Shen Jianbin said, "Da Fei, don't say that. You're a company veteran, and you've written plenty of hit songs for us. How could I fire you? I'm only asking you to switch positions. Isn't that perfectly normal at an ordinary company?"
Before Lin Chudong could say anything, Su Yulin shot back.
"What's normal about that?!"
"The lead singer of the Da Fei Band isn't Da Fei? Are you kidding me?"
"Besides, who can compare to Da Fei's singing skill? Those hit songs are all his signature works. Could anyone else sing them with the same feel?"
Shen Jianbin's expression gradually hardened. Su Yulin had already signed the Renewal Contract, and she would remain his employee for another year, so there was no need to be polite with her.
"The company has to run the whole band, not just one person."
"The band exists to generate commercial value. A lead singer who sings well is certainly important, but what we really need is a lead singer who can attract traffic!"
"Wu Bo is someone I handpicked. He graduated from Donghai Conservatory of Music and, as it happens, he's Da Fei's junior."
"His voice, stage presence, and knack for variety shows are all excellent. I'll say something you won't like: he's better than Da Fei in every way."
"He's the future of our Da Fei Band!"
Hearing that, Lin Chudong gave a self-mocking laugh.
He hadn't expected all his hard work over the past three years to lead to this.
Shen Jianbin said, "Da Fei, if you want to go solo, you can..."
"No need to say more," Lin Chudong replied. "Let's terminate the contract."
A trace of satisfaction showed in Shen Jianbin's eyes. "When we first founded the company, you put in a hundred thousand yuan. We didn't sign a shareholder agreement back then, so we'll just follow the law."
"I'll pay you the highest interest based on the bank rate, an annual rate of four percent. That comes to one hundred and twelve thousand, plus your salary for this month. I'll give you one hundred and twenty thousand. No need to give me change."
Lin Chudong scoffed. Three years ago, this lousy company had nothing. He'd put in all his savings, a hundred thousand yuan. Three years later, he was walking away with a hundred and twenty thousand. What a joke.
"What about my songs?"
"The contract says the song copyrights belong to the company for fifty years. You wrote the lyrics and composed the music. If you want to sing them, you can sing them all you like at karaoke, but you can't perform them commercially."
Lin Chudong narrowed his eyes. "You changed the contract?"
The company hadn't been very professional when they first signed the contract, and it hadn't been very detailed. Looking back, if Shen Jianbin had intended to screw him over from the start, changing the contract wouldn't have been difficult.
Shen Jianbin smiled faintly. "It was an addendum. You signed it once when you were drunk."
It wasn't that Shen Jianbin was being especially ruthless. The main thing was that Lin Chudong was so talented. In three years, he'd written more than a dozen classics. As long as the lead singer had a decent voice, the company could keep living off those songs for a while. There was no way he'd let Lin Chudong take them.
Lin Chudong sneered. This was exactly the sort of thing Shen Jianbin would do. What a scumbag.
Shen Jianbin said, "The company paid for the electric guitar, too. It's company property now. You only have an acoustic guitar, and you can take that."
Su Yulin slapped the table and snapped, "Shen Jianbin! Isn't this going too far? Da Fei built this whole empire. Even if he has to leave, you should at least let him leave with some dignity!"
Shen Jianbin's expression darkened. He said coldly, "First, employees are forbidden from calling me by my name at the company. Do it again, and I'll count it as a breach of contract!"
"Second, you're just company employees, not shareholders. You don't get to meddle in the company's decisions. Understood?"
Bang!
Shen Jianbin slammed his hand on the table. The entire Conference Room fell silent.
Shen Jianbin had always been strict, and almost nobody dared to talk back to him. The fact that Lin Chudong could negotiate with him didn't mean the others could.
Lin Chudong stood up and said, "All right, I'm leaving. You can carry on with your meeting. I'll take my guitar."
With that, Lin Chudong turned and left the Conference Room.
He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, Su Yulin's temper would flare up. She'd be the one to suffer in the end.
He went to the instrument room, picked up the guitar he'd bought for a thousand yuan back then, and walked out of the studio.
Outside, traffic streamed by and everyone seemed busy.
Only Lin Chudong walked slowly down the street, a guitar on his back.
The sunlight was so glaring, it felt like it was mocking him for being a failure.
As he walked through an underpass, he heard someone singing.
A folk singer stood in the passage, singing one of the songs he'd written with heartfelt emotion: "Autumn Farewell."
The guitar in the singer's hands was just like the one on Lin Chudong's back—old and worn.
But music had a certain charm when it was old.
Lin Chudong didn't stop. He passed right by him.
Seeing Lin Chudong carrying a guitar, the street singer nodded in greeting.
It wasn't until Lin Chudong had walked far away that the street singer remembered. That man had looked so familiar.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember who it was.
That was how Lin Chudong was: his songs were famous, far more famous than he was.
Lin Chudong's songs were A-list hits.
Lin Chudong himself couldn't even make it onto the C-list.
If you shouted "Da Fei" on the street, a few people might recognize the name. But if he walked past them in person, nobody would know who he was.
Only a die-hard fan would know who he was. But a person on TV looked different from one in real life, and even if someone recognized him, they might not dare approach.
Who would have thought that the famous singer Da Fei would stroll down the street so casually?
And who would have thought that the Da Fei Band would fire Da Fei?
Fortunately, Lin Chudong had the system. He'd been collecting Sign-in rewards for three years, day after day, and had gained plenty of skills. He could make a living wherever he went.
Lin Chudong came back to his senses. The Treasure Chest was probably about to open.
He looked at the countdown. A few minutes remained.
He stopped and waited patiently for the Treasure Chest to open.
The Sign-in system had given him plenty of good things before. Surely this Treasure Chest wouldn't disappoint?
[ Ding! ]
The familiar sound rang in his mind. But this time, it wasn't a Sign-in reward. The Treasure Chest had opened.
[Green Treasure Chest x1] [Intermediate Cooking Skill x1]
Lin Chudong froze. Cooking?
For the past three years, every reward he'd opened had been related to music. He'd even gotten Intermediate Whistling Skill once.
Getting something unrelated to music so suddenly left him a little unaccustomed to it.
Well, this is good, too. I can pick up more life skills and make up for all the life experiences I missed over the past three years.
Lin Chudong used Intermediate Cooking Skill, and recipes and information immediately appeared in his mind. He was already used to that feeling.
Then he opened the Green Treasure Chest.
[11:59:59]
The countdown began.
This time, the countdown was a full twelve hours!
The Treasure Chest had also turned green. The contents were probably even better this time.
Fortunately, he had plenty of time now. All he had to do was wait patiently.
Before the Treasure Chest opened, he needed to find somewhere to stay.
He crossed the overpass, and a small Piano Shop came into view. A help-wanted notice was posted outside.
[Hiring guitar teacher. Housing provided. Monthly salary: 6,000+...]
Lin Chudong pushed the door open and went inside.
"Excuse me, are you still hiring a guitar teacher?"
Suddenly, he heard an argument inside.
A mother and her fifteen- or sixteen-year-old child were arguing with the owner, their faces flushed as they shouted at each other.
"My kid's been taking lessons here for a month and still can't do anything! He can't even play a single song. What kind of teachers do you have? Give us our money back!"
"I'm telling you, if you don't refund us today, I'll report you to the market supervision bureau for consumer fraud!"
"My son isn't stupid. How can he not learn to play a guitar?"
Before you continue