star of the peninsula

On the last day of October, Chen Chen lazily lay in his chair and listened to the monthly report that his assistant had just completed.

Yes, after having two assistants, Chen Chen didn't even need to look, he could just listen to the reports directly, under the pretext of helping the new assistants strengthen their spoken Korean training.

"The show 'Women in the Alcoholic City', which started airing on the 22nd, has such high revenue?"

When Chen Chen heard the final data presented in this TV series, he frowned and felt a little uneasy even when lying down.

"It's like this." Zhou Xinyu explained quickly, "At the end of the first day of broadcasting, the program team received a contact from the soju brand. After the contact, things became different. The estimated revenue increased significantly."

"I see." Chen Chen breathed a sigh of relief. "Next time there is a special situation like this, you must explain this clearly before making the final data summary. Data that is too abnormal will scare people to death!"

"Hey, I'll pay attention."

Zhou Xinyu smiled and continued to report the data.

"..."

The following content was nothing to frown about. The progress of each project was as stable as a mountain, and was completely in line with Chen Chen's preset plan.

Waving his hand to let the assistant leave, Chen Chen slid his chair and planned to have a small meeting with Shirley.

"This monthly report has obviously passed through your hands. Is there anything you want to tell me privately?"

"Oh, you can see that too?" Shirley raised her eyebrows and moved back to show that she was ready. "Well, I do have something I want to discuss with you in private."

"First of all, it's interesting that LIGHTSUM lost to LE SSERAFIM in terms of the performance that fans recognized."

"How do you feel, PD Chen?" Shirley asked cheerfully.

"I knew this would be the result." Chen Chen curled his lips. "Hybe has even followed Integrate's debut curve, so it's no problem to brush up the data in a safer way."

"As long as you swipe, you can win. The gap between LE SSERAFIM and our girls isn't that big, especially since they just debuted."

LE SSERAFIM was an outstanding girl idol group in the early days of their debut, until it seemed that the Hybe had problems later on and they got into big trouble. The impact of what happened on the stage mostly existed in the fan circle.

"But we at LIGHTSUM do have some problems." Sulli went on to say, "The data in the first week of debut was very exaggerated, in the second week it returned to normal, and in the third week it was vaguely a bit low, and it was about to slide from the top level to the ordinary first-tier."

"Of course I know that being an ordinary first-tier star is already amazing, but this is a debut after all, and the popularity and traffic of a debut itself will be much higher than under normal circumstances."

"Also, LIGHTSUM is a new girl group from C headquarters, and they are the juniors of Integrate. They have the lead singer of Shorty King joining them, which means they are an old member leading the new. They are not in the front either, and their song "As It Was" is still killing it on the Billboard charts. With all these factors taken into account, ordinary first-tier bands are already a bit of a failure."

"I think this is a danger signal, what do you think?" Shirley's expression was a little serious. "This is not a small matter. It is a big matter that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible."

Compared to the anxious Shirley, Chen Chen waved his hand calmly and said, "It's only been 20 days since debut. My suggestion is to wait and see until the excitement brought to everyone by the debut has passed."

"Originally, these bonuses were explosive, so it's normal for the data to decline after the explosive period is over."

"Also, don't keep staring at Integrate. They are special and different. Even I can't make a second Integrate."

"Don't rush to refute me by saying that you didn't keep an eye on Integrate. Let me ask you a question first." Chen Chen smiled and put the question on the table, "Even for big companies like C Headquarters and Hybe, is it normal for a new group to reach the top as soon as they debut? Is it because they are doing well or not?"

"Of course they are doing well." Sulli swallowed her saliva. "No matter how outstanding a group is, it still needs a process of growth. It was completely unrealistic to debut as a top-tier group in the past."

"I know what you're talking about." Shirley exhaled, "Even if I thought I wasn't staring at Integrate, I was actually still staring at them. Not only me, but everyone in the industry would look at them this way. If you want to form a girl group now, you can't avoid our ace girl group! Compared to Integrate, everyone else is inferior."

"Yes, so let the girls of LIGHTSUM grow up slowly." Chen Chen patted Shirley on the shoulder, "They are the group that is more like a girl group."

"How should we deal with Hybe?" At this point, Shirley's expression, which had been softening, suddenly became serious again, "Are we just going to watch it continue to do whatever it wants?"

