Three Million for a Song

"Senior Brother Hu Wei said he became your disciple?"

The next morning.

A little after seven.

Song Dao received a message from Yan Yu.

Having just finished vocal practice at the park downstairs, Song Dao replied, "Yeah. You guys didn't drink too much last night, did you?"

Yan Yu: More or less. After you left, Feifei and I each had another bottle! Even Xixi drank nearly half a bottle. She's still in bed sleeping like a little pig.

Song Dao: Impressive!

Yan Yu: What are you doing?

Song Dao: Practicing vocals in the park.

She immediately sent a golden retriever pointing at you meme, then went silent.

He figured his diligence had crushed her into a depressive funk.

That afternoon, Hu Wei took a taxi over to pick him up. The two arrived at Feiyang Music Movement together and spent about an hour finalizing all the contracts.

Afterward, Lin Fei introduced them to the company's staff and the artists currently at the company.

Everyone was excited to hear that two more artists had signed on.

—Guys, handsome men have joined the company!

Someone quickly recognized Song Dao.

"You're... that Song Dao?"

Song Dao nodded.

"Wow!"

A group of young girls and older women immediately burst into excited cries again.

They were incredibly enthusiastic.

He could write, sing, and was handsome—they genuinely liked him!

Seeing their reactions, Song Dao felt somewhat surreal.

The internet and reality felt like two entirely different worlds.

Utterly disconnected.

There were countless girls online sympathizing with Miao Xiu and viciously condemning Song Dao.

Yet all he felt here was goodwill.

Hu Wei, who was also quite handsome, had a much weaker presence by comparison.

He could only stand to the side, keeping a smile on his face.

But he wasn't jealous.

His boss being popular was a good thing for him.

His good days were still ahead.

Lin Fei came over and shooed away the swarm of bees and butterflies.

"Get back to work. Stop bothering people. Hu Wei, familiarize yourself with the place first. Song Dao, come with me."

Everyone reluctantly returned to their workstations, but their eyes still kept drifting toward Lin Fei's office.

"He's so handsome!"

"Did he really spend over a million on his girlfriend?"

"With a face like that, she wouldn't sleep with him? Is there something wrong with that woman? If it were me..."

Lin Fei shut the door.

Cutting off the chirping voices outside.

She asked Song Dao, "What would you like to drink?"

Looking at how radiant Lin Fei appeared, if not for Yan Yu's message that morning, Song Dao would never have believed she had drunk two bottles of red wine last night.

"Water is fine, thanks." He sat down on the sofa.

Lin Fei took a bottle of sparkling water from the fridge and handed it to him, then sat in the armchair diagonally across from him.

"Teacher Song, we're family now. You've seen the company's situation. I hope you'll like it here."

Song Dao nodded. "The atmosphere is pretty good. I can get a sense of what they're usually like."

Lin Fei laughed. "You mean their mental state, right? They're all young people, so they're a bit lively."

Song Dao chuckled softly.

Then Lin Fei looked at him and asked, "What are your plans for Hu Wei's song?"

Song Dao said, "I don't know much about promotion. I'll listen to Sister Fei."

Lin Fei said, "This is a very high-quality song.

Immortal Sword Asking for Love will be airing soon. I want to wait until Always Been Quiet has generated a certain level of buzz before releasing it.

By then, I'll have Kong Xi help promote it. I'll also talk to platforms like Tencent Music and try to secure A-level resources or better."

Immortal Sword Asking for Love was the drama that had asked Kong Xi to sing an insert song. Song Dao had also noticed that it was hugely popular even before airing.

As long as the plot was not too terrible, Always Been Quiet would definitely rise to fame alongside it.

Even if it was bad, it would not matter much. After all, terrible dramas produced divine songs.

"Sister Fei, just arrange it as you see fit," Song Dao said.

After saying goodbye to Hu Wei last night, he had gone home and opened the Premium Gold Treasure Chest. Sure enough, it had contained a top-tier song!

An enduring ancient-style lyrical classic!

But he had yet to figure out how to get Lin Fei to sing it.

Especially since he had already boasted that no matter who sang his songs, they could take no more than twenty percent of the earnings.

He wondered what kind of look Lin Fei would give him when the time came.

Would she think he was crazy?

For this song, he had gone and registered an account called Water Strike Three Thousand on Shuibo last night, then posted a poem.

So far, no one had paid it any attention.

