A Tailor-Made Song

Shangguan Mingyue had spent many years navigating the business world and had naturally seen her share of people, but she had rarely met a man as beautiful and distinguished as Chen Ze.

"You flatter me, President," Chen Ze said awkwardly.

"You said you came to ask for leave?" Shangguan Mingyue finally remembered why Chen Ze was there.

"Yes, I'd like to take half a month off," Chen Ze replied.

"Your career is on the rise right now. Do you really want to take that much time off?" Shangguan Mingyue asked.

"Yes, I have some personal matters to deal with," Chen Ze said.

"Chen Ze, the company has invested a lot of resources in developing you. I hope you understand that." After speaking, Shangguan Mingyue turned her laptop around to show him.

"These are the Wangyiyun Music charts. Several of your songs are in the top ten, and this is an excellent opportunity. I was planning to have you appear on another variety show while you're still popular," Shangguan Mingyue said.

"To be honest, I never really planned to become a star. I only joined Tianmei Entertainment because I needed money at the time. President, there's no need for the company to spend so many resources promoting me," Chen Ze said. Money was only one reason. The real reason he had joined Tianmei Entertainment was the system, but he couldn't say that. No one would believe him even if he did.

Shangguan Mingyue stared intently at Chen Ze. "Is that really what you think?"

"Of course. That's exactly what I think!" Chen Ze said firmly.

Shangguan Mingyue stared at him for a long moment, then suddenly smiled. "Chen Ze, I have a proposal. I wonder what you'll think of it."

"What proposal?" Chen Ze asked curiously.

"From now on, write two songs for the company every six months, and I can give you an S-tier contract. The company won't require you to attend any events, and you can come to the office whenever you want. The only thing the company asks of you is that you don't join any other entertainment company. What do you think?" Shangguan Mingyue handed Chen Ze a contract after she finished speaking. Apparently, she had come prepared.

"That sounds very tempting!" Chen Ze said.

Chen Ze took the contract and read it carefully. Sure enough, it was just as Shangguan Mingyue had described. He would receive ninety percent of the revenue from the songs he wrote, and the copyrights would remain in his hands. The only restriction was that he couldn't join another entertainment company.

"What if I write songs for other people? How would that work?" Chen Ze asked.

"You can do whatever you like with the songs you write for others. The company won't interfere, but you can't give anyone else the songs you write for the company," Shangguan Mingyue said.

"Of course!" Chen Ze said, indicating he understood.

"Does that mean you agree?" Shangguan Mingyue was delighted, though she kept her expression neutral.

For just one S-tier contract, she would get four songs a year. Many songwriters couldn't necessarily write even one good song in a year, let alone produce classics with every song like Chen Ze. That was critically important to an entertainment company!

"Yes, but the term needs to be changed!" Chen Ze said, pointing to the ten-year term in the contract.

"Hmph! Little fox! How many years do you want to change it to? I'll say this now: don't bother if it's only one year," Shangguan Mingyue said unhappily.

"Three years. That should be about right. We can talk again after three years," Chen Ze said.

"No problem, but you'll have to give me two songs first. The company is currently developing a very promising singer," Shangguan Mingyue said.

"Oh, I can give them to you now, but is the person you're developing a man or a woman? I can write songs suited to their characteristics," Chen Ze said.

"You can tailor songs to a person?" Shangguan Mingyue asked in shock.

"Of course. Have you forgotten? I gave Sun Yingsha the song she sang in the competition. You could hear for yourself whether it suited her," Chen Ze said proudly.

"All right, I'll have her come over now!" Shangguan Mingyue picked up the phone on her desk and made a call.

"Have her go to the practice room. That way I can hear her voice," Chen Ze said.

"All right!"

In the practice room, Chen Ze and Shangguan Mingyue were chatting. The door creaked open, and a beautiful woman in her twenties walked in.

"Chen Ze, let me introduce you. This is an artist the company is developing. Her name is Liu Cixin, and she's from the Demon Capital." Shangguan Mingyue then gestured toward Chen Ze. "I imagine you already know him. This is Chen Ze."

Name: Liu Cixin

Gender: female

Age: 24

Height: 185 cm

Weight: 68 kg

Constitution: 80

Charm: 91 (naturally beautiful)

Skills: none

"Of course I know him. Who doesn't know Chen Ze, the musical genius who's been making such a splash lately?" Liu Cixin said admiringly.

"Hello!" Chen Ze held out his hand and shook hers.

"May I ask why you called me here, President?" Liu Cixin asked.