Chen Chen just hummed.

"Well, leave it alone, it can do whatever it wants."

"Is this true?!" Shirley looked at Chen Chen in disbelief, "Is this something you should say?!"

"Because the game with Hybe has never been about something as small as a girl group. This is just a dispute of pride." Chen Chen tapped the table with his fingers clasped behind his back. "The competition between C headquarters and Hybe is farther away, on a grander stage."

"It would be nice for our LIGHTSUM to be a perfect match with Hybe's LE SSERAFIM. They can occupy a lot of market share together." Chen Chen said with a smile.

"So you did so many things to force LE SSERAFIM to debut at the same time as us just to be a twin flower with them?" Sulli felt her scalp tingling. "Why am I getting more and more confused the more I listen?!"

"It's like this. Forcing LE SSERAFIM to debut in October is our victory. We won once." Chen Chen analyzed the thoughts of both sides. "Now Hybe has the upper hand in the data. No matter how it got the upper hand, it can definitely be considered a victory for it."

"If one person wins once, it's a tie. If it's a tie, there should be no more developments. If you want to continue, someone has to provoke first."

"Then who will take the first move?" Chen Chen shrank his neck. "I will be scolded. Anyway, I won't take the first move."

"Okay, I understand." Shirley took a deep breath, "I just have one last question. What if LE SSERAFIM can always beat our new girl group?"

"Let Hybe win. They spent money, so they deserve to win!" Chen Chen looked relaxed. "Besides, even fans will find out about buying data, not to mention ordinary passers-by. This kind of operation will definitely affect our long-term operations. In other words, we will most likely be the winner in the end."

"Besides, surpassing LIGHTSUM doesn't mean Hybe is number one. There's also Integrate above it."

"Overtaking the second place in a competition does not mean you are the first place. You just replace the second place."

"Putting a Hybe girl group in the second position can not only provide some pressure and motivation for our Integrate, but also avoid the scene of the two subsidiaries of C headquarters, Starship and Cube, fighting each other. This is also good."

"In fact, as long as the girls don't have any thoughts in their hearts, the situation outside is good for us no matter how you look at it. It's just that LIGHTSUM's fans may be a little frustrated." Chen Chen pursed his lips, "But the fans' frustration is exactly what's good for us, isn't it? It can make them more excited to get gold coins."

"..."

"You're even more sinister, Chen Chen."

Shirley was somewhat speechless and could only curse according to her thoughts.

"Thank you for the compliment." Chen Chen had a blank expression on his face. "Hurry up and tell me your second thing."

"The second thing is the money issue." Shirley was a little happy but also a little worried. "No project of C headquarters is losing money. We are also making money from the film and television drama investments that are most likely to lose money. So the money in the company's account is getting more and more, which is worrying."

"Has the money from Lee Jung-jae's movie been deducted?" Chen Chen asked. "It has been deducted, and there is still a lot of money left after deducting it. This is what worries me." Shirley was overwhelmed. "We have to spend the money quickly, especially now that the situation is bad due to the epidemic. If the situation is bad, the money will become less and less valuable, and it will be troublesome to keep it in hand."

"There's no rush for this. I have three TV series to produce myself later, which will cost a lot of money." Chen Chen casually found a place to spend the money, "And C headquarters' support for MODHAUS, which also costs a lot of money."

"Besides, it's good to have more money in the company's account." Chen Chen said meaningfully, "After I join SM tomorrow, there may be chaos in the circle. We can save the money and try to see if there is a chance to make a big profit."

"OK, as long as you have a place to spend the money." Shirley felt a lot more relaxed and joked, "Between the two of us, I am the only one who can be a headless fly. You definitely can't!"

"Ha, you can still enjoy it for another two years. The test for you will only begin after I retire." After talking so much, Chen Chen felt like slipping away. "Anything else? If not, I'll go back and rest. I don't think tomorrow's press conference for Stupid will be easy."

"One last thing." Shirley suddenly said a name that was unfamiliar to Chen Chen, "Do you remember that C-cell is an asset of C headquarters?"

"It doesn't matter whether you remember it or not." Chen Chen wanted to laugh. "It's impossible for the Blue House to return this thing to us. It would be good enough if they can give us some benefits every year and remember the favor of C headquarters. I don't dare to expect more."

