Chapter 83: You Young People Really Know How to Have Fun!

“For the vocalists of these songs, do you have any thoughts?” As the excitement in the room had just begun to settle, Fang Xiao spoke up. As the current director of the Artists Department, she was naturally quite invested in this matter. Who would be given the opportunity to sing, or who would be left out, directly affected the department’s strategic direction and the allocation of resources. So, even though Su Chen had been given considerable autonomy by Wang Yan, she still felt compelled to ask.

Su Chen was momentarily taken aback by her question. “I’ve already shared the information with you all, haven’t I?” Shared the information? Was he referring to inviting Qin Pei to record the songs? As soon as Su Chen finished speaking, Qin Pei, seated at the back, felt her heart skip a beat. Her left hand gripped Guan Mei’s arm, while her right hand clutched the hem of her dress. Was Su Chen implying… all of them were for her to sing?

She exchanged a glance with Guan Mei, her excitement barely contained. When Su Chen had just revealed the five songs, she hadn’t dared to imagine how many she might be assigned. In her mind, just being asked to come and being given one song would have been fortunate enough. Though she’d fleetingly fantasized about singing all of them, she had quickly dismissed such thoughts. It was too much to hope for. Now, it seemed that fantasy was coming true.

As the realization dawned on everyone, their gazes grew complicated as they looked at Qin Pei. She was the only singer called to record today, and the only artist present in the conference room; the answer was clear as day. What had she done to earn Su Chen’s favor?

While everyone’s imaginations ran wild, Wang Yan looked as if he wanted to speak but hesitated. “Um… Su Chen…” Su Chen turned to him. “If you have something to say, please do.”

Wang Yan, seeing that Su Chen was inviting him to speak, no longer held back. “My suggestion is this: these songs are of exceptional quality. If we give them all to a single singer, it feels… well, a bit of a waste. Perhaps we could select two or three singers to share them?” He didn’t elaborate further, but his meaning was obvious.

At this, Fang Xiao’s lips curved into a barely perceptible smile. “President Wang, didn’t you tell me that I have the final say over such matters?” Wang Yan looked a little embarrassed. “I did say that, but…” He hadn’t finished speaking when Fang Xiao continued, “I support having Qin Pei sing all five songs.”

“Concentrating our resources on a single artist, focusing our efforts, aligns perfectly with our department’s strategy.” Damn it! This woman always knew how to seize the opportunity, openly opposing him. Wang Yan was thoroughly displeased. Yet, regardless of his irritation, he couldn’t afford to fall out with her on the spot. He merely shot Fang Xiao a glance and, after composing himself, forced a smile. “Well, if that’s the consensus, I have nothing further to add. It was only a suggestion—don’t take it to heart.” Even as he spoke, regret welled up inside him. He knew full well what kind of person Su Chen was, yet he couldn’t help interjecting. How foolish.

Ever since Su Chen was promoted to Silver Composer, the company’s restrictions on him had become minimal. With that promotion, their relationship was essentially that of collaborators. The company had priority access to his songs, but not exclusivity. The fact that Su Chen was offering five songs for company artists was already a blessing. Why had he insisted on pushing further? It was Fang Xiao who had been driving him crazy lately, always thinking about maximizing company interests and her own performance metrics. But no matter how large the potential gains, maintaining a good relationship with Su Chen had to come first. At this thought, he could have slapped himself. Seeing Fang Xiao’s half-mocking, half-smiling face, he could only grit his teeth in frustration.

“Then it’s settled. Let’s begin recording the songs,” Su Chen concluded decisively. “No need for demos—just go right into recording.” Everyone nodded in agreement.

Perhaps to dispel the earlier awkwardness, Wang Yan picked up where Su Chen had left off. “This round of chart competition will be extremely tough, so we’ll need to invest even more resources. Both Jiang Yan and Xi Siyuan are formidable opponents. To break through, we’ll have to bolster our promotional channels as well as rely on song quality.” At this point, he seemed to recall something. “Oh, Su Chen, isn’t one of your songs also featured on Jiang Yan’s new album in October?”

They had all seen the video from Jiang Yan’s album launch, and had a rough idea of the story between Su Chen and Jiang Yan. Although their curiosity was piqued, they felt it wasn’t the right time to ask about the specifics. “Yes, I have a song on her album,” Su Chen replied.

Wang Yan wanted to say: then why have Qin Pei compete on the charts as well? With both artists singing your songs, isn’t this self-sabotage? What if your girlfriend ends up losing—wouldn’t that be a disaster?

“It’s fine. Maybe someone else will be unlucky,” Su Chen replied, a hint of mischief in his voice.

Wang Yan was momentarily stunned, then his expression grew animated. Was Su Chen planning on knocking Xi Siyuan off the charts? Did the two of them have some kind of feud? The situation was more complicated than he’d imagined. He shook his head. Young people these days—always full of surprises.

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After the meeting ended and the responsibilities for the next steps were assigned, Su Chen returned directly to Team Two of the Composition Department. Having been away from the office for several days, his return caused quite a stir. Of course, the main reason was probably Jiang Yan.

“Su Chen! You’re back!” Dong Xiaojie called out excitedly. Other colleagues, some who’d been engrossed in dramas or napping, perked up to greet him.

“How was Kyoto?”
“If it weren’t for the news, we wouldn’t even have known you’d gone there!”
“I didn’t realize you knew Jiang Yan!”
And so on.

After winning the Rookie King title, Wang Yan had offered to arrange a private office for him, so he could work in peace. But Su Chen had declined, reasoning that he was seldom in the office anyway, and it would be a waste of space. Wang Yan hadn’t pressed further after that.

After greeting everyone, Su Chen had barely sat down when Dong Xiaojie sidled over conspiratorially. “Su Chen, what exactly is your relationship with Jiang Yan? There’s no outsiders here—tell your big sister the truth! I promise not to tell anyone.”

Su Chen rolled his eyes. As if he could trust her. If he told her, by this afternoon the whole company—maybe even the whole building—would know.

“We’re just ordinary friends; didn’t we clarify that at the press conference?”

“Yeah, right,” Dong Xiaojie clearly didn’t believe him. Still, since Su Chen wasn’t willing to say more, she didn’t push it. After all, his status had changed. She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Who would have thought that just a few months ago, he was a green newcomer—yet in such a short time, he’d achieved what many could only dream of in a lifetime. Such a pity she was a bit older…