There was no way the deal would fall through. Old Yan and the others had already seen Tan You’s talent. Finding a good voice wasn’t that difficult these days; the real challenge was finding a talented singer-songwriter.
And as it happened, Tan You excelled at both. As long as her demands weren’t outrageous, Old Yan and his team were prepared to agree. Business is always brutally straightforward. As long as you can bring the other party profit and have the ability to back it up, any collaboration will go very smoothly.
Case in point.
Tan You shook Old Yan’s hand. "I’ll be counting on your guidance, Teacher Yan."
"Teacher Yan?" Old Yan raised an eyebrow. "I like the sound of that. Teacher Wen, what are your plans now?"
Tan You replied, "Naturally, to have my voice heard by more people."
Tan You raised an eyebrow slightly. "Every singer yearns to be on stage."
With the contract signed, the frantic recording for Tan You’s first-ever album began. The company’s best sound engineer was involved every step of the way, and the music director was always on hand to provide support.
This special treatment made everyone else at the company burn with envy.
But Old Yan stated it plainly at a meeting: "If you have Wen Ming’s creative talent, or if you have Wen Ming’s vocal skills, I’ll give you the green light all the way too! The question is, do you?"
Those few sentences alone were enough to shut down all the snide remarks.
Tan You received the most special treatment at Old Yan’s company, and of course, the contract she signed was also the most flexible. From lyrics and composition to musical arrangement and so on, Tan You handled almost all of the post-production herself.
The music director sighed. "Teacher Wen, with you doing all this, it makes us feel pretty useless. If it weren’t for the fact that someone needs to sit outside the recording booth, I suspect Teacher Wen would want to save the trouble on that front as well."
Tan You shrugged. "I just really enjoy the process of creating my own album from scratch. After all, I’ve never released one before, so it all feels new and exciting."
Director Liu teased, "The truth is, Teacher Wen, you just don’t want anyone else making money off you, do you?"
Tan You’s eyes crinkled into a smile. "How did you know?"
Director Liu tapped Tan You on the head. "The album goes live tonight. Aren’t you nervous at all?"
"Nervous about what? You just get it done." Tan You spread her hands. "It’s like they say, when two foes meet, the braver one wins. We’ll just see who’s more stubborn."
"That album Qi Ying produced for Ah Rong still has half its songs on the charts," Director Liu said, deliberately trying to stir things up. Seeing that Tan You’s expression didn’t change at all, Director Liu couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.
Tan You said, "Then we’ll see who comes out on top in the end."
Director Liu shook his head. "So bloodthirsty. Qi Ying is in for some bad luck."
Tan You said, "He’s long overdue for a lesson. I need to make everyone understand that I can live without Qi Ying. In fact, I’ll live very well. As for Qi Ying, he’ll only ever be able to watch my back as I pull away."
Old Yan fiddled with a pen. "What are your plans after the album is released? I see you have so many unreleased songs, and the quality is so high. It’d be a waste not to release them."
Tan You glanced at him. "If you have something to say, just say it."
Old Yan sat up straight. "Alright, I’ll be direct. Are you interested in being a music director? Specifically, to produce albums for our other singers? You don’t seem like the type to sit idle. Besides, some of those songs you’ve written don’t quite fit your style."
Tan You glared at him. "How do they not fit?"
Old Yan’s voice was even louder than hers. "Are you going to get up on stage and sing sweet, bubbly songs?"
Tan You slumped in her chair. Old Yan had actually hit the nail on the head. She had indeed written some sweet songs, but the thought of singing them herself made her cringe.
She could dance in a sweet and passionate style, but when it came to singing like that, Tan You just couldn’t bring herself to do it. She couldn’t shake the feeling she was too old to be acting cute, a mental block she simply couldn’t get past.
Tan You looked at Director Liu. "Teacher Yan, you’re really putting me on the spot. Are you asking me to usurp the throne? Director Liu is right here."
Director Liu waved his hands frantically. "I’m just a vice-director. If you’re willing, Teacher Wen, I’d be happy to support you. I don’t ask for much. As long as we can produce more and better albums, I’ll be perfectly content."
Tan You considered it for a moment. "Let’s talk about it after the album sales figures come out. I want to rest for a while. I’ve been too tired lately, and I haven’t fully recovered yet."
The moment Tan You brought up her health, everyone went silent. Who didn’t know that Tan You had just gotten out of the hospital a month ago? For the past month, she had been recording her album non-stop, and she even found time to sing at Ye Se. She was spinning like a top.
To ask her to work herself to the bone for the company again now would make them look like they were exploiting her.
Old Yan was still a little regretful. "It would have been great if you had shot the music video now. You’re so slim and beautiful at the moment, why have someone else do it? In the end, the male and female leads in your album’s videos are other people."
Tan You was unconcerned. "I’m not good at acting to begin with, so I’d rather not embarrass myself."
"How much acting skill does a music video require? I think you’re just not interested in it at all." Old Yan rolled up the documents in front of him and tapped her on the head. "Do you want to wait here for today’s sales data, or head straight home?"
Tan You stood up immediately. "I’m going home to rest. I’ve already produced the result; what achievements it gets is up to fate."
Watching Tan You’s breezy departure, Director Liu clicked his tongue in amazement. "So confident."
"She has a clear understanding of her own abilities," Old Yan laughed as well. "Well, it looks like it’ll be us guys pulling an all-nighter, while the star of the show has already bolted."
Old Hu said, "Let her go home and get some proper rest. She has so many songs and lyrics in her arsenal. If she doesn’t rest up, how can she keep working hard for the company in the future?"
"I don’t think Wen Ming is that easy to deal with. Trying to get her to do two jobs for the price of one won’t be easy."
"Speaking of which, isn’t Old Jiang coming back soon? Does Old Jiang have any new work recently?"
Old Yan scoffed. "Didn’t Old Jiang fly to Country M a few days ago? He went to chase after his ex-wife. She wouldn’t see him, so he wrote a song outside her house. It seems like he really gave up."
"But then, on his way back, he met a gorgeous flight attendant and fell in love all over again."
"Old Jiang is a man of many loves," Old Huang remarked, lighting a cigarette. "He falls for one after another."
"Between him and Wen Ming, who do you think is more talented?" Old Yan started polling the room, wanting to know, if Tan You and Jiang Hua were to clash, who of the two was truly more talented.
"Based on personal friendship, I’m definitely on Old Jiang’s side," Old Huang said, lighting another cigarette. "But rationally and objectively, I’m backing Wen Ming."
"Old Jiang gets all his inspiration from women and love. Look, every time he releases a song, it’s either because he’s fallen in love or he’s just had his heart broken. But what about Wen Ming? No matter what she encounters in life, she can turn it into creative fuel."
"She isn’t just confined to romance and heartbreak."
Old Mo chimed in, "Old Jiang understands women, but he’s also fickle. How could a guy like him ever settle down for one person? He’ll just keep breaking women’s hearts, and then turn around and write all sorts of love songs about it."