A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 167 Exploded!

This chapter is an extra chapter in honor of the Alliance Leader "Dragon Battles in the Wild"!
***
She lay there, panting heavily, her eyes staring blankly, like a dying fish.

The Little Mermaid.

Lin Jianlu slumped for a couple of minutes, but then got up, wandered around her room for a bit, found the bag she had just left by the door, picked it up, found her cigarettes, and lit one.

He now claims he doesn't smoke, but he gets to smoke by mooching.

Then she went back, still in the same position, motionless, while Lin Jianlu leaned against the door frame, smoking and admiring her flawless, jade-like body.

As she was about to finish her cigarette, she suddenly raised her hand and said, "Give me a puff."

Lin Jianlu smiled, walked over, went around to her side, stuffed the remaining cigarette butt into her mouth, then leaned down and kissed her lower abdomen. "Was that satisfying?"

She didn't say a word, and took three big, frantic puffs.

The woman's cigarette wasn't very strong.

But the lingering madness that remained after her moment of frenzy still showed.

A cigarette butt was handed to her, and Lin Jianlu turned her head to look for it. Unable to find an ashtray, she casually tossed it into the water basin of the green plant beside the bed. She squatted by the bed and continued to watch her. Gradually, she came to her senses, turned her head, looked over, and suddenly smiled brightly. She twisted her body, cupped Lin Jianlu's face, and pulled her forward frantically. She straightened her upper body, leaned in, and kissed her.

But then he was exhausted and lay back down.

Honestly, it's truly beautiful.

The beauty of a woman is never simply a matter of her face.

A woman whose figure, complexion, and skin texture are all breathtakingly beautiful is what truly makes her a great beauty.

Honestly, only Chen Hong and Xu Qing, who are at the peak of their lives, are qualified to compete with her in every aspect. Others are also beautiful, but they are inferior to her in some way, either here or there.

I couldn't resist leaning in again and taking a bite of her food.

She suddenly raised her hand and hugged Lin Jianlu's head, letting out a groan.

Suddenly, he regained his energy and pried her hand away—she froze for a moment, realizing what Lin Jianlu was about to do, and her first reaction was panic, "Lu Zai, Lu Zai... I... Ah..."

That's enough, more than enough.

But she realized she was wrong; if she experienced that feeling again, she would still be powerless to resist.

Absolutely gorgeous!
…………

This is Rosamund Kwan's home.

She's been a professional mistress for years, and she's Hong Kong's number one beauty. Her home is at least one level more luxurious than Brigitte Lin's; it's bigger and more lavishly decorated.

I walked around and looked around; hmm, it was very well tidied up.

When I went back, I could already hear the sound of running water from the bathroom next door.

So Lin Jianlu opened the door and went in. The sound of water stopped for a while, then opened again. The proud cat beauty looked at him with admiration and respect, and took the initiative to help Lin Jianlu wash and clean himself. She would glance at him from time to time, and couldn't help but lower her head to kiss him, her face full of worship and fear.

After taking a shower and lying on the bed wrapped in a towel, she took off her bathrobe after a while and lay down on Lin Jianlu's chest. Like almost every girl, she had a particularly infatuated look in her eyes, and her fingers gently traced the edges of Lin Jianlu's chest and abdomen.

It wasn't until some time had passed that she suddenly spoke.

Instead of forcing herself to speak her broken Mandarin, she switched to cheerful Cantonese. Although Lin Jianlu had been in Hong Kong for a while and her spoken Cantonese wasn't yet perfect, understanding her was no problem at all.

“I heard a story when I was little, but I never really understood it until just now. It suddenly made me realize that there’s some truth to it. There’s a fish stall in the market not far from my house. The owner has a son who’s a real scoundrel. He doesn’t work, loves to drink and gamble, and he’s just average-looking, not exactly handsome. He got married, and he beats his wife. A lot of people know he beats his wife. His in-laws are furious and demand that his wife divorce him, but she refuses…”

"His wife was very hardworking and quickly took over the fish stall. She worked hard every day, while he did nothing. He spent his days drinking and playing cards with others. He took away the income from his parents and wife's fish sales. If they didn't give it to him, he would beat his wife, but she insisted on not getting a divorce. Later, he actually got a girl pregnant. She was a very beautiful girl. She was probably not even twenty years old when she got together with him."

"But his wife remained devoted to him, and the girl soon moved into his home. Then, his two wives took care of the children and ran the fish stall together. Not two years later, another one came along, but this girl was smart and capable. I heard that his three wives, together, took advantage of him when he was drunk, hung him up and beat him badly. It was his third wife's idea."

