Rock and Roll: Glorious Years

When Bian Lang's brother-in-law, Zhang Fan, heard that it was just a minor matter involving a few contracts, he prepared to send some young men from the police station to show it to Bian Lang.

But just as he hung up Bian Lang's call, Bian Lan called: "Honey, you know how unreliable Xiao Lang is. He's making quite a fuss this time; a single decimal point can control a lot of money. You might want to go and check it out yourself."

Bian Lan was just exaggerating on purpose. It wasn't that she didn't trust young people, but she felt that her own family would ultimately care more.

When Bian Lang met Zhang Fan and explained the situation, Zhang Fan, a senior colleague at the law firm, was so angry he laughed: "Little Lang, your sister was absolutely right. This isn't just a matter of a few contracts. Let's not even talk about the smaller ones. It's a 5/5 split contract between the three major platforms. If I were to send one of the younger guys in the firm, this would be a real mess."

Hearing his brother-in-law's words, Bian Lang finally realized what was going on: "Brother-in-law, the expenses should be handled the same way as usual. I don't want to make things difficult for you."

Zhang Fan waved his hand and said, "No need, these are all standard contracts. Let me show you. Just pay attention to these few points..."

Under Zhang Fan's guidance, Bian Langhua spent half an hour reviewing the contract and signed it after confirming that there were no problems.

"Brother-in-law, I have to sign a contract with a record company in a few days. Would you like to come with me? It's a bit complicated. Just charge me whatever fee is due."

Zhang Fan smiled and said, "Send me the contract as soon as it arrives, and we can discuss the rest later." Bian Lang noticed this change and was pleased as the brother-in-law.

Although Bian Lan is a "brother-supporting demon", Bian Lang in the past was not the kind of person who squandered money. His relationship with his brother-in-law was just lukewarm.

After seeing Zhang Fan off, Bian Lang continued his song-copying project, sticking to the ones he was most familiar with, writing down whatever came to mind. In one day, he produced 17 rock songs, 4 folk songs, and 2 pop songs.

After dinner, I rehearsed with Dayong for two hours. Then I talked about signing with Nanyin and my thoughts. Dayong didn't have any objections: "Just don't add another chapter to my record!"

At 9 p.m., Lao Tan called him and asked him to come down for drinks, saying that an old friend from Beijing wanted to talk to him about a collaboration.

After having a couple of drinks, Bian Lang managed to extract some more information about Chen Shuting from this person. Coincidentally, this person was Chen Shuting's former partner and is now the deputy director of the company's artist department.

"Bian Lang, with Lao Tan's connection, I'll be honest with you. Given your current situation, you can forget about getting the Magic Disc award. Our terms might not be the best, but the restrictions on you will be the most lenient. Song copyright split 50/50, revenue split 20/80, commercial deals 50/50, at least three first-tier music festivals and at least ten second-tier music festivals per year, variety shows and commercial performances depending on the specific circumstances..."

Bian Lang memorized a few key numbers and then sent them directly to Chen Shuting.

An hour later, just as Bian Lang was getting home and preparing to take a shower, Chen Shuting's WeChat message arrived: "Is Teacher Bian resting? If not, would it be convenient for us to chat on the phone?"

After Bian Lang replied with "OK," Chen Shuting called shortly after: "Teacher Bian, I'm sorry to bother you so late. I was with my child and just saw your message. I think this offer is good, but I know you value copyright highly, and they won't budge too much on this point, so..."

"I'll send you a picture, check your WeChat." After saying that, Bian Lang sent Chen Shuting a screenshot of the copyright website.

Chen Shuting stared at the copyright screenshots showing that all 44 songs were copyrighted by Bian Lang. Her hands trembled, and for a moment she even forgot that she was still on the phone with Bian Lang.

After waiting for about half a minute without any response, Bian Lang checked his phone screen to make sure the call hadn't been disconnected before continuing, "Sister Chen, are you still there?"

"Yes, yes, Teacher Bian, please continue." Chen Shuting didn't know why she unconsciously used honorifics when addressing someone.

