Chapter 40: What on Earth

Chapter 40: What on Earth

Seeing Chen Feng still standing dazed in the middle of the road, Tang Shuang tugged his hand with a little more force.

Chen Feng followed Tang Shuang and moved to the side.

Lin De, who was in the crowd ahead, had already noticed Chen Feng and felt a bit uneasy.

He was really afraid Chen Feng would play a sneaky trick on him at this moment.

If Chen Feng publicly revealed Lin De’s disparaging remarks about celebrities and artists here in front of everyone, who knew what thoughts might arise in He Jiaqi’s mind.

Lin De was well aware of how much effort the big boss had put into inviting this spokesperson.

The company was about to launch a key strategy soon and really needed to leverage the popularity and public recognition of a celebrity.

But seeing Chen Feng move aside with Tang Shuang, the heart Lin De had in his throat settled down a little.

It seemed the big boss’s soft tactics had worked. Chen Feng was quite satisfied with the company’s compensation, so he didn’t intend to block the “imperial carriage” in the street like some troublemaker from ancient times.

At this moment, Chen Feng had no mind to care about what Lin De was plotting. He was just trying hard to spot the figure who should be He Jiaqi amidst the crowd.

Considering he wanted to sell the rock-style new song “Night Has Grown Deep” to her, Chen Feng had previously researched the singer He Jiaqi.

Aside from Zhong Lei herself, He Jiaqi was probably the person most suited for the song “Night Has Grown Deep” in the world today.

As a late-blooming powerhouse vocalist with iron lungs, He Jiaqi’s slightly hoarse, smoky voice was quite distinctive among female singers. It had explosive power and very long, sustained breath, making her especially suitable for singing rock songs.

Although Chen Feng sold songs just for the money, he also hoped every song he offered would achieve good results.

In the early stages, if every song he put out became a hit, then even if his reputation didn’t shine among ordinary people, he could gradually become a golden name within the industry.

By then, he wouldn’t need to rely on Zhong Lei’s timeless classics anymore. Even if he just put out Liang Yuan’s songs, or even lesser pop songs, they would at least not be hard to sell.

So, even if “Night Has Grown Deep” was sold to someone else, Chen Feng felt responsible for the work.

Finally, as the crowd slowly approached, Chen Feng saw He Jiaqi herself among the people.

She wasn’t tall, had a somewhat round face, sported a puffy, bun-like short hairstyle, and wore light makeup.

In terms of looks, He Jiaqi’s appearance was far less striking than Lu Wei’s and Zhong Lei’s, but she wasn’t bad-looking either.

Paired with her black vest, standing in the crowd easily gave her an aura of being the center of attention, like the moon surrounded by stars.

That was probably the aura of a star.

Just as Chen Feng was observing He Jiaqi, Mai Hui, who was on the inner side of the crowd, had been chatting idly with an executive from Kelai Apartment.

Mai Hui was about 1.85 meters tall, quite tall, so his field of view was better than most.

But the topic he was discussing with the Kelai Apartment executive was rather serious, making him feel a bit distracted.

Only after both sides’ intentions were basically confirmed did Mai Hui, as He Jiaqi’s manager, learn that the financial route this company wanted to take next carried significant risks.

But by now, the contract was already signed. If they backed out, he and He Jiaqi would face a penalty.

The money wasn’t a huge amount, not enough to cripple them, but it was still a considerable sum.

For various reasons, Mai Hui was actually not in good form today. So, while chatting with people, his eyes unconsciously wandered around the crowd.

His face turned left, then right.

Suddenly, Mai Hui sharply turned his gaze to one side, and his previously unfocused eyes snapped into focus.

He rubbed his eyes.

Mai Hui ignored the Kelai Apartment executive beside him, repeatedly apologized, and squeezed his way through the crowd.

His preoccupied expression vanished, replaced by sudden delight in his eyes.

In fact, Chen Feng had already noticed Mai Hui walking over.

Chen Feng was surprised.

He had originally planned to find a suitable opportunity later to greet Mai Hui privately and slowly discuss the details.

He had two things to talk to Mai Hui about: selling the song and the fee structure for this commercial performance.

Chen Feng also thought that even if Mai Hui recognized him, in such a public setting, he should prioritize the endorsement work.

But clearly, Chen Feng had underestimated his current standing in Mai Hui’s mind.

“Mr. Chen, what are you doing here!”

The joyful expression on Mai Hui’s face couldn’t be fake.

As he spoke, he also enthusiastically reached out his hand, though it wasn’t clear if he wanted to shake Chen Feng’s hand or grab it.

Chen Feng was creeped out by his overly affectionate, almost whiny demeanor. He subtly tightened his arms around the storage box he was holding.

