Chapter 99: Unbridled Display of Talent

Chapter 99: Unbridled Display of Talent

Upon hearing this, Lu Wei smiled and said, “Then I will await the good news.”

She was very happy.

Unlike previous opportunities to commission songs from Chen Feng, this time Lu Wei genuinely looked forward to it with sincere anticipation.

After experiencing that miraculous night, she gained a deeper understanding of Chen Feng’s abilities.

She had always been extremely confident in her own discerning taste, especially since “Night Has Grown Deep” and “Monotony” had stirred up a storm in the Chinese Music Industry over the past few days.

There were even media outlets, enjoying the drama, who dared to compare Zhong Lei to her.

Of course, the industry generally believed that Zhong Lei was still not quite at her level, because Zhong Lei sang songs written by “others.”

But Lu Wei knew that once Zhong Lei released her next song, “Baptism of Fire,” and coupled it with her achievement of writing her own lyrics, she might really catch up to her in terms of popularity soon.

Lu Wei was not jealous of Zhong Lei; she just felt a bit competitive.

She believed her own interpretation would not be worse than Zhong Lei’s.

She was very confident.

In the past, she refused to buy songs from others, not because she had some purity complex and only wanted to sing her own songs, but because mediocre works from others rarely moved her.

“Master Ou, do you have a recording studio here?”

Chen Feng turned his head and asked the person next to him.

Young Master Ou replied, “Yes, I do. Why?”

Chen Feng then turned back to Lu Wei, “No time like the present, Sister Weiwei, let’s go now. I’ll play and sing it for you first.”

“Huh? It’s already written? You just wrote it now?”

Chen Feng quickly shook his head, “No, I just had some free time these past few days and felt like writing, so I did.”

“Your output is too high! Chen Feng, I’m not criticizing you, but even though you have talent, you shouldn’t consume your inspiration like this. You can’t just keep producing without absorbing anything. And the quality of your work will decline if you rush it out like this.”

An hour later, Lu Wei fled in a fluster, leaving only these words.

“I will release it as a single first. I’ll buy out the copyright of the single for five years, for two million. For subsequent electronic copyright royalties, we’ll split fifty-fifty. Also, I will include this song in my next new album. You cannot charge me again.”

Fatty Ou gulped, “This is terrifying. The terms Sister Weiwei offered are even better than mine!”

Not only was there a lump-sum buyout fee of two million, but also a fifty-fifty split of future copyright royalties.

Clearly, Lu Wei only cared about making music and had little interest in money; she refused to take any advantage of Chen Feng.

“Very good, this will be my standard fee moving forward. Young Master Ou, let me tell you about a plan…”

About half an hour later, Chen Feng made everything clear.

After digesting it for a moment, Fatty Ou said, “Master, what you mean is: you will establish a company called Star Edge Entertainment. I’ll contribute twenty million to join your company for a ten percent stake, and my artist management contract will also be transferred to Star Edge. As an individual artist, my contract with the company will be a fifty-fifty split. Then I’ll figure out a way to build the overall framework for Star Edge. You, Master, won’t usually handle day-to-day matters and will only write songs. From now on, all my songs will be exclusively provided by you. Is that right?”

Chen Feng nodded, “Yes.”

He was worried Ou Junlang might not agree, as the stake he was getting seemed far too low in his own eyes.

“Great!”

Ou Junlang, however, nodded decisively. “I’m not boasting, but I feel that once my new album is out, I will definitely become an overnight sensation. Top-tier domestic singers easily earn over fifty million a year. Even if I don’t inherit my dad’s money, I can make myself a billionaire!”

Chen Feng suffered ten thousand points of damage internally but forced himself to stay calm. “Well said!”

“Actually, I’ve already received seven or eight songs before, plus the three you gave me, Master, which is just enough for an album. You just wait and see the show!”

Chen Feng forced a fake smile and patted Ou Junlang on the shoulder, “I just love this flavor of blind confidence. Let me listen to the songs you received earlier.”

Another hour passed, and Chen Feng put down the big audio-technica headphones.

“Master, how were they?”

“Did you want to hear the truth or a lie?”

“Of course the truth.”

“If you sang these seven pieces of garbage, you’d be finished.”

“One of them was written by Sister Weiwei.”

