Chapter 137: The Explosion

Chapter 137: The Explosion

The next day, Ou Junlang returned to Hanzhou from out of town.

He hurriedly burst into Chen Feng’s office, his round body agile like spherical lightning.

Bang!

Ou Junlang lunged onto Chen Feng’s desk.

Chen Feng felt his desk had been hit by a car.

Luckily, he himself was strong enough now to steady it easily; otherwise, the computer monitor would have toppled over.

“What do you want?”

Chen Feng said irritably.

Ou Junlang asked cautiously, “I heard my dad came yesterday?”

“Heard? Can’t you go home and ask yourself?”

“I didn’t have time to go home. I came straight to the company from the airport.”

“Alright, he did come.”

Ou Junlang sighed. “It was agreed he’d give me two more years. But after just a few months, he made his move. I never thought he could get so impatient.”

“Did he force you to choose at home too?”

Fatty Ou shook his head. “Not really. He’s not the nagging type. He wouldn’t push me ahead of time, but him wanting to directly buy Star Peak Entertainment was unexpected. Master, you didn’t agree, did you?”

“No.”

“That’s good, that’s good. If he controls the company, he’ll definitely make me, a signed artist, go to the Ouhe Group to star in some grand show.”

Chen Feng asked, “What kind of show?”

“A cheesy corporate drama: second-generation rich kid hides his identity and starts from the bottom, climbing the ladder step by step. It’d have to be at least a few thousand episodes, long and tedious, like an old woman’s foot binding.”

Chen Feng gave him a thumbs-up. “That sounds like a great show. Perfect for someone with your potential.”

“Cut it out. But Master, I gotta warn you. Knowing my dad, once he sets his heart on something, he won’t give up until he gets it. Him trying to acquire Star Peak Entertainment isn’t just because of me. The company’s value in his eyes must be significant. He offered one billion this time and got rejected. Who knows, he might toughen up and throw two or three billion at you someday. You absolutely must resist!”

Chen Feng’s heart skipped a beat. He thought, if they really offered that price, wouldn’t it actually be acceptable?

After all, it was just selling songs; he could just bring back more during his time travels later.

During the actual negotiations, he could aim to retain his free time, allowing him to build other ventures outside, and negotiate for an early exit where he could cash out his shares.

That way, his other plans could accelerate much faster – the best possible strategy.

But then Ou Junlang would go back to wreak havoc on the Ouhe Group.

Sigh. What a dilemma.

Chen Feng wasn’t sure which of these choices was better for humanity upon closer thought. He felt Ou Junlang’s destructive potential might actually be greater, as the Ouhe Group had proven its capabilities across multiple different Timelines.

Seeing Chen Feng genuinely tempted and hesitant, Ou Junlang freaked out.

“Master, what are you thinking? You can’t abandon me!”

Chen Feng shot him a fierce glare. “Shut up! You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, winning effortlessly. You have no idea about real hardship. If they offer that price and I refuse, wouldn’t I be stupid? And whose fault is that?”

“My fault? Because of what?”

Chen Feng almost said it was his fault for being so useless, such a troublemaker.

If you were more capable, less intent on draining your dad’s pockets like a spoiled brat, I’d be thrilled to send you back to the Ouhe Group.

It’s all your fault, making me drool over all that money.

“Forget it. We’ll see when the time comes.”

Ou Junlang’s eyes darted, and he pointed at Chen Feng’s monitor. “Master, is this a new song?”

Chen Feng glanced at the display and nodded.

To improve his songwriting level, Chen Feng had refined his “creative” technique after returning this time.

After all, he was a meticulous great artist.

He had switched from writing by hand to using software for input.

He hadn’t learned it before because trying it once, he found that using the software required a long familiarity period, memorizing many operations.

He started using it now because his enhanced memory meant learning the same material took less than one-tenth of the previous time.

He was currently filling in the musical score while following a tutorial, a bit slower than handwriting, but Chen Feng estimated that after another day or two of practice, his speed would match up completely.

Chen Feng nodded. “Yes, I’m writing a new song.”

“Master, look at your creative state! How powerful! Your inspiration is so valuable! It’s endless! Selling out for two billion would be a loss! It’ll definitely be worth more in the future!”

Chen Feng patted Ou Junlang’s head, speaking earnestly. “You stay calm facing billions because your dad only has you, and his billions will be yours eventually. But you and I are different, understand? People are fundamentally different. Get out. I have plans.”

Ou Junlang wandered dazedly out of the chairman’s office and slapped his forehead.

Ah, what should I do?

I’m getting abandoned.

Ou Junlang found Meng Xiaozhou and confided his worries.

Meng Xiaozhou gave a highly effective suggestion.

