Business Is Business

Song Ya had also been sleep-deprived these past few days, and he soon began snoring along with Eric.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but just as he was sleeping soundly, he was suddenly jolted awake by intense shouting outside, only vaguely hearing a string of F-bombs.

"What's going on?"

He rubbed his eyes and climbed up. Eric had opened the recording studio door and was leaning against the frame to watch the commotion; no wonder he had been woken up.

Eric turned back and put a finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet, then tossed over a colorful piece of paper.

It turned out to be the cassette cover for Little Lowry's debut album. The design wasn't particularly striking: the protagonist, Little Lowry, was dressed in hip-hop style, holding a microphone in one hand and coolly pointing straight ahead with the other. The title at the bottom was the full name of Little Lowry, "Lowry II".

It took Song Ya a moment to understand the implication behind the cover: "Al has nothing to do with the new album anymore." One had to know that the promotional posters in the lobby of Joe Music had always featured both Lowry and Al. While Lowry was the lead, Al couldn't be ignored, but now...

He tilted his head to listen carefully, and sure enough, it was Al who was cursing loudly outside.

Walking over to Eric, he saw many new album covers and accompanying lyric sheets scattered across the hallway, though he didn't know who had thrown them there.

Picking up a lyric sheet, Song Ya remembered that the new album originally had fifteen songs, plus his own Thrift Shop, making it sixteen. But this lyric sheet only had the lyrics for thirteen songs, meaning Joe had quietly removed three songs, and these three songs...

He tried hard to recall for a moment; yes, the removed songs were exactly the three where Al had the strongest presence.

Just then, Carl ran past the door, and three seconds later, Al's shouting came to an abrupt halt.

"Whoa..." Eric followed after them.

Song Ya hid behind him.

Inside Joe's office, the messy furnishings were shattered all over the floor. Al, with red eyes, was tightly pinned by Carl, his arms locked and his mouth covered by Carl's hand. Yet, he still refused to give up, twisting his body in an attempt to break free, his feet struggling to reach toward Joe.

Joe, Pablo, Little Lowry, Tony, and others were all there. There were several clear footprints on Joe's pink suit. Little Lowry, protected behind Tony, remained expressionless, not knowing what he was thinking.

"Calm down! Al!" Pablo kept trying to persuade him, "This is a decision we made after careful consideration; it's for the best for everyone! You want the new album to sell well, right? As long as the new album succeeds, it's actually a good thing for you. It's just three songs, and aren't you still in the other tracks..."

After a few minutes, perhaps having gained a deeper understanding of Carl's physical prowess, Al finally stopped struggling and gradually calmed down.

"Let him go." Pablo waved his hand.

Carl released his grip.

"BullSHXT!" Al had indeed calmed down and straightened his disheveled clothes. "If I hadn't accidentally seen the samples sent by the factory, you would have kept this from me until the new album release. Don't just spout sweet words; you're all liars! I must have been blind."

"Hey! It's not a question of lying; business is business," Pablo said.

"Yeah, yeah..."

Pushing Carl aside, Al walked out. "I see it now. You rich and powerful NGer types, you call us 'family' and 'brother' to our faces every day, but when it comes down to it, you only know how to use that white man's 'Business is business' as an excuse..."

"Hey!" Pablo tried to call him back. "Where are you going? The promotion for the new album is about to start!"

"Without me, don't even dream of it!"

Pablo's temper flared too. "Stop acting like a fool, you idiot! I'm your manager; you have to follow the arrangements!"

"You're fired."

Al didn't look back, leaving everyone staring at each other in dismay.

"That moron!" Pablo cursed.

Joe took off his pink suit and sat back behind his desk. "You have to handle him. We can't have him going out and running his mouth right now."

"How am I supposed to handle him! This is all because of your lousy idea!" Pablo unbuttoned his collar and paced around the room a few times. "You!" He snapped his fingers at Tony. "Go persuade him to come back. If that doesn't work, at least keep him steady!"

"What can I do..." Tony muttered. Seeing that Pablo was about to lose his temper again, he had no choice but to chase after him.

"Hip-hop beatboxing doesn't have an audience anymore. Even without the addition of APLUS's new song, I was actually planning to reduce Al's weight on the album," Joe said, speaking the truth. "Lowry's target is young women, and Al's appearance is just a distraction."

No human rights for the ugly!

Song Ya complained inwardly. After this minor interlude, his life should return to the right track. He had no part in the new album's promotion, and Pablo and Little Lowry even needed to deliberately downplay his influence on the song Thrift Shop, so his study plan could restart!

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. When he returned home, he saw Al again; he and Tony were in the room playing a game, Super Mario.

The two guys played until midnight and still refused to stop. Al's mood had gradually eased, and he was talking more and more, shouting and yelling along with Tony.

Song Ya lay on the bed, wanting to cry but having no tears. The Famicom and the small TV were things he had just bought from the second-hand market, and he regretted it deeply now.

He couldn't sleep, feeling like his brain was being washed by the "ding-ding" sound of collecting coins in the game.

Of his 4,500-dollar income, he spent 2,500 on a car and other second-hand items, gave 500 to Aunt Susie, and deposited the remaining 1,500 in the bank, receiving a checkbook in return, though he had no plan for how to spend it. He had specifically asked about taxes; income from January to April of this year would be paid during the tax season next April (thanks to book friend "Fire-Spitting Black Dragon" for the correction), so there was no need to be overly anxious.

He didn't know when the next apocalypse would come. According to his manager Hayden, record royalties couldn't be expected to be settled in a short time; dragging it out for a year or a year and a half was common. Especially after this incident with Al, Song Ya had a further understanding of the integrity of Joe and Pablo. Regarding the royalties, he instructed Hayden to keep a close eye on them and not let them pull any tricks. This was also closely related to Hayden's own interests. He told Song Ya not to worry; after all, they were backed by a top-tier agency in the United States, and William Morris was not to be trifled with. This was the benefit of signing with a big company.

At two o'clock, the brothers in front of the TV still showed no signs of stopping.

"Hey, Al."

Song Ya decided he couldn't let them continue, otherwise his grand plan of being a top student would be in jeopardy. "What are your plans for the future?" he asked.

"Haven't thought about it yet."

Al put down the controller. "Keep working at the restaurant, keep drifting along. I don't have a gang background, and I can't do anything to them. I'll just treat it as having had a star dream."

WTF, is he really that Zen? Song Ya thought to himself. But as long as Al didn't cause trouble or go out and talk nonsense to the media, it actually suited his own interests. After all, he was genuinely afraid of such negative news during the album's promotional period, and since the number of songs on Little Lowry's album had decreased, the percentage of royalties he could get had actually increased.

"You're a good brother, it's okay. I'll go talk to Little Lowry later; we're all family." Tony was thick-skinned. "You go back and apologize to Pablo, say that what you said during the day was just angry talk..."

"Don't you understand yet?" Al understood human nature better than Tony. "I made such a scene during the day, and Little Lowry didn't say a word. Don't you know what his attitude is? The album went from being ours to just his; he's the biggest beneficiary. Business is business, and Pablo has clearly abandoned me."

"Uh..." Tony didn't know what to say. "It's okay, brother, you get some good rest for two days and think it over." He then said to Song Ya, "Al doesn't want to stay at Little Lowry's place anymore. He'll sleep on my bed for these few days, and I'll go stay at Little Lowry's."

"What!?"

Song Ya had a "black man question mark" face. Looking at Al, who had picked up the controller and continued his "campaign," he helplessly covered his head with the quilt.