novelraw Chapter 43 Liu Yifei's Strong Support
Chapter 43 Liu Yifei's Strong Support
Lin Shishi was wearing a fitted Chanel-style jacket today when she was suddenly bumped into by this human bomb and took a half step back.
She reached out and touched Bai Lu's fluffy head, pushing her back half an arm's length away. Her gaze passed over Bai Lu's head and precisely locked onto Song Ze, who was standing at the corner.
"Song Ze".
Lin Shishi's voice came from across the corridor.
"This is the junior sister you were so eager to sign? Her way of greeting you is certainly unique."
Upon hearing the voice, Bai Lu immediately stood up straight, pulled down the hem of her T-shirt with both hands, and clasped her hands together above her head.
"Hello, Senior Shishi!"
She has a loud voice.
"I'm Bai Lu, a junior sister whom Teacher Song Ze just signed, and also your die-hard fan. I've listened to 'A Little Happiness' on repeat ten thousand times."
To prove it, she sang a line on the spot, completely off-key.
Lin Shishi paused for a moment, her jawline softening slightly.
Bai Lu's eyes darted around, pointing to Song Ze standing against the wall.
"Senior, please don't misunderstand, we were just rehearsing."
"rehearse?"
"Yes, yes, it was a police comedy sketch. My senior colleague thought I was uncoordinated, so he made me practice a chase scene in a corridor."
Bai Lu looked serious.
He also praised me for my extraordinary physique and exceptional comedic talent, saying I could win the Best Actress award at Cannes next year.
Song Ze leaned against the wall, wanting to applaud his junior sister who was always talking nonsense.
With that kind of quick thinking, it would be a waste of his talent not to perform in sketch comedy.
Lin Shishi turned her head away, raised her hand to cover her lips and coughed twice to suppress her laughter.
When they turned back, their firepower was once again aimed at Song Ze.
"And what about you, Teacher Song?"
The pronunciation of "Teacher Song" was very heavy.
"Playing a chase scene with your Cannes Film Festival Best Actress junior in the company corridor in broad daylight? You were well-prepared for the voice audition, weren't you?"
Song Ze put his phone back in his pocket, took two steps to stand in front of Lin Shishi, and closed the distance between them to less than half a meter.
"Sister Shishi, your jealousy can be smelled from three blocks away."
He lowered his voice.
"Just a few days ago on the phone he was saying he'd use favors as a dowry, and today he comes to the company to check up on you? He's even jealous of the newcomer?"
Lin Shishi's breathing faltered, and she took a half-step back, her back slamming against the wall.
Just as he was about to speak, Song Ze reached out and grabbed Bai Lu by the back of her neck, pushing her towards Lin Shishi.
"I'm worried about her not being able to hit the high notes."
He was very serious.
"Aren't you a singer? Why don't you give some private lessons to the newcomer, and give them some pointers on vocal placement?"
Zhang Juan, who had been hiding behind the door, pushed open the solid wood door and came out.
"What are you all standing there for?"
She smiled and smoothed things over.
"Let's sit down and chat in the rest area. Don't stand in the hallway, or the PR department will start gossiping again when they pass by."
The four moved to the glass rest area next door.
Lin Shishi chose a single sofa by the window, crossed her legs, and took off her sunglasses, tossing them onto the coffee table.
To make up for her earlier rashness, Bai Lu rushed to the water dispenser, found a SpongeBob SquarePants ceramic cup, and filled it halfway with warm water.
"The senior drank water at just 45 degrees Celsius, which is perfect for soothing the throat."
She turned around, holding the cup, and strode towards the sofa.
Her high heels caught on the curled edge of the Persian carpet.
She instantly lost her balance, her arms flailing wildly in the air, and she fell straight forward.
Half a cup of warm water traced a parabola before being poured entirely onto the crotch of Song Ze's light gray casual pants.
Song Ze gasped, jumped up from the sofa, and shook his pants forward, clutching his waistband.
Bai Lu pounced on the coffee table, grabbed the whole box of tissues, ripped out a dozen or so sheets, and stabbed them at Song Ze's pants.
"Senior brother, I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to."
She was wailing as she wiped herself.
"I'll pay for this dress. Does this count as my preemptive surrender to my future boss?!"
Zhang Juan's hand, holding the coffee cup, froze in mid-air, and two drops of coffee spilled out.
Song Ze froze as he grabbed the tissue, his hands gripping his waistband.
Lin Shishi's original composure shattered, and a blush spread from her neck to her ears and cheeks.
Bai Lu realized what she had said only after she finished yelling. She covered her mouth with both hands and took three big steps back in terror.
