Huayu97: Starting with Wu Song Fighting the Tiger

"It sounds amazing! It sounds so good!"

"Fish Leong sang so well! The guitar accompaniment was amazing!"

"One more song! One more song!"

The students below the stage shouted wildly, their hands turning red from clapping.

Liang Jingru stood on the stage, looking at the excited crowd below, her eyes slightly red.

She bowed deeply to the audience, then turned her head to look at Liu Xiang beside her, her eyes filled with love and gratitude.

Liu Xiang smiled, put down his guitar, took her hand, bowed slightly to the audience, and led her off the stage amidst cheers.

As soon as she reached the backstage area, Liang Jingru threw herself into his arms, hugging his neck, her voice trembling with tears.

"Brother Liu Xiang, we did it!"

"Everyone in the audience really liked it!"

"It's because you sang so well, my little girl." Liu Xiang hugged her, lowered her head and kissed her hair, her eyes full of pride.

The scene of the two embracing backstage was witnessed by A-Zhe, who happened to be walking by.

He stood there, watching the two of them being so intimate, and then remembered how embarrassed he had been backstage. In the end, he lowered his head, turned around, and slunk away.

He finally realized that the difference between him and Liu Xiang was never just about guitar skills; he would never be able to beat Liu Xiang in his lifetime.

On stage, it was soon A-Zhe's turn to perform.

As he walked onto the stage with his guitar, his mind was filled with Liu Xiang's amazing solo performance, and his fingers were trembling.

His playing was riddled with mistakes, and his singing was inattentive.

There were hardly any listeners in the audience, and the sparse applause was a stark contrast to the grand performance by Liu Xiang and Liang Jingru earlier.

After the performance, Ah Zhe practically fled off the stage.

In a corner of the playground, two men in suits were looking at Liang Jingru, who had just come out from backstage, through binoculars. They exchanged a glance, and a glint of shrewdness flashed in their eyes.

One of the fat men stroked his chin and said with a smile:

"This young lady has a good voice, is good-looking, and is very popular. She's a promising talent. Let's go back and tell Boss Huang that we've secured this deal."

After the opening ceremony performance, Liang Jingru became a celebrity in the small town.

Walking down the streets of town, people would recognize her from time to time, greet her with smiles, and call her "Little Singer".

Needless to say, at school, students from other classes would make a special trip to her classroom every day just to catch a glimpse of her, and quite a few boys would secretly slip love letters into her desk.

However, all these love letters were eventually handed over to Liu Xiang by Liang Jingru intact, which made Liu Xiang both amused and helpless.

All of this was being closely watched by a pair of eyes.

That afternoon, Liu Xiang was in the courtyard practicing singing with Liang Jingru when there was a knock on the door.

Grandma opened the door and soon led two men in suits in. The one in the lead was a middle-aged man with a beer belly and a greasy smile on his face. Behind him was a young assistant carrying a briefcase.

"Excuse me, are you Liang Jingru, a scholar?"

As soon as the fat man entered the courtyard, his gaze fell on Liang Jingru. His eyes lit up instantly, and he smiled, extending his hand and saying:

"Hello, Liang Jingru, I am Huang Laosan, the general manager of Huihuang Records in Kuala Lumpur. This is my business card."

As he spoke, he took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Liang Jingru.

Liang Jingru was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously hid behind Liu Xiang instead of taking the business card.

Liu Xiang stepped forward, blocking the young girl, took the business card, glanced at it, and a knowing look flashed in her eyes.

He vaguely remembered Brilliant Records. They were quite famous in Malaysia back then.

Despite being called a record company, it's really just a makeshift operation. It's a shell company that makes quick money by signing promising amateur singers and exploiting their value with unfair terms. It has no real promotion or production capabilities.

Most of the singers who signed with the company ended up losing everything.

What truly propelled Liang Jingru to the top of the Chinese music scene was her decision to develop her career in Taiwan and choose Rock Records in the following years.

That's the top platform in the Chinese music scene, which has made countless superstars famous, but Liu Xiang will choose a path with a broader future for her.

Huang Laosan looked at Liu Xiang and recognized him as the man who had played guitar at the opening ceremony. He smiled and said:

"This must be Mr. Liu Xiang?"

"I've heard so much about you! I listened to the song you wrote for Liang Jingru, it's truly wonderful, you're incredibly talented!"

Liu Xiang nodded slightly, pulled Liang Jingru to sit down on the stone bench, nodded slightly to Huang Laosan, and said bluntly:

"Mr. Huang made a special trip all the way from Kuala Lumpur to our small town; surely it wasn't just to say a few words of praise?"

"If there's anything you need, just say it."

Huang Laosan laughed twice and, without any ceremony, sat down on the stone bench opposite him. His assistant immediately handed him a bottle of water.

He looked at Liang Jingru and said with great enthusiasm:

"Well, Liang Jingru, our company watched your competition videos and your performance at the opening ceremony. We think you have tremendous potential and are a natural-born singer!"

"Our company, Brilliant Records, is one of the top companies in the entire Malaysian Chinese music scene. We have a top-notch production team and distribution channels throughout Malaysia."

"We want to sign you and develop you into a top-tier singer in the Malaysian Chinese music scene!"

He spoke with great enthusiasm and spittle flying everywhere, as if as long as Liang Jingru signed with his company, she would immediately become a superstar and a household name throughout Southeast Asia.

Liang Jingru's eyes widened as she listened, and she subconsciously looked at Liu Xiang beside her with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

She had never imagined that a record company would actually approach her and sign her.

Seeing that she was interested, Huang Laosan immediately struck while the iron was hot, taking out a contract and a check from his briefcase, slapping them on the stone table, and saying in a tempting tone:

"Ms. Liang Jingru, if you're willing to sign with our company, the 20,000 Malaysian Ringgit signing fee will be given to you on the spot!"

"The contract is for ten years. The company will handle your album releases, chart rankings, and commercial performances. All profits will be split between you and the company on a 30/70 basis, with you getting 30%!"

"Think about it, with your qualifications, if you sign with our company, you'll be famous throughout Malaysia in a year at most."

"You'll earn way more money than you do in this small town, and you'll also be able to fulfill your singing dream. That's an incredible opportunity!"

Twenty thousand Malaysian Ringgit was a huge sum of money in a small Malay town in the late 90s.

Grandma stood to the side, staring at the check, and couldn't help but gasp, her eyes filled with shock.

But as Liu Xiang looked at the contract, a cold smile curled at the corner of her lips.

A ten-year contract with a 30/70 split: the company takes 70% and the artist takes 30%.

This isn't a contract; it's clearly a contract of servitude.

The contract is full of unfair terms. The company decides everything about the artist's creative freedom and commercial performance arrangements. Even if the company doesn't provide resources, the artist cannot terminate the contract, otherwise they will have to pay an exorbitant penalty for breach of contract.

Signing this kind of contract is like selling yourself; you'll never be able to turn your life around.

Liang Jingru quickly calmed down as well.

She looked at the contracts and checks on the stone table, then at Liu Xiang beside her, shook her head, and said earnestly to Huang Laosan:

"Mr. Huang, thank you for your kindness, but I will listen to my brother when it comes to signing the contract."

"If he says he'll sign, I'll sign; if he says he won't sign, I won't sign."