Page 25

At this, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi frowned in unspoken agreement, both feeling rather unhappy.

Seeing this, Lu Zhengqiao knew the two had misunderstood and gave a small, amused laugh. "You should know that many contestants joined this competition simply to use it as a stepping stone into the entertainment industry. Some come from wealthy families and are only doing it for fun. Others are newcomers who have already signed with talent agencies and came here merely to gain more exposure and attract more fans. Such contestants naturally have an advantage when it comes to media publicity and later Auditions text-message voting. This has nothing to do with rigging the competition. It is simply that they started out far ahead of the other contestants, and such a vast gap cannot necessarily be made up through ability alone."

What he meant was that if Sugar Juice Duo signed with Emperor at this point, Emperor Entertainment would definitely find ways to help with later publicity and vote-pulling. They would not even need to manipulate the competition. As long as artists under the company publicly expressed their opinions of Sugar Juice Duo, plenty of fans would support Sugar Juice Duo out of affection for their idols.

Just like Qiao Lin, the diva who had invited Sugar Juice Duo to produce her MV. Many of Qiao Lin's fans now liked and followed Sugar Juice Duo because of that.

Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi exchanged smiles. "We understand that. But we still don't want to undermine the competition rules. You know what the media is like these days—they seize on shadows and turn white into black. If we signed with Emperor now, no matter what results we achieved in the competition, they could claim there was some shady deal involved. Besides, Emperor's contract terms for ordinary newcomers are different from its contract terms for champions."

That was not really an issue. Thanks to Qiao Lin's stroke of genius, the contract Emperor had prepared this time was even more generous than its champion contract. But if they had no intention of signing in the first place, no matter how favorable Emperor's terms were, they would be useless. After all, the advantages a large company like Emperor could offer mostly came in the form of platforms and opportunities. When it came to revenue sharing, it could never match the smaller companies.

The only question was whether these two could distinguish immediate gains from long-term benefits.

Seeing Lu Zhengqiao's calm smile, Tang Shi simply took his ID card from his wallet and placed it on the table. "We're not trying to brush you off or saying we don't want to sign with Emperor. In fact, if we really were to sign with someone, Emperor would probably be our first choice. If you don't believe us, you can keep our IDs and return them after the competition ends."

Startled by Tang Shi's action, Lu Zhengqiao looked at his innocent expression and suddenly could not help laughing. Shaking his head, he waved a hand. "That won't be necessary. Emperor is a law-abiding company. We would never do something like forcibly withholding someone else's ID card. Besides, it isn't that I don't trust you two. I'm simply worried that you young students have little experience in the world and may be deceived."

At that point, Lu Zhengqiao naturally brought up certain contract clauses that required attention. Emperor Entertainment was a major company and preferred to lay everything out in the open, so it would not set word traps in artists' contracts and leave signatories suffering in silence. But some agencies in the industry were different. Terms that appeared favorable did not necessarily mean they were truly good. Every year, some newcomers in the entertainment industry were tricked into signing exploitative contracts. They coveted a tiny advantage when signing, only to end up in a miserable situation.

Lu Zhengqiao could tell that Sugar Juice Duo's refusal was not because they did not want to sign with Emperor. They had probably truly been frightened by the previous media scandal and did not want to create further complications. Of course, it was also understandable if they had a few thoughts about waiting for a better offer.

Smart, talented, well-liked, of decent character, and able to assess the situation—combined with Sugar Juice Duo's young age, Lu Zhengqiao felt as though he were facing two completely blank sheets of fine rice paper. He looked forward to personally watching those two sheets gradually become masterpieces that would astonish the world.

That was why he did not want to see these two children make any mistakes. Of course, his words were not entirely without self-interest. While presenting himself as upright and straightforward, he had also subtly taken a jab at a group of less-than-scrupulous industry peers.

By the end of the conversation, Lu Zhengqiao had successfully won Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi's goodwill through his open and warm manner. Like imprinting in hatchlings, everyone in an unfamiliar environment tended to feel close to the first person who showed them kindness. Tang Shi had already held a favorable impression of Apple TV Station and Emperor Entertainment because of memories from both his lives. Now, Lu Zhengqiao's calm composure and friendly warmth gave Tang Shi a basic sense of trust in Emperor Entertainment.

Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi had not intended to sign with any other company in the first place. After this conversation, they became even more determined to sign with Emperor once the competition was over.

Still, Tang Shi had some concerns about the matter. He and Lu Hengzhi were both students, and having lived another life, Tang Shi clearly had no intention of giving up his studies. How to balance school and work, and at the very least ensure that company-assigned work would not conflict with their study time, was something that needed to be discussed.

After this conversation, Lu Zhengqiao had also seen that Lu Hengzhi was the one who truly made the decisions within Sugar Juice Duo, but every one of Lu Hengzhi's decisions was based on Tang Shi's agreement. This indirectly demonstrated the trust and tacit understanding between them. Lu Zhengqiao found such a pure emotional foundation very promising; at the very least, it was a natural selling point. As for Tang Shi's concerns, Lu Zhengqiao offered an excellent solution—a compromise and understanding based on the Youth Education Law. The company would try its best to arrange work for them during winter and summer breaks and on weekends. If any work absolutely had to be completed during the school term, the agency would need the consent of the artist, the artist's parents, and the artist's school.

Unlike some talent agencies that, for immediate financial gain, tempted or even pressured artists into abandoning their studies and cared only about making money.

It was still early to discuss such matters, but they reflected Emperor Entertainment's sincerity and grace very well. This serious and attentive way of working made Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi feel quite comfortable. Thus, the conversation ended with both host and guests thoroughly pleased.

When they left the Western restaurant, night had already fallen and the city lights had come on. After declining Lu Zhengqiao's offer to drive them back to the TV station dormitory, they headed to Apple City's most famous electronics mall. The reason they had insisted on keeping two hundred thousand yuan earlier, aside from certain purposes they did not wish to speak of, was that they wanted to buy Cui Yujin the best camera possible as a gift.

But Lin Zhaoran had later come to borrow money, and then they had been slandered by the media and had to hold a press conference, delaying the matter for some time. Now everything had been resolved. With the help of the media and concerned citizens across the city, even the hit-and-run driver had been reported and found the following day. After the driver received legal punishment and paid compensation, Lin Zhaoran returned the money he had borrowed from Sugar Juice Duo. Naturally, the two could proceed with their plan.

Since they had already consulted the cameraman from the production crew, the moment they entered the electronics mall, they headed straight for their target. They found the Kaimoer counter, supposedly the best camera brand currently available, and directly selected the professional camera that the cameraman had recommended as reasonably priced and highly cost-effective, costing over thirty-five thousand yuan. They had the salesperson pack it up and hurried back to the TV station dormitory carrying the camera.

The fifty-to-thirty competition had just ended, and the production team had issued the requirements for the thirty-to-ten Qualifier Round. Contestants who placed in the regional top ten would qualify to participate in the National Qualifier Round, while contestants who entered the National Qualifier Round would have the chance to take part in the production of the Dance Miracle Big Movie. Therefore, in order to showcase the contestants' ability to cooperate and their broad artistic inclusiveness, the production team required the judges to select different dance styles for different contestants during the regional top-ten qualifiers. Dancers unfamiliar with one another would have to work together and ultimately perform an outstanding dance.

Whether by fate or deliberate arrangement by the production team, Sugar Juice Duo and Three Girls Group became partners in this top-ten Qualifier Round. The keywords assigned for their performance were—first love, and the dance style was modern dance.

Clearly, neither Sugar Juice Duo nor the three girls knew how to dance modern dance. How were they supposed to discover their strengths in a style none of them knew?

Looking at the three girls frowning miserably and Lu Hengzhi deep in thought, Tang Shi had an idea. "The production team gave us the keyword first love and limited us to modern dance, but did they say we had to use any particular music for the dance?"

Everyone froze at his words.

Lu Hengzhi immediately called Li Mei. After confirming the details, he hung up and said, "Auntie Li said the production team has no requirements for that. We only need to submit the music to them during rehearsal."

Tang Shi clapped his hands and smiled. "That's great. Then let's use one of our own songs for the dance."

One of their own songs?

The others looked at one another.

Chapter 27

Li Mei looked helplessly at her phone, once again speechless at how much trouble the two children of Sugar Juice Duo could stir up. Still, she found a production staff member to take the two children to the recording studio, then used her personal connections to invite a highly capable recording engineer from the station to assist them. Apart from the director team's instruction to support promising contestants as much as possible, she herself was curious to see what else the two children could come up with.

Writing lyrics, composing music, recording the song... The song Tang Shi brought out this time was one he had written in his previous life for amusement when he was bored. The lyrics were simple, the melody had a fresh and gentle style, and most importantly, its mood suited the feeling of "first love" required for this dance. None of them had any outstanding talent in modern dance, and Three Girls Group had never been exposed to theatrical arts, so they clearly could not match Sugar Juice Duo's dance style. Left with no alternative, Tang Shi could only place his hopes of standing out on the song itself.

Taking an unconventional path and creating something distinctive was precisely Sugar Juice Duo's strength. Their talent lay in the collision between traditional theatrical art and modern street dance, as well as Tang Shi's remarkably forward-thinking diversity and inclusiveness. This gift for judging market acceptance and popular trends through the eyes of someone who had already lived through them was something other contestants could only envy.

Many people therefore held prejudices against Sugar Juice Duo, believing their dances were nothing more than a mishmash meant to grab attention, and that their real dance foundation and ability could not compare to contestants with years of stage experience. Yet there was one thing they could not deny: the audience's acceptance of these dance styles, and their anticipation for Sugar Juice Duo.

Ever since the Southern Division's fifty-to-thirty Qualifier Round aired, the production team had conducted several street interviews. Without exception, everyone interviewed remembered Sugar Juice Duo. Even if they did not remember their names, when asked which contestants had left the deepest impression, they would all mention them in unspoken agreement: "The ones who used Peking Opera in street dance," "I thought their dance was super cool. I even looked up what the real Peking Opera The Three Forks was like," "The contestants who won five million. I really like them. Their luck is amazing. I hope that if I become their fan, some of that luck will rub off on me"...

After the "rigging scandal" and press conference a few days earlier, the audience's impression of Sugar Juice Duo had become even deeper. Especially after seeing Lin Zhaoran tearfully express his gratitude, the audience's image of Sugar Juice Duo had successfully advanced from "the kids who use Peking Opera in street dance" and "the kids who got incredibly lucky and won a big prize" to "good dancers with personality, amazingly lucky, kind-hearted, and well-behaved kids."