novelraw Chapter 39 The Silence After the Noise
Chapter 39 The Silence After the Noise
Deng Nan remained silent for a long time before uttering a sentence.
"Why didn't you say so sooner..."
Send me a synopsis of the drama's plot.
After saying that, Deng Nan waved her hand to shoo people away.
Lin Yi and Yu Nuannuan exchanged a smile.
Although it was already dark, it was still early.
After leaving Deng Nan's recording studio, Lin Yi and Yu Nuannuan walked hand in hand toward the elevator.
As they passed a room, a broken male voice could be heard.
Yu Nuannuan paused slightly and listened intently.
Lin Yi also stopped in his tracks: "What's wrong?"
Yu Nuannuan gently tugged at Lin Yi's hand, gestured with her eyes towards the room, and whispered:
"This voice sounds familiar; it should be Li Shen, the guy we had dinner with last time."
"Okay." Lin Yi nodded, and without lingering, he led Yu Nuannuan towards the elevator.
However, my impression of Li Shen deepened.
...
Riding on the popularity of the detective challenge, Li Shen's new song "Huan Yan" broke into the top ten of the new song chart and stayed there for six days before finally leaving the chart.
The attention he received in those six days was more than he had in the previous eight years combined.
My Weibo followers have increased by over 100,000, and I've received many more encouraging and affirming messages in my private messages.
Some smaller music festivals even sent invitations.
But there were no corporate annual meetings or commercial performances in shopping malls.
He knew the reason.
His agent had hinted that his image was too ordinary and lacked memorability.
The entertainment industry has always been a place that values appearance, and singers are no exception.
Singers with good looks are more likely to become popular.
Even after becoming famous, good looks become a bonus, rather than a necessary condition.
Li Shen quit NetEase Cloud Music and opened the pinned Penguin Chat.
That was my chat interface with my girlfriend, Wenwen.
The last time we spoke was three days ago.
Wenwen asked him, "How's the new song doing? Are you busy? Remember to rest."
He replied, "Not bad, made it into the top ten. A bit busy, you too."
Then, there was only blank space.
Li Shen lay on the bed in his apartment, with a stark white fluorescent light shining overhead.
He hovered his finger over the screen, typed a line of text, paused his fingertip above the send button for a few seconds, then slowly moved it away and pressed the delete button.
He recalled that a few days ago when "Detective Challenge" aired, his new song soared like a rocket, quickly climbing into the top ten of the new song charts.
At that moment, he seemed to see the dawn of success.
But then?
The hype came and went quickly, just like the tide.
When the tide recedes, he remains that obscure, unknown singer.
"If I had been successful in my youth..." This thought inexplicably flashed through his mind, followed by a deeper bitterness.
He's not young anymore, almost thirty.
Wenwen's voice seemed to be ringing in my ears again.
"Li Shen, I'm almost thirty. When are you going to marry me?"
Looking at her solo wedding photo on his phone, he felt like his heart was being stabbed with needles.
He wants to marry her; he dreams of it.
But what can I use to marry her?
Li Shen got up, washed his face, tidied himself up, and went out to the company.
As a singer, he has no other choice but to hone his singing skills.
...
A hotel room in Shanghai.
Sun Haoxuan had just returned from a job interview, his face still covered in makeup, but his eyes betrayed his exhaustion.
He tossed his coat onto the sofa, loosened the collar, sank into the soft fabric, and let out a long sigh.
In the nearly one month since filming wrapped, his schedule has been packed.
Brand events, magazine shoots, variety show recordings, business dinners... announcements are coming one after another.
I have indeed earned much more money than before.
But he found that this busyness and exhaustion were completely different from when he was on a film set.
Working on set was tiring, with frequent back-to-back shifts to meet deadlines, but the exhaustion was fulfilling, and he found satisfaction in it.
And now?
He felt like a carefully packaged commodity.
It was more fun filming... I wonder when the second season will start filming.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Zhou Li walked in.
"Sister Li, you're here." Sun Haoxuan sat up straight, a smile on his face.
Zhou Li sat down opposite Sun Haoxuan. "Yeah, I just got back from Guangzhou. You must be tired?"
"It's alright." Sun Haoxuan waved his hand; that wasn't what he was concerned about right now.
"Sister Li, how's the contract renewal negotiation for 'Detective X' going? What did Teacher Lin say?"
His tone was filled with anticipation.
He genuinely liked the character X and felt it was tailor-made for him.
Looking into Sun Haoxuan's clear and expectant eyes, Zhou Li sighed inwardly.
"The negotiations... have reached a stalemate."
"Frozen?" Sun Haoxuan's smile faded, and his brows furrowed. "Why?"
Zhou Li briefly explained President Cheng's requirements and the conditions provided by Lin Yi to Sun Haoxuan.
Upon hearing this, Sun Haoxuan became even more puzzled.
"Isn't the offer from Teacher Lin very good?"
In addition to a basic salary, there are also tiered revenue sharing and future revenue from derivative products.
Moreover, signing a long-term contract and becoming a long-term partner of the IP is a great thing, isn't it?
Creating a classic character that audiences will remember is something many actors dream of.
Sun Haoxuan couldn't understand why the talks had stalled.
The contract Lin Yi offered seemed very sincere to him.
In the first season of "Detective X", his box office share was close to 4 million, which translates to more than 300 million per episode.
This is already the price of a top-tier celebrity.
Zhou Li remained silent. What could she say?
Whether the company was greedy or Lin Yi's attitude was unexpectedly tough, it was a matter of debate.
After a long while, she finally raised her head, looking at Sun Haoxuan with a complicated expression, her voice somewhat low:
"Haoxuan, capital is greedy. Once it gets some, it wants more and will never be satisfied."
Moreover, the company's interests sometimes do not align with yours.
Sun Haoxuan understood.
It's not that Lin Yi's conditions are bad, but that the company wants to extract more profits.
As for the long-term benefits that the role of X will bring to his acting career, that is not within the scope of the company's consideration.
The best way to maximize the company's profits is to take him on more gigs and endorsements while he's still popular, rather than keeping him glued to the film set.
A surge of anger rushed to Sun Haoxuan's head, and he suddenly stood up.
How could they do this?
No, I have to tell Mr. Cheng that this contract must be signed!
If the company doesn't agree, I'll... I'll go on strike!
"I'm not renewing my contract when it expires!"
"Haoxuan! Don't do anything foolish!" Zhou Li hurriedly shouted, standing up as well.
Do you know what you're saying?
A strike? That's a serious breach of contract, and you'll face huge compensation claims!
Moreover, you still have four years left on your contract with the company. Now that things have fallen out, they have a million ways to sideline you or even blacklist you!
"At that point, not only will your role as X be ruined, but your entire acting career could be destroyed!"
Zhou Li's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Sun Haoxuan's feverish head, and he slumped back onto the sofa.
"Sister Li, tell me, what should I do?"