flash in the Pan.'"

That's how the entertainment industry is. When they're praising you, they can elevate you to godhood, but when they're putting you down, they won't hold back. As long as you can generate buzz, it doesn't really matter whether they're praising you or kicking you while you're down.

"Yes," Yuan Xiuqing said, "so I prepared two plans."

"First, we controlled the pace of exposure and politely declined most media interviews, although we didn't give many interviews before, allowing the hype to subside naturally."

Yang Du nodded, signaling her to continue.

"Secondly, if possible, Mr. Yang, you can try some experimental tracks, explore different musical styles, and appropriately demonstrate the breadth of your creative field."

Yang Du stroked his chin thoughtfully. If the next track was an experimental piece with a style drastically different from the previous ones, it would be like giving the market a heads-up.

When exploring and trying different styles, even if the results aren't spectacular and the response is lukewarm, people will only think that Yang Du is exploring, rather than that Yang Du is no longer good or has run out of ideas.

However, he doesn't seem to have any concerns about this, after all, he has a trump card. But it's not bad to change things up occasionally, just to relax.

"As for other tasks and points to note, they are not of such high priority, and it is too complicated to explain in a short time. We will discuss them in detail after you return to Beijing, Mr. Yang."

"Yes, you're right. Once I'm done with 'Swallowtail Butterfly,' I'll start working on 'Big Fish' and 'The Song of the Pipa.'"

"The Ballad of the Pipa?" Yuan Xiuqing was taken aback. "You have a new project again?"