"Then I'll continue. These songs are basically on par with what you've heard before, and there will only be more in the future. However, the copyright will ultimately remain with me personally. The studio will reserve shares for you as a partner, so just focus on maximizing your strengths. I won't talk about any grand ideals; I've also been betrayed before, so I think we share this understanding. I'm releasing a song on July 1st, and I hope you can give me an answer by tomorrow!"

Bian Lang didn't want to drag this out any longer. If it didn't work out, he would have no choice but to persuade Lao Tan to take on the role of agent first.

Chen Shuting meant to say, "I'll think about it," but the words that came out of her mouth unconsciously became, "What are the KPIs for the partner shares you've reserved for me?"

"The Rolling Stones must win an award at next year's China Music Awards."

Upon hearing Bian Lang's condition, Chen Shuting gasped, then replied with utmost seriousness, "Okay, I'll give you an answer tomorrow!"

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shuting didn't put down her phone. Looking at the screenshot on the screen, her breathing became more and more rapid.

When her husband saw this, he quickly asked with concern, "What happened, honey? Who were you talking to on the phone? You've gotten yourself into this state!" He then handed her the hot water on the table.

Chen Shuting took the hot water, drank a sip, and after a few minutes, she told her husband everything, word for word.

"So, do you want to go yourself?"

"I, I..."

Seeing his wife like this, Chen Jinmo finally spoke up after holding back his words for years: "Let me make this clear first, I'm just a comic artist, it doesn't matter to me where I create. Until my work becomes a big hit, my income will only be enough to keep our family of three from going hungry. Given the housing prices and cost of living in Beijing, if we want to maintain our current standard of living, we'll have to rely on you most of the time..."

"Old Mo, I didn't mean that..."

"Don't interrupt me, let me finish. The child is under a lot of pressure studying in Beijing, and there's nothing wrong with going to Kunming. I've heard Bian Lang's work, and I think this is a gamble worth taking! We can sell our house in Beijing and buy a big apartment in Kunming. Even if it doesn't work out, we can't live worse than we do now, right?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Shuting threw herself into Lao Mo's arms and burst into tears moments later.

After Bian Lang brought up the award over the phone, he started thinking about his past life again. He died too early in his past life, leaving behind many regrets, and he was determined to make up for them in this life.

As he spoke, he began typing on his notebook:

1. Find someone you truly love, get married, and have children. In his past life, he felt he owed his mother the most. If he had a wife and children, his mother would have someone to rely on after he passed away. Therefore, he absolutely cannot be careless about this in this life.

2: To make up for not going to university. This is probably hopeless, unless he really wants to become a late-age graduate student.

These are the two personal issues; the rest are regrets regarding my career.

1: The last time he participated in The Big Band, it was an achievement he could have accomplished in his previous life, so he had to do it at least once in this life.

2: To travel to several major music venues in Europe. This is something Bianlang planned in his past life, but ultimately he was unable to make it.

3: As for various domestic music awards, I didn't have the chance in my past life, so it depends on how many times I can win them in this life.

4. A Grammy Award. This achievement has been won by only three people from the original Chinese sphere: Hang Tianqi, Wu Tong, and Yangjin Lamu. There are also two other Chinese-American classical musicians. With so many hit songs to his name, a Grammy is definitely a must…

When Bian Lang woke up at nine o'clock the next morning, he had already received Chen Shuting's flight number on WeChat and asked where to find him.

He checked the time and realized that Chen Shuting was already halfway there, so he quickly got up, washed up, and drove to the airport.

Two hours later, Bian Lang successfully picked up Chen Shuting, who had been waiting for him for an hour, at the airport.

After getting in the car, Chen Shuting said apologetically, "Teacher Bian, I already said I could come to find you myself. Look at the traffic in Chuncheng, it would be a waste of your time to go back and forth like this. The new song will be released in a few days, and Tiger's contract hasn't been signed yet. We can't waste our time."

Hearing this, Bian Lang scratched his head sheepishly and said, "It's nothing, I just picked up a ride-sharing passenger on the way to the airport."

Realizing what was happening, Chen Shuting chuckled, "Did they miss their flight?"

Bian Lang was taken aback, and it took him a while to realize that the little witch must have betrayed him: "No, no! I just happened to arrive! Here, I brought you some roasted rice cakes, hurry up and fill your stomach!"