The epidemic created opportunities for C-cell but also took it away from the Blue House. This was something Chen Chen had anticipated, even earlier than the birth of C-cell.

It made money for C headquarters and left many favors in the Blue House, and he could also use it for office work. Chen Chen couldn't ask for more from C-cell, so he would stop here.

"It's good that you understand. I was afraid you were still thinking about it." Shirley looked at her shoes. "This place is different from other places. Do you understand?"

"Don't worry." Chen Chen grinned, "I'm not stupid."

"Are you really not stupid?" Shirley disagreed. "Snow King has made C-Circle so powerful, why don't you expand your business? Why are you still hanging around in this little place in the city center?!"

"If I expand further, I will offend other big guys. I can't afford to offend them." Chen Chen spread his hands in a very cool manner. "If I want to compete with them, I have to find a local snake to back me up. But I don't want to be controlled, so I can only give up."

"Alin Canteen and C Circle are my backup plans." Chen Chen lowered his brows, "I don't plan to expand it, as long as it's big enough to support my people."

"That's enough for you to support a whole house of people!" Shirley rolled her eyes. "If all else fails, you can let that whole house of people support you!"

"Come on, I'm not that shameless." Chen Chen patted his butt and stood up, "I'm leaving. See you on the news tomorrow."

……

The press conference was well arranged, and it seemed that SMART spent some effort on it.

Accompanying Chen Chen were SM Entertainment's representative directors Lee Sung-soo and Tak Yong-jun, as well as Kangta and Kwon Bo-ah, who were promoted from contracted artists to directors.

There were a lot of people, and their status was not low, so it seemed that they were given a lot of face, except that the signature fool Lee Soo-man did not show up.

"Chairman Lee Soo-man has important work to do. I'm sorry that he can't come to the press conference." Li Chengzhu spoke to Chen Chen in an official manner. "The chairman asked me to apologize to you on his behalf and also to welcome Consultant Chen."

Chen Chen didn't respond to him and just nodded.

Of course Lee Soo Man couldn't come. If Lee Soo Man came, Chen Chen's position in SMART would be even higher, and it would be more troublesome to deal with him.

One of the reasons that supported Lee Soo Man's greed was that he was confident that he could suppress Chen Chen, and suppression had to be done from all aspects. Now, activities like this, which were obviously intended to give face, should be avoided if possible.

Chen Chen is not a small fish or shrimp starting from scratch. He is very strong, so strong that Lee Soo Man has no extra space to pretend to show his kindness.

"It seems that the people who came today will be the ones who will work with me in the future. Hello."

Chen Chen greeted everyone in a friendly manner and chatted with each of them.

"..."

The press conference officially begins.

Because there was no need to clarify anything or achieve any special purpose, everyone spoke official language at the press conference and there was not much content of nutritional value.

The reporters in the audience hadn't written much, apparently saving all their energy for the final call of questions.

"May I ask why PD Chen wants to join SMART as a consultant?"

A rather mild question popped up.

"It's mainly for learning." Chen Chen's smile was full of kindness and gentleness. "Samao Company has always been the most advanced veteran in the industry. It also has unique leadership in company management, artist training, and other aspects of the industry."

“Although you can learn a little bit from observing SMART from a distance, it is definitely not as exciting as learning directly inside SMART.”

"C Headquarters is a new entertainment company and needs these experiences to nurture its growth."

"My innovative ideas and bold moves are exactly what SMART values, and can help SMART accelerate its adaptation process in today's rapidly changing environment."

"We needed each other, so it was natural for us to hit it off."

"..."

C Headquarters is a large entertainment company that is not inferior to S.H.I.E., and Chen Chen is the top management of this company. Therefore, humble remarks are not appropriate at this press conference, and Chen Chen will not lower his status here.

Equality and mutual benefit, this is the only way.

"Excuse me, will Mr. Chen interfere in the affairs of the fool in the future?"

Here comes the second question.

"I'm already a contracted consultant for SMART. Even if something happens to SMART, it shouldn't be considered 'meddling'."

"But I can understand some people's concerns, but what I want to tell everyone is that no one needs to worry."

"I only have the right to speak, and even then someone has to ask me to speak before I can speak. This situation is very stable."

"Isn't it?"

...(End of chapter)