In any case, he had already laid the groundwork. Now he just needed to wait for a suitable opportunity.

After chatting with Lin Fei for a few more minutes, he got up to leave.

As a songwriter signed by the company, he did not need to work regular office hours.

Lin Fei saw him to the door, then returned to her office and called someone back.

"Director Zhang, sorry about that. I had a guest just now."

A hearty laugh came from the other end. "It's fine, it's fine. I was the one interrupting you. Here's the thing—I've been preparing a major historical drama recently, Three Kingdoms. I wanted to ask whether you'd be interested in handling the music for it."

"Yes, of course I am!" Lin Fei's eyes lit up.

Leaving aside the fact that Zhang Yi himself was hailed as Xia Kingdom's number one director, Three Kingdoms was also one of the year's most highly anticipated major dramas.

That era had produced far too many heroic figures, as well as countless magnificent and moving tales.

Moreover, this was Director Zhang Yi's first television drama personally directed by him!

The industry had already gone mad over the project. Countless big names in the entertainment world had recommended themselves on Shuibo.

Many of them were film actors who almost never took television roles, yet they had all become restless over Three Kingdoms.

Lin Fei did not know the exact investment amount, but Zhang Yi's name alone was a golden brand worth at least several hundred million.

For a production like this, the income was secondary. Being able to participate in its music would be enormously beneficial to the company's reputation!

"Haha, good that you're interested. When are you free? Let's meet up, and I'll explain the requirements. But there's one more thing..."

Zhang Yi paused slightly before saying, "There are several other companies competing for this drama's music as well. While I can make the final decision, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to have the final say alone."

Lin Fei's breathing paused for a moment.

She calmly replied, "Don't worry, Director Zhang. I'll do everything I can to compete for it. But if we still can't measure up to the others, then that's simply a matter of ability. No matter what, I'm truly grateful to you!"

She was fairly familiar with Zhang Yi. They had crossed paths at quite a few events over the years, and she greatly respected this senior.

But if he was like certain others, hinting that she needed to pay some sort of price to get the job, she would rather not have it at all!

"Haha, Lin Fei, don't misunderstand!" Zhang Yi laughed heartily from the other end of the line.

He had heard certain things about the young woman—not the messy gossip, but stories about Lin Fei's personality.

He knew exactly what kind of temperament this Heavenly Queen, who had retired from the industry at such a young age, possessed.

He immediately explained, "It's like this. I just wrapped filming on a movie, Demon Love. You know about it, right?"

Lin Fei froze for a moment. "That mythological blockbuster based on Journey to the West, with an investment of over a billion?"

"Mm, the investment is indeed substantial, but there's a problem troubling me now," Zhang Yi said. "Before filming began, I approached Maomao and asked her to come out of retirement and sing a song for me. She agreed at the time.

But something came up recently.

She found several top producers, but none of them could come up with a song she was satisfied with, so she quite willfully turned me down.

She said that without a good song, singing one would be humiliating!

Look at the mess this has become. We've been old friends for so many years—I can't exactly get angry with her.

She caught me completely off guard by bailing on me like this.

Back when you first debuted, people said your range was especially broad, that you could handle any style.

So I wanted to ask whether you'd be interested in coming out of retirement to sing a song for Demon Love.

Something ancient-style and lyrical would do.

Don't rush to refuse. I've heard from a few old friends that it's not that you don't want to sing—you just can't find a good song.

Like Maomao, she would rather not sing than sing without a good song.

A few days ago, Xiao Peng told me a pretty amazing song had come out on your side, so I went over to listen to it once.

It felt quite good, perfectly fitting the plot. That showed the creator was very talented.

Since the singer was an artist from your company, you should know the creator too, right?

So, how about giving it a try?

Don't worry. I have some connections in the industry too. If you come back to singing and anyone still dares to smear you, I'll speak up for you!"

Listening to Director Zhang ramble on and on over the phone, Lin Fei thought, Great, another desperate man grasping at straws.

She had no doubt about Director Zhang's influence or credibility. If he said he would speak up for her, then he definitely would.

But the question was... what would she sing?

It seemed that a major director on Zhang Yi's level would have crowds of people flocking to write a film insert song for him.

Yet there were very few singers who could actually catch his eye and be chosen by him!

Even many Heavenly Kings and Queens might not be worth his notice.

Lin Fei had originally planned to refuse outright, but Song Dao suddenly came to mind, and the words of rejection were immediately swallowed back.

