Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Kyoto, Star Shine Entertainment Headquarters, President's Office.

Old Li pushed a document across the mahogany desk.

Zhou Hongtao opened the folder. The first page contained only a few lines of text, with the core information circled in red.

Jiang Fan, Fanyin Studio in Shanghai.

"Mr. Zhou, we've investigated it thoroughly." Old Li pulled out a chair and sat down.

"The copyright registration information for 'Calories' and 'Chasing the Light' all points to this person. Including Xu Qingya's 'As You Wish' and Shen Nian's 'The Wind Rises,' they were all his work."

Zhou Hongtao threw the documents on the table.

"Jiang Fan?"

"That's him. This guy's songwriting speed and quality are abnormal." Old Li pointed at the table.

"The lyrics, composition, and arrangement were all done by one person."

Old Li sat in his chair, recalling the frustration he felt overwhelmed by "The Chaser of Light" over the past two days.

When he left Universal Music, he took most of the music library with him, hoping to drive Tang Yingxue to her doom.

Who would have thought that Jiang Fan would suddenly appear out of nowhere and make Xinghui's 50 million yuan publicity budget go down the drain with just two songs?

Zhou Hongtao cut open the cigar, lit it, and took a puff.

"One person can support an entire company. If this person continues to side with Universal, it will be a disaster for Star Overseas."

He exhaled a puff of smoke.

"Have you checked his background? Which firm is using him as a front man?"

Old Li shook his head.

"I checked, he has no background whatsoever. Six months ago, he was a night shift security guard at EE-Media. Later, he had a breakthrough, and everything he wrote became a hit."

Zhou Hongtao let out a cold laugh.

"It's easy to not have any powerful backers. Just book two plane tickets to Shanghai and invite Jiang Wei along."

Old Li didn't understand the arrangement.

"Why bring Jiang Wei along? Her song 'Nightfall' was just crushed by Zhang Yihan. Bringing her now would be beneath her, wouldn't it?"

Zhou Hongtao tapped the table with a cigar between his fingers.

"What men want is simple: money and women. What Universal can provide, I'll provide double."

"Jiang Wei is young and obedient; we can bring her over as a bargaining chip. Once we poach Jiang Fan, what can Tang Yingxue use against me? Does she really think she can secure the chairman's position with just a few songs?"

Old Li stood up.

"Understood, I'll make the arrangements right away."

3 PM, Fanyin Studio.

Jiang Fan sat in front of his computer, working on the soundtrack for "Journey to the West," titled "Cloud Palace Melody."

The sounds of guzheng, pipa, brass instruments, and electronic synthesizers emanated from the monitor speakers.

This piece has no lyrics; it relies entirely on the arrangement of instruments.

The moment the electronic synthesizer in the intro starts, the sense of space is instantly filled.

Next comes the accented brass instruments, which, combined with the light and agile sound of the guzheng, blend two completely different styles together.

Jiang Fan stared at the audio track on the screen, his fingers tapping on the keyboard.

The moment this background music plays, the soul of Journey to the West is revealed.

Suddenly the office door was pushed open without any knocking.

Li Cheng followed behind and reached out to pull the man walking in front.

"Sir, you cannot enter without an appointment," Li Cheng said, blocking the way at the desk.

The man walked straight to the desk.

A woman followed the man in, took off her sunglasses, and casually placed them on the coffee table next to her.

Jiang Fan stopped scrolling, took off his monitoring headphones, and leaned back in his chair.

The man was wearing a custom-made suit, and his slicked-back hair was neatly combed.

"Boss Jiang, I am Zhou Hongtao, the president of Xinghui Entertainment."

Jiang Fan didn't speak, but waved for Li Cheng to leave.

Li Cheng glanced at the two of them, then turned and walked out of the office.

After the door closed, Zhou Hongtao pulled out a chair, sat down, took out a check from his suit pocket, and pushed it in front of Jiang Fan.

The check had a string of zeros on it and no payee information.

"President Jiang, here is fifty million." Zhou Hongtao placed his hands on the table, crossed.

"A small gift for you. As long as you come to Xinghui, name your price. From now on, we'll split the profits 70/30 between you and me."

Jiang Fan glanced at the check.

Star Shine Entertainment is willing to invest heavily.

But money is just a number to him; what he needs more is a highly compatible target that can provide lifespan value.

Jiang Fan shifted his gaze to the woman standing beside him.

Jiang Wei is a rising starlet at Xinghui Entertainment.

She wore a black, tight-fitting bodycon dress today.