“Mr. Mai, you are…”

Before Chen Feng could think of what to say, the Kelai Apartment senior executive who had been talking with Mai Hui just moments before leaned in from the side and asked curiously.

Chen Feng recognized this person. He was the second-in-command on the company’s board, the company’s vice president, commonly addressed as President Jiang.

Mai Hui’s eyes shifted. “Brother Chen is a friend of mine. Aside from your company’s commercial performance, I originally planned to visit Brother Chen during our trip to Hanzhou. I just didn’t expect to run into him here.”

“A friend?” President Jiang looked puzzledly at Chen Feng. “Mr. Chen is an employee of our company? Which department?”

Chen Feng shrugged. “I was yesterday. Starting today, I’m not. Mr. Mai, the timing isn’t great today. I happen to be leaving. Let’s talk about what I promised you another time.”

Chen Feng had wanted to see if he could secretly dig up some information and quietly stab Lin De and Zhou Yunbo in the back.

But with the current situation being so public, he felt a bit uncomfortable.

They had only exchanged a few words, and he was already almost stealing the show.

Not to mention other employees in the company, even He Jiaqi and the company chairman had stopped their conversation and tour, focusing their attention on him.

He wanted to leave, but Mai Hui wouldn’t just let him go like that.

Last time, Chen Feng promised Zheng Rou over the phone that he would let it go and make a demo of the new song for them. How long had it been since then, and there was still no news?

If the song “Dullness” hadn’t become a hit, maybe Mai Hui and He Jiaqi wouldn’t have cared so much.

But now, with that gem as a precedent, they fully realized what level of work they had missed out on and what caliber of creator they had offended.

They were filled with regret.

As a professional manager, Mai Hui absolutely could not make the same mistake twice.

“Brother Chen, don’t leave yet. How about this, let’s go downstairs first and find a cafe to have a proper chat.”

Mai Hui grabbed Chen Feng’s hand.

Chen Feng shuddered all over, screaming internally.

Let go! You, let go of me!

But on the surface, he could only calmly move his hand away, finally managing to break free from Mai Hui’s grip politely without losing his dignity.

Sister Zheng Rou was right. This guy was super good at judging people and acting accordingly. Now he was being explosively enthusiastic!

“Don’t you have things to do?”

Chen Feng looked around, asking pointedly.

Mai Hui first turned back, whispered into He Jiaqi’s ear for a moment, then instructed a young woman beside him, “Little Hu, I’m going to chat with Mr. Chen. You stay here and assist Jiaqi.”

Then Mai Hui apologized to the other Kelai Apartment executives and went to invite Chen Feng to leave together.

Chen Feng really couldn’t stand his hands-on approach and had already actively slipped out of the crowd, walking quickly towards the main entrance.

Mai Hui followed closely behind step by step. Even a blind person could see he seemed to be buttering up Chen Feng!

At this moment, He Jiaqi shouldn’t have said anything, but she couldn’t help it. “Mai Hui, you accompany Mr. Chen first! I’ll come down later to talk together.”

Mai Hui turned back and gave an OK sign.

He Jiaqi then turned to the Kelai Apartment chairman apologetically. “Sorry, President Zeng, let’s speed things up a bit. I’ll need about an hour before noon to handle some personal matters.”

She checked her watch. “I’ll arrive at the commercial performance venue on time before 1 p.m.”

Once He Jiaqi said this, the whole room was truly abuzz.

What on earth!

Today’s schedule was all arranged!

We’re the ones hiring you for the endorsement; we paid the endorsement fee!

You’re just going to bail on your client like this? Is that really okay?

Zeng Guanlin, the chairman of Kelai Apartment, said with slight displeasure, “Miss He, our matters here are important business.”

He Jiaqi responded calmly but firmly. “Mr. Chen’s matter is very important to me. If your company can’t accommodate me with this small convenience, then we can consider terminating the endorsement contract.”

Earlier, after she and Mai Hui heard about Kelai Apartment’s upcoming financial plans, they already had some misgivings about this endorsement.

Now, weighing both sides, it was definitely more important for her career to quickly mend the relationship with Chen Feng and get a new song from him on par with “Dullness”!

Only someone like her, who had built up strength over a long time, could understand that feeling of envy, jealousy, and near madness when seeing someone else suddenly become massively popular overnight.

She was somewhat popular now, but she could fade at any time.

But if she could get one representative hit song that spread far and wide, she wouldn’t have to worry about fading for at least ten years!

No one expected her to be so resolute.

Lin De, who had been eavesdropping on everyone’s conversation the whole time, felt a chill surge from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

What on earth!