“After that, he dared not beat his wife anymore, but he still drank and gambled. His three wives did not care about him. The three of them ran a fish stall together, which was famous far and wide. Everyone was curious about it! His youngest wife was in charge of managing the household. She gave him a little pocket money every day. If he lost it, it was over. He was not allowed to owe any debts.”

"But then he actually got a fourth and a fifth wife... Hey, five wives! The last time I heard about it, he had five wives and eleven children. His five wives ran a liquor stall together, and he still did nothing... Don't laugh, he was so famous. A lot of people specifically went to his wives' liquor stall. Even Andy Lau and the others asked me to take them there... That guy really wasn't handsome! But all five of his wives were willing to follow him... Hahaha! Really, I suddenly understood just now..."

"Hey, is it because of this that you have so many girlfriends?"

"Tell me! ...Okay, okay, fine, don't tell me then, it must be because of this!"

"I regret it so much! I've known you for so long, and I only slept with you today! If I'd known you were so amazing, I would have been willing to pay to support you! It's pitiful that I haven't had a boyfriend for three or four years. Even though I met you, I've been idle for another year... Hahaha, you're making fun of me! I'm very rich, definitely richer than Brigitte Lin and Gigi Leung. Supporting you is no problem!"

"..."

Well, the next day when the dog sneaked out of Rosamund Kwan's house, Lin Jianlu received a Standard Chartered Bank credit card—a supplementary card, supposedly with a limit of 200,000.

The young heiress said, "Swipe as much as you want, I'll pay it back."

Hey, I never imagined I'd be someone's sugar daddy one day.

When they had dinner together that evening, he took out his card and showed it to Brigitte Lin and Leung Wing-ki, showing off his financial power. He had finally gotten his first meal with a woman. Brigitte Lin laughed heartily, while Leung Wing-ki just laughed speechlessly.

She had assumed that since Brigitte Lin was pregnant, at least in Hong Kong, Lin Jianlu would belong solely to her.

As a result, she spent last night alone in an empty hotel room.

Rosamund Kwan eventually ended up in his bed.

…………

recording.

Luo Da busied himself organizing the manpower, as if he had suddenly become energetic again, and his whole person seemed to have become several years younger.

Lao Duan quickly flew over from Taiwan to discuss a producer contract with Ge Fuhong.

Previously, Lin Jianlu signed a production contract with Xue Zhongding for "Cold to the End" in the capital, which included a 5% royalty. Later, he signed a production contract with Chen Shuhua for "Chasing the Light," which also included a 16% royalty, the highest in the history of the Chinese music industry. Now that it's Lin Jianlu's new album, it will certainly be at least that amount. It's not hard to negotiate; Lao Duan couldn't be too forceful at all, and they quickly finalized the deal: 17%!

It has reached a new level.

This is theoretically Lin Jianlu's last album with Rock Records. If you dare to be stingy, she won't release any more albums, won't renew her contract, and will simply switch companies when it expires. There's nothing you can do about it. Moreover, it won't even be that long. Su Huilun's contract renewal is already in talks. Even though she's hiding away to protect her pregnancy, every record company is still vying for her new album. And after "Chasing the Light," Chen Shuhua's singer contract has effectively expired. If she quietly hides away to give birth, another contract will expire next summer—everyone knows who has the final say in their contracts.

Even more so, is it really just a problem between Su Huilun and Chen Shuhua? If you get along well with Lin Jianlu, he can write a song for whoever he takes a fancy to, and wouldn't that make him the next Richie Jen?
With the meteoric rise to fame of Su Huilun and Richie Jen last year, and Chen Shuhua's resurgence in popularity—even surpassing her previous success—Lin Jianlu is undoubtedly the number one producer in the current Chinese music scene!

He takes 16% or 17%, and even Lee Tsung-sheng has no objection!
In fact, as long as Lin Jianlu dared to speak up and say that he thought so-and-so was good, the CEOs of other record companies would immediately come to his door with checks, offering prices of 16%, 17%, or even 20%!
Once a singer becomes famous, they certainly have a lot of power, but record companies are not entirely without any means of countermeasures. However, a top-notch producer who is capable of writing lyrics, composing music, arranging, and producing is someone that no one can do anything about and must be supported wherever they go!

That's the father of all record companies and singers!

Let's just sign it then. Once everyone has signed, they'll all feel at ease.

However, seeing Luo Dayou looking radiant like he was celebrating the New Year, Lin Jianlu suddenly suggested that he rewrite the lyrics for "Queen's Road East" and record it with Luo Dayou and Li Zongsheng. The song would be called "Baijiu Song." He also encouraged Guo Fucheng, Li Zongsheng, Karen Mok, and Lin Yilian to each choose one of Luo Dayou's songs to record. He was even willing to persuade Chen Shuhua and Su Huilun to each record one, and to ask the currently popular Richie Jen to record one as well—to put together an album of old songs with new renditions. It would be very simple. Once it was released, it would be a way to use the fame and popularity of these currently popular people to help Luo Dayou make another wave of money!