“Overall, these songs are pretty decent. They wouldn’t be a problem as career-defining hits for some second or third-tier singers. But you, Ou Junlang, are someone with ambition. Your debut album sets the height you can reach in your entire life. If you don’t make a loud enough splash at the start, trying to climb back up later will require twice the effort for half the result. So, you must firmly remember three words. In the future, when you make music, you must ‘never compromise.’ It’s better not to sing at all than to fill a role just to make up the numbers.”

Ou Junlang was completely convinced by him. “I’ll listen to everything you say, Master. Then I’ll plan carefully and won’t rush to release an album.”

Chen Feng shook his head, pulled out a notebook from behind him, and slapped it in front of Ou Junlang. “For you. Now that you are an artist under my company, the copyrights to your songs are company assets, so I won’t charge you a copyright fee.”

“What’s this?”

“Seven new songs I wrote for you. Practice them well. Get familiar with them within three days. I’ll check then.”

“WTF!”

Ou Junlang’s mental state collapsed.

Since he had already shocked the world enough, Chen Feng didn’t plan to maintain a low profile in front of others anymore.

He laid his cards on the table: I am a genius.

He unbridledly wielded his “talent,” remaining unmoved no matter how others worshipped him.

After thoroughly shocking Ou Junlang, Chen Feng stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked away triumphantly.

Later in the afternoon, the two of them registered the company at an extremely fast pace, and then Chen Feng truly became a hands-off boss.

Ou Junlang hesitated several times, wanting to speak but holding back.

He really, really wanted to discuss these seven songs with his bargain-price Master.

It’s too terrifying! How did you write them in just a few days!

Are you even human!

Unfortunately, Chen Feng didn’t seem in the mood for conversation, remaining unnervingly calm.

You really couldn’t blame him for intentionally acting like that.

He felt quite embarrassed inside.

The seven songs he gave Ou Junlang were, once again, from that folk singer, Liang Yuan, who had achieved great success in a certain Timeline.

He was also the one who had once desperately pursued Zhong Lei.

Chen Feng had essentially looted all ten of Liang Yuan’s hard-earned, life’s work masterpieces, like a bandit leaving nothing behind in a village, not even a chicken or a dog.

His actions were so brutal that even he felt a bit embarrassed, his conscience uneasy. Only after counting his money for a long time when he got home did he finally feel at ease.

Brother Liang Yuan, don’t blame me for being heartless. It’s all for the rise of humanity.

Three days later, Chen Feng checked on Ou Junlang’s song practice progress.

Although this Fatty had almost zero creative talent and looked completely unphotogenic, his voice oddly had some skill. His musical sense was excellent, and he learned songs quickly.

The version he performed was slightly different from Liang Yuan’s original, but the gap wasn’t huge; it was still within an acceptable range.

“Not bad. Practice for a couple more days, then we’ll officially start recording. Right now, our Star Edge Entertainment is just a shell company with nothing. Let’s make do with borrowing your existing resources here for a while. Later, you hurry up and get the facilities set up.”

Ou Junlang nodded but seemed hesitant to speak.

“Any problems? Is the startup capital for Star Edge Entertainment insufficient?”

Chen Feng asked.

Ou Junlang shook his head, “No, that’s not it. Money isn’t a problem. I have enough here.”

“Then it’s a people problem?”

“Yeah. Finding entry-level staff is easy; many people here are willing to switch environments. But finding a capable professional manager who can help oversee everything is rare. After all, both of us want to be hands-off bosses, so this person needs to be both competent and trustworthy. My dad isn’t willing to give me his executives, and besides, the industries don’t align — they’re completely unrelated. It wouldn’t be suitable for me to force the issue. It’s tricky.”

Chen Feng thought for a moment, and a name popped into his head. “I have a candidate.”

“Who?”

“Meng Xiaozhou.”

“Him? Is that a good idea? He’s on track to be an executive at a listed company. Would he come to our newly established small venture?”

Chen Feng retorted, “Are you lacking confidence in your own ability, or in my creative talent? Star Edge is a small temple now, but next year it will be the Great Thunderclap Monastery!”

Fatty Ou deeply agreed, “That’s true too.”

Chen Feng was very confident about successfully poaching Meng Xiaozhou.

Because Meng Xiaozhou owed him a favor and was currently itching to repay it.

Chen Feng didn’t plan to take Meng Xiaozhou’s money, while also paying him a proper salary, not a penny less, based on market standards.

When Chen Feng laid out the conditions later, he would clearly state: If you really want to repay the favor, then come and help me.

Money isn’t important; I don’t lack money.

What’s important is you, yourself. I want you.