In the tavern, Li Lang watched Wang Shu’s departing back, his mind suddenly clearing considerably.
"Rebirth? Rebirth from ashes?"
Li Lang muttered to himself in surprise, then with a sudden realization, he got up and headed out of the tavern.
When he exited, he found Wang Shu standing in the open space outside.
"I’ve made up my mind, I want to debut, I want to be my true self!"
Li Lang said to Wang Shu with firm conviction and a serious expression.
Wang Shu looked at the middle-aged man before him, a slight smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
"What do you think of the song I just sang?"
Wang Shu asked, patting Li Lang on the shoulder.
"It was beautiful and very skillful, I really liked it!"
Li Lang replied truthfully.
The song Wang Shu had just sung had directly touched his soul; its lyrics immediately brought back memories of his university days.
Back then, how carefree and unrestrained he was. He had never imagined that decades later, his life would become such a mess.
"If you like it, this song will be your debut track!"
Wang Shu said directly.
"Really?"
Li Lang looked at Wang Shu in disbelief.
He had previously inquired about Wang Shu’s price for writing a song. For an ordinary person like him, it wasn't an astronomical sum, but it was still a considerable expense.
And now Wang Shu was saying he could use this song as his debut piece.
"It's not free. You have to sign a contract with me. From now on, 30% of your performance fees will go to me. However, I will also grant you authorization for some of my songs and resources!"
Seeing Li Lang's confused expression, Wang Shu explained directly.
"I see!"
After hearing Wang Shu's explanation, Li Lang finally understood what he meant.
"Can you accept that? If so, I'll have my assistant bring you the contract tomorrow!"
Wang Shu continued to ask Li Lang.
"No problem!"
Li Lang nodded immediately, readily agreeing.
Wang Shu’s contract was already considered quite generous. It was much simpler than the soul-selling contracts from other agencies that were often dozens of pages long.
Moreover, he wouldn't be at a disadvantage. The works he would use were all written by Wang Shu. Normally, singers would pay tens of thousands to millions for a single song. By using them, he only had to give the company 30% of the revenue.
When calculated, this was a very worthwhile deal.
"Alright, then I'll be going back. You should go back and rest early too."
Wang Shu felt considerably more cheerful upon seeing Li Lang agree.
After bidding farewell to Li Lang, Wang Shu returned to his hotel and began updating the three online novels.
"Grandpa, the novel you're following has been updated!"
"Holy cow, it's actually updated! I was dying waiting!"
"Love it, love it! Douluo is updated, Zhetian and Douqi should be on the way too!"
At night, Wang Shu had just finished uploading the chapter he had written for "Douluo World."
As soon as it was uploaded, many readers excitedly commented in the review section.
During the few days Wang Shu was on hiatus, they had been restless, opening the Zhongdian Novel Network every so often to check for update notifications.
Those who only followed "Douluo World" were relatively fine. The most miserable were the readers who simultaneously followed "Douluo World," "Zhetian," and "Douqi Continent."
Because all three books had gone on hiatus simultaneously, they had nothing to read.
After reading these three books, they found other novels to be bland and unappetizing.
It took Wang Shu several hours to write the updated chapters for all three books and upload them one by one.
After finishing these tasks, Wang Shu finally slept soundly.
The next day, Wang Shu, accompanied by Su Yao, went to Li Lang's recording studio again to give Li Lang the contract.
Afterwards, Wang Shu also handed over the lyrics for the song "Old Boy" to him.
"Wang... Oh, wait, Boss, when are you planning for me to debut?"
After signing the contract, Li Lang couldn't help but ask curiously.
"This program!"
Wang Shu then took out the poster for "Weekly Good Voice" and pointed at it with his finger.
"Weekly Good Voice?"
Li Lang looked at the crumpled poster, his expression bewildered.
He knew about this show and sometimes watched it when he was bored.
He hadn't expected Wang Shu to choose this program for his debut performance.
"This program is a training ground for every artist in our company. Zhou Bianyuan just won the championship on this show last week!"
Wang Shu said directly.
"Bian Yuan? Are you talking about Bian Yuan from five years ago?"
Li Lang's eyes widened in surprise.
Although his question sounded strange, Wang Shu understood his meaning.
"That's right, he's an artist under me now."
Wang Shu said proudly.
"Alright, I'll do it!"
Li Lang agreed immediately.
"Good job! If you need more material, just let me know!"
Wang Shu said with a smile, seeing Li Lang agree.
If Li Lang could perform as consistently as he did last night, combined with his lyrics and music, he believed he could definitely win "Weekly Good Voice."