Lin Shishi stood up, grabbed the Hermès Birkin bag next to her, unzipped it and rummaged through it, her movements revealing her panic.
She slammed a blue-covered document onto the glass tabletop.
"I'm here to talk business."
She raised her voice, her gaze drifting to the floor-to-ceiling window, refusing to look at Song Ze's wet pants.
"This is Warner Music's internal preparation plan for Yoga Lin's performance on 'Singer' that I got through someone."
Lin Shishi speaks very quickly.
"And my team worked overnight to finalize the coordination process. Hunan TV has a lot of internal conflicts and strict rules, so don't get tricked when you go for your first audition."
Song Ze, disregarding his pants, picked up the document and opened it.
The entire document is filled with data and annotations.
The analysis included Lin Youjia's singing habits, the Hertz threshold for switching between true and falsetto voices, the probability of the arrangement team favoring a minimalist style, and even the lighting and stimulating strategies that might be adopted on stage.
At the end, three song selection suggestions for responding to countermeasures were highlighted in red pen.
Song Ze closed the document and looked up at Lin Shishi.
"Thanks, I'll remember this favor."
Lin Shishi grabbed her bag, turned around, and left, her high heels clicking rapidly.
She stopped at the glass door without turning her head.
"Stop patting yourself on the back. I just don't want you to be eliminated in the first round, so I won't have any opponents."
She pushed open the door and fled, her back to me as she ran away.
Three days later, at the VIP Hall 1 of the Stellar Cinema in Changtai Plaza, Shanghai, the national premiere of "So Young 2: Never Gone" was held.
Song Ze, wearing a bespoke suit borrowed from a sponsor by Xingyao's PR department, sat in the VIP section on the left side of the third row.
Today, we received an invitation from Hongxingwu. The collaboration on the OST for "Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms" has been finalized, and the deposit has been transferred to the company's account.
Sister Hong called, using this as an excuse to have him come over as a mystery music collaborator to generate buzz and get him some media exposure.
The first two rows were occupied by theater chain executives, well-known directors, and representatives of investors.
Song Ze sat in the third row, appearing to have a very low status in front of this group of capitalists.
The spotlights on the stage shone brightly.
Liu Yifei, wearing a Dior haute couture gown from the current season, stood in the center of the main creative team.
The media area below the stage was blindingly bright with the flashing cameras and microphones.
During the interactive segment with the main creators, a reporter wearing black-rimmed glasses stood up with a microphone.
"Yifei, the investors hired a Hollywood soundtrack team for you at a high price, but you rejected the proposal and chose a newcomer from China instead. Can you reveal your upcoming music plans? Aren't you afraid this choice will ruin the entire show's publicity?"
The investors in the front row immediately turned pale and whispered among themselves.
Liu Yifei picked up the microphone, turned his head, and looked past the first two rows, landing on Song Ze in the third row.
The hall fell silent.
She spoke slowly.
"I recently collaborated with a talented musician on a song that I really like."
The tone was calm.
"I don't believe in Hollywood teams; I only believe what I hear. That song is the answer."
A commotion erupted in the media area below the stage, with a cacophony of camera shutters clicking.
Following Liu Yifei's gaze, all the reporters simultaneously turned their cameras to focus on the third row.
The reporters were in an uproar.
Red Star Studio has strict rules. This "fairy sister" hasn't released a single in many years. Now, in front of the national media, she's placing such a huge trust bet on a newcomer, even going so far as to publicly slap the investors in the face.
The investor representative in the front row, who had initially had a dark expression, turned around and sized up Song Ze.
Capital has the keenest sense of smell; anyone Liu Yifei would protect to the death is definitely not a simple bargaining chip.
Song Ze leaned back in his chair, facing dozens of high-definition DSLR cameras that were pointed at him, and waved his hand twice.
11:30 p.m., Executive Suite at The Westin Shanghai.
After taking a shower, Song Ze leaned against the headboard shirtless, scrolling on his tablet with one hand.
The screen is filled with press releases from tonight.
"The fairy sister publicly defended her own and invited her to sing from afar."
"Hollywood team abandoned, what is the background of Song Ze, a newcomer at Xingyao Entertainment?"
"Capital game? Where does Liu Yifei's confidence come from?"
These few terms dominated the top ten trending topics on Weibo, and their popularity continued to rise.
The phone screen on the blanket lit up and vibrated slightly.
Song Ze glanced at it.
The game invitation for Peacekeeper Elite didn't include a name, and the ever-present fat cat avatar stood out in the dimly lit room.
Liu Yifei.