Lao Duan was naturally happy to agree, while Luo Dayou was filled with emotion.

So Lin Jianlu wrote lyrics on the spot and composed a song called "Baijiu Song". There was no need for a new arrangement. After familiarizing themselves with the lyrics, everyone went straight into the studio to record, and it was recorded in just a few hours!

Lin Jianlu even agreed to Lao Duan's suggestion that everyone present take a group photo and use it as the album cover when it's released—if you're helping someone sell goods, then stand by them to the end!

Rosamund Kwan and Leung Wing-ki were both there, and Lin Chien-lu even went so far as to create another wave of rumors by putting his arm around the waists of the two girls and taking a photo with Lao Duan and everyone else, a photo that was destined to generate a lot of buzz.

Lao Luo's status in the music scene remains, and his influence among his older fans has always been there. He's just out of touch with the times and has faded into obscurity. If we dig out all his old songs, have some currently popular artists cover them, and release an album, I'm not exaggerating. Just Lin Jianlu's rewritten version of "The Liquor Song" alone would be enough to sell at least 500,000 copies in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia—that's a huge sum of money!
…………

When the phone call was made, and it was Lin Jianlu who made it personally, Richie Jen agreed without the slightest hesitation. He even flew over from Taipei that very night.

When we met, they were extremely respectful, like elementary school students.

Lin Jianlu still calls him "Brother Xiao Qi" because he is indeed several years older, but he still calls him "Brother A Lu" all the time. Yes, they call each other brother.

He's famous now, no longer the unknown Lin Jianlu was when he first went to Taiwan last year. In just four months since his album was released, it has sold over a million copies in Taiwan alone, over 300,000 copies in Hong Kong, and its sales in Southeast Asia are comparable to those of the Four Heavenly Kings. In the year-end frenzy of Hong Kong and Taiwan singers releasing new albums, the success of his album "Too Softhearted" should be second only to "Chasing the Light".

Many media outlets in Hong Kong and Taiwan are already calling him the new generation's superstar.

If we exclude veteran singers like Su Huilun and those who have experienced a career resurgence like Chen Shuhua, the two singers who were universally recognized as having become incredibly popular in the Hong Kong and Taiwan music scene at the end of last year and the beginning of this year were him and Zhang Huimei.

Well, the lyrics, music, arrangement, and production of "Too Softhearted" allowed Lin Jianlu to receive 1.6% of the royalties from that album, which is estimated to be around two or three hundred thousand US dollars. Money is better than nothing, and Lin Jianlu certainly doesn't care about this amount of money anymore. However, he is still quite happy that it contributed to the rise of a new superstar.

Although he was destined to succeed, I'm the one who helped him succeed, aren't I?

Oh, of course, next we should hope that Richie Jen will take on more commercial performances, because every time he takes on a commercial performance or goes on stage, he will definitely sing "Too Softhearted". So, every time he sings it, the lyricist and composer Lin Jianlu will get a considerable share of the profits - well, little by little it adds up.

…………

"21" was officially released globally on April 15th, and Hong Kong and Taiwan also released it simultaneously. However, sales were very poor. Although almost every music store hung large posters of Lin Jianlu on their storefronts and placed the new album on the most prominent shelves because of his name, it still did not sell well.

On Friday, April 18th, at 8 PM Eastern Time, Billboard released its latest Top 100 Hottest Singles rankings. "Baby" ranked sixth, its rise in popularity in America instantly taking off. Several Hong Kong newspapers, already covering the situation, had already reported on it by April 19th. One even extensively reprinted American media's praise, reviews, and sales projections for the album "21".

However, after a whole weekend, there was almost no additional reaction from Hong Kong.

Not to mention Lin Jianlu, even Ge Fuhong was confused about what was going on. Although the Billboard charts are not exactly a hot topic or something that everyone in Hong Kong follows closely, a Chinese singer's English song making it onto the charts, and even ranking sixth, should not be treated so "calmly" by the Hong Kong media or fans. Logically, everyone should be very proud and start discussing it.

Anyway, Lin Jianlu's friends in the music industry called one after another to congratulate her on Saturday and Sunday. Reaching number six on Billboard was considered an incredibly impressive achievement by everyone. More than one person even suggested that Lin Jianlu should hold a public celebration party to generate some news and perhaps boost sales in Hong Kong.

Lin Jianlu politely declined.

He just buries himself in work, recording songs, and then drinks and plays cards with his good friends at night. If he loses, he asks Rosamund Kwan for money. If she's not around, he calls her to ask for money, and Rosamund Kwan laughs and pays him off.

