Taking Liu Yifei back to Northeast China for the Chinese New Year has sent the entire internet into

the next day.

10:00 AM.

The headquarters building of Huace Film & TV in the core area of ​​Beijing's CBD.

Top floor conference room.

Liu Yifei sat at the head of the long table, wearing a sharply tailored high-end black suit, exuding a cool and aloof aura.

Sister Hong sat to her left, her brows slightly furrowed, quickly flipping through several thick business documents.

Several PR and business assistants sat scattered around, their pens scratching on paper.

"For the Pepsi theme song project, I connected with three top producers in the industry."

Sister Hong spoke at a steady pace.

"The progress is not fast, but it is all within a controllable range."

Liu Yifei nodded.

"Where is it stuck?"

"Price range and availability."

Sister Hong closed the file and tapped her finger lightly on the table.

"Teacher Zhang's quote exceeded Pepsi's budget by 30%."

"Professor Li's schedule is completely full for the second half of the year."

"As for Teacher Wang..."

Sister Hong paused for a moment.

"He can arrange a time, but he requires that we see you audition in the studio first."

"He has always been cautious about actors crossing over into singing, for fear of ruining his own reputation."

The assistant next to him looked up and asked a question.

"Has Pepsi pushed for faster progress?"

Not yet.

Sister Hong picked up her water glass and took a sip.

"Pepsi has a large budget this time, and the contract period is also generous."

"What they want is a hit song of the year that can go head-to-head with Coca-Cola."

"The attitude is clear—better to have none than to have something of poor quality."

She put down the cup, unhurriedly.

"So we just need to proceed cautiously and steadily here."

"No need to rush, take your time, and you'll eventually find the most suitable team."

Liu Yifei leaned back in her chair, her expression calm.

He seemed to be saying, "I understand everything, please continue."

In fact—

My inner monologue was already flooded with comments.

It's the gold standard production process of big companies.

She understands perfectly.

First, calculate the availability of the slots, then discuss the price, and finally finalize the contract.

Then they held another meeting, and then another meeting, and finally said, "We need to conduct another internal evaluation."

Going through this process takes at least ten days to half a month, and you still won't even get a glimpse of a demo.

Thinking of someone again.

These three top producers haven't even finalized a letter of intent yet.

What about over there?

A commercially commissioned song worth tens of millions.

He had already put it into a silver USB drive and placed it directly into her palm.

Moreover, this was done in the gaps between his daytime activities of filming GG, recording songs, touring the entire internet, sliding and kowtowing, and incidentally dating her.

Liu Yifei had only one word in her mind:

clothes.

Indeed, you can't compare people to each other.

Forcing comparisons is disrespectful to oneself.

……

The meeting continued.

A dozen minutes later, the process was completed.

The assistants packed up the documents and left one after another.

Soon, only Liu Yifei and Sister Hong remained in the office.

The air suddenly became quiet.

Liu Yifei unzipped her handbag.

My fingers touched the silver USB drive.

She took the item out and gently placed it on the mahogany desk.

"despair."

A soft sound.

Sister Hong stopped typing.

My eyes first fell on the USB drive.

He looked up again and gazed at Liu Yifei.

"What is this?"

Liu Yifei did not answer directly.

She picked up her coffee cup, took a sip, and spoke casually.

"Sister Hong, there's no need to discuss the producer anymore."

"Let's cancel them all."

Sister Hong's brows furrowed instantly.

"Cancel it?"

"You know the level of this Pepsi song."

"This isn't an ordinary single; it has to be chosen from top-tier resources."

"If we don't contact them, how will we explain ourselves to Pepsi?"

Liu Yifei extended her index finger and gently tapped the small silver square on the table.

"Take this."

Sister Hong was taken aback, and her gaze returned to the USB drive.

What's in here?

"Pepsi's theme song."

Liu Yifei put down her coffee cup, leaned back in her chair, and spoke casually.

"I suddenly had some inspiration these past couple of days, so I tried writing a poem myself."

"it is good."

Sister Hong picked up the USB drive.

"I'll listen first."

She didn't jump up from the chair.

He didn't show any ridiculous "Are you kidding me?" expression.

He has been working in the top entertainment industry for over a decade.

What kind of situation hasn't Sister Hong seen?

Once an artist gains some fame, they want to cross over into other fields and cultivate an all-around persona.

Some people bring their own funding to write scripts, while others are nominally appointed as directors to make art films.

Some people hum a couple of melodies, find three or four arrangers to polish and refine them, and then shamelessly claim to be the "lyricist and composer".

This tactic is commonplace in the Chinese entertainment industry.

to be frank.

Sister Hong didn't have high expectations.

But as a top agent, she would never pour cold water on things on the spot.

She plugged the USB drive into the laptop's port.

A folder named "Pepsi.demo" pops up on the screen.

Double-click to open.

Sister Hong opened the audio file and put on her headphones.

Press the play button.

Liu Yifei remained silent throughout the entire process.

She opened a fashion magazine on the table and slowly scrolled through the pages with her fingertips.

I'm not nervous at all.

After all, what Fang Yu took out—

To date, not a single defective product has been produced.

……

More than three minutes later.

The audio progress bar has reached the end.

Sister Hong slowly took off her headphones, without speaking immediately.

He simply turned around and stared at Liu Yifei without moving.

The expression on his face was very complex.

Sister Hong is not a professional musician.

She doesn't understand arrangement structure, chord progressions, or the difference between mixing layers and frequency distribution.

But she has been in this industry for more than a decade.

She has promoted at least a hundred songs.

Is a song good or not?

Will it become popular?

She knew it the first time she heard it.

This kind of judgment cannot be taught in music theory classes.

It's the intuition honed through countless brutal beatings in the market.

And in those three minutes or so just now—

Her instincts gave her a very direct signal.

There's something in this song.

And it's not an ordinary thing.

Sister Hong took a deep breath and remained silent for several seconds.

She didn't rush to praise or draw conclusions.

because--

It's one thing if she thinks it sounds nice.

But can it be used to directly compete with Coca-Cola?

Can it withstand the scrutiny of millions of ears across the internet?

Can it withstand frame-by-frame analysis by professional music critics?

That's another matter.

"Yifei".

Sister Hong put the headphones back on the table.

"I'm not in the music business, so I can't tell you directly whether this song is good or not."

She paused, her gaze fixed on Liu Yifei's face.

"But if you're serious—"

"I'm going to contact some of the top music directors in the industry today."

"Send this song over for a comprehensive professional evaluation."

Liu Yifei closed the magazine and looked up at her.

Sister Hong continued.

"If their feedback is—they can fight."

"Then we'll use yours."

She lowered her voice slightly as she finished speaking.

"But the conclusion from the professional community is that it won't work."

"The producer's work still needs to be discussed further."

This passage is spoken at a leisurely pace.

There was no harsh criticism, no perfunctory response.

All he has is the judgment and sense of proportion that a seasoned agent should have.

I'll give you space, but I'll also set clear boundaries.

I'm willing to gamble with you, but I won't gamble with you.

Liu Yifei looked into Sister Hong's eyes and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

"OK."

"Then let's send it over to take a look."