Instead of answering immediately, Shangguan Mingyue turned to Chen Ze. "Liu Cixin made her debut two and a half years ago, but she's never quite taken off. You've seen her appearance for yourself. What she lacks is a signature song, and that's very important for her!"

By then, Liu Cixin had more or less understood. "President, you mean you want Chen Ze to write songs for me?"

"That's right. I'm sure you've heard Chen Ze's songs. You could say every one of them is a classic! So this time, I'd like him to write two songs for you," Shangguan Mingyue said.

"That's wonderful! With Chen Ze's help, I'm sure I can become a hit!" Liu Cixin said happily. She also loved Chen Ze's songs and listened to them practically every day.

Chen Ze smiled. "First, sing me a bit of a song you've performed before."

Liu Cixin then sang a song she had performed before, without accompaniment.

Chen Ze closed his eyes and listened carefully. He found that Liu Cixin's voice was remarkably similar to that of a certain female celebrity from his previous life, and an idea came to him.

Chen Ze picked up some paper and a pen from the side and began writing and sketching. Shangguan Mingyue and Liu Cixin exchanged glances and thought to themselves, He's got something already? Neither of them disturbed him, however, and they watched quietly from the side instead.

After a little over an hour, Chen Ze finally put down his pen. The two women came over and looked at the scores and lyrics.

"'A Diao,' 'Invisible Wings,'" they read aloud.

"That's right. I think these two songs suit her very well. They could easily be her signature songs!" Chen Ze said.

"Familiarize yourself with the melodies first. I'll go find some accompanists," Shangguan Mingyue said, then went out.

Before long, she returned with more than a dozen people. She handed them Chen Ze's scores and asked them to play.

It took the whole morning for Liu Cixin to get the basics of singing the two songs.

After listening, Shangguan Mingyue said with great satisfaction, "You were right, Chen Ze. These two songs really do suit her!"

"I'm glad you're satisfied, President. Shall we sign the contract, then?" Chen Ze said.

Shangguan Mingyue readily agreed. She changed the term to three years, and the two of them signed the contract.

"The old C-tier contract is void. Chen Ze, you're now one of our senior S-tier veterans," Shangguan Mingyue joked.

Chen Ze smiled as well. "Please continue to look after me, President."

As Liu Cixin thanked him profusely, Chen Ze declined her offer to treat him to a meal and sauntered away.

"Beep, beep, beep..." Chen Ze's phone suddenly rang.

"Hello!"

"Hello, big brother!"

"What do you mean, big brother? Little girl, I think you have the wrong number!" Chen Ze thought some little girl had called the wrong number.

"You are my big brother. Your name is Chen Ze, right?" a girl's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"That's right, I'm Chen Ze." Chen Ze was a little bewildered. How did she know his name, and why was she calling him big brother?

"Big brother, did you forget? You sent Mom to prison, and then the people from the Husbands' Federation sent us to school. Big brother, don't you want me as your little sister anymore?" The voice on the other end sounded close to tears.

"Ah!" Chen Ze really had forgotten. The original owner had a younger sister who shared neither parent with him. Her name was Chen Xixi, and she seemed to be only fifteen.

After sending that vicious adoptive mother to prison, he had gone to Hangcheng High School, while the Husbands' Federation had sent his sister to a middle school in Hangcheng. But he had only just transmigrated at the time, and he couldn't remember many things clearly.

According to the original owner's memories, both siblings had been taken in by that vicious adoptive mother. They had depended on each other from childhood, and both had suffered abuse at her hands. They had gotten through it by constantly encouraging and comforting each other.

"Ah! It's you, Xixi! How could your big brother not want you? Where are you now?"

Chen Ze felt a little guilty. He really had forgotten about his sister. If she hadn't called, he would have forgotten that she was still attending school in Hangcheng.

Chen Xixi choked out, "Boo-hoo, big brother, I'm staying at the Husbands' Federation now. A few days ago, I went to your school to look for you, and they said you'd left. Boo-hoo, I couldn't find you. Then I found your teacher, and she gave me your phone number, so I called you. Boo-hoo..."

Chen Ze felt ashamed. He could imagine a little girl with no one else to turn to going to the school to look for her only brother, only to find him gone.

"Don't cry, Xixi. I'll come get you now. Stay at the Husbands' Federation and wait for me, and don't go wandering off," Chen Ze said guiltily.

"Okay, big brother. Xixi will wait for you," Chen Xixi said.

Chen Ze hung up, thinking that although she wasn't his biological sister, she was probably the only person the original owner still cared about. He would treat her as his own sister; he could afford to support her anyway.

Chen Ze then dialed another number and called Giant Loli.