The artist department of Xinghui Entertainment was on the ninth floor.
Arru got out of the elevator and walked straight towards the agent's office next to it.
"Arru, why are you on the ninth floor?"
As she was walking, someone suddenly called out to her.
She turned around and saw Zhou Xiali, the person she was looking for. Beside her was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl with a handsome and somewhat shy appearance.
"Sister Xiali, you're here just in time. Manager Zhao asked me to find you. Hurry and come with me to the recording studio."
Upon seeing Zhou Xiali, Arru quickly stepped forward.
Zhou Xiali was an artist at Xinghui Entertainment. She had become popular and stood out through two songs that went viral on short video platforms. Among the new generation of singers, she was now quite well-known. While this type of internet celebrity singer might not compare to traditional first-tier singers, their popularity could still rival that of second-tier singers.
"Why are we going to the recording studio? Didn't I hear that the previous song was rejected? Do we have to re-record it?" Zhou Xiali asked with some surprise.
"The client didn't want the previous song. This is a new song," Arru explained.
"A new song? Who wrote it?" Zhou Xiali continued to ask.
"Uh... a new artist, about eighteen or nineteen years old, who just had an interview in Manager Zhao's office."
"Arru, are you kidding me? Even Zhang Kun's songs weren't approved. What good song could a teenager write?"
"But..."
"Arru, it's not that I don't want to give your Manager Zhao face, but we've already recorded three songs for this project. It seems the client's requirements are too high. Let's just give up. You should also advise Manager Zhao to cancel the order if there's really no other way."
"Sister Xiali, please just come with me. Manager Zhao is already waiting for you in the recording studio..."
"It's not that I don't want to help, but I'm actually busy right now. A song of mine has become popular again, and I'm about to shoot a short video for it. This song is highly valued by the higher-ups. If I delay for your matter, I won't be able to explain myself to them..."
"But Manager Zhao's..."
Arru frowned. Zhou Xiali was clearly making excuses. There was no need to guess the reason; it was definitely because she heard the song was written by a new artist and had no interest at all.
Zhou Xiali did have a popular song recently, but wasn't the shooting of the short video already nearing completion?
This excuse seemed a bit too perfunctory.
"How about this? I won't make it difficult for you. Just let Jiang Xiao'e go with me. Don't underestimate her, she's a new hire, but she can record a demo. Once the client confirms, I can come to record the official version. What do you think?"
Zhou Xiali pulled the girl beside her forward.
She also knew that Zhao Yuan had considerable influence in Xinghui Entertainment, and making the relationship too strained wouldn't do her any good.
"But..."
"No 'buts', I'm running out of time. Let's leave it at that for now. I can't help it, I'm too busy. Please apologize to Manager Zhao for me."
With that, Zhou Xiali turned and left, her high heels clicking on the floor.
Hmph, what do they take me, Zhou Xiali, for? Do I have to sing songs written by anyone? Can a song written by a teenager be called a song?
She snorted coldly and walked into the elevator without looking back.
This left Arru and the girl named Jiang Xiao'e standing stunned.
"Hello... Hello, my name is Jiang Xiao'e. I'm a sophomore at Shuangqing Art Academy and just joined yesterday..." Although Jiang Xiao'e was a bit shy, she knew that for newcomers, such an opportunity was very rare.
Even if it was just to record a demo, as long as she performed well, she could at least leave a good impression on the leadership.
"There's no other way, let's go. I'll take you to the recording studio..." Arru glanced at Jiang Xiao'e, shaking her head with a wry smile.
Zhao Yuan had a decisive personality. Finding a singer now would take considerable time.
The immediate priority was to record the demo. They could deal with the rest later.
...
Outside the recording studio.
"Su Yu, are you sure you wrote this song?" Zhao Yuan's tone was no longer as cold as before.
"Yes, I have the full copyright for this song." Su Yu nodded.
When the system generated the components of a song, it would also register the copyright for him.
The lyrics and music for the song "Later" were all under Su Yu's name.
"After the song's demo is recorded, we can discuss the contract."
"Okay."
Upon hearing Zhao Yuan's words, Su Yu also breathed a sigh of relief.
From her words, he could tell that joining Xinghui Entertainment was basically a sure thing now, and all that remained was to finalize the contract.
"Manager Zhao, we're here."
Just then, Arru quickly walked over with Jiang Xiao'e.
Because they were walking in a hurry, both girls were breathing a bit heavily.
"Where's Zhou Xiali?" Zhao Yuan, seeing that Arru hadn't brought Zhou Xiali but a young girl instead, was taken aback.
"Sister Xiali has to shoot a short video for a new song and doesn't have time to come. She asked Xiao'e to record a demo first, and she'll come to record the official version after the demo is approved," Arru said, shaking her head and smiling bitterly.
Hearing this, Zhao Yuan's pupils contracted. She knew that Zhou Xiali's new song had become popular, but the short video shoot was already nearing completion.
After many years in the workplace, Zhao Yuan could understand the hidden meaning in Arru's words.
However, she didn't say much. She simply glanced at Jiang Xiao'e and asked, "Are you a new employee who just joined the company?"
"Hello, Manager Zhao. I... my name is Jiang Xiao'e. I'm a sophomore at Shuangqing Art Academy and joined the company yesterday." Jiang Xiao'e took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.
Her gaze flickered towards Su Yu beside Zhao Yuan, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
This person must be the producer, but he looks even younger than her and can write songs.
"I didn't expect you to be alumni," Zhao Yuan raised an eyebrow and said softly.
Jiang Xiao'e was even more surprised, "Are you also from Qingda?"
Su Yu smiled and nodded, "Senior, I'm a freshman."
Although he was new, he had spent many years in the entertainment industry in his previous life. He could vaguely guess the reason Zhou Xiali didn't show up from Zhao Yuan's expression.
However, whether she came or not was not important to Su Yu. The song "Later" was not difficult, and he didn't have high requirements for the singer. As long as their basic skills were solid, he found newcomers to be better than established singers.
After all, it would be easier to negotiate profit sharing with newcomers, and he would earn more money.
"Hehe, junior, you're amazing. You can write songs as a freshman." Perhaps because of Su Yu's identity, Jiang Xiao'e felt much less constrained.
Zhao Yuan took out the printed sheet music and handed it to Jiang Xiao'e, saying, "I'll give you twenty minutes to familiarize yourself with this song. Do you have any problems?"
"No... No problem!" Jiang Xiao'e's face lit up with joy.
She quickly reached out to take it, then nodded at Zhao Yuan and Su Yu before walking into the recording studio.
For newcomers, opportunities to record songs were rare. Jiang Xiao'e secretly told herself that she must seize this chance. Even if this song was written by a newcomer, she had to treat it seriously.
Even if it was just a demo and wouldn't improve her much, it could at least leave an impression on Manager Zhao, and perhaps more opportunities would follow.
"Later."
Holding the sheet music, Jiang Xiao'e diligently familiarized herself with the lyrics.
In the vocal department, sight-singing was a fundamental skill. Jiang Xiao'e could basically sing from sheet music after her first year.
Therefore, after familiarizing herself with it a few times, she could sing the entire song fluently.
At this moment, Jiang Xiao'e inside the recording studio was immensely shocked.
She never imagined that the quality of this song would be so high!
Both the melody and the lyrics surpassed most of the songs on the market.
If she hadn't known beforehand that this song was written by Su Yu, she would have mistaken it for a song written by an intermediate or even a senior producer.