“The songs Chen Feng has produced are currently dominating the charts – yours included – rapidly expanding our company’s brand. Want to stop your dad’s acquisition? The simplest way is to maximize the company’s existing resource value as quickly as possible. As long as Star Peak Entertainment’s worth becomes too high for your dad to reasonably acquire it – so high his price can’t meet Chen Feng’s expectations – wouldn’t you be naturally safe?”

Ou Junlang nodded emphatically.

“Right! So what should we do?”

“Work day and night! Push ourselves to the limit! Go! I just accepted several variety show gigs for you. Go record them now; the earliest air next week. These are high-rated shows with great appearance fees. It’s a win-win for company profits and your personal branding. Oh, and I checked with Chen Feng earlier. He says your next album will still be Folk Music focused, but with lots of new elements. So I suggest you drop your lazy habits and learn some innovative vocal techniques.”

Ou Junlang was pumped full of adrenaline. “Got it! I’m going!”

In the past, he had zero interest in variety shows; the appearance fees were less than his pocket money. But now, to boost his own value as much as possible, and to make Chen Feng and his dad lose interest in each other’s ideas, he was ready to go all out.

Including Chen Feng who was “creating” at high speed, the entire company entered an intense, non-stop mode in the following days.

Ou Junlang’s state was obvious: chasing money and studying hard.

Zhong Lei had paused her own composing, but wasn’t slacking off. Instead, she threw herself back into a frenzy of learning and absorbing.

She seemed determined to learn every instrument under the sun while never ceasing her research into music theory and vocal techniques.

As the company’s third signed artist, Qin Lu also began intensive vocal training.

Though Chen Feng hadn’t started preparing her album yet, she firmly believed one needed a sharp tool for the job. A minute on stage required years of practice off it.

This opportunity was rare; Qin Lu had to be fully prepared every moment, ready to respond instantly and perform at peak efficiency.

But no one expected that the real explosion for Star Peak Entertainment would come from something else entirely.

The weekend, five days later, saw the global simultaneous premiere of “Chaos Space,” directed by Neil Blomkamp.

The film’s performance aligned largely with Chen Feng’s expectations – passable, but far from outstanding in the A-tier market.

Its opening day global box office barely scraped past sixty million USD, with predictions placing its final haul between eight hundred million and nine hundred million USD.

Investors would roughly recoup costs and make a small profit.

This market performance would essentially preserve Neil Blomkamp’s reputation, avoiding a career setback but failing to elevate him further.

For a sci-fi film, this result for “Chaos Space” was merely adequate.

But its relatively mediocre reception made “‘Self-Combustion'” shine even brighter.

The saying, ‘Bad movie, great soundtrack,’ proved very true.

The English version of “‘Self-Combustion'”, sung by Katie Swift, swept the globe in just three or four days, soaring to the top of the Billboard charts and holding the number one spot.

The song became a phenomenal hit, exploding globally.

This was a rare achievement for the Chinese Music Industry.

Zhong Lei and Star Peak Entertainment became the first Chinese composer and company to genuinely break into the Western music market, by any real measure.

Western music circles’ dismissive attitude and bias towards the Chinese Industry weakened considerably in this moment.

Many film critics even stated that without that overpoweringly strong theme song, “Chaos Space” would likely have lost another one or two hundred million dollars in predicted box office.

Most people at Star Peak Entertainment were ecstatic. Even Zhong Lei was nearly overwhelmed with excitement, almost hugging Chen Feng when she saw “‘Self-Combustion'” hit number one on the charts.

Congratulatory texts, calls, and WeChat messages snowed in from everyone in the entertainment industry.

Online too, across Weibo and WeChat groups, praise was universal.

Chen Feng remained completely unsurprised.

He had long known this song’s caliber. So while others were swept up in delight, he remained the calmest, most level-headed one.

As your boss, I love seeing you all so new to this kind of success.

If you knew “‘Self-Combustion'” could spark a world war five hundred years later, you’d be scared to death.

And you foreign folks getting all worked up? Don’t panic. This is just the beginning.

Understanding “‘Self-Combustion'” has merely earned you entry tickets to this creation contest.

What awaits you is a Renaissance sweeping the globe.

And I am the man raising that curtain.

Though calm, Chen Feng needed to acknowledge others’ excitement. He authorized hefty bonuses and took the entire company out for a celebratory feast at the Hanzhou Grand Hotel.

After the banquet, Chen Feng stood on the balcony of the hotel Villa, holding a glass of red wine as he gazed at the moon and contemplated life.

Meng Xiaozhou found Chen Feng there and said, “I asked a friend in the United States to assess the positive impact this event has had on our company.”

Chen Feng: “How so?”