The skirt was so short that it didn't even cover the top of the thighs.

She wore black stockings and ten-centimeter high heels.

Zhou Hongtao tapped on the table.

Jiang Wei took a step forward, placed her hands on the edge of the desk, and leaned forward.

The neckline drooped, revealing a large expanse of fair skin.

"Brother Jiang," Jiang Wei said in a low voice, drawing out her words.

"President Zhou praised your exceptional talent. If you come to Star Shine, I will be your exclusive artist from now on."

She rubbed her thigh against the edge of the table.

The texture of the black stockings is very clear under the light.

Jiang Wei looked at Jiang Fan.

Such a young producer, he hasn't seen much of the world.

With a check for fifty million and her throwing herself into his arms, this man would be completely disoriented.

"I'll sing whatever you ask me to sing." Jiang Wei looked into Jiang Fan's eyes and licked her lips with the tip of her tongue.

"I'll do whatever you tell me to do, there are no restrictions."

Jiang Fan sat in the chair, his retina clean and clear.

The system panel is unresponsive.

Jiang Fan looked at Jiang Wei's face.

Her chin was so sharp it could kill someone, her nose was translucent, and her double eyelids were extremely wide.

Even her breasts looked hard and unattractive.

These defective products produced by industrial assembly lines are completely incomparable to the naturally top-tier bone structure of people like Tang Yingxue and Xu Qingya.

Even the system is too lazy to bother with these artificially synthesized inferior products.

There's absolutely no compatibility.

What I care about is lifespan; money is nothing. I wouldn't even give away these cheap silicone-covered defective products for free; they'd take up too much space.

Jiang Fan picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip.

"President Zhou," Jiang Fan put the water glass back in its place, "you paid fifty million for my talent, you've done a good job of calculating."

He pointed at Jiang Wei.

"But if you bring me silicone trash and disgust me, that breaks the rules."

Jiang Wei's hand, which was resting on the table, stopped moving.

Her smile vanished, she straightened up, and took a step back.

Rubbish?

She was a popular actress at Star Overseas, with millions of fans, and was always fawned over wherever she went.

Now I'm being called trash to my face.

Is Jiang Fan blind? With legs like that and a figure like that, countless bosses would be lining up to sleep with her.

He actually called her trash.

Jiang Wei looked down at the black stockings on her legs, gritting her teeth.

Zhou Hongtao's smile faded.

"Boss Jiang, it's normal for young people to have tempers, but leave room for maneuver. Xinghui is backed by three top-tier capital firms. If you refuse me today, you're going against capital."

Jiang Fan looked at the audio track on the computer screen.

"Are you done talking?"

Zhou Hongtao stood up.

"Star Overseas can spend 50 million to make someone famous, and they can also spend 50 million to ruin someone. Do you think you can do whatever you want in the entertainment industry with just a few songs?"

"If you don't agree today, I'll make it impossible for you to get anywhere in the entertainment industry."

Jiang Fan pressed the intercom button on the table.

"Li Cheng, call two security guards in."

Zhou Hongtao placed his hands on the table.

"Jiang Fan, you dare to kick me out?"

The office door was pushed open, and Li Cheng walked in with two uniformed security guards.

"Please leave." Jiang Fan said without even looking up.

Two security guards stepped forward, one of them grabbing Zhou Hongtao's arm.

"Don't touch me!" Zhou Hongtao struggled to break free, but couldn't.

Jiang Wei picked up her sunglasses from the coffee table, put on her high heels, and quickly walked out the door.

Two security guards dragged Zhou Hongtao along the corridor and through the lobby.

Several employees in the lobby stopped what they were doing and watched this scene.

Zhou Yutong stopped typing on the keyboard and watched as the CEO of Xinghui was dragged away, her awe of Jiang Fan growing even stronger.

Fan Ge is really awesome.

"Jiang Fan, you just wait!" Zhou Hongtao shouted from the doorway.

The security guard pushed him outside, released his grip, and turned to walk back into the studio.

Zhou Hongtao tugged at his disheveled suit, the dignified president of Star Shine Entertainment, being thrown out the door like trash.

A black Maybach belonging to Star Shine Entertainment was parked downstairs at the office building.

Zhou Hongtao opened the car door and sat in the back seat.

Jiang Wei sat beside her, head down, not daring to make a sound.

She had planned to flirt with Jiang Fan today, but instead she was called trash. She was furious, but with Zhou Hongtao present, she didn't dare to lash out.

Zhou Hongtao, with a cold face, took out his phone and dialed a number.