Just as Wang Shu and Li Lang were envisioning the future, a Maybach stopped at the entrance.
A man and a woman, along with a little girl, alighted from the car.
The girl was Li Anran, Li Lang's young daughter, whom Wang Shu had met that day.
"Daddy!"
The little girl ran into Li Lang's arms as soon as she entered, burying her head in his embrace.
"What are you doing here again?"
Li Lang's expression darkened, and he asked coldly.
"What are we doing here? I'm here today to have you sign this agreement! Give me custody of our daughter!"
The woman said, looking at Li Lang with disdain.
"Yue Qin, we've lived together for so many years, are you really so heartless that you won't even leave our child with me?"
Li Lang frowned as he looked at the woman.
"You know we've been together for so many years, so what have you given me during that time? It would be best if you were sensible and signed the papers. I won't mistreat you. This 100,000 yuan is my compensation for you!"
Wang Yue Qin directly took out 100,000 yuan in cash from her bag and placed it on the table, still looking at Li Lang with disdain.
"Hmph! How ridiculous. Do you think I'll take your paltry sum? I will not give up custody of our daughter. You can leave now, don't disrupt my career."
Li Lang didn't even glance at the money on the table and directly told them to leave.
"Li Lang, do you really think you can give Anran a good life in your current state?"
The middle-aged man, who had remained silent until now, couldn't help but question Li Lang.
"Is it your place to butt in here? Who the hell do you think you are?"
Seeing the man interject, Li Lang immediately cursed at him.
"Li Lang, you better not be ungrateful. It's not that I want to say it, but you're a failure. You've been a spineless coward your whole life!"
The man was also angered by Li Lang's sudden outburst and shouted at him, pounding the table.
"Who said he's a spineless coward!"
Wang Shu, standing nearby, couldn't stand it any longer and said calmly.
"In my eyes, within a year, he will be a rising star in the Dragon Country music scene."
Wang Shu continued.
"Who are you, kid? With his appearance, can he be a singer? Then shouldn't that other person be an actor!"
The man burst into laughter upon hearing Wang Shu's words and pointed at Li Lang, speaking to Wang Shu.
"If you don't even know me, then you're truly out of touch. Do some research, my name is Wang Shu!"
Wang Shu directly revealed his identity.
"What Wang Shu, Li Shu, whatever. Did you see that Maybach outside? You probably won't be able to afford one in your lifetime!"
The man, seeing Wang Shu acting so arrogant, pointed at the Maybach outside and said provocatively.
"I'm sorry, but I can buy a Maybach like that with just one song!"
Wang Shu shook his head helplessly and looked at the two of them.
He truly felt sorry for Li Lang, to have found such a superficial woman as his wife.
In terms of appearance, Li Lang's looked ten times better than this greasy middle-aged man.
In terms of talent, he couldn't see any talent in this fat pig, other than having some money.
"Young man, do you really think I'm an unsophisticated bumpkin? Buying my Maybach with one song? Do you know how much my Maybach costs? Over a million yuan! Have you ever seen so much money in your life?"
The man said smugly to Wang Shu, believing the young man before him was just a show-off nobody.
"Why are you talking so much to him? He's hanging out with Li Lang, so he must be a good-for-nothing too!"
Wang Yue Qin said with disdain, looking at Wang Shu. She felt even more that divorcing Li Lang was the right decision. She hadn't expected Li Lang to have such a delusional friend, truly believing he was a big star!
"You can say whatever you want about me, but you can't say that about my boss! Now I'm asking you to leave my shop! Get out immediately!"
Li Lang then stood up and pushed both of them out of the shop, closing the door.
"Is your husband crazy? Why did I hear him call that kid Boss?"
Outside the door, the man asked Wang Yue Qin, looking surprised.
"What did that guy call himself just now?"
Wang Yue Qin was momentarily stunned. Although Li Lang was a loser, his mind wasn't completely addled. He wouldn't casually call some young kid "Boss."
"He said his name was Wang Shu!"
The man thought for a moment, as those seemed to be the words he had heard.
Wang Yue Qin then immediately opened her phone to search for Wang Shu's name.
"This guy really seems to be a celebrity!"
Wang Yue Qin said in surprise, looking at the information and introduction on her phone.
"What? That guy is actually a celebrity?"
The man was slightly taken aback, snatched the phone, and looked at it carefully.
"No wonder he was so arrogant today. It turns out he found someone to back him up!"
Wang Yue Qin said coldly.
"A minor celebrity is nothing to fear. It doesn't matter if we offend him!"
The man said after briefly reading Wang Shu's profile.