Then she laughed soundlessly.

No matter how much of a genius he was, could he really write the kind of song Director Zhang wanted?

Director Zhang's standards were bound to be extremely high!

To create a song that satisfied him, one first had to be cultured, second have deep life experience, and finally be extremely familiar with the mythological novel Journey to the West!

He definitely would not be interested in some vapid love song.

Though he had not said much over the phone, Sister Maomao had most likely already sent him several versions!

Given Sister Maomao's standing and connections in the music scene, not only could she invite top-tier producers, she could even bring Hall-level godfathers out of retirement.

Since she had chosen to withdraw, it meant that not only was she dissatisfied with the songs, Director Zhang was dissatisfied as well.

Coming to Lin Fei clearly meant that he had no better options left, and perhaps that he had taken a slight interest in her traffic as well.

One of her recent Shuibo posts had once again stirred up a massive uproar, proving that even after leaving the industry for years, her traffic was still terrifying.

Wanting her traffic was not a problem. Everyone understood; it was an unspoken understanding.

Zhang Yi continued from the other end of the call, "Although talking about money is vulgar, I still have to mention it. Maomao only asked for one million before because it was a friendly price—for the usage rights. If you're willing, I'll offer three million, still only for the usage rights, solely for promoting the film!"

Three million for the usage rights to one song.

Even Lin Fei, who did not care that much about money, felt tempted.

At the height of her popularity, excluding endorsements, a normal commercial performance where she sang two or three songs would have brought in roughly that much.

But that had been back then. Now, three million for the usage rights to a single song was truly a lot.

"Director Zhang, can I think about it?"

"No problem!" Director Zhang agreed readily. "Call me anytime once you've decided. I'm preparing Three Kingdoms in Beijing lately, so we can meet whenever!"

After hanging up, Lin Fei fell silent.

Did she truly not want to sing anymore?

Never!

Just as many people in the industry had guessed, her departure from the entertainment world back then had been partly related to the online backlash; on the other hand, she truly had not had any good songs.

In fact, she had not neglected her fundamentals for a single day over the years!

Every day, she trained her voice in the soundproof room of her villa, and whenever she had time, she studied all kinds of musical knowledge.

Now, nearing thirty, to put it in the terms of a wuxia novel, her cultivation had already approached great mastery!

Bel canto, ballads, rock, folk, classical, indie folk, and even all sorts of foreign styles—there was almost nothing she could not handle.

There had been a reason so many senior figures in the music scene had thought highly of her back then.

She had not been dubbed the last Queen of the Chinese music scene by netizens either; the title had spread from the mouths of certain veteran industry figures!

When she had quietly withdrawn from the music scene back then, no one knew how many people had felt it was a pity.

She herself had felt the same boundless regret.

But what could she do?

The entire internet had been attacking her.

And she had no songs.

She had tried writing songs herself, but unfortunately, she could not do it.

Even though she had graduated from Jing University, she still lacked ability in this area.

In the end, this was something that depended on talent.

Just then, her phone chimed with a rapid series of notification sounds.

Lin Fei had no group chats and pitifully few friends, so she had never muted her notifications. Normally, no one would message her like this.

She frowned slightly.

Picking up her phone and taking a look, she was instantly rendered speechless.

Director Zhang Yi had sent her detailed plot synopses for Demon Love and Three Kingdoms.

Even though Demon Love had wrapped filming, this still wasn't something that could be casually leaked.

Three Kingdoms hadn't even started filming yet, so it was even less appropriate to show it to anyone.

Clearly, he knew perfectly well that someone of her status would understand the boundaries.

That old man is cunning as hell. He isn't exactly threatening me, but isn't this basically telling me that if I take the Demon Love insert song, the Three Kingdoms soundtrack will be mine too—and if I don't, maybe it won't be...

Lin Fei rolled her eyes and pursed her lips.

Then she saw another message from Director Zhang: "Xiao Lin, take a look at the Three Kingdoms material. If you can, help me do its theme song and insert songs as well. It'd be best if you sang them too. The price is negotiable."

Lin Fei: "..."

It was fine if he wanted to keep fleecing this one sheep.

But what was she supposed to create with?

Still, he probably wasn't only approaching her.

After thinking for a moment, she decided to just go for broke.

She directly forwarded the information to Song Dao—

"Teacher Song, take a look and see whether you can write a few songs based on the plot. If not, forget it. Just remember not to leak the material."