As a result, Wednesday, April 23, came. When Lin Jianlu suggested recording a song for Luo Dayou and drinking with Richie Jen and a group of others that night, a major newspaper in Taiwan suddenly brought up the fact that "Baby" had reached number six on the Billboard Hot 4 and praised it extensively!

Coincidentally, the next morning, two more newspapers in Hong Kong published columns that brought up the issue of the song being ranked sixth on the singles chart again, praising it repeatedly.

That evening, despite Lin Jianlu's previous refusal, TVB suddenly organized another interview session, inviting Andy Lau, Faye Wong, Wong Jim, and the new Heavenly King Richie Jen to sit together and chat about the quality of Lin Jianlu's English album and the fact that "Baby" reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100. They had asked Ge Fuhong and Zhao Mingxin, and it wasn't a pre-planned promotional strategy; it was purely something TVB did.

The next day, Hong Kong newspapers and media outlets seemed to suddenly wake up and suddenly began to collectively publish reports.

Overnight, all the media in Hong Kong suddenly began to collectively discuss the fact that "Baby" had reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100—a breakthrough for Chinese singers on Billboard!
Before Lin Jianlu, no Chinese singer had ever had a song appear on Billboard!
Lin Chien-lu's new album "21" had seven songs ranked high in the first week of its release. "Baby" only ranked higher because it was the main single promoted by the record company.

Having seven songs on the charts together truly demonstrates their solid talent!

No one needs to deliberately praise it. The culture and entertainment industry in Europe and America is extremely developed, and countless records are released every year. Billboard is a recognized commercial and influential ranking list in the pop music industry, and it is extremely authoritative. Being able to be on its list is already a testament to its strength!

For an American singer, having even one song make it onto the Billboard charts is already considered a minor success!
Having even one song break into the top ten already puts you on the list of minor celebrities—you've entered the B-tier, or second-tier, singer category! And your album is likely to have sold over 500,000 copies worldwide! That's at least the foundation of a B-tier singer, and that's it!

It may not be very noticeable in Asia because of a lack of participation, and therefore a lack of attention. However, in Europe and America, especially for music fans, Billboard is almost a must-see chart for everyone looking for, listening to, and following new songs. Its influence is enormous!
Hong Kong fans may not be familiar with all the details, but many media outlets and reporters are well-informed about the dynamics of the Western music scene. Even if they are not familiar with it, they can easily grasp the information by consulting professionals or checking the data. So, by the next day, Friday, April 25th, many media outlets were already predicting that Lin Jianlu's English album "21" would very likely break the 1 million mark in global sales!
In Europe and America, a record that sells more than 100 million copies is considered a platinum record!

If this happens, Lin Chien-lu will not only receive the world's first diamond album in the Chinese music scene, but also a platinum album in English—a feat that would be unparalleled for the Chinese music industry and for any Chinese singer!
The evening paper that day already featured numerous reports mentioning that Billboard would once again release its Top 100 singles list that evening, Eastern Time, urging readers to tune in to their newspaper's main edition the following morning for the latest news. It also stated that because 8 PM Eastern Time on Friday corresponds to 8 AM Hong Kong Time tomorrow, to ensure timely reporting, the newspaper's main edition tomorrow would be delayed by one hour, published before 9:30 AM. Please stay tuned!

By the next day, it was no longer simply a matter of a single newspaper.

As soon as the latest Billboard was released at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, the media and reporters in Hong Kong and Taiwan who were closely following the news from there immediately went wild!
So, aside from a few newspapers that delayed publication and printing to try and catch up with this breaking news, the vast majority of newspapers chose to publish special editions, special sections, and supplementary issues to report on it extensively.

New pop star tops Billboard music chart!

"A Beacon of Chinese Music! A Beacon of Asia! Lin Jianlu's New Song Tops Billboard!"

A Chinese person has arrived in Hollywood!

Lin Jianlu's new album is a huge success! Her new English song tops the Billboard charts!

The Western music scene has been taken over by Asian superstars!

Lin Jianlu's First Foray into the Spotlight! The Billboard Bows Down Instantly!

《 Lin Jianlu tops Billboard charts; his next girlfriend might be a fair-skinned beauty!

"Lin Jianlu's performance tops the charts; beauty pageants may be spreading to North America!"

"Asia's King of Pop Has Become a Global King of Pop! Lin Jianlu's New Song Tops Billboard!"

Lin Jianlu: I can sing English songs just as well!

***
Thanks to "Dragon Fighting in the Wild" for his support as the alliance leader!
I'm releasing this extra chapter at this time, even though it's only 6,000 words, I really did my best!
I'm so exhausted I could vomit blood, I'm begging for monthly votes!
(End of this chapter)