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As a king-level figure who had dominated the entertainment industry for nearly twenty years, Yun Xiaoting had fans too numerous to count. Under such circumstances, it was actually very difficult to remember any particular fan. Especially given Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi's circumstances, they simply could not be like those wealthy fans with plenty of free time, following their idol to every concert and every appearance, or even staying by their idol's side while he filmed on set.

Yet when Yun Xiaoting saw Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi—or, more precisely, when he saw the Sugar Juice Duo dancing on television—he had a vague sense that they looked familiar.

He racked his brains for a long time but still could not remember, and Yun Xiaoting, busy as he was, eventually gave up. Still, he quietly instructed his assistant to look into the Sugar Juice Duo's character and conduct.

After all, these two newcomers would soon be sharing the same manager as him. And judging from how seriously the company took them, it was likely that in their future entertainment careers, they would make use of his management team and some of his connections to pave their way. For certain reasons, Yun Xiaoting felt it was necessary to learn more about them.

The results of the inquiry left Yun Xiaoting fairly satisfied. Setting aside the Sugar Juice Duo's much-discussed good luck and exceptional talent since entering the competition, their character and temperament alone put him at ease.

They were straightforward and sincere. Though they had a little temper and were somewhat willful, they were serious in their work and had ideas of their own. Most importantly, judging from the various news stories surrounding the Sugar Juice Duo, the two might be disobedient and difficult to handle, but they were people of genuine feeling—at the very least, not ungrateful ingrates who accepted your support while secretly plotting against you.

Something of that could be seen from the Sugar Juice Duo giving a song to Qiao Lin.

Thus, one side intended to lend support while the other worshipped fervently, and the two groups hit it off at a speed Zhou Boyun had never expected. By noon, Yun Xiaoting had even taken the initiative to invite Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi to go out for a meal with them.

There was naturally no need to elaborate on Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi's flattered astonishment.

With the company president and Emperor's top star openly showing their intention to look after them, the Sugar Juice Duo's standing within Emperor rose instantly.

And once word spread that the two were helping Qiao Lin produce an MV, the attitudes of Emperor's many artists toward the Sugar Juice Duo changed even more.

There had been a few minor deviations during Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi's work on Qiao Lin's MV. According to the original agreement between the Sugar Juice Duo and Qiao Lin, the duo would only be responsible for choreographing the dance and serving as backup dancers in the MV.

But when they actually arrived at the filming location, Qiao Lin unexpectedly took the initiative to ask the Sugar Juice Duo to help her sing the chorus of The Matchmaker. In other words, the Sugar Juice Duo had leapt from being dancers in the MV to singers collaborating with Qiao Lin. Their rise in status was faster than a rocket.

Naturally, all sorts of dealings between Emperor Entertainment and Qiao Lin's agency lay behind those decisions. But those were not matters Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi could concern themselves with. All they had to do was give their all to recording The Matchmaker.

It was their first time entering a recording studio, their first time recording a song, and the person across from them was a diva-level star. But could their singing skills truly match Qiao Lin's? After the album was released, would Qiao Lin's fans think they sang terribly? Would they be dissatisfied...

All those worries instantly became almost tangible pressure, leaving Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi miserable. On the first day of recording, they performed terribly. Even without anyone pointing it out, the two could hear their own heavy, ox-like panting through their headphones. As for the flaws in their singing, compared to Qiao Lin's heavenly voice, beautiful and nearly flawless, they sounded so low-grade it was unbearable.

However, Zhang Xiaobai, the acclaimed producer in charge of recording, kept praising Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi's voices, saying they had a solid foundation... Whether Zhang Xiaobai was deliberately comforting them or professionals simply appreciated things differently, they did not know.

Fortunately, after several days of adjustment and vocal training, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi gradually found their rhythm. They were originally only responsible for the Peking Opera-style singing in the chorus and harmonies. Lu Hengzhi already had a foundation, while Tang Shi had treated it as a serious hobby in his previous life. Moreover, this song had been written by Tang Shi himself, so no one needed to say much about his delivery, flavor, or understanding of it.

The final result was naturally quite good. In truth, for just such a chorus section, any student from a Peking Opera academy could have recorded it. Qiao Lin had brought in the Sugar Juice Duo not only because she wanted to support these two newcomers she thought highly of, but also because she wanted to capitalize on their current explosive popularity for another round of promotion.

Ever since the Sugar Juice Duo won the national finals of Dance Miracle, the rate at which their fanbase grew had made even veteran insiders green with envy. And after the finals, the Sugar Juice Duo had accepted an appearance on Happy Assembly Call. Its broadcast date happened to fall around the release of her album.

Qiao Lin would have been an idiot to turn down such a perfect publicity hook.

As for the mutually beneficial deal between the agency and Emperor, Qiao Lin valued that even more.

After helping Qiao Lin record the MV, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi submitted a request to the company to return to school. Their midterm exams were coming up, and they had a gentleman's agreement about their grades with their homeroom teacher, Old Yu.

The company, honoring the terms of the contract, had originally agreed to let Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi fly back to X City. But then they remembered that the National Day holiday was about to begin. Even if Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi went back, they would be on break. Since they could not report to school anyway, they might as well remain in the capital and take part in the first performance of Dance Miracle's national tour.

After thinking it over, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi felt the company's suggestion was not bad. With the powerful tool of "video teaching," they could study anywhere without falling behind. Besides, the first stop of Dance Miracle's national tour was meaningful as well.

But they had not been home in so long, and they truly missed it. They had finally endured until the National Day holiday—did they still have to stay at the company and work?

Unable to make a decision after agonizing over it for a long time, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi finally decided to call their parents and Old Yu separately. After hearing their explanation, Old Yu merely snorted twice and told them that no matter where they were, they could not neglect their studies. Since he supervised Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi's studying every night, he naturally knew how well they had mastered their lessons, so he was not in a hurry for them to return.

Besides trusting the two children, he was also afraid that Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi's return to school would disrupt the other students' learning. The Sugar Juice Duo was simply too popular now. Every day at school, no matter which class Old Yu taught, he could hear students discussing Dance Miracle. So Old Yu intended to give these absent-minded students a good talking-to over the next few days and make them understand that idle fantasies were impractical, while studying hard was the proper thing to do.

Therefore, Old Yu wanted Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi to return on the day of the midterm exams. Once their grades came out, whether high or low, they could be held up as an example for the other students.

There was a distinct implication that they would either "become role models" or "kill the chicken to scare the monkeys."

As for Lu's father and Tang's mother, with Old Yu's ambiguous approval, they had even less reason to interfere with the children's wishes.

Instead, they told them about the Good Taste Food Factory's current development. Because Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi had been aggressively advertising it on all sorts of programs, distributors from all over the country had placed orders with Good Taste Food Factory. Sales were so hot that supply could not meet demand, and while Lu's father, Tang's mother, and the others were delighted, they had no choice but to expand the factory again and increase the scale of operations.

It was worth mentioning that because Tang Shi had won five million in the Lottery during the competition, Tang's mother had ample funds on hand and was no longer in the straitened circumstances of the past, when even doing a little business left her stretched thin. Moreover, Tang Shi and Lu Hengzhi's aggressive advertising on the program had vastly increased the recognition of Good Taste Frozen Foods. It could be said that over the past month or so, nearly one hundred percent of Good Taste Food Factory's out-of-province orders had been brought in by the Sugar Juice Duo.

Thus, when Good Taste Food Co., Ltd. carried out its second round of shareholder investment, encouraged and repeatedly urged by Lu's father, Tang's mother, flush with funds, generously invested seven hundred thousand. Together with her previous one hundred thousand investment and the filling recipe, she became the largest shareholder of Good Taste Food Factory in one stroke, holding 45% of the shares. Lu's father invested only two hundred thousand, and together with his earlier three hundred thousand investment, he had put in a total of five hundred thousand, becoming the factory's second-largest shareholder with 35% of the shares. As for Cheng Bingheng, the former cafeteria owner, his family circumstances only allowed him to scrape together two hundred thousand. Added to his earlier two hundred thousand investment, he barely retained 20% of the shares.

But for Cheng Bingheng, this was already the best possible outcome. Given his current position and abilities, he had no experience or channels whatsoever for the expanded food factory's nationwide distribution and sales network. All of his current business progress relied entirely on orders that distributors and suppliers had voluntarily contacted them about after seeing the Sugar Juice Duo's advertisement during the Dance Miracle finals. There were also the sales channels of Lu's father's grain and oil company branches across the country.

Cheng Bingheng's personal contribution had become practically negligible. Whenever he came to the food factory for meetings, he felt so ashamed that he wanted to disappear into the ground.

Fortunately, Lu's father and Tang's mother were not the sort to burn bridges after crossing them or kick away the ladder once they were up. Understanding Cheng Bingheng's discomfort, they would always comfort and reassure him during meetings. The ancients said not to forget the person who dug the well after drinking the water. If Cheng Bingheng had not personally opened up the fast-moving consumer food sales channels throughout X Province when the food factory was first established, Good Taste Food Factory would not have developed so smoothly.

And with Good Taste developing like a roller coaster, it was perfectly normal for Cheng Bingheng, as the business manager, to have trouble adapting at first. But they all believed in Cheng Bingheng's abilities. They believed that after a brief period of discouragement, he would quickly adjust.

Fortunately, Cheng Bingheng was also someone who grew stronger after recognizing his shortcomings. Once he understood where he fell short, he worked and studied hard. In just one month, he not only sorted out the distributors from all over the country, but also traced their connections and gained a clear understanding of the network among them. Over the coming months, he planned to ride the momentum of Dance Miracle's performances around the country and promote their own frozen foods in various regions. He had even prepared to visit several larger cities, both to work hard at opening new markets and to learn from the advanced practices of major companies and enterprises.

After all, although Lu's father's grain and oil company had offices throughout the country, grain and oil distribution channels were ultimately different from frozen food distribution channels.

Seeing Cheng Bingheng so confident and full of energy, Lu's father and Tang's mother were relieved. After all, as members of the company's management, they needed to maintain a positive mindset of closeness, trust, and working together toward the same goal.

Meanwhile, Shi Shang Feng Heng also made rapid progress in developing the celebrity merchandise industry chain. With Dance Miracle ending in grand fashion, Shi Shang Feng Heng took advantage of the show's momentum to launch its first wave of fan economy promotion.

The celebrity photo books, signed posters, keychains bearing celebrities' portraits, mugs, support T-shirts, and even tickets for Dance Miracle's nationwide touring performances that it had just produced were met with frenzied demand from fans as soon as they hit the market. In merely one month, they raked in nearly three million yuan nationwide.

And that was only the company's first month after launching, before it had even done much promotion! The speed at which it made money was practically